by Steve Sorbo | Feb 6, 2026 | Uncategorized
Apple has introduced Apple Creator Studio, a subscription bundle of Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, Motion, Compressor, and MainStage, priced at $12.99 per month or $129 per year (with education pricing at $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year). The bundle also includes premium content and a few AI tools for the iWork apps: Keynote, Pages, and Numbers. These apps will prompt you to download the new version 15, but don’t worry—they remain free for all existing features; only the new AI capabilities and premium content require a subscription. You can also still purchase Mac versions of the pro apps, though the iPad versions of Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Pixelmator Pro are now available only to subscribers. Up to six family members can share a Creator Studio subscription via Family Sharing.
(Featured image by Apple)
Social Media: Apple’s new Creator Studio bundle includes Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, Pixelmator Pro, and more—plus premium content and AI features in the iWork apps—for $12.99/month or $129/year. Don’t worry—Keynote, Pages, and Numbers stay free for existing features.
by Steve Sorbo | Feb 6, 2026 | Uncategorized
Apple offers several simple ways to share Wi-Fi network passwords. When someone nearby tries to connect to a Wi-Fi network with an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, and they are in your Contacts app, you will be automatically prompted to share the network password with them. Additionally, in the Passwords app, you can display a Wi-Fi network QR code that anyone can scan to join the network. However, sometimes you need to share a password via email or text. To look up a Wi-Fi password on an iPhone or iPad, open Passwords, tap Wi-Fi, select the desired network, and tap the obscured Password field. A Copy Password button makes it easy to copy. In the Mac version of Passwords, hover over the obscured password and click the revealed password to copy it.
(Featured image by iStock.com/jpkirakun)
Social Media: Apple makes it easy to share Wi-Fi passwords without requiring anyone to type them. We explain how you can do this nearly automatically, with a QR code, or by looking up the password and copying it so you can paste it into an email message or text.
by Steve Sorbo | Feb 6, 2026 | Uncategorized
Column view in the Finder has an annoying tendency to either show overly wide columns that waste space or truncate long filenames, forcing you to drag a column divider to see more of the name. In macOS 26.1 Tahoe, Apple added an option to the Finder’s View Options window that automatically adjusts column widths to display the longest visible filename in each column. To activate it, choose View > Show View Options with a column-view window frontmost, then select the “Resize columns to fit filenames” checkbox. If you’re running macOS 13 Ventura through macOS 15 Sequoia, this option is hidden, but you can enable it by pasting this command into Terminal: defaults write com.apple.finder _FXEnableColumnAutoSizing -bool YES; killall Finder. (Change YES to NO to revert the change.) Alternatively, the free TinkerTool 10 utility provides a graphical toggle for these older operating systems—look for “Automatically adapt to file name widths in column mode” in the Finder section.
(Featured image by iStock.com/IPGGutenbergUKLtd)
Social Media: Tired of truncated filenames in the Finder’s Column view? macOS 26.1 Tahoe adds a simple checkbox to auto-resize columns—and you can enable the same feature in earlier macOS versions with a quick Terminal command or free utility.
by Steve Sorbo | Feb 6, 2026 | Uncategorized
Starting with the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, Apple replaced the Ring/Silent switch on the top-left edge of the iPhone with the Action button, making the new button standard across the iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 lineups in subsequent years. The Action button is a dedicated hardware button you can configure to perform one of many different tasks. Although Apple prompts everyone setting up a new iPhone to configure the Action button, our experience is that many people haven’t integrated it into their everyday usage.
Taking advantage of the Action button isn’t hard, but there are obstacles. The Ring/Silent switch had only one function, whereas the Action button offers so many options that it’s easy to fall prey to decision paralysis. Also, because the Action button is configurable, it behaves differently even if you leave it set to Silent Mode. The Ring/Silent switch was a physical switch that also showed its state with an orange indicator. With the Action button, you can’t tell at a glance if Silent Mode is on, and activating it requires a relatively long press-and-hold. Finally, the Action button’s ultimate power lies in its Controls and Shortcuts options, but many users are unaware of the wide-ranging possibilities these unlock.
So let’s look at how to make the most of the Action button. To configure the Action button, go to Settings > Action Button and swipe through the choices. The choice on screen when you exit Settings will be active. Although there are no bad choices here, many of the options Apple provides can be activated just as easily through Control Center or Siri, so you might not want to dedicate the Action button to them.
- Silent Mode: Toggle call and alert sounds on and off. This is the default setting, but unless you regularly need to toggle the ringer, it’s not worth dedicating the Action button to such a seldom-used option. You can toggle Silent Mode in Control Center just as easily.
- Focus: Activate or switch Focus modes such as Do Not Disturb. We recommend using Focus sparingly because it can block desired notifications, but if you’re a fan, the Action button might be a good way to switch between them. Focus modes are also easy to select in Control Center and turn on with “Siri, turn on Do Not Disturb.”
- Camera: Launch the Camera app. If your iPhone has the Camera Control (as do all Action button-equipped models except the iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max and iPhone 16e), the Camera Control is the best way to open the Camera, but the Action button might still be helpful for opening the Camera app to a specific mode: Photo, Selfie, Video, Portrait, or Portrait Selfie.
- Visual Intelligence: Launch Apple’s AI-powered object recognition feature. Again, pressing and holding the Camera Control (if available) is a better way to access Visual Intelligence.
- Flashlight: Turn the flashlight on or off. This may be a good choice if you use the flashlight regularly, but if so, you’re probably already accustomed to tapping its icon on the iPhone’s Lock Screen. If your hands are too full, try “Siri, turn on the flashlight.”
- Voice Memo: Start recording audio in the Voice Memos app. If you use Voice Memos heavily, you may like this use of the Action button. Alternatively, just say, “Siri, record a voice memo.”
- Recognize Music: Use Shazam to identify music that’s playing nearby or on your iPhone. Another way to invoke Shazam quickly is to ask, “Siri, what’s playing?”
- Translate: Starts listening to translate between the default languages you set up in the Translate app. This use of the Action button is a great shortcut if you’re traveling in another country and need quick translations, but most people don’t need it every day.
- Magnifier: Launch the Magnifier app to make it easier to see tiny text and small objects. Those with low vision may particularly appreciate this use of the Action button, but the Magnifier app is also easily accessed from a Control Center button or by saying, “Siri, open Magnifier.”
- Controls: Invoke any Control Center control. Here’s where things get interesting! Starting with iOS 18, iPhone apps can create controls in Control Center. With the Controls option, you can choose any available control, so you could have the Action button start a ChatGPT conversation, add a task to TickTick, create a new event in BusyCal, or myriad other options. We strongly encourage you to scroll through the available controls to see if any catch your interest.
- Shortcut: Activate any custom Shortcut for personalized actions. The previous Controls choice is brilliant, but what if you want even more options? With Shortcuts, you can create custom actions that can even leverage multiple apps to do exactly what you want. For instance, you could create a shortcut that takes a photo of an expense receipt and sends it to a specific email address, all triggered by a long press on the Action button. The sky is the limit here.
- Accessibility: Quick access to accessibility features like VoiceOver, Zoom, Speak Screen, Apple Watch Mirroring, Live Captions, Conversation Boost, and more. Don’t assume these options are only for people with disabilities; many have broader utility.
- No Action: The final option is No Action, which is useful only if you accidentally press the Action button frequently and don’t want it to do anything.
So there you have it! If you’re not currently using the Action button, take a spin through the available options to see which can make a difference in your everyday iPhone experience.
(Featured image by Adam Engst)
Social Media: Your iPhone’s Action button can do much more than toggle Silent Mode. Try it for quick translations or voice memos—or explore the many options in Controls and Shortcuts to trigger nearly any action with a long press.
by Steve Sorbo | Feb 6, 2026 | Uncategorized
When business slows down, it’s tempting to reduce IT spending. But that approach often backfires, creating bigger problems—and larger bills—down the road.
Beyond the productive work you accomplish on your Macs, your technology infrastructure enables you to communicate with clients, send invoices, manage schedules, and get paid. A downturn is precisely when you need those systems working reliably, not when you should neglect them.
The smart approach isn’t to stop spending on IT. It’s to protect the essentials while trimming optional expenses. Let’s look at what’s critical and what’s not.
The Hidden Costs of Cutting Back
When IT spending gets cut, three things typically go wrong:
- Small problems become big problems: Deferring maintenance—putting off updates, delaying hardware replacements, and ignoring broken workflows—doesn’t save money, it just pushes the expense to a later date, when it will almost certainly cost more. Beyond the fact that prices only increase over time, emergency troubleshooting, rush purchases, and downtime during business hours always cost more than planned maintenance.
- Security risks persist: Attackers don’t slow down just because revenues have. When budgets tighten, businesses often cut the very things that stave off disasters: software updates, security monitoring, and tested backups. One phishing attack that leads to wire fraud, one malware infection that steals passwords, or one unpatched vulnerability can wipe out years of “savings.”
- Productivity losses add up quietly: When Wi-Fi is flaky, Macs are slow, and file sharing doesn’t work reliably, employees waste time waiting and working around problems. During a downturn, you typically have fewer people doing more work, which is the worst time to tolerate daily friction.
What to Protect First
Spending on some aspects of IT is more important than others. These are the services that keep your business running smoothly and help you recover when something goes wrong:
- IT support and consulting: We’re biased, of course, but we’ve seen what happens when clients go out on their own and then come back. Proactive support catches issues early, keeps your systems running, and ensures you have someone to call who already knows your setup when things break.
- Software subscriptions: Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft 365, accounting software, and similar subscriptions often seem cuttable. But letting subscriptions lapse means missing security updates and losing access to files in proprietary formats. It also means employees will spend time learning new tools rather than being productive with familiar ones. Before canceling, understand what you’ll lose.
- Backup services: Cloud backup services like Backblaze or CrashPlan may seem unnecessary if you have local backups, but they protect against burglaries, fires, or burst pipes that can destroy local backups.
- Networking equipment: Dodgy Wi-Fi access points and aging routers waste everyone’s time. If your team can’t reliably stay connected, nothing else matters. If you need to replace networking gear, choose quality products that will last for years.
- Hardware replacement budget: It’s tempting to squeeze another year out of aging Macs, but don’t keep them going beyond the point where they stop receiving security updates. User productivity will also decline as older Macs slow down and experience more issues.
Where to Cut Without Breaking Things
Many businesses have unnecessary costs hiding in plain sight. Here’s where to look:
- Unused software licenses: Audit what you’re paying for versus what employees actually use. Many companies have up to 30% of seats unused across various apps. Reclaim those seats, and establish a simple rule: every subscription needs an owner and a regular review.
- Duplicate tools: It’s surprisingly common for businesses to pay for multiple apps that do the same thing—multiple chat platforms, overlapping backup utilities, and so on. Pick one and consolidate.
- Vendor contracts up for renewal: Before agreements for Internet service, phone plans, hosting, or equipment leases auto-renew, check whether you still need the same service level. Many vendors will negotiate rather than lose a customer, and some plans can be downgraded to match actual usage.
- Projects that don’t solve real problems: Pause any “nice to have” work that isn’t about reducing costs, lowering risk, or helping you serve customers better: things like migrating to a new CRM, redesigning a website that’s working fine, or building custom tools when off-the-shelf options exist. A downturn forces prioritization—use it.
The goal isn’t to spend more on IT—it’s to spend smarter. Protect the services that keep you running, cut the ones that don’t, and avoid creating tomorrow’s emergency by skipping today’s maintenance. If you’re unsure where to cut and where to hold the line, we’re happy to help you sort through the options. A short conversation now can prevent an expensive surprise later.
(Featured image by iStock.com/Userba011d64_201)
Social Media: Freezing IT spending during a slowdown often leads to higher costs later. Here’s practical, real-world advice on reducing costs while protecting the services that keep your business running.
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