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[Visualante]

Bought this stupid Mac keyboard and I need the Windows drivers. Can anyone hook me up with the 260kb setup.exe from the Leopard disc? It's in the bootcamp directory allegedly.

by PM please.

 

[Killthee]

I got a 1.6 MB "AppleKeyboardInstaller.exe" from the bootcamp driver package I extracted a long time ago..... Not sure if that's the one you're looking for, but here's a link for it in case it is.

 

[Visualante]

Got it working now, apparently the installer alone didn't give media controls but I have it working with VLC except the play pause button.

 

[Tieno]

So my macbook pro 13" arrived today. Looks great. Very quiet, especially compared to my brother's laptop. Adjusting to the system, trackpad + gestures + expose feels very natural. I haven't liked any laptop keyboard, but this one feels pretty good. Enough resistance and give.

-Is there a Delete button like on other keyboards?
-Easy way to maximize windows for optimal use of screen real estate?
-Small programs to check gmail, info on hardware load and stats?
-Is uninstalling programs really as easy as just dragging the icon to the trash? No shit left behind?
-Best movie codec package?
-How do I enable Quick Look, instead of opening files in the Preview program?

 

[Particle Physicist]

-Small programs to check gmail, info on hardware load and stats?

you can get google notifier: http://toolbar.google.com/gmail-helper/notifier_mac.html

it puts a little icon on the top right of the screen that tells you how many e-mails you have and gives you a little preview..


check out http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/?r=dbw

for interesting widgits.. there are some gmail widgits if you dont want to use the notifier..

i use the istat pro widget to get system info.. its pretty nice: http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/status/istatpro.html

-Best movie codec package?

get

Perian:

http://perian.org/


-and-


Flip4mac:

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/28842


if you need to view real player files the Mac RealPlayer is actually pretty good: http://www.real.com/mac/realplayer




also get MPlayer OSX Extended, its the best OS X media player.. imo

http://mplayerosx.sttz.ch/

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

Is there a Delete button like on other keyboards?

Fn + Delete

Easy way to maximize windows for optimal use of screen real estate?

Programs will open to the max size they need. For things like Mail, iTunes, or Safari that can be any size and fit its contents, manually resize it once, and the green button will act as a toggle between some random size and the manual size you made it.

Small programs to check gmail, info on hardware load and stats?

Put Activity Monitor from Applications -> Utilities into your Dock, and you can set the icon to show hardware activity (CPU, network, RAM, HDD, etc.) There is also iStat for your Dashboard that will show you everything going on, including fan speeds and shit.

Is uninstalling programs really as easy as just dragging the icon to the trash? No shit left behind?

It leaves behind preference files, so if you ever reinstall, it works the same as you left it. Those are like 1 KB text files, so don't worry about them. Marty Chinn went batshit insane about these preference files, but really, what's a 1 KB plain text file going to do? (You can find these files in ~/Library/Application Support and ~/Library/Preferences.)

An application file is actually a "package." To see this, right-click an application in Finder and choose "Show Package Contents." You'll see that it's actually a full pack of files. So when you drag that application icon to the Trash, you're deleting all of that shit with it at once. There is no Registry or files thrown in random areas bullshit like you're probably used to. It's all in the application package.

How do I enable Quick Look, instead of opening files in the Preview program?

Spacebar. Also, the default Finder appearance should have an eye icon at the top, which is Quicklook, if you want to use your mouse for it.

 

[infiniteloop]

-Is there a Delete button like on other keyboards?

cmd+delete

 

[Jasoco]

cmd+delete

This one works for files in the Finder.

Fn + Delete

This one works for deleting the character to the right of the cursor.

Which one the poster was asking for depends on what he was trying to do.

-Is uninstalling programs really as easy as just dragging the icon to the trash? No shit left behind?

Most apps are nice simple single self-contained files. Or as Liu Kang mentioned, packages containing the binary for the app, the files required to make it look pretty and sometimes other apps like helpers and stuff.

These can just be deleted by deleting the .app. You can optionally delete stuff in the Library associated with it, but if the app is gone, it will never need that to be done.

But there are other apps that require more work. Sometimes they will come with an uninstaller anyway. These apps will make an app file in Applications, place more files other places, all that stuff. But unlike Windows, there is no Registry, there is no harm. You can delete all the components and the app will be gone. If the app had a helper that ran in the background, the worse you will get is console warnings in the logs saying an error occurred. There are apps like AppZapper that will help delete these apps completely.

But thankfully MOST Mac apps follow the easy as hell drag and drop installation method.

 

[Tieno]

Thanks for the help guys.

Have a problem though. I can't seem to install iDVD, when I put in the install disc that came with the mac and pick customize, I can't check it, it's greyed out. I have a superdrive and the system profiler recognizes it as such.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

Thanks for the help guys.

Have a problem though. I can't seem to install iDVD, when I put in the install disc that came with the mac and pick customize, I can't check it, it's greyed out. I have a superdrive and the system profiler recognizes it as such.

Isn't that already pre-installed?

 

[Tieno]

Isn't that already pre-installed?

Can't find it with spotlight....


woops, I found it in the applications folder. I searched with spotlight a few times but it didn't come up.



hehe, now it shows up in spotlight

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

I don't know if you know you can do this yet: Drag your Applications folder onto the right side of the Dock (next to the trash can, right of the separator) and use it like a Start menu.

 

[pj]

I think a better solution is to create a folder somewhere called "applications" and put aliases to your most used programs in there, then drag that to the dock. If you keep it reasonable you get to see the cool stack instead of a stupid box

 

[LCfiner]

I think a better solution is to create a folder somewhere called "applications" and put aliases to your most used programs in there, then drag that to the dock. If you keep it reasonable you get to see the cool stack instead of a stupid box

yeah... but... if it's a reasonably small stack that opens in a fan then, well, the obvious thing to do is just to put those apps individually on the dock itself.

anything that gets used so little that it doesn't need to be on the main dock can be invoked with spotlight (or quicksilver if you swing that way)

 

[pj]

I did it because I hate dock clutter and I like the way it looks.

Now that I'm thinking about it, though, I never use that stack and I should probably just get rid of it to make my dock even smaller!

 

[giga]

Are you using xchat aqua? That ugly thing that hasn't been updated in who knows how many years now. http://limechat.net/mac/

And hit it with a nice theme: http://groups.google.com/group/limechatosx/web/themes

 

[pj]

I've used xchat on various platforms since 2002. The features I require of an IRC client are for it to send the messages that I type, and receive the messages that other people type. I'll check out limechat but I doubt it has anything that will make me want to switch away from what I'm accustomed to.

 

[Hitokage]

Are you using xchat aqua? That ugly thing that hasn't been updated in who knows how many years now.

Key to using X-Chat: The defaults suck, change them.

Once you get that out of the way, it's a no-nonsense two-paned IRC client, which is something no other IRC app on OSX I know of tries to be.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

Small docks make no sense to me. That whole bottom row is going to be taken up anyway, why not use it?

 

[Particle Physicist]

Small docks make no sense to me. That whole bottom row is going to be taken up anyway, why not use it?

bottom?

mine is on the left.

does anyone else use the dock on the left? i find it much more efficient there..

 

[infiniteloop]

bottom?

mine is on the left.

does anyone else use the dock on the left? i find it much more efficient there..

Yeah, I've had it on the left since 10.1. On the bottom drives me crazy, has to be hidden too.

 

[pj]

Small docks make no sense to me. That whole bottom row is going to be taken up anyway, why not use it?

I have the dock set to hidden so it only shows up when I mouse down there. Those programs there are what I use 95% of the time so there's no reason to have anything else. If I want to run any other app I can launch it just as quickly with spotlight.

I'd have the dock be completely empty but it would probably look weird.

I also usually have zero things on my desktop. I'll take the slight hit in productivity to maintain the look.

 

[Mar]

-Easy way to maximize windows for optimal use of screen real estate?

In an amusing twist of irony. OSX actually encourages you to use things in windows. Unlike Windows. It took a while for me to get used to it as well. I always wanted to maximise my windows to the full screen size for a good while. But then realised that with the easier to use navigation and user interface, having windows as windows is actually a lot more helpful. Even on a small screen (13" MacAir here).

Now whenever I go to my work machine (running Ubuntu) I find myself making my windows smaller but losing the ease of navigation that I would have in OSX, and have to re-maximise them. It's quite interesting how fast you get accustomed to the OSX UI and how much more natural it all is.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

In an amusing twist of irony. OSX actually encourages you to use things in windows. Unlike Windows. It took a while for me to get used to it as well. I always wanted to maximise my windows to the full screen size for a good while. But then realised that with the easier to use navigation and user interface, having windows as windows is actually a lot more helpful. Even on a small screen (13" MacAir here).

Now whenever I go to my work machine (running Ubuntu) I find myself making my windows smaller but losing the ease of navigation that I would have in OSX, and have to re-maximise them. It's quite interesting how fast you get accustomed to the OSX UI and how much more natural it all is.

You're actually forced into maximizing by how the menu bar is tied to the window, and without even thinking about it, you always want that menu at the very top.

Another thing is how Windows/Linux generally has the menu bar below the title bar. So even maximized, you have to move your mouse all the way up, then just a little bit down to get to the menu. Makes no sense.

 

[Hitokage]

Another thing is how Windows/Linux generally has the menu bar below the title bar. So even maximized, you have to move your mouse all the way up, then just a little bit down to get to the menu. Makes no sense.

In KDE 3.5 you could put a menu toolbar on the top of the screen.

 

[Sean]

I don't know if you know you can do this yet: Drag your Applications folder onto the right side of the Dock (next to the trash can, right of the separator) and use it like a Start menu.

Also it should be pointed out that when right-clicking (or holding) on the Stack you can change the options to view it as a List, Fan, Grid, or normal folder.

To get it working like the Start menu from Windows you have to change the stack to List view (by default it's Fan view I think).

 

[Jasoco]

Grid view in Snow Leopard is much improved. I keep all my stacks (Home, Downloads, Applications) set to Grid view and it lets me dig down into folders.

The only drawback is that the icons are fixed size. Would be nice if I could make them smaller and fit more icons on the screen by shrinking the icon and text.

I created a video of it in action.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Grid view in Snow Leopard is much improved. I keep all my stacks (Home, Downloads, Applications) set to Grid view and it lets me dig down into folders.

The only drawback is that the icons are fixed size. Would be nice if I could make them smaller and fit more icons on the screen by shrinking the icon and text.

I created a video of it in action.

Your link doesn't work at all.

 

[RubxQub]

Your link doesn't work at all.

But it does.

 

[Blackhead]

Grid view in Snow Leopard is much improved. I keep all my stacks (Home, Downloads, Applications) set to Grid view and it lets me dig down into folders.

The only drawback is that the icons are fixed size. Would be nice if I could make them smaller and fit more icons on the screen by shrinking the icon and text.

I created a video of it in action.

What font is that?

 

[bud]

is it me or is safari 4.0 slower than the previous one? for example, gifs are running smooth now, but it keeps hanging for a couple of seconds whenever a big one is loading. the older one did this, too, but it now feels like it takes a bit longer.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

is it me or is safari 4.0 slower than the previous one? for example, gifs are running smooth now, but it keeps hanging for a couple of seconds whenever a big one is loading. the older one did this, too, but it now feels like it takes a bit longer.

This is pretty much the only conversation going on in the Safari thread. Webkit's animated GIF support sucks. Chrome had this same problem too, but the beta of 3.0 has made it better.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

But it does.

It wasn't before. It kept giving an access denied error.

 

[Jasoco]

It wasn't before. It kept giving an access denied error.

I had just uploaded it. It is now up completely and in HD complete with annotations to answer all questions, including "What font is that?", the answer to which is "EraserDust" from www.dafont.com .

 

[bud]

This is pretty much the only conversation going on in the Safari thread. Webkit's animated GIF support sucks. Chrome had this same problem too, but the beta of 3.0 has made it better.

thanks for the response.

where can i see how much memory a program is using (just wondering how much memory safari 4.0 takes up)? also, is it possible to remove top sites? because i think it's one of the reasons safari's slower this time around.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Can I watch movies through Quicktime? When I go to open it in quicktime it gives me an error... I don't like the dvd video or whatever autolaunch program keeps trying to play it.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

thanks for the response.

where can i see how much memory a program is using (just wondering how much memory safari 4.0 takes up)? also, is it possible to remove top sites? because i think it's one of the reasons safari's slower this time around.

Nah Top Sites isn't doing anything. Safari 4 destroys 3 in every other away but the animated gifs.

Open Activity Monitor under Applications -> Utilities. I like to pin it to my dock and make it show CPU usage meters as its icon.

 

[giga]

Can I watch movies through Quicktime? When I go to open it in quicktime it gives me an error... I don't like the dvd video or whatever autolaunch program keeps trying to play it.

Do you have Perian installed?

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

Do you have Perian installed?

No idea what that is so I'm going to go with no.

 

[giga]

No idea what that is so I'm going to go with no.

perian.org install it and try, since it has an mpeg-2 decoder.

 

[Sean]

Can I watch movies through Quicktime? When I go to open it in quicktime it gives me an error... I don't like the dvd video or whatever autolaunch program keeps trying to play it.

Do you mean DVD's? I think you can play them in QuickTime if you have the right codec (Perian is one) but I'm not completely sure if that does DVD movies.

I know that you can watch DVD's in VLC (http://www.videolan.org), File > Open Disc or set it to open VLC in the CDs and DVDs System Preferences pane... benefit to using VLC for DVD's is that it skips all the FBI warning crap and trailers at the start.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

perian.org install it and try, since it has an mpeg-2 decoder.

Installed it an it still give me an error. It says:

Operation could not be completed. (OSStatus error -1409.)

Edit: Ya, I'm just trying to play a dvd disk in my drive. Is VLC any good on osx? I heard it sucks compared to the windows version...

 

[Hitokage]

Ok, here's something that google hasn't been helpful with:

How do I horizontally flip the orientation of the default mouse pointer set in Leopard?

 

[koam]

Installed it an it still give me an error. It says:

Operation could not be completed. (OSStatus error -1409.)

Edit: Ya, I'm just trying to play a dvd disk in my drive. Is VLC any good on osx? I heard it sucks compared to the windows version...

I like it so much more than the windows version, it works great for me and it looks better too.

 

[Zaraki_Kenpachi]

I like it so much more than the windows version, it works great for me and it looks better too.

Cool, I thought I head somewhere that it kind of sucked... I could be mistaken though. I've been watching my movie so far through it and I have no complaints.

 

[Sean]

Check out this VLC replacement icons/overhaul set too... the default orange traffic cone icon stuff in VLC is ugly as hell IMO.

http://www.command-tab.com/2008/01/09/vlc-icon-overhaul-for-leopard/

 

[Particle Physicist]

Cool, I thought I head somewhere that it kind of sucked... I could be mistaken though. I've been watching my movie so far through it and I have no complaints.

its actually better than the windows version. but people still think it sucks compared to other programs.. like MPlayer OSX Extended, its the best OS X media player.. http://mplayerosx.sttz.ch/


i mentioned this above, but also install Flip4mac:

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/28842

 

[pj]

limechat sucks

 

[The Main Event]

its actually better than the windows version. but people still think it sucks compared to other programs.. like MPlayer OSX Extended, its the best OS X media player.. http://mplayerosx.sttz.ch/


i mentioned this above, but also install Flip4mac:

http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/28842

The main reason I'm still using Quicktime is because of the Inspector, since I'm doing video editing and such and like to have the option to look at the videos codec/bitrates/framerates, etc. once I'm done encoding.

I'll just be patient and wait for Quicktime X with Snow Leopard. The new interface looks slick.

 

[giga]

limechat sucks

Why do you say that?