MacTalk News

Thursday How-To: Create a New User Account

Toby Nieboer — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:29:24 +0000

Forum member ClockWork brings us this handy tutorial.

Sometimes, if things don’t work the way they’re supposed to in Mac OS X, you can check if the problem is inside your User folder, or if the problem is System wide, or a Hardware problem.

An easy way to check this is to create a new User Account and then test the problem in there.

Although creating a new User Account is very fast and simple, if you don’t know how to do it, follow this fully visual guide.

Note: All red circles and green arrows shown in this article are purely for diagramatical purposes and you will not see them on your screen.

Also, an Adobe Acrobat PDF of this entire tutorial is available here for print out:

1. Click on your top-left Apple menu and scroll down to System Preferences…

2. In the System Preferences window, click once on: Accounts - as shown here circled in red.

3. In the Accounts window, click once on the lower-left Padlock icon, as shown here circled in red.

4. A new window will appear asking you for your Name and Password. Your Name should already be there, so simply type in your Password (if you have a Password) and then click the OKbutton, as circled here in red.

5. Back in the Accounts window, click once on the [+] button, just above the Padlock, as shown here circled in red.

6. This drop down window will appear. Click on the top button marked: Standard, next to New Account, as circled here in red…

7. … and scroll up to Administrator, as shown here.

8. Where it says Name: simply type in a new Name for your new account, as shown here by the top green arrow. The Name can be anything you like. I’ve used New Test Account just so I don’t get mixed up with my original Account Name.

Then simply click once in the Short Name panel, as shown here by second green arrow, and your computer will automatically create a Short Name for you.

Then simply click once on the OK button, as circled here in red.

9. This window will appear as I did not enter a Password for my New Test Account, yet as it is just a test, I don’t want the added complexity of having a password, so in this window, simply click once on the OK button, as shown here circled in red.

10. In the next alert window, click once on the Keep Automatic Login, as shown here circled in red.

11. Back in the Accounts window, click once on the area just above the [+] button with the black outline of a home, called Login Options, as circled here in red.

12. Next, click once to “tick” the Enable fast user switching box, as shown here circled in red.
Click it to put a blue tick inside it.

13. When this drop down Warning appears, don’t be alarmed and simply click the OK button, as shown here circled in red.

14. Then click once on the top-left menu item: System Preferences, and scroll down to: Quit System Preferences.

15. If you now look to the top-right of your screen, you’ll see that your main User Account Name is up there next to the Time.
Click once on your Name and scroll down to the New Test Account.

16. Your screen will do the big 3D Cube swing around and reveal an entirely new screen….

In fact, the kind of screen you saw when you turned on your Apple Mac computer for the very first time.

It is here, in this utterly new and fresh Account, that you can test the Application or the function that wasn’t working properly in your primary User Account.

If it “whatever-it-is-that-is-causing-a-problem-in-your-primary-user-account” works perfectly here, in this New Test Account, then it’s definitely not a Hardware problem, nor is it a general Mac OS X System problem, thus it must have something to do with a problem in your original User Account and this is the simplest way to test it and see it.

If the problem still occurs here in this New Test Account, then yes, it is either a Hardware problem, or an overall problem with Mac OS X, yet either way, it is here that you can determine which kind of problem it is.

And having the User Account Name up in the top-right corner of your screen, as shown back in Step 15, means you can always click on it and switch User Accounts to compare the problem.

After using this Test Account to see if the problem is only isolated to your original User Account, here are the instruction on returning back to your original Account:

17. Click on the top-left Apple menu and scroll down to: Log Out New Test Account…

18. …and click once on the Log Out button in this window, as shown here circled in red.

19. All menus will fade away and this Login window will appear.
Enter your Name and your Password, and then click once upon the fourth blue round button with a black lined image of a home in it, called: Log In.

You will be returned to your original User Account and familiar screen.

Now, the New Test Account can remain on-board, as it’s a good way of testing if any particular problem is solely to do with your original Account, or if it is a far more serious Hardware problem, or a general OS X System problem, yet if you wish to make it go away, here’s how:

20. Click once on your Apple Menu and scroll down to System Preferences…

21. In your System Preferences window, click once on Accounts once again, as shown here circled in red.

22. In your Accounts window, click once on the Padlock icon, as shown here circled in red.

23. Enter your Password and click once on the OK button, shown here circled in red.

24. And back in the Accounts window, click once on the New Test Account, as shown here circled in red.

25. And click once on the lower-left [-] minus button, as shown here circled in red.

26. A drop down window will appear. Click once on the Delete the home folder radio button, as shown here circled in red.

27. And then click the OK button, as shown here circled in red.

28. Next, click once on the area marked: Login Options, as shown here circled in red.

29. And “untick” the Enable fast user switching box, as shown here circled in red. It should be left empty.

30. Quit System Preferences.

31. And if you now look to the top-right of your screen, you will see that your Account User Name has vanished, along with the New Test Account.

Note that one needn’t delete New User Accounts, and one can create as many as one likes, especially useful if there’s only one Apple Mac computer running Mac OS X, yet more than one person who wishes to use the machine.

Creating New User Accounts doesn’t take up vast amounts of space, and each person’s User Account will be quite separate and different from everyone else’s User Account.

MacTalk Podcast #81 - Optus, Vodafone, Telstra, Virgin and 3

Anthony Agius — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 07:15:43 +0000

Lauren Watson (prerecorded), Christopher Kahler (arkenstone), Chris Menz (Xenex), Pete Dillon (Phase) and Anthony Agius (decryption) talk about Apple stuff once again.

Download Enhanced AAC or MP3
Subscribe in iTunes to Enhanced AAC or MP3
Subscribe to AAC version RSS feed or MP3 version RSS feed

iPhone Coming to 3, July 17th

Anthony Agius — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:03:35 +0000

3 have spat out a press release stating that they will have the iPhone 3GS in 3 stores and on their website July 17th. No pricing yet, but that will be announced soon and you’ll see them here as soon as they go up. No doubt 3 will be very competitive on price. The press release is below.

PRESS STATEMENT
2 July 2009

3 mobile will launch iPhone 3G S, the fastest most powerful iPhone yet, in Australia on 17th July 2009 through 3 stores, 3 dealers, 3 direct and www.three.com.au. To receive further information go to www.three.com.au/iphone and register your details.

Nigel Dews, CEO VHA said “Since we announced that 3 mobile would be selling the iPhone 3G S we have been inundated with customers who have pre-registered their interest in this device. Our commitment is to give our loyal customers the great value and benefits they deserve and have come to expect from the 3 brand”

Pricing will be announced closer to the launch date.

For more information on iPhone 3G S please visit www.apple.com/iphone

Australian Apple Online Store Selling iPhones Outright & Unlocked

Anthony Agius — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:16:37 +0000

Apple have come to their senses and decided to sell the iPhone outright and unlocked directly off the Australian online store. Seeing as every carrier in Australia has it anyways, this is a logical step to get more iPhones out into the market.

The 16GB 3GS is $879 and the 32GB 3GS is $1040. The 8GB 3G can still be purchased for $719.

If you do plan on purchasing an iPhone via the Apple Online store, give little ol’ MacTalk a helping hand by using our affiliate link.

YouTube Wednesday - July 1st

Donnie Darko — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:53:58 +0000

Welcome to YouTube Wednesday! A spanking new segment for the MacTalk blog, creamed full of tasty Apple eye candy. Only the tastiest and juiciest Macintoshy morsels are selected weekly for your retinal delight, so sit back and enjoy!

First up, an impressive ad for the iPhone app - Worldmate. Impressive animation aside a unique subspecies of Apple fanboy is wonderfully demonstrated here, and to great comedic effect. That guy, with the fart app, who thinks it’s hilarious.. oh no.. he’s coming over here..

Oh Steve, even you are human. You can’t always rely on that enchanted black skivvy bestowed by the Cupertino druids of old. Observe these rare moments of humanity observed at various Keynotes; what you mortals would refer to as a “blooper reel”.

This isn’t an Apple video. This, is a glimpse into the potential of the user interface. A futurists dream of an ethereal computing system. The Sci-Fi nerds out there might associate an inspiration with this innovation.

Hope you dug the vids. More Apple visual treats this time next week, stay tuned.

Zac // Donnie Darko

No related posts.

The MacTalk Podcasts Need Your Help

Anthony Agius — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:27:29 +0000

I am sad to say this, but the MacTalk Podcast has hit hard times.

My accountant is asking questions as to why I invest time & money into it, when it makes no obvious money back. The on-going production costs for this podcast are $1,100/month on rent and internet access for our studio, plus $150/month on bandwidth for you to download it. That doesn’t include the $6,000+ spent on gear making it sound decent. I also spend about 12 hours a week on these podcasts, where that 12 hours could be spent doing more “profitable” things.

So far the website advertising has been subsidising these costs, but the bean counters want to see some sort of return on the investment on the podcasts, otherwise they may have to stop, or be of a lower quality so I can focus on more “profitable” areas of MacTalk.

I’ve wanted to avoid advertising on the podcasts, as I feel they don’t really slide in or integrate well with our vibe, plus they’re really awkward to do, as we aren’t pro radio guys used to doing paid adverts and generally stuff it up. So to try and avoid advertising on the podcasts MacTalk makes, I’m appealing to you for donations.

Recurring subscriptions via PayPal are available from just $5/month. Our podcasts get a combined 3,000 downloads a week, so if only 200 listeners give $5/month, the bulk of our costs are met and the moneymen are happy and everyone can enjoy regular MacTalk podcast lovin’.

If you’ve found useful apps via Can Touch This, enjoyed laughing at us on the MacTalk podcast, or been inspired by the people I chat to on MacTalk Interviews, give MacTalk your spare change a month, via the buttons below and help keep, pretty much the only locally made and regularly updated Apple-related podcasts flowing:

$5/month

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Can Touch This #9 - Paging Fred Funk

Anthony Agius — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 13:54:20 +0000

Talking for way too long about wireless telecommunication providers is Gavin (mrbrut), Marc (marc), Dan (zillatron), Shawn (the gaffer guy) and Anthony (decryption). These are the apps we talked about:

Download AAC
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Brisbane MacTalk Meet - 17th July 2009

Kieran McIlwain — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:05:41 +0000

Rolling on the back of two State of Origin wins, its clear that right now Queensland cannot be beaten. To continue building this simmering rivalry between Brisbane and Melbourne, I present to you the latest instalment of Alcoholics Anonymous Brisbane’s MacTalk Meet-ups.

Come join your forum buddies, put faces to names and enjoy a few beers and some good food. We don’t bite, seriously! Given the season it may be advisable to bring a coat, however we will kick on regardless of rain or shine (and what a rainy winter it’s been). Follow the “read more” link for full details and join us in the forums to discuss the leadup or RSVP to the event.

When: Friday July 17th, 6pm ’til late - iCal file
Where: Boardwalk Bar & Bistro - Website - Map
What to Bring: Yourself, a friendly attitude and money for food and drinks - they do a great deal on Friday’s until 7pm; a jug of beer and bowl of hot chips for $13.90. Also bring your camera!
Contact: kieran.mcilwain[at]mactalk.com.au

Tuesday Evening News - Rapid Fire Edition

Anthony Agius — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:57:24 +0000

It’s official, Steve Jobs is back at work. Hooray!
NVIDIA has released some Adobe CS4 plugins for the Mac that let the Creative Suite take advantage of the powerful video cards in your computer.
Speaking of Adobe - they’ve closed down for a week to save money.
Mashable has some tips on using the video camera in the iPhone 3GS together with Twitter.
TidBITS reviews Path Finder 5, which is an awesome Finder replacement.
ZDNet.com reports that iPod Touch take up of OS 3.0 is extremely poor, under 15%, compared to almost 50% on the iPhone.
StarCraft 2 is coming soon and ArsTechnica has more info on this incredibly anticipated sequel.
The BBC gave some 13 year old kid a 70’s era Sony Walkman and he wrote about it, in comparison to his fancy-pants iPod.
Woz sold his HP calculator to start up Apple. Now HP are hawking their calculators on the App Store for your iPhone or iPod Touch.
You probably don’t want to install v1.7 of the EFI firmware update on your Mac if you’re using a non-Apple-supplied HDD.

Win an iPhone 3G S Thanks to iWorld Australia

Anthony Agius — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 23:31:26 +0000

Our friends at iWorld Australia, distributor of brands like Dexim and iLuv, are giving away an iPhone 3G S to one lucky MacTalker. All you gotta do is a quick survey on your favourite iWorld product. Easy huh? You would be dumb not to enter. Visit http://mactalk.iworldaustralia.com.au/ to be in the running for an iPhone 3G S.

The comp is open until the 31st of July and iWorld Australia will contact the winner of the iPhone 3G S. There are 5 iPhones available to win, but there is one put aside just for MacTalkers!