November 2007

Liz - won the $25 cash prize and
NZBeats won the $25 donation to Children’s Network International

(winners were selected at random by having my roommates pick a number out of a bag)

Both winners have been contacted, if I don’t hear from one/the other within lets say 7 days, I’ll pick a new winner. Thanks for entering!

This tutorial will take you step by step through using the new Time Machine feature of OS X 10.5, Leopard. [click to continue...]

All the rules (not many) are listed here (and that’s also the post you’ll want to leave a comment on to enter the contest). So far there are only 9 entries for the $25 cash prize and 7 entries for the $25 to non-profit-of-your-choice prize. Those odds are way better than any lottery, so what are you waiting for? Contest ends this Friday at midnight.

If you’re a die-hard Safari user, you may want to check out one of Firefox’s best features - Greasemonkey. Using the free software SIMBL and GreaseKit, you can run most of the scripts created for Greasemonkey - in Safari. And Mailplane. And all WebKit apps. So now you can use the genius that is Folders4Gmail while using Safari. [click to continue...]

Every so often someone will use the feedback form, or find me on IM, and ask a random question. I try to answer as many of them as possible, and occasionally the questions lead to tutorials here on Simple Help. Yesterday I wrote out a fairly long answer to a reader submitted question, and it dawned on me that I should consider posting these on SH, even if not in tutorial format. So - here’s the first one -

note: names are always changed

Hi,
My name is Jane and my aunty gave me your details. She said you were a great help! I was wondering if you knew the difference between Parallels and Bootcamp and which one is better? I have a mac osx 10.4.8 and need to run windows so I can run CAD programs. Am I able to do this from this version?

Hope to hear from you soon.
Kind Regards
Jane

Here was my answer to Jane - [click to continue...]

Until Apple fixes the dock entirely (by just allowing a few preferences hopefully), one method (there are a lot) is to add a “drawer” icon to each of your Stacks. The main icon itself will remain the same, but is seated in a drawer.

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One of my favorite Greasemonkey scripts is Folders4Gmail - and it was updated today to work with the latest version of Gmail. Once again my Gmail filters are folders.

I’m a big fan of NeoOffice. I actually prefer Open Office.org to Microsoft Office. So I’m always pleased when new patches and releases are issued, as they almost always include bug fixes. Patch 1 for 2.2.2 is no different.

As an aside, the folks over @ NeoOffice are also providing a list of known issues and incompatibilities in Leopard (OS X 10.5). Though none of the problems are specific to NeoOffice, they’re just providing the list as a service to their users. Pretty cool of them.

The updates/fixes for 2.2.2 Patch 1 include:

1. Fixed problems displaying MathType objects created on the Mac or Windows
2. Fixed a problem where the spellchecker would not fall back to OpenOffice.org dictionaries
3. Fixed an error saving a new file to iDisk
4. Fixed several crashes or hangs when opening or saving documents
5. Fixed several problems specific to Mac OS X 10.5 “Leopard”
6. Fixes for many PDF and printing-related bugs
7. Fixed a number of other bugs reported against NeoOffice 2.2.2 with Patch-0

This tutorial will take you through each of the steps involved in creating slide transitions using the free presentation software Impress from Open Office.org. [click to continue...]

It’s your image editor of choice. You’ve upgraded to Leopard. And The Gimp no longer works for you. You can try some of the suggestions found here, or you can just download AquaGimp. Note: I can only confirm AquaGimp works on an Intel based Mac.

With any luck The Gimp will be working in all of it’s X11 glory soon, and this tutorial will become moot.

If you go the AquaGimp route (which is what I’ve resorted to for the time being) continue reading for some tips on a few ‘quirks’ I’ve discovered so far.

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With the very helpful Firefox addon Source Viewer Tab, you can view a pages source code in a new tab, rather than a new window (which is the annoying default). [click to continue...]

Contest details - to enter, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post. Here’s what your comment must include in order to be eligible to win:

1. A tutorial suggestion - is there a PC/software topic/problem that you struggled to figure out? Or wished you had a detailed tutorial to help you learn? Suggest it to me (and ideally check to make sure it’s something I haven’t already written). Linux, Windows, OS X - just something computer/software related (in keeping with the theme of the site…)
2. Which of the two prizes you want to receive - the first prize is $25.00 cash. I’ll send it to you via PayPal or as an Amazon Gift Certificate or even a personal cheque if that’s what it takes. The second prize is a $25.00 donation to one of the following non-profit organizations:
   1. Vancouver Rape Relief and Womans Shelter
   2. Electronic Frontier Foundation
   3. National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
   4. Children’s Network International

   I will of course make the donation in your name and/or send the confirmation email to you.

3. Please use a valid email address in the E-mail field of the comment form below. If I can’t email you, I can’t tell you you won. Note: I hope it goes without saying, I would never, ever do anything w/ your email address other than send you a note telling you you’ve won the contest. I don’t collect them, sell them etc

That’s it. Oh - and yes - you can enter twice, once for each prize. Just leave one comment saying “I’d like to enter the first contest, and here’s my suggestion for a tutorial…” and then another comment saying “I’d like to enter the second contest, and here’s my suggestion for a tutorial…”. If you enter twice, you have to suggest two different tutorials.

The contest will run from now until midnight on Friday, Nov 16th, 2007. At that point I’ll get my room-mates to pick numbers to select the winners at random. Saturday morning I’ll notify the contest winners and post the details re: the winners here on Simple Help.

Here’s an example of a valid entry:

Hi - I’d like to enter the cash prize contest, and my suggestion for a tutorial is “How to join two divx files together into one”. Thanks!

and/or

Hi - I’d like to enter the donation prize contest, the non-profit I would like to have $25.00 donated to in my name is XXXXXX, and my idea for a tutorial is “How to copy a DVD in OS X”. Thanks!

Good luck!

The following is a “screenshot simulation” of the Network Settings for OS X v10.5 (Leopard). Your ISP will determine what the correct settings are for you. When in doubt, check with them.

Since its been a while since I posted a screenshot sim (also referred to as screenshot simulators) I’ll give a brief explanation of their intent. This simulation can be used when helping someone configure their network/Internet settings remotely - and you’re not in front of a Mac running Leopard. Anything high-lighted is clickable.

This screenshot sim will launch in a new window/tab when you select System Preferences… from the Apple icon in the menu bar.

Another possible name for this post could be “SmartToolkit review with a tour of its features and lots of screenshots”, because that’s essentially what it is. Though I’ve only had a Smartphone for about a month and a half now, SmartToolkit is by far the best piece of (free) software I’ve found for Windows Mobile devices.

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