Cocktail is a system maintenance application. It has many features that perform housekeeping and cleanup chores that improve the performance and reliability of Mac OS X. You can download Cocktail at http://cocktail.maintain.se.
Cocktail is available in several versions, each of which corresponds to the specific version of Mac OS X for which it’s optimized. Make sure to download the version that corresponds to the version of Mac OS X currently installed on the Mac where Cocktail will be …
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03/07/2007 - Where Can I Find Computer Training?
This is a question we’re asked frequently. While there are companies in virtually every major city that offer full-day or multi-day training seminars in most of the popular programs (Word, Excel, PhotoShop, Illustrator, QuarkXPress, PageMaker, etc.), we prefer the training CDs offered by MacAcademy® (for Macintosh) and Windows Academy®. For each major program MacAcademy offers a set of CDs. The first CD in each set deals with the basics. Each subsequent CD in the set deals with increasingly advanced use of the features of the program.
With CDs you learn at your own pace…stopping …
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03/07/2007 - Configuring a New Printer in MacOS X 10.4 and Later
1. Launch the Printer Setup Utility application, located inside:
(your hard drive) > Applications > Utilities
2. In the Printer Setup Utility window, click the Add button. This pops up the Printer Browser window, which lists the printers that are connected to your Mac, or available on your network, that are recognized by Printer Setup Utility.
Click to highlight the printer you want to …
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03/07/2007 - Stop Entering Your Password When Your Mac Wakes From Sleep or Screen Saver
MacOS X has an optional security feature that requires your login name and password in order to wake from sleep or the screen saver. This feature is designed to prevent unauthorized people from accessing your Mac. If you have no reason to protect your Mac, having to enter your name and password each time your Mac goes to sleep is irritating.
You can stop it this way:
1. Go under the Apple menu to System Preferences, and in the submenu click Security.
2. Unclick the box for Require password to wake this computer from sleep or screen …
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03/07/2007 - Safari Web Browser
If you’re using OS X, you should be using Safari. If you’re not using Safari, download it now before reading any further and come back using Safari, I’ll wait…. Ok, now that you have Safari downloaded and are using it, did you notice how fast it is? Safari is a powerful, yet lightweight browser that keeps impressing me every day. The interface may seem sparse, but don’t let that fool you. I’ve included a few tricks to help you use this browser better.
- The first thing I do when I download Safari for a new user is go under the ‘Safari’ menu and select ‘Block Pop-up Windows’. This …
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03/07/2007 - EM Sherlock3 Plugin
Download the new Everything Macintosh Sherlock3 plugin! The latest news articles and technotes are available, as well as a search function. All you’ll need is Sherlock3, which comes with OS X. To preview the Sherlock Channel, click here and if you want to add our channel to Sherlock, click here. There are many other channels available as well at www.sherlockers.com and
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03/07/2007 - Customize your MacOS X Finder windows
To change the window’s appearance, open any window and press Command + J.
- Icon View – At the top you can choose just this window or to apply to all windows. Icon size, text size all the boring stuff, but you can also “Show item info”. This adds a little piece of blue text below the name that shows how many items are in that folder or the file size of drives. The one I like is Background: color or image. I have certain folders with colored backgrounds to give me a reminder that it’s a special folder and to be careful.
- List View – Here you have your basic stuff of what to …
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03/07/2007 - Not Your Daddy’s Calculator
I never used Apple’s calculator in the past, but now I do. Not only does it do the basic computer calculator stuff, it also does conversions. Now I know that my American dollar is equal to 10.39 Mexico pesos for when I go on my trip. Or if I want to go 55 MPH in a country that measures speed in kilometers per hour, it’s 88.5 KPH. Basically any unit of measurement is convertible.
If you click the Advanced button you get a larger calculator that includes memory buttons and common scientific functions. If you click the Paper Tape button, the calculator becomes an adding maching with a …
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03/07/2007 - Make the Dock Work For You!
The Dock promises to be more than just the Launcher with a new look. When you’re working in PhotoShop and a progress bar pops up, a small progress bar also appears in the Dock icon. Now you can work on something else while keeping an eye on the progress bar. Cool, huh?
If you use iTunes, control-click (or right click if you have a 2 button mouse) and not only can you see what’s playing, but you can go to the next song, rate it and change other options.
These are only two of the programs that have options included in their Dock icons. We expect many more programs to provide options like …
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03/07/2007 - Customize you finder window’s toolbar
This is one of my personal favorite tips. You’re not stuck with what Apple thinks is the important items at the top of every window, you can put some neat tools and even applications, documents or entire folders.
Apple’s tools
- Open a new window
- Make sure you’re in the Finder and choose “Customize Toolbar…” under the View menu.
- Have fun. You just drag the icons from the window to the toolbar. The icons will move to accommodate each new item. If you don’t want something that’s currently in the toolbar, just drag it off the toolbar and let go. If you ever …
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03/07/2007 - How to recover a PageMaker file
PageMaker 6.5 Publication Recovery General Information Adobe Support Page Document 314351 When a computer system shuts down because of hardware or software conflicts, system errors, power outages, or other problems, applications may not be able to complete their closing routines, and data in memory may be lost or damaged. Like other applications, Adobe PageMaker follows routines to close files and exit the application without data loss or damage. However, when the system shuts down unexpectedly, PageMaker may not be able to complete its closing routines, and unsaved data (i.e., mini-saves) ...
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03/07/2007 - Locked Inbox in MacOS X Mail
When opening the application Mail, you may get an alert box with a message like this:
“The mailbox (path to Inbox) is currently locked by (user) on (host). If you open a mailbox that is already in use, you may damage its contents.” The strings in parentheses will reflect the appropriate Inbox, user, and system.”
There are three reasons why this alert could occur:
(1)Application did not quit properly.
(2) Changing network connection.
(3)Multiple accounts in Personal Mailboxes.
In cases (1) and (2) it is safe to click Open Anyway. Case (3) can …
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03/07/2007 - Using the Darwin Terminal Window for FTP
If you use ftp from a terminal window to download from a UNIX server (like our company server), there are a couple of things to watch out for.
1. FTP will assume an ascii (text) file unless you tell it otherwise. To download a binary file, type “binary” (without the quotes). If successful (the usual case) your request will be confirmed. Here’s how it looks:
ftp> binary
200 Type set to I, binary transfer mode [macbinary disabled]
2. The MacOS understands spaces in a file name. UNIX usually doesn’t—in fact many of the utilities use a space as a delimiter between names of …
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03/07/2007 - Problems with Long File Names
Using file names (with more than 31 characters) is asking for trouble. One problematic activity is copying from one system to another. If you try to copy a file whose name is longer than 31 characters to a network disk, you’ll get an error -37.
The solution is obvious: shorten the filename.
03/07/2007 - Watch Cursor Appears Repeatedly When Starting Illustrator or Opening File in Illustrator or InDesign
When you start Adobe Illustrator 8.0.x or open a file in Adobe InDesign 1.x or Illustrator 10 or 9.x, the watch cursor appears repeatedly. You are unable to work in Illustrator or InDesign and must quit the application.
Adobe’s Technote:
http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/165b6.htm
03/07/2007 - Symptom: Applications Crash or Quit on Launch
Discussion
There are a number of reasons applications may crash or quit on launching. If the problem suddenly affects multiple applications on the same computer with Suitcase 8, 9, or 10 installed, there may be a simple solution.
Suitcase is font management software that allows you to turn fonts on and off and see what they look like on the fly. In addition, the Suitcase package includes a control panel that causes the Font menu in most applications to display a list of font family names (Bookman, Helvetica, Times), with popout menus for each family listing the fonts in that …
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03/07/2007 - Makin’ PDFs
What you need
LaserWriter 8, QuarkXPress, Acrobat 4.0 or later, and a document to PDF.
Step-by-Step
1. Choose LaserWriter 8 in the Chooser. (Even if you have no printer or a non-postscript printer, you have to choose a postscript driver.)
2. Open the document you want to PDF.
3. Choose Print from the File menu.
4. Click on the Document tab and make your selections. If you click the Separations button, the PDF will normally contain four separate pages for each page in the …
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03/07/2007 - Where Did My Missing Memory Go?
We are frequently asked why the amount of RAM displayed as the Largest Unused Block in the About this Computer box seems doesn’t equal the total amount of RAM installed minus the amount used by currently running applications.
The three numbers displayed in the About this Computer box are built-in memory, virtual memory, and largest unused block. The largest unused block is not the same as the currently unused memory, it’s simply the largest single chunk of unused RAM (contiguous RAM). You might have lots of blocks of unused RAM, but the Largest Unused Block represents only the size of the …
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03/07/2007 - Where did all my Disk Space Go?
There appears to be a bug either in MacOS 9.0.4 or in PhotoShop 5.5 that can prevent PhotoShop’s scratch disk and other invisible temporary files from being deleted. Unfortunately the files are all invisible, so you can’t tell they exist just by looking at the hard disk. Other versions of the System or PhotoShop may also be affected, but we’ve specifically seen the problem with the combination of MacOS 9.0.4 and PhotoShop 5.5.
What you’ll notice is that the amount of available space on your hard disk (as reported either in the Get info box or in the info bar at the top of a window) is much …
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03/07/2007 - Virtual Memory, Disk Cache, Scratch Disk
Disk Cache
The Disk Cache in the Memory control panel has long been a source of controversy. Apple’s formula for setting the cache correctly is to multiply the number of megs of RAM installed in your Mac by 32K. For example if your Mac has 64 megs of RAM:
64 megs of RAM installed x 32K = 2048K (2 megs of cache)
On the other hand, PhotoShop users have long been told by Adobe’s tech support to set the cache at its lowest possible setting, because it interferes with cache built into the PhotoShop application.
The disk cache is simply a portion of the installed RAM which …
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03/07/2007 - Stuff Your System Folder
Part of our service involves tweaking the System Folder to improve responsiveness, improve stability, and manage memory. If anything later happens that requires reinstalling the System Folder (crash, a virus, etc.), the Apple System CD installs only the original factory version without the tweaks. But you can reinstall a perfectly tweaked System Folder without another costly service call by saving a copy of your tweaked System Folder as a self extracting archive using any file compression program. Keep the copy in your Utilities folder or copy it onto a Zip or Jaz disk.
To reinstall the …
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03/07/2007 - QuarkXPress: Troubleshooting Lockups, Quitting & Crashing
There are 3 common causes for QuarkXPress crashes and unexpected quitting: 1. Corrupted fonts. 2. Corrupted graphics. 3. Corrupted XPress Preferences file.
XPress Preferences
The strategy for troubleshooting the problem is to eliminate the possibilities one-by-one. The simplest possibility to eliminate is #3, a problem with the XPress Preferences file. To find out whether this is the cause of the crashing or quitting, follow this procedure:
1. Quit from QuarkXPress if it’s currently open.
2. Drag the QuarkXPress’ preferences file out onto the desktop. (When QuarkXPress …
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03/07/2007 - My Mac just crashed!
Crash 1, 2, 3…
How many times have you said or heard that phrase? If the document or project was big enough, you may have heard some creative language to go with it. The crash always seems to happen after you’ve just manipulated your masterpiece in PhotoShop for the 37th time or you’ve just finished revising that 200-page document that has to go out by FedEx by 7 o’clock – and it’s 6:30 now.
I know what it feels like. Would you believe it’s happened to me dozens of times? Unfortunately, it’s a semi-regular occurrence for all computers. In my experience, and this is as non-technical as …
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03/07/2007 - My Date & Time are Wrong!
Did you know that almost all Macintosh computers have a battery? Located on the logic board, the small battery allows your system to retain the contents of Parameter RAM (PRAM). In PRAM, your Mac stores such information as speaker volume, mouse speed, monitor depth, and other Control Panel settings.
The battery should last about five years, depending on usage, but when it finally runs out of power, your Mac will let you know. If, each time you start your computer, you either need to reset the date and time or you need to reselect your printer, background picture, or double-click speed, you …
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03/07/2007 - How to Erase a CD-RW Disc
If you want to reuse a CD-RW disc, you must first erase the existing information on it. Before you erase the disk, make a copy of any files you don’t want to erase. Erasing, reformatting, or preparing a disk for burning permanently deletes all of the disk’s contents.
1. Insert the disc.
2. Open Disk Utility (Applications/Utilities).
3. Click the Erase tab.
4. Select the disc from the list of drives on the left. Make sure not to select the hard disk.
5. Click Erase.
CD-RW discs may deteriorate after being erased many times. Check the specifications for the disc to find out its …
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03/07/2007 - How to Handle Power Surges
Diagnostic Recompose Feature Summary
Adobe Support Page Document 311417
Feature
The diagnostic recompose command is a group of functions that checks the integrity of some structures within a PageMaker publication and repairs specific types of inconsistencies.
Implementation
To perform a diagnostic recompose:
1. Make a backup copy of the publication.
2. In the backup copy, click on the pointer tool in the toolbox to ensure nothing on the page is selected.
3. Hold down Shift + Option (Macintosh) or Shift + Control (Windows) while choosing Type > ...
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03/07/2007 - Common Sense Backups
‘Let’’s face it. Like all machines, Macs eventually fail. Hard disks are particularly prone to eventual failure since they have lots of moving parts. If you routinely back up everything, your files are safe. But you can achieve some level of safety even without backing up everything.
Common sense: The System Folder and your programs can always be reinstalled from standard installer disks. Your fonts can be replaced. The reinstalled copies will work as well or better than your current ones.
The only irreplaceable files are your own work files. There are no standard installers for …
...........see full article ...................
11/27/2007 - Common Key Commands
Here’s a list of common MacOS X keyboard shortcuts.
| Startup |
| Keystrokes |
Description |
| Press X during startup |
Force Mac to boot into Mac OS X when Classic is installed and set as the startup system. |
Press …
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03/07/2007 - Time Synchronizer Error 41 Really a Finder Crash
Crashing on bootup with a Time Synchronizer error? If the error alert mentions the number 41, the problem is that the Finder is corrupted. It happens that in later versions of the MacOS, the Mac attempts to load the Finder at about the same time Time Synchronizer is also being read into RAM during the bootup process. If the Finder is corrupted, it cannot be loaded…and your Mac incorrectly blames the resulting system error on the Time Synchronizer extension.
Error 41 is the tipoff. That number means, “Can’‘t load the Finder.”
To recover, replace the Finder inside your System Folder …
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06/25/2008 - Creating and Modifying Email Accounts
Go to the Control Panel page of your web site
In your web browser, go to http://www.(your full domain name)/cpanel. You’ll arrive at the page in the illustration, which is the control panel for your web site. To add or modify email accounts, click on the Mail button to go to the mail …
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06/25/2008 - How to Help Us Troubleshoot Email Problems
We all think of email as reliable and instantaneous, but there are conditions that can cause things to slow down noticeably, or even prevent a message from arriving at all. The trip an email message makes from sender to recipient is very similar to when we travel.
You start the trip by going to your local airport, which is your starting point.
Outgoing email messages first go to the outgoing mail server, which is their starting point.
Once you’re at your starting point, you wait …
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12/02/2007 - Setting Up New Email Accounts in Outlook
1. With Outlook open on screen, click E-mail Accounts… in the Tools menu.
2. In the next screen, select Add a new e-mail account. Then click the Next button.
3. The next window lets you select which kind of incoming email server you’ll connect to to retrieve incoming messages. Select …
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11/21/2007 - Using Webmail
Our Webmail feature lets you access your email from any computer with an internet connection and a web browser. It makes no difference what brand of computer, what operating system, or what browser (Internet Explorer, FireFox, Netscape, Safari or any other). Whether you’re at a neighborhood friend’s house or traveling on the other side of the world, your email is as close as the nearest internet capable computer.
Here’s how to use our Webmail feature. For the examples, we’ll use the website domain.com and the email address john@domain.com. When you actually use Webmail, ...
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03/07/2007 - Google Tips
As anyone that’s met me knows, I love Google. It’s simple, quick and accurate: what else could you ask for in a search engine? But most people enter a search term, hit the search button and click on one of the results, but there’s more to Google. If you to get the most out of Google, try some of these tricks out. - Ever wonder what the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button does? Simple, it takes you to the first result’s page. If you’re in hurry try it out
- Try changing the order of the words you are search with. The results can be different and …
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03/07/2007 - A Mac OS X Worm: We knew it was coming…
OSX.Leap.A is a worm that targets installs of Macintosh OS X and spreads via iChat Instant Messenger program. It infects files on the Macintosh OS X version 10.4. It was first found February 16, 2006. Click here for the details.
03/07/2007 - Sobig Worm Clogs the Internet with Junk Email…How to Eliminate It Automatically!
Once again the internet has been hit with a nasty worm that causes infected computers running most versions of the Windows operating system to send large volumes of email to any email address the worm can find the files on your computer. According to the tech note about this worm from Symantec, emails sent by this worm have the following subject lines:
Re: Details
Re: Approved
Re: Re: My details
Re: Thank you!
Re: That movie
Re: Wicked screensaver
Re: Your application
Thank you!
Your …
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03/07/2007 - Why Netscape 4 Sucks, and a List of Better Choices
If you’re still using Netscape 4 it’s time to change. (To check which version of Netscape you’re using, with a Netscape window active, click the About Netscape… command in the Apple menu.) At the end of this article, I’ve listed other browsers with my thoughts about them and links to download them. Why is Netscape bad? Netscape was a leader in the browsers when it first came out, but has fallen by the wayside over the past few years. 1994, the W3C (World Wide Consortium) was formed to make the web a more usable place by developing and …
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03/07/2007 - Common Sense Backups
‘Let’’s face it. Like all machines, Macs eventually fail. Hard disks are particularly prone to eventual failure since they have lots of moving parts. If you routinely back up everything, your files are safe. But you can achieve some level of safety even without backing up everything.
Common sense: The System Folder and your programs can always be reinstalled from standard installer disks. Your fonts can be replaced. The reinstalled copies will work as well or better than your current ones.
The only irreplaceable files are your own work files. There are no standard installers for …
...........see full article ...................
03/07/2007 - Where Can I Find Computer Training?
This is a question we’re asked frequently. While there are companies in virtually every major city that offer full-day or multi-day training seminars in most of the popular programs (Word, Excel, PhotoShop, Illustrator, QuarkXPress, PageMaker, etc.), we prefer the training CDs offered by MacAcademy® (for Macintosh) and Windows Academy®. For each major program MacAcademy offers a set of CDs. The first CD in each set deals with the basics. Each subsequent CD in the set deals with increasingly advanced use of the features of the program.
With CDs you learn at your own pace…stopping …
...........see full article ...................
03/07/2007 - PowerMac G4 (Digital Audio): 40 GB and 60 GB Hard Drive Issue
Apple Knowledge Base Document 31347
This is an Apple’s Knowledge Base document. To see the original article click this link.
TOPIC
This article discusses an issue with the 40 GB and 60 GB Quantum hard drives used in Power Macintosh G4 (Digital Audio) computers. It explains how to determine if your computer is affected and what steps you should take if it is.
DISCUSSION
Symptom
Apple has become aware of an issue with 40 GB and 60 GB Quantum hard drives used in Power Mac G4 (Digital Audio) computers. A limited number of …
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03/07/2007 - CD Drive Slow? Here’s What To Do.
If your CD drive seems even slower than usual, or you’re having problems reading CDs, It’s possible that the laser lens in the drive needs to be cleaned. After I cleaned my CD systems, there was a very noticeable decrease in mount/dismount time and in read errors.
I use a RadioShack Compact Disk Laser Lens Cleaner CD. Just insert it as you would any other CD, and play it. There are three tracks:
1. Music and introduction 0:47 minutes.
2 (silent) 34.45 minutes.
3. Ending comments and more music.
Radio Shack isn’t the only source. Office Depot sells a Scotch� lens cleaning CD, ...
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03/07/2007 - How to Identify the Various G4 Models
This article details the external differences between the Power Mac G4 models including the Power Mac G4 (AGP Graphics), Power Mac G4 (PCI Graphics), the Power Mac G4 (Gigabit Ethernet), the Power Mac G4 (Digital Audio), the Power Mac G4 (QuickSilver), and the Power Mac G4 (QuickSilver 2002).
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03/07/2007 - Specifications for Apple Products
Curious about the specs of your Mac? Check out Apple’s Spec Database.
http://www.info.apple.com/support/applespec.html
03/07/2007 - PowerBook and iBook: Resetting Power Management Unit (PMU)
Article ID: 14449
Created: 1/18/94
Modified:7/8/02
TOPIC
This document describes the PowerBook and iBook Power Manager and explains how to reset it. Resetting the power manager also resets the Date and Time. After the reset, the system clock is set to 12:00 A.M., 01/01/1904 on some iBooks and PowerBooks.
DISCUSSION
The Power Manager is an integrated circuit that is usually on the logic board of the PowerBook and iBook. As the name implies, it is responsible for power management of the computer. It controls backlighting, hard disk spin down, sleep and wake, some …
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03/07/2007 - My Mac just crashed!
Crash 1, 2, 3…
How many times have you said or heard that phrase? If the document or project was big enough, you may have heard some creative language to go with it. The crash always seems to happen after you’ve just manipulated your masterpiece in PhotoShop for the 37th time or you’ve just finished revising that 200-page document that has to go out by FedEx by 7 o’clock – and it’s 6:30 now.
I know what it feels like. Would you believe it’s happened to me dozens of times? Unfortunately, it’s a semi-regular occurrence for all computers. In my experience, and this is as non-technical as …
...........see full article ...................
03/07/2007 - How to Erase a CD-RW Disc
If you want to reuse a CD-RW disc, you must first erase the existing information on it. Before you erase the disk, make a copy of any files you don’t want to erase. Erasing, reformatting, or preparing a disk for burning permanently deletes all of the disk’s contents.
1. Insert the disc.
2. Open Disk Utility (Applications/Utilities).
3. Click the Erase tab.
4. Select the disc from the list of drives on the left. Make sure not to select the hard disk.
5. Click Erase.
CD-RW discs may deteriorate after being erased many times. Check the specifications for the disc to find out its …
...........see full article ...................
03/07/2007 - Digital Cameras vs. Scanners
We were recently asked about differences in the quality of photos published in different newspapers. One paper using one of the new digital cameras seemed to publish some photos that seemed fuzzy compared with those published in other papers. Why? Was it something to do with the quality of the printing itself? The digital camera? Were they mishandling the pictures after they were transferred from the digital camera to the Mac?
The chances are that the difference in the quality of the pictures has nothing to do with the print process. It’’s more likely that what the problem comes either …
...........see full article ...................
03/07/2007 - Common Sense Backups
‘Let’’s face it. Like all machines, Macs eventually fail. Hard disks are particularly prone to eventual failure since they have lots of moving parts. If you routinely back up everything, your files are safe. But you can achieve some level of safety even without backing up everything.
Common sense: The System Folder and your programs can always be reinstalled from standard installer disks. Your fonts can be replaced. The reinstalled copies will work as well or better than your current ones.
The only irreplaceable files are your own work files. There are no standard installers for …
...........see full article ...................
03/07/2007 - How to Handle Power Surges
Now that spring is near, it is again time to think about how your computer system is protected from the thunderstorms that will shortly be rolling across our area. Most Mac/PC users already know they should have surge protection on their equipment. This should protect you from most every day power spikes and all but the most catastrophic lightning strikes. Most surge protectors, found at local office supply and electronic stores, in the $20 -$40 range with a good insurance policy on attached equipment, will do the job on “surges”. The more expensive ones provide higher energy protection and …
...........see full article ...................
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