Year: 2019

How to setup AirPods (1st generation) with a MacBook Pro (2011)

by

I really like my first generation AirPods. I use them on my 2012-2018 devices all the time, but I had never tried them on my old MacBook Pro from 2011. I had always assumed they probably use some low-energy version of Bluetooth 4 or whatnot, expecting they won’t work. But I was wrong! They DO … Read more

Creating New Emails in Split View on macOS

by

I’ve discovered that when I respond to emails on my Mac Book, the default Apple Mail programme started opening my new message windows in a split screen view. Previously this wasn’t happening, and instead a new message would be presented as an overlay on top of the whole mail window (I believe they called it a Modal Dialogue).

Don’t get me wrong, I like the split screen thing – but I always wanted to know where this setting was, and why it was now magically switched on since I wasn’t involved in this design decision. I’m a bit of an stick-in-the-mud sometimes and a tad pernickety about preserving my user experience.

Thankfully it’s easy to find – but in case you’re stumped, here’s where to enable/disable this experience. In Apple Mail, head over to Preferences – General (the first tab). At the bottom you’ll see a tick box labelled prefer opening emails in split view when in full scren.

Read more

How to delete a Windows Recovery Partition

by

I re-utilise my hard drives from time to time, and as such I need to re-purpose partitions when I do. Operating systems have a habit of adding additional protected partitions when they’re installed as a boot drive, and when we want to use them as storage drive we don’t need those. So let’s delete them.

Thing is, protected Recover Partitions aren’t so easy to get rid of. In this article I’ll show you what worked for me on Windows 10, using a second drive that once was a boot drive.

Disk Cleanup (Prep Work)

The first few partitions (System Reserved and the Primary Partition) can be removed with the Disk Management Tool. Search for it in the bottom left hand corner to find it.

In this screenshot I’m dealing with Disk 1, and I’ve already removed the two additional partitions simply right-clicking on them and choosing Delete Volume. This doesn’t work with the Recovery partition though. We need to use a tool called DISKPART for this.

Read more

So I’ve picked up NO MAN’S SKY – and here’s what I think (2019)

by

Here’s how I felt about No Man’s Sky in 2019. Man was this a clunky experience back then! Several years later, and I’ve fallen in love with this title! Everything has been overhauled, and as of 2023 it’s an incredibly addictive experience.

I’ve heard so many mixed reviews about NO MAN’S SKY that made me wonder what all the fuzz was about. On the surface the game seems to be something I might enjoy, combining exploration on a vast scale, building, crafting and handsome looking graphics. The asking price of $60 promises a AAA title, so when it was on sale the other day, both on Steam and on GOG, I picked it up and had a look at it.

I’m coming into this game cold, not knowing what to expect. I literally had no expectations, other than the hope of having a good time. Sadly that didn’t happen. It can be like that with complex games though, you have to give it an hour or two to get into them, learn the interface, understand what you’re supposed to do. Good games (like any good software) will help you make this a welcoming experience.

NO MAN’S SKY doesn’t do that. It’s not even trying.

Read more

Where does CONTROL store Game Saves

by

I came to this interesting “retro” type area in CONTROL, the one in which Jesse is dressed as an FBC office assistant. I thought this woudl be a great area to explore further with Photo Mode. However, there was really no way to save my game in that section – at least none that I … Read more

How to pause recordings in OBS 24

by

A wonderful new feature in OBS 24 is the ability to pause you recordings. This can come in handy if you want to create a quick and rough recording, without taking multiple files into a video editor. It’ll speed up your workflow and increase quality for files you want to send away “as is”. Question … Read more