The Beginner Mac

Safari Extensions - The Hidden Powers of Safari

2011-01-18T07:06:00.000-08:00

Safari Extensions are not as well known as Google Chrome Extensions, but they are every bit as useful. A browser extension is a little script wrapped up into a button or toolbar that adds extended functionality to your browser. Go to https://extensions.apple.com to peruse the many available extensions.

Three that I would recommend:

1) AdBlock -- Blocks most advertisements on websites. With the click of the toolbar button, you can add safe domains and ensure you see ads on a particular site.

2) ClickToFlash -- I hate Flash. It sucks up CPU power, and drains laptop batteries. ClickToFlash disables all Flash elements on a particular page and leaves you with a little "Flash" button in the middle if you choose to enable a Flash element. You can also add websites to your "whitelist" so they always display Flash.

3) Print Plus -- Anyone coming from Windows and Internet Explorer loves the "Print Selection" option, which is mysteriously missing in Safari. Add this extension and it's back, but with a twist--you can select individual elements to print on a page. Simply press the toolbar button and start clicking on the page elements you want to print.

One more for developers and designers:

Coda Notes -- Clicking the toolbar button on the page brings up a sort of "annotation toolbar" allowing you to highlight areas on a web page, add sticky notes, draw lines around things, and even edit the text of the webpage itself. This could be useful in giving feedback to a programmer/developer or designer.

New Features iOS 4, WiFi on iPhone 3G working again

2010-06-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

Many iPhone OS 4 (now iOS) changes have already been seen, but a few may have not, and seem to be new additions. Also, many may be aware of the myriad reports of WiFi not working on the iPhone 3G for many users. I was one of those... and today, after upgrading, it seems to be mysteriously working again, as noted by the WiFi icon in the screenshots.

Gmail calendars can now be synced easily from within iOS 4.

Calendars selection screen shows the available calendars.

Unified inboxes, which many have already seen. The icons next to my two accounts are new (to me at least).

Grouping icons into folders. I was under the impression that this feature would not be available for the iPhone 3G. Nonetheless, after upgrading, several apps were already grouped into a Utilities folder.

2009-06-28T09:02:00.000-07:00

Snow Leopard build 10A380 was released to developers at the 2009 WWDC.

Recently, build 10A394 was released via Software Update to developers.

This most recent build includes Dock Exposé and the new Quicktime X interface.

New iPhone OS 3.0 Features [Slideshow]

2009-04-22T08:04:00.000-07:00

Click on any photo to see the original size in Picasa.

iPhone 3.0 UDID Activation

2009-04-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

There are posts flying around all over the internet about getting your UDID registered to install the 3.0 beta software on your iPhone. I can help you once and for all. Send me a message and I can add your UDID to my Developer account for $5. I have 20 spots left so hurry up!

Burn CD or DVD in Mac OS X

2008-10-31T16:29:00.001-07:00

Here's a simple tutorial on how to burn a CD or DVD in Mac OS X using the Finder. This method allows you to burn discs without having to buy additional software.

Update on MacBook Pro disaster

2008-10-23T11:14:00.001-07:00

After the disaster of dropping my MacBook Pro, I had to do something to fix it. I knew I wouldn't be able to do much cosmetically, but functionally I can now close the lid again without resistance and I can't see the internals of the notebook anymore.

The repair process began by removing the upper case (which in itself can be quite a challenge to the average user). After that I began my work with a small screw driver and a hammer. I wasn't too delicate because the damage had already been done and I just wanted a useable computer. I popped out the corner as best I could and tried to reshape it with the hammer.

I did my best on the LCD/lid. It was considerably more difficult considering I didn't take the lid apart to get at the damage.

As you can see there's still a lot of damage but it's a lot better than it was. Now I can close it without resistance and there's not a gaping crevasse into the innards of the MBP.

OS X License Plate

2008-10-22T14:05:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting license plate I saw on my way to work this morning:

I've blocked out the first three letters, but as you can see from the last few, this person is clearly a Mac user. :-)

Don't Do This to Your Mac

2008-10-09T07:28:00.000-07:00

After reading yesterday's post, I'm sure you want to see what the MacBook Pro looked like. Here you go:

And just to recap. DON'T DO THIS TO YOUR MAC.

Tip of the Day

2008-10-08T11:53:00.000-07:00

I own a MacBook Pro, 1st gen (1.83GHz Core Duo) which I've had for almost 2 years now. I bought it as a refurb and it has never had a problem. I keep it in a padded case and am generally very careful with it. In the process of moving I had it in my backpack with a few heavy books, which shouldn't have been a problem. "Shouldn't" is a funny word because it leave so many possibilities open.

To make a long story short, I was carrying it on my way out to the SUV loading stuff up. In the blink of an eye, I dropped my bag and it hit hard on the concrete. This has happened before, but not when the bag weighed so much. Two nights later, I took out the computer, used it for a few minutes, went to shut the lid and noticed that it didn't shut like before. Then I noticed a big dent in the front left corner of the upper and lower case, as well as the screen. Needless to say, I'm not amused. I'll have to see what I can do to salvage it because I don't want to pay $500+ for a new case. At that point, I'll just buy a new MacBook. Come on new models!

I'll post some pics of the damage soon . . .

Dock Customization - Change size, magnifications, effects

2008-10-02T09:03:00.000-07:00

How to customize the Dock in System Preferences. You can change the size, magnification level, location, and minimization effect as shown in the video.

Video can be seen in HD by following the link in the video.

How do I clean my Mac?

2008-10-01T17:57:00.001-07:00

I see questions all the time about how to clean a Mac. For starters let me give you one piece of advice: Don't use Windex or any other typical household cleaner.

The only thing I would recommend is something call Klear Screen. You can get it from Amazon at a great price.

Klear Screen is recommended by Apple and I've used it for three years with great results. The good thing is you can't damage your screen or case with it, no matter how many times you use it. I clean my MacBook Pro about once a month, but you can clean once a week or more with it!

Mac OS X Fonts - Why did Mail change my font?

2008-09-29T15:17:00.001-07:00

Frequently you need to copy text from another email, application, or document into a new Mail message. There is one big problem with this: Unless you are pasting the exact font that you were previously typing with, Mail now uses the same font of the pasted text for the rest of the message you are composing. The video shows how to tell which font is which and how to format them.

To view the above video in HD, follow the on-screen link to Vimeo. Thanks for reading!

Coming soon . . .

2008-09-29T14:49:00.000-07:00

Coming soon to The Beginner Mac . . .

Downloading and saving files - "Where did my files go?"
Navigating through Finder
Setting up Time Machine on an external hard drive
Working with files on Time Machine
Customizing different aspects of Mac OS X Leopard

. . . and much more!

Thanks for reading!

Working with Bookmarks in Safari 3

2008-09-24T14:00:00.000-07:00

Here are some tips for working with Bookmarks in Safari 3. You can add, organize, sort, delete, change, and all other sorts of things. One of my favorite features i the Bookmarks Bar where you can place your most-visited sites or favorite links.

To view this video in HD, follow the link on the video to Vimeo.com. Thanks for watching!

Make the most out of Time Machine in OS X Leopard

2008-09-24T12:31:00.000-07:00

So you have Mac OS X Leopard, you like all the new features, but are you really taking advantage of those features? Time Machine, for example, is one of the best features available in any OS on the market right now. Yes, it has it's quirks, but by and large it's a very solid program that makes backing up your Mac as simple as connecting an external hard drive to it.

What to do . . .

Western Digital 500 GB My Book Studio Edition External Hard Drive

For my back up (and other archiving needs) I researched several drives from varying manufacturers and found the best for my purposes was the WD MyBook Studio Edition. My two biggest reasons for this were:

It's preformatted for the Mac (not a big deal for advanced users to change, but for a beginner this is nice).
The drive comes with a 5-year warranty.

So, WD drives may not be as good as Seagate's, but I've never had problems with them, and a 5-year warranty on an external drive is pretty good. Plus it comes in a nice silvery gray color that will better match your Mac than many other drives on the market.

In a follow-up post I will show how easy it is to get Time Machine up and running with a new drive. In fact, if you've never used it before, it's as simple as connecting the drive to the Mac and waiting for the prompt to use it as a Time Machine drive!

The drive pictured below is a 500GB MyBook Studio edition. I use a 1TB model for myself, but I also do a lot of video work where the extra space is necessary. At $129.99, this is a stellar deal.

Change your Desktop Background in Mac OS X

2008-09-23T10:46:00.000-07:00

Want to change your background in Mac OS X? Here's how. Also, an interesting feature on how to automatically change your background every x minutes, or each time you login.

To view the above video in 720p HD, follow the link on the video to vimeo.com.

Opening and Closing Mac OS X Applications

2008-09-22T16:00:00.001-07:00

This video covers the basics on Opening and Closing applications. The reason for this post is after watching many beginners on a Mac, they instinctively click on the 'X' in the upper-left corner because they are used to doing this on Windows. Little do they know this just closes the window and leaves the application running in the background, eating up CPU and memory. So just remember, Command+Q to quit!

To view in HD, simply follow the link to view on Vimeo.com. Thanks for watching!

System Preferences - Mouse Right-click

2008-09-16T17:16:00.000-07:00

This short video shows you how to configure your mouse to enable right-click functionality. By default Mac OS X is setup to have left-click functionality only (the right side of the mouse does the same as the left). This same preference panel can also be used to switch the two mouse buttons around for lefties.

The Dock - Placing and Removing Applications

2008-09-12T14:12:00.002-07:00

The Dock is where you place your most frequently used applications. In the video below you will see how to take an Application from the Applications folder and add it to the Dock. It's as easy as clicking and dragging the application onto the Dock between two existing icons. To remove icons from the Dock, simply click [hold] and drag the icon onto the desktop.

Note: The video above is available in HD 720p by clicking the full-screen button in the bottom-right corner. Press ESC to exit full-screen.

The Beginning

2008-09-11T16:49:00.000-07:00

After two abandoned attempts at blogging, I'm back. I realized there is a huge need for basic understanding and learning about one of the hottest products on the market.

The Mac.

For the past four years I have used Macs exclusively. Even at work, where I have to use a PC, I'm running a Mac with Parallels 3. I've learned a lot about Mac OS X and I've seen where many people get frustrated, confused, or lost. I've found two reasons for this:

The Mac is fundamentally different than a PC.
The Mac is so simple that some people fail to grasp the basics.

This blog will attempt to address the most basic concepts to even more advanced tips and tricks. Thanks for reading.