os

Bluetooth devices we attach to our Macs include everything from phones to mice, speakers, and printers. As with any connection there may be instances when the device will not connect, or continually drops its connection to the Mac. These issues can be frustrating to deal with, but should this happen there are a couple of things you can do to check the connection and hopefully increase its stability.

Similar to Wi-Fi connections, Bluetooth uses a radio as a means of communication, so if you are experiencing drop-outs then the first thing to do is check the signal strength, which is … Read more

From the moment I first looked at the Pebble Watch, it was clear that this was a device designed to be purely about apps. Unfortunately, none were really available until a week ago, when Pebble at last released an SDK, and along with it, updated firmware for the Pebble watch and a revised smartphone app.

Now, the number of user-made indie Pebble apps is steadily growing, and there are even places to go to browse them: Pebble's own watch face community message boards, and sites like My Pebble Faces.… Read more

Is iOS starting to feel a bit stale for your taste? It's something I'm hearing more and more as I talk to iOS users, or former iOS users. With some amazing Android phones hitting the market, it's tough not to get caught checking out the competition -- or even feeling a bit compelled to make the jump to Android.

But before you make the change, there are some kinks that need to be worked out to make the process go as smoothly as possible. You likely have contacts, a calendar, photos, and music that you'll want … Read more

A small Spanish company called Geeksphone will begin selling two smartphones on Tuesday that are geared for developers who want to build apps for Firefox OS -- or for that matter, to build Mozilla's open-source browser-based operating system itself.

As previewed earlier this year, Geeksphone has two models, the Keon at 110 euros including VAT ($143) and the Peak at 179 euros ($234) including VAT.

That's a notch cheaper than high-end unlocked smartphones you'll find, like the $574.99 HTC One, an Android phone that just went on sale. But the low price is part of the … Read more

When composing messages in OS X Mail, you have the option to use the program's built-in list tool to keep numbered or bulleted lists properly formatted, but you may find its formatting options to be a bit limited.

The list generator is not intended to be a complex option; however, by default it only displays one list entry per paragraph, so if you attempt to create a line break to separate list items or add multiple paragraphs per item, the default behavior is to simply append new list entries.

This can be a bit annoying to deal with, and … Read more

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which I answer Mac-related questions e-mailed in by our readers.

This week, readers wrote in asking how to stop a song in iTunes completely instead of pausing it, how to tackle log-in items changing at seemingly random intervals, what to do about burned files appearing as aliases on the resulting DVD, and how to get persistent keychain prompts under control. I welcome contributions from readers, so if you have any suggestions or alternative approaches to these problems, please post them in the comments!

Question: Stopping a song in iTunes instead of pausing it MacFixIt … Read more

It's not often you come across a new app that deserves consideration for a spot on your iPhone's home screen, but the new Yahoo Weather for most likely will have people giving your current weather apps the boot. I use a mix of the stock iPhone weather app and The Weather Channel app, but will now turn to the Yahoo Weather app first.

The most interesting feature of the Yahoo Weather app is its integration with Yahoo-owned Flickr. It features Flickr photos to match not only the location you are looking at, but also the time of day … Read more

Out of steam? Can't bring yourself to finish that last mile? Maybe a zombie horde breathing down your neck will give you the adrenaline boost you need.

That's the idea behind Zombies, Run! 2 (Android|iOS), which bills itself as an "immersive running game and audio adventure" for your smartphone.

It works like this: Before you start your run, you load the app, choose a mission, put in your earbuds, and then hit the road. Along the way, you're treated to audio segments that gradually reveal the story of Abel Township and the zombie apocalypse … Read more

The OS X Finder has a number of shortcuts and features for previewing items, navigating through folders, and selecting items to open. These can be quite convenient when browsing through your documents. If that's the case, you might be interested in knowing several of these are available when browsing through documents in the system's Open and Save dialog boxes as well.

Even though you may be in a program like Pages, TextEdit, or Microsoft Word, the Open and Save dialog boxes in these programs essentially open up a window to the OS X Finder so you can browse … Read more