i-rant

Microsoft stopped updating Internet Explorer for Mac OS X when Apple built Safari. Safari is based on Mozilla – or the base code for Netscape Navigator and Firefox – the fastest growing internet browser out there. If you already use Firefox for Windows XP then you get it.

Safari has a few cool features IE doesn’t. One is the idea of tabbed browsing. Firefox has this too. You can open a new tab by clicking on the File menu and selecting New Tab or just type command-T (apple key and the T key simultaneously). This allows you to move between pages. You can also open multiple bookmarks in tabs with one click – I do this every morning – I have several pages I open at once in tabs – WSJ, ETrade, etc..

The other cool feature is RSS. Firefox has a plugin for it too. Many sites now have hidden code that puts all of their headlines in RSS data streams. If you go to http://news.yahoo.com/ for example, you will see an RSS in the right hand corner of the address bar. Click on it and it will open a window with all the “RSS feeds” – its a way to do a quick read of the articles on the website. I use this for sites like BBC, WSJ, Yahoo news, etc to see all headlines quickly.

Oh, one more cool feature. Google is built into the top of the Safari browser – on the right just type in what you want to search for. In Firefox that same box appears and its configurable to add other search engines. I use it all the time.

The only problem is older websites that have Microsoft specific code in them – they sometimes behave badly in Safari or Firefox. This is a pain in the butt but its also why the Mac is more secure. In email and web browsing Microsoft Active X controls don’t work. And the hackers use these controls to “control” your computer. Smart programmers use more advanced tools like java and flash to do cool stuff, lazy ones use active x – in my opinion. When you hit a website like that try using the old version of IE or unfortunately go to a Windows XP machine. Finally, don’t forget you will probably have to load up plugins from time to time – like Macromedia Flash and Adobe Acrobat. There are Mac versions of those applications too.

Jim

Switchers – those that Switch from Windows XP to Mac OSX often struggle with the concept of active applications. A friend asked how do you close a window without closing the whole application. She clicked on the red x and thought it was all gone. In short:

Make what you want to close “active”, go the the menu and click on the first item (the name of the application and pull down the menu to quit. OR simply type the command key (the apple key next to the space bar) and Q at the same time.

Key principle here is that Mac OS X applications can run simultaneously and you can switch between them by either clicking on the active application on the Dock at the bottom or holding down the command (apple) key and hitting the tab key. You can tell an application is active when there is a black triangle underneath it. Note, the finder (the face) and the dashboard (speedometer) are always active.

Each application shares the menu at the top when its “active” so you will see it change when you command-tab or click on the application in the dock.

Windows are closed with the red dot but that doesn’t close the application. Windows are minimized with the yellow button (they drop down to the dock). And they are optimized by the green dot – either made bigger or fit to the screen.

Switch from Windows XP to Mac OSX: Airport and Old Printers on the Mac OSX.

I figured out the key to getting windows pc’s on line using Apple Airport Express.
Make sure they are all set to get an IP address from the router.
I configured the AirPort tab to…Create A Wireless Network (Home Router)
And I setup Internet tab to…enter your DSL user id and change the password to your password; set the Wan to automatic and always connected.
Finally, on the Network tab in the Airport setup…
Select Distribute IP addresses.
Share a single IP address and pull down the select button to: use 192.168.1.1 addressing.
That makes sense, since most LAN’s use that TCP/IP prefix – all my pc’s and macs were able to get an IP address from the built in DHCP server on the Airport.

In Windows XP make sure you set the Network card to get an IP automatically.
Right click on your Network Icon and click Properties.
Right click on the icon for your network card and select the LAN connection’s Properties.
Click on the General Tab and then select the TCP/IP setting. Then click the Properties button.
Make sure both radio buttons are set to “obtain an IP address automatically” and “obtain DNS server addresses automatically (unless your DSL provider requires you have a direct selection)”

If you have an old printer, it may not have drivers installed for Mac OSX.
I have had success with:
Gimp Print for Mac OS X
Check to see if your printer is supported. Gimp Print supported a 7 year old laser printer we had.
FAQ’s for Gimp Print
Basically, you should download Gimp-Print 4.2.7 from one of the mirror sites and install it on your mac. It will install drivers and you can setup your printer using the Printer Setup utility in the Applications/Utilities folder.

Once you setup Gimp Print and plug your printer into your imac you should be able to setup the printer. Plug the printer and the modem in the airport and reset the airport by unplugging and plugging it in. It should show up on the network when you run printer setup utility as a “bonjour” printer.