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 Make Your Mac More Comfortable
June 27, 2007
Is your Mac’s Desktop looking a bit cluttered these days? Are your files and folders out of control? Do you need a new way to organize stuff on your Mac? This interactive tutorial can help! By using DeskShade and DragThing - two great shareware applications - you can sweep cluttered files and folders under your Desktop’s rug. Just click here to launch the interactive tutorial.
How to Save Text Files as PDF Files
June 26, 2007
PDF, which stands for “Portable Document Format,” has long been the desktop publishing standard for computer users everywhere. It’s an open-standard file format developed by Adobe and supported by many applications like Preview. You’re probably used to opening user manuals and help guides saved in the PDF file format, but did you know that you can also save your text files as PDF files? You can - Mac OS X makes it easy!
Must-Have Google Mac Apps
June 22, 2007
There’s a lot of information on the Internet these days. In fact, according to one report, there are now over 11.5 billion web pages. It’s anybody’s guess how we’re supposed to find the stuff we’re looking for - it’s like finding a needle in a haystack! Fortunately, there are some excellent tools at our disposal, like Google, the company that links us to information. You could, of course, simply use Google’s website to search, manage your Gmail account, and add events to your Google calendar.
How to Use iTunes: Connecting and Syncing Your iPod
June 20, 2007
If you’ve just purchased an iPod, you’re going to want to put some music on it. But how do you do that? In a previous tutorial, we discussed how to use iTunes. Now you’ll need to apply that knowledge in order to transfer music and other content to your iPod. In this interactive tutorial, we’ll show you how to connect an iPod to your Mac, tailor iTunes to meet your needs, and then transfer music and other content to your iPod.
How to Create an Internet Radio Station
June 17, 2007
Have you ever wanted to stream music to all of the computers in your house? Have you ever wanted to be a DJ? Have you ever wanted to create an online radio station full of music licensed under the Creative Commons, or music you create yourself? This tutorial will explain how to create your very own Internet radio station with Rouge Amoeba’s Nicecast. Here’s how to create your own Internet radio station:
How to Turn Your Mac Into an FTP Server
June 13, 2007
Several weeks ago, we showed you how to turn your Mac into a web server. That article is useful for individuals needing to host web pages on their Mac in a pinch, but it doesn’t really go far enough. After all, any good web server should be remotely accessible - that is, you should be able to add and remove files from your Mac when you’re away from home. You need to turn your Mac into an FTP server!
Use iPhoto to Make So-So Pictures Super Cool
June 12, 2007
If you listen to the digital photography experts, even the well-meaning experts, you might walk away thinking that unless you use expensive software like Aperture or Photoshop, you cannot possibly make art or even a decent image with cheap applications like iPhoto. We’ve never listened to the so-called “experts” much, so believe us when we say that ignoring the “experts” can give you an edge in creating really beautiful art!
Free Flickr Apps For Your Mac
June 8, 2007
If you have a Mac and a digital camera, you probably know a thing or two about managing digital photos. Of course, iPhoto is a wonderful application that does a great job of managing photos on your Mac. But when it comes to sharing your photos with friends and family members, iPhoto comes up short, especially if you decided to forgo the expensive .Mac subscription. What application or website should you use to share your photos?
How to Use iTunes: Getting Started
June 6, 2007
If you’ve just purchased your first Mac or iPod, you’re probably hankering for iTunes, Apple’s free media software. Like all of Apple’s software, iTunes is fun and easy to use. However, beginners still might need a little help. As new features have been added to iTunes over the years, the learning curve has gotten steeper. Even Mac experts can need help with iTunes these days! In this tutorial, you’ll learn two different ways to add music to your iTunes Library:
Create Printing Profiles
June 5, 2007
Do you print to color printers, but only want to print in black and white? Or do you sometimes want to duplex or staple your print jobs? Chances are you’ll want to do all of these things from time to time, and you’ll want to save the settings for reference later. Well, now you can! Printing profiles are a quick and easy way to save settings that you frequently use, but would like to retrieve without having to try and remember.