Have Another Apple

If you have a fair few applications, or even one or two you struggle to keep up-to-date, then AppFresh is for you. Currently still in development stage, this nifty program allows you to control all of your program software updates in one place.

AppFresh supports the Apple Software Update, Microsoft Update, Sparkle Updates as well as many more, so long as they are listed on iUseThis. Out of 131 applications of my mac at present, only 31 weren’t found on iUseThis.

This program also allows you to roll-back to an existing copy of the application if for some reason your update didn’t go as planned.

Don’t worry about keeping your applications up to date any longer - just open up AppFresh and you’re set! You can also set up your iUseThis profile to let others know what applications you use. It is compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5.

You can download the program at Metaquark’s site.

Here is a screenshot for those interested:

Feel free to comment, and thanks to APC for the RSS feed that led me to this application.

It is common knowledge to the “geek world” that when you delete a file, it is not actually removed as such from your hard drive, simply the link to the file is removed, and at a certain stage, it is over written with your new data.

On PC, there are numerous programs to ‘permanently delete files’. However, all this does is creates a random document and replaces your existing data with dummy text. There are programs for Mac also, however there is one built right on into Mac OS X.

Remember that after you permanently delete files, there is no chance of recovering them, even with programs that allow you to recover items you have deleted.

In Mac OS X, you can overwrite these files 7 times from the trash. Move the items you wish to permanently delete to the trash, open the trash, then select Finder - > Secure Empty Trash.

You will then be prompted with a warning, read this carefully, you can’t go back!

Then you will have a normal emptying trash screen. Be patient, securely emptying the trash can take a long time.

Please comment and digg.

For those users using iCal and would like to upload it online, yet don’t have a .Mac (or now MobileMe) account, then this step-by-step tutorial should help you.

First, in cPanel 11 (not supported in 10 or below, as it requires WEBDAV support), select the feature entitled “Webdisk” found under the “Files” subheading.

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When you first booted up your Mac, you would have been welcomed by a classy presentation with "Welcome" written in a bunch of foreign languages.  Unsure what these videos are? Watch the demos at the bottom of this article.  If you want to watch this video again, follow these steps for Tiger and Leopard.

Open up finder and Click Go->Go to folder. Type this in:

/System/Library/CoreServices/Setup Assistant/Contents/Resources/TransitionSection.bundle/Contents/Resources/

A folder should pop up, and two files should be inside:

intro.mov
intro-sound.mp3

As you can see, unfortunately they are two separate files. To fix this, simply put them both in iMovie and watch it that way. You may need to trim the audio track as it may go for longer than the video!

For a demo, here are two video files (click the image of the video you wish to see):
 

Thanks to Annie for the Tiger video and audio file.

 If you copy many pictures into Microsoft Word and don’t often use the default "In line with text" feature and prefer to insert/paste as in front of text or square, here are the steps.

Click Word - Properties.

From there, press edit.

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As a default, Microsoft Word for Mac adds automatic paragraphing, so when you press return, you will go to a new paragraph apposed to a new line.   This comes a unique, welcome feature for some users, but for others it is seen as a nuisance.  This article will explain how to turn off this feature.

In Word, press “Format” in the menu bar, followed by “Style”.

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As of recent I have received numerous e-mails about my previous blog article entitled "The Next Byte". If you have not read the article, please read: The Next Byte, part one.  This series of articles speaks of Apple’s history, and where they are likely to go in the future. History shapes all of us - and that does not exclude businesses such as Apple.

This article will cover two further areas from the previous article, judged by what was requested in the e-mails:

1. Apple Market Share
    
2. Pricing Scheme of Apple Products and Services

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 Don’t like the default folder, documents and harddrive icons in Mac OS X? Neither do I. Here’s one option with how to change them.

First, you may want to find some snazzy icons from InterfaceLift to replace your current ones with.

Once you have found the one you like, you need to Copy (Command+C) the icon file, then right click on the icon you wish you change. Click ‘Get info’.

Following this, click on the folder icon in the top left, and paste (Command+V).

Enjoy.

 If your MacBook, MacBook Pro or MacBook Air is not charging fully and only to 95-98%, there is a way to fix this problem.

One common view is to unplug your MagSafe adapter and let it drain to 10%, and recharge. While this works, you only need to let the battery drop below 90%. This will save you a whole battery cycle on your MacBook.

Enjoy.

Wanted to come home from work and have your Mac ready to use, yet don’t want to leave your computer running or in sleep? Well this feature, built right into Mac OS X without the need of an additional program, can allow you to do just that. This feature is called Energy Saver Scheduler.

Find out how after the jump.

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