When  you connect the external monitor to an Apple Macbook, the external monitor will display as secondary monitor.

In order to make the external monitor the primary one, go to System Preferences -> Displays.

Select Arrangement. You will see two rectangles – each representing a monitor (internal & external).

You will also notice there is a small white bar at the top of the smaller rectangle. Drag the bar to the bigger rectangle (indicating that you want to make the external ...]]>

When  you connect the external monitor to an Apple Macbook, the external monitor will display as secondary monitor.

In order to make the external monitor the primary one, go to System Preferences -> Displays.

Select Arrangement. You will see two rectangles – each representing a monitor (internal & external).

You will also notice there is a small white bar at the top of the smaller rectangle. Drag the bar to the bigger rectangle (indicating that you want to make the external monitor the primary one).

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This morning I got and e-mail from the site.  Doug has forgotten his Admin password for his make ( or it was changed by mistake) and he needed help figuring out how to reset it. Bellow are the instructions for Snow Leopard. If you need the instructions for a different version then scroll to the bottom of the page for the link to the apple support articles on this subject.

This is a 2 step process because your user password and ...]]>

This morning I got and e-mail from the site.  Doug has forgotten his Admin password for his make ( or it was changed by mistake) and he needed help figuring out how to reset it. Bellow are the instructions for Snow Leopard. If you need the instructions for a different version then scroll to the bottom of the page for the link to the apple support articles on this subject.

This is a 2 step process because your user password and your keychain password will both have to be reset. The first step is to reset the user password from your OS boot disk.

1. Start up from a Mac OS X Install disc (one whose version is closest to the version of Mac OS X installed).  Usually, you can start from the disc by putting it in your computer, restarting, and holding the C key. Or, put it in the computer and click the Install or Restore icon you see in the disc’s main window (after which the computer will start from the disc without you needing to hold C). Or, you can use Startup Manager or the Startup Disk preference pane to select the Install disc.
2. Choose a language, click the arrow button to continue,
3. Mac OS X v10.6 or later: Choose Password Reset from the Utilities menu.
   Mac OS X v10.5 or v10.4: Choose Reset Password from the Utilities menu.
   Mac OS X v10.3: Choose Reset Password from the Installer menu.

   Tip: If you don’t see this menu or menu choice, you’re probably not started from the disc yet.
   
   Note: The default keyboard layout is U.S. English while started from the installation disc. If you use a keyboard layout other than U.S English, use the Input menu (the flag icon on the right side of the menu bar) to select the desired layout before typing a new password.

4. Select your Mac OS X hard disk volume.
5. Select the user name of your original administrator account.Important: Do not select “System Administrator (root)”. This is actually the root user. You should not confuse it with a normal administrator account.
6. Enter a new password.
7. Click Save.
8. Click the red button in the upper left corner to quit the application.
9. Choose Quit Mac OS X Installer… from the Mac OS X Installer menu.
10. Click Restart.

Now the second part is to reset your keychain Password. Now this is where it gets tricky because if you don’t remember the old password the only option for you is to delete the keychain and start from scratch with a new one. the following will help you try to figure out your old password and then help you to delete it.

If you want your default keychain to be unlocked automatically when you log in, synchronize your Keychain Access and account login passwords by doing this:

1. Open Keychain Access (you can get to it by choosing Utilities from the Go menu in the Finder).
2. From the Edit menu, choose Change Password for Keychain “login.”
3. Type the former password of the account that you are currently logged in to, then click OK.
4. If you entered the correct password, a new window appears; enter the original password again in the Current Password field.
5. In the New Password field, type the password that matches your current account password.
6. Re-enter the newer password in the Verify field, then click OK.

I don’t remember my original (former) account password

If this is the case, you’ll have to delete the keychain.

1. In Keychain Access, choose Keychain List from the Edit menu.
2. Delete the “login” keychain.

The next time you log in to the account, you can save your current password in a keychain.

To read the original apple support documents on this use the following 2 links
Mac OS X: Changing or resetting an account password
Mac OS X: Keychain Access asks for keychain “login” after changing login password
Deleting a keychain

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I really enjoy the availability of “Active Corners” . Active Corners is the ability to use each corner of the screen to perform and action. You can control the settings for Active Corners in System Preferences -> Expose and Spaces on the Expose tab. (as seen in the picture below) You can ask any of the 4 corners of the display to launch any of the following.

The only problematic thing with the use ...]]>

I really enjoy the availability of “Active Corners” . Active Corners is the ability to use each corner of the screen to perform and action. You can control the settings for Active Corners in System Preferences -> Expose and Spaces on the Expose tab. (as seen in the picture below) You can ask any of the 4 corners of the display to launch any of the following.

• All Windows
• Application Windows
• Desktop
• Dashboard
• Start Screen Saver
• Disable Screen Saver
• Sleep Display

The only problematic thing with the use of Active Corners is when you move the mouse around and by mistake tap one of the corners. Its very much a distraction when you are trying to move around the screen. To get rid of this problem just add a modifier key (command, option, shift, or control) to the corner. To do this make sure you are on the system preferences expose tab drop down the selections and hold down the modifier key you want to use. In the picture below I used the command modifier key. While you are holding down the modifier key click on the action you want to launch.

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Over at The Mac Tipper Blog they have posted a great tip for using your keyboard to cycle through all of the open windows. The short cut is called “Move focus to the active window or next window” in the Keyboard Shortcuts area of the Keyboard & Mouse System Preference Pane. According to the post the default is “Control + F4″ but, if you are like me and on a macbook and just hit the ”Control +F4″ all it does is change ...]]>

Over at The Mac Tipper Blog they have posted a great tip for using your keyboard to cycle through all of the open windows. The short cut is called “Move focus to the active window or next window” in the Keyboard Shortcuts area of the Keyboard & Mouse System Preference Pane. According to the post the default is “Control + F4″ but, if you are like me and on a macbook and just hit the ”Control +F4″ all it does is change the volume (some newer Macbook keyboards are different). For the default to work for me I also have to hit the “FN” key and to hit all of those keys its not a comfortable key stroke. So I change it to an easier one.After I opened up the System Preference From the Apple Menu, I selected the “Keyboard & Mouse Pane” and clicked on the “Keyboard Shortcuts” tab on the Left. The ”Move focus to the active window or next window” is about the 4th option down the “Keyboard Navigation” list. To change the Default just double click on the short cut ( area on the right). Once the area has changed to an editable area just use the keyboard short cut you want to make it. I really liked the one that The Mac Tipper had so I used it as well. It is “Control + Shift + .(period)”. You could use any one you want but make sure it is not one you may use for an application. 

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With Spaces, Mac users can finally enjoy what Linux users have had for years: virtual desktops. However, Leopards implementation has a neat trick that I have yet to see in any Linux distro. You can now perform “window dragging” between the desktops without having to use the multi-pane view (ie. 4 screen view). Simply click on a window as though you were going to drag it. While continuing to hold down the mouse button, press control+<an arrow key> to move that ...]]>

With Spaces, Mac users can finally enjoy what Linux users have had for years: virtual desktops. However, Leopards implementation has a neat trick that I have yet to see in any Linux distro. You can now perform “window dragging” between the desktops without having to use the multi-pane view (ie. 4 screen view).
Simply click on a window as though you were going to drag it. While continuing to hold down the mouse button, press control+<an arrow key> to move that window to another space. Then let go when you are done. Isn’t that a much easier way to manage window clutter?

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If you are anything like me, when you print you want to look at all the options that may or may not have been set. Well in Leopard I have gotten very frustrated by having to hit the blue arrow in the print dialog box every time I want to see the settings. My problem have been solved by a real simple Terminal hack. Per the nice folks over at Mactips.org all you need to do is type:  defaults write -g ...]]>

If you are anything like me, when you print you want to look at all the options that may or may not have been set. Well in Leopard I have gotten very frustrated by having to hit the blue arrow in the print dialog box every time I want to see the settings. My problem have been solved by a real simple Terminal hack. Per the nice folks over at Mactips.org all you need to do is type: 

• defaults write -g PMPrintingExpandedStateForPrint -bool TRUE

This will make the default print dialog show up as the one with all the options. If you don’t like it and want it changed back then all you need to do is change the “TRUE” to “FALSE” in the above code and reenter it into the terminal.

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Have you ever installed a Preference Pane Application and wanted to remove it? What is a Preference Pane Application? It is an app that when installed is found on the bottom of the System Preferences application. If you you the app “RCDefaultApps” that we spoke about before, This is such an application. See the tutorial below.

The process to removing the app is really an easy one. All you need to do is open ...]]>

Have you ever installed a Preference Pane Application and wanted to remove it? What is a Preference Pane Application? It is an app that when installed is found on the bottom of the System Preferences application. If you you the app “RCDefaultApps” that we spoke about before, This is such an application. See the tutorial below.

The process to removing the app is really an easy one. All you need to do is open the System Preference Application. from the apple icon on the top left corner of the menu bar

Navigate to the Preference Pane item you wnt removed and Right Click (cmd click) and click on the Remove option.

That’s it, the application is removed.

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I was not able to write anything better than the web site states its self. Here is the excerpt from the home page.

RCDefaultApp is a Mac OS X 10.2 or higher preference pane that allows a user to set the default application used for various URL schemes, file extensions, file types, MIME types, and Uniform Type Identifiers (or UTIs; MacOS 10.4 only). MacOS X uses the extension and file type settings to choose the application when opening a file in ...]]>

I was not able to write anything better than the web site states its self. Here is the excerpt from the home page.

RCDefaultApp is a Mac OS X 10.2 or higher preference pane that allows a user to set the default application used for various URL schemes, file extensions, file types, MIME types, and Uniform Type Identifiers (or UTIs; MacOS 10.4 only). MacOS X uses the extension and file type settings to choose the application when opening a file in Finder, while Safari and other applications use the URL and MIME type settings at other times for content not related to a file (such as an unknown URL protocol, or a media stream).

RCDefaultApp also allows setting the application when digital cameras or FireWire webcams such as iSight are connected to the computer. For completeness’ sake, there are also settings that mimic the existing “CDs and DVDs” preference pane, which allows setting the action to take when various types of CDs and DVDs are inserted into the computer.

Finder’s Get Info panel can be used to set the default application for file extensions and file types, but it’s not intuitive. Apple’s Internet preference pane in MacOS X 10.0 through 10.2 (Jaguar) allowed you to set the Web and Email applications, but no other URL handlers. In MacOS X 10.3 (Panther), these settings have moved to Safari’s and Mail’s preferences — meaning you have to run those applications if you want to choose to not use them. Similarly, the digital camera preference is located in Image Capture’s preferences, and the webcam preference is a checkbox in iChat’s preferences. RCDefaultApp allows the setting of all of this information, and ties everything together in one preference pane.

RCDefaultApp also allows entries to be disabled, such as URL schemes that have security issues

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