This is neat: to remove or re-order icons on the menu bar, press the Command key while dragging the icons.
Hey! You should get the Stupid Mac Trick of the Month Award for that one - cool! Thanks for sharing that...
Happy Mac'ing!
Dan
To see the speed of your wireless connection, hold 'Option' and click the Airport icon.
Okay, that one I knew... but it's a good tip anyway! Maybe we should have a Stupid Mac Trick thread here?
Here's another one - hold down the option key while clicking on the menu and "About this Mac" becomes "System Profiler", while Shut Down, Restart and Log Out all loose their ellipsis ( the ...'s). In fact, all the Finder menus change slightly when the option key is added to the menu-click, check them out!
Happy option-Mac-ing!
Dan
If you are using Firefox, pressing Command+Shift+T will open the last-closed tab. Each time you press the key combination, a previously-closed tab will be re-opened. The tabs are opened in chronological order, from most recent to oldest.
(For the same feature on M-Windows, use Control instead of Command.)
Thank you Guys
We can always use some fun time.
Plume
Have a very good evening to you both
A group of French educators in Europe has created "OOo4Kids", a simplified version of OpenOffice for children and students.
http://wiki.ooo4kids.org/index.php/Main_Page
Some of the people responsible have been key contributors to porting OpenOffice to OS X.
The application has a simplified UI but the features are still powerful. I spent a couple of years working in an office where even the PhDs couldn't figure out how to use Microsoft Office 2007. Maybe they should switch to OOo4Kids. (o;
I had to draw a floor-plan recently. I found a free drafting program that also provides a three-dimensional view of the drawing. When you print the drawing, you can also print the three-dimensional view!
http://www.sweethome3d.eu/download.jsp
Love that program - I featured it in a freeware roundup in MONiTOR a few years ago. I still use it when my wife gets a hankering to "re-arrange". Much easier moving pixels around "here" or "over there, maybe?" than actual furniture, wiring, etc. Highly recommended, glad to see it's still living and breathing, and now with many more objects, i.e. furniture, lamps, fixtures, etc, - user-contributed I would think. That's my only sticking point - when you have an object that doesn't exist, you can modify existing objects, but you can't create anything beyond that, which began my search for a good, open-source three-d editor.... still haven't found it, but SweetHome has earned a permanent spot in my handy apps library anyway.
Cheers, and
Happy Mac'ing!
Dan
In OS X 10.6, the International preferences enable the user to opt to show the date in the menu bar.
Although there is no visible option to do this in previous versions of OS X, you can achieve the same thing easily.
1) Open System Preferences
2) Click International.
3) Select the Formats tab and click Dates > Customize.
4) Using Dates, create the date format that you like. Use your mouse to select the whole format, then copy it using Option+C. Click Cancel.
5) Click Times > Customize. Select Medium from the drop-down menu. Position the cursor in the edit box; using Option+V, paste what you copied in step 4. Click Ok to save.
Good Afternoon to the small the big and the tall
I love these little tricks.
Unfortunetly i am not that far advance with Computer
that i can add some of my own.
But i love it.
Have a very good day
Plume
But something funny for you'se all
Summary of Life
GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:
1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats..
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food..
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair..
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandma's lap.
GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:
1) Raising teenagers is like nailing jelly to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground...
5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy..
GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD
1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional...
2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask you the questions...
6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.
THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:
1) You believe in Santa Claus.
2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3) You are Santa Claus..
4) You look like Santa Claus.
Always remember to forget the troubles that pass your way;
BUT NEVER forget the blessings that come each day.
Have a wonderful day with many *smiles*
Take the time to live!!!
Life is too short.
If you don't need the Spotlight icon in the Apple menu, you can remove it so there is more space for other icons. (This is especially useful for laptops and netbooks.)
The convenient utility Onyx removes the Spotlight icon from and restores the Spotlight icon to the Apple menu:
http://www.titanium.free.fr/download.php
If, instead, you enjoy Terminal wizardry, follow these steps:
= open Terminal
= type: sudo mv /System/Library/CoreServices/Spotlight.app /System/Library/CoreServices/Spotlight_BU.app
= enter the Administrator password
= type: killall Spotlight
Note: the Terminal option should be used only by advanced users who understand how to *reverse* the effect of the commands issued above.
z-mac
Are you daring me.
Have a good evening
Plume
Don't tell Dan Millar that I'm giving you all these dangerous ideas. (o;
Hello z-mac
I would'nt even dare attempt to try this.
i've got enough on my plate as it is.
And i would not want Dan to tell me to mind your own business, or i told you so.
I found out recently that SENIORS can get on a Bus free of cost on Wednesday and go downtown to the Rideau Centre. So their are some plusses being a SENIOR CITIZEN.
To use a car is so expensive in Parking Downtown
I would like to be able to go visit the new MAC store at the Rideau Centre.
I'm told it is impressive.
Have a good day everyone
Plume
Jeez!
I am NOT the Mac-nazi!
Plume, you can install apps like Onyx - it's quite useful, and has a wealth of "tricks" that are harmless and reversible.
But, yes, Terminal is a scary place for most people. However, the Apple Store is not - check out their free workshops on the store's website:
http://www.apple.com/ca/retail/rideau/
If you see any that appeal to you, register and attend, like your bus trip - it's free!!! Is that a Cool Mac Tip, or what?
Happy, Crazy, No-Holds-Barred Mac'ing!
Dan
QuoteI would'nt even dare attempt to try this.
~Do~ play with your computer! It's the best toy in the world. You certainly won't do any harm using Onyx.
Even *if* you did some harm, you're in a better world than M-Windows users. One of the (many) things that I like about OS X and Linux is that they are easy to install for those occasional times when I make a mess and need to install again. (Back up your data, of course.)
If you worry about doing something that causes a difficult problem and prevents you from browsing the Internet and sending e-mail, I recommend that you burn a copy of an Ubuntu Live CD. Whatever happens to your computer, you can always boot your Mac from an Ubuntu Live CD and use Firefox. A Live CD is reliable and completely secure -- no data can be stored locally.
The PowerPC version (which I believe you need) is available here:
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ports/releases/lucid/release/
If you have trouble with this, I would be happy to burn the Live CD for you.
Quote
I would like to be able to go visit the new MAC store at the Rideau Centre. I'm told it is impressive.
How impressed you will be by the Apple Store depends on how much you love the colour white. (0:
But seriously, it *is* fun to see a store filled with so many very good computer products. There are people of all ages playing with them, browsing the Internet, checking e-mail, updating their silly WasteBook accounts...
A visit to the store always makes me think about how Apple's fortune has changed. Just 15 years ago, Apple was a dying company, begging Microsoft for a small donation. Today, Apple has successful products, retail stores, and is one of the most valuable companies in the world:
http://www.asymco.com/2010/09/26/apples-growth-vs-top-10-largest-market-caps/
You have a home network. You have an OS X computer, but maybe you also have some housemates using Linux or Microsoft Windows.
Perhaps you want to "chat" with them. You know, open a program window and send some text to someone else on your network, or transfer a file.
This is easy between two or more OS X computers: OS X has Bonjour. Open iChat and you should discover the other OS X computers.
If you want to chat with Linux users, you use iChat and they can use "Empathy" or "Pidgin". (There is also "Kopete" for KDE Linux.) The major Linux distributions will have one of these already included in the installation.
Microsoft Windows users can use Miranda ("http://www.miranda-im.org") or Pidgin ("http://www.pidgin.im").
Good Morning z-mac
Sorry for the slow response.
I am downloading the Ubuntu and would like to read about it.
I will not attempt any crazy moves until i am sure of myself.
Will get back to you with more information.
I may yet take your offer of burning one of those CD.
Have a very good day.
Take care of the ones that are precious to you.
I'm not talking about your dog if you have one
Eventhough we do get attach to them
They are pets.
Plume
Good day again z-mac
I downloaded the file called Ubuntu.
Once downloaded i was going to open the file
but a window open up to tell me that the file maybe corrupt
and to open would create my system not to function properly.
????????????????
Plume
Have a good day z-mac
Plume, if you *really* want to try Linux, send me a personal message (PM) and we'll talk about how to do it.
The short version is: you download the ISO file, burn it to a CD, and then use it to boot your Mac.
Tips For Controlling Adobe Flash Content When You Are Browsing The Web
==============================================
Adobe Flash is used for showing video and animation on the Web. Other technology may replace it, but for now (Nov 2010) Flash is everywhere. Flash may show something you want to see (e.g. Youtube), but it is often what you don't want, too. Advertising is annoying and Flash can crash your browser.
If you use a portable computer, preventing Flash from loading will extend your working time on battery power by 30% or more. Also note that even if you don't mind Flash-based distractions or the Flash-based drain on the Ontario power grid or even that Flash can crash your browser, Flash can also be used to invade your privacy by storing tracking data on your computer (https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Local_Shared_Object). You ought to mind *that*.
It's your computer and your privacy, so you should take control of Flash. Only load Flash objects when *you* want to see them!
How?
For Safari:
There is a plug-in for Safari called "ClickToFlash" that you can install to control the loading of Flash:
http://rentzsch.github.com/clicktoflash/
To remove Flash LSO data, find this directory and delete the subfolders:
~/Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player
Note that Safari's "Reset Safari" command does not delete LSO data.
For Firefox:
If you use Firefox, you can install FlashBlock, AdBlock Plus, and BetterPrivacy:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/433/
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1865/
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6623/