1 month

[dave_the_nerd]

See: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH10644?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

Directions for connecting to computer or server by browsing.

Please keep in mind that you will have to have sharing properly set up on the PC, Firewall exceptions, etc., and that some networks filter out the discovery protocols. (The public WiFi at the local community college, for instance, hides everything from the all seeing eye of my Macbook.) Void where prohibited by law. Blah blah blah.

Browser is, by default, built into every finder window. From the Desktop, hit Finder->Preferences, make sure all the "shared" stuff is checked. If it doesn't show up in a finder window, it's because your computer can't see anything to connect to. (See above blah blah blah.)

 

[v-600]

Please keep in mind that you will have to have sharing properly set up on the PC, Firewall exceptions, etc., and that some networks filter out the discovery protocols.

This was the first bit I checked. Nothing more embarrassing than trying to fix one computer and realise you've forgotten to turn on sharing on the one you're trying to find. From dad's PC I can connect to my PC and the macbook. From my PC I can connect to the macbook and his PC. The macbook only shows dads PC, not mine - weird. Possibly something weird on my PC, so need to keep checking that, but it works on other computers.

Browser is, by default, built into every finder window. From the Desktop, hit Finder->Preferences, make sure all the "shared" stuff is checked. If it doesn't show up in a finder window, it's because your computer can't see anything to connect to.

I made sure that was checked. It was, and definitely still is.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Oh, so the macbook can see your dad's PC but not yours?

Nickel says it's the firewall on your PC.

 

[v-600]

You're probably right about the firewall. Just not sure why dads is not having issues.

I am also typing posting this with a USB tethered phone using this which appears to work perfectly.

 

[v-600]

Is it normal that when you close a program/window the menu bar doesn't change until you click something else. I can kind of understand that until you click a new window nothing has focus, it just seems strange.

 

[TheStu]

Is it normal that when you close a program/window the menu bar doesn't change until you click something else. I can kind of understand that until you click a new window nothing has focus, it just seems strange.

It's because many apps don't completely close when you close the last window. So, using Safari as an example, if you close your last tab/window, you can then hit CMD+N to open a new one without having to relaunch the app.

Some apps do completely quit when you close the last window, it's a little hit or miss to say which ones do or don't.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Some apps do completely quit when you close the last window, it's a little hit or miss to say which ones do or don't.

Yeah. I can't think of any I use that do that off the top of my head, but some have it as an option. It's not part of the UI standards.

Whether this behavior annoys me or not is usually dependent on whether I've been using Windows or OS X more in the previous week. It's not as bothersome either way since SSDs became a thing though. (Loading programs, paging in/out, etc., is all crazy-fast now.)

Vs. Windows - in Office 2013, if you ctrl-w the only open document, it will give you a blank application window now. Which is kind of Mac-like.

Anyway, you can tell what programs are open by the little glowy triangles in the Dock.

 

[Ichinisan]

Is it normal that when you close a program/window the menu bar doesn't change until you click something else. I can kind of understand that until you click a new window nothing has focus, it just seems strange.

Command-Q quits completely.

 

[Zaap]

Command+Tab paired with Command+Q is one of my favorite things in OSX. Just a simple finger shift and I can switch/close open programs blazing fast.

Alt+Tab in Windows would be as cool if Alt+Q quit apps as well.

 

[Ichinisan]

Command+Tab paired with Command+Q is one of my favorite things in OSX. Just a simple finger shift and I can switch/close open programs blazing fast.

Alt+Tab in Windows would be as cool if Alt+Q quit apps as well.

Alt+F4

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Alt+F4

Yeah, but it doesn't quite work the same way.

 

[Zaap]

Alt+F4

Point is, it's much more seamless on the Mac.

Tab and Q keys are right next to each other. A simple toggle of my finger from tab to Q closes an application without even lifting off the command key.

Meanwhile shifting fingers from Alt+Tab up to Alt+F4 is a awkward in comparison. Worse, on some keyboards (like my favorite Logitech Bluetooth K811) the function keys require a fn modifier key to work, completely ruining the key command.

I also like that in OSX, using Command+Tab doesn't actually switch to the application, just gives you the option of switching or closing. This doesn't interrupt my workflow if all I want to do is close apps I'm not using while still focusing on something. In Windows, alt+Tab switches focus to the application.

Not a big deal- just one of those details where I prefer OSX.

 

[TheStu]

Point is, it's much more seamless on the Mac.

Tab and Q keys are right next to each other. A simple toggle of my finger from tab to Q closes an application without even lifting off the command key.

Meanwhile shifting fingers from Alt+Tab up to Alt+F4 is a awkward in comparison. Worse, on some keyboards (like my favorite Logitech Bluetooth K811) the function keys require a fn modifier key to work, completely ruining the key command.

I also like that in OSX, using Command+Tab doesn't actually switch to the application, just gives you the option of switching or closing. This doesn't interrupt my workflow if all I want to do is close apps I'm not using while still focusing on something. In Windows, alt+Tab switches focus to the application.

Not a big deal- just one of those details where I prefer OSX.

At least in Windows 7, if you hold Tab briefly, it will bring up a switcher and then you can arrow around it. I use it that way all the time. But you're right about their silly hard to reach keys.

-Alt+F4 to kill a program means I almost never use it.
-F2 to rename a file. I much prefer Enter in OS X, I just wish that it was CMD+Enter to open instead of CMD+O.
-Ctrl+Z to Undo something, CTRL+Y!!! to redo. I get the Y & Z are beside each other in the alphabet, and that X, C, and V were already taken... but why not Ctrl+Shift+Z?
-F12 is Save As in Office and default Windows apps, Ctrl+Shift+S does precisely NOTHING.

How great is that keyboard? Bluetooth, rechargeable, backlit, can pair up to 3 devices to it (actually more, I have both Windows and OS X on my desktop using the same pairing since they are using the same BT dongle the keyboard allows it I guess), good action on the keys, it's great. Love Logitech's peripherals.

 

[CZroe]

Point is, it's much more seamless on the Mac.

Tab and Q keys are right next to each other. A simple toggle of my finger from tab to Q closes an application without even lifting off the command key.

Meanwhile shifting fingers from Alt+Tab up to Alt+F4 is a awkward in comparison. Worse, on some keyboards (like my favorite Logitech Bluetooth K811) the function keys require a fn modifier key to work, completely ruining the key command.

I also like that in OSX, using Command+Tab doesn't actually switch to the application, just gives you the option of switching or closing. This doesn't interrupt my workflow if all I want to do is close apps I'm not using while still focusing on something. In Windows, alt+Tab switches focus to the application.

Not a big deal- just one of those details where I prefer OSX.

CTRL+W closes tabs, documents open within parent applications, and many Windows apps once there are no more tabs/documents/windows left open (carry-over once used to close windows within a window in an MDI form).

 

[Ichinisan]

-F12 is Save As in Office and default Windows apps, Ctrl+Shift+S does precisely NOTHING.

I got used to pressing the Alt,F,A sequence a long time ago. Not sure if that still works when you have a ribbon toolbar instead of a drop-down menu bar.

 

[Ichinisan]

CTRL+W closes tabs, documents open within parent applications, and many Windows apps once there are no more tabs/documents/windows left open (carry-over once used to close windows within a window in an MDI form).

Ctrl-W was standardized by non-Windows platforms and happens to be supported by many web browsers, but Ctrl+F4 was the standard for closing a document in a multi-document interface (MDI) and works to close tabs in web browsers too. I stick with Ctrl+F4 in Windows since I'm typically not working on a condensed keyboard and my F keys are grouped correctly.

 

[v-600]

I recently bought a chromecast which came with 3 months free google play music all access (hell of a catchy name but hey ho). I want to give this a fair go and see how it compares to spotify (phase one will be finding how to export playlists from spotify).

On my windows machine I can create a tabless chrome window and pin the web app to the windows taskbar like so

but I can't find a way to do this on my mac. After a morning of exploring I can't work out if its an osx limitation OR a chrome limitation OR a lack on knowhow on my part.

I know you can pin URL's to the right of the dock with an @-on-a-spring, but that opens in my default browser in a new tab (rather than a whole new window), not chrome (and with full tabs/window decoration in place) and I don't really want to change default browser just to do this. Its also not as seamless or neat.

Any suggestions to get the effect in the screenshot on osx would be welcome.

EDIT: I've found a couple of apps that seem to do this. The most user friendly seems to be Fluid which creates a chromeless window. I think it uses Safari to render, but it doesn't appear to be a safari page/menu. It shares cookies with Safari, but hasn't auto logged me into play music. I'm kind of dubious about entering my password into a 3rd party app but will do a bit more reading to see what is actually happening.

 

[Zaap]

At least in Windows 7, if you hold Tab briefly, it will bring up a switcher and then you can arrow around it. I use it that way all the time. But you're right about their silly hard to reach keys.

I certainly haven't exhausted searching for Windows keyboard shortcuts. I'm sure there's plenty I've missed. (And third party options as well.)

How great is that keyboard? Bluetooth, rechargeable, backlit, can pair up to 3 devices to it (actually more, I have both Windows and OS X on my desktop using the same pairing since they are using the same BT dongle the keyboard allows it I guess), good action on the keys, it's great. Love Logitech's peripherals.

This is by far my favorite keyboard. I bought it for an under-desk keyboard shelf, needing the backlit keys because I couldn't see the keys on my old Logitech diNovo under the desk.

I thought it would be a compromise at first, but now I greatly prefer this keyboard to anything else. And yeah, on the same machine it works on the same BT pairing in either OSX or Windows. Ironically, I don't use the other 2 pairings much at all.

 

[Adramalech]

If you want your pictures to just be imported as folders / inside of a folder, you can use image capture

Week 1 complete. I've just been away with friends and took the ipad and macbook.

I've grown more accustomed to osx, there's no longer the shock when first turning it on. Spotlight is a lot like GnomeDO, and a lot like just hitting the windows key (press, start typing and then enter and things just work). Everything runs very smoothly including Civ5, I've had no issues with the hardware at all. I also took a new lytro camera with me and the combination of mac and lytro is brilliant.

Things like zoom and scroll gestures seem to be coming more intuitively but they aren't always consistent between apps. Firefox works well, email is up and running, steam is OK. I still get caught out trying to delete things with delete instead of command-delete, but less so.

Niggles that I've found that annoy me are iphoto and importing pictures from an SD card into a library, rather than as files in Finder. I can understand this with the Lytro as there is a lot of extra processing that can be done and they aren't saved as jpeg, but with a standard camera its just annoying. Resizing thumbnails is also a chore, but a rare occurrence.

Didn't spend a lot of time with the ipad. It still annoys me and it was just as easy to do everything I did on the mac.

 

[v-600]

I think its been a month or so now.

Yesterday I used itunes for the first time in my life. My god its horrific.

Generally I am happy with the mac. It works well, its better than my old laptop and OSX is easy enough to get along with. Different from windows and does somethings better, and some things worse. Its lacking a lot of software available for Windows but the programs made by apple are better than their equivalent MS ones. Beyond this and a couple of inconveniences it does everything I've wanted to do. It plays nicely with my phone, my other computers, chromecast etc. The hardware quality is excellent, better than any laptop I've used before. The battery life is great. I still think it needs more USB ports and two mouse buttons wouldn't go amiss.

Me and the ipad haven't fared so well. Apple seems to have made some arbitrary software choices, that seem to me, designed simply to annoy me. After a month of use I've found nothing that I can do on the ipad that I can't do on android, and a few things I just plain can't do on the ipad. In the last few weeks I've found myself reaching for the macbook rather than the ipad for even simple tasks like surfing the web, or checking emails. The mac turns on just as fast, lasts just as long and is nicer to use. The only places I think I have favoured the ipad over the macbook is listening to music in the kitchen (its physically smaller and easier to tap with messy fingers), and reading the news on the loo (I discovered the flipboard app - on my nexus I used the google newstand, but have replaced it with flipboard on my own phone and tablet too). Personally I still think android is a better OS.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Yeah, iTunes used to be a lot simpler. The Windows version sucks too.

Although my complaints are mostly related to UI lag, an unintuitive UI with too many features crammed in, and being perpetually nagged to upgrade (to a new version that moves crap around and randomly removes features), and not the incessant crashing some people complain about. So that's nice.

Once you get used to how it works, and if you can get over the obnoxious level of iTMS integration, it's actually a very powerful piece of software.

With iOS, Apple has definitely... umm... "streamlined" your available choices in order to make the "best" decisions for you.

 

[v-600]

Although my complaints are mostly related to UI lag, an unintuitive UI with too many features crammed in, and being perpetually nagged to upgrade (to a new version that moves crap around and randomly removes features), and not the incessant crashing some people complain about. So that's nice.

Once you get used to how it works, and if you can get over the obnoxious level of iTMS integration, it's actually a very powerful piece of software.

Those were my thoughts exactly. It didn't crash, but for someone who'd never used it before it is not intuitive. I have been listening to the Hello Internet podcasts on youtube, and thought I'd get the next one from itunes. How to install apps and download a podcast to the ipad wasn't obvious but its sorted now.

What is iTMS? Not heard that one before and google has thousands of possibles.

I'm going to guess probably not, but is there a way to download stuff to the ipad without connecting a cable (a la the play store). I know ios isn't android and its not a big deal, but its convenient on my computer to press download and when I pick up the tab things are waiting.

 

[Ichinisan]

iTMS?

iTunes Music/Media Store.

I'm going to guess probably not, but is there a way to download stuff to the ipad without connecting a cable (a la the play store). I know ios isn't android and its not a big deal, but its convenient on my computer to press download and when I pick up the tab things are waiting.

I use iTunes Match for $25 / year. No ads in iTunes Radio. All music can be streamed or downloaded to my iDevices at any time. Most songs will match to the iTunes music store and don't even need to be uploaded. Even people that pirate illegally can basically upgrade crappy MP3s to 256kbps AAC using iTunes Match.

 

[v-600]

iTunes Music/Media Store.


I use iTunes Match for $25 / year. No ads in iTunes Radio. All music can be streamed or downloaded to my iDevices at any time. Most songs will match to the iTunes music store and don't even need to be uploaded. Even people that pirate illegally can basically upgrade crappy MP3s to 256kbps AAC using iTunes Match.

I already use spotify for that. I was wondering more how to download podcasts to the ipad without physically connecting the two. It looks like home sharing might do it.

I was also exploring system info and it mentions that the macbook has s/pdif optical out of the combined port which seems cool. Further exploring to see if I can hook it to my Onkyo amp via digital.

EDIT: It appears so, but not without a jack converter.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Those were my thoughts exactly. It didn't crash, but for someone who'd never used it before it is not intuitive. I have been listening to the Hello Internet podcasts on youtube, and thought I'd get the next one from itunes. How to install apps and download a podcast to the ipad wasn't obvious but its sorted now.

What is iTMS? Not heard that one before and google has thousands of possibles.

I'm going to guess probably not, but is there a way to download stuff to the ipad without connecting a cable (a la the play store). I know ios isn't android and its not a big deal, but its convenient on my computer to press download and when I pick up the tab things are waiting.

iTunes does sync over WiFi.