Arbi Karamians December 17, 2007 TutorialsMac
FYI, Snow Leopard 10.6.2 (x86-modified Hazard distro) under VirtualBox 3.2.8 (no OS X Guest Additions supported) seems to be an order of magnitude slower than VMware Snow Leopard 10.6.2 Retail with VMware Tools (torrent: “Mac OS X 10.6.2 Virtual Machine for VMware”). Core 2 Quad, Raptor RAID 0, Windows 7 host, 2GB guest RAM. FYI, Snow Leopard 10.6.2 (x86-modified Hazard distro) under VirtualBox 3.2.8 (no OS X Guest Additions supported) seems to be an order of magnitude slower than VMware Snow Leopard 10.6.2 Retail with VMware Tools (torrent: “Mac OS X 10.6.2 Virtual Machine for VMware”). Core 2 Quad, Raptor RAID 0, Windows 7 host, 2GB guest RAM.
This tutorial is out of date and no longer maintained.
It’s been a couple months since Apple released its new operating system Mac OS X Leopard, and that’s more than enough time to give it a nice once over. (See our introduction to Leopard and some of our favorite Leopard features.) The first thing you’ll notice is the new look. Not just the new dock or the new login screen, but also the folders and the crisper, sleeker look of icons and folders. We think it’s safe to say Apple junkies were expecting something pretty, because if there’s one thing Apple is known for, it’s their impressive design. Once you can get past the pretty, shiny things, you start to notice some amazing functionality.
We want to outline some of the more significant upgrades and 10 things you’ll love about Leopard. The following items will be in no particular order simply because people use their computers for different reasons and our number 1 might be your number 10. That said, let’s look at some of the fun new features.
1. The Dock
We mentioned the dock a bit earlier simply because it’s worth mentioning. You’ll immediately notice that the dock is laid out differently in the sense that it’s now more “3D” as the icons are laid out on plane rather than a backdrop. Oh, and did we mention that it’s reflective?
Once you’re done minimizing and maximizing windows to see the cool effects, you’ll notice that the dock has some new functions. After your initial startup you’ll have new icons for Spaces, Time Machine, Systems Preferences, as well as a Downloads folder icon. We’ll cover most of these later on, but let’s look at the Downloads folder next.
2. Downloads Folder
This feature kind of broadsides you, because you don’t need it until you actually download something. Forget the days where your desktop would be cluttered with PDFs, PSDs, and DMGs. Any download you start will automatically go straight into your download folder, so no more forgetting whether you chose Desktop, Pictures, or some other location to save your file.
You’ll know exactly where your download went, and you’ll know exactly where to go to get it. Doesn’t sound like an entirely innovative idea, we know, but trust us: After a few downloads you’ll start to love it. Now, let’s say you’ve been downloading pictures of your favorite actor or actress for your side project as an “entertainment blogger” and you want to find a specific picture from the downloads folder. Bring on Stacks!
3. Stacks
Stacks are folders you can place in your dock for items you need to quickly access. Downloads is a Stack that comes pre-installed with your new Leopard Dock. The name “Stacks” doesn’t make sense until you see how it works. Click on the Downloads folder and you get a stack of the pictures, folders, and anything else you’ve downloaded.
The items in that stack will fan out and allow you to see what’s in that specific folder. You can change the preferences to have your items displayed in a grid if you don’t like the fan feature. Whether you use fan or grid is irrelevant. The main point is that you have all of your folder items right there in front of you, but more importantly out of your way. See, isn’t it nice to have a nice clean desktop? We think so too, and so do second and third grade teachers all over world.
4. Spaces
![Looking For Love Mac OS Looking For Love Mac OS](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/17/33/f6/1733f627b6bd14939c824bf9eedc3faa.jpg)
Spaces is useful for the serious multi-taskers out there. Let’s say you’re a super hero and you’re designing new outfits while you’re checking on stats in your fantasy football league. (What? Super heroes don’t like fantasy sports?) Spaces can accommodate! You can arrange different Spaces for different things and even assign a specific Space to specific programs.
![Love Love](https://www.macworld.co.uk/cmsdata/features/3795660/macos-big-sur-messages-effects-100849703-orig_thumb.jpg)
You can also add more columns and rows and have up to 16 different Spaces! With 16 Spaces you can certainly get all your super hero work done. Seriously, though: If you’re wearing lycra spandex you’ve got other things to worry about.
5. Time Machine
It’s happened to all of us – you’re using your computer and you accidentally delete something. Something important: Documents from your childhood, your project due in 5 hours, or maybe even your pictures of Jessica Simpson for your entertainment blog. You’re in trouble, right? Nope, because you had the good sense to set up Time Machine, which backs up all of your files automatically to a storage device.
Simply click on the Time Machine icon and it allows you to scroll back and forth through your Mac’s history and choose a time period that would restore your Mac and restore the data you just lost. Time and time again you’ve been told backing up your files is important, necessary, and a lifesaver. It’s all true. And now it’s also easy - so easy that after you set it up you won’t even know you’re doing it.
6. Boot Camp
Intel-Mac users were very excited to hear that Apple would make Boot Camp available to the public – something that allowed all Intel-based Macs to use Windows. Now Boot Camp is built into Leopard and is no longer a secondary install. If you’ve never used Boot Camp, the setup assistant will guide you through your setup process. Simply grab a copy of Windows and run the setup process.
So now when you need to use a Windows program, for whatever the reason, Boot Camp makes it increasingly simple to do so. As the Apple website says, “Leopard is the world’s most advanced operating system. So advanced, it even lets you run Windows…”
7. Parental Controls
Have some little Mac users in your home? Want to make sure they’re safely using the family computer? You can manage your child’s usage in a number of ways while monitoring their use. You can limit the applications they use, content they view on the web, limit mail and iChat usage, place time limits on when and how long they use the computer, and view logs of websites visited, applications used, and what they did on iChat. It’s all available in your Mac’s System Preferences.
In a world of uncertainty, it’s good to know you can be certain your child is safe when they’re on the computer.
8. Finder
Another improvement to an already useful feature can be found in Finder. You will immediately notice the new sidebar and how items are grouped. The most useful groups are the Today, Yesterday, Past Week, All Movies, All Images and All Documents groups. Yup, they’re all exactly what they say they are.
The Today folder will show you all the files you’ve accessed that day, and the Yesterday folder will show you all the files you accessed yesterday. The All Movies folder will show every movie you have on your Mac, and The All Images folder will show you all the images on your Mac.
9. Cover Flow
Cover Flow looks as good as it is useful. Never before have you been able to visually arrange your files and folders. It’s always been grids or lists of files and folders and frankly, it’s just boring.
Let’s say you’re looking for a specific picture of Tony Danza for your blog: You shouldn’t have to click on each picture one by one to view them all. In cover flow just hit the arrows right or left or drag the bar and you scroll through pictures with ease. In my opinion, Tony Danza has never looked better.
10. Roll Your Own
We’re leaving the last item up for grabs. The reason? Apple released Leopard with 300 new features and to choose just 10 to discuss is somewhat silly. So number 10 is up to you. We’ve simply outlined 9 features which are the most notable upgrades in the new version of OS X - so go ahead and take off that Super Hero cape and put down the People Magazine you’re using for blog research and take a look around your Mac and find whichever feature you’d consider to be number 10!
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Over the years I’ve installed a lot of commercial software, shareware and freeware on my Macs. I love trying new apps. That being said, most of what I install gets used once or twice, then discarded. But there is a small collection of apps and utilities for Mac OS X that I’ve found to be extremely useful and kept around for the long haul.
I have no set criteria for deciding what stays and what goes, but for the most part the app has to serve a particular need, look good, and work as advertised. The following is not a complete list of what’s installed on my Mac, but it represents what applications and utilities have stood the test of time, and what I use the most.
My favorite apps are, in no particular order:
There are lots of note-taking apps out there, but when I set out to find one that was dead simple, had a Mac and web client, and synced with my iPhone – I found only one that worked for me. JustNotes uses the SimpleNote service and syncs with all my Macs, my iPhone. It offers a menubar item for quick access, a few keyboard shortcuts, and not much more. It’s exactly what I was looking for, and it’s free.
Note: SimpleNote offers a web client, as well as iPhone app by itself – so you only need JustNotes (or other compatible app) if you want a Mac client.
Now you might wonder why I would need Evernote when I just told you I use JustNotes/SimpleNotes. The reason is simple. Evernote offers image, PDF and other file support. Evernote also offers the ability to create multiple notebooks to keep things organized. Like JustNotes, Evernote also offers a Mac client, an iPhone app, and a browser plugin. I use Evernote more as a web-clipping service than a notes app. Evernote offers a free version, and a paid subscription version that removes ads and increases storage.
While the original intention of Dropbox was simply to share files with other people, it has turned into an indispensable app that many other utilities and services take advantage of. With referral bonus space pushing my storage limit to over 10GB of free storage, I have plenty of space for sharing files with printers. But Dropbox gets the most use from other utilities and applications to store their data files for syncing between my laptop and desktop Macs, a storage bin for article ideas, and a simple way to bring files home from my PC at work.
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Though Mac OS X has the ability for the user to assign keyboard shortcuts via the System Preferences, it’s a truly half-hearted offering. Quite frankly, I find it useless. In searching for a utility to allow system-wide keyboard shortcuts for launching apps, opening folders and assigning events, I came across Spark. It’s not sexy, and doesn’t get updated very often, but it works perfectly and is absolutely free.
I use my MacBook Pro for work on the road. I carry it everywhere and don’t always have the ability to plug it in to charge, so preserving the battery is always in the back of my head. AppTamer is similar to Apple’s stock ActivityMonitor app in that it lists all running apps and processes and allows you to quit them at will. The advantage AppTamer has over ActivityMonitor is that it offers an AutoStop feature. AutoStop puts an application or process to “sleep” until needed. Though the battery charge savings aren’t significant, every little bit helps. You also get the advantage of saving a few extra CPU cycles and MBs of RAM by AutoStopping apps you aren’t using. AppTamer is $14.95 for a single-user license.
Before I found RipIt (actually, the developer found me after I was complaining about not finding a great simple app to backup my DVDs on Twitter), I tried Handbreak, and a host of other apps that were all WAY too complicated. RipIt is just fantastically simple to make backup copies of your commercial DVDs, and for me at least has worked every time. You put a DVD in your drive, launch the app and click a button to make a disc image of your DVD which you can then backup to a hard drive or burn to DVD. There are a few compression options available, but the lack of “features” to decipher is what makes this app so great. RipIt costs $24.95.
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When Apple introduced Quick Look into Mac OS X, I immediately took to it. It annoys me to no end to have to open a file just to see what it is. Unfortunately, Quick Look doesn’t always work with graphics files like InDesign documents, and it offers little other than a preview of the file. SneakPeek Pro not only works with those InDesign files, but also offers information about the file itself, such as a list of fonts used in the document, color plates, and more. SneakPeak Pro can be had for $19.95.
Experienced Mac users know that simply deleting an application does not completely uninstall it. There are a load of preference files, frameworks files and more that litter the hard drive. For years I used AppZapper, or rather, I tried to remember to use AppZapper to more thoroughly remove an application. The problem was I had to remember to use it. AppCleaner automates the job by collecting those lingering preference files when you drag an application to the trash. You can also customize AppCleaner to protect default applications and create your own protected list so you don’t accidentally delete anything you don’t want to. The process is so seamless that I’ve forgotten that it’s not part of the default Mac OS X installation. AppCleaner is free.
With all the free apps to create CDs and DVDs, including Apple’s built-in burner software, I’m still amazed that I’ve been using Toast since the days of Mac OS 8 and 9 to burn CDs. I shouldn’t be surprised though. Toast is the by far the most comprehensive app for doing the job. It offers plenty of options to burn a CD or DVD in virtually any way you wish. Over the years, Roxio has added secondary applications to the app, such as a utility to catelog your CDs as your burn them for later searching. In the end though, I rarely use all the add-on apps – Toast does its job so well that I long ago stopped looking at alternative applications. At $99, it’s worth every penny for me – but if it seems a bit pricey, there is a $20 mail-in rebate available.
Many years ago, I used a mix of tools for print design, which included Quark XPress, Macromedia Freehand and Photoshop. When Adobe released InDesign, I immediately switched to an all-Adobe workflow – and haven’t looked back. Having recently released Acrobat Pro X, Adobe has reaffirmed its dominance in the graphics and content creation market. While there are other cheaper alternatives out there, none even come close to offering the professional features that the Creative Suite apps do – and none are more widely accepted by printers and professional organizations. If you’re just getting started in the business, you might as well get the Adobe apps now, because you’re going to have to use them eventually. Pricing varies depending on which suite you purchase.
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In part 2 of this article (which I’ll publish on Wednesday), I’ll share several more utilities and apps I use on a regular basis. Until then, feel free to share your favorite apps in the comments.
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