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Feedback Wanted: Make Mac Work.

MacMakeWork.pngThis is a bit off-topic from our tips format. I’d like to put out a request to the more technical readers in our audience. Our lead enterprise engineer, Jordan Bojar, has been asked to pull together a book proposal based on his Make Mac Work blog.

If you have never visited, Make Mac Work is our sister blog covering IT issues facing Macs in Enterprise environments. If that sounds interesting, you can browse some of the essential articles in the blog archives:

» Portable Home Directories
» Master Open Directory
» Configure And Deploy NetInstall
» Manage Account Preferences
» Control Software Update
» Bind to Active Directory

If you are an IT professional who is responsible for supporting Macs in larger corporate networks, I’d recommend you bookmark this blog. And we’d appreciate any feedback or suggestions you might be willing share to help Jordan flesh out his book proposal.

Thanks.

February 25, 2009
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Copy Music from your iPod to your Computer.

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“How do I copy music from my iPod back to my computer?”

This is one of those common questions we get all the time. Typically a drive fails and the iTunes music library wasn’t properly backed up. Or maybe someone wants an easy way to copy music from a friend’s iPod. This week we’ll take a quick look at a number of tools you can use to move music and videos from your iPod back onto your computer:

» iPodRip ($20)
» TuneAid ($15)
» Backstage ($10)
» YamiPod (Free)

In researching this tip, I found dozens of utilities that do basically the same thing. This is by no means a comprehensive list. But if you need to get your music back onto your Mac or PC, read the full tip for mini-reviews of several utilities that do the trick.

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February 23, 2009
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Photoshop CS4 Shortcut Cheatsheets.

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For several years, photographer and designer Trevor Morris has maintained a great set of Photoshop keyboard shortcut cheatsheets. We’ve linked to his collection several times for previous versions of Photoshop. If you’ve upgraded to Photoshop CS4, download this handy PDF cheatsheet, print it out, and keep it near your computer:

Photoshop CS4 Shortcuts (Mac)

Photoshop CS4 Shortcuts (PC)

If you haven’t upgraded to Photoshop CS4 yet, we’ve got you covered. Trevor keeps an archive of his previous cheatsheets all the way back to Photoshop 5. We’ve got links to his full archive past the jump.

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February 23, 2009
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Quickly Delete All Page Guides in InDesign.

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This week’s tip was pulled from a collection of rapid-fire speed tips for working with guides in Jason Hoppe’s Moving Faster in InDesign CS3/CS4 webinar. Ever want to quickly delete all the guides on an InDesign page? Here’s how:

You can quickly select all the guides on your page by typing Command-Option-G (On the PC, that’s Ctrl-Alt-G). Then hit the Delete key to delete them.

A new feature in InDesign CS4 makes it even easier, Right-Click or Control-Click on the ruler or a guide and choose Delete all Guides in the pop-up menu.

Tip: If some guides have been locked in position, select all guides first and then choose Object > Unlock Position or type Command-Option-L to unlock them. This technique does not delete guides from Master Pages.

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February 16, 2009
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AreMySitesUp.com

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The URL says it all. Here is a free site that monitors up to 20 of your Web sites and notifies you if they go down:

https://aremysitesup.com/

I’ve looked at a dozen similar services over the years, and this one is as straightforward as it gets. You can also upgrade to a paid account at $75/year that checks your sites more frequently, as well as adding additional options to test for specific words or phrases on your site.

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February 16, 2009
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Quote From Last Night’s AdWords Class.

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I teach monthly online marketing seminars at our Seattle training partner Luminous Works. Last night I led a new class on Google AdWords & Online Advertising. There will be tips from that class coming up in future weeks, but I wanted to share a quote from an email I received this morning from one of last night’s attendees:

“Craig, This was a GREAT class. The informal and succinct presentation provided simple and manageable solutions to what for most is mind-numbingly complex material. Best of all, I can implement 90% of your recommendations myself. In short, a comprehensive class in very professional and comfortable surroundings… worth 10X the price! I would recommend the class for anyone — except my competitors!” – Alan Burke, Classic Nursery & Landscape Company

Before anyone asks, yes, one day we’ll offer these online marketing classes via our workshop/webinar format. Probably not for several months however.

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February 10, 2009
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Free Photoshop Action for eBook Covers.

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Recently, I needed a photo of my friend Steve Laskevitch’s new book to illustrate a tip. The problem, his book doesn’t ship until the end of February.

That’s where a remarkable set of scripts from Photoshop trainer Mark Monciardini saves the day. Mark has designed Cover Action Pro, a collection of specialized Photoshop Actions that magically turn your flat artwork into book covers, software boxes, dvd cases, magazines, and other images perfectly suited for e-commerce sites. The full collection of Photoshop Actions costs $127.

Read on to download two free Photoshop Actions from this collection.

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February 2, 2009
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Access Files from other Time Machine Backups.

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One of the best features Apple incorporated into Mac OS X Leopard is their built-in Time Machine backup system. For small studios, or individual designers, Time Machine is one of the best automated backups available.

You can click on the small backup-clock icon in your menu bar to access many Time Machine features: Check the date of your last backup, force an immediate backup, or jump back to search through the recent backups of your computer.

But what if you want to look through the files from another computer? By default, Time Machine’s restore interface only shows you files from your computer. But hold down the Option key and a menu option named “Browse Other Time Machine Disks” will appear in that menu.

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February 2, 2009
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Seattle, WordPress-Savvy, Web Designer.

wordpress-logo-250px.pngWe are looking for a local web developer to help with several upcoming projects over the next couple months, including updates to our main WordPress-based tips blog. We are looking for a web designer with experience in:

» Custom WordPress Themes
» Email Newsletter Templates
» Light E-Commerce Design

We need someone who is available for smaller projects.
Ideally, we’d prefer to work with a web designer in the greater Seattle area.

Know someone good? Are you someone good? I’d appreciate the lead.

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PS. Email me directly at craig at creativetechs.com or connect with me via LinkedIn. I’ll share more details about our needs one-on-one.

February 1, 2009
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