The MacBook was first released by Apple in 2006 and has become an indispensable tool for many creative types ever since. Most MacBook owners, however, use only a small proportion of their device’s functions, ploughing the same furrows day after day without getting the full benefit of Apple’s wizardry.
This is a shame, as MacBooks have lots of functionalities that can save time, cut corners and even get people out of trouble! Here are a few examples to show how clever the average MacBook is, as well as some amazing facts about it.
Your MacBook can read you a bedtime story
If your eyes are tired, or you’re busy cooking but need to schlep through yet another work report, you can get your MacBook to read it to you as you drop off or chop vegetables. You just need to highlight the text you want, choose “edit”, then “speech”, then “start speaking”. This could save you a lot of time in the evenings, as well as save your eyes if you’re fed up with squinting at small fonts.
You can hide your pages in a second
We’ve all been there; you’re either at work, sneakily checking up on your friend’s ongoing drama on Facebook, or ordering your significant other a special present, when you feel like you’re being watched. If you need to hide a page in a flash, all you need to do is hit Command and H and the page will instantly be hidden. Phew.
Photo: FirmBee
You mustn’t smoke near your MacBook – ever
Hopefully you don’t smoke anyway, but if you do, keep your cigarettes away from your MacBook. Apple’s own repair teams will refuse to work on your device if it has traces of tar or cigarette smoke in it, as the company deems it to be contaminated with a hazardous substance. It’s possible that if you’re looking for MacBook repair in Miami you’ll be able to find somewhere a bit more relaxed about second-hand smoke, though.
The MacBook’s predecessor sent the first email from space
In 1991, the first email from space came from the Mac Portable, an early version of the MacBook. The astronauts onboard the STS-43 Atlantis used specialized AppleLink software to get the message across.
Apple was the pioneer of wireless tech
Apple was the first company to break the reliance on wires. Beforehand, even laptops had to be connected to phone lines. This wireless tech came out of the iBook, another of the MacBook’s precursors.
The word’s priciest laptop
Apple has produced the most expensive laptop in the world – the MacBook Air Platinum. As the name suggests, this laptop is made from solid platinum and retailed for around $486,616!
You can sign your documents without a pen
It’s annoying when you need to print off a document just so you can sign it, scan it and then email it. What’s more annoying is that there’s a lot of documents that need to be signed, especially if you run or own a business. Thankfully, the MacBook lets you sign your name using the trackpad, then stores it for insertion into whichever documents you’ll need to sign in the future. Job’s a good-un!