Mac OS X Lion Tip: Adding & Removing Spaces
In OS X, Spaces allows you to have multiple desktops running on the same machine.
For example, I like to have one desktop running a browser and my Twitter app, another running a word processor, and a third that has my to do list app, sometimes another depending on what I’m working on. They keep me focused.
In OS X Snow Leopard, setting up spaces was easy and obvious. There was a section in System Preferences called “Spaces.” It couldn’t get more clear.
OS X Lion is another story.
The controls for Spaces in Lion are actually very intuitive if you know where to look… But if you don’t know, it is very difficult to find. I put together a very brief screencast demonstrating how to add & remove spaces in Lion.
A very special thanks to Jason Lisnak for helping me figure out both how to add spaces, and that QuickTime allows for screencasting.
OSX Lion & New MacBook Air Due on July 14
Update (7/14/11) – It’s looking less like this is happening.
The lastest upgrade for Apple’s operating system OSX Lion is finally hitting the Mac App Store on July 14th.
Lion marks the first time that Apple (or anyone else) is making a paid upgrade available exclusively via online download. This essentially eliminates the problem of large-scale piracy. Unless the upgrade flops like the misguided Final Cut Pro X, Lion should prove a massive cash cow for Apple.
I’m excited because the MacBook Air will receive the refresh treatment sometime shortly following the release of Lion. My first generation Air is starting to drag a bit too much, so I’m planning on upgrading this time around.
(Via TUAW)
Rivet: Stream Media From a Mac to an Xbox360 & PS3
Xbox360′s easily share content with Windows machines. It’s not surprising given their common creator.
Unfortunately 360′s don’t play well with Macs; it’s annoying.
A little application called Rivet can bridge the gap between a 360 & a Mac. It’s free to try, and $20 to buy.
Setup is simple, and I’ve found it works best for streaming video, but it can also stream music and photos.
The 360 doesn’t seem to want to play some of my music and movies, but otherwise it works well. Rivet isn’t a perfect solution, but it works fairly well.
Finally it works for PS3, but I haven’t tried it on a PS3.
(Rivet)
Must Use App: Dropbox
Dropbox is a file sharing application that works on Mac, PC, iPhone & Android. It allows you to store files locally on your computer, while simultaneously backing it up to a cloud server and sharing the files between all of your other devices.
If you use more than one computer like me, this is a must use application. If you have more than one computer, all of the files in your Dropbox are easily accessible on all of your computers.
It’s also great because you can access those files by signing into the Dropbox website, so you can access your files from someone else’s machine.
It’s also an easy method for swapping large files with friends, family, coworkers, and clients.
Give it a try, and please use my link. If you sign up via my link, I will receive an extra 250mb of free storage (I don’t place adds, and I don’t ask for much, so please forgive me being a bit of a whore in this instance).
Sign up for Dropbox
Post-PC = Marketing BS
During Apple’s iPad 2 event Steve Jobs declared that we are living in a “post-PC” world, and as with every word that the man utters, tech geeks pretty much ate it up.
It’s a cute sound-byte. It makes you feel like you’re part of some grand and imminent future. The PC completely changed the course of human history, and now it is obsolete. Rejoice!
The trouble is, the statement is flat-out false. We’re living in a world of integrated computing. Your PC, mobile, and tablet (if you have one) all work together to give you access to your data. Each one makes computing better in certain circumstances.
That’s the world we live in. “Post-PC” is marketing bullshit.
What’s a PC?
personal computer
–noun
a microcomputer designed for individual use, as by a person in an office or at home or school, for such applications as word processing, data management, financial analysis, or computer games. Abbreviation: PC (dictionary.com)
By this definition:
- A Mac is a PC
- An iPhone is a PC
- An iPad is a PC
They’re all PCs, you just interact with them in a slightly different manner.
Marketing
Apple devoted many years and truck loads of money to differentiate their Apple PC hardware from Windows PC hardware.
Apple hardware = Mac
Windows hardware = PC
Mac = Cool, attractive, creative dude
PC = Pasty, nerdy, stodgy man
The combination of excellent hardware, beautiful design, the iPhone, the failure of Windows Vista, and an overabundance of Windows viruses mixed with aggressive marketing to crown Apple the king of PC technology.
The Bottom-line
We aren’t living in a post-PC world. PC’s have taken over everything.
Calling it a post-PC world is just Apple’s marketing department’s way of trying to declare that there are no other relevant tech companies out there, and that is bullshit as well.
(Image via Engadget)
Does Your Mac Need Virus Protection (Q1 2011 Edition)
Reader question:
What do you make of the threat that Macs and other devices will be the target of viruses in the new year? Any suggestions on virus software? Here are two articles – on warning of the threats, the other dismissing them:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-20026667-83.html
http://www.macworld.com/article/156744/2010/12/2011_viruses.html
Answer
Contrary to the popular myth, Macs can get viruses. However there aren’t any significant Mac viruses in the wild.
I wouldn’t worry about Mac viruses yet. Even with Apple’s explosive growth and tremendous profits over the last few years, their operating system marketshare is a drop in the bucket compared with Windows. Have a look for yourself:
Malware & viruses are a volume game, and there aren’t enough Macs out there to make it anywhere near as profitable to code viruses for Mac as it is for Windows.
To best protect yourself, install the most current version of Mac OS X (Snow Leopard), and run your system updates on a regular basis. If you do that, you’re going to be just fine because those updates plug security vulnerabilities in Apple’s software.
(OS Stats)
