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Handy Mac "Geeky" Tips

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If you don't subscribe to MacLife there's an interesting article recommended to us by De Prez Jim Hamm. "Fifty Things Every Mac Geek Should Know" turns out to be an 8 page piece, with such subheads as "Why OS X is Better Than Windows" and "Spotlight Can Do Math." There are short handy lists about iPod, iPhone, iChat, Safari, Terminals, on and on. http://www.maclife.com/article/feature/50_things_every_mac_geek_should_know

Take a look for yourself.
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Safari 4 Top Sites

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One of the appealing aspects to me of Safari 4 is Top Sites. This page is similar to the Speed Dial in Opera, only much fancier. I tried to find an entry in Safari 4 Help on this topic, couldn't find one, so I'm making up what follows based on my own experience.

Top Sites is a page in the browser that displays previews of pages from your history list (an assumption on my part that the history list is where these previews are generated from).
In the upper left corner of the browser is a symbol that looks like this: Click on that image to get a full page of images like the one on the left (but without the symbols in the upper left corner as shown in this image). In the lower left corner of that page you'll see an Edit button. Click on that button and then you will see those symbols in the upper left corner of the images.
Notice that the stick pin in this image is highlighted. Clicking on the stick pin toggles the highlight. When highlighted, that prevents that image from being replaced as you visit other sites. Clicking on the 'X' removes that image from the Top Sites, everything shifts left, and a new image is created in the lower right corner of the page - which will be the next page found in your history list. In the Edit mode, you can move the images around to be in the order that you like, and I'm assuming that the order is left to right from the top.
Items that are not pinned will be updated with previews of pages from your bookmark history, picking off the topmost sites as needed. (Another assumption on my part.)
In the lower right corner of Top Sites there is a button to select the size of the images. The smaller the size, the more images you see. The options are Small, Medium, and Large. With Small, you get 6 across and 4 deep. Medium gets you 4 x 3. Large gets you 3 x 2. The image size adjusts with the browser window size.
When you've finished editing the images, click on the Done button in the lower left corner.
Enjoy Safari 4!

Improving Safari Usefulness

Read more about Safari Beta. Here's David Passell's report: "In using Safari I noticed the absence of any buttons on the tool bar to increase or decrease the size of the web page. I researched a little and found that it has to be installed. While Safari 4 is displayed, click on View and then Customize Tool bar. The size button looks like this:

"There are a lot of other buttons there that you can also drag for other functions.

"You are instructed to drag the button to the Toolbar. You can drag it anywhere you want. I dragged it near the left side, and it looks like the following. (I don't know why designers don't make things look the same from one appearance to the next, but I quibble:))

"Now when you are viewing a web page, you can click on the big A or little A to change the size of the text and images. One good feature of Safari 4 is that both are changed. Other browser size bars often change only the text and leave the images untouched. Also they may garble the page.

"Now there is a 'gotcha' here. Some websites (for example with a newsletter) may link to a PDF file. If you click on this link, it is displayed on your page. There is apparently a PDF plug-in that is part of Safari. You may see a hand on your screen.

"Sometimes the text appears impossibly small to read. So you try to click on big A. Nothing happens, but don't give up. Right click your mouse and you will see the following. You only see this menu if you are looking at a PDF file.

"You now have some choices, and the choice you make is 'Marquee Zoom.' This will cause a + sign in a small circle to display. Hover your mouse over the page and click the mouse. The page(s) will increase in size. You can keep doing this and now it is too large (:.

"What to do?: Hold down the OPTion key and the + changes to a -. Now click away till it is the size you want.

"When you are through sizing the page, you can right click to get the whatchamacallit again. (I think its official name is 'context menu'). To eliminate the + button, you can click on Hand Tool (which will put a hand on the screen). Or click on Select Tool and there will be no special cursor there.

"Note that there are other choices available. Page Display Preferences gives you another menu which controls how the document is displayed. Single Page Continuous is a good choice.

"Hope this helps in making your use of Safari 4 even more enjoyable." Regards: David

Don't Miss Out!

(Safari, Opera and Firefox use different symbols)

The next time you log in to PMUG.us, look in the right corner of the address bar. John Carter makes it easy to keep up with the latest info. He explains,

"That symbol is for subscribing to the RSS feed. When you click on that the first time, your browser will notify you that you are choosing to subscribe to the PMUG RSS feed. There are nine items to choose from (nine PMUG pages). You can subscribe to as many as you like. When the page you have subscribed to changes, your RSS reader will notify you of that change.

"Please note that sometimes a page will be updated and you won't be able to see any change. That's because the changes may be in the code structure itself and not a visible change. I don't know yet if I can keep that kind of update from showing up."

That Pesky White Lettering

If, like me, your eyes grow tired of white lettering over dark backgrounds try two remedies. Enlarge the font (a lot!) by doing Command and + (plus) several times in succession. To go back to the original size do Command and the - (minus.)
Or, have a technicolor laugh as you hold down at the same time these three keys, Control, Option, Command, then touch 8. (Not the keypad 8, I mean the 8 in the line of keys above qwerty, etc.) To toggle back to the original color scheme do these same 4 keys. Try it, you might like it.

Details About Safari Beta

Want a little more technical info on the new Safari Beta? Here's http://daringfireball.net/2009/03/safari_4_public_beta a commentary about one person's likes and dislikes about it. De Prez Jim Hamm comments that it was an interesting read.

Anyone else using the new Safari Beta? How's it going? Personally, I like the Top Sites, and have set up a dozen of my most-frequently visited sites. When something new has been posted it is indicated by a star. You can rearrange the Top Sites. Anyhow, it looks snazzy.

Grab a Screen Capture

In OS 10.5 the screen captures are saved as PNG files by default. However, it’s possible to change them in a variety of formats including JPG and GIF. Here’s what David Passell recommends:
http://www.maclife.com/article/feature/terminal_tips_every_mac_usershould_know The article is "25 Terminal Tips Every Mac User Should Know."

Scroll down to tip #8 which gives directions to change file format for screenshots. (Note: this article continues for 5 more pages.)
After following those directions, David tells us to Quit the Terminal and restart your computer. Then try it out, using CMD-SHIFT-3 for the whole screen or CMD-SHIFT-4 for only the part that you scroll over. You should be able to find Picture n.jpg which launches with Preview. “Worked fine with me,” are his closing remarks. Thanks for the info, David, you’ve been one busy guy today!

Switchers Encouraged to Consider Mini

Know any switchers who want to upgrade from PC to Mac? If they already have monitor, mouse, and keyboard all they need is Mac Mini. David Passell has been happily using his Mac Mini which he describes as "post September 2007 Mini (2 GB RAM) and, except for the Super Drive getting dirty and needing cleaning, has never had any problems." He recommends an article from PC magazine which links to this review, http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2342488,00.asp

More On Safari


Is it time to try it?  With a little time on my hands this afternoon I tracked down a review of Safari http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/appleaday/blog/2009/02/new_version_of_safari_kicks_ap.html

Writer David Zeller explains the features, and closes with a complaint and a remedy.  A reader, Jack, gives the link to reinstall Safari 3, in the event that problems are experienced. http://support.apple.com/downloads/#internet

Now, to try the Safari Beta for myself. . .  

Using Safari Beta

A short review of Safari Beta comes from David Passell. He says he's been using it a lot, and he finds it very smooth and fast. He cautions, "Some of their preselected sites leave tracking cookies.  Primarily it seems to be CNN.com and Monster.com" adding, "Other than that, I like it." He refers us to http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2009/03/03/1235842416419.html  David mentions that he has MacScan that locates, isolates and lets him remove cookies.  

Where On Earth Are Your Friends?

Member Art Gorski sends us a nifty site with a mind-boggling feature: see where your friends are. From this site: http://earthlingsoft.net/Earth Addresser/  when you download the donationware program Earth Addresser it takes addresses from your Mac Address Book, looks up their coordinates on the map and writes that info to a "KLM" file.  Google Earth can open that file to display your friends' places.  And, if you've added photos of your friends to their cards in your Address Book, these photos will appear right on the planet instead of the usual drawing pin.

Do your friends' names appear on everyone else's Google Earth? Art clarifies for us, "It sends only the addresses to Google Earth, just to get latitude and longitude data. You can save the preferences so it stays in Google Earth."
Besides this program the authors Steffen Kamp and Sven-S. Porst list 13 other imaginative software programs on their home page.
No sooner had I emailed Sven that I'd posted about his site than he replied, correcting me that it's "KML" — not "KLM."  He adds, "For some reason that's a common error for that name. Perhaps because of the airline  . . .   Regards, Sven."
Thanks for your eagle eyes!

Really Simple (Nearly)

Perhaps you’re puzzled with RSS, but you’d like to simplify getting news, weather, sports, and the latest stuff.

RSS means Really Simple Syndication, and now a free app, NetNewsWire, aggregates news from sources you choose. And you can link the RSS content on your computer with your iPhone or other mobile reader.

De Prez Jim Hamm alerts us to this very useful app he’s started up with. To get a quick overview of NetNewsWire view a short video at http://www.newsgator.com/individuals/default.aspx   Click on “Video” near the top on the right hand side of the “Welcome” page.

Look at the RSS Learning Center, http://www.newsgator.com/rsslearningcenter/default.aspx and you’ll see why this might be helpful to both individuals and businesses. The link you’ll go to to download this free app is http://www.newsgator.com/INDIVIDUALS/NETNEWSWIRE/

You can subscribe to our PMUG newsletter while our page here is open and then opening NetNewsWire and choosing New Subscription from their menu.  Our URL comes up, and there you are!

Soon you'll find RSS is really simple.

Let's Learn

Like to learn with short video tutorials?  A new Mac website, http://www.themacu.com/index.html  offers some great features. Watch a video introduction of the training they provide. They also offer Mac related news, reviews, best deals on hardware, software, and peripherals. With Q and A you can ask questions or view already posted answers. Coming soon is training for iPhoto ’09, iMovie ’09, iWork ’09, Image Editing with Pixelmator and more. They offer a free 15 day trial, then membership for a fee of $6 per month. Downloaded training files are yours to keep. Thanks to Dan Simpson for passing along this info.

Lakner's Love Story Published

Our own Roger and Mary Beth Lakner were featured in the Valentine's Love Stories featured in Prescott's Daily Courier, Friday, February 13.  Here's the article:

"Five years ago this February, Roger moved from the Bay area of California to Prescott. He had recently become a widower and was determined to begin a new life in a totally new place. 



"He had chosen Prescott as his new home through the internet. His new house was in the Cottages at Prescott Lakes. 


"Being an early riser, he was often out working in his garage, especially assembling a workbench and cabinets.


"Mary Beth, who lived in the house directly across the street, often would notice Roger working in his garage. She was glad to have another new neighbor. 


"Before moving to Prescott in September 2003, Mary Beth had been divorced after a long marriage. She decided to retire early and begin a new life in a place completely different from Wisconsin, where she had lived for many years. She chose Prescott partly because her daughter and son-in law lived in Prescott at the time. She had visited them and liked the area.


"One Wednesday in March, Roger and Mary Beth met while walking back and forth to the shared mailboxes nearby. They talked and talked, standing outside in the hot sun. Mary Beth had gone to a few functions for singles by then, and she invited him to join her at a singles dinner that Friday. Roger thought that sounded fine, but he also suggested, "Why not tonight?!" So they decided to go out for their first dinner that night. From that day on, they dated often and soon fell in love. Both feel blessed to have moved directly across the street from one another! Last year, they moved once again to a larger house that they chose together.


"Roger and Mary Beth celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary in January 2009 and are planning many more!"

Do You Like Cookies?

Not the kind Ginger Carlson brings to PMUG, we’re talking about Internet cookies. When on Google do a Command + , (comma) and see the list of cookies you’ve accumulated. 

I mentioned to my writers’ group about taking cookies off after you’ve been to a website. Several questioned my opinion, so I decided to take a more professional look at the subject. I note that going to any site with the word “about” in their URL brings up a lot of cookies. I got 11 cookies just from typing in “about.com.” Their expiration dates range from today until 2199. Imagine that! Each has a name and secret code, unknown to an ordinary person.

What’s your experience with Cookies? Do you have security concerns?

Under Safari Preferences, Security you have some choices to make. I’ve clicked “only from sites you navigate to.” Or, you could look up 24,200,000 sites to see what others have to say about “cookies computers privacy.”

What's New at the Library

Prescott Public Library began the month of February with an all-new web page. The new page is the brainchild of Systems Librarian Rob Lowe, who worked with public services library staff to develop the user-friendly look and feel. Give it a whirl at
http://www.prescottlibrary.info.  See today's events on the home page, along with a catalog keyword search and volunteer Lesley Schuler's event "slide show." Find your favorite databases under the "Research" tab and "Reserve a Room" under "Services."