Apr 29, 2009

How safe is your Mac? 15 easy way to fixe security risks

How safe is your Mac? Maybe not as safe as you think. Here are some quick ways to beef up its security.

One of the commonly touted advantages to using a Mac is that it's more secure and less prone to malware than a PC running Windows. It's easy to see where this attitude comes from: The prevalence of viruses and network attacks against Windows machines is greater by several orders of magnitude.

In fact, a recent Trojan horse hidden in a pirated copy of iWork '09 that circulated on peer-to-peer file-sharing sites was big news because it was the first Macintosh malware to be widely circulated on the Internet (though there have been a handful of proof-of-concept malware iterations over the past few years). But the much lower rate of malware and network attacks isn't proof that the Mac is immune to such things.

Indeed, there has been an ongoing debate over the years as to whether Mac users truly have more-secure machines or simply enjoy "security through obscurity" because they represent a relatively modest fraction of all computer users. While this debate will continue -- and there are valid arguments on both sides -- this article isn't about that debate; it's about a pair of simple questions: "How safe is your Mac?" and "How can you make it safer?"

The truth is that Apple Inc. does provide a pretty safe platform. The company leverages a number of advanced technologies to keep users and their data safe from harm. For a detailed list, see this Apple white paper (download PDF). But no system is perfect, and there are a number of security holes -- many of them easily closed -- that are common on Mac OS X systems. Here are 15 ways to fix the most frequently exploited security risks and protect your Mac.

Note: Unless we specifically say a tip applies only to Leopard, it should work with most recent versions of OS X, though the actual steps involved might vary somewhat.

Disable automatic opening of "safe" downloads in Safari

Probably one of the biggest Mac holes is in Apple's Safari Web browser, which downloads files that you click on or that are embedded in a Web page. That presents a problem because, by default, Safari is designed to open "safe" files as soon as they've been downloaded. Unfortunately, the definition of "safe" includes package-installer and disk image files, which can contain malware. If the malware files are embedded in a Web site, they could be downloaded and opened automatically.

Apple has done a good job of combating the potential damage in Mac OS X Leopard, which automatically detects disk images and applications that have been downloaded from the Internet via Apple's applications (Safari, Mail and iChat). However, to be truly safe, one of the best and easiest things you can do is disable the automatic opening of such files in the Safari preferences.

From the Safari menu in the menu bar, select Preferences, click the General tab, and uncheck "Open 'safe' files after downloading." From now on, you'll need to manually open downloaded files by double-clicking them in your Downloads folder or in Safari's list of downloaded items.

Make sure not to click the "Do not show" option in the warning dialogs that Leopard displays when you open downloaded files; that way, you'll always be warned the first time each downloaded item is opened. (Note: This tagged file feature was introduced in Leopard and doesn't apply to earlier versions of Mac OS X.)

A similar security feature in Leopard is support for code signing, which places a digital signature in application files; your Mac checks them at launch to be sure that they haven't changed and alerts you if they have. Although many third-party applications don't yet support this, it is a powerful feature, and you should pay attention to any such warning. As with the tagging of downloaded files, do not click the "Do not show option" if you do see one of these alerts. (full Story)

How to recycle your Mac

When your Mac is no longer the shiny new kid on the block, there's no shortage of ways to extend its useful life. An old Mac can work as a recipe-storage library, for instance, and that antique iBook can be a backup drive.

But when you've run out of ways to reuse or repurpose your old Mac, what's the best way to recycle it? Here are a variety of solutions--from low-effort to time-intensive--that'll keep your conscience and your closet clear.

Don't Throw It Away

California, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, Texas, and Washington now have laws regulating where and how you can dispose of unwanted electronics. But in most others, it's still legal to throw your computers in the trash. According to a recent --60 Minutes report, an estimated 130,000 computers end up in the garbage annually.

There are all kinds of good reasons not to make yours one of them: lead, mercury, and hexavalent chromium are three of the best. These substances, which are embedded in our computers' assorted parts, are just a few of the toxins that can be released into the environment if an old computer or iPod is just tossed onto a scrap heap and burned. Once in the groundwater or air supply, heavy metals and PCBs released by improperly disposed-of computers linger as cancer-causing compounds.

Erase Your Hard Drive

Before you dispose of an old computer, make sure you wipe it clean of all your data.

The first step is to back up all the data on the device's hard drives. Either copy it to your new machine or pick up an external hard drive and use that as a repository for all the old files. To duplicate the contents of the old drive, use Time Machine. Or if your old system doesn't have OS X 10.5, try Carbon Copy Cloner (payment requested; Macworld rated 4.5 out of 5 mice ).

Now erase your footsteps. Start by deauthorizing iTunes. You don't want to later realize that you have one less machine you can play your old, pre-iTunes Plus music on. Then deauthorize any third-party programs you'll want to reinstall on your new system.

Next, wipe your hard drive. Track down the installation discs that came with your computer (or use the ones that came with any OS X upgrade you purchased). Insert Disc 1 (CD) or the installer disc (DVD), launch Installer, and reboot the machine using the software on the disc. Go to the Installer menu, choose Open Disk Utility, select the hard-drive icon in the column on the left, click on the Erase tab, and then click on Options. The 8 Way Random Write Format will scramble your data nicely. (story Link)

Is Windows 7 Starter really just Windows 7 Trial Version?

Some comments in our article and forums about the possibility of a Windows 7 Starter $200 netbook inspired me to take a deeper look into the issue. If Windows 7 Starter is keeping companies from pushing out $200 netbooks, then why aren’t free Linux alternatives already doing so? Although Linux has zero costs when it comes to licensing and code, there are still a few other expenses OEMs have to cover when building a Linux system:

  • Testing and creating drivers
  • Hiring and training staff that are ready to work on Linux and provide tech-support
  • Costs in repackaging due to the increased return rate on Linux machines

There are many other factors I didn’t list but these three points give you an idea of why Linux netbooks aren’t cheaper than they are. If Linux netbooks are still in the $300 range and Windows says they can offer a $200 netbook, how much are they actually charging vendors for Windows 7 Starter? What if Windows 7 Starter is really a cloak for what is actually Windows 7 Trial Version?

The possibility of that being true isn’t unrealistic. If you think about it, Starter contains a few inconvenient restrictions that draw away from the complete Windows experience, particularly the inability to have three simultaneous applications open.

Is Windows 7 Starter really just Windows 7 Trial Version?

One of Windows 7 Starter's restrictions include the inability to change your wallpaper

What saves Microsoft from being bashed upon for these restrictions is their Windows Anytime Upgrade (WAU) program, which allows a user to upgrade to a higher-level version of Windows at any time. As bad as many of us think Starter can be, there’s virtually no risk in purchasing a Starter-equipped machine at all. Seeing that Starter is the cheapest version of Windows you can ever put on a computer, why wouldn’t OEMs be willing to put it on their machines. It would allow OEMs to have much lower list prices and WAU would reduce the fear of customers of not being satisfied with Starter. This begs the question of whether Microsoft really intended for you to stay on Starter permanently. Let’s take a look at a possible scenario:

  1. You walk into the store to look for a cheap and affordable laptop
  2. The cheapest laptop is $200 and has Windows 7 Starter. You can upgrade any time so there’s no risk, why not buy it?
  3. After a couple of days on your netbook, you’re about to explode after the 100th notification from Windows telling you need to keep the app-count to less than three
  4. You want to upgrade. The price is less than the laptop but it might be more than what you want to pay. You’ve already got a laptop but you’re not completely satisfied, so you opt for the upgrade

If you haven’t spotted it yet, the trick being used here is upselling. After being stuck with a Starter netbook you’ve purchased because if was “no-risk” and cheap, you now want to upgrade. People are also more likely to go through small changes or make smaller transactions than large ones. Meaning that most people are probably more likely to upgrade to Home Premium or a higher edition like Microsoft originally planned to. (story Link)

Windows 7 can stream media to Xbox 360 and PS3 out of the box

 

Starting from Windows 7 Release Candidate, anyone with an Xbox 360 or PS3 will be able to stream media to their consoles from the PC right out of the box. Previously, users had to install “special REG files” in order to do so. Hardcoreware was able to obtain an “advance copy” of Windows 7 RC and test its streaming capabilities with consoles. The Xbox 360 was able to stream video with both UPnP and the Windows Media Extender, while the PS3 could only stream through UPnP.

Windows 7 can stream media to Xbox 360 and PS3 out of the boxFour codecs were tested in total: AVCHD, MP4, MOV, and Xvid/DivX. The good news is that all codecs worked in both circumstances, with the exception of AVCHD and MP4 which did not work with an Xbox 360 and UPnP combination. There is still quite a bit of time for Microsoft to update the 360’s dashboard to make it more Windows 7 friendly. For the time being, appreciate Microsoft’s efforts in making your streaming experience with consoles much easier. (story Link)

HTC Shift UMPC Is Barely Mobile, Hardly Useful

Ultra-mobile PCs are the awkward middle children of gadgets. They're constantly trying to assume the notable attributes of their older and younger siblings, but almost always come up short. On one hand, these little dudes aspire to have a laptop's computational power and ease of use, yet they also endeavor to be diminutive and highly portable, like a smartphone. Unfortunately, the end result is more often than not some ungodly mishmash of half-measures and workarounds, none of which comes close to matching the experience on either end of the spectrum. And, yes, like middle children, they also tend to get ignored and neglected.

Htc_630x_2HTC's latest UMPC, the Shift, is no exception. It comes bound in an annoying leather case that smacks of smarmy corporate importance. Strangely, you're unable to remove this case, making the Shift awkward to use, when you're, you know, mobile. Speaking of mobility, the Shift weights a little more than 2 pounds -- a tad heavier than most UMPCs out there -- and sports a slide-out, 7-inch touchscreen. This screen can also be tilted upward, if you want to look (and feel) like a ridiculous giant typing on a teeny, tiny laptop.

If you feel like paying the $1,500 that HTC is demanding for the Shift, you'll get a copy of Vista Business, as well as Microsoft's Origami Experience software. Surprisingly, this -- along with the device's built-in CDMA radio (which lets you hop on Sprint's data network when there's no WiFi available) -- was really one of the only useful features on the Shift. Origami basically functions like a touchscreen-enabled version of Windows Media Center and you can quickly call up your browser, videos, music, pictures and RSS feeds with relative ease.

Where battery life is concerned, we managed to squeeze a little more than two hours doing our normal web-browsing and video-gazing routine. The tablet comes with 1GB of memory, a 40GB hard drive and Intel's A110 800-MHz processor. While this is the same chip other UMPCs like Samsung's Q1 Ultra use, the Shift's overall performance skews a bit to the pokey end of the spectrum. $1500 (as tested), htc.com (story Link)

Windows 7 could be released as early as July

It’s been a while since we’ve heard any rumors about the Windows 7 release date, but it seems like one of Microsoft’s employees might have revealed a little more than the usual “three years after Vista” response. According to Reuters, Microsoft’s Chief Financial Officer said on April 23rd that Windows 7 could be out as early as July. In the past, that could mean anywhere from July to January 2010 but with Microsoft already prepared to launch the public RC, this date certainly means more than it would a few months ago. By releasing it this early, Microsoft would be able to take advantage of back-to-school sales and Christmas season sales.

When do you think Microsoft will release Windows 7? (story Link)

Xtreme Notebooks XN1 — Extreme Mediocrity

Picture_6The XN1 is neither a notebook nor extreme. Let’s discuss: Though striking similar to Sony’s LT series, the XN1 is nowhere near as polished. And its specs keep it mired in mediocrity; its 1.87-Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo and 2-GB RAM are entry-level fodder, and a skimpy 80-GB hard drive is simply unacceptable. However, we were pleasantly surprised to find the XN1 running the 64-bit version of Vista Ultimate. It’s a capable machine, just not extremely capable. —Claude McIver

WIRED Good inputs, including a eSATA port for high-speed hard drives, and dual coax for digital audio. Slim, slot-load HD DVD-ROM drive.

TIRED Though the smallest drive available on their website is 200 gigs, our review system came with a laughable 80-GB drive. Just 26 fps in our P.R.E.Y. benchmark with its nVidia GeForce Go 7600. $1599, xtremenotebooks.com (story Link)

Axiotron Modbook Tablet - Modbook Tablet Is a Designer's BFF

One look at Axiotron's slate Modbook tablet and it's clear the company has given Apple's 13-inch entry-level laptop the full Steve Austin treatment. Well, minus the 20:1 bionic eye with infrared capabilities. Nevertheless, the end result is a better, (slightly) faster, and, yes, even stronger Mac tablet. Sure, it's theonly Mac tablet for now, but this baby is certain to give anyone who dabbles in the dark graphical arts exquisitely rendered heart palpitations.

Book2One minor nit before we start examining the goods. Some reviews have described the Modbook as a touchscreen device. While, technically, this is true, it's important to note we're not talking capacitive touching here. In fact, you can only use the provided Wacom digitizer pen and its 11 nibs as an input device. While that lack of skin on screen action, coupled with its high price, probably keeps the Modbook from being a truly mainstream device, it is by no means a deal breaker.

The tablet touts both Bluetooth and the standard two USB ports should you want to use it with a full-size keyboard and mouse. Hell, you can even mount it on your wall or hook it up to an external monitor via the standard mini-DVI port (like we did), if you prefer a slightly larger screen to show off your squiggly Garfield drawings.

BookIn fact, given that the Modbook is essentially a niche device, it's still impressively versatile. It comes pre-loaded with Apple's Leopard, including the OS's surprisingly accurate built-in Inkwell handwriting recognition software. Using their formidable engineering kung fu, the folks at Axiotron also crammed a GPS unit into the Modbook, which -- ahem -- lets you geo-locate to your heart's content.

As far as looks go, Modbook stays true to Apple's overriding aesthetic sensibilities. It's clear Axiotron has done some Frankensteining here and there (the bottom portion of the tablet is identical to the MacBook while the top half is basically a Wacom Penabled Digitizer), but the Modbook still looks like something Steve Jobs could potentially unveil from an envelope. Both the shell and interior display frame are built from aircraft-quality magnesium alloy -- not that anodized crap. Axiotron also went for the trifecta of metal plating -- that's nickel humping copper and topped off with a little chrome for good measure. While that combination certainly attracts smudges, it's also extremely scratch-resistant.

WIRED: Built-in GPS. Badass handwriting recognition software accurately renders chicken scratch into coherent words. Durable screen and shell makes porting this pricey device a relatively worry-free ordeal.

TIRED: Did we mention this is a pricey ($2,290) device? Stylus pen occasionally loses connectivity or freezes and requires reset. Heavy; weighs as much as a 15-inch Macbook Pro (5.5 lbs). $2,290, axiotron.com (Story Link)

Dell 2707WPF LCD — Biggest. Display. Ever.

http://www.wired.com/images/productreviews/2008/09/dell_2707wpf_lcd_f.jpgSome people might think that a man with a 27-inch monitor on his desk is trying to compensate for something. I swear, I just want as much real estate as I can get to juggle the dozens of windows that tend to build up during the day. With 333 square-inches of screen, I can line up all the Word documents, browser windows, and mail messages you could imagine, while still having enough resolution to actually see what each of them says. Come to think of it, maybe I am compensating—for my ever decroding eyesight.  — Mark McClusky

WIRED Big, bright screen fills your entire field of vision at normal working distances. Handsome industrial design is a step above most cheaper-looking models. Color accuracy very good, once adjusted using a calibration tool. Makes you feel like you’re inside what you’re doing, from web surfing to gaming.

TIRED
Same 1,920 x 1,200-pixel resolution as some smaller models. Blots out view of the rest of your office. When forced to switch to another display, they feel somehow lacking.

$1,199, dell.com (Story Link)

Leaked Windows 7 Build 7100 image may have been infected with trojan

Microsoft have warned users numerous times not to download leaked Windows 7 builds because of the possibility of modified or infected images. Users should understand the risks involved when downloading and installing leaked builds, as we continue to see an increasing amount of fake build releases.

Unfortunately, one of the first build 7100 leaked on “the bay of pirates” was modified. Many users jumped on this build right away, not realizing it was modified and infected with a trojan. The torrent was later taken down. Even if you did not download build 7100 from the suspected site, you should still always do a hash check to ensure your image was unmodified. You can check the MD5 hash of an image by using MD5Checker (download here). Users in our forums and our home page only report on leaks once confirmed to be real, and will always include hash information for you to check with. Thanks to vistademon who spotted the infection with the image uploaded by Einsteinjr.

Leaked Windows 7 Build 7100 image may have been infected with trojan

The image had the following incorrect build string: Windows_7_Ultimate_x86_RC_Build_7100.4866522
This is the MD5 hash of the infected image: 2dc70d7c851d76d49ac71167141222f7
The correct hashes should be the following as reported by our forum members:

x64: 98341AF35655137966E382C4FEAA282D
x86: 8867C13330F56A93944BCD46DCD73590

If you believe you have an infected image, you should get rid of the image immediately, update your anti-virus software and do a complete scan.

If you were a victim of the infected image, it may be better to wait until May 5th when Microsoft releases Windows 7 RC for public download. Download safely. (Story Link)

Windows 7 Adoption rate to be faster than XP’s

A few days ago, we wrote an article about the bright future Windows 7 Adoption has ahead, contrary to many other news sites claiming the same survey results show that IT admins are wary of Windows 7 and prefer to use XP. Ed Bott at ZDNet agrees with me and was able to find further evidence to back his claim that “Windows 7 is on track to be Microsoft’s most successful business OS release ever.”

When the results were shown in pie charts and bar graphs, many were misled that Windows 7 Enterprise Adoption would be another miss for Microsoft.

Windows 7 Adoption rate to be faster than XPs

Perhaps this chart showing the same results in a different format will surprise a few of you:

Windows 7 Adoption rate to be faster than XPs

According to the results of the KACE survey, more than 80% of IT Pros plan to upgrade to Windows 7 by 36 months, which is phenomenal compared to the 30-40% adoption rate of XP. A similar study was also conducted by an investment bank that focuses on technology, called Pacific Crest Securities. 80 IT decision makers working at enterprises of over 1000 employees were surveyed. The results show a much brighter future for Windows 7 Enterprise adoption than the KACE results:

  • 50% plan to upgrade to Windows 7 as soon as it is available
  • 46% expect to start the upgrade before the end of 2009, within months of Windows 7’s release
  • 55% of respondents expect to do system-wide upgrades, rather than upgrading as new PCs are purchased.

It’s also worth noting that 96% of the surveyees like Windows 7 compared to the 88% satisfaction rate of the same group in January. Most of us tend to forget that most businessess need to spend at least a year to test for compatibility and work on implementing a good migration strategy. Ed Bott has also written an analytical post on the history of Windows adoption rates that is worth reading for those interested. (Story Link)

Fix BSOD problems caused by latest Windows 7 updates

A couple of Windows 7 beta testers faced a blue screen of death (BSOD) after installing some recently released security updates. The error message stated a failure on k11.sys and may be caused by a conflict with the Kaspersky Antivirus Program. WindowsFixUp discovered an easy fix for this problem. First, boot up in Safe Mode, which can be done by tapping F8 during boot-up. Once in Safe Mode, type msconfig into run, click on the Startup tab and disable Kaspersky and any related items such as k11.sys. Restart and you should be able to boot up fine.

Fix BSOD problems caused by latest Windows 7 updatesVisit WindowsFixUp for step-by-step instructions on how to fix this problem. (Story Link)

Security research team find unfixable Windows 7 hack

Security researches Vipin Kumar and Nitin Kumar announced at the Hack in the Box security conference that they have uncovered a design problem in Windows 7, allowing them to hack right into the operating system. The hackers claim that they can gain control of a Windows 7 computer during the boot up process using a 3KB program called VBootKit 2.0. It works by allowing hackers to change system files loaded into the system memeory. The hack is extremely hard to detect since no hard drive files are ever touched. Once implemented, hackers can change passwords, access files, and basically do whatever they like without leaving a trace. Fortunately for users, this hack cannot be done remotely and requires physical access to a PC.

This isn’t the first design problem Windows 7 has had. Earlier during the development phase, Long Zheng uncovered a UAC design flaw. At first, Microsoft dismissed the security issue but later apologized for its initial reaction and fixed it in later builds. How will Microsoft respond this time? (story Link)

Windows 7 RC Completed at Build 7100

A number of sources including Neowin have confirmed that the official Windows 7 RC build has been completed at build 7100.

The build string is 7100.0.winmain_win7rc.090421-1700 and compile date is at Tuesday April 21st, 2009. It was reportedly distributed to OEM partners and TAP Gold partners. It’s been two weeks since the last build leak of 7077, which was indicated as the RC escrow.

If all goes as expected, May 5th will be the date Microsoft releases RC to the public. MSDN and Technet subscribers should get their hands on it one week prior to that date.

The latest build compiled to date is 7115.0.winmain.090421-1650. (story Link)

9 Ways How Windows 7 Will Save Battery Life

Microsoft recently released a new 14-page whitepaper entitled “Windows 7 Power Management” to outline the power management technologies in Windows 7 that reduce power consumption. For those curious as to how exactly Windows 7 will use less power, this is your answer. For those who just want the quick scoop, here are 8 different ways how Windows 7 mainly save battery life:

9 Ways How Windows 7 Will Save Battery Life
1) Idle Resource Utilization

This is one of the most important power management technologies because idle time is a significant portion of the time a computer is turned on. Idle efficiency in Windows 7 is improved by reducing resource utilization and enabling hardware to go into lower power states during long periods of inactivity. This includes the processor, disk, memory, and network activity on the computer. To demonstrate just how much power can be saved, CPUs consume nearly 0 watts when idle, but up to 35 watts at full power.
2) Trigger Start Services

Services were usually started automatically right after startup and would run in the background waiting for an event to occur. In Windows 7, certain services are only started when triggered by an event such as device insertion or an IP change. This makes it unnecessary to have services starting all the time and reduces the amount of background processes.
3) Enhanced Processor Power Management

Windows 7 will include device driver support for the latest PPM technologies. PPM allows Windows 7 to choose the appropriate processor performance state depending on the load and scale performance accordingly.
4) Adaptive Display Brightness

Microsoft says that the average display is set to turn off after 10-15 minutes of inactivity. Often times however, there are shorter periods of inactivity in between. To save additional power, ADB defines will allow dimming the display. ADB can also utilize hardware sensor technology to adjust display brightness accordingly to ambient light.
5) Low-Power Audio

Windows 7 will support the latest Intel HD Audio low-power specification, which introduces a new power state known as D3Cold. This is the lowest unresponsive power state that a codec can go into. It can also further conserve power when an audio device is not in use. Windows 7 also supports selective suspend technology that extends to USB audio-class devices such as microphones and web-cams.
6) Timer Coalescing

Modern processors reduce power consumption by taking advantage of idle time between executing instructions, but many PPM technologies require a minimum amount of idle time before obtaining any net-power savings. Timer Coalescing increases the average idle period by letting the Windows kernel combine periodic software activity.

Additionally, Windows 7 will defer non-critical background activity when the user is on a battery-powered setup (netbook or notebook).
7) Bluetooth Power Improvements

Windows 7 will enable a state of “selective suspend” when it detects that a Bluetooth device has entered a low-power state.
8. Networking Power Improvements

Network adapters enter a lower-power state (known as D3) if supported by the adapter and driver whenever a network cable is removed. Low-power mode capability for wireless network controllers has been improved. Low-power mode is only entered if the access point supports it. Vista was unable to detect if the mode was supported and would cause computers to suddenly disconnect from the wireless network. Windows 7 will detect compatibility before entering the low-power mode.
9) Optimizations to key user scenarios

In addition to the improvements listed above, Microsoft also looked at specific key scenarios they could optimize including search, Internet browsing, and casual gaming. Here is an example of some of the optimizations made to a DVD Playback scenario:

* The ability for the CPU to stay in lower performance states without affecting playback performance
* Improvement of the Desktop Windows Manager (DWM) and Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) utilization through architectural changes
* Smart data caching that allow optical disk drive spin-down

These are the nine key ways Windows 7’s power management will improve, saving a lot more battery life than its predecessors on portable computing. In addition to these great improvements are power-management diagnostics to help IT pros determine problems that may be affecting power efficiency. For full technical info and additional resources, click here to check out Microsoft’s site to download the whitepaper. (story Link)

Apr 28, 2009

How to Delete Accounts from Any Website

The words "I wish I could quit you" take on a whole new meaning when you want out of a relationship with an online service. Sure, you once thought you and Facebook or MySpace would be together forever, but eventually terms of service change, end-user license agreements mature, and, well, you're just not in the same place anymore.

Sadly, not all Web sites and social networks are created equal when it comes to breaking up. With some, it takes only a couple of clicks to say good-bye. If you stop paying, that goes a long way toward ending it with a few sites. Others make you jump through more hoops than a tiger at the circus.

No matter what you call it—deleting, canceling, removing, whatever—when you want to be rid of an online account, you'll find most sites don't feel obliged to make it too easy for you. So we've cut to the chase as much as possible to give you the links, the tips, and in the worst cases, the fax and phone numbers you need to sever ties. Did we miss a service you want out of? Let us know. And if you've managed to quit a service not in this story, be kind and share your tips.

Social Networks

Classmates.com

Another site linking up you and your alma mater–mates and another lawsuit: One user claims he was told by Classmates that several people were trying to contact him. He wasn't able to find out who—not until he paid. Then he discovered the actual truth: No one was trying to find him, at all. Rather than get mad, he got litigious.

Even if you don't feel scammed, you may feel annoyed—maybe you hated high school. And college. Canceling with Classmates is pretty simple—if you've got the free account. Those users can log in and remove themselves anytime. Visit the Member Support Email Contact form, pick a reason you're leaving, and click Yes. That's it.

If you've paid—base cost is $15 for three months—you've got a Gold Membership at Classmates.com, and that makes it a little more complicated. Contact the Member Support Team and someone will get back to you in e-mail or via live Internet chat. Classmates will dummy the account back down to free so you can do the removal. Another method is to set the account renewal option to "manual" so that it doesn't automatically debit your credit card; instead it automatically reverts to free when your Gold Membership runs out.

Can't get satisfaction online? Classmates.com can be reached at 425-917-5000. I tried it, hit 1 for customer support, then 2 for a question about the Web site, and got an operator after 4 minutes. She said she can cancel any account.

Facebook

Recent issues with the Facebook terms of service—which would have given Facebook rights to everything you post there, for the remainder of time—had some users threatening to pull out. Which is probably why Facebook recanted on the changes and suddenly embraced democracy for its guidelines.

If you're still steamed, you have a couple of ways to leave FB behind. First is simple "deactivation." Visit your Facebook Account page and click the "deactivate" link at the bottom. Facebook will make an attempt to guilt-trip you into staying by pointing out just how many of your social-network friends won't be able to keep in touch. It even displays pictures of people you're in photos with, playing on your emotions with captions such as, "Mark will miss you" and "Wendy will miss you." Sure they will. Then how come they never poke me?

Once you've cleared the tears from your eyes, you'll notice another message on-screen, wherein the Facebook Team points out that you shouldn't deactivate because of that silly old terms of service change. That "was a mistake we have now corrected." Too much hullaballoo.

Soldier on. You have to provide a reason to deactivate, whether you'll be back or not, and you can also opt out of getting e-mails from Facebook while deactivated. That's the trick: Deactivation is not the same as deletion. Your account simply becomes invisible. Your friends on Facebook will all think you bailed. However, you have the option to reactivate it in the future, without losing any photos, notes, or pokes.

True deletion of a Facebook account means losing all of those—so be sure you have local copies of photos and notes before you take this step. You can't reactivate. Here's the link to the Delete My Account page.

Friendster

Yes, Friendster still exists. If you were an early adopter of social networks, you may still have an account there doing nothing to get you new, real friends (like those you have on Facebook!). Time to cancel.

Assuming you can remember your log-in, do so and click Settings. Scroll down and find the Cancel My Account link. On a new page, you'll find the Cancellation Form in the middle. You need to provide your e-mail address, password, give a reason you're canceling, and check off the "Yes, I want to cancel my Friendster account" box. You can even list what new social network you've moved to, just to make Friendster feel bad. Refresh the window, and if you were logged in to Friendster before, you shouldn't be now. Say "so long" to any data you may have uploaded, assuming you can remember what it was.

LinkedIn

It could be argued that LinkedIn is the most useful social network around, especially in this day and age of job networking. That doesn't mean you won't want to cancel with them. In fact, LinkedIn specifically suggests that if you have multiple accounts, you should close one to consolidate.

To close an account, log in, click Account & Settings at the top of the page, then click Close Your Account (under Personal Information). Give a reason you're leaving—most sites want to know what they can improve, or did wrong— and then click Continue.

You have time to reinstate your account, if you regret the deletion. Contact Customer Service and confirm your e-mail address to do so. LinkedIn doesn't give out a number, but the link to contact them is on the bottom of every page. I found the number anyway: 650-687-3600. When you ask for customer service, you'll probably get sent to a recording.

MySpace

Canceling your MySpace account is easy—when it works. When it doesn't, things get a touch arcane.

Sign in, click the My Account link, then click Account, scroll down to the bottom, and click Cancel Account. Keep in mind, there is no reactivation. Go through with the cancellation and you can't bring back your account—though you can create a new account using the same e-mail address you used before. That's won't restore your previous music, pictures, and blog posts, however.

It should be that simple. But MySpace has some caveats. First, the account might remain visible for a while. Days, even a week, maybe. After that, if the MySpace page is still there, you may safely assume the deletion didn't go through. Now you need to e-mail help@support.myspace.com and ask for assistance.

Send a "salute" to MySpace support in the e-mail. That's a "handwritten sign with the word MySpace.com and include your MySpace Friend/Profile ID number." Hold it up while having your picture taken. Attach the digital photo to the e-mail or at least send MySpace a link to where the picture can be found online. This salute may prove you're you, but that will matter only if you've got a picture on your MySpace page for the support team to compare it with.

MyLife.com (formerly Reunion.com)

MyLife.com wants to bring people from previous school classes together. Unfortunately, it tends to be aggressively annoying, with a constant barrage of e-mails once you sign up. The earlier incarnation, Reunion.com, was even the subject of a lawsuit under a California anti-spam law (the suit was dismissed).

If you're not part of the class action, here's how to get away from the constant claims of acquaintances trying to track you down. It's tricky to find even in the MyLife.com help documents, where at one point it says "delete account" but there's no actual entry with that term. It switches to "remove account" on the actual help article.

First, you do have the option to change your e-mail settings so that you get fewer or no messages from Reunion.com. But Reunion/MyLife also claims it "may take up to 10 days for changes to take effect." Why on earth should this remotely be the case? Supposedly because "some may have been prepared for delivery already." That only fuels the desire to delete the account. So here are the steps: Log in, click My Account on the top right, find the Delete Account link, and click OK to confirm. This can't be undone; you'll lose all mailbox data, profile info, and photos.

Expect to get e-mail messages for a couple of weeks. If the spams continue after that, call customer service at 888-704-1900, even on weekends. Hit 4 for questions about premium membership. Then 3 to make changes. You can cancel both free and premium accounts through this number. (full Story)

Nokia N81 Cell Phone Is First US Phone With N-GAGE Platform

Nokia3So I got this box in the mail that said N-GAGE on it. But the cell phone inside didn’t look like a taco. I was confused. I tried talking into the side of the slider — it worked just like a cell phone should. What''s this N-GAGE moniker for? Turns out, N-Gage is no longer the name of a specific phone—it’s a platform, meaning that in order to wear the storied (er, buried?) badge a handset must meet certain performance criteria when it comes to mobile gaming. And the phone in question, Nokia’s N81 8GB, is the first so-branded model to be released in the US. This handset has a 3D graphics accelerator, super-bright 16-million-color screen, and physical controls geared toward gaming. There are buttons on opposite ends of the device, mimicking the feel you get when you pick up say, an Xbox 360 controller. In the software department, the N81 runs the graying S60 operating system, and comes with a suite of demo games that cost about $10 to activate. Really? Come on guys, the new N-GAGE is supposed to keep us engaged not enraged.  —Joe Brown

NokiaWIRED
3G and Wi-Fi, which should be standard on every phone, thank you very much. Gaming controls work as advertised, with nary a mis-pressed button in several straphanger gaming sessions. 8 gigs is, like, plenty of memory. Sleek design and excellent build quality. Unlocked. Autofocus-free 2-megapizzle camera is paparazzi-fast.

TIRED
Paparazzi-fast camera seems like it’s trying especially hard not to focus. Fancy piano-black screen is the opposite of antireflective. Topside button is built around the speaker, and squeaks if you move the phone around during a conversation (= always). Flat, nearly featureless keypad is impossible to use without looking down. Yo Nokia, why can’t you include at least one free game with my $630 phone? And where the @#$! is Snakes?! $629, nokia.com (story Link)

Duel Systems DuelAdapter—Double Your Connection Pleasure

Dualadpater

That slot on the side of your fancy new notebook may look like a standard PC Card connector, but chances are you got stuck with an ExpressCard slot instead: a replacement technology which is incompatible with PC Cards and for which precious few peripherals exist. If you've got old PC Card hardware which you don't want to upgrade, the Duel Systems DuelAdapter provides a lifeline. The device has an ExpressCard on one end and a PC Card dock on the other, connected by a hefty, foot-long cable. Install drivers and you've got a way to use nearly any old PC Card on your laptop. We tried it with a Cingular WWAN card, PC Card hard drive, and Microdrive adapter and had no problems. Just try to ignore the unfortunate homophone in the name.  —Christopher Null

WIRED Practically plug-and-play, can swap cards in and out without reboots. Works on Windows XP and Mac machines. Broad support even for notoriously "difficult" PC Cards, like WWAN adapters.

TIRED No-frills design; a status light on the unit would have been nice. Extremely old PC Cards probably won't work with it. No Vista support yet. A little bulky at 5.8 ounces and a bit awkward to try and fit in a messenger bag. $119, duel-systems.com (Story Link)

Samsung Glyde Cell Phone is a Slick Slip and Slider

There's Verizon_samsung1_630xsomething undeniably sexy about touchscreen phones. It's probably the fact that using such an advanced interface for mundane tasks just oozes cool. But let's face it -- if a touch-based phone requires more than a couple taps (or worse, input from a QWERTY keyboard), all of that pseudo-futuristic badassery is wasted.

Samsung's Glyde, a phone which woefully shares its moniker with a personal lubricant, is a perfect example of this at work.

There's a lot to love about this phone on the surface -- it's elegantly minimalist, light weight and versatile. At 4 x 2 x.7-inches it shares the form factor of its cousin the F700, making for a slick, pocket-friendly presentation. The Glyde's clean profile is rounded out by the unit's sparse use of external buttons, and a slimming dark blue-on-silver chassis. Even the design faux pas of an exposed memory card port has been sidestepped — it now tucks into the battery compartment. With its sweet looks, and the bonuses of multimedia support and a decent 2MP camera with flash, the Glyde is clearly a stylistic progression compared to Verizon's other touchscreen phones (I'm looking at you, Voyager and Venus).

Verizon_samsung2_630xLikewise, the Glyde does fairly well with its full HTML browser too. Wikipedia and Google queries were easily executed and relatively quick via the phone's EV-DO connection. However, loading graphic intensive sites (ahem, Wired.com) was surprisingly sluggish at times. Once everything was loaded, navigating through individual pages proved simple enough between the Glyde's on-screen menus and the zoom functions (accessed through the volume button). For quick and repetitive tasks like checking webmail, the phone also gives the option of accessing a dressed up WAP version of the web. Granted, none of these features were laid out in an especially intuitive way — but when push came to shove they were functional and granted me access when I needed it.

WIRED Sleek and compact design. Bluetooth compatible. Adjustable vibrating feedback for touch commands. Backlit QWERTY keypad is easy to see in the dark. Records up to 10-minutes of video. Speedy performance. Crisp call quality. Vibrant 240 x 440 touchscreen. Touchscreen automatically locks after initiating calls.

TIRED On-screen buttons near screen perimeter can be unresponsive. Automatically switches to landscape whenever the browser is opened. Weak speaker output during both multimedia playback and speakerphone calls. No on-screen QWERTY keyboard for texting. With only 35MB of internal memory for music, shelling out for a microSD card is unavoidable.

$300 (with two-year agreement), verizonwireless.com (Story Link)

More Windows 7 RC details revealed

Just a day after Paul Thurott revealed Windows XP Mode for Windows 7, he comes back with additional details where he’s pretty sure “most of this is all new info.” Here are the details:

AAC/H.264/MPEG-2 support will not be provided to Windows 7 Home Basic and Starter customers. That functionality will only go out to Home Premium, Professional, and Enterprise/Ultimate users. But it looks like there will be add-ons made available (free or paid, it’s not clear) to users of low-end Windows 7 versions.

Maximum RAM. All 32-bit versions of Windows 7 “support” 4 GB of RAM, of course. But if you go 64-bit, you can add up to 8 GB in Home Basic and Starter, 16 GB in Home Premium, and 192 GB in Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate.

Windows Media Player Remote Media Experience (RME) is not available in Windows 7 Home Basic or Starter. However, all versions can share media over a home network.

All Windows 7 SKUs support 20 simultaneous SMB connections. This works out to 10 users, apparently.

XP Mode (formerly Virtual PC). As we first revealed yesterday, only Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate are licensed to install XP Mode.

There aren’t any surprises here but the details are good to know. Do you think the limitations are a good move by Microsoft? Let us know in the comments. (Story Link)

AT&T Mobile TV -- Media Flows Like Greased Lightning

Picture_15Do we really need another way to rot our brains? Yes, yes we do -- and live TV on our phones is just the ticket. The latest effort to get the boob tube on a mobile device is AT&T's Mobile TV with FLO (Forward Link Only), and it's surprisingly good. Coupled with the LG Vu phone, it's a match made in couch-potato heaven.

The MediaFLO service uses an unusual, nonstandard bit of spectrum to ensure that the streaming of your favorite flicks is uninterrupted. Instead of downloading the data over AT&T's 3-G network, the Qualcomm-developed technology operates primarily on the old UHF television band, though it does tap into the 3-G network in order to get started.

The result is that there's virtually no buffering and programming starts up within a few seconds. On the Vu’s brilliant 3-inch screen we found picture quality to be insanely clear and frame rates to be smooth as the ice cubes in a tumbler of 30-year-old bourbon.

"Mobile TV" is a bit of a misnomer. Only a few channels are simulcast, meaning you can watch them in near-real time: for instance, Comedy Central, breaking news on CNN and and selected sporting events on ESPN. All other programming, like episodes of your favorite Fox shows (Family Guy!), are time-shifted and updated when necessary.

There are three different Mobile TV packages to choose from. Included in the $30 package is unlimited Mobile TV, Web browsing and CV mobile video along with CBS Mobile, CNN Mobile Live, Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile, Fox Mobile, MTV, NBC 2Go, NBC News 2Go, Nickelodeon and PIX (Sony Pictures). The mid-tier package, at $15, gives you unlimited Mobile TV and the CNCRT channel for a limited time. The basic package includes CBS Mobile, FOX Mobile, NBC 2Go and NBC News 2Go for only $13.

Watching live streaming TV or movies like The Karate Kid on the Vu's 3-inch haptic touchscreen is, well, pretty amazing. The user interface is fairly intuitive with straightforward menus. And the mere fact that we can watch clips from 30 Rock while sitting on the bus is satisfying in itself. Hell, it almost makes us want to junk our 52-inch monster HD LCD and watch TV on our phone full time. Almost. —Peter Ha

WIRED
Good selection of simulcast and time-shifted programming. No network lag. Live streaming CNN is a must for news junkies. Variety of programming packages should fit just about everyone’s viewing style.

TIRED Unless you're in an area with strong 3-G coverage, the service simply will not work.  Right now the service is only available in 58 locations nationwide.

$30 per month as tested, wireless.att.com (Story Link)

Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX Graphics Card

Geforce_8800_gtx

Unless “frag life” is tattooed across your stomach, it might be hard to justify dropping $500 on a video card. But if gaming is your religion, the purchase of Nvidia’s 8800 GTX is merely an act of contrition. Packed with an ungodly amount of horsepower, this card boasts a 575-MHz core processor with 768 MB of video memory and its memory speed maxes out at 900 MHz. When plugged into our testing rig, it cranked out an amazing 29 video frames per second in the ultra-graphically-intensive Oblivion: The Elder Scrolls IV with the resolution dialed up to 1920 x1200. Even our once hot-as-hell Nvidia 6800 Ultra couldn’t even come close to this performance; it only managed 3 frames per second at the same resolution.   —Bruce Gain

WIRED Virtually any game runs faster and clearer with sharper detail. Anti-aliasing features rid most games of jagged edges. Computationally intensive physics effects boost levels of realism for images of smoke, water, and shattered glass. DVI monitor support for dual displays with up to 2560 x1600 pixels. HDTV output.

TIRED 10.5-inch card is tough to cram into even the roomiest rigs. Requires a 450-watt power supply and a PCI-Express motherboard to function. This video card alone costs more than a Wii or Xbox 360. $599 (as tested), newegg.com (Story Link)

20 Top Picks from BlackBerry App World

BlackBerry App World, Research in Motion's new mobile app store, already packs more than 500 programs—any of which can be delivered to your handset via a nifty portal that installs right on your BlackBerry's home screen. Since it's only been around for a few days, the store isn't perfect yet. Some users have balked at first-week glitches including slow performance, and the need for a PayPal account, among other things.

But there's plenty of time to iron out the details. For now, it's easy to browse, buy, and install apps, which is all that really matters, right? We've rounded up the best applications currently available in the store, along with a couple of our favorites that we hope make it there soon. If you're looking for apps to help save—or kill—time, you're bound to find just the thing. The best part: Plenty of them are free.

Apps for Keeping in Touch and Informed

AOL Instant Messenger (Free)
AIM's BlackBerry app lets you send and receive messages with all of your desktop buddies—not just your Mobile list. It can also keep track of several conversations at once. Not an AIM fan, or have additional friends on other services? Don't miss the free Google Talk, ICQ, Windows Live Messenger, and Yahoo Messenger clients also available in the store.

Facebook (Free)
Facebook for BlackBerry isn't perfect—it's still essentially the same app it was when it was released over a year ago. As a result, it doesn't handle comments, hidden feed items, or any other recent Facebook changes on the desktop. But the native mobile app is still the fastest way to check your friends' status updates, send messages, and upload photos right from your BlackBerry.

MySpace (Free)
Facebook may be winning the buzz race these days, but MySpace is still pulling in well over 50 million unique visitors each month. It's similar to the Facebook app; users can send messages, update mood and status, view or send bulletins, and post photos. It's also faster and easier to navigate than the site's WAP page.

Viigo (Free)
Need an on-the-go RSS reader? Viigo lets you manage dozens of feeds, grouping them into categories and offering ultra-fast navigation along the way. Essentially, it gives you instant access to breaking news, flight schedules, restaurant reviews, sports scores, weather updates, and just about anything else—all within the same neatly designed, customizable interface.

News, Events, and Travel Apps

Bloomberg (Free)
This isn't your garden-variety Web shortcut. Bloomberg offers a condensed version of the classic black Bloomberg terminal screen, with detailed indices, graphs, and moving currency data, along with an up-to-date index of top worldwide financial news stories. As useful as it is, you may want to limit your exposure given the depressing state of today's economy.

Ticketmaster (Free)
Out with the guys making plans to hit the next Yankees home game? Lots of mobile sites let you get concert and sports event info on the go, but few make it as easy to buy tickets on the spot as Ticketmaster for BlackBerry. Within moments, I was able to bring up plenty of events and check available seating for different ticket configurations—that is, once I scrolled past pages and pages of legalese. (Man, what a buzzkill!)

Trapster (Free)
Beat the fuzz with your BlackBerry. Hook the app into your handset's GPS radio or just enter locations manually, and Trapster will let you in on all the nearby speed traps, including police with live radar guns, known hiding places, and red light cameras. You can also rate traps to let other users know if they're accurate, or report new traps right from your handset. The interface isn't pretty, but who cares if it saves you from coughing up for a pricey ticket?

WorldMate Live (Free)
Expert travelers need fast, useful information on the go, and WorldMate Live delivers it. The app lets you check flight status, book hotels, connect with friends, and share your itineraries right from your phone. There's also a currency converter, a time zone calculator, and BlackBerry Maps integration.  (full Story)

ASUS Nova P22 Mini PC Is No Small Wonder

Asus2

If you like a liquid-cooled, oversized, overclocked, loud-as-a-harrier-jet, game-scorching PC tower, then ASUS’ new Nova P22 is not for you. At 9 in x 7.2 in x 2 in, it's a little longer and wider than a Mac Mini, in an aesthetically pleasing not-square chassis. Inside: a 1.8-GHz Core 2 Duo chip, an adequate Intel GMA 3000 graphics processor, 1 GB of ram, and a 160-GB hard drive. Almost enough oomph to run Vista — but not Doom. That’s OK, though, because the Nova was designed for your living room, not your game lair. Essentially it acts as a media streamer. We grabbed a DVI to HDMI cable, jacked it into our TV, and were using the Nova to pull movies off our home network within minutes of hitting the swank, touch-sensitive power button. Gaming be damned —Nate Ralph

Asus3_2WIRED: Decent price for the form factor. Media savvy as advertised. Analog and digital audio outs. Small and quiet. Sleek black finish is purty. 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.0 hardwired beneath its tiny carapace. Looks a lot like a Wii, if that does anything for you.

TIRED: Accidental shutdowns courtesy of the touchy power button. Strictly DVI video outputs, and this is an HDMI world. Built-in pencil holder (!) is useless if you stand the machine upright. Onboard “hi-fi” speakers could barely fill a small closet with sound. Cord management is tricky since all the inputs are on the back. Slightly underwhelming stats aren’t much good for tasks beyond media playing and sharing. $899, asus.com (story Link)

Apr 27, 2009

Key for Switch to Apple – 07

1. Should I buy a Mac-Intel PC now or wait until the new systems running the new OS X 10.5 (code named Leopard) arrive?
There's no particular need to wait because Tiger will work just fine. If you decide you want Leopard later on you have to buy.

2. Can I run Windows and Mac OS simultaneously toggling between the two?
The short answer is no. Boot Camp, Apple's downloadable application (in beta now but expected to come standard with Leopard), lets you switch between OSs but you have to reboot with each switch. You can run both OSs simultaneously with a utility, like Parallels Workstation.

3. Can I play my favorite Windows games, like Doom3, on a Mac? What other games can I play?
You'll be happy to hear that you can play your favorite Windows games on the new Mac-Intel systems, even against other Windows users. Keep in mind though that the 3D performance is directly affected by which graphics GPU you're using. And in a Mac-Intel, the highest end graphics card is the mid-range ATI Mobility Radeon X1600, which isn't as fast as the nVidia GeForce Go 7900GTX graphics system now available in systems like our Editor's Choice, Dell XPS M1710.

4. At home, I have two Windows PCs networked via WiFi. How difficult will it be to add the Mac-Intel into the mix? Will I be able to share files between my Windows PCs and my Mac-Intel whether it's running Windows OS or Mac OS?
Setting up your new Mac-Intel machine onto your PC network is easy. The Mac OS includes built-in support for Windows Sharing, which allows Macs to access files on your other Windows PCs. However, you need to enable this file-sharing option in OS X yourself since it's not a default factory setting. Enable File Sharing in Windows XP to view your Mac files.

Third party solutions are also available, like DAVE by Thursby software, which makes identifying Microsoft networks and sharing hard drives even easier in OS X.

5. Can I still use my old printer/scanner/wireless router or do I need to invest in a device?
First, check the Apple site or your peripheral manufacturer's site and see if they have Macintosh support and download the software for that specific model. Your wireless router will work with both Macs and Windows PCs without any additional software installations.

6. I do a great deal of work in Photoshop, and heard it runs slower on a Mac-Intel computer. Is this true?
Right now, yes that is true. The Universal Binary version of Adobe Photoshop CS2 is expected to address this disparity but will not be available until sometime in 2007. If you work primarily with OS X and rely heavily on Photoshop, you will notice a slow down. In that case, it might make more sense for you to wait until the next revision comes out. For a list of all the universal binary applications, check out (http://guide.apple.com/universal/).

7. Will I be able to see my IE bookmarks in both Mac OS and Windows OS?
Bookmarks are not synchronized between the Mac OS and Windows OS. You will have to import your bookmarks into the Mac OS and update them accordingly.

8. Does it slow the computer down to have both OS's open?
Technically, you cannot have both OS's open simultaneously. You can use Virtualization software like Parallels which is a PC emulator program that runs within OS X. Doing this though will place extra strain on your Mac's resources.

9. Is the Mac surround sound interface compatible with consumer electronic devices such as home theater receivers? I have a nice 5.1 living room speaker set up already.
The included optical out port on the iMac, Mac mini, and MacBook Pro gives you surround sound capability and easily connects to home theater stereos provided you have an Optical Mini Jack To TosLink Cable.

10. Can I boot Mac OS X on a PC?
No. Mac OS X is not available for Windows-based PCs. (story Link)

Key for Switch to Apple – 06

MAC APPS

I won't attempt to give you much information here about specific applications that come with your Mac, but there are a few things worth mentioning:

Preview is the application that, by default, will open your PDF files (along with image files). You can generally use it instead of Adobe Reader; you'll find that it opens much faster than Adobe Reader does (what doesn't?). And unlike Adobe Reader, it permits light editing of PDFs—you can delete or resequence pages in the right-hand sidebar. It's also nice for generating a quick slideshow: In the Finder, highlight a bunch of image files, then double-click on any of them. They'll all open simultaneously in Preview, with a sidebar of thumbnails on the right that will let you quickly scroll through them.

Disk Utility (in the folder \Applications\Utilities) is what you'll use to format flash drives and external hard disks. For highest speed and best compatibility with the Mac, choose Erase, and Volume Format, Mac OS Extended (Journaled). If you need the backup device to readable by a Windows PC, choose MS-DOS format (performance won't be as good). By the way, Disk Utility also lets you make your own DMG files—use the menu option File | New | Disk Image from Folder. What's really nice about this is, you can encrypt your .dmg file; this is great for storing sensitive data.

Well, that just about scratches the surface. Mac aficionados will note with displeasure that I haven't said a word about Time Machine, Dashboard widgets, Spaces, Automator, or any of several thousand other things you're probably going to like. Watch this space. (story Link)

Key for Switch to Apple – 05

MISCELLANEOUS WINDOWS-TO-MAC ISSUES

Here are some questions that come up quite a bit, in my experience. They're a bit hodgepodge, but you can't argue with experience.

Command and control. Often enough, if you used a Control-key combo in Windows, Command plus the same other key will work in OS X. For example, Ctrl-x, -c, and -v to cut, copy, and paste a selection becomes Cmd-x, -c, and -v. Cmd-a selects all, whether you're in Finder or an application.

Know what you're closing. Ctrl-w to close a window in Windows is Cmd-w to close a window on the Mac. Quitting an open application requires not just closing its windows but actually telling it to quit—that's Cmd-q from the keyboard, or a right-click-accessible mouse command from the application's Dock icon.

Jump around. Alt-Tab to switch among open windows is Cmd-Tab on the Mac. Actually, Cmd-Tab switches among open applications. Use Cmd-~ to switch among open windows in a particular application. But once you get used to the Exposé feature, you might not care about this anyway.

Erase bidirectionally. Most Mac users seem to use the Delete key exclusively. It's in the same spot on a Mac keyboard that the Backspace occupies on non-Mac keyboards, and it deletes characters backward from the cursor, just like a Backspace key. But Windows users are used to having a Delete key that deletes forward as well. If you miss your Windows-type Delete key, use Fn-Delete on a Mac to delete forward.

All-stop. If you're old enough to remember when the Break key on a PC did something, you'll want to know about Cmd-period on a Mac. In many applications, it cancels whatever is in the midst of happening. Try that or the Escape key before you try what's next.

Quit it. Ctrl-Alt-Delete on a Windows PC (to bring up the Task Manager when something seems to be frozen) is Cmd-Option-Escape on a Mac: It will bring up a list of running applications so that you can force a frozen one to quit. You can also get there by choosing Force Quit from the main Apple menu.

Mac Tip 5

Monitor activity. The full functionality of Task Manager on a Windows PC is found in Activity Monitor on a Mac; that's in the folder \Applications\Utilities. It's worth dragging that one to the Dock for quick access. If your Mac slows down, or if loud fan activity suggest that something is overwhelming its processor, Activity Manager will show you every currently running process and allow you to force-quit the culprit.

Create aliases. What Windows calls a shortcut, Mac calls an alias. You can make one by control-clicking on the icon for a file or folder, then choosing Make Alias—or simply by pressing Cmd-l (that's a lowercase L). Unlike a Windows shortcut, a Mac alias knows the actual identity of the target file, not just its location (the Mac assigns a unique ID number to each file); therefore, you can move the target file around, or even rename it, and the alias will still work.

Grab a screen. There's no Print Screen button for screen captures, but there is this abstruse keyboard shortcut: Cmd-Ctrl-Shift-4 (you'll get used to it). Once you press that, you can trace any area of the screen for capture to the clipboard; then you can paste it into, say, a document or photo-editing software. If you don't bother to press the Control key, the screenshot will be saved to your desktop as a file instead. If you press 3 rather than 4, you'll automatically capture the whole screen. And if you're in no mood for any such finger contortions, you can use the Grab application in your Utilities folder.

Clean up drive-image detritus. Unlike a Windows PC, your Mac won't offer to remove the unused icons on your desktop, so let me tell you about one type of file that might begin to accumulate there needlessly: the DMG file. If you download applications from the Web, a lot of them will download in the form of .dmg files (disk-image files). When you double-click on the DMG icon, it opens in the form of a virtual disk—a temporary folder that your Mac treats like a newly inserted disc or flash drive. If you want to keep the contents of the virtual disk, you have to drag them to another folder (such as your Applications folder or your desktop); doing so will copy them. The virtual disk can then be "ejected"—just drag it to the trash or press the Eject icon that appears next to the drive in a Finder window to do that. But you'll still have the DMG file that spawned the virtual disk. You don't need it anymore—go ahead and drag it to the trash, too.

Get info. On a Windows PC, you can get system information from various selections on the Start menu—information such as how much memory your computer has, or what kinds of hardware are built into it. To get this information on a Mac, select About This Mac from the Apple menu. The window that immediately pops up will tell you which version of OS X you're running, among other things. Then press More Info to open the System Profiler utility, which will glut you with details.

Type worldly. There's a world of hidden characters and symbols behind the Option key. For example, press Option-e and any vowel you type next will have an acute accent. Press Option-u and any vowel you type next will have an umlaut. Press Option-4 (the dollar-sign key) and you'll get ¢. The results for any of these will differ if you also hold down the Shift key. To learn more about keyboard combinations and diacritical marks, see Apple's guide.

For laptops only: Don't be dim. Have you noticed that when you're running on battery power, the display keeps dimming every few minutes? Yeah, that's annoying. Turn it off in Apple | System Preferences | Energy Saver, under Options, where you can uncheck Automatically reduce the brightness....

Come on and zoom. There's a keyboard shortcut for zooming the whole screen. First, press Cmd-Option-8 to toggle it on (you'll never need to do that again). Now press Cmd-Option-= to zoom. Press Cmd-Option-minus to pull back out. (story Link)

Key for Switch to Apple - 04

SAVING, PRINTING, FINDING

Here are some more handy tips for getting around & using Mac OS X and the applications on it.

Mac Tip 3

Uncover options. By default, the Print and Save dialogs for most applications are pretty sparse-looking. That's deceptive. See the downward-pointing triangle in the blue box? Click on it to display a lot of options that are otherwise hidden/

Mac Tip 4

PDF it. While you're in the Print dialog, note the inconspicuous button marked PDF. Clicking on it will give you a drop-down menu that includes Save as PDF. What this means is that anything you can print, you can convert to a PDF instead of printing. No more printing and losing online receipts.

Search with Spotlight. This hard drive search tool needs an article all its own, so I won't try to do more than tell you what it is. Your Mac maintains a Spotlight index that includes not just filenames, but also every word within each file, and Spotlight will fetch results accordingly. Click on the magnifying glass in the top right-hand corner and enter a word to begin. Spotlight is also the engine that drives the little search bar you'll find at the top of any Finder window. When you perform a Spotlight search that way, your results will be displayed with the option of limiting them to the current folder, and with the option of searching file contents or only filenames. We'll go further into depth about Spotlight's capabilities in a future article.

If you're accustomed to using Google Desktop on a Windows PC, you know that it does something Spotlight can't: It displays your results with snippets of the surrounding text, just like a regular Google search does. You can download a Mac version of Google Desktop to gain this feature, but I've found that doing so slows things down a bit, perhaps because Spotlight and Google Desktop are both continuously indexing your files. A nice alternative is to download the freeware application SpotInside, which uses Spotlight's index but displays results in context with snippets of text, Google-style.

Manage windows with Exposé. Exposé is another feature that can save you a lot of time. One key will sweep aside all open windows to reveal your Desktop (until you press the key again); another key will push all your open windows out of each other's way so that you can choose among them by hovering the pointer over them; a third key will do the same, but only for windows in the front-most application. Which key does which function will depend on your Mac, and you can change it under Apple | System Preferences | Exposé and Spaces.

Change every shortcut. Well, that might be going a bit far. But you really can change and create all kinds of keyboard shortcuts. Under Apple | System Preferences | Keyboard, you can create a keyboard shortcut for any preexisting menu item. This can be done system-wide or for individual applications. Users of Microsoft Office for Mac should note that the Office apps have their own applets for accomplishing this. (story Link)

Key for Switch to Apple - 03

ORGANIZATION

To make the most of your Mac, you should know a few things about how its hard disk is organized. Double-click on the drive's icon in the upper right-hand corner of the desktop, and let's look at what's there.

Applications. This folder is equivalent to the Program Files folder on a Windows PC. In the Finder, you can always go straight to your Applications folder by pressing Cmd-A (that's a capital A—Cmd-Shift-a) or by choosing Go | Applications from the menu bar. While we're here, let me tell you something nice about applications on a Mac: They're usually self-contained, meaning that you can simply drag and drop an application to a new location and it will run—there's no Windows-like Registry into which it can spread its tentacles, so you usually don't need a special installer program. Obviously, you will never exploit this knowledge to copy programs illegally. Similarly, simply deleting the application's icon tends to neatly uninstall the program.

Library. This is where the system and various applications store information that they need—things such as fonts and Internet plug-ins (applications that your Web browser runs automatically so that it can play video files and display PDFs). Until you've learned a lot more, keep out!

System. This is, as you'd expect, where the operating system lives. Again, keep out.

Users. Okay, now we're home: Users is the equivalent of the Documents and Settings folder on a Windows XP PC. Each person with an account on your Mac will have a folder under Users; that folder is called your home directory. This is the folder you want to back up; it's what makes your Mac yours. Double-click on it and here are some things you'll see:

Desktop, Documents, and Downloads. No tricks here. The Desktop is your desktop, Documents is the default for saving documents, and Downloads is where Safari will default to saving anything you download.

Likewise, Movies, Music, and Pictures are just what they sound like. The Music folder probably contains your iTunes music files (unless you've told iTunes not to store music there). It also contains a file called "iTunes Library," which doesn't actually contain any music—it's just a database of the songs that your copy of iTunes knows about.

Library. This is your library rather than the system's. One thing you'll find here is your bookmarks: If you use Safari, they're in a folder called Safari under the filename Bookmarks.plist. Firefox users will need to drill down through the Application Support folder (or search for a file called bookmarks). You'll also find a Library folder called Preferences, which is where your applications will generally store any preference settings you make. Peek in the Preferences folder and you'll see that most of the preference files have the extension .plist, which stands for "property list." There are third-party utilities you can use to edit these files directly, but you'll probably never need to.

The important thing is to know where they are so you can copy them to another Mac if you copy one of your applications to another Mac. Also, if one of your applications starts crashing or freezing, try deleting its preference file—it may have become corrupted. The next time you run the application, a new preference file (set back to the application's defaults) will be created automatically. Note the naming scheme for the preference files: For the sake of organization, they're named like Web sites in reverse, so, for example, your preference file for Photoshop (whose vendor is Adobe) is com.adobe.Photoshop.plist.

Public contains a folder called Drop Box, where other users on your Mac can drop files for you without being able to see what else is in the folder.

Sites is where you might want to store local files for any Web sites you create. Up to you.

That's the lay of the land to begin with. Presumably, you'll be creating lots of new folders in your home directory. And the quickest way to do so is by navigating where you want to go, then pressing Cmd-N (that's a capital N) to make a new folder. (story Link)

Key for Switch to Apple - 02

FINDER TIPS AND TRICKS

Here are few more things that should improve your relationship with the Finder:

No regrets. Cmd-z will undo whatever you just did in the Finder.

Move on up. Cmd-UpArrow will go take you to the folder one level up from the one you're currently in—that's called the "enclosing folder" or the "parent directory."

You are here. This one's beautiful: Cmd-clicking directly on the name of the folder (at the top of its window) will give you a navigable drop-down display of its path—meaning that you'll see what folder it's in, and what folder that's in, and so on, and you can click on any of the folder names to navigate directly there.

Mac Tip 2

Better still, this trick also works for most documents: If you're working on a Word document and you have no idea what folder it's actually in, just Cmd-click on the document's name at the top of its window, and you'll be immediately oriented.

If you liked the Windows option of always displaying your path (the Address bar) as you navigated through folders, you can have the Finder do the same: Find the option under View; check Show Path Bar. For me, the most efficient way to use the Finder is to keep everything in List view (so that you can always see dates and file sizes) while keeping the Path Bar displayed at the bottom so that you can, say, move a file up to its enclosing folder.

Universal preview. The Quick Look feature lets you take, well, a quick look at the contents of a large number of files without bothering to open the applications associated with them. Just select the files' icons—as many files as you like—then press the spacebar. There may be a delay of a few seconds, but then you'll see the contents of the first selected file, and you can use the arrow keys to navigate among the rest. The Finder will even invoke little players for audio and video files.

Rename freely. Try renaming a file while it's open. Why? Because you can. The title bar of its window will update accordingly.

THE DOCK

The Dock—that cartoonish thing at the bottom of your display—does several valuable things and is pretty customizable. The Dock functions something like an amalgamation of Windows' Quick Launch bar and the taskbar.

Icons to the left. To the left of its vertical separator bar, the Dock displays icons for any applications you might want to launch quickly (with a single click). Don't settle for what Apple put there. If there's something you don't plan to use on the Dock, pull it up and out; it will vanish in a puff of animated smoke. Populate the Dock by dragging in icons for frequently used applications from the Applications folder. Drag them left or right to arrange them; and note the little marker under each application that's currently open.

Icons to the right. To the right of the vertical separator bar, you'll see icons for any windows you've minimized (as well as the garbage). By the way, you don't have to hit that tiny yellow button to minimize a window. Go to Apple | System Preferences | Appearance, and choose Minimize when double-clicking a window title bar. Now you can be a lot less precise with your pointer when you want to minimize a window. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut Cmd-m.

Set dock preference. Preferences for the Dock are available on the Apple menu. You can make it stand on its hind legs on the left-hand or right-hand side of your screen rather than lazing along the bottom; you can make it hide itself when you're not using it; you can make it stop animatedly arching its back when you run the pointer over it. There are third-party utilities that will tweak the Dock's appearance further, but such tools can stop working when Apple provides system updates—something that doesn't typically happen with Windows updates, and a good thing to keep in mind.

Find the Dock's special powers. Do a lot of Ctrl-clicking (or right-clicking) in the Dock. You'll get options such as closing an application without bothering to bring its open windows to the front, or aborting the launch of an application that you hadn't meant to open. (story Link)

Key for Switch to Apple - 01

Macs are elegant; Macs are powerful; Macs are, for the time being, remarkably safe from infection. But when people tell you that Macs are "intuitive," you're well within your rights to sneer. In my ten years of using Macs, I've found them no more intuitive than Windows PCs, perhaps even a little less so. If you're a recent or prospective switcher, you might avoid some trial and error by dipping into the following grab bag of factoids and advice.

FILE MANAGEMENT

Just like Windows, Mac OS X organizes information as files within directories. Beyond that, there are differences that may take a few seconds to puzzle out, and some that will be more frustrating—it largely depends on your computing style. If you like to use the keyboard more than the mouse or trackpad, and if you like to customize everything possible, these tips should save you a fair bit of time and annoyance.

Right-click. You probably already know that life with Windows is made easier by right-clicking wherever possible to view the context menu. Contextual options are just the ticket to learning more about what you can do in any particular situation. On a Mac, right-click is Ctrl-click. Depending on which Mac hardware you're using, you can also configure your mouse or trackpad to respond to actual right-clicking (you'll find that option under Apple | System Preferences). Whichever way you do it, do it constantly and you'll never stop learning.

Find the Finder. The Finder—Apple's rough equivalent of Windows Explorer—is what lets you navigate files and folders on your Mac. (People have strong opinions on the relative merits of the two interfaces; I'll keep mine to myself and just mention a few differences.) You'll know you're in the Finder, as opposed to another application, because the word Finder will appear on the top left corner of the screen. After that, pressing Cmd-n (don't press Shift to make it a capital or it'll be a different command) will open a folder-navigation window. If you prefer, you can do this in one step by clicking on the little blue smiley at the far-left side of the Dock. Just like Windows Explorer, Finder is always open, even if there's no Finder window open. As you navigate through the window (say, by double-clicking on a folder to show its contents), you're using the Finder. You're also using the Finder when you perform basic housekeeping functions such as dragging a file from one folder to another.

Open files in various ways. As in Windows, you can double-click on a file or application icon to open it. If you're slow of mouse-thumb, other options are to press Cmd-o or Cmd-DownArrow. Just don't expect to open a file by pressing Enter! In Windows this opens a file; in OS X, it lets you edit the filename.

Customize the Finder view. You can set preferences in the Finder, but—in a prime example of what isn't intuitive about a Mac—most of these preferences are not in the Finder's Preferences menu. Instead, they're hidden under the View | Show View Options menu—and the options here will differ in accordance with how you're currently displaying files (as icons, as a list, or in columns). Take some time to explore the settings here; they can make a big difference in your everyday interactions with the Mac.

Choose your sidebar. One thing I recommend, for convenience, is to customize what appears in the left-hand sidebar of folder-navigation windows. You can do some of this under Finder | Preferences | Sidebar, and you can also drag elements (such as folder icons) directly into the sidebar, or pull them off. This is a good way to make your commonly used folders more quickly available to you.

Display extensions. Another thing I recommend, for the sake of avoiding surprises or confusion, is to go into Finder | Preferences and check Show all file extensions.

Understand a key difference: extensions. Speaking of file extensions, Macs do use them the same way Windows PCs do—to determine which application should open a file—but this is a relatively recent development, and it continues to coexist with the Mac's older way of doing things: Some files are stored with a property called creator, which, if present, can override the effect of the filename extension. You'll probably never need to view or change a file's creator (though there are third-party utilities that let you do so); I mention this mostly so that you'll know why your Mac can sometimes open a file whose name has no extension. The Save dialogs in some Mac applications will give you the choice to use extensions or not. Definitely use extensions if you plan to send files to your Windows-using friends. Your Mac might know that MyWordFile should open in Word, but Windows won't—the file needs to be called MyWordFile.doc.

Customize file associations. And speaking of determining which application opens a file, there are at least two ways you can customize that.

1. To open a file with a particular application just once, Ctrl-click on the file's icon and choose Open with….

Mac Tip 1

2. To make a choice that your Mac will remember, Get Info on the file (select the file, then press Cmd-i), go into the window that will pop up, and set the Open with option. You'll have the option of applying your choice to all such files (for example, you can choose to have every JPEG open with Photoshop instead of Preview).

3. Here's a quick-and-dirty third way that will never occur to the average Windows user: Just change the extension. For example, a plain-text file that ends in .txt will normally open in the Mac's TextEdit utility, but if you change its extension to .doc, it will open in Word.

Change icons. Now that you know how to "get info" on a file or folder (Cmd-i), you also know how to change its icon. Just drag and drop (or paste) an image onto the icon that appears in the upper left-hand corner of its Get Info window. The image should be approximately 128 by 128 pixels. (story Link)