Your new Macbook is a brilliant Christmas present. One of the finest laptops known to man, the Macbook is a truly beautiful beast and we’ve been studying it for yonks to bring you its secrets. Read on to discover the five coolest tips and tricks for your new Macbook…
Gift your new Macbook longer battery life when you travel
To stretch your new Macbook’s battery life, turn off keybaord backlighting, switch off Bluetooth and dim the display to the lowest level. That’ll keep your new Macbook battery life to its longest possible amount which comes in very handy if you’re on a long flight without a power supply or stuck in the standard carriages on a train.
Get your new Macbook ready to travel
OS X allows you to set up locations and select system settings for that location. Make one called “on a plane” where all your Airport and other networking features are switched off. If your new Macbook isn’t constantly searching for WiFi you’ll save lots of battery life.
Keep your new Macbook awake
If you’re watching a video or film and don’t want your new Macbook to slumber in the middle of it, grab Caffeine. It’s a small app that puts an icon on your menu bar. Click it and your new Macbook will be stopped from sleeping, dimming the screen or activating the screensaver.
Power up your new Macbook’s wireless
WiFi hotspots use a specific channel. If you live somewhere with lots of WiFi access points clustered together like a block of flats your reception can suffer from interference. Use the iStumbler app to scan the area and find out what accesspoints are around you. Find out what channels your neighbours are using and then adjust yours accordingly. Set your network to at least two numbers higher or lower than your neighbours and your wireless performance will be perked up.
Cool your new Macbook down
Your new Macbook may get pretty hot when it starts working really hard. Thankfully there’s a free app to help you control the fanspeed of your new Macbook and get it to cool down a bit. With smcFanControl 2.1 you can adjust the fanspeed and monitor your new Macbook’s temperature. To make sure you don’t break your new Macbook, the app won’t operate at a fanspeed lower than OS X would choose automatically.
