Making the switch to OS X easy
This is a bit of a quickie tip but I scratched my head on it for a few hours one day.
If you use Office:Mac Excel, you may from time to time need to capture multiple lines of information into a cell. If you come from the Windows world, you will quickly come to realize that Alt+Enter doesn’t work.
If you want to insert a new line in Excel for the Mac, select the cell, type your first line and press Alt+Cmd+Enter.
There you have it, insanely easy.
iTunes is a decent media player for OSX however, it’s not able to playback all types of video. One popular video format for files downloaded from the Internet is Divx. iTunes, just can’t handle it. Luckily there is a great freeware program, VideoLAN or VLC that can pretty much play any type of audio or video file you have lying about on your computer.
To learn more about it watch this video. After the video, follow the directions below to get started.
Here is how to quickly get up and running:
When VLC launches, you are presented with a playlist window, you can either use the menu to open files or drag files into the playlist window. To start playback, click Play.
You now have an excellent iTunes alternative. If you’ve ripped your movie collection to your Mac, you can use VLC to playback the files. If you have any other cool users for VLC, post them here or into the forums.
Firefox is my go to browser of choice in OSX. Some people argue that Safari is faster but for me, the flexible plug ins allow me to do things that I just can’t do in Safari.
When you install Firefox and run it for the first time, it will ask you to make Firefox the default browser. If you do this, you may at some point wish to go back to your default browser. It’s easy to do, just follow these steps.
I frequently need to call overseas. I haven’t paid for these calls in years thanks to Skype. Skype has worked really well for me but hasn’t been updated in a while. At least not until recently.
Skype just launched version 2.8 of their OSX client software. In addition to bug fixes, this version adds improved audio and video quality, screen sharing and pay as you go Wi-Fi access.
You might wonder why you would use Skype when iChat has video conferencing built in. One word – interoperability. Skype runs on Windows and Macs plus a number of devices making it a great way to communicate cheaply with people around the world.
You can download it directly from the Skype website.
My main system is a Macbook Pro, I love having such a powerful system in such a sexy package. I travel a lot and am often concerned about what might happen in the event that my laptop is stolen.
Luckily there are a number of things you can do to help keep your Macbook locked down in the event it is taken.
Require a password
By default, OSX will resume from sleep or a screensaver back to the desktop. While this is convenient, on a laptop, while traveling, this is rather dangerous. You can configure OSX to use passwords when resuming from a sleep or screensaver through System Preferences.
Open your System Preferences
Click Security
Check the box “Require password to wake this computer from sleep or screen saver.”
Encrypt your home directory
OSX comes with software that will encrypt and decrypt the contents of your home directory. This is an important feature to use on a Macbook because once it is enabled, the content in your home directory is scrambled. In the event your machine is stolen, the contents in your home directory will at least be safe from prying eyes.
Configuring the File Vault is easy. Click System Preferences and click Security again.
Once in the Security Preference, click File Vault.
Click on the button Turn on Vault… When you do this, you will have to enter an administrator username and password.
You are then presented with a dialog to enter a master password. This password is a safety net that will allow you to decrypt your system in the event you forget your account password. Click the key icon and create a very strong password and WRITE IT DOWN, and stick it in your file cabinet.
After a few moments, you will have an encrypted home directory.
Create a secure account password
I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a secure password in your system. Even if you encrypt your home directory, if someone can easily guess your password, it doesn’t matter how encrypted your data is.
There is a really great program 1Password that will manage your account passwords. It can generate secure passwords for you. I however, take a low tech approach to secure passwords. The website Diceware shows you how to create very strong but easy to remember passphrases. Use this site and create a long password. Your data will thank you if it is ever lost.
Turn on your Firewall
If you are using WiFi on a public network, you want to make sure your Macbook is inaccessible. OSX includes a firewall that will protect your computer on public networks.
There you go, some simple tips that will help you keep your system locked down, if you have any other tips please post them here.
