James Pearson

June 16, 2024

WordPress: 5 Plugins

Here are our hot takes on what 5 WordPress plugins to install first... This post is also available from my Lectrobyte site: WordPress: 5 Plugins. HOT BYTE NUMBER 1 WordPress: 5 Plugins artwork. The WordPress Logo is a trademark of the WordPress Foundation. All of the plugins mentioned below can be installed directly from the WordPress ...
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May 4, 2022

HEY - Managing Notifications

The main premise of HEY is that you are in control of your emails and so, by default, notifications are kept to a minimum. However, you can get notified of any email that enters the Imbox or of any email you receive from a specific contact, domain or email thread. Here's how... SOUNDBYTE #9 HEY Managing Notifications artwork. Icon by P...
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April 27, 2022

macOS - Hide and Show Windows

It's a common occurrence... you have multiple windows open on your desktop and you're beginning to struggle to find the windows you need quickly. These five short tips will explain how to quickly hide (or show) individual or multiple windows on macOS. SOUNDBYTE #8 macOS Hide and Show Windows artwork. Icon by VINZENCE STUDIO @ The Noun ...
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February 20, 2022

macOS - Switching Between Light and Dark Mode

macOS includes several different modes to alter the system's appearance: Light, Dark and Auto. In this short article we'll show you how to switch between them. SOUNDBYTE #7 macOS Switching Between Light and Dark Mode artwork. Icon by Daniel Traoré @ The Noun Project. When setting up a new Mac you will be prompted to choose between the ...
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November 10, 2021

Terminal Hacks - Force macOS to Shut Down

Is your Mac refusing to shut down? Most likely an application or background process has frozen, preventing the process to close and in turn preventing macOS to shut down. This LectroHack will show you how to use terminal to force a shut down. Force Shut Down Open Terminal: Finder > Applications > Utilities In Terminal, type or paste th...
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October 12, 2021

Terminal Hacks - Caffeinate your Mac

If you need to run a process on your Mac that cannot be interrupted by the Mac's sleep cycle, such as running a task in Automator or downloading a large amount of data, then you can caffeinate the Mac to keep it awake. Here's how... Caffeinate (no time limit) Open Terminal: Finder > Applications > Utilities In Terminal, type or paste t...
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October 10, 2021

Terminal Hacks - View File System Usage

Do you want to know why a particular drive is not ejecting on your Mac? Is a process causing a lot of strain on your computer's processor and you want to identify what that may be? This Terminal command will show you what your Mac is currently reading and writing to disk... Open Terminal: Finder > Applications > Utilities In Terminal, ...
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September 19, 2021

Terminal Hacks - Show Uptime and Recent Reboots

Unsure how long your Mac has been running for before it's last reboot? Wanting to see a list of recent reboot dates for diagnostic purposes? There are a couple of useful Terminal commands that can help with this. Uptime Open Terminal: Finder > Applications > Utilities In Terminal, type or paste the following… uptime (return) The follow...
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August 30, 2021

Terminal Hacks - Show Hidden Files and Folders

The macOS operating system hides files and folders for good reason: to prevent accidental deletion of critical system files and to simplify the OS so that only the files and folders we need to interact with are visible. There may be times, however, when you need to locate a hidden file or folder. To Show • Open Terminal: Finder > Appli...
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August 27, 2021

macOS - Adding iCloud Drive to the Dock

You can access iCloud Drive from the Finder window, but for an even quicker way to see you cloud files you can add a shortcut to the Dock itself. As the icon for iCloud Drive is not accessible from the Applications folder, this quick SoundByte will show you 2 ways to add this onto the Dock. To add iCloud Drive to the Dock (as an applic...
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June 26, 2021

HEY - Writing and Publishing Posts with HEY World

The HEY email service also includes HEY World: a place for sharing your ideas, and thoughts with the world. This SoundByte will show you how to write and post using HEY World. Writing a Post To write an article on HEY World either... • Login to HEY and send an email to world@hey.com or... • Click on the HEY menu at the top of the scree...
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June 12, 2021

iPadOS - Configuring a Mouse and Trackpad

Since iPadOS 13 it has been possible to use a mouse and trackpad natively with the iPad. This can really help to speed up workflows and interactivity with productivity apps in particular. This short SoundByte will explain how to connect and configure your devices. When connecting an official Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad (with trackpad...
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June 7, 2021

macOS - Switching Between Applications

When you have multiple applications open at once there are several ways you can switch between these applications efficiently. This post is also available from my Lectrobyte site: macOS - Switching Between Applications. SOUNDBYTE #3 macOS Switching Between Applications artwork. Icon by Ben Davis @ The Noun Project. Video Guide macOS - ...
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May 8, 2021

macOS - Renaming Files

Whereas it is a standard feature to rename an individual file, since MacOS X Yosemite (10.10), it has also been possible to rename groups of files at the same time. This short SoundByte shows you how to do both... This post is also available from my Lectrobyte site: macOS - Renaming Files. SOUNDBYTE #2 macOS Renaming Files artwork. Ico...
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May 3, 2021

macOS - How to Change File Associations

In macOS each file type is opened automatically by a default application. This short SoundByte will explain how you can change the default application a file opens with. This post is also available from my Lectrobyte site: macOS - How to Change File Associations. SOUNDBYTE #1 macOS How to Change File Associations artwork. Icon by Chunk...
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April 3, 2021

Firefox Monitor

Firefox Monitor is a useful tool for detecting and keeping track of data breaches. Have your details been compromised by hackers? This blog post will show you how Firefox Monitor can be used to check for historical breaches (dating back to 2007) and how it can be used as a warning system for future ones. Firefox Monitor was officially ...
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March 6, 2021

Firefox Lockwise

Firefox Lockwise is a secure password manager for logins made through the Firefox browser. On a desktop computer and laptop this is integrated into the Firefox browser itself, whilst on Android and iOS the service is available as a stand-alone app. Originally branded as LockBox in 2018, on May 21 2019 the service was renamed as Lockwis...
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