Be Brave, Try Something New!!

We all use our computer uses it in different ways. Some only a few applications. Don't limit yourself. The fear of trying something new or the fear of screwing something up or risking
losing files, etc. seems to limit many from venturing past those few standard operation.

Jack and I are always looking for new Mac experiences. It is just jun learning new stuff. And if you are faithful about backing up your files, you'll never lose a thing. There are thousands of websites dedicated to sharing tips, tools, and shareware for your Mac. Here
are just a few of Small Dog Electronics favorites:

http://www.versiontracker.com/macosx/

http://www.macworld.com/mac_help/

http://www.apple.com/pro/tips/

http://www.mactipsandtricks.com/

http://www.apple.com/support/

http://www.mactips.org/

http://www.macosxhints.com/

http://tips4mac.blogspot.com/

http://www.mac-hints-tips.com/

http://www.macfixit.com

Take a little time and explore your Mac and what it can do for you. Just like our classrooms, "same ole', same ole", doesn't cut it anymore.

Code for the Keyboard shortcut symbols

It’s sometimes mystifying what keys go with what symbols.
Over at Dan Rodney’s blog, I found this extremely useful cheat-sheet
detailing the symbols that go with the keys:

http://www.danrodney.com/mac/index.html

Amazing that the option key is that weird ramp looking symbol!

Keyboard Shortcuts-Handy Hints

The "Command" key is the one printed with an Apple or
a clover shape. It is the key next to the spacebar on most keyboards.
The Command key is many times called the Apple key.

1. Remove or rearrange icons on the right side of the menu bar by
holding down the Command key and dragging the icon. I learned this
tip at Tuaw.com.

2. Quickly and easily change a folder or file's name by clicking on
it once to highlight it, then click on the Return key. The title of
the file or folder will be highlighted, allowing you to quickly edit
it. I also learned this at Tuaw.com.

3. Close all applications except the one you're working in by
holding down Command, Option, and H all at the same time. I love this
instant way to clear screen clutter.

4. If you use tabs in Safari or Firefox, hold down the Command key while
clicking a link - the link will automatically open in a new tab.

5. The Option and Command keys can be used to simplify everyday computer
tasks, as well as unlock some novel functions not otherwise
available. For a fairly complete list, read this excellent article

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20070415081451932

Spruce Up Google Reader

Spruce Up Google Reader
By Jimmy@smalldog.com

I found this nifty little trick while looking around Digg.com. It
allows you to skin or theme Google Reader (http://reader.google.com)
and it sure does look better then the default!

You can use Mozilla Firefox, Camino, Safari, OmniWeb, and Opera. I
tried it out on FireFox so it was pretty simple. You need to download
and install the Stylish extension and then after you restart FireFox
you'll notice a little icon in the lower right corner (looks like a
piece of paper with a paint brush). Click on that icon and choose
Write Style >> For This URL. Paste in the special CSS file and it
should change the look of the Google Reader page!

Stylish Extension for FireFox:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2108

Special CSS File:

http://www.hicksdesign.co.uk/file_download/33

View this website for detail on how to get this trick to work with
the other web browsers:

http://www.hicksdesign.co.uk/journal/google-reader-theme

MacTribe

"MacTribe is not the same old format. It takes the traditional
content and updates it for the new generation of Mac users, who use
their Macs as creative devices, entertainment systems, and symbols of
all around good taste. MacTribe is for those who use their Macs to
access the world.... MacTribe gives you all of the product and news
coverage you expect from a Mac magazines and much more. Unlike other
Mac magazines and web sites, MacTribe isn't just about the products.
We are a lifestyle magazine and web site for the Mac user, new and
old. As the Mac market grows and changes, so should the coverage of
it. That's what MacTribe is about.

MacTribe brings you the most exciting in-depth features on Apple
Products, Interviews, Design, Photography and Multimedia. To learn
more about the people who bring you MacTribe.com, MacTriber Weekly,
and MacTribe Magazine, keep reading."

See MacTribe's website:

http://www.mactribe.com/

Laptop Battery Saving Tips

Laptop Battery Conservation Tips
By Matt@Smalldog.com

Small Dog’s home base in Waitsfield experienced an unexpected power
outage this morning. I wrote this on a MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo 2.33GHZ
15” machine, which a half hour ago had a full charge but only
estimated 1 hour 45 minutes of remaining battery life.

I know from experience with my 1.67GHZ PowerBook G4 that the pro
machines lag behind the consumer models in battery life, and since I
am in the position of having to conserve battery life I thought I’d
share my technique.

- Lower the display brightness all the way down. Doing this will
generally double the estimated remaining battery life if beforehand
you were set to full brightness.

- Disable keyboard backlighting.

- Ensure that Energy Saver is set to spin down hard disks when possible.

- Put your computer to sleep whenever you’re not actively using it,
like when you’re on the phone, in the bathroom, or walking the dog.

- Eject optical disks. They spin, taking power, even when they’re not
actively being used.

- Have lots of RAM installed. This helps prevent excessive virtual
memory use (virtual memory is hard drive space that’s turned into
“virtual” RAM. When the computer needs more RAM than is physically
installed, it’ll dip into virtual memory reserves, and cause
increased disk activity. For this reason, avoid invoking dashboard
for its excessive memory use; consider using activity monitor to kill
the dock process, which owns Dashboard. If you’ve invoked Dashboard,
killing the Dock will free up all the memory it used. Consider
disabling Spotlight as well (see http://aplawrence.com/foo-mac/remove-
spotlight.html) because its indexing is both processor- and disk-
intensive.

- Use your iPod for music. iTunes keeps the hard drive working.

- Type in TextEdit, not Word. Word’s autosave feature spins up the
hard drive all the time; TextEdit does no such thing.

- Don’t keep unused Applications running in the background.

- If you use Quicksilver (you should by the way—http://
quicksilver.blacktree.com), ensure that it does not re-catalogue,
which is hard drive- and processor-intensive. Set it to rescan every
24 hours.

- We’re still in the dark here, but the generator is chugging away
keeping the web servers and VOIP phone system up and running. With
these techniques I increased estimated battery life from 1h45m to
3h20m…that’s a big difference!

How to Forward Delete on a Mac

How to Forward Delete on a Mac
by Ed@smalldog.com

One of the most common questions from recent switchers (besides "can I use a right click mouse") is how to forward delete, as can easily be done on a Windows PC. Somewhat confusingly, some people simply call forward deleting "delete," and the backwards deleting Mac users are used to "backspacing."

If you use the delete key on almost any Mac, the cursor travels backwards, erasing the words behind it. However, the Apple Pro keyboard, and many other third party keyboards (such as my incredibly loud but fun-to-type-on Matias Tactile Pro) have a dedicated forward delete key. Its symbol is a arrow pointing right with an "x" printed on it. On your Apple or similar keyboard, this key is located above the the four arrow keys between the letter portion of the keyboard and the number pad. Again, it will be printed with a right-pointing
arrow with an "x" in it, and it may also say "del." See picture here:

Apple laptops don't have a dedicated forward delete key. To forward delete on PowerBooks, iBooks, MacBook or MacBook Pros, simply hold down the fn key (function key) and press delete. The cursor will gobble up the words in from of it. On MacBooks, MacBook Pros,PowerBooks, and iBooks, the fn key is located on lower left corner of the keyboard, under the shift key.

Some people like to remap their Apple keyboards, so they can dedicate a key to forward-deleting. Many people recommend and use DoubleCommand for this. Read about DoubleCommand here:

http://doublecommand.sourceforge.net/

A few Interesting stories to check out

Apple adds Major League baseball to iTunes
http://www.macnn.com/articles/07/03/30/major.league.on.itunes/

Apple's Bootcamp 1.2 beta supports Vista
http://www.macnn.com/articles/07/03/28/apple.bootcamp.12.beta/

Here is a nice comprehensive list of Mac Sites
Digg.com
Macaddict.com
MacWorld.com
MacLife.com
Macrumors.com
Macnn.com
Appleinsider.com
Macminute.com
Tuaw.com
Macobserver.com
Macsurfer.com
iPodobserver.com
Applematter.com
Thinksecret.com
Lowendmac.com
Dealsontheweb.com
Pcworld.com
Slashdot.com
Macgamer.com
Barefeats.com
Dealmac.com
Macitt.com
Macdirectory.com
Macsimumnews.com
Macspeedzone.com
Macreviewzone.com
Macupdate.com
Mymac.com
Tidbits.com
Top-tech-news.com
Versiontracker.com

Apple Boot Camp Updated W/ Vista Support! DyKnow works too!!!

Apple Boot Camp Updated W/ Vista Support!

Apple updated Boot Camp and the new update includes support for 32-
bit Windows Vista. I haven’t installed and tried this out myself but
I sure hope it adds the ability to have the scrolling trackpad. I
believe that was one major feature missing in the previous build when
Boot Camp didn’t support Vista. I had some troubles getting the
trackpad to work properly.

Also, Jack Jackson and Kenny Rigler had been testing DyKnow on an Intel Mac with Parrallels and they find it to work well. So don't think you are left out of the loop with DyKnow if you are a Mac person.