Archive for Tip
Prolonging iPod Battery Life Tips
iPod from our chat room writes:
I have some tips on keeping your iPod battery alive as long as possible (because we all hate the day where we have to replace it).
- Dont keep your screen too bright! 50% brightness is a decent level. You don’t need it at a high level just to listen to music, even watching movies it should not be too bright. This tends to wear down the battery very quickly, as it is a major part causing iPod or iPhone battery to run out
- If it’s on a dock, turn it down. Turn the volume down pretty low, but turn your dock up high. This saves battery life, because it takes lots of battery to keep the volume high — the same if you’re listening to your iPod with headphones. Don’t keep it too high. Set a volume limit for your needs, and for the sake of your battery.
- When you power down, turn the hold switch on. This prevents unwanted power-ups and playing unwanted music or videos. Obviously if its turned on, it’s going to wear down its battery. Enforce this especially if you’re on a long trip with no USB port close by.
- If it’s in a case, take it out when it’s connected via USB. Your iPod or iPhone will warm up and this would wear down the battery, speeding up the time until the battery fully dies. If it’s just a case that is meant for not getting scratches on your iPod, then that’s okay because there usually thin and have spaces for air to escape.
Getting That Forward Delete On Your Mac Notebook
Macs and PCs are just different. Not just at the operating system level, but even at the hardware side as well. I’ve always felt Apple hardware is a superior design in computer technology but its lack of forward delete on its notebooks has been one con to using a Mac. Now, if you have a full-sized keyboard, you can use the forward delete above the cursor keys (it has an X inside a forward arrow on it) but us MacBook, MacBook Pro, iBook, and PowerBook users don’t have such a key. Thankfully there are many keyboard mapping applications out there to assist in this problem.
One keyboard mapper I found is DoubleCommand. Doing more than just giving me my beloved forward delete, the freeware application sits in your System Preferences Other section awaiting your command. Mmm, sorry for the pun. Other cool tricks include turning that ENTER key, down by your space bar and Command key to the right, into a Control, Option, or even a Function key. You can swap keys and their uses as well as make those HOME and END keys act more like they do on a PC. It’s just all good stuff, really!
Hey, I have installed and I’m a happy camper. I know you will be too when you give it a go on your system. Try it out and if you like it, give author, Michael Baltaks, a donation to keep him going.
Tags: doublecommand, forward, delete, key, remap, mac, osx, os x
Parallels 3.0 Download And Coupon
Run Windows, Linux, and more side-by-side with Mac OS X on any Intel-powered Mac, without rebooting. With Parallels’ award-winning virtualization technology, you can run Mac OS X and Windows at the same time. You can even drag-and-drop files between desktops!
Leading the way with our trademark innovation, Parallels Desktop 3.0 [20% off upgrade] [$10 off for new customers] comes packed with 50+ new features and enhancements, including Snapshots, 3D graphics, and the new Parallels-only SmartSelect.
Exclusive Coupon: 20% off Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac Upgrade for existing customers OR $10 off for Parallels Desktop 3.0 for Mac for new customers.
Single Windows XP License Can Be Used In Multiple Parallels Desktop Installs
Can it be that there’s a way to trick Microsoft’s Windows XP Genuine Certificate of Authority install? Well, maybe. Take a look at my Device Manager from my Parallels Desktop install of Windows XP SP2. Note the devices, which Windows uses to make your configuration unique, are all general notations. Meaning, every Parallels install will say the same thing. There really isn’t anything unique about the install accept the Certificate of Authority number and your MAC (Media Access Control) address, here.
So that said, you could basically use the same Windows XP install for your entire home since chances are you won’t be using them all at the same time, thus not setting off the MS Police when it notices different MAC addresses coming from the same NAT IP. Then again, that might not even matter, since this is already a common experience with legit installs from businesses that buy tons of identical PCs by the truckload for their cubicles.
So did SvenOnTech find a loophole in the way Parallels presents XP to Microsoft? Will we be saving you all some cash? We can’t say for sure until we test this out on other Macs. But we can tell you this much: if it does work, then you won’t even have to do multiple installs but rather use the same HDD file for Parallels. How sweet this could be!
We’ll keep you posted on this and if you’ve already tried this, please confirm or deny this report in the comments.
Tags: parallels, desktop, windows, xp, device manager, mac, os x, osx, install, hack
Get That Motorola RAZR v3c to Sync Your Calendar with Your Mac
It’s a well known fact that Verizon is not a friend of the Bluetooth camp. It likes to retard the Dail-up Networking (DUN) feature as well any file transferring (OBEX Exchange). Sometimes you find just simple syncing isn’t the easiest thing in the world, either.
Some find iSync and RAZRs compatibility less than desireable. Even though Apple’s iSync Devices page shows the RAZR line as supported, the footnotes indicate some trouble ahead for you ultra-thin phone users. Calander sync seems to be a biggie as one such problem for the v3c. But thankfully Brian Toth documented how to get the iCal and iSync to get (i)RAZR to get that important to one and another. It’s not a difficult task, but it’s not for the faint at heart, too. There’s some blood involved. You’ll need to do some package opening and file editing, but it’s nothing too major and within a few minutes, you’ll be syncing your days events with your phone! Give it a try and remember who helped make this happen…Brian. :)
Clean Your MacBook With Your Wife’s Finger Nail Polish
Hey, so you’re a bit bummed that your snazzy MacBook looks like trailer trash worked on it and want it cleaned, now, then there’s some hope. Go into the bathroom and grab your wife’s finger nail polish. Apply it to a cloth and do some rubbing and bingo, you’re back in business. With all the bad press Apple is getting for the dirty white MacBooks in the wild, hey, this may help keep you happy until Apple fixes your new baby.
[Via Lifehacker]
New Use for My Tired PowerBook: Media Center
What does one do with their 800MHz PowerBook of yesteryear when they have a snazzy and cutting-edge MacBook Pro? Leave it on its on Bookendz dock and let it sit. At least that’s what I did for the last three months, until a couple of days ago.
From time to time, we like hooking up the Mac to the TV to either watch iTMS purchased videos or MPEG2 files from other sources. Since the MacBook Pros arrival, we’ve been using it for these demanding times. However, the other night, I had to use my MBP and I couldn’t free it up. What was I going to do? Get my old Dell Inspiron out? Heck, no! I thought about it for a minute and then with excitement in my voice said, “Dah, I’ll use my TiBook!”
I booted it up and downloaded all the updates. Rebooted and then installed MediaCentral. Once installed, I hooked it up to the TV and like that chef likes to say, Bam!, we were in business! Sure, we had no spiffy white remote, but that was alright, we got by. The remote can be “fixed” with a third-party solution, which SvenOnTech is going to post on in the upcoming days.
So there I was, using my MacBook Pro while my good friend the PowerBook played our show for us. No issues, no problems. It’s good to be using my beloved TiBook once again. :)
Tags: mac, apple, powerbook, media, g4, new, tibook, titanium, center, central, use
Learn Chess For Free…Get a Mac
Call it funny, but this tech guy never really sat enough to learn how to play chess before. College was too busy with studding and, well, you know, stuff. Then work came into my life and more important things like Sony PlayStations. Okay, I never got one of those, either, but that should indicate how I just didn’t have time to learn such a complex game as chess.
When my nine year-old niece asked if I’d play a game of chess with her Thursday, I was like, ‘Mmm, that could be fun.’ I explained to her that I really didn’t remember who moved how, but she said she’d help me. So I took the challenge and about ten minutes later, my niece’s father came to my resecure and put a W in my column. Without my brother in-laws help, she would have creamed me.
So now I’m practicing. Through the weekend, I’ve been playing the computer and learning the moves. While I’m not quite advanced enough to even think two moves ahead, I am at least getting the pieces allowed moves down. Of late, my biggest problem is preventing a draw yet still trying to get that check mate. Seems that the computer isn’t really up to letting that happen and after about ten minutes of “band on the run”, I just give up and force the draw.
So how am I learning all this? Did I download some game for my PC? Nope, it’s already on my Mac…for free. Chess comes with OS X and while my Windows brethren can play card games to their eyes become blood shot, I’m more into the finer things in life as is my Mac.
Like the Get a Mac ad for iLife states, you just get a lot more cool stuff with your Mac than you do with a PC. Sure Windows does come with a bit more than just the calculator and clock, but truth is, it really doesn’t come with much useful free stuff. I’m finding that the chess game that comes with the Mac is quite nice and powerful enough for my needs. I don’t need to hunt around the web for a freeware version on the PC (which I tried once a long time ago and and there really isn’t anything good out there.) In the end, it’s just good that I have a Mac and can sharpen my chess skills so I don’t get a whoppin’ from a nine year old. :)
Don’t Worry, Apple Will Let You Re-download Your iTunes Music
If you’ve read your iTunes Music Store agreement well, you’ll remember that Apple is straight-up about what happens if your hard drive takes a dump. SOL (sorry out of luck :) ). But Lifehacker is reporting that there’s this dirty little secret that indeed you can re-download lost music. Lh couldn’t verify this claim, but three comments do confirm it. In fact, they all state that Apple gives you a whipping before resetting your account with the new download links.
So if you’re not a good boy or girl and don’t backup your music files or use RAID5 like we do here at SvenOnTech, then this may be an option. One we wouldn’t rely on, but still, an option.
Tags: apple, itunes, download, back up, re-download
Boot Camp And XP
I don’t have the opportunity (read money) to get myself an Intel Mac. Luckily, Chuck, one of my readers, emailed me about his experience with Boot Camp. I thought it was a great tip. For obvious reasons I did not test this, but these tips might possibly save you lot of money and some headaches. Click to Read the Full Post »
TIP: Getting iTunes to See Files After a Drive (Path) Change
After a summer of sweat in my office last year due to four computers running in my small office, I have consolidated down to one PC (desktop) and one Mac (notebook). Only the NAS, switch, and printers (laser and ink) are the other heat contributers at this point. In fact, I sit here in my office without the ceiling fan going and I don’t even have a single bead of sweat on my head.
But I did have one problem: path issue in iTunes. With a 25 MB settings XML file for my Windows install of iTunes, I really didn’t feel like losing all my ratings, play counts, and other metadata that I’ve built up over the last two years. What was I going to do? Hack! I knew all I had to do was change the path in my iTunes Music Library.xml file and I’d be good to go. Thing was, after doing the massive search-and-replace, iTunes still complained that it couldn’t find my music. Ugh! After some head scratching, I figured out the issue and presto, I’m back in business! So here’s what I did.
- First, back up your iTunes Music Library.xml file. In OS X it’s in your $HOME/Music/iTunes/ directory. Windows users can find it in \My Documents\My Music\iTunes.
- Second, open “iTunes Music Library.xml” in a good text editor like TextPad (Windows). Then do a search-and-replace for the old path up to the directory name that did NOT change and replace it with the new path up to the directory name that did not change. For example, search for “\\server1\jamz\” and change it to “\\nas\mp3s\”. So if MC Hammer’s best of was in “\\server1\jamz\mc hammer\greatest hits\” it would now be in “\\nas\mp3s\mc hammer\greatest hits\”.
- Now here’s the important part, open iTunes and change your music directory in the settings. Once you’ve don this, it’ll start re-indexing. You can cancel this as you’ve already taken care of this in your XML file.
- Close iTunes again (to close the settings file and save the changes) and then reopen it. Done!
If you’re doing this on a Mac, you may be aided by an AppleScript called itunesTrackCPR that helps edit your XML file. It gets high user marks and is a free download. You may still have to make the directory change within iTunes preferences after the AppleScript does it’s work.
For me, I saved years of custom settings and was able to move my 90 GB of music onto a Network Attached Server. Now I can kick my Windows 2003 Server to the curb (well, actually to Craigslist) and chill out…a little. :)
Need More Diskspace?
You can’t have enough free disk space, right?
Someone pointed out to me that OS X uses a lot of caches, and that these caches use big amounts of disk space. I did some reading about this and found out that you can delete them without any trouble and these caches can hold multiple gigabytes of data! Click to Read the Full Post »
Clean Your Apple CD/DVD Slot
Ever wonder if that cool slot that sucks in your CD or DVD on you Mac (or car stereo) gets dirty? Think about it. Where does all the oil and dirt from your hand that gets transfered to your disc go when you slip it in into the slot? Good question and one Griffin Technology (not the iTrip people) has asked, too. It has a solution that may be one of interest for those paranoid of getting their precious electronics dirtied. It’s worth a look if this is you, but we at SvenOnTech really don’t think this a problem. On close inspection, you’ll notice a dust protector, but hey, we guess that could get dirty. We’ve never heard of any reports of dust and grit build up being a problem inside of a player, but better safe then sorry, maybe?
Mac Remote Does More Than FrontRow
With every new Intel Mac, lucky users now get the infamous Apple remote. Infamous because it works with the new FrontRow software that comes with the Mac. But GNUHAUS has found more uses for your Apple remote that will broaden the horizons of it’s use.
Much like the Griffin Technology’s AirClick remote, your Apple remote will work on many other applications such as the DVD player, iTunes, iPhoto, QuickTime movies, and even Keynote. In fact, there’s even a little Easter Egg of a trick if you hold in your play button for an extended amount of time.
Take a visit of GNUHAUS’ site to learn all the tricks you can do with your Apple remote and start using them now.
[Via Lifehacker]
MacBook Pro Battery a Concern? Try This DVD Batt. Saving Tip
The first MacBook Pros are making their way into the wild and outside of the PowerBrick power adapter that’s bigger then the state of Road Island, the big topic of discussion is its battery power being in the range of 2.5 hours for “normal” use. Ouch! Add a DVD spinning into that equation and I don’t think you’ll be watching many movies on the airplane, mate.
Digital501.c0m has got a great article with links to all the swag that will make your ‘Book wag. Ripping DVDs use to be okay on the Mac, but when you become the largest share holder of a Hollywood studio, I guess you’re outlook on ripping DVDs change and thus OS X no longer allows it natively. (By the way, Steve’s board member status at Disney may or may not have had anything to do with this, I just like teasing. :) ) It’s too bad, because that saves battery power when you can read off a hard drive rather then an optical drive. No worries, remember I just told ya that Digital501’s got us hooked up!
Head on over and check out Traveling with Movies on a Mac as it’ll give you all the deets on how to get past Apple’s removal of the DVD rip feature and get those coveted VOBs onto your hard drive. And since those babies pack a huge need for disk space, there’s more links and help on how to pack the DVD into a smaller MPEG4 file. Want it on your iPod, too? Follow the links.
Now while I reference the MacBook Pro in the headline, it’s not clear if any of these freeware applications will run well on the Intel chip. Remember, all the professional video and graphic applications are dogs on the Intel under Apple’s emulator, so just take that into note. But that’s what overnight processing time is for. :)
Tags: dvd ripper, dvd to mpeg4, save battery life
Make a Live Backup of Your Hard Drive Usable on Any Mac
One thing I hate, hate, HATE, about Windows is when my system drive dies or becomes corrupted. Totally out of luck when that happens. Sure, I have backups and restores will get me back and going…hours later and with some (okay, more like a lot) stuff not totally working, but it’s better then no restore image at all, right? Maybe.
When I first started using OS X back in the 10.1 days, I was so happy (okay, elated!) when I found out that I could easily backup the system and restore it just in minutes! I knew what I was doing, so I didn’t need the aid of some of the third-party software solutions out there (and there are some really good ones, too.) But, I did have a couple of issues that needed some tweaking to get it just right on my first restore when I sent out my PowerBook for repair (which came back with a blank hard drive.)
Interesting enough, did you know OS X comes with a backup feature that allows you to not only backup your entire hard drive but actually use it on another Mac as the primary drive? So, if you have to send out your Mac for repair but have to still work as if you’re on your existing Mac, you can. As long as you have another Mac around and an external hard drive. Sweet, huh?
It all can be found in the Disk Utility application that comes with OS X. The only “hard” part is overlooking Apple’s use of “Restore”. We’re really backing up a drive, not restoring, but you know, if that’s what Apple wants to call it, fine. Basically, you’ll be selecting your hard drive and then an external hard drive for the “restore” to go to. Once that process is done, you can detach the external hard drive and connect it to your other Mac. Have that Mac boot in Target mode (Apple + T at power on) and off you are! Outside from the fact you may be working on a slower computer, you will be working on your computers data.
Once you need to restore (in the proper sense) your computer back, simply reverse the process in Disk Utility and reboot. Back you are with all the changes you may have made while using the image in Target Mode. Now, how nice is that?
While Microsoft continues to promise a powerful and a pleasurable user experience with Windows XP (and more so with Vista,) simple things like this is what actually qualifies an operating system to use those descriptives. When Apple claims that OS X is the most powerful operating system in the world, it’s a little more then just a marketing statement with this as its proof.
Tags: easy, backup, live, restore, entire system
Backups On Your Mac: A Practical Approach
It’s true - there are only two kinds of people in the modern digital world:
- Those who have suffered data loss as the result of a hard drive crash…
- Those who will.
Backups - few things about working with computers come close to being as important as backups. If you are lucky, you learn your lesson (painful as it may be) about backups the first time you watch hours / days / weeks / months or even years worth of work, fun, family memories, etc. disappear into the ether when your hard drive fails. Click to Read the Full Post »
Installing RAM In Core Duo iMac Is Simple
So, after picking up one of the new Core Duo iMacs, it became apparent that the amount of RAM that ships with the system is virtually unacceptable for the day to day usage of someone who works heavily with multimedia. Having attempted RAM installation on my last iMac, I knew this one would be a challenge. However, that was a price I was willing to pay to save cash. Buying the RAM yourself saves you about $350 off the price Apple charges you for the same amount of RAM - 2 GB in this case. Click to Read the Full Post »
How To Make A DVD Screendump
When you want to make a screendump from your favorite DVD, this is how you do this in OS X 10.4.x.
- Go to the part of the movie you like and hit the pause button in the DVD controller.
- Press the play button and immediately press Command-Shift-4. It is important to do this instantly, otherwise you get an error.
- Select the part you want to capture and you’re done!
It works like a charm. have fun! Click to Read the Full Post »
Install OS X Without a CD/DVD Device on the Host
Ever had to install OS X onto a Mac that had a temperamental CD or DVD drive? Ya, I’ve been there with a few older iMac’s for sure. So what do you do? Install it straight off the hard drive, of course! :) I know, easier sad then done, but truth is, it really isn’t that tough at all. All you need is two things, really. NetRestore is one of them and MacOSXHints’ article Create a hard-drive based OS X installer is the other. The article details very well how and what you’ll need to do to make an install partition on your host system you’re looking to install the OS on. For me, I have an iMac without a DVD drive and this will be perfect to get the Tiger on it. Since it’s the “garage Mac,” speed won’t be too much of an issue. :)
Tags: os x, install, no optical drive
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