lets see your desktop

[_Equilibrium_]

"]Get that massive dock out of your way!

how?

[BULLSEYE@linux.be]

Bullseye, that's almost as cluttered as a typical windows desktop. Clean it up... NOW!  :evil:

ZOMG but those files are important and when i move em ill lose em soon :p

ill do my best

edit: is this better?

[Computer[SU]]

"]Get that massive dock out of your way!

how?

Click on the apple in the upper left hand corner of the screen and go to "System Preferences."  This is like "Control Panel" for the Mac.  Right smack dab in the top middle is a section for the Dock.  You can change your dock size and position there.  You can also make it only pop up when you move your mouse to the bottom of the screen.  Also, you know...you can drag stuff like applications and documents to the dock and they will stay there for easy launching.  You can also drag stuff you don't use out and it will leave the dock.

[Computer[SU]]

@ Taiyo:  you don't even wanna know what's going on here:

__

 

[Taiyo.uk]

edit: is this better?

Yes, much better. Here, have a cookie


@ Computer[SU]: I don't care what's going on, I just want some!

[_Equilibrium_]

ok ok. new desktop.

[doomagent13]

@ equi:
I think your location is correct.

[on-topic]
I'd post my desktop, but its just that group of abstrast mac backgrounds changing at random every 5 secs.

Oh, I forgot to mention:
I have exactly 2 places in the grid empty, and one is *reserved for discs.
[/on-topic]

*I SAY so.

[player1]

-- Yay 3sum!

__

 

LOL! gogograngerz

@ _Equi_: me am proud
u am now t3h l33tst3rz0rz!!!

and the gwangerz danced...

...topless

[_Equilibrium_]

is there any way to get a wallpaper that does the mattrix waterfall thing with an actual animation? i want that so bad.


edit: widescreen preferably, but not neccesary.

[doomagent13]

Make it yourself?

[ShadowNinjaDudeMan]

is there any way to get a wallpaper that does the mattrix waterfall thing with an actual animation? i want that so bad.


edit: widescreen preferably, but not neccesary.

I saw something like hat, cant remember where though, looked quite cool.

[Taiyo.uk]

I think there's a hack to use xscreensaver programs as a desktop background in AIGLX (or was it XGL?), one of them is a 3D matrix animation.

[BULLSEYE@linux.be]

edit: is this better?

Yes, much better. Here, have a cookie


@ Computer[SU]: I don't care what's going on, I just want some!

OMG i want candy

gee is it so much i am asking from u

[Computer[SU]]

is there any way to get a wallpaper that does the mattrix waterfall thing with an actual animation? i want that so bad.


edit: widescreen preferably, but not neccesary.

Equi, everyone seems to think that having a screensaver as a desktop is cool for some reason that escapes me.  It would just hurt your eyes, distract you, and get annoying.  But beyond that, it will consume a fairly consistent 5-10% of your CPU for no reason whatsoever other than to make shit move around behind your active windows.  Pointless and a waste of resources if you ask me - I know you have a very fast computer but I guarantee Trem will run slower if you do this.  

Asking your computer to run a screensaver as a background is kind of like being a manager and asking your employees to do their jobs while they wave their hands around in the air.

That being said, here's how to do it:

First, click here:

http://twothirds.org/Red-Pill-Intel.zip

Unzip the zip file you downloaded and then double-click the .saver file that's in the folder there.  System preferences will open and ask you to install the screensaver.  Install it, and then go to the screensaver preference pane.  Select Red Pill as your screensaver.  If you click the "options" button to the right, you can make some adjustments to make it look better.

NOW, download this:
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/24497/wallsaver

Double click the .dmg file you downloaded and a disk will mount on your desktop.  Open the disk, and then copy the program inside there to your applications folder.  Open that program (in your apps folder), and it's fairly easy from there (one button click) to set your screensaver as your desktop.


P.S.  Google is your friend.

[Oblivion]

ok ok. new desktop.

A buddy of mine made a signature.
took me forever to find on the forums he posted it on.

[*<|:D]

Comp, thanks for all the tips, I love Quicksilver Now, where are you hiding your HD?

[Computer[SU]]

Comp, thanks for all the tips, I love Quicksilver :P Now, where are you hiding your HD?

I know this is horribly counterintuitive (FTFF = fix the fucking Finder) but if you go to the Finder's preferences there's a section under General for "Show these items on the desktop."  The only box I left checked is CDs, DVDs, and iPods.

QS basically makes the Finder pointless.  I only go there when I absolutely have to.  I also hate the dock and hide it up in the corner.  Instead, I have F1-F12 as triggers to open my most common applications.  F4 opens a new Finder window, and since that was the only purpose of my HD icon, I decided I didn't need it anymore.

I could write a whole book about all the tricks I've learned with QS...such a great program and I'm happy to share.  If you want to know how to do some cool stuff you might not have thought about before, you can check out this very comprehensive manual:

mysite.verizon.net/hmelman/Quicksilver.pdf

Once you get into applescript, compound commands and proxy items there's literally nothing QS can't automate.

[_Equilibrium_]

how do you unzip on a mac?

[Computer[SU]]

how do you unzip on a mac?

...double-click the icon of the .zip file?

Equi, you've got to at least try SOMETHING before you go asking.  OS X is usually intuitive...just go with your gut.  OS X comes with a built-in unzipper that handles all the basic filetypes.  If you want something that will uncompress a lot of less common archive types, you can try the Unarchiver:

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/22774/the-unarchiver

[_Equilibrium_]

oh, i fund out why i was confused. it unzipped itself.

[Computer[SU]]

oh, i fund out why i was confused. it unzipped itself.

Oh, I see I see.  Safari will automatically unzip .zip files you download and also automatically mount .dmg files.

Equi if I was you I would actually go and disable this feature right now.  It's one of the few security risks that there are on a Mac - a few exploits take advantage of the fact that Safari will automatically open these types of files upon download.  To protect yourself, just do this:

Open Safari and go to its preferences (Safari menu > Preferences).  Right there in the first pane you will see a box next to "open safe files after downloading."  Uncheck it.

There, now your Mac just got even more impenetrable.

Your college may try to make you install some antivirus software, but if you do some little things like this as well as activate your firewall, there will be no need for that (unlike on a PC where you're toast without some sort of 3rd party protection).

[_Equilibrium_]

"]activate your firewall

sorry to ask but, macs have firewalls? do i need to turn it on, or is it on already?

[Computer[SU]]

"]activate your firewall

sorry to ask but, macs have firewalls? do i need to turn it on, or is it on already?

NP mate.  Yes, you have firewall capabilities built in but no I do not think they are on by default.

So, here's how to turn that stuff on.  Go to System Preferences again and click on the "Sharing" pane (under Internet and Network).  In the middle there you'll see a tab for "Firewall."  Head there.  Click the button to start your firewall.

Simple as that, eh?  The firewall will block most everything, except for whatever boxes you have checked on that list there.  If you want to open up a specific port for something (I stream music on port 9000, for example) then you click the "New..." button off to the right to make a hole in your firewall for that port.

For extra security, click the "Advanced..." button and enable all three of those features by checking all the boxes.

[_Equilibrium_]

thanks. one more questin: my comp blcks out when i don't touch it for a while. this makes me not able to se my screensaver? how do i get rid of it?

[Rabbitt]

Stand by mode is gay but im not sure on uber cool mac how to disable it.

[Computer[SU]]

Yeah, the different sleep functions are kind of confusing.  Your computer does four different things if you leave it alone for a while:

1.  Dims the display
2.  Turns off the display
3.  Turns on the screensaver
4.  Goes to sleep

You can adjust how much time before 2 and 4 happen in the "Energy Saver" preference pane.  For number 3, you need the screensaver preference pane.  If you don't want your display to turn off like that, then just go to the Energy Saver pane and crank the time until the display shuts off to "Never."

You should probably just poke through every pane in the system preferences...all the useful settings are there.

[stalefries]

Equi, I suggest you do some sort of independent research/learning. A lot of the stuff that you're asking (I'm not trying to sound harsh) is pretty simple stuff. You might be interested in TUAW's Mac 101 series of blog posts. It's all really simple stuff, but stuff that you should know how to do on a Mac.

In addition, Apple has an official support page called Mac 101 also. It has a more guided-tour feel to it, as opposed to short how-to's.

If you're pretty new to the Mac, you may also want to see Switch 101, which compares doing stuff on Windows with stuff on the Mac.

[Computer[SU]]

+25 on that Stalefries, maybe I'm being an "enabler" for Equi lol.

I recommend www.macinstruct.com for all kinds of cool tutorials on how to do things ranging from basic to advanced with your mac.

[stalefries]

What I want is some 201 classes.

[Taiyo.uk]

OMG i want candy

gee is it so much i am asking from u

FINE! BE LIKE THAT!

HERE'S YOUR CANDY!

I made it myself