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For those of you who are determined to be the most productive possible this year, we’re recommending a few handy applications, and great tips that will definitely help you out.
Evernote
The popular, free application, Evernote, is a must have for someone who wants all their notes, information and documents with them wherever they are.
Evernote helps millions of people across the globe remember everything that happens in their lives. It can be used to take notes, save web pages, create to-dos and shopping lists, attach images and PDFs and so much more. What’s more, it automatically synchronises between your mac, smartphone, tablet and the web. Giving you everything you need, whenever you need it.
No wonder it was inducted into the Apple ‘App Hall of Fame’.
Evernote released version 5 earlier this year, with some 100 new features. See here for more info on Version 5.
Evernote is currently at version 5.0.4 and requires Mac OS X 10.6.6 or later and is available through the App Store or the Evernote site.
Free Memory
Free Memory is an application that can be found for free on the app store. It enables you to increase your memory with a simple click. Some applications on your mac chew through a lot of your ram, leaving little work with. Sometimes, you can’t open another application because of this. However, with Free Memory, a simple click is all that’s needed, and the application will get to working freeing up as much ram as it can, so you can work faster and more productively.
Free Memory is currently at version 1.7.1 and requires Mac OS X 10.6 or later and is available through the App Store or the Free Memory site.
Skitch
Skitch is a free app found on the App Store, that allows you to communicate visually with others. Images can be annotated with arrows, shapes, text, scribbles and much more. Then save or share your skitch annotation in order to help others see and understand your ideas.
By signing into Skitch via Evernote, you’ll always have your files with you. You’ll never have to worry about accidentally leaving something behind again. You’ll be able to Sync, Search and Share all of your files to whomever you wish.
Skitch is currently at version 2.0.4 and requires Mac OS X 10.7.4 or later and is available through the App Store or the Skitch site.
Alfred app launcher.
We have talked about Alfred before, but if you haven’t yet checked it out, you should. Alfred is a free keyboard-driven productivity application from the App Store, allows you to launch apps and search your computer and the web with great speed.
Through the use of a quick shortcut, Alfred is able to:
I’m a prolific Spotlight user and much like Spotlight, Alfreds default shortcut is “Option + Spacebar” which brings up a search query on the desktop. My most used example is searching ‘maps (suburb)’ which then opens a browser or tab in an already open browser and takes me straight to the search results within Google Maps. Very quick and useful.
Alfred is currently at version 1.2 and requires Mac OS X 10.6 or later and is available either through the App Store or the AlfredApp website.
The Unarchiver
The Unarchiver is a free application available from the App Store that enables you to unarchive many different kinds of archive files.
Common formats such as Zip, RAR, 7-zip are easily openable. Other formats such as ISO and BIN disc images are also openable with The Unarchiver. The list for compatible programs is actually much larger, we’ve only selected a few. For the full list visit the program’s homepage here.
The Unarchiver also tries to detect and correctly handle the encoding of the filenames it opens. This allows you to open archived files from across the globe without getting garbled filenames.
The Unarchiver is currently at version 3.6.1 and requires Mac OS X 10.6 or later and is available through the App Store or The Unarchiver site.
In regards to handy little tips and tricks, here’s a few that will help you reach your productivity goals.
Apple also has a variety of gestures built into OS X that are usable through your trackpad or Magic trackpad. Click on the link below to find out more about gestures, and how they may benefit you.
http://www.apple.com/osx/what-is/gestures.html
During our regular perusing of the Apple online store, we at Mac Aid noticed that Apple’s OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) is once again available for purchase.
Snow Leopard was ‘off the market’ for a short period which presented some difficulty for anyone running a 10.5 system or below that wanted to upgrade.
For anyone out there that is currently running 10.5, it may well be worth considering purchasing this software upgrade, so you are able to upgrade your mac at your own pace eventually. Additionally for users with machines capable of running Mountain Lion; Mountain Lion is available through the App Store, which runs on 10.6.6 and above, again necessitating the acquisition of Snow Leopard.
Snow Leopard from the Apple Store comes with printed and electronic documentation as well as the installation DVD.
The system requirements for the upgrade are as follows:
System Requirements:
We’re happy to help with the install if you would like, as there may be some things to consider.
Snow Leopard on the Apple Store: Snow Leopard
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Well another year has almost gone. Can you believe how quick the time flies?
For the upcoming Christmas/New Years break, Mac Aid’s services will be limited from the 22th December, until the 6th January 2013.
The main office itself will be shut, however we will have technicians on and available throughout the break period.
It is recomended to call the office and leave a message during this time, however for urgent issues, the appropiate mobile contact will be available to you via the Voice Mail message you’ll hear upon calling. Alternatively, support@macaid.com.au and the web form on our website still constitute as suitable forms of contact also.
Mac Aid will be fully closed on Christmas and Boxing days (25th & 26th December), as well as New Years day (1st January).
Regular services will resume on the 7th of January.
We at Mac Aid wish you a happy, safe holiday, and a Merry Christmas.
We’ll see you in the new year!
We’re going to address two things in this Tip of the Month; one fun, and the other more important than fun.
Bring back the Old School sounds
We found a great article with instructions and suitable links to bring back the sounds of the classic 80’s Mac to your current system.
Click here for the article and enjoy!
Back Up
We also want to take the opportunity to remind you about backing up your data over the holiday period.
With everyone excited about the Christmas break, it is easy to forget about backing up your computer’s data. Sometimes, not having a back up can end in devastation.
Whether your laptop has one drink too many during the Christmas break or the your office is closed through holiday period, we want to ensure that you are safe and your data is backed up.
First thing: a backed up file is a file that lives in more than one place e.g. on an iMac and the external Hard Drive near it. Also different locations are better, e.g. a Hard Drive next to your laptop doesn’t always prevent data theft, but an offsite back up such as a Hard Drive at a staff or family member or friends does.
Time Machine ..
Apple have made it very easy to back up your Apple Mac. They included a fantastic back up solution called Time Machine that suitably copies everything that exists on your Mac (unless otherwise told) to a suitable external drive. Apple even have the Time Capsule, which allows you to back up wirelessly.
Now, Layla Clause who spilt some bubbly on her Macbook Pro and is struck with worry as it won’t boot and fears for the family photos (mainly Reindeer and Elves).
Luckily she backs it up with Time Machine on a regular basis, and not only is she able to sigh with relief as the photos are fine, but we were able to restore this data on to her replacement machine.
LaCie Hard Drives
LaCie make some excellent external Hard Drive’s to use with Time Machine and cover a wide range of connections, capacities and styles. They offer portable, rugged solutions as well as desktop and RAID arrays. The price list is too extensive to list here, but get in touch if you want some more information.
Click here to check out LaCie’s Sales flyer LaCie_SalesFlyer
Apple’s own Time Capsule makes for very good choice also as it offers wireless backing up of more than one computer, and can function as a speedy Router also.
Time Capsules start at $319 inc GST for 2TB model, and $529 for a 3TB.
For those of you who are unsure as to how to properly back up your computer’s data, our May 2012 ‘Tip of the Month’ section covers this.
If you wish to read that particular entry, click here.
Business Solution
If you are running a business then you very much should consider having an ‘offsite backup’ of some description. Finding the best kind of back up solution to suit your needs is best discussed with one of us here at Mac Aid and has much to do with what connections are available and how much storage is required.
LaCie, again, make some fantastic drives that are good for small businesses, some that take advantage of the new Thunderbolt connections available on the current Mac’s.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you any questions and likewise we want to know if you have any questions or doubt about your current back up – it’s something you should have confidence in, so please contact us if you are unsure.
By the way: We’re still interested if anyone out there is using Entourage and would like to switch. We’re happy to help and its still a great time to buy.
Click here to read more about this…
Tip.
Still using Entourage (or Outlook 2008)?
Entourage is the Mac only equivalent of Windows’ Outlook, (released in October 2000), and was replaced by Outlook for Mac in the 2008 and 2011 Microsoft Office bundles.
If you’re using either Entourage or Outlook 2008 you are using currently unsupported software. This means Microsoft won’t support the software and third party service providers are finding it harder to support than ever. Entourage struggles with large mailboxes and is unfortunately prone to crashing in which case there is a chance you may lose your data. Also you’ll find that they either will not install or run on current versions of OSX.
Upgrade to Office 2011:
If you want to stay with the Microsoft way of doing things the Outlook as part of the Office 2011 for Mac suite would be your best bet. It’s still supported by Microsoft, offers contacts and calendars all in the one application and plays nicely in current versions of Mac OSX.
While there is no actual ‘upgrade’ product, Outlook is included in the Office 2011 for Mac suite (unavailable separately) which retails for $279 inc GST.
Bonus – purchase Office 2011 for Mac through us and receive a free update to the new version of Office when it comes out early next year, and a free $20 iTunes card with the box product.
Read about the particulars of the upgrade here.
Microsoft also offers the Home and Student bundle which includes Word, Excel and PowerPoint – this is a Family pack which comes with 3 licenses to use and currently also comes with a $20 iTunes card. Office Home and Student for Mac retails for $239 inc GST.
Consider changing Mail Clients:
Apple Mail, originally included with the first release of OS X back in 2001, has seen some fantastic updates, offers a stable mail environment and is the Mac Aid favourite – seen on every Mac in the office and at home. You’ll find the same app in a cut back form on your iPhone and iPad devices too.
Mail makes use of OSX’s Address Book/Contacts and iCal/Calendar apps to complete the suite that is a very suitable replacement for Entourage and Outlook.
For more info on mail read here.
For assistance migrating a Mailbox or in general with Mail, then contact us at Mac Aid.
The Exception:
You might fall into the tiny exception if you are running a Mac in a Microsoft Exchange 2003 or earlier environment. Entourage may be your only option but there may be an alternative – please call us to clarify.
In any case, we at Mac Aid can help with an upgrade and migration of your mail to an alternative and supported software.
Please contact us if you have any questions.
