Recommended Mac Technical Support Guides

In the spirit of technical and IT equality, we now offer some Mac tech support guides that you can run to if you need support for your MacBook. Since most guidelines and advice seem to center on Microsoft users, most especially with Windows and Office, this is a rundown on how you can get official and efficient support if you are a MacBook user.

http://support.apple.com/manuals/

If you’re a Mac user, where else can you get the support you need than from the official site itself? To save you time browsing through the pages, you can immediately go to the support manuals. Almost all Mac products are covered including Quick Start Guides for the iMac, Mac Mini, MacBook Pro, and Mac Pro. Complete guides are provided for all iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touch using iOS 8.1. User guides can be downloaded in PDF.

http://www.microsoft.com/mac

For Mac users who need to use a compatible Microsoft Office suite for their Mac computers, then this guide is for you. It guides in installing and how to use the Microsoft Office 365 specially made for Mac computers. Options are given in selecting either the Office 365 Home for families or home use or the Office 365 Personal for work. The guide introduces you to using Word 2011, PowerPoint 2011, Excel 2011, and Outlook 2011 on your Mac computer. One Note for Mac is also specially made for Mac users. There is complete support that includes instructional ‘how-to’s’ and downloads, how to purchase, activations, and product helps.

https://www.apple.com/support/mac-apps/

Naturally, if you’re a Mac user then you’ll be using a lot of Mac apps, and this guide site gives you the support you need for these. You’ll find complete resources and content options, up-to-date programs, and even a boot camp on how to install Mac apps or how to purchase from the Mac App Store. You’ll find such apps as Safari, Quick Time, iPhoto, iMovie, Mail, Messages, iBooks, and the like all covered by this guide.

https://www.apple.com/support/itunes/

What’s a Mac user if they don’t use iTunes? Everyone listens to music and Mac users are exclusively hooked on iTunes since most pirated MP3’s, MP4’s, and other music formats not from iTunes won’t run on Mac computers. Every support you need for iTunes is in this guide, and of course, you get to download your music from here as well. The guide completely covers accounts and billing, installation and updates, downloading, sharing and managing content, and even syncing and transferring content.

http://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/support/

The Parallels Desktop for Mac lets Mac users run both Windows and Mac OS X applications side-by-side in complete compatibility to each other. All you need is to follow this guide and there are even detailed guide questions that you can follow.

Make Your iOS Device Feel New Again the Easy Way

At last, Spring has finally arrived! Aside from the superb weather, warm nights, and great walks in the park, Spring is also a perfect time for getting preppy to make your house spic and span. So, are you almost done with your spring cleaning chores? Before you give out a big YES, why not give your ol' iOS device a spring cleaning of its own. If you want to give it a shot, read on to find out how these super easy changes can make your iOS device feel refreshed and loved again.

It doesn't take much time and muscle to make your device look and feel brand new. All you need is a few simple tweaks -- it can be as simple as setting a new wallpaper or changing the way your icons look on your Home screen.

Resetting the Home Screen Layout

It's about time to re-organize your apps to give your Home screen a fresh start. The easiest solution to this is to reset the home screen layout of your device to factory settings. Don't worry because this won't actually delete any of your apps, instead they will be placed in random places on your screen. This means all your years of hard work of organizing and segregating your apps in their respective folders will all be gone. To reset your device's home screen layout, go to Settings then tap General. Now scroll to the bottom of the list, then tap Reset. Now, look for the Reset Home Screen Layout option, then tap on it.

When you go back to your Home screen, you'll find your apps in a great, big mess.

Reset Device Settings

Now if you really want to get down and dirty, you can completely reset all of the current settings of your device, leaving all apps and accounts still in place. Resetting its settings will give you a chance to revisit your personal preferences, and then start fresh.

On your device, go to Settings, then General, and then tap Reset. Tap the Reset All Settings option and you will be asked to enter your device's passcode (if you have any)in order to proceed. Doing this procedure will revert all your settings to factory defaults, but still leaving all your data and media intact. Be careful of the options that you select, especially the Erase All Content and Settings option, as this will erase everything from your device including your photos, videos, messages, and apps.

Delete Unwanted Apps

Since your iOS device's home screen layout has been reset and you need to organize your apps from scratch, this is the perfect time to ponder and decide whether you still need a certain app or not. Over time, you have downloaded tons of apps and realized that most of them are already useless (or shall we say "unamusing"). Remove these unnecessary apps to minimize the clutter on your Home screen. Simply tap and hold the icon of the app that you want to get rid of, and then wait for it to jiggle along with the other icons. Tap the x button of the app, then confirm the prompt to completely remove it from your device.

Free Some Space

Another part of giving your device a good spring cleaning is to free it from old and unwanted files such as photos, video clips, and MP3 files. Another good way to free up some space is to sync your device to iCloud or iTunes, and then proceed in clearing up your Camera Roll section.

Also, if your device still have those old TV episodes, movies, or music files that you're no longer watching or listening to, remove them. Unless they're a lifetime favorite, which you'll never get tired of watching over and over again, these data are just wasting your device's precious memory. Go to Settings, tap General and then tap Usage where you can see the apps that are eating up most of your device's storage space. Tap the app listing to view the top app files that are currently hogging space.