Written by: Caroline Merchiers on Wednesday May 14th 2008, 12:46 am
Here’s a useful little tip. OS X actually has a separate dictionary program, other than Dictionary.app, that will quickly give you the definition of a word without leaving the application you are currently working in. Most modern applications support this in OS X, though some older applications may not be able to take advantage of the pop up dictionary. Some of you may be aware of this little gem, and others will probably be pleasantly surprised, just as I was when I found out about it.
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Written by: Scott Haneda on Friday April 18th 2008, 5:41 am
iTunes has gone from a simple music management application to a full-fledged media management tool. Gone are the days of just managing your music files, iTunes now takes on the roll of managing video, audio, and can even help organize pdf files.
With all the power iTunes offers, it can become overwhelming. iTunes desires to be your default player for near all media types. An amusing audio clip from Family Guy or The Simpsons ends up getting imported into iTunes. This audio clip then relentlessly follows you around and makes its way to your iPod and iPhone on your next synchronization.
Let’s see what we can do to keep iTunes clear of cruft, and only contain the data you want imported into it.
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Written by: Scott Haneda on Sunday April 13th 2008, 7:03 pm
A few days ago, one of our readers sent in an email asking if I had any idea why Internet Explorer would not load web pages in his installation of Virtual PC. Every now and then I will take an interest in a users problems and see if I can not help them troubleshoot the issue.
We had a few rounds of email, over the course of a few days, in the end, I was unable to help. A solution was found, but not by myself, rather the user figured it out on their own. The solution was simple, and one I usually try as a first step, as should everyone. This time, it never crossed my mind, as I wrongfully assumed the user would also try this method as a first step.
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Written by: Scott Haneda on Thursday April 10th 2008, 11:53 pm
There have been a few comments on the site asking for us to cover RSS. I have several direct emails from readers asking the same. Today, we will explain what RSS is, how it can help you keep up to date with the rapidly changing web, and in general, what a near mandatory tool it is.
My gut tells me new users have no idea what RSS is, let alone the value it holds. I suspect that since there are links to RSS feeds on nearly every site, people are curious, but just have no idea where to turn to for good advice.
A Google search will show you nice definitions of RSS. You may walk away understanding that it is an acronym for Really Simple Syndication. Even knowing that, to this day, those three words do little to help me in knowing what the heck RSS is good for.
Let’s fix that right now.
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Written by: Scott Haneda on Tuesday March 04th 2008, 8:19 am
Safari seems to be riddled with small features that go unnoticed at times. One such feature is called “SnapBack”.
If you find yourself frequently pressing the back button in Safari, the SnapBack tool may save you a bit of time. Users that frequent large sites, such as Amazon.com, or Apple.com, or perhaps Ebay.com will find snapback to be valuable.
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Written by: Scott Haneda on Friday February 29th 2008, 1:45 am
Since the beginning of the web, sites have been created with two major themes. First and foremost was the propagation of information. In the beginning, the web was largely text only, with perhaps a few sparse images for context.
Today’s web browsing experience is as much driven by beauty and design as it is by putting out information. People have been pushing the limits of design in a web browser since the old days of modem connections and slow internet speeds.
While a browser is rather flexible in what can be displayed; all browsers do have various nuances in how they display a site. A well designed website should look near identical in every browser you view it in, whether it be Safari, FireFox, or Internet Explorer. The great news is Safari and FireFox both do a great job at trying to follow standards and give you a high quality viewing experience.
Today’s tutorial will cover one of Safari’s preferences that gives you a small amount of control to over-ride how a site is displayed. In general, these Appearance preferences should be reserved for those with eyesight disabilities. However, many people will at times find a site has type that is too small to read; Safari has you covered, and provides simple tools to make your reading a little more pleasurable.
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Written by: Scott Haneda on Wednesday February 27th 2008, 10:30 am
Every browser I am aware of has the ability to save a bookmark. A bookmark is nothing more than a way to get back to a site at some later time. Most users, at some point, will bookmark a site, with the idea that they can come back to it later and keep updated on what the site has to offer.
The problem as I see it, with bookmarks, is you end up with an unmanageable list of links to sites. Over time, this list will grow to the point that it becomes easier to simply search Google for the site. If your bookmarks menu has gotten somewhat out of control; this tutorial will teach you basic organizational tactics allowing you to tame your bookmarks.
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Written by: Scott Haneda on Tuesday February 26th 2008, 2:00 am
Web browsing can be a semi-hostile environment. I am sure most of you have heard at least one story where someone you know has been the victim of some online scam. In general, there are two core parts to online security.
First is whether the site you are connecting to is trustworthy. This can often be difficult to determine. Second is the data your browser collects as you browse the web. Safari has built in tools to help you keep your experience as safe as possible. With a little foresight and education, you can protect yourself from being taken advantage of.
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Written by: Scott Haneda on Thursday February 21st 2008, 1:01 am
All browsers have the ability to bookmark a website. Bookmarks are a simple way have your browser remember a certain website you were on, so you can visit it again later.
Today, we will explore a subset of Safari’s bookmarking feature, the Bookmarks Bar. The bookmarks bar has so much utility to it; I do not know how I managed to get around without it.
Think of the bookmarks bar as an always-visible short list of your most visited places. Rather than digging through a large and unwieldy list of bookmarks, the bookmarks bar affords you quick access to your most frequently visited sites.
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Written by: Scott Haneda on Tuesday February 19th 2008, 1:01 am
There are a small handful of hidden tricks in Safari. I am not sure when and where I picked these up. As far as I can remember, they have been around since version 2 of Safari.
All these tricks are useful under certain situations, some more than others. Make sure you have read our tutorial on keyboard shortcuts. If you have not read it, take a second to skim it over, as it will be helpful in understanding some of the terminology.
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Written by: Scott Haneda on Friday February 15th 2008, 1:01 am
Tabs are all the rage these days. Most of the people I run into either have not discovered them, or were not made aware of their value. Today, we will show you a web browser feature, which once learned, will make you wonder how you lived without it.
Long gone will be the cluttered computer screen, filled with many windows. Say goodbye to clicking the back button ten times over. Say hello to tabs.
Tabs are something common to most browsers these days. FireFox certainly has them. Heck, I think even Internet Explorer has finally caught on. While these steps will not apply to all browsers exactly, in concept, they are very much the same feature.
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Written by: Scott Haneda on Thursday February 14th 2008, 1:01 am
At the top of Safari, where you type in the address of a website you want to go to, is called the URL bar. In classic Apple form, the URL bar does more than just show you an address of a website.
The URL bar has a number of useful features to it. Of course, the first useful feature of the URL bar is to let you know what web address you are at, and give you the ability to enter in a new address.
Safari takes something simple, keeps it simple, but adds more value to it than you first notice.
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Written by: Scott Haneda on Wednesday February 13th 2008, 1:07 am
If there is one feature to Safari that should be enabled by default, but is not, is the “Status Bar”. This seemingly uninteresting feature can tell you, at a quick glance, exactly what Safari is doing, or about to do.
Perhaps the reason it is not enabled is that Apple feels it would be too confusing to new users. I on the other hand, think it is a near mandatory option to enable.
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Written by: Scott Haneda on Tuesday February 12th 2008, 4:39 am
Our past post ‘Safari or Firefox on OS X, which should you be using?‘, drew quite a bit of discussion. It is good to know the next feature tutorial will be one that is of interest to all our users. Given that Safari is probably the one application most new users spend the most time in, it seems important to try to make that time as comfortable as possible.
Safari is a great browser, even with its default settings. With a few small changes to the settings and preferences, you can custom tailor it to be even better.
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Written by: Scott Haneda on Tuesday February 12th 2008, 1:35 am
Find yourself doing the same things many times over with your computer? If that is the case, you are a prime candidate for learning some of the many keyboard shortcuts built into nearly every application on OS X.
Keyboard shortcuts are simply a way to invoke a command, without actually using your mouse and digging around in a menu. In most cases, it will result in timesaving.
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Written by: Scott Haneda on Monday February 04th 2008, 3:27 pm
For as long as I can remember, the Macintosh has been a second-class citizen in regards to video playback. What many of you may not know is there was a time when the Mac could play, perhaps, only one of two video formats.
A lot has changed since then, however, we still do not have 100% playback of all video formats. Mac’s can play back most formats, and with the proliferation of sites like YouTube, our odds of locating a duplicate copy of a video we can’t play, are pretty good.
This post will show you how to install two components that will allow almost all video formats to play back cleanly on your computer. The nice part is they are both free of cost.
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Written by: Scott Haneda on Tuesday January 29th 2008, 10:39 am
Whether you are a Macintosh user, Windows, or Linux, you need a web browser of some type to get on the Internet. Your browser of choice is the application you use to view websites. With most people using Windows, you are going to get a good deal of advice to install Firefox. Let’s talk about why that may be a good or bad idea.
All versions of OS X come with Safari, which in my opinion is a great browser for OS X. You are free to install any number of other browsers, such as Firefox, OmniWeb, or even some of the lesser-known alternative browsers.
Windows PC’s have Internet Explorer as their default browser. Over the years, Internet Explorer has gotten a bad reputation, and most people have moved to Firefox. Many Windows users, who do not know or understand the Macintosh, will tell you to use Firefox. The trouble with this advice is they are assuming the default browser, Safari, is as poor an experience as Internet Explorer.
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