SleepWatcher - A utility to run tasks on sleep/wake

The macosxhints Rating: [Score: 9 out of 10] Developer: Bernhard Baehr Price: Free (GPL) This is the Pick of the Week for the week of August 14th SleepWatcher has been mentioned here in a number of hints -- it's the best way I've found yet to have actions happen on sleep or wake (or even idle). Note that it's not a GUI application, so you'll want to be comfortable in Terminal before trying to put it to use. But with the ability to have different sleep and wake actions per user, as well as a number of different configuration options, SleepWatcher is a powerful tool for...

published on Friday, the 8. September 2006, macosxhints

10.4: Look up words in Dictionary via web browser

This is a simple hint, but one that can be very useful. You can look up any word is the OS X Dictionary application by typing the following into the address bar of your favorite browser: dict:///word_to_define For example, dict:///sesquipedalian will display the meaning of the word sesquipedalian in Dictionary, if Dictionary is already running. If not, it will simply open Dictionary. So to look up words, you need to first open the application, then the protocol will be available. Note the need to use three slashes, not two as most protocols require. Also, if you misspell the word, the Dictionary application will open (or come to the front if it is already open) but will not find anything. (This differs from when you misspell a word directly within Dictionary -- when you do that, you'll usual...

published on Friday, the 8. September 2006, macosxhints

Play 'difficult' iTunes video podcasts in a separate window

Several video podcasts of late have formatted their QuickTime movies in such a way that the only way to view them in iTunes is within the small video corner of the iTunes window. Normally clicking on a playing video there would open the video in its own window, or you could go full size, but not with these videos. MacBreak and ZeFrank's The Show are two culprits that come to mind -- not to blame them, though, for adding extra QuickTime content to their videos; it's all iTunes fault. Anyway, I have found a workaround. Play another video, and open it in a separate window by clicking on it. Then, pause it and open the desired difficult video without closing the first. The new video will open in its own window and allow double-sizing and whatnot. But don't try full screen, because that still doesn't work.

published on Friday, the 8. September 2006, macosxhints

Kill Symantec AntiVirus scan-on-connect windows

Some of you may be lab managers. Some of you may be in a lab using Norton AntiVirus. Some of you may be using external FireWire hard drives with multiple partitions for re-imaging and re-mirroring computers via Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper.If you're one of these people, then you understand how utterly annoying it is to plug in a drive with about five or six partitions on it, and have five or six different Virus Scan-On-Mount windows pop up all at the same time. It eats the CPU, slows down the machine, and makes your FireWire drive go nuts. For the longest time, I couldn't figure out how to make it stop, short of individually hitting Cancel on each window. Then I found a much faster way:Open Terminal (and you must be in an admin account to do this in 10.4.x.)Type sudo killall SmallScanner, press Enter, and provide your password.Do whatever you need to do.In 10.3.9, Symantec AntiVirus (the product version I'm using is ...

published on Wednesday, the 6. September 2006, macosxhints

Mac Mini Updated (All Core Duo)

Apple has updated the Mac Mini to include all Core Duo models. Other than the processor upgrade, there does not appear to be any differences between the previous Mac Mini and today's release, including pricing. The Mac Mini is available in two offe...

published on Wednesday, the 6. September 2006, macrumors

NF Image Converter 1.2b

A simple, 'no frills' image converter and file-renaming utility. Features include: - Image files can be converted interchangeably between different Apple-supported image formats. - More descriptive filenames can be given to image files instead of the cryptic codes that digital cameras and webcams force on users. - The file-renaming option can be applied also to other kinds of files, not just image files.

published on Thursday, the 31. August 2006, scriptbuilders

CrossOver Mac Beta Released

Codeweavers has released the public beta of CrossOver Mac. We previously reported on CrossOver Mac, which provides a unique (Wine based) solution for running Windows applications on the Mac:Codeweaver's solution differ...

published on Thursday, the 31. August 2006, macrumors

10.4: One way to get two MAC addresses for Parallels

My employer only will assign one IP per MAC address. This has prevented me from using Parallels/XP while at work. At home, everything works fine. There are solutions from people in the Parallels forums for setting up NAT, etc., but I wanted something easier (for me). I got a cheap wireless USB adapter (Netgear WG111 - $15 on Woot!). Now, my Mac connects wirelessly when at work, and when I plug in the USB adapter, the XP side does the same thing -- using a different MAC address. I also was able to connect at work using wired for one connection and wireless for the other, but this allows two simultaneous wireless connections with no changes in my network configuration. When I'm done, I just pull out the adapter...quick and relatively painless.

published on Thursday, the 31. August 2006, macosxhints

Greenpeace Rates Apple 4th Worst Eco-Friendly Tech Business, Apple Responds

Late last week, environmental watchdog Greenpeace released their Guide to Greener Electronics (pdf) which rates how eco-friendly different tech companies are based on publicly available information. Apple scored 4th lowest, beating only Leveno, Moto...

published on Tuesday, the 29. August 2006, macrumors

Mac Pro: Cool, Quiet, Fast and Competitively Priced

For years, Macintosh computers have been praised for their cool looks and elegant simplicity while being knocked for often carrying a hefty price premium over Windows-based machines sold by Dell and others. It's time to think different -- again.

published on Thursday, the 24. August 2006, macnewsworld