Belkin Switch-to-Mac

Posted on November 12th, 2008 in Setup by admin
Belkin has just released a new product to help in the transition from a PC to a Mac. It is a cable that goes between the two  computers and transfer files, settings, preferences, and more with the Migration Assistant. It costs $50. It is compatible with Windows XP or Windows Vista and with Mac OS X [...]

Changing the Sound Volume without the clicking

Posted on April 4th, 2008 in Setup Tagged with:
by admin
On my keyboard when I press the speaker keys (F11 and F12 on the right of the top row of keys) the volume goes down or up but is accompanied by an annoying click. There is already visual feedback so I don’t like the clicks on top of the sound which is what I am [...]

Built-in Firewall

Posted on March 12th, 2008 in Built-in Applications, Setup Tagged with: ,
by admin
Leopard comes with a built-in firewall. This is the same as Windows. Also the same is that outgoing packets are not stopped by the firewall which means that if your computer gets infected then that malware is allowed to reach out to other machines on any port it wants. Hopefully that won’t happen. To configure the [...]

File Associations

Posted on March 2nd, 2008 in Built-in Applications, Setup Tagged with: ,
by admin
Associating a program with a file type is important because that is the default program used to open the file when you double click on it in both Windows and the Mac OS. Most files/documents have default associations but sometimes you will want to change them (e.g. because you don’t use the default program to read [...]

Stay awake

Posted on February 16th, 2008 in 3rd Party Applications, Setup Tagged with:
by admin
One difference with my Mac that I’ve noticed is that after a little inactivity the screen dims and then shortly afterwards the screen saver kicks on. Now I know this can be modified in system preferences but there are a number of conditions to adjust and it isn’t always convenient to change them depending on [...]

Big Unused Files

Posted on February 8th, 2008 in Setup Tagged with:
by admin
I like purging my system of big files that I don’t need. Here is a blog post that enumerates several of them. Many of these are gigabytes in size so if you don’t need them you can gain back a lot of space.

Mouse Replacement

Posted on February 8th, 2008 in Setup Tagged with:
by admin
One basic piece of advice that I’ve heard many times is that switchers should replace the Mac one button mouse with a non-Mac 2 button mouse. I used the Mighty Mouse that came with my iMac for only a day or two before getting a Logitech two-button, cordless mouse and I am glad that I [...]

Display Properties

Posted on February 5th, 2008 in Basic OS Functionality, Setup Tagged with: , ,
by admin
In Windows there is the Control Panel. On the Mac you use System Preferences (under the Apple Menu on the far left of the menu bar). We’ll start with Display Properties (Display in the Control Panel or click right on the desktop and choose Properties). On the Mac these settings are spread over several Preference panes. Going [...]

Installing Applications

Posted on January 22nd, 2008 in Basic OS Functionality, Setup Tagged with: ,
by admin
Installing applications often seems to be a little different than in Windows XP. I read somewhere that it is simple: just drap the application into your Applications folder. However I tried that with a .dmg file and it just sat there, useless. First, the Applications folder, which is under your home directory (but there is also [...]

Initial Screens

Posted on January 1st, 2008 in Setup by admin
So, now that the iMac has been unpacked and setup it is time to power it up.First you are asked your language. Then you get to watch an animation welcoming you to OS X. Next is the welcome screen where you are asked to select your country. Continue by selecting the keyboard layout. If you already have a Mac [...]
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