Episode 430: The Final PDF Thumbnail Shortcut

Sample Shortcut discussed in Episode 430 to create a 500 pixel wide JPG thumbnail from the first page of one or more selected PDFs:

Screenshot of PDF Thumbnail Shortcut

Episode 409: Coding Samples

Sample Code to Recap:
Calculate area of circle using variables and print statement:

let radius = 5.0
let pi = 3.14159
let area = pi * (radius * radius)

print("The area of a circle with radius \(radius) is \(area)")

I learned how to simplify that print statement and created a version 1.1:

print("The area of a circle with radius ",radius," is ",area)

What about?

let area = pi * pow(radius,2)

Turns out: To use the pow function, something called the Foundation library (framework) has to be imported to your program.

This library helps you with common programming tasks that aren’t covered by the core Swift language and its standard library

UPDATE!!: Writing pow(radius,2) is an important correction to what I said in the episode!
The area of a circle with radius 5 is most definitely NOT 9817.46875!

SO my improved (1.2) version of the Area of a Circle calculator is:

import Foundation
let radius = 5.0
let pi = 3.14159
let area = pi * pow(radius,2)

print("The area of a circle with radius ",radius," is ",area)

FMEO.TV – Securing Data in the Cloud

FMEO.TV Episode #024

In this episode of FMEO.TV, Mike shows how to add a little extra security to your cloud-based files using utilities built into your Mac.

Running Time: 14m 29s

FMEO.TV – Build an OS X / macOS (up to 12.0!) Boot Disk

FMEO.TV Episode #023

UPDATED to include up to macOS Monterey!

In this episode of FMEO.TV, Mike shows how to build Mavericks USB boot media using OS X’s built-in createinstallmedia command.

Yosemite, El Capitan, Sierra, High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur & Monterey UPDATE: Great news! This command works just as well for versions of OS X and macOS up through Monterey! Simply substitute the correct file name in the Terminal command below and away you go!

Note the slight change with 10.13 – 10.15, 11.0 & 12.0. The –applicationpath switch has been deprecated (no longer needed).

Show Notes

[Read more…]

How-To: Use the 30th Anniversary Mac Font

Lisa wrote to ask how to type the Macs found in Apple’s 30th Anniversary Font:

I thought (the 30th anniversary font) was really cute … but I don’t know how to use them! Any ideas? I clicked on MAC ICON font in Pages but I couldn’t get the images to come out.

So you’ve downloaded the “hidden” 30th Anniversary Font Apple’s using on their website to celebrate the Mac’s birthday this month, and now you’d like to use it in your documents?

Well, you’ve come to the right place Lisa! [Read more…]

How To: Downgrade Lion’s Preview and TextEdit to Snow Leopard Versions

My least favorite new feature of OS X Lion is its AutoSave functionality — most especially with two apps I took advantage of all the time under Snow Leopard: Preview and TextEdit.

Well, after having my documents, PDFs, and images helpfully overwritten by Lion one too many times, I decided to see if I could get Snow Leopard’s TextEdit and Preview working under Lion.

This How To is the result of that experiment.

[Read more…]

FMEO.TV – Part Two: How To Create a Lion Install Disk from a USB Flash Drive

FMEO.TV Episode #005

In this episode of FMEO.TV, Mike shows how to create an installation disk from the Mac OS X Lion Installer and a USB flash drive.

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Download the episode here!

Running Time: 6:35

FMEO.TV – Part One: How To Create a Lion Install DVD

FMEO.TV Episode #004

In this episode of FMEO.TV, Mike shows how to create an installation DVD from the Mac OS X Lion Installer.

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Download the episode here!

Running Time: 4:56

Start Taking Control of Startup

On Windows computers, startup programs are a frequent cause of slow down — startup slow down, perhaps. Of all those apps that Aunt Betty has downloaded and installed, a large number have unilaterally decided they’re important enough to run every time the computer starts. The consequence, of course, is that the computer now takes five minutes to ‘sort itself out’ and be ready to use after hitting the power button.

On the Mac, apps tend to be slightly better citizens about not starting up on each boot without a good reason — or without asking you first, and it’s usually easier to take control of the situation, but it can still be worth taking a look at what’s in this list if you’re having problems, or just want to see what is going on with your Mac.

So, in this article, I’ll be examining startup items in Mac OS X and showing you how to take control over what gets to run right after that familiar chime. [Read more…]

Securing your Mac – Safari Security

A web browser is an application we rely on a lot. From simply reading articles and catching up with news, to checking our email and banking online, it is the interface into much of what we do online.

That also means a web browser is exposed to a lot of potential security risks — and shoulders significant responsibility for keeping the stuff you do online separate, private where necessary, and safe. In this post, I’ll look at the Mac’s default browser, Safari, and some of the things you can do to enhance and ensure it is running as securely as possible. [Read more…]