Mac|Life How-Tos RSS Feed

Give Your Magic Mouse More Gestures

Cory Bohon — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:38:44 -0600

The new Apple Magic Mouse might be magical in some regards, but many owners are bummed because the mouse can’t do some of the cool Multi-Touch functions that the iPhone can.

MouseWizard, a small and inexpensive application for the Mac, hopes to remedy this situation by bringing even more Multi-Touch goodness to the Magic Mouse. The application, which costs $2.50, adds four additional functions to your Magic Mouse: Middle Click, Fourth Click, Zoom/Shrink, and Sleep.

The fourth click is customizable for Exposé, Dashboard, and Spotlight, and is accomplished by placing two fingers on the mouse surface, one on the right edge and one on the left. The selected action will then be completed without even having to do a click.

The Zoom/Shrink function is probably one of the coolest reasons to own a Magic Mouse and this software because it allows you to zoom in and out iPhone style by pinching and stretching two fingers across the surface. It works in many applications and can come in handy when you need to zoom in on an image or PDF in Preview.

The last new function that MouseWizard will give you is the ability to sleep your computer by covering the entire mouse surface with your hand and clicking.

The MouseWizard software is a simple application that stays in the menu bar. When you click its icon you will be able to set your preferences in a System Preferences styled window, complete with a testing area to try out the gestures. The application must remain open in order to keep using the new gestures.

Overall, we found this application to be a great addition to the already great Magic Mouse. We also discovered that if you own a MacBook Pro that you can also use this software to give your Multi-Touch trackpad some additional features.

You can get a 10-day trial of the MouseWizard software from the developer's website.

Using Non-Visual Voicemail to Take Voicemail Notes

Scott Rose — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:52:55 -0600

I like how my iPhone’s Visual Voicemail lets me listen to messages out of order. But I also use my iPhone for note-taking, and I can’t listen to my Visual Voicemail while using another app. Or can I?

That’s one our biggest frustrations with the iPhone. But if someone leaves you a voicemail with lots of important information, and you don’t have a pen and paper handy to jot down notes, you can still call your voicemail the old-fashioned way. Go into your phone’s keypad and hold down the 1 key for two seconds to access your voicemail. Then, put your call on speakerphone, press the Home key to bring up your apps, and switch to whatever note-taking app you’d like.

Calling our voicemail the old-school way, then putting the call on speakerphone, lets us take notes at the same time.

If you’re lucky enough to have Google Voice (invite-only at press time), the service transcribes any voicemails you receive and can send you a copy as an SMS text message or email it to your Gmail account. Apple has declined to allow a native Google Voice app on the iPhone (and pulled all third-party Google Voice apps from the App Store), but you can still access the service by surfing to www.google.com/voice/m in Safari on your iPhone.

The Ol' Icon Switch-A-Roo

Scott Rose — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:52:23 -0600

I’m having trouble seeing the Dock icons for the latest Office for Mac applications. I thought the Office 2004 for Mac icons were darker and easier to see in my Dock. Is there a way to alter the Office 2008 for Mac icons, or can I substitute one for the other?

Yes! In the screenshot you sent us, we noticed you had Office 2008’s icons in your Dock next to Office 2004’s icons. You can reassign Office 2004’s icons to your Office 2008 applications, but then you should probably drag the Office 2004 apps out of your Dock, so you don’t get confused!

The person writing in wanted to substitute the darker Office 2004 icons (on the right) for the too-light Office 2008 icons (on the left).

First, right-click (or Control-click) the Dock icon for Word 2008 (on the left in your screenshot), and choose Show In Finder. This will launch a new Finder window with the Word 2008 application selected. Press Command-I to open the Get Info window for that application. Now do the same thing to open the Get Info window for Word 2004.

Each app’s icon is at the top-left of the Get Info window. All you need to do is click the Word 2004 icon to select it (it’ll be highlighted blue when you do), and then press Command-C to copy that icon. Now over in the Get Info window for Word 2008, click that app’s icon to select it, and press Command-V to paste in the icon you copied (Word 2004) instead. Close the Get Info windows.

You can swap icons by copying-and-pasting the icon at the top-left of the Get Info windows.

The icon in your Dock won’t change instantly--you have to kick the app out of your Dock and then re-add it for the icon to be updated. Right-click the Word 2008 app’s Dock icon and select Show In Finder again, so you can remember where the application is stored--it should be showing its new icon in this window. Then drag the Word 2008 out of your Dock and watch it disappear with its little poof. In the Finder window that you just opened, drag Word 2008 sporting its new icon back into the Dock. Now you can repeat the process for your Excel and PowerPoint icons too.

MacBook Numeric Keypads

Scott Rose — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:22:37 -0600

Where can I get a keypad for my MacBook Pro? Targus states that theirs is Mac compatible, but it will not work with the Mac version of Excel. Is anything else available?

We haven’t tried that Targus keypad, but we’ll take your word for it. The Adesso 19-Key Mobile USB Numeric Keypad with Retractable Cable (model AKP-150) retails for $24.99 at www.adesso.com, but we found it on Amazon for less than $20.

If you’ve got an iPhone or iPod touch, check out an app called NumPad ($2.99 in the App Store), which turns your device into a numeric keypad. Your iPhone and Mac need to be on the same Wi-Fi network, but the setup is easy and the app works well.

The retractable cable on Adesso's keypad is a nice touch for laptop users.

Or, obviously, you could just use an external keyboard that has a numeric keypad. We still get compliments on our Moshi Célesta keyboard two full years after we initially reviewed it, but it’s also $120 (www.moshimonde.com). A cheaper but still quality option is Apple’s own wired Keyboard with Numeric Keypad for $49 (www.apple.com).

Now a Nerdier Way to Ghost Ride

Liam Widman — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:15:12 -0600

Waterloo Labs has now invented an iPhone app that allows you to drive your car with an iPhone, or a toy car designed for children to drive. In the app, there is a slider for the brakes, a slider for the gas, and you can tilt the iPhone left and right to steer. The video above explains a little bit about how they did it, but Waterloo Labs created another video designed to show you how to make a iPhone Car yourself.

Can't Check Gmail on iPhone 3GS

Scott Rose — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:38:50 -0600

I just got an iPhone 3GS, and I can’t connect to my Gmail in the Mail app. This worked just fine on my old iPhone, but now I’m getting an error message that says, “Cannot connect using SSL.” I can connect just fine to Gmail using Safari, but I’d prefer to use Mail.

We’ve noticed the same problem at the ScottWorld offices as well. It appears that Gmail has implemented some sort of new security restriction, but there’s an easy fix.

First, double-check that IMAP access is still enabled for your Gmail account. To do this, log in to Gmail in Safari, click Settings in the upper-right corner of the screen, click the Forwarding And POP/IMAP tab, and ensure that Enable IMAP is selected.

Then, on your iPhone, use Safari to go to Google’s account unlocking webpage at www.google.com/accounts/DisplayUnlockCaptcha. Type in your email address, your password, and the letters that you see in the image. Then tap Unlock.

Note that you must go through this unlocking process on your iPhone. After doing so, you may also have to delete and re-create your Gmail account from the Mail, Contacts, Calendars section of your iPhone’s Settings.

Build a Bootable Rescue SD Card For Your Mac

David W. Martin — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:24:32 -0600

The latest MacBook Pros and iMacs sport a new port, a Secure Digital (SD) memory card reader. The immediate assumption is that you will use the SD card slot for transferring videos and photos from a camera to the Mac. That's what a majority of users will use it for.

For the hardcore users out there, Apple decided to give the SD port super powers -- you can use it to build a bootable SD card. That bootable card can then become an awesome tool for performing emergency hard drive repairs, data recovery, recovering deleted files, and much more. This how-to will get you started on building your SD card offering you a few ideas along the way, but potential uses for this SD card are practically unlimited.

Difficulty level:
Medium

What you need:
> MacBook Pro or iMac 2009 model with built-in SD card slot

> Mac OS X installation DVD that shipped with your Mac.

> Recommended high speed 16GB or 32GB SanDisk Extreme III SD card; Minimum 8GB SanDisk Extreme III. Note: Other SD cards may work, but will be considerably slower. See this Apple support document for more information on compatible SD cards.

> Installation Disks for your favorite Mac OS X recovery utilities, applications or other tools.

> 90 minutes or more of free time.

Note: This how-to focuses on creating a personalized bootable rescue drive. You can use the retail Snow Leopard to create a bootable drive for any compatible Mac with an SD card port. Check with your OS X utility of choice to make sure it will work on a variety of machines after installation.

Create a Bootable SD Card

1. Insert the SD card you want to use into the built-in card slot on your MacBook Pro or iMac.

2. Launch Disk Utility from Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities

3. Select the SD card inside of the left pane in Disk Utility.

4. Click on Partition; then under Volume Scheme change it to one partition

5. Under Volume information type the following:
Name: MPB13_SD_BOOT (13 represents the model MacBook Pro)
    Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
    Size: 15.59 GB for 16GB SD Card (accept maximum the default)

6. Click the Options button and select GUID Partition Table and click Ok.

7. Click Apply and then click Partition.

Disk Utility will prepare and format the SD card. Afterwards, you are ready to install Mac OS X onto the card.

Installing Mac OS X onto the SD Card

1. Insert the Mac OS X installation DVD that came with your MacBook Pro or iMac.

2. Double click the Mac OS X installation icon.

Note: The installation screen, for Mac OS X Leopard, will tell you that the installation will take approximately 11.6GB of space. This exceeds the space on an 8GB SD card by a wide margin. We'll resolve that problem shortly.

3. Select a Destination in this case that will be the SD card you prepared above.

4. Click Continue.

5. At the installation summary screen click Customize.

6. You will be presented with check list of items that will be installed. Uncheck all of the following: Printer Drivers, Additional Fonts, Language Translations, and X11. This will reduce a Mac OS X Leopard installation down to approximately 6.2GB. Click Done.

7. Click Install and Mac OS X will start to install onto the SD card. The installation will take an hour or more. Once it has completed click through any other screens that appear accepting the defaults on each one.

You are now ready to boot your Mac from the SD card. Restart your Mac while pressing and holding down the Option key. You will eventually be presented with the Startup Manager -- select your SD card and your Mac will boot from it as shown below.

Installing Your Favorite Disk Utilities, Tools and Other Applications

Once you've verified that your SD card is bootable you'll have to decide what applications you want to install and how you might need to customize Mac OS X on your new tiny postage sized Mac hard drive. Yes, believe it or not, your SD card is now a full fledged bootable Mac hard drive and it will act just like one. In fact, you can take it with you and boot any Mac of the same model as it was built on, which in this case was a 13-inch MacBook Pro.

We went to my software library and installed the following applications on our emergency SD rescue card: DiskWarrior, Drive Genius 2, FileSalvage, and TechTool Pro 5. They all installed just as they would normally, updated automatically, and accepted serial numbers as needed for activation. We then dragged their icons to the Dock for easy access after booting off of the SD card. In addition to that, we added icons for commonly used tools for trouble shooting: Activity Monitor, Console, Terminal, Disk Utility, and System Profiler.

Secrets of Professional Podcasting

Joe Rybicki — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:00:06 -0600

Make your talking time shine.

So you've started a podcast, have you? And now that you've got a few episodes under your belt, you're starting to see your audience grow. Now it's time to get a little more serious about your craft. And we're here to help, with four tips to bring you closer to podcasting stardom.

Difficulty Level: Easy

What You Need:

> GarageBand '09 (included with iLife, free with new Macs or $79, www.apple.com)

> A microphone (see Step 1)

> A topic about which to ramble

1. The Right Gear Makes a Difference

Planning to record using your MacBook’s internal mic or your gaming headset? Please don’t. You don’t need a top-of-the-line microphone, but quality does make a difference. If a solo podcast is all the recording you ever expect to do, you can get the most consistent results from a decent headset mic. But avoid anything designed for gaming, as these tend to have mediocre recording quality even if the headphones sound great. Instead, plan to spend between $50 and $100 on a mic designed specifically for recording. We love the one on our U2 headset from CAD Audio ($49, www.cadaudio.com).

The USB-based U2 headset from CAD Audio is a decent, affordable option for podcasting.

If you’re not going to be the only one chattering away, or you expect to record anything besides podcasts, plan to spend at least $25 to $50 on a decent unidirectional mic, like the $49 Audix F50 (www.audixusa.com). But don’t forget you’ll also want a stand and some sort of windscreen to prevent against vicious pops.

2. Warm Up the Crowd

Want to wrap your podcast in a truly professional package? Then get yourself some theme music! You don’t need to compose a theme song from scratch--though if you have such talents, it certainly wouldn’t hurt. But for non-composers, Apple has thoughtfully included a whole suite of jingles with GarageBand.

Set your theme music to fade out and in slowly to avoid jarring silences.

Open the Loop Browser by clicking the eye in the bottom-left, then select the Podcast Sounds tab at the bottom. The Jingles menu gives you an extremely broad range of different styles to tinker with. Select one that’s 30 seconds or more, and give it about 10 seconds of play before the speaking starts. Click the gray down-arrow in the Track control panel to show the Track Volume automation curve. GarageBand will handle the “ducking” (i.e., lowering the jingle when the speaking starts), but you’ll still need to slowly fade the music out over the next 10 seconds or so. Then do the same thing in reverse at the end of your show. You’ll be amazed what a polished feel you can get from such a simple addition.

3. Don't Talk to Yourself

Bringing in guests can really spice up your podcast. And it’s becoming more and more common for podcasters to wrangle far-flung guests via phone or Internet-voice (VoIP) services like Skype: The host adjusts the levels of each participant before the session, and then records the output of the VoIP application with Audio Hijack Pro or WireTap Studio. While that can do the job, the sound quality is often subpar, and it becomes much more difficult to edit the podcast, since all the guests are on a single track.

Sync up remote recordings by having your guests all count together.

You can take a giant leap forward in quality and post-production flexibility by using a technique known as a “two-ender.” The concept is simple: You use a VoIP app to converse with your guests naturally, but each guest records his or her own voice locally and sends you the file, which you can then simply drag into GarageBand. Even if they don’t have quality recording gear like yours, it’ll sound worlds better than recording any kind of phone call. Just don’t forget to set a sync point in your recording: Having all participants simply count to 3 simultaneously will allow you to quickly match up the timing of the separate recordings.

4. Clean It Up

Finally, nothing screams “amateur hour” like wildly variable volume, forcing the listener to constantly scramble for the volume control. This is one of the most common transgressions against professionalism you’re likely to hear. But luckily, it’s also one of the easiest to fix.

For the sake of volume knobs everywhere, please compress your tracks.

Once you’ve recorded or imported all your vocal tracks--but before doing your final mixdown--go into each track and add a new effect by selecting one of the dropdown menus that currently says “None.” Scroll down to Audio Unit effects and choose AUDynamicsProcessor. This will make the loud parts a little quieter and the quiet parts a little louder. Unless you have guests moving dramatically closer or farther away from their microphones (which is why we recommend headsets), this should even out everyone’s volume, making your show considerably more listenable and your audience considerably happier. And that’s what it’s all about, right?