On My Mac

RSS Feed Homepage

Articles: 1, 2

Fighting More Spam
2007-08-08 05:12:00
Everyone should use some sort of spam filtering, in order to avoid having to look at the stuff. (See, for example, Fighting Spam , posted here on July 10th.) Such filtering, however, still allows spammers to prey on the less circumspect. Did you know that you can report spam? An excellent resource for this is spamcop.net, which offers free and paid reporting options as well as its own spam-free email service. I have never tried the email service, but I have reported lots of spam to them.When you report spam, you have to copy and paste not only the offending message, but also its full headers and sourcecode. To do this with Apple's Mail application, choose View : Message : Raw Source. Other email applications have similar options.Does reporting spam do any good? It's hard to say. Sometimes simply fighting back feels good. I also have the impression that I get less spam when I report it. When I do not report spam, its volume seems to increase. Also, reporting spam gives the makers of...

Sending Big Files
2007-07-28 06:11:00
Have you ever had someone send you a large file that clogged up your email program or even maxed out your online email storage limit? It is not fun. Or perhaps you would like to send a big file, but you do not want to cause other people grief? With Senduit, you can upload a big file to the internet and send a download link to the file via email. The file size limit is 100 MB, big enough for individual sound files and folders of photographs, but too small for entire CDs, which you should not be sending anyway.My wife used it for a recent recording of one of our son's compositions. She went to www.senduit.com and followed the easy directions. She clicked on the choose file button and selected the 22 MB file in question. Next she chose when the link would expire, which can be in as little as 30 minutes and as much as 7 days. After Senduit had the file, it provided a form in which to enter the email addresses of the people to whom she wanted to send the link.Simple, elegant website for...
More About: Files , Sending

New to the Mac?
2007-07-25 22:37:00
Are you using a Mac for the very first time? Here's a new site that can help you learn how to work with your wonderful machine: My First Mac.Source: TidBITS 889 (7-23-2007)© 2007 Mark R. Stoneman

My Blogging Tools
2007-07-20 20:28:00
I have only been at it a few months, but I'd like to share the simple tools with which I began blogging. My main tool is a web browser, like Safari or Firefox. All the other tools I need are available online. First, I signed up with Blogg er, a free and relatively simple online blogging tool, which Google now owns. It was an easy process. Without knowing the first thing about blogging, it was possible to get started. Second, I signed up for a free account with SiteMeter, so I could learn how many visitors I get and from what part of the world they are from. Third, I listed my blog at a few places, so people could find me. Technorati is a good starting point, simply because it is the biggest blog directory on the planet. After that I went to BlogCatalog, which offers not only to list your blogs, but also provides a user forum where you can ask members blogging questions. Since my blogs are related to my teaching at university, I also submitted them to BlogScholar and AcademicBlogs. T...
More About: Tools , Blogging Tools , Blogging

Application Launchers
2007-07-19 13:46:00
The dock is one place to put applications that you use frequently, but what happens when it gets too crowded? Or maybe you are one of those people who has never learned to like the dock? I have some applications in my dock, but I usually use an ingenius little program called Namely to launch my applications. I type CTRL + I and the tiny Namely window appears at the top of my screen. (You can set a different keyboard shortcut if you prefer.) I then start typing letters in the application's name. Usually within one or two letters I have it. Since I type fast, this is an efficient way to launch applications, much quicker than clicking on applications in my dock. Namely is freeware, although the developer, Amar Sagoo, appreciates donations.But what if you prefer to use your mouse or trackpad (aka touchpad, that is, the thing laptops have instead of a mouse)? Or maybe you cannot remember what applications you have, let alone their names. Himmelbar might be just what you need. This appli...
More About: Application , Launcher

Fighting Spam
2007-07-11 06:11:00
SpamSieve is an application that does lots of good work for me every day, and I, ungrateful lout, am usually blissfully unaware of its existence. SpamSieve integrates with a variety of email clients to identify and filter out spam. You might ask why I bother. After all, Apple's Mail has a built-in junk filter, and so do Thunderbird and Entourage. The difference, for me, is that SpamSieve learns quicker and better. After a pretty short period of training, SpamSieve delivers accurate results.I cannot remember the last time it identified spam that was not spam, and it has been a long time since it let spam into my inbox. The last time was when spammers started putting their messages in images, in order to fool spam filters. True to his reputation, Michael Tsai, the developer, came up with some fixes in short order. Indeed, Michael's responsiveness is perhaps the major advantage of this software. He does not let the application grow old and dusty. If the spammers learn new tricks, he ...
More About: Spam , Fighting

Thesauri
2007-07-11 02:44:00
The dictionary that Apple built into Tiger (OS 10.4) is an amazing writing tool, not least because of its built-in thesaurus. Nonetheless, sometimes people need something that offers a little more guidance than Apple's built-in program. There are excellent alternatives that draw on the WordNet project at Princeton University. (Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the project) These applications display the various senses of the word you are looking up in one pane on the left, and related words in a pane on the right. In other words, these programs use the information in WordNet to provide something close to a map of a word, it's meanings, and its synonyms and antonyms. I use WordNetX, but that application does not seem to be available online anymore. A well-designed and equally free alternative is Nisus Thesaurus, which is based on the same data and even uses three panes. Every Mac user writing in English should have a copy. The only prerequisite is that you be running the most...

Writing Tools: Outlining
2007-06-25 06:12:00
I find that I can organize my thoughts best with a mind-mapping application, but some people do better with an outliner. If you have Microsoft Word, you already have an outliner. Simply create a new document, go to the View menu, and choose Outline. What to do next? To get you started, here is an image of a sample outline with some rudimentary instructions. Keep in mind that Word behaves differently in its "Outline" view than in its "Normal" or "Page Layout" views.Now play with your Word outline and read the help files as necessary. Alternatively, you might download OmniGroup's OmniOutliner and play with it for 30 days. Make sure you try the tutorials and look at the sample files. You might also try the simple and free Deep Notes. If playing with these applications makes you want to learn more, I suggest that you begin reading Ted Goranson's helpful series About this Particular Outliner on ATPM. Scroll to the bottom of the page to read the articles in chronological order. The most...
More About: Tools , Writing

Testing Software
2007-06-24 19:19:00
All developers of shareware and many developers of commercial products allow one to try their applications before buying them. Some developers offer only a short one or two-week period, and some limit the functionality of their software. Others just have annoying shareware reminders pop up. The best—and most common—kind of trial allows one to play with the software for 30 days with no "buy me" reminders and none of its features disabled. Indeed, I will not bother with software whose trial features are not this generous. While I do not need 30 days to find out how an application works, I need at least that much time to find out how I work with the application. This need is especially great in the case of the new information managers and note-taking applications out there. Many of these applications offer innovative approaches that allow or even require one to work differently. Hence, I need time to assess how the application affects my productivity and creativity. I also ...
More About: Software , Testing

Writing Tools: Full-Screen Editing
2007-06-22 03:52:00
Modern computers are a mixed blessing. Word processors and text editors allow speedy typing and fast manipulation of text, but there is always something in the menu bar or dock to distract us. We can see if email has come in, or we might click on an icon for our web browser or news reader. Then there are all the music and video possibilities. What used to be a machine for writing is now also a self-contained entertainment system and communication center. So how are we supposed to get any work done? It is easy to hide the dock, but the menu bar is still there. Enter the full-screen editor, in which you can make everything---even the menu bar---disappear. All that you see is your text. The first time I saw this feature was on Ulysses, but this is a rather specialized writing application that not only lets you edit, but also helps you manage a project. Full -screen editing has since appeared on a number of other applications. The best implementation I have seen is WriteRoom, whose devel...
More About: Screen , Tools , Writing , Editing

Writing Tools: Mind-Mapping
2007-06-19 19:41:00
When I have complex ideas to work through or no idea where to begin with a new project, I often try to sort things out with a mind map, that is, a diagram of the problem I am facing. I can do this with pen and paper, or pen and index cards, or even pen and sticky notes, but I prefer to use a mind-mapping application. On the computer I can move things around quickly, and I can experiment with different structures. I could do the same thing with index cards or sticky notes, but that requires a large working area, and I can't take the table or wall I'm using with me when I go to the office or library.My favorite mind-mapping tool is Incubator by Mind Cad, because it is easy to learn and use. The price is up to $50 now, but you might find it is worth every penny. There are also free mind-mapping applications, including the simple, but functional MyMind and the more feature-rich, but also more complicated FreeMind. Two popular commercial products are Inspiration and NovaMind, both of wh...
More About: Tools , Writing , Mind mapping , Ping

Preferences
2007-06-15 18:18:00
If your computer behaves in a manner that you dislike, you might be able to change this behavior. If the behavior occurs no matter what application you use, you need to look for an appropriate system preference. You can find these by clicking on the blue apple on the left of the menu bar and selecting "System Preferences..." A lot of perhaps mysterious preference icons will appear. You can either click on these and explore what each has to offer, or you can enter a term in the search box at the top right-hand corner of the System Preferences window. If you choose the latter method, System Preferences will highlight the preference icon that you need to click. (There might not be a search box for operating systems before Tiger, that is, OS 10.4.) If you are feeling adventurous, you can access even more preferences via the free utility TinkerTool.Most Mac applications also have a menu item called "Preferences..." To find it, click on the menu named after the application you are current...
More About: Ferenc , Refer

Dictionary
2007-06-15 03:33:00
The dictionary application on the Mac is an essential writing tool. I am not talking about the dictionary widget, which has minimal functionality. I mean the application that comes with every Mac. What is the difference? The application lets you spell things wrong and still finds the right word. The widget demands perfect spelling. Also, unlike the widget, the application lets you click on any word in any entry to find its definition. In functional terms, this is a nifty application. Even better, though, the dictionary itself is of excellent quality, since it comes from Oxford American Dictionaries. I have long used the paperback version of the Oxford American Dictionary , because it contains not only reliable definitions, but also good examples of how to use the word properly, as well as articles to help you choose the right word when several are closely related. Apple's program also includes a thesaurus, which is icing on the cake.Since the program comes with the computer, it can ...

Services
2007-06-07 13:55:00
There is an excellent review of Service Scrubber at Red Sweater Blog. The review's author, Daniel Jalkut, begins by explaining why you need this free product (whose developer accepts donations). The article reminded me that I should launch that application and make my services menu useful again.But maybe you never use the services menu, because you don't like going to the menu bar? I often access services through the contextual menu using OpenMenu X. For more on this application and contextual menus in general, see Matthew Glidden's review in ATPM.© 2007 Mark R. Stoneman
More About: Services , Vice

Some Teaching Tools
2007-06-07 13:52:00
Last semester I had over 90 students. Because my commute via bus, train, and bus again was pretty long and my book bag was already full, I decided to collect and give feedback for all assignments electronically. Some assignments were informal email reports of various activities the students did, so I did not bother to correct grammar. Still, replying to each one of those reports was time-consuming, so I looked for a way to automate part of the process. First, I read each report and wrote comments, but I entered those comments in my FileMaker database, where I kept the students' grades; I did not write an individual email for each student. Second, when I finished all the grading, I exported the data to a tab-separated text file. Third, I turned to SerialMailer, which can import such files (or a mailing list from Apple's Address Book). After importing the file, I wrote one email with field names from the imported file. All I had to do then was hit send and all the messages went out ...
More About: Tools , Teaching , Teac

Mixed Feelings about BlogCatalog
2007-06-06 14:59:00
I have mixed feelings about BlogCatalog. On their homepage they describe themselves thus: "Blog Catalog is the premiere blog directory on the internet. Whether you're looking to promote your own blog or find blogs on various topics, this site is for you." Its name and the first sentence of its self-portrayal led me to believe that this site really is a catalog. While it has a page to browse subjects, however, the search functions are limited. It seems to list things according to popularity and sponsorship, not relevance to the search terms I enter. Moreover, putting a search in quotation marks to find a specific phrase in one of my own blogs produced no results.Then there are the "friends" and "neighborhood" features that make this a social networking site, not a blog directory. People can add other people as friends or join their neighborhoods, whether the other person approves or not. Maybe this is no big deal, but I wish I could find a page that explains the thinking behind thes...
More About: Feeling , Feel , Feelings , Mixed , Mixe

Overwhelmed by the Quantity of News?
2007-06-01 15:05:00
In the 1990s I got news from various history organizations and VersionTracker via email. I also tried getting headlines from newspapers emailed to me. Unfortunately, this method of getting information filled my inbox too quickly and started to crowd out my "real" email. Next I tried creating filters for these news emails so that they automatically went to a designated mailbox. This approach took the pressure off my inbox, but there were hundreds of news messages that went unread. No big deal, perhaps, but their accumulation had a bad effect on my morale, because it offered yet more proof of my shortcomings. So I gave up most of this email and simply visited web pages as necessary. When I did not get around to it, I did not have the evidence in my email.This solution had its drawbacks though. First, it was hard to be consistent about visiting each site on a regular basis, even when I had the time. I kept a checklist of a group of history journals that were important to me, but that w...
More About: News , Overwhelmed , Helm

Search Engines
2007-06-01 07:15:00
I just learned about an interesting new search engine called IceRocket. You can choose different modes, including "web" and "blog." I've only just started fooling around with it, but its results seem useful.I was looking for an alternative to Technorati, which is having trouble indexing and handling pings from a lot of blogs. For example, Technorati notices my updates on this blog, but it does not register any changes on History Survey, no matter what I do. Moreover, it turns out that this is one of the biggest issues on their support page. This situation makes me wonder how reliable my blog searches on that site have been. Hence my Google search for an alternative to Technorati, which found me Jeremy Wright's Technorati Alternatives.Another blog search engine is BlogPulse, and there is Google Blog Search . The list is longer, I'm sure.Why separate search engines for blogs? As near as I can figure, these engines have one thing going for them. If you write a blog, these engines are...
More About: Search Engines , Engines

Online Course Calendar
2007-05-29 14:49:00
I used to think that a schedule of classes in my syllabus was enough, but I have found that students are better informed if I also offer a calendar with notes for them online. I used WebCT for this function at George Mason University this spring, and I was going to use Blackboard at Georgetown University this summer, but I want to try something different. Why? Some Blackboard access problems began to frustrate me and I also realized that my access to materials I post there will be limited, because I am an adjunct instructor.Now I have created an online course calendar using iCal, an Apple application that comes on every Mac. iCal is easy to use on my own computer, and I can publish this calendar to the web via my .Mac account. (This account costs money, but family members have grown fond of their .Mac email addresses and maintaining a website on it is pretty easy.) When I update my course calendar, iCal updates it on the web. Unfortunately, I cannot make changes to the calendar dire...
More About: Online , Calendar , Lend

PDFshrink
2007-05-28 02:52:00
One great feature of the Mac is its ability to convert any document into a PDF file via the print command. Many applications also offer an option to export documents directly into a PDF file. These features mean that Mac users can prepare a document with any application they want and produce a PDF file that just about any other computer user can read. Moreover, Mac users can be sure of how their document will look, because a PDF looks the same on any computer. But there is a catch. The PDF files are often big. For example, one Keynote presentation I have is 18.5 MB. When I export it to PDF, the file goes down to 13.1 MB, but that is still pretty big, especially if I want to make it available to all my students via the internet. Enter PDFshrink by Apago. This little application shrinks PDF files a little or a lot, depending on how one wants to balance quality versus size. Shrinking the 13.1 MB file as much as possible with PDFshrink produces a good quality document that is less than ...

I use these applications
2007-05-24 21:27:00
There is a relatively new site on which users can list the applications that they use on a regular basis: i use this. The advantage to it over sites like VersionTracker or MacUpdate is that it reflects what people actually use at the time, whereas the other sites let you post a review whether or not you use the application, and your comments stay on those sites, even if you quit using the application. It's not perfect, though. For example, I could not enter S3's Typist, because another application shares its name. I also had trouble entering Apago's PDFshrink. Nonetheless, for what it's worth, here are the other applications I use. I plan to talk about how I use some of them in future posts.© 2007 Mark R. Stoneman
More About: Applications , These