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.
Continue Reading… »»
Written by: hexley 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.
Continue Reading… »»
Written by: hexley on Wednesday April 16th 2008, 3:35 am
It’s just a clock, how in the heck can it be used to tell you if your system is locked up? To be honest, it really can’t. However, I have used this tactic since way back in the OS 9 days, and it still works pretty darn well under OS X.
First I will start with the basics, customizing the clock, what you can change, and why you may want to. After a small history lesson in how OS 9 was not as smartly multi-threaded as OS X, I can then explain just how you can use your clock as a visual aid to tell you if your computer is stuck.
Continue Reading… »»
Written by: hexley on Tuesday April 15th 2008, 5:52 am
With OS X Leopard 10.5, Apple brought forward a pretty strange change to the menu bar. The main menu bar had a mandatory translucency applied. This meant you could see your desktop image through the menu bar.
The internets were quite upset about this “feature”. In my opinion, rightly so.
Luckily, so much noise was made about the change, that as long as you have ran your software updates, you can finally turn this “feature” off.
Continue Reading… »»
Written by: hexley on Sunday March 30th 2008, 5:43 am
As Apple says, “opening files is so 2006″, we tend to agree. As our first post to the quick tips section, otherwise known as the Little Smokies category; we will explore just a little of Quick Look.
Quick Look saves time. For every file on your computer, if you want to view the contents of the file, you have to open the file. You then have to wait for it’s parent application to launch, and finally, you get to see what is in the file.
Continue Reading… »»
Written by: hexley on Wednesday March 26th 2008, 7:10 pm
If there ever was an area in which there seems to be massive confusion on OS X it is with downloading files. Time and time again, I see a user download a file, and not know what to do with it. Worse, once they figure out what to do with the file, they have absolutely no idea what to do with the remnants left behind.
If you are a new Macintosh user, and you only read one post on OS X Help, please, read this post. Downloading files is something almost all of you will do on a daily basis. From applications to photos, there is no shortage of file downloads to contend with.
Continue Reading… »»
Written by: hexley on Wednesday March 19th 2008, 8:26 pm
It finally happened. Apple rolled out a software update, I can now write a post that will help some of you understand what the Software Update tool is.
The programmers at Apple are not perfect; from time to time, bugs will be found, and fixed. Apple’s software update tool is how those bugs are repaired. Oftentimes not only are bugs repaired, but new features are implemented as well.
Today we will cover the Apple Software Update tool. From how it works, when you should run it, to ignoring it and updating manually. If you continue reading, you should be able to keep your Macintosh up to date and in relatively smooth working order.
Continue Reading… »»
Written by: hexley on Wednesday March 12th 2008, 10:56 am
Every window you open in the Finder of OS X has what is called a “sidebar” attached to it. The sidebar is nothing more than a quick way to get to places you often visit. Apple has been kind enough to seed it with some common items. These default items may or may not be useful to you personally.
The good news is, you are free to change the sidebar to your liking. You can even close off the sidebar and make it disappear if you are so inclined.
Continue Reading… »»
Written by: hexley on Thursday March 06th 2008, 12:01 am
Most Macintosh users have a clock and some other small icons in the upper right corner of their screen. These items are generally referred to as “menulets”. If you are running Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, you probably see a clock, a small speaker, a magnifying glass, and perhaps a few other items.
The items you have as a default will largely depend on your computer. Laptop users will almost all have an Airport icon, and sometimes a Bluetooth icon.
What many people have not learned is that those menulets can be repositioned, deleted, and customized.
Continue Reading… »»
Written by: Caroline Merchiers on Monday February 25th 2008, 1:01 am
We are taking a one day break on the Safari tutorials. Don’t worry, we will be back on schedule tomorrow.
I find the Application Switcher to be a pretty handy tool of OS X, which I use now without even thinking about it. It’s not a complex application, but it can make navigating your computer a breeze.
The Application Switcher allows you to easily toggle through all programs you have open, hidden or not, in a clear and rapid manner. For instance, you are copying and pasting from your email program into Word. Instead of using your mouse to move between the two, which can take time, especially on a laptop, a simple keyboard command will bring the other program up in a flash.
Continue Reading… »»
Written by: hexley on Tuesday January 22nd 2008, 6:29 am
The Finder “Window” menu is probably the mot drab of them all, so we will not waste a lot of time on it.
Minimize
Selecting “Minimize” will take any finder window, and scale it down into your Dock. Your Dock is the row of icons either on the bottom of your screen, or on the side.
To bring the window back, simply click on it, and it will un-minimize and come back to the front. If you have a window open, and it is in your way, you can minimize it to your dock. The window is now out of your way, but also in a state in which you can get back to it as needed.
Continue Reading… »»
Written by: hexley on Tuesday January 22nd 2008, 6:05 am
Only two menu’s left in the Finder. We will get to the icons at the top right of the Finder soon enough, for now, relish in the fact that there are only two more little menu’s that you will need to learn about.
The “Go” menu controls what Finder windows you can go to. You will find there are folders and places on your Macintosh that you frequent. Apple has made this a simple process. Whether you need to jump to your Applicaitons folder, or access System Utilities, the Go menu helps you get to these folders and locations.
Continue Reading… »»
Written by: hexley on Monday January 21st 2008, 5:45 am
The “View” menu in the Finder is one I find myself using often. In short, it controls the view of folders and files. Starting at the top, you have view as Icons, List, Columns, and Cover Flow.
Each of these selections is dependent on the current window you have selected, or in focus. To the best of my memory, the default, and what you are probably most familiar with is icon view. Let’s go through each view mode.
Continue Reading… »»
Written by: hexley on Sunday January 20th 2008, 5:20 am
In the Finder you can find the “Edit” menu. This menu is carried throughout most applications. You will find it does near the same thing in all applications. Even the most beginner computer user is generally familiar with this menu.
The edit menu provides access to the most widely used commands on any computer. Namely, the copy and paste features.
Continue Reading… »»
Written by: hexley on Wednesday January 16th 2008, 2:23 am
I know, it seems never-ending. These last few steps in regards to the Finder menus should go rather quick. Let’s just go through the list, an item at a time.
Continue Reading… »»
Written by: hexley on Thursday January 10th 2008, 12:23 pm
In yesterdays post, we covered the Apple menu. Today we will dig into the “Finder” menu.
The Finder menu item is to the right of the Apple menu. If you are in another application, you will not see this menu, which at times can be confusing. Just click on your Desktop, which is the main area of your computer screen, and the Finder menu will show up.
Continue Reading… »»
Written by: hexley on Wednesday January 09th 2008, 4:21 pm
Before you start using any applications or programs, right after you login, OS X will drop you into it’s file manager, known as the Finder.
The Finder is the first place you can start to customize your computer to your liking.
Starting in the upper left corner of your screen is a small Apple logo. Since the inception of OS X, the Apple logo has resided in this location.
Continue Reading… »»
RSS Feed