Disable Startup Sound

OS X users can name a hundred features off the bat that they love about the operating system, but the startup chime isn’t likely to be on that list. It’s hard to say just how many versions of OS X have gone by with consistent hate for its startup sound, but it remains a problem that many users try to solve. This isn’t to say that the startup sound in Windows is very pleasant to hear but it can at least be quieted by muting your speakers or just plugging in a pair of head phones. OS X on the other hand is determined to audibly announce its successful startup, and methods for disabling it often fail or stop working when the OS receives an update. StartupSound.prefPane is a preference pane for Mac that silences your startup chime, and its two noteworthy features are that it gets the job done, and is absolutely free.

Install StartupSound.prefPane and restart your system. The pref pane requires OS X 10.2 or higher and any indication of it not working will come when you restart your Mac after installation. Assuming that your Mac restarted without a hitch, head over to System Preferences and you will find a new ‘Startup Sound’ pane added there. Open it and you will be given the option to manage the startup chime’s volume, or mute it altogether.

The options provided here are easy enough to figure out but once you’ve made the changes, make sure you lock it to prevent further changes. This is necessary because the next time you start your Mac, it will start noiselessly but the options in the Startup Sound pref pane will reset unless locked, and when you restart your system again, the chime will be audible once again.

This is all in the event that StartupSound.prefPane works without a hitch. In the event that it doesn’t work for whatever reason, the developer advises that you start OS X in safe mode and uninstall StartupSound.prefPane. This means that should StartupSound.prefPane fail to run on your system, you’ll be pretty much out of luck. We wish we could give you an alternative way to turn the chime off but as it is, we’ve tried quite a few tricks and hacks in the past that all proved to be duds, except this one solution that we can stand behind. There are apps available in the Mac App Store that claim to disable the startup sound, but they don’t always guarantee success either, and not all of them are free.

Download StartupSound.prefPane For Mac

StartupSound.prefPane

This software enables you to control the volume of the startup sound of your Macintosh computer from Mac OS X.

Version 1.1

System Requirements :	Mac with Intel or PowerPC processors Mac OS X 10.4 – 10.6.8
Latest version :	1.1b3
License Type :	FREEWARE

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SHA1 :	StartupSoundPrefPane11b3.dmg=9b36c6965ea1f679f34f9789bee7f4252d88c50e

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Version 1.0

System Requirements :	Mac with PowerPC processors Mac OS X 10.2 – 10.5.8
Latest version :	1.0.4
License Type :	FREEWARE

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SHA1 :	StartupSoundPrefPane104.dmg=3acf2ca363c71687c807b117fe7e8dc647f62d1f

Check Service and Support Coverage

Your Service and Support Coverage. Review your Apple warranty status and eligibility for support and extended

About This Mac window

You can use the About This Mac window to find your computer’s serial number when started up from Mac OS X.
Follow these steps:

1. Choose About This Mac from the Apple Menu.
2. Double-click the version text, for example “Version 10.4”.
3. Your computer’s serial number now appears where the version text had been.

Computer serial number in the About This Mac window

Note: Some earlier Mac OS X-compatible computers do not have their serial numbers stored in a way that allows this feature to work. Lack of this feature on your computer does not indicate any software or hardware failure.

How to find the serial number ?

If the product is with you and can start up
Depending on the product, you can find your serial number:

• On the surface of the product
• Within the product’s software (such as from the About This Mac window)
• In iTunes (for products that sync with iTunes)

If the product is not with you or won’t start up
Depending on the product, you can find your serial number:

• On the surface of the product
• In iTunes (for products that sync with iTunes)
• On the original product packaging
• On the original product receipt (or invoice)

Choose a product below for detailed information about finding the serial number.

iPhone, iPad, and iPod iPhone iPhone Bluetooth Headset iPad iPod iPod Hi-Fi Nike + iPod	Portable computers MacBook Air MacBook Pro MacBook PowerBook iBook
Desktop and server iMac Mac Pro Mac mini Xserve Displays Power Mac G5 eMac	Other hardware Apple Wireless Mouse Apple Wireless Keyboard Apple Magic Trackpad iSight AirPort Extreme/Express, Time Capsule Apple TV

Apple registration numbers and Apple hardware product serial numbers may sometimes contain the number “0” (zero), but not the letter “O”.

Connect your camera or camcorder

Digital cameras and camcorders allow you to capture memorable events. Learn how to import your photos and videos from your camera or camcorder.

Digital cameras
With iPhoto, you can organize, edit, and share your photos. Your friends and family may enjoy your vacation videos even more after you edit the footage in iMovie.

If your looking for more professional approach to editing and enhancing photos and videos, try Aperture for retouching photos or Final Cut Pro for video editing.

You have to import your photos and movies into your Mac first, which brings us to this lesson: Connect your camera or camcorder to your Mac.

Although many cameras can be connected to your computer without installing any software, check the documentation that came with your camera to see what your model requires; some manufacturers require or recommend that you install software to get the full benefits from your camera.

If you want to use iPhoto to view and edit your pictures

iPhoto makes it easy to download your camera’s photos to your hard drive.

1. Make sure you have the latest iPhoto and OS X updates installed by checking the App Store (OS X Lion) or Software Update preferences.
2. Connect your camera to your Mac using the USB cable that came with your camera. Note: If your Mac has an SD card slot and your camera uses a compatible SD card, you can simply insert the card into your Mac instead of connecting the camera via a USB cable (then skip to step 4).
3. Turn on your camera. If your camera needs to be set to a certain mode to transfer photos, do so now but check your camera manual if you’re not sure how. The camera or more precisely, its media card, appears in the devices section of the Finder sidebar as a mounted volume.
4. Open iPhoto, if it does not open automatically.
5. iPhoto displays your camera or the name you gave your media card in the devices list of the iPhoto sidebar.
6. Type a name for your group of photos in the Event Name field, such as “Nevada Vacation” or “Company Party Photos.”
7. Click Import Selected to only import selected photos from your camera, or click Import All to import all photos from your camera. iPhoto wlll import pictures and movies from your camera.
8. When prompted, click Delete Photos to delete them from your camera or SD card. Or, click Keep Photos to keep them on your cameras or SD card.
9. To disconnect the camera or SD card when finished, click the eject button next to the camera icon in the devices list. When the camera or card disappears from the list, you can safely disconnect it.

To transfer images from your camera using Image Capture

If you’d rather not download images into iPhoto,

you can use Image Capture to copy them anywhere on your hard drive

These steps will copy image files from your camera to wherever you wish on your hard drive, but not to iPhoto’s library. You can later add them to iPhoto if you wish.

1. Connect your camera to your Mac using the USB cable that came with your camera. Note: If your Mac has an SD card slot and your camera uses a compatible SD card, you can simply insert the card into your Mac instead of connecting the camera via a USB cable (then skip to step 3).
2. Turn on your camera. If your camera needs to be set to a certain mode to transfer photos, do so now by simply checking your camera’s manual. The camera or more precisely, its media card appears on the desktop as a mounted volume.
3. Open Image Capture (located in Applications). Note: If iPhoto opens automatically, you can quit it.
4. Select the media card of your camera from the devices list, if it is not already selected.
5. At the bottom of the devices and shared list, you can choose to delete photos from your camera after importing them and you can choose which application opens when you reconnect your camera or card to your computer.
6. From the import To pop-up menu, choose where you want Image Capture to download your files.
7. If you want to import all the photos from your camera, click Import All. If you only want selected photos imported, choose the photos you want and then click Import. Tip: By pressing and holding down the Command key and clicking the photos you can select multiple photos. The photos you select will be highlighted (as shown in the figure above).
8. All photos that you import will have a green checkmark indicating they have been imported.
9. To disconnect the camera or SD card, click the eject button to the right of the media card in the devices list of Image Capture.

To manually download photos
Many cameras allow you to manually copy your images using the Finder. Use these steps to copy your camera’s photo and movie files by simply dragging and dropping the files from the camera volume to your hard drive:

You can copy your camera’s photo and movie files by simply dragging and dropping the files from the camera volume to your hard drive

1. Connect your camera to your Mac using the USB cable that came with your camera. Note: If your Mac has an SD card slot and your camera uses a compatible SD card, you can simply insert the card into your Mac instead of connecting the camera via a USB cable (then skip to step 3).
2. Turn on your camera. If your camera needs to be set to a certain mode to transfer photos, do so now. You may want to check your camera manual if you’re not sure how. The camera or more precisely, its media card, appears in the devices section of the Finder sidebar as a mounted volume.
3. Double-click the volume to open it and open the DCIM folder, which holds your pictures.
4. Drag the image files or folder to your desktop or any folder on your hard drive to copy them. You can then open the files in any graphics application, and even import them into iPhoto if you want by dragging the files into the album section of the iPhoto sidebar.
5. To delete all photos from the media card in your camera, you can either drag the DCIM folder to the Trash and then empty the Trash, or delete the images using your camera’s controls.
6. To disconnect the camera, drag the volume icon to the Trash, it turns into an Eject icon. When the icon disappears from the desktop, you can safely disconnect your camera.

Camcorders
Here’s how to connect a camcorder to your computer and capture footage in iMovie.

Use a video capture application, such as iMovie, to import footage

1. Connect your camcorder to your computer, using the FireWire or USB cable that came with it. Typically for FireWire, a 6-pin to 4-pin FireWire cable, plug the small end (4-pin) connector into your camera’s FireWire port.
2. Turn on your camera and set it to PC Connect mode (this mode may have a different name on your camera).
3. Open iMovie.
4. If the Import window doesn’t open, choose File > Import from Camera from the iMovie menu, or click the video camera button above the Event Library list. The Import window displays all the video clips on your camera.
5. You can use the playback controls in the iMovie interface to view your camera footage in the iMovie monitor pane.
6. To select all clips, set the Automatic/Manual switch to Automatic, and then click Import All. To import specific clips, set the Automatic/Manual switch to Manual. Deselect the clips you don’t want to import, and click Import Checked. The first time you import from a video camera that records high-definition (HD) video, an HD Import Setting dialog appears. Even if you aren’t importing high-definition, video now, select Large or Full, and then click OK.
7. From the Save to pop-up menu, choose a location to store the videos.
8. in the Create new Event field enter a event name and then click Import.

Playing music with AirPlay

How to use AirPlay
Just plug your stereo system or speakers into the audio port on your AirPort Express using an audio cable or have your AirPlay-enabled output devices connect to the same local network as your iTunes library.

When you open iTunes 10 or later on your Mac or PC, you’ll see an AirPlay button at the bottom right-hand corner of the iTunes window.Clicking on the AirPlay button will let you control where you stream your content.

Add AirPlay to your current network
Simply connect your stereo system to the audio port on your AirPort Express using an audio cable and plug it into an electrical outlet. Once this is done, AirPlay wirelessly links to your existing network, letting you play your music in your room of choice with AirPlay-enabled output devices without moving anything or connecting anything else.

AirPlay-enabled output devices other than AirPort Express may connect to the network in other ways. Refer to the instructions from the manufacturer for more details.

Listening through multiple speakers
With AirPlay and iTunes 10 or later, you can listen to music through your computer speakers and multiple AirPlay outputs.

The maximum number of outputs are three to six in typical conditions. The number that works for you will depend on your environmental conditions (such as building composition and local radio interference), distance to the outputs, and available network capacity relative to your other usage.

Controlling multiple speakers
You can use the Multiple Speakers window to control the relative volume of your output devices.

The sound coming out of your AirPlay output device may sound louder or softer because of on the accoustic characteristics of the area in which it is placed. The sound being outputted may sound different even in comparison to the sound output from the same device placed in a different area.

If you set the softest output to most closely match the Master Volume, when you adjust the Master Volume, you have more precise control over that output.

You can adjust Master Volume in the Multiple Speakers window or by using the main volume control in the upper-left corner of the iTunes window:

Louder AirPlay outputs can be set to a lower volume to better control the extra power.

Controlling playback on the go
The Remote app allows you to control iTunes or Apple TV from your iOS device. If you are streaming from your iTunes library and step away from the computer, take your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch with you to control the iTunes library.

Check spelling and grammar

In many Mac OS X applications you can check spelling, or both spelling and grammar, in documents such as TextEdit files or email messages.

Note: Many applications have some, but not all, of the spelling and grammar options. For example, in some applications the Edit menu has a “Spelling” option instead of a “Spelling and Grammar” option.
If you don’t see either “Spelling” or “Spelling and Grammar” in the Edit menu, the application doesn’t provide the Mac OS X spell-checking feature. Check the application’s preferences or menus to see if it has its own spelling checker.

Accept or ignore suggested words
Mac OS X uses “text prediction” to assist you as you type, by showing you suggested words below the word you are typing.

1. To accept a suggested word, press the Space bar and continue typing. If multiple suggestions are shown, click the one you want to accept.
2. To ignore the suggested word, continue typing as usual.

Check the spelling of a single word
Select the word, and then choose Edit > “Spelling and Grammar” > “Show Spelling and Grammar.”

Check spelling in an entire document

1. With the document open, choose Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Check Document Now. The first error in your document is highlighted.
2. Either correct the word or leave it as is, and then press Command-semicolon (;) to see the next error.
3. To see suggested alternate spellings for a word, and get easy access to other spelling and grammar commands, hold down the Control key as you click an error.

Check spelling and make corrections as you type

1. Open the application you want to use and choose Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Check Spelling While Typing. When you mistype or misspell a word, it’s underlined in red.
2. If you want to correct misspellings as you type, choose Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Correct Spelling Automatically. Misspelled words are corrected if they don’t begin with a capital letter and don’t appear on a line of their own.

These steps enable spell check and auto-correction for the current document. Some applications, such as TextEdit, let you set a preference to enable the feature for all new documents. You can also enable this feature for all documents in applications that support this feature. To do so, select “Correct spelling automatically” in the Text pane of Language & Text preferences.

Check grammar along with spelling
With the document you want to check open, choose Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Check Grammar With Spelling, so there’s a checkmark next to it.

Misspelled words are underlined in red and grammar errors in green.

Use advanced spelling and grammar options

1. With a document open, choose Edit > Spelling and Grammar > Show Spelling and Grammar.
2. To change the language, choose it from the pop-up menu. If you want to see more language options, choose Open Text Preferences.
3. To check grammar along with spelling, select the “Check grammar” checkbox.
4. If an error is found, do one of the following:
5. If one of the suggested alternatives is correct, select it and click Change.
6. If none of the alternatives is correct, retype the word or words and click Change.
7. If you don’t want to make a correction, click Ignore. The error is ignored if it occurs again in the current window, but is highlighted if it’s found in other windows.
8. If you don’t want the word to be treated as an error, click Learn to add it to your personal dictionary. (In some applications, you can Control-click the word and choose Learn Spelling from the shortcut menu.)
9. To review a definition of a suggested alternative, select it and click Define.
10. If no alternatives are listed, click Guess to see whether any possibilities appear.
11. To continue checking without making any changes, click Find Next.

If you accidentally add a misspelled word to the dictionary, type the misspelling in the Spelling and Grammar window and click Ignore, or Control-click the misspelling and choose Unlearn Spelling from the shortcut menu.

Check for errors missed by the spell checker
It’s a good idea to read through your document yourself, even if you use the spell checker. If you type “fine” instead of “find,” for example, it won’t show up as a misspelled word.

To easily identify such errors, highlight the text you want to check and choose Edit > Speech > Start Speaking.

Check external devices

If you are using an external networking device, such as a hub or a router, and are having trouble connecting to the Internet, there may be problems with your devices or cables.

1. Check that all the devices you are using are turned on and have started up completely.
2. Make sure all cables related to the modem are plugged in and firmly inserted. This includes the modem’s power cord, the cable from the modem to the wall jack, and the cable from the modem to your computer. To be sure a connector is properly inserted, disconnect and reconnect it. Be sure that cables have not been cut, chewed, or otherwise damaged.
3. If you are using an Ethernet hub, router, or gateway, make sure all cables and power supplies are properly connected. If you have more than one power supply available for a type of hub or router, try switching the power supplies. A defective power supply may affect network traffic.
4. Turn off the power on your DSL or cable modem for a few minutes, then turn it back on. Some service providers recommend that you unplug the modem’s power cord to turn off power to it. This is required if the modem does not have a power button. If the modem has a reset button, try pressing it before or after unplugging the modem and plugging it back in.
5. Check the indicator lights on the modem. Some DSL and cable modems have indicator lights that provide useful information about the modem’s connections. A “cable” light may indicate that the cable network is available, whereas a “PC” light may indicate that the modem recognizes the connection to your computer. If such a light remains off after you have checked your cables and turned the power off and on, check the documentation that came with the modem, or contact your Internet service provider (ISP).

If you use one or more devices, such as a DSL or cable modem and a router to connect your computer to the Internet, try turning off all the devices, waiting a few minutes, and then turning them back on in order. Turn on the device closest to the Internet connection first, let it restart completely, and then turn on the next device.

Restart an external device

If you have a network device, such as a hub or router, connected to your computer, and you are having problems, you might be able to correct the problem by restarting the device. See the documentation that came with the device if you don’t know how to restart it.

It often helps to wait a few minutes between turning off and restarting the device, and then wait until it has started up completely before trying to use it.

If you have multiple devices connected in a “daisy-chain” to your computer, it is important to turn off all the devices, and then restart them in sequence, starting from the device farthest from the computer. For example, if you have a DSL or cable modem connected to the Internet, a router connected to the modem, and your computer is connected to the router, turn off all of the devices. Wait a few minutes, and then restart the modem first. When it has started up completely, restart the router, and let it start up completely.

If restarting the devices doesn’t help, you may want to restart your computer. If the problem persists, use Network Diagnostics to help solve the connection problem.

1. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, and then click Network.
2. Click “Assist me,” and then click Diagnostics.
3. Follow the onscreen instructions.

View slideshows within Finder

Open Finder and select any group of files or images that you have. Say you have 100 photos in your pictures folder. Go ahead and go to the finder menu and click edit > select all or you can just drag your mouse cursor to select all files.

From there you have a couple options to bring up the slideshow feature.

You can press spacebar for quick look and it will bring up this:

You can now use the arrows to scroll through the images or click the thumbnails to bring up thumbnail previews.

Now at this point you can press the fullscreen arrows on the right side. Doing this is the same as selecting all the images and going to finder menu and while holding down option select File > Slideshow. So if you want to bypass the quick look then you can just go right to the finder menu instead.

After clicking on full screen you will your first image in full screen mode and this toolbar at the bottom.

You can scroll left or right through images or press play for slideshow. You can click the thumbnail view or click import to iPhoto.

This is a very nifty feature especially if you have thousands of images on your hard drive and need to locate one.