The 3D Invasion

I've been watching TV lately. To be more precise, I've been peeking into, or should that be immersing myself, in the latest 3D revolution. This all came about a few weeks ago, when I trekked to the Imax Cinema, to enjoy the very entertaining Alice in Wonderland. It wasn't so much the story itself that enthralled me (as it's so far removed from the original, it should really have been titled Alice in Wonderland 2!) but the now quite astounding 3 dimensional effect. This shouldn't really shock me, because being a human, I see things in 3 dimensions every day.  But it did. To the point whereby I was even muttering to my companion "did you see that?!" as a wisp of smoke literally wafted under my nose.

So, being the curious, and reasonably geeky creature that I am, I started looking at 3D TV's. I wondered how on earth it would be possible to recreate the 3D effect on a much smaller screen, in the home, without the need for the dreaded add-ons...the 3D glasses.

In order to benefit from the 3D technology, viewers will need a Blu-ray player, as no 3D TV is currently broadcast, as well as a pair of “Active Shutter” 3D glasses with a battery and an infrared sensor on the bridge, which picks up signals from the television. A pair of the glasses, plus the necessary cable to connect the television set, costs an extra £200. And, just to add even more confusion to this emerging technology, the glasses from one manufacturer, such as Samsung, are not compatible with Panasonic.  Unless you turn them upside down. In which case you simply look even sillier! So, at the moment, until there are 3D TV's available that don't require the additional eye wear (this is possible now, just not available yet!) I think I'll play the waiting game.

Moving away from TV, and back into my comfort zone, is something that may well be a true trail blazer in the latest technology race. Multidimensional widgets! "What are these?" I hear you cry.  The official definition is below;

"A multidimensional widget is a three-dimensional object with application surfaces, and each application surface is associated with a widget function. Multidimensional widgets can be modified by adding functions or grouping with other widgets."

WOW!  These sound amazing. But who will provide us with such jewels of delight to sit in our laptops/iPads/iPhones and iMacs?  Apple Inc will. Multidimensional widgets were patented by them late last year.  I can't wait to see them in the 3D flesh!

One Day Your Prints Will Come

Printers and printing. Not to be confused with Prince's and partying! Always something of a thorny issue, whether this be in the office of some vast conglomerate that has a multitude of express Canon colour laser copiers ready to be abused by everyone from the post room to the finance department, who simply MUST have their spreadsheets printed in full garish colour, or at home, where ones resources are a little more limited. Printing anything from pictures to entire dissertations can be fraught with frustration and much hair removal of the unwanted kind!  OK, so, you get the picture. I hope to provide, or at the very least, give a reasonable insight into how to achieve a good healthy printer connection, and be able to print without fail, first time, every time!  For this example, I will assume that the printer is shared over a wireless network from another Mac.  Operating system versions are OSX Snow Leopard (10.6.2) on both the client, and the serving Mac. That said, there is little difference between these instructions, and those for Leopard or Tiger versions of OSX.

Firstly, you will need to directly connect your printer to your designated "serving" Macintosh. The assigned server Macintosh can still be used for everyday tasks, such as browsing the internet, PhotoShop work, or page layout. It is simply sharing the printer that it has attached to it. Mac OS X v10.6 comes with software for many third-party printers, so simply connect a USB printer and the print queue will be automatically created. It doesn't get much easier than that. I would suggest that when purchasing a printer for home use, that you stick with mainstream manufacturers, such as Epson, HP and Canon. Starting at this point will almost definitely mean that the printer software is already installed on your "server" Mac.  To test that the printer is functioning as it should, launch a simple application, such a TextEdit, type a few characters, and print the document. You will hear the clunking and grinding of cogs and motors turning, as your printer sucks the paper in and outputs your first masterpiece of creative writing. All that's required now is to share the printer.

Control-click or right-click the System Preference Dock icon and select Sharing from the Dock menu.

To enable printer sharing, simply check the Printer Sharing checkbox found in the Service list pane on the left.

You can choose which print queue to share by selecting its check box in the middle Printers: pane.
By default, Any user (Everyone group) can print to your shared Print Queue.  If you would like to control access to your printer share, click the + (plus) button below the Users pane on the right.  A users sheet will drop down, highlight one or more users or groups and click "Select" to add them.  Once added, the Everyone group access will be set to "No Access".


This done, your group or user access privileges assigned, you are now ready to connect a client to your shared printer. So, lets return to the Printers and Fax preference pane. Control-click the System Preferences icon in your Dock and choose "Print & Fax" from the Dock menu.  If the Print & Fax lock icon appears locked, click the lock icon and enter an administrator name and password when prompted. Click the + (plus) icon below the Printers pane on the left to open the Add Printer application.

From the Add Printer toolbar you have these default tools:
Default - Used to get a list of all printers that your Mac can see via USB, Bonjour, and so forth. If your printer is recently purchased, and you are running Snow Leopard, Leopard, or Tiger, your printer WILL be visible via the default option.

Tip: If you have a long list of printers, use the search field to find the printer you are looking for.  Just click the printer in the list that you would like to add and Snow Leopard will add the printer driver for you.

Fax - Used to add a queue for the Fax device connected to your Mac. Please ignore for the purposes of this example.

IP - Used to add your printer network printers that don't use Bonjour or are on a different network subnet from your computer.  Printers that support the Internet Printing Protocol (IPP), Line Printer Daemon (LPD), and HP Jetdirect (Socket) can be added in this manner.  See your printer's manual or support documentation for information about how to setup the printer to use an IP-based printing protocol.

Windows- Used to add your printer being shared via the Windows printer sharing protocol (CIFS). Please feel free to contact me via macsanity.co.uk for help and assistance with this. 

And that's it. As long as your wireless network is up, and your "printer serving" Macintosh is powered on, you will be able to print wirelessly, free from your desk to roam the house, or even wander into the garden.

Which reminds me. Sometime ago, rather a long time ago actually, during the early part of my career, I was happily answering most queries coming through to the helpdesk. It was approaching the end of the day, and if I remember correctly, the end of the week. Seeing freedom beckoning, I became a little "call happy", making sure that all reports were up to date, calls were dutifully closed, and clients were blissfully happy.

When, at a heart beat away from 17:30, an urgent call came in. Naturally, being an ever eager and efficient helpdesk person, I was thrilled to be getting a call at this time. I picked up the handset and pressed the answer button, to hear the shrill whining of someone that sounded in pain and distress. My immediate reaction was to reach for the first aid kit, but, upon listening to the poor soul recount the problem she had been having, which only took her 30 minutes to explain, it became clear that her issue was one of a printing kind, and not an emergency medical condition.

I ran through the process explaining how to add a printer, as it transpired that she had dutifully removed every single one that was available to her. Finally, a printer appeared in her previously empty list. We returned to her weapon of choice for copy editing (Quark XPress) and set the unending printer options there as well. We were ready to print. Breathing at a more even and controlled pace now, she gingerly pressed the print button, and then asked "how long will it take for my prints to arrive?" Unable to bite my tongue and resist the temptation (it was late on a Friday, and I feel that Walt Disney should take some of the blame for my reply!) I professionally responded "don't worry, one day your Prince will come." It was at this point that all I heard was a deafening silence, and the bleak "click" of her phone ending the call. Time for a quick exit, homeward bound......

Macintips and Shopping Carts

You have your new purchase. You tear off the impossible to remove, unbelievably sticky tape that then insists on fastening itself to your fingers, laying siege to your dexterity whilst simultaneously increasing your impatience. Finally it's off. You prize open the flaps and peer inside, as though you were opening the ark, almost expecting rays of dazzling sunlight to cascade from the now gaping hole. You delve in and retrieve your prize. A shiny new Apple MacBook. No time for reading any instructions, you fumble through the beautifully designed packaging searching frantically for the power pack and attachable plug. You plug one end into a wall socket, removing any unnecessary appliances, such as telephones, table lamps, or televisions. You connect the other end to the MacBook. You flip the lid, and press the power button. A reassuring chime emanates from the tiny speakers, and you breathe a sigh of relief. It works. Like an expert fully in control, you confidently click on each question the automated system setup asks of you , until....what's this? Do I have an existing email address? How would I like to connect to the internet? You pause. Then, seeing the savior at the bottom of the screen, you cautiously click "continue, add internet later." And so, we suddenly stumble across the age old question. "How do I connect this to the internet?" This is something that friends and family members frequently ask me whenever they've spent their hard earned pennies on a new computer. The answer is to do the following, which will save you the pain of a long and tedious call to BT, whilst trying to fathom where on earth the "secret" codes are that you have to input into your wireless security option. For this example, I will use BT to illustrate how to connect. There are many providers out there, but BT tends to be one of the most prevalent.

The first step is to make sure your BT Home Hub is up and running and all the lights (Data, Internet, Broadband, Wireless) are lit. Turn your Hub around and make a note of the 10-character BT Home Hub Wireless key, and not the BT Fusion key which is normally found underneath.

With your Mac up and running, go to the dock, and click System Preferences. You will be presented with a screen that has many items in it, including Mouse, Security, Dock and Appearance. The item we're interested in is Network. Click on Network. Under the ‘Show’ dropdown, select Network Port Configurations. Ensure that Airport is checked.

Click ‘Apply Now’ and close System Preferences. Click Airport on and select the BT Home Hub network entry, which by default will be something similar to BTHomeHub-13F8.

When prompted for the password, make sure that the Wireless Security dropdown is set to “WEP 40/128-bit hex” – then enter the 10-character key that you'd noted from the rear of the HomeHub earlier, and as if by Magic, your shiny new Mac will connect to your wireless network.

Launch Safari to test the connection. You should see an Apple.com page.

Welcome to the internet, you're now able to browse and surf at your leisure. In no time at all you will be internet banking, and maybe even internet grocery shopping. Which brings me onto something that has struck and bewildered me for sometime now.

Being the archetypal hunter gatherer, I tend to do the dreaded weekly grocery expedition. Armed with a list of things my offspring have demanded, I wander into my local Sainsbury's with an air of defiance, keeping an eagle eye out for the best possible offers, whilst also trying not to stumble into the marketing trap of "buy 3 for only £10" offers that assail me from every aisle. I complete my mission in a little under 8 hours, and, shopping cart brimming with my haul, I drag it bodily across the car park to my waiting car. Once loaded, like a good shopper, I go to return my shopping cart to the little shopping cart enclosure, where I like to think all the other shopping carts gather to share a little gossip. This is when my otherwise idyllic adventure becomes a shattered reality.

Some idiot, probably someone that's single, or only does their shopping once a day, has inserted the halfsize "singletons" shopping cart into a full sized "family" shopping cart. I have nothing against people that are single, or idiots for that matter. And I'm certainly not suggesting that one makes you the other, but I think this a good way of differentiating between the sizes of shopping cart. I digress. Now, of course, they've recovered their £1 from the locking mechanism, so there's no chance of removing the offending cart, unless of course I insert £1, unlock it, insert my shopping cart, remove my £1 from that, and then take the "singleton" cart and place that in the correct line, and recover my £1. No, I don't do this, because my blood is already boiling, and my eyes are already scanning the scene of the crime for the perpetrators of this terrible act.

So, off I trot to the next shopping cart enclosure, at least 30 whole seconds away from my previous target, with thoughts running through my mind of "why?" and " I wonder if they're watching for all the disgruntled shoppers that have to make the extra 30 second journey to the next enclosure, and what kind of perverse pleasure do they gain from this?" On returning home, I mention to my wife that hanging or the birch would be too good for people that dare to play such cruel and thoughtless jokes on otherwise happy shoppers. Because of this I drone on about the failing standards of the education system, the government, and how horrid people can be, for absolutely no apparent reason. And all because of a minor shopping cart incident. How quickly the human mood can change, and how frail simple happiness can be. Sympathetically, she suggests that maybe I sit down and shut up, whilst she makes me a cup of tea.....So I sit, and silently plan my revenge on the shopping cart criminals!



macsanity.co.uk

Welcome Blog

And so, with bated breath, I took my first tentative steps into the unknown. For 15 years I'd been cocooned in the relative safety of a city office block, complete with air-con, a vending machine, and as many Macs to play with as I wanted, as well as a healthy budget for "testing" new to the market gadgets. But now, suddenly (even though I'd had 6 months prior warning!) here I was, redundant and squinting at the sun, my shadow cast behind me like a history of previous employment yet to be documented (note to self, must get that CV updated!) I stepped free from the corporate grip of red tape and newly imposed HR doctrines, inciting us to have F.A.C.E values, an acronym that I'd never really understood or wanted to play a part in. I preferred to remain F.A.C.E less, as did the majority of my colleagues. Second note to self, must learn to play along with company doctrines, as they appear to be the key to a longer career!

And so, here I am, with a little time on my hands, taking an irreverent look at the world, but mostly wanting to share a little knowledge, primarily Mac based, with the occasional rant thrown in here and there for good measure, mostly for your amusement, but also to clear my mind of the garbage that insists on floating through it. A little self therapy that may just throw up a few good things along the way. Who knows, this may even be fun AND educational.

Welcome, to the first of what may become a series of blockbusting blogs. Hints and tips will appear in issue 2. Stay tuned.

macsanity.co.uk