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Ask TUAW: Windows Media Audio, VCDs, Finder keyboard navigation, and more.
This week's Ask TUAW takes us into questions about Windows Media Audio files, fast user switching, audio hijacking, converting VCDs and opening files in the Finder with keyboard. Remember new Mac users and Switchers who are enjoying our Mac 101 series should feel very welcome to post questions for Ask TUAW; we're happy to take questions from all levels. As always, please submit your questions by commenting to this post or using our tip form.
Ask TUAW: GPS, Hamachi, student questions, and more
Wednesday is Ask TUAW time! This week we tackle questions on GPS solutions on the Mac, zero-configuration VPN with Hamachi, dealing with a slow starting Mac, as well as a couple of student questions on taking notes and using the Summarize Service, As always, please leave your own comments, and ask more questions for next week either in the comments to this post or using the tip form. Now let's turn to the questions.
Ask TUAW: Arabic Mail, playing Wii, calibrating color and more
Wednesday means it is Ask TUAW time! This week we'll look at questions about Arabic support in Mail.app, playing a Wii on a Mac, Digital Color Calibration, problems copying from Firefox and much more. As always, please leave your own comments, and ask more questions for next week either in the comments to this post or using the tip form. Now let's dive right in!
Ask the TUAW Readers: Best use for a Newton
TUAW reader Paul writes in to tell us he just picked up a used Messagepad 120 for under ten bucks. (Lucky guy!) It should arrive later this week. So, now what? As a proud new Newton owner, what are the best ways to use his new gadget? Well, Paul, before throwing this out to our readership at large, let me suggest that you use the Newton for organizing your life, taking free-hand notes and for shooting off faxes. That's what I used the Newton for when I had one in my life. It was a fabulous (although bulky) companion for meetings and classes--kind of a over-powered and slightly-overlarge Palm Pilot. And that doesn't even begin to address "Newton Poetry", the surreal interpretations of the not-quite-accurate Newton handwriting interpreter. Readers, what other suggestions do you have for Paul and his new toy? How can he best make use of the Messagepad?
Ask TUAW: Trash in the Sidebar, Mail problems, Books, and More
It's time yet again for Ask TUAW, our weekly questions and answers column. This week we'll be tackling questions from last week about putting the Trash in the Finder sidebar, problems with Mail, keeping track of Books, and more. As always, please leave your own comments, and ask more questions for next week either in the comments to this post or using the tip form. Now let's turn to this week's questions.
Ask TUAW: Cookies, Mail.app vs Outlook, Party Shuffle and more
We got a lot of great questions following last week's Ask TUAW. This means, unfortunately, we won't be able to address all of them this week, but we still have managed answers for several more than usual. This week we'll be tackling questions about Mail.app, cookies in Safari, iTunes, Spotlight, and more. As always, please leave your own comments, and ask more questions for next week either in the comments to this post or using the tip form. Now let's turn to this week's questions.
Ask TUAW: Editing PDFs, Selecting Text, Medical Terms and More
It's Wednesday and that means it's time for Ask TUAW! Our queries from last week included questions about deleting pages from a PDF, triple-clicking to select a sentence, adding medical terms to OS X's spell checking dictionary and more. Remember, we need your questions to keep Ask TUAW going strong! So please feel free to post new questions in the comments of this post, or submit them via our tip form. As always, please add your own comments or responses to our answers. And now to this week's answers...
Ask TUAW: DVD into iMovie, Dialogs with Keyboard and More
Last week Ask TUAW took a little unplanned vacation, but it's back this week none the worse for wear. This time we'll be taking up questions from two weeks ago on getting video from a home DVD into iMovie, dismissing dialog boxes using the keyboard rather than the mouse, printing CD case labels, and upgrading older Macs to 802.11n. As always, readers are invited to offer their own comments and suggestion, as well as submit more questions for next week. And now to this week's questions...
Ask TUAW: The Finder, iTunes Artwork, and More
It's Wednesday and that means it's time yet again for Ask TUAW, our weekly Q&A column. This week we'll be tackling questions about the Finder, finding tracks without artwork in iTunes, changing iPhoto file names, and more. As always, readers are most welcome to offer their own thoughts and comments, but especially to submit new questions to be taken up next week. And so without further ado, let's turn to this week's questions.
Ask TUAW: Keeping Afloat and Finding Missing Folders
Okay folks, it's time once again for Ask TUAW answers. As before, I'll be offering answers to several reader questions from last week. I encourage other readers to offer their thoughts, and especially to pose more questions for next week. This week we'll be tackling questions about keeping windows afloat, finding missing folders in Save dialogs, static IP addresses, and more. So without further ado, let's turn to the questions
Ask TUAW: Gmail, Java, and G4s
Okay folks, it's time once again for Ask TUAW answers. As before, I'll be offering answers to several reader questions from last week. I encourage other readers to offer their thoughts, and especially to pose more questions for next week. This week we'll be tackling questions about Gmail, Apple's Java support and more. So without further ado, let's turn to the questions.
Ask TUAW: This week's answers; Call for Questions renewed
Last week we issued the first call for questions for the Ask TUAW weekly help column and now it's time to take a shot at some answers. Thanks to everyone who submitted a question. And since we'll be back next Wednesday, we want to renew the call for questions. Please submit your question via the comments page (put Ask TUAW in the subject), or just by leaving a comment to this post. Although we will try to be as helpful as possible, we may not be able to answer all questions. And naturally we invite our other readers to pitch in with suggestions as well. Read on for this week's questions.
Ask TUAW: Call for Questions
Attention TUAW readers! This week we'll be starting a a Questions and Answers help column as a weekly feature. But of course to do this well we need some good questions. We'll take questions from anyone, but we hope to be especially useful for all the switchers and other new Mac users out there. Please submit your question via the comments page (put Ask TUAW in the subject), or just by leaving a comment to this post. Each week we'll choose several questions of general interest to answer in the column. Although we will try to be as helpful as possible, we may not be able to answer all questions. And naturally we invite our other readers to pitch in with suggestions as well. So get to asking!
Ask TUAW: What are you most excited for at Macworld 07?
It's obvious that Erica is more than a little fired up for the iTV at Macworld 07, but we want to hear from the rest of you. Granted, there's the obligatory portion of anticipated products that might not even exist, but who cares! If you're hoping for an Apple phone, then by golly you have every right to. Or is iLife '07 at the top of your list? Quad-core iMacs and MacBook Pros, perhaps? Whatever you're jonesing for the most, we want to hear from you. I'll tally your comments this weekend and post the results of what you dear readers have at the top of your post-holiday wishlists.
Ask the readers: PowerBook protection
I'm humble enough to admit when I need some help, and I'm lucky to have an esteemed group of readers such as yourselves comprising my very own hive mind. The issue is this:My trusty PowerBook is getting on a bit in the years, and like all creatures, with age comes imperfection. The telltale signs of PowerBook pitting are starting to show on the wrist rests, and the lovely matte finish originally sported by the trackpad has begun to wear down, making it difficult to mouse. I know there are a few options out there for the wrist rests, and I'm leaning toward the Marware Protection Pack, but what can I do about the trackpad? The only trackpad covers I can find either have printed designs or come as part of an expensive protection packages. I'm sure more than one of you has been in my position, so I look forward to your suggestions.
Ask TUAW: What the heck is up with my MacBook's graphics
Tom Kim is having an odd problem with his MacBook. It seems that the integrated graphics card on the motherboard is a little wonky. He gets odd attracting around menus and windows (as can been seen at the right). Sometimes when he wakes his MacBook from sleep the Dock is completely replaced with static.Having seen Tom's MacBook in person I recommended that he get himself to an Apple Store and have a Genius take a look (and most likely replace the entire machine or at least the motherboard).Anyone else seeing problems like this on their MacBooks? So far my MacBook (Janus is his name) has exhibited no odd behavior (other than being hot), but I would be interested to see if anyone else has graphics issues like Tom.
Roundup: what you are (or will be) doing with Windows on your Mac
While I'm sure the results will come as no surprise, I still wanted to do a roundup of our TUAW reader survey: What will you do with Windows on your Mac, as there were some interesting comments outside of the norm. Obviously, most of you are planning on using Windows solely to play games (which says something in and of itself about the utility of Windows), but I was more interested by the other uses you had in store, which include: AutoCAD/3D design .NET programming web development, testing IE sites those workplace-specific apps that simply don't have OS X counterparts - yet One commenter, Yaknowho, also brought up the idea of using Windows on a Mac to run some of the larger apps that haven't gone Universal yet, like Photoshop. I actually just touched on this topic over at The Unofficial Photoshop Weblog, where I found a few tests that show the MacBook Pro (ironically) not only runs Windows faster than most Core Duo PC notebooks, it also runs Photoshop - under Windows - faster than the competition as well.We live in a strange world when a Mac can run Windows faster than machines designed to run Windows.
Ask TUAW: What will you do with Windows on your Mac?
We've seen a video of Windows on an iMac in action, and this weekend Dave Caolo posted the results from our poll that found the greater majority of TUAW readers were happy, at least to some degree, that Windows XP can run on a Mac. Now we want to ask: what are you going to do with it?Are you an enthusiastic Mac user who can't wait to get in on Half Life 2? Is there an app or two your office (campus/business/etc.) needs you to run? Or might you simply have a hankering for Minesweep? We want to hear why you'll be giving your Mac a split personality, of sorts, but there's one rule: please keep the anti-Windows sentiments to a minimum. Yes, this is a blog about all things Apple and our favorite operating system, but how about we make some room for the visiting team just this once?
Ask TUAW: What's your favorite multi-network IM client?
TUAW reader varun submitted a good question for an Ask TUAW session on the topic of multi-network chat clients. varun has tried out the likes of Fire, Adium and Proteus, but hasn't come up with a compelling reason to use one over the other. I thought this would be a nice opportunity to ask you readers to sound off on which multi-network IM client you prefer, and why. When commenting, be sure to mention how the client fits into your workflow, what you like about it and why. The more clients you can bring to the table above and beyond the ones already mentioned, the better.So what say you, TUAW readers? What is your favorite multi-network IM client, and why?
