OS X Mountain Lion Operating System Review

Mountain Lion logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Source: macworld.com

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One year and one week since the release of OS X Lion, Apple is back with Mountain Lion, also known as OS X 10.8.

Like Lion, Mountain Lion offers numerous feature additions that will be familiar to iOS users. This OS X release continues Apple’s philosophy of bringing iOS features “back to the Mac,” and includes iMessage, Reminders, Notes, Notification Center, Twitter integration, Game Center, and AirPlay Mirroring. There are even a few features that are making their debut with Mountain Lion, and will find their way back into iOS 6 this fall.

As the first OS X release post-iCloud, Mountain Lion offers a much more thorough integration with Apple’s data-syncing service than Lion offered. Mountain Lion also brings options to limit which kinds of apps users can install, offers systemwide integration with social networking and media-sharing services, and gives some recent MacBook models the power to keep working even when they appear to be asleep. And although there are no actual mountain lions in China, OS X Mountain Lion does add a raft of features to speak to users in the country that’s Apple’s biggest growth opportunity.

At $20, Mountain Lion is Apple’s cheapest OS X upgrade since version 10.1 was free 11 years ago; like Lion, Mountain Lion is available only via a Mac App Store download. The combination of the low price and the easy download will likely make Mountain Lion the most quickly adopted OS X upgrade of all time. Given how solid a release I found Mountain Lion to be, that’s a good thing.

(A compatibility note: Some Macs now running Lion won’t be able to run Mountain Lion. For more details, read our Mountain Lion FAQ.)

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iCloud could potentially do wonders for sync

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Source: macworld.com

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Cross-Device Productivity

By now we have heard all sorts of things about iCloud.

But the thing I am most interested in is how it will help me access documents that I am working with or need access to across my devices from my laptop to iPad to iPhone and my iMac at home.

I'm much more interested in how the service could theoretically improve my cross-device productivity.

Right now, iPad file management requires a combination of several kludgey methods.

Search the Web - including this very site - and you'll find plenty about the awesomeness of Dropbox, but not every iOS app supports it (including any of Apple's). The apps that do support Dropbox each rely upon their own implementation.

All this is true of Apple's own iDisk, too, except that we haven't spent much ink extolling that service's virtues.

(I don't use iDisk anymore. I found it slow and occasionally hungry for eating up my files.)

But if iCloud means we can stop relying on sending files between apps, we'll be thrilled.

Thus, my wish for iCloud is that it includes Dropbox-esque live document sharing and synchronization between Macs and iOS devices.

I want it to be built in such a way that developers can include it in their apps as easily as they can embed an Open dialog box (on the Mac) or call up the virtual keyboard (on iOS).

All the work - the syncing, the interface itself - should fall under Apple's purview, so that the experience is constant and equally available to all developers.

As I imagine it, I could create a document in Pages on my Mac and save it to iCloud.

When I go to my iPad, I can open the same document there from iCloud within the mobile Pages app.

And as with Google Docs, if I leave the document open on multiple devices at the same time, each of them automatically updates on-the-fly to remain current with whichever version I'm actually editing at that moment.

If iCloud merely simplifies that process with Dropbox-style syncing that's baked into the core of both Lion and iOS 5, I'll be on cloud nine.

But if Apple wants to send my joyousness levels into the stratosphere - and really, why wouldn't the company share that goal? - the process of saving files to and from iCloud will be seamless and nearly invisible.

Though I love Google Calendar, I prefer iCal overall, and iCal's Google Calendar support is weak.

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iPad - Frequently Asked Questions Answered

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

iPad FAQ: Your top 14 questions answered

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Source: msnbc.msn.com

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Article Summary:

Does my iPad have a hard drive?

Instead, it uses NAND-based memory to duplicate the functions of a spinning hard disk, which would suck up enough power to send battery miser Steve Jobs over the edge.

All your applications, videos, photographs, downloaded music, movies, television programs and other data goes into the flash memory.

Depending on how much money you decided to throw at Apple, your iPad has 16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB of storage space.

Compared to a new Mac or PC, the iPad's storage is Lilliputian: The low-end MacBook Pro, for example, has a 160 GB hard drive, while the cheapest iMac sports 500 GB.

But it's in line with the capacity of its closest cousin, the dinky iPod Touch.

Can I print from the iPad?

No. Apple didn't stick a USB port in the tablet.

You'll have to shunt what you want to a print to a PC or Mac using e-mail, or sync the iPad using iTunes or MobileMe, then print from there.

I want to read some books. What do I do?

Apple's supposed to add its free iBook app to the App Store on Saturday.

Install it and you'll be able to purchase e-books from the limited stock - limited compared to Amazon.com's e-book inventory, at least - that Apple's put together for the launch.

Last week, Amazon announced it would rewrite its Kindle software - already available for the iPhone, as well as the Mac and PC - for the iPad.

On Friday, the Kindle iPad app became available.

And how does the iPad do as an e-reader?

We haven't put hands to one long enough to find out.

Can I watch movies, TV?

You can rent movies or purchase television episodes from iTunes, or if you're a Netflix member, download the free app to stream movies and TV shows to your iPad.
ABC has also posted viewing software (ABC Player) on the App Store, the only major television network to do so by late Thursday.

Can I do real work on my iPad?

Depends on how you define real (as opposed to fake work, which for us means a nap or ESPN), but you can write and crunch numbers and craft soul-sucking presentations if you buy the three apps that make up the iPad version of Apple's iWork suite.
Apple's used a way-back machine to return to the days of the unbundle, when suites weren't collections with a single price, but an agglomeration of separately-purchased programs that worked together, more or less.
In other words, you buy the three applications - Pages, Numbers and Keynote - separately from the App Store.
Of course, if you're a numbers person and wouldn't know a gerund from a gradated background, you pay for only what you want and the hell with the rest.

There's no camera on the iPad, so how do I get photos onto the thing?

Out of the box, the sync cable is your friend: Use it and iTunes to synchronize collections on your computer with the iPad.
By the way, you'll need to update your Mac or PC to iTunes 9.1 - Apple slipped that out Tuesday - to sync with the iPad and organize the books you buy with the iBook app.
If there's $29 burning a hole in your pocket, you can spring for the iPad Camera Connection Kit.
One of the two adapters accepts a camera's SD memory card; the other links your camera's USB cable with the iPad.
Too bad the kit doesn't ship until later this month.

I tried the on-glass keyboard and hate it.

The iPad also syncs with Bluetooth keyboards, so if you have one of those, you should be able to link and use it without any trouble.
Apple sells a combination keyboard and iPad dock - called, not surprisingly, the iPad Keyboard Dock - that also includes an audio jack for connecting the iPad to speakers or a stereo system.
While some reviewers have received a dock, Apple's not shipping to the rest of us until late this month.
An Apple-branded Bluetooth keyboard - basically, the same keyboard as in the dock - also costs $69 and is available now.

I have a MobileMe account. Can I add the iPad to the list of my devices to sync?

To MobileMe, Apple's sync and storage service, the iPad is just another device.
You can sync the mail, contacts and calendar on the iPad with your iPhone, Mac or PC; use MobileMe's 20GB iDisk to store documents, like those you create with the iWork apps; register with the Find My iPad feature; and remotely wipe a lost or stolen tablet.
If you don't have a MobileMe account, you can try the service for 60 days free of charge.

How Can I Import Apple Mail to Thunderbird

Image by davidcrow via Flickr

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Source: twistermc.com

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Import Apple Mail to Thunderbird

Concepts:

thunderbird, folders, apple mail, importing, mac, converting, local folders, mbox, Thomas, windows, George, account, Alan, mailboxes, mbox format.

Importing mail from Apple’s Mail.app isn’t built into to Thunderbird. That’s a major oversight I think, however the work-around isn’t that bad. There are a dozen steps or so, but really, it’s not hard.

This works for folders that are considered ‘On My Mac’ in Apple’s Mail.app aka ‘Local Folders’ or inboxes, outboxes, sent boxes whatever. Remember, that if you have IMAP mail, or your mail is all stored on a server somewhere, this is all not necessary. Set up Thunderbird and it’ll import all that stuff on the server. This tutorial imports email from local folders that are saved on your actual hard drive.

First things first, back up your mail! This is very important because loosing anything sucks. Second, get Thunderbird and get you account all set up.

All set up? Wonderful! Now there are two things to consider. Are you importing the inbox? Or a folder? Each way is similar, just slightly different. If importing the inbox, sent, or other main boxes, you won’t have to create folders. Just basically follow the instructions below. If you need help, let me know.

Lets import a folder. For the example my folder is called George

1. Create new local folder in Thunderbird called George
   
2. Quit Thunderbird
   
3. Go to Home -> Library -> Mail -> Mailboxes -> George
   
4. Right Click on the file named George.mbox and choose ‘Show Package Contents’
   
5. Find the file named just mbox, copy it to the desktop and re-name it George
   
6. Open a new finder window
   
7. Go To Home -> Library -> Thunderbird -> Profiles -> [your profile] -> Mail -> Local Folders
   
8. Find the file called George (no extension) and overwrite it with the George file from step #5
   
9. Start Thunderbrid.
   
10. Done
    

When you click on the George folder all the emails will appear. They’ll all be marked read so you’ll have to sort though that. However, they’ll all have their attachments still there which is nice!

I think that covers it.

Note: This worked fantastic for me on 10.3.9 and Thunderbird 1.0.x. Should work in 10.4.x also.

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Ten quick Calculator tricks on a Mac

Image via Wikipedia

Ten quick Calculator tricks

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by Sharon Zardetto, Macworld.com

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Here's how to get the most out of Apple's built-in tool

The lowly Calculator sits there in your Applications folder. It’s so unassuming you barely notice that it has menus and little interface details that make it not quite so lowly after all. These tips work for the Basic calculator. Many also work for the Scientific and Programmer versions available through the Calculator’s View menu.

1. Copy and paste numbers

Need to include a quick calculation in an e-mail message? Because you can’t select anything in the Calculator display, it’s easy to forget you can still use Copy and Paste commands with it. The Copy command (Command-C or Edit -> Copy) always grabs the currently displayed number and places it on the Clipboard so you can use it elsewhere. And, if you’ve copied a number from someplace else, just use Paste (Command-V or Edit -> Paste) when the Calculator’s open to insert the number in the Calculator field. (Many OS versions ago, you could paste in a calculation like 17*34, and it would appear in Calculator as if you had clicked those keys; now that calculation pastes in as the number 1734.)

2. Pick your precision

If kiwis are selling 3 for $5, does one of them cost $1.66667? When you don’t need 15-decimal place precision, use the View menu’s Decimal Places submenu to specify how many digits you want displayed. The displayed number is rounded, not truncated, so 1.66667 becomes 1.67. The actual number is stored internally, however, so you can continue with a calculation that uses the true number instead of the rounded one.

3. Convert units of measure

You may never have to convert hectares to acres, or inches of mercury to pounds per square inch, but the Convert menu provides more mundane changes, too. For example, use it to convert metric units to any of the stubbornly held standard measurements the U.S. uses. Enter a number (or work with the one already there from a calculation) and then choose a category from the menu—Length, for example. Use the pop-up menus in the sheet that appears to specify what you’re converting to and from. The Calculator displays the answer in the chosen units.

4. Repeat the last calculation

With the Calculator’s hidden “repeat the last operation” function, it’s a cinch to compute something like short-term compound interest. Start with 1200 dollars times 1.06 for the first year’s 6 percent return and you get 1272. Just hit Return again, and the number is multiplied by 1.06 again; another press of Return gives you the third-year total of 1429.22.

Alternatively, you can enter numbers in between the repeated operation. So, after the first calculation is done, you can enter 1500 and press Return to get that number multiplied by 1.06.

5. Use the paper tape

The paper tape window not only serves as a quick reference, it can also be printed or saved. This shows the result of the special “repeat last” function, which uses repeated clicks of the equal sign (=) key to perform the same operation—*1.06 was entered only once.

The Window -> Show Paper Tape command opens a small window that shows each of your calculations as soon as you press Return or click on the equal sign (=) key. This lets you check for incorrectly entered numbers. If you realize you want to see your history only after the fact, no problem: Any time you open the paper tape, you’ll see everything you’ve done since you opened the Calculator for the current number-crunching session. If you need a copy of the paper tape, choose File -> Save Tape As or File -> Print Tape. You can also select any part of its display and copy out the information.

6. Store a number

You’re figuring out the cost of tiling the kitchen, with and without the pantry closet, and maybe the back hallway, too. You don’t have to re-enter the $6.47-per-square-foot cost of the tile for the three different calculations.

Enter 6.47 and press M+ to put it into memory. Then, calculate the cost of each area’s tile by multiplying the square footage by the stored tile price, retrieved with a press of the Memory Recall (MR) button. Enter 14*16*MR for one cost, 6*7*MR for the next, and 2.5*3.5*MR for the last.

7. Delete a digit

If you type or click the wrong number, there’s no need to clear everything by clicking on Calculator’s C (for “clear”) key or pressing C on your keyboard. (If you have a full Apple keyboard, you can also use the key labeled Clear.) Press Delete on your keyboard to erase the last digit you entered; press it multiple times to continue erasing digits. (The Forward Delete key doesn’t work for this.)

8. Quickly switch calculators

Click on the Calculator’s Zoom button (the green one of the three buttons in the upper left of its window) to cycle through the three kinds of calculators—Basic, Scientific, and Programmer—instead of using the commands in the View menu.

Normal Calculator

9. Easily change a mistake

If you enter the wrong operator by mistake—pressing the plus sign (+), say, instead of the minus sign (-)—just press the correct one next. Calculator will ignore the first operator.

10. Specify a negative number

Normally, you can’t calculate 4 multiplied by negative 5, because 4*-5 is assumed to be a typo and is treated as 4-5. But you can reverse the “negativity” of a number you just entered by clicking on the Calculator’s plus-or-minus key. (It’s the key with a plus sign on top of a minus sign. You'll find it to the right of the C key.) So, press 4*5 and then, while the 5 is displayed, click on the plus-or-minus key to make it negative. Press Return to see the answer: -20.

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Sharon Zardetto is a long-time Mac author who remembers keeping a calculator in her desk drawer until the Mac introduced the software-based version in 1984. She posted an interesting, though admittedly not very useful, Calculator tip on her MacTipster blog.

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Must Have Resources for the Web Developer's Toolbox

Fuel Your Creativity - Must Have Resources for the Web Developer's Toolbox

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Must Have Resources for the Web Developer's Toolbox

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If you are a web designer, especially if you are fairly new, you search around for the best and easiest tools to do the tasks you want to do. Here is a summary of this really helpful article.

Summary:

In every creative field, there are certain tools that one always keeps handy in order to get the job done.

As developers (who also design) the toolbox inventory needs to be broad to encompass all the necessary areas to keep you moving and productive.

Below is a list of the resources that we felt should be included in any developer's toolbox.

We have broken it down into different categories to help you keep your tools organized a little bit better.

We hope that the list proves useful.

GIMP is a close second whose price you can't beat (free), especially for web designers who don't need all of the features of Photoshop.

Graybit is an online accessibility testing tool designed to visually convert a full-color web page into a grayscale rendition for the purpose of visually testing the pageâ¬(TM)s perceived contrast.

It returns a set of hue, saturation and tint/shade variations of your color, and suggests color schemets based on your color's complementary color, split complementary colors, and other variations.

FavIcon Generator allows you to easily create a favicon from an image.

The Grid System is an ever-growing resource where graphic designers can learn about grid systems, the golden ratio and baseline grids.

The 960 Grid System is an effort to streamline web development workflow by providing commonly used dimensions, based on a width of 960 pixels.

jQuery is a fast and concise JavaScript Library that simplifies HTML document traversing, event handling, animating, and Ajax interactions for rapid web development.

The jQuery Visual Cheat Sheet is an useful and practical 6 page reference to jQuery 1.3 for web designers and developers containing the full jQuery API reference with detailed descriptions and some sample code.

jQuery Plugins contains plugins, extensions and tutorials developed by jQuery contributors for the jQuery JavaScript Library.

Code Beautifier is a free online CSS formatter, optimiser, and parser.

Notepad++ is an open source code editor and Notepad replacement that supports several languages.

TextWrangler is a powerful and richly featured tool for composing, modifying, and transforming text stored in plain-text files for Mac.

The WordPress Codex is the place to go if you have any WordPress related questions.

The Spoon Browser Sandbox allows you to run any browser directly from the web.

IETester is a free WebBrowser that allows you to have the rendering and javascript engines of IE8, IE7 IE 6 and IE5.5 on Windows 7, Vista and XP, as well as the installed IE in the same process.

Web Developer's Tools for Firefox is a collection of firefox plugins to speed up the development process.

WampServer is a Windows web development environment which allows you to create web applications with Apache, PHP and the MySQL database.

CSS Tricks Code Snippets is a large repository of useful code snippets in the areas of HTML, CSS, JavaScript (raw), JavaScript (jQuery), PHP, and WordPress.

Angies list includes 26 items in all make sure you check it out at: Must Have Resources for the Web Developer's Toolbox

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Angie is a freelance web and graphic designer who brings her love of community to the online design collective as co-editor of Fuel Your Creativity.

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