Apps
How to Hide and Show Purchases in the Mac App Store
Matt Cone December 21, 2011
Did you purchase an “embarrassing” application from the Mac App Store? Want to hide the fact that you downloaded it? Thanks to an obscure feature, you can. The Mac App Store lets you hide applications you’ve purchased so they don’t show up in the Purchases list. It’s a great way to cover your tracks so other users in your house can’t see exactly what you downloaded. Tip: Hiding a purchase in the Mac App Store does not uninstall the application.
How to Restore from a SuperDuper! Backup
Matt Cone December 15, 2011
You made backups with a third-party application called SuperDuper! Now maybe the time has come to transfer your backup onto another hard drive. Maybe the unthinkable happened and your primary hard drive failed. Or maybe you just replaced your primary hard drive with a new, larger drive. Whatever the case, you need restore from your SuperDuper! backup. Tip: If you haven’t yet used SuperDuper! to back up your hard drive, learn how by reading Back Up (Clone) Your Mac’s Hard Drive with SuperDuper!
How to Update a SuperDuper! Backup
Matt Cone December 14, 2011
Regularly updating the backups of your Mac’s hard drive is essential. If you’ve already created a backup of your hard drive with an application called SuperDuper!, it’s easy to update. The smart update feature allows SuperDuper! to compare the current files on your hard drive with the files in your backup. If the files have been modified, SuperDuper! copies those files - and those files only - to the backup drive.
How to Schedule SuperDuper! Backups
Matt Cone December 14, 2011
Automation is an important part of any backup system. With a third-party application called SuperDuper!, you can schedule automatic backups of your Mac’s hard drive. This is a great feature that takes all of the guesswork out of making backups - you don’t have to do anything except make sure that your backup drive is connected to your Mac. There are two ways to schedule SuperDuper! backups. You can set backups to occur at a specific time on certain days of the week, or whenever you connect an existing SuperDuper!
How to Test Your SuperDuper! Backup
Matt Cone December 13, 2011
If you use SuperDuper! to back up your hard drive, you should test the backup disk to make sure it worked. (See Back Up (Clone) Your Mac’s Hard Drive with SuperDuper! for instructions on backing up your computer with SuperDuper!) Since SuperDuper! creates an exact copy of your primary hard drive, you can set the backup drive as your startup disk and try booting your computer from it. If all goes well, your computer will start up from the backup disk and look exactly like it normally does.
Back Up (Clone) Your Mac's Hard Drive with SuperDuper!
Matt Cone December 13, 2011
Backup solutions for Mac OS X come and go, but an application called SuperDuper! ($27.95, free trial available) remains one of the best third-party Mac backup applications available. SuperDuper! makes an exact copy of your hard drive, which means you can use the backup drive to boot your computer if your primary hard drive fails. It’s easy to use - all you need is a backup hard drive that has enough space for all of the files on your primary hard disk.
How to Install Ubuntu 11.10 Using VMware Fusion
Matt Cone December 2, 2011
Everyone is talking about Ubuntu, the popular open-source operating system that’s easy to install and use. Trying out this Linux distribution on your Mac is easy. With an application called VMware Fusion, you can create a “computer within a computer” and run Ubuntu in a virtual machine on your Mac. Here’s how to install Ubuntu 11.10 in OS X using VMware Fusion: Download Ubuntu 11.10 from the Ubuntu website. It’s a free download.
How to Remember Birthdays with Your Mac
Matt Cone December 1, 2011
If you dread remembering birthdays like we do, you’ll be happy to know that you can use Address Book and iCal to store birthdays for all of your contacts and display an alert on the screen when one rolls around. After you follow these instructions and set the whole thing up, the entire process will be automated. All you’ll have to do is enter your contact’s birthdays! The bad news is that you’ll no longer have an excuse for not sending birthday cards.
Dictionary: The Ultimate Educational Application
Charles Thacker February 7, 2008
As part of Farmington Municipal Schools’ Learning Initiative, we are focusing on providing quick and easy ways to take advantage of some great tools built into Apple’s operating system. One of these tools can help you with language (definitions, pronunciations, synonyms, and antonyms) and is an indispensable tool in any classroom. I’m referring to the built-in Dictionary application, of course. But it’s not just the application you launch and use directly that is so powerful in OS X.
How to Run Windows on Your Mac with VMware Fusion
Matt Cone January 22, 2008
It’s an exciting time to be a Mac user. Everyone knows that we get to use Mac OS X Leopard, the world’s most advanced operating system. And now, if you have an Intel-based Mac and an application called VMware Fusion, you also have the option of using the world’s second and third and fourth best operating systems! Yes, we’re talking about Microsoft Windows, the operating system that the rest of the world has the misfortune privilege of using.