Articles by Matt Cone
Matt Cone is a technical writer at Fastly. He has experience creating documentation for organizations like Linode and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Matt’s first book, Master Your Mac, was published by No Starch Press. To get in touch with Matt, visit https://www.mattcone.com.
How to Connect a Hard Drive to the AirPort Extreme
December 28, 2011
You can use an AirPort Extreme Base Station to create a wireless network for the computers and devices in your home or office. But did you know that you can also connect a USB hard drive to an AirPort Extreme? Doing so effectively creates a network drive that can be accessed by all of the users connected to the wireless network. It’s a great way to share documents, photos, music, and movies with the other people on your network.
How to Install Windows 8 Using VMware Fusion
December 27, 2011
Maybe you’ve heard the buzz about Windows 8, the new operating system being developed by Microsoft. It’s not for sale yet, but if you’re feeling adventurous, you can install Windows 8 for free in a virtual machine on your Mac. Using a product called VMware Fusion (free trial, $49.99) is a great way to test Windows 8 in a sandboxed environment. Here’s how to install Windows 8 on your Mac using VMware Fusion:
How to Connect to Hidden Wireless Networks
December 26, 2011
Need to connect your Mac to a wireless network? You know the drill. Click on the wireless menu bar icon, select an available network, and your Mac automatically connects. But what about connecting to wireless networks that are hidden? The hidden wireless networks won’t appear in the list, so you’ll need to use a different method to connect to one of those networks. Here’s how to connect your Mac to a hidden wireless network:
How to Hide Your AirPort Extreme Network
December 26, 2011
Own an AirPort Extreme Base Station? Congratulations! You have one of the most secure network devices in the industry. The AirPort Extreme’s WPA2 Personal and WPA2 Enterprise encryption options are the best available. But there’s another powerful security feature that you’ll want to enable on AirPort Extreme: The ability to “hide” the wireless network so that users can’t see it in wireless menu. (In technical terms, this is known as disabling or hiding the AirPort Extreme SSID.
How to Set Up the AirPort Extreme
December 25, 2011
If you’re looking to set up a fast and secure wireless network in your home or office, look no further than the AirPort Extreme. It’s easy to set up and use - just take it out of the box and plug it in. But there are some initial configuration steps required to get a wireless network up and running smoothly. This tutorial provides all of the information you’ll need to complete the initial AirPort Extreme setup required for creating a wireless network and sharing Internet access.
Check the Available Hard Drive Space on a Mac
December 21, 2011
Ever wonder how much free space is available on your Mac’s hard disk or partitions? It’s easy to check in OS X. Plus, if your Mac is running Mac OS 10.7 or later, the interface shows which types of files are taking up the most space, a feature that could help you track down space-hogging files and applications. Tip: Your startup disk should have some free space available - ideally 10% of the disk should be free.
How to Hide and Show Purchases in the Mac App Store
December 21, 2011
Did you purchase an “embarrassing” application from the Mac App Store? Want to hide the fact that you downloaded it? Thanks to an obscure feature, you can. The Mac App Store lets you hide applications you’ve purchased so they don’t show up in the Purchases list. It’s a great way to cover your tracks so other users in your house can’t see exactly what you downloaded. Tip: Hiding a purchase in the Mac App Store does not uninstall the application.
How to Reinstall Apps from the Mac App Store
December 21, 2011
The Mac App Store is a good way to find applications for your Mac - maybe a little too good, in fact. The applications you download from the App Store can start to accumulate, and over time you may need to start deleting them. But feelings change. If you want to reinstall an application that you downloaded from the App Store and then later deleted, this is the tutorial for you.
How to Burn a Data CD or DVD in Mac OS X
December 20, 2011
Burning a data a CD or DVD is no longer as popular as it once was. Chalk it up to high-speed Internet connections, cloud storage services, USB drives, and other technologies that have made massive data transfer easy and dirt-cheap. Nevertheless, there are still times when you’ll need to burn a data CD or DVD with your Mac. The resulting disc can be used on Mac, Windows, and Linux computers. Here’s how to burn a data CD or DVD in Mac OS X:
How to Gift an iTunes Playlist
December 19, 2011
iTunes gift cards make great stocking stuffers, but did you know that you can also give one of your iTunes playlists as a gift? Here’s how it works: Create a playlist full of the songs you’d like to give and then follow the instructions below to purchase the songs in the iTunes Store. The recipient will be emailed a special iTunes code to download all of the songs in the playlist.