MacTimes

Google Chrome Beta is out!

2009-12-09T15:26:00.000+09:00

This just in. The Google Chrome Beta for Mac has officially started. In the past I wrote several articles about the Dev release. Today, I received a mail from Google about their Beta release. The email is included below.

For more info access the Google Chrome website: http://www.google.com/chrome/intl/en/mac.html

---------------------------------------

It's finally here: Google Chrome for Mac. Available today in beta!

Hi there,

Thanks for signing up to hear from us regarding Google Chrome for Mac! We're excited to let you know that Google Chrome is now available in beta for Mac OS X.

Here are a few fun facts from us on the Google Chrome for Mac team:

73,804 lines of Mac-specific code written
29 developer builds
1,177 Mac-specific bugs fixed
12 external committers and bug editors to the Google Chrome for Mac code base, 48 external code contributors
64 Mac Minis doing continuous builds and tests
8,760 cups of soft drinks and coffee consumed
4,380 frosted mini-wheats eaten
Thanks for waiting and we hope you'll give Google Chrome for Mac a whirl.

Google Chrome Team
www.google.com/chrome

--------

© 2009 Google www.google.com 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View CA 94043 United States of America.

Google is a trademark of Google Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

iPhone Sync for Google Calendar & Contacts

2009-12-09T00:48:00.012+09:00

OK, everyone knows that you can sync Gmail but did you know you can sync your Google calendar & contacts too?

I won't go into too many details as there is a good write-up on Google's website: Mail, Calendar & Contacts Setup

If I can summarize, all you have to do is use Microsoft Exchange instead of Google Mail when you add your Google Account. For any setting requiring a server address, use m.google.com. It is quite straight forward, but I would at least have a quick look at Google's guide before setting it up.

Now when you add entries, you have the option to add entries to both calendars. For me, I prefer the usability of Google Calendar not only because it is easier to use, but you also have some websites such as online travel agencies that provide links to add travel itinerary directly to your calendar. Now this is what I call convenience.

iCal Calendar	Google Calendar

As usual, I must end with a small disclaimer. Apparently this service is another Google Beta product. I will not be held liable for any data loss especially as I have not fully tested this myself. If you have any doubts, feel free to read up on the limitations here. This technique worked well for me but I am guessing depending on the your usage, mileage may vary. Please use at your own risk.

AFB - Away From Blog

2009-12-09T00:41:00.003+09:00

Yeah, its been some time since I've had a chance to post anything. Since I've been away, I moved to a new country, got a new MacBook Pro, a new iPhone 3GS, Time Capsule, Magic Mouse and much more after starting my new life here.

I have alot of new ideas to post about but just don't have time. One of these days I will put all my thoughts down in this blog. For all my faithful blog readers (if I have any), sorry for making you wait.

Watch YouTube with Google Chrome for Mac OSX

2009-08-01T23:12:00.005+09:00

Previously I wrote a post about the release of the developer version of Google Chrome for Mac. Since then, I read an article about enabling plug-ins which in effect allows you to view YouTube videos in Chrome!

To try this out, you just need to open the terminal application (Application/Utilities/Terminal.apps) and launch the application by command line while adding a parameter option. The command below may differ based on the location that you have your Google Chrome application installed.

/Applications/Google\ Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Chrome --enable-plugins

Alternatively, you could create a script that runs this application with the parameter option. But honestly at this stage, I do not thing it is worth the effort.

I do have to admit, this workaround is nice to play with but it is not perfect. The controls can be buggy and not always responsive when trying to navigate through the video. In addition, adding this parameter will cause the application to become more sluggish and crash unexpectedly. Although, it is fun to play around with while we are waiting for this to be perfected.

Last but not least, this setting works for both Google Chrome & Chromium browsers.

How to jailbreak iPhone 3.0 using redsn0w

2009-06-21T00:37:00.009+09:00

For those that are not familiar with the term Jailbreak for iPhone, it allows you to use unofficial applications on your iPhone bypassing Apple's official distribution and review process from the App Store. Jailbroken phones also provide for unlocking a phone which allows you to use your phone on cellular networks which the phone was not intended for. As I travel Internationally quite frequently, I rely heavily on this feature to avoid roaming charges when I use my phone.

Today, the dev team released the long awaited Pwnage application to allow us all to upgrade our jailbroken iPhones to 3.0. Compared to previous upgrades, this one was slightly more complicated and I ran into several issues causing me to redo several steps. In addition, when I finally got my iPhone upgraded, no matter what I tried, I could not establish a cellular connection with my provider. After retrying multiple times, with no success, I broke down and installed the default 3.0 firmware coming from Apple.

I was dissapointed that I couldn't do a direct upgrade of my previously jailbroken iPhone but I wasn't too concerned about permanently "locking" my phone. For previous versions, you were required to keep the Bandbase (a component that manages the mobile communication) a certain version to stay compatible with the software allowing this functionality. For 3.0 firmware, it relies on new holes with the latest version using a new software (which has yet to be released yet).

Fortunately, around the time my upgrade finished, the Dev team released a second application called redsn0w allowing an alternative way to Jailbreak your iPhone in a more simplfied way. Once my phone was restored and synchronized, I gave this application a try. Within 20 minutes, the process was completed and my phone was once again Jailbroken.

This guide below will not detail how to upgrade to 3.0 firmware and will focus only on Jailbreaking using redsn0w.

Using redsn0w to Jailbreak your iPhone:

Prerequisites:

iPhone upgraded with 3.0 firmware
redsn0w software: Torrent Download

edit: Torrent Download has been updated with the latest release.

After confirming the prerequisites, you are ready to begin.

Create a folder like "Jailbreak" on your desktop.
Copy the redsn0w software and 3.0 upgrade to the "Jailbreak" folder.

note: The 3.0 firmware is named iPhone1,2_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw and is located in /user/[username]/Library/iTunes/iPhone Software Updates/iPhone1,2_3.0_7A341_Restore.ipsw
Unzip redsn0w-mac_0.7.zip
Launch redsn0w.app which is located in the folder created by redsn0w-mac_0.7.zip
On the first screen, you will be asked for the IPSW file of the firmware current installed. Select the 3.0 firmware that you copied to the "Jailbreak" folder
redsn0w will confirm the integrity of the firmware and inform you that it has been successfully identified. Afterwards, click Next.
A window will pop-up while the firmware is being patched.
Select the options to configure. You only have one options which is to "Install Cydia" which you must keep. Click Next.
The next step is a little tricky as you need to act quickly. Be prepared to press the power button right after clicking Next.
Keep the power button pressed down for 5 seconds.
Next without releasing the power button, press the home button for 10 seconds.
Then while keeping the home button pressed, release the power button for up to 30 seconds.
From here, the firmware will be uploaded to your iPhone.
Afterwards, the next steps of the upgrade will be managed on the iPhone and all you need to do is wait for it to complete. During the installation, you can watch the progress on your iPhone.

The Jailbreak is now complete!

Now proceed to install your favorite applications. Must have's for me are SBSettings, Five Icon Dock, Veency, OpenSSH, Mobile Terminal and Icy (alternative installer for jailbroken iPhones).

As a side-note, Icy is not installed when using redsn0w to jailbreak your iPhone. To install, from Cydia, search for the RiPDev package and install it. Afterwards you will be able to search and install the Icy application.

Now when you can search and install the Icy application.

After finishing these steps, you will have the best of both worlds, 3.0 and a jailbroken iPhone.

edit: A friend of mine had an issue with the process above. I discovered that his device was not correctly working after the initial upgrade to 3.0. Please ensure that your upgrade to 3.0 is working 100% before proceeding with the jailbreaking procedure above.

Just as a note, the technique mentioned above is clearly a hack and not promoted by Apple in any way. If you have any issues, I am more than willing to help although I cannot guarantee this technique for your iPhone. Please use at your own risk.

How to run multiple instances of VLC - Part II

2009-06-18T01:34:00.014+09:00

Previously I wrote about how to run multiple instances of VLC but encountered an issue with file association. This issue has been resolved allowing to open multiple VLC instances by double-clicking on associated files. In addition, it allows for drag and drop as well.

Refer to the previous article "How to run multiple instances of VLC" for the setup up but use the new launcher script included below. Afterwards, I will discuss about File Association to complete the creation of this new VLC launcher.

Launcher Creation: Follow the previous article with the exception of using the following script instead.


set filecount to 0

on open filelist
 repeat with i in filelist
  set filecount to 1
  do shell script "open -n -a /Applications/VLC.app " & quoted form of POSIX path of i & " &> /dev/null &"
  -- open -n Opens a new instance of the application even if one is already running.
  -- open -a Opens with the specified application.
  -- "quoted form of" is added in case any spaces exist in file name
 end repeat
end open

if filecount < 1 then
 do shell script "open -n /Applications/VLC.app"
end if

File Association: To ensure your videos open with the new launcher you need to change the default application for all the movie types.

Right-Click on a file with the extension type you would like to associate (.avi/.mpeg/.mov/.wmv/.mp4/etc.) and select Get Info.
In the properties window, refer to the section Open with.
Click on the drop-down list and select Other
Select the VLC.app application where you previously copied the file. In the previous article, I referred to Macintosh/Users//Library/Scripts/VLC.app
This particular file will now open with your new launcher. But to ensure the changes for all files with this file extenstion, click on Change All...
You will have to repeat for each file extension type you would like to open with VLC.

By following this walkthrough guide, you can now enjoy multiple instances of VLC by simply double clicking on your media files. In addition, you can also drag and drop media files directly on the VLC icon you created in the dock (if you haven't created one, refer to the previous article "How to run multiple instances of VLC"). This finally completes this walkthrough guide explaining how to run multiple instances of VLC. I hope you find this useful.

Please do not hesitate to post your experience with this walkthrough guide.

Migrating your iTunes library from Windows to Mac while preserving all your settings

2009-06-14T13:51:00.012+09:00

Before starting anything, make a backup of your entire iTunes directory to ensure you have a good copy to go back to in case something goes wrong.

This procedure works for a PC or Mac. But for our interests, I will focus only on a PC to Mac migration. The last time I tried this was a few months back when I migrated everything from my PC to my new MacBook. I assume it still works but if you encounter any issues, please post a note about your experience.

For this migration we will focus on 2 files which need to be updated for this migration.

Microsoft Windows
C:\Documents and Settings\\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl
C:\Documents and Settings\\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music Library.xml

Mac OS X
/Users//Music/iTunes/iTunes Library
/Users//Music/iTunes/iTunes Music Library.xml

The xml file contains all the information about your library to easily share with other applications. While the iTunes Library.itl or iTunes Library file, is a database for iTunes.

So lets begin. First, make sure that iTunes is closed on both machines.
After creating a backup of all your iTunes directories, copy the entire iTunes directory on your PC from the following location:
C:\Documents and Settings\\My Documents\My Music\iTunes
To the following location on your Mac:
/Users//Music/iTunes
Next, you need to update the xml file so that iTunes can locate your media in the new location. Open up the xml file that you just copied to your Mac (/Users//Music/iTunes/iTunes Music Library.xml) with TextEdit or DashCode.
Then go to Edit->Find and search for the current directory:
"file://localhost/c:/documents and settings/username/my documents/iTunes/"
...and replace all instances with the path you plan to store your media:
"file://localhost/Users/username/Music/iTunes/"

note: You can assign a different location than the example used above. In my case, I use my NAS server.
"file://localhost/Volumes/share/MEDIA/MUSIC/"
We are almost done. One last thing is required for the migration to work properly, you need to deliberately corrupt your iTunes Library file:
/Users//Music/iTunes/iTunes Library
Open the file in text editor. Do not be worried if the file is not understandable, it is normal. Go to very end of the file and add a few spaces and then save and close.
Now the last thing is to rebuild the iTunes Library file. Open iTunes and wait for the iTunes Library file to be rebuilt automatically. The application will see that the file is corrupt and rebuild it from scratch with the settings in the xml file. This can take time depending on the amount of media you have stored in iTunes. To give an idea, it took me an hour and a half to rebuild my library but keep in mind, my media is stored on a NAS which is much slower to access than the local machine.

Once the file has been rebuilt, you can use iTunes on your Mac just as you did on your PC with all the media in-tact. There is some work involved, but it will save you the time of re-adding all your files manually. In addition, your ratings and playlists are left intact and you can be assured that nothing will be missed whereas you are bound to miss something if you did it manually.

How to run multiple instances of VLC

2009-06-06T23:10:00.008+09:00

Have you ever wanted to run multiple instances of VLC at the same time? There are times where I like to keep an old football game going while watching a movie. But unfortunately, VLC has never provided this functionality although there are ways around.

First you could run the application from the command line to launch multiple instances. It is quite easy to do but if you watch videos often then it quickly becomes an inconvenience.

MacBook :~ mactimes$ /Applications/VLC.app/Contents/MacOS/VLC &

I've also heard of people making multiple copies of the application in order to run multiple instances of VLC.

There is an easier options. By following this guide, I will show you how to run multiple instances of the application. In addition, show you how to change a few settings so the changes are transparent.

This guide will be composed of 4 steps:

Launcher creation
Icon image update
Copy launcher to dock
File association???

note: It is assumed that VLC is installed. If not, please download and install it from the Mac VLC download page.

Launcher Creation:

Start by opening Script Editor (Applications -> AppleScript -> Script Editor)
In the upper window type the following command:

do shell script "open -n /Applications/VLC.app"

note: The "-n" refers to new so that you can open multiple applications
Click "Compile" to analyze the script and check for errors
Then save the script as "VLC" with the File Format changed to Application.
You will end up with a launcher on your Desktop that looks like the following icon
Launch the icon multiple times and you should get multiple instances of VLC

Icon Image Update: The default script icon is obviously not very attractive so lets change it to the VLC icon.

Select the original VLC application in Finder.
Right-Click on the VLC application icon and select Get Info.
In the properties window, there is a small icon of the application in the upper left hand corner. Select this icon (you will see it highlighted).
Copy the icon (Edit -> Copy or ⌘C) to your clipboard.
Select the new VLC launcher on your desktop.
Right-Click on the VLC launcher icon and select Get Info.
In the properties window, go to the small icon in the upper left hand corner. Select this icon (you will see it highlighted).
Paste the icon (Edit -> Paste or ⌘V) from your clipboard.
The icon will change from the default script icon image to the VLC icon image.
The icon on your desktop will also change from the default script icon image to the VLC icon image.

Copy launcher to dock:

Open Finder and move the new VLC script to Macintosh/Users//Library/Scripts.
Drag the new VLC script to your dock.
Click on the dock icon to launch new instances of VLC.

File Association: To ensure your videos open with the new launcher you need to change the default application for all the movie types. I thought this would be easy to configure by just point the file extensions to the new VLC script but unfortunately it does not work. I will leave this a work in progress and post an update when I find a solution.

So there you go, a quick and easy solution to launching multiple instances of VLC. Its not perfect but it is much more convenient then launching the application from the command line. And when I find a solution for the file association I will keep you all updated. Just as a final note, this process should work for any application you would like to run multiple instances of.

Google Chrome Developer Release for Mac OSX

2009-06-05T22:53:00.011+09:00

In anticipation of the Google Chrome release, I have been playing around with daily builds of Chromium, the open source browser project that Google Chrome will be based on. It is far from perfect but it does allow you to get an idea of what's to come: Chromium Latest Builds

Today, Google released a developer release of Google Chrome. This is an early release of the final product but clearly shows that there are major advancements. On the Official Blog, they discourage downloading the application aside from developers. But I'm sure all of you are curious, so here is the download link: Google Chrome Developer Release

Before installing, I recommend to read through the privacy notes so you know what you are getting yourself into: Mac OSX Developer Release Privacy Notice

From what I could see from my test drive the biggest limitation today is that Flash content was not viewable. That means YouTube or most mutimedia content on many popular websites is not available. Also Google mentioned in multiple posts that many privacy settings are not available.

On the other hand, the browser seems to be built upon a core that is very stable in this early release. In addition the browser is blazing fast. You also get incognito mode which hides any trace of the websites you view. Another new addition is the auto-update feature which was not available in Chromium without installing 3rd party software. Now you know you will always have access to the latest release within a day of release.

I won't spend my time using this browser full time yet. But I will give it a go from time to time (with the latest automatically updated release) to see how it has advanced.

So now the biggest question on my mind is when will a fully functioning public release become available? Its just a matter of time now...

View the images below for a look first hand look at what Google Chrome looks like.

For more information on Google Chrome please refer to the following links:

How to use Time Machine with a Buffalo Terastation NAS

2009-05-31T21:26:00.024+09:00

I always thought how convenient a Time Capsule would be. But I was always discouraged with the cost. I already have a 802.11n Wifi router and already have a NAS too. It was just plain impossible to justify the cost of getting a Time Capsule.

So I looked around to see if there were any other solutions. And I found one. Unfortunately I do not know how it compares to Time Capsule as I do not have one (yes, some investigation needed here). But it does what I need to do and that is take a regular backup of my system.

In my environment I am using a Buffalo Terastation Live with 1TB of storage. The file system where the backups are stored is a 1TB external USB hard drive connected to the Terastation.

Step by step procedure is listed below:

So first things first. In order for your Mac to store backups on NAS drives, you have to change a system property. Please refer to the following command:
```
MacBook :~ mactimes$ defaults write com.apple.systempreferences TMShowUnsupportedNetworkVolumes 1
```
Restart your system in order for the changes to take effect. Once done, Time Machine will allow your system to use a Network drive (non-standard drives in general) to backup your system. But unfortunately, there is still more to do. The application has difficulties creating the backup file and the work around is to manually create this storage container (known as SparseBundle) for Time Machine.
Turn off Time Machine in order to complete the next steps.
Run the following command to grab the MAC address from your Network Interface. This is recreated when creating the backup file.
```
MacBook :~ mactimes$ ifconfig en0 | grep ether
```
Make a note of the MAC address and remove the colon marks. This and the hostname are required for the naming of the backup file.
Create the "sparesebundle" file on your local file system. We will copy it to the NAS server later.
```
MacBook :~ mactimes$ hdiutil create -size 300g -fs HFS+J -volname "Backup of MacBook" macbook_001b63b14f57.sparsebundle
created: /Users/mactimes/macbook_001b63b14f57.sparsebundle
```
note: The "-size" is the max size that you allow the file to grow to. Supply the size which fits your requirements
note: HFS+J is file type, this does not change.
note: -volname is the name you configure for your backup file.
note: output name is [hostname]_[MAC address].sparesebundle

Move the file to the File Server


MacBook :~ mactimes$ mv macbook_001b63b14f57.sparsebundle /Volumes/usbdisk1/

Now is the moment of truth. In Time Machine Systme Preferences Panel, select "Change Disk". It will display the volumes you can backup to. It should display the volume you moved the file to. If your share is not listed, ensure that the NAS is mounted. Also, if you haven't rebooted after Step 1, please be sure to reboot then try again.
Before starting Time Machine, you will want to stop the indexing on your backup file, else your system will become extremely slow. To do this go to "Spotlight" in your System Preferences. In the Privacy tab, add the share where you copied the backup file.
From here, just turn on Time Machine and let it run. You should get a successful backup although it can take time to complete depending on how much data your hard drives are using.

Now that is it. I have been using this technique to do regular backups and usually let it run over a night during the weekend. So far I have had no issues although I have only recovered one or two files since enabling it.

Just as a note, the technique mentioned above is clearly a hack and not promoted by Apple in any way. I will not be held liable for any data loss especially since I have not fully tested a full recovery myself. This technique worked well for me but I am guessing depending on the hardware used, mileage may vary. If you have any issues, I am more than willing to help for the setup although I cannot guarantee this technique for your environment. Please use at your own risk. If you do have success with this technique, please comment to let others know.

MacTimes Reopening!

2009-05-31T21:12:00.004+09:00

Last year this website was started with the intention to give everyone useful information about the Apple Mac. But as time went by, I gradually lost the ability to post any new information.

The site was eventually shut down but after realizing how much I missed the site, I extracted all the data from backups and migrated it to Blogger.com. Unfortunately I lost the design from all the php code that I developed but at least the information was preserved. So please be patient with the plain design of the site while I learn how to customize it into something more attractive.

Thanks for coming by and looking forward to your continued support.

MacUpdate Bundle Pack

2009-05-31T13:38:00.006+09:00

The guys over at MacUpdate have started selling their new bundle pack for Spring 2009. Normally I wouldn't get too excited over these packages but this one has some very interesting applications included all for $49.99. The special offer only lasts for 2 weeks until June 12th. So for anyone interested in these wonderful apps act quickly.

There are 2 in particular which I will highlight: Parallels Desktop 4 & TechTool Pro 5.

I previously purchased Parallels desktop 3. It is an application that allows you to virtually run your Windows OS within your Mac. I purchased this so I could easily run Windows or Windows applications in case I could not do what I needed on the Mac.

TechTool Pro is a utility application for testing, repair and maintenance. It gives you an overview of your basic computing environment such as CPU, memory load and disk space. Apple includes a version of this application in its AppleCare Protection Plan.

The list of applications in this bundle include the following:

TechTool Pro 5 (valued at $98.00) - Utility tool to check the health of your RAM, hard drives. Can be used to repair problems and optimize performance
Parallels Desktop 4 (valued at $79.99) - Virtualization tool for running Windows inside of Mac.
NetBarrier X5 (valued at $49.95) - Firewall for the Mac!
Circus Ponies Notebook 3 (valued at $49.95) - Organization tool for taking notes
DVDRemaster Pro 5 (valued at $49.99) - Backup DVDs, and conversion to iPod, iPhone and AppleTV
Multiplex (valued at $35.00) - DVD management and movie playback
RipIt (valued at $18.99) - Extract DVDs to your hard drive
MoneyWell (valued at $49.99) - Finance management software with direct connect banking and envelope budgeting
Paperless (valued at $44.95) - Scan and manage your receipts
Posterino (valued at $24.95) - Create posters, postcards and photo frames using photos stored deep within your hard drives
BetterZip (valued at $19.95) - Zip compression tool

For the first 20,000 buyers, they also included 2 bonus applications:

Jets'n'Guns Gold (valued at $29.95) - Fighter jet shooting game
CuteClips 3 (valued at $15.00) - Clipboard manager

Today, they just added a new application for the first 25,000 buyers.

Voila (valued at $39.95) - Tool allowing you to capture windows on your screen and store, organize and share them.

It keeps getting better and better!

And again, it only lasts until June 12th.

Cracking Open the Apple MacBook Air

2008-03-07T16:31:00.003+09:00

The guys at TechRepublic have cracked open a MacBook Air (MBA) and thankfully put it back together in one piece.

After going through the photos, I can say that the inside of the MBA is almost as impressive as the outside. I was surprised by how simple and clean the inside of the MBA was. This is truly innovation at work.

To see the pictures, visit TechRepublic's website. While you are there, go through the comments. Its hilarious how many people try to compare their power laptops to the MBA which is in a class of its own.

http://content.techrepublic.com.com/2346-13636_11-190015.html?tag=nl.e099.dl030508&tag=nl.e09

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom

2008-02-12T12:44:00.003+09:00

There is a feature in OSX where you can zoom in on the entire screen. It is very useful when you want to zoom in on small text or to have a closer look at a photo. I found this feature by accident, and found it very useful after I figured out how it worked.

There are a few ways to do use this feature. The first is with the mouse, the second is with the trackpad & the third is with the keyboard.

1) Using the mouse: I discovered this trick by accident of course. In order to use this trick with a mouse, a scroll wheel is required for this trick. All you need to do is press CONTROL while scrolling up on the mouse to zoom in. To zoom out, do the opposite by pressing CONTROL while scrolling down on the mouse.

2) Using the trackpad: This is a little tricky to do but becomes easier over time. To zoom in, you need to press CONTROL while placing 2 fingers on the trackpad one kept still with the second finger moving in an upward fashion. To zoom out, just do the opposite by pressing CONTROL while placing 2 fingers on the trackpad with one finger kept still with the second figure moving in a downward fashion.

3) Using the keyboard: This is my favorite as I find it the most convenient, as your fingers never leave the keyboard. For me, this function was not enabled by default and I had to enable it. To enable this functionality use the default key sequence, press "ALT+⌘+8". Then you can use the zoom functionality by pressing "ALT+⌘+'+'(plus/equal)" keys to zoom in and "ALT+⌘+'-'(minus/underscore)" keys to zoom out.

If you want to see the options for zooming in, or if it not working as explained above, go to Universal Properties from the System Properties. From here you are able to see whether the zoom functionality is turned on or not. Also, you have options to fine tune the zoom preferences.

How do I quit an application? A frozen application?

2008-02-05T17:08:00.004+09:00

There are several ways to quit applications. I will go through the ones that I use one by one. Some of the examples are very obvious while others are less obvious, hidden by using shortcuts.

1) Menu Bar

The most obvious one is from the menu bar and selecting Quit.

2) Right-Click Icon

Less obvious, Right-Click (Control+Click) on the application icon on the dock to bring up a menu where you can Quit from there. And even less obvious, is Click+Hold on the application icon for a few seconds to bring up the same menu where you can Quit the application.

3) Right-Click Force Quit

Similar to the previous example, you can Right-Click+Option and you will have the option to Force Quit the application. This is most useful when you are trying to close an application which has become unresponsive.

4) Force Quit Window

Another way to Force Quit an application is by opening the Force Quit dialog. This is done by typing "⌘+Option+ESC" key combination. From here, you just have to do is select the application and click on Force Quit.

5) My Favorite - Quit using the Keyboard Application Switch

In a previous Tips & Tricks, I explained how to switch between applications using keyboard shortcuts. For those that missed it, this can easily be done by pressing "⌘+TAB" key combination. But for this particular example, you can include the character "Q" to close the selected application. "⌘+TAB+Q"

By using this trick you can close several applications in just a matter of seconds.

6) The Windows Way

If all else fails (I have yet to do this yet, on purpose at least!), you can always power down the machine. Press on the power button for ~5 seconds. I do not recommend this in any way, but I leave this option as a last resort "just in case".
Important: by using this option, you will lose any unsaved data.

Hope these examples help to save you some time. Just be careful with the "Force Quit" as it can cause unsaved changes to applications to be lost.

Anti-Virus: ClamXav - Get the production you need at the right price

2008-01-31T18:42:00.003+09:00

OK, we all know how vulernable Macs are to viruses. I'm sure we've all heard the countless stories about how we need to protect ourselves against all these nasty viruses. Really, when was the last time you heard about a virus on a Mac? Honestly, I don't think I have. This was one of the reasons I wanted to get a Mac.

But being as paranoid as I was coming from a Windows environment, I searched the market for the most appropriate Anti-Virus protection and I found ClamXav. As I was familiar with ClamAV (the Unix version often times used on email servers), I figured it was worth a try. So far it has proven to be worthwhile. But then again, how can I be so sure with so many viruses targeting Macs out there...

ClamXav has the basic Anti-Virus features. You can scan files on-demand, schedule scanning of your machine, automatic updates, scan emails and scan files in real-time. The product seems to do a good job of the basic functionalities. The only complaint I have is that it can be slow at times. But as I do not actively scan files while I am using my Mac, it is hardly a drawback for me. The scheduled & real-time scanning is done in the background.

Below are some screenshots of the basic functions.

From left to right: (left) General settings for Anti-Virus allowing you to log & quarantine. (middle) Schedule settings where you set the daily schedule for the Anti-Virus scan. (right) Enabling of Sentry (Real-Time scanning) of certain directories. Here I have set my download directory where I am most likely to pick-up a virus.

Before you make your decision on the level of security you require, let me do a quick comparison of the competition. I have heard of one product that does a very good job of Anti-Virus scanning called Intego Virus Barrier. It also has a high price-tag to go with it: $70 to buy and $30 per year for support (new virus updates). It seems to do a very good job according to MacWorld. There is also Norton which was recommended on Amazon. As a major player in in the security market, it has the resources and reactivity to stop the viruses quickly after they become wild. But for me, in my last life, their products did more bad than any good. I do not like to bash products but it happened to me two times in a row!

While we are on the topic of the drawbacks of Anti-Virus products, an interesting article about Anti-Virus & Macs: Mac OS X anti-virus software: More trouble than it's worth?

Going back to Anti-Virus products, ClamXav is free and the other 2 have free trials. Before buying, I would recommend giving them a try. Be warned, only try Norton if you are really serious in using this product. I have heard that the product installs files everywhere making it difficult to remove after the trial.

To summarize, for me, the 3 main drivers for deciding on ClamXav as follows:

Its free!
It does its job
Macs are not infested with viruses so why pay for more (at least for now)

For more details please visit the ClamXav website.

Firewall: Little Snitch - Block applications from unauthorized access

2008-01-29T17:32:00.003+09:00

Moving to the Mac, one of the first things that struck me, was the lack of security options. As Macs are not targeted near as much as Windows for security exploits, there is much less demand. Regardless, knowing how dangerous the Internet can be, I wanted to have some sense of security for my important and personal data.

Searching on Google, I really struggled to find anything that really caught my eye. Norton was really the only big name that stuck out. But after having a look at their homepage and further research, Norton does not even have a product that supports the newer versions of Mac OSXs... I have had several bad experiences in my previous life, so I doubt I would have gone with Norton anyway.

Investing further, I started to hear about a product called Little Snitch. It was not a full-fledged firewall but it provided an important feature that most of the other firewalls did not feature. It blocks outgoing traffic! Since the Leopard has a firewall that can block inbound connections, this is a perfect compliment. Every time you use a new application connecting to the Internet, you can either allow or deny the connection. You have some flexibility to allow the access for the duration the application is open or anytime the application tries to connect to the Internet (selecting Forever). You also have the ability to restrict the scope of the access. Say for example, you have a browser an ftp program which you only want to connect to one site, like your website you manage. But know that this application can send data to the Internet, you can configure the firewall to connect only to the hosting provider and nothing else. If it is a trusted application (like a web browser), you can also allow the access to any host.

Once you configure an application to be used permanently by Little Snitch, its not the end. Included is an interface allowing you to review and modify all the rules you have created. All you have to do is go to your Little Snitch Rules and from there click on the rules you want to modify. Like above, you have the option of allowing/denying, per port, per protocol & by network or server. The product is very easy and straightforward to use even for the novice.

This was one of my first purchases on the Mac and I do not regret it for a second. The only thing I regret is not buying the family licence for when I replace more of my PCs with Macs. The family license allows you to use install Little Stitch on 5 Macs within the same household.

For more information about this product visit the Little Snitch website.

How do I switch between applications?

2008-01-28T09:12:00.004+09:00

In Windows, to switch between applications you press the CTRL+TAB key combination. This brings up a dialog which allows you to TAB between the open applications. Your Mac has the same functionality with a small variation. To switch between applications you can press ⌘+TAB. The image on the right shows the dialog resembling Windows.
Continue pressing TAB until you reach the application you want to switch to.

The difference you will find is that this only switches between application types. For example, if you have 3 Camino windows open, you cannot use ⌘+TAB to switch between the 3 open Camino applications. You need to use ⌘+TAB to switch to Camino. Then press ⌘+~ (tilde key) to switch between the Camino windows.

Command Combination	Description
⌘+tab	Switch between different applications
⌘+~	Switch between open windows of same applications

See the MacBook Air Commercial here!

2008-01-27T04:57:00.003+09:00

For those that have not seen the commercial for the new MacBook Air, here it is. The more I see it the more I like it.

Have a look for yourself. It truly is amazing.

How do I take a screenshot?

2008-01-26T18:49:00.003+09:00

A screenshot is an image taken of the desktop. It is often used for demonstrations, guides or troubleshooting by sharing the desktop or application.

Example of a screenshot

Working as a system administrator, you learn the art of taking screenshots for writing documentation. I must admit screenshots are also useful when you have a technical blog.

I remember when I first bought a Mac, I wanted to show a friend how nice my new Mac was but I didn't know how to create a screenshot to send to him. After some research on the Internet I found that there were multiple ways to create screenshots as follows:

Command Combination	Description
⌘+Shift+3	This takes a screenshot of the screen, and saves the image as a file on the desktop
⌘+Shift+4	This brings up a pointer to select an area on your desktop and saves the image as a file on the desktop
⌘+Shift+4+Space	This allows you to select a window you would like to make a screenshot of and saves the image as a file on the desktop
⌘+Control+Shift+3	This takes a screenshot of the screen, and saves the image to the clipboard for pasting to image editors
⌘+Control+Shift+4	This brings up a pointer to select an area on your desktop and saves the image to the clipboard for pasting to image editors
⌘+Control+Shift+4+Space	This allows you to select a window you would like to make a screenshot of and saves the image to the clipboard for pasting to image editors

There are also 3rd party applications which can also take screenshots, one of them being Grab which is pre-installed inside the Utilities folder. But for most requirements, the key combinations above should be enough.

How to upgrade the hard disk on your MacBook

2008-01-26T18:21:00.003+09:00

If you purchased your Mac with an upgraded hard disk then it will come pre-installed with the hard disk size that you choose. But many of us decide to upgrade after using our Mac for a while and then we want to upgrade the capacity of the hard disk size. The process is extremely easy and I will show you how in 7 steps.

Required items:

Coin for unlocking the battery lock
A small or precision screwdriver
T8 Torx screwdriver

Hard Disk Upgrade:

Turn the MacBook over being cautious not scratch it. You will see a screw in the locked position which you need to unlock by turning the with a small coin such as a penny. Once you unlocked, the battery will come loose.
Carefully pull the battery and set aside.
You will see three small screws which holds a bracket into place. You will need the small or precision screw driver to unscrew the three screws. Unscrew in any order one by one. Be careful to place the screws in a safe place so you don't lose them.
Release the bracket by pulling back from the right side and lifting out from the battery compartment.
Unroll the white tape on the left side of the battery compartment and pull the hard disk bracket from the hard disk bay.
While holding the hard disk bracket use the T8 torx screwdriver to unscrew the screws on both sides of the bracket. This will separate the hard disk from the bracket allowing you to reuse the bracket for the new hard disk.
Now you can attach your new hard disk to the bracket by reusing the screws and re-inserting your hard disk bracket into the hard disk bay.

Once all the steps have been completed, turn on your Mac to ensure that the hard disk is detected. From here you will have to restore your data. Unfortunately, the data recovery procedure is a post in itself which will be written at a later date.

How do I change the desktop icon size?

2008-01-24T17:54:00.003+09:00

I can remember after buying my 24" Dell monitor (2407 WFP-HC) which supports a resolution of 1920x1200, the first thing that struck me when using the native resolution, was the size of the icons compared to all the unused desktop space. It was really nice.

On the MacBook, you cannot increase the resolution higher than 1280x800 but you can change the icon size to give the impression that your resolution is higher than it really is. Here is how.

First right-click on your desktop and select "Show View Options"
You will be presented with a new window that allows you to change several aspects of the icon
- Icon size: The actual size of the icon
- Grid spacing: The distance between the icons
- Text size: The size of the text
- Label position: Where the text displays in relation to the icon
- Show item info: Additional info about the icon such as disk space available for the hard disk icon or the size of an image
- Show icon preview: For an image, the icon will display as a shrunk image of the file itself
Play around with the icon size preference to find the look and feel you are comfortable with. Generally I use an icon size of 32 x 32 and text size of 10pt.
It may not be for everyone but you can even increase the size of the icons. As an example, here is what a desktop with an icon size of 128 x 128 and text size of 16pt looks like.

To go one step further, you can also reduce the size of the dock. Here is how.

Start by going to "System Preferences" from the main menu
Then select "Dock" to get the properties in order to change the settings.

Details of the settings taken from the "Help"

Peference	Explanation
Dock Size	Drag the slider to change the Dock size.
Magnification	Drag the slider toward "Max" to enlarge the icons when the pointer is over them.
Position on screen	Choose a location for the Dock.
Minimize using	Choose the effect used when you minimize a window. If you're unsure of the choices, try them out.
Animate opening applications	Select this checkbox to make icons bounce when you open applications.
Automatically hide and show the Dock	Select this checkbox to hide the Dock when you’re not using it. If you hide the Dock, move the pointer to the bottom or side of the screen to see it.

As you can see it is very easy to change the size of the desktop icons. After this change, does the desktop appear larger? Here is what my desktop looks like now.

Apple Q1 2008 Results - Record profits!

2008-01-24T16:24:00.003+09:00

As this website title states, it truly is a Mac Revolution. Yesterday Apple posted their fiscal Q1 2008 results and their profits were up. Apple profited $1.58 billion compared to $1 billion the same quarter 1 year ago.

Highlights of the article:

2,319,000 Mac’s shipped (44% growth over same quarter 1 year ago)
22,121,000 iPods sold (5% growth over same quarter 1 year ago)
2,315,000 iPhone sold

“We’re thrilled to report our best quarter ever, with the highest revenue and earnings in Apple’s history,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We have an incredibly strong new product pipeline for 2008, starting with MacBook Air, Mac Pro and iTunes Movie Rentals in the first two weeks.”

Its too bad the current market conditions have been so bad else they would continue to have a record Q2 as well…

How to upgrade the memory on your MacBook

2008-01-22T18:25:00.003+09:00

If you purchased your Mac with upgraded memory then it will come pre-installed with the amount of memory you have chosen. But for many of us, we decide after using it a few weeks that we would like to upgrade the memory. The process is extremely easy and I will show you how in 6 steps.

Required items:

Coin for unlocking the battery lock
A small or precision screwdriver

Memory Upgrade:

Turn the MacBook over being cautious not scratch it. You will see a screw in the locked position which you need to unlock by turning the with a small coin such as a penny. Once you unlocked, the battery will come loose.
Carefully pull the battery and set aside.
You will see three small screws which holds a bracket into place. You will need the small or precision screwdriver to unscrew the three screws. Unscrew in any order one by one. Be careful to place the screws in a safe place so you don't lose them.
Release the bracket by pulling back from the right side and lifting out from the battery compartment.
There is a small sliding lever to release the memory modules from their slots. Slide the lever to the left to release the memory. After releasing the memory be careful when handling the memory modules. Be sure to hold by the edges and avoid touching the gold contacts which can damage the memory modules.
Now you are ready to insert your upgrade memory modules by inserting back into the slots displayed in step #5. After you have fitted the memory modules just replace the bracket, battery and lock and you will be good to go.

Once all the steps have been completed, turn on your Mac to ensure that the memory is updated as expected. You can go to the "Apple Menu-->About this Mac" to confirm that the memory you installed is recognized by the system. If you encounter errors or inaccurate memory specifications, reopen the memory compartment and reseat the memory modules.

Apple Announces MacBook Air among other NEW announcements

2008-01-21T16:54:00.003+09:00

During the MacWorld Expo, Steve Jobs gave an interesting keynote speech where he started off speaking about the success of Apple over the last year. Thereafter, he introduced Apple’s new products which concentrated on 4 major themes:

a backup appliance called “Time Capsule” which acts as a wireless backup server and doubles as a wireless base station
iPhone software developments and new enhancements to software including google maps integration which is able to pinpoint your location, sms to multiple recipients & home screen customization.
iTunes Movie Rentals & a revised Apple TV (”Take Two”)
MacBook Air - “The world’s thinnest notebook”. This is a really awesome breakthrough in technology.

You can see the whole 90 minute keynote here <> or watch the highlights in 60 seconds below:

I was always curious on getting my hands on an Apple TV. But now after watching this, I have to have one. I still don’t know how its going to be able to download a HD quality move (unfortunately only Dolby 5.1) but as the technology is so new, it is amazing to think how they can do it. Also, Apple is so smart with their marketing, “In HD, they are just a dollar more” when comparing normal DVD quality rentals to HD ones. And if I could afford it, the MacBook Air really looks incredible. As you know, I just got into Macs so I have at least another 2 years to wait before buying a new one… It should be much better by then…
There were so many obvious key points how they are making everything “better” but one thing not so obvious was the close alliance with Google. We all know how everyone is predicting Google to rule the world someday. Such an alliance will put Apple in a really good position when Google supersedes everyone else. If it ever happens, of course. In addition to this, you really see how they are so focused on simplicity. Apple is really making the lives of those using Apple products so much easier whether they are iPhone, iPod Touch, Apple TV users or Mac users.
For more info on any of the products mentioned above, you can refer to the Apple website.

Originally posted on January 20th, 2008