Mac Tricks

Image Editor for Mac – Pixelmator

phil — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:56:34 +0000

If you are looking for a slick image editor for Mac that won’t push you further into debt, check out this Mactricks.net download of the day. Pixelmator has a cool Mac-style interface with most of the fixins’ that Photoshop provides. Brushes, resizing, layers, colors, and more. Remember, it’s not free (I think the full version is $59) but it’s a hell of a lot better than paying a gagillion dollars for Photoshop, and it gets all the basic jobs done. So, if you are looking for a demo, and a very reasonably priced image editor for Mac, Pixelmator is the obvious choice. Check out the trial below.

Download Pixelmator Now (free)

Convert Images Easily on a Mac

phil — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 01:32:09 +0000

Need a quick image converter? We have you covered. Although this is a trial version, it works, it’s safe, and you no longer have to search the web for this purpose. So, without further adieu, behold ImgCvrt. This is both a tool and a contextual menu for converting image file formats. Your converted images will keep the same name as the original, with the new extension, and saved in the original directory. Use the Preferences window to specify the output image format.

Download ImgCvrt Now (secure)

OS X Lion Free Downloads – 3 Must-Have’s

phil — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 02:42:49 +0000

OS X Lion is chock-full of neat little features and gadgets so I figured it’s time at Mactricks.net to start unveiling some of the necessary tidbits. Today, I’ll let you in on 3 free applications that you should download within at most the first 47 minutes of using the new OS X Lion. Why? Um, the word free is a good incentive, and of course, because the benefits are there. One of them is a super duper video converter for OS X Lion that allows you to convert any (ANY) video to play on your mobile devices. No more testing on your phone and walking into street lamps. Second is a slick and sly Twitter app, and third is Evernote. Sounds like an RPG, but it’s really just the best way in the world to keep your cyborg brain glued together.

Smart Converter:

Take those videos with you anywhere you go. Your grandma would love to see your little kitty eating your socks, wouldn’t she?

Download Smart Converter

Evernote:

Sync notes between your computer, the web, and mobile devices. One note, many places.

Download Evernote

(Random funny site): Check this out. Keyword search volume comparisons.

Twitter:

If an Apple could wear shorts, you’d be eating them Tweetdeck.

Download Twitter

Download Mac OS X Lion – Now!

phil — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 19:11:46 +0000

Download Lion

OS X Lion is Mac’s 8th OS release, and it doesn’t disappoint. With more than 250 new features and some big interface changes, there is a clear aim for making certain actions easier. The upgrade adds plenty to make it worthwhile for most Mac users. For example, Whether you’re using the track pad on the MacBook Pro, Air, or the Magic Track pad for desktops, you’ll be able to take advantage of multi-touch gestures that get you moving quickly without having to navigate using a mouse. Get it!

Download Mac OS X Lion Here.

Windows on Mac OS X with Boot Camp

phil — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 16:16:30 +0000

Windows on Mac

Can you run Windows 7 on Mac? Once again, the answer is Yes. It seems that Steve Jobs has you covered for just about everything, (using his proprietary software of course). So, in order to put Windows on your Mac, you need the Windows 7 Installation DVD
and Mac OS X Installation DVD or Boot Camp 2.1 on CD/DVD.

Applications > Utilities > click Boot Camp.
The Boot Camp Assistant will open. Click the Continue button.
Now you will be asked to Create a Partition for Windows. Drag the divider and set the size (Windows 7 needs about 10 GB minimum). When satisfied, click the Partition button. Then click Start Installation once the software is finished partitioning.
Reboot your computer. You will go through the setup process for Windows, then click Install.
Click Custom (advanced) Install.
Click to select the Disk Partition labeled BOOTCAMP. Then click Drive Options (advanced).
Click Format then Ok.
Once the drive has finished formatting, click Next.
Files will be copied and expanded. When this is finished, your computer will reboot.Windows will then finish the installation and reboot again. Continue through the Window setup process.
Eject the Windows disk and insert the Bootcamp disk. Install Bootcamp.
Make sure that Apple Software Update for Windows is checked.
Now you can run Windows on Mac!

Block Flash – Download of the Day

phil — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 21:20:07 +0000

Eliminate Flash Ads

Wait a minute… you can browse the web without Flash? The answer is YES. There are many reasons why Flash sucks and is annoying: A large percentage of ads are made with Flash, and they are just rude, they take time to download which means it takes longer for you to load a page, they take up processing power which makes your computer slower, and they are just distracting and bothersome. I’d rather have a fly on my nose than deal with stupid, loud autoplaying Flash animation.

You could just uninstall Flash completely, but ClickToFlash allows me to pick and choose…

Safely Download ClickToFlash here.

Tell us what you think!

Mac Antivirus

sergio — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 05:48:53 +0000

A common topic amongst new and old Mac users, do i really need antivirus software on my Mac? Well the answer will depend on who you ask, but lets take a look at all the scenarios and weigh our options. First, what is a virus, how do you get one, and what will they really do.

A virus is any kind of malicious code written to benefit another third party, or sometimes even disrupt your computing experience. Most people assume that a virus can damage their computer physically and permanently, but this is not the case. Even in a worst case scenario a computer infected with a virus can be returned to its original state one way or another. What a virus is most likely to do, is run in the background, so that you can’t detect it, and benefit some other 3rd party in some way. Sometimes this is financial. Imagine a virus that pops up an advertisement every hour on your computer, you can’t stop it, you don’t know why it’s happening, and every once in a while you accidentally click it. This means the person who wrote the virus to show those ads, is making money off of you. An even worst virus could secretly connect you to a chat room with the creator of the virus and anything you type will be sent to them. Meaning any credit card conversations, chats, or documents you may have had open could be vulnerable.

Now a lot of people will be surprised as to how one actually gets a virus. Thanks to movies a common interpretation of a virus is a digital worm flying through cyber space that magically infects your computer. This is wrong. Most often people infect themselves. Whether by downloading another application from an illegitimate source such as p2p networks that has been turned into a virus, or sharing files with friends that are infected or have downloaded such files. Also installing various toolbars, and games that may have such functionality built in. More often then not you will not even know you have a virus.

Now Mac’s are inherently more secure than Windows machines do to the way they are designed, but this does not leave you 100% protected. You are still vulnerable to downloading an infected file or receiving one from someone you know.

Below is a list of the top options to protect yourself while on your Mac:

1. Norton Internet Security MAC Edition – The most trusted brand in online protection. Symantec’s Norton Antivirus is an all in one solution to keeping yourself and your information safe online.

2. Norton Antivirus MAC Edition. A more light weight and affordable version of the above, perfectly acceptable slightly slimmer version of the above. My personal choice in protection for my Mac.

3. ClamXav. A free and open source antivirus. Doesn’t have the advanced protection features of Norton, nor the active monitoring. But decent enough to use if it’s the only option you have.

4. iAntiVirus. A new shareware antivirus program for Mac which offers competitive protection compared to ClamXav.

Though some would say you could get away without using an Antivirus program on your Mac, it is often better to be safe then sorry. If anyone has any other recommendations feel free to leave them in the comments and i will add them to this list.

Run Windows Applications on a Mac

sergio — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 03:32:44 +0000

Let me tell you something. If you ever paid money for a Windows Emulator for your Mac, make a sad face and read these words very carefully. Open source is free, stable, reliable, and continuously updated. So on the topic of running Windows executables on your Mac, Darwine has been around for years and is the Mac port of the popular Wine app which has been available to *nix users for years. Download it using this easy guide and start playing your favorite Windows game in minutes.

The great thing about open source software is the large community backing it, meaning any problem you run into you can almost assure yourself someone has dealt with it and likely found a solution. If you head on over to the Darwine Google Code Page, you will find the download section with the latest releases and a wiki that will provide support if needed.

To setup Darwine browse over to the Download section and download the latest or “Featured” build. Drag the red Darwine folder to your Applications folder and you’re set. Now browse over to the Darwine folder in your Applications directory, and run WineHelper. Once WineHelper is loaded, go to Application -> Open… Browse to the .exe or whatever Windows file you may want to run, and select it. Chances are your Windows App is now running.

Keep in mind Darwine requires that you have X11 installed, if you don’t just Google “X11 Mac Download”, it’s not hard to find.

Enjoy!

Add a Second Menu Bar for Dual Monitors

sergio — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 05:38:43 +0000

Call it a trick or not, anyone who has used dual monitors on a Mac knows how handy it would be to have a second menu bar on the extending screen. The following app does exactly that by placing the menu on your second screen and giving you a fairly wide variety of options and customizations that allow you to tweak it to your hearts content.

SecondBar is as easy to install as it is download. Just head over to their website grab yourself a copy and you’ll have more menu bars then you’ll know what to do with. Enjoy!

Easily mount NTFS in OS X

sergio — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:42:36 +0000

You would be surprised how many people experience issues related to this topic. Thankfully there are people out there that are willing to give up some of their time to help the rest of the world out, for free! The following program will easily enable you to mount for read/write an ntfs drive on your Mac.

Check out the NTFS Mounter website and just download the app from the downloads section. The app is beautifully Airport inspired and will fit in great with your current desktop look. Plus the convenience of its functionality makes it a great tool to keep on your jump drive so that you can share it with friends.

Enjoy!