Technical professionals. Trusted advisors. Certified expertise.

HCS Blog

Problem-solving by Apple Certified Professionals
Jan
02

Use StandBy to Make Your iPhone into a Clock, Photo Frame, and More

Use StandBy to Make Your iPhone into a Clock, Photo Frame, and More

iOS 17 brings a new mode for the iPhone: StandBy. All you have to do is connect your iPhone to a charger wirelessly or with a cable, position it on its side in landscape orientation, and press the side button to lock the screen. Standby works best with a MagSafe charging stand. Swipe left or right to switch between three screens: widgets, photos, and clocks. Swipe up and down to move between widgets, photo collections, and clock styles. On the widget screen, touch and hold to add and remove widgets, and on the photo screen, to choose which collections and albums to display. You can choose how long the display stays active in Settings > StandBy > Display. By default, it will stay on all the time on iPhone models with an Always-On display; a tap or nudge will wake it on other iPhone models. Finally, StandBy remembers your preferred view in different locations, so it can be a clock in the bedroom, a photo frame in the kitchen, and a clock at the office.

(Featured image by Apple)

Continue reading
Jan
02

Concerned by the Privacy or Results of Google Search? Try These Other Search Engines

Concerned by the Privacy or Results of Google Search? Try These Other Search Engines

Google is big. Google Search generated $225 billion in revenue in 2022, thanks in part to being the default search engine on all Apple devices. To retain that position—and continue to reap the ad revenue that it generates—Google pays Apple about $18 billion every year. Along with Apple, Google pays billions to phone manufacturers like Samsung, LG, and Motorola; major wireless carriers such as AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon; and browser developers like Mozilla and Opera.

So is Google Search’s 90% market share because it’s the best search engine or because Google has enough money to pay distributors for top placement?

Continue reading
Jan
02

Turn Your Most-Used Sites into Safari Web Apps in macOS 14 Sonoma

Turn Your Most-Used Sites into Safari Web Apps in macOS 14 Sonoma

The concept of site-specific browsers has been around for a long time, but in the version of Safari that comes with macOS 14 Sonoma, Apple brought it to the big time by making setup easier than ever.

Put simply, a site-specific browser is a Mac app that encapsulates a single Web app or site. The goal is to break a website out of a Web browser and turn it into what looks and works like a regular Mac app. Gmail the Web app can become Gmail the Mac app.

Continue reading
Jan
02

Everything You Need to Know about Taking Screenshots on the Mac

Everything You Need to Know about Taking Screenshots on the Mac

Many people use screenshots to clip portions of their Mac screen for later reference. For example, you could save a screenshot of an error dialog to show tech support, store a confirmation number from a Web page, or keep a chat from social media. You can even record screen movies to show a developer how their app is misbehaving.

Years ago, Apple introduced a floating control bar that makes accessing features for taking screenshots and recording screen movies easier. The hardest thing about using the control bar is memorizing its keyboard shortcut: Command-Shift-5. (The even older shortcuts of Command-Shift-3 for full-screen screenshots and Command-Shift-4 for windows and portions of the screen also still work.)

Continue reading
Jan
02

Improve Your Digital Security in 2024 with These New Year’s Resolutions

Improve Your Digital Security in 2024 with These New Year’s Resolutions

Happy New Year, and welcome to 2024! For many of us, starting a new year means reflecting on fresh habits we’d like to adopt. Although we support any resolutions you may have made to get enough sleep, eat better, exercise more, and reduce social media usage, allow us suggest a few more that will improve your digital security and reduce the chances that bad things will happen to you online.

Back Up All Your Devices

The most important thing you can do to stave off the slings and arrows of digital doom is to make regular backups. Bad things happen to good people, such as a Mac’s SSD failing, an iPhone accidentally falling off a boat, an Apple Watch breaking in a fall, or loss due to theft, fire, or flood. With a good backup strategy, you can recover from nearly any problem.

Continue reading

Locations


New York

Connecticut
Florida
Louisiana
Chicago

Corporate Headquarters
New York

80 Orville Drive Suite 100
Bohemia, NY 11716
Tel: (866) 518-9672
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Connecticut

65 High Ridge Road #510
Stamford, CT 06905
Tel: (866) 518-9672
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Florida

3321 SW 194th Terrace
Miramar, FL 33029
Tel: (866) 518-9672
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Louisiana

218 Barksdale Drive
Broussard LA 70518
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Chicago

4 Knollwood Place
Joliet, IL 60433
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

London

10 Grosvenor Court
Rayners Road
London SW15 2AX UK

Stay Connected

© Copyright 2023, HCS Technology Group. All Rights Reserved.