Mac Tricks » Windows

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!

Transfer Music from iPod and iPhone to Mac

sergio — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 04:26:31 +0000

There was a time when this was one of the most complicated and ask about questions on the internet among Apple users. Luckily the times have changed and this daunting task is no more. Pod to Mac is a simple easy to use program which will allow you to get your tunes off of your iPod or iPhone. Install it, run it, move on. Follow the following instructions.

Head on over to the Pod to Mac website and download the app. Once installed you will be greeted with a very Finder like window with the music on the attached device. From there you can drag and drop the files of your choosing and enjoy musical freedom.

Synchronize your Data

sergio — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 06:45:21 +0000

How nice would it be to have your documents synchronized on all of your machines? Having the ability to work on a document on your home pc, then being able to pull up the same document on your work pc without having to transfer it. Dropbox allows us to do just that. It keeps all your documents synchronized and you can get a 2gb account for free. Here’s how.

Go to the Dropbox website, and download the client. Fortunately it is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux, meaning you can share your files regardless of what platform you’re confined to. After you install the client just enter your username and password and you’re set. Do this on all your machines!

You can also set up shares with friends. Think of how easy it would be to share pictures, movies and music!

Google Chrome Extensions, Goodbye Firefox

sergio — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:35:22 +0000

This post doesn’t just apply to Mac users, but anyone out there using the Google Chrome browser. If you switched over to Chrome from Firefox, or any other browser for that matter, you probably were disappointed by the minimalistic features that come with Chrome. Good news is there is no need to be sad anymore, Google Chrome has support for extensions, though it may not be obvious. Here’s how to trick out your browser.

Head on over to Google Chrome Extensions, find the extension you like, and hit the “Add to Chrome” button. Chrome will prompt you if you would like to install the said extensions, and that is it. That’s all there is to it. Here are some of the extensions that i found most useful:

Kuber PageRank Checker – Get any websites Google PageRank next to your address bar.
Rocker Gestures – Add gestures to your browser, just like you had in Firefox!
Custom New Tab Page – Customize your new tab page.
AdBlock+ – Remember the Firefox AdBlock plugin? Get it for Chrome!

Feel free to post your favorite extensions in the comments.