Mac Newbie In Training

How to install a .pkg download.

2006-11-02T17:11:00.000-08:00

Pkg files such as let's say for arguments sake xampp-macosx-0.5.pkg are installed onto Mac OS X Tiger as follows:

1. Double click on the .pkg file (in this example the file name is xampp-macosx-0.5.pkg).
2. A message that say's something like "Welcome to the Mac OS X Installation Program. You will be guided through the steps necessary to install this software." will appear. Click on 'Continue'.
3. A Select a Destination message will appear. By default 'Machintosh HD' should be selected. If you want to install on another volume other options should be offered here. Click on 'install'.
4. Installer needs authentication for programs to be installed. Enter your username and password and click on 'OK'.
A 'The software was successfully installed' message should now appear.
5. To find the software that has been installed Open Finder (click on the first icon on the Dock)
6. Click on the Applications to open the Applications folder. A folder containing the program that has been installed should now appear.

How to unzip a .sitx download.

2006-11-02T16:47:00.000-08:00

Sitx files such as let's say for arguments sake xampp-macosx-0.5.pkg.sitx needs to be opened with a package called Stuff-It Expander (there are probably similar unzipping packages available for download also however for this post Stuff-It Expander is being referred to and used to unzip this particular .sitx download).

First things first a copy of Stuff-it Expander needs to be downloaded from the following URL:
http://www.stuffit.com/mac/expander/

1. Choose a download that is appropriate to the version of Mac OS X that you're running (in this example Mac OS X 10.4 is being used so Stuff-it Expander 11.0 for Mac OS X 10.4 and later in .dmg format has been selected).
2. Once downloaded a message that say's something like "StuffitExpander11.dmg contains an application, Are you sure you want to continue downloading StuffitExpander11.dmg?" will appear. Click on 'Continue'.
3. Click on 'accept' to accept the lisence agreement
4. Press F11 to minimize all open windows
5. On the Desktop double click on what looks like a hard disk with the Stuffit11 logo on.
6. Open Finder (click on the first icon on the Dock)
7. Click on the Applications to open the Applications folder
8. Drag the Stuffit11 logo from the window that opened upon double clicking on the hard disk with the Stuffit11 logo on
9. Double-click on the Stuffit11 folder
10. Double click on Stuff-it Expander shortcut
11. Click on 'accept' to accept the lisence agreement
12. Drag the Stuffit11 logo to the Dock

Stuff-it Expander 11 should now be installed. Click once on the Stuff-it icon in the Dock to launch Stuff-it Expander 11.

Double-clicking on the .sitx download should now immediately open Stuff-it Expander and Stuff-it Expander should unzip or unpack the download.

Core 2 Duo MacBook Pros are now available

2006-10-25T04:40:00.000-07:00

Apologies for not having posted on this blog for several months now, literally haven't had a spare moment to add some more posts. Really must add some though as want to mention NeoOffice which is an excellent Office package based on OpenOffice. Downloadable completely free of charge due to being open-source.

Anyway, back to this post. Apple have launched their newest addition to their range of MacBook Pros, they're not only cheaper than the previous model but now feature Intel Core 2 Duo Processors. Prices in the U.K. start at £1,349.01 for the 15", 2.16GHz, 1Gb, 120Gb, SD, 128Mb Video Ram MacBook Pro through to £1,889.00 for the 17", 2.33GHz, 2Gb, 160Gb, SD, 256Mb Video Ram MacBook Pro.

Specification for each of these machines is as follows:

15", 2.16GHz @ £1,349.01

* 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1440 x 900 resolution
* 1GB memory
* 120GB hard drive1
* 6x double-layer SuperDrive
* ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics with 128MB SDRAM

15", 2.33GHz @ £1,699.00

* 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1440 x 900 resolution
* 2GB memory
* 120GB hard drive1
* 6x double-layer SuperDrive
* ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics with 256MB SDRAM

17", 2.33GHz @ £1,899.00

* 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
* 1680 x 1050 resolution
* 2GB memory
* 160GB hard drive1
* 8x double-layer SuperDrive
* ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics with 256MB SDRAM

No mention of Mac OS X Leopard though, these machines are shipping with Mac OS X Tiger.

Don't forget to add discount code 'IPMQRFY5DC' to save £56.00 off orders £560.00 and above!.

Discount codes for iPod Nano at PCWorld.co.uk

2006-07-17T07:30:00.000-07:00

Discount codes for iPod Nano at PCWorld.co.uk

- affnanw1 - 1GB nano white for £91.00
- affnanb1 - 1GB nano black for £91.00
- affnanw2 - 2GB nano white for £116.79
- affnanb2 - 2GB nano black for £116.79

This is a limited two week offer - Starts 14/07/06 - Ends 28/07/06.

Apple store UK Promotion Code

2006-07-13T03:02:00.000-07:00

Received the following promotion code from Apple Store UK this morning and thought that i'd post as a Blog entry. Spend £235.00 including VAT or more and get £23.00 including VAT off the total price.

Promotion Code: NA1VL9XZNR
(Expires: 30/09/06).

iPod 40Gb £119 and 60Gb Photo £149.00

2006-06-29T03:48:00.000-07:00

According to their web-site Apple store UK Refurbished (scroll down the page and click in the 'Save' - Special Deals link on the right) are selling an iPod 40Gb for £119.00 (a saving of 61% off original price) and an iPod 60Gb Photo for £149.00 (a saving of 41% off original price). Offers whilst stocks last. Visit HotUKDeals.com for Apple store promotional codes (please note that a minumum spend applies for using a voucher code).

Also in the Refurbished store are iPod Mini 4Gb in Blue, Green, Pink and Silver (personally like the latter one) for £59.93 (a saving of 53% off the original price). These are significantly cheaper than an equivalent iPod Nano and certainly worth considering buying if you're wanting to buy a 4Gb iPod.

This promotion was correct as of 11:40am 29/06/06.

Lexar Jumpdrive Mercury 1Gb USB Thumb Drive

2006-06-29T03:00:00.000-07:00

This Blog entry is all about a Lexar Jumpdrive Mercury 1Gb USB Thumb Drive, a USB Thumb Drive that's entirely different to all other USB Thumb Drives that i've come across both on the internet and the in store. As visitors to this Blog are more than likely aware determining how much space has been used or is remaining on a USB Thumb Drive is not possible without plugging the device into a USB port. Lexar have addressed this problem by incorporating a capacity meter that displays used space even whilst not plugged into a USB port. The capacity meter is based around an innovative low-power Electronic Paper Display technology from the E-Ink Corporation, and is clear to read. The on-board capacity meter is an excellent idea IMHO and clearly addresses the problem of not knowing what USB Thumb Drive has spare capacity on.

Further details on this product can be found at the following URL:-
http://www.lexar.com/jumpdrive/jd_mercury.html

Various Apple discounts at PCWorld.co.uk

2006-06-27T11:32:00.000-07:00

Really don't want this Blog to come across as one big advertisement for various resellers but think that the following discounts currently posted at PCWorld.co.uk might be of interest to visitors including free carriage on all iPods, prices quoted apply to both online and Collect @ Store purchases:-

Hint: Visiting HotUKDeals.com should reveal a 5% discount code for purchases £200.00 and over (promo code works online only and doesn't apply to Collect @ Store purchases).

iPod 4Gb Nano, White, SKU # 689514 Advertised price: £158.00
iPod 4Gb Nano, Black, SKU # 806347 Advertised price: £158.00
iPod 30Gb Video, Black, SKU # 068201 Advertised Price: £188.00
iPod 30Gb Video, White, SKU # 251039 Avertised Price: £205.00
iPod 60Gb Video, Black, SKU # 868706 Advertised Price: £268.00

Mac Mini Core Solo, SKU # 707876 Advertised price: £399.00
-Same price as most resellers are charging however you can get one of these for £379.05 using the 5% discount posted on HotUKDeals.com

Mac Mini Core Duo, SKU # 874865 Advertised price: £529.00
-Same price as most resellers are charging however you can get one of these for £502.55 using the 5% discount posted on HotUKDeals.com

Note: There's a £19.99 carriage charge on the Mac Mini Core Duo which leaves little change from the savings made by applying a 5% discount on the order. Add a free shipping item such as a Logik 256Mb Refurbished MP3 Player, SKU # 717701 for £14.99 to your shopping basket with PCWorld.co.uk and get free carriage on your entire order making a total saving of £12.21 over the advertised price of a Mac Mini Core Duo with a free Logik 256Mb Refurbished MP3 Player thrown in! (total saving £27.20 including the price of the Logik 256Mb Refurbished MP3 Player).

This promotion was correct as of 19:30 27-06-06.

Cheapest source for Mac OS X Tiger in UK

2006-06-27T10:45:00.000-07:00

PCWorld.co.uk are selling Mac OS X Tiger in the U.K. for £74.99 online and via Collect @ Store. Normal in-store price is £89.00. Not sure what the expiration date is for this particular promotion. Once you've logged onto PCWorld.co.uk enter SKU # 821538 in the Search for "keyword/product code" box to find the Apple - OS X 10.4 Tiger - Mac Software.

This promotion was correct as of 18:50 27-06-06.

Another item that might be of interest are Apple M9720G/A iPod Socks, SKU # 372365. Normal in-store price is £25.99 however this item is currently on offer for £18.99. (Buying in-store saves £5.99 standard delivery!).

Save 5% at JohnLewis.com

2006-06-27T08:20:00.000-07:00

Thought that this post might be of interest to visitors of this Blog even though very much in its infancy. Apple and most authorized resellers in the U.K. have already reduced the Mac Mini Core Solo from £449 to £399 within the last few weeks. Visit HotUKDeals.com for Johnlewis.com promotional codes and, furthermore if you already hold or are applying for a Morgan Stanley credit card a further 5% discount can be taken off your shopping basket (you'll need to buy Johnlewis Gift Vouchers via the link provided by Morgan Stanley).

This promotion was correct as of 17:00 27-06-06.

Adding Del.icio.us to Safari

2006-06-23T15:44:00.000-07:00

One site that I personally think is really useful is del.icio.us which visitors to this Blog might already know is an invaluable bookmarking web-site that you can access from any web-browser. Rather than bookmarking web-sites on a local machine they're bookmarked using an online account created free of charge on the del.icio.us web-site.

1. Click on your browsers address bar (or press Command + l) and type in http://del.icio.us/
2. Follow the links to create an account with del.icio.us unless you've already created an account
3. Log into your del.icio.us account entering your chosen username and password
4. Type in http://del.icio.us/help/buttons into your browsers address bar (alternatively highlight the URL posted here, right click and select 'Go to address') to add a 'post to del.icio.us' bookmark on your browsers Bookmarks Toolbar
5. Click and drag the 'post to del.icio.us' button to your browsers Bookmarks Toolbar.
6. A 'Type the name for bookmark' pop-up prompt should appear, enter a name for the Bookmark or leave the default one that's already been chosen which should be worded something like 'post to del.icio.us' (or similar).
7. Follow steps 5 to 6 to add a 'my del.icio.us' bookmark on your browsers Bookmarks Toolbar

Web-sites that you want to bookmark can now be added to your del.icio.us account by clicking on the 'post to del.icio.us' Bookmark that should now appear on your Bookmarks Toolbar, likewise, selecting a web-site that you have already Bookmarked can be found by clicking on the 'my del.icio.us' Bookmark on your Bookmarks Toolbar.

As far as i'm aware adding del.icio.us to Firefox for Macs can be done in exactly the same was as adding to Safari.

Cheapest source for Apple Mighty Mouse in UK

2006-06-19T06:41:00.003-07:00

Whilst this Blog is mean't to be a kind of newbie tutorial for both my own benefit as a reminder of what was done in order to get Mac OS X up and running so to speak but also as a help to other Mac OS X newbies I thought that perhaps posting the occasional promotional offer here and there wouldn't be a bad idea particularly where saving hard earned cash is concerned. Anyway, i've been trying to source an Apple Mighty Mouse in the U.K. and have found what I think is the cheapest source, PCWorld.co.uk, their in-store price is £39.99 however their online and Collect @ Store (which basically reserves stock in-store and allows for visitors to buy reserved products at the same price that they would otherwise pay online) price is £29.18. This is a good price for an Apple Mighty Mouse IMHO. Once you've logged onto PCWorld.co.uk enter SKU # 901052 in the Search for "keyword/product code" box to find the Apple Mighty Mouse.

This promotion was correct as of 14:45 19-06-06.

Another item that might be of interest for backup purposes is an external 250Gb USB Hard Disk Drive, SKU # 901058, the 250Gb hard disk drive itself is manufactured by Western Digital (to the best of my knowledge). Normal in-store price is £119.99 however this item is currently on offer for £79.99. (Buying in-store saves £4.99 standard delivery!).

GMail Notifier for Macs

2006-06-19T05:59:00.000-07:00

Whilst i've not been adding entries to this Blog as often as i'd initially anticipated, nor in the order in which i'd wanted to add entries i'll try to write them so that they're of help to newbies such as myself although, admittedly they're very mixed up at the moment and do not flow very well. Anyway, i've been wanting to install the GMail Notifier and thought that i'd better add an entry to this Blog mentioning how exactly i've gone about doing this. GMail Notifier is basically a download that let's you know that there's new mail that's arrived in your GMail inbox, regardless of whether you're logged into GMail via gmail.google.com.

1. Click on your browsers address bar (or press Command + l) and type in http://mail.google.com/mail/help/notifier/index.html
2. Ensure that the 'Mac OS X 10.3.9+ (including Tiger)' radio button is selected and click on the Download Gmail Notifier button
3. An Opening GmailNotifier.1.8.2.dmg prompt should pop-up asking what you would like to do with this file, choose 'Save to Disk'
(the file version of GmailNotifier.1.8.2.dmg whilst Gmail Notifier was downloaded however the installation is the same providing the download has a .dmg extension)
4. Double click on the .dmg download
5. Click on 'accept' to accept the lisence agreement
6. Press F11 to minimize all open windows
7. On the Desktop double click on what looks like a hard disk with the Gmail Notifier logo on.
8. Click on the Applications to open the Applications folder
9. Drag the Gmail Notifier logo from the window that opened upon double clicking on the hard disk with the Gmail Notifier logo on
11. Drag the Gmail Notifier logo to the Dock
12. Double click on the Gmail Notifier icon
13. Once prompted enter your Gmail Username and Password, check the Save Password in Keychain if required. A Gmail Notifier icon should now appear in the uppermost right of your screen alongside the Bluetooth, AirPort and so on.. icons.
14. Click on the Gmail Notifier icon followed by 'preferences' and 'settings' in order to select and change settings such as 'Default Email Program', 'New Mail Sound' and to choose whether or not you would like GMail Notifier to Display Message Count and/or Start at Login.

Gmail Notifier should now be installed and the GMail Notifier hard disk icon that appears on the Desktop can now be ejected by clicking and dragging the icon onto the Trash icon in the Dock.

In order to compose an e-mail without having the need to log onto gmail.google.com click on the Gmail Notifier icon followed by 'compose'.

What Mac to buy refurbished or brand new

2006-06-09T09:05:00.002-07:00

Whilst i've covered where to buy a Mac on this Blog i've not covered the subject of what Mac to buy in order to run Mac OS X. Apple as well as several resellers offer refurbished Macs for sale, these are sold "as-new" (however can have minor cosmetic damage) and have been thoroughly soak tested and come with a full warranty. Substantial savings can be made by buying a refurbished Mac rather than a brand new one. Cancom UK have a good explanation of what exactly is a refurbished computer which can be found at the following URL: http://refurb.cancomuk.com/info/index.htm?info=whatisarefurb.

Availability on refurbished products from the Apple store U.K. and Apple store U.S.A. as well as Apple resellers is often a problem due to the fact that these particular products are in such high demand.

Links for refurbished products from the Apple Store U.K., the Apple Store U.S.A. and Apple resellers are as follows (apologies if any of these links are no longer working, they were checked whilst this Blog entry was being composed):-

Apple store U.K. - Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the 'Refurbished Store' link on the left.
Contact: 0800 039 1010
Apple Store U.S.A. - Scroll down the page and click in the 'Save' - Special Deals link on the right.
Contact: 1800 MY APPLE (692 7753)

Where's the Right click gone?

2006-06-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

Where's the right click gone?. This was a question that i've been asking myself, in particular where i've wanted to copy a URL (Universal Resource Locator), an image onto the Desktop or view source code of a web-page. Anyway, all that you need to do in order for the contextual menus to pop up the same as they would do with right clicking is press and hold the Control or Ctrl button whilst clicking on your mouse or touchpad button.

Where to buy a Mac

2006-06-06T06:23:00.000-07:00

Perhaps this post should've been one of the very first entries for this Blog however i've only just thought that considerations should've been given to "where to buy and what to buy". Hope this doesn't cause too much confusion. For a customized Mac the best place to source a new Mac is from the Apple Store via their website or by phone.

Apple Store U.K.
Contact: 0800 039 1010
Apple Store U.S.A.
Contact: 1800 MY APPLE (692 7753)

Authorized Apple resellers are a good source for Apple hardware and software, whilst they might not be able to customize your new Mac to the same extent as buying from Apple themselves their prices might be marginally lower and there's a possibility that a reseller will offer different extras that are worth considering. Some of the authorized Apple resellers that i'm aware of are listed below:-

Apple resellers in U.K.

Applemac.biz
Contact: 01603 263 15
Computerwarehouse
Contact: 020 8400 129
Cancom UK - Europes largest Apple Mac reseller
Contact: 01483 500510
Gordon Hardwood Computers - Apple Mac reseller & service provider
Contact: 01773 836781
Johnlewis.com - Free delivery and a 2-year warranty
Contact: 08456 049 049
PCWorld.co.uk - Buy or reserve online for Collect @ Store Free delivery
Contact: 08702 420444 Hint: Check saynoto0870.com for Geographical numbers

Apple resellers in U.S.A.

ABT Electronics
Contact: 888 228 5800 Chicagoland 847 967 8830
eCost.com - Apple Authorized reseller
Contact: 1 866 622 2678
MacMall - #1 - Apple Direct Reseller
Contact: 1 800 MAC MALL (622 6255)

OS X trash folder - emptying and ejecting removeable disks

2006-06-06T05:58:00.000-07:00

The OS X Trash folder is where items that you do not want to use anymore should be placed, these items are not deleted permanently unless the command is given to empty the Trash folder.

Items that you do not want to access anymore can be sent to the Trash folder by dragging them to the Trash icon (lowermost right). Items that are in the Trash folder can be viewed by clicking on the Trash icon. Clicking on icon that looks like a gear wheel, followed by 'Empty Trash' removes all of the items that are in the Trash folder, Once 'Empty Trash' has been selected all items are now permanently deleted so this command should be used carefully.

The Trash folder should also be used for ejecting removeable media such as external hard disks, USB flash drives, CD-RW, DVD burners and so on. Simply drag the icon associated with the removeable disk from the Desktop to the Trash folder to eject that particular device prior to removal.

Opening and accessing programs on OS X

2006-06-06T05:48:00.000-07:00

Programs can be opened and accessed on OS X by clicking either on the Finder icon (lowermost left) and selecting the program or programs you wand to open from the Applications folder, or by clicking on the individual programs icon on the Dock.

Whilst opening a program from the Dock its icon bobs up and down to illustrate that it's opening.

Open programs have a small black triangle below their respective icon on the Dock,
this disappears upon the program or programs being closed. Clicking and holding on the small black triangle below the programs icon opens a contextual menu for that particular program, programs can be Removed from the Dock, Opened at Login, Shown in Finder, Hidden and Quit from this menu.

Some more OS X shortcuts

2006-06-05T06:22:00.000-07:00

Some more shortcuts that i've started using. Not by any means a comprehensive list of OS X shorcuts by any means but some are quite useful:-

1. Command + tab -switches between open applications, similar to Ctrl+tab
Let's say for arguments sake you've got Safari and Firefox open, use this shortcut to switch between them

2. Command + ` -switches between open windows running under the same application. The ` key is the one to the left of the 1 key. This location of this key isn't immediately obvious
Let's say for arguments sake you've got Safari and Firefox open but want to switch between open Firefox windows only, use this shortcut to switch between them

3. Fn + F9 -Allows for all open applications to be viewed on the Desktop.
4. F12 -Activates and de-activates the Dashboard widgets

Useful shortcuts for Safari and Firefox (these shortcuts robably work in other programs as well):-

5. Control + page -Takes you straight to the top of an open page in Safari and Firefox
6. Fn + page down -Steps down through an open page
7. Fn + page up -Steps up through an open page

Downloading and installing Firefox web-browser

2006-06-05T05:25:00.000-07:00

OS X Tiger is supplied with its own browser, Safari which in fairness seems to be very user-friendly and fast however I particularly like Firefox, so this is one of the first downloads that I was keen to download and install. Installation is slightly different to other operating systems. Here's how I went about the installation:-

1. Click on your browsers address bar (or press Command + l) and type in http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/
2. Click on the download link
3. An Opening Firefox 1.5.0.4.dmg prompt should pop-up asking what you would like to do with this file, choose 'Save to Disk'
(the file version of Firefox was 1.5.0.4 whilst Firefox was downloaded however the version number is likely to differ as new releases of Firefox are posted. The file version had changed from 1.5.0.3 to 1.5.0.4 whilst i'd started to put this Blog together, installation is the same providing the download has a .dmg extension)
4. Double click on the .dmg download
5. Click on 'accept' to accept the lisence agreement
6. Press F11 to minimize all open windows
7. On the Desktop double click on what looks like a hard disk with the Firefox logo on.
8. Open Finder (click on the first icon on the Dock)
9. Click on the Applications to open the Applications folder
10. Drag the Firefox logo from the window that opened upon double clicking on the hard disk with the Firefox logo on
11. Drag the Firefox logo to the Dock

Firefox should now be installed. Click once on the Firefox icon in the Dock to launch the Firefox web-browser.

Connectivity - Bluetooth & AirPort

2006-06-02T09:55:00.000-07:00

Whether or not there are any security implications with leaving Bluetooth switched-on by default i'm not 100% sure however prior to connecting to the internet Bluetooth was switched off, this can be done by clicking on the Bluetooth icon at the uttermost right of the screen. At a guess switching off Bluetooth whilst not in use also reduces power consumption.

Something that i've found particularly pleasing with AirPort is that it seems to immediately detected a Wireless Network and has done so on the two seperate Wireless Connections used whilst getting to grips of OS X. Wired Equivalent Privacy was enabled on one of these however adding the necessary key was a breeze.

OS X dock

2006-06-01T09:47:00.000-07:00

The Dock, displayed at the bottom of the screen or vertically if changed under the Dock preferences, functions to organize and access programs, folders and files. This is a lot more elegant, clearer and is better organized than icons that appear on what can otherwise be a cluttered desktop.

Programs (or shortcuts to programs) such as Finder, Dashboard, Mail, Safari and so on are represented on the left of a dividing line whilst open items are represented on the right of the dividing line (providing the default position of the Dock hasn't been changed).

Programs in the Dock can be opened by clicking on them once. Double clicking is not required.

The general appearance and behaviour of the Dock can be modified in many ways by clicking on the Apple menu (Apple icon at the uttermost left of the screen) followed by 'Dock', Here the position of the Dock can be changed from default to 'position on left' and 'position on right'. Other preferences that can be accessed through Dock Preferences include 'Magnification', a nice feature that magnifies icons that the cursor hovers over (making them easier to differentiate between un-selected icons) and, Minimize using either 'Genie effect' or 'Scale effect'. Genie effect minimizes open programs or applications by shrinking them in a way similar to a genie going back into its lamp.

OS X shortcuts

2006-06-01T07:14:00.000-07:00

As a newbie to Mac OS X Tiger i'm not aware of many OS X shortcuts however listed below are some that i've become aware of:-

1. Command button + C -Copies selected item or items into clipboard
2. Command button + A -Selects all of the items in an active window
3. Command button + V -Pastes an item or items from the clipboard
4. Command button + Z -Undoprevious operation
5. Command + Shift + Z -Redo previous operation
6. Command + W -Quickly closes the currently active window

Useability:-

Not sure whether or not these shortcuts work in applications other than Safari and Firefox but these are great for useability.

6. Command + + -Enlarges font size of text in a browser window
7. Command + - -Reduces font size of text in a browser window

Useful shortcuts for Safari and Firefox (these shortcuts robably work in other programs as well):-

8. Command + N -Opens new browser window
9. Command + S -Save Page As

One shortcut that I particularly like is as follows:-

10. Command + Shift + 3 -Captures an image of the currently active window and saves onto desktop (.png in OS X Tiger)

Force Shut Down:-

11. Command + Option + Esc -Forces a misbehaving or frozen program to shut down, similar to Ctrl+Alt+Del

Shutting down OS X

2006-06-01T06:44:00.000-07:00

There are three options that can be selected for shutting-down OS X, these being:-

1. Sleep - This puts your Mac computer into hypernation mode, whereby the screen goes blank and the hard disk powers down. Moving the mouse or pressing a key resumes normal operation.

2. Restart - This option shut down your Mac and restarts it again. This option is particularly useful for re-starting your Mac after new software has been installed.

3. Shut Down - This shuts down your Mac completely. Note, make sure any open documents are saved before clicking on this option (OS X prompts you to do this).

Clicking on the Apple menu accesses these shut down options. The Apple menu can be accessed by clicking on the Apple icon at the uttermost top left corner of the desktop and can be accessed regardless of what programs are running. Other options are Force Quit and Log Out 'username'. Whilst I guess the latter is fairly self-explanatory i'm not 100% sure what the Force Quit option is used for.

Updated 17:30 1st June 2006.

Force Quit is from what I understand similar to Ctrl+Alt+Del and basically allows to force a misbehaving or otherwise frozen program to be shut-down.

OS X Firewall

2006-05-31T06:50:00.000-07:00

Whilst i'm not 100% sure on how much relevence the use of a firewall has on a Mac i.e. whether or not it's critical that a firewall is enabled on a Mac, security is something that is of concern and installation and configuration of a firewall are one of the first things that I believe are essential for a computer connected to the internet.

OS X has a built-in Firewall that can be used to block maliscious or otherwise unwanted viruses or spyware from your computer whilst connected to the internet.

The OS X Firewall can be enabled by going through the following steps:-

1. Click on the Apple logo at the uppermost left of the menu bar
2. Click on "System Preferences"
3. Under the "Internet & Network" category, click on "Sharing"
4. Whilst in the "Sharing" category, click on "Firewall"
5. Click on the Start window button to enable the OS X Firewall

Immediately beneath the Start window button is a list of areas that can be made exempt from the firewall, whilst getting to grips of OS X Tiger these have been left as default (none are selected).

OS X interface

2006-05-31T06:21:00.000-07:00

The name of the OS X interface is Aqua, This represents the cosmetic appearance of the elements within OS X Tiger. Some of the main elements are described below:-

Menus in OS X contain both commands for the operating system itself and any relevent programs.

Window buttons appear in open OS X windows similarly to other operating systems and can be used to (left to right) Close, Minimize and Expand a window. The window buttons in OS X are colour coded as follows:-

Red (closes a window)
Amber (minimizes a window)
Green (Expands a window)

Whilst a dialog box with seperate options is accessed or otherwise open, OS X highlights a suggested option with a pulsing blue button. Option buttons can be selected either by clicking on them or pressing Enter (whilst the chosen option is highlighted).

OS X environment

2006-05-31T05:55:00.001-07:00

OS X is an operating system based on the UNIX programming language, this was something that I wasn't aware of whilst considering giving OS X Tiger a try however I was pleased to hear this because from what I understand, UNIX is renowned for its stability and is used Globally in a wide range of computing environments including Servers and Multi-user Workstations.

No working knowledge of UNIX is required to enjoy the benefits of OS X Tiger due to Apples Aqua interface, however for the programming expert (which unfortunately I am not) there is an option to delve into UNIX itself. The Graphical User Interface (GUI) of OS X is very user-friendly and nicely presented, this consists of six elements decribed in a Blog entry posted earlier today.

First things first

2006-05-31T05:32:00.000-07:00

Once Mac OS X Tiger (here on in referred to as OS X) has been installed and a username and password chosen click on Restart. Once your computer has restarted you should be taken through the rest of the Installation process.

Six elements that make up the initial OS X environment are:-

1. The Apple Menu (uppermost left of screen)
2. The Menu Bar (uppermost of screen)
3. Windows
4. Disk Icons (top right of Desktop)
5. The Dock (bottom of screen)
6. Desktop

One thing you might immediately notice is that the Desktop is pretty much clutter free of icons and the only icon that appears on the Desktop is the Disk Icon(s) such as the Mac Hard Disk, CD/DVD Drive, USB Flash Drive and so on. This is IMHO a refreshing change as the icons for Finder, Dashboard, Mail, Safari and so on are all neatly laid-out on the bottom of the screen in what is known as The Dock.

Clicking once on one of the icons launches that particular application or program. Note that double clicking is not required.

2006-05-31T05:18:00.000-07:00

Hi and thank you for visiting the first Blog entry on Mac Newbie In Training. What is this Blog all about you might ask?, Basically i'm a newbie to Mac OS X Tiger and the world of Macs in general and thought that writing a Blog of things i'm learning right from the very start having never used Mac OS X Tiger previously would not only be of benefit to myself but hopefully of benefit to others who are newbies to the Mac OS X Tiger operating system.