…Domain Name Servers (DNS) play the role of translating that address into the appropriate numeric address (called an IP Address) on the Internet.

Once the translation is made, your computer connects to that computer through the Internet and it brings up the web site you’ve requested.

Google offers their very own Public DNS Servers, and their addresses are:

• DNS Server #1: 8.8.8.8
• DNS Server #2: 8.8.4.4

Of course, with Google, you can expect that they’re very fast, and efficient!

If you need help changing your DNS Servers, here’s some online resources for you:

• Changing TCP/IP Settings in Windows
• Setup DNS on Mac OS X (remember to use the two sets of numbers above)

Enjoy!

8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

…where when you ask it to copy an email address, and you go to paste it shows you this:

First & Last Name <name@domain.com>

instead of this:

name@domain.com

Here’s how you can update Apple Mail so it does the latter…

1. Click on the Spotlight in the Upper Right part of your screen.
2. Type “terminal” and press Enter (this will load the application called Terminal).
3. At the prompt type:  defaults write com.apple.mail AddressesIncludeNameonPasteboard -bool NO
4. Quit Terminal.

If, at any point, you want to change Apple Mail back to it’s OS X 10.6 default setting, simply enter this in Terminal at the prompt:

defaults delete com.apple.mail AddressesIncludeNameonPasteboard

This has saved me many unnecessary keystrokes — I hope it does the same for you!

Enjoy,

Charly

Seashore is a great, free, program!

Seashore features:

• gradients,
• textures and
• anti-aliasing for both text and brush strokes.

It supports multiple layers and alpha channel editing. It is based around the GIMP’s technology and uses the same native file format.

However, unlike the GIMP, Seashore only aims to serve the basic image editing needs of most computer users, not to provide a replacement for professional image editing products.

Seashore was created by Mark Pazolli who led the project until the end of 2009.

You can learn more or download it at: http://seashore.sourceforge.net.

• iPhone User Guide,
• iPod touch User Guide,
• MacBook Pro (13-inch),
• iPod Shuffle (3rd Generation),
• Mac Mini,
• iPod Nano, and more!

Be sure to visit Apple’s Manuals on the web!

If you’re interested in learning more about your Apple products, be sure to read these books, they’re great!

• Switching to the Mac – The Missing Manual
• Macs All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies
• iPod & iTunes for Dummies

Enjoy!

The easiest way to do this on your Mac is like this:

1. Press Command + Space to bring up the Spotlight (upper right corner).
2. Type “terminal” and press Enter (this should bring up the Terminal program).
3. Type “whois domainname.com” and press Enter.

You’ll see the message (in the photo above) stating “No match for domainname.com” if it’s available.

Keep in mind you can use the Spotlight shortcut above to load any program on your computer (type “mail” to load Apple Mail”, “word” to load Microsoft Word — assuming you have it installed on your computer, etc).

Enjoy!
Charly

Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual

I really appreciated David’s direct approach to telling you the equivalent:

• program (such as Textedit on the Mac for Notepad in Windows),
• utility such as System Preferences on the Mac for Control Panel in Windows), or
• keyboard shortcut (such as Command + Tab on the Mac for Alt + Tab on the PC – used to switch between programs, by the way!)

If you’re looking for a great book to help you get used to the Mac, give Switching to the Mac: The Missing Manual a try.

Have a great day!

Charly

Just recently, Skype released it’s App for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and it’s FREE!

“Ok… a month ago I was getting ready for a trip and…

realized the old iPod had a battery that wouldn’t charge any longer…. so… a trip to the apple store agonizing between a Touch and an iPhone.

Not wanted to switch to ATT, I ended up with a Touch…

Now…here’s the neat part… Skype has released a voip application that works on the Touch, as long as you have WiFi, you can make calls. So, with the purchase of a $20 earphone/microphone combo, downloading the Skype app from the iTunes store, I now have a Touch that can make phone calls. Skype to Skype calls are free, other calls cost a bit over 2 cents a minute… 10 bucks buys you over 400 minutes….

neat!”

Mac 101: 56 Useful Mac Shortcuts

Enjoy!

Outlook 2 Mac, by Little Machines, transfers Windows Outlook Mail & Folders to Your Mac!

Outlook 2 Mac (O2M) works with Outlook 97, 98, 2000, 2002, 2003, and the new 2007 on the most recent versions of Windows.

It also:

• Lets you choose which Outlook folders to export, and how.
• Lets you export all of your e-mail and calendar items, or
• Performs incremental exports by specifying a date range.

In terms of technical details, check this out — O2M:

• Exports Your PC’s Microsoft Outlook Email, Email Attachments, Contacts, and Calendar Appointments to Portable Macintosh-Compatible Files You Can Import Into Apple Mail, Address Book, iCal, Microsoft Entourage, and Other Third-Party Programs
• Creates Industry-Standard mbox, vcf (vCard), and ics (iCal) Formats
• Easy-to-Use Wizard Lets You Choose Folders to Export, Export Options and Filters, and More
• Attachments Can Be Saved into Emails, Separately as Detached Files, or Stripped Out Entirely
• Preserves Disk Space — Attachments Can Be Filtered Out by File Type and/or Size
• Performs Incremental Exports — Specify a Date Range of Emails or Calendar Items to Export
• Details of Each Export Are Clearly Captured to Log File
• Compatible with Stand-Alone PCs or PCs Using Microsoft Exchange Serve
• Includes User Guide and FAQ with Instructions for Importing into Popular Mac Programs
• Includes Free O2M Upgrades
• Includes Free Limited Technical Support by Email

Visit www.LittleMachines.com to learn how about Outlook to Mac mail conversion.

If you’re an Office 2004 Mac user, and you want to open the newer Office 2007 (Windows), and Office 2008 (Mac) documents — Microsoft provides this tool:

It’s called the “Open XML File Format Converter for Mac“, and it:

Open XML Converter allows you to convert Open XML files that were created in Office 2008 for Mac or Office 2007 for Windows so that you can open, edit, and save them in earlier versions of Office for Mac. Open XML Converter can convert Word documents, Excel workbooks, and PowerPoint presentations that are in the Open XML Format so that you can open and edit the files in Office 2004 for Mac and Office v. X for Mac. You can choose to convert and open one file, or convert a large number of files.

If you use Office 2004 – open 2007/2008 docs by downloading the converter here.