Splitting DMG Archives

You have a 4GB+ DMG archive, for example a game or something, which you wanna fit onto your FAT32 partitioned hard drive. Not possible huh ? No, think again. I'm back after a week, and I'm gonna teach you how to split DMG archives. There are number of tools that can do the same. Some of them work, some don’t, but the most bulletproof way is to do it in the Terminal

There’s a tool on a Mac that does pretty much everything concerning the disks. It’s called hdiutil. It can attach, detach (eject), verify, mount, unmount and segment a volume, to name a few. To use this tool you have just got to type in a command. For a start you may want to get a view on hdiutil’s features by typing hdiutil help. Hit Enter to execute a command.

There's more to the list, but I cudn't find a way of fitting in so much content in one screenshot :)
To segment an image, let’s say DMG you could use a command:

hdiutil segment -o mydvd -segmentSize 100M /Users/[YOUR.USERNAME.HERE]/Desktop/dvdimage.dmg

That command would create segments (mydvd.002.dmgpart, mydvd.003.dmgpart, etc.) in your Home folder of an image named dvdimage.dmg on your desktop.

‘-o mydvd’ stands for the prefix that is used to name the segments. Segment size would be 100MB as defined by the segmentSize parameter. If you’d want the segment size to be 500KB you could just use 500k instead of 100M. Alternatively you could also split your image by the number of segments. In that case you should replace ‘-segmentSize 100M’ with ‘-segmentCount 5′ for example. That would split your image into 5 segments.

A good thing about it is that you don’t even have to rejoin these segments later. You can just click the first segment (in above example it would be mydvd.dmg) so Mac will verify the image and attach the DMG as it usually does. Or use Disk Utility to burn it by using the first segment as well.

Automator - Rename Files & Label Them

Today's Automator Action: Rename Files & Label Them

You have a shit load of pictures to be renamed. You wanna label them with colors. What do you do ? Automator, to the rescue !

Follow these simple steps and be able to Rename Files and also Label Them:

• Follow the basic steps from the previous Automator post
• Add Rename Finder Items and Label Finder Items from the Automator Library
• Customize them as you want and voila !

Here's a small example:

I have 100 odd pics here in a folder called Party ! I want them to renamed with Party as suffix and numbers as postfixes, beginning from 1. Here's what I did to achieve that:

As you can see from the above screenshots, you can add more than one Automation at the same time depending upon what you want it to do for you.

That's all for now ! Try tweaking that Record button ;)

Automator - Resize Photos

I'm quite sure you guys would have noticed that robotic icon with a pipe in its hand ! That's AUTOMATOR. Its the most useful software there is on Leopard. Batch Processing, that's Automator's forte.

I'll give you some scenarios where you guys have to sit and do a lot of work to get your work done. You have some pictures which you clicked at last night's party. They're all in your camera's native resolution. They're freakin' huge to upload anywhere on the internet ! What and how will you resize them ? Can't think of anything ? Okay, lets begin !

Today's Automator Action: Resize Photos

• Put the pictures into a folder
• Select all the pictures
• Alternate click on any one photo
• Move the cursor to "More"
• Now, move it to "Automator"
• Click on "Create Workflow"

Now that you've done all that, an Automator window should pop up on your screen. You see too many things and you're dazed and confused ! Here's what you need to do again:

• Look toward the left side of the Automator window
• There should be an open drop down called "Library" with names like "Calendar, Contacts..." and so on
• Since you're working on Photos, you need to select the "Photos" sub menu in the Library menu
• Now you see more options to the right of the Library menu
• Select "Scale Images"
• Double click on "Scale Images" after you select it
• Automator will ask you if you want your original photos to be preserved after you scale them
• Depending on your choice select whatever you want
• One more sub menu which itself is called "Scale Images" opens up to the right side of "Scale Images"
• Select the type of scaling you want
• Now select "Run" in the top right corner of the Automator window
• Sit back and relax while Automator processes your images !

Stay tuned for more Automator 101 !

BlackBerry FTW !

Its called the BlackBerry 8520 Curve, codename "Gemini"

Only one word can describe how good the phone is: EPIC !

Its the most affordable BlackBerry yet ! It retails for INR 16,000, but locked to the Bharti Airtel network. The QWERTY keypad is just wow ! I used to use a full touchscreen phone before this, on which I used to freak out typing out long messages. Since the day I got the phone, I've used up atleast, say, half my free message limit of 300 messages :)

I suddenly feel the urge to type out messages instead of calling up :D

I hate to say this, and I know this is like comparing a penis with a vagina, but I feel the BlackBerry is much better than the epic iPhone itself :)

Apple outs 10.5.8 Update For Leopard

Today, Apple let out 10.5.8 for Leopard. Here's the official changelog from Apple:

• Upgrades Safari to version 4.0.2.
• Improves the accuracy of full history search in Safari 4.
• Resolves an issue in which certain resolutions might not appear in the Display pane in System Preferences.
• Dragging an Aperture image into Automator now invokes an Aperture action instead of incorrectly invoking an iPhoto action.
• Resolves an issue that could prevent importing of large photo and movie files from digital cameras.
• Improves overall Bluetooth reliability with external devices, USB webcams and printers.
• Addresses an issue that could cause extended startup times.
• Improves iCal reliability with MobileMe Sync and CalDav.
• Addresses data reliability issues with iDisk and MobileMe.
• Improves overall reliability with AFP.
• Improves overall reliability with Managed Client.
• Improves compatibility and reliability for joining AirPort networks.
• Improves Sync Service reliability.
• Includes additional RAW image support for several third-party cameras.
• Improves compatibility with some external USB hard drives.
• Includes latest security fixes.

Its a 280 MB download if you're on 10.5.7 right now. If you're on 10.5-10.5.6, the Combo Update is a 800 MB download.

Links:

Combo Update
Standalone Update

Useful, Free Apps For The Mac

Audacity

Do you have the Audacity to edit sound ? If yes, this is the right app for you ! Audacity lets you edit sound in ways you wouldn't have imagined. Its THE MOST powerful sound editor available across all platforms ! Its a nifty tool giving an inclination to the user. You can cut/chop/copy/duplicate/paste/do whatever the f**k you want with your sound clip or for that matter, a whole set of clips ! You can convert any music format to any other music format, its just limitless. Psst, you can also make ringtones with it, don't ask me how ;) Please don't complain about the UI though. I know, its horrible for a Mac app.

Tweetie

Tweetie, as the name suggests is a Twitter client for Mac OS X, developed by atebits. Its a beautifully written program, with some really nice animations to get you going ! You can sign in to multiple Twitter accounts at the same time, if you wish to. The free version comes with ads, but they're not irritating, as they're quite relevant and useful in some cases. You can upgrade to the full version by paying a premium of 20$. By far, of all the Twitter clients I've seen, Tweetie is the best ! The bird won't let you down when it comes to friendliness :)

AppCleaner

Uninstalling an App on a Mac is not as easy as drag-and-drop. The Apps that you install create plist files in System directories. Quite obviously, the new Mac user would not dare to tamper with uncharted territory ! AppCleaner does the job for you n00bs out there.

It makes uninstalling apps as simple as installing applications, drag-and-drop. It will automatically find relevant files for the app you want to uninstall, and delete them all in one go ! Its also capable of uninstalling Widgets, Preference Panes and Menu Plugins ! Its got some kickass animations as well ! So, go ahead, install-uninstall and play around without fear !

HandBrake

HandBrake is a one-stop-app for all your video converting needs. It supports a huge variety of formats. It also rips DVDs to any format you want. It supports various profiles for all kinds of devices. Being quite a powerful tool, you can convert a 2-hour DivX movie to an iPod compatible format in under an hour on a fairly powerful Mac. Think, the new aluminum MacBook Pro.

The UI is a simple one, which even a n00b can understand. You can even choose to queue up a few videos and leave it on.

So, if you wanna watch videos within the comfort of your iPod/Mobile/PS3/Xbox, this is what you're looking for !

Productions

As I already mentioned in my Welcome post, me and my brother have taken up some serious music production. We call ourselves Harmolymn, which is Harmonics and Limn. Harmonics refers to the science of sound and Limn means to represent something with art.

We have totalled up 3 tracks, with a 4th one, still being worked on. Give in a listen, some opinions/feedback/critique. We'd appreciate you spreading word about the productions and of course, the blog !

SoundCloud Profile

Login Items

Hey there guys ! Ever wanted that torrent application or your favorite IM client to start up automatically when you login ? I've got it covered in this post !

You can enable an application to start up automatically, at login, by doing this:

Alternate Click on Dock Icon // Select "Open at Login"

That will make the application open up, and sit on your Desktop, on its own, each time you login to your Mac. Furthermore, you can choose to hide the application, and choose to let it not-be-visible when you login, by doing this:

System Preferences // Accounts // "Login Items" Tab // Tick "Hide" (On the App you want to hide)

As you can see in the Screenshot above, I choose to run my Torrent application, uTorrent at login and hide it, cos I usually queue up some torrents, and I fear the power going kaput or the computer restarting for some reason and ending my torrent queue, after the re-login ! Neat huh ?

Review: Samsung P2350 LCD Monitor, 23" 1080p

I got my hands on this new LCD Monitor by Samsung ! The Samsung P2350. Its a 23" LCD with a glossy finish, which has a native resolution of 1920x1080. Thats Full HD resolution. The bezel is made of glass and is a see-thru one. The buttons that control the monitor's OSD are placed on the bottom right corner of the bezel and are touch sensitive. They are quite responsive and handy. The whole monitor is made up of a rather glossy finish which is good to look at, with oodles of sexiness, but at the same time, a superior dust magnet. Any dust you have around your computer is bound to ruin the look of this monitor.

On Screen Display
The on screen display is a fairly decent one with a niche look. Its easy to use for the layman too. Its a basic one with not too much to meddle, at the same time giving you options to adjust the Brightness, Contrast, Response Time, Color Gamut, and also displays basic info about the current resolution. There is also an option called "MagicBright" which is Samsung's proprietary contrast settings, which has some presets and also has the option to adjust the monitor automatically, according to what your doing. It works quite well, I must say. When your browsing, it automatically adjusts the sharpness, so as to let text reading be a soothing experience. When your watching a movie, its adjusts the brightness and contrast settings accordingly.

Technical Aspects

As you can see from the above picture, the color reproduction in this monitor is just too good. It can display the deepest blacks as well as the brightest whites. With a dynamic contrast ratio of 50,000:1 it beats all other competitors in this aspect.

On the back side of the monitor you'll find the ports that connect the display to your computer. Its got a VGA, and a DVI port. No HDMI, but you can use a DVI-HDMI. It supports HDCP, so you can even hook it up with your gaming console for a great experience. Its got a best-in-class response time too, 2 ms ! When you're watching TV or sports, you won't have a 'ghosting' effect or more commonly known as lag.

The monitor can be tilted vertically. It also supports VESA wall mounts.

Conclusion

The Samsung P2350 costs about INR 12,500 in the market. Its a safe buy for everyday/intensive use. Its a monitor well worth the price, and is targeted towards the gamers segment.

Gallery

Two Torrent Apps For The Mac

Well, I can safely say that your favourite torrent application for Windows would be uTorrent. There are just tons and tons of these applications. Which one to choose is the question ! I personally prefer using uTorrent because of its very familiar interface. I do love Transmission, but some users experience uploading/seeding problems with it, and unfortunately, I'm one of them. As far as I'm concerned, uTorrent and Transmission are THE BEST torrent applications out there for the Mac. Here's a quick look at the top two Mac torrent applications:

uTorrent

Its quite a familiar interface for the average Windows user. I love the simplicity of the UI. Its a no-strings-attached application, which is meant to perform the task its given, in this case, download/upload torrents. If you wanna make it look even more simpler, you could just click that small tab like button on the top right of the window and the button on the bottom left, to make it look like this:

This look is what I like to use on a day to day basis. Its completely clutter free. You can Start/Stop/Pause/Delete torrent just by right clicking in your list of torrents.

Pros:

• Excellent, simple hassle-free UI
• Good speeds, of course, on a good connection
• Easy download management

Cons:

• No Web UI
• Huge interface inspite of it being simple, takes away half your desktop

Transmission

The Transmission UI is ever more simpler than any other app available out there. I won't say much about it, cause the screenshot speaks a thousand words, no wait, a million pixels !

Pros:

• THE MOST simple UI out there
• Web UI for iPhone/iPod touch
• Organization of Downloads

Cons:

• Seeding/Uploading problems for some users

If you manage to get Transmission up and running, with proper seeding, consider yourself lucky !

The best part about Transmission is the organization of your downloads. Labels. Consider this, you're downloading some music, photos or some apps, and you want them to go into their respective directories, you can assign unique colored labels to them and make then go there after they complete downloading.

iPhone/iPod touch Web UI

Its just like a stripped down version of Transmission running on your iPhone. You can practically control and manage your downloads from around the reach of your WiFi network at home. You can also control it from anywhere in the world, provided you have your iPhone with you, have access to the internet, your Mac is connected to the internet all the time, and you have a static IP. Nerdy ain't it ?

Download links:

uTorrent
Transmission

Lemme know which one you like better, Transmission or uTorrent. Feel free to comment !

NTFS-3G, Lets You Write To Windows Partitions

The new Mac user is usually a switcher, as I've pointed out in my previous post, from either Windows, or for the heck of it, Linux. A XP/Vista/7 installation is usually done on a NTFS partition, as many of you may know. A Mac cannot, natively write to Windows partitions, but can read them. But then, there is NTFS-3G, by Erik Larsson. It lets you read/write and do whatever shit you want with your NTFS partition. Go grab it !

I have an older version installed, which doesn't have a Preference Pane, so I can't provide you guys with a screenshot.

Switch, is Important

SWITCH (n): The act of adopting one policy or way of life, or choosing one type of item, in place of another; a change, esp. a radical one

Such is the change, when you switch from Windows to OS X. Its a change, much needed for prosumers, I can say. There are two kinds of people, people who can use a Mac, and people who can use a PC. The latter, for the first time, can't figure out much when presented with a Mac, but its not always the other way round. Not that Macs are unusable for a noob. People think Leopard lacks simplicity. I say NO ! Its the simplest OS, ever, period. Today, I will point out the common mistakes Windows users make when using a Mac.

See that small white tab below the Firefox icon ? That's a sign that the application in reference is running, either in background or as an active application, in my case an active application. The first mistake first timers do, is that they think the application quits, as soon as they close the window. No, it doesn't. Its still running in the background, and munching on your RAM. So, please, if you're done using an application, hit ⌘ + Q to quit the application or click the dock icon and hold to bring up that menu.

Have you ever noticed how Firefox or any other application in OS X doesn't have that File | Edit | View | Tools | Help thingy within the Application window ? The "Menu Bar" is the bar on top of your screen that serves this purpose. It has the ability to change itself from application to application. The items that pop up there, depend on the kind of application your using. Firefox in my case, has all that there is on the Windows version, but not in the window of Firefox. That's the whole point, giving the user more screen estate.

Where's "My Computer" ?

Finder. That's your computer. The smiley faced icon on your dock is the app your looking for if you want to browse the contents of your computer. It shows you the A-Z of your Mac. Have you ever noticed how there's isn't a cut shortcut for cutting a file to the clipboard, A.K.A, moving files ? Leopard is basically a drag-and-drop OS.

When you wish to move a file from your external hard disk to your Mac, you just have to keep two things in mind. The Finder window of the source and the Finder window of the destination. Drag the file from the source window to the destination window, by holding down the ALT button. When you simply drag without holding down the ALT button, you will notice that there's + sign in a green blob below the pointer. Its vice-versa when you want to copy a file, which you don't wanna move.

That's all for today. Spotlight tips and facts coming up next, till then, some goodies, have fun !

Here's a list of keys from Windows that correspond to keys on a Mac keyboard:

CTRL - control
ALT - alt/option
Windows key - ⌘/command

Useful keyboard shortcuts:

⌘ + Shift + ⌫ - Empty Trash
⌘ + W - Close Window
⌘ + Q - Quit current application

Useful tip: You can type in the Help tab on the Menu Bar, and Leopard will automatically direct you to a shortcut if there is one. Here's an example:

Hello World !

Peeps ! Upon constant bombardment of you guys calling me a geek/nerd/tech expert/tech doc, I've decided to blog all the techno things that I do. I'm an Apple fanboy, but I hate to say it, I don't really own a Mac. But I have the power of OSx86. My brother's been using a MacBook for 2 years now. That's how I got hooked on to OS X. I'm thinking of buying me a MacBook when I get into college or something, but you won't believe it, the first Apple product I got was the iPod Touch.

I'm a Sony afficiendo too. I've been gaming on the Playstation 3 for 3 years now. I just love the way the gaming industry is progressing. More and more realism is being incorporated into gaming, with the advancement of technology.

Even more, my brother and I have started producing music. The inspiration: Our mom. My brother's a DJ, fairly well known in the city of Bangalore, as DJ Inferno. We call ourselves Harmolymn. Our breakthrough genre is Progressive. I can't really comment on the music scene, but EDM seems to be gaining attention everywhere.

On an ending note, I would like to tell you guys what you can expect from this blog. I'll do a brief Windows to Mac switch tutorial for starters. I'll also be reviewing applications on a weekly/fortnightly basis. I'll also do an advanced Mac tutorial, after I've acquainted myself to Leopard. Its been a month since I've been using Leopard on a daily basis, but I'll learn soon and impart the knowledge to you guys.

Have fun, sit tight and keep your eyes on macTECH !

Ashrith Babu Rao