macs

Five ways to right-click on a Mac trackpad

My friend and old boss Ben Patterson answered a reader question on his blog about the various ways in which one can right-click on a Mac trackpad. I read the post and was surprised that my preferred method of right-clicking was not covered. Although my method is a derivative of one of the four Ben outlined in his post, I still count it as a separate and distinct manner of right-clicking. Without further ado, let us discuss the five ways in which you can perform a right-click on a Mac trackpad.

1. Click with thumb while making contact with two … Read more

Disk Utility may combine custom drive setups on some Macs

Apple's Disk Utility program is the built-in drive and volume management tool for OS X that is included not just in the working OS X installation but also in the OS X installation and recovery volumes for an OS X system. While useful for checking system file permissions and fixing formatting errors, there are some instances where it may not properly manage some custom drive setups on iMac and Mac Mini systems.

In 2012 Apple introduced iMacs and Mac Minis with Fusion drives. This Fusion drive, in which a smaller solid-state drive is coupled with a larger hard drive … Read more

Home networking Part 7: Power line connections explained

Editors' note: This post is part of an ongoing series. For the other parts, check out the related stories section below.

Power line networking basically turns a building's existing electrical wiring -- the wires that carry electricity to different outlets in the house -- into network cables, meaning they also carry data signals for a computer network. And this means virtually all households, in the U.S at least, are "wired for" power line networking. It doesn't replace a regular network, so you'll still need a router, but it's a good way to extend … Read more

Review: GrandPerspective for Mac displays your hard-drive space graphically

When determining how space is divided on a hard drive, some, more visual users may want a way to have the information represented graphically, rather than in numbers. While simple and of limited overall use, GrandPerspective for Mac is a good option for those looking for a different way to analyze folder and hard drive space.

Download and installation of GrandPerspective for Mac completed easily, but it only contained a basic readme file with no dedicated instructions, which was a detriment due to the complex nature of the program and its interface. It was also unclear if technical support existed. … Read more

Review: Customize media labels using Disketch CD Label Software for Mac

Users with a large collection of disc media might want a way to customize labels for easier identification. Despite its dated interface, Disketch CD Label Software for Mac performs well and has a number of features one would expect from similar, more popular programs.

Being a rather light application, at around 634KB Disketch CD Label Software for Mac downloads quickly. After accepting a lengthy user agreement, the app's installation completed without any problems. There were no user instructions or tutorials readily available, but the main menu was intuitive, making this less of an issue. Technical support was also lacking. … Read more

Q&A: MacFixIt Answers

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which I answer Mac-related questions e-mailed in by our readers.

This week, readers wrote in asking about the potential drawbacks from using Little Snitch to block updates from XProtect, the media browser not properly handling Aperture libraries, the OS X Trash hanging when instructed to empty, and a problem with incoming network connection requests flashing too fast to make changes.

I welcome contributions from readers, so if you have any suggestions or alternative approaches to these problems, please post them in the comments!

Question: Potential drawbacks from blocking XProtect updates MacFixIt reader Paul asks:… Read more

Review: KeyRemap4MacBook allows keyboard settings alteration

Mac users may want the ability to alter their keyboard settings to change keys, as well as other options. KeyRamp4MacBook for Mac permits a number of settings and key changes that could be useful for a small number of users.

KeyRemap4MacBook for Mac downloaded quickly, but to install it the system needed a complete restart, which was an inconvenience. Technical support was not available, but the program did not reveal any bugs during testing. The lack of tutorials would be problematic for early Mac users since the interface was very cluttered and difficult to decipher. After the computer restarted, the … Read more

Review: Lion DiskMaker for Mac lets users create a bootable USB of their OS

While not easily completed with native programs, users may still want the ability to create a bootable USB of their Mac OS. Lion DiskMaker for Mac lacks any other features, but completes this function well.

The free program downloaded and installed easily. Minimal instructions were included beyond a frequently asked questions section and it was not clear if technical support was available. At startup, Lion DiskMaker for Mac immediately asks which operating system the user would like to use, whether OS X 10.7 or 10.8. The menu is small, but uncomplicated and walks the user through the process. … Read more

Review: Sunlight for Mac lets users quickly show and hide windows

Mac users are constantly trying to find ways to operate their systems using the least number of keystrokes or clicks. Sunlight for Mac does allow a different method for showing and hiding windows, but ultimately saves few steps and will not appeal to most users.

After a quick download, the installation of Sunlight for Mac took place quickly, despite the atypical location for the installer program. Technical support and user instruction were both unavailable. Despite the simple nature of the program, the lack of tutorial requires the user to play with the interface to learn how to use it, which … Read more