9 posts tagged “osx”
I am speechless. Go check my tech blog for pics and such...
Apple should be posting the keynote video later today. MAKE SURE YOU WATCH IT!!
The iTV is pretty cool too, but the iPhone, OH how I desire thee....
Merlin posted this great drinking game for tomorrow, he he:
MWSF Drinking Game 2007
Originally uploaded by World Leader Pretend1.
Good-bye iMac....it's been wonderful.
Time to go back to your rightful owner. You shall be missed.
Write some time.
Lifehacker has written an incredibly awesome article on things to know when switching from Windows to Mac:
- Lifehacker: A guide for switching to Mac
Merlin Mann of 43 Folders writes:
If all the stars line up (and my lack of a proper press pass doesn’t get me thrown out on my ear), next Tuesday, a tenacious Pixelcorps camera person and I will be out covering MacWorld’s Expo floor on behalf of the mighty TWiT Network’s MacBreak video podcast.
I’ll be focusing on OS X productivity applications — with, I suspect, side visits to some companies I adore — but I’m interested in hearing about anything you think MacBreak shouldn’t miss.
God I can't wait for next week's Macworld!!!
Did ya see the Apple homepage yet? Hmmmmmm.....................
Lifehacker has written this cool tip:
Macworld has posted a handy, simple tip for minimizing every open window from one application in one swift click of the mouse: just hold your Option key when clicking the minimize button on one of the windows.
This probably won't be the most groundbreaking shortcut you learned this year, but this is the kind of shortcut that, when integrated with your workflow, will start to save you a little time. If you want to marvel at the beauty of the synchronized minimize, try holding Option-Shift and then clicking minimize. — Adam Pash
OSX has a pretty cool built-in tool called "Spotlight" for searching your entire computer instantly. Freeware Quicksilver, however, is a Spotlight-on-steroids that is pretty freaking amazing to use. Watch the vid below to get an idea of how it works:
Ok, how cool is this - when you want to switch to another user (like another member of your family, or Admin to install apps globally), you just click the user from your current desktop, enter the password, and the whole desktop rotates on a cube to reveal the other user's desktop!! Beats the crap out of XP's fast user switching for sure!
Click the file name under the movie to see the larger version:
Learned how to install apps on OSX last night. Apple and other software makers use a .dmg (Disk iMaGe) file extension instead of the .exe we're used to in Windows (I won't even touch how I install apps for Linux; it's easy, but requires too long of an explanation).
So, you've downloaded that app you want to install on your Mac - now what? Well, turns out you can double-click it just like the Windows .exe file, but you could get 3 possible results. You see, some software makers (usually Apple and other professionals) package an installer into the .dmg file, so that when you run it a wizard takes you step by step through the process of the installing the app. Typically, you have to be logged in as an admin for these installs, since the wizard will want to install the app in the root Applications folder.
The second scenario that can occur, while not as nice as the above-mentioned wizard, is that when you run the .dmg file, a screen pops up and says "drag this icon into your applications folder." You see, installations are handled differently than on Windows. Instead of installing files all over the place, everything is contained in one folder within the applications folder. If you're logged in as an admin, you can copy this folder to the main 'applications' directory, but if you're logged in as a user, you'll have to drag the app to a folder of your own making. Problem with doing that is that no other users can access the app. So it's best to install as admin.
The third scenario that can occur is that you click the .dmg file and the lovely peeps didn't bother to make an installer. since a .dmg file is really just a disk image, OSX mounts the image as a drive (kind of like if you were to put a CD into your drive, and it show up under 'My Computer' in Windows. So then you click on the mounted drive (it shows in the 'Finder', which is like Windows' Explorer on steroids). On the right-hand side of the Finder, you will see an icon for the app, which you drag-and-drop into the applications directory and tadaa - it's installed. Remember that if you're logged in as a user, you can only drag the app into your own folder, not the main 'Applications' directory. Only an Administrator can install (or drag) apps into the main 'Applications' directory.
Now you may be wondering, why not just turn myself into an Admin so I can do whatever I want all the time? Because it's a security hazard, that's why. Just cause Macs don't have viruses and spyware doesn't mean that someone couldn't trick you into clicking a DMG file, installing a rootkit on your system, and then having at your machine. Running as a limited user is much more secure for many reasons for your computer. The good news is that switching users is pretty quick on OSX, so you don't have to spend a lot of time waiting around for logon. But if you don't care that you're the only user that will be able to use the app, just drag it into your own personal directory. I created a 'My App' folder in my home directory just for that purpose.
