2009 March - Interrupt19

PCs Cheaper than Macs? A Real Cost Comparison

Mar 30th, 2009

Apples & Oranges - They Don't Compare by TheBusyBrain Photo courtesy of TheBusyBrain

Like a bad aftertaste, it seems the “PCs cost less than Macs” rumor still remains. Is there any truth to it now that it’s being used in Microsoft’s advertising? Why don’t we uncover the truth by taking a look at the current lowest price MacBook and see what Dell, HP, Lenovo and Toshiba have to offer.

Security and the Mac – The Scary Truth

Mar 26th, 2009

by David Balogh in Work and Organization

Bank Security Guard by Brad and Sabrina Photo courtesy of Brad and Sabrina

Mac security has been in the news lately, with the ten second pwning of OS X. Now, it’s a huge stretch to say that someone could walk up to a Mac and hack in within ten seconds but it’s a warning to those out there who think the Mac is invulnerable. While there has been nothing major on the malware front for OS X yet, that doesn’t mean OS X is impenetrable. For those out there who think OS X is perfectly safe, here’s the scary truth:

So, You Want To Learn To Code In OS X

Mar 23rd, 2009

by David Balogh in Work and Organization

Will code for food by Pvera Photo courtesy of Pvera

Want to learn to code but don’t know where to begin? Learning to program a computer can be a rewarding experience. It can also be a little frustrating. There’s a ton of languages, editors, compilers and books out there, and even more opinions of which to learn and use. Some of them are Mac friendly and some are Microsoft based. Let’s look at what you need and where to begin coding with OS X.

Use Boxee to turn your Mac into a Media Center

Mar 19th, 2009

by David Balogh in Games and Entertainment

Boxee Logo Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
Imagine one device controlling your TV, music, movies, online video and more. No more needing separate DVRs, DVD players, and in some cases, cable boxes. Whether you have an older Mac sitting around or plan to buy one just for this purpose, make your Mac into your own media center for free with Boxee.

Changing Which Program Opens What Kind of File

Mar 16th, 2009

by David Balogh in Basics for Beginners

WWDC 07 Mac OS X Leopard by Shht! Photo courtesy of Shht!

Don’t you just hate it when you double-click a file and it opens up in the wrong program? For instance, a .PDF opening up in Acrobat instead of Preview, .mp3 in iTunes instead of Cog, or a webpage in Safari instead of FireFox (or the other way around). Most power users know instantly what to do to change this, yet not everyone is a power user. Fortunately, this is a really easy thing to fix.