Give It A Finger....Or Two

Just a quick info post, for scrolling down webpages or long articles you can enable it by going on Apple (in toolbar) > System Preferences > Keyboard & Mouse > 'Use two fingers to scroll',

Then try it out on a website, just place two fingers on the mouse and pull down slowly or push up.

A simple feature that speeds things up a litte i find

Enjoy,

Merry iPod

Yes that's right i further appled myself with the toy that everyone has/wants, an iPod. A little black 80gb video one.

So for this mid christmas-new year post i'm going to talk about moving music to and from an iPod.

Music on Mac/PC -> iPod -- Nice and simple, drag and drop it from the main Music area to your little iPod in the sidebar.


iPod -> Mac -- little more tricky...

that's where, iPodTrans comes in.

<- (not my music folder incidentally), this allows you to play music directly from the iPod on the Mac (saving space if you are short on it).

Select where to save the mp3's (in a new folder on the desktop to begin with i suggest). Select the files from the browser, then click 'copy selected songs'. A down side is that there is no confirmation that the files have copied over but you can go check in the folder you assigned to save them to.

Now look at the filenames, what a mess, probably random numbers or names that don't make sense.

This is where iTunes comes in handy to sort it neatly into Artist > Album > Song, sections.

Go into iTunes preferences and make sure 'keep my itunes music folder organised' is selected and 'copy itunes music to the itunes library...' is selected also (under 'Advanced').

Then simply add your strangely named files which have been copied over. iTunes will now sort them all out neatly and voila, a mirror image of your iPod music.

Free at:- http://macupdate.com/info.php/id/18621

Thanks to 'cardo' for tips on how to organise it all after transfer.

Enjoy and hope you all had a Merry Christmas

img2icns - usful4mac

Yes img2icns is a handy little tool. Simply drag an image file over to it and voila in a few seconds you have a conversion of that image that can be used as an icon to replace one for an application in the dock.

Note:- When you have converted the files, go into the finder and find the application you want to change the icon for, click Get Info, then drag the newly changed image file into the top left box (where the current icon is showing). Then simply replace it on your dock and voila, a new look icon.

Download img2icns here

Nice icons at WinCustomize (don't be put off by the 'Win' reference), go into 'Object Dock'

Maximise Damn You!

Ok so Mac has this little annoying thing built in that when you click maximise on a window, it well....doesn't.

It goes so far but wont take up the entire area like Windows does....

Frustrating? yes!, hence i went in search of a solution.

Stoplight allows you to set it so that it will maximise the window across the screen. It also can make it so that when you close a document, such as a word document, it will close the entire program instead of leaving it running until you click quit.

This is another Windows behaviour that you may wish to bring over to the Mac...enjoy

Free Download

Ooooh That's My gDisk Spot!

gDisk is a beautifully simple way of moving data from one place to another (from uni to home or to the office etc). It uses your Google Mail or Gmail account which has over 2gb of space thus giving you plenty of file upload capabilities.

When running it even links you accross to create a Gmail account, if you don't already have one.


Being a photographer i will be using the Gmail account as a backup for the most important photographs most likely.

Simply click 'Upload' to add a file to the account and then 'Download' at the other location to get the file back.

Nice and simple, free 2gb of space, can't complain at that!

http://gdisk.sourceforge.net/

Mail Gets Hotter

Excuse the title....i'm tired and running low on idea, so anyway Hotmail plugin for Mail (default email application in Mac) allows you to check your Hotmail emails within Mail. Saving valuable seconds it would take to go to hotmail.com and login

Nice and simple little plugin that's easy to configure and works for me.

http://macupdate.com/info.php/id/10842

What's Going On?

Well this highly configurable widget can be plugged into your dashboard and sits in several different styles and colours to display your computers stats. Memory usage, disk space, ip number etc etc.

Basically it's nice to know how much space you have, and other information at the stroke of the F12 key.

Free at: http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/status/istatpro.html

Keep Me Posted

Don't you love it when things work?

Like how you can make the Dashboard in Mac (press F12 if you haven't already and be shocked at hidden gems) have new little gizmos etc. Think i'll take some time to pimp my dashboard out and recommend some bits whilst im at it.

Firstly i like all my news and updates in one place. None of this site to site, filtering through rubbish trying to find a good story etc.

This is where RSS feeds come in. Google it if you don't know what RSS is. It will pull in stories and keep updated so you can stay up to date.

This little widget for the dashboard can be customised with whatever feeds you want from sites such as CNN, AbsolutePunk (music) etc etc.

Nice and free at:- http://www.benkazez.com/newsreader.php

The Mac Logos TRUE Origins

http://static.flickr.com/46/144300100_0b0cb45151.jpg?v=0

May Mac Be With You

This little app turns your Mac into a Lightsaber and moving it around makes various sounds go off (basically tilt it about a bit to change the speed of striking or the sound of the 'macsaber')

Enjoy.

Free - http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/21732

MacSaber in action - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qK4AonfnFaM (not advised to do this with such ferocity as it may break the machine)

Tilt With Lilt

Apologies for the terrible title to this post...

Anyway, now if you have a fancy MacBook or even most (i believe) models of iBook etc, basically laptop version of Macs then you should be able to use this program.

Lilt allows you to set the machine to sense tilts in the screen or actual body (such as you physiclly lifting and tilting it left) to set off various actions. These can include opening documents or shutting down for example. Lilt can also work with lighting to detect lighting changes and act on them accordingly (altough i couldn't get the lighting sensors to work)

Free to try, $5 to buy - http://www.jonn8.com/lilt/

Tracking Leopards

Welcome to Mac OSX 10.5 Leopard (image shown is not the actual OS). Vistas rival basically.

Set to release just after Windows Vista (around spring 2007) both have found their way onto the net in some form and oppinions can be found just by googling either.

For more info on the new OS from Mac, go to http://www.leopardtracker.com/

In related tracking information...

I reference links from versiontracker and macupdate a lot. Just a quick info post really to suggest doing what i've done today and join VersionTracker for free so that when you download an app you can be updated for free when a new version is available.

MacUpdate can't be joined (that i can see) so i suggest adding the RSS feed to your bookmarks (personally i have it on my Firefox browser toolbar so it's easy to click and access)

www.macupdate.com

http://www.versiontracker.com/macosx/

Sod The Flashy Dock

This is a nice and simple app for the ultimate quick access to your programs!.

Running namely much like the Spotlight built in, it allows you to type part of the programs name and then launch it instantly from the drop down menu.

Not alot else to say really, other than thanks to jopari for pointing this little app out to me.

http://amarsagoo.info/namely/index.shtml

Welcome To Desktopia...

A place of wonder and amazement.....

Ok so i'll cut that out now. Stupid name aside this is a cute program that allows your desktop to change throughout the day.

Ideally you should probably set a camera up in a favourite place and photograph it every few hours until nightfall. This would probably get the full effect but personally i used one sunset photo and edited using Adobe Photoshop to darken and lighten for the times of the day.

You can set a time for each image to launch at and and then just leave the program to it, changing your background as the day progresses. A cut program but one i thought i would throw in as it's nice and free

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/30670

Easy Does It....Well EasyWMA Does It!

Moving to Mac from Windows usually means taking your music with you.

A fine task for iTunes should you have all MP3 files. Stick a few .wma files though and it might get a bit agitated.

Despite iTunes supposed support of .wma files, mine wouldn't add them (all 500+ of them). So i decided to find a progam to convert to MP3.

This is where EasyWMA comes in. A quick and efficent tool that supports drag and drop of your files.

The way i converted the large amount of files (dotted all over the place in different album folders) was to search '.wma' in Spotlight



This gave me a list of all the wma files on my Mac. I then just dragged them to the program and away it went, converting them nice and quickly.

Nice and simple program.

Don't you love it when things work?

This is available from http://www.easywma.com/

and is just $10, not bad for converting 500+ songs!

.converting .video .files

Windows can be picky at times...

Although it doesn't mind .mov files, it's a lot happier to deal with .wmv .avi or .mpeg video files. So here we have VisualHub.

Fast conversion from nearly every video format to iPod, PSP, DV, DVD, Tivo, AVI, MP4, WMV, MPEG and Flash.

The latest release also supports wii files!, this is a nice little tool to shrink you movies down to get them on your iPod or PSP.

Not free but not overly priced at $23

For all the converting it does, it's not a bad price

Converted my 900mb video to 100mb (and even down to 1mb!!) in around 3minutes, which isn't too shabby in my book

Try it yourself and you'll see

http://www.techspansion.com/visualhub/

Dont Let The Mac Die!

Basic maintenance for your Mac.

Ok i'm new to the Mac but it's just basics really.

Don't let the Mac run with the fans going fast and the temperature of it high for long periods, this can wreck the hard drive.

Ideally don't leave the Mac on any longer than necessary (e.g. popping out for a few hours - turn it off)

Don't leave it in sleep mode for days and days - not a healthy thing for a Mac, it needs proper sleep like me and you (use the shutdown mode when possible)

Close programs you aren't using, the more you run at the same time, the slower it goes and the bigger drain on the CPU it is.

If you're not using a program anymore, put it in the trash! Don't clog up the Mac.

Cleaning - iKlear cleaning kit available for it, don't just use any old cloths to wipe it over

http://www.klearscreen.com/

What MSN on Mac SHOULD Be

Mercury Messenger

Microsoft take notes. If a third party software messenger can make an MSN messenger client that can run webcams surely they can? I don't understand why but Mac messenger is nothing on the Windows version, way way behind. Luckily there is way to utilise that built in webcam (on MacBooks) via Mercury Messenger.

A simple clinet that runs through your msn account and allows you the nice webcam features of the windows MSN messenger.

Look Microsoft we know mac are your rivals but seriously, update Mac MSN please.

download at: http://www.mercury.to/

We Are Sailing...I Mean Salling

What you are seeing on the left is a mobile phone showing albums to select from (Death Cab For Cutie if you must know the band).

This is a normal phone.

Not one with iTunes or a walkman phone etc.

It's a remote control.

Yes that's right, using the built in bluetooth (or a bluetooth adapter) on your Mac you can control iTunes, Powerpoint, DVD's.....put the computer to sleep...get it to make you a cup of tea. Ok not the last but the others it can do via bluetooth, very quickly.

The program is called Sailing Clicker and is a damn handy tool for those lazy like myself. You can quickly and easily set it up and use your mobile to control your laptop, even setting it to pause your music you leave the vicinity of the Mac (basically when you go out of bluetooth range).

Also avialable for Windows users (not tested personally though)

Trail from: http://www.salling.com/

Full version: $23.95 :(

Macs Are Cool!

Yes it's another cute application but one which may well save your Mac from death!

Ok death is a bit drastic....still possible....but drastic. Anyway so iCyclone keeps your Mac from overheating by allowing you to either manually set the speed of the fan, or set an automatic temperature. The program then spins the fans to cool the Mac down to that temperature.

May not sound like much but overheating and overworked Macs slow down and the heat can do major damage.

Free at: http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/31377

GimmeSomeInfo

Another nice iTunes plugin, that gives you...

Lyrics for songs - to sing along to

Hot keys (meaning you can change songs etc without having to go into iTunes and click the next button (extra lazy but nice feature)

Info window - Giving you information on the song playing (including cover artwork) that shows for a set time and then disappears again

Download at: http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/28889

We'll Flip4 It...

WMV on a Mac? No comply?

Ok so you've moved over to Mac. Moved your documents over, you have Windows to run your videos (.wmv videos) *sigh*. Having to move to Windows to run the videos? tedious, time consuming and frustrating.

That's where Flip4Mac comes in. It runs Windows Media Components for QuickTime. Simple file, simple post, simple program.

For simple me.

Download here: HERE

Creativity Lost

A small post is needed for users who have an mp3 player other than an iPod and find that suddenly you can't add songs or remove them from it because the Mac is not compatible. I found this with my Creative Zen Xtra 30gb.

After some searching i found a program called XNJB and despite it's pretty poor attempt for a name it's fairly handy and does the job.

I'm a bit of a neat freak when it comes to organising my music and like my music to be listed by Artist, then within that folder the Album and then the appropriate songs to be in that folder.

Quick tip with XNJB, to get it like this, so that music is like this for example:

Music > Coldplay > X&Y > Speed Of Sound

go to... XNJB > Preferences > Filename Format: /%a/%A/%t


Download at: http://www.wentnet.com/projects/xnjb/

HardDrive meet MacDrive

Remember how i said you can't move data between Mac and Windows partitions?...

Well i semi lied...

You can't move data from Mac to Windows (to my knowledge) easily. But you can however go into the Windows partition and use a program called MacDrive to view data in the Mac hard drive and move it over.

MacDrive (apologies for the poor screenshot) is NOT freeware unfourtunatley but you can run a 5 day trial to see what it does.

It's available at http://www.mediafour.com/products/macdrive6/

Windows Is Sent To BootCamp

Do you miss windows?..

Probably not but i bet you have a stack of games and applications that just wont run on Mac (minor flaw is compatibility)? This is where Apple....yes Apple themselves help out, with BootCamp. BootCamp is a free piece of software that allows you to dual boot your mac, meaning you can choose to run Windows XP (XP with SP2 CD required) or Mac each time you load.

First burning a Mac drivers cd (so that the mac keyboard, webcam, mouse etc are compatible) you are asked to partition the Mac. Unlike Windows which can take a long time to partition or require restarts etc Mac is nice and simple. Just select how much space you want to give to Windows (i chose 8gb, not much but enough for a few big games) and click 'Partition'.

After this you can install Windows XP with SP2 on your Mac. When you load the computer you then simply hold 'alt' at the beginning to bring up your choices 'Mac' or 'Windows'.

I cannot promise that all games and applications will work but i have tested the games, The Sims 2 and Black and White and they run beautifully (even faster than on a Windows computer in some cases).

Unfortunately although you can see the Windows hard drive as 'Untitled' on the Mac you are unable to send files to the Windows partition and will have to use an external USB drive or other storage device to move data between the two partitions.

Full details and download available at: http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/

Clutter Can Be A Good Thing

Clutter isn't normally a good thing in a room or especially not in a computer.

However this is a very nice piece of freeware for the Mac.

As an iTunes plugin it allows you to use cd covers on your desktop to act as launchers to play that particular album or playlist.

As you can see in this example you can choose the image for the CD cover or drag one from the internet (from Amazon for example) to represent the cover and then simply double clicking launches that album.

You can also resize the covers so that you can fit more on the desktop which allows you to have more albums to easily launch :)

It's small apps like this that make the difference...

It can be downloaded here: http://www.sprote.com/clutter/

and as i said, it is completley FREE

enjoy

Win To Mac....never look back

So i've just taken the plunge and purchased a MacBook (Black - because it's just sleeker and will match my iPod one day) having been a Windows user for around 10 years now.

I only really started looking at Macs around 2 and a bit years ago, when i began university. The whole of the center i use most (Digital Arts Center) is basically run solely on iMacs. Although i had a go, i rarely used the Macs and used my Windows laptop in preference.

However after realising how much faster the programs were loading up and the fact that i could get a discount through my university (go to the Apple website, Education then there's a link to click which is only accessible within the University network (basically you have to buy using a university computer or at least be on their network)). I decided that being as i am planning to run a photography shop then using the industry standard for digital art (mac) would be a good choice.

This blog shall go through the various switches between moving from Windows to Mac as well as the nice features of a Mac, how to get Windows and Mac to run on the same machine (on the dual core intel macs only i believe) and other freeware etc for Macs which make it stand out and bitch slap Windows back to Bill Gates.