Many people equate productivity with screen size and assume it's difficult to get much work done on a small screen. Here are four ways to maximize productivity on small Mac laptop screens.
Hide inactive apps. Use Command+Option+H to hide all applications and windows except for the active app, also you can Option+Click out of a specific app to hide it as you begin working elsewhere. Hidden apps are easy to identify if you use Cocktail to enable transparent icons for hidden applications in the Dock (Interface > Dock).
Auto-hide the Dock. Hit Command+Option+D to enable auto-hiding of the Dock, summon it when needed by swiping to the bottom of the screen with the cursor. Dock is a great app launcher but keep it hidden when not in use.
Use full screen apps. Full screen apps help you stay focused and make the most of small screens. This feature was designed with Mac laptops in mind, so don’t forget to use it.
Use virtual desktops. Create new desktops through Mission Control by hovering over the right corner and clicking the + button. Use this with full screen apps to create a great desktop workflow that can be quickly swiped between.
In the old days you could reset a login password via a Mac's OS X installer disc. But with no such discs, what to do?
To reset a login password in OS X Mountain Lion or later, restart the Mac and hold down Command-R to boot into the Recovery HD partition. From the Utilities menu, choose Terminal to open it. In Terminal type:
resetpassword
and press Return.
In macOS Sierra and macOS High Sierra, an Reset Password assistant will launch. Choose the user account or admin account you want to reset the password for. Enter a new password, confirm the new password, set (if you like) a password hint and then click on "Next" to set the new password for the account in question. Choose to "Restart" the Mac and when the Mac boots up, use the newly reset password to login to the computer.
In OS X Mountain Lion, OS X Mavericks, OS X Yosemite and OS X El Capitan, a Reset Password window will appear that will list all the bootable volumes attached to your Mac. Select the volume that contains the account you want to reset and choose the user name that needs its password reset. Enter and verify a new passwords in the appropriate fields and, if you like, enter a password hint. Click Save and the new password is applied to the account.
Trash is one of those overlooked aspects of macOS that you probably don't think much about. That's fine, but there are also a handful of genuinely useful keyboard shortcuts that pertain to Trash on the Mac, and if you spend any time in the file system they're worth learning.
Send an item to Trash instantly.
Command+Delete with any file or folder selected will send it instantly to the Trash.
Return items from Trash to original location.
Command+Delete with anything currently in the Trash selected returns it to the original location in the file system. You can also access this by right-clicking an item and choosing "Put Back".
Empty Trash.
Shift+Command+Delete will immediately empty the Trash. This is the safer approach since it brings up the warning dialog telling you the action is permanent.
Empty Trash without warning.
Shift+Option(Alt)+Command+Delete will immediately force empty the Trash with no warnings, regardless of what's in the Trash.
If you have a MacBook, MacBook Air or MacBook Pro, you can check the battery cycle count to get an idea of overall battery health. Here’s how you can do that yourself, right from the macOS built in system management functions.
This works for all batteries in portable Mac models.
• Pull down the () Apple menu and choose "About This Mac".
• Click the "System Report…" button.
• Under Hardware, select "Power" and look for "Cycle Count" under the "Battery Information" portion.
The number shown is the cycle count of the current battery. A battery charge cycle is when the battery has been drained to 0% and then refilled to 100% of it's maximum capacity. Knowing the cycle count is helpful if you suspect your battery is having problems retaining a charge. Apple says new notebook batteries are designed to retain 80% of original capacity after 1000 cycles. If your battery is performing at less than expected and is still under warranty, it may be a good idea to schedule an appointment with an Apple Genius.
DNS server can be described as a phone book for the internet. Every website on the internet has an IP-address (for example Google's is 74.125.95.104), but remembering these addresses for every website you want to visit is a pain. What the DNS (Domain Name Server) server does is translate www.google.com into 74.125.95.104 and direct your browser to that page.
Normally the DNS server is hosted by your internet service provider but Google claims that their server is both faster and more secure, giving you a better online experience.
To use Google’s servers simply open System Preferences and click Network. Select the network connection you use to go online (normally AirPort if you use wireless or Ethernet if you are wired), press "Advanced…" and then select DNS at the top. Now you are presented with two lists, below left one there is a button with a plus sign. Click it and enter:
8.8.8.8
and in a new line:
8.8.4.4
Click OK, then Apply (if the DNS options are grayed out when you try to change them, just click the padlock in the lower left of the Network settings screen and enter your password when prompted). You may have to restart your browser for the changes to take effect.
It is worth keeping in mind that Google will be able to view your browsing habits, so it is a good idea to have a read through their privacy statement (https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/privacy).
Otherwise, if you'd rather not use Google’s DNS server but want faster browsing, you can use a tool such as Namebench (http://code.google.com/p/namebench) which tests a whole bunch of DNS servers (such as OpenDNS or DNS.WATCH) and finds out which one is the fastest for you.
