10 Interesting Mac Tips Help Users to Handle Their Computer Easily

If you own a Mac computer or MacBook, you will want to know more about it, including the practical tips for handling your computer. Most of the tips for Mac computers are very easy to handle, and some of them are just interesting. You want to know about it? Right, the following guidance will show you 10 helpful tips for Mac computers. You may have known some of the tips, and you may have already started to use this tips, then you also read on, maybe some of tips are new to you.

Speaking the tips for Mac computers, the first thing we should make clear is that the Mac computer runs with Mac OS X, and the keyboards on the Mac computer aren't exactly the same as a Windows keyboard. The Command key of Mac computer plays very important role when you want to control your computer. Of course, some of the Mac tips will need users to take advantage of the Command key, and it will be full of fun. Check the post out.

1. Screen Saver Wallpaper

If you want to use a Screensaver as your desktop wallpaper, you will need to enter a command in Terminal to let the change happen. Some of the Mac users will ask why they would like to use Screensaver as wallpaper. Well, it's just fun. /System/Library/Frameworks/ScreenSaver.framework/Resources/ScreenSaverEngine.app/Contents/MacOS/ScreenSaverEngine-background The command above is all you need to set up Screensaver as the wallpapers for your Mac computer.

2. Let Mac Speak

Your mac computer speaks, don't you know that? Well, well, this is also an interesting tip for Mac users when they want their Mac computers to read files for them. Users only need to go to Terminal and hit "Say Hello World", and your Mac computer will speak. Or hit "say –f mytextfile.txt", and then your Mac computer will read the files for you. Don't forget to open the speakers.

3. Screen Sharing

Screen sharing function is also a great utility of Mac computer. A lot of useful features are hidden behind this utility. If users want to unleash these features, they can hit the following command in terminal. Defaults write com.apple.ScreenSharing \ 'NSToolbar Configuration ControlToolbar' -dict-add 'TB Item Identifiers' \ '(Scale,Control,Share,Curtain,Capture,FullScreen,GetClipboard,SendClipboard,Quality)'

4. Kill Dashboard

Many people have abandoned the Dashboard of Mac OS X, and it is easy to that. If you want to get rid of the Dashboard, you can hit the following code in Terminal: defaults write apple.com.dashboard mcx-disabled –boolean YES

5. Show Hidden Files

This is one of the most well-known Terminal commands, and it is very helpful when users want to find the hidden files especially the ones they have forgotten the location. Mac users only need to hit the command below to show the hidden files: defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES

6. Look Up a Word

This is also a useful tip for Mac users. When you want to look up a new word while reading, you can move your mouse cursor over the word, and hold Command + Ctrl + D on your Mac, and then you will get the informative pop-up.

7. Show Date and Time in Menubar

Generally, your Mac computer will only display time in the menubar, and many people will also want the date displayed in the menubar as well. To achieve this goal, you will need to go to System Preferences > Date and Time, and hit the "Clock" tab, then check "Show Date" in "Date Options". There you go.

8. Put Files into One Folder

This is a useful trick when users have too many files scattered on the desktop and want to save them in order. To put many files into one folder, users need to hold command and choose the files they need, then right-click the files and choose "New Folder". Then the files will be put into the new folder.

9. Share Link with Friends

When you want to share a link you are browsing in Safari with your friends, you can hold Command + Shift + I on your Mac, and then the link to the web page will be pasted in the body of email inside of Mail.app. When you want to share web page with your friends, this keyboard shortcut is very helpful.

10. Black the Screen

When the user don't want others to see what he/she is doing when they walk by, they can use this trick to turn the screen of the Mac computer to black. Users only need to hold ^↑+ eject, and then the Mac screen will go to zero brightness.

If you search the Internet, you will find that there are thousands of articles about Mac tips. This 10 interesting tips for Mac computers are helpful in our daily life, and you can check them out when you are in need.

Windows 10 Runs Smoothly on Lumia 635

Windows 10 is now under beta test, and it may come out later this year, likely this June. The new Windows OS may bring great changes in the UI, Cortana and other specs, and it is said that Windows 10 will be able to run on the low-end Lumia smartphones. According to a post from PhoneArena.com, Windows 10 is very smooth with Lumia 635. So the users of low-end Windows smartphone will benefit from the update. In fact, if you are tired of Windows 8.1 on your smartphone, you can wait for the Windows 10 update as well.

Microsoft skipped Windows 9 and jumped to Windows 10, maybe it wants to bring a different using experience to all users. Running Windows 8 on smartphone is a cool experience, and it gives users a new Modern UI and a new way to handle their smartphone. The using experience of a Windows phone is very unlikely with an Android phone or iPhone, and it has its own characteristics to attract the users.

According to a post from Gadgets.com, not every Lumia phone will be able to update to Windows 10, and the update will only provide for the majority smartphones running with Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. Besides them, the budget phone Lumia 430, the selfie phone Lumia 730, and the golden edition Lumia 930 can update to Windows 10 as well.

Windows 10 features have been released, and many new functions are added into the new OS, such as Spartan Browser, Snap app and others. But few are mentioned about how Windows 10 will look like on the Lumia phone. Actually, Windows 10 will bring an interactive UI on Windows phone, and it will make users feel like that they are controlling their computer with the phone.

From the leaks on the Internet, we have already known that Cortana will have a major update on Windows 10, and we hope that it can be more humanized and friendly. We can’t help to compare Cortana with Siri and Google Now, and we will find that although these voice assistant are alike, Cortana provides a great function of recording your controlling habits. This may be a good start of a user-friendly voice assistant.

Windows 10 will have built-in MS Office apps, including MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint. These three apps are the most commonly used aps in our daily life, and when users want to edit their Word documents for example, they will be able to finish the task on the Windows 10 smartphone. The features of the Office apps on Windows 10 smartphone are almost the same like the Office apps on the computer, so the apps on Windows 10 smartphone will be very helpful.

The new features of Windows 10 smartphone may also include a movable keyboard. If you are using a large-screen Lumia 1520, you may feel that texting messages on the phablet are not as easy as texting on the 4-inch smartphone. The movable keyboard will provide much help because it can be located on the position you want on the Lumia phone. This is great, especially for the phablet users.

A cross-platform universal photo app will also be introduces on the Windows 10 smartphone. The new photo app allows users to use OneDrive to sync photos and make up the beautification and selection of the photos. For example, the photo app will automatically sort out the accidental duplicates and the photos taken in burst mode. This photo app may redefine the usage of photo apps on a smartphone.

When Windows 10 arrives this year, it won’t only bring surprise to the PC users, but also the fans of Windows phones. This new PC and mobile operating system is like Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 in its UI design, but it will have more great features than the Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. Let’s wait and see.

Why Did Microsoft Skip Windows 9

It's weird, isn't it? Microsoft should have announced Windows 9 after Windows 8.1 update, but why did they skip the version? Maybe the number 9 has an "evil" meaning in some countries, or maybe it's just a mistake? As a result, Windows 10 comes, and 9 vanished.

So let's discuss this problem, why Microsoft unveiled Windows 10 instead of 9? Well, despite of the religious reason of the number, there are other possible reasons. For example, if I say Windows 9, I always have a Windows 95 logo flashing through my mind, and not the latest operating system. You can say that the latest version have more advanced technologies and features, but I think people will still compare the Windows 9 with Windows 95 or 98, and come up with the conclusion that although Windows 9 is new and powerful, it's a buggy system. Well, that's only my imagination. If there is any marketing reason, I think Windows 9 might be available, but not for public use. The operating system might only be a minority OS for other uses, like security, finance and so on. Although there is no leak of this kind of information, I just can't help myself to think about that point.

Speaking of the marketing reasons, Microsoft may also have considered its component, Mac OS X. The X in Mac operating system represents 10, which is known to us all, and it is so successful that Microsoft doesn't want to borrow this conception at all. 10 equals X, which is a common sense in most of the countries around the world, and may it be a strategy that Microsoft want to take advantage of? Well, I'm agree to disagree.

Another marketing reason seems to be a little "superstitious". It is said that, or the fact is that, the other version follows the former one is going to be a failure. Let's start with Windows XP, good, Windows Vista, fail, Windows 7, great, Windows 8, whoops, Windows 8.1, better, then Windows 9, damn, 9 will be a failure, so let's whirl to Window 10, it's going to be great! OK, that's the famous "The Other One Is Good" clue, haha, don't you believe it? Also, it can be the same reason why Microsoft used Windows 7 after Vista. When most people are disappointed with Windows Vista, Microsoft adjusted its naming rules accordingly, and released Windows 7 after Vista. People will think that "7" is a totally different thing from "Vista", so it must contains very different things. The curiosity of us drives use to use the Windows 7 OS, and makes it a success. Until today, most people scold their Windows 8 OS, and want to go back to Windows 7.

No matter what the reason is, Windows 10 is here, not Windows 9 or any other numbers or characters. The operating system is about to be released "later in this year (2015)", and it will bring Cortana, who is about to learn everything she knows about the user, and make suggestions and reminders in the Calendar, taskbar and new Spartan browser. All in all, if you are not OK with your current Windows OS, and want to update to Windows 10, you can wait for its availability, and it will provide free update for Windows 7 and Windows 8 buyers.

Top 5 Over-Head Headphones Around $50

Well, many people have their own rules to choose headphones, especially the ones who want to listen to high-quality music. Nowadays, most of the music fans are not only looking for so-so headphones to listen to the songs, but seeking for the ones that can playback the original qualities of the music files, at least the high qualities of the music files. When it comes to choosing headphones, many people will get stuck with the hundreds of thousands of headphones they can find one the Internet or stores.

According to the usages of the headphones, and the types of music you are fond of, you may have multiple ways to choose your headphones. If you have no idea on choosing the one you like, and you are not going to spend too much on the headphones, you can check out the following post. It will introduce several budget headphones that you may want to take another look on Amazon or eBay.

1. Grado Labs SR80i

I know, it’s an old model, may be not that old compared with KOSS PP. But I still want to recommend this one to you if you are always rock n’ roll. The headphones provide great, hi-fi quality when playback the rock music. That is not to say, this headphones are not good for playing the golden oldies. It is not a good idea if you want to listen to music with this pair of headphones in a crowded street because the retro design of this model will leak the noise into your ears. If you are enjoying your music at home, hell yeah, Grado SR80i will be a perfect choice under $100.

2. AKG K420

As a great portable model, AKG K420 is a pair of classic. The 420 provides a balanced music quality and Hi-Fi quality music, and it stands out on the performance of vocal sounds. When you are walking in streets, you will find the playback of this headphone is still excellent, so K420 is a good choice for carrying out. As mentioned, it provides a balanced sound quality, that is to say, it performs well at all sound frequencies, so when you are listening to a treble, you will find K420 plays the music so well.

3. Koss PortaPro

This is another classic pair of headphones – because it is released in 1984 and is exactly the same after 20 years, both internally and externally. Koss PortaPro are retro-design portable headphones with bendable band, and you will find that your hair is easily to be stuck with the band, which means if you have long hair, you should be careful with this PortaPro. These headphones perform fantastic in bass, and it will give you a great auditory experience if you are a fan of rock music. The headphones are also budget with the $50 price, but some people may have an issue with its design.

4. Sennheiser PX200

Another pair of collapsible headphones, yeah, this pair is easy for carrying and putting in a small bag. The closed design of the headphones make them perfect for keeping the noise away when you are listening to music on the street, and it provides pretty good performance for all three audio frequencies, which makes it good for all kinds of music. The designs of these headphones are also attractive to certain fans, especially the white model.

5. ATH M30

These headphones come from Audio Technica and are budget headphones when comparing with the others from Audio Technica. This model provides large and soft covers which keeps the noise away. The bass quality of these headphones is also an advantage. But carrying out this pair of headphone is not a good idea because the headphones aren’t light and you will find it a burden when wearing it walking. But if you are enjoying the music at home or studio, these headphones are just great.

All in all, the headphones I recommended are all budget ones that are around $50, and provide high cost performances.

How Can I Recover Deleted Files on Mac Computer

From time to time, Mac users wonder how they can retrieve the deleted files on their Mac computer after clearing the Trash Bin. In fact, this is not a rare situation among the users. Mac users, and Windows users, will develop the habit of clearing the Trash bin after dropping the unwanted files into it, and when they want to find the lost files back, they will have no access to the deleted files.

If users want to recover deleted files on their Mac computer, they will need the help of Mac data recovery software, or they will lose the data permanently when the files get overwritten. As is known, the data in Mac Trash are not really deleted even after you delete them from the trash bin. The files are still in your system, and won't be deleted until you overwrite the data on your Mac. With the Mac data recovery program, you are able to recover the deleted files before the data are overwritten. Among all the data recovery programs for Mac computers, Leawo Data Recovery for Mac is regarded as one of the best. This software helps users to recover deleted files from Mac computers, including all kinds of documents, photos and so on. This software provides 3 helpful ways to help users get their lost files back. If you are interested, you can check the following guidance out.

Method 1. Overall Data Recovery

With this function, users are able to have an overall scan of their Mac computer and get the lost files back. The guidance will show you how to use this function:

1. Start Leawo Data Recovery for Mac and choose "File Recovery". The software will display all the hard drives on your Mac computer in its main interface. And you should choose the hard drives to scan. Click "More Options" at the upper right corner to choose the file types to scan. All types of files will be scanned by default.
2. After making up the settings for the scan, you need to click "Next" in the main interface of the software. Then it will scan the contents in your Mac computer, and you can have a preview of the scanning files.
3. After the scan, you will see the "Reconstructed Files" and "Found Files". Choose the files to recover and then select a folder on your Mac computer to save the recovered files. Then click the "Recover" button to start recovering deleted files on Mac computer.

Method 2. Photo Recovery

If you only want to recover certain photos or media files on your Mac computer after deleting them by accident, this "Photo Recovery" mode is perfect for you. The following guidance will show you how to use it:

1. Run Leawo Data Recovery for Mac, and choose "Photo Recovery" in the main interface. Check the disks to scan, and then click "More Options" at the upper right corner to choose whether you want to scan all photos or only the delete ones. Then click "Next" at the right bottom.
2. After clicking "Next", you will see the software start scanning the photos in your Mac computer. In accordance with the disks and file types you have chosen, the time of the scan will be different. While the software scanning your disk, you are able to preview the files.
3. When the scan is finished, you will see all the scanned files in the main interface of the software. Check the files you want to recover and then click the "Recover" button. Choose a folder on your Mac computer to save the recovered files, and then the software will recover the files to the target folder.

Method 3. Recover Files from Certain Disk

With this "Lost Partition Recovery" method, you are able to recover deleted files from certain hard drives on your Mac computer and the external hard drives like MP3 and so on. The following guidance will show you how to use it:

1. Run Leawo Data Recovery for Mac and choose "Lost Partition Recovery" in the main interface. Then click "Next" at the right bottom.
2. The software will scan the disks in your Mac computer, and show a progress bar in the window.
3. After the scan, click the "More Options" button at the upper right bottom. Choose the file types you want to scan, and choose "For Deleted Files" or "For All Files" at the bottom in the pop-up dialog. Then click "OK".
4. The software will scan the file types you have chosen. Then it will show the found files in the window. Check the files you want to recover, and click the recover button at the right bottom. The software will show you a pop-up dialog to choose a target folder to save the exported files.

Leawo Data Recovery for Mac is one of the best data recovery programs among all the data recovery programs for Mac computers on the Internet. With the help of this software, you don't have to worry about the data loss in your Mac computers anymore.

10 Best PC Games You Will Want to Play in 2015

2015 has already come, and in this year, many games will be released for consoles, as well PCs. If you want to play games on your PC, you should keep an eye on the new game releases in 2015. Several console-only games will release PC versions, which will be great for the people who haven't owned a console yet.

The following guidance will introduce best 10 games (in my opinion) you will want to play on your PC in 2015. Check it out if you are interested.

1. Assassin's Creed Victory

For the fans of Assassin's Creed, the Victory will be as great as usual. The release date of this version is to be confirmed, but according to the leaks, the gameplay will set up in 19th century London, and it will make several additions in the gameplay, and make it more exciting.

2. Batman: Arkham Knight

This Batman game is a new and extra life of Bruce Wayne, and it introduces a new powerful villain – Arkham Knight. The game will be released in June of 2015, and fans of Batman adventures can keep an eye it. The evil still remains, Scarecrow, Riddler, Penguin and Two-Face will return in this game. Do you want to see the Batmobile turn into a tank? Wait and see in this game.

3. Star Wars: Battlefront

It is finally going to be released as a game, and it has been so long waiting for this game. The game will be released in 2015, and EA will publish it for Widows, Xbox and PS4. The game will be a third-person action game, and it will be released tying with the "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" film.

4. BattleCry

This F2P action game will be released in 2015 for all PC players. The game is set in an age that people no longer use guns, and the character need to fight and survive in a very large map, which is also slowly changing at meantime. The game has mysterious gameplay and several customizable features, which is to be known when the beta version released.

5. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

This game will be released on the 19th of May this year. It is also an action game, and players will play the role as a witch to seek for a wandering ghost in the outside world. The skills of a witch are totally different from a knight, and he doesn't need to take the sword in his hands to kill the monsters. The gameplay will develops differently in accordance with your choice, so it will be interesting to play this game.

6. Grand Theft Auto V

The PC version of GTA V is scheduled to be released on the 27th of January for Windows. The game is so popular on PS4 and Xbox One, and now it finally comes for Windows. It is a great success among all the action games, and the gameplay is so addictive that players will love. Windows players just need to wait two more weeks, go and have an enjoyment with this game.

7. Dying Light

This game is going to be released on the 27th of January. The game is a first-person zombie shooting game. You will play as a human and fight against the zombies to survive, and you can parkour throught the roofs when you are against the zombies. Check it out on your PC if you are interested.

8. Tom Clancy's The Division

This is a third-person shooting game, and will be released in 2015. The game has very beautiful image and will be attractive to the players. The gameplay is set in USA, and the player will be played as a classified agent of the "Strategic Homeland Division", The Division for short, and he will fight the AI enemies and other players as well.

9. Evolve

This game is a first-person multiplayer shooting game. Four players will play as human and the fifth player will play as monster. The four players should fight against the monsters and protect the colonists on the planet; on the other hand, the monster should defeat the four-player team, or destroy the relay to win the game.

10. Battlefield Hardline

This game was originally to be released in 2014, but delayed to the March of 2015. The game is a classic cops-vs-robbers shooting game, and it provides all the elements you can imagine from a shooting game. The gameplay is set in United States, and you can run through subterranean tunnels and skyscrapers.

10 Useful Tips for Windows 8 Users

Although Windows 8 OS has always been scolded for its Modern Start Screen and the loss of the Start button, many users have upgraded to this system. After upgrading, they find that the new OS is a little different from the Windows 7 OS or any other Windows OS before. When shutting down the computer, they will move the mouse to the right sidebar, when searching for a certain file, they also use the search column at the right sidebar and so on, all of the new features of Windows 8 make it a hot topic among both Windows 8 users and the users of other Windows OS.

Many Windows 8 users have handled this OS very well, and almost find all the secrets of this new OS. But Windows 8 is still new to many users, so this post is going to talk about several useful features of this new OS. If you are using Windows 8 or you are going to upgrade to Windows 8, the following post may be helpful for you.

1.       Know More About the Start Screen

When opening a Windows 8 computer, you will start getting confused with the colorful icons and squares. Where do we start? First of all, you can click the scroll bar and drag it, then you will see all the apps you have installed, and the Windows Store, Bing searching engine, etc. If you are going to enter the main window, you only need to hit the Win + D and there you go. Of course, the image of your main window will be shown at the  bottom left corner, and you can click it to enter the window. The window also shows up when you move your mouse to the left bottom in Start Screen, and with one click you can get into the screen.

2.       Search Tool

The search function is now more functional than ever. When moving your mouse to the right part of the window, you will see the search column. As mentioned, you are able to locate the app or document with this column, and you are also able to search for anything you want because this searching function is also connected with Bing search engine. So even if you want to search for the introduction of Linkin Park, you are able to find it with this search column.

3.       Windows Key Shortcuts

You may have known the most popular key shortcuts. But here we will display the Windows-8-featured key shortcuts which you will find useful:

Win + C: Open Charms that allows users to search, make settings and so on.

Win + H: Open Share pane.

Win + I: Open Settings pane.

Win + K: Open Devices pane.

Win + Q: Open the App Search pane.

Win + W: Search your system settings.

Win + X: Display a text menu of useful Windows tools and applets.

Win + Z: Display the right-click context menu when in a full-screen app.

Of course, there are other Windows key shortcuts both used on Windows 8 and other Windows OS.

4.       Back Up File History

Windows 8 OS has a File History feature. This feature will regularly and automatically back up your desktop, favorites and so on to a second drive. You can set up this feature by going to Control Panel > System and Security > File History. Then click “Exclude Folders” to check out what you are saving. You can also set up the backup frequency in Advanced Settings.

5.       Set a Picture Password

Windows 8 OS enables users to set up a picture password. Users can hit Win + I and choose “More PC Settings > Users > Create a Picture Password” to set up a picture password. Users can use circle, line or other feature in the image as a password. Don’t get it too complicated in case that you forget the password yourself.

6.       Adjust Privacy Settings

If you are not comfortable with the machine knowing your location, names and other sensitive information, you can change the settings by hitting Win + I, and then choose “Change PC Settings > Privacy”. Then you can change the information you want.

7.       Disable the Username and Password

Sometimes you want to log into your computer more quickly without typing your username and password. You are able to do this with simple clicks on Windows 8. Hit Win + R and type in “netplwiz” in the blank and hit enter. Then you will get the dialog of accounts. Uncheck the box which says “Users must have a user name and password to use this computer” and click “Ok”. You will need to enter your username and password once again to activate the option.

8.       Task Manager

Task Manager can be opened by hitting Ctrl + Alt + Del. In Task Manager, you are able to view the percent of the total usage, and the Start tab which allows you to view the startup processes on your computer, and App history tab that gives you a total resources an app has used over a period of time.

9.       Create a Shut-Down Icon on Screen

If you don’t want to swing to the right sidebar and find the Power button, you can create a shut-down icon on your screen. To do that, you should create a shortcut on your screen by right-clicking the screen, and choose New > Shortcuts. Then enter “shutdown /s /t 0” (zero not “O”) as the location of the shortcut, and click “Next”. Name the shortcut and click “Finish”. Right-click the shortcut and go to Properties, and choose “Change Icon” in the Shortcut tab, and then click “OK” to leave the warning box. Choose the icon as a shut-down down button, and apply. Then right-click the shortcut and choose “Pin to Start”. Place the icon on the screen and you can shut down your computer with one click.

10. Refresh Your Windows 8 PC

After using the computer for a period of time, you may feel the system becomes slower. Now you will want to refresh your OS. Windows 8 authorizes you to reinstall the OS without losing the important data in your computer. You only need to Settings > Change PC Settings, and choose “Refresh your PC without affecting your files”. Select “Get Started” and press “Refresh”. Then your computer will restart and refresh.

All of these tips and tricks may be helpful for you when you are using a Windows 8 PC. Check them out if you are interested.