Ask TUAW: Dual band Airport, Time Machine, customizing Desktop colors, IceCad, Flip camcorders and more

This time around in Ask TUAW we'll be looking at questions about running a dual band wifi network, Time Machine, migrating from Outlook to Entourage, single color desktops, mini graphics tablets, upgrading to an Intel Mac, Flip camcorder video and more.

As always your suggestions are most welcome, and questions for next week should be left in the comments. When asking a question please include which machine you're running and which version of OS X, as certain answers will vary between different Macs and Tiger vs. Leopard, etc. (we'll assume you're running Leopard if you don't specify). And now, on to the questions!

Jamie asks

Here's my setup: Two MacBooks, Two iPhones, AppleTV, and Wii, Airport Extreme Base Station with Fast Ethernet. I'm looking to provide 802.11n access to the MacBooks and AppleTV and 802.11g access to the Wii and iPhones. Can this be done with an Airport Express base station connected to the Airport Extreme over Ethernet? Are there any less expensive options for such a simple application?

Yes, this is possible. We covered something similar a while back. Basically just set your AEBS as the gateway (i.e. router) then plug the Airport Express into the AEBS and set the Express to function as a bridge (i.e. not a router). Apple has a reasonably comprehensive support document (PDF link) which explains what you need to do (see page 48).

timmer asks

I have an external 250 GB drive. On it there is my iTunes library and Time Machine backup files. I am afraid that I will run out of space as I keep adding to iTunes and Time Machine does also. I realize this now, but maybe I should have partioned the drive? Is there anyway to do this now? If so, how much to give Time Machine to work with?

Partitioning will not really do anything for you. Time Machine will use whatever free space you give it. At minimum Time Machine should have at least as large as the drive you're backing up. However, it really needs more than that. Basically, the more room you give Time Machine the farther "back in time" you can go. If you can afford it, I'd really recommend just buying another drive to use either for iTunes or Time Machine.

Mette asks

When a URL is dragged directly to the dock it leaves an icon that shows the @ symbol on a spring. Is there somewhere that I can access that file to perform a "Get Info"? I use NNW as my default browser, but I have a real estate site I like to visit that has listing pop-up windows not supported on NNW, so I would like to set the Get Info to open just that URL in Safari. The alternative of dragging the URL to the desktop creates a webloc file which can be accessed by Get Info, but the webloc is static and for this site expires after 24 hours, whereas the original URL always refreshes. The only other alternative I see is to make the URL my homepage in Safari, and that way I am still a single click away from the information I seek, but that means giving up the existing homepage.

This isn't exactly what you were asking for, but I do have a suggestion. Create a site-specific browser for that particular URL. There are two options: Fluid based on the same WebKit engine behind Safari, and Prism based on the Gecko engine behind Firefox and Camino. With either of these you can actually create a separate application that is specific to that URL. So you can put that in your dock for one-click access without losing your Safari homepage.

Zoe asks serially

I'm new to Mac's and I'm now a total convert! (what's new eh?) My question is how can I stop Safari 3.1 from automatically changing to the NEW TAB, when I've Right Clicked a Link and selected "Open Link In New Tab"?

In the Safari Preferences go to the "Tabs" tab and uncheck "Select tabs and windows as they are created."

Can I import .pst into Entourage 2008 easily and free?

Easy and free don't really go together. For easy I'd check out O2M ($10) which actually runs on the PC and exports mbox files you can import into Entourage. I don't do Windows, but for free I've seen some suggestions online whereby you might try going through Thunderbird on the PC (or in virtualization) using the Thunderbird PST Import plugin. In other words: Outlook PST file Thunderbird export mbox. Then import the mbox files into Entourage.

How do I create my own colour choice for a desktop background? i.e. Black? So far I've had to create a black image 1900x1200 and use that as a Picture... but that seems 'silly' or at least too memory intensive...

In the System Preferences go to the Desktop & Screen Saver pane, then choos the Desktop tab. In the list on the left side you should see a choice for Solid Colors. Sadly, black isn't one of the choices, but each one of these choices is really just a 128x128 png located at /Library/Desktop Pictures/Solid Colors/. So just create a 128x128 png of the color of your choice with an image editor and place it that folder. It will now appear as a choice that you can select.

Can the Finder alias be moved to somewhere else on the dock? I'm more used to putting the items I use all the time in the middle, and the ones I use less move further away from center...?

Unfortunately, no, it cannot be moved. You might use a third-party Dock replacement like DragThing ($29) to achieve a similar effect, but the default Dock locks the Finder icon in that position.

Allen asks

I have a MBP running Leopard, and I love the function keys in the top row of the keyboard, where F1, F2, etc. are. Except I dont use any function of expose except the show desktop part of it, and the expose key on my MBP uses the show all application wndows function. with my older G4 iMac I would just hit F11 to do it, but now F11 is takes up by the decrease system volume key. Rather that have to use the "fn" key to access those keys, can I just change the expose function that that key activates?

Yes, in the Exposé tab of the Exposé & Spaces Preference Pane you can choose the key you want.

John asks

I'm a college student with a Macbook Pro running Leopard. I love to take notes in class on my computer (with Word 2004), but I am completely unable to copy down any graphs or diagrams that the professor draws. Is there any solution that would enable me to draw the graphs on my computer? Drawing toolbar in Word doesn't cut it. What program should I use? What input method (is a stylus of some sort on the trackpad possible?) I would strongly prefer not to carry anything large with me (i.e. Wacom tablet).

No you cannot really use a stylus on the trackpad (I've always thought would be a nice feature, but anyway). A couple of suggestions: 1) ask the professor if he would mind if you took a picture of his diagrams with a digital camera without flash and with the sound off so it doesn't make a shutter sound (be sure to ask first!) 2) you might be interested in the Macally IceCad mini tablet (right). It no longer seems to be listed on Macally's website, but several online merchants still seem to have it for sale ($30-$40).

Judith asks

I'm planning on purchasing a 20" iMac soon, either the new version or the clearance. I noticed the big difference between the two is 1GB memory versus 2GB, and that there's a slight boost in processing speed. I'm not sure, however, whether these differences are worth $200. I currently use a PowerBook G4 that I've had for about two and a half years, with a 1.5 GHz processor and 768 MB memory. It tends to be a bit sluggish if I have multiple programs open, and I have to frequently restart Safari and sometimes Firefox as well to keep it happy. But my biggest complaint is that when I run iTunes, the whole system slows way down, to the point that I just don't listen to music anymore. So my question is, will the jump in memory from 768 MB to 1 GB and from 1.5 GHz to 2.4 GHz fix the problem, or do I need to get the new version with the 2.66 GHz and 2 GB memory? Another possible issue is that I currently only have 14 to 17 GB of a 80 GB harddrive free at any one moment. This definitely won't be an issue on either of the iMacs (and I also have a 500 GB external).

You can't really compare the old G4 PowerBook to the new Intel iMacs on clock speed alone. In other words, the performance increase will be dramatically more than what the 900 MHz of clock speed difference might imply. Either of the iMacs you're looking at are dual core and will run circles around your PowerBook. Now as to the question of whether the differences are worth $200. On processor speed, I would probably say no for your described usage. However, you want as much RAM as you can afford. So if money is really tight you might get the last generation iMac and then add some RAM to it. A 1 GB SODIMM (to bring it up to 2GB total) will run you less than $30 online. If it were my computer and I was trying to save money I would get the last gen iMac and add 4GB of RAM for about $100. From my own personal experience, I'm guessing that that setup would probably feel more responsive than the newer iMac with 2GB of RAM. I would also point out that there are some other improvements on the new iMac (e.g. higher bandwidth bus), but it sounds like you're not really doing anything that taxing so those improvements likely won't matter that much for you. In short, I think you'll be thrilled with the performance of your new Intel Mac, whichever one you get.

emil asks

i have a flip video recorder whose avi files arent compatible with itunes. i want to put them on my iphone and apple tv. how can i do this?

This will require a multi-part answer. The Flip apparently generates a MPEG-4 AP AVI. To play this on the Mac you'll need a xvid component for QuickTime. Your best bet is to install Perian; this will allow you to play the video in iTunes on your Mac. To play it on the Apple TV, however, you'll have to do one of two things: 1) hack your Apple TV and install Perian, or 2) convert the video to a format that the Apple TV can decode. Unless you know what you're doing I would suggest going with (2); you can do the conversion with the excellent VisualHub ($23.32).