Through the years, Macs have grown ever more popular. Typically used for more productive reasons than a standard PC, the Mac has really shaped how people go about their day and organise their data and workloads. Some say they are an evolution from the standard computer, and others are inclined to stoutly disagree.
After all, the popularity contest between the Mac and the PC has been raging since at least 2013, and the debate rages on to this day. Whichever way it goes, one thing is certain; the Mac has a fair few tricks up its sleeve that many people don’t in fact know about just yet.
Consequently, here are a few Mac hacks that you perhaps didn’t know!
Screenshot Specs
A screenshot is a single image that a user will pull from what is featured on their screen. Sometimes it will need to be compressed down or cropped to remove unwanted features like awkward taskbars creeping in at the bottom of the image. On PC, there is typically only one way to get your perfect screenshot and you need to play around with it in something like Paint to get it the final image the way you want it.
The Mac works differently. Depending on what you press, you can utilise up to three different screenshot techniques. For example, there is command + shift + 4 which will lend you a crosshair that you can move about in order to really refine what you capture. Then, there’s the same combination of keys again with an added space bar tap, which will instead grant you the ability to screenshot any window you want after clicking on it. Finally, there’s command + shift + 3, which’ll grant you the typical whole desktop image a screenshot usually provides.
Resetting NVRAM Memory
When anything goes wrong with our machines, troubleshooting is often the first port of call. However, if the problems inside the MAC are bad enough, troubleshooting is just another glitchy mess that won’t yield answers or solid results. Typically, these kinds of problems are located in the NVRAM, the place inside your Mac that stores all the essentials; screen resolution, time zone information and which hard drive to launch from. If the NVRAM goes haywire, everything else will too.
Of course, you could replace this piece of hardware with a new iteration from RS Components, or you could go one step further and reset the NVRAM yourself. Shut off your computer, turn it on again, and then use the start-up sound as a claxon to input another combination of keys; command, option, P and R. Hold them all down together. This will kick start your Mac into another restart, and by the time it loads up, the NVRAM should be reset and your Mac (theoretically) working in good shape again!
Mathematics Solutions
Numeracy is the bane of many of us. Whether you are doing your homework or calculating bill repayments, maths is a fundamental part of our lives. That said, if you are ever at your Mac trying to work out complex sums, it can be annoying scrambling around in the files to find the calculator app.
Instead, press command and spacebar and unison to launch Spotlight quickly and vanquish your conundrum then and there on the spot. Thiswilll really save you time in the long run, as you can just flick it on and off at will instead of combing through endless program files. Simple!