Apple World

My Mac is running so slowly, and I don’t know why.

Seeing beach balls? Don’t get your eyes checked. Activity Monitor (Applications/Utilities) shows all the currently running applications and processes, updating in real time. Click the %CPU column to see how much of your Mac’s processor capacity is being chomped up by each process at any given moment.

The processes with app icons next to them should be recognizable as applications. If your CPU hog turns out to be iPhoto importing pics or iTunes syncing your iPhone, just wait until it’s done. But if it’s an app you’re not even using, go ahead and quit it, either from the Dock or by selecting it in Activity Monitor and clicking Quit Process. A dialog will offer to Quit or Force Quit; quitting is better unless the app is unresponsive.
Processes with no little icons and less-recognizable names are background processes, and you shouldn’t go quitting them willy-nilly—never quit anything until you know what it is. Instead, Google its name to figure out what it does. For example, if your external Time Machine drive is being indexed by Spotlight with the process mds, mds will use a ton of your CPU while Time Machine is working. Don’t quit the mds process; instead, exclude that drive from Spotlight indexing (System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy).

If you notice that iTunes is using the lion’s share of your CPU because you’re rocking out with the Visualizer on, turn off the Visualizer (Command-T). If your browser has a million tabs open and you’re playing Flash videos, either close most of the tabs or cut way back on CPU-hogging Flash usage with a blocker like ClickToFlash on Safari or FlashBlock for Firefox. If you’re a YouTube junkie, visit youtube.com/html5 to join the HTML5 trial and view available videos that way.
Back in Activity Monitor, you’ll notice some graphs at the bottom. Click the System Memory tab and check out how much of your RAM you’re using. If the yellow part of the pie chart (Active RAM) is almost the whole graph, consider adding more RAM.

Photo via Apple Defects

Don't know how to properly coil the MagSafe cord for your MacBook or MacBook Pro? Well that's cool, but you might want to start doing it the correct way, lest you burn your house down. The guys at Tested have figured out a simple way to make sure your laptop's power cord is properly wound up, without the risk of electrical shock.

To do this properly, create a loop at the beginning of the coil (referred to as the "pigtail") and then wrap it around the MagSafe powerbrick as you normally would. The pigtail actually prevents the ends from bending too much, which could cause wire exposure and ultimately lead to sudden death.

We're sort of exaggerating, but this is one of those PSAs you don't want to avoid. We should also add that you make sure to coil the cord in its "natural" way, e.g.  in the direction the cord was going right out of the box. And if you can't remember any of these instructions, just keep this in mind: don't go against the curve.

Stacks let you quickly access data from your Dock, but Apple doesn’t let you add a stack containing your most recently accessed files or apps unless you use the following Terminal command:

defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-others -array-add '{ "tile-data" = { "list-type" = 1; }; "tile-type" = "recents-tile"; }'
Then restart the Dock:

killall Dock

When the Dock reappears, you’ll find a stack of recent items beside the Trash. To change which items appear in the stack, right-click it to choose Recent Applications, Recent Documents, Recent Servers, Favorite Volumes, or Favorite Items.

Most of us go about our day, deftly printing the most common, letter-sized documents without a care in the world -- that is, until we want to switch things up and print photos instead, only to find that Mac OS X’s normally easy-to-use printer settings suddenly fail to be of much help.
We don’t often have to think about printing on a Mac -- once you’ve installed the appropriate driver for your printer, it tends to “just work,” like most things do in the World of Apple. That is, until they don’t work, leaving the user stabbing blindly at settings in the Print window in a desperate attempt to make things right once more.

Although print settings vary from program to program, the nitty-gritty stuff is buried inside a pulldown menu aptly named after the application in question. Casual users may never have need to dig into these settings until trouble arises, or you need to switch to specialized paper, perhaps for photos, cards or business presentations.

For example, pulling down Safari’s printer options reveals a host of hidden options, ranging from Layout and Color Matching to the vitally important Print Settings and even Booklet Printing options, depending on which printer you’re using. (As a general rule, the more expensive your printer is, the more options you’ll probably find lurking within your driver software.)

We won’t go into detail on each of these choices right now, but here’s a peek at a few important ones, as well as some printer “gotchas” to watch out for.

Print Settings

Depending on what kind of printer you’re using, you’ll see a section for Print Settings (or possibly Color/Quality Options). Important things to watch out for here include the Media Type and Color setting -- if you’re printing on a specific type of paper, you’ll definitely want to change the Media Type to match to get optimal results.

Many printers include both Automatic and Advanced options under Print Settings. Automatic generally works fine for casual printing, but if you’re looking to squeeze a bit more quality out of your prints (especially for photos), switch to Advanced mode and tweak some of the settings there. These might include Print Quality options ranging from Economy to Normal to Fine settings that could dramatically improve the final output.

How do you know which settings to use? A lot of it is unfortunately trial and error, but suffice it to say, it also depends a lot on what you’re outputting. Photo prints will benefit most from higher quality settings and more expensive paper, but even archival text-only documents will benefit from a trip to the Print Settings so you’ll print the sharpest, cleanest type your printer is capable of.

Media Type and Speed

While most of us enjoy care-free printing on whatever paper we can get our hands on, there’s something to be said for selectively choosing the Media Type under Print Settings -- you may think it’s just a ploy by manufacturers to get more of your hard-earned dollars, but the right paper and settings can make the difference.

The key here is to select the correct Media Type, which can often be a confusing mess to end users. In the example above, Epson offers six different types of paper (plus an Envelope option) under Media Type, five of which they manufacture. What’s the difference between “Ultra Premium Photo Paper Glossy” and “Photo Paper Glossy”? No one except the engineers at Epson probably know for sure, but since inkjet printing is an exact science, it pays to match the Media Type to your exact brand of paper for best results.

Likewise, the old adage “Do you want it done quickly or do you want it done well?” applies here -- most of us probably print with the standard Automatic settings, from which the printer tries to get the job done quickly with decent quality. However, a quick slide toward the Quality setting -- even for those of you using otherwise Automatic settings -- can greatly improve the final output.

Color Management

Many printer drivers also feature a section dedicated to how color is printed on the page. In the case of our Epson printer, this includes options to customize the brightness, contrast, saturation and individual ink cartridges separately, rely on their own PhotoEnhance technology or just turn off color management altogether and get the most faithful printout you can, theoretically speaking.

Due to the vagaries of Apple’s built-in ColorSync or even the advanced color management built into applications such as Adobe Photoshop or InDesign, there’s no such thing as the ideal setup from the printer driver -- you’ll have to do some trial and error to get the best results, so have plenty of paper and ink handy.

Don’t Forget Page Setup

Printer settings used to be considerably more confusing with Mac OS X, with key settings such as paper size, scale and portrait or landscape tucked away under a separate Page Setup window instead of front and center with the rest of the Print options.

Thankfully, Apple has consolidated the Page Setup options into the Print window these days, although some old-school applications such as TextEdit or much of Adobe’s Creative Suite still keep them separated. Before heading to the Print window, be sure to check for a Page Setup option under the File menu -- if it’s there, open that sucker up and make sure your settings match what you intend to print.

Among the Page Setup options are the Format For pulldown; whether you have several printers or only one, you’ll want to change “Any Printer” to match the one you’re about to use so the rest of your Page Setup options are properly shown. Page Size should match the media you’re about to print on, which varies from printer to printer -- for example, some printers don’t automatically include 4x6 print settings, even though they may be capable of printing them.



Thankfully, you can roll your own quite easily -- pull down the Paper Size and select “Manage Custom Sizes.” From there, it’s a simple matter of clicking the + button to add a custom paper size, then entering the desired width and height. You’ll want to choose the correct printer under Non-Printable Area, since this varies from model to model, but you can always override those setting by selecting “User Defined” and manually entering those numbers.

Once you’re finished, you can double-click on the text field to name your new custom size, then be sure to click OK. Now you’ll see your custom size listed below the default settings, and you can add other custom sizes as oddball jobs come up, such as wedding invitations or other projects.

Finally, be sure to select the proper paper Orientation and Scale. Do you want to print your text in portrait or landscape? You can see at a glance which way the text will read and which way the paper should feed, then you can reduce or magnify the printout as necessary and click OK when ready. Now when you visit the Print window, your Page Setup will be carried straight over and you’ll be good to go.

Apple’s AirPort Extreme is best known as a slick, easy to use wireless router for sharing an internet connection with computers and mobile devices in your home. But like many Apple products, its seemingly nondescript appearance belies its awesome capability. Here are five ways you can get the most from your existing AirPort Extreme – and even your hard drive-equipped Time Capsule or diminutive AirPort Express as well.

Share a USB Printer with Your Household

Despite the abundance of cheap USB inkjet printers, there are very good reasons to avoid buying one for every computer in your home. For one, the longer a printer sits unused, the more ink you’ll waste having to clean the cartridge(s) the next time you want to use it, wasting costly ink. Thankfully, AirPort Extreme, AirPort Express and Time Capsule all come with a single USB 2.0 port capable of attaching a printer or hard drive (more on that in a moment), allowing everyone in your home to have access to the same printer.
To go wireless, simply plug the printer’s USB cable into the USB port on back of your AirPort device and connect the other end to the printer. You’ll have to install the appropriate printer driver software onto each computer you plan to use, as well as take a visit to System Preferences > Print & Fax and add the newly-wireless device to your printer roster. Click the + symbol and select the printer from the Add Printer list – your printer will be now recognized as a Bonjour device. Select it from the list, allow Mac OS X to populate the printer settings, click Add and you’ll now have wireless access to the printer.

Make Your Networked Printer Work with iOS AirPrint

After enjoying wireless liberation for your USB printer, you’ll likely want to experience such freedom from your iOS device as well. Sadly, Apple has limited AirPrint functionality introduced with iOS 4.2 to a handful of newer Wi-Fi enabled printers from HP, but there’s an inexpensive way to get AirPrint working with wired or networked printers.
eCamm’s $9.99 Printopia is the most elegant way to make your printers available via AirPrint, although it does have one major caveat (aside from the modest cost) – it runs on a Mac OS X computer, so if that particular system is shut down or otherwise unavailable, so is your ability to print from iOS.
To surmount this limitation, enlist an always-on computer in your home. For example, if you already use a Mac mini in your home theatre setup, it’s likely that you keep it on 24/7. Since your USB printer is now network-connected thanks to AirPort, you can install Printopia on just such a system and have AirPrint capabilities for the networked printer, available at all times.
After purchasing and installing Printopia, open the settings in System Preferences, make sure the switch is set to On, and that your AirPort-connected USB printer is checked (along with any others attached to the same computer). Now, when you attempt to print from an iOS device running 4.2 or later, you’ll see all of your Printopia-shared printers as an option, including the one being shared from your AirPort Extreme.

Network Storage for the Whole Family

USB 2.0 hard drives are also perfectly compatible with the AirPort Extreme’s USB port your printer is now attached to. But how can you plug two devices into one port? The answer is simple: with a multi-port USB hub. By attaching even a simple four-port hub to the AirPort’s USB port, you can immediately expand your horizons with multiple printers or hard drives. Best of all, those small, unpowered hubs will also work just fine with AirPort, drawing necessary power from the USB port itself.
Apple calls an AirPort-attached hard drive an “AirDisk,” and to make yours available to any computer on the network, first launch Applications > Utilities > AirPort Utility, select your AirPort and click Manual Setup. Select Disks from the top of the window, then the File Sharing tab. Here you’ll want to check “Enable file sharing” to make the AirPort storage visible to your computers; you’ll also find options to secure your disk with a password, if necessary. Be sure to click Update to commit these changes on your AirPort when finished.
Next, plug the hard drive into an available USB port (either directly or via hub), open a Finder window and look for your AirPort under the Shared section at left. Click on it, enter your password (if required) and your AirDisk will now appear mounted on your computer with a blue drive icon, and can be accessed from any other computers on your network the same way. As always, you’ll get the best results from a wired network (preferably Ethernet 1000baseT) or an 802.11n wireless connection.

Use an AirDisk for Time Machine Backup

With a USB hard drive (or two) connected to your AirPort network, the door is open to new possibilities. That includes using your new AirDisk as a central Time Machine backup drive for all of the computers on your home network. With your AirDisk mounted and available on your computer, simply head to System Preferences, open Time Machine settings under System and click on Select Disk. Like magic, your AirDisk will show up in the list of available hard drives, even showing you which AirPort network the drive is connected to. Select the drive, click Use for Backup and you’re ready to go.
If you have many gigabytes of data on your computers, an 802.11n network should be considered a minimum requirement for Time Machine use. Also, the bigger the USB hard drive, the better for Time Machine use – if you’re using an AirDisk to back up more than one system, you’ll want to consider more than 1TB in order to have plenty of backup space for the future.

Extend Your Wireless Range with an AirPort Express

Now that you’ve successfully added a printer and hard drive (or two), you may want to beef up your wireless network to maximize your range, particularly in larger homes or apartments. The most effective method is to add an inexpensive AirPort Express to extend your wireless range. While a second AirPort device can pick up the signal from another device and carry it further, the best way to accomplish this is to connect the two AirPort devices using an Ethernet cable.
Assuming your current AirPort Extreme is already set up and working, you’ll want to run a Cat 5 or 6 Ethernet cable from any one of the three jacks on the back to the Ethernet port on the AirPort Express; plug the Express into an available AC power outlet to power it up.
Next, launch Applications > Utilities > AirPort Utility, select your AirPort Extreme and click Manual Setup. Select the AirPort icon, then the Wireless tab and make sure “Allow this network to be extended” is checked – it’s under Wireless Network Name. Take note of all of your settings under the Wireless tab, since you’ll want to enter most of them again for the Express. Click Update to lock in your changes.
Now select the AirPort Express in AirPort Utility and click Manual Setup; you’ll be asked to switch wireless networks, so click Switch. Select the AirPort icon, then under the Wireless tab make sure Wireless Mode is “Create a wireless network” and that your “Wireless Network Name” matches that of your AirPort Extreme. Select a different channel, preferably one that’s at least two numbers above or below the one used by the Extreme; Wireless Security should match your AirPort Extreme. You may also want to visit the Base Station tab to give your Express its own unique name and password.
Finally, click on the Internet icon at the top and change Connect Using to “Ethernet” and Connection Sharing to “Off (Bridge Mode)” – this will bridge the two AirPorts to carry the connection for your Extreme to the Express over Ethernet. Click Update to commit your changes. Now your AirPort Express will seamlessly appear as an extension of the same network you already use – as you move about your house with a laptop or mobile device, it will intelligently pick up the Wi-Fi signal that’s closest, whether it comes from the Extreme or the newly-added Express.

If you have a nice-looking screensaver like us, you want to see it all the time. Type the command below in Terminal, and your current screensaver will appear as your Desktop’s background image. Then, as with all commands on this page and the next, hit Return.

/System/Library/Frameworks/ScreenSaver.framework/Resources/ScreenSaverEngine.app/Contents/MacOS/ScreenSaverEngine -background &

Simple? Check. Fun? Totally. But if you get motion sickness, simply close the Terminal window to return your Desktop to normal.

Spotlight search results not appearing as they should? Force Spotlight to re-index itself with the following two commands:

sudo mdutil -E /

sudo mdutil -i on /

You’ll be prompted for your administrator password. Then, after a few minutes’ delay, Spotlight will begin re-indexing your Mac.

With iPhoto's new card and calendar making feature, it's pretty easy to make a last minute keepsake for relatively cheap, and without having to don your parka and head out to the store or post office. But, sometimes it can be a little tricky getting started on the crafting process, so we put together a few quick tips for making some holiday cheer with iPhoto '11.

1. Pick a photo

First things first, you'll want to select a photo that is clear, has a balanced color composition, and will put a smile on even the grumpiest man's face.



In this case, we chose a photo of me as a Pokeman master--because you gotta catch 'em all.

Click on Events and select your photo, then tap the "Create" button in the bottom right corner to begin. Select what kind of craft you're interested in creating, and then click "Create" when you get to the cover flow screen of letterpress choices.

2. Editing your card

We suggest adding the most inspirational message when creating your card. if you're having a tough time seeing the text, select the slider on the zoom option in the bottom left-hand corner to hone in on the area you're currently editing.



You can also change the font face, size, and orientation from the little menu that pops up above your text, or click on the Design option in the bottom right-hand corner of iPhoto to change the text color.

3. Adding in more pictures

Say you want to add in extra pictures of your Pokemo--er, pets. A small icon will pop up; click on that to get a list of options that will enable you to add in more photos from your iPhoto events. Careful not to get too crowded though--you don't want the card to be too busy.




To add in extra photos, right-click on the selection to open up the photo browser. Then, go to "Show Last 10 months" or "Last imported". When you've found the photo you're looking for, drag it into the selected photo frame. If you've selected to add more than one photo, select the next photo frame and repeat this process.




When you're finished, used the Navigator at the bottom left-hand screen to pan over to a different area of the card.

4. Sending off your finished product

Click the "Buy Card" selection, and select whether or not you want the Apple logo to appear on the back of the card. When you check out, you'll be prompted to enter in your iTunes or Apple ID, and then you'll be asked for your Shipping information.

To save money and to get your cards right away, you can also choose to print out your card on your own printer. If your printer doesn't support double-sided printing, you'll have to print out one side of the card on card-stock paper and reinsert the it back into the printer. Be sure to practice a few times with regular paper to get the orientation correct before using up all your fancy paper.

Making a Calendar

To make a calendar, you can use the same techniques, but instead select a specific set of photos to have printed onto it. Once you choose your design, you'll be prompted to choose a calendar to import from iCal, and you have to option to include national holidays (from various regions!) and birthdays from iCal. Like the cards, you can print these out on your own printer for speed and to save money.

Whenever somebody sends me a link to an album in the iTunes Store or an app from the App Store, Safari launches and shows me all the information in a webpage with reviews and song previews and everything. But then iTunes automatically launches and shows me the exact same information! How do I stop Safari from auto-launching iTunes?

The behavior you’re seeing is a throwback to the days when there was no such thing as an iTunes Preview webpage. Back then, the only way you could view album or app information was to view them in iTunes, so those links launched iTunes. However, when Apple launched iTunes Preview pages with this same information, they forgot to remove the functionality that forces iTunes to auto-launch.

The NoMoreiTunes extension prevents iTunes from automatically launching when you click on an iTunes URL.

The easiest way to prevent iTunes from auto-launching is to use Software Update to upgrade to Safari 5, which now supports extensions. To enable extensions, go into Safari > Preferences, click the Advanced tab, and check “Show Develop menu in menu bar.” Then, from the Develop menu at the top of the screen, select Enable Extensions.

Finally, download the ingenious NoMoreiTunes extension (free, einserver.de), and you’re all set! You can still launch iTunes from any Preview webpage by clicking the View in iTunes button in the left margin. And if you ever want to uninstall this, or any Safari 5 extension, you’ll find controls in Safari > Preferences > Extensions.

For instructions on how to prevent Firefox and Chrome from auto-launching iTunes, check out The Apple Blog’s informative entry on this topic.

Keeping your iPhone apps current is a breeze, but with a few tools, updating software on your Mac can be just as easy. Here's how.

With the bevy of software available for the Mac, it can sometimes be difficult to remember to update all of the applications you may have installed. After all, that software is meant to be used, not just updated constantly. But in reality, many Mac apps require care and feeding, so we’ll show you the best, most efficient path to getting that chore done without squandering any of your precious free time.

Software Update keeps your Apple applications up to date, but don't forget about your third-party software, too.

Difficulty Level: Easy
What You Need:
>> EAppFresh (free, metaquark.de/appfresh)

1. Software Update

Make Software Update behave the way you want.

Apple includes its own updater (appropriately called Software Update) on every Mac. This utility periodically checks to see if your Apple software--Mac OS X, iWork, iLife, and so on--is up to date. If it finds there’s an update available, it will open and prompt you to install the new update. You can fine-tune how often it checks in System Preferences > Software Update. And you can ignore an update you don’t need by selecting it and choosing Update > Ignore Updates from the menu bar.

2. Microsoft AutoUpdate

Microsoft's updater works just like Software Update, but for the Office Suite.

To check for updates in any of the Microsoft Office applications, go to Help > Check for Updates. This launches the Microsoft AutoUpdate utility, which has a drop-down to let you specify how often it should run: Daily, Weekly, or Monthly. Clicking Help launches a page of additional info in your default browser.

3. Adobe Updater

It's best to have Adobe Updater update all your Adobe apps, but you can exclude some if you like.

Adobe’s aptly named Adobe Updater works just like Microsoft’s. It can check weekly or monthly for updates to your Adobe Creative Suite apps, and you can even manually exclude CS apps you never use (hi, Fireworks!) in the preferences. To force a check outside the regular schedule, select Help > Updates from any Adobe application.

4. Sparkle

Applications using Sparkle present users with three update options: Skip This Version, Remind Me Later, and Install Update.

Other Mac developers use a framework called Sparkle in their applications to help users keep those applications up to date. When developers push out an update for an application with the Sparkle framework, you, the end user, see a pop-up window, letting you know the update is available and offering to install it for you. But this all happens when you launch the app, so now you’re stuck waiting for an update at the exact moment you wanted to use that application--the main problem with checking for updates on startup rather than automatically.

5. AppFresh

The main screen of AppFresh can be a little daunting at first, but it becomes friendlier the more you use it.

Luckily, several software-updating utilities can watch for updates to any of your applications without waiting for you to launch the applications. Free utility AppFresh is an excellent choice--it uses the app database at osx.iusethis.com to check for newly released updates, but also checks with Apple Software Update, Microsoft AutoUpdate, Adobe Updater, and your Sparkle-enabled applications. It can even update widgets, preference panes, and some plug-ins.

6. All Together Now

The download queue shows the download and install process for each application you're updating.

When you first launch AppFresh, it scans your Applications folder. When it’s done, look under the Status section in the left pane for an item called Update Available. Click that to see all of the applications on your system that have an update. To download updates one at a time, simply right-click the application and select Install. Or hold down the Command key while selecting multiple applications, then right-click and choose Install to update several at once.

AppFresh Alternatives

Because everybody loves to have options!

MacUpdate Desktop

MacUpdate.com is a go-to website for finding new Mac apps, and the handy MacUpdate Desktop application can check your system for software updates as well. The app has a nice simple UI, and it found six more updates for us than AppFresh did; however, you’ll pay $20 a year for this application and service. And unlike AppFresh, it can’t update your Apple apps.

CNET TechTracker

CNET TechTracker (free, cnet.com/techtracker) requires a free CNET account to use. Even though CNET has a large database of applications, TechTracker found fewer updates than AppFresh or MacUpdate Desktop. But it doesn’t check for Apple updates, screensavers, plug-ins, or widgets, which likely accounts for the discrepancy.

LogicielMacUpdate

LogicielMacUpdate (free, eagle-of-liberty.com/logicielmacupdate) sits in your menu bar and provides one-click access to app updates. But unfortunately, its smaller application database means that it comes up with fewer updates than the other options here, and it doesn’t check for Apple updates.

In Windows, when I press Alt-Tab, it switches me between all of my open web browser windows. However, when I press Command-Tab on the Mac, it switches me out of Safari and into a completely different application. How do I use the keyboard to switch between windows instead of applications?

As you’ve discovered, the Mac keyboard shortcut Command-Tab is used to switch between applications. To switch between windows of one application, you must first switch to that application, and then use Command-~ (tilde) to cycle through its open windows.

Witch takes application- and window-switching to a new level of awesome.

But don’t forget about Exposé (F9), which was designed to help you get to any window fast with either your mouse or your keyboard. It’s even better in Snow Leopard because it now shows your minimized windows too. You can customize Exposé to your liking in System Preferences > Exposé & Spaces.

And those aren’t the only ways to switch windows. You can always right-click an application’s Dock icon to select any of its open windows or look in the Window menu of any application. But for the ultimate option, we love the utility Witch ($19, manytricks.com), which gives you an unbelievable amount of control over switching windows on your Mac. Witch lets you assign keyboard shortcuts for virtually every conceivable application- and window-switching task you can dream of. You can cycle through all open windows in all open applications (even ones in other Spaces), add visual feedback when switching through open windows in your current application, switch between minimized windows, and much more.

A bigger, better way to touch your Mac

It only took about 30 seconds after the iPad was announced for everyone to start wondering how (or if) we’d be able to hook up our iPad to a Mac and use it as a giant touchpad. Of course, now Apple has released the Magic Trackpad, but its paltry 21.8 square inches of touchable, clickable real estate can’t hold a candle to the iPad’s 45.2 inches. And getting the iPad to play touchy-feely with your Mac isn’t nearly as hard as it sounds. Several apps in the App Store accomplish this small feat, and they all work in pretty much the same way. We like an app called Mobile Mouse ($2.99), but getting any of the others up and running follows much the same procedure.

Step 1

After installing the Mobile Mouse app on your iPad, head over to the developer’s website (mobilemouse.com) to grab the desktop server software. This allows your Mac (or Windows) computer to receive commands from your iPad. Both devices need to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network in order for them to find each other.

Step 2

Fire up Mobile Mouse on your iPad and make sure it sees the server software running on your Mac. We tested several machines and didn’t have any trouble with our iPad seeing our Macs right off the bat, but if you do hit a snag, help is available in the app and on the developer’s website.

Step 3

Mouse away! You can now control your Mac from your iPad. You can tweak the settings to adjust mouse sensitivity and other options.

Step 4

For even deeper control of your Mac, you can pop up a keyboard and use it for everything from entering web addresses to entering text. And Mobile Mouse even offers up media controls, making it a perfect companion to a living-room Mac hooked up to your home stereo.

Now that the new Apple TV is out, you're probably debating whether to buy it or not. After all, it's only $99--even if you just use it to stream music from your various iTunes libraries, it might be worth it, right? Well, hold your horses! Before you plunk down your well-earned $99 plus tax, just hear us out--we've got a far more powerful and free solution to your dilemma.

Most of us die-hard Mac users have an old Mac or two laying around. Perhaps an old MacBook, MacBook Pro, or Mac mini. Even an iMac will work, if you have the space. Now, you could sell that old machine on Gazelle or Craigslist for a fraction of what you paid for it, or you can install some kick-ass software on the thing and hook it up to your TV. Of course we prefer the latter, so we're going to fill you in on exactly how to do it using Plex, a beautifully designed, super complete media solution that plays just about everything!


Hardware - what you'll need

1. A Computer


This one's a no-brainer--the first step to building a media PC is finding a computer. As we mentioned, an old Mac works perfectly for this. But here's the caveat-- It will have to be Intel-based to run Plex. Intel-based Macs have been around for enough years that you've probably upgraded since you got your first one. The absolute ideal is an Intel-based Mac mini. It's clean looking, has a front loading DVD drive, connects via DVI or HDMI, and is more than fast enough to play HD video. Of course, you don't need that sleek form-factor to get the show on the road. An old MacBook, as we'll be using in this how-to, works great too.

Have an old PowerPC? We'd still recommend hooking it up to your TV and using FrontRow and Safari for your iTunes and internet streaming needs. It won't be as fancy, but it will get the job done.

2. The Hookup



Depending on your Mac, your TV, and the external monitor adapters you have on hand, hooking up your Mac to your TV will be a little different. We're assuming you have a run of the mill flat-panel HDTV--even the cheapest off-brand from Costco will do the trick, and should at least have both a VGA port and multiple HDMI ports.

Essentially, you're treating your TV as an external monitor for your Mac. If you're using a Mac mini, just hook it up to the TV as you would any other monitor. If you have an older Mac mini, use a VGA cable. Lucky enough to have a new Mac Mini? Use an HDMI cable. If you're using a Macbook, as we are, you'll need a display adapter. So, find that little dongle your computer hopefully came with to connect a second screen. If you have an older MacBook, it's likely you'll have the goods. If your machine is on the newer side, or you just lost the connecter, you'll have to buy one from Apple.
Don't fret--it'll only run you $19. Just make sure you get the right one. Since you're using an Intel-based Mac, this one should do the trick. Just plug it into your DVI port, grab a VGA cable, and connect the computer to your TV. OS X will automatically detect that you have hooked up a second monitor. You can either choose to set the screens up side by side, mirror the screen on your MacBook, or use the TV as your primary screen. Unless you're setting up an iMac next to your TV (which also requires a display adapter), you'll want the TV to function as your main screen.

The display panel in System Preferences makes it pretty clear how to use a monitor alongside your laptop screen, and how to make the second screen mirror what's on the first. But naturally, we don't want an open laptop as our media PC, that's just not very pretty. So, plug a keyboard and mouse into your laptop, or set up a Bluetooth pair (the better solution). Shut your laptop screen. The computer will go to sleep, so everything on the TV will disappear. Just press a key on the keyboard, or click the mouse, and the laptop will wake up and your TV will be your primary monitor.

Now that you've gotten video down, you'll need to take care of sound. You'll either be using an optical cable or a standard audio cable, based on what you have. Since you're using an Intel-based Mac, your computer should support optical audio. On Macs, the optical audio jack and the headphone/audio out jack are one and the same. So whatever cable you do use, plug it in there.



If you have a newer receiver or fancy set of 5.1 computer speakers with a controller, you probably have an optical audio in, utilize that for optimal sound. If that's the case, you'll need a cable that has a mini TOSLINK on one side, and a standard TOSLINK on the other. A 6ft cable is only $2.56 at MonoPrice, and you can order it here.
If you need instant gratification, you can go to your local RadioShack or Best Buy--but be warned, they will charge you an arm and a leg. So, get your cable, plug it in, and you should be ready for all the audio and video content your computer can handle.

If you just want to plug your machine in directly to your TV because you're using its in-built speakers, that's fine too. Just get a standard audio cable and connect your audio out to the audio in on your TV, it should be right next to the VGA or DVI port.


3. Peripherals




As we mentioned earlier, you'll need to get a keyboard and mouse to use with your system if you're using a laptop and your computer didn't come with them. We recommend the Apple Bluetooth wireless versions, if you're going wireless (as you probably should, it will be a lot cleaner). They're well designed and don't look too bad on the coffee table. If you want another solution, such as an all-in-one media keyboard, we strongly recommend you use a Bluetooth solution, not a wireless USB one.
A Bluetooth peripheral will wake your computer up when it's in sleep mode. wireless USB won't do this.


Software

1. Download and Install Plex

Now that you've gone through the tedious process of hooking up your Mac, you're probably pretty eager to get some movies and music going on the thing. Unfortunately, you've still got a bit of work ahead of you. Luckily, we're going to explain exactly how to do it, so setup should be a breeze. So, first things first: Download Plex. It requires about 220 MB of your hard drive.

Plex doesn't work with a mouse, so set that critter aside (after the initial setup), and grab your keyboard. Navigation is pretty intuitive--you just need to use up, down, left, right, enter, and escape. Commands are a little less intuitive--to access the main menu in any section of Plex, you'll hit C. Commit that one to memory, you'll need it!

2 Add Local and/or Network Video Files

Plex supports pretty much every format under the sun. So no matter how you rip your DVDs and Blu-rays, Plex will play it-- DivX, .mkv, uncompressed DVDs, and even Windows Media. You can check out a full list, here.

Plex is designed to automatically organize all your files for you, and automatically detect information about TV shows and movies using various internet databases. But, we still recommend organizing your files. Make a separate folder for TV shows and a separate folder for movies. You can store it all on your media Mac's drive (if you have space), an external hard drive connected to your media Mac, or on a different computer altogether that you can access over the network.
Dump all your movies into the movies folder. To keep your favorite TV shows in order you should organize them in folders by show, season, and episode. Whatever the files are named, the magical internet databases (IMDB and TVDB, more specifically) will figure out what they are.


When you open Plex, it will ask you where your movies are located. Navigate to the Movies folder you created as described above,  select it, and hit next. As Plex prompts, do the same for TV shows.
Next, Plex will prompt you to add music. If you use iTunes, skip this step. We'll talk about iTunes later. If you use something else or just want to move selected files onto your media Mac, add that folder.
Plex will then prompt you to add third-party plug-ins,. Pick any that pique your interest (Vimeo and The Sixty One, for instance) and move on. Click through the next few menus, and Plex will get you set up and update your system components.


Now that you've told Plex where your files are, it will start downloading titles, tags, cover art, and the works for your files, will set up your Media Manager.

If you want to see all the files it's working on, just click the newly installed status icon in the Menu Bar for Plex and select media manager. It will probably take a while to get all your files in your new Plex library, so just sit tight.

In the meantime, you can fire up Plex itself, which has already organized your files into movies and TV shows. At this point, you can no longer use the mouse. So, hit that down arrow and check out your movies and TV shows. Don't go into full screen mode yet -- while you're setting things up, it's easier to stay in half screen so you can access the rest of you computer easily. Short of quitting or using Exposé, Plex does not provide easy access to your dock.



By default, Plex displays your movies and TV shows in a list. You can change this view by hitting enter on All Movies or All TV Shows and hitting the right arrow key. There you can select cover flow, which will get you a view pretty similar to Apple's own iTunes cover flow. We're partial to this view, but there are a few others to choose from. To select a different one, hit the "up" key to bring up the view menu once again. Escape takes you back to a previous menu.



Chances are, you'll occasionally want to play an actual DVD, not just a digital file. Just navigate to the Applications tab and you'll notice both DVD Player and Front Row are there by default. If you've got a DVD you'd like to play, just launch DVD player right there.

At this point, you should be all done with your movies and TV shows--the Plex media manager will do the rest of the work for you, downloading meta tag information for everything you added to the folders it's linked to.

2. Add Streaming Internet Services


As you may have noticed when you were first setting up Plex, it supports plug-ins. The list displayed within Plex is just a fraction of all the media services it supports.

To browse the entire set, navigate to the Plex Online tab. There you can browse all the plug-ins Plex supports by category. Obvious must-haves in the movies category include Netflix, Hulu and YouTube. In music you'll find great services like Pandora and The Sixty One. Plug-ins will automatically install to their appropriate folder--for instance, you'll find Pandora under Music plug-ins. It's the most comprehensive set of services you'll find in any HTPC app to date, and it's all free.
Note: Netflix recently changed its API so the current Netflix plug-in for Plex is broken. The developer says an update is on the way, but until then we recommend a program called PlexFlix. It's free, straightforward, and syncs your entire Netflix queue with your Movie and TV Show libraries. It's really all you need, but don't delete that Netflix plug-in just yet--it's still handy for adding movies to your queue, and it'll let you know when an update is available.