If you haven’t jumped up to macOS Monterey or Windows 11, I can now safely say it’s time. Before you update, take the one important step and make sure you have enough space for it. Tap or click here to see how much storage is available on your computer.
Updates don’t just bring new features. They protect your machine from known exploits and security issues, too. Tap or click here for five more smart ways to get your digital life in order.
Once your machine is up to date, let’s jump into a few new tricks to try out.
With Windows 11, the Start button is centered in the taskbar, which may throw you off if you’ve been using Windows for years. Moving it back to the left is easy:
Privacy, security, the latest trends and the info you need to live your best digital life.
Get a fresh start: Windows PC not working correctly? Try a clean install.
This feature is seriously cool. Say there’s an image with an email address. You can add it to your contacts list, send out an email, or even start a FaceTime call. This trick also works for website addresses within images. You can open a link on your browser or use Quick Look to see the site’s information.
To try it out, open an image with text in the Preview app on your Mac.
SECURITY 101: 5 essential Mac security settings you should enable now
The notification center in Windows 11 contains quick settings that give you easy access to your commonly used settings and apps. You can add or remove quick settings to your liking:
RELATED: 5 best Windows 11 utilities to get more out of your PC
Notifications can seriously mess with your flow when trying to get things done. With Mac’s new Focus feature, you can choose which notifications are important and which ones can wait till later.
Buzz, buzz: Quick tech fix to stop annoying notifications on your phone for good
Do you typically have multiple windows open while you work? Snap layouts are an excellent way to keep organized and enhance productivity. Move your open applications into different positions on the screen until you find a layout that works for you.
To use a snap layout, hover your mouse over a window’s maximize button or press Win + Z, then choose a snap layout.
Those aren’t the only shortcuts new to Windows 11. Here are a few more useful options:
If you use iPadOS 15, you’re probably familiar with Quick Notes. It lets you take notes no matter what you’re doing. All you have to do is bring your cursor to your display screen’s bottom-right corner. This pops up a box; click on it to start working.
There, you can write down an idea, insert a link or save a photo. You can even add tags to make them easier to find later.
All your Quick Notes are saved in a designated section within the larger Notes app, which you can access across all your Apple devices. You can also add mentions and look over past activities.
The Notes app is more powerful than it gets the credit. Tap or click for 5 useful things you didn’t know Apple Notes can do.
With voice typing, you can enter text on your PC by speaking. This is such a timesaver if you have thoughts that you need to get onto a page.
Wade through the waters of the Dark Web, and you’ll find drugs, assassins, and all sorts of disturbing imagery. But it’s also a haven for privacy advocates. In this episode, I speak with ASU professor Victor Benjamin, who reveals just why it’s so hard to regulate — and why folks of all backgrounds can’t stop coming back.
Check out my podcast “Kim Komando Explains” on Apple, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player.
Listen to the podcast here or wherever you get your podcasts. Just search for my last name, “Komando.”
What digital lifestyle questions do you have? Call Kim’s national radio show and tap or click here to find it on your local radio station. You can listen to or watch The Kim Komando Show on your phone, tablet, television or computer. Or tap or click here for Kim’s free podcasts.
No, I like to live in the dark.
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Robocalls interrupt us constantly, and they scam Americans out of millions of dollars every year. Learn Kim’s best tricks for stopping them once and for all in this handy guide.
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