I tend to use Apple hardware and Google software. I use Chrome for my browsing needs on my MacBook Pro, for example, despite Chrome being a known as a Mac battery hog. The situation is particularly dire, I find, when watching YouTube videos. During such instances, my Mac heats up to the point where the …

Along with its new sans-serif logo, Google has a new search trick up its sleeve. Type in “I’m feeling curious” or simply “fun facts” and Google will hit you with a fact box with a random fact. Below the fact summary is a link to the source of the fact. Enlarge Image Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET Click the blue Ask …

Enlarge Image Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET I’m good up to a point when it comes to maintaining order with the files and folders on my Mac. There are a few corners, however, where piles of junk have begun to collect. I loathe the idea of sorting out these wayward folders and, in fact, avoid it at all costs. I would …

I don’t use Twitter on anything resembling a regular schedule. I find it to be an overwhelming flow of information — a raging river of chatter, if you will. On occasion, when I do check in with Twitter, I feel like I arrived in the middle of the conversation. Or in the middle of 1,000 conversations. With new iOS app …

Photoflow is a $4.99 app in the Mac App Store that gives quick access to Instagram from the menu bar. The well designed if limited app is handy for chronic Instagram checkers when their smartphone is just out of reach, but does not allow for image uploads nor leaving comments. After installing Photoflow and authorizing it onto an Instagram account, …

If you prefer accessing Gmail from a browser rather than OS X’s Mail app or another desktop app, then you miss out on the desktop notifications that alert you to the arrival of new email messages — or so I thought. With the Aura app, you can get the best of both worlds: desktop notifications and Gmail’s Web client. Aura …

The Save As command is a useful tool on any computer, but it is mysteriously buried on OS X. It goes missing from the default File menu on Apple’s own apps and requires an awkward, four-button keyboard shortcut (Option+Shift+Command+S). Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET There are two ways you can return the Save As command to its rightful place in the …

MacPaw Gemini is like hiring a professional cleaning service to come in and clear out the duplicate files of any folder on your Mac. The app is quick and easy and accurate, and it attempts to entertain you as it goes about its business. MacPaw Gemini is available in the Mac App Store for $9.99. You can also download a …

When you come across a great song in Apple Music and would like to listen to the album on which it’s featured, there’s a quick way to do just that — if you know where to look and tap. Let’s say you are listening to a particularly pleasing playlist — Pop Hits: 1984, for example. If “Caribbean Queen (No More …

Like many things in Apple Music , the shuffle button is buried amongst the clutter. When you are viewing a playlist or an album, the shuffle button is right where you would expect it — easily accessible at the top of the of the list of tracks. If you want to shuffle all the songs from your music library or, …