Anil's Technica

How to connect a network drive at startup easily

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 15:30:00 +0000

Recently I added an Ubuntu server at home so I can wirelessly store my data on a large hard drive. I configured Samba server in Ubuntu and the Mac would connect to it using Finder's "Connect to" menu. However, once I reboot, the drive is gone, and I have to use the Finder again to connect the drive. There is a very easy way Macs can connect a network drive at startup, just follow these...

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Windows XP home does not save network passwords

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:34:00 +0000

I can connect to a network drive using Windows XP home edition fine. But I have to enter a password after each reboot. However, there is a nifty "Remember Password" option in XP Pro. Now where did the little checkbox go in XP home? Apparently M$ didn't include the ability to save network passwords on Windows XP Home edition. They want me to buy XP Pro version so I can save my...

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My iPhone dreams are shattered

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 16:04:00 +0000

Are you planning to buy iPhone 3G? Yes No Haven't decided view results Just like the majority of students, I'm poor, but I have dreams. My latest dream was to get an iPhone. Why I want iPhone? Because it has many features not found in other commonly available/commonly known phones. It's more like a fashion statement than a machine of need. That makes it hot...

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The longest Firefox 3 error message!

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:55:00 +0000

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Another site that forces users into Internet Explorer, and how to bypass it

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:17:00 +0000

Update: After numerous customer complaints, Airtel's website now works with Safari. I'm an Indian living in USA, and I use Airtel's calling card service to make phone calls to India. All was well until two weeks back when I ran out of my balance and wanted to fill dollars into my account as usual. I was horrified to see the message "Please use Internet Explorer" when I tried to login to their...

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Getting MacFUSE to work on Leopard: The twists and turns

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 09:18:00 +0000

I finally got MacFUSE working on my Leopard installation. Total time taken = a little more than one hour. I feel like I'm using Windows again :( I grabbed the dmg of MacFUSE from Amit's page here and installed the kernel extension of MacFUSE. Rebooted. Installed SSHFS from the same site. When I ran sshfs.app from Applications folder, it seemed to accept the server address and my username, but...

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Birth pangs of Firefox 3

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 02:52:00 +0000

The world record that Mozilla foundation is heading towards sounds ambitious, and I am confident they will get it. Firefox is going to become the most popular browser ever, no doubt about it - it's now only a matter of time. I downloaded Firefox 3 today for Mac, and I'm impressed with many new features. However, after using it for 4 hours, I already see a couple of areas for improvement: 1. Mac...

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How to take a screenshot in Mac with mouse pointer included

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 20:03:00 +0000

I am making a few design instruction tutorials these days, and I was looking for a way to include the mouse pointer with my screenshots. I started off with superimposing the picture of a mouse pointer on the screenshot using a graphic editing tool using layers. However, that's not the best way. The best way is this: 1. Start "Grab" from your "Utilities" folder in "Applications"2. Open Grab's...

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Complex language support in Firefox 3

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 22:12:00 +0000

Hindi is a language spoken by a little less than one billion people worldwide. One out of every six people in the world speak this language. However it is severely neglected in computing so far, despite being very scientific in grammatical structure. In Firefox 2 for Mac, hindi language display support was entirely lacking so far, and here is what I used to see when I opened a webpage made in...

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How to change your home directory in Mac OS X easily

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 09:21:00 +0000

First up, there should be no need for an average user to change their home directory for casual use. This option is only for geeks, please do not try just for the sake of trying. 1. Login as a user with administrator privileges and open System Preferences.2. Click on "Accounts" under "System" section3. Make sure the "lock" symbol in the bottom of System Preferences window is open. If not, click...

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Have you tried the new "group chat" in Gmail?

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:25:00 +0000

Gmail now includes group chat, and few people have noticed. To use group chat, just start a conversation like usual. To add more people to the chat, click on "options" in the existing chat window and you can then invite other people in the same chat.

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Can't see animated buddy profile pics in iChat? Try this!

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 05:12:00 +0000

Sometimes your friend finds a fancy animated gif off the web, and he assigns that as his profile picture in iChat. But you can't see the animation, rather the picture remains static. Here's an easy way to see the animated version: 1. Open iChat2. Open iChat preferences from menu (or press command and , together)3. Go to "General" tab4. Select the checkbox against "Animate buddy pictures".You can...

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How to play a sound when an iChat buddy comes online

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 04:39:00 +0000

I was thinking if there is a way iChat could play a sound file of my choice when my sister comes online. I thought it'd require some scripting, so I spent an hour searching for some applescript. But eventually I was able to do this without any scripting at all. This is something built right into iChat! Here's how: 1. Open iChat and locate your buddy that you want to set a sound for. If your buddy...

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Has Yahoo made POP access free for all?

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 03:07:00 +0000

I heard one can't use Yahoo's free email with POP clients like Outlook, Thunderbird or Apple Mail without upgrading to their premium service. At least this was the case last year when I tried accessing my Yahoo emails with Apple Mail and it simply refused. Yesterday I tried it again, and now it works. I have not purchased any Yahoo Premium Services. This is how my "premium services" look...

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How to test sound in Skype

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:14:00 +0000

One of my friends wanted to test if his microphone is working alright with Skype, but he doesn't have anyone in his contact list as yet. He wanted to know how he can test sound. Here's how: Simply add a user named echo123 to your address book. Then make a call to this user. This user is actually an automated sound testing service by Skype. When you make a call, a voice will greet you, and you...

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How to change iPhoto's default folder location easily

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 21:55:00 +0000

My iPhoto library is getting bigger and bigger, and it is now consuming 20GB of my 60GB Macbook hard drive. Now is a good time to relocate the photos to an external storage location in such a way that iPhoto is still able to recognize them. There are many ways to change iPhoto's default folder location, but this is the easiest: 1. Make a backup of your current iPhoto library...

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Top 20 Mario facts

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 19:24:00 +0000

Okay, I'm on a break from technology days. So let me post something about another of my long time passions - video games! This post is all about top 20 facts about Mario! Hope you enjoy reading it. 1. How old is Mario? Answer: 26 years now (First game "Donkey Kong" released in 1981). He was then known as "Jumpman". 2. What is Mario's last name (surname)? Answer: Mario does not have a last...

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How to backup iCal calendars in OS X

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 06:36:00 +0000

I was looking for a way to backup and restore iCal calendars on my MacBook running OS X. A quick Google search took me to a page on Apple's website. I tried to follow the instructions but it appears the page is outdated. Here is the correct information: iCal saves your calendars as .ics files in this folder: ~/Library/Application Support/iCal/Sources/. There should be some folders in the Sources...

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Quickest way to spell in OS X

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 20:29:00 +0000

I just discovered this: If you're typing a word in Mac OS X, and are stuck midway because you don't know how to spell the rest of it, OS X can offer you suggestions based on its built-in dictionary. To evoke the suggestions, just press "escape" key on the keyboard while the cursor is at the end of incomplete word. It's ultra-handy! Note: The same feature could also be accessed by pressing F5,...

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Five days without a computer

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 19:30:00 +0000

My mac was refusing to sleep, and I decided to take it to the Apple store for diagnostics as the 1 year warranty is ending next month. The Apple Genius decided it needs surgery, so he kept it there. He told me I can get my computer back after five days. I said "O.K." and came back. After coming back, the first thing I did was to rush for my desk and check my email. But look, there's no...

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How to change your OS X drive icons to any picture of your choice

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 20:55:00 +0000

I want to place my picture as my Macintosh hard drive icon. This is pretty easy to do. Software required: OS X (obviously)An advanced image editor like GIMP/GIMPshop or PhotoshopMethodology: Open the picture you want to convert in your favorite image editor. Make a square selection of what you want to convert into an icon. The length should be exactly equal to the width. (Press Shift key when...

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She lost her job because she used openoffice

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 21:23:00 +0000

One of my friends (let's call her Alice) got her first computer recently. She had just joined a interior design company, and wanted to make her life easy by learning "office software". I asked her to be specific. She said she wants to learn "Microsoft". "She wants to learn Microsoft"? I made some alphabetical calculations in my mind and came up with "Do you mean Microsoft Office? Like Word,...

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When you take your Mac to an Apple Genius

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 22:08:00 +0000

My MacBook hasn't slept for six months now, and its warranty will be expiring soon. Therefore I thought I should have it checked by an Apple Genius. I took it to the nearest Apple Store, and there are a few things I would like to share with every Mac user. BEFORE THE VISIT 1. Perform a full system backup If he finds there is a problem with your Mac and it needs to be fixed in their workshop,...

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Visual anatomy of Blogger CSS

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 06:47:00 +0000

Click this image to see an overview of the gross visual anatomy of blogger css code. This image will tell you which code goes where:

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What's up with Mac OS X mouse cursor?

noreply@blogger.com (Anil) — Sun, 27 May 2007 13:48:00 +0000

Almost everyone who owns a Mac believes it's not only the most advanced operating system, it's also graphically superior. The Apple Human Interface Guidelines indeed lay out a comprehensive set of rules to follow. True indeed, I've seen the same program for windows and Mac, and the Mac version looks far superior. "We made the buttons on the screen look so good you'll want to lick them." Despite...

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