Posts By: Gary Rosenzweig

“The new iPod nano plays video. And in related news, there are rumors that Apple will soon come out with DVD creation software for the Mac, and a new iCloud feature to build websites.”

Say you use a wifi hotspot once and now find that whenever you are in range of that network that your Mac automatically connects to it, even if you don’t want it to. You can make your device forget a network by going into System Preferences, Network, Advanced and then selecting that wifi network and pressing the – button to remove it from your Mac’s list. There is also an option on that screen to prevent your Mac from remembering networks in the future.

When you buy a new iMac you will need to choose between the Magic Mouse and the Magic Trackpad. Which one is better? While it is somewhat a matter of personal preference, the trackpad has several advantages over the mouse that you may want to consider before making your decision.

Take a look at the new iPod nano. The latest iPod allows you to play music, video, view your photos, listen to and watch podcasts, listen to the radio and track your steps. You can also store files on it and use it for audio recording with the right earphones. But it is not an iOS device and has a limited feature set compared to the iPod touch.

By making one change in your iTunes preferences, you can use music in iTunes that is stored outside of your Music folder. This allows you to collect and organize your music on a shared drive and still have it play within iTunes. You can then have those same music file available to other Macs on your network.

Research firm IDC came out with its quarterly numbers showing that Macs now have a 13.6 percent share of new PC sales, the largest share in recent history. However, the overall market for PCs is down significantly and the total number of Mac sales is down, though still doing better relatively than PC sales.
The downturn in PC sales could simply be because businesses and consumers are waiting for Windows 8 to come out later this month before buying a new computer. Likewise, rumor sites say they are expecting new iMacs soon. However, it is also possible that the iPad and Android tablets are cutting significantly into sales. With consumers sometimes purchase a tablet instead of a new computer, the industry does not place them in the same class as PCs.
Apple is also looking to revitalize iPod nano sales with a new model that began shipping this week. Commercials for the new iPod started airing on television yesterday. Sales of non-iOS iPods have been down in recent years because of the iPhone and iPod touch.

Rebuild is a different type of zombie game. Instead of mindlessly destroying zombies in a fight-til-you-lose battle, Rebuild is a building game where you try to create a new city while holding them off. It is a turn-based strategy game where you have to play ahead and manage resources. You scout, scavenge, recruit and reclaim city blocks to rebuild civilization. The graphics and interface are excellent, but most of all it is a lot of fun to play.

The Finder menu includes the command Go, Go to Folder with the keyboard shortcut Command+Shift+G. You can use this to quickly go to folders that are otherwise hard to get to. For instance, hit Command+Shift+G and type “/library” and you will go to the system Library folder. “~/library” will take you to your user Library folder (the ~ key is just above the Tab key). Using just “~” will take you to your user folder and “~/” followed by the folder name will take you to any of your user subfolders. You can use this command to go anywhere if you know the folder path.

Myadorth was disappointed that the new Maps app doesn’t support subterranean directions.

Learn how to place an image behind your text in Mac Pages. In this excerpt from Gary Rosenzweig's new book, My Pages (http://macmost.com/j-mypages) he'll show you how to place an image in the background, adjust it to fill the page, lighten it so the text is readable, and also apply it to all pages in the document.

iOS 6 removes the old Google Maps app and replaces it with the new Apple Maps app. While this new app features flyover and spoken turn-by-turn directions, people miss Google Maps features like Street View and biking directions. You can get those back, plus the familiar Google Maps look by simply going to the Google Maps web site in Safari. You will get a iPhone-specific version of the maps site, and be able to access Street View and more.

Mac Mail has a feature that allows you to use colorful email templates. There are many to choose from, and you can buy more from third-party companies. You can also create your own through a variety of methods.

Now that September’s iPhone and iPod announcements are behind, attention is turning back to the possibility of a new “iPad Mini.” In fact, the Wall Street Journal has published a report that production is already underway. Fortune has reported that press invites to the next Apple announcement will go out on Oct. 10.
It is thought that the this smaller version of the iPad will have similar capabilities to the full-size model, but will be smaller and with a lower price tag. It is possible that it will have a standard display, rather than a high resolution retina display, and perhaps less-capable cameras and battery life. But like with any new Apple product, some rumors are bound to be wrong, while others may be right. Even the name of the new device may be different that expected.

“Which will work better with my iPhone 3? An iPad 3 or an iTouch?”
“Let me get someone else to help you.”

In iOS 6, you can view your recent browser history. Tap the back button at the bottom of the screen and hold it. A list of your recent pages is shown. Each window/tab has its own history.

The Room is an iPad game where you explore and solve puzzles. It is very well done with excellent graphics and music. This type of game certainly isn’t new, but with the iPad you can manipulate objects, turning, pushing and pulling them.

You don't need any special software to quickly and easily capture your Mac's screen. With some simple keyboard shortcuts you can grab the whole screen, or a portion. You can save it to have a file, or copy to the clipboard to paste into an email message or document.

Learn how to use Preview in Mountain Lion to merge two or more PDF documents into one file. You can also re-arrange the pages in a PDF document or delete pages.

Gary Rosenzweig has a new book about using Pages for Mac: My Pages. In this video, learn how to put your text into columns in iWork Pages on your Mac. You can switch between single and multiple columns using layout breaks. You can customize your columns with the Inspector.

Every four years Americans get inundated with political phone calls and mud-slinging advertising. This is a good time to turn to “America’s finest news source” for some not-so-hard-hitting and not-so-real news. The Onion app brings together the print articles along with online audio and video. It won’t keep you informed, but it will make you laugh.