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Free Software for the Mac

Monday, September 24th, 2007 | Free Stuff, Reviews, Software | 1 Comment

We all like free stuff. I know I do. When it comes to free software, the Windows world is known to have plenty available. But what about the Mac side of the world? Are there any free applications for the Mac? And the answer is yes. There are free applications for the Mac. Now, when I say “free,” I mean legally free. I’m not talking about any of the pirated stuff.

Now that we established the fact that there is free software for the Mac, the next step is to find it. There are several ways of doing that. You can search Google, visit Apple.com and browse around in the OS X section, or you can visit other freeware directory sites. But there is one other way. And this way is MacLibre.

I’ve found this to be the easiest way to find, download and install free Mac software. MacLibre is a small program that aggregates freeware applications for Mac and allows you to download and install these applications from one simple user interface.

MacLibre organizes these applications into five categories.

• Create – image editing and authoring and audio editing programs
• Internet – web browsers, instant messengers, email and RSS
• Multimedia – video and audio players and rippers
• Office – productivity software such as word processors and spreadsheets
• Utilities – desktop management, anti-virus scanning and terminal enhancing applications

Some of the titles that you will find in MacLibre are:

• Audacity – software for recording and editing sounds
• Gimp – application similar to Photoshop for editing and authoring images
• Adium – an instant message client that supports protocols such as MSN, Yahoo, Jabber, AIM and others
• Cyberduck – FTP and SFTP client
• Firefox – open source web browser
• Thuderbird – open source email application
• Vienna – a free application for reading RSS feeds
• MPlayer – a media player that plays a variety of DivX and other codecs
• NeoOffice – an open source office application that includes word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, vector drawing and database applications
• ClamXav – an antivirus scanner
• VirtualDesktop – a desktop manager for Mac

These and other applications are available for download and installation through MacLibre. To begin enjoying these free programs all you need to do is install MacLibre.

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Mac 101 – System Preferences: Internet & Network

Sunday, September 23rd, 2007 | Mac 101 | No Comments

Do you know where the Internet settings are? Have you wondered about Network settings? Well, do day I will take you through the Internet & Network setting in the System Preferences. Let’s begin with .Mac.

.Mac
.Mac is a service that Apple provides. This service includes a number of features. It allows the user to host a web site, sync a variety of data, back up data and share photos. The service comes at a fee of $99 per year. If you have purchased this service this is where you would sign in and set up synchronization, back up and sharing. If you’ve never used the service before, Apple offers a 60-day trial. Which can be accessed from this Systems Preferences panel.

Network
This section contains settings that relate to the network. That’s pretty obvious. Here you can see the status of the network, change settings for Bluetooth, Ethernet, and Firewire connections. Network setup may seem complicated. On a Mac however, this process is usually pretty straight forward and painless.

QuickTime
QuickTime is a video player application that comes pre-installed on your Mac. Here you can adjust some settings for this program. First off, this is where you would register the Pro version of QuickTime if you purchased it. Further here you can modify QuickTime’s behavior in a web browser. This includes settings such as playing movies automatically and caching movies when possible. In addition, you can modify streaming settings, such as streaming speed and play back delay.

Sharing
This is where you have access to modify the sharing settings. Here you will find settings for sharing services, firewall and Internet. This is where you can give your Mac a name that will be displayed on other computers when it is shared. You can turn on and off the firewall and allow or disallow certain access. Furthermore, you can turn on Internet sharing and specify the type of connection to use, such as ethernet, firewire or airport. This is also the area where you can turn on services such as remote login, Windows sharing or Printer sharing.

This concludes the Internet & Network section in the System Preferences. We’ll continue the journey through System Preferences in the next installment of Mac 101. Please return soon. You can also receive these and other posts in your inbox by signing up for email delivery.

Next Lesson:
Mac 101 – System Preferences: System – Part 1

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Mac vs PC – Rap Video

Saturday, September 22nd, 2007 | Mac Resources | No Comments

Here’s some fun for the weekend. This is a fun video based on the Mac & PC ads by Apple. I think you will like it.

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Macworld Conference & Expo 2008

Friday, September 21st, 2007 | Apple News, Tech News | No Comments

Macworld Conference & Expo 2008 registration is open. For those of you who may not be familiar with this event, it is a major happening in the Mac world. Macworld will take place in San Francisco, California at the Moscone Center. The conference is kicked off by a keynote presentation from Steve Jobs, the co-founder and CEO of Apple Inc. During this keynote address Steve updates the Mac faithful on the company and usually unveils new products. The conference is scheduled for January 14-18, 2008. Early bird registration is open through December 14, 2007.

I’ve never been to one of these. So, I plan to attend for the first time in 2008. Who else is planning to attend? Will this be your first time?

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Caring for Your Mac’s Battery

Thursday, September 20th, 2007 | Tips | No Comments

Do you ever worry about the life of the battery on your Mac notebook? Are there ways to prolong battery life and optimize its performance? Yes, there are ways to care for the batter of your Mac to prolong its life and maximize its efficiency.

First thing to do when you purchase a Mac laptop is to calibrate the battery. Usually, instructions for doing this are included in the user’s guide. Calibration helps to ensure that the battery operates at maximum capacity.

There are several things you can do to prolong the charge of the batter while your Mac is in use. First, it helps to turn off services you’re not using. I’m referring to things like Bluetooth and AirPort. Each of these take energy even if they are not in active use. Both can be turned off from the task bar if you have the corresponding icons there. Further, you can dim the screen, lower the volume and close applications that you’re not using.

These are just several tips on caring for the battery of your Mac. Ed Shepard at Barkings! has done a great job of putting together a more extensive piece on battery care for the Mac. Check out his post, “The Love and Care of Lithium-based Batteries,” for more detail and further references to Apple Support articles.

What strategies do you use to prolong the charge of your battery?

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