Apps
How to Change Your Mac's Icons
Matt Cone November 30, 2007
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: One of the best things about Macs are the icons. There are dozens of icons that come pre-installed on your Mac, and there are literally thousands more available for free on the Internet. Collectively, these little pieces of artwork put a human face on (let’s be honest here) the inhuman and somewhat foreign machine that is your Mac. Fortunately, you too can install beautiful icons by simply downloading and installing CandyBar ($29) or LiteIcon (free), two applications that allow you to replace your Mac’s default icons with custom icons.
How to Get Rid of Favorite Styles in TextEdit
Matt Cone October 5, 2007
We’ve used TextEdit since it was first released for all of our word processing and find it does almost everything we need. Recently, we decided it was time to modify or delete some of the early Favorite Styles we no longer needed or wanted to re-title to something more descriptive. We tried everything from deleting our TextEdit plist file to reinstalling TextEdit but we were still stuck with the same styles we created earlier and wanted to eliminate.
Bringing the Best of Windows to Mac OS X
Arbi Karamians September 19, 2007
I was a Windows user for nearly nine years of my life. Throughout that period of time, I had countless issues with my Windows PC and Windows as an operating system. In fact, there are specific issues that were so inconceivable, I actually remember the countless hours I spent resolving them. These issues eventually led me to enlightenment, i.e., a MacBook Pro. However, having been a Windows user for such a long period of time, I’m left missing specific Windows features.
How to Add Email Accounts to Apple's Mail
Matt Cone August 23, 2007
Every Mac comes with Apple’s very own killer email client. It’s called Mail, and in our opinion, it’s one of the greatest applications ever. Thanks to Mail, you don’t have to check each of your separate email accounts online anymore. Just pop them all into Apple’s Mail and you can read all of your messages in one simple application. But how do you get your email accounts into Mail? Or, if you’re already using Mail, how do you add other email accounts?
How to Automatically Open Applications on a Mac
Matt Cone August 10, 2007
Did you know that you can set applications to automatically start when you turn on your Mac? It’s an extremely useful feature that can save you a couple minutes every day, especially if there are certain applications you use all the time. Here’s how to do it: From the Apple menu, select System Preferences. Select Accounts. Select the Login Items tab. To add applications to the start up list, click the + button and select the application.
How to Publish iCal Calendars to the Web
Matt Cone August 9, 2007
Apple’s iCal is one of the best applications you can use to keep track of events, appointments, meetings, classes, and other everything else scheduling. But when you’re away from your Mac, how are you supposed to find out what you have lined up for the day? If you use iCal’s publish to web feature, you can simply visit your website for the latest and most up-to-date version of your calendar.
Change Your Default Web Browser and Email Client
Matt Cone August 7, 2007
You can come across links to web pages and email addresses in everything from Word files to PDFs these days. When you click the links, your Mac opens the website or email message in your default web browser and email client, which by default is set to Safari and Apple’s Mail. But what if you use Firefox or another web browser? What happens if you use another email client to send and receive email messages?
Mac System Monitoring Apps
Matt Cone August 3, 2007
There are millions of car owners out there who will probably never look under the hood and see their vehicle’s engine. They don’t care whether or not their engine is overheating or their oil pressure’s jacked up or their car battery is about to conk out on them. As long they can drive, they’re good to go. And in the same vein, many Mac users don’t care about their computer’s inner workings.
How to Optimize Safari With SafariSpeed
Janet Fouts August 2, 2007
Does your online banking website or other service refuse to log you in when using Safari? Believe it or not, a lot of these sites are still optimized for Internet Explorer and not other browsers. You can complain to the IT departments, and some websites are compatible with Firefox, but if you are committed to Safari there is an option. SafariSpeed allows you to enable Safari’s debug menu, customize Safari’s look and feel, and speed it up a little.
How to Use .Mac
Matt Cone August 1, 2007
If you’re new to Macs, or if you’re not all that savvy with tech stuff (like creating websites and backing up important information with an online service), you should look into Apple’s .Mac service. It’s a $100 per year service that unlocks a number of cool features built into your Mac. In fact, some of the features are so cool that even seasoned Mac users spring for it. Here are just a few of the features that come with .