Great Tech Support & Sales Conversion!

I have been shopping for a replacement network laser all-in-one printer.  I had gone to Staples to look at a couple of different units and ended up buying one that the salesperson and, based on the information in the manual and in the store, would do everything I wanted, and it was at a very reasonable price.  I took it home, hooked it up to the network and couldn't get the network scanning to work on my Macs.

I spent the next hour or so locating online support documentation and at last in the latest manual, buried in a footnote, discovered that the network printing is only supported on Windows.  Awesome.  Gratefully Staples has a friendly return policy and I was careful in unboxing the unit so everything is perfectly intact.

I then looked at the HP units and couldn't find any good documentation to clarify if Mac scanning was only USB or also network capable and finally called their tech support for pre-sales.  Immediately I was speaking with someone who was very friendly and was able to locate the answer quickly.  She then asked if I would like to purchase the unit and gave me the price on the spot (which also happened to be lower than any of the other advertised prices).  Turns out they have a friendly return policy as well and will pay for return shipping!

In sum, the great part is that I was able to get the answer to my pre-sales question from tech support quickly and they had the opportunity to immediately turn the tech question into a sale so it worked out great for everyone.

And that kind of hearkens back to what I credited to my sales success while putting myself through undergraduate school--individuals could ask me detailed questions about products which I could provide or readily find the answers to and that built a level of trust that people don't always get by going to a salesperson who doesn't know much about a product.  The moral of the story...  If your job is selling products, know something about what you're selling.  If your are a savvy company and realize that tech support questions can be turned to sales, think about it.  You may have to hire more expensive labor to do it but done right, you can have some pretty satisfied customers and it can lead to quick sales.

AirPrint for iOS Devices

For those of you who couldn't wait and installed the 4.2 update on your Apple iOS device and want to do the AirPrinting thing, I found this article's suggestions to be the most useful.

Following the instructions, step-by-step, I was able to make my 4.2 iPad print to my networked HP laser printer shared by both my MacBook Pro AND my Mac Mini Server.  If using the printer to share, make sure that you not only add the printer from the System Preferences, but you'll then need to make sure it's shared out with Bonjour in the Server Administrator under Print

Incidentally, the AirPrint works GREAT!  Of course it requires application support from the appropriate app that you're using but most of what I'd ever want to print is from within the Apple Mail and Safari apps.  I'm sure the functionality will be added to most of the applicable 3rd party apps soon if they don't have it already.

Excerpt from the page below (you'll need to refer back to it to download the zip file containing the requisite printer files).

Step 1: Download Mac OS X to latest version and update your system.

Step 2: Download the AirPrint Activation Package containing three files and unzip it. (download link at the bottom of this post)

Step 3: Copy the urftopdf file to

/usr/libexec/cups/filter/urftopdf

Step 4: Copy the files in mime folder to

/usr/share/cups/mime/apple.convs
/usr/share/cups/mime/apple.types

Step 5: Delete your existing printer if you installed any.

Step 6: Reboot the system.

Step 7: Re-add the printers and enable the printer sharing funtion.

Step 8: Now if you have updated your iDevice to iOS 4.2 GM release, you can print any document or picture by giving a print command

Blog Update

While I'd love to claim that I was full of original ideas and had the time to document them in my blog, the reality is that I'm a media junkie and consume tons of news.  Seeing as how the focus of my blog is technology developments, tips, and fixes and most of this is sourced from other sites, I'm adjusting the way that I share the information.  Admittedly it is a big time saver for me too.....

With that said, there's now a link in the right-hand column of my blog page indicating the various pages and articles of interest to me that I'm sharing (see screen shot below).  If you follow you'll see frequent updates as there are usually a few articles each day I like to share.

I'll still re-post articles of particular interest or use because I still often refer to those myself, and a few people have mentioned that it's been useful.

By the way, if you'd like to subscribe to my shared items as an Atom/XML feed, please visit this page.

Thanks,

Aron

 

Reading List 20101115

Gmail Power Tips, c/o Computerworld

Top 10 iPhone Annoyances, c/o Computerworld

10 Things that Good Bosses Do, c/o TechRepublic

10 Biggest Tech Scandals of the Decade, c/o TechRepublic

My wife turned me onto an interesting blog about parenting and religion.  There's a really interesting video about the universe and trying to comprehend it there too and that's worth a watch.  This subject of course could easily serve as a PhD dissertation or two but regardless of your interest in religion, it's an interesting blog.

 

 

Tutorial: Guide to iWeb: tips and tricks you need to know

Nice starter guide to iWeb for Mac.

Tutorial: Guide to iWeb: tips and tricks you need to know: "

Although it is not as well known as other iLife programs, such as iMovie and iPhoto, in many ways iWeb is a quintessential piece of Apple software.

It takes a complex task – the creation of web pages using the arcane commands of HTML programming code – and makes it so easy that even a complete beginner can design an entire website in a matter of minutes.

You don't need to enter a single line of HTML code when using iWeb, as its streamlined graphical interface enables you to design web pages simply by dragging and dropping photos, text and other elements onto the page with your mouse.

There's a wide range of templates built into the program to help you get started, and if you're feeling more confident you can create your own designs from scratch. But while iWeb is easy to use, it isn't short on ambition.

Some of its templates are extremely sophisticated, enabling you to create online photo galleries and slideshows simply by dragging a batch of photos out of iPhoto. There are also templates for creating blogs and podcasts, and putting your home movies online.

You can even use the Widgets facility built into iWeb to add extra features such as maps and newsfeeds, or drum up a little cash by using Google's AdSense to put adverts onto your site. So let's go ahead and explore the features available in iWeb.

iWeb's streamlined graphical interface can be mastered in minutes

Apple has done a fine job with iWeb's interface. The program's drag-and-drop approach to design means that anyone can create stylish web pages in no time at all. You can pick a template and then add your own text and photos with a few simple clicks of your mouse.

You can also create your own custom designs just as easily, as Apple has cleverly distilled all the key design tools into a neat little set of buttons running along the bottom of the screen. So here's our visual guide to all the key tools you need to design your own website in iWeb.

Mini menu

MINI MENU:The left hand menu makes it easy to switch between sites and their pages

When you create a website, the name of the site itself will appear at the top of this panel, with the individual pages listed beneath it.

If you wish, you can also create multiple websites, and iWeb will automatically keep them all separate for you in this panel. To rename a page, just double-click on it. Right-clicking on a page will display a pop-up menu containing additional options, such as the Delete Page command.

Pick a page

To get started with your website, or to add a new page to an existing site, just click the Add Page button in the toolbar. This displays a series of templates with lots of different designs that you can use.

Each template contains a set of placeholders – bits of text and graphics that you can replace with your own text and photos in order to quickly create attractive page designs.

The Inspector

The Inspector provides detailed information about the individual elements on your web pages, and also allows you to fine-tune those elements so that your pages look just right.

The Inspector is divided into sections, indicated by a series of tabs, which provide controls for text, photos, and modifying links. There are also more advanced controls for organising blogs and podcasts, and displaying video files.

Nav bar

A navigation bar is automatically added to every page you create, and contains a set of navigation buttons that allow you to move from one page to another.

Whenever you create a new page, the nav bars on all the other pages are automatically updated to include links to that new page. This is a terrific time-saver, as you don't have to waste hours creating and testing all those links yourself.

Media Browser

The Media Browser panel occupies the whole right-hand edge of the iWeb workspace (although it can be hidden easily by clicking the Hide Media button in the toolbar).

The first three tabs at the top of the panel enable you to view the various audio files, photos and videos that you have stored on your Mac. There's also a fourth tab that lets you access Widgets for special items such as maps, YouTube videos, and even adverts.

Cracking the code

One thing you won't ever see in iWeb is a page full of HTML – the programming code used to create web pages. Apple gave iWeb a slick graphical interface, which allows you to design your website by clicking and dragging with your mouse.

However, you can use the HTML Snippets option to copy bits of code from other people's websites and use them in your own.

Picture perfect

There are a number of simple photo editing tools built into iWeb that you can use to quickly smarten up your photos.

Clicking on any photo will activate a small toolbar that allows you to adjust the size of the photo, as well as using a mask to highlight a specific part of the image. The Adjust button in the main toolbar also activates a set of controls for adjusting colour, brightness and contrast.

Tools of the trade

Each template has its own set of fonts that were chosen for readability, and also to match the overall style of the template.

However, you can change the look of a web page quite dramatically by selecting a different font. You can change the font and the size of text, and also change other settings too – such as the colour of the text, and the background colour of the text box.

Getting published

Once you've finished designing your website, the next step is to publish the site on the internet for the rest of the world to see. There are two main options for publishing your website.

If you use Apple's MobileMe service then iWeb can automatically publish your site with the click of a button. Alternatively, you can use FTP – File Transfer Protocol – to publish the site to a non-Apple web-hosting service.

Create a professional-looking website using iWeb's templates

Even though it might seem complicated and daunting, creating your first website in iWeb couldn't be easier. When you launch iWeb for the first time it automatically presents you with a series of templates that you can choose from.

Each template has a different style – modern or old fashioned, dayglo colours or formal and restrained – that you can choose from to give your website a distinctive look and feel. Each template also includes a number of different pages that are designed for presenting various types of information.

There's an About Me page that enables you to quickly and easily present personal information about yourself, such as your age, job and hobbies. There are also pages for laying out photos and creating online slideshows, and you can share your blogs and podcasts or even play video clips from your home movies.

Each template comes with a number of placeholders, in the form of ready-made images and text that are used to define the page layout. So all you have to do to add your own content is type in your own text and simply drag and drop photos and videos onto the page using your mouse.

Another couple of clicks with the mouse will enable you to move things around and create a more individual layout, and then you can carry on creating as many additional pages as you want to – even adding extra websites too, if you wish.

As you go along, iWeb will automatically keep your website nicely organised, linking pages together for you and creating a nav bar that means you can move from page to page – a tedious task that can take ages in other web design programs.

As you become more and more confident with iWeb you can leave the templates alone and start to create your own individual designs from scratch. And if you want to push it further, you can extend iWeb's capabilities, using features such as 'snippets' of HTML code that you find on other sites on the internet.

Admittedly, iWeb does have a few limitations – fingers crossed for rollover buttons in iLife '11 – but it's undoubtedly the easiest and most straightforward web design program we've ever seen. And it's definitely the ideal starting place for anyone who wants to design a website for their family, school or a local club.

How to design web pages with iWeb

1. Page maker

iWeb will present you with a selection of templates you can use to get started with your site. Each template consists of different pages – there's a blank page, a welcome page, and pages that are designed for laying out photo galleries, video clips, podcasts and blogs.

2. All about me

We'll start with this About Me page. As you can see, the template page has placeholder pictures and text in position for creating a basic page layout. All we have to do is insert our own pictures and text into the layout. Let's use the Media Browser to look at our iPhoto library.

3. Browsing around

The Media Browser (at the right of the screen) shows widgets you can add to your pages, but if you click the Photos tab at the top of the panel you can see the contents of your iPhoto library. Use the mouse to drag and drop a photo from the browser onto the page.

4. Drag and drop

It's easy to modify templates and give them more individuality. We'll make space by getting rid of the extra placeholder photos – click on a photo and hit ∫ to delete it. Then we'll use the mouse to click on the text box to edit the headline and stretch it across the page.

5. Picture perfect

We need to adjust the main photo to make Jane the centre of attention. Clicking on photos activates the editing toolbar. This allows you to resize the photo and move it around. However, there's also a mask on the photo that acts like a frame hiding parts of the image.

6. Behind the mask

Click on the Edit Mask button to display the mask. Part of Jane's head was cut off by the mask, so we'll click on the photo and drag Jane back into the picture, and then zoom in a bit, as well. You can modify the shape of the mask by clicking and dragging the square handles.

7. Online albums

Let's create some additional pages now. You can drag and drop individual photos onto a page, but iWeb also includes an Albums template that allows you to drag albums from iPhoto and organise them into a gallery. There's even an option for an online slideshow.

8. Quick blogs

The blogging template is just as simple. It lets you add entries whenever you want while archiving older entries for you. Notice how iWeb organises these pages in the left panel, and how the nav bar is updated with links that let you move from page to page.

iWeb makes it easy to organise and update multiple websites

Adding new pages to your website in iWeb is easy– just press the Add Page button in the toolbar or use the New command (Command+N) and up pops the list of available templates for you to choose from.

However, iWeb also enables you to create and manage multiple websites just as easily. You could have your own website sitting alongside another site for a local sports club or a business project that you have going on the side.

Go to the File menu and select New Site (or use the Command+Shift+N keyboard shortcut) and the list of templates will appear once more. But this time, the template you select will be used to create the first page of a completely new website.

Take a look at the Site panel on the left-hand side of the screen and you'll see Site 2 added to the list, immediately beneath your other website. The name of each website has a little triangular arrow beside it to help you tell them apart. You can also rename each website just by double-clicking on it with your mouse.

The ins and outs

That little arrow serves another purpose, though, as clicking on it causes the pages within that particular website to 'collapse' so they're hidden out of sight. This makes it easy to focus on your websites – rather than individual pages – when you're performing site-wide administrative tasks, such as uploading files to the internet or setting passwords.

When you need to go in and make changes to individual pages, just click on the little arrow again and all the pages will expand downwards, being shown as a list beneath the name of that website (with the page names being indented slightly to indicate that they are subsidiary elements within the main website).

As you'd expect, the files for your websites are all stored on your Mac's hard disk (see box, below left), but at some point you also need to put all those files up on the internet so that other people can admire your handywork.

This process is referred to as 'publishing', and involves uploading a copy of your website onto a web server computer, which is permanently connected to the internet, and which acts as the host for your website. Just click on the name of your website in the main Site panel, and you'll see the Site Publishing window. This includes a simple pulldown menu with three different options for publishing your website.

The simplest option is to use Apple's MobileMe service, which costs £59 per year. Apple has made sure iWeb can automatically link up with your MobileMe account, allowing you to publish your website and get it online with a single click of the Publish Site button.

Make it your own

The one tricky thing with MobileMe is if you want to use your own personal domain name with your website. If you have a MobileMe account under the name of John Smith then your published website would normally have a web address along the lines of web.me.com/john.smith/sitename ('web.me.com' is the main web address that Apple uses for hosting the sites of MobileMe users).

However, if you've bought a personal domain name – such as www.macformat.co.uk – you'll want to use that instead. There is an option within the main File menu in iWeb labelled Set Up Personal Domain on MobileMe that connects to your MobileMe account and allows you to enter your personal domain name.

Unfortunately, before you can use this you need to contact your domain name registrar – the company from which you bought your domain name in the first place – and find out how to link your personal domain name to the web.me.com address used by the MobileMe web servers.

There's no simple solution to this, as different registrar companies handle this process in different ways, so you'll have to contact your domain name registrar and ask for their advice. Upload options The second option for publishing your website is to use FTP – file transfer protocol – to upload the site files onto a web server run by a separate hosting company (some of these advertise in MacFormat each month).

Using a personal domain name is much simpler in this case, as you can simply enter the domain name along with the other FTP details that will be provided by your hosting company when you sign up for your account. There's one other option worth knowing about, which is the ability to Publish To Local Folder.

This option puts all your website files into a folder that can be stored anywhere on your Mac's hard disk. This is useful as it allows you to check your website for problems using Safari – or any other web browser – while it's still on your computer.

Once you've checked that everything works properly, you can go ahead and publish the site onto the internet using either the MobileMe or FTP options. You'll still want to update your web pages, adding new photos or blog entries.

There are two options for updating a website once it's published. Look in the main File menu in iWeb and you'll see two options labelled Publish Site Changes and Publish Entire Site. If you've just made some small changes to one or two pages – such as a change of address or adding some new photos – then you can use Publish Site Changes to quickly upload just the pages that have changed.

However, if you've added some entirely new pages, changed the links between pages, or made changes to widgets or other advanced features then it's best to Publish Entire Site. This takes a bit longer, but avoids any potential problems as it ensures the entire site has been fully updated.

How to publish your website via FTP

1. Transfer window

When you're ready to publish your site, click on the name of it in the Site panel. You will see the Site Publishing Settings window, which contains three options for publishing. You can use a MobileMe account, FTP upload or publish the files to a folder on your computer.

2. Protocol 'droid

We'll select FTP, which stands for 'file transfer protocol'. That refers to the process of transferring your website files from your Mac to the web server that will host your site. Your hosting company will give you the details you need when you sign up for your account.

3. The visitors

Once the site has been published, you will be asked if you want to visit the site. This will launch Safari and enable you to check the site and make sure everything works. It's worth using the Publish to folder option first, to test the site while it's stored on your Mac.

Add podcasts, maps, newsfeeds and more with iWeb's widgets

The standard templates that are built into iWeb make it easy to create web pages that contain simple text and photos, as well as slick online photo galleries and animated slideshows. However, as you gain experience with iWeb you might want to try something a little more advanced.

If you're a regular blogger then a newsfeed that keeps people up to date with your latest entries could be useful. And if you're ambitious enough to tackle full-scale podcast production, you'll want to make sure your legions of online followers can subscribe to your podcasts so that they never miss an episode.

The podcast and blogging features in iWeb are straightforward – thanks to those built-in templates. When you select the Blog template to create a page then iWeb creates an RSS newsfeed – RSS stands for 'really simple syndication' – that is updated whenever you add a blog entry.

The template even puts an RSS Subscription button onto the web page for you, so visitors who want to subscribe to your blog can just click on the button and automatically see your latest updates in their web browser or news reader.

The Podcast template is even smarter. When you select this template, iWeb puts a podcast subscription button on the page that allows people to subscribe to your podcasts via iTunes. Whenever one of your subscribers launches iTunes on their Mac or PC, their copy of iTunes will check in with your website to see if any new podcasts are available. This sort of thing normally requires technical know-how, but iWeb does it all for you.

The podcast subscription option works with PCs too, so friends and relatives who own PCs can also subscribe to your podcasts – as long as they've got the PC version of iTunes installed on their PC. You can even use the podcast module in GarageBand to help produce podcasts – a good example of the smooth integration and value for money offered by the iLife suite.

Add more features

In addition to those templates, iWeb also includes widgets that you can find in the Media Browser panel. There's a set of eight widgets you can drop onto your web pages; these allow you to add new features you wouldn't normally be able to create yourself.

These include a YouTube widget that enables you to put YouTube video clips onto your web pages, as well as a Google Maps widget and an RSS widget that allows you to display newsfeeds taken from other websites.

Each of these widgets contains a chunk of HTML programming code that performs the task, but, in keeping with its 'no-programming' ethos, iWeb keeps the code hidden by wrapping it up inside a little widget that you can just drag and drop onto the page like a photo or text box.

Adding HTML

The one exception to this rule is the ninth and final widget, known as HTML Snippet. All the other widgets are self-contained chunks of HTML code that perform one specific function. However, the HTML Snippet widget allows you to insert raw chunks of HTML code into your web pages in order to add new features that aren't normally available in iWeb.

If you already know a bit about HTML programming then you could write your own code for the features you want to add, but the HTML Snippet is intended to allow non-programmers like us to copy chunks of code from other websites. That might sound a bit dodgy, but many sites provide snippets of code for free so people can take news and other services for their websites (although, confusingly, many websites refer to these as widgets rather than snippets).

The BBC provides lots of snippets and widgets for its news services, as do many other broadcasters and radio stations. The idea of working with HTML code might sound a little intimidating, but the HTML Snippet feature does make it straightforward. The first thing to do is to locate the code for the snippet that you want to use.

Don't worry if you don't understand the HTML code – all you need to do is select and copy (Command+c) the code in the same way as you would copy any piece of text. Then switch back to iWeb and drag and drop the HTML Snippet widget from the Media Browser onto your web page.

You'll see a dialog box appear asking you to enter the code for your snippet, so you can then paste (Command+v) the code into the dialog box. Once that's done, hit the Apply button and that piece of code will be added to your web page.

However, you're at the mercy of the person who wrote the code for that snippet. If they know what they're doing then the snippet will work, but if they made a mistake in the code then it won't. It's a good idea, therefore, to publish your site to a folder on your hard disk so you can check it works before you publish it.

Power up iWeb's blogging and podcasting features, as well as the ability to use widgets and HTML snippets, provide powerful design tools that are easy to use. Experiment with it and you'll find it's powerful enough to meet the needs of most home users and even small businesses too.

How to organise podcasts with iWeb

1. Podcasts and blogs

Here's a page created using the 'Blog' template, which places an RSS subscription button on the page so people can subscribe to your blog. Visitors to your site can click on this button and receive updates in the RSS reader in their web browser or news-reader program.

2. On the button

Add podcasts by placing audio or video files on pages created with the Blog or Podcast templates. Go to the Insert menu, select the Button sub-menu, and select Subscribe To Podcast. This places another button on the page linking your podcasts to iTunes.

3. iTunes items

When someone visits your site and clicks on the podcast subscription button iTunes will launch and adds your podcasts to their iTunes library. We also tried this on a PC, and it worked fine subscribing using Internet Explorer and the Windows version of iTunes.

You don't need to be a big corporation to earn cash from your site

Try to imagine a 21st-century version of the rags-to-riches tale: a smart guy/gal has an idea for a website and sets the whole thing up on a laptop in their back bedroom. Five years later they sell the website for a gazillion dollars and then sit back and wait for Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie to play them in the Hollywood version of their life story.

Of course, it might be a bit tricky to come up with an idea that Facebook, Google, Twitter and all the rest have somehow overlooked (but not impossible – after all, nobody saw Twitter coming along, did they?). But that doesn't mean you can't still make a bit of money with your website from time to time.

Get selling

The most obvious way, of course, is to start up a website for a new business that is selling a particular product or service. On a smaller scale, you could try setting up shop on eBay and flogging the contents of your loft.

However, iWeb wasn't really designed for business use, and most iWeb users will be home users who just want to set up a personal website as a hobby. Even so, it is still possible to 'monetise your online digital assets' – or, in plain English, to make a few bucks by selling advertising.

You don't have to be a massive website with millions of visitors, such as Google or Yahoo, in order to sell advertising. In fact, selling the advertising space is actually the easy part.

Instead of getting on the phone and trying to sell a few ads to local businesses yourself, you can just sign up for Google's AdSense program, which actually handles the tedious business of selling the ad space for you. And, just to make things even easier, Apple even includes a special AdSense widget in iWeb to help you out.

Like all the other widgets in iWeb, the AdSense widget can just be dragged and dropped onto your web page with a quick flick of your mouse, so you don't need any special technical know-how in order to insert the ads into your web page.

Earning from eyeballs

You do have to do a bit of work, though, if you want AdSense to work successfully for you. AdSense only starts to send you payments once you pass a certain threshold – which will depend on the number of people who visit your website and the numbers who also go on to click on the ads and visit your advertisers.

So you need to make sure you have a steady stream of people coming to your website to provide an audience for your ads – and preferably people who have an interest in a specific subject or activity, as that will make it easier to target them with relevant adverts.

If your website is little more than an online diary, where you post a few pics from last weekend's BBQ, then you're not going to attract much of an audience beyond your own family and friends. And that, in turn, means you're not going to generate much money from online ads.

Blog it!

A better option – and one that has started many a prosperous career on the web – is to create a blog. Instead of just writing about last weekend's BBQ, you could throw in a steady stream of recipes and cooking tips, and maybe the odd review of new BBQ equipment - and hey presto – you've got a blog!

A number of blogs have been turned into successful books, films or TV programmes – the most recent example being Belle Du Jour – while many other bloggers have been successful enough to turn their blogs into profitable full-time jobs. Again, though, it can't just be a blog that's only of interest to you and your friends.

But if you can write intelligently about a specific subject or activity that attracts a wider audience, then you're in with a fighting chance of attracting enough 'eyeballs' to get the ad revenue flowing.

The trick with blogging is to find a niche. You might think that topics such as stamp-collecting or Victorian moustache-trimming devices are obscure subjects that only appeal to a few people, but don't forget the internet is a worldwide medium. Whatever obscure subject you choose to blog about, the chances are that there are tens of thousands – if not millions – of people around the world who are interested in that subject.

And if you can get just a few thousand of those people checking in on your blog on a regular basis, then you've got the makings of a respectable revenue stream (see, you're picking up the marketing jargon already).

Sometimes you can even focus on a niche-within-a-niche. There are thousands of bloggers out there who write about digital photography. But if you were to write specifically about cameras and lenses that are particularly suited to sports photography, then you could still attract a large and devoted specialist audience. And the fact that those people have a strong interest in that particular subject also makes them a better target for ads that focus on that subject.

This means that the 'eyeballs' are more likely to translate into clickthroughs when people click on the ads, which in turn generates more ad revenue.

Know your stuff

In order to create a successful blog you obviously need to know a fair bit about your chosen topic, and to be able to write about it in an intelligent and interesting manner. You also need to update your website regularly – daily if possible, but certainly weekly. If people come to your website to read the latest news about Victorian moustache-trimmers and they see that your blog hasn't been updated in the last six months, then they're not going to come back.

The most important thing, though, is to blog about something you're really interested in. If that enthusiasm comes through in your writing then you're already halfway to attracting a regular audience, who will enjoy coming back to your blog week after week and help to keep the ad sales ticking over.

How to make sense of AdSense

1. Easy ads

Getting ads onto your website is normally hard work once you start trying to sell them and figuring out the technicalities of how to put them onto web pages. But iWeb makes it easy – just drag and drop the Google AdSense widget onto a page with your mouse.

2. Create your account

You are then prompted to enter your email address in order to set up your personal Google AdSense account, or to enter details of an existing account. If you're new to AdSense there's a 'Learn More' option so you can read more about the options that are available.

3. Making money

The AdSense widget allows you to specify the size and colour of the ads so that they don't clash too much with your page. The amount you earn depends on the ad, the number of people that view it, and the number of clickthroughs when people click the ads.

Related Stories

• Tutorial: 10 cool Microsoft Word tips and tricks
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"

(Via TechRadar: All latest feeds.)

Tutorial: 10 PC disaster recovery tips

Handy bit c/o TechRadar....

Tutorial: 10 PC disaster recovery tips: "

Here's the scenario: one minute you're working and surfing quite happily, the next the Blue Screen Of Death rears its ugly head and your machine won't boot.

Whatever's happened to Windows is serious and the problem is confounded by the absence of backups.

You've been promising to make some but never quite got around to it. Don't panic! Just follow these steps.

1. The easy win

Before you bring out the big guns – which we'll discuss later – it pays to explore the easy options. Try using Windows' own repair and recovery tools, accessible from your installation disc.

Depending on the version of Windows that you're running, the choices will differ. For Windows 7, the key is Startup Repair. This will hopefully 'automatically fix problems that are preventing Windows from starting'.

2. Leave your hard drive alone

If you're dealing with sensitive data on a crashed PC, it pays to be careful. It's safest to leave the operating system alone and try to access data, files and folders indirectly.

This is particularly true if you suspect you're battling a virus attack. By running the host OS, you give the contagion the opportunity to call home, update and send out more of your data. With all this in mind, we say don't boot a damaged OS – use a Live CD rescue kit instead.

3. AVG Rescue CD

If your PC has been brought to its knees by a virus, getting back into Windows with enough control over the system to remove the contagion can be tricky. Thankfully, there's an easy answer – the AVG Rescue CD. Download the ISO image from here and burn the image to a CD or create a bootable USB key.

Whatever you choose, the Linux-based rescue CD makes it easy to scan and remove viruses. The Inside Security Rescue Toolkit isn't strictly a rescue system – it's more a tool for forensic security analysis.

It can, for example, examine a huge variety of different filesystems, from common NTFS to more obscure systems. The toolkit will scan for viruses and let you get online from a defunct PC. It can also sniff out rootkits.

4. The Ultimate Boot CD

If nothing we've discussed so far has worked, go for the big guns. It's time for The Ultimate Boot CD, a collection of 100 applications that should help even the most knackered PC get back on its feet.

The interface breaks apps down into categories, such as BIOS, CPU, Memory and so on. Follow the menu structure. Given the number of apps on offer, you should be able to find one that will salve your PC's ills.

5. GParted

GParted is a classic among opensource applications. It's essentially a program that lets you move, resize, check, copy, create and delete hard disk partitions.

It's not uncommon for these to be damaged during a serious crash, so having GParted to hand as a Live CD is essential. Despite the program's obvious power, it's extremely simple to use. You can download it from here.

6. Free ISO burner

To turn an ISO disc image into a functional Live CD, you need an ISO burner. Newer versions of Windows feature such tools as standard, but if you're after something more feature-rich, try Free ISO Burner from www.freeisoburner.com. It can burn to a wide range of media.

7. Undelete a file

Pandora Recovery can resurrect deleted files. Use the portable version – installing it natively risks overwriting the data you're trying to rescue. Get it from www.pandorarecovery.com and build a bootable USB version of the program on another PC.

8. Ghost for Linux

Norton Ghost is a classic application – we've used it and loved it since version one. It's a partition-cloning tool and can be vital in a disaster. To experiment with the concept of partition cloning, try Ghost for Linux. It's an open-source project and you can download it from here.

9. A beeping PC

If your PC does little more than beep after its crash, it's sending you an encoded diagnosis of its ailments.

All you need to do – albeit from a different machine – is visit www.computerhope.com/beep.htm, where you'll find a complete guide to beep codes.

10. What went wrong?

When you're back up and running, you need to work out what caused your PC to fall over. Here, the Windows Crash Dump is your friend. Microsoft does offer some help, but for the ultimate insight, visit Crash Dump Analysis.

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"

(Via TechRadar: All latest feeds.)

This Week's Reading - 20111109

Top 10 Network Vulnerabilities Inside the Network, c/o ComputerWorld

Fixing a Time Machine Hangup, c/o Mac OS X Hints

IT's Biggest Money Wasters, c/o ComputerWorld

Using the iPhone as a Cash Register, c/o MacWorld

Tips for Removing 'Stuck' Windows Programs, c/o Tech Republic

 

 

 

 

 

This Week's Articles

Outlook (for Mac) 2011 keyboard shortcuts c/o MacWorld.

Rebuilding RAID on Mac OS X Snow Leopard, c/o TechRepublic.

Mounting your iOS device in OS X Free!, c/o TUAW.

For those Mac users wanting additional or alternate options to Time Machine, c/o MacWorld.

Tutorial: 98 Snow Leopard tips, tricks and tweaks

Leave it to TechRadar for yet another batch of useful nuggets....

 

Tutorial: 98 Snow Leopard tips, tricks and tweaks: "

With version 10.6, OS X has got to the point where it has so many great features that it's almost impossible to know all of them.

Steve Jobs loves to show off the latest OS X bells and whistles during his keynotes whenever a new version is released, but even he doesn't have time to share the more subtle tips and tricks.

OS X 10.6, also known as Snow Leopard, is chock-full of secrets and shortcuts that you're expected to discover by yourself. Fortunately you don't have to pick your way through the OS hunting for techie tidbits because we've gathered up 99 of the best of them for you here.

Whether you're after tips to make your backups easier, ways of working smarter in Finder or saving time when using the internet, they're all here for you over the next few pages. Each set of tips is divided into sections, so you can find the type of shortcut you're after. You'll also find an icon next to each tip for quick reference.

We're willing to bet that even the most seasoned Mac user won't have used half of these cunning techniques on their machine. With this huge selection of tips at your disposal, prepare to speed up the way you work on your Mac forever.

1. Extra menu bar info

Common items on your menu bar such as Bluetooth, AirPort and MobileMe Sync can be quickly checked on with a simple click to view a dropdown menu full of options.

If you want a little more detail from these menus, hold down the Option key while clicking for an advanced view.

MobileMe Sync will show you the status of each sync, which includes Mail, Contacts and Calendars; AirPort will give details of your current connection, as will Bluetooth, and you can set your audio inputs from the volume control.

2. Add any folder as a Stack

Stacks are a really handy way to access files and folders from your Dock, but did you know that you're not limited to just Downloads and Documents? Try dragging any folder to the same position on your Dock and it will automatically be turned into a Stack.

Why not try dragging your Applications folder to your Dock and using it as a handy way to access all of your applications – it's much faster then using the Finder.

If you want to remove a Stack from your Dock, simply drag it off and watch it disappear in a puff of smoke.

3. Built-in screen grabs

Capturing an image of your screen can be important for many reasons, whether you need to snap an error message for tech support, record a receipt page on the web or simply save an image.

You could use Grab in your Applications/Utilities folder, but why not just hit Shift+Command+3 for a fullscreen grab and Shift+Command+4 to select an area of the screen to grab. If you hit Shift+Command+4 and then [Space] you can grab a single window too.

Grabs taken this way will be stored on the Desktop, so keep your eyes peeled for them.

4. App switching with Exposé

Exposé offers a handy way to see all of the windows you currently have open, whether you're using Active Screen Corners or one of the keyboard commands.

When using Exposé you can also switch between individual apps by pressing the Tab key. Each time you press Tab the view switches to open windows of a particular open application, enabling you to quickly find the window you need and access the application.

5. Stationery Pad

Do you have a document that you use as a template on a regular basis? If so, why not select it and hit Command+I or choose Get Info from the File menu. Under the General section of the Get Info screen, click the Stationery Pad option to create a copy of the file every time it's launched.

You work on the copied version so you never overwrite your original. This tip is ideal when used with text documents and can make it easier to send the same letter to a group of people.

6. Customising Dock items

Apple includes a number of applications on your Dock by default but you probably won't use all of them that often. If you would rather limit the number of items on your Dock, simply drag apps away from it to remove them.

The reverse is also true: simply drag an application onto the Dock, making sure it's between two apps, and it will happily sit there waiting for you to launch it. You can also click and drag apps to new locations on the Dock.

7. Open With…

Files on your Mac launch their default application every time you open them, such as Text Edit for TXT files. But you can change this behaviour for particular documents if you wish.

Choose a file and select Get Info from the File menu then use the Open With… drop-down menu to pick the app you want the file to open in. Here you could tell a TXT file to open in Microsoft Word rather than Text Edit if you wanted.

8. Recover ignored software updates

Sometimes the Mac's Software Update utility pops up when you don't have time to look at it. While there are some essential updates required when the app appears, it's easy to click Ignore and forget about it.

If you do this, then realise you needed the update, open Terminal from the Applications folder and type softwareupdate > reset-ignored to recover it.

9. Spotlight reveal

Searching for files in Spotlight is a handy way to access the documents you need in a flash, but it opens them by default. If you don't want to open the file hold the Command key and click on it to reveal it in the Finder.

10. Force magnify Dock

If you have Dock magnification turned off but fancy using it every now and again, hold down Ctrl and Shift while you move the cursor across it for some ad-hoc magnification.

11. Icon size slider

Try using the little slider found at the lower right corner of Finder windows in icon view. Dragging it to the right will increase the size of the icons within it, which is ideal for browsing images.

12. Resize the Dock

The quickest way to adjust the Dock's size is to click and hold your cursor on the bars between Stacks and your apps. Move the mouse up or down.

13. Show Item Info

Keep an update of your disk space on the Desktop. Right-click your Macintosh HD on the Desktop, click Show View Options and turn on Show Item Info.

14. Add an icon to Finder windows

Is there an app, file or folder you use regularly? If you want it within easy reach at all times, why not drag it onto a Finder window next to the search box so you can launch it from there?

15. Clean up Desktop icons with a click

If your Desktop begins to look a little cluttered and messy, simply right-click or Ctrl+click on it and select the Clean Up option from the menu that appears. Your icons will now move to nice orderly positions in the blink of an eye.

16. Quick Alias Access

Take some of the hassle out of connecting to a shared computer, server or folder by Ctrl-clicking it and creating an alias. Now move this alias to your Desktop or Dock and connect to it with a quick double-click.

17. Quick Look Magnify

When you're viewing an image in Quick Look you can turn your cursor into a magnifying glass by holding down the Option key. Click the image to zoom in and hold down Shift and Option when clicking to zoom out.

18. Activate fullscreen Quick Look mode

Rather than pressing [Space] to invoke Quick Look when you have a file selected, use Option+[Space] to open it in fullscreen mode. It's perfect for viewing a whole photo; Option-click on an image to zoom in, and Shift+Option-click to zoom out.

19. Custom sounds

There are only a handful of Mac OS X system alert sounds available to you by default, but there's nothing to stop you from adding your own. Start by finding a short AIFF file or create one in GarageBand.

The next step thing to do is locate the folder MacintoshHD/System/Library/Sounds and drop the file in there. If all goes to plan and the file you have chosen is compatible, it will be available from the Sound Effects tab under the Sound System Preferences pane for you to use as a system alert. There are also plenty of files to download from the web for this purpose.

20. Time Machine exclusions

If Time Machine is using a lot of space or taking a lot of time to back up your computer, consider excluding larger files, such as movies from those you want to save.

Say, for example, you own the DVD of a movie on your Mac; you already have a backup essentially, so there's no need to keep copies of it using Time Machine.

Head to the Time Machine System Preferences pane and tell it which files to ignore by clicking on the Options button and selecting files.

21. Keyboard Viewer

From the Keyboard System Preferences pane, you can choose to show the Keyboard and Character Viewer in the menu bar. Once turned on, a small keyboard icon appears on the menu bar from which you can launch the keyboard viewer. So why would you want to do this?

Quite simply, this display is extremely useful when you need to use a particular character but can't quite remember the combination required.

Holding down one or more modifier keys such as Option, Ctrl and Command shows the symbols invoked on each virtual keyboard key so you can select the right one. You may find it saves you a lot of time indeed.

22. DVD or CD Sharing

Did you know you can make use of the optical drive in your Mac from another computer? This is ideal for those using a MacBook Air or if you need to access a disk across multiple computers.

From the Sharing System Preferences pane you can turn on DVD or CD Sharing, which will show a copy of the inserted disc to all connected Macs.

Macs on your network can then make use of the disc as if it were in their disc drive. For more protracted, intensive use however, we would recommend using an Ethernet connection rather than Wi-Fi for disc sharing.

23. Assign apps to Spaces

Once you get into the groove using Spaces it can prove to be a great time-saver and, if you're used to moving a particular application to a designated space, why not make sure it always opens in that space?

From the Exposé & Spaces System Preferences pane you can assign an application to a particular space and it will appear here until you make a change, even after you have quit the application. Setting a space for web browsing and email is just one use for this technique. There are many more, depending on your usage.

24. System scheduling

It's easy enough to just leave your Mac and let it go to sleep after a certain period of time, but in the name of energy saving, you might want to consider telling your Mac to take a break and turn off at a particular time every day.

This can easily be done by clicking Schedule under the Energy Saver System Preferences pane, where you can set a specific time for your computer to boot up as well. Give your Mac a rest when you do to keep things flowing coolly and smoothly.

25. AirPort status

If you connect to a Wi-Fi network, it can be frustrating to keep jumping back and forth to the network settings to change base station or find out why you've lost your connection.

By setting AirPort status to appear in the menu bar from the Network System Preferences pane you can check if your Wi-Fi is connected, see the strength of the signal and join new networks from your desktop. You also have the option to turn AirPort off and on from the menu bar.

26. Keyboard shortcuts

There are hundreds of keyboard shortcuts in Mac OS X and that's not even including the apps you run on a day-to-day basis. Get the lowdown on useful key combinations and set some new ones by heading to System Preferences and moving to the Keyboard Shortcuts tab under the Keyboard pane.

From here you can view and switch on shortcuts for a range of utilities and Mac OS X settings, including Screen Shots, Spotlight, Dashboard and Dock and Display settings.

27. Navigate Spaces

Rather than use the menu bar to switch between Spaces, set a keyboard shortcut in System Preferences so you can switch Spaces using the arrow keys combined with Option, Ctrl or Command.

28. Lock Screensaver

For some added security you can set a password for your screensaver that's applied each time it starts. Use Security in System Preferences to set this up.

29. RSS Visualizer screensaver

If you like the Word of the Day screensaver, how about an RSS feed version? Enter an RSS feed, from a blog to a Twitter account, into the RSS visualizer screensaver and enjoy.

30. CDs & DVDs

Tell your Mac what it should do when you insert a CD, DVD or picture CD using the CD & DVDs section in System Preferences. Setting Front Row to launch when a DVD is inserted can be useful.

31. Timed Desktop background

Liven up your Desktop background from the Desktop & Screensaver System Preferences pane by setting it to change over time.

32. Function key switch

If you're sick of accidentally turning your Mac's volume down when you're trying to use ⁄ to Exposé all windows, head to the Keyboard System Preferences pane and set your F keys to standard functions.

33. Mouse controls

Make the most of your Mighty or Magic Mouse by setting new controls for it from the Mouse System Preferences pane. You can apply a right-click or use momentum scrolling in order to quickly move up and down pages.

34. Analog Clock

Add a more retro feel to your timekeeping by choosing the Analog Clock option from the Date & Time System Preferences pane, which shows a clock face rather than a digital reading in the menu bar.

35. Wake for network

If you access files from another Mac on your network, you can avoid access problems if one of them goes to sleep simply by selecting Wake for network access from the Energy Saver pane in System Preferences.

36. More Recent Items

If you frequently use the Recent Items list – accessible from the Apple menu – to launch apps and open files, you can increase the number of items shown by changing the number in the Number of Recent Items option from within the Appearance System Preferences pane.

37. The way to wipe a thumb drive

If you've ever encountered a thumb drive that has stopped working or even fails to mount, you can likely fix it by reformatting it using Disk Utility.

Plug in the drive and then launch Disk Utility from the Applications folder. It should still appear in the list of devices on the left of the screen so you can select it and then use the Erase tab to perform a quick wipe, and pick a formatting type to fix things up.

Once this process is complete, give the drive a try – it should work properly again.

38. Stickies

Let's face it, Stickies are nothing new; in fact, they've been a part of the Mac operating system for years and haven't really changed a great deal in that time.

If you've not tried them out, they're like a Desktop version of the Dashboard sticky note widget and provide you with a handy way to make notes or store snippets of information and reminders.

However, you can make them more useful by turning them translucent and setting them to float above all other windows from the Note menu – that way you never lose them.

You can access the Stickies app from the Applications folder. Check the menu bar for these options. There's no limit to the amount of Stickies you can have on your Desktop, so why not go crazy!

39. Record video in QuickTime

QuickTime X offers a few unique content creation features that are astoundingly easy to use. The first is audio recording, which will record any audio coming from your Mac's built-in microphone or connected device. Video recording works in the same way, making use of the built-in iSight camera.

Finally, you can also record your screen as a movie to show others how to perform a particular process. All you need to do is head to the QuickTime File menu, where you can access these features and select your input devices using the drop-down menu.

40. Drag text onto Dock icons

When you're viewing a website or text document – or even writing one – you can select a block of text and drag it out of your chosen application. If you drop this block onto the Desktop it will automatically create either a text or image clipping.

What's more, though, you can drag these snippets onto application icons in the Dock to initiate specific actions. Dropping a block of text onto the Safari icon, for example, will search that text with Google. And dropping a block of text onto the Mail icon will add the text to a new message. Give it a go!

41. Share and trim your movies in QuickTime

QuickTime may have lost a few features when it became QuickTime X but it did gain a few tricks as well. One such bonus is the ability to export any movie that QuickTime can play to a format that plays nicely with iPhones, iPods and iPads.

Click the share button to the right of the QuickTime playback controls and select a destination for your movie from iTunes, MobileMe or YouTube. You can also choose to trim your movie within QuickTime using an iMovie-esque scrubber system.

From the application's Edit menu, choose Trim and the heads-up display will appear at the bottom of the video window, as well as a thumbnail strip. Drag to select any portions to cut.

42. Sync Google And Yahoo! calendars

iCal now supports syncing of Google and Yahoo! calendars and it's easier than you might think to set up.

Start by heading to the iCal Preferences screen and then click on the Accounts tab. From here, click on the + button at the bottom of the screen and select your chosen account from the Account type dropdown menu.

Now all you need to do is enter your email address and password into the fields provided, and you're off and running with your new calendar events merged with your existing iCal dates.

43. Paste and match style

Don't you just hate it when you paste some text from another document into an email or text file and it brings its formatting with it? Fortunately, there's a simple workaround for most Mac applications that support text input, which will prevent this messy pasting problem from occurring.

Instead of using Command+V to simply paste your copied text, use Shift+Option+Command+V to paste the text and match it to the formatting of your document. This is an especially handy tip when you want to paste some text from the web straight into an email message.

44. Save as PDF

If you can print a document in Mac OS X then you can convert it into a PDF too. Next time you go to print a file from Word or any other application, click on the PDF button at the bottom left of the print screen.

From here you can select where you want your document saved to, choose a new title, input author information as well as a subject and keywords. You can even apply security settings if the document is of a sensitive nature.

45. Minimize windows into application icon

Minimising lots of windows can clutter your Dock. Turn on Minimize windows into application icon in the Dock's System Preferences pane.

46. Screen Zoom

Combine a keyboard button with mouse scrolling to zoom in and out of your Mac's screen. Set it up from the Universal Access System Preferences pane under the Seeing tab.

47. Auto time zones

Automatically set the time based on your current location – turn on the feature found in the Time Zone section of the Date & Time System Preferences pane and turn AirPort on.

48. Quick iCal Events

Rather than exporting iCal events or adding people to them within the app, drag an event from iCal to the Desktop. From here you can share the file via any method.

49. Startup app launch

Under the Accounts System Preferences screen you can set applications to launch when your Mac starts up, using the Login Items tab.

50. Change cursor size

Sometimes the Mac's typing cursor is a little hard to spot on the screen, but this can be easily fixed. From the Universal Access System Preferences pane under the Mouse tab, you can increase its size using a slider.

51. Quick screen dim

If you ever need to completely hide your screen – you're watching YouTube videos when the boss walks in and you should be working, for example – simply hit Shift+Ctrl+Eject to reduce the screen brightness to zero.

52. Application switcher

You can quickly jump between open applications using the application switcher, which is invoked by pressing Command+Tab. Simply add Shift to the latter combination to move backward through your open apps.

53. Put Back Trash

If you move a file or folder to the Trash and later realise you need it to be returned to its original location, don't fret. You can simply right-click or Ctrl+click on the file within the Trash and choose the handy Put Back option.

54. Show app from Dock

There is a way to quickly access all open windows for a particular application in Snow Leopard. All you need do is click and hold the application's icon in the Dock. From here you can also quit and hide the app, among other more app-specific options.

55. Find a lost password

If you have noticed pop-ups that mention storing passwords in your keychain but don't really know what they mean, take a moment to get acquainted to Keychain Access in your Utilities folder.

This is where Mac OS X stores all of your login passwords and more, and you can find a password you've forgotten from within Keychain Access too. Simply click on a keychain type from the pane on the left and then click on Passwords.

Next, find the site or service you are logging into from the list, double-click it and then select the Show Password option.

56. Make the most of your remote

The Apple remote (both the old model, shown below, and the newer version), which used to come with desktop Macs and is now available separately, has some cunning tricks beyond simply controlling Front Row.

Even when Front Row isn't running, you can control your Mac's volume, play/pause movies in QuickTime (though not, by default, when using VLC player) and skip tracks in iTunes with the tiny controller.

And for those of you who can't be bothered to get up to put your Mac to sleep, you can hold down the play/pause button to do the job from across the room. Now that's what we call convenience!

57. Remote install Mac OS X

As the name implies, this clever application enables you to install Mac OS X onto another Mac over AirPort or Ethernet. This is ideal for MacBook Air users who don't have a drive to put the install CD in or if you're just plain lazy.

Another bonus of Remote Install Mac OS X is that it can also be used to run Disk Utility and Apple Hardware Test on a remote Mac, so you don't have to keep moving between machines to perform a little tech support.

58. Quick Dictionary

We've actually got two tips in one for you here. Firstly, did you know you could bring up the Mac OS X Dictionary by clicking on a word in compatible apps and pressing Ctrl+Command+D to bring up a floating window?

From this shortcut or by using the Mac OS X Dictionary app directly, you can look up your chosen word in the regular Dictionary, Apple Dictionary, Thesaurus and even Wikipedia.

Simply click on the tabs along the top of the Dictionary interface to change the source.

59. Disk Utility

Sometimes things just go wrong with your Mac and Disk Utility is there when they do. Capable of erasing discs, formatting hard drives and creating partitions, Disk Utility also offers some handy tools for troubleshooting.

Run Repair and Verify processes on your Macintosh HD from within Disk Utility to find and fix any problems your Mac's main drive might have.

Disk Utility will also warn you if your hard drive needs replacing so you can quickly back up and get yourself an upgrade before the worst happens.

60. iSync

If, shock horror, your mobile phone isn't an iPhone, you can still sync your Address Book and iCal information to it from your Mac using iSync.

Connect your mobile phone via Bluetooth or USB and then run iSync to keep everything up to date. You will first need to check if your device is supported by iSync, information on which can be found via Apple's support pages online.

If you're a BlackBerry or Windows Mobile user, however, you'll likely be out of luck as far as syncing goes.

61. Use Dashboard widgets on the Desktop

Start by opening the Terminal application and try not to be scared by the frightening-looking command line interface. Now type defaults write com.apple. dashboard devmode YES followed by killall Dock and close the Terminal application.

Now, when you go to the Dashboard you can click and hold a widget and then hit your Dashboard shortcut key (normally F12) to leave the Dashboard with your widget in tow.

This should work for all your widgets and, when you don't want a widget on your Desktop anymore, hold Option and hover over it until an X appears. Click the X to close the widget.

62. Quick envelope printing

If you want to send snail mail to someone in your Address Book, the normal process would be to copy and paste their address and then import it into a word processor to print out an envelope.

Failing that, you might even write the envelope by hand. Your Mac doesn't want you performing such analogue tasks so it enables you to click on a contact in Address Book, choose Print from the File menu and a perfectly formatted envelope print is created.

You just need to remember to put the envelope in the printer. Not much to ask, is it?

63. Scientific Calculator

The default Calculator found in Mac OS X is a functional little tool but it has a more powerful side. If you choose Scientific or Programmer from the View menu, more advanced calculations can be made.

64. Migration Assistant

Don't worry about forgetting anything when moving files between an old and new Mac: make use of Migration Assistant. This often overlooked app enables you to move applications, settings, files and even entire user accounts between Macs.

65. Play movies from an external drive in Front Row

By default Front Row looks for movies in your Mac's Movies folder. If you want to keep your movies on an external drive, simply create an alias (Ctrl-click and select Make Alias) to your external HD movies and add them to your Movies folder.

66. Add new fonts

There are thousands if not millions of free fonts on the web that you could be using right now. All you need to do to make them available in all your applications is drag them into Font Book and activate them.

67. Annotate PDFs in Preview

Preview isn't just for looking at images – have your say when it comes to documents by clicking on the Annotate button and using the text box, arrows, shapes and other tools for your annotation needs.

68. Activity Monitor

Does your Mac seem a bit sluggish today? Fire up Activity Monitor to get the lowdown on which applications are using up your resources. You can even opt to kill these processes from within the app.

69. Make your Mac work for you

If you haven't tried it already, take a look at the many ways Automator can make your life easier by carrying out repetitive tasks for you. You tell it what to do, Automator does the work.

70. TextEdit suggested words

Next time you're struggling for the spelling of a word in TextEdit, start typing the first few letters and then hit the Esc key. A list of possible words will pop up for you to choose from.

71. Adjust colours in Preview

You're ready to share a photo with a friend and open it up in Preview only to find the image is a little washed out. No problem: head to the Tools menu and select Adjust Color to use the editing pane. You'll find options here similar to those in iPhoto.

72. Safari extensions

Safari 5.0.1 offers extensions that can enhance the functionality of the browser and add new features. You can find a list of available extensions at http://extensions.apple.com and, unlike many plugins, extensions can be installed with a single click.

There is a wide range of extensions available, including social networking and news add-ons. To uninstall an extension, head to Safari Preferences and choose uninstall from the Extensions tab.

73. Private browsing

Sometimes, when you're shopping for a surprise gift, for example, you might want some privacy online to prevent anyone viewing the pages you've visited or searches you have made. Safari offers this privacy in the form of Private Browsing, which can be turned on from the Safari menu.

When Private Browsing is turned on any information regarding sites you visit, as well as usernames and passwords, are not stored. Neither will any search fields you use remember your queries, so they won't pop up in future when anyone else uses the computer.

74. Redirect Mail

Rather than forwarding an email message to someone, you can also redirect it so it appears in exactly the same way you received it, with the same sender and content in place.

Simply select the message and then choose Redirect from the Message menu, or hit Shift+Option+E and then add your chosen recipient in the To field.

Now the email will appear to be from the original sender but will show the Resent-From field, which will include your own email address. Redirected messages in your inbox always show a distinguishing lightning bolt next to them.

75. Images in email signatures

From the Mail Preferences menu you can add signatures for all or a selection of your accounts. In the Signature field, you can include text and links that will appear at the bottom of all your email messages and you can include images too.

Simply drag your image into the Signature field to include it as part of your signature and then open a new Mail message to check that it looks okay. It's best to use small images, however, as the image size will be added to the overall size of your email.

76. Safari Open in Dashboard

If there's a section of a website that you visit frequently, why bother with the hassle of launching Safari and navigating to the page when you could just pop open your Dashboard and view the section there?

In order to add a Web Clip to your Dashboard, navigate to the page you want to add and then select Open In Dashboard from Safari's File menu. A small box will now appear that enables you to set the area you want to capture. From here you can simply click Add to send the clip to your Dashboard, where it will remain and update automatically.

77. Mail Rules

Along the lines of smart mailboxes but a little more detailed, Mail Rules are an often overlooked feature of Mail that enable you to organise and filter incoming mail and thereby keep your inbox less cluttered.

Using simple criteria, you can set emails from specific senders or those that contain specific content to automatically move to a new mailbox (including Junk Mail) or be highlighted in your inbox for easy identification.

To get started with this feature, open Mail Preferences and click Rules, then add one or more rules to begin organising your incoming messages. Rules can then be dragged up and down to alter their priority. Give it a try!

78. Reader mode in Safari

When you're reading articles online it can become distracting when adverts pop up or appear alongside the text. Using Reader mode in Safari 5 enables you to focus solely on the content without anything luring your eye from the page.

Compatible pages will show a Reader button in the address bar when you visit them, or you can hit Command+Shift+R. From this simplified view you can zoom, email a link or print the page.

We've found that Reader rarely appears on the front page of a site but will appear when you view individual posts.

79. Always open Safari web links in new tabs

Safari tabs are a handy way to avoid cluttering your Desktop with multiple browser windows. Clicking on a link in another application will often launch a whole new window, however, which goes against this tidiness.

In order to ensure Safari opens each new link in a new tab, head to the Safari Preference pane and click on the Tabs section.

From here you can select Always from the drop-down menu to open pages in tabs instead of windows. If you prefer not to use tabs you can turn them off entirely too, though, personally, we wouldn't!

80. Undo in Safari

If you're using the new Safari 5.0.1 you have access to a very handy trick that could save a lot of hassle. If you accidentally close a tab, don't worry – you can hit Command+Z to bring it back immediately.

81. Pin Top Sites

Using Safari's Top Sites feature offers an easy way to access pages you've recently visited. If there's a page you want to permanently appear, click the edit button and use the pin button to stick it to the Top Sites page.

82. Smart mailbox

The benefits of a smart mailbox are plenty. Create one using the plus button at the bottom left of the Mail interface and set conditions that will filter messages to the smart mailbox.

83. Mail notes

Need to remember an important piece of information? Jot it down into a Mail note and it will appear in your inbox as well as sync to your iPhone and iPad, if you have syncing set up.

84. Visual bookmarks

Flick through bookmarks and web history using Cover Flow. Simply click the Bookmark button at the top left of the Safari interface.

85. Mail stationary

Make your emails more entertaining by clicking the Show Stationary button when writing a new message. Now you can choose from a range of colourful options that link to your media libraries, to make your correspondence shine.

86. Mail threads

Back and forth email conversations can clutter an inbox, but there's a simple solution. By turning on threading from Mail's View menu, all messages in a conversation will be grouped into a collapsible thread to keep things tidy – such as Google Mail.

87. Drag tabs

If you have multiple tabs open in Safari you can quickly reorganise them by simply clicking and dragging them to a new position. If you drag a tab out of the Safari window it will automatically create a new window.

88. Bookmarks Bar

Rather than add a bookmark to the standard Safari Bookmarks folder, why not add it to the Bookmarks Bar so you can access it from the main Safari window with a single click.

89. View and save RSS

If you want to access the RSS feed for a page in Safari, simply click on the RSS button that appears on the right of the address bar. From here you can copy and paste the feed address to add it to other applications and services, such as Mail or NetNewsWire.

90. Single User Mode

Single User Mode bypasses a number of standard elements of Mac OS X and puts the user straight into the console where they can make changes using command line utilities. This mode is primarily used to fix problems that occur during startup or when a Mac fails to boot properly.

In order to launch Single User Mode, the Mac needs to be restarted and the Command and S keys held during startup as soon as the startup chime is heard. A wide range of useful Single User Mode commands can be found on Apple's support pages.

91. Hardware Test

For access to advanced troubleshooting tools if your Mac is exhibiting errors or not booting correctly, you can load the Apple Hardware Test from the install DVD that came with your Mac. With the disc in the drive, boot up your Mac and hold down the D key when you hear the startup chime.

The Apple Hardware Test enables you to scan your discs and drives as well as other components to detect any problems with your computer's hardware. This information can then be provided to tech support for advice on replacements and fixes.

92. Reset PRAM & NVRAM

The acronym-suited mouthfuls Parameter Random Access Memory and Non-volatile Random Access Memory refer to special stores of information for Mac OS X such as time-zone settings, startup volume, speaker volume, DVD region settings and more.

Resetting the NVRAM or PRAM can fix a number of Mac problems including startup issues. In order to reset the values, hold down Command+Option+P+R as soon as you hear the startup chime. If done correctly, your Mac will restart and you'll hear the chime again. Now the PRAM or NVRAM will have been reset and you can release the keys.

93. Safe Boot Mode

Safe Boot Mode is often the only way to boot into Mac OS X if the boot drive is encountering problems. This is normally exhibited by the startup hanging at the default grey screen, preventing OS X from booting.

By launching into Safe Boot Mode via holding down the Shift key during startup, your Mac forces a directory check of the startup volume and only launches the bare minimum of kernel extensions, fonts and startup items required, so as to avoid any that may be causing problems and allow for easier identification.

Of course, safe Boot Mode also enables you to make changes to prevent problems when booting your Mac in the future.

94. Eject CD

If you have a disc in your drive that is refusing to eject, restart your computer and hold down the mouse button as soon as you hear the startup chime. This should eject your disc while your Mac starts up.

95. Startup Manager

If you're having trouble with your hard drive and need to boot your Mac from a different drive or disc, hold down the Option key during startup to open the Startup Manager, which will enable you to select a different volume.

96. Start From Disc

To boot up your Mac from an install disc or other bootable CD or DVD, insert the disc and then hold down the C key while the computer starts up. Your Mac will then look for and boot from the disc.

97. Target Disc Mode

Holding T during startup will tell your Mac to mount its drive on the desktop of a host computer connected via FireWire cable. This can be used to copy files between Macs or for troubleshooting a disc fault.

98. Verbose Startup

Sometimes you may need to start your Mac in Verbose mode to show all system messages normally hidden during startup. Hold down Command+V at startup.

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(Via TechRadar: All latest feeds.)