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Macs: Most Popular Articles

These articles are the most popular over the last month.
Ejecting CDs/DVDs from Macs
Unlike many PCs, Macs don't have a manual eject button on their CD/DVD drives. You can eject a CD or DVD from a Mac using one of three methods: the eject key on the keyboard, the F12 key on the keyboard, or an application's eject command.
Erase and Install of OS X 10.6
Erase and Install of Snow Leopard: Previous versions of OS X had installers that could perform various types of installations. The most popular types of installations were ‘Erase and Install’ (sometimes called a clean install), ‘Archive,’ and ‘Upgrade.’ The Snow Leopard installer has no option for performing any type of installation other than an upgrade, but with a few extra steps, you can get it to perform an ‘Erase and Install’ for you.
Printer Sharing - PC to Mac
Windows printer sharing lets your Mac use a printer that’s connected to one of your PCs. Setting up printer sharing for OS X 10.5 (Leopard) is easy with these step-by-step instructions.
Apple Magic Mouse Review
Apple’s Magic Mouse is the first offering from Apple to mate the capabilities of a Multi-Touch surface with a movable mouse. The result may be the best mouse Apple has ever made or the worst, depending on your expectations. The Magic Mouse has good points and bad points, but it has great potential, especially if Apple makes a few minor changes to future releases of the mouse software.
Share Mac Files with WinXP
Apple uses the SMB (Server Message Block) protocol for file sharing with Windows users, as well as Unix/Linux users. This is the same protocol that Windows uses for network file and print sharing, but Microsoft calls it Microsoft Windows Network.
Macs and HDTV
Your new big-screen HDTV probably has more video connections than your old TV. Why not use one of them for your Mac?
Pick the Right External Drive
Buying an external hard drive may seem to entail making difficult decisions, but once you understand the basic choices available, you'll find that selecting an external hard drive enclosure is a simple process.
Mac Buying Guide
The Mac Buying Guide can help you learn about the latest Mac models, and decide which one is best for you. MacBook or MacBook Pro? iMac or Mac mini? Mac Pro or iMac? Check out our buying guides and product reviews before you go shopping.
Format Your Hard Drive
Disk Utility provides several options for formatting a hard drive. You can select the drive format, as well as the method of erasing and testing the drive, during the format process.
File Sharing in OS X 10.5
File sharing with the newest version of OS X provides finer control over who can access shared folders on a Mac network and what access rights they have.
Printer Sharing - Vista to Mac
Vista's printer sharing feature requires a bit of tweaking before it will work with your Mac. Learn how to configure printer sharing in both Vista and OS X 10.5 with these step-by-step instructions.
Removing Safari Plug-ins
To remove Safari Plug-ins, you must delete or move the appropriate plug-in files from the Internet Plug-ins folder.
Boot Camp: Partitioning
Boot Camp Assistant, part of Apple's Boot Camp, is the primary application for getting an Intel-based Mac ready to run Microsoft Windows. Using Boot Camp Assistant, you can create two partitions on your hard drive, one for Mac OS X and one for Windows.
Share Mac Files with Vista
File sharing between a Mac running OS X 10.5 Leopard and Windows Vista is fairly easy. This step-by-step guide will take you through the process of file sharing using the SMB (Server Message Block) protocol.
iMac 21.5- and 27-Inch Models
The fall 2009 edition of the iMac line of Macintosh computers ushers in more than just an upgrade or speed bump. It brings distinctive new style and improved performance and capabilities to the iMac family
Buying an iMac
The Apple iMac is a superb desktop computer that combines the power of an Intel Core 2 Duo processor or Intel Core 2 Quad processor with your choice of a 21.5-inch or 27-inch display, plus a large helping of Apple's well-deserved reputation for style. The result is a gorgeous, all-in-one desktop Mac that has been setting industry trends since its debut in 1998.
Copy iPod Music With iTunes
You can easily transfer purchased content from your iPod to your Mac, using iTunes 7.3 or later. These step-by-step instructions will help you recover the purchased files from your iPod.
iPod to Mac
It's easy to copy media files, music, audio books, podcasts, movies, and videos from your iPod to your Mac. Focus on Macs shows you how.
Back Up Your Mac
There are many Mac backup software programs available. With so many products to choose from, it can be difficult to decide which one is right for you. Focus on Macs takes a look at some of the software and hardware that can help you with your Mac backups.
View Hidden Folders
Your Mac has a few secrets, hidden folders and files that are invisible to you. You can use Terminal, which is included with OS X, to force your Mac to reveal its secrets.
Partitioning with Disk Utility
Disk Utility is the application of choice for partitioning a hard drive. Disk Utility is straightforward and easy to use, it provides a nice graphical interface, and best of all, it’s free. Disk Utility is included with the Mac OS.
USB Flash Drive as Boot Device
Most USB flash drives are formatted for use with Windows. Before you can install OS X on a USB flash drive, you will need to change the drive’s formatting to the standard used by OS X (Mac OS X Extended Journaled).
Migration Assistant
Migration Assistant makes it easy to migrate user account data, home directories, applications, files, and computer settings from your old version of OS X to your latest installation of Leopard.
Startup Shortcuts
These startup keyboard shortcuts come in handy if you need to troubleshoot your Mac, or you just want to boot from a different volume than usual.
Defragging and Macs
Do you need to defragment a Mac’s hard drive? About: Macs explains how your Mac is capable of defragmenting your hard drive on its own, without any intervention by you.
Install a Hard Drive: Mac Pro
Adding an internal SATA (Serial ATA) hard drive to a Mac is a fairly simple task under any circumstances, but it's particularly easy with a Mac Pro, because it doesn't require any special tools. The Mac Pro's hard drive sleds are easy to pull out and then pop back into place.
Clean Install OS X 10.5
Installing OS X 10.5 Leopard using the Erase and Install method gives you the ability to create a clean, fresh install with no leftover debris from any previous OS you may have had installed.
Back Up Your Startup Disk
You can create a replica of your startup disk that is not only an exact copy, but bootable as well. This is the ideal type of backup to perform before updating any system software.
iMac Early 2009 Review
The iMac Early 2009 is available in four basic models so it can easily meet the needs of individuals looking for an economical desktop, as well as those who want a powerful all-in-one desktop. In this About: Macs review, we will look at the new iMac offerings.
Anti-Virus Programs and Macs
The Mac has a longstanding reputation as a secure operating system, with no known successful virus attacks in the wild. With a rich history of being virus free, do Macs need anti-virus protection?
Snow Leopard Upgrade Install
The default installation method for Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6) is an upgrade from Leopard. If you prefer, you can erase your hard drive and start fresh with a clean install (in fact, I highly recommend that method), but in this step-by-step guide, we’ll perform the basic upgrade installation.
Add Administrator User Account
Adding administrator user accounts to your Mac allows you to specify other individuals who can take on the administrator role. Administrators have an elevated set of privileges that allow them to install applications, change system preferences, and perform a variety of maintenance tasks.
Sharing Your Windows Printer
Printer sharing between Windows and OS X can be a bit tricky, but with the help of our printer sharing guides, you should be able to print from your Mac to your Windows computer in no time.
Resize With Disk Utility
The version of Disk Utility bundled with OS X 10.5 or later has a few notable features, specifically, the ability to add, delete, and resize hard drive partitions without erasing data. If you need to resize a partition, or you would like to split a partition into multiple partitions, you can do it with Disk Utility, without losing the data that’s currently stored on the drive.
Bento 3 Review
Bento 3 is geared towards consumers, home-based businesses, and small businesses who need a capable database for organizing information, tracking projects, planning events, and keeping inventory, but who don’t need the high-end features or cost of FileMaker’s flagship product, FileMaker Pro.
Build Your Own External HD
Building an external hard drive is an easy project that anyone can undertake. All you need is an external enclosure, a hard drive, and about 10 minutes of your time.
Desktop Wallpaper
You can change your Mac’s desktop wallpaper from the standard Apple-supplied image to almost any picture you care to use. You can also set your Mac’s desktop wallpaper to randomly select a picture from a specified folder.
AOL Email Using Apple's Mail
Apple's Mail is one of the most intuitive email applications currently available for Macs. It can easily handle AOL and other web-based email accounts.
Before You Buy a Mac Pro
A tower of 8-core power, the Mac Pro is nothing if not powerful and expandable. Its elegant design makes adding memory, hard drives, and add-in cards a simpler task than almost any other computer can claim.
File Sharing With OS X 10.4
Sharing files among the Macs on a home network is a straightforward process that's easy to set up.
Mac mini Server
The Mac mini server is by far the least expensive way to run Snow Leopard Server. The mini’s hardware is up to most of the tasks you can throw at it, as long as you keep the appropriate scale in mind. Ideal uses for the Mac mini server include workgroup, classroom, lab, small business, home office, and home. At $999, the mini offers terrific value, especially when you consider that if you purchased it separately, you would pay $499 for the Snow Leopard Server software.
Buying a Mac mini
Mac minis are small and inexpensive. They're a good choice for first-time Mac users, for adding to home theater systems, or for serving as very portable desktop computers for college-bound students. But as attractive as they are, Mac minis are not flawless.
13-inch MacBook Pro
Review of 13-inch MacBook Pro Summer 2009: The 13-inch MacBook Pro didn’t undergo many changes from its earlier incarnation as a 13-inch MacBook to earn its new designation as a member of the MacBook Pro line. Still, it has a lot to offer, and at its base price of $1199 it’s a great value for a MacBook Pro.
Get Ready for Snow Leopard
Get Your Mac Ready for Snow Leopard: Clean Up, Back Up, Repair Permissions, and Test Your Drive: Getting ready for Snow Leopard involves performing a few basic tasks, including cleaning up your Mac, backing up your files, and verifying that your startup drive is ready for a new OS.
Hidden Features of OS X 10.6
Apple intended Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6) to be a version of the Mac OS that concentrated on stability, as well as the future, not the past. Snow Leopard was supposed to focus on Intel multi-core processors and abandon previous technologies. Lucky for us, the engineers at Apple couldn’t completely suppress their desire to toss in a few new features, some of which have gotten more press than others. Here are some of the lesser-known features of Snow Leopard.
Buying a MacBook Pro
The MacBook, Apple’s least expensive notebook, has a lot going for it, well beyond its good looks and processing prowess. It delivers a lot of technology in a small package. But packing all those goodies into the small form factor, and keeping the price below the $1000 barrier, meant Apple had to make a few design tradeoffs.
Display Hidden Files
Have you ever needed to edit or view one of the many invisible files on your Mac? There is now a simple keyboard trick that allows hidden files and folders to display in any ‘Open’ or ‘Save’ dialog box.
Easy VHS to DVD for Mac
Easy VHS to DVD for Mac marks Roxio’s entry into the video capture market for the Mac. Easy VHS to DVD for Mac is an analog, USB-based video capture device for turning your VHS, Hi8, and Video8 takes into DVDs.
Creating User Accounts
The Mac's User Accounts feature allows multiple individuals to use the same Mac, while protecting each user's privacy. The Mac supports several types of user accounts, including administrator, standard, managed, and guest.
Time Machine: Setup
Backing up files using Apple’s Time Machine couldn’t be easier. All it takes is a few clicks to make your data safe and secure.
Roxio Toast 9 Titanium Review
Review of Toast 9 Titanium and its many new features, including Blu-ray support, streaming video, and an improved user interface. Roxio Toast 9 Titanium continues its dominance as the leading CD/DVD burning application of choice for the Mac.
Review of Carbon Copy Cloner
Review of Carbon Copy Cloner 3.1. New or improved data backup, cloning, and scheduling features earn Carbon Copy Cloner a 4-star rating from Focus on Macs.
Roxio Toast 10 Titanium Review
Review: Toast 10 Titanium brings a wide selection of data, audio, and video tools to both amateur and professional Mac enthusiasts. Its ability to provide multiple tools does not interfere with its core function: to burn information onto recordable media.
Halloween Screen Savers
Halloween screen savers can add a fun, if not downright scary, touch to your Mac during the Halloween season. Scarify your Mac with one of these fun- and fright-filled screen savers.
File Sharing With Mac OS X
File sharing with Mac OS X is a wonderfully straightforward operation. A few mouse clicks in the Sharing preferences pane and you’re ready to go. In this article we will show you how to configure both OS X 10.5 and OS X 10.4 for file sharing.
Office 2008 for Mac
Office for Mac - It's been a long wait, but Office 2008 for Mac is finally here. Focus on Macs tests and reviews the performance of Office 2008's major applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Entourage), with a particularly critical look at how well they work with Intel Macs.
Widgets on the Desktop
You can make Dashboard widgets appear on your Mac desktop by using Terminal to invoke Dashboard Development mode. Once you enter development mode, you can drag individual widgets from Dashboard to the desktop.
Halloween Wallpaper
Add ghoulish delights and frightful fun to your Mac desktop with Halloween wallpaper. About: Macs shares seven of our favorite web sites for downloading Halloween wallpaper.
Modify the Sidebar
The Finder sidebar is a handy place to store frequently used files, folders, and applications. It's also easy to customize.
Upgrade to OS X 10.5
Installing OS X Leopard requires you to boot from the Leopard Install DVD. There are multiple ways to start this boot process, including a method for when your Mac isn’t working correctly.
Create a RAID 1 (Mirror) Array
RAID 1, also known as a mirror or mirrored RAID, is one of the many RAID levels supported by OS X and Disk Utility. In this About: Macs guide, we will take you through the process of creating a mirrored RAID array using Disk Utility.
Gmail Using Apple's Mail
Apple's Mail is one of the most intuitive email applications currently available for Macs. It can easily handle Gmail and other web-based email accounts.
Finder Path Bar
The Finder Path Bar is a nifty feature that’s new in OS X 10.5. Using the Finder Path Bar is easy, but first you have to make it visible.
Snow Leopard Review
Snow Leopard Review: With the introduction of Snow Leopard, Apple took a breather from adding or pumping up features to focus on cleaning up the underlying structure of OS X. The result is one of the fastest and most stable operating systems Apple has ever released.
Musical Typing
You can play your Mac keyboard like a grand piano or any other software-based instrument you load into GarageBand 3.
EyeTV 250 Plus
Review: Elgato’s EyeTV 250 Plus is a small USB-based TV tuner and DVR (Digital Video Recorder) for the Mac. The EyeTV 250 Plus lets you turn your Mac into the equivalent of a TiVo recorder, without the yearly subscription fees. Read more in this expert review from About: Macs.
Mail Rules
Apple Mail rules allow you to set up conditions and actions that tell Apple Mail how to process incoming messages. With Apple Mail rules, you can automate and organize your email for a better workflow.
Recent Applications Stack
Customize the Dock in Mac OS X by adding a Recent Items stack that can display Recent Applications, Recent Documents, Recent Servers, Recent Volumes, and Favorite Items.
MacJournal 5
Mariner Software’s MacJournal 5 may be the best journal, diary, and blogging front end for the Mac. Focus on Macs found so much to like about MacJournal 5 that it earned a four-star rating.
Photoshop Elements 6
Review of Photoshop Elements 6 for Mac, including ease of installation, new features, performance, and a look at how well Photoshop Elements 6 works with other Mac applications.
Preview: Apple Mac mini
The fall 2009 edition of Apple’s Mac mini splits the product line into two distinct versions. The standard edition comes in two models that sport slightly different processor, memory, and hard drive configurations. The other edition of the Mac mini is a special server version. We will review the server version separately; here we’ll concentrate on the two models of the standard version.
OWC Mercury Elite-Al Pro
Review: OWC’s Mercury Elite-AL Pro series of external hard drives and cases provides more bang for the buck, not only in having a quad interface made up of USB 2.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800, and eSATA ports, but also in ruggedness and ease of assembly and use.
Preview: MacBook Late 2008
Peview of the MacBook late 2008. The 13-inch MacBook offers impressive new graphics capabilities that will run circles around the earlier versions of the MacBook.
Upgrade to Snow Leopard
Thinking about upgrading to Snow Leopard and wondering if your Mac can take it? The quick and dirty answer is, if your Mac uses an Intel processor then you can upgrade to OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard). However, there is much more to know before you make a final decision.
Adding Screen Savers
You can add a screen saver to your Mac in one of two ways. You can manually copy the screen saver to the appropriate location on your Mac or you can use the installer that's included with many screen savers.
Finder Window Shortcuts
You can use keyboard shortcuts to quickly execute the most often used Finder navigation commands.
Time Capsule
Time Capsule provides network storage capabilities for home networks, allowing Mac and/or Windows computers to access and share its internal hard drive. Designed for use with Time Machine, the backup service included with OS X 10.5 and later, Time Capsule is an elegant solution to home backup needs.
Mac mini Early 2009 Review
The Mac mini (early 2009 version) gives the Mac faithful some of the features they’ve been clamoring for, including new processors (Core 2 Duo) and a much-anticipated graphics update that finally brings some serious graphics capabilities to the littlest Mac.
Windows Keyboards and Macs
Almost any Windows keyboard that has a USB interface will work with a Mac. The only catch is that some of the keys on Windows keyboards have different names than those on Macintosh keyboards. This FAQ covers the Windows keyboard equivalents for the Mac's command, option, control, delete, and return keys.
Printer Sharing
Printer sharing is a great way to economize on computing costs for your home, home office, or small business. By using one of several possible printer sharing techniques, you can allow multiple computers to share a single printer, and save yourself cash, time, and space. In ‘Printer Sharing With Mac OS X and Windows’ we will show you step-by-step instructions for sharing printers attached to a Windows XP or Windows Vista PC with your Mac.
Windows XP File Sharing
Sharing Windows XP files with OS X 10.5: This step-by-step guide will show you how to access shared folders on your Windows XP machine from your Mac using the Finder’s Go To Server menu.
Dock Spacers
Dock spacers allow you to organize your Mac’s Dock by creating a blank Dock icon that you can place wherever you wish on the Dock. You can use Dock spacers to create a separation between groups of Dock icons. Dock spacers work with OS X 10.5 Leopard and later.
Expose
Expose’s preferences pane allows you to configure the keyboard shortcuts, mouse buttons, and active screen corners assigned to Expose functions.
Archive Install OS X 10.5
Installing OS X 10.5 Leopard using the Archive and Install method lets you create a clean, fresh install without giving up the ability to access your older system folder, should you ever need any of your old data.
Disk Utility First Aid
Disk Utility, one of the many applications included with OS X, allows you to work with your hard drives. You can use Disk Utility not only to erase, format, and partition a drive, but also to repair problems that may crop up from time to time.
Printer Sharing
Printer sharing is one of the most popular uses for a home or small business network, and why not? Mac printer sharing can keep costs down by reducing the number of printers you need to buy. In this step-by-step tutorial, we will show you how to share a printer attached to a Mac running OS X 10.5 (Leopard) with a computer running Windows Vista.
A SuperDuper Application
SuperDuper 2.5 may very well be the easiest way to create a bootable clone of your startup drive. With its easy-to-use interface, SuperDuper garners 4 stars out of 5 from Focus on Macs. Find out more about the SuperDuper 2.5 in this expert review from Focus on Macs.
Set Up Parental Controls
On the Mac, Parental Controls are Apple's user management system for controlling which system functions and applications are available to a managed user. Parental Controls also offer content filtering, web site filtering, iChat and Mail approval lists, and time management, to prevent your children from using the computer when they should be doing something else.
Bento: Relational Database
Bento’s method of creating a relationship between two database sources is by far the easiest I’ve ever seen.
Winclone Review
Winclone provides an effective way to clone a Boot Camp partition by creating compressed image files you can store on your Mac.
Network Locations
If you use your Mac in more than one location, such as home and work, Network Locations can simplify the process of connecting to multiple networks.
Parallels Custom Install
You can optimize a Parallels Desktop for Mac virtual machine for flat-out performance or for better integration with the OS X environment.
RAID 0 (Striped) Array
RAID 0, also known as stripe or striped, is one of the many RAID levels supported by OS X and Disk Utility. In this About: Macs guide, we will take you through the process of creating a striped RAID array using Disk Utility.
Printer & Fax Sharing
The print sharing capabilities in the Mac OS make it easy to share printers and fax machines among all of the Macs on a local network.
Volume
A volume is a storage container that has been formatted with a file system that your computer (in this case, a Mac) can recognize. Common types of volumes include CDs, DVDs, hard drives, and partitions or sections of hard drives.
Create a JBOD RAID Array
JBOD RAID, also known as a concatenated or spanning RAID, is one of the many RAID levels supported by OS X and Disk Utility. In this About: Macs guide, we will take you through the process of creating a JBOD RAID Set using Disk Utility.
Add Standard User Accounts
Adding standard user accounts allows you to share your Mac with multiple individuals. It’s easy to add user accounts; all you need is an existing administrative account.
Single-Application Mode
Snow Leopard still supports single-application mode, Mac OS X’s ability to switch between running applications and display only the currently active application’s windows. You can enable single-application mode in Snow Leopard with Terminal.
iWeb '08
There aren't many easier ways to create a personal web site than with iWeb '08. It uses an intuitive WYSIWYG interface that is similar in look and feel to using a basic desktop publishing program. iWeb's only real flaw is that it limits automatic publishing to .Mac sites. If you host your web site anywhere else, you'll have to work a little bit harder to publish it.
Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac
Review - Parallels Desktop 4.0 for the Mac is a vast improvement over the previous version. Version 4 significantly improves performance and stability, two areas that were less than impressive in the previous version. Find out more about Parallels Desktop 4.0 for the Mac in this expert review from About: Macs.
SATA
SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) has been the hard drive interface method of choice for Macintosh computers since the G5. SATA's advantages over other hard drive interface methods include faster transfer rates, thinner and more flexible cabling, and easier plug-and-play connections.
Terminal Tricks
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of hidden preferences available within OS X and its many applications. Most of these hidden preferences are of little use to the average user; they’re intended for debugging or for compatibility with legacy applications. That leaves a few hundred that can be interesting to try out; in many cases, they can be very helpful. Some of these hidden preferences are so useful, you’ll wonder why Apple or other developers chose to hide them from their customers.
Review of the Mac Pro
Review of 8-core Mac Pro, early 2008 series. The Mac Pro, by any definition, is currently the ultimate desktop Mac. The use of dual 4-core Zeon processors for a total of 8 cores makes the Mac Pro one of the highest performing Macs you can currently get your hands on.
Windows Express Install
In order to automate the installation process, Parallels will need to collect some information from you, including the Windows product key and your name.
Install Vista
This step will tell you where to find your Windows Vista product key, and how to enter the key when you install Vista.
Eject a CD or DVD
There are several ways to eject a CD or DVD from a Mac, including dragging its icon to the Trash, and using the right-click pop-up menu.
Clean Up Your Desktop
Clean up your Mac desktop using Terminal. With a simple Terminal command, you can sweep all of your Mac desktop debris out of sight. Bringing all of your Mac desktop icons back into view is just as easy.
Macs - QuickTips
An index of QuickTips for the Macs guide site.
Review - Macally PHR-S100SUA
Review of the Macally PHR-S100SUA eSATA, FireWire, USB 2.0 external storage enclosure. This external drive enclosure has a universal, triple interface that allows you to use the PHR-S100SUA with just about any Mac or PC.
Bento
Bento, FileMaker’s latest database application, may very well be the friendliest personal organizer for the Mac. Bento offers a fully relational database that is easy to use and easy on the budget.
Safari Window Shortcuts
Safari supports multi-window and tabbed browsing. If you're not sure how to take advantage of this feature, these keyboard shortcuts can help.
Boot Camp: Windows on Your Mac
Apple’s Boot Camp, included with OS X 10.5 and later, lets you install and run Windows on your Mac.
Dock Preferences Pane
The Dock preferences pane allows you to customize how your Mac's Dock looks and behaves. You can adjust the size and location of the Dock, as well as apply special effects when applications are launched or
Partition
Partitions are separate sections of a hard drive. Partitioning is the process of physically creating separate sections on a hard drive.
Using the Finder
Using the Finder on a Mac isn't very difficult, but there are a few quirks and secrets that all Mac users should know about. Learn how to use the Finder and simplify your daily activities with your Mac.
Mercury Elite Pro-AL Dual SATA
About: Macs Review: The OWC Mercury Elite Pro-AL Dual SATA Drive Enclosure is simplicity at its best. Forgoing the electronics needed to create multiple external or internal interfaces results in a highly reliable enclosure whose only potential points of failure are a small, replaceable fan or an external power brick. For all practical purposes, you can think of this enclosure as just an additional drive bay connected to your Mac.
Wacom Cintiq 21UX
The Wacom Cintiq 21UX may be the ultimate in graphics tablets, not withstanding the two other available Cintiq sizes. Although it functions like a graphics tablet, it’s more accurate to call it an interactive pen display, because it includes its own built-in LCD. Find out more about the Wacom Cintiq 21UX in this expert review from Focus on Macs.
File Sharing Mac and Windows
File sharing between a Mac and Windows is one of those exercises that can be easy or moderately difficult, but is not impossible or beyond the reach of even a novice user. We have gathered a series of step-by-step guides that will help you get your Mac to share files with Windows XP as well as Windows Vista. The instructions will cover file sharing using OS X 10.5 (Leopard) and various flavors of XP and Vista.
Batch Change Photo Names
iPhoto has a batch change function that you can use to rename multiple photos at the same time. Batch changing iPhoto images is much easier than editing one image title at a time.
Disk First Aid
Disk First Aid is the name of a disk repair utility that was included or available for download with Mac OS 9.x or earlier. Disk First Aid was able to analyze and repair basic hard drive problems.
Icon View Options
Icon View: The Finder’s Icon view options control how icons will look and behave when you open a Finder window that is set to use Icon view. You can control text and icon size, text location, and grid spacing, as well as many more attributes of Icon view.
Live Interior 3D
If you've been watching home makeover shows and wishing you could give your place a facelift, BeLight Software's Live Interior 3D may be just what you need to turn your ideas into reality. It includes room layouts, building and finishing materials, furniture, and fixtures for houses, apartments, and offices. Find out more about Live Interior 3D in this expert review from Focus on Macs.
Create a Virtual Machine
After you launch VMware's Fusion, go to the Virtual Machine Library. This is where you create a new virtual machine, as well as adjust settings for existing virtual machines.
Safari 4 Shortcuts
Safari 4 Shortcuts: Safari 4 has a large number of keyboard and mouse shortcuts. So many, in fact, that it would take quite a few pages to list them all here. Instead of putting together a complete shortcut list, which would tend to change a bit as new functions are added, I thought you might like to know how you can view or print out your own, guaranteed-to-be-current list of all Safari 4 shortcuts.
Managed Accounts
Managed accounts are specialized user accounts that include a parental control feature that allows you (or the Mac administrator) to control which applications can be used and which web sites can be visited. Managed accounts are a good choice if you want to allow younger family members to use your Mac even when you’re not around to supervise them.
DNS and Your Browser
My browser is not displaying web sites. When I use my browser to visit a web site, it sometimes fails to load a web page or only displays part of the page. Sometimes I see timeout errors, yet at other times the site loads fine. What’s going on and how can I fix this problem?
Address Book Tips
Apple's Address Book is full of surprises and capabilities. Learn a few new Address Book tips from About: Macs that can help make you more productive.
Locate Recent Items
In Snow Leopard, the ‘Recent Items’ entry in the Apple menu can show you where applications and files are actually stored on your Mac. Let the mouse cursor hover over the ‘Recent Items’ entry, hold down the command key, and the Finder will reveal all.
64-bit OS
Snow Leopard Preview: Snow Leopard moves the entire Mac operating system to a 64-bit architecture. This new OS architecture brings a 16 exabyte memory space, faster execution of instructions, and added security to Intel Macs.
Backup Software
Backup software is a kind of insurance policy for your Mac. Like home or car insurance, you hope you’ll never need to use it, but it’s reassuring to know that it’s there. If you back up your files on a regular basis, you won’t have to worry about losing all of your hard work and precious data if your hard drive fails.
Eject CD/DVD Menu Bar Item
Add an Eject CD or DVD item to your Mac’s menu bar for a handy and always available way to open or close your Mac’s CD or DVD drive.
Web Sharing on Your Mac
OS X uses the well-known Apache web server for sharing web sites on a local network. Setting up web sharing is an easy task for Mac users.
List View Options
List View: The Finder’s List view options control how a list will look and behave when you open a Finder window that is set to use List view. You can control text and icon size, decide which columns should be displayed, how dates are used, and whether size information should be included.
Finder Labels
Finder labels are colored tags that you can use to organize items in Finder windows by assigning the same color to related files and folders.
Add Apps to the Dock
The OS X Dock, which serves as an application launcher, comes pre-populated with many Apple applications. You can also add your own favorite apps to the Dock.
Remove Items From Your Dock
The Dock, which acts as an application launcher, comes pre-populated with Apple applications. It's easy to remove any that are just taking up space.
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