MAC OS

last updated: 21 March 2003 04:23:00 -0600

Intermediate

With the release of Mac OS 8.6 comes an updated version of Pacific Tech's Graphing Calculator. To celebrate this event I'd like to remind you that you can paste PICT files onto the 3-D images created in Graphing Calculator. Simply open a picture in SimpleText or another PICT-hip application, select the picture (or portion of the picture), copy the picture, switch to Graphing Calculator, and paste. Your picture is now wrapped around the 3-D object.

Beginner

Apple's Map control panel is a fairly limited way to determine the time and day in other parts of the world. If you want a more complete resource, take a look at Leighton Paul's HourWorld. This $15 shareware, PowerPC-only application presents you with a world map that indicates the time in five selectable cities, the distance between your home city and the other four cities, the position of the sun and moon, and the phase of the moon. If you like, you can view this data for any time and date from 1994 - 2009.

You can find your copy at http://www.macdownload.com.

Intermediate

You're probably aware that you can switch off AOL's chirpy announcements (ie. "You've got mail!") by selecting Preferences from the My AOL menu and deselecting "Play Event Sounds" in the General tab. But because that's a global operation, you kill each and every one of AOL's sounds by following this procedure. Perhaps you would care to keep some sounds -- the Instant Messenger alert, for example -- while dispensing with others. Here's how:

Open the America Online folder, then the Online Files folder, and finally the Sounds folder. Drag any files you don't want out of this Sounds folder and those sounds will no longer play.

Bonus tip: AOL determines which sound to play by the name of the sound. You can therefore use any System 7 sound file (the format used by the Mac version of AOL) and give it the name of a particular AOL event. For example, you can record a snippet of Monty Python's famous SPAM skit, save it as a System 7 sound, rename it You've Got Mail, and replace AOL's original You've Got Mail file with the new file. Now when you have AOL mail you'll hear "SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM, SPAM...."

Beginner

If you meet the following requirements:

You spend a LOT of time with your Mac.
You use Griffin Technologies iMate ADB-to-USB adapter.
You know how to operate Apple's Balloon Help.

Try this:

Engage Balloon Help, point at the iMate USB Driver extension (found in the Extensions folder inside the System Folder), and absorb some useful advice.

Intermediate

If you're first on the block to possess Apple's new PowerBook G3 (bronze keyboard) you'll be pleased to know that you can use an external display with your PowerBook with the lid closed. Here's how:

Put the PowerBook to sleep by closing the lid. If not already connected, attach the power adapter and cable for the external monitor, attach an Apple-compatible USB keyboard and mouse, and press the Power button on the keyboard to bring the PowerBook back to life.

When you want to view the internal display just put the PowerBook to sleep again and wake it with the cover open.

Intermediate

You may have noticed that nearly every time I recommend a piece of shareware or freeware I send you to Macdownload.com. While this is a wonderful resource for Mac software, wouldn't it be swell if you could search the site without having to go to the Web page, entering your query into the Search field, and waiting for the corresponding files to appear on a separate webpage? Well, if you have Mac OS 8.5, you now can thanks to the Macdownload Sherlock plug-in.

Just download the Macdownload.src plug-in, drag and drop it onto your closed System Folder, and when you next fire up Sherlock, you'll be able to search Macdownload from the comfort of Sherlock's Search Internet tab.

As you might expect, you can find this plug-in at http://www.macdownload.com.

Intermediate

When you escort that brand new PowerBook G3 (bronze keyboard) into your office, jack a USB keyboard into the appropriate port, and put this baby to sleep with Password Security activated you will discover this anomaly: You will not be able to enter your password with the USB keyboard. The reason why is that the Password Security control panel activates before the USB bus is enabled and therefore the PowerBook fails to recognize input from any USB device. The workaround is to type your password on the PowerBook's built-in keyboard.

Beginner

Pangea software is on the verge of releasing its aptly titled, cute-as-a-bug game, Bugdom. Since Pangea has a new game on the way, I suppose it's perfectly all right to tell you how to cheat your way through its last game, Nanosaur. Simply launch Nanosaur (and yes, each and every iMac owner has a copy of this game) and type the following codes:

F12+F1 = Restore Health
F12+F2 = Get all Weapons
F12+F3 = Get Shield
F12+F4 = Win the Game
F12+F5 = Get Fuel

If you don't already have a copy of Nanosaur, you can get a copy at www.macdownload.com.

Beginner

Don't believe the floppy is dead? Try buying a floppy drive module for your new PowerBook G3 (bronze keyboard). You can't. Apple has no plans to make such a module. To use floppies on this particular Apple product you must purchase and haul around a third-party USB-compatible floppy drive.

Intermediate

After installing Mac OS 8.6 on an iMac that supports IrDA (Rev. A and B models), you may notice that your modem no longer responds. Here's why: The Mac OS 8.6 upgrade causes IrDA to be selected in the Modem control panel's Connect via: pop-up menu. To bring the modem back to the land of the living, open the Modem control panel and select Internal Modem from this pop-up menu, choose iMac Internal 56k from the Modem pop-up menu, close the Modem control panel, and save the configuration when prompted to.

Intermediate

Under Mac OS 8.5 and later, if you have the "Smooth all fonts on screen" option selected in the Fonts tab of the Appearance control panel, some of your onscreen fonts may look a little hazy. To sharpen things up a bit, increase the number that appears in the Smooth Fonts Size box to 18. Now only fonts 18 points and higher will be smoothed.

Intermediate

Having unexplained freezes whenever you launch Excel? Then perhaps now's the time to explain them. Excel will freeze on launch if your Mac's monitor bit-depth is set to 2-bit or 256 grays. The workaround is obvious: When working with Excel, don't use these bit-depth settings. Instead use 256 colors or more.

Beginner

If your Mac has crashed or an application quit with an arcane error code and you've wondered just what in tarnation that error means, Black and Bleu, a $34 utility from Blue Rose Ltd., may have your answer.

Black and Bleu carries simple and technical definitions for nearly 3,000 Macintosh errors. Not only does the utility explain what the error codes mean, but also offers advice on what you can do to avoid getting the error in the future. The demo version allows you to use Black and Bleu three times before it expires. After that you must pay for your copy. You can find that copy at: http://www.macdownload.com.

Intermediate

Someone I know very well indeed was in the process of designing an invitation and wished to insert a flower-like dingbat into the design. Unfortunately she didn't know how to determine which key corresponded to the dingbat she desired. So, she dutifully opened a new word processing document, typed each and every letter on her Mac keyboard (yes, even the Shift and Option combinations), and then cut and pasted the flower from the list of characters she had created.

Had she asked me for a shortcut, I might have suggested:

1. Using Key Caps, the Apple Menu item that ships with all Macs. Just select the font you want and look at the characters on the keyboard. To view alternative characters, hold down the Shift and Option keys, either separately or together.

2. If the characters in Key Caps are too difficult to discern, try Vincent Jalby's $15 shareware utility, FontBuddy. FontBuddy displays every character in a font as well as the keyboard equivalents for a font's characters. And unlike Key Caps, FontBuddy can display each character at a size up to 256 points.

You can find your copy of FontBuddy at http://www.macdownload.com.

Intermediate

Last week I mentioned that Apple would not offer a floppy disk module for the PowerBook G3 (bronze keyboard). While this is correct, my hint that the only way to use a floppy on one of these machines was to carry an external floppy drive was not. VST Technologies offers a SuperDisk module that can read traditional 1.4 MB floppy disks as well as 120 MB SuperDisk media.

If you desire one of these $230 modules, look for model number LSG32. For more information try http://www.vsttech.com.

Beginner

Now that DVD players are becoming more popular on Macs, it's time to reveal a small easter egg in the Apple DVD Player application.

Select About Apple DVD Player from the Apple menu. When the credits begin to scroll:

Hold down the Shift key to make the credits scroll in reverse.
Hold down the Option key to speed up the scrolling.
Hold the Control key to cause the credits to move up and down and all around the round About window.

Power User

On occasion, users with DVD drives may find that certain discs won't mount properly. When you insert these discs you'll receive a warning that the disc can not be read by the Macintosh. To skirt this problem, try holding down the Command-Option and I keys while inserting the DVD disc. This key combination forces the Mac to read the disc as an ISO-9000 formatted disc -- a format that may be more easily read than the format originally used on the disc.

Missing in Action

When you install the Mac OS 8.6 upgrade, the Apple Installer application removes certain folders from your hard drive. These folders include the AppleScript folder, Monitors Extras folder, QuickDraw 3D 1.5.4 folder, and Open Transport Information. Normally this isn't a problem but if you've saved documents to any of these folders, those documents will be removed as well. It's unlikely that you'll save files to any of these folders except the AppleScript folder.

Therefore, if you are planning to upgrade to Mac OS 8.6 and have tucked a few files away into your AppleScript folder, be sure to move those files elsewhere.

TypeIt4Me

Riccardo Ettore has recently released an updated version of his invaluable utility, TypeIt4Me. If you don't have a copy, you should. TypeIt4Me is a control panel that automatically types large blocks of text when you type a corresponding abbreviation for each block -- akin to Word 98's AutoText feature. Here's how it works:

Just select a block of text and choose Add an entry from the TypeIt4Me menu that appears in the Mac's menubar. TypeIt4Me will ask you to enter an abbreviation. Now whenever you type that abbreviation, TypeIt4Me replaces the abbreviation with the block of text. This is incredibly handy for storing long signatures, boilerplate text for online conferences and chats, and form-letter text.

Empty AVI Files

If you've recently downloaded and attempted to play an AVI movie file, you've undoubtedly seen this error: "You may experience problems playing a video track in 'blah.avi' because the required compressor could not be found." In your continuing effort to play the movie you hear the audio track but view nothing more than a white screen. Don't panic, this is perfectly normal. This behavior is due to the fact that you're missing the Indeo Video codec.

You see, although QuickTime supports AVI files it only does so when the proper flavor of this codec is installed in your Mac's Extensions folder. Regrettably, Apple doesn't include the codec with QuickTime (I suspect this is a licensing issue), so in order for you to view AVI movies, you must download the codec separately. To download the Indeo Video 5 codec -- the version compatible with QuickTime 3 and 4 -- point your browser to:

http://asu.info.apple.com/swupdates.nsf/artnum/n11430

Raving About Falcon 4.0

MacSoft has recently released Falcon 4.0, MicroProse's advanced F-16 flight simulator. This challenging game is gorgeous under 3-D hardware acceleration but those users with ATI's Rage Pro graphics accelerator chip will be unable to view these hardware rendered graphics unless they download and install Apple's OpenGL software kit and a beta RAVE patch from MacSoft.

Because this batch is a beta release, you may have some problems with it -- problems that MacSoft claims no responsibility for. If you do have problems, MacSoft suggests that you use Falcon's software rendering mode until ATI releases its ATI Universal Update 4.0 software -- software that should address this issue.

To download the OpenGL software kit, go here:

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-mwmt-06-18%2C00.html

DVD Error

Those lucky few with PowerBook DVD players may receive this error: "Apple DVD Player cannot open because the required hardware was not found." even though the required hardware is indeed present and accounted for. Here's one reason why:

If you've installed Speech Recognition and switched it into listening mode, it will change the Sound Monitoring Source option to Built-In Mic in the Monitors & Sound control panel. The DVD software doesn't dig this. If you want your DVD player to work again you must disable Speech Recognition or change the Sound Monitoring Source to Zoomed Video.

Resetting the iMac

Beginner

Veteran Mac users know that they can quickly restart a Mac by pressing Control-Command-and the Power key. These same users may be flummoxed when they try this same key combination on an iMac and discover that nothing happens -- no restart, no nothing. If you find yourself in this situation, avoid the flummoxing by instead pressing Shift-Command-Power key. In all likelihood your iMac will immediately restart when you press these three keys.

Snapz Pro 2.0

Intermediate

One of the world's finest screen capture utilities has recently been upgraded -- Ambrosia's Snapz Pro 2.0. Like its earlier iteration, Snapz Pro allows you to capture entire screens, windows, or user-defined selections with the press of a single key -- and lets you to do so in far more applications than Apple's built in Command-Shift-3 screen capture command.

New to Snapz Pro is the ability to capture motion -- yes, you can now capture video and audio events (including input from a microphone attached to your Mac) over time as QuickTime movies. For example, you can create animated tutorials -- just command Snapz Pro 2 to start recording, run through a series of tasks (while narrating, if you like), and when finished, again issue the capture command. Snapz Pro then pulls the frames of captured video together and saves them in a QuickTime movie. Very slick and highly recommended. Cost is $40 for new users and $20 for those upgrading from version 1.x. You can find your copy at http://www.macdownload.com.

Note on Note Pad

Intermediate

The Note Pad application that appears under the Apple menu is handy, but limited -- each of the eight pages can only store 248 characters. Under Mac OS 8 and later, if you wish to create more Note Pad files, here's how:

Open the System Folder and locate a file named, appropriately enough, Note Pad File. Click on this file's icon and change its name to something like "Note Pad File Old." Now select Note Pad from the Apple menu. You'll be presented with a new, blank note pad and a new Note Pad File will appear in the System Folder. When you want to refer back to your old Note Pad, just rename the Note Pad file you recently created and change the old Note Pad file back to "Note Pad File."

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

For previous tips and all other Macintosh help, please go to:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdhelp/filters/macintosh/

Daily Tips Live!

Beginner

As much as I take pride in these Macworld Daily Tips I must admit that they lack a certain "show and tell" element. Sure, you can read along and perform the various steps required to engage a tip, but wouldn't it be swell if you could see some of these things done live? Well, if you get ZDTV -- Ziff-Davis' compu-centric cable channel -- you now can.

Macworld magazine and ZDTV have joined forces to bring you a live, Mac tip each and every business day as performed by a Macworld staff member (or on occasion, a contributing editor, a.k.a. me). You'll find these tips on ZDTV's Call For Help program (hosted by the knowledgeable and always entertaining Leo Laporte) that airs from 7 - 8 PM Eastern Standard Time. The Mac tip segment generally falls just after the half hour.

QuickTime Runs Out

Intermediate

If you are using the QuickTime 4.0 beta and have been dinking around with your system clock, you may have noticed that if you set the clock forward to the year 2000 or beyond, your Mac's system beeps are muted. No, this is not a Y2K issue but rather a QuickTime beta issue.

The QuickTime 4.0 beta shipped with a beta version of Sound Manager -- a version that expires once the millennial odometer clicks over. To avoid this problem next year, simply download the release version of QuickTime 4.0, now available from Apple.

QuickTime Player

Intermediate

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that you can configure QuickTime 4.0's preferences so that when you open a new movie, a new player is opened as well. But if you decide not to change your preferences, there's another way to go about it. Simply hold down the Option key while clicking and holding on the File menu. When you do you'll see that you're now offered the option to open a movie in a new player as well as open a URL in a new player.

Switch Application Switcher

Intermediate

Mac OS 8.5's Application Switcher palette is extremely configurable -- you can determine the size of the icons, whether an application's name will appear in the palette, and whether the palette will display icons horizontally or vertically, for example. Unfortunately, just about no one knows the tricks for changing the configuration of this handy palette. Thankfully, you know longer need to.

Instead, just download a copy of Mitch Crane's free SwitcherSetup CM, a contextual menu plug-in that allows you to configure the Application Switcher palette to your heart's content. Just drop SwitcherSetup CM onto your closed System Folder and restart to install the plug-in. To use it, Control-click on the desktop while in the Finder.

You can find your copy at http://www.macdownload.com.

Useful Usenet

Intermediate

Not all ISPs are created equally -- some provide more complete listings of Usenet groups than others, for example. If you're not happy with the selection of Usenet groups that your ISP carries, there's no reason to stick only with your ISP's news server. There are several public news servers that are more than happy to accommodate you. Simply use a news reader that supports access to multiple servers -- Microsoft's Outlook Express is such a reader -- enter the address of the new server, download that server's list of newsgroups, and you're on your way.

To find lists of public news servers, try this address:

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-mwmt-07-02%2C00.html

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

For previous tips and all other Macintosh help, please go to:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdhelp/filters/macintosh/

Play With Conflict Catcher 8

Beginner

To combine a little fun with your conflict catching, select About Conflict Catcher from the Conflict Catcher 8 menu (or launch Conflict Catcher 8 and then select About Conflict Catcher from the Apple menu) and type "play" (without the quotes, please).

I don't want to be too obvious about what happens when you do this but a tad more information will make this tip more useful. So, here's a hint: You'll find this tip far more rewarding if you use the Left and Right Arrow keys and the Option and Control keys.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

For previous tips and all other Macintosh help, please go to:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdhelp/filters/macintosh/

Adjust QuickTime Audio

Beginner

The volume adjustment wheel found in the new QuickTime Player isn't terribly easy to use -- some people won't know which way to move the wheel and others may find the wheel too small to reliably click each time they attempt to do so. To these people (and to you as well) I suggest this: Don't bother.

Instead, just use the Arrow keys on your Mac's keyboard. The Up Arrow key increases the volume and the Down Arrow decreases the volume.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

For previous tips and all other Macintosh help, please go to:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdhelp/filters/macintosh/

Seeing Double

Beginner

If you've had your Mac for more than a few months there's every likelihood that its hard disk contains duplicate files -- redundant copies of SimpleText, for example. Sure, you could use Sherlock or the Find feature to locate these duplicates and manually drag them to the Trash, but why bother when Giuseppe Giunto offers a more automated solution with his $25 shareware utility, Doublet Scan?

Doublet Scan is very simple to use. Just launch the application, determine by what factors duplicates will be detected (by file name, size, date, etc.), choose a volume or folder to search for duplicates, and click Scan. In reasonably short order, Doublet Scan produces a list of duplicates. To trash those superfluous files, just select those you don't want and click the Trash button.

Until you pay for the full version of the program you'll only be allowed to trash 10 files at a time. You can find your copy at
http://www.macdownload.com.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

For previous tips and all other Macintosh help, please go to:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdhelp/filters/macintosh/

Say What?

Power User

Recent versions of Apple's security program, At Ease, are capable of speaking button names -- provided you're not using Mac OS 8.5 or later. Regrettably, At Ease goes deaf when you use later versions of the Mac OS because the program hasn't been updated to use the newer text-to-speech software included with OS 8.5. Apple suggests this workaround, however:

Remove the current version of the Text-to-Speech software and replace it with version 1.4.1. Here are Apple's instructions for doing so:

Download the English Text-to-Speech software version 1.4.1 from Apple's Software Updates website at
http://asu.info.apple.com/

Turn Off At Ease using the At Ease Setup application.

Restart the computer.

Insert the Mac OS 8.5 disc and launch the Mac OS Install application.

Select the startup volume on which the Mac OS 8.5 is already installed.

Click the Add/Remove button since "The selected destination disk already has Mac OS 8.5 installed..." Check the Text-to-Speech check box and select the customized removal option from the Recommended popup menu. Select "All English Text-to-Speech Software" to be removed and click OK. Click the Continue button to begin removing the Text-to-Speech software.

Restart the computer.

Install the English Text-to-Speech software version 1.4.1.

Restart the computer.

Turn On At Ease using the At Ease Setup application.

Restart the computer.

After logging into At Ease 3.0.x's panels, the buttons should be spoken when the mouse passes over them as long as the Speak buttons names option is checked for the At Ease user.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

For previous tips and all other Macintosh help, please go to:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdhelp/filters/macintosh/

Quick Search

Intermediate

If you use Microsoft's Internet Explorer to browse the Web and find yourself routinely biffing over to Yahoo to search for one thing or another, there's a simpler way to search Yahoo's database than typing "Yahoo" into the Address field, waiting for Yahoo to appear, typing in your query, and then clicking the Search button. Instead, just type a question mark into IE's Address field, type a space, and then type your search terms. Internet Explorer will now take you to a page that contains links based on your query.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

For previous tips and all other Macintosh help, please go to:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdhelp/filters/macintosh/

Calling Up Your Calling Card

Power User

PowerBook mavens are surely familiar with this technique, but if Apple makes good on the rumor of a consumer portable, I suspect many new PowerBook users who haven't a clue how to use their telephone calling card in conjunction with their new, take-them-anywhere Macs will be unleashed on the world. Here's how:

Open the Remote Access control panel and focus your attention on the Number field. If you're staying somewhere such as a hotel that requires you dial a 9 or 8 to get an outside line, enter that number first.

Now enter a comma. A comma tells the modem to pause for a bit before proceeding through the dialing string. This comma will allow the hotel's phone system some time to shift to outside-line mode.

Now enter any other numbers necessary to make a calling card call -- usually a 0 and then a 1 plus the area code and number.

You'll need to wait for the phone company to issue the tone and cheery greeting so add a series of commas -- five ought to do it, but if after entering all these numbers you notice that the modem starts sending your calling card number before the calling card tone plays, add a couple more commas.

Now enter the calling card string.

Your dialing string should look something like this (you don't need the hyphens, I added them to make the string easier to read):

9,01-555-555-1234,,,,,555-444-4321-1234

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

For previous tips and all other Macintosh help, please go to:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdhelp/filters/macintosh/

Chain Reaction

Intermediate

If, like me, you have several Macs in your office and each one bears a modem and all of those modems use a single phone line, you may be wondering how to connect those modems to the outside world.

The easy answer, of course, is to buy a phone line splitter -- a small plastic doodad that sports a few extra phone jacks that you plug into the telephone outlet in the wall. But suppose you've already exhausted all the jacks on the splitter? Consider this:

External modems invariably carry two phone ports -- one that connects to the phone line and one intended for your phone. Rather than using that telephone port for its proposed purpose -- a telephone -- connect another modem to it. That's right, use that telephone port as another splitter.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

Macworld - the ultimate magazine for Macintosh Professionals. Subscribe now:
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For previous tips and all other Macintosh help, please go to:
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Son of a Batch

Intermediate

There are several programs you can use to change a file's type and creator codes -- the codes that help the Mac identify the kind of file its dealing with and the application that spawned the file -- as well as such aspects as the file's visibility and whether it's locked. But if you're dealing with several files, changing these aspects for file after file can be tedious. Guillaume Grenier has removed a measure of that tedium with his BatchTyper 2.0, a free utility that allows you to impose new attributes on several files at once -- an entire folder-ful of files if you like.

Guillaume asks for no money in exchange for his work (though he certainly wouldn't turn down a buck or two if you forced it on him), he only requests suggestions for improving BatchTyper. To give BatchTyper a spin, download your copy at http://www.macdownload.com.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

Macworld - the ultimate magazine for Macintosh Professionals. Subscribe now:
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For previous tips and all other Macintosh help, please go to:
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Scan Remotely

Intermediate

Owners of Casady & Greene's Conflict Catcher 8 surely are aware that they can use this fine utility to scan items on their Mac's hard drives for damage. What they may not realize is that you can use this same capability to scan items on networked Macs as well. This can be quite handy if a remote, Conflict Catcher-less user appears to be having problems that could be related to a corrupt file.

To scan the remote Mac, mount its startup volume on your Mac, launch Conflict Catcher, and select "Scan Folder for Damage" from the Special menu. In the Open dialog box navigate to the folder you want to scan on the remote volume, select it, and click on the Select "XXX" button at the bottom of the dialog box.

Note: Conflict Catcher will probably report that certain extensions on the remote computer are damaged when they aren't. As far as I can determine, such extensions are busy doing something else and this busy state appears to confuse Conflict Catcher. When I tried this on a remote Mac running Mac OS 8.6, Conflict Catcher reported that Application Switcher, Control Strip Extension, FaxMonitor, File Sharing Extension, Folder Actions, and Time Synchronizer were damaged. Installing and running Conflict Catcher 8 on the remote computer confirmed that this was not the case.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

Macworld - the ultimate magazine for Macintosh Professionals. Subscribe now:
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For previous tips and all other Macintosh help, please go to:
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Great Caesar's Ghost!

Beginner

Sierra has just released its "build Rome in a day" world-building game, Caesar III. Let us honor the Great Caesar by revealing two ways to cheat in the game.

Place a well and Command-Click on it to bring up the Information dialog box. When the box appears, press Command-K and then:

Command-V to achieve victory

Command-C to get a thousand more denarii. This only works if you have less than 5000 Dn.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

Macworld - the ultimate magazine for Macintosh Professionals. Subscribe now:
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For previous tips and all other Macintosh help, please go to:
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Puzzling Experience

Intermediate

If you've recently upgraded to Mac OS 8.6, or have purchased a new Mac with OS 8.6 pre-installed, you may have noticed that the venerable Jigsaw Puzzle is missing from the Apple menu. Apple has given the boot to this little toy -- it's not part of OS 8.6. However, even if you have an older copy on-board, you could lose it if you're not careful.

You see, the Mac OS 8.6 installer will remove the Jigsaw Puzzle from your Apple Menu Items folder and send it into the Great Beyond. If you wish to save it, move it to a safe place (your Mac's desktop, for example) before running the Mac OS 8.6 installer.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

Macworld - the ultimate magazine for Macintosh Professionals. Subscribe now:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdsubs/macworld/home.html

For previous tips and all other Macintosh help, please go to:
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Party Down!

Beginner

This week, as the Mac faithful descend upon the city of New York for Macworld Expo, one question is on everyone's lips:..Where are the parties?

Ilene Hoffman provides the answer with her Hess Macworld Events and Party list. This list provides a nearly complete rundown on all the parties worth attending during Expo week. You'll find the list at:

http://www.xensei.com/users/ileneh/partylist.html

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

Macworld - the ultimate magazine for Macintosh Professionals. Subscribe now:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdsubs/macworld/home.html

For previous tips and all other Macintosh help, please go to:
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What's Up Dock?

Beginner

Mac users who've been around the block a time or two know that Apple bundles a launcher utility titled, appropriately enough, Launcher. These same users may also know that Launcher, though convenient, is hardly the most comprehensive launching utility on the planet. A far better alternative -- and one that takes the place of Apple's Application Switcher Palette as well -- is James Thomson's $30 shareware application, DragThing 2.7.

With DragThing you can create docks for storing applications, files, folders, URLs, and servers. In addition, you can create a dock that displays the currently running applications -- just like the Application Switcher Palette. The interface is just gorgeous and highly configurable. This one is definitely worth a long look. You can take that long look by visiting http://www.macdownload.com.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

Macworld - the ultimate magazine for Macintosh Professionals. Subscribe now:
http://www.zdnet.com/zdsubs/macworld/home.html

For previous tips and all other Macintosh help, please go to:
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The Pause That Distresses

Intermediate

If you own an iMac, you may have noticed that your little all-in-one computing pal sometimes seems to stall for around 10 seconds -- the cursor moves but nothing else seems to happen.

Apple has traced this untoward behavior to the Apple CD/DVD Driver extension and recommends that you insert a CD-ROM disc into the iMac to avoid its reoccurrence. Others have found that the pause disappears if you disable the Apple CD/DVD Driver extension. Of course, doing so makes it impossible for you to play CD-ROM discs on your iMac -- not a swell compromise.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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Quake II Cheats

Beginner

After months of waiting, Quake II has finally been released. Because real rough and tumble Quake players eschew the single-player game in favor of head-to-head Deathmatch play, you probably won't mind if I reveal the following cheats:

Press the Tilde (~) key to reveal the console and type:

God = invincible
Notarget = enemies won't target you
Noclip = walk through walls
Give all = get all the goodies
Give shotgun = get shotgun
Give super shotgun = get super shotgun
Give machinegun = get machine gun
Give chaingun = get chaingun
Give grenade launcher = get grenade launcher
Give rocket launcher = get rocket launcher
Give hyperblaster = get hyperblaster
Give railgun = get railgun
Give bfg10k = get bfg10k
Give shells = get 10 shotgun shells
Give bullets = get 50 bullets
Give cells = get 50 cells
Give grenades = get 5 grenades
Give rockets = get 5 rockets
Give slugs = get 10 slugs
Give invulnerability = temporary invulnerability
Give health = full health
Give silencer = get silencer
Give armor = full armor
Give quad damage = get quad damage

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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Attached to Eudora

Intermediate

Care to have quick access to your Eudora attachments? Easy enough -- just hold down the Control and Command keys while clicking an attachment. When you do so, the folder that contains the attachment opens with the attachment highlighted.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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Moving Pictures

Intermediate

As you undoubtedly know, Microsoft Word allows you to place pictures within text documents. What you may not know is that you can move those pictures in two ways.

You can simply click and drag on the picture to move it anywhere on the page, or you can Shift-click on the picture to move it along a grid. Initially this grid is set to 0.1 inch but you can change the spacing of the grid by displaying the Drawing toolbar, clicking Draw, and selecting Grid from the pop-up menu. Now just enter new values in the Horizontal and Vertical spacing fields.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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A Better OS 8.6

Intermediate

Mac OS 8.6 is mighty fine but it would be finer still if it offered a few more key commands in the Finder. But there's no need to wait for Apple to add them when you can do so yourself with Frank Ryan's $2 shareware patch, FinderPatch 1.2.

After installing FinderPatch you'll be able to use the following key commands:

Command-T = Empty Trash
Command-B = Restart (B is for Boot)
Command-0 (zero) = Shutdown
Command-\ = About This Computer
Command-S = Sleep

You can find your copy or FinderPatch 1.2 at http://www.macdownload.com.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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Resetting Application Tear-Off

Intermediate

Those using Mac OS 8.5 and later may have noticed that when certain applications (games usually) automatically cause your Mac to switch screen resolutions, the Application tear-off menu is inexplicably placed in the upper left corner of the screen with the title bar hidden beneath the Finder's menubar -- basically making it impossible to move the Application tear-off menu.

You can stop struggling. To have access to the tear-off menu, simply tear off a new menu by once again clicking and dragging on the Application menu in the upper right corner of the menubar. The menu will now move to the position of the cursor.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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Quake II Voodoo

Intermediate

Activision's Quake II is a fine game but it does lack on-board support for 3Dfx Voodoo I and II hardware acceleration graphics cards. If you happen to own one of these 3Dfx cards, fret not, you can add Voodoo support to Quake II by downloading MesaQuake2 from
http://valerie.inf.elte.hu/~boga/Mesa/MesaDownloads.html.

While you're in the downloading mood, also download the Mesa-compatible ref_gl.lib. You can find this file at:
http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-mwmt-07-30%2C00.html

To use MesaQuake2, just double-click the installer and all the pieces will go where they're supposed to. To use the ref_gl.lib, move the file with this same name that currently resides in the Quake 2 folder into another folder (in case you want the original back at some point) and move the new ref_gl.lib file into the Quake 2 folder. You'll know you've been successful when you see the spinning 3Dfx logo just prior to the game loading.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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Pulling Text From the Web

Intermediate

There have certainly been times when you've wanted to pull bits of text from a Web page, but the page won't allow you to highlight the text therein. Sure, you could download the entire page, but it's not necessary.

Instead, just view the source of the page -- yup, all that HTML junk -- and copy and paste the text you want from the source code. Because the source page is likely to be cluttered with code, the easiest way to locate your text is to use your browser's find command.

To view the source page in Internet Explorer, select Source from the View menu.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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Another Note on Note Pad

Beginner

Many moons ago (June 24, 1999) I proffered a tip that began:

"The Note Pad application that appears under the Apple menu is handy, but limited -- each of the eight pages can only store 248 characters."

Careful readers quickly noticed that this situation applies only to the Note Pad application of old. The Note Pad we now know holds oodles of characters and there's no reason to bother creating countless Note Pad files in order to store more notes.

In a vain attempt to reestablish my credibility, allow me to offer these additional Note Pad-related tips:

Click once on the page number that appears at the bottom of the Note Pad to produce a dialog box that allows you to navigate to any page within the Note Pad.

To move to the next page, press Command-Right Arrow.

To move to the previous page, press Command-Left Arrow.

To move to the end of a note, press Command-Down Arrow.

To move to the beginning of a note, press Command-Up Arrow.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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Mail Checker

Power User

Because it's an email-centric world, we find ourselves popping on and off the web to get our mail several times a day. Wouldn't it be nice if all this popping could be done automatically and without requiring that you manually disconnect from the web? While you can do so with the automatic mail features of some email clients, you might find it easier to use Pete Mellows' $10 shareware application, Mail Checker.

With Mail Checker you can configure Eudora (Lite or Pro), Microsoft's Outlook Express, Claris Emailer, Netscape Communicator, or Bare Bones' Mailsmith to automatically grab your email at different intervals throughout the day. Additionally, you can create different configurations for different days -- for example, on Monday through Friday you can ask Mail Checker to look for mail every 30 minutes and on the weekend, when mail is likely to come less often, Mail Checker can grab your mail every two hours.

Mail Checker offers a variety of configurations. You can find your copy at http://www.macdownload.com/.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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Get Stuffed

Intermediate

Those who have installed the latest version of Aladdin's StuffIt have surely faced this problem: When you send a StuffIt 5.x file, users with earlier versions of StuffIt can't open the file -- earlier versions of StuffIt Expander can't open StuffIt 5.0 files. Because the current version of DropStuff 5.x doesn't allow you to save files in StuffIt 4.x format, you either have to insist that the recipient download the latest version of StuffIt Expander (something some users are reluctant to do) or come up with a way to save your StuffIt file in the earlier format. This is that way:

Download a copy of StuffIt Lite. Unlike DropStuff 4.x, StuffIt Lite doesn't depend on the StuffIt Engine -- all the compression takes place within the StuffIt Lite application -- so you needn't worry that your file will be saved in a format incompatible with the version of StuffIt your recipients might have.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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Age of Empire Cheats

Beginner

MacSoft has recently released Microsoft's empire-building game, Age of Empires. If you've ever felt cheated by Microsoft, here's your chance to return the favor.

Press the Return key and type:

pepperoni pizza = 1000 food
woodstock = 1000 wood
quarry = 1000 stone
coinage = 1000 coin
steroids = instant building
reveal map = reveals the entire map
no fog = turns off the fog of war
photon man = get the laser guy
e=mc2 trooper = get a futuristic trooper
home run = win
resign = lose
hari kari = commit suicide
diediedie = everyone else dies

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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Skip to my Lou

Intermediate

Those with DVD-equipped Macs may have noticed that movies occasionally stutter or skip. There are many possible causes for this behavior. Among them:

Something's going on in the background: Applications automatically do one thing or another -- auto-save or check email, for example -- may be take your Mac's attention away from the movie. Likewise, utilities that check disk performance or optimize files in the background could be causing interference. Be sure to check that the Network Time Server is switched off as well.

Movies that ship on dual-layered DVDs can pause for a moment when switching layers.

If you're using virtual memory, movies may pause as well.

If the Configure pull-down menu in the TCP/IP control panel is set to DHCP server but you're not connected to the internet or the DHCP server isn't available, the movie may pause every five minutes or so. To avoid this delay, make TCP/IP temporarily inactive.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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New Virtual Memory

Beginner

Mac OS 8.6 changes the default settings for virtual memory. Unlike in older versions of the Mac OS, which set virtual memory to 1MB over the amount of real RAM in your Mac, Mac OS 8.6 defaults to 64MB or 1MB over the amount of physical RAM, whichever is greater.

Therefore, if you have a Mac with less than 64MB of RAM and don't care to have the OS assign 64MB of hard disk space to virtual memory, make sure to reduce the virtual memory setting in the Memory control panel.

Note: If you upgrade from Mac OS 8.5 or 8.5.1, the virtual memory settings you used previously will be maintained in Mac OS 8.6, even if you have less than 64MB of real RAM.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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Trip the Light Fantastic

Beginner

Those of you fed up with the high cost and inconvenience of air travel may be considering taking your late-summer vacation on the road. If you are, be sure to check out James Kotka's free TripCalc, a handy utility that tells just how much your road trip will cost based on the information you provide. That information includes the miles you intend to travel, your average driving speed, the fuel efficiency of your auto, average cost of fuel, the per-day amount you're willing to spend on food and lodging, and the number of hours you intend to drive each day. TripCalc is very easy to use and you certainly can't argue with the price.

You can find your copy at http://www.macdownload.com.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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Be a Pinball Wizard

Beginner

Now that games are back on the Mac, we're starting to see pinball simulations return to our favorite platform. Recent releases such as Sierra's 3D Ultra NASCAR Pinball and Empire Interactive's Pro Pinball: Big Race USA are the Big Pinball Fun but I'll let you in on a little secret: Although these games attempt to simulate the pinball experience by mapping keys to opposite sides of the Mac's keyboard -- imitating the side buttons on a real pinball machine -- there's a better way to play.

The first thing I do when I fire up a new pinball sim is remap the flipper keys to the left and right arrow keys and the plunger to the down arrow key. This leaves your left hand free for the various nudge keys which, if you must know, I map to Z and X for left and right nudge and Space Bar for forward nudge (you may find S more intuitive for forward nudge).

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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Blue and White AppleWorks Blues

Intermediate

If you're using AppleWorks 5 on a blue and white Power Mac G3 you may have noticed that when you create a circle in a word processing document with the Circle tool, the screen redraws oddly.

This is due to a buy in the ATI software that ships with the blue and whites. To fix the problem, download the ATI RAGE 128 Update 1.0, located at http://www.apple.com/swupdates.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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Application Switcher Egg

Beginner

The Application Switcher that appears in recent versions of the Mac OS has a hidden treat. Here's how to reveal it:

Create a text clipping of the words "secret about box" (without the quotes, if you please). Drag and drop this clipping onto the Application Switcher palette to display the treat.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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Internet Explorer Shortcuts

Beginner

Here are a few handy shortcut keys you can use in Internet Explorer's Favorites and History windows:

To expand the contents of a folder -- Right Arrow key.
To collapse the contents of a folder -- Left Arrow key.
To expand all the subfolders within a folder -- Option-Right Arrow key.
To collapse all the subfolders within a folder -- Option key-Left Arrow key.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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Observe Closely

Intermediate

There are times when it's helpful to know exactly what an installer application has added as well as removed from the System Folder. Although you can pinpoint certain changes by color coding your old files and then looking for uncolored files after the installation is complete, there's now an easier way. That easier way is Zach Schneirov's free Installer Observer. This utility asks only that you scan your System Folder (or select folders within your System Folder) with Installer Observer before installing new software. After an installation, simply run Installer Observer again and click the Load and Examine Changes Made button. Installer Observer will then detail the changes made to your Mac's software.

You can find your copy at http://www.macdownload.com.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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A Falsehood

Power User

It's possible that you have a digital camera that you've attempted to attach to your Mac via serial connection. It's also possible that once you've established this connection your camera's software refuses to recognize your Mac's existence. It's even possible that you've rectified the situation by downloading and installing Apple's SerialDMA 2.1 extension.

However, once you've installed SerialDMA, even though your camera now makes the proper connection to your Mac, this nagging dialog box continues to appear on startup: "There is a file in your Extensions folder called "SerialDMA." With the current version of the system software, this file is obsolete. It may be safely dragged to the trash and removed."

Here's the tip: It's a dirty lie. If your camera didn't recognize your Mac before and it now does thanks to the installation of SerialDMA, removing this fine extension will once again make the connection impossible regardless of what this misinformed dialog box says. In future, ignore this dialog box and go about your business.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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21 Gig Limit

Intermediate

As shocking as it may be to old time Mac users who once considered a 100MB hard drive to be a nearly limitless storage resource, hard drives are now being released that offer dozens of gigabytes of storage. This can present problems for software that, like these aforementioned geezers, never dreamed Macs would host drives with such gargantuan capacity.

For example, the Mac OS 8.5 and AppleShare IP 6.1 installers won't work with volumes larger than 21 gigabytes (the Mac OS 8.6 installer does work with drives larger than this, however). Therefore, if you want to install either of these packages on such a vast volume, you must first partition it in such a way that one of its chunks is smaller than 21GB.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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PowerBook Sleep Anomaly

Intermediate

If you've attempted to schedule a little nap for your PowerBook you may have noticed that occasionally it refuses to go night-night at the time you've designated in the Scheduled Wakeup & Sleep panel within the Energy Saver control panel. Here's why:

The software that controls this function won't allow your PowerBook to snooze if it thinks you're busy doing something. What this really means is that if you're working on your PowerBook within a few minutes of its scheduled nap time, the PowerBook will wait for 20 minutes of inactivity before it catches its forty winks. Therefore, if you really want your PowerBook to blink out at a particular time each day, make sure that you stop using it (and that no background applications are using it) 20 minutes before it's scheduled to snooze.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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End of an Era

Intermediate

Apple ended the extended warranty program on its notoriously funky AppleVision 1710 and 1710AV monitors at the end of 1998 so if you own one of these displays and it goes south, you're on your own. Because you are on your own this tip may help: Should you wake one day to find that your monitor's green LED lights up but the screen remains black, you may be able to fix the problem by resetting the monitor. Here's how:

With the power off, jack the display into a Power Mac running AppleVision software version 1.5.5 or later. Make the proper connections (power, video, and ADB) and fire up the Mac while holding down the Command-Option-A-V keys until you hear the system beep sound. This beep means that the monitor has been reset. With any luck, this reset procedure will cure your monitor's ills.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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TextSpresso

Intermediate

If you need to reformat text from email, PC applications, and downloaded web pages or you'd care to prepare text for Internet release, HTML publishing, or print, Daniel Taylor's $29 shareware program, TextSpresso may be in your future. In addition to the aforementioned capabilities, TextSpresso serves as a capable text editor, allows you to create text filters, and offers batch formatting of text files.

You can find your 30-day demo of TextSpresso at
http://www.macdownload.com.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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Custom Launcher Icons

Intermediate

If you've attempted to drag items that have custom icons to the Launcher and discovered that those icons are replaced by generic folder icons, Apple has an answer for you. To maintain those custom icons, try this:

1. Drag a folder(s) with a custom icon onto the Launcher.
2. Option-click on the category button to open the related Launcher Items subfolder. If you have no Launcher category buttons, open the Launcher Items folder within the System Folder.
3. Select all alias items in the folder that do not appear correctly in the Launcher.
4. Choose Get Info from the File menu for the selected items.
5. Close those Info Windows.
6. Go back to the Launcher window, and if the icons aren't correct yet, click another category button and back to get the Launcher to update. If you have no Launcher category buttons, close the Launcher and open it again. The buttons should now show the correct icons.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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SimCheater

Beginner

Now that Electronic Arts has released the Mac version of SimCity 3000, would-be mayors are probably wondering how to best pursue success in this fine city simulator. Why not do as the Big Boys and Girls do in their towns and burgs and make your city grow through deception and cheating? Here's how:

Press Command-Option-Shift-C and type the following codes into the resulting dialog box:

I am weak = You can place just about anything on your city map for free.

Call cousin Vinnie = Check for a new petitioner who offers you money with no questions asked.

Garbage in, garbage out = All garbage facilities become available.

Power to the masses = All power facilities become available.

Water in the desert = All water facilities become available.

UFO swarm = Type this code and set disaster to UFO for a particularly destructive treat.

Nerdz rool = High tech industry appears in industrial zones.

The birds = A flock of seagulls (no, not the band) appears.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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PowerPoint Transitions

Intermediate

You've assembled a brilliant, transition-rich, 140-slide PowerPoint presentation, you're looking at your presentation in Slide Sorter view, and you suddenly begin to wonder exactly which transitions you've inserted where. After all, PowerPoint only provides you with a generic icon to indicate that there is a transition between slides -- that icon doesn't tell you what type of transition takes place.

If you need a quick reminder, remember this: You can audition the transition effect in Slide Sorter view by simply clicking once on the slide that contains the effect you want to see and then clicking the transition icon. PowerPoint will perform the transition on the thumbnail of the slide you've clicked.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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Easier Open

Beginner

If you hold down the Option key while clicking on the small triangles that appear next to folders in List view, not only will the triangle point down, revealing everything inside that folder, but all folders within that folder will open to reveal their contents.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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NetFinder Saved My Bacon

Intermediate

In these days when downloading files that consume tens-, or even hundreds of megabytes is more and more common, there's little more aggravating than losing your connection to an ftp server just minutes before completing a 68MB download. In the bad old days of ftp transfer you'd have the begin the download all over again. You no longer need to if you have a copy of Peter Li and Vincent Tan's $35 shareware ftp client, NetFinder. This baby allowed me to pick up where I left off three separate times while I attempted to download a 164MB file last weekend.

Resuming downloads isn't NetFinder's only strength. Unlike many other ftp clients, NetFinder looks and operates like a Mac application. You'll feel right at home after spending just a few minutes with it. You can find your copy at http://www.macdownload.com. Check it out.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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On the Case

Beginner

You can quickly change the case of words you highlight in Microsoft Word. To do so, highlight one word or more a press Shift-F3. When you first do this, every letter in the selected word is capitalized. If you press Shift-F3 again and all letters in the selection move to lower case. Press Shift-F3 yet again and the first letter of every selected word is capitalized.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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For Game Geeks Only

Power User

If you're a hard-core gamer you may be considering the possibility of employing both a Rage 128 and a Voodoo 3 video card -- after all, RAVE games look great on the Rage 128 and for GLIDE games, you must have a 3Dfx card and the Voodoo 3 is the current top of the heap. Of course, because both the Rage 128-based video cards and the Voodoo 3 are 2D and 3D cards, you must have a separate monitor for each.

Let's suppose that you're so hard-core (and wealthy) that you can afford this set-up. Will it work? Yes, but only if you arrange it this way:

To begin with, you must configure your monitors so that the card running a particular game is designated monitor 1 in the Monitors & Sound control panel (monitor 1 is the monitor on which the Mac's menubar appears). For example, if you're running a RAVE game, the monitor attached to the Rage 128 card must be monitor 1. To give a monitor this designation, open the Monitors & Sound control panel, click the Arrange button, and drag the small menubar that appears in the picture to the monitor you want to designate monitor 1.

Secondly, remember that GLIDE games won't run in a window, they must run in full screen. Therefore, if you've been playing a game that supports both RAVE and GLIDE -- Unreal, for example -- and you decide you want to switch from RAVE to GLIDE, be sure that the game is configured to start up full screen, not in a window. Unreal has a setting in the Advanced Settings window that allows you to configure the game this way.

Just so you know: Yes, you can cut down on this "you be Monitor 1 this time" fandango by dragging the images of the monitors on top of one another in the Monitors & Sound control panel so that the monitors mirror each other, but this really kills performance.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What's the Difference?

Intermediate

Apple recently announced the three models that make up the Power Macintosh G4. Other than their megahertz ratings (400, 450, and 500 MHz), what's the difference between the three?

The low-end model (model M7631) includes a PCI graphics slot (and accompanying PCI graphics card), no wireless networking capabilities, no digital video-in support, hardware DVD decoding, and the same modem used in the Blue & White Power Mac G3s.

The 450- and 500 MHz models (models M7232 and M6921) use an AGP graphics slot (and accompanying AGP graphics card, support wireless networking (AirPort), support video-in with an appropriate video card, offer software DVD decoding, and use a special modem designed for the G4.

From the outside you can distinguish the low-end model from the middle and high-end machine by the arrangement of the microphone and speaker jacks on the back of the Macs. The low-end model has the two jacks placed side-by-side while on the higher end machines the jacks are vertically arranged. And because Apple can't seem to release a professional Mac without putting part of its name in parentheses, you may also find that Apple refers to the low-end model as Power Mac G4 (PCI Graphics) and the other two as Power Mac G4 (AGP Graphics).

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Drop Your Drawers

Beginner

Looking to organize your life (or at least the part of your life found on your Macintosh)? Then it may be time to give Sig Software's Drop Drawers a try. This $15 shareware application allows you to pack pull-out drawers full of such things as aliases, URLs, email addresses, pictures, movies, sounds, and even bits of styled text that you can drag and drop into your documents. The tabs that represent the drawers take up very little screen real estate and can be moved anywhere on screen you like.

You can find your copy at http://www.macdownload.com.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CD-ROM Does Too Mount

Intermediate

A lot of people are under the impression that if you hold down the Mac's Shift key at startup, you can't use your CD-ROM drive. After all, the Apple CD/DVD Driver extension didn't load, so a CD shouldn't mount. This isn't exactly true. What is true is this:

If you have a bootable CD-ROM in the drive at startup that contains the Apple CD/DVD Driver (or Apple CD-ROM driver) the Mac OS will use that driver, load it into memory, and your CD-ROM will mount. This works for Mac OS discs and the startup discs that came with your Mac.

So, what good is this tip? Just this: That driver stays in memory as long as your Mac is running. You can therefore eject the CD-ROM disc you used to mount the disc and slip another CD-ROM into the Mac -- it too will mount. This is useful for those times when you need to troubleshoot your Mac -- with Extensions off -- with a utility that's contained on a CD-ROM disc.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SimTicker

Beginner

I recently told you how to cheat your way through SimCity 3000, but those cheats aren't the game's only secrets. For more fun, press Command-Option-Shift-C, type the following into the resulting dialog box, and keep your eye on the news ticker:

fund
advisor
moremoney
maxis
1234
sc3k
mayor
hello
simcity
money
ticker
porntipsguzzardo
will wright
simearth (or any other sim game such as simant or simfarm).

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Power to the People

Intermediate

Here's the situation: You've left the house in a hurry with your PowerBook G3 (Bronze keyboard) and upon reaching your destination you realize that you've left your power adapter at home and your battery is nearly drained. Thankfully, the person sitting right next to you has a PowerBook G3 (Wall Street), its accompanying adapter, and two fully-charged batteries. This person offers to loan you his adapter and just before you plug it in, you wonder, "Will this adapter work with my PowerBook or will it reduce it to a puddle of molten plastic?" Here's the answer:

It will work. In the last couple of years, Apple has standardized its PowerBook adapters. If you have any of the PowerBook G3s (Bronze, Wall Street, or original PowerBook G3) you can power it with Apple's M4402 adapter. You can even use this adapter with the PowerBook 3400 and 1400. Better yet, according to Apple, that sleek, wind-up power adapter that will ship with the iBook (model M7387LL/A) can be used with the PowerBook G3s.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Listen Now!

Beginner

Unless the rock you've been living under is particularly dense, you know that MP3 is one of the hippest things happening in computerdom. I've recently discovered a $17.95 shareware MP3 player that is just as hip. It's called Audion, is made by Panic, and plays not only MP3s but audio CDs as well as network audio. It features beautiful skins (Panic terms them "faceplates", a three-mode design that allows you to quickly switch between MP3, CD, and net play; drag and drop playlist support; and an equalizer. You'll like it a lot and can find your copy at http://www.macdownload.com.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Resetting Old Apple Monitors

Intermediate

If you have an old Apple Multiple Scan 17 or Multiple Scan 20 Display and would like to quickly return them to their factory settings, here's how:

To reset brightness and contrast, press the Reset button with the tip of an unbent paperclip or ballpoint pen.

To reset all picture controls, hold down the Control button (the one next to the recessed Reset button) and then employ the paperclip or pen.

To reset all the picture controls except brightness and contrast, select any of the set-up buttons (press the Command button on the monitor) and then press the Reset button.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bugged by Cheating

Beginner

Having trouble navigating your six-legged protagonist through Pangea's Bugdom? Perhaps using these cheat codes would make the process easier:

During play:

~ (tilde) + F1 to skip the current leveel.
~ + F2 = win the game
~ + F3 = Full Health
~ + F4 = Full Ball Timer
~ + F5 = Full Inventory

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

G4 = USB Satisfaction

Intermediate

An under-reported advantage of Apple's upcoming Power Mac G4 (AGP Graphics, ie. the-more-expensive-models) is that these Macs come with separate 12Mb USB controllers for each USB port. So what? So this:

You can now attach up to 127 USB devices to each USB port. On previous USB-compatible Macs (and on the low-end G4) you can share 127 USB devices between the two ports.

Also, unlike previous Macs, you can boot from a USB device with the new G4s.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Beep Codes

Intermediate
Modern day Macs no longer issue the dreaded "Chimes of Doom" when they fail to pass their hardware startup tests. Instead, they beep. But, they'll beep differently depending on the problem encountered and the Mac model. Here are the codes:

On an iMac, Blue and White G3, Power Mac G4 (PCI Graphics), and PowerBook G3 Series (Bronze keyboard):

1 beep = No RAM installed/detected.
2 beeps = Incompatible RAM type installed.
3 beeps = No RAM banks passed memory testing.
4 beeps = Bad checksum for the remainder of the boot ROM.
5 beeps = Bad checksum for the ROM boot block.

On a Power Mac G4 (AGP graphics):

1 beep = no RAM installed.
2 beeps = incompatible RAM types.
3 beeps = no good banks.
4 beeps = no good boot images in the boot ROM (and/or bad sys config block).
5 beeps = processor is not usable.

Should you hear any of these beeps, and haven't just installed new RAM or otherwise mucked about with the insides of your Mac, Apple suggests that you call your Apple Authorized Service Provider for troubleshooting assistance.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sherlock's Other Brother?

Beginner
Mac OS 9 with its Sherlock II search engine is just around the corner, but perhaps you're itchy to try a search utility a tad more capable than the version of Sherlock you currently own. Look no further than Copernic 99, a search utility that allows you to simultaneously consult many of the top search engines on the net. Using Copernic 99 you can rifle through information on the web and in newsgroups as well as snoop around for people's email addresses.

You can find your free copy at http://www.macdownload.com.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Really Sleepy Battery

Intermediate
If you have a PowerBook G3 (Bronze keyboard) and have noticed that the battery icon on your PowerBook's menubar has a red X over it, your battery has gone into a deep discharge state and may not be recognized by your PowerBook. To wake this slumbering battery up, try this:

Shove the battery into either bay and leave it there for 30 seconds or so. Then remove the battery -- pulling it out just about an inch. Leave the battery in that precarious position for a few seconds and then reinsert it into the bay. Leave it in the bay for another 30 seconds and if the X doesn't disappear, repeat the in and out procedure.

Apple claims you may have to perform this operation 10 to 12 times before the X disappears and you can fully charge the battery. Alternatively you can recharge the battery with an external battery charger.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total Annihilation Cheat

Beginner
MacSoft has recently released Total Annihilation Gold Edition which includes the original Total Annihilation plus two expansion packs -- Battle Tactics and The Core Contingency (such a deal!). Because you're a busy person you may not have time to play through all the levels in order and may be seeking some outside assistance. Consider us your outside assistance source. To pick among all of the levels, try this:

In the New Campaign screen (the screen with the New Campaign, Skirmish buttons) type "Drdeath" (without the quotes, okay?). A bone icon will appear. Click on this bone to select from among the levels.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Word's Double-Clickable Shortcuts

Intermediate
Word 98 offers quick access to certain dialog boxes when you double-click on the appropriate item. Here are a few you might like to try:

Double-click on:

Indent marker in the Ruler to open the Paragraph dialog box.

The Ruler to open the Document dialog box.

A Tab to open the Tabs dialog box.

The Go To status bar to open the Go To section of the Find and Replace dialog box. An empty space in a menu bar to bring up the Customize dialog box.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Updater May Not Update

Intermediate
The Mac OS 8.6 updater is a bit choosy about what it will and won't update. For example, it will only update components that reside in their original location. If you move a component, this updater is not about to search for it -- it assumes you moved it because you didn't want it and the updater isn't about to presume that you'd like an updated copy of an unwanted component.

If you do indeed want these components updated you can either move them back to their original location and rerun the updater, or, if you tossed them out, reinstall them from the Mac OS 8.5 installer and then run the 8.6 update.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

iView Multimedia

Beginner
Increasingly -- thanks to digital cameras, MP3, and the ready availability of cool QuickTime movies -- Mac users have more multimedia files to keep track of. Sure, you could toss all your graphics, movie, and audio files into a single "Multimedia Junk" folder but why bother when a darned fine multimedia cataloging program is available for a scant $25 shareware fee.

That darned fine program is Script Software's iView Multimedia 3.7 -- a media cataloging application that allows you to organize and preview most of the media you're likely to find on your Mac. iView's interface is clean and easy to work with. The main window contains three tabs that represent different views of your media files-Info, a list view; Thumbnail, where you can see previews of your files in four selectable sizes; and Media, where you can view graphic files at magnifications ranging from 25-to-2,000 percent, play movies, or listen to audio files. The variety of files you can import into iView is impressive-these include any media type supported by QuickTime 4.0 as well as EPS, Freehand, Illustrator, AppleWorks, Flash, PageMaker, and, with the addition of Script Software's $48 iViewXT extension, QuarkXPress documents.

You can find your copy at http://www.macdownload.com.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PowerBook Blues?

Intermediate
If your PowerBook or iBook is acting oddly -- not waking from sleep, refusing to power on, or failing to charge the battery -- it's possible that its Power Manager has become corrupted. If you suspect that such is the case, the method for attacking the problem is to reset the Power Manager. Here's how you do it with the PowerBook G3 (Wall Street), PowerBook G3 (Bronze Keyboard), and the iBook (No Parentheses Necessary):

Wall Street:
Shut down the PowerBook, press the Shift, Fn, Ctrl, and Power On keys at the same time. Wait five seconds. Restart.

Bronze Keyboard:
Shut down the PowerBook, press the Reset button on the back of the 'book (between the video port and modem jack). Wait five seconds. Restart.

iBook:
Shut down the iBook, press the Reset button (use a paperclip to push this small button that's located above the Power button). Wait five seconds. Restart.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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More Total Annihilation Cheats

Beginner
Last week's Total Annihilation cheat -- starting from any level of the game -- may not have been satisfying enough for the real cheaters among us. For those who need a little more help, try this:

Press Enter and type the following:

+atm = increase metal and energy by 1000
+radar = complete radar coverage
+nowisee = reveals map and turns off line of sight

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Irksome Word Lists

Intermediate
When you create a numbered or bulleted list in Word 98, it can be difficult to create a blank line between numbered or bulleted items -- you press Return and whether you like it or not, Word prefaces the next line with a numeral or bullet. To insert a blank line, do this:

Press Return and then type Command-0 (that's a zero). This command adds 12 points of blank space above the line on which your cursor resides. To remove that space, just type Command-0 again.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New iMac (Slot Loading) Button

Beginner
The new iMac -- referred to by Apple as the iMac (Slot Loading) -- features a Power button that works differently than Power buttons of the past. When the iMac (Slot Loading) is switched on and you press the Power button, the iMac (Slot Loading) goes to sleep unless a server is mounted. If a server is mounted a dialog box pops up and warns you that the iMac (Slot Loading) is about to go to sleep and you should make plans to deal with that situation.

If the iMac (Slot Loading) is turned off or sleeping, pressing the Power button fires up the iMac (Slot Loading) or wakes it from sleep.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FretPet

Beginner
If you are guitar-enabled (meaning you have such an instrument or have some idea of how such a machine operates) and would like to explore music through your Mac and a guitar interface, take a look at Scott Lahteine's $15 shareware program, Fretpet, a musical application that allows you to create chords, add picking patterns and bass lines, and generally have a good old time.

You can find your copy at http://www.macdownload.com.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Startup Options

Intermediate
The iMac (Slot Loading), iBook, and Power Mac G4s have a nifty new feature that allows you to select, at startup, which drive the Mac will boot from. To reveal this feature just press and hold the Option key at startup. When the Mac boots you'll see a Circular Arrow icon, icons that represent any bootable devices attached to your Mac, and an Arrow icon. Pressing the Circular Arrow icon causes the Mac to rescan all busses for any bootable device. The Arrow icon causes the Mac to continue the boot process with the currently selected device.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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Fun on Campus

Beginner
Okay, so Electronic Arts and Maxis can't be bothered to provide a set of building tools for Mac users interested in creating their own structures for SimCity 3000. EA and Maxis have tipped their little corporate hats to Mac folk in this regard however: They've created an Apple Campus Landmark for SimCity 3K. Dropping Apple HQ on your SimCity has no effect on the surrounding neighborhood but what the heck, it looks pretty darned cool.

You can find your copy at http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-107mac%2C00.html

Once you get there, locate the link that reads "Download the installer here." Click this link, download the file, run the installer, and the Apple Campus will yours.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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Shifty Microsoft Word

Beginner
To quickly shift between Microsoft Word windows press Command-F6. To go to the previous window, press Shift-Command-F6.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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iBook Sleep Disorder

Intermediate
A number of users have reported that Apple's iBook refuses to wake up after you put it to sleep. One cause of the errant behavior may be that you've chosen the "Preserve memory contents on sleep" option in the Energy Saver control panel.

Apple suggests that if you've chosen this option and your iBook doesn't wake properly that you restart the iBook (by pressing the Reset switch with a paperclip) and immediately press and hold the Esc key as the iBook restarts. Let go of the key once you see the Happy Mac icon.

Pressing Escape forces the iBook to skip the preserved memory file and should allow the iBook to restart as Jobs intended.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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iCoolPad is Cool

Beginner
The second you lay hands on the iBook you'll notice that the keyboard is quite flat. To those accustomed to typing on an angled keyboard, this flatness may be disconcerting. RoadTools offers a colorful workaround for this issue. It's called the iCoolPad.

Like its sibling, the CoolPad, the iCoolPad is a two-piece, swiveling pad that elevates the back of any laptop computer and grips any surface it comes in contact with (take note, airline travelers and students using desks with tiny tops). Unlike the CoolPad, the iCoolPad comes in two colors -- the iBook's Blueberry and Tangerine -- and, offers a greater degree of elevation to counteract the iBook's flatter form factor.

The iCoolPad costs $24. You can take a look at the iCoolPad by visiting http://www.roadtools.com.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

iMovie Import

Intermediate
iMovie, the new consumer-level video editing application based on Apple's Final Cut Pro looks mighty nifty but some may think that it's niftiness is reserved only for those with movies that have been captured via direct DV link. It's like this:

iMovie can only capture video via FireWire and a digital camcorder -- iMovie's Import command doesn't recognize QuickTime movies not saved in the DV format. Therefore you can't use this command to import non-DV movie clips. However, you can use these clips if you convert them to DV streams, but you'll need QuickTime Pro to do it. Here's how:

Open the non-DV clip in QuickTime Player 4.0 and choose the Export command. In the resulting dialog box select Movie to DV Stream in the Export popup menu. The default settings are fine so don't bother changing them. Name and save the movie. Place the converted movie into your project's Media folder.

When you next launch iMovie you'll see a dialog box that contains this awkwardly phrased thought, " There was 1 stray clip file in the project folder. It will be loaded onto the shelf for you to decide what to do with it."

Ignore the poor grammar and click OK to import the clip to the Shelf.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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More Quake II Missions

Intermediate
If you've hacked and slashed your way through the single-player missions of Quake II at every level of difficulty you may long for more single-player carnage. That carnage can be yours if you're willing to taint your Mac by inserting a CD-ROM originally intended to work only with PCs.

Thanks to the folks at Logicware, you can now use two add-on mission packs with the Mac version of Quake II. To use these mission packs -- The Reckoning and Ground Zero -- download a copy of Logicware's Q2MacMissionPacks from
http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-mac025%2C00.html .

Follow the instructions provided in the Read Me.

These two mission packs are sold separately and can be obtained from any store that sells PC games.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Where's Nanosaur?

Beginner
The iBook ships with not one, but two Pangea games -- the delightful Bugdom and Brian Greenstone's Paleolithic effort, Nanosaur. However, only Bugdom is actually installed on the iBook's hard drive. If you want to play Nanosaur as well, you must install it from the iBook Software Install CD. On this disc you'll find the Nanosaur installer inside the Nanosaur folder inside the Application's folder.

Note that Nanosaur is not included on the iBook Software Restore CD so should you use this disc to restore your iBook's hard drive, you'll once again have to install Nanosaur separately.

--This tip contributed by Chris Breen

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WORD PROCESSING TIP: RETURN TO BEAT THE AUTOWRAP

Here's a general-use tip for users of Microsoft Word and most any other word processing program. It concerns what we'll call "auto-wrapping," which is NOT a personal assistant for the holiday season.

Auto-wrapping is the way your word processor knows that, as you're typing, you've reached the end of a line and should automatically jump to the beginning of the next line. Maybe you've occasionally tried to tap the space key or hit the tab key to insert space at the beginning of that line, only to see the cursor stubbornly refuse to move from the beginning of the line. Maybe you're trying to indent a bullet line or a quote, for instance, and the dang cursor just won't move off the left-side margin.

The key here is to use a return or, even better, a "soft return." See, your word processor is busy trying to stuff as many characters as possible on each line; and when it auto-wraps you to the next line, if you tap the space bar or the tab key, those characters are stuffed onto the previous line. Because those characters are invisible to you, it looks as if nothing is happening--until you insert a goodly number of spaces or tabs, and the cursor jumps out to an unexpected (and undesirable) place.

The solution to this dilemma is to hit Return in order to insert a line-break (or paragraph break, if you prefer to call it that) at the end of the previous line. Alternately, you can do what's called a "soft return" by putting your cursor at the end of the line and holding down the command key and hitting return. (Some applications prefer Shift-Return, so check your documentation.) This will quietly end the "auto-wrap" mentality for just that one paragraph--and even though the next line will appear to be a part of the previous paragraph it will actually behave independently.

That's the beauty of the Soft Return.

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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WARNING: MOST VIRUS WARNINGS INSULT YOUR INTELLIGENCE!

Oh my, the glory of email. It allows us to stay in touch with loved ones, glean the latest news, trade funny stories and bad jokes... But how many of us are plagued by the relative or friend who forwards every virus warning, every e-petition to help save Sesame Street, every rumor about the impending taxation of email?

Well, these warnings are, more often than not, just so much bunk, friend. Mostly these are Urban Legends, see? Toss 'em away, I say. And if you're a big heart (I hope you are), you can do a little checking before forwarding that "Microsoft is giving away free trips to Disneyworld" email to your entire address book.

My favorite Websites for hoax-busting are Urban Legends Reference Pages and AFU & Urban Legends Archive (listed below). These sites are great for dishing the truth about circulated rumors, and they provide an easy way for you to tell your well-intentioned friend that he has been duped. (Something along the lines of "Don't feel bad, so many people have been fooled by this hoax, it's actually described at the following Website..." usually does the trick.)

Computer viruses are, of course, another area of concern for many computer users. Once again, the bulk of warnings that arrive in your mailbox are suspect (and often even the true ones apply only to PCs, not Macs). To check out virus-related rumors, consult Vmyths, also listed below.

So, you can now relax your soul, leave the virus hunt to the professionals, and quit worryin' yourself (and me) half to death.

Urban Legends Reference Pages
http://www.snopes.com/

AFU & Urban Legends Archive
http://www.urbanlegends.com/

Vmyths
http://www.vmyths.com/

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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VINDIGO FOR MAC-FRIENDLY PALM DEVICES

There's a navigation miracle on the radar for city dwellers (and visitors!) in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. It's Vindigo, a software package for those of you with Palm OS-based handhelds (or PDAs as they're also known).

You can tell Vindigo where you are or where you want to go by street intersections. Then you can tell it that you want to eat, shop, or play, and Vindigo will display matching restaurants, shops, or clubs. For any given place, Vindigo provides a review from sources like zagat.com and local newspapers, as well as walking directions with approximate distances, and contact information. The service is ad-driven, so it's free to use.

Vindigo
http://www.vindigo.com/

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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VERSION TRACKER

It's always worth revisiting THE site to keep pace with all the flurry of updates to your fave programs: Its name is Version Tracker, and it knows what's out there. If you've never visited, go to Version Tracker and you'll see a list of Mac software that's recently been updated and find links to all kinds of helpful pages (Mac OS updates, for example, or the Top Downloads page).

Version Tracker recently unveiled a new interface design and now offers expanded information about (and even reviews of!) most of the software updates.

Version Tracker
http://www.versiontracker.com/

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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USE THE LIST VIEW. MORE INFORMATION FOR YOU!

Even though the Mac pioneered the idea of icons to represent files and folders, some people find that viewing folders by Icon doesn't show enough pertinent information. That's where List View can really help: In any open window, you can go to the View menu and select the As List option to immediately switch to a column-type listing that includes valuable information THAT YOU CAN CONTROL.

For instance, if you go back to the View menu, and select View Options, you can pick which bits of info you'd like to display about documents. (Simply check the appropriate boxes.) My mainstays are date modified, size, and kind. Whatever you choose, you can instantly sort a folder by clicking on the tabs listed at the top of an open list-view window. For example, if you click the Date Modified tab, the window will reshuffle to display the contents accordingly. Same thing for the Size tab--if you're trying to quickly figure out which file in a folder is the space hog.

One last thing: The little pyramid-shaped thing at the far right side of the row of tabs? It toggles the order in which items are sorted. You know, oldest to newest versus newest to oldest. Biggest to smallest, or the opposite. A to Z, or vice versa. It's called the Reverse-Sorting Pyramid, and it's a VIB (Very Important Button).

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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TYPEIT4ME MS. HATHAWAY!

Sometimes, the old days of a secretary seem attractive. Just somebody to TypeIt4Me, you know? Wouldn't it be nice to be able to say "Hey, write a letter to 'So-and-so'" and have a secretary who can fill it up with meaningful phrases like "I'm so glad that you and I had this chance for a few important and personal words between friends."

All Hail TypeIt4Me, which will do just the trick, reducing repetitive phrases to a single key combination. So instead of typing "We should really get together soon for some lunch and a few laughs," you can just type a key shortcut or an abbreviation (that you specify). TypeIt4Me is so great that it's available in Italian, French and Dutch versions--as well as the English, of course. And the program is so solid and simple (it was written in 1989), that the newest version update is over a year and a half old.

TypeIt4Me

http://www.hebel.net/~rettore/TypeIt4MeIndex.html

Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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TO EVERY DESKTOP, TILE, TILE, TILE

We've talked a little in the past about the fun of the Appearance Control Panel and how it allows you to set your own desktop pictures as well as desktop patterns.

If you've enjoyed tinkering with this feature, you may have wondered how the System decides what's a Desktop Picture and what's a Pattern. Here's the answer: If the image in question is less than 128 pixels square, it treats it like a pattern and will add it to the Patterns list. If it's even a pixel bigger in either direction, your Mac will treat it like a Picture, which overlaps and covers any pattern.

Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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TIME FOR FASTER HTML

Slow HTML, your time is up. They don't call it the World Wide Wait for nothing. All those graphics and whatnot can make surfing something of a drudge. So if you're an HTML programmer working in a Mac environment, you might want to give HTML Timer a spin. It'll look at your code and tell you if it's great, or overweight.

HTML Timer is $10 shareware, available from Monkey BreadSoftware.

MonkeyBread Software
http://www.monkeybreadsoftware.com/

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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THIS SMALL DOG IS A MAC BIG DOG

Where, oh where is your next fabulous Mac system going to come from? For years now, smart Mac shoppers have been getting their hardware from Vermont's Small Dog Electronics. But today's tip isn't just free advertising for Small Dog--there's something here for you too: You can go to the Small Dog site and sign up for their Kibbles & Bytes newsletter. Written by Small Dog's CEO, Don Mayer, Kibbles & Bytes "contains great deals on Macintosh hardware and software as well as a bit of Macintosh industry news and commentary." Every now and then, the newsletter even offers bargains by way of a "Garage Sale."

http://www.smalldog.com/

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THE QUICKER CLEANER-UPPER

So, you've had enough, dang it. After hours of doing computer-intensive projects, you've realized it's time to go outside. No, wait; not just yet. Let me finish, already!

If you find that your desktop is a sea of opened and cast-aside folders, and you want to tidy up before walking away, it's super easy: Just hold down the option key and click the close box (upper left hand corner) of any open folder, and SHAZAAM! All open windows will close, leaving a clear desktop.

You could call it a Desktopple...

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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THE NUMBER ONE SYSTEM FIX

Do you know the Mac equivalent of "take two aspirin and call me in the morning?" It's rebuilding the desktop, doc. Long a useful tool for correcting odd behavior, this cure also makes good preventative medicine.

There are two methods: The Finder method is to hold down the Option and Command keys while your Mac is booting up. Keep holding them down until you see the dialog that says "Are you sure you want to rebuild the desktop?" Then, let go of the keys, click OK and carry on. (Never you mind if it says something about "Info comments may be lost.")

Some people use TechTool, or other utility software, to rebuild the desktop. TechTool is diagnostic freeware with a solid following in the Mac community. Supposedly, it wipes clean all the desktop nooks and crannies that the Finder method sometimes misses.

Techtool

http://www.micromat.com/

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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SAFE TRAVEL MODE (POWERBOOK)

Talk about get-up-and-go computing: Powerbooks seem like the wonder of the world, once you've had one. So much information, software, music and whatnot in a luggable form. What's not to like?

If you do haul your Powerbook around a lot, and tend to use the CD-ROM drive, too, Apple recommends that you not keep a disc loaded in the Mac. When you're on the go, pop out that CD before you pack your Powerbook--for the safety of your hardware.

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RELATIVE DATE (LIST VIEWS FEATURE)

If you're just a customization freak, well, you can't help it, can you? Maybe it's just an old Willie Nelson song, Three Days*, stuck in your head that you want your computer to reflect. If so, go to the View menu and select View Options and check the Use Relative Date box. Now, when folders are viewed As List, you'll see "Yesterday" and "Today," where appropriate--instead of say, "Wednesday, July 19, 2000."

But what about "Tomorrow?" To get that one, you'll have to really geek out and go to the Date and Time Control Panel and set the date back one day. Then, look at something you've been working on during the day. The modification date will sho' nuff say "Tomorrow." Huh.

*From the 50's Willie Nelson hit: "Three days, filled with tears and sorrow; yesterday, today and tomorrow."

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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QUICKTIME UPDATE

In today's wacky multi-media world, one thing it pays to keep up-to-date is Apple's Quicktime multimedia software. These days you can use it to watch video, play MP3s and stream a wide variety of content from the Internet. The latest update to Version 4 and the "preview" version of 5.0 are both available for downloading:

Apple QuickTime

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/

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PUTTING YOUR SYSTEM FOLDER ON A DIET

Welcome to the MAC OS: A miracle of functionality. And a chubby fella, too, it sometimes seems. These days under the hood of OS9, there are dozens of control panels and hundreds of extensions, all adding various bits of functionality to your computer. But remember that Apple is trying to make most of the people happy most of the time with its "standard" set of extensions and control panels. Why not turn off some of the things that you're just never gonna use?

Using the Extensions Manager control panel (on the Apple menu, inside the Control Panels folder), you can do just that and learn a great deal about your system along the way. Just click that little triangle where it says Show Item Information near the bottom of the window. The resulting window will show you a sentence or two about each extension, as they're selected. Based on these descriptions, you may find a handful of extensions that don't need to be active. Turning them off will make the OS less RAM-hungry, which means more memory for your other softies.

You can start with some of the printer extensions like ImageWriter or LaserWriter 300/LS. If you don't have an ImageWriter or a 300/LS model Apple LaserWriter printer, well, you don't need those extensions. (Remember: Turning off an extension is NOT akin to throwing it away; you can always turn it back on at a later time. You know, when you drag that ole Apple Imagewriter out of the attic.)

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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PUT UP OR SHUT UP

Oh those cluttered windows upon windows upon windows! Sometimes there's so much stuff opened on the desktop that it's hard to see important things like the CD you need to eject so you can put in some new tunes. Never fear--if you can move enough windows to click even a pixel or two of the CD's icon, you can eject it using the "Put Away" command, Command-Y. Out it pops, Pops.

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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PLAINTALKING MAC

The talk-to-your-computer revolution is coming, make no mistake, but it's no standard feature yet. To be able to dictate text to your computer you still need Speech-to-Text software like IBM ViaVoice. (See the link below.) However, you can use voice commands to make your Mac execute simple things like Menu Commands, opening a file, or switching between open applications.

If this sounds like fun, you'll first need to dig up that Mac OS CD you've conveniently stashed away--PlainTalk isn't automatically installed, so it's not likely to be part of your system yet. Insert the CD and double-click the Install button. Select your destination disk and click OK in the dialog box that tells you you've already installed Mac OS. Then, click the Add/Remove button and scroll down to English Speech Recognition. Select that item and proceed with the installation (which will require a restart when all is said and done).

When your Mac boots back up, you'll be greeted by several key PlainTalk windows, plus the Speech section of the online Help program, which will help you get started.

In the next few tips, I'll examine some of handy items from the PlainTalk world. (With that in mind, feel free to wait a day or two before you install the components I've just described.)

IBM ViaVoice

http://www-4.ibm.com/software/speech/mac/

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PLAINTALKING MAC: POINTERS AFTER INSTALLING

Previously, we looked at installing Apple's spoken-command software, PlainTalk, off the OS installer CD. Today, a couple of pointers:

When you reboot your Mac after installing PlainTalk, you should be greeted by a series of windows designed to help you learn the program. If not, go to Apple Menu, Control Panels and select Speech; then choose Speakable Items from the Options menu, and select On.

Now for the obvious: You'll need an internal mic or an external one plugged into the back of your computer. But you knew that, right?

Next time, more on PlainTalk.

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PLAINTALKING MAC: HEARING PROBLEMS

Today, we continue speaking of--and to--Apple's spoken-command software, PlainTalk.

First, I have to warn you: Your Mac may have a hearing problem. You read that right... See, your Mac has to listen to you talk, but you don't want it listening all the time, right? I mean there's no reason for my Mac to hear me say: "Ms. Moneypenny, get me my hat."

So, by default, your Mac only hears you when you hold down the ESC key. You can adjust this setting from the Speech Control Panel, under Options, Listening. Here, you can set your choice of keystroke or you can set it so that your Mac answers to its name. And as cool as this sounds ("Hal, open Netscape Communicator." Go ahead; you can dream about it), many people find their computers get a little contentious if they're always listening. If you want to use this option, it's a good idea to use a name that is polysyllabic.

Regrettably, a key command tends to work more predictably.

More on PlainTalk in our next chat.

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PLAINTALKING MAC: SPEAKABLE COMMANDS

Today we offer a couple more bits on Apple's spoken-command software, PlainTalk.

Once you've set things up to begin chatting with PlainTalk, your most valuable time will be spent with the Speakable Commands window, which is a list of all the available built-in commands. Although it's possible to create your own custom verbal commands, you'll find that there are many useful ones already onboard... and some silly ones, too.

Happily, you don't have to memorize these commands--provided you can remember to say, "Show Me What to Say," which opens the Speakable Commands window, so you can see for yourself what other commands are available.

And if it's a smirk you seek, try saying "Knock, knock" for a glimpse of the corny side of those Apple programmers.

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OPEN THE POP-UP BAY DOORS HAL

The pop-up window is Thee Cool Tool of Tidyness in the Mac OS. Just take a fave folder, open it in the Finder and drag it (by the title bar) to the bottom of the screen. It instantly converts into a minimal lingering tab. Click the tab to open the folder, and then use the corner grippers to size the window according to how you like it. After that it ALWAYS OPENS THAT WAY. It's like a springloaded drawer of goodies that snaps shut when you click elsewhere on the screen.

By the way, you can remove a tab by simply dragging it (or the opened folder) up from the bottom of the window.

I could really use this kind of functionality in a home dresser version. Apple?

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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NEW MACS COME AND GET EM

It's always a good day to buy a computer, but some days are better than others. When new models come out, for instance, prices generally go down on the old barely-obsolete models.

So, have you seen the swank new G4 Cube? Wowza. Everybody's swooning, but some of us are swooning because its introduction means it's time to buy last year's 400mhz G4! Priced-to-sell at $1399 and falling! (at MacWarehouse, among others) Uh-huh! Check your favorite catalog reseller or Apple's online store.

MacWarehouse
http://www.warehouse.com/macwarehouse/

And if you're the kind of devil who has JUST GOT to have THE BRAND NEW THING, check out the new Indigo iMac, recently released and priced right at $799. Light on the pocketbook, long on style and Mac chutzpah!

Apple iMac
http://www.apple.com/imac/

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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NETWORK ALIASES

Desktop aliases can provide handy ways to bypass the clutter of a series of folders in order to kibitz with frequently used documents on your hard drive. You can use this same approach if you work in an environment where there are shared servers. Just mount the server that you use, click your way to your favorite folder or file, and Option-Command drag its icon to your desktop. If you need a password to log on the computer that stores this item, you'll be prompted when you double-click on the alias, and then it'll pop right up. Easy.

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NETSCAPE COMMUNICATOR 4.75 FOR MAC OS

A powerful Web surfer is an up-to-date Web Surfer, methinks. And since your main browser is your link to the Internet and all its booty, it pays to keep up to date. So, all the Netscape Communicator users out there may want to go grab the new version, with dandies that include:

The option to remove all mail from POP or IMAP servers when you quit the program
StuffIt Expander 5.5 (although other bundled utilities like RealPlayer are still a little behind, version-wise)
Printing from the Finder
In addition, the new version

Fixes the Mac-specific JavaScript bugs
Improves cosmetic problems with italic text and other issues
Generally plays nicer with OS9 than the previous versions
and is no longer subject to the Brown Orifice security vulnerability
Netscape Communicator is a 13.6 MB download and requires a PowerPC-based system running Mac OS 7.6.1 or later. Version 4.75 is the latest official release for Mac (although Netscape 6 is available as a "Preview" for you edgy surfers).

Netscape
http://www.netscape.com/download/

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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MP3 4U

Well, what about all this MP3 business? Is it a bit of a puzzle to you? Napster this, Gnutella that... how can you, the intrepid cyber-jammer, get in on the fun?

There are lots of MP3 tutorials and software packages available--so many that it can become dizzying. But at the center of the storm is Napster, besieged by lawsuits at the moment and yet in many ways being The Shot Heard 'Round The World.

Matthew Cone, of MacInstruct, offers a particularly enlightening article on the topic. It provides an info-packed overview of the workings of Napster, using the Mac version of this sharing software, Macster.

http://www.macinstruct.com/tutorials/macster/index.html

And don't miss the wealth of other Mac tutorials featured weekly at macinstruct.com, a site chock full of Macworldliness.

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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MORE MONKEYING WITH LIST VIEW

Several recent tips have involved the powerful List View option for folders, a feature that allows you to see info about documents in a single view and to customize those views to your tastes.

But let's say you decide you've mucked the whole thing up and want to restore the original views? It's easy: Just go to the Views menu and select Reset Column Positions. After that, click Reset in the confirmation dialog box. You're back to square one.

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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MISLEADING MODIFIER

In the world of file and folder management, the Get Info command (command-I) can give you important information about when a file was created and when it was last modified--and the same generally holds true for folders. But look out: The modification date for a folder is a little squirrely. For example, if you make changes to a document inside a folder, that doesn't change the Date Modified for the folder itself. The modification date for folders only changes when something is moved IN or OUT of the folder.

Be careful when you're tossing "old" folders. They may be hiding recently modified documents that you don't want to lose!

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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MICROSOFT OFFICE 98 FOR THE MAC PATCH

Users of Microsoft's Office 98 for the Mac may want to take notice of a newly released updater patch for the popular program. The patch fixes bugs in Word 98 and adds support for upcoming file formats in PowerPoint 98. To download the free patch (it's 5.6 MB), go to:

http://www.pcworld.com/r/pcw/1%2C2061%2Cpcw-update%2C00.html

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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MEMORY STEALER CAUGHT. FILM AT 11.

One of the little bugaboos that's received some attention in OS 9 is the dirty thieving of hard drive space for purposes of Virtual Memory. For most folks, it's a good idea to work with Virtual Memory turned on, but if you've got scads of extra RAM, you may have elected to turn Virtual Memory off. If so, and you're running low on hard disk storage space, you can run a little program called Memory Contents Fixer 1.0, which looks for an invisible file called "Memory Contents" in your system folder, and if (a) the file exists and (b) it is not in use, it will offer to delete it for you.

This "Memory Contents" file normally is used to hold the computer's virtual memory. However, when you turn virtual memory off under OS 9, this file is not always deleted.

If you had a large amount of RAM installed before you disabled virtual memory, you may be missing up to hundreds of Megs of disk space. This application will help you recover it.

Memory Contents Fixer

http://software.theresistance.net/

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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MASTER THE MESSY, BESSY

There you are again--caught with a jillion windows open on the desktop and just sick sick sick of it.

Try this simple trick to make them all be gone: Hold down the Option key and click the Close Window box in the upper-left corner of any window and--bing bing bing--all open windows will close, leaving you clutter-free. For the moment...

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MANUALLY EJECTING DISKS FROM YOUR MAC

We've all probably faced it from time to time: The disk that won't eject. What to do when this happens? It's a slightly scary situation, but easy to handle if you've got a paper clip at hand.

The safest way to handle the situation is to reboot your Mac. Chances are, the disk will pop out on start-up. Sometimes, however, this doesn't work and you'll have to resort to paper clip surgery. Just insert the end of a straightened paper clip into the pin-sized hole next to a drive and PUSH. (On newer machines, you may first have to flip open a door covering the drive.)

If you have to resort to the paper clip trick, it's a good bet your Mac won't like it too much and might well freeze up or otherwise misbehave. Accordingly, it's a good idea to restart after paper clipping a drive, just to make sure things keep running smoothly.

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MAKING THE MACINTOSH

And now, let's pause for Mac History 101, in the form of "Making the Macintosh."

Thanks to some diligent Mac buddies at Stanford, we can take a detailed look back at the history of the computer that helps us "Think Different." Here's a fascinating and in-depth site for the Mac-curious and the Mac-proud.

(There was going to be an exam, but it appears that somebody from Microsoft walked off with the notes... Hmmm.)

Making the Macintosh

http://library.stanford.edu/mac/

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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MAKE YOUR DESKTOP POP--PART 1 OF 2

"Back in the day, way back when, yr. momma and I couldn't have cool desktop pictures and patterns and such; No sir, we had to make due with crummy grayscale patterns, and 16-level grayscale at that! AND we had to walk on hot coals instead of gravel for 12 miles to get to school. But that's just how it WAS back then..."

Okay, gramps... Luckily, we've got it easier and prettier with the modern Mac OS. Take the Appearance control panel, for instance. (As with all control panels, you'll find this on the Apple Menu, in the Control Panels folder.) It's loaded with neat customization abilities to help you make your Mac a reflection of that Very Special You.

Like to plaster the desktop with a favorite picture? Well, it's easy. In the Appearance Control panel, you'll see the Place Picture button (or it may say Remove Picture, if one is already in place), which will give you a dialog box in which to hunt around for your fave pic. But to make it even easier, that preview window to the left supports drag and drop, so you can just drag picture after picture onto the control panel and see how you like it. Don't forget to spend a few minutes playing with the various positioning options, like Tile On Screen or Fill Screen.

Try combining your picture choice with some of the patterns supplied (the list is to the right of the preview window) for a more abstract look. When you get a combination you like, don't forget to click Set Desktop.

Tomorrow: Let your desktop change itself!

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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MAKE YOUR DESKTOP POP--PART 2 OF 2

Yesterday we looked at some of the ways the Mac OS has made it easy to spruce up the appearance of your desktop with the Appearance control panel.

Today, we'll add one handy trick to that.

It's nice to be able to change the desktop picture, but you're busy right? Probably, you're even now thinking, "Mick, can you get to the point, 'cause I'm BUSY, already." Alright, alright! Geez, some people.

So as I was saying, why not make your Mac change its own dang desktop? It's easy. Just take some of your favorite images and put them in a folder by themselves. Now open the Appearance control panel and then drag that folder onto the miniature preview window. One of the pictures from the folder will pop up in the frame. Now click Set Desktop, close the window and be done with it. The next time you restart your Mac, you'll have a--you guessed it--different desktop picture. And the next time. And the next time!

Voila. The self-changing desktop

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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MAC USERS, HAM IT UP

The world of Ham radio, aka amateur radio, is a lot older than the world of the PC, but has always attracted similar technologically-adventurous types. And sure enough, there is a community of Ham operators who also happen to be Mac fans and users.

Here's a neat site where the two meet. Scroll about halfway down the page for the Mac links.

http://www.scm-ae.com/robertscorner/amradio.htm

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MAC SCREEN CAPTURE--THE EPIC CONTINUES

Well, it's just amazing the myriad of ways you can do screen grabs on the Macintosh. Just when I thought there are no more, well, guess what?

How about Command-Shift-4, with the CAPSLOCK on? With this method, the pointer turns into a bulls eye, which you can then click on an open window and--bang!-- you capture exactly that window with no fuss or bother! As always, it's saved as a new PICT file, called "Picture 1", on your hard drive.

But wait, there's more! When using the CapsLock option, you can hold down the Control key before letting go of the mouse button to store the image in the clipboard!

Thanks to the several gallant screen capture-teers who wrote in with these secrets.

Now then, here's the recap on Screen Cap tricks inherent in the Mac OS:

Command-Shift-3: Caps the entire screen
Command-Shift-4: Pointer turns to cross hair, you specify the area to capture
Command-Shift-4 (CapsLock on): Bulls eye captures a particular open window
Command-Shift-4 (CapsLock on, Control key pressed down before releasing the mouse button): Sends window-cap directly to clip board instead of making a PICT file
--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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MAC OSX PUBLIC BETA

Yes, fellow Mac fans, we're on the verge of a new dynasty. As you probably know, the next-generation Mac operating system, OS X, has been released as Beta software. Somewhat controversially, Apple is selling this pre-release version to techno junkies for $29.95.

Take heed though: Beta software is what the software industry calls its babies that aren't quite fully polished. Without a doubt, many rounds of bug-zapping will take place before the full and final version of OS X is released to the public months from now.

So, unless you just insist on surfing the bleeding edge, you'll probably want to stick with OS9 for all your important work. And if you want to play OS X, be sure to back up all your important stuff. Scratch that--back up all your important stuff anyway. It's just smart.

In the meantime, if you're curious but cautious, you can read the company line on OS X at:

http://www.apple.com/macosx/beta/start.html

For those of you chomping at the bit, we'll drop in with little OS X bits from time to time.

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MAC DEEMED "NATIONAL TREASURE!" (THIS, YOU KNOW)

The last time you stepped into a computer store, you may have noticed the blooming of many (too many, some would say) colorful PC knock-offs of the iMac. But when it comes to great design, Apple is getting its props from no less than the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum, a branch of the Smithsonian Institute.

The museum called the Macintosh and iMac computers "revolutionary," and praised Apple founder Steven Jobs and designer Jonathan Ive for fostering "groundbreaking but user-friendly design."

Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum

http://www.si.edu/ndm/

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LONG LIVE THE NEW MOUSE

Well, as great an impression as the iMac has made, the jury has pretty much come in with a "Nay" verdict on that funny little saucer-shaped mouse. So, fortunately, the folks in Cupertino have done some extended head-scratching and debuted the all-new Apple Pro Mouse, a laser-point-driven mouse that doesn't even need a mouse pad. For details and pricing check out the official line:

Apple Pro Mouse
http://www.apple.com/mouse/

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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LIST VIEW TIP: REARRANGING THE COLUMNS

As we've discussed in a previous tip, the List View feature is a powerful way of viewing your various folder contents. It shows important information like file name, size, type and so forth.

A useful thing to know is that you can rearrange the order of these columns by grabbing a tab and dragging it left or right. (When you drag, the pointer turns into the helpful glove icon to let you know what's going on.)

As an example, open a folder, and under the View menu, choose As List. Now, grab the Size tab at the top of the open window and drag it to the left, on top of the previous column. When you release, the size column will jump over to the left of the previous column.

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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JAM DOWN, WITH A KEYSTROKE

Well, it's hard not to rock with all the built-in audio gadgetry that's made it into the Mac OS these days. But if somebody's complaining and you've just GOT to turn down your AppleCD Player, just slap that ol' keyboard shortcut, Down Arrow.

Here are a few more key commands for AppleCD Player:

Up Arrow increases the volume.
Right Arrow moves to the next track
Left Arrow moves to the previous track
Command-Right Arrow will fast-forward through a track
Command-Left Arrow rewinds through a track
Remember, you've got to have the AppleCD Player as the front-most application for these shortcuts to work.

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IT'S A BIRD! IT'S A PLANE! IT'S SUPERGIF!

For quite a few years now, the fine folks at Boxtop Software have been making fab little applications for streamlining Web design. Their latest is a picture-crunching tool called SuperGIF, and it's getting quite the raves.

If you're trying to shrink the size of your Web graphics without having a Photoshop University degree, SuperGIF does the trick--and it does so without any user interaction at all. Pure drag-and-drop! No knowledge of the many things that effect GIF file sizes is required.

SuperGIF is $29.95 shareware, by Boxtop Software.

BoxTop Software
http://www.boxtopsoft.com/

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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I THINK, THEREFORE ICON

Hmm, icons, icons everywhere... so whaddya doin' with those boring old standard-issue ones on your desktop? Changing document icons (the little picture associated with each and every document or folder on your computer) can be a great way to show your Mac how much you care. And it's easy:

Start by clicking on an icon that you like, and then select File, Get Info (or key shortcut Command-I). Then, click on the icon that shows up in the resulting window (you'll see a box appear around it when you click on it), and choose Edit, Copy (Command-C). Next, find the document whose icon you want to replace, and repeat the procedure: Get Info, select the icon to be replaced, and then Edit, Paste (Command-V). Voila! A shiny new coat of e-paint for your document or folder.

There are many icon sites available on the Web, so you can download icons to match your style, and customize to your heart's content. Here's one of particular breadth:

IconFactory
http://www.iconfactory.com/

NOTE: Some of the packages here require the use of Icondropper, a shareware program available at IconFactory, which further simplifies the process of sprussing up your documents. Like many downloads, all the packages arrive in a stuffed or binhexed format, so you'll want to have Stuffit Expander handy, naturally.

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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HOW TO BE A DINGBAT

One of the great triumphs in desktop publishing is the dingbat, an efficient way to store non-alphabetical characters in a font format. The most ubiquitous (but far from the only) set is Zapf Dingbats. Zapf Dingbats (named for venerable typographer Herman Zapf) is always ready to help out with the handy arrow, bullet or whatnot.

Figuring out which letter on your keyboard corresponds to which Dingbat, however, can be a headache.

Fortunately, Key Caps can help here. Just open Key Caps from the Apple menu, and select Zapf Dingbats from the fonts menu (if you don't see it, you may have to reinstall it from the System CD). Now you'll see all the letters on the little keyboard display change to a melange of crosses, stars and doodads. Holding down modifiers Option, Shift and/or Control yields an even greater selection.

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HAL. OPEN THE POP-UP BAY DOORS

Last time, we did an overview of the fabulous pop-up windows feature in OS9. Here's a great way to make a launching bay of apps and other faves using a Pop-Up:

Start by making a new folder and call it Hal9000. (No, you don't have to call it Hal9000. But I'll be disappointed if you don't). Then, select a few of your most favorite applications and/or documents and drag aliases (remember? Command-Option drag) of them to this folder. Position the icons however you see fit, and resize the window to accommodate them. Then, drag the folder to the bottom of your screen to turn it into a Pop-Up and--bingo--you've got a place from where you can quickly open a few of your favorite things.

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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FONTASTIC TYPE HISTORY

Okay, any designers out there? Raise your hands... One of the great things about the Mac is its illustrious history in the realm of Desktop Publishing and Graphic Design. The Mac has made it so easy over the years, with powerful software like QuarkXPress, Adobe Pagemaker, Adobe Photoshop, and Macromedia Freehand (to name but a few).

The Mac also made the world of typography accessible to the masses. Now, we've all got our favorite fonts (we'll provide some font links in upcoming tips), but who could use a refresher (or introduction) to the history of the art of Typography?

If you're that type (pun fully intended, of course), take a look at CounterSpace, a site designed by students and professionals to inform about type and typography:

CounterSpace
http://www.studiomotiv.com/counterspace/

Note: You'll need Shockwave Flash plugin for your browser, in order to let this site do its stuff. If you don't have it, run over and download it for free:

Shockwave Flash
http://www.macromedia.com/software/downloads/

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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FOLDER PROXY ICONS

Special gizmo alert! Look at the title bar of any open folder window (you'll see the name of the folder, and to the left of it, a folder icon). This is more than just a nicely-beveled little icon; it enables you to deal with that folder in ways that would have required that you close the folder in the olden days.

For instance, if you want to move (or copy) that folder, you can just click and drag on that title-bar icon instead of closing the folder and possibly digging through several levels to find it. (To make a copy, press Option as you drag the icon.)

You can also drag documents to that title bar icon instead of the open window if, say, you've got that window collapsed with the window-shade feature. (The collapser is in the upper rightmost corner of any open window.)

And here's my favorite: When you hold down the Command key and click and hold on the title bar icon, it will display a hierarchical listing of that folder's location, allowing you to navigate up to the next folder level, or all the way to the root directory.

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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FAMILY PHOTOS THE INTERNET WAY

Well, here we are in the digital age. Ho-hum. Still got that analog camera dontcha? Haven't found the right digital camera for the right price, and so you're stickin' with the Christmas '96 point-and-shoot or that trusty old Pentax? Hey, me too. But wouldn't it be nice if you could zap off some of those pix of the newest family member (or maybe it's that new sports car) to all of your email-reading friends? Well, I'm here to tell you that there's a growing host of Web photo services where you can post your photos, for FREE even. For details, try using your favorite search engine to look for "web photos" or "online photos."

Or, save yourself the trouble and get plugged into Photoworks.com. These are the guys who used to be Seattle Film Works (of the famed gig where they would give away 35mm film on the condition that you had to have them develop it.) The good news is, they've sweetened the deal by adding FREE WEB PHOTO HOSTING to their service. Now they'll give you film, send you mailing envelopes, and process your film for $10 per roll. The great big important bonus is that as soon as they develop your film, they post your pictures on your very own section of the photoworks.com Website. From there, you can send friends pix from all your good times. It's one of the best deals goin' on the Net, friend.

If you're curious, you can sign up for a free roll, including processing:

PhotoWorks.com
http://www.photoworks.com/

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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DEALMAC.COM HAS THE DEALS, MAC

Who's your deal-findin' buddy on the Net? It's dealmac, Jack. This purveyor of fine Mac-related bargains, in its own words, "nets you the best Mac savings from across the Web and publishes them every weekday... we don't sell it, we tell it--the best coupons, promotions, rebates, and bargains for your computing needs."

Check it out for all of your Mac needs. You'll even find a personalized notification service that will email you when the gizmo you covet appears online at just the right price.

Dealmac

http://www.dealmac.com/

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CUSTOMIZING YOUR CONTROL STRIP

Today we continue with a closer look at the mighty Control Strip, Desktop Determinator for a number of useful things.

When you use the control strip, you'll notice that it seems cemented in place on your screen. While this is nice (you don't have to worry about accidentally grabbing and moving it), it could be that you would prefer it in a different location. For example, maybe you want to move it up about a quarter-inch so it doesn't block your Pop-Up Window tabs.

Simple: Just hold down the Option key and point at the tab on the end of the strip. The pointer will turn into a hand, and you can then grab (click) the Control Strip and drag it around.

You can also move the Strip horizontally, but it will always jump to one edge of the screen. If you move it to the other side of the screen, you'll notice that the Control Strip does a FLIP, rearranging the ends of the Strip, but leaving the contents in the same order.

Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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CONTROLLING THE CONTROL STRIP

I'm going to spend the next several tips pointing out some of the features and benefits of the Mac OS's most friendly and useful system element: the Control Strip. Featured prominently in Mac OS 8 and in Mac OS 9, the Control Strip lets you adjust a variety of control panels without going to the trouble of opening them. It also performs numerous other functions.

If you don't see the Control Strip, just hit Command-Control-s, and it will appear at the bottom of your screen. You can then minimize or truncate it at any time by clicking on the gray tab at the right end.

If you prefer for the Control Strip to vanish, just press Command-Control-S again. This is the default key shortcut, but if you prefer something else--like an F-Key--go to the Control Strip control panel and click on Define Hot Key. Then you can pick your own key combination for toggling the Control Strip.

Tomorrow: Customizing the Control Strip.

Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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CONTROL STRIP MODULES: WHAT YOU GET, WHAT YOU NEED

The Control Strip offers fabulous desktop power for controlling a variety of things, so we're going to take an extended look at the standard set of modules installed with the Mac OS. In some cases, you may not need all the installed modules, in which case you can Option-drag a few tiles to the trash, for a leaner Control Strip.

As you consider "Should or shouldn't I remove this module?" remember that it's really an issue of how often you change the particular SETTING, not whether or not you USE a certain control.

For example, if you tend to adjust the volume on your Mac frequently, it behooves you to have a tile for doing so. If not, then you might want to toss that tile. Besides, you can always reinstall it later.

To kick off our look at individual modules, then, I'd like to bring your attention to the Volume tile. It's the one that shows speaker icon, and it offers the quickest access to controlling speaker volume. In other words, it's a keeper.

Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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CONTROL STRIP MODULES: WEB SHARING

In this continuing series, we're looking at the ins and outs of that glory of the MacOS, the Control Strip, module-by-module, from left to right. If you don't need any one of these tiles, you can just option-drag it off the Strip and save yourself a little chunk of screen real estate. (By the way, if you need assistance identifying a Control Strip module, go to the Help menu and choose Show Balloons; then, simply point your cursor at a module to identify it.)

The last in the Control Strip Modules series concerns the Web Sharing tile. If you've got a full-time Internet connection, you can actually use a Mac OS9 feature called Web Sharing to offer up a folder on your computer to other Macs connected to the Internet. (More on this in an upcoming tip.) This tile lets you turn this feature on and off.

Chances are, you're keeping your drive's contents to yourself, in which case you can option-drag this one into the trash.

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CONTROL STRIP MODULES: VIDEO MIRRORING

Video Mirroring: Some extra-doodad Macs actually have the built-in capability of hooking up a second monitor, which acts as an extension of your viewing area. It's mighty cool; you just mouse across the screen off of one monitor and onto the other--especially helpful for programs like Photoshop or QuarkXPress, which feature a whole ream of floating tool palettes. This module allows you to turn this feature on and off. (The mirror option will display the same screen image on both monitors.) But if you've attained this level of geekdom (I take the Fifth on this, myself), why ever turn it off? (Don't answer that, please.)

Incidentally, if you aspire to be the next Nam June Paik, you can always go out and buy a video card to support that second monitor jack. Then, call the Guggenheim to schedule a show.

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CONTROL STRIP MODULES: TV MIRRORING

TV Mirroring: Throughout the years, a few Macs have included an A/V TV connection on the back. In other cases, you can buy an A/V card to install in your Mac for this purpose. If you've got one, you can shoot the image from your screen onto a TV monitor, using the TV Mirroring module. If you've got no such plans, you can option-drag this module to the trash.

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CONTROL STRIP MODULES: SPEAKABLE ITEMS

Speakable Items: Ever wish you could just talk to the computer instead of typing everything and clicking and so forth? Well, we're on the way to that golden road with Apple's PlainTalk software (more in upcoming tips). For now, if you use PlainTalk, you can use this module to turn Speakable Items on and off from the desktop.

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CONTROL STRIP MODULES: SOUND

There are a couple of modules that deal with sound, and they're pretty straightforward:

Sound Volume: Ah, an easy on-screen method of adjusting your Mac's overall system volume! Just click and drag the slider. Thank you, Mac OS.

SoundSource Strip: Some of us have gotten into the swing of recording audio on our Macs. Whether you're recording from a CD or from the built-in mic or an external mic, you have to select the source. This control panel shows your options and what's currently selected. The long way around would be to go to Control Panels, choose the Sound panel (or, on some Macs, the Monitors & Sound Panel). This way is quicker.

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CONTROL STRIP MODULES: REMOTE ACCESS--PART 1 of 2

Remote Access: If you've got a dial-up Internet connection, the Remote Access module is one of your best buddies. It keeps you in the know about your dial-up number, your name and password, and other Internet settings. In addition, the pop-up module displays a Connect/Disconnect option.

The Connect/Disconnect option is the easy way to get online or quit your session and free up the phone line. Remember, you may be able to CONNECT just by firing up your email client or a Web browser, but quitting the program won't DISCONNECT you automatically--typically, that takes 10 minutes of inactivity. Use the Disconnect command to free up your phone line pronto.

More on the Remote Access module in the next tip.

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CONTROL STRIP MODULES: REMOTE ACCESS--PART 2 OF 2

In the last tip, we talked about the Connect/Disconnect feature of the Remote Access Control Strip module. Today we pick up with another useful feature: Default Internet setup.

Most people only have one dial-up routine, but the Mac allows a user to have multiple settings. If you do any traveling with a laptop, for instance, you might have one setup for at home and another for on-the-road. You can add configurations by selecting Open Remote Access from the Control Strip. Then, type Command-K to see the Configurations window, where you can add a new configuration by Duplicating and Renaming an existing Configuration. After you've created the necessary configurations, save your settings and you'll see each of them listed in the Remote Access module on the Control Strip.

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CONTROL STRIP MODULES: PRINTER SELECTOR

Printer Selector: You may be in a situation where you have several laser printers from which to choose, and if so, this handy module lets you choose right from the desktop, without going to the chooser. Dandy!

If you don't have multiple laser printers (or even one, since the typical home printer is of the color inkjet variety), you don't need this puppy. Just option-drag it to the trash, if you please.

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CONTROL STRIP MODULES: MONITOR RESOLUTION

Monitor Resolution: Changing the monitor resolution is one way to turn that Studio Apartment-sized screen into a roomier spread! Resolution represents the number of dots that compose your screen. In the olden days, 640 pixel by 480 pixels was the standard screen resolution, which made your icons pretty hefty. You can slim the whole package down by switching the monitor resolution to something higher, say, 800 x 600 or 1024 x 768. By experimenting with this control strip module (or the Monitors control panel, which does the same thing), you can decide what resolution is the right balance of easy-on-the-eyes and spacious-on-the-screen.

Finally a quick and easy diet that works!

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CONTROL STRIP MODULES: MONITOR BITDEPTH

Monitor BitDepth: This module allows you to change the color settings on your Mac. Older machines might perform slightly better with a more compact color scheme, like Thousands of Colors, but these days, most people might as well use the Millions of Colors option. Photos will look much better at this bitdepth. To see the effects for yourself, open a photo (or look at a Web page with a photo on it) and use this module to change the setting to Thousands of Colors. You'll see the picture get sort of blotchy. Switch it down to 256 Colors for a real kick in the head, Fred.

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CONTROL STRIP MODULES: LOCATION MANAGER

Location Manager: Controls the powerful Location Manager control panel, which allows you to save a variety of settings concerning where you're using your computer. This feature is most useful for laptops, but maybe you're the type who packs up your desktop machine for road trips. (Hey, I've done it!)

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CONTROL STRIP MODULES: KEYCHAIN

Keychain module: New to OS 9, the Keychain is a security tool designed to store a variety of passwords and to control them with one master password. This tile allows you to lock or unlock your Keychain. (More on the Keychain in a future tip.)

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CONTROL STRIP MODULES: ENERGY SETTINGS AND FILE SHARING

Energy Settings: Primarily a laptop extension of the Energy Saver control panel, this one appears on iMacs, too. Mostly, however, it displays redundant stuff--for example, you can put your computer to sleep more easily by just hitting the Power key.

File Sharing: Used for controlling sharing your Mac over a network (specifically, toggling File Sharing on and off). It's not necessary for accessing the Internet.

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CONTROL STRIP MODULES: BATTERIES AND CDS

Battery Monitor: You'll only see this if you've got a laptop, in which case it will display the status of your batteries.

CDStrip: One of my faves, this shows you the tracks on an audio CD and allows you to play the CD, as well as jump around between tracks. By the way, if you use an Internet audio player like SoundJam MP or Real Jukebox, your Mac can "learn" the names of the CDs and remember them, so you won't see "Track 11," you'll see "Blue Rhondo A La Turk." Very nice.

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CONTROL STRIP MODULES: APPLETALK

AppleTalk Switch: This one turns AppleTalk on and off. AppleTalk has to be active if you're connected a laser printer or to another Mac, but is NOT necessary to connect to the Internet.

Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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CONTROL STRIP MODULES: AIRPORT

AirPort module: This baby controls AirPort networking. Did you buy a $100 AirPort card for your Mac? You'd remember if you did. It's a card that you install in your Mac that allows wireless access to a local network or to the Internet. If you've got an Airport card, and access to an AirPort network, yours is the glory. Otherwise, you don't need it.

Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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CONTROL STRIP FEATURES

What makes the Control Strip so wonderful is that it packs so much functionality into such a small space. Each item is called a module and is represented by a tile on the Control Strip.

The modules are stored in the Control Strip Modules folder in the System Folder. But you don't have to go there to add or remove items from your Control Strip. You can simply drag new modules from the Desktop straight onto the Control Strip (the smart Mac OS actually quietly copies the file to the Control Strip Modules folder when you do this) and it will appear thereon.

You can also drag tiles OFF of the Control Strip--just remember to hold down the option key while dragging.

Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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CONNECTING WITH THE ANCESTORS

A while back we discussed methods of hooking up "mini-networks" between your trusty old machine and that shiny new one that you just bought. That method for connecting up two Macs assumed that both had the RJ-45 (read: looks like a fat phone plug) jack. Of course, there are plenty of older Macs that predate that baby. Fortunately, there's always a way, as faithful reader John F. helped me understand.

Several older Macintosh models have built-in ethernet on the motherboard, in the form of AAUI (Apple Attachment Unit Interface). These models include Centris and Quadra, as well as those upgraded with the Apple Ethernet NB Card, and even the LaserWriter IIg printers. To attach an AAUI-capable Mac to your Ethernet network, you'll need a "transceiver." Specifically, an AAUI-to-10Base-T Transceiver. (Be sure to specify 10Base-T, NOT 10Base-2.)

There are a couple of low-price transceivers available, including those made by MacSense and Asante ($20 to $40). Farallon offers a higher-end Etherwave solution for closer to $100. Search the MacWarehouse site (or your favorite Mac retailer) for "aaui".

MacWarehouse
http://www.warehouse.com/macwarehouse/

Tomorrow, the solution for even older Macs.

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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CONNECTING WITH THE ANCESTORS PART 2

Yesterday we dealt with ways to connect older Macs to the newer machines so you can transfer all that hard work onto a new ride. Today we'll look at doing the same thing, only with pre-Ethernet Macs.

The bottom line: If your Mac is old enough that it predates ethernet, and you're just itchin' to get that old data onto your fancy new machine, you'll need an Ethertalk-Localtalk bridge, made by two longtime hardware makers: Asante and Farallon. These handy little boxes will convert your old LocalTalk port to an RJ-45 Ethernet port. They're also handy for hooking up older printers. You can get the details on these babies (which have street-prices around $90) at the following Web sites:

Asante
http://www.asante.com/product/adapters/MicroAP.html

Farallon Etherwave
http://www.farallon.com/products/ether/adapters/

After hooking up your adapter, turn on file sharing on the older Mac, mount its disk as an Appleshare server volume using the Chooser on the new Mac, and copy away.

(Thanks again to John F. for added insight)

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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CIRCULAR FILE 13 BULLETIN

They say "One person's trash is another's treasure," but who cares about that other guy?? It's your trash and you want it gone! So why should you, trash-tosser extrordinaire, be confounded with a warning message every time you empty your Mac's trash can? Well, you don't, of course. Apple sets this default warning to help you not accidentally throw stuff away. This warning box also shows how full the trash can is, which can be gratifying to some of us purging types. But if you'd rather live without the warning box, select the trash can, choose File, Get Info (shortcut: Command-I) and uncheck the Warn Before Emptying box. Now you're on your own, Quark.*

(Pop culture note: Years before Star Trek: Deep Space Nine introduced us to the Ferengi, there was an amiable "interstellar garbage man" played by Richard Benjamin, in an eponymously-titled, short-lived show: Quark.)

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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CATCH THE EARBUZZ

One must begrudgingly admit that a lot of the Internet audio revolution seems to be a bit (just a bit!) preferential towards PCs.

Not any more. Check out earBuzz.com, the only major digital music site that's run and maintained entirely on Macs. No more worrying about competing Windows standards--everything you find here is Mac-tested and Mac-approved. And EarBuzz.com claims to be the only site to give 100% of CD sales profit back to the people who need it most: the artists.

earBuzz
http://www.earbuzz.com/

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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CALCULATE FOLDER SIZES

When you're viewing folders in the List View mode, you may notice that while documents show their size, folders only show a dash. That's because it takes a little extra oomph for the OS to calculate folder sizes, since it has to look in the folder and add up its contents. In the System 7 days, you could elect to tell the OS to Show Folder Sizes, but only globally (ie ALL folders), which made the system somewhat slow.

With OS9, you can select View, View Options and check Calculate Folder Sizes, and this option will apply only to the active folder. What's more, modern G3 Macs are so dang speedy, applying this option no longer results in sluggish performance.

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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BIG BUTTONS NO MORE

There's always been some misgivings among hardcore Macheads over the Button view of folders (under the View menu, select As Buttons to see what it looks like). A holdover from the Performa days, they are considered by some people see to be cumbersome and too bulky. However, these buttons can be helpful for kids (you only have to click them once to open the file or folder), or for beginning users--whenever you're trying to keep things simple.

Along these lines, you can make a folder with aliases to some of the kiddies' favorite items and set it to a Button View, for ease of use. And if you just can't stand the big fat buttons, go to the View menu and select view options. Then, you can change the view to Small Buttons instead.

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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BEHOLD THE AMUG SUPER SHAREWARE DVD!

All over the country there are Macintosh User Groups. One of the towering giants has long been the Arizona Macintosh User Group, or AMUG, for short.

For those of you with DVD players (they're standard on the G4s and later), they've got a goodie you might want to consider:

AMUG has released a collection of Macintosh freeware and shareware on DVD. It contains over 9,500 items for a full 3.2 GB of files (over 5 GB decompressed). Of course, you could find and download almost everything in this collection from the Internet (including numerous updates and utilities licensed from Apple). But that would be a major chore.

The DVD provides faster access for those without high-speed connections, and it's also a useful archive for future reference.

The DVD costs $20 ($26 outside the U.S.) direct from AMUG.

AMUG DVD

http://www.amug.org/amug-web/html/amug/store/amugdvd.html

Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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BE GONE, FOLDER OF YORE

Well, aren't you the organized one! You've got all your goodies tucked away in folders and subfolders and subsubfolders of subfolders. Oh, your mom would be so proud.

But what's that you say? Sometimes when you have to dig out a document from cold storage, you leave a trail of open windows that's just plain slovenly? What can you do?

Here's a simple technique to keep your desktop tidy, no matter how deep you dig: On the way to a sunken subfolder, hold down the Option key as you wade in. As you open successive layers of folders, the previous ones will close, eventually just leaving only your desired folder open.

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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BBEdit

It used to be only programmers knew the gospel and glory of Bare Bones Software's fabulous text editor BBEdit. Years later, it continues to be a serious tool for all manner of text-based computing, and can be used by people of all walks and skill levels.

In addition to being THE crack HTML code editor (many basic shortcuts are included, and there are a wealth of HTML-specific plugins available), BBEdit can search and replace across multiple documents. Take that, Microsoft Word.

What makes BBEdit so mean and lean is that it's not worried about being PRETTY. For example, you can't use different fonts or italics or bold or any word processing features (within BBEdit itself, that is; if you're coding HTML, naturally you can apply any and all text attributes to resulting Web pages). What you get instead is powerful control over CONTENT, be it HTML pages, copy, lists, or whatever you like to type. If you're typing copy, it's no problem to send your BBEdit docs to your PC friends; and if you want to make it more handsome, you can easily open a BBEdit document in any word processor and then add a bit of spit and shine.

BareBones Software sells BBEdit for $119, but also offers a shareware version called BBEdit Lite, which is mighty in its own right. Get it at:

BBEdit 5.1.1 (full version):
http://www.barebones.com/products/bbedit/bbedit.html

BBEdit Lite:
http://www.barebones.com/free/bbedit_lite.html

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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ATM LIGHT 4.6 RELEASED

Anybody's who's ever done a whit of desktop publishing may know that there's one thing that's indispensible on a Mac: It's Adobe Type Manager, a control panel that makes fonts appear onscreen with smooth edges--at any size. Without it, you're lookin' at a severe case of the jaggies whenever you magnify a page in, say, Pagemaker or QuarkXPress. ATM is an all-encompassing tool, affecting most any application that involves typesetting.

That's why it's good news that Adobe has released version 4.6 of ATM Light, a free download from the Adobe Website.

In addition to its time-honored duties, ATM Light 4.6 now also supports OpenType fonts, a font specification co-developed by Adobe and Microsoft. If you'd like to learn more about the OpenType standard, you can read about it here:

http://partners.adobe.com/asn/developer/typeforum/opentype.html

ATM Lite
http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/atmmac.htm

(Requires a PowerPC-based machine with Mac OS 8.1 or later.)

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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AS MACS GO BY...

If you wanna get a little misty-eyed over Macs-gone-by, then stroll on over to the Fly on the Mac, a Mac commentary site that is currently running a retrospective of Apple's 1988 ad campaign. We've come a long way baby.

http://www.whichauction.net/apple_ad/

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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APPLICATION SWITCHER IS YOUR FRIEND

One fab component of the Mac OS is called Application Switcher, and it allows you to switch between open applications with a keystroke instead of mousing up to the Application menu in the upper right corner of your screen. Here's what you do to turn it on and specify your preferred key shortcut:

Under the Help menu, select Mac Help. In the resulting window, type "Application Switcher", and then click "Switching Between Open Applications." (It should be the first item in the list of search results.) In the resulting window, scroll about 2/3 of the way down to the section called "Switching from One Program to Another" and look for the link called "Help me modify the keyboard shortcuts." Once you click that link, you can specify a key combination that's convenient for you. My fave is "control-tab."

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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ALPHA, TEXT EDITOR PRIMO

While BBEdit is often lauded for its code editing prowess, I've been schooled by several Mac fans in the code world that Peter Keleher's shareware Alpha, now at version 7.2, is also a champ. MacWorld concurs: "BBEdit may get lots of good press, but the shareware text editor Alpha beats it in the area of HTML features. When you add Johan Linde's free plug-in, HTML mode 2.0.3, Alpha becomes a remarkably flexible and customizable HTML editing tool."

Alpha

http://alpha.olm.net/

HTML Mode

http://www.theophys.kth.se/~jl/Alpha.html

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ACCENTED CHARACTERS

One of the typographical tricks that separates the uber-Mac user from the crowd is being able to conjure up those accented characters, like the u in uber or the e in resume. (Of course, this tip is formatted in plain text, so much of the affect is lost. But you know the characters I'm talking about.)

In any event, it's easy to insert these characters using the venerable Key Caps application found in the Apple Menu. Just fire it up, select the font you're using, and press a combination of modifier keys (Option, Control and Shift) to see a shuffling of the various available characters.

Extra tip: To get most accent marks that appear over a letter requires two keystrokes; one for the accent and another for the letter. Example: to type an accented e, you first press Option-e (it will appear that nothing happens), then you type "e" ... and before you can say "Jan Tschichold," there's your accented e. To put that accent over an a, you type Option-e, and then press a. You get the idea.

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A SNAPPY SCREEN CAP PROGRAM

A few tips ago, we discussed ways to capture screen shots of your Mac desktop. In addition to the Mac OS methods, command-shift-3 and command-shift-4, there are a variety of shareware utilities that offer greater power over the screen grabbing process.

My personal favorite is Snapz Pro from the fine folks at Ambrosia Software. This $40 shareware program allows you to save files in a variety of formats including TIFF and JPEG, and even creates short movies so you can capture a sequence of on-screen events.

Snapz Pro
http://www.snapzpro.com/

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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A SITE FOR EVERYMAC

Finally, here's a resource that doesn't politely sniff and turn away from owners of older Macs. Just nod casually while That One Guy goes on and on about his soon-to-arrive G4 Cube, then surf your way over to EveryMac.com for the lowdown on your beloved PowerMac 7200.

At EveryMac.com, you'll find detailed technical, configuration, and pricing information on all Mac models, not just the latest and the greatest.

EveryMac.com
http://www.everymac.com/

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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A LARGE VOLUME OF VOLUMES

Since audio has become a larger and larger part of the computing experience, here's a little tip to remember when you're having trouble kickin' out the jams like you know you wanna. In other words, an answer to that age-old lament: "Why can't I crank it up more?"

The thing to remember is that there are SEVERAL volume controls at your disposal, and they sometimes trick each other. If you use the control strip (and if you don't, you should), there's a speaker icon there that controls overall system volume. When you change this slider, it's like opening the Sound Control Panel (or Monitors & Sound, depending on your version of the OS) and changing the volume therein.

In addition to that volume control, you might also use the Apple CD Player, which is generally featured in the Apple Menu. This application has volume control that's independent of the previous control I talked about. In addition, you may have programs like SoundJam MP or RealPlayer (for playing Internet audio and MP3s), which each have THEIR own volume controls. Another variable might be those swank multimedia speakers you just hooked up: they've got THEIR own volume knob.

The bottom line is, if your computer ain't rockin' the way it was yesterday, you may have inadvertently turned down the System Volume (aka the speaker on the Control Strip, aka the Sound Control Panel). This is the Master King Emperor Volume Control of System sound. So check to make sure that control hasn't snuck down to a lower level.

--Mick Jeffries surfs the Mac Fantastic in a daily lifelong search for the Perfect Leisure-Time Moment.

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A DATED TIP

It's the occasional simple tip that can make things just a bit easier... and cheers to that, right?

For instance, what is the date today? If you're like me, and typically aren't sure right off the top of your head, just click in the upper-right corner of your desktop where the time is displayed. Clicking the time toggles the date, see?

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USB: "USUALLY SUPER, BUT..."

The Universal System Bus was a great idea when it debuted a few years back, and still is (though it will probably eventually be superceded by Firewire). Through USB, you can have external devices like CD-Burners, digital cameras and hard drives which you can "hot-swap." That is, you don't have to turn your computer off to plug them in or unplug them. The System is constantly scanning for new devices and will "see" them when you plug them in, assuming the right drivers are in place. This was a big improvement over SCSI, or PC's Parallel Ports, which require you to shut down the computer before plugging or unplugging any devices. (Note to those of you still using SCSI devices: it's absolutely hazardous to not turn off your Mac before changing connections.)

Like most things, however, USB is subject to conflicts and flakiness and sometimes you may find that you've got something that gets along less than amicably with your system.

If it seems like your system is freezing and the culprit is a new USB device, try booting up the computer without that device plugged into the USB port and then plug it in after the system has fired up.

If you've got an incompatible USB device, a complaint call to the manufacturer is also highly recommended. Compatibility of Mac hardware has always been a cornerstone of the Apple community. It's harder to police, though, in the converging PC world of USB and Firewire.

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UPDATE: TYPEIT4ME MS. HATHAWAY!

Sometimes, the old days of a secretary seem attractive. Just somebody to TypeIt4Me, you know? Actually, it's mostly those repetitive phrases that get me, like: "I'm so glad that you and I had this chance for a few important and personal words between friends."

Some of you may recall that I recommended this handy utility previously, in which case you're probably already hooked. However, you'll also likely be interested to know there's recently been an update released (the first in a year and a half). If you're not using version 4.8.2, your Ms. Hathaway may need a quick update.

TypeIt4Me

http://www.users.dircon.co.uk/~r-ettore/AboutTypeIt4Me.html

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UNDERSTANDING RAM

These days, RAM is king when it comes to running modern applications. Here's the forklift analogy to help you understand the difference between hard drive memory and RAM memory: Your hard drive is like a warehouse full of boxes of information--the more memory, the larger your warehouse. Software like Web browsers, graphics programs, and email are like forklifts that move the boxes around--and RAM is the fuel that runs the forklift. The more RAM, the more stuff you can move around.

Get it?

So if your software runs slowly (especially memory hogs like Adobe Photoshop or a Web browser with a full arsenal of plug-ins like Flash, Shockwave, RealAudio, etc.), your path of least resistance is to buy a RAM upgrade.

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TIME FOR SOME MOUSE-WASH

Let's get down to the basic cheese. If you're going crazy trying to get that pointer to point correctly, it may be because your mouse is swimming in dust-bunnies.

Every now and then, when you find yourself banging your mouse around trying to make it behave, take a time out and give it a defunking instead: Flip it over, carefully push and twist the plate surrounding the ball, and the back will pop off. Plop out the ball, and inspect the workings. A good hearty BLOW is likely to dislodge free-floating bits of grunge. Also you can gently take your finger and guide the wheels that touch the mouse, while pushing slightly off-center to dislodge the Ring of Grime that may have built up on those wheels.

For particularly tough build-up, use a cotton swab dipped in a bit of rubbing alcohol. The alcohol will help break up that grime, and then quickly evaporate.

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THE MAGIC OF KENSINGTON TURBO MOUSE

It's worth occasionally pointing out those little investments that make computing a more pleasant experience--and one of my great faves for nearly a decade has been the Kensington Turbo Mouse.

This device, which retails for $109, beats your average mouse hands-down for ease of use, ergonomic correctness, and functionality. With up to four programmable buttons, you can set it up to double-click automatically, send things to print with a single click, or even open your favorite applications with a single click.

Three cheers, the folks at Kensington have finally elected to make the Turbo Mouse in a USB configuration, so if you've got a USB-capable Mac, now you can know the wonders of the Turbo Mouse, as well.

Kensington Mice and Trackballs

http://www.kensington.com/products/pro_c1018.html

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THE LAST DITCH EFFORT

The military has a situation called FUBAR. It stands for "Fouled up beyond recognition"(approximately). You undoubtedly know that this also happens on your Mac sometimes, usually resulting in a frozen screen or a system that just won't respond. Usually at that point, you've got to restart and maybe lose what you were working on.

For these times, I'm going to tell you the secret LAST DITCH EFFORT.

If you've got a system that's not responding, but the mouse is still movable; or you've got a frozen clock cursor, but nothing else is working, you can try to shake things loose using a programming command demanding your Mac to GO TO THE FINDER, DO NOT PASS GO: Command-Power. (Yes, I'm referring to the Power-On button on your keyboard.) If an empty dialog box pops up, you may be (and that's a big maybe) in luck. Try typing "g" or "g finder" (no quotation marks) and hitting return. If Fate smiles, this command will toss you out of whatever snafu has happened back into the loving, but confused arms of the Mac OS. At which point you should restart your Mac IMMEDIATELY.

Be aware though: While this command has saved my hiney on numerous occasions, I'd say it works less than 50 percent of the time. If it doesn't work, your system will probably freeze and you'll have to do a hard-restart (which you were going to have to do anyway, right?).

To hard-restart a frozen Mac, hold down Shift-Command and press the Power-On key. (Last note: Sometimes even this doesn't work and you have to unplug your Mac or press the Power or Reset button on the Mac itself--if your Mac has such a button.)

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MORE DOWNLOADABLE FONTS

Previously, we looked at a couple of dynamite Internet font resources to spice up your computing. Today, one more to chew on:

MyFonts.com is a Web site devoted to fonts done by font aficionados. There's the TypeXplorer, a tool to browse the 10,000 font database by adjusting thickness, width, height, and other font variables. Find a font you like and the TypeXplorer displays a graphic preview, even allowing you to "testdrive" the font with your own text. You can browse by font styles, font names, font designers, or font foundries.

For the most part, you'll have to pony up some cash to become the proud owner of the fonts on this site, but it's a great place to explore the fascinating world of digital typography and the designers behind it.

MyFonts

http://www.myfonts.com/

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LAPTOP ACCESSORY NUMERO UNO

This one's simple: Dig up an extra mouse or go out and buy a new (cheap, even!) one. Nothing improves the laptop experience (in desktop situations) like a real mouse. And the little bugger takes up so little space that you can pack it with you easily on your worldly ventures, Ace.

For a wide range of $25 mice, check MacWarehouse:

http://www.macwarehouse.com/

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HELLO EARTH: SPACE ALIENS FOUND BY YOUR MAC

Forget about "Red Planet," there's a safer way to find intelligent life in the universe. You can participate in the SETI@Home project, the largest shared computing project ever.

Best if you have a DSL line at home (or run it at the office; it's not a bandwidth hog), the SETI@Home screensaver works while you're away by analyzing bite-sized chunks of radiotelescope data and reporting back to the Berkeley-based project that works with SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence), popularized in the movie "Contact."

The official word: "As of February, 2000, SETI@home has grown to encompass 1.6 million participants in 224 countries. The amount of computing time contributed since May 1999 is equal to 165,000 years, averaging 10 Teraflops (about 10 times more than the largest supercomputer on the planet). It is the largest computation ever done, and has attracted the participation of 20,000 groups such as schools and private companies."

Pitch in! It's FREE (unlike building your own Very Large Array).

SETI@Home

http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/

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FREEING RAM

Previously, we discussed the importance of adequate RAM to keep today's memory-hungry applications running in top form. Today, a "classic" OS quandary.*

Say you're running a bunch of applications and want to recapture some RAM by quitting one or more programs. You quit them, but when you check the About This Computer box, the numbers remain unchanged and no RAM has been made available.

Why doesn't quitting apps free up memory?

Your system memory (RAM) is fragmented, which means the free memory is broken up into little chunks (metaphorically, that is--your actual RAM is in fine shape). Memory fragmentation occurs after you open and close a lot of applications. To fix this situation, you'll have to quit everything and restart your Mac. You'll now find that more free memory is available.

* With the approaching advent of Mac OSX, this problem goes the way of the big lizards.

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ERGO: SMART ON THE WRISTS

Everybody knows word processing beats the heck out of a typewriter. No whiteout! But extensive keyboarding also beats the heck out of your wrists. Can you say Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

If you do a lot of word processing at your Mac, you should think about an ergonomic split keyboard to ease the strain. Your wrists will thank you every day for this minor investment of 60 or 70 bucks. My longstanding favorite is the Adesso Tru-Form split keyboard. This company also makes old-style serial or newer-tech USB models.

Adesso Inc

http://www.adessoinc.com/index.html

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DOWNLOADABLE FONTS

Tired of all those system fonts your Mac came with? Well, my typographical friend, lucky for you the Internet is just teeming with free fonts, which you can download and install to jazz up your word processing or graphic design.

Simply download that special font that's caught your fancy, unstuff it and drag it to the Fonts folder in your System Folder. Fonts for Macs and PCs differ somewhat, so in your search, you'll want to look for either Mac PostScript fonts or Mac TrueType fonts. Both are widely available.

One of my favorite font sites is Chank.com. Chank.com is the work of Minneapolis' Chank Diesel, self-proclaimed Alphabetician. His site blends wise-ass humor with a constantly updated selection of custom-designed fonts, many of which are free. Among the feathers in his cap is the typography used on a lot of Taco Bell advertising.

Chank

http://www.chank.com

Another mighty fine font site with a number of free selections is Astigmatic One Eye Foundry. A free font section can be found here:

Astigmatic One Eye Foundry Free Fonts

http://www.astigmatic.com/aoeff/freefonts.html

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BLUE MAN GROUP POWERED BY MACS AND MARSHMALLOWS

You may have seen a recent Intel commercial featuring three strange men who are, well, completely blue. The much-celebrated Blue Man Group has been doing its rollicking "mimes from space" schtick for years now, but it was a little surprising to see them show up in an Intel (read: Windows processor chip) commercial.

Y'see, when it comes to running its complicated live show, the Blue Man Group relies on Macs.

http://www.apple.com/creative/stories/blueman/

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AVOIDING A HEATED EXCHANGE

If you've got a Powerbook or an iBook sitting active on a desk for many hours a day, you may occasionally have problems with it acting skittery after a while. Because of all the compressed circuitry, laptops can sometimes overheat, making them behave erratically.

Here's the quickest and cheapest solution that you'll ever hear for this problem: Take a fat pen--a highlighter, for instance--and wedge it up under the middle under your open laptop, between the desk and the machine, at the 6 o'clock position. This little bit of incline will be enough to get some cool air underneath your machine, but not enough to bother you when you're typing.

Extra two bits: Another personal fave for this scenario is to flip over an old wireframe "In" box and set the laptop on that.

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