Mac 101

Tips & Tricks: How to Maximize Your MacBook’s Battery Life

Bob Faulhaber — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:00:28 +0000

Today’s Mac laptops gives you the power of a desktop, allowing you to take that power on the road and work remotely. However as with any laptop you are often limited by the battery life of the laptop, especially if you are away from an AC power source, such as on a plane.

There are a few tips and tricks that you will allow you to maximize the battery life and allow you to get that last minute report done before your flight lands.

With many people getting a MacBook for Christmas, these simple tips will help extend the battery life when using the laptop on battery power.

Turn Off Keyboard Backlighting

While a handy feature, available on many MacBooks, keyboard backlighting can be a battery drain and often is not necessary unless working in a very dark room. You can disable Keyboard Backlighting by going to System Preferences and selecting Keyboard.

On the Keyboard Preference Pane, uncheck Illuminate keyboard option.

If needed, this option can be quickly turned on again, however having it off by default helps save some battery power.

Turn Off Wireless

If you are in an environment, such as on a plane, where you don’t need WiFi or Bluetooth, turning them off will help save some battery power.

To disable WiFi, simply click the WiFi icon on the menu bar and select Turn Wi-Fi Off. To re-activate, just select the icon again and select Turn Wi-Fi On.

To deactivate Bluetooth, open System Preferences and click on the Bluetooth icon, and uncheck the On checkbox. To re-activate later, just re-check the checkbox.

Dim the Display

You can extend battery life by simply dimming the display from full brightness to whatever works best for you and the lighting conditions of wherever you are using the laptop.

To dim the display, simply goto System Preferences and click on Display. Using the slider, adjust the brightness of the display to whatever works best for and is comfortable on your eyes.

Once you make these changes there should be an improvement to the battery life of your MacBook, although there are numerous other factors which affect battery life so a definitive measure cannot really be given.

If you want a better measurement of battery life and the condition of your battery, download coconutBattery. It is a simple utility that will show you the charge and capacity of your battery.

Do you have any other Tips and Tricks? Let us know and we’ll share with our users.

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Post tags: battery, coconutBattery, display brightness, keyboard backlighting

Review: Snapheal v1.0

Bob Faulhaber — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 09:00:25 +0000

Snapheal is a new image editing application, from MacPhun LLC, for OS X that simplifies the touch-up and editing of your photos using a simple, straight-forward interface. The interface along with the application’s graphics engine gives the user a robust tool set that will allow anyone to do professional photo editing.

When you open the application you are presented with a window allowing you to import a photo either by dragging it into the window or by browsing your file system.

Once you have imported a photo, the app gives you the image in an editing pane and all available tools in the right-hand window pane.

The editing tools available include: Erase, Clone & Stamp, Retouch, Adjust, Crop and Rotate/Flip. The toolbox is well configured and includes detailed instruction and information as to how each particular tool works.

As an example, using the Erase tool and following the instructions, I painted over the object I wanted to erase. The app allows you to set the Brush diameter and clearly highlights your selection.

After selecting the objects, you can erase using one of three different modes. The different modes are Wormhole, ShapeShift or Twister. Select the mode and click Erase and your image will be updated after several seconds. The processing time will depend on the complexity of your image and the amount of the image being erased.

Zooming in on the area erased shows the the power of Snapheal. The image is touched and the image area behind the erased item is editing to match the surrounding area, so you are not left with a blank area.

Another nice feature is the ability to see a comparison of your original compared to the edited version.

The other tools in the app work just as well as the Erase tool by providing a simple, easy to use interface and instructions.

Once finished making changes to your photo, you can Save or Share using Email or other social media sites, such as Facebook, Tumblr, Flickr or Twitter.

Having used Snapheal on several photos to test for this review, I must say that with its simple interface and graphics processing engine, the app makes photo editing simple and efficient for anyone, from a beginner to a professional without having to use a more powerful and expensive photo editing application.

Snapheal is available in the Mac App Store and will priced at $19.99, however the special introductory price is currently $9.99.

Review: Rubbernet

Bob Faulhaber — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:19:44 +0000

Did you ever want to know which applications are using your Internet connection? How about how much data is being uploaded or downloaded during a period of time? Well, Rubbernet can provide you with that information quickly and easily.

Rubbernet is an application developed by Conceited Software that gives you a real-time network dashboard allowing you to monitor your network connections.

After starting the application and selecting the Mac to monitor, you will be presented with a Summary page, showing all your connected apps, connections, processes and users that are using the network connection.

From the Summary screen you can see the application, its current status, Download and upload rates, last activity and the total volume of data both in and out.

To drill-down and look at a particular app, just click on the app name in the left-hand sidebar.

This screen will give you the remote host or local computer connected to, port number and the volume of data, along with the last activity recorded.

Selecting Connections from the side-bar gives a complete breakdown of all the active connections from your system, including both Internet and local network connections. So, if you are troubleshooting a network issue, this will show what other hosts your computer is “talking” to or if an app is “calling home”.

Rubbernet also allows you to monitor other systems on your network through the use of a daemon that you can install on those hosts. Selecting New Connection from the File… menu will show you all hosts on the local network that is running the daemon. Selecting another host will open up the same type of summary window and allow you to remotely monitor that system without having to leave your desk.

I’ve been running Rubbernet for almost two days now and find it particularly useful in showing me what apps are doing and how much data they truly are “pushing” onto the network. I foresee it being very valuable in the future when I may need to troubleshoot any network problems that may arise.

Rubbernet is available directly from the Conceited Software website for about $40. There is a free trail download available, so you can try before you decide to buy it.

Side-note: Rubbernet is currently available as part of the MacLegion Winter 2011 Bundle. Bundle information can be found at the MacLegion website.

How-To: Disable Carrier IQ Tracking on Your iPhone

Bob Faulhaber — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:33:19 +0000

Carrier IQ provides telemetry and analytics to cellular carriers and manufacturers, and according to the company itself, its software is preinstalled on over 141 million phones, including the iPhone. Is this spyware and what information is it sending? And how do you disable it from sending information?

On the iPhone, Carrier IQ seems to be embedded as part of iOS, so there is no way to actually delete the software, but using a few simple steps you can minimize the information that is sent from your iPhone.

To disable, open Settings and tap on General

Tap on About

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and tap Diagnostics & Usage

On this page, tap Don’t Send and you’re done.

To give Apple credit, they have included a full page describing the Privacy Policy and the information that may be sent back to Apple or the carrier.

If you are interested, you can see what sorts of data has been sent, simply tap Diagnostics & Usage Data, although the data won’t make alot of sense unless you know what you are looking at or are a developer.

How do feel about cell phone manufacturers embedding this type of software in our phones?

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

Bob Faulhaber — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:39:49 +0000

Steve Jobs, former Apple CEO, passed away today after a long battle with pancreatic cancer

Here is the statement from Apple:

Mac OS X 10.7: Downloading the OS X Lion Installer

Bob Faulhaber — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 09:00:52 +0000

If you have already upgraded your computer to OS X Lion, but forgot to save a copy of the installer to create a bootable installer, you are not alone. Having a bootable installer allows you to quickly and easily rebuild your system in the event of an incident without having to install Snow Leopard from disk and then upgrading using the Mac App Store. Well, there’s an easy way to get that installer and burn an installer disk, giving you that warm and fuzzy feeling.

This tip and trick will work to force download any app that you have purchased on the Mac App Store.

Here’s how you do it:

1. Open the Mac App Store application

2. Navigate to your Purchases page

3. Hold down the Option key and click on the OS X Lion icon on the left hand side of the screen. Do not click on the Installed button.

4. You will be taken to the Lion product page. Hold down the Option key and click on the Installed button. If you haven’t already authenticated to the App Store you will be prompted for your login credentials, otherwise the download will start.

Once completed, you can then save the Installer DMG to another disk or burn a DVD. We’ll cover that in an upcoming post.

Tips and Tricks: Hard Reset the iPad/iPad2

Bob Faulhaber — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 16:05:03 +0000

Have you ever gotten that “iTunes could not back up the iPad because a session could not be started with the iPad” or “iTunes could not sync information to the iPad because another sync session was already running” error message when attempting to sync your iPad? You are not alone and there is usually an easy fix to the problem.

This fix not only solves any sync problems, but will also help resolve other issues such as the iPad running slow or freezing or apps continually crashing.

1. Make sure your iPad is sufficiently charged and not running on battery “fumes”. I would suggest that the battery is charged at least 50%.

2. With the iPad powered ON, press and hold the Home and Wake/Sleep button simultaneously until the Apple logo appears. Ignore the red slide “To power off” when it appears and wait for the Apple logo. When the logo appears the iPad is performing a “hard reset”. Be patient, as this reset could take a few minutes. Also, doing a “hard reset: does not affect any of your applications or data.

Essentials: Are your Mac Malware Definitions Up To Date?

Bob Faulhaber — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 11:05:30 +0000

Well, it was bound to happen. Malware has discovered the Mac and OS X with the Mac Defender trojan. Apple has responded quickly and is now pushing updates. Do you know if you have the latest definitions file? Here’s an easy way to check.

Last week Apple released Security Update 2011-003 that successfully detected and deleted Mac Defender and several variants and added a daily check for new malware definitions. Within 24 hours there were new variants already on the “street” that the original Apple security update couldn’t detect. Apple has responded and now it looks like it will be a continuous cat and mouse game between Apple and the malware developers.

If you haven’t updated your Mac yet with the Apple Security Update yet, you should do it now. If you have already downloaded the Security Update, you can check the timestamp of the definition file on your system by launching Terminal and pasting the following command:

more /System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources/XProtect.meta.plist

If your system is setup properly, you should see a date under Last Modification that is within 24-48 hours of the current time. Apple says the malware definitions will be updated on a regular basis.

Here is the type of information you should see when executing the command.

To force your Mac to update to the latest definitions, do the following:

1. Launch System Preferences

2. Goto the Security preference pane

3. Uncheck the “Automatically update safe downloads list” checkbox

4. Re-check the same box

This will force the make to get the latest definitions. If you re-run the command above in Terminal you should see a more current date, assuming that your Internet connection is good.

As long as you keep the “Automatically update safe downloads list” checkbox checked, your Mac will get the latest definitions every day and ensure that your system is up to date.

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Post tags: MacDefender, malware, Security Update, virus

Review: PhotoPal for iPad

Bob Faulhaber — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 09:01:29 +0000

Yes, I know the iPad doesn’t have a camera. So, why would you need a photo editing app? Well, if you like to carry all or a portion of your photo library on the iPad, like I do, you now have the ability to easily work with your photos using PhotoPal from MacPhun.

PhotoPal from MacPhun is a full featured photo editing app with an easy to navigate interface, powerful tools and great effects and filters making it the one photo editing app you should have on your iPad. Some of the tools include red eye removal, spot healing, cropping, resizing and too many to name here. Other nice features include framing, vignettes and the ability to share your photos on Flickr, Facebook and Twitter.

Upon opening PhotoPal you are presented with a menu that allows you to select a photo from your iPad Photo Album, from the PhotoPal Docs folder, your last session or the Clipboard.

Once you are editing a photo, you have the choice of tools and effects from three different menus for the numerous tools, editing options or effects.

Using the tools is straightforward and easy using the controls and sliders included at the bottom of the editing page. Unlike many editing apps, this gives you ultimate control in how you want your photos to look.

The effects options give you the ability to alter your photos using different effects to give your photo that unique appearance. Again, using the sliders and controls, you can customize just the way you want.

Sharing options let you e-mail or share your photos on Flickr, Facebook and Twitter simply by clicking the Share button from the top menu.

Once you have finished your edits, besides sharing, you can either save your photo back to the iPad Photo Album, the PhotoPal Docs folder or the Clipboard, allowing you to easily paste it into any other app.

And if you get stuck anywhere in the app, just tap the Help button on the top menu and context-sensitive help will appear giving you a complete description of the effect or tool that you are trying to use.

We’ve looked at numerous iPad photo editing apps over the past several months and have reviewed several, however to date PhotoPal seems to be one of, if not the best that we have seen. With its full range of photo editing tools and photo effects, it should be in your photo editing toolbox on the iPad.

The app is available in the iTunes App Store and costs $3.99, well worth the price if you find yourself editing and enhancing your photos.

© Bob at Mac 101, 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Facebook, Flickr, iPad, photo editing, photo effects, PhotoPal, twitter

Review: Prizmo for iPhone

Bob Faulhaber — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 17:30:58 +0000

Scanning and OCR with your iPhone? If you have had a need and could not find a suitable or accurate enough app, well your wait is over. Prizmo for iPhone from Creaceed allows you to check that requirement off your list and gives you a tool to scan text, business cards , receipts and more.

Using the iPhone’s built-in camera, Prizmo takes a photo or uses existing photos in your photo library and allows you to OCR the image and captures the information quickly and easily saving you time and avoiding re-typing information that you want to keep.

To test Prizmo, I took some Apple documentation and after opening the app I took a picture of a specific paragraph from a random page. Prizmo provides tools to do basic editing and cropping of your photo. In my case, I used the image rotation tool.

After rotating the image, I decided to crop to a specific paragraph. selection was easy and accurate.

After cropping and hitting Next, Prizmo OCR’d the image and converted it to text. An editing screen with the text was presented. I probably should have selected a paragraph without a border around it, that’s why Prizmo included various punctuation symbols where the border was found.

Editing the text was extremely easy and the OCR accuracy of the actual text was 100%.

Hitting Save the document was saved in Prizmo’s Document library with an image of the original photo allowing you to easily find items as the library grows.

Since accuracy is extremely important when capturing and OCR’ing documents, I tested two other items (newspaper excerpt and business card) and again achieved 100% accuracy with the OCR.

Prizmo has a long list of features for image processing, such as rotation, cropping, perspective correction, white point adjustment and image inversion. Document handling features include saving, loading and re-editing of processed documents. Output can be sent to the iPhone’s Address Book, emailed, copied & pasted and even sent to several cloud-based services, such as Dropbox, CloudApp, MobileMe and Evernote.

Another feature if you need it, is Text-To-Speech (TTS) which is available through an In-App Purchase and allows you to select from 35 different high-quality voices in different languages.

Prizmo works with iOS 3.1 or later and on the iPhone 2G or later, however the iPhone 2G or 3G require the Griffin Clarifi Case in order to improve the image quality.

As we continue to be buried with documents, business cards and information in general during our daily lives, we often need or want to save specific items, Prizmo gives us a tool to do just that without being buried in paper. It’s OCR accuracy and ability to manage and store documents, including in the “cloud”, it is definitely an app that most users will find invaluable on their iPhone.

Prizmo is available in the App Store for $9.99.