A Guide to Fixing a Corrupt File in iTunes

If you download lots of files on iTunes off the internet, you are bound to receive a corrupt file error at some point. But, fortunately, fixing a corrupt file in iTunes requires only a small amount of time, and you can fix it easily. Here’s how.

Fixing a Corrupt File in iTunes

Usually you can use the iTunes software on Windows and not run into any sort of problems. But if you download lots of multimedia files on iTunes, particularly videos, you are likely to find a corrupt file or two that won't finish downloading.

This is a common problem that many people are encountering on the iTunes software. When the corrupt file error message pops up in iTunes, iTunes may prompt you to download the available software updates to fix the problem. You may try updating the software, but chances are that downloading the updates will not fix the problem, so here is a better solution:

If you are running iTunes on Mac, and facing the corrupt file problem, here is what you can do:

1. Navigate to Users\UserName\Music\iTunes\iTunes Music\Downloads.

2. In the Downloads folder, you will see the TMP folder, containing the corrupt iTunes file. Delete the folder.

3. Open iTunes, and click Check for Available Downloads, under the Store drop down menu on the menu bar.

Immediately, iTunes will attempt to download a fresh file, to the appropriate category in the iTunes Library.

Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 users will follow the same above-mentioned steps. Just the folder paths will be different, as mentioned below:

In Windows XP, it will be: C:\Documents and Settings\WindowsUserName\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music\Downloads.

In Vista: C:\Users\WindowsUserName\Music\iTunes\iTunes Music\Downloads.

And in Windows 7 the path will be: C:\Users\WindowsUserName\My Music\iTunes Music\Downloads.

Image Credit: technorati.com

Fixing a Corrupt iTunes.exe File

Other than receiving the corrupt download file error, iTunes may also give you the corrupt iTunes.exe file error. If this happens, it means that the iTunes.exe file has corrupted and become unreadable. Although Windows recommends running the Windows built-in Chkdsk utility, Apple offers an easier solution of fixing the corrupted iTunes.exe file:

The first thing to do is to make sure that you are running the latest version of the iTunes software. You can check the iTunes version you are running by going to iTunes menu -> About iTunes on Mac, and in PC you can check from Help menu -> About iTunes.

If you are running an older version of iTunes, you can download the latest version from here. But if updating iTunes doesn’t fix the problem, you can try updating your iPod to correct the corrupted files that are in the device’s memory. You can update the iPod software by going to Help -> Check for updates in the iTunes program. Finally, if none of these methods work for you, restore your iPod to factory settings. This is your last resort. You can learn about restoring iPod from this article.

Fixing a corrupt file in iTunes or the iTunes.exe does require a little bit of work and time. Fortunately, even with that though, it is still easy and simple to do, and certainly does not mean that you can not use iTunes anymore.

vob to mov converter mac | mac convert dvd to mov |  how to remove drm from itunes | ripping movies for ipad | songs from iPod to Mac 

Apple wins several design patents

Apple has won patents from the US Patent & Trademark Office involving the Mail app, the Mac OS X interface, Time Machine and multi-touch displays.

Patent number D629419 involves an icon in the Mac OS X Mail app. Bas Ording and Steve Jobs are the inventors. Patent number D629396 is for a Bluetooth headset (since discontinued). The inventors are Bartley Andre, Bartley Daniele De Iuliis, Evans Hankey, Richard Howarth, Jonathan Ive, Steve Jobs, Duncan Kerr, Shin Nishibori, Matthew Dean Rohrbach, Peter Russell-Clarke, Douglas Satzger, Christopher Stringer, Eugene Whang and Rico Zorkendorfer. Patent number D629412 is for a user interface for a computer display (involving part of Mac OS X's drop down menus). Imran A. Chaudhri is the inventor.

Apple has also won a patent (number 7856424) that involves its Time Machine backup feature. The patent is for systems and methods for providing a user interface including earlier versions of data. In one implementation, computer program product is provided. The computer program product generates a user interface. The user interface includes a view display area for presenting a current view and a history view display area for presenting a history view associated with the current view. The history view includes one or more first visual representations of corresponding earlier versions of the current view. The user interface also includes an input control for initiating a restoration of the current view according to at least a portion of an earlier version of the one or more earlier version. The inventors are Pavel Cisler, Mike Matas, Gregory N. Christie, Marcel Mwa van Os, Kevin Tiene, Gene Zyrl Ragan and Scott Forstall.

Two other patents won by Apple involve multi-touch displays. Patent number 7855718 is for multi-touch input discrimination. Techniques for identifying and discriminating between different input patterns to a multi-touch touch-screen device are described. By way of example, large objects hovering a short distance from the touch-surface (e.g., a cheek, thigh or chest) may be identified and distinguished from physical contacts to the surface. In addition, rough contacts due to, for example, ears and earlobes, may be similarly identified and distinguished from contacts due to fingers, thumbs, palms and finger clasps. Wayne C. Westerman is the inventor.

Patent number 7856605 is for a method, system and graphical user interface for positioning an insertion marker in a touch screen display. The marker that's displayed on a touch screen may be moved by a user via an insertion marker placement aid. The insertion marker placement aid is displayed on the touch screen after a contact with the touch screen is detected. The insertion marker placement aid provides visual feedback to the user, indicating that the insertion marker is subject to repositioning by the user. When the contact is moved across the touch screen, the insertion marker and the insertion marker placement aid is moved in accordance with the movement of the contact. When the contact is broken (i.e., no longer detected), the insertion marker placement aid is removed from display and the insertion marker comes to rest. The inventors are Bas Ording, Marcel Van Os, Kenneth Kocienda, Richard Williamson and Scott Forstall.

vob to mov converter mac | mac convert dvd to mov | mov to flv converter mac | burn avi to dvd mac | convert mkv to dvd mac | burn mp4 to dvd mac 

How to use Airplay on your Mac

Chances are good that you’ve been itching to use AirPlay, but not quite enough to buy a new Apple TV. Thanks to Erica Sudan from TUAW, there is another way (for now at least). She’s been “spending far, far too much time reverse engineering Airplay.” And thankfully, she’s been kind enough to share her application, Airplayer, with the world.

Now, as you might guess when the words “reverse engineering” are involved with anything, it isn’t expected to be 100% functional.  It just goes with the territory.  She calls it “extremely alpha,” so expect it to be hit or miss. That said, I did get it to work with at least one app, and it’s worth trying if you don’t have an Apple TV.

So getting this to work is actually a piece of cake (minus all the cakey goodness). Just download the file from Erica’s website. It’s the one called AirPlayer. After the file has downloaded, double click it to unpack it and then run the application You’ll find one large button waiting eagerly to be clicked. Click it to start the AirPlay service.

Alright, now that you have the service running, you need to feed some content over your wireless network to your Mac. Remember, both your iDevice and your Mac need to be on the same network, otherwise it will never work. Possible choices of content include video in iPod.app and YouTube.app. I tried out YouTube right away, and based on the screencap below, you can see it worked, quite nicely I might add. I also tried out streaming a 

slideshow via Photos.app, but that was the straw that broke camel’s back. Oh well. I’m impressed it worked at all.

 

Basically, this is a proof of concept. The real question here is why Apple isn’t releasing their own patch to iTunes or Quicktime to do the same? I can’t be the only one with a Mac Mini hooked up to my TV. It just makes sense to incorporate this feature into Mac OS

. So, until Apple gives us this feature like they gave us FaceTime, say thanks to Erica for showing that it’s possible.

 

convert vob to mov mac  | convert dvd to mov mac | convert mov to flv mac | convert mov to dvd mac | convert FLV to MOV Mac

Connect to the Web with CDMA and Mac OS X

Despite the age of the technology it is possible to connect your MacBook to the web with a CDMA phone.

What is CDMA and How Can I Use It to Get Online?

Using a phone as a modem has long been a popular means of accessing the internet remotely. You might be in a hotel or sitting down for a latte, and tethering your mobile phone to your Mac OS X is a simple way to get online without bothering with the hassle of setting up an account with Starbucks.

Most popular among Mac users is tethering with an iPhone, although it is fair to say that not all MacBook owners have an iPhone - so what alternatives are there?

CDMA is a radio communication technology used in certain types of phone. By connecting such a device to a Mac OS X powered MacBook, with the right tools you can get online. You should note, however, that CDMA phones will not offer the same mobile internet speeds as modern mobile devices.

With the right equipment – a cable and a bit of software – you should be able to attain a connection good enough to send and receive emails and perhaps access low bandwidth web pages.

Mac OS X and CDMA Tools

Before getting started, you will need a set of Mac OS X and CDMA "tools" to achieve the best results.

Rather than purchasing an expensive data kit from your carrier you should instead purchase a suitable USB data cable specific to your CDMA phone.

This may or may not be easy to find – few networks and retailers sell CDMA phones as they have been effectively superseded by more modern devices, but you should get lucky on mobile phone supplies websites or even eBay. Those that do will have locked the devices to their networks, which means you will need to find out passwords and access point names to get online with these phones (see Further Reading below).

Some CDMA phones are supported natively under Mac OS X without any additional software – however this isn’t true across the board so as a precaution download and install the AppleUSBCDCDriver Patch if you are using an older version of OS X (10.1-10.4).

Creating a Network Connection with a CDMA Cell Phone on Mac OS X

The next step is to connect your phone to your computer using the USB data cable. Go to System Preferences > Network where you should be informed of a new port, with the name of your phone.

Success at this stage then requires a modem script for your device. This can be found via the Macs & Cell Phones Yahoo! group – once you have the script, save it in /Library/Modem Scripts on your Mac. Return to System Preferences > Network and select your phone from the list of network ports. On the Modem tab select the script you have just saved and then on the PPP tab enter the information specific to your mobile network (see below).

With all of this installed and setup, however, you might find that there is still no internet connection. If this is the case then you will need to find the correct settings for your particular CDMA cell phone.

Further Reading

There is much more to getting a CDMA modem connection on Mac OS X – different devices have different setups and what you see above is a generalised summary to get you started.

In order to find the relevant settings for your particular device you should visit the Macs & Cell Phones Yahoo! group where information on suitable cell phone models and the means to use them as a modem can be found. This includes information on CDMA and modern devices so you should be able to find the individual settings to configure your own device as a modem.

convert mov to flv mac | convert mov to dvd mac | convert FLV to MOV Mac | how to remove drm from itunes | ripping movies for ipad

It's official: Mac App Store to open January 6th, 2011

Apple officially announced this morning that the Mac App Store will open for business on Thursday, January 6. With it, Apple hopes to make discovering, installing and updating Macintosh programs as easy as with apps for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The Mac App Store will be available in 90 countries at launch, and will feature paid and free apps in categories such as education, games, graphics and design, lifestyle, productivity and utilities.

The timing seems odd to me, coming so closely on the heels of the lucrative holiday season. This leads me to believe that, as we covered earlier this month, Apple intended for the Mac App Store to be up and running in early december, but ran into some problems that pushed it back. It also makes their lack of interest in Macworld Expo even more unfortunate, as this is exactly the sort of thing that would’ve been great to announce during a Steve Jobs keynote presentation, instead of via press release.

Speaking of that, here’s some verbiage:

The Mac App Store lets you browse new and noteworthy apps, find out what’s hot, view staff favorites, search categories and read customer ratings and reviews. Like on iPhone®, iPod touch® and iPad™, you can purchase, download and install apps in just one click and start using them immediately. Purchased apps can run on all of your personal Macs and updates are delivered directly through the Mac App Store so it’s easy to keep all of your apps up to date. The Mac App Store is available to Mac OS X Snow Leopard® users as a free download through Software Update.

Mac developers set the price for their apps, keep 70 percent of the sales revenue, are not charged for free apps and do not have to pay hosting, marketing or credit card fees.

For more information on the Mac App Store, visit Apple.com.

vob to mov converter mac | mac convert dvd to mov | mov to flv converter mac | mac convert mov video | flv to mov converter mac

Sharing Photos and Movies Through iPhoto and MobileMe

Want to share photos and movies from your iPhoto library? One way is to use a MobileMe account and your MobileMe gallery.

How It's Done

Want to share photos and movies from your iPhoto library? One way is to use a MobileMe account and your MobileMe gallery.

First you’ll need a MobileMe account. This is $99 from Apple, or if you look around the internet you’ll find it cheaper. I recently purchased a MobileMe retail package for $65 from an Amazon.com vendor.

Once your MobileMe account is set up you’re ready to go. The process is very similar to the process of sharing movies in iMovie that I outline in my article “Uploading Movies to MobileMe from iMovie.”

First, you need to select the movies and/or photos you want to share. You can do this by clicking an entire event or by opening an event and selecting specific items by holding the command key.

Second, go to the “Share” menu and choose “MobileMe.” (figure 1)

Like in iMovie a window with options will come down. (figure 2) Your first option allows you to set a password for the gallery. If you choose viewable by "Everyone" no password will be applied. However, if you want a password the drop down menu allows you to make a username and password. If you have created a username/password combination in the past that username will be in the list for you to choose again. If you use a password/username, a window will drop when the website asking for the username and password.

Next you decide how, if at all, you want to share your gallery. Do you want the movie or photos to be downloadable? If so check this option. Do you want others to be able to add to the gallery? If so check the next two options. The first allows uploading through the webpage. The second provides a unique email address on the screen of the gallery. People can email content to that address and the items will be added automatically to your gallery. Be careful with these options, especially if your gallery is open to the public. You can choose to hide the email address and only give it out to people you want uploading, as a safety precaution. This option becomes checkable when you check the email option.

Finally, click “Publish” and your items will be sent to a gallery. When uploading completes, a window will drop down telling you the gallery is ready. It will also present you with the option of viewing gallery, or "Tell a friend." Telling a friend will compose an email with the website for the gallery, a little form letter, and the username/password combo if you have one. The email is editable, so you don't have to go with the standard wording.

If you click the “Advanced” button you get two more options. (figure 3) The first allows for more privacy by hiding the new gallery on your MobileMe gallery homepage. With this option selected only those with the website address will be able to access the site.

The third option allows you to set the quality of downloads, if you allow downloads on the page.

That is all there is to it. It isn’t to hard to start sharing you iPhoto library with the world if you have a MobileMe account.

convert mov to flv mac | convert mov to dvd mac | convert FLV to MOV Mac | how to remove drm from itunes | ripping movies for ipad

The Top 5 DVD Burning Software for the iMac

DVD burning software for the iMac will help burn DVDs and CDs, whether you are compiling your favorite music collections, backing up your home movies or making a presentation for prospective customers. This article will discuss the features of the top five DVD burning software.

Roxio Toast 10 Titanium for OS X

Roxio’s Toast has been around for a number of years. Their latest version of Toast uses the drag, drop and burn simplicity that allows you to burn a number of filetypes to DVDs and CDs with little effort. This version is also compatible with Blue-ray.

Back up your entire camera of HD video to disc and keep a preview on your Mac. Toast’s media browser will let you search for files and sort them for easy viewing, without having to insert the disc into your computer.

Perhaps the most convenient feature is the cross-compatibility between Mac and PC. Share and sync files across a network, between multiple computers or external hard drives.

Source: Roxio

MacBurn

Burn data and audio CDs, plus DVDs on Macs and PCs. You can burn multiple sessions, create and load “burn lists” and more. MacBurn supports multiple filetypes including ISO, MP3, WAV, MOV, AIFF and MPEG. It is compatible with any CD or DVD burner that you can burn with the drivers found in iTunes and others.

Source: MacBurn

DVD Creator for Mac

Create DVDs fast and easily with Xilisoft’s DVD Creator for Mac. The DVD creator software will convert videos in a wide variety of formats, including ISO, MPEG, MP4 and so on.

The built-in player will allow you to preview your original and output videos before you create the DVD, which will help you catch any mistakes before you start your burn.

You can also add soundtracks and subtitles to your videos. Plus, you can adjust your video and audio parameters so that you can get the sound to produce exactly the way you want it to.

Choose from a selection of preset menu templates or create a custom one of your own. You can also create title thumbnails, give your viewers the option to skip the DVD menu and more.

Source: Xilisoft

NTI Dragon Burn

Dragon Burn is so user friendly that you can produce audio, data, mixed-mode CDs and DVDs without having to read a user manual. It also supports your internal and external drives. Burn backup copies of your hard drives, both internal and external, and any non-copy protected DVDs or CDs that you own.

Source: NTI

iSkysoft DVD Burner for Mac

iSkysoft DVD Burner lets you burn DVDs in a wide variety of formats. Some of the formats include HD MP4, VOB, MPEG-2 HD and ISO. With ISO, you can burn selectable DVD9 or DVD5 discs, the burn quality options and how many discs you need to create.

Select ISO, VIDEO_TS and .dvdmedia as alternative outputs when burning files to your DVD disc. Customize the menu style for your videos. Then trim any mistakes out of your videos before burning them to your DVDs.

Source: Mediasoftmac

Conclusion

The goal with this article was to provide you with a starting point for dvd burning software for the iMac. As you can see, these software packages offer many features that can help you with your disc burning tasks. Now, it is up to you to decide which one is right for you.

vob to mov converter mac | mac convert dvd to mov | mov to flv converter mac | mac convert mov video | flv to mov converter mac

All You Need To Know About Repairing Permissions on Mac OS X

Corrupted permissions are often the cause for many problems in Macs. It is good to know beforehand what permissions are, what these do and how to go about repairing them.

What Does The Repair Function Of Disk Utility Do?

When the Apple installer is used to install software, the installation package (.pkg file) leaves a receipt, which is a smaller package containing information about all the installed files, including their permission information.

The Repair functions of Mac's Disk Utility examines and performs permission repairing of folders and files those have their permissions corrupted, and changes them to match with the original/best settings.

What Causes Permissions To Change?

Some people claim that permissions change on their own. This is false because there is always something or someone that causes permissions to change. Permissions can be changed in many ways, for example:

Drive Corruption:

System crashes, power interruptions or heavy folder activity can cause disk corruption and thus increase the risk for permissions to change.

Bad backup utilities:

If the backup utility you use does not fully support permissions or itself has no appropriate rights to write system level files, restoring files may result in permissions related problems.

Bad installers:

Bad installers can alter permissions on files or directories and this is often the main cause of permissions problem.

Software initiated:

Some software temporarily change file permissions but then don’t reset them later.

There are even more ways for permissions to be changed than these. If your Mac ever behaves abnormally, you should consider permissions problem as a possible cause for this.

Why Is It Necessary To Repair Permissions?

If permissions on specific files are not set correctly, you can face problems when Mac OS attempts to access them. For example, you may experience trouble printing documents, launching applications, logging into your account, etc. Similarly, if a third party or Apple application requires access to a folder or file and their permissions are not set correctly, the application might not run properly. In such a situation, the Repair Disk Permissions feature of Disk Utility can repair such problems.

Many system files have permissions set for certain applications or users, so that these files can’t be accessed by others. But if these permissions somehow get altered so that accessing these files is no longer denied, repairing permissions can fix this issue.

Should I Repair Permissions As Routine Maintenance?

An incorrect permission neither leads to another incorrect permission nor does it cause data loss in most circumstances. It is also true that permissions problems occur much less in the latest versions of Mac operating systems; Mac OS X 10.3 and later. However, we know the principle “Prevention is better than cure”; we should avoid any inconvenience by making preparations for it beforehand. In the case of permissions, it is always good to check for incorrect permissions on a regular basis so that any future, unexpected problem can be avoided. Apple too recommends that permissions should be repaired as early as possible lest noticeable symptoms start to occur.

How Do I Repair Permission ?

The Disk Utility program in Mac OS X comes with the Repair Disk feature. It lets you repair corrupted/altered permissions on files and folders. To use the Disk Utility, launch it from the Utilities Folder, select the disk you want to check (usually the startup disk), click on the First Aid tab then click on the Repair Disk Permissions button at the bottom of the screen.

vob to mov converter mac | mac convert dvd to mov | mov to flv converter mac | mac convert mov video | flv to mov converter mac

Cleaning and Configuring your MacBook Pro Screen: Tips for Getting the Most out of your Laptop Screen

Apple spent a great deal of time engineering the MacBook Pro screen to be vivid, crisp and stunning. When your MacBook Pro reaches your hands it’s time to take a look at what you can do to keep it looking as-new. We take a look at how to clean, configure, and get the most out of your laptop screen.

That said, Apple's own MacBook Pro care guidelines recommend using plain water and a lint free cloth. Compared to water, the iKlear kit is rather pricey so you may want to stick with water unless you have some unusually stubborn smudges to clean. Even then, you can use a solution of 1 part water to ¼ part white vinegar (the type used in cooking) to remove tougher finger prints or greasy stains without damaging your MacBook Pro screen.

The second part of the cleaning equation is the cloth. While there is universal agreement that the cloth should be lint free there is one minor consideration to keep in mind. Microfiber cloths are economical, widely available, and used for cleaning delicate surfaces like camera lenses. However, not all microfiber is created equal. When selecting a microfiber cloth to clean your MacBook Pro screen you should look for a non-rugged cloth. This means that the cloth has no ridges or tough patterns on which to trap grit or rough particles – two things you wouldn’t want to drag along your monitor.

Finally, remember to apply water or your cleaning solution directly to the cloth and not to your MacBook Pro’s screen as droplets may spill inside the case. Gently pass the cloth over the screen without applying to much pressure. If any smudges remain, remember to keep passing the cloth over that area rather than applying force.

Configuring: Getting the Right Color Profile

Despite all MacBook Pros having great screens, Apple does source the screens from a number of manufacturers. This means that while they can all look great you’ll notice that the same image may look different on different MacBook Pros. This is where a color profile comes in.

A color profile is simply a file that tells Mac OS X how to adjust your screen’s settings so that it looks as good as it possibly can. Professionals which rely on the accuracy of their MacBook Pro screens will often have special tools and software to calibrate their screens. For our purposes a much more sensible approach is to search for an existing color profile for our MacBook Pro and place it in the ~/Library/Colorsync/Profiles folder. Once there we can easily load the color profile from the Color tab in the Displays menu of the System Preferences. A great source for color profiles is the MacRumors forum.

Lasting Care

One final topic which often comes up about MacBook Pro screens is what can I do to make it last longer? The good news is the more recent generations of MacBook Pros feature LED powered screens which means that unlike the older displays (which relied on CCFLs) they will never go dim. This means that with no extra care beyond cleaning and a great color profile the screen will always be as bright as it was on the day you first pressed the power button.

vob to mov converter mac | mac convert dvd to mov | mov to flv converter mac | mac convert mov video | flv to mov converter mac

 

How to Use iTunes to Organize the Music on Your Mac

Just getting started with music and your Mac? Learn the basics of keeping that music organized with iTunes.

Manually Organize Your Music

Music can be organized a number of ways. You can create subfolders in the Music folder and move your music into them, just as you would do with Documents and Pictures, but you can also do quite a bit of organizing using iTunes. You can create playlists to support a mood, an artist, or an event, or organize the songs to fit on a CD. You can even create smart playlists to automatically change, based on how much you listen to specific songs in your library.

Before you get started, take inventory of what you have and see how it can be organized. Here are some ideas for sorting songs in iTunes via the Edit>View Options choices:

· By artist

· By genre

· By song size

· By rating

· By how often its been played recently

· By year

· By date downloaded or acquired

· By kind

· By album

Use iTunes Consolidate Library Option

If you have music all over your hard drive, you can organize your music by dragging and dropping the songs into the appropriate folder. However, iTunes offers a simple, albeit somewhat ineffective, way to locate all of your tunes and copy them to the iTunes folder. Once they are copied to the folder, you can organize and categorize to your heart’s content.

Unfortunately, you may have noticed that the word “copy” was used in the previous paragraph instead of the word “move.” As you might guess, when a file is copied, it makes a duplicate of the file. That’s unnecessary data, and to get rid of it once the files are copied, you’ll have to spend some time deleting these duplicate files from your hard drive. However, by consolidating, you’ll have all of your files in one place, making backing up your entire music library much easier.

To consolidate all of the music files located outside of the iTunes Music folder and place copies of them in your iTunes Music folder, perform the following steps:

1. Open iTunes.

2. Choose Advanced>Consolidate Library.

3. Accept the warning shown by clicking Consolidate.

import DVD movie to ITUNES | how to remove drm from itunes | ripping movies for ipad | songs from iPod to Mac |  mov to flv mac

Disable iPhoto from Opening Every Time Your iPhone Connects

If you own a Mac and are extremely annoyed with iPhoto opening every time you plug in your iPhone, then I have the solution for you. It's a very simple solution but I'll explain reasons why it's not a bad idea to do it.

I spend a good portion on-line looking at a variety of message boards and product chats. What I have come to find is a common question involving the iPhone and issues when you connect it to your Mac. The most common complaint I read from people is that they dont know how to stop iPhoto from automatically opening when they plug in their iPhone. Well, fear not, that's why I'm here. I'll give you a very easy route to turning this feature off so you never have to worry about iPhoto opening on it's own again.

The reason iPhoto opens automatically is because that is the default option for all of your photos. So, it doesn't just open when you plug in your iPhone, but it normally will open when any camera is connected. This is mainly so you can easily import photos into iPhoto and store them there. Now, iPhoto is a good source for storing photos, but it's not for everyone, so here is how you can make it stop opening automatically.

When you open iPhoto, you do not have to have your iPhone plugged in or anything. You can just open the application on your desktop. Once iPhoto is opened, go up to the top left of your desktop, you will see pull down menus like iPhoto, file, edit, photo and so on. Simply click on the iPhoto pull down, you will see a variety of options to click on, click on the "preferences" option. You are now presented with a new window that pops up. There will be a new set of tabs to choose from, general, appearance, events, sharing and a couple of others. Click on the "general" tab, so that it is selected, you should see a few options. The very last one should say, "connecting camera opens", with some options to choose from. Mine, for example, has iPhoto, Image Capture and No application. The latter is what you're going to want to select. Once No Application is selected, you will no longer have to worry about iPhoto opening every time you plug in your iPhone.

Bear in mind, this is not saying that iPhoto will not read your iPhone. If you open up iPhoto, it will still see your iPhone, but it gives you the option to actually have to open iPhoto, instead of it launching automatically. It will also prevent iPhoto from opening every time you plug in any other type of camera device.

Some of you out there may be saying, "What is the benefit of doing this?" or wondering if there even is one. Technically, there isn't an advantage, so you're not really saving time. However, for some, it's an annoying feature. They want to plug in their iPhone without the intentions of importing photos. Some people also have slower computers, so when iPhoto opens, you have to wait for it to open, thus possibly causing other applications to crash if your computer can't handle too many things happening at once.

So, let's do a quick recap of instructions:

1. Open iPhoto (iPhone can be plugged in but doesn't need to be)
2. Click on Preferences, un the iPhoto pull down at the top of your desktop
3. Click on the General tab and go to the bottom of the menu
4. Change Connecting Camera Opens, to No application
5. Good to go, and iPhoto will still recognize the iPhone it just won't open up automatically.

I hope that this settles a lot of frustration you are having with iPhoto opening. It should solve the problem, and if you wish to change it back to open up, just go through the same process but select iPhoto under the "connecting camera opens" option.

vob to mov mac | mov converter mac |  mov to flv mac | burn avi to dvd mac | convert mkv to dvd mac | burn mp4 to dvd mac

Finding the Famous Black MacBook

The black MacBook, after a limited production run, has become something of a legend in the Apple world. Seeing one in a coffee shop is striking, as all Apple laptops are now either silver or white. How can you get hold of one?

Colors? Bah! They’re So Uncool!

Silver is sexy! Or so that appears to be the motto at Apple. It wasn’t long ago that the company’s design seemed to be fun and cheery. Remember the clamshell iBooks, which were available in multiple colors?

That’s long gone. Modern Apple computers are serious business. They’re clad in professional, buttoned-down silver. Somehow, Apple has become popular by adopting a design aesthetic that, in most other industries, would be considered dull and boring.

For some Apple fans, this is a dismal turn. It likely won’t be long until the white MacBook is killed, as well. And what about the limited edition black MacBooks that sold a few years ago?

Black Apple MacBook: RIP 2006-2008

The original MacBook debuted in 2006. This older polycarbonate design pre-dates the current unibody model significantly and, unlike the current MacBook, it was available in two colors – white and black. At the time, the MacBook was debuted alongside a similar MacBook Pro that also did not have a unibody design.

Apple offered the black MacBook until late 2008. The discontinuation of the black MacBook was fairly abrupt. During a typical Mac conference it was announced that the MacBook would be receiving some minor updates and would have its price dropped by $100. They did not talk about the black MacBook being kicked to the curb, but that’s what happened when the Apple store was updated. The most likely reason for the black MacBook’s execution was the MacBook Pro. The black MacBooks existed as a way to give MacBook buyers a more “professional” exterior. As the Pro was refined, this became unnecessary.

While many refer to this model as the limited edition black MacBook, it was never sold as such. It was just a normal MacBook. It’s been two years since the black MacBook was discontinued, so it’s long gone from the Apple refurb store.

But I Still Want a Black MacBook!

Since you can’t buy a black MacBook from Apple, and they’re considered to be a bit of a collector’s item now that they’re discontinued, it can be hard to get a hold of a black MacBook. Your best bet is the usual suspect – Ebay. There are usually a few black MacBooks available, and they usually sell for between $500 and $700.

Alternatively, you can create your own black MacBook by purchasing one and giving it a custom paintjob. One company that offers this service is Colorware. They will sell you a custom MacBook for $1699, or you can send in your own MacBook to have it painted for $499.

If that sounds pricy (it is!) you can also try purchasing a black MacBook case. These cases strap to the exterior of your MacBook and provide protection from scratches and bumps. The interior will still be white, but you’ll only have to spend $20 or $30 bucks.

convert vob to mov mac  | convert dvd to mov mac | convert mov to flv mac | convert mov to dvd mac | convert FLV to MOV Mac

Have You Lost Your Mac OS Install Disc AND Your Password? Help Is at Hand!

If your Mac OS install disc lost is lost, you lost your password and the one thing that you are most afraid of losing is your data, this article is the answer to all the questions on your mind. Not only will you be able to figure out how you can reset the password, but will also get your data back.

Help - I've Lost My Password!

The easiest way to recover your password is to use the install discs that came with your Macintosh computer. Not only is it the easiest way, it also happens to be the quickest if you're slight on the technologically challenged side. I'll invoke a reversal of Occam's Razor here and suggest you do either of the following:

1. Look for your Mac install discs.

2. Borrow someone else's Mac OS X install discs.

If you've spent all weekend doing the former then it is time to spend some effort doing the latter. If possible get hold of the box that you Mac shipped in. The reason we need the box is to figure out what version the install discs that came with your computer were and that is usually mentioned on the box.

Of course, if you already remember that information then that is better. You'll need to find a friend or a colleague who has the same install discs as you had. The quickest way to getting this info? Put out a tweet and update your FaceBook status to say that. Some one should step up. Once you get your hands on one of this discs, follow the steps that are outlined here and you should be on your way to data recovery. By the way, even though the Apple Doc might say that the steps are for OS X.4, they work up to the latest version of the Mac OS.

No Luck With the Discs?

Even though all your FB friends might like you enough, there is a chance that you might not find the discs that you're looking for. The second best way to get your hands on your lost password is to figure out the Target Disk mode on your Mac. You will need another Mac to do so and will need to go through a couple of steps to get the Target Disk set up right.

Thankfully, the Intel Macs can run Target Disk off of any old USB hard drive that you've got lying around. One of my cousins who is a certified Apple computer repair tech for a big corporation carries around a Target Disk installed on a USB thumb/pen drive on his keychain all the time. If you have an older Macintosh, specifically one that has the PowerPC processors instead of the Intel ones, then you will need to get your hands on a FireWire disk to make the password recovery process possible.

Single User Mode

If the Target Disk fails, here is what you need to do in order to reset your password. Do make not of the fact that you will lose all your Keychain Access data, but it is a small price to pay for getting all your data back.

1. Boot into single user mode (press Command-S at power on)

2. Type fsck -fy

3. Type mount -uw /

4. Type launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.DirectoryServices.plist

5. Type dscl . -passwd /Users/[username] [password], replacing [username] with the targeted user and [password] with the desired password.

6. Reboot

The above steps will allow you to reset your password. Let me know how it went in the comments below!

import DVD movie to ITUNES | flv to iphone mac | mac video converter from mpg | dvd ripping software mac | burn mp4 to dvd mac 

Top 5 Reasons Why You Should Switch to a Mac

Why should I buy mac? Well, there are many reasons to buy a Mac computer; here are my top 10 reasons why you should choose a Mac if you're in the market for a new computer.

1. It Works and It is Easy to Use

It is a known fact that an average Windows user spends over 50 hours per year troubleshooting his PC. An average Mac user spends not more than 10 hours. This is a huge difference. Macs let you do many things so easily that if you would do on a PC, it might be more complicated or more time consuming. For instance, in Mac you can reinstall Mac OS X without erasing the existing content of your hard drive. During Mac OS installation there isn’t really much you need to do. There are many more things in Mac OS X that are easy as well as fun to do.

2. It Is Secure

The design of Mac operating system and vigilance of Mac users has contributed to almost complete absence of spyware and malware that usually hit Microsoft users. For example there are more than twenty thousand PC viruses but only 50-80 Mac ones. It is also true that there is no such Mac virus that can destroy the hardware.

Curious: Can a Mac get a virus? Find out how vulnerable Macs are and whether they can get a virus in Can Mac OS X Get A Virus?

3. It Doesn't Crash

Mac OS X is based on the UNIX operating system, which is almost not prone to crash. Macs can crash but not as often as a PC. Every computer can crash, but the crash rate for Macs is very small. In three years of use I have experienced a Mac crash only once. In businesses, there are usually a couple of support technicians for 20-60 Windows Systems and by contrast one person provides support for 150-200 Macs.

4. It Offers The Best In Digital Music

iTunes comes installed with a Mac. iTunes lets you play and organize audio. It can burn your discs, it lets you search, listen to and view podcasts. It is globally accepted that iTunes is the best digital audio program. Even though it came in the market only a short time back, it is gaining popularity faster than any other program. It is estimated that over 2.5 million songs are downloaded per week by iTunes users.

5. It Is Best When It Comes To Photography

Macs are considered champions in digital photography. The inclusion of iPhoto in every Mac lets you organize, edit, import and share your digital photographs. Today, thousands of students and professionals use iPhoto for photo editing and organizing needs.

import DVD movie to ITUNES | flv to iphone mac | mac video converter from mpg | dvd ripping software mac | burn mp4 to dvd mac 

Customise Your MacBook Pro Icons

If you're bored with the default icons that come with your MacBook, you can download fresh new macbook pro icons!

Replace Your Tired Desktop Icons!

Customizing your MacBook is a must if you have any interest in styling it to reflect your personality. As with backgrounds and desktop widgets, new MacBook Pro icons can be downloaded from the web.

These downloadable icons can be used to give your MacBook Pro an interesting new look or they can even be used by standard MacBook or other Mac users to get the best visual upgrades from Apple onto their computers.

Several online locations provide a selection of downloadable icons that can easily be setup on your Mac as alternatives to the default icons, and by using a very useful free tool, you can swap your existing Mac icons for new ones!

Applying new MacBook Pro Icons with IconDroplet

If the above method doesn’t work for you, the free app for PPC and Intel Macs, IconDroplet, will let you switch icons on your Mac with the minimum of fuss.

Once downloaded, unzip the IconDroplet program so it is added to the Dock, and then find the icons you have downloaded and drag them to IconDroplet. This will create a new image file on your desktop that you will come back to in a moment.

Next, find the MacBook Pro icon you want to change in Finder, right-click and choose Get Info. Copy the file that was saved to your desktop and go back to the Info screen for the icon you wish to replace. Finish the process by selecting the icon at the top with a single mouse click and paste your replacement icon into its place!

You don’t even have to do all this though, to be honest – with the latest version of IconDroplet, you can drag new icons onto your applications as they’re running, saving a lot of messing about with cut and paste!

import DVD movie to ITUNES | flv to iphone mac | mac video converter from mpg | dvd ripping software mac | burn mp4 to dvd mac