Articles by Matt Cone
Matt Cone is a technical writer at Fastly. He has experience creating documentation for organizations like Linode and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Matt’s first book, Master Your Mac, was published by No Starch Press. To get in touch with Matt, visit https://www.mattcone.com.
How to Find Files on Your Mac
July 24, 2007
If you’re like us, you’ve got a lot of stuff on your Mac. Files, folders, and applications are lying all over the place. Most of that stuff is easy to find - applications reside in the Applications folder, and most of your files are in your Documents folder. But what about the stuff you can’t find? It’s hidden away somewhere, and you have no idea where to look for it. Track down the files and folders that got away with our handy tips for searching your Mac.
Using Quicksilver's Clipboard
July 23, 2007
One of Quicksilver’s many handy features is the Clipboard module. When activated, it can keep track of the items that you have cut and copied, and let you see what is currently on the clipboard- what will appear when you paste. It can store rich formatted text and images just like the regular clipboard. First, check to see if the Clipboard module is installed. Open Quicksilver’s Plug-ins menu from the Preferences menu, the dock menu, or by typing the keyboard shortcut ⌘-Shift-’ when Quicksilver is open.
Back to School Apps for Your Mac
July 20, 2007
It’s that time of the year again. Time to think about breaking out the books, looking sharp for all the attractive members of the opposite sex, making new friends, and hopefully learning something. We’re talking about school, of course. Let us tell you: There’s never been a better time to take your Mac into an educational environment. Free and low-cost programs can help you turn your Mac into the ultimate learning device, and prevent it from becoming another glorified MySpace machine!
Create a Web Development Environment With MAMP
July 18, 2007
Those of us who have websites know that we need a development environment to work on new features, make changes, and just experiment. If you’re creating static HTML pages, you don’t need much - you can create the pages on your Mac and preview them locally in your web browser or a with WYSIWYG application like iWeb. However, things are a bit more complicated if you’re working with web applications that use PHP and MySQL.
How to Create a Wireless Mac File Server
July 17, 2007
Everybody knows you can use Apple’s AirPort cards and base stations to wirelessly connect to the Internet. You can also use your built-in AirPort card to turn your Mac into a file server and wirelessly transfer files to your Mac from another Mac! This feature is extremely handy for those who need to transfer files from an old Mac to a new one. It’s also useful for individuals who need to transfer files in office buildings or tight living areas, such as dormitories and houses.
Top Five Firefox Extensions
July 13, 2007
Mac users are extremely fortunate to have several web browsers to choose from. There’s Safari, Firefox, Camino, OmniWeb, SeaMonkey, Netscape, iCab, and many others. Safari is currently the winner when it comes to installed user base, and there’s nothing wrong with that - it’s a fine web browser! But you’re doing yourself a disservice if you don’t at least try another web browser like Camino or OmniWeb. Firefox is one web browser we strongly recommend you install.
Ten Indispensable iTunes Tips
July 10, 2007
A coworker recently told us that “iTunes is a pretty straightforward application.” He’s right, of course - it is pretty straightforward after you get the hang of it. And undoubtedly most people will be satisfied with merely purchasing and playing songs, creating playlists, and burning CDs. For those who want to go a little further, however, we offer these ten indispensable iTunes tips to make your Mac music-listening experience even better!
Turn Your Mac Into a Telephone
July 6, 2007
So, there was this phone thing last week, right? And we weren’t lucky enough to get in on it, even though we really wanted to. The iPhone is just too friggin’ expensive for us. Maybe you’re in the same boat: You can’t quite bring yourself to pay more than $2,000 over a two-year period for a cell phone. Or maybe you live outside of the United States. Or maybe you own an iPhone, but still want to be able to take and receive phone calls on your Mac.
A Beginner's Guide to Quicksilver
July 3, 2007
Quicksilver is a freeware application launcher and productivity program for Mac OS X. With a couple of keystrokes, you can quickly and effortlessly start applications, open files and folders, move things around on your Mac, and even navigate your iTunes library - all without using your mouse! Quicksilver integrates seamlessly with Mac OS X and most popular Mac applications. With a little practice, using Quicksilver will become second nature, and you’ll be using it without even knowing it.
Must-Have Mac Maintenance Apps
June 29, 2007
According to Murphy’s law, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. This holds especially true for mechanical and electronic devices. If you don’t change your car’s motor oil, your engine will eventually seize up. And if you don’t perform regularly scheduled maintenance on your Mac, your computer could be in a world of hurt. Mac OS X is based on the Darwin operating system, which uses many FreeBSD components. In plain English, this means that your Mac has lot of UNIX-like stuff under the hood - stuff like system logs, cron jobs, system cache, and much more.