In Part 1 of this series, I discussed ways to keep your Mac safe: Tightening up Java and Flash Player access; some suggestions on anti-virus programs; setup programs for built-in firewalls; and some types of password protection. Part 2, discussed a data encryption program, and some ways to more safely “surf the net”. If you… Continue reading Keep Your Mac Safe – Part 3 (Preparing for Disaster)
Tag: computer
Open Source Software for Your Mac – Save Big / Loose Little
What Is Open Source Software? You just purchased your new Mac, and now it’s time to add software. Gulp! Sticker-shock, software is expensive. Here are some examples (Note: These are full version prices, not upgrades or student prices): Microsoft Office 2011 $148.99 Adobe Photoshop CS6 $413.99 Quark Express V 9.0 $1024.14 On the other hand,… Continue reading Open Source Software for Your Mac – Save Big / Loose Little
SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE YOU INSTALL LINUX
Some Background: The Linux operating system kernel was released by Linus Torvalds in 1991. From its inception, the software is very Unix-like, and shares many command line entries with Unix as well. Linux is open source software (basically, this means the source code license allows the user to freely change, improve, and distribute the software).… Continue reading SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE YOU INSTALL LINUX
Repurpose Your Old WiFi Router As A Super Router or Repeater With DD-WRT
The closet in the office of my home was filled with nearly twenty years worth of outdated computer hardware. Over the past few months, opening the closet’s door would set off an avalanche of old video cards, mother-boards, and an assortment of audio/video cables. Depending on your reflexes, and how fast you opened the… Continue reading Repurpose Your Old WiFi Router As A Super Router or Repeater With DD-WRT
CheatSheet & Grab
This past week, I found two very useful programs that you might want to use on your Mac: CheatSheet. I discovered this as a Mac Gem on the MacWorld web site: (http://www.macworld.com/article/1167118/cheatsheet_helps_you_find_and_remember_keyboard_shortcuts.html) Simply, after CheatSheet is installed and running, by holding down the Command key for two seconds, an overlay pops up showing the available… Continue reading CheatSheet & Grab
Anonymity on the Web – Tor Browser
Developed by the Tor Project, Tor is free open source software that allows you to surf the web with a high degree on anonymity. Initially, your web request (for the website you will eventually connect to) is bounced through a number of server relays, and through this process, your IP address (your online identity) is… Continue reading Anonymity on the Web – Tor Browser
Run Two Computers with a Single Keyboard and Mouse – Update
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an article on how to run two computers with single keyboard and mouse. The software at the heart of this process is an open source item called Synergy. In the article, I also mentioned several different types of software using Synergy. In all the examples, you must have… Continue reading Run Two Computers with a Single Keyboard and Mouse – Update
The Journey To My AppleTV Media Player
Confucius said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.” In late 2007, I decided to make that first step towards buying a media player. Doing my usual indefatigable research, I decided on one made by Prismiq. This Linux powered appliance could stream movies (a number of codecs were available), photos,… Continue reading The Journey To My AppleTV Media Player
Run Two Computers with a Single Keyboard and Mouse
Years ago, before I became enlightened, I toiled over Windows based machines where I did lots of graphic work and design/data entry on spreadsheets and data bases. One day, I attached an extra monitor to my computer and discovered that two monitors doubled my desktop space and made my work life a lot easier. Duh,… Continue reading Run Two Computers with a Single Keyboard and Mouse
Keep Your Mac Safe For Free (On the Net) Part 2
In last week’s blog entry (http://wp.me/p2J68t-u), we discussed these “free” ways to keep your Mac safe: Keep the Mac OS X up to date, turn “off” Java, adjust settings in Adobe Flash Player, install an anti-virus program, set up your built-in firewall, and password protection. This week, we’ll discuss how to keep your Mac safe… Continue reading Keep Your Mac Safe For Free (On the Net) Part 2