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TIPS: Folder Teint: Modify Groups of System Icons
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M2 reader, b0ws3r, sent this tip about a cool app that's not listed on MacUpdate or Versiontracker!
Folder Teint presents a window for selecting system folders to modify. You can then adjust the contrast, saturation, and brightness of the group, and even apply an overall color tint. Don't like your mod? Click the restore button.
Posted by coyle on Tuesday, February 26 @ 07:12:14 MST
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TIPS: How to Create Custom Toast Menu Styles
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During my day job as a commercial recording engineer, I often make DVDs of video projects for clients. iDVD is nice, but it doesn't support 5.1 audio streams. DVD Studio Pro is powerful, but setup can be complicated and time consuming. Toast Titanium 8 fits in the middle quit nicely: easy to use with enough options for all but the most complicated projects.
Unfortunately, the DVD Menu Styles that are included with the application are for the vacation crowd and not the business community. If you're comfortable in Photoshop, this tutorial will walk you through the steps to create a Toast DVD Menu Style for your project - in my case, tying the theme to the company website. Click Read More below to continue...
Posted by coyle on Friday, February 22 @ 08:30:43 MST
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TIPS: I've Been Playing with Linux Again...
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For over 10 years, I've had a love/hate relationship with Linux. I love the way you can customize every aspect of the user interface, I love the great free software, but I hate how hard it is to get it running perfectly on a laptop. When Apple switched processors to Intel chips, it went a long way towards helping compatibility, but the reluctance of Linux distributions to include any close sourced drivers make the entire process a pain.
This article isn't meant to be a How-to linux install guide. Instead, it's a broad overview of my most recent Linux install experience.
Read more and see additional desktop snapshots after the jump...
Posted by coyle on Tuesday, February 12 @ 08:33:29 MST
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TIPS: 100 Photoshop Tutorials. Nuff Sed.
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With 100 Photoshop tutorials, you could do one a day and it would still take over three months to run through the list. Heck, do one a year and it will take a century! The page 3D Art is loaded with 100 preview images. Mouseover an image to get a description of the tutorial.
I'm not much of an artist, but I'm going to try the one that lets me make my own planet. I'll call it Coyletopia and the only beer served on my planet will be Guinness. It will be a happy place.
Posted by coyle on Wednesday, February 06 @ 12:00:00 MST
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TIPS: Firefox 3 Beta is Sweet
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I've been longtime fan of Firefox and 25% of the visitors to this site agree. If you use another browser and are bored this weekend, download Firefox or the newest beta and check it out. Visit Take Back the Web and install one of Aronnax's great themes if you want FF to look more Mac-like. (Previewed below)
Why would a diehard Mac Guy like me use Firefox over Safari? It's cross-platform, so no matter which OS is loaded in VMware, I can have a single interface, plus import my bookmarks and add-ons.There are hundreds of great add-ons like Stumble Upon, Web Developer, Download Statusbar and more. In addition, the contextual menus provide more options in FF than any other browser.
Monday, you can go bak to your other browser, but just for this weekend, take FireFox for a spin.
Contextual Menu for Images
Posted by coyle on Saturday, January 19 @ 07:26:11 MST
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TIPS: Utility to Change the Mac OS X Boot Image
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Because I have a MacBookPro, I don't normally restart the computer unless it's required by a software update or install. Still, I see the grey Apple logo often enough that I'm bored with it.
Jesús Álvarez programmed a utility called, BootXChanger that makes the job of changing the boot image drag-and-drop easy. Unlike the early days of changing the boot image, when just about any type of image would work, the newer versions of the Mac OS are a little more restrictive. Image file size is very limited, but there are pleny of options if you manage your color depth.
The BootXChanger helps get you started with a dozen replacement images (I used the second from the left!). If you create your own, send it to Michael's Mac and I'll add it to the archive!
Posted by coyle on Friday, January 18 @ 07:18:48 MST
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TIPS: Creating seamless patterns in Illustrator
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Over at Veerle's Blog is a tutorial on Creating seamless patterns in Illustrator. In only eight steps you can create some delicate images that I can imagine being used for web backgrounds or stationary to name a few examples.
Posted by coyle on Monday, December 17 @ 04:32:44 MST
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TIPS: How to Make a Ringtone that Kicks
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Custom ringtones are great. I know when my wife calls because the phone
plays the Wedding March (Here comes the bride...). This might seem
silly at first, but when I'm in a situation when I normally wouldn't
take a call, the Wedding March lets everyone know who's on the other
end of the line, and therefore it's a call I must take in order to
preserve matrimonial bliss.
While many songs might make great
ringtones, they're often so quiet that you may miss a call. This
tutorial will show you how to use the free audio editing program, Audacity, to take any song and make it a nice loud ringtone.
In this example, I'm using images from the Beach Boy's song, "Had to Phone Ya".
Posted by coyle on Friday, November 30 @ 08:48:31 MST
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TIPS: Find Better DNS Servers
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Recently, my ISP ticked-me-off. They changed their DNS servers so that any incomplete URL brought me to their 'customized search engine error page which suggested all the paid sponsor results instead of what I was really looking for.
For example, typing cnn in the URL box brought me to a crappy search page where I could order transcripts of CNN shows. Grrr....
Fortunately, there are Public DNS servers. Companies that host DNS servers for the good of all. The list is long and I chose the two servers offered by Cisco because, well they're a big company! I was going to run some timing tests, but I could tell the Public DNS servers we so fast it would have been a waste of time to time it!
Happy surfing The Internets.
Posted by coyle on Tuesday, November 27 @ 10:00:00 MST
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TIPS: My Favorite Leopard Utilities
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With the release of Leopard, I have at times sounded like an old crab-ass with my complaining about the Dock and menubar. Here are two utilities that address my concerns and a third utility just for fun.
Leopaque finally removes the transparency from the menubar and allows for a range of opacity settings from 0 (Tiger-ish) to 1 (System 7-ish!).
PimpMyDock eliminates the complicated process of replacing the PNG images used to create the Dock. You can drag and drop individual images, load theme files, or create a new theme file from a folder of images. The Malcom-Mac website also contains an archive of dock themes.
The last utility is Toolbar Extras, a collection of over one dozen Applescripts with button icons so they look great on the Finder Toolbar. My favorites, pictured below, toggle file invisibility, show the Go to Folder box , and Refresh the Finder view.
Posted by coyle on Friday, November 23 @ 10:54:43 MST
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TIPS: Create a Custom Environment for Leopard's New Guest User
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At your place of employment, do you have an Apple computer setup for visiting clients to use? When they leave there are often personal documents left on the desktop, iChat is logged in under their user name, and after a few weeks, that user is a real mess!
Fortunately, with Mac OS X 10.5 there is a new user called Guest. It requires no password to login and when you logout the entire contents of the Users' Home folder are deleted. The next time someone logs in as Guest an entirely new Home folder is created.
This is great, but the default setup is little generic! This tutorial will show you how to customize the Guest user and permanently save the settings. In my case, I changed the desktop picture to one featuring a company logo and rebuilt the Dock with the applications my clients need most often...
Before/After
Posted by coyle on Thursday, November 08 @ 20:34:59 MST
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TIPS: Add Hidden Finder Searches to the Sidebar
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In Leopard, Apple added SmartSearches to the sidebar, but did you know there are several more tucked away inside the Finder's Resources? (That's a rhetorical question. Don't feel obligated to answer before you continue reading.)
The fastest way to get inside the Finder.app package is to hit Shift-Command-G, this drops down the 'Go to the folder' box, and type:
/System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/Resources/CannedSearches
The CannedSearches folder contains the familiar Smart Searches that are already in the sidebar, plus several new ones: All Applications, All Movies, All PDF Documents, and more. Unfortunately, you can't add these to the SEARCH FOR section of sidebar (Wazzup with that Apple?), but you can drag them into the PLACES section and they work great.
Posted by coyle on Thursday, November 08 @ 03:45:00 MST
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TIPS: Clean Up Clover Flow Images
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Have you noticed that sometimes when you're flipping though Cover Flow the preview images are pixelated? My old buddy, Cletus™ told me it's because some images have custom preview icons that were created by image editing apps like Photoshop. He recommends a utility called CocoThumbX to delete the offending preview icon. it's drag-and-drop simple. Here is before, and then after.
Posted by coyle on Tuesday, November 06 @ 04:05:00 MST
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TIPS: Where are Default Icons Located in Leopard?
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Until Candybar and LiteIcon are updated, wouldn't it be handy to know where the default System Icons are located? Oh, okay. I'll tell ya.
/System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources
Just replace the icns file with one that's identically named, then log out and back in to see the change. Click here to see a large image of the most common System icons.
Posted by coyle on Monday, November 05 @ 04:20:00 MST
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TIPS: Leopard Icon Template from Kevin Andersson
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A layered Photoshop file is available from Kevin Andersson's web site. Combined with Iconographer, you can whip-up some impressive icons for 10.5.
Posted by coyle on Monday, November 05 @ 04:05:00 MST
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TIPS: Step by Step: How to change Mac OS X 10.5 Dock Indicators.
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I'm not getting any younger, and neither is Steve Jobs! So why did Apple make the 'Running Application' indicators in the new Dock.app so small in Mac OS X 10.5? I can barely see those little glowing balls.
This simple tutorial, loaded with pictures, will walk you through the steps to install replacement indicators. You can download a black set of indicators from Silver Mac, or grab my download which contains red and blue indicators, including replacement images for when the dock is on the side.
Click to Read More below to continue...
Posted by coyle on Friday, November 02 @ 05:02:56 MDT
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TIPS: Dockscrew Flattens 3D Leopard Dock
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Superpixel Software created a quick and free way to flatten your Dock in Leopard. With the punch of a button, Dockscrew removes the 3D perspective and reflections (Top Image), leaving you with a Dock that more resembles Tiger's (Bottom Image).
Posted by coyle on Thursday, November 01 @ 05:29:18 MDT
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TIPS: Old Konfabulator Version Works Under Leopard
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I'm loving the Leopard, but one item I deeply miss is the Yahoo Widget Engine (Konfabulator). Thanks to this post in the Konfabuator Forums, I learned an old version of the YWE works under Mac OS X 10.5!
Using the web archive site, Wayback Machine, I downloaded version 3.1.5 and it 90% works. The Day Planner widget can't seem to get iCal events, and iChat Patroller only displays user names, not handles, but other than that I've got my Widgets back on my desktop! This will tide me over until an update is released.
Posted by coyle on Thursday, November 01 @ 05:17:03 MDT
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TIPS: Button DevKit from Bartelme
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After a short sabbatical due to an apartment move, Bartelme Design has updated with a new Button Developer Kit. This free Photoshop Template has all the layers you need to create some impressive buttons! Even a ja-mope like me can do it.
Posted by coyle on Tuesday, October 09 @ 22:24:20 MDT
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TIPS: Vlad Posts World Tutorial
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A couple weeks ago, Vlad's Desktops released some cool wallpapers featuring a nighttime image of Earth with a moon that had the surface of a local city on it. I joked that I wanted him to do my town.
Well, he didn't (HA!), but Vlad did release a tutorial where he shows you how to create your own! If you register on his website (fee required) you can download the layered Photoshop file to make it even easier.
Posted by coyle on Wednesday, September 19 @ 05:20:51 MDT
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TIPS: Tutorial Gets Glowing Reviews
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A new tutorial from PSDTuts details in easy to follow, step-by-step instructions how to create amazing glow effects.
The image below only took 16 steps (for me it looked great after only 12!). i can see this coming in handy as we get close to Halloween for a party invitation.
Posted by coyle on Tuesday, September 18 @ 08:15:32 MDT
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TIPS: Before There was Spotlight...
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Long before there was Spotlight or Sherlock, there was the unix commandline program, locate. This old utility is still included with Mac OS X, but most people aren't comfortable typing terminal commands.
If you're one of them checkout Locator, a free utility by Sebastian Krauss...
Posted by coyle on Wednesday, August 29 @ 05:00:00 MDT
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TIPS: How to get that Sin City look.
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Here's a simple Photoshop tutorial by salfar that will show you how to take an image (preferably a portrait shot) and give it the stark black and white look from the movie, Sin City. The forum thread features samples from other readers.
The only thing I might try differently would be to add a little red somewhere, but then most of my photos don't have blood splatters!
Posted by coyle on Monday, August 13 @ 08:27:33 MDT
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TIPS: A Greenhorn's Guide to the Mac Web
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The newest Macinstruct article, A Greenhorn's Guide to the Mac Web, should be passed along to all your nubie Mac friends. It's a list of tem must visit web sites selected on the following criteria:
- Is the website frequently updated?
- How good is the information?
- Is the format fun?
- Is it easy to find information?
Is Michael's Mac on the list? Aren't we fun! Read the article to find out.
Posted by coyle on Friday, July 27 @ 07:54:09 MDT
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TIPS: Simple Mirrored Text Tutorial
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pxlgfx has posted a simple tutorial on creating text with gradient colors and reflections. Lots of screenshots make it easy to follow along.
Posted by coyle on Monday, July 23 @ 05:10:00 MDT
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TIPS: World's Biggest iPod
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Ok, it's not really an iPod, but it looks like one, and it's BIG! William Lindsey Cochran has a new article on Earz-Mag that describes how he took an old iMac and a Yahoo Widget to create a music juke box with an iPod interface!
Posted by coyle on Thursday, July 19 @ 05:20:00 MDT
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TIPS: Installing MAMP: a Web Development Environment
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If you've been curious about PHP/Mysql or run a website and want to use your Mac as a developement platform, take a look at the newest Macinstruct article, Create a Web Development Environment With MAMP.
MAMP, a free web development
environment for your Mac. MAMP comes with everything you need,
including Apache, PHP, MySQL, and even the buzzword-compliant acronym.
(MAMP, by the way, stands for Mac, Apache, MySQL, and PHP.) It's not
suitable for a production web server, but it's perfect for your home
Mac.
Posted by coyle on Wednesday, July 18 @ 05:31:06 MDT
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TIPS: Make Your Own iPod Silhouette
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Visit Photoshop Support for a fun, simple tutorial on how to turn a picture into an iPod ad in three easy steps. This will get you the look of the original two color ads.
If you want to recreate the more recent iPod print ads where the black has a little transparency to highlight underlying items, visit MacMerc for the six-step version!
Posted by coyle on Tuesday, July 17 @ 05:15:00 MDT
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TIPS: MacInstruct: Top Five Firefox Extensions
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One of the greatest strengths of Firefox is its extensibility. Don't like the built-in Download Manager? Swap it out with another. Today, Macinstruct posts a new article, Top Five Firefox Extensions. Of the five, I discovered two new ones!
Posted by coyle on Monday, July 16 @ 08:16:34 MDT
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TIPS: Photoshop: Carving Type into Wood
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Photoshop 911 has a simple tutorial on how to make an image that looks like a piece of wood with letters carved into it. The guide could easily be modified to also create the effect of carving into stone.
Posted by coyle on Friday, July 06 @ 07:20:01 MDT
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