Question : I use AfterShip.app for tracking & tracing all the packages that are being send to me (or by me). Now I have ordered something from AliExpress that is being shipped to me through AliExpress Standard Shipping. But in AfterShip.app there is no Carrier named AliExpress or something alike…
Can I still track&trace AliExpress Standard Shipping ?
Answer : Yes you can. ‘AliExpress Standard Shipping’ is a shipping service executed by Cainiao (formerly China Smart Logistics). So just put Cainiao as the Carrier and your shipment will be trace-able.
Thet’s it ! enjoy 😉
NOTE : Amazon’s own shipping in Europe is a shipping service executed by Swiship, so if your track&trace-app doesn’t have Amazon Shipping listed (or when choosing Amazon Shipping it turns out that your track&trace code isn’t recognised), try Swiship as the Carrier.
Question : I was trying to access some files I have created on my Mac from my iPad, but the files that are in folder XYZ on my Mac’s Desktop are different from the ones that I can see in that same Folder XYZ when I access it from the Files.app on my iPad. Some files in Folder XYZ are the same and some are not… closing/quitting the Files.app on my iPad and reopening it doesn’t help… And when I look on my Mac, the files that are invisible on my iPad turn out to have a ‘cloud with an exclamationmark’-icon next to them on my Mac… I’ve also checked on my iPhone, and there I get to see the exact same content of Folder XYZ as on my iPad, but not the ones that are on my Mac…
This appears to be an ICloud syncing problem, but how do I fix it ?
Answer : Yes, this is a syncing problem that iCloud sometimes runs into… since there is no forced sync or manual sync option, this is how to fix it : 1- make sure that your Mac, your iPad and your iPhone all run the newest version of their OS (macOS, iPadOS, iOS) 2- make sure that your Mac, your iPad and your iPhone are all connected to a stable internet connection (either over Wifi or Ethernet) 3- make sure that you are logged in on iCloud with exactly the same account on all devices (Mac, iPad, iPhone) 4- if all the above is in place, restart your Mac without remembering open windows (to increase you chances on fixing this iCloud syncing problem, restart your iPad and iPhone as well) 5- wait for your Mac to restart/reboot entirely before doing anything else on it 6- wait for iCloud to sync back and forth amoung your Mac, iPad and iPhone (depending on the amount of files you have in your iCloud folders and your internet speed this may take up to 10 minutes or even longer)
That’s it ! …in 99% of the cases, this simple solution will fix your iCloud syncing problem enjoy 😉
Question : I have just started a new Professional website on WordPress with a custom domain and I have also subscribed for a WordPress eMail mailbox on that same domain. Now it turns out that it is webmail… I don’t like having to go online in my browser to check my eMail…
Is there any way to setup this eMail account in Apple Mail.app on my Mac ? …and preferably also on my iPhone and iPad ?
Answer : Yes, even though it is not advertised very prominently, it is possible to setup this WordPress Professional eMail account (which is hosted by Titan) as a regular IMAP mailbox in Apple Mail.app.
On your Mac, do this :
open Mail.app on macOS
from the top menu bar, goto Mail > Add Account
in the “Choose a Mail account provider” window that opens, choose “Other Mail Account” and click the “Continue”-button
in the next window, at “Name” you can set your name (it will appear as the sender)
at “Email Address:” typ your eMail address (the one from your WordPress Professional webmail)
at “Password:” typ the password that goes with it (the one you use to login to your WordPress Professional webmail)
then click on the “Sign In”-button
in the next window, leave the “Email address” and “Password” as is, and usually leave the “Username:” at “Automatic also (you can change it, but there is no reason to do so for the average user)
at “Account Type:” make sure it is set to “IMAP”
at “Incoming Mail Server:” typ this : imap.titan.email
at “Outgoing Mail Server:” typ this : smtp.titan.email
then click on the “Sign In”-button and follow the instructions to finish setting up this new Mail account
That’s it… you’re ready to roll…
On your iPhone or iPad, you could use the dedicated Titan.app, but to set up your mail account in Mail.app, do this :
open Settings.app
in the “Settings” page that opens, scroll down and click on “Mail”
in the “Mail” page that opens, click on “Accounts”
in the “Accounts” page that opens, click on “Add Account”
in the “Add Account” page that opens, clcik on “Other”
in the next “Add Account” page that opens, click on “Add Mail Account”
in the “New account” page that opens, at “Name” typ your name
at “Email” typ your WordPress Professional webmail address
at “Password” typ the password (from your webmail account)
then click “Next”
in the next “New Account’ page that opens, make sure that the “IMAP” tab is selected
then, at “INCOMING MAIL SERVER > Host Name” change “imap” into : imap.titan.email
and at “INCOMING MAIL SERVER > Username” typ your WordPress Professional webmail address
and at “OUTGOING MAIL SERVER > Host Name” typ : smtp.titan.email
then click “Next”and wait for the verification
in the “IMAP” page that opens, make sure that “Mail” is switched ON
if you also want to sync your notes, make sure that “Notes” is also switched ON
then, click “Save”
That’s it… you’re ready to roll
NOTE : setting this up on iPad is nearly identical to setting this up on iPhone, so using the iPhone instructions you should be able to set this up on your iPad also
Question : I recently bought an eBook in Apple’s Books.app on my iPhone. When I opened the Books.app on my iPad it automatically appeared there, but when I opened the Books.app on my Mac I didn’t appear…
How do I fix this ?
Answer :
There are various reasons why this problem may occur, but 99% of the time this problem can be fixed by doing one of the following (just start trying the first, then the second, etc.) :
-1- Make sure that iCloud sync is switched on for all devices
on you iPhone, go to Settings.app
in the Settings page, click on your own name (your personal avatar icon on the top)
in the Apple ID page that opens, click on “iCloud”
in the iCloud page that opens, click on “Show All”
in the Apps using iCloud page that opens, scroll down and make sure that the switch at “Books” is switched ON (a green switch)
then, swipe up the entire page to close the Settings.app
then, on your iPad (if you have one), go to Settings.app
in the Settings page, click on your own name (your personal avatar icon top left)
in the Apple ID info that appears, click on “iCloud”
in the iCloud info that appears, click on “Show All”
in the Apps using iCloud info that appears, scroll down and make sure that the switch at “Books” is switched ON (a green switch)
then, swipe up the entire page to close the Settings.app
next, on your Mac, click on the Apple icon (top left in the menu bar)
from the pulldown menu, choose “System Settings”
in the window that appears, click on your own name (your personal avatar icon top left)
in the Apple ID info that appears, click on “iCloud”
in the iCloud info that appears, click on the “Show More Apps” button
in the popup window that appears, scroll down and make sure that the switch at “Books” is turned ON (a dark grey switch)
then click the “Done” button and close the Settings window by clicking on the small red button top left
now, open the Books.app on all your devices and check if the eBooks you’ve purchased in Books.app are now available on all devices
If that did not work, try this next solution :
-2- Make sure that you are logged in to exactly the same iCloud-account on all devices
on your iPhone, go to Settings.app
in the Settings page, click on your own name (your personal avatar icon on the top)
in the Apple ID page that opens, check that the iCloud-account that has purchased the eBook is showing if not : scroll down, click on “Sign Out”, follow the instructions and after logging out, log in now using the correct iCloud-account
then, on your iPad (if you have one) go to Settings.app
in the Settings page, click on your own name (your personal avatar icon top left)
in the Apple ID info that appears, check that the iCloud-account that has purchased the eBook is showing if not : scroll down, click on “Sign Out”, follow the instructions and after logging out, log in now using the correct iCloud-account
next, on your Mac, click on the Apple icon (top left in the menu bar)
from the pulldown menu, choose “System Settings”
in the window that appears, click on your own name (your personal avatar icon top left)
in the Apple ID info that appears, check that the iCloud-account that has purchased the eBook is showing if not : scroll down, click the “Sign Out” button, follow the instructions and after logging out, log in now using the correct iCloud-account
now, open the Books.app on all your devices and check if the eBooks you’ve purchased in Books.app are now available on all devices
If that did not work (or not entirely, because the eBook is showing on your iPhone and iPad, but it isn’t showing on your Mac), try this next solution :
-3- Manually download the purchased eBook to your Mac
on your Mac, open the Books.app
in the Books window that opens, click on your own name (your personal avatar icon bottom left)
in the Account window that pops up, clcik on “Books”
in the page that opens, make sure that the “All” button is clicked, then click on “Recent Purchases”
in the “Recent Purchases” page that opens, find the eBook you are looking for and click on the “Cloud download”-icon next to the eBook’s cover picture
now the icon will start spinning and the eBook will appear in Books.app’s library
Question : I want to purchase an eBook that is not available in Apple Books. I have found it is available on the website of a bookstore in EPUB (with digital watermark) version. It seems like I should be able to download it after purchase and then read it in Books.app on my iPad or iPhone, but is it also possible to read it in the Books.app on my Mac ?
How do I do that ?
Answer :
Yes, you can buy an EPUB (with digital watermark) [ a.k.a. EPUB with social DRM ] and then read it on Apple’s Books.app on either iPhone, iPad or Mac. To do that, do this :
NOTE : if you buy an eBook on Amazon, it will only be available in the Kindle.app (that will automatically sync across your devices also), but getting a Kindle eBook into Apple’s Books.app is problematic… so if you prefer to read all your eBooks in Books.app, avoid buying eBooks on Amazon.
first, make sure that you are logged into your iCloud account on your iPhone, your iPad and your Mac (with the same iCloud account)
on your iPhone (or iPad) go to the online bookstore that sells the eBook in EPUB (with or without personal watermark or Social DRM)
purchase the eBook
when the download link appear, click on it
now the eBook will be downloaded to the Files.app on your iPhone (or iPad), which means it will be visible on the Desktop of your Mac also (which is automatically synced in iCloud)
now, on your iPhone (or iPad), click on the eBook in the Files.app and choose “open in Books”
now, the eBook will open in Books.app and is ready for reading
it will stay in the Library of your Books.app
if you have iCloud syncing switched on (most of us have) the eBook will now be available for reading in Books.app on your iPhone, your iPad and your Mac
if the eBook is not showing up on all devices, recheck in Settings.app if iCloud-syncing is switched on for Books.app
if you want to manually add the eBook to your iPhone or iPad, do this :
– open the Files.app and find the eBook
– click on the eBook and choose “Open in Books”
– then wait for the eBook to open in Books.app
if you want to manually add the eBook to your Mac, do this :
– on your Mac, find the eBook on your Desktop (or in the Desktop folder)
– Option-click (right-click) on the eBook icon
– from the pulldown menu that appears, choose Open With > Books
Question : I have questions about Microsoft products that go beyond regular issues that are documented in the FAQ. Previously, I would contact the Microsoft telephone Helpdesk ( NL 020-5001500 ), but if you call that number nowadays, you just get a voice message telling you to go online since the Helpdesk is no longer supporting direct contact to callers…
But on the website mentioned, I am getting stuck in a loop… any progress I make sends me back to the same page were I can only typ a question, but there is no chat option given, even when specifically asking for “talk or chat to helpdesk”… Even Google searches or searching anywhere else on the Microsoft website, doesn’t get me to a page with a chat option… Even the Microsoft-owned chatbots ChatGPT or BingChat AI can’t help me…
What can I do ?
Answer : Microsoft’s telephone helpdesk used to be great… but the options for contacting Microsoft are a complete mess… unbelievable ! But there is a chat helpdesk, but finding and contacting it is very complex… here’s how to :
Do this on a computer (it can be done on an iPhone, but the web chat interface is not really suited for that)
in the search field typ “talk to agent” and (click “Done” and) click the blue “Get Help” button
scroll down and click the blue “Contact Support” button
on the next “Tell us a little more about your problem” page, select your product or service from the pop-up list (activate the list by clicking on the triangular arrow on the right of the selection box)
when the second pop-up list appears, select your support category
then click the blue “Confirm” button
on the next page, click on “Chat with a support agent in your web browser”
on the next page check if the email address shown corresponds to the one of the Microsoft account you are having problems with, if not typ the correct account email address first, the click the “Confirm” button
now, wait for the live chat will start
NOTE :
If you would prefer to chat in your local or native language, you need to tell this in the chat to the English speaking agent… (unfortunately, at the time of writing, the autoranslate service is not working and waiting queues for local language chats are extremely long, so chatting in English is about your only option…)
Question : I want to share a picture of the screen on my car’s display to explain something over Whatsapp. I know I could just take a photo, but is it possible to make a screenshot like on a Mac or iPhone ?
Answer : Yes, it is possible to make a screenshot of your car’s CarPlay screen. In fact, it’s as simple as making a screenshot of your iPhone screen : – first, connect your iPhone to your car’s navigation display (usually by connecting a USB-cable) – then, wait for the CarPlay screen to appear on your car’s navigation display – then use the CarPlay to get to the screen you would like a screenshot of – then, take your iPhone, and make sure it’s unlocked – now make a screenshot of your iPhone screen by pressing the ON/OFF and Volume UP buttons at the same time – then save the screenshot by either doing nothing (or by clicking on the small preview to enlarge it and clicking “Done” and “Save to Photos”) – then, open the Photos.app on your iPhone and there you’ll find not only the screenshot of your iPhone screen but also a screenshot of your car’s CarPlay screen saved as a photo that you can share (or edit) just like any regular photo
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