Tech: Setting Up a new mac (Part 2)

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Tech: Setting Up a new mac (Part 2)

Many friends and people are buying their first Macs as of late and have asked me for advice on being a “New Mac Owner.”

Please add any other suggestions/ideas in the comments below!

SETTING UP CORNERS/MISSION CONTROL

MY FAVORITE feature on Macs is a trick that used to be called “Corners” and is now located under “Mission Control.” It enables you to move your mouse to one of your four screen corners to make different actions occur. Here is how mine is set up.

MISSION CONTROL (From here you can click on whatever program you want to use)

DESKTOP

DASHBOARD

Try it out and let me know how it goes.

February 21, 2012 in Helpful Tricks with 3 Comments

TECH: SETTING UP A NEW MAC (Part 1)

Many friends and people are buying their first Macs as of late and have asked me for advice on being a “New Mac Owner.” Here’s what I do with a new Mac in chronological order.

Please add any other suggestions/ideas in the comments below!

SYSTEM PREFERENCES

RIGHT CLICK HEAVEN - System Preferences > Trackpad > Point & Click > Check Secondary Click (Click or tap with two fingers)

OLD FASHIONED SCROLLING - System Preferences > Trackpad > Scroll & Zoom > Uncheck Scroll direction: natural

DOWNLOADS

download CHROME - I prefer Chrome more than Safari or Firefox, but I usually have all three opened. Chrome let’s you google by typing directly into the URL unlike Safari & Firefox. Additionally, you can sign into Chrome with your Gmail Account which will sync your bookmarks and settings on all PCs with Chrome installed.
download DROPBOX – All of my files that are not too large I keep in my Dropbox.
download LASTPASS – LastPass is the best password manager that can be installed on each browser you use. It requires one password to remember all passwords.
download FLASH PLAYER – Chrome has it built-in, but you’ll need it for Firefox & Safari
download DIVX - DivX let’s you play (.avi and .mkv) video files
download FLIP4MAC WMV – play Windows Media Files in QuickTime
download GROWL – Growl is a notification tool that is useful – the newest version cost $, I just have the free version 1.2.2
download MACFUSE – MACFUSE allows you to open and write on different file formats – NFTS
download PERIAN – Perian makes every video file format work with QuickTime

MAC HOTKEYS

Command = Control
Add a Browser Tab – Command + T
Recover a Browser Tab – Command + Shift + T
Copy – Command + C
Paste – Command + V
Cut - Command + X
Undo - Command + Z
Redo - Command + Shift + Z
Highlight All Text - Command + A
Once Finder is Open – Open a new Finder Window - Command + N
Invert Colors - Command + Option + Control + 8
Windows Backspace = Delete & Windows Delete = Fn + Delete
X-ing out a program does not close the program like it does with Windows – it minimizes it. Instead you can Quit a program by hitting Command + Q.

February 17, 2012 in Apps, Programs, and Such, Helpful Tricks with 4 Comments

Tech: Best Pandora App for Mac – Pianopub

I love using Pandora to discover new music and listen to music that I love. However, it is a pain to have to sign in to Pandora every time to use it. This actually reduced my Pandora usage dramatically. Then I discovered a free app - Painopub. Check it. You download it, pull it to applications, throw it on your dock, and then you are always signed in and just have to click on PianoPub to have awesome, free, easy music. It’s free and easy.

December 25, 2011 in Apps, Programs, and Such with 0 Comments

Tech: Sharing One Netflix to Save Money

On One Netflix Account, you can have six devices. My family shares my dad’s subscription – I am able to stream in Illinois, while my family is streaming in Oklahoma. Instead of paying for multiple accounts, you can split the cost with family or close friends. If you’re really lucky they may let you use it for free.

Here’s how you can manually register or de-register devices you no longer wish to use for watching instantly.

December 25, 2011 in Helpful Tricks with 7 Comments