Beginners Mac Blog
http://www.nancycg.com/blog/index.php
The Path Bar
http://www.nancycg.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry100306-224910
It shows up at the bottom of your Finder windows.
What it does is show exactly where a selected file is in your computer's folder hierarchy.
You can drag files or folders into other folders shown in the path bar, so this is a good way to move files up to a higher level. You can also open any folder by double-clicking it in the path bar.
When I teach a class I like to remove any extraneous stuff off my desktop. It's distracting and some of it is personal. If I am in a big hurry I don't always put things where they are supposed to go. In this example "Texas Tea Review" is supposed to be in a folder labeled Product Reviews. Obviously it was not there and when I looked for it, I couldn't find it.
I used Spotlight to find it. When I clicked on the folder in Spotlight I got the Path Bar in the example above. I clicked once on the Texas Tea Review folder in the Path Bar and dragged it to the Desktop folder.
Now it was on my desktop where I needed it to work on it, and when I finished I saved it to the Product Reviews folder where it belonged.
It's a good tool and can help you stay organized, particularly if you have a lot of files on your Mac.
]]>Enlarging Your Screen View
http://www.nancycg.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry100304-170210
Select the Apple Menu > System Preferences > Mouse.
Put a check mark in the box next to "Zoom using scroll wheel while holding"
Choose what key you want to use to make that happen. There are 3 options - the Control key, the Option key, or the Command key. (The Control key is the easiest to use because it is on the outside.)
Then click the Options button and you get this window.
You should put a check in the box next to the Smooth images option, but at the top of this window are three options concerning what happens when you move your mouse when you have the screen image enlarged. Pick which ever one you want, but just be aware that those options are there. I know folks who have been completely frustrated because they did not address this box and were not getting the action they wanted.
Now you are all set. If you choose the Control key to activate Zoom then you just hold down the Control key and roll the scroll bar up or down to enlarge or reduce (back to normal) the size of your desktop.
It affects everything on your screen, the dock, the menu bar, folders -- everything. ]]>New Column and Video Interview
http://www.nancycg.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry100225-221616
I posted a new column to The Mac Observer that explains how to register for iChat and then use it for remote desktop help. You can read it here: http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/ ... _your_mac/
There is a video of an interview that I had with Chuck Joiner at Macworld. Should you care to see it you can do so here: http://macvoices.tv/macvoicestv-1043-ma ... -macworld/]]>Check Out New Software
http://www.nancycg.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry100219-164502
It is BusyCal from BusyMac. It works with iCal but offers more options. For instance the weather report for your area for the next 7 days is included in the form of weather icons. You can get information about or edit events in a box just by clicking on the name of the event. Even better, for beginners, there are very good movie tutorials included in the download that show you just what to do. Oh, and if you are on a network, you can share calendars between users. It requires OS 10.5 or 10.6 and costs $49 for a single user license or $79 for a family license. Check it out at http://www.busymac.com/.
]]>Notes From Macworld
http://www.nancycg.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry100214-111912
Final thoughts on San Francisco. San Franciscans love to eat good food and they sure know how to cook it. I only argue with one thing, strictly from the point of view of a Texan you understand, they don't quite understand the fine art of creating barbecue sauce.
There are so many product ideas in my head that it will take awhile to sort them out and review them, but a couple come to the top. Scosche has two new products designed for the traveler or anyone else who has to carry their computer from place to place.
The first is the flipSYNC - USB 2.0 charge and sync cable for iPod and iPhone. It attaches to your keychain and flips open for use. It’s priced at $19.95.
flipSYNC Open
flipSYNC Closed
The second is the Docking travel charger with nightlight for iPod and iPhone. It is priced at $24.99.
The second product of interest is iPhone apps that allow you to send photo postcards. These appear quite sophisticated and easy to do. I visited with two developers and at this point, of course, have not tried either product, but if you want to check them out the two are:
The third is also an iPhone app. This one is called Reto Recorder. It allows you to record conversations and events using your iPhone. According to the representative at Macworld this product provides better quality recording than the recorder that is included with the iPhone package. I don't know, but at $1.99 I think I will try it out. The app is called ALX and the web site is http://retrorecorder.com
I'm off to the airport with positive thoughts. ]]>Notes From Macworld 2010
http://www.nancycg.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry100213-180637
I haven’t figured out why I attend a year’s worth of parties in 4 nights. It could be that I am surrounded by fun people that I like and good music that I enjoy (especially The Atomic Love Bombs band that features The Mac Observer's own Bryan Chaffin - you guys were awesome), but deep down inside I know it probably is a comment on my social life as a whole. Whatever, the parties are a fun part of Macworld, but the products are even more important.
Reviews will follow as they always do, but there are some that I think are worthy of a web site visit, so a quick discussion of each.
NAVIGON 1.5.0 Software
I have covered NAVIGON before and anyone who knows me personally knows that I think this is the greatest iPhone app going because it keeps me from getting lost. You can read my review here.
NAVIGON AG, has introduced three updated features to it’s GPS system for the iPhone. The first is an in-app connection to Facebook and Twitter, the second is Panorama View 3D with 3D terrain views powered by NASA data, and the third is personalized route delivery via NAVIGON MyRoutes, an intelligent direction provider.
The connection to Facebook and Twitter allows a user to broadcast current position, destination and ETA without navigation interruption.
The Panorama View 3D uses digitized cartography that delivers an accurate depiction of environment and landscapes using NASA’s height and terrain data, independent from the phone’s data connection.
My Routes analyzes individual driving data and designs customized routes, giving up to 3 choices with distance and ETA displayed in-map for each.
Special pricing is in place until Feb 15. Check their web site.
YAPPER
YAPPER stands for Your APP makER. This company has been in business for two months and the owners were almost overwhelmed with the interest they were getting at the show. They create an iPhone app for you or your business and get it through the Apple approval process and posted to the App store. It seems incredibly easy to do and you use your own company or organization logo. The regular price is $499, but the show price is $99. I will be reviewing this product in full very soon, but if you want to check it out now, go to their web site.
Simply put, once installed you have two USB sockets added to your normal electric sockets. The company representative assured me it was very easy to do and that I could do it following the easy instructions and the on-line video. I said uh-huh out loud and “That’s why God gave me children.” to myself and ordered three.
These are today’s recommendations for us regular folks.
]]>Notes From Macworld 2010
http://www.nancycg.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry100212-013241
The wifi connection in my hotel is really, really slow. Reminds me of dial up. Must have something to do with 35,000 Mac users in town. Speaking of which, there were only 300 less people in attendance today than there were the first day of last year's Macworld. Vendors on the show floor were caught totally off guard and were calling in reinforcement staff to help with the crowds. There were less give-aways. No free tote bags at the door, no free pens in all the booths -- economy measures are evident everywhere (there aren't even free lunches in the press room), but attendees are buying.
The new products I have seen are awesome and I will mention some of them tomorrow when I have time to pull info together. This morning we heard David Pogue speak and what a hoot he is. I had no idea he was such a performer. He performed several parody songs that I understand are available on uTube. One makes fun of long waits for phone tech support, another is about wanting an iPhone. He also held a contest on Twitter for fake iPhone apps and shared some of them - such as an app that lets you watch paint dry. Ten years ago he wrote a column based on the movie I't A Wonderful Life in which he starred Steve Jobs instead of George Bailey - showing how bad things would be if there had never been an Apple Computer. David turned it into a play and had several people act it out on stage. The part of Steve Jobs was played by the actor LaVar Burton.
The next big event was a preview of six outstanding products. Again I will talk about a few products tomorrow, but I will say now that the one thing I have observed about this whole conference is that there are a lot of little companies with innovative products that are really exciting.
Paul Kent with IDG, the company who puts on Macworld, has done an outstanding job of creating the "new Macworld" and it is great to be here and be part of the action. ]]>Dead Hard Drive
http://www.nancycg.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry100207-083515
"My screen is all white except for this little folder in the middle with a question mark on it. How do I make it go away?" In the background I can hear her restarting her machine over and over.
I'm not a technical person, but I know this is bad, so I say to her "Do you have everything backed up?" She uses her Mac for work.
She doesn't. I have told her over and over that she needs to back up her Mac, told her how to do it, and what software to use (SuperDuper is my recommendation), She always says that she will do so as soon as she can afford to buy an external hard drive. External hard drives are around $100.
When I researched her problem on the internet last night it seems very likely that her hard drive has died. That means she has lost all her applications and data. All her email, all her address book entries, all her photos, and all her calendar entries - not to mention her work documents.
She said, "The staff at the Genius Bar will be able to get it all back won't they?" I told her that if her hard drive is dead there are places that can try and retrieve some of her information but it will cost in the thousands to have it done.
Since she couldn't get on the internet, I made an appointment for her to go to her local Apple store first thing this morning to have them look at her Mac so they can tell her what is wrong.
If her hard drive is bad she may be able to get a new one or she may have to replace her machine. For less than $150 she could have protected all her important applications and information. No matter how good our Mac's are, they are still just machines.]]>FolderBrander
http://www.nancycg.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry100115-224542
It sure makes it easy to find the folder you are seeking and it is very easy to use.
A single user license is $9.95 and a family pack is $12.94. There are versions for OS 10.4 and later and for OS 10.3.
I'm really pleased to find out about this because I keep a lot of working folders on my desktop. You might want to check it out as well. ]]>Quickly Retrieve Something From The Trash
http://www.nancycg.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry100108-232825
It used to be the case that the only way you could retrieve it would be to click on the trash can to open it, search for the item, and then drag it back onto your desktop or back into a specific folder.
With Snow Leopard there is a somewhat faster way.
Right-click on the item and select "Put Back" from the contextual menu. The file will return to the where it was before you threw it away.
