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Entries in Mac OS X (10)

8:13PM

Mac Tip: Announcing the Time

Today I have a really quick tip for all of the people who use macs. That's a lot of people. I think a lot of people could put this tip into great use right away. It's announcing the time. I have this on hourly because I may get side tracked while doing some graphic design or video editing and just lose track of time. So, this tip is a very helpful one for me. 

How to do this:

Open up System Preferences. Go to Date and Time. Then go to clock and check the box that says announce the time. If you follow these steps in the order of presentation, you will be able to put this tip into great use. Now, there may be some of you out there who like a video presentation over a written one. If so, please refer to the video above. 

YouTube 

4:05PM

Ubuntu 10.04 Review

I have been using the free operating system Ubuntu 10.04, and so far I'm loving it. The main reason I switched in the first place was because I just couldn't take anymore of Windows Vista, which is understandable. I'm very impressed with the way it is so easy to customise and install programs using this OS, and due to these reasons my desktop now has a dock and no task bar, which I'm very happy about.

Ubuntu has a nice little program called Ubuntu Software Centre, which allows you to browse for any peice of software you would like to install onto your computer, using names or keywords. When you find the program you're looking for you simply click the "Install" button, and everything else is taken care of for you. If you decide you want to uninstall a program, all you have to do is go back into the Ubuntu Software Centre, find that program and click "Remove." It couldn't be easier!

Now let's talk about one of the main factors that really impresses me about Ubuntu; it's FREE! In my opinion it is so much better than Windows Vista. In fact, it's better than any Windows operating systems before Windows 7, so why use an OS that isn't so good that you have to pay for, if you could get a much better one for free?

You can download it here.

YouTube

5:51AM

Delicious Library 2.3.3 Review

Each time you use this software you are greeted by a sleek, user-friendly, nice interface. The genius behind the user-interface is truly remarkable. Everything has a purpose and no space is gone to waste. The design and feel of the software is inviting and, most importantly, easy to use!  The amount of software I have come across that is exceedingly confusing is stupid; Delicious Library is far from this.

Delicious Library’s main purpose is to scan barcodes and it does that, amazingly. I’m going to be honest here, not every product is there but there is a vast majority. And if you can’t scan the product, using the iSight, you are looking for you can choose from a number of categories such as Books, Movies, Albums, Software, Videogame, Toy, Gadgets, Tools and Apparel. If you can’t find the product by typing in its name you can create a custom item and fill in the details. The power of this software and the iSight combined is extra-ordinary!

If you like to brag about what you have in your library then easily publish it to the web. You can use iLife iWeb 08/09 or you can use .Mac. You can select the items that you don’t want your viewers to see and one their website it says:

remember to mark private items with our special flag, so you don’t accidentally let your patients know you’re reading Appendectomies for Dummies.

Another good point to make about this software is that it is fast! Some software is very slow because they try to jam-pack everything possible into it where as delicious library has left out the pointless features and because it is very fast there is no limit to how many items you can store in your library, I was up all night scanning my books and games!

If you are looking to sell something, simply scan it to your library and it will find it’s Amazon rating, how much it was worth as retail price and how much it is worth now. I scanned a book that I bought for around £9.99 ($5.00 approx.) and it is now worth 0.46p (0.20c)!

If you want to print your library off then choose from one of the templates, it’s great! The layout is beautiful and the quality of it is great. It look professional, simple and understandable.

There are many other features I could talk about but most of them are only discoverable by you and only you can experience the true power of this software. Do I think that it is worth $40 (£20 approx.)? Absolutely! If you believe in value for money then this is a no brainer! It is worth the money and I would highly recommend that you purchase it

Each time you use this software you are greeted by a sleek, user-friendly, nice interface. The genius behind the user-interface is truly remarkable. Everything has a purpose and no space is gone to waste. The design and feel of the software is inviting and, most importantly, easy to use!  The amount of software I have come across that is exceedingly confusing is stupid; Delicious Library is far from this.

Delicious Library’s main purpose is to scan barcodes and it does that, amazingly. I’m going to be honest here, not every product is there but there is a vast majority. And if you can’t scan the product, using the iSight, you are looking for you can choose from a number of categories such as Books, Movies, Albums, Software, Videogame, Toy, Gadgets, Tools and Apparel. If you can’t find the product by typing in its name you can create a custom item and fill in the details. The power of this software and the iSight combined is extra-ordinary!

If you like to brag about what you have in your library then easily publish it to the web. You can use iLife iWeb 08/09 or you can use .Mac. You can select the items that you don’t want your viewers to see and one their website it says:

remember to mark private items with our special flag, so you don’t accidentally let your patients know you’re reading Appendectomies for Dummies.

Another good point to make about this software is that it is fast! Some software is very slow because they try to jam-pack everything possible into it where as delicious library has left out the pointless features and because it is very fast there is no limit to how many items you can store in your library, I was up all night scanning my books and games!

If you are looking to sell something, simply scan it to your library and it will find it’s Amazon rating, how much it was worth as retail price and how much it is worth now. I scanned a book that I bought for around £9.99 ($5.00 approx.) and it is now worth 0.46p (0.20c)!

If you want to print your library off then choose from one of the templates, it’s great! The layout is beautiful and the quality of it is great. It look professional, simple and understandable.

There are many other features I could talk about, but most of them are only discoverable by you and only you can experience the true power of this software. Do I think that it is worth $40 (£20 approx.)? Absolutely! If you believe in value for money then this is a no brainer! It is worth the money and I would highly recommend that you purchase it.

7:56PM

Once You Go Mac, You'll Never Go Back.

Dear Readers,

I Have Recently Switched To Mac.

Hello all. Yes, I am really posting this blog. All of you Windows users are, I'm sure, looking forward to getting your hands on a Windows 7 computer. Well I would rethink that and try to get your hands on a Mac OS X. I am a recent PC switcher. I am now a Mac and trust me, there's no turning back for me. I was tired of being scared of getting viruses all the time and feeling insecure while on the internet, even though I had an antivirus program. Now it's not like that but enough with my opinions, let me back it up.

The Mac Fact.

So, to start off I want to talk to all of you Mac users first. I have a couple of questions for you all.

1. Would you ever go back to Windows?

2. Do you feel safer to surf the web and download content?

3. Is it really that much easier as everyone says it is?

Now those are the basic questions for a Mac user. Now all of you Windows users can answer those about your OS, but, unlike the Mac, I bet you're answers weren't as positive as those of a Mac users. The reason being that Macs are just more convenient to use and much more easier to use. On Windows some things have Macs beat. Come on I'm not a Windows hater because I once owned one, but I'm sure if you current Windows users would actually make the "big move" to Mac, you wouldn't regret it not one bit.

Software.

The software in Mac is just so easy to use. Ask any Mac user. The thing I noticed on PC's when I used one was that it came with all this software, but I hardly used most of them. I use all the software on Mac because it just fits me. The software is really great on Macs because it all goes together in some way. If you buy a Mac now you get iLife which comes with iMovie, iPhoto, GarageBand, and iWeb. Many more are included but those are the main ones. Mac is the way to go.

Why Not Mac?

Well you have seen the facts and you have heard most about Mac. I'm sure there are some things I have left out, but the information I have given you sure would make me consider Mac. Trust me, you will not want to pick up another PC again if you just give Mac a chance. So here's the question I leave you with, Why not Mac? 

Dustin Bare

Twitter: www.twitter.com/itsdbare

3:33PM

5 Free Mac Applications I Use Everyday

Mac OS X is known for the awesome Apps that come with it out of the box. But for some of us geeks out there, that's just not enough. That's why I created this list. It's 5 FREE Apps that I think everyone should at-least try. If you end up getting any of these apps, don't be afraid to donate some $$$ to the hardworking developers. 

1. 1password

Every site we log into on a computer requires a password. And as any geek knows, you should always have a different password for each. Now if your like me, there's over 20+ sites that require a new password. So how do you keep up with them? 1password. 1password is a simple app that, upon opening requires a master password. Once you enter this password you are greeted with every password and site you have saved. You also get a nice little add-on for Safari or Firefox that, whenever you sign into a site for the first time, asks you wether or not you want 1password to save it. 1password is a an awesome mac app that keeps my passwords secure. You can download it here

2. AppZapper

In Mac OS X as some of you may know, just dragging a file into the trash doesn't always delete everything. Using it's drag-and-drop ease of use, AppZapper simply, deletes everything. Upon opening AppZapper you're greeted with a very basic look. When you drop an app into the box, AppZapper takes a few moments, and summarizes what your about to "zap" or delete. AppZapper is a very small and basic app that gets the job done, whenever you need it. You can download it by clicking this.

3. Quicksilver

As a Mac user, I have grown to fall in love with Spotlight. However, it has some times disappointed me. Thats where Quicksilver comes in. Using the keystroke of your choice, (mines Command+enter) like AppZapper, a very basic window comes up. You simply begin to type and Quicksilver does the rest. You can download the awesome app here.

4. Tinygrab

Tinygrab, created by a friend of mine, is a Mac OS X screen capturing monster. By hitting either command+Shift+3, command+shift+4 or command+shift+4+spacebar, Tinygrab takes a picture of the selected area, uploads it to their servers, then gives you a shortened URL copied in your clipboard, all in a few seconds. This is very useful for things like writing this blog post, (this is what I have been using for the scree shots) twitter, AIM, or really anything. You can download is here.

5. VLC

If you don't have/use VLC, then you're probably not a regular Social Blog visiter. Being one of the most popular free Mac apps, (and one of the best!) VLC is something I can't live without. Quicktime, the video player that comes with all mac is not bad, just VLC is better. Think of VLC as Quicktime on steroids. With the ability to play MPEG, AVI, WMV, WMA, etc. VLC is easily the best multimedia app out there. And it's free too. You can learn more about VLC here, or download it here

If you have any apps that you feel should be on this list, leave it in the comments, and I'll be sure to consider it for my next list. 

desantiscm.com

twitter.com/desantiscm

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