Good Saving Habits On Your Mac

Hey

This was a request by Jim on recommendations for good saving habits. Everyone has the odd file thrown anywhere and it can be really annoying to find it again when you need it. Although you do have Spotlight to find the file you are looking for, it is often quicker and easier to find files by looking for them yourself. This post is designed to show Mac newbies (and veterans) good saving habits. It does work out better in the long run.

To start all Applications should go into the root Applications folder. Pretty simple, but I have found friends computers which have apps all over the place. It makes finding them a lot longer and if you move an app it could take you weeks to find it again, plus it can break a lot of links. Keep all apps in the applications folder. As well as this try to keep the root of your hard drive as clean as possible. Ideally you shouldn’t put any files or folders here. Simply because they can get in the way and will probably not be backed up by Time Machine.

The best place to store all of your files is in your home folder. This is the one given to you when you create a user account. Inside of this is the Applications, Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Library, Music, Pictures, Public and Sites. The screen shot below shows this (plus a couple I have added for myself). It is design to be logical and make things easy for you.

I don’t recommend using the Applications folder in your Home directory. Simply because if you use an app in that folder and then decide to delete your account you could lose that app. Plus it is a lot easier for every one to have it in the main Applications folder and then set permissions to who can use it.

The Desktop should be used as a temporary storage area so you can quickly access stuff from your own Desktop, its best not used to store important files. Simply because it can tend to be overlooked by yourself or programs when backing up or re-organising.

Documents. This is where you should store every single file that doesn’t belong in any sub folder. The folder is there so you can quickly and easily find your files.  Don’t, like myself, add extra files and folder all over the place which store your documents. For example I have a Uni folder on my Desktop with important files. I fail at my own recommendations.

The other folders such as Music, Picture and Movies, should be used to store those types of files. This is because programs such as Front Row, look in these folders when they run. If you keep files and folders in there designated locations things will work first time and you will get the full Mac experience.

In a nutshell try and keep files and folders in places where they belong. When you create a new account all of these folders are created so you can easily organise your documents. Keep everything in its own folder, and keep files in logical locations. For example put all of your work documents under the /Documents folder, and then sub-folder that folder. Keep you Movies and Pictures in sub-folders under their respective folder.

As a new user (and I have done this) it is all to easy to place files and folder everywhere. The problem comes when you have to find these files and folders again. Keep things simple and where they would belong. Although you may end up with a lot of files and folder, it doesn’t take a couple of seconds to run through a couple of folders to find the exact file, compared to spending 10 minutes trying to find it with search.

Hopefully as a new user you understand what each of the folders mean. Keep things simple and where they belong and you should do OK.

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Good Saving Habits On Your Mac

Rumor watch: TechCrunch says large-format iPod touch in 2009

Filed under: Rumors, iPod touch

Citing “three independent sources close to Apple” including “one source that has actually held the [prototype] device,” TechCrunch is stepping into the pre-Macworld Expo rumor fray with the possibility of a large-format iPod touch device coming in the fall of next year. The hypothetical MegiPod would sport a 7″ or 9″ screen and, naturally, play media content and run apps from the iTunes App Store. Production conversations are ramping up now, say TC sources.

Why an iTablet, and why now? The post cites the presence of the App Store as the primary determinant that the market is ready for a touchable Apple product in supersized form: “Apple has been experimenting internally with large form tablet devices for years, one source says, but there was concern that users wouldn’t like the device. The difference now is the iTunes app store, which has thousands of games and other applications that are perfect for a touch screen device with an accelerometer.” TechCrunch says the big pod may not be a done deal, as we’ve seen a zillion Apple tablet rumors come and go — but that Apple is still planning to move forward, this time.

I’m not sure I would personally be in the market for a 7-inch, unpocketable iPod touch with the text input system featured on present-day devices; however, the expanded screen real estate and advances in the touch tech might combine to make a true typeable surface with room to finger-breathe. The more pressing question, then: since it’s hard enough now to keep other commuters and bystanders from peeking over your shoulder to see what you’re watching — how much worse would it be with that massive screen?

Meanwhile, we’ve made a conscious effort to steer clear of the other Macworld-related rumor today, floated by Gizmodo and irately attacked by CNBC. Whatever the source and whatever the motives, publishing unconfirmed Steve’s-health stories is (as we’ve seen) not a particularly prudent game to play.

Rumor watch: TechCrunch says large-format iPod touch in 2009 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rumor watch: TechCrunch says large-format iPod touch in 2009 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source:[tuaw]

Ten Apple products Jobs had nothing to do with

Filed under: Hardware, iPod Family, Apple, iPhone, Apple TV

This is very interesting — while investors and consumers alike are panicking every time someone says “Jobs” and “sick” in the same sentence, MacLife has decided to take a more optimistic view of the prospect of His Steveness leaving the company, by compiling a nice list of ten Apple products they say Jobs had nothing at all to do with. As you probably already know, Steve left the company once before, from 1985 to 1996, and during that time, while Steve was working on NeXTstep (which would eventually become OS X), Apple didn’t exactly sit on its laurels.

The Newton is first and foremost, and while some may laugh at the handwriting recognition, let’s not forget that it can still do things the iPhone can’t. And while many of Apple’s products were finalized under Jobs’ watch, their beginnings come from before his return: the Powerbook, Macintosh TV (which could definitely be seen as a precursor for the AppleTV), and the Power Macintosh were all released without Jobs. Even among the most faithful Apple fans, you have to agree that Apple is willing to get wacky without Jobs to squelch some really crazy ideas: the Twentieth Anniversary Mac, the eMate, and the adjustable keyboard are all examples of that.

Of course, you could definitely argue that Apple’s most popular products (iPods, the iPhone, the MacBook lines) wouldn’t have happened without Jobs. But there’s something to be said for Apple sans Jobs, too. “The Power to Be Your Best” might not be quite as memorable as “Think Different,” but it’s got its own charm.

Ten Apple products Jobs had nothing to do with originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ten Apple products Jobs had nothing to do with originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source:[tuaw]

Ten Apple products Jobs had nothing to do with

Filed under: Hardware, iPod Family, Apple, iPhone, Apple TV

This is very interesting — while investors and consumers alike are panicking every time someone says “Jobs” and “sick” in the same sentence, MacLife has decided to take a more optimistic view of the prospect of His Steveness leaving the company, by compiling a nice list of ten Apple products they say Jobs had nothing at all to do with. As you probably already know, Steve left the company once before, from 1985 to 1996, and during that time, while Steve was working on NeXTstep (which would eventually become OS X), Apple didn’t exactly sit on its laurels.

The Newton is first and foremost, and while some may laugh at the handwriting recognition, let’s not forget that it can still do things the iPhone can’t. And while many of Apple’s products were finalized under Jobs’ watch, their beginnings come from before his return: the Powerbook, Macintosh TV (which could definitely be seen as a precursor for the AppleTV), and the Power Macintosh were all released without Jobs. Even among the most faithful Apple fans, you have to agree that Apple is willing to get wacky without Jobs to squelch some really crazy ideas: the Twentieth Anniversary Mac, the eMate, and the adjustable keyboard are all examples of that.

Of course, you could definitely argue that Apple’s most popular products (iPods, the iPhone, the MacBook lines) wouldn’t have happened without Jobs. But there’s something to be said for Apple sans Jobs, too. “The Power to Be Your Best” might not be quite as memorable as “Think Different,” but it’s got its own charm.

Ten Apple products Jobs had nothing to do with originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ten Apple products Jobs had nothing to do with originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source:[tuaw]

WWDC 2008 Winners: Where Are They Now? — Squirrel

When French student Axel Peju wanted to use his Mac to track his finances and manage a budget, he couldn’t find an application to meet his needs, so he created his own. He developed Squirrel, a personal finance program for the Mac (and soon, the iPhone). It’s full of features to help you save and spend your money wisely, and won a design award at Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference this summer for Best Student App. 

As part of a series of posts that take a look at the where the 2008 WWDC winners are now, I caught up with Perju recently to ask him what it was like to receive the award, how he ended up at the conference, and what the future holds for the Squirrel project. Here’s what he had to say.
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Source:[tuaw]

Beta Beat: MacRabbit’s Espresso released as public beta

Filed under: Software, Beta Beat, Developer

Espresso, the highly-anticipated web design and development platform from MacRabbit (creators of CSSEdit), has been released as a public beta (originally predicted for late November). It’s not finished (that’s why it’s called beta, silly), but it’s far more complete than what we’ve seen thus far. The auto-completion capabilities of the editor are well-developed, support for HTML, XML, CSS and Javascript is included, and the live preview is working nicely. The array of available Sugars, as the extension packages are called, is frequently being added to by users, and support for additional languages is already available. A few themes, some ported from TextMate, can also be found on the wiki.

Web developers who have used CSSEdit are familiar with the simple interface which belies many powerful features. You can expect the same from Espresso. Coda users will be interested as well; when Espresso is feature-complete, you can expect a TUAW-style head-to-head comparison of the two. Personally, I’m a die-hard TextMate user, which any of the TUAW crew can attest to. I always have trouble getting into new editors, no matter how rich their feature set may be. I stopped editing CSS in TextMate when CSSEdit came out, though; there’s just no comparison. Knowing CSSEdit the way I do, Espresso may be the platform which finally pulls some of my TextMate loyalty away … at least for web design.

You can grab the time-limited (30 days) beta from MacRabbit’s site. If you’re a developer, make sure you check out the wiki. For me, the most appealing aspect of Espresso is its extensibility, and a look through the SDK should pique the interest of any code-sligner.

Beta Beat: MacRabbit’s Espresso released as public beta originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Beta Beat: MacRabbit’s Espresso released as public beta originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 30 Dec 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source:[tuaw]

Podcast #70: Keynote Speculation and Rumors

It’s that time of the year again. All the Macworld Expo rumors are burning up the internet. Okay, this year seems a little lukewarm in the rumor department, but that won’t stop our rumor mongering fun. Speaking of rumor mongering, Susie heard that Ludacris will be the musical guest at the Phil note. Phil’s a huge fan.

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Source:[therawfeed]

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