Offsite: Setting up and Using Two-Step Verification for Apple ID

With the recent news of some Australian iCloud users being held to ransom after having their devices locked by a hacker gaining access to their iCloud account and using Find My iPhone, it's as good a time as any to enable two-step authentication on your Apple ID if you aren't already using it (though it isn't yet available in all countries). 

This Apple support document explains how to enable the additional security precaution, what it involves and how it offers an additional level of security when it comes to managing your account. 

Offsite: Unhide the Users Folder in OS X 10.9.3 →

The latest update for OS X Mavericks, 10.9.3, hides the /Users folder for some users. It's still unclear if this was intentional or a side-effect of the update, but Chris Breen over at Macworld explains how to revese the change and unhide the folder if you've been affected.

Offsite: Matt Gemmell's Mac Keyboard Shortcuts →

A fantastic collection of useful keyboard shortcuts, all fully explained and illustrated, that Matt uses on a daily basis. They are some real gems in here, such as navigating the Save As... dialog box and opening recent items. 

Offsite: The Ultimate Guide to Notification Center →

Notification Center certainly has room for improvement and its myriad of vague settings can often lead to confusion.

To help you understand this feature of iOS a little more and get the most out of it, Rene Ritchie over at iMore has compiled an extensive collection of previously published tips and tricks into a single place, ranging from controlling app badges and sounds to customising the Today view.

There's plenty to read through and each guide includes screenshots to show you exactly what to do. If you're left frustrated with Notification Center, or notifications in general, this is a great reference to come back to.

Offsite: Put Your Mac to Sleep with iOS Drafts →

David Sparks demonstrates a great way to use Drafts for iOS, Dropbox and Hazel to remotely put your Mac to sleep. It's one of those really amazing tricks that are simple to set up and can be customised to do almost anything you'd want.

Offsite: The Ultimate Guide to Solving iOS Battery Drain →

Scotty Loveless goes above and beyond in this excellent breakdown of what can cause battery drain in iOS and how you prolong the time between charges.

If nothing else, make sure to read Scotty's explanation of why quitting background apps is not only pointless, it can be a main cause of battery woes.

Offsite: Importing and Setting Up Alfred Workflows →

Alfred is a fantastic productivity tool that is triggered using just the keyboard. Many of us simply use it as an application launcher, though delve further into the app and you'll find some powerful features including workflow support.

The developers have published a useful guide for anyone beginning their journey with Alfred that takes a look at how to import and create workflows within Alfred.

Offsite: Caffeinate Your Terminal →

If you need a way of preventing your Mac from going to sleep whilst it performs a specific task or utility, Brett Terpstra explains how to use the Mac OS X command caffeinate to do just this.

Many apps don't offer a built-in option to prevent the Mac from going to sleep so if you're often changing your Mac's Energy Saver preferences, it's a great tip to know.

Offsite: Change Your Short Username in OS X Mavericks →

The Short Name is the name that Mac OS X assigns to your account and gives to your home folder, as seen in the Finder sidebar. Because of the how Mac OS X references your user account and information, the Short Name has never been something that could easily be renamed.

It still isn't as straightforward as you might think, but luckily Macworld's Dan Frakes takes us through the process and explores some alternatives that could prove to be just as useful.

Offsite: Keyboard Shortcuts For iOS 7 Apps →

A little known fact about using a Bluetooth keyboard with an iPad (or iPhone) is that keyboard shortcuts within iOS and apps are available. For example, you can open a new tab in Safari on iOS 7 by using ⌘T, the same shortcut used on the Mac.

Federico Viticci at MacStories has created a dedicated section of the site to documenting this increasing number of shortcuts within 3rd-party apps.

System apps like Safari and Mail aren't included on the list though he does link to previous posts covering them in great detail.

If you're an iPad user and regularly make use of a Bluetooth keyboard, keep this page within easy reach.