OS X Leopard news and tips from the Mac experts

Can an SD card startup disk be used on any Mac?

Roman Loyola — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:32:00 -0700

Can an SD card startup disk be used on any Mac? Roman Loyola does a little bit of testing, and finds the answer may be yes.

Repair incorrect icon associations

Rob Griffiths — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:54:00 -0700

Are the icons for certain file types incorrect on your machine -- zip files appearing as disk image files, for instance? If so, this hint will help you quickly fix the problem.

Mac 911 Lightning Round

Christopher Breen — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 10:39:00 -0700

Quick answers to short questions.

Change color of BBEdit and TextWrangler 'invisibles' characters

Rob Griffiths — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:35:00 -0700

Learn how to change the color of the special characters that BBEdit and TextWrangler use to display invisible characters, such as tabs and line breaks.

Create an SD card startup disk for the new MacBook Pros

Roman Loyola — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:08:00 -0700

In this video, senior editor Roman Loyola will show you how to create an SD card startup disk for the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pros.

Reduce system workload during drive cloning

Rob Griffiths — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 09:56:00 -0700

Cloning your Mac's hard drive as part of your backup strategy? Then make sure that Spotlight isn't active on that drive before you start cloning it.

Securely wipe your hard drive

Christopher Breen — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:41:00 -0700

You say you have a hard drive full of sensitive data that you'd like to see gone, gone gone? Here's how (with bonus ultra-violent erasure technique).

Opinion: Where the iPhone is driving Mac OS X

Galen Gruman — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:47:00 -0700

Many technologies that start out in the iPhone OS are finding their way into Apple's desktop operating system, InfoWorld's Galen Gruman writes.

Using iPhoto's Places without a GPS-enabled camera

Rob Griffiths — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:22:00 -0700

iPhoto '09's Places features lets you tag the location where an image was shot. But what if you don't have a GPS-enabled camera? Here's how you can recreate the location-tagging feature with the help of an iPhone.

An easy way to get the newest Chromium build

Rob Griffiths — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:00:00 -0700

A combination of a shell script and Automator application can be used to simplify the task of upgrading to the latest Chromium build.

The Macalope Weekly: WWDC, week two!

The Macalope — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:26:00 -0700

Apple's yearly WWDC: the one-week event that just keeps on giving. AT&T is still losing friends and alienating people and some people can find bad news even in a price cut.

Set default duration for new iCal events

Rob Griffiths — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:16:00 -0700

Change the default duration for new iCal events from one hour to any time period you wish -- even zero minutes.

Apple Java update fixes security hole

Peter Cohen — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 14:06:00 -0700

Apple has, at long last, addressed security problems with Java that Sun fixed more than six months ago.

Resolving iPhoto library size discrepancy

Christopher Breen — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:26:00 -0700

iPhoto indicates you have 2GB of images yet the iPhoto Library item is 6GB. Why?

RooSwitch: Application-based user switching

Deborah Shadovitz — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 05:01:00 -0700

Instead of logging in and out of different user accounts on your Mac, rooSwitch lets you switch users for only one app at a time by switching what rooSwitch calls Profiles.

Capture output of certain Unix commands

Rob Griffiths — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 09:46:00 -0700

Learn how to capture the output of certain Unix commands to the clipboard.

The Macalope Weekly: WWDC fallout

The Macalope — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:45:00 -0700

As Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference draws to a close, the Macalope examines the radioactive remains of this week's announcements and predictions.

Two useful iChat 4.0 features

Rob Griffiths — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 06:52:00 -0700

Discover the exact time an iChat message was sent or received, and learn how to use a special command to insert uniquely-formatted messages into your iChat conversations.

Analysis: What Apple's WWDC moves mean for business

Ryan Faas — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:03:00 -0700

After a Worldwide Developers Conference keynote that saw a Snow Leopard preview and more developments on the iPhone front, Computerworld's Ryan Faas looks at the week's news from an enterprise perspective.

Leopard's upgrade options

Christopher Breen — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:03:00 -0700

Reader Lois is ready to upgrade to Leopard and is concerned that her beloved copy of AppleWorks might not survive the process.

Extend Keynote's power with OmniGraffle's stencils

Rob Griffiths — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 07:55:00 -0700

Learn how to use fully-scalable images (complete with transparency) in Keynote by working with OmniGraffle.

Snow Leopard taps into the Mac's core power

Agam Shah — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 01:26:00 -0700

Apple's new Mac OS X 10.6 operating system, could bring massive performance gains to laptops and desktops.

Apple posts QuickTime movie of WWDC keynote

Peter Cohen — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 20:51:00 -0700

Apple has posted a QuickTime stream of the WWDC 2009 Keynote address.

WWDC Roundtable

Philip Michaels — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 17:49:00 -0700

There was something for everyone at Monday's Worldwide Developer Conference keynote, and we cover all the highlights in this special edition of the Macworld Podcast.

Slideshow: WWDC keynote highlights

Kelly Turner — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 15:55:00 -0700

The big news from Apple's WWDC keynote address is out. Faster MacBook Pros and MacBook Airs at lower prices, an announced September release for Snow Leopard, iPhone 3.0 worldwide release on June 17, and an all-new iPhone called the 3G S.

Snow Leopard more feature-laden than expected

Rob Griffiths — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:57:00 -0700

Apple gave us a ship date and a few more details about Mac OS X 10.6. Rob Griffiths takes a look at the previously-unknown features of Snow Leopard.

Exchange support coming with Snow Leopard

Robert Strohmeyer — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:11:00 -0700

In Snow Leopard, users will at last be able to use Microsoft Exchange without requiring the aid of outside software such as Entourage.

Summary: iPhone 3GS, MacBook updates, Snow Leopard highlight WWDC

Robert Strohmeyer — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:35:00 -0700

From laptop updates to Snow Leopard to iPhone news, Monday's keynote at the Worldwide Developer Conference had plenty of Apple product announcements to go around. Here's a summary of what Apple unveiled.

Snow Leopard gets a September ship date

Philip Michaels — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:01:00 -0700

The next version of Mac OS X will arrive in September, with a $29 price tag for users upgrading from OS X 10.5. But when OS X 10.6 does arrive, it will only run on Intel-based machines.

OS X installed user base has tripled in two years, says Apple

Peter Cohen — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 10:43:00 -0700

OS X has tripled its user base to 75 million users in just two years, according to Apple. The secret? iPhone and iPod touch, both of which run OS X.

Apple releases Safari 4 for Mac, Windows

Philip Michaels — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 10:40:00 -0700

First released as a public beta in February, a finished version of Safari 4 is now available. The updated browser will also be part of the Snow Leopard update to Mac OS X in September.

WWDC: Final Apple predictions

Ian Paul — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:27:00 -0700

PC World offers a final round-up of WWDC predictions in advance of Monday morning's keynote.

Mac hardware figures to be MIA at WWDC

Philip Michaels — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 10:49:00 -0700

If you're expecting a Mac hardware announcement at this week's Worldwide Developer Conference, history is not on your side. But that's not to say hardware will be totally absent from Monday's keynote.

Simplify Terminal directory listings

Rob Griffiths — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:15:00 -0700

Rob Griffiths shares a few Unix tips to simplify the output of the 'ls' directory listing command. Also, we point the way to additional Unix tips.

WWDC Preview: What we know, what we expect with Snow Leopard

Rob Griffiths — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 10:57:00 -0700

As Monday's WWDC keynote draws near, Rob Griffiths takes a look at where we stand with Snow Leopard (Mac OS X 10.6)—what we know, what we don't know, and what we're likely to learn on Monday.

Fseventer tracks changes on your hard drive

Dan Frakes — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 05:01:00 -0700

Have you ever wondered what a non-Apple software installer actually installs? Or what files a particular program is actually creating or modifying when it’s churning away? Fseventer is a clever tool that can help you solve these mysteries.

Report: Steve Jobs returning to work this month

John Ribeiro — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 04:49:00 -0700

Apple CEO Steve Jobs on track to return to work this month, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Launching apps: Beyond the Dock

Macworld Staff — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:06:00 -0700

We asked Macworld readers and contributors: How do you launch applications? Here are a few of their cleverest answers.

Combine multiple Mail messages for forwarding

Rob Griffiths — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 10:30:00 -0700

Learn a very simple way to forward many e-mail messages in Mail as one new combined message.

Manage files in OS X your way

Macworld Staff — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:01:00 -0700

You don't have to stick with the Finder: Here a few of the ways Macworld contributors and readers have customized OS X to make file-management easier

Reposition Mail's preview pane

Christopher Breen — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:17:00 -0700

Care to take advantage of your expansive wide monitor by moving Mail's preview pane to the side? Here's how.

ManyCam lets your iSight work with multiple applications at once

Deborah Shadovitz — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 05:01:00 -0700

Typically, while using your Mac’s iSight camera with one program, you can’t use it with another. But ManyCam frees iSight from this restriction.

Customize the OS X workspace

Macworld Staff — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:01:00 -0700

There's more to customizing your Mac's visual interface than changing the wallpaper. Here's how some Macworld readers and contributors have made their Mac workspaces their own.

Your Mac, Your Way

Dan Miller — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:01:00 -0700

Every Mac user unique. And so is the way each of us set up our virtual desktops, manage files, and launch apps. So we asked Macworld readers and contributors: How have you customized your Mac?

Use Mail to help find Craigslist for sale items

Rob Griffiths — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:26:00 -0700

Using Mail's rules and ability to subscribe to RSS feeds, you can easily watch Craigslist for things you'd like to buy.

Windows 7 will ship October 22

Elizabeth Montalbano — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:16:00 -0700

Microsoft confirmed an October 22 ship date for the next version of Windows Tuesday, saying it would also offer an upgrade service to current Windows users.

Animating the Desktop

Christopher Breen — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:01:00 -0700

Tired of a static Desktop? Here are a few ways to put it in motion.

Set custom retention intervals in Mail

Rob Griffiths — Fri, 29 May 2009 12:36:00 -0700

Learn how to keep junk, sent, and trashed messages for any arbitrary number of days.

New company to start selling Mac clones

Dan Moren — Fri, 29 May 2009 09:01:00 -0700

A new Mac clone-maker, Quo Computer, plans to start selling Mac clones via the Internet and at a brick-and-mortar location in the LA area next month.

Relaunch creates launchable application sets

Deborah Shadovitz — Fri, 29 May 2009 05:01:00 -0700

If you juggle work all day and find yourself switching from one set of apps to another, you can appreciate Relaunch.