…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.

Ever since the very first iPhone was released over 2 years ago, I’ve been enjoying mine.  Recently, I upgraded to the iPhone 3GS, and couldn’t believe the speed difference!

I’m always on the lookout for shortcuts, and tips to get things done more efficiently.  If you have any good things to share, please do!

Here are 7 iPhone Shortcuts You Should Know:

1. Send an incoming call directly to voice mail.
   If you’re receiving incoming call, and want to send it directly to voice mail, simply press the on/off button (upper right, top of phone) twice.
2. Search your iPhone with Spotlight.
   Spotlight on the Mac has been an amazing tool, and when they introduced it on the iPhone with the v3.0 release of iPhone’s software – I couldn’t wait to try it out.  To get to Spotlight, simply press the Home button when you’re looking at your Applications screen.  To go back to your Application screen, press Home again!
3. See a web page up close.
   This is awesome!   If you want to zoom into a column of text, or a picture (or any element for that matter) on a web page.  Simply double-tap on it, and the iPhone will zoom into it.  If you keep double-tapping, it will zoom back out.
   
4. Zoom out with one hand in Maps.
   So often I use the Maps feature as a GPS when I’m renting a car.   It’s easy to zoom into the Map by double-tapping, however, if you want to zoom out, without having to use two hands, you simply need to double-tap with two fingers.
5. Get to your Favorites FAST!
   The iPhone let’s you create a Favorites list of people you call most frequently.   To get to it, quickly, from anywhere, simply double-click the Home button (it’s the only physical button on the front of the iPhone).
6. Automatically add a period and space when typing.
   This saves tons of time, simply double space when you’re typing (in e-mail, text, on the web, etc), and a period (.) and a space will automatically be inserted.
7. Reset your phone!
   I’ve only had to do this twice in over 2 years, but if your phone gets totally locked up, it might require a reset.   There are two types of resets, a soft reset, and a hard reset.   It’s recommended to start with the soft reset, which is accomplished by pressing and holding the On/Off button on the top of the iPhone until the red slider appears.  For a hard reset, press and hold the On/Off button and Home button until the Apple Logo appears.

If you’re looking to learn more about your iPhone, I highly recommend checking out The IPhone Book on Amazon.

• 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

This is incredibly helpful for debugging slow startup issues, and troubleshooting problems you may be having.

If you’re looking for more keyboard shortcuts, be sure to check out my “great resource for keyboard shortcuts” post.

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!”

(Thanks to Gizmodo for this photograph!)

And, I have to say…

I’m blown away!

For the last two years, I’ve been using my 17″ Macbook Pro, 2.4 GHz, 4 GB of RAM, 160 GB 7200 rpm notebook, and have been incredibly pleased with it…

Believe it or not, my core reason for upgrading was for the extended battery life (quite the price to pay for that, eh?)  Of course, I love technology, and love to be on the cutting edge, as well.

My notebook is the 2.93 GHz model, with 8 Gigabytes of RAM, 256 GB Solid State Hard Disk (smokin’ fast & NO moving parts!), along with the glossy 17″ LED screen, and the other standard features.

Since I practically live on my notebook, I’m really enjoying the newer Chiclet keyboard as well.

If you’re interested in learning more about the 17-in Macbook Pro, including performance tests, be sure to read the Gizmodo 17-in Macbook Pro Review.

If you want to see a hands-on demo, just let me know!

Take care, and have a great day!

Charly