Re: Newbie Questions
- From: nospam <nospam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 09 Aug 2005 23:01:12 -0700
In article <MPG.1d632d8c12986ae9897f1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Scott Meyers
<Usenet@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Questions:
> - I've found the help to be really bad. I went to Finder>Help>Mac Help and
> typed "view photos" into the search box in the upper left corner. I
> got back the following topics: "Setting up a web site", "Using spotlight
> to search for items," and "Folders for your personal items." What I was
> hoping for was information on how to view photos using e.g., iPhoto. Am
> I doing something wrong?
nope. the built in help has its shortcomings.
> - The mini has a jack for audio out, but doesn't seem to have one for audio
> in. Is that really correct?
not everyone needs it, and the mini is a low end mac. those who do can
get a usb-audio adapter, such as the griffin imic, for $30, or a
significantly higher quality unit if they so choose.
> - I downloaded Firefox, installed it and browsed the net with it. Now, a
> couple of reboots later, I can't find it. It's not listed under
> Applications, and though spotlight can find folders with Firefox in the
> name, it doesn't seem to find an application I can run. How can I find a
> program that I know is on my disk somewhere? [Some time goes by.] Okay,
> maybe I didn't install it. I just found a file named Firefox 1.0.6.dmg
> in my Download directory, and if I double-click on that, I see
> Firefox.exe, and if I double-click on that, I run firefox. Do I have to
> do something else to actually install the program?
a .dmg is a disk image - think of it as a virtual cd. you 'insert' it
by double clicking it, and then a new 'disk' appears on the desktop
(assuming finder is set to display them). then, copy the file or files
to wherever you want, or run the installer if there is one. it is as
if you inserted an actual cd.
the applications folder is a common place to drag the application, but
it usually can be anywhere you want. for instance, one could have an
applications folder within their home folder for apps they do not wish
to be used by other users on the machine. if something has to be in a
specific place, it will usually have an installer (i.e. a driver) or
explicit instructions explaining what to do.
after copying or installing, you then 'eject' the disk by selecting the
disk icon and picking eject from finder's file menu or the disk's
contextual menu, or simply dragging the disk icon to the trash (which
will then change to an eject icon).
once you do all this, you can then trash the .dmg file, since the
application is now copied to the hard drive. or, you can archive it in
case you want to install it again at some later time (i.e. if you have
to reinstall from scratch).
> - When the machine starts up, there are a number of apps in the dock, e.g.,
> iChat, iPhoto, Safari, etc. How do I control what is listed there? I'd
> like to get rid of some stuff I know I won't use (e.g., iDVD) and add,
> say, Firefox....
easy - just drag them out. poof (literally) and the icon is gone. the
original application is still there so you can still run it if you
later decide to use it.
similarly, drag whatever icons you want into the dock. you can also
pick 'keep in dock' from the contextual menu of any running app if its
not yet permanently added.
> - Using Clover-Tab to switch among applications seems to sometimes bring
> the switched-to app's body window to the foreground and sometimes not.
> (The menu bar at the top of the screen usually changes.) For example, it
> seems to not do it if I have a Finder help window up, and it seems to
> also not do it when none of my apps is the current app. (When none of
> them is the current app, using Clover-W has no effect.)
unlike windows, a mac app can be running with no windows currently
open. when an app is frontmost, you will see its application name next
to the apple menu.
> - The Finder seems to always open a small window sort of in the middle of
> the screen. I keep resizing and moving it, but the next time I open a
> Finder window, it's back to its old size and shape. How can I make it
> come up in the size/location where it was last time?
by bitching at apple to fix this long standing bug.
> - How can I play a song with iTunes without bringing up an iTunes UI? For
> example, I'd like to be able to double-click on an mp3 file and have it
> start playing without changing the screen dispay in any way.
buy an ipod? :)
for a single mp3, what i do is just drag it to quicktime player and
play it there. that is MUCH faster to launch and play a single song
than bothering with itunes.
> - The Finder seems to show my folder contents using icons by default. Each
> time I visit a directory, I have to change the display mode to show what
> Windows calls a detailed view, i.e., one line per file showing size,
> type, last modification date, etc. How can I tell the Finder that this
> is the default view I want to see?
it should save the view settings if you have write permission to the
folder and/or its parent (depending on a lot of things and its
amazingly convoluted). as noted above, this does not always work. for
folders *you* create/own, it should work properly, however.
> - I have a bunch of .mpg files I'd like to play one after the other. I can
> play each in QuickTime by double-clicking on it, but what I want is the
> moral equivalent of a video playlist so that the clips will play one
> after the other. I tried plopping them all into an iTunes list, but that
> only got me audio. How can I drag a bunch of .mpg files somewhere such
> that they'll play sequentially?
there are media players other than quicktime player that can do this.
<http://www.versiontracker.com/> and search for quicktime or mpg or
anything else you might want to try.
.
- References:
- Newbie Questions
- From: Scott Meyers
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