May 16
A while back, I wrote some articles (here, here, and here) on how to back up your Mac in case of disaster. As our Macs collect more and more important stuff (like photos, music, movies, e-mail, contacts, and the list goes on and on), keeping all this safe in case of catastrophe becomes even more important. Fortunately for us, Apple has made this drop dead simple in the new OS X 10.5.
In this article, we’ll talk a bit about just how this new backup system (dubbed “Time Machine”) works and some of the implications.
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May 14
Well, they’re letting me back on the air! May 20th, from 11:45 to 12:30, I’ll be on the air with Larry Meiller talking about the wonderful world of Apple computers.
Do you have questions or concerns about your Mac? Join the program live by calling 1-800-642-1234 or 263-1890 in Madison. You can tune in on any of these stations in the Madison area:
- 90.7 FM
- 90.9 FM
- 107.9 FM
- 970 AM
You can also tune in on-line via iTunes. If you don’t have iTunes, you can also use Windows Media Player.
Hope to talk to you soon!
Mar 18
On March 20th, from 11:45 to 12:30, I’ll be on the air with Larry Meiller to answer your calls about all things Apple.
Do you have questions or concerns about your Mac? Your iPod? Your iPhone? You can join the program live by calling 1-800-642-1234 or 263-1890 in Madison. You can tune in on any of these stations in the Madison area:
- 90.7 FM
- 90.9 FM
- 107.9 FM
- 970 AM
You can also tune in on-line via iTunes. If you don’t have iTunes, you can also use Windows Media Player.
After the show, I’ll post follow up explanations and details about items we covered on the air.
Dec 26
Richard was asking, on today’s show, how to convert video from 8mm film to a digital version he could work with on his Mac.
I had been asked this a few weeks ago by a client of mine. Here’s what I found:
If you’re in the Madison area, “The Camera Company” can do this for you. A friend of a friend had good things to say about a company called “Dig My Pics“.
Otherwise, some hits that Google turned up:
Once you have the film converted to digital, you can work with it in iMovie on your Mac, massage it into something you like, then burn it using iDVD and inflict send it to all your relatives and friends.
Dec 26
If you missed today’s show, or if you’d like to go over it again, you can stream the show here. (You’ll need to have Real Player installed first.)
All the cool kids are downloading the MP3 to their iPods. Want to be a cool kid too? You’ll need to be a WPR member for that! If you are, head over here to download your MP3 copy of today’s show.
Not a member? Joining is easy and your contribution helps keep the quality WPR programming on the air!
Dec 26
Shawn was asking today about how to work with .avi files that his new video camera created on his Mac. As it turns out, this is a more complicated question than it should be.
AVI files are essentially a Microsoft format for video that was supposed to compete with QuickTime. Eventually MS gave up on it and moved to Windows Media Player. Not too many devices still use AVI, as it’s generally considered a poor format for video and audio.
Here’s a page that has a number of helpful tips on how to work with these files. You may have to try a couple different options, as there’s more than one type of AVI.
Dec 26
On Today’s show, Mike had asked about compatibility of programs with Apple’s new “Leopard” operating system, also known as Mac OS X 10.5. Specifically, Mike was wondering about Adobe’s Creative Suite 3.
Most of Adobe CS 3 is compatible with Leopard now. Acrobat still needs an update, which they say should be ready next month (January, 2008). Their video applications are being updated a bit later than that. You can get more information right from the horse’s mouth here.
Adobe says that older version of their Creative Suite may work OK, but they are not testing nor supporting them.
If you’re a Extnesis Suitcase user, you’ll need at least Suitcase X1 (11) or newer for the Adobe CS 3 applications. Suitcase Fusion is technically version 12.
Nov 27
I often get the question, “I have <insert Mac model here> and I’m wondering if I should upgrade my machine?” It’s hard to give a one size fits all answer to this, just considering how many different kinds of Macs there are an how many different needs there are.
Instead,we’re going to delve into the thought process I go through when I’m trying to answer such a question. (Warning: Delving into Joe’s mind may be hazardous your sanity, humor, and taste. You’ve been warned!)
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Nov 16
Last time on the show, Dennis was having trouble with an iBook where the hard drive was nearly full, but he couldn’t find the folder that was taking up all the room. I had suggested taking a look at the hidden folder where log files are kept, and seeing if any of those were taking up an unnecessary amount of space.
In this article, we’re going to talk about how you can see all the files and folders on your Mac.
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Nov 16
On the show yesterday, there was a call asking about Mac retail control software, also known as Point of Sale (POS) software. Here are the titles that I couldn’t quite remember on air:
I can’t vouch for any of these, as I haven’t used any of them. The best thing to do is download the demos and see how they work. Also, make sure you read over the feature set and see that they’ll do everything you’re hoping your POS system will do.
Nov 08
Recently, there have been a number of programs discovered for the Mac that do Bad Things®. These programs are, in general, referred to as “Trojan Horses”. The particular trojan horse discovered recently is called “OSX.RSPlug.A Trojan.”
In this article, we’ll discuss just what these trojan horses are, how you can avoid them, and what to do if you get it.
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Nov 08
The next show is scheduled for Thursday, November 15th! From 11:45 to 12:30, I’ll be on WPR with Larry Meiller to answer your calls about all things Apple.
Curious about the new Mac OS X 10.5 “Leopard”? The iPhone? Recent security issues? You can join the program live by calling 1-800-642-1234 or 263-1890 in Madison. You can tune in on any of these stations in the Madison area:
- 90.7 FM
- 90.9 FM
- 107.9 FM
- 970 AM
You can also tune in on-line via iTunes. If you’re on a PC without it, you can also use Windows Media Player.
After the show, I’ll post follow up explanations and details about items we covered on the air.
Oct 16
Scanners are pretty neat and have dropped dramatically in price over the years. You can go to your typical electronics store and pick up a pretty good scanner for $100 or less, and they do a reasonably good job. You can scan in your old photos and documents and do all the wonderful things to them you can do with your digital photos.
The problem I’ve run into is the Mac software that comes with these scanners is usually really bad. Or, perhaps you have a very old scanner and the manufacturer won’t release an OS X driver. In this article, we’re going to discuss an alternative I’ve found that works much better, supports a wide number of scanners, and (to me, anyways) seems much more simple. Best of all, it uses Apple’s built in tool for the job that I’ve bet you’ve never heard of.
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Sep 25
On today’s show, there were some questions about which cameras, printers, etc., are compatible with OS X. I had some trouble finding this at first. Once again, thank you Google!
Here’s a page at Apple that lists most of the devices that they officially support, in terms of iMovie, iPhoto, etc. It’s unlikely that every supported device is on this list, but it’s a good place to start.
http://www.apple.com/macosx/upgrade/devices.html
If you’re not sure, check the manufacturer’s web site first. You might even Google around for some reviews from fellow Mac users before you buy. Not all “Mac Compatible” devices are created equal.
A great source for reviews and comparisons of Mac compatible devices is available from the folks at MacWorld.
http://www.macworld.com/mac_product/
Sep 25
If you missed it, you can still catch the radio program from today by going to WPR’s website. If you just want to stream it, you can use RealPlayer and this link.
If you’d like to get an MP3 copy you can listen to anytime, you’ll need to be a WPR member. If you all ready are, here’s where you can download that MP3 for your iTunes/iPod enjoyment.
What’s that? You’re not a member of WPR? Well lucky for you it’s really easy to become one. Just go here and make a small contribution to a great cause!
Sep 25
A friend gave me a gift certificate for the Apple Store. Yes, it’s true. I have a friend!
I ended up picking up an external keyboard to work with my laptop when I’m at the office. Apple just released a new style last month with the new iMacs. Visually, they’re quite impressive.
http://www.apple.com/keyboard/
I just finished writing up a 50+ page server documentation project. I have to say, this new keyboard is really phenomenal. I’d say it took me about 20 minutes to get comfortable with it, after which I think I’m typing faster. The low height off the desk is definitely a plus. Even my PC offic-mates want one!
I bought the wired version, as I really wanted a 10-key pad.
Sep 25
Apple has been pretty quite about the hardware requirements for their upcoming OS X release, version 10.5 “Leopard”. As the release of this new cat draws near, this question is becoming more and more pressing.
Pre-release builds are now only running on systems with a G4 going 867 Mhz or faster. I think it’s fairly likely, given how close these builds are to the final product, that the 867 Mhz bar will the minimum. Previously, the minimum had been an 800 Mhz G4.
Why the big deal over 67 Mhz? Because it cuts out a number of Titanium PowerBook G4’s and the original iMac G4 “Desk Lamp”.
Sep 25
Have you ever looked at a Mac and wondered, “Just how much memory will this thing hold?” or “How fast is the processor?” Maybe you thought about buying a used Mac, but you wanted to find out more about what version of OS X it will support. How do you know?
There are two wonderful tools that, together, will tell you all you could ever want to know about a Mac and then some. We’ll discuss both of them here.
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Sep 24
The Mac OS X Keychain is a pretty cool thing. (No really! It is! Honest!) We talked a little about what does and what it can do in a previous article. But what do you do when things go wrong? Every once in a while, a person will end up with a repeating prompt, “Please enter your keychain password…” when you open your web browser. In this article, we’ll go through how you can take care of this and other maladies revolving the keychain.
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Sep 07
Have you ever noticed how, in Apple’s Mail program, when you start typing in an address it will try to guess which address you want, based on the first couple of letters you type? It’s a very handy feature. I can just start typing “mom…” and it pops up with the rest of my mother’s e-mail address. Fantastic! (She wishes I’d type that a little more often, but that’s another story.)
But sometimes it brings up an address that doesn’t work or is incomplete. So when you hit send you get an error message. Or worse, it just silently disappears into the ether.
So how can you get Mail to stop remembering addresses that are wrong? We’ll be going into exactly that in this post.
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