Pretty Good Privacy

PGP, which stands for Pretty Good Privacy, is an encryption program designed primarily for email, although you can also encrypt any text file with the freeware version. The shareware version offers more features, but both use the same encryption algorithms.

You can have some privacy in your personal communications and it's free (or cheap for the shareware version) and easy. PGP uses the public key method and it works like this:

After installing the software, you use it to create a public key and a private key. You upload the public key to a server (the software does most of this for you). Then, when someone wants to send you an email, they can use your public key to encrypt it. Only your private key can decrypt it. Likewise, if you want to send someone a message, you can download their public key and use it to encrypt a message only they can read. The whole process on a Mac is two keystrokes cmd+A to select the text, and cmd+7 to encrypt it, and one mouse click to select the key of the recipient.
https://www.pgp.com/index.php

No More .DS_Store

The .DS_Store file is a normally invisible OS X file created by the Finder which is annoyingly visible under OS 9 and can easly be copied with a folder full of files to an external Cd or even when you're uploading files to your website. Since it's only useful for the Finder and does PC users no good you might want to delete it before burning a CD or uploading a folder full of files.
Here's a quick terminal command to get rid of them from a folder called Sites in your home directory:

>find ~/Sites/ -name .DS_Store -exec rm {} \;

Run this command just before uploading or copying your folders to a CD, or even to a Windows server on your corporate network.

Force printing from Classic

Printing while using Mac OS X can be problematical and sometimes you are forced to reboot into Mac OS 9 to print successfully. However it is possible to use Classic in OS X for printing if the application is "Cocoa" ie made for both OS 9 and OS X. Take as an example, Acrobat Reader. To print using the Chooser, select the Acrobat Reader application, choose Get Info and select "Open in Classic Environment". Now when you open up Acrobat Reader you can print in the Classic environment instead of using Print Center in OS X.

Quickly open OS 9 Date & Time Control Panel

In MacOS 9.2.x try option-clicking on the menu bar clock. It's a shortcut for opening up the Date & Time control panel.

See those long filenames in OS X

In OS X hold down the option key while mousing over truncated filenames in the Finder (works on the desktop and in Finder windows), and the little 'tool tip' box with the complete filename appears instantly (overriding the 2-3 second delay).

Rendezvous and Printer Sharing

Hook your printers to a Mac running OS X to act as a server, configure it as normally for printing, and then start Printer Sharing in the Sharing pane of the System Preferences.
Every Rendezvous enabled Mac connected to the network will automatically see those printers with no further configuration whatsoever. It just works amazingly simply.

Make an OS X startup CD-ROM

What must be on a CD that you can startup from?
Creating a bootable Macintosh OS X CD-ROM is not at all intuitive. There is a free utility that will help ease the process: BootCD. Instructions for using BootCD are included with the software. http://www.charlessoft.com/

Dial-up Disconnects

Q. I've attempted to download a large file over a dial-up connection under Mac OS X but get disconnected before the download completes. Why am I being disconnected and is there a way to complete the download?

A. You're being disconnected for one of two reasons – either your Mac is severing the connection, or your ISP is.

To ensure that your Mac isn't responsible for this dastardly act, open the Network system preference and select Internal Modem from the Show pop-up menu. Click on the PPP tab and then the PPP Options button. In the resulting pane uncheck the Disconnect if Idle for X Minutes option (where X is 10, by default) and click OK. Although you know that your Mac is engaged in a perfectly productive download, the Mac may not, and unceremoniously terminate your connection to the Internet.

If this connection conundrum can be laid at the feet of your ISP, you must broadly hint to said ISP that you'd like to remain logged on. The best way to do this is to configure your email client to automatically check your email every 10 minutes. Such a request will reset an ISP's disconnection timer and allow you to remain logged on.

If your downloads are interrupted you can use a utility such as Whizzo Consulting's US $17 Download Wizard (http://www.whizzoconsulting.com/downloadwizard) or YazSoft's US $20 Speed Download (http://www.yazsoft.com) to pick up where you left off. In addition to purportedly optimising download speeds, these utilities will resume interrupted downloads (provided that the server hosting the file supports this feature).

Setting your view preferences for spring-loaded folders

If you prefer Column view for your Finder windows and try to use spring-loaded folders, you may find that the default is Icon view. Fortunately, you can change the style in which the specific windows open. Just Command-double-click on the folder in question and then wait for it to open. Next, set the view options (including the window size) and close the folder. Now, whenever you hover an item over the folder, it will open up in the view style and windows size you specified.

OS X Time Saver

A great time-saving interface trick. All you need to do is navigate to your home folder and drag the "Desktop" icon into the right side of your dock.
"What? Well, is that ALL?"
Yes. It's way easier than moving windows or hiding applications until you find the desktop item you need.
For example, suppose your internet downloads go to your desktop. When you have a browser window filling your screen, it's a snap to bring up your desktop, decompress your new goodies and drop them onto the Applications toolbar icon.

USB functionality under OS 9.2.x in older laptops

Apple changed the way USB support works after OS 9.1.
One suggestion to retain USB functionality in laptops such as the WallStreet Powerbook (USB only via the CardBus) is to download and install USB Adaptor Card Support 1.4.1
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=31132

Then, from within the Extensions Manager...
1. disable HID Library 1.5.9 (an extension)
2. disable USB Device Extension 1.5.9 (another extension)
3. disable USB Software Locator 1.5.9 (the third extension)
Restart...and you're off-and-running.

An alternative suggestion is after installing MacOS 9.2.2, Go into your Extensions folder and move out the following extensions: USB Authoring Support, USB Device Extension, USB Software Locator and USBAppleMonitorModule. Put them on the desktop, you will need them later. Then install the Apple USB Adapter Card Support 1.4.1 software.
Now move to the Trash the following extensions: USB Authoring Support, USB Device Extension, USB Software Locator, and USBAppleMonitor. (You won't be able to delete them because they are "in use.")
Then drag the extensions you put on the desktop back into the extensions folder, and restart the computer & empty the trash.

Guide to iPhoto 2

Jack Hodgson has updated My Mom's Guide to iPhoto 2, his online tutorial and quick reference for Apple's photo management software. The new version has enhanced navigational features, more screen-shots, and some updated sections based on reader input and requests. A US $5 donation is requested; printed copies are available for US $7. http://www.da4.com/userguides/guides/iphoto/

Free OS X tutorials

The Atomic Learning Library offers a slew of free OS X tutorials in video format, which you can watch directly from the Internet. They cover a host of topics on how to navigate and use OS X, for the beginner to medium users. http://www.atomiclearning.com/freemacosx.shtml

Up and Down the Folder Hierarchy

In the Finder, you can use Command-Up Arrow to open the folder that contains the currently selected item. If you add the Option key, it will close the currently-selected item when it opens the enclosing folder. Command- Down Arrow will take you back down through the same chain of folders.

Put User Folder in Dock

If you drag your User folder to the Dock in Mac OS X, you can then Control-click it in the Dock to access all your documents.

Quickly Switch Dialogue Targets

Quickly change the target directory in an Open or Save dialogue box by dragging a folder or volume from the Desktop into the Open or Save dialogue box. The dialogue box will then show you the contents of that folder or volume. Command-D will change a dialogue target to the desktop (Works in OS 9 as well).

Tips for resizing

Your colleague, who likes to open Excel spreadsheets so that they fill her 23-inch Apple Cinema HD Display from corner to corner, routinely sends such files to you without resizing them.

The result? When you open them on your Mac, the documents are so big you can't see the scroll bars or grab the resize control corner. What should you do the next time this happens? Just reach for the Zoom button.

The green zoom button sits immediately to the right of the red close and yellow minimise buttons in the upper-left corner of every Mac OS X window. Use the Zoom button to either enlarge or reduce the size of a window. Just one click should do the trick.
And if the Spreadsheet opens completely off your screen, use the Window>Arrange>Tiled option, to get it back onto your screen.

MACinations September 03