MacMost: Archives

All iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users should know how to use the multitasking bar. It allows you to view your recently used apps, quit apps, control audio playback and AirPlay streaming. Learn how to access and use it. Also learn how to quit an app without using the multitasking bar at all.

You can place chapter markers while creating video projects in iMovie. These can be used to jump to parts of your video while viewing it in QuickTime Player, iTunes or on iOS and Apple TV. You can also use chapter markers to quickly create DVDs with iDVD that include those markers. Chapter markers and comments can both be used in your project to allow to you jump to specific times while you are editing.

Apple began offering iTunes Match in more countries this week, starting with Brazil and including some other countries such as the U.K, France, Australia and New Zealand. However, shortly after appearing for those countries the service disappeared and Apple refunded customers who had signed up. Apparently the service was turned on prematurely. It still remains available in the U.S. and Brazil. But this may indicate that a real international launch is just around the corner.
Apple issued a number of updates this week, including version 10.5.2 update for iTunes and a Thunderbolt display firmware update. Microsoft issued updates to Office for Mac 2011 and the previous version, 2008. They address security and stability issues.

A teacher in Milwaukee is looking to get an iPad for her students who have cognitive disabilities. They would use the iPad to help them communicate and to help them participate in regular classrooms. Join MacMost in supporting this project.

“I started using iTunes Match the other day. It works great, but everything I listen to now sounds a little more like Coldplay.”

The Dictionary app in your Applications folder can not only tell you the definitions of regular words, but it also contains a special Apple dictionary to help you understand your Mac. You can look up Mac-related terms and get quick definitions. You can also use its Wikipedia function to get even more detailed information about technology.

You can move your iPhoto library to an external drive easily by simply dragging the iPhoto library package to another location. But keep in mind that external drives are slower than internal ones, and networked drives even more so. You can also create multiple iPhoto libraries, storing seldom-accessed photos elsewhere.

Tab stops allow you to align text in word processing programs. They have been around for a while, but if you have only started using word processors recently, you may have overlooked them in favor of tables and other layout elements. Tab stops are a quick and easy way to display data neatly inside a document.

We’re starting the annual quiet period for Apple news as Apple will not typically release new products or make announcements during the holiday shopping season.
Apple released minor updates this week to Keynote on the Mac and iBooks and Cards on iOS. iBooks new features includes new fonts and a nighttime reading theme.

An art classroom that serves 600 students in Defuniak Springs, Florida, some of whom have physical disabilities, would like to get an iPad 2. They will be able to use the Internet and art apps. Join MacMost in supporting this project.

“We have to move to a new cloud. This one is now filled with peoples’ crappy iTunes music collections.”

You can use QuickTime Player in Lion to capture a single frame of video and save it to an image file. By using the Edit, Copy command you can grab the current frame, and then paste it into Photoshop or Preview. You can also use this technique to quickly grab a still image when using iMovie.

If you have an Airport Extreme or a Time Capsule you can create a separate guest network. This appears as a different wi-fi network than your main one. Users of the guest network cannot see the computers or other devices on the main network. Setting one up in advance is a good idea so you can grant visitors access to your Internet connection without worry.

While iMovie doesn't really have any audio effects, its sibling app GarageBand allows you to take video clips, or an exported iMovie video and apply all sorts of effects. You can change voices, echo, distort, and so on. You can apply the change to the whole video, or only a portion. You can use the same techniques in regular audio projects.

A science class at Curtis Creek Elementary School in Sonora, California needs a MacBook for journaling and research. Join MacMost in supporting this project.

Apple released Safari 5.1.2 on Tuesday, improving stability and adding new functionality. The update fixes a bug that caused white flashes experienced by many users. It also uses less memory. A new feature is the ability to display PDF documents inside of web pages. You can get the new version through Software Update in Lion and Snow Leopard. Or, you can download it at http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1070.
Today Apple is observing World AIDS Day by promoting RED products in Apple Stores. Some of the revenue from these products, such as the red cover for the iPad, go to The Global Fund To Fight AIDS. You can also buy these in the online Apple Store.

“Captain Earl E. A. Dopter became the envy of his crew when he was the first to get the new iPatch.”

Uninstalling apps is easy in Mac OS X Lion. If you have purchased an app in the Mac App Store, you can use Launchpad to quickly remove them. Otherwise, you can still use the basic techniques of simply dragging an application to the trash, or running its uninstaller program.

Preference files store your preferences and data for each application. Find out where they are and what they look like. In some cases you may want to delete or restore an old copy of a preference file.

You can buy gifts in iTunes for your friends and family. You can gift songs, albums and iOS apps. They would get a code and use that to purchase the specific item in iTunes. You can also buy them Apple and iTunes gift cards. You can send them via email, or order a physical one with a special message.