Tag Archive | "Mac"

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Using Ipod Shuffle with iTunes and Windows 7

Posted on 22 January 2012 by Couchy

Last week we showed you how to get Windows 7 running on your Mac, but iTunes won’t be able to sync your shuffle. This is a solution both for those with Windows 7 installed on Mac and PC. To fix the problem you will have to work through the following steps.

  1. If your Shuffle is connected to your Mac/PC then disconnect it, close iTunes.
  2. Close ”ITunesHelper.exe” in the windows task manager (CTRL-ALT-DEL).
  3. Download Sharepod
  4. Reconnect the iPod Shuffle and start Sharepod, you should now be able to see your iPod.
  5. With Sharepod still open start iTunes.
  6. Your iPod should be visible in iTunes, select options and uncheck iTunes autostart, check hard drive usage.
  7. Accept changes and close iTunes, do not eject your iPod using the iTunes interface.
  8. Close Sharepod and disconnect your Shuffle before you restart you Mac/PC.

Thats it your iTunes will now be able to place all your podcasts and music on your shuffle just like normal. You will no longer need Sharepod so feel free to uninstall it.

Comments (1)

Tags: , , , , , ,

10 Reasons Macs are better out of the box

Posted on 13 January 2012 by Couchy

mac-vs-pc

A look at a few of the reasons why its just so easy to just open your new Mac and start using it instead of fighting with your hardware and software to do what you want.

Macs look cool

Before you even turn your new Mac on you are going to notice this one, it looks great. Design is great, buttons are great, ports are great. Even the cords and other accessories are well designed.

Not as many viruses

With very few viruses that target Macs out in the wild, most users do not ever install anti virus programs. If you were on Windows you would be crazy to go online without a firewall and anti virus. Navigating your way through anti virus trial offers and what is the best anti virus forum threads isn’t exactly fun.

OSX and dock is where its at

Your OSX toolbar is going to be a welcome change to your cluttered Windows desktop, its all there right from the first time you turn it on. Windows 7 does give the OSX dock a run for its money though.

No need to install 50 million drivers

Your sound and wireless will just work. There won’t be a need to scour the internet for the correct drivers you will just be able to get online with the network of your choice at a few clicks.

Unobtrusive updates

Windows is renowned for prompting multiple update downloads the first time it is switched, most of them are for security purposes. Macs download updates automatically letting you get on with what you want to do with your Mac.

iLife

Standard on every Mac iLife lets its users play around with photos, music and video straight away.

Sweet Apps

Software support used to be a problem for Macs but the fact that you can now boot windows so easily this is no longer an issue. There are plenty of Mac exclusive apps you will be glad you can use as well.

It talks nice to your iPhone and iPod

Your iPhone and iPod will feel right at home on your Mac. Programs like Liveview utilise both Mac and iPhone, once again no crazy drivers to hunt down before it works.

Apple retail store

If you need help learning how to use your new Mac you can attend a workshop at an Apple Store, did we mention there is no charge. Or if you have a quick question you can just ask one of the staff. If you buy your Mac at an Apple store someone will even help you move all your old files over to your new Mac, handy!

If something goes wrong

Not that it often does but if something goes wrong you can take your Mac into a retail store where everyone will know exactly what your talking about. Customer support is excellent and anyone that works on your Mac will have worked on the exact same configuration before.

Comments (4)

Tags: , , , ,

A cute snow leopard wallpaper

Posted on 07 January 2012 by Couchy

There has been a lot of backlash against the poor design of the latest Mac updates wallpapers and box art in the tech world.

Hopefully this cute wallpaper from VladStudio.com can cheer you up.

:thumb134934936:

Comments (0)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

10 Snow Leopard Tips

Posted on 01 January 2012 by Couchy

1. You don’t need to have Leopard already.

Yep don’t think you need the full box set. You can just purchase Snow Leopard to upgrade from Tiger. Also if you bought your Mac on or after June 8th you can get Snow Leopard for $10 on the Apple up to date scheme.

2. Traveller clock

Go into Date and time preferences and you can check "Set time zone automatically using current location”. Perfect for those that travel around a lot with their Mac. Third party apps will also be able to take advantage of location support.

3. 64bit my Mac

If you want to boot into 64-bit mode hold the 6 and 4 keys on startup. 64bit programs will start up slightly faster in this mode.

4. All you Sync belong to us

You can now Sync your Google and Yahoo accounts via Address Book > Preferences, Accounts tab. iCal will now syncs with Google and Yahoo Calendar. Also of course it now supports Microsoft Exchange servers one of the biggest features of the upgrade.

5. Where is my Clean Install

Sounds like Apple had more than a few people call up and complain about where the #$@$ there data was. So you can no longer select the friendly sounding clean install instead you will have to go to Utilities > Disk Utility.

6. Check scanner and printer support

Not much more annoying than not being able to print so you might want to make sure your printer and scanner are supported before you upgrade. There is also a new auto update feature for printer drivers so when your printer is supported you should be set.

7. Boot camp buffed

You can now view your Windows files and vice versa your Mac files while in Windows. Handy although restricted to read only access for now (will keep an eye out for hacks around this).

8. Give me my hard drive back

Results vary but you will definitely claim back hard drive space by upgrading between 5-10GB.

9. Wardriving just got easier

When you go to select a wifi network you will now get a handy icon next to the connection name showing the signal strength.

10. Wake up

You can now wake servers when data is needed if they are in sleep mode.

Comments (2)

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Overburn CD or DVD Mac OSX

Posted on 30 December 2011 by Couchy

I recently had to burn a 704MB .avi (divX) file to a 700MB CD through my MacBook. I was pleased to find that although the default OSX Mac burner won’t overburn you can easily do this through a few terminal commands to bypass the overburn block.

1. Firstly create a directory with a short name (will be easier to type into terminal) that only contains the file you wish to burn, remove .nfo files (if a torrent file) or previews/covers leaving just the main .avi file. I called mine “movie”.

2. Open terminal (click finder and type it in if you haven’t used it before).

3. Browse to the directory above movies, enter “cd /user/downloads” where the directory containing the files you are burning is /user/downloads/movie (cd simply stands for change directory). Terminal will then display that you are in that directory. If you get stuck here because you haven’t used terminal before comment below and I will help you out.

4. Create an iso of the movies folder, in terminal enter “hdiutil makehybrid -o isofilename movie/” and your .iso will be created from the files in the folder movie. The progress will be displayed in terminal (doesn’t take long).

5. Enter your cd or DVD into the drive and burn using “hdiutil burn isofilename.iso” (while still in the same directory, which you will be if you follow the steps above). You will not be given the option of what speed to burn the disc at (in most cases this fastest setting is fine),  status will again be displayed in terminal while burning and verifying the disc.

6. Once burned you can delete isofilename.iso if you don’t plan on making any more copies.

Comments (14)

Tags: , , , , ,

Sharing between Mac and Windows 7 (the easy way)

Posted on 29 December 2011 by Couchy

Windows 7 and Mac

When your in a hurry and just need to share some files quickly between your Windows 7 PC and Mac there is not better way than this 3 step process.

Step 1:On your Mac. Go to Finder, Click “Go” and select “Connect to Server”.

Windows 7 share Mac

Step 2: On your Apple Mac, under server address type in “smb://” followed by your IP address for your Windows 7 PC, example smb://192.6.1.100

Windows 7 share Mac

Step 3: You will be prompted to enter your Windows 7 username and password, do so and you will be connected and asked which drive you would like to mount.

Windows 7 share Mac

Troubleshooting: If you can’t see any files or folders ensure that they are visible on your Windows 7 PC under “Network” and your computer name in explorer. To share a folder in Windows 7 just right click it and select “share with”.

There is no need to restart your Mac for sharing to begin.

Comments (1)

Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

A new more magical mouse emerges

Posted on 08 November 2011 by Couchy

image

Now you will be able to click, swipe and scroll through your digital life on Mac. Touted as the worlds first multi touch mouse the device retails for US $69.00 ($99.00 AUS, go figure).

Check out the images below then head over to Apple for the pitch.

http://www.apple.com/magicmouse/

I have yet to try one but seems like a big improvement over the mighty mouse.

 

image

image

 

 

image

Comments (0)

Tags: , , , , ,

14 Fresh Hand Picked Mac Wallpapers

Posted on 30 October 2011 by Couchy

:thumb113125986:

Continue Reading

Comments (7)

Tags: , ,

Apple Scene HD 1920 x 1080 Wallpaper

Posted on 07 October 2011 by Couchy

applescenehdwallpaper

apple-scene-hd-wallpaper

apple-scene-girl-wallpaper

Comments (4)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ultimate list of Apple Photoshop resources for designers

Posted on 19 September 2011 by Couchy

Apple remote by *Bobbyperux

3 Icons + PSD

image

Continue Reading

Comments (2)