
David Crookes
David Crookes has been writing professionally for close to 30 years and, as well as a great fondness for gaming, space, film, music, history, health and politics, he's largely specialized in technology for much of his career. He particularly focuses on Apple devices, having admired the company's tech since using iMac G3 in 1998. He also developed a fondness for the older Macintosh LC III that he later used in his first job as a newspaper reporter.
Since becoming a freelance writer, he has written for a wide number of publications including the Apple-focussed magazines iCreate and Macworld as well as Micro Mart, Web User, T3, Retro Gamer, MagPi, Computer Shopper, Gadget and 3D Artist. His love of gaming has seen him write for Retro Gamer, GamesTM and Wireframe among others and, despite his love of Apple, he still uses a PC – working for PC Pro and once writing for Total PC Gaming.
One of his joys is helping others to use technology which has led him to writing many “how to” tutorials explaining many ways of getting the most out of various devices. He's become an expert user of the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. He also likes to kick back with a gaming session on an PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X | S while getting his retro fix on an Evercade handheld.
Latest articles by David Crookes

Getting started with Mac Shortcuts — how to find, use and create time-saving automations
By David Crookes published
You can make macOS even easier to use by adding and even creating your own shortcuts.

You can create a podcast with Copilot in seconds — and all it takes is a single prompt
By David Crookes published
With Copilot you can generate an engaging podcast about any subject by simply entering a prompt.

How to disable Apple Intelligence features on macOS
By David Crookes published
Learn how to disable Apple Intelligence on your Mac, returning to a simpler, AI-free experience.

How to colorize black and white photos with Google Gemini — no Photoshop required
By David Crookes published
Google Gemini's photo editing feature makes restoring old images incredibly simple — here's how to do it.

You can reduce Liquid Glass transparency on macOS Tahoe — here's how
By David Crookes published
If you're not a fan of Liquid Glass on macOS Tahoe, here's how you can reduce it.

Transcribe audio with Google Gemini for free — here's how to do it
By David Crookes published
Gemini can transcribe audio for you, here's how to use its free voice-to-text feature.

I just discovered this secret iOS 26 feature that tells you when your iPhone camera lens is dirty
By David Crookes published
Tired of blurry iPhone photos? Learn how to enable the hidden iOS 26 setting that automatically detects and warns you when your camera lens is dirty.

iOS 26 lets you change the default snooze duration — here's how to do it
By David Crookes published
Learn how to adjust your iPhone’s snooze time and finally wake up on your own schedule.

Perplexity's AI browser Comet is now free for everyone — here's how to download it
By David Crookes published
Perplexity's new AI-powered browser is free to download for Windows and Mac users.

Google Translate has an AI-powered language learning feature — here's how to use it
By David Crookes published
Take your language learning to another level with the new features in Google Translate

How to enable clipboard history in macOS Tahoe
By David Crookes published
Control-C is now even more versatile: you can store more than one item at a time

You can make your photos talk and move with Grok's new video tool — here's how
By David Crookes published
Grok's Imagine feature converts photos into six-second animated videos. Here's how to create your own.

You can make an iPhone louder by changing its settings — here's how
By David Crookes last updated
You can easily make an iPhone louder simply by tweaking a few settings or positioning it in such a way as to boost the device's volume. Here's how.

How to customize the Control Center in macOS Tahoe 26
By David Crookes published
The Control Center in macOS Tahoe can now be changed to how you like it. Here's how

How to customize your folders on macOS Tahoe 26
By David Crookes published
macOS Tahoe has made it easy to organize items on your Mac. Here's how to give your folders a fresh new look.

You can get more out of Genmoji on macOS Tahoe 26 — here's how
By David Crookes published
Learn how to create and customize Genmoji in macOS Tahoe 26 with these steps.

How to stop people snooping through your iPhone by using Guided Access
By David Crookes published
Handing your iPhone to someone? With Guided Access you can restrict what they can do with it.

No signal? Waze’s offline maps feature keeps you on track — here’s how to use it
By David Crookes last updated
No cell signal? Waze’s offline maps feature keeps you on track — here’s how to use it.

How to turn sketches into images using Grok
By David Crookes published
With Grok you can turn sketches into AI images. Here's how to do it.

ChatGPT's sharing feature has privacy risks — here's how to use it safely
By David Crookes published
Here's how to share and manage your ChatGPT chats, without sacrificing your privacy.

You can move Chrome's address bar — here's how to do it
By David Crookes published
Moving Chrome's address bar is really simple. Here's how to do it.

Hate tolls? This hidden Waze setting helps you avoid them
By David Crookes published
With Waze you can avoid tolls, ferries, freeways and more with ease, here's how to do it.

Thieves hate this iPhone feature — how to enable Stolen Device Protection
By David Crookes published
Protect your iPhone from thieves with Stolen Device Protection. Here’s how to set it up and keep your data safe.
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