If you’re like most laptop users, you’re using the internet, Microsoft Word, email (probably using the internet), Excel, and are perhaps creating the occasional Power Point presentation. What you might not realize is that you’ve got a relatively tiny entertainment board at your fingertips. Of course, your laptop will likely remain for work and/or school first and foremost, but it would be fun to know some of the really neat things your laptop can do, right? Read on for some of the coolest features you might not realize come with your laptop. You’re welcome.
You Can Talk to It
If telling Siri what to do on your phone is one of your favorite tech trends, you’re going to love this. You can talk to her on your laptop, too. By pressing or holding down the Command and Space key or clicking the icon on your menu bar, you can call on good ol’ Siri. But as this techradar.com article points, it’s “much more powerful.” The article goes on to note, “Beyond the standard query that might give you the weather or who’s up in the playoff game, Siri on macOS Sierra can toggle system functions like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth or even pull up individual files…” She can even launch your apps for you. Mind blown, eh?
You Can Use Visuals With Your Music
One feature you might not have known about is the music visualizer and, if you’ve not taken advantage of this, you’re missing out on the excitement. Get your fun fix in the middle of your work day by allowing Magic to draw abstract geometric patterns that dance, spin, pulse, and rotate to the beat of the music. Make the most of your movies, too, by performing real-time video manipulation with multiple simultaneous movie files. Your graphics can also be synchronized to music. If music feeds your soul, the visualizer is going to broaden your horizons. Don’t keep your creations to yourself either. Magic compositions can be presented for live performances (in full-screen mode no less) or they can be uploaded to YouTube and Vimeo.
Use It Split-Screen Style
Are you a super user? Everyone from entrepreneurs to 9-to-5ers has fallen into trap of having multiple windows open at the same time even though they know this is slowing your computer down. It’s our mindset these days. We want all the information and we want it now. We can or rarely want to focus on one thing, for better or worse. Instead of toggling, however, did you know that your Mac laptop can allow you to view two things using a split screen? Simply hold down a left-click on the app’s green maximize button (located at the top left-hand side). Then drag this to be positioned on the left or right of your display screen. Next, choose the second window you’d like to have open and drag it to the other side. This can be helpful for projects in which you need to compare notes, so to speak.
You Can Share the Musical Love
Have you ever heard a song and thought to yourself, “So-and-so would love this”? With a few clicks, you can give your loved ones a taste of the tunes you adore. Movies can be shared as well. Simply go to iTunes > Preferences > Sharing. Once you’ve done that, check the box that reads, “Share my library on my local network.” Have privacy concerns? You can set a password and let only those with whom you want to share in on it.
Communicate From Your Mac Laptop to iPhone
Apple products are generally known for their abilities to “chat” with one another, so don’t forget how easy it is to send files from your laptop right to your phone. To do so you’ll have to have a fairly modern Mac laptop that is equipped with Bluetooth 4.0 and your iOS device will have to version 5 or later. If you have both of these things, you can send files from one to the other using AirDrop. This can come in handy, especially when sending large files.
Many people spend hours upon hours a day on their laptops without knowing its true capabilities. Familiarize yourself with these and have some fun!
