Part 9. Living Online
So much of modern life happens online. Despite some people’s complaints that community is disappearing, it’s thriving on the Internet. That’s what the Internet is all about—a network of people sharing a network of information—and Safari is your passport to that network. Instant messaging, too, is a great way to keep in touch with others, and iChat brings it right to your Mac OS X menu bar.
In this Part you learn how to set up iChat and begin exchanging messages with others. iChat works with AOL, .Mac, and Jabber screen names, but if you don’t have a screen name already you’ll learn how to create one for free. With iChat, you can set up your own chat rooms in which multiple people can exchange messages; in this Part you also learn how to create a chat room and how to take advantage of iChat’s video and audio chat features to actually talk with your buddies or even see them over a video feed. For those features, of course, your Mac must have a microphone and a webcam (a small digital video camera).
Other tasks introduce you to surfing the web with Apple’s very own web browser, Safari—a fast, compact browser that you’ll quickly learn to love. You’ll learn how to create bookmarks and use the History so you can return to your favorite sites, as well as how to keep those bookmarks organized and accessible. And you’ll see how to download files, view RSS feeds, save a Safari web page, and enable Safari to automatically fill out web forms for you—a great time-saving feature if you do a lot of online shopping.
Hanging Out on the Net
Setting Up an iChat Account
iChat works with either your .Mac username or an America Online Instant Messenger (AIM) screen name. If you don’t have either, use the AIM screen name—it’s free. The steps below walk you through getting a screen name and then entering your name and password in iChat so you can get online and start chatting.
Tip: Chat This
iChat’s not just for chatting—you can use iChat to transfer files as well. Click a person in your buddy list and choose Buddies, Send File to open a dialog box where you can choose the file.
Note: What’s in a Name?
When choosing a screen name, think about how you want to appear. If you’ll be using iChat with clients and colleagues, you probably don’t want to choose “FluffyBunny.” And if you’ll be chatting mainly with friends, “AcmeInc” isn’t the best choice.
If you need to get an AIM screen name, go to the AIM website (www.aim.com). Click the Get a Screen Name link.
Click Create a Screen Name and click Continue.
Enter the requested information and click Submit.
Click Continue below the Congratulations! message.
Double-click the iChat icon in your Applications folder.
Choose iChat, Preferences.
Click the Accounts button, and then click the Add button.
Choose your AIM account, and then enter your AIM screen name and password. Click Done to save your changes.
Tip: Chatting on the Menu
Choose iChat, Preferences and click the General button to enter global iChat settings. The most useful one is Show status in menu bar, which enables you to start a chat with an online member of your buddy list without even starting up iChat first.
Note: First Time for Everything
If it’s the first time iChat has been started on your Mac, you’ll see a series of dialog boxes in which you can enter your screen name and password.
Editing Your iChat Buddy List
If iChat finds your buddies’ screen names in your Address Book, it can attach their real names to them and display those in the Buddy List window. The most convenient thing you can do with the buddy list is set it to show only buddies who are online at the moment.
Tip: Nice to Meet You
If you’re adding a completely new person to your buddy list, you must enter the screen name. If you want, you can also add the person’s first and last name and email address. When you’re done, click + (plus).
Tip: Bye-Bye
To remove a buddy, click to select the name and choose Buddies, Remove Buddy.
Choose Window, AIM Buddy List (or the name of your AIM account).
To add a buddy, click the + button and choose Add Buddy from the pop-up menu.
To create a new listing, enter the contact’s name and screen name and click Add.
If the person is already in your Address Book, click the reveal arrow, choose a listing, and click Add.
To change a buddy’s screen name or other information, Control-click the name and choose Get Info from the contextual menu.
Click the Address Card tab and make your changes.
To show only buddies who are currently online, choose View, Show Offline Buddies to remove the check mark next to it.
Tip: Everything’s in Order
You’re also in control of the order in which your buddies are displayed in the Buddy List window. Choose a sorting option from the View menu: Sort by Availability, Sort by First Name, or Sort by Last Name.
Messaging with iChat
Chatting with iChat requires two things: You must sign on to AIM with iChat and know the screen name of the person you want to reach. Conveniently enough, your buddy list is stored on AOL’s servers, so it follows you around—you’ll always see your own buddy list even if you log in on a computer other than your own.
Open iChat from the Applications folder and (if not already logged in) choose iChat, Log In to AIM (or the name of your AIM account).
Choose Window, AIM Buddy List (or the name of your AIM account) if your buddy list isn’t visible.
Double-click the name or screen name of the person to whom you want to send an instant message.
Type your message at the bottom of the message window and press Return to send the message.
Note: On the Record
You can save transcripts of iChat conversations: Choose iChat, Preferences and click the Messages button. Click Automatically save chat transcripts. Click the Open Folder button to go to the folder of saved transcripts.
Tip: A Two-Way Street
You don’t have to be an AOL member to use iChat. Whether you use an AOL screen name or a .Mac one, iChat works the same. However, you can use an AOL screen name with AOL Instant Messenger, but you can’t use a .Mac name with AIM.
Talking over the Internet in iChat
With iChat and a microphone, you can enjoy voice conversations over the Net with anyone similarly equipped. All MacBooks have built-in microphones, and mics for other Macs are very inexpensive—so it’s time to say hello to iChat and goodbye to your long-distance phone bill.
In iChat, choose your buddy list from the Window menu if your buddy list isn’t visible
Click the name or screen name of the person to whom you want to talk; a phone icon tells you who has audio capabilities.
Click the Start Audio Chat button at the bottom of the Buddy List window.
If you receive an audio chat invitation, click Accept to begin the conversation.
Note: Going One Way
If the person you want to talk to has iChat but no microphone, you can still have one-way audio along with two-way text. This feature is great for calling up your microphone-less friends via iChat and singing “Happy Birthday” to them.
Note: One Way Street
What if you have a camera and your friend doesn’t, or vice versa? Well, you can still do video chat with iChat—just one-way. Hey, it’s better than nothing!
Holding a Videoconference
Who needs a videophone? You don’t—you have your Mac. If you also have a high-speed Internet connection and a FireWire webcam, you’re good to go. First, make sure your camera is plugged in to your Mac and working correctly. Then check your iChat preferences to ensure that iChat realizes the camera is there.
Tip: In a Rush?
A quicker way to begin a videoconference is to click the camera button next to the name of the person with whom you want to chat. You can start an audio chat session quickly by clicking the microphone button next to a buddy’s name.
Tip: Let’s Have a Party
To conference with multiple people,
+click to select their names in the Buddy List window; then click the Start Video Chat button. To add a participant during a chat, click the + button in the chat window.
In iChat, choose Window, AIM Buddy List if your buddy list isn’t visible.
Click the camera button next to your own icon.
Looking at the preview window, adjust your camera angle and height until you’re happy with your appearance.
Click the name or screen name of the person to whom you want to talk.
Click the Start Video Chat button at the bottom of the Buddy List window.
The video window opens and you can see yourself; when your buddy answers, you can see both your buddy and yourself in the window.
Click the Full Screen button to expand the window to fill your screen.
Click the Mute button to freeze the video and mute the audio of yourself.
Tip: Knock Knock
If someone initiates a video or audio chat with you, you see a dialog box telling you so. As soon as you’ve combed your hair, you can click Accept to begin chatting.
Note: Where to Find a Cam
Most external webcams are USB. If you don’t have a built-in cam, try a FireWire webcam, such as the 1394 PYRO (www.adstech.com), or the iBOT (www.orangemicro.com). You can also use a FireWire camcorder.
Applying Special Video Effects
This isn’t your father’s iChat, that’s for sure. With Leopard, video chats can make use of some of the same special effects found in Photo Booth (turn to “Applying Fun Photo Effects” in Part 10 to learn more). As long as you and the people you’re chatting with are all using Leopard, you can go to town with these cool effects.
Tip: Don’t Overdo It
Using special effects takes a lot of processing power, and that’s even more critical if more than one chat participant is using effects. If your video gets slow and jerky, or parts of the picture are dropping out, try removing the effects for better performance.
In your iChat buddy list, click the camera button next to a buddy’s name to begin a video chat.
Click Effects to open the Video Effects window.
Click the arrows to scroll through the different effects that you can use.
Click the thumbnail of an effect to apply it to your video image.
Click the Original thumbnail to remove the video effect from your image.
Note: Special FX
Video effects only work if all the participants in a chat are using Leopard. If that’s not the case, you can try a little third-party program called ChatFX (www.scriptsoftware.com). It’s a $20 shareware that offers even more features than Leopard’s video effects, such as the ability to replace your background with a video in a chat window.
Giving a Presentation over iChat
Instant messaging is cool, true. Video chat is even cooler. And when you want to show off a file on your Mac to someone you’re chatting with, you can now use the ultimate cool iChat feature: iChat Theater. You’ll be able to run photo slideshows, flip through documents, play videos, and more, all visible to both you and anyone you’re chatting with.
Note: Just a Quick Look
iChat Theater works with any file that you can view using Quick Look in the Finder (see “Previewing a File,” in Part 2). So if you want to see how a file will look in iChat Theater, try it out using Quick Look first.
Tip: Take a Look at This
If you want to present an iPhoto album as a slide show, choose File, Share iPhoto With iChat Theater in step 1.
In iChat, choose File, Share a File With iChat Theater.
Choose the file you want to show.
Click Share.
A dialog box tells you to begin a video chat.
Click the Video Chat button next to a buddy’s name in the Buddy List.
When the presentation begins, use the Quick Look window to navigate through the file you’re sharing.
Click the Full Screen button to view the file on the entire screen.
Note: Skipping a Step
If you already have a video chat going, you won’t see the dialog box in step 4—instead, your presentation will start immediately. And if you’re really in a hurry, you can bypass the File menu and start the presentation by simply dragging the file you want to show into the video chat window.
Setting Up a .Mac Account
.Mac is Apple’s own set of web services, including email, a custom website, online storage space (iDisk), e-cards, and more. It costs $99 per year, but the first two months are free—so why not give it a try? Many .Mac services are accessible directly from your Mac desktop—such as file storage on your iDisk—and others are based on the .Mac website.
Note: What’s an iDisk?
An iDisk is your hard drive on the Internet. It’s storage space on an Apple server that belongs just to you. You can use it to store pictures for your .Mac web page, for backing up your important files, or to hold anything you want.
Choose Apple menu, System Preferences.
Click the .Mac button to open the .Mac preferences.
Click Learn More to go to the .Mac web page.
Click the Free Trial button to see the sign-up page.
Enter the requested information and click Continue.
Make a note of your account settings; then return to System Preferences and enter your new .Mac username and password.
Click the Sign In button.
Click the iDisk tab, and then click Start to create a copy of your iDisk on your hard drive.
Tip: I Just Don’t Remember
If you’ve forgotten your .Mac password, go to the .Mac website (www.mac.com) and click Log In. On the login page, click Forget your password and follow the directions to get your password back.
Note: Why a Local Copy?
If you don’t feel like waiting around on your online iDisk, you can rearrange a local copy of your iDisk instead; then your Mac updates the real iDisk later. If you’re short on disk space, turn off this option.
Surfing in Safari
For many years, Mac web surfers had a simple choice of web browsers: Netscape or Internet Explorer. Apple has decided to trump everyone with its very own, Mac-only browser, Safari. It’s fast, it’s smooth, and—best of all—it’s designed from the ground up to work the way a Mac should.
Tip: Two for the Price of One
If you want to view a new web page without getting rid of the one you’re looking at now, press
-N or choose File, New Window to begin surfing in a new window while leaving the current window open in the background.
Start up Safari (in the Applications folder).
Click a link on your home page to go to another page.
Choose View, Show Toolbar if the toolbar isn’t already visible.
Type the URL in the address field on the toolbar for the site you want to visit.
Click the Previous Page and Next Page buttons to go back and forward through the web pages you’ve visited.
Click Reload to have Safari redisplay the page from scratch; this is how you can update pages that change every few minutes, such as online auction listings.
Type search terms in the Google Search field and press Return to go to the Google site and initiate the search.
Tip: Browsing with Tabs
You can view different web pages by clicking a tab showing the page’s name. If you don’t see a New Tab command in your File menu, choose Safari, Preferences and click the Tabs button; then click to check the box marked Enable Tabbed Browsing.
Tip: Checking Your Status
Safari’s Status bar shows you when it’s contacting a web server, and it shows you the address behind any link you hold the mouse cursor over. To see the Status bar, choose View, Show Status Bar.
Making a Bookmark in Safari
Whether you’re used to calling them bookmarks or favorites, they mean the same thing: Your web browser notes a website’s address so it can get you there again the next time you ask for that page. Bookmarks have two components: the web address (called a URL) and a name.
Open Safari (in the Applications folder) and go to the site for which you want to create a bookmark.
Choose Bookmarks, Add Bookmark (or press
-D).
Enter a name for the bookmark (the page title is inserted by default) and choose a location for it.
Click Add.
Tip: Bookmarks Here, There, and Over There
Safari stores bookmarks in three places: the Bookmarks menu, the Bookmarks bar, and its main Bookmarks collection. If you create a bookmark but don’t put it in the Bookmarks menu or bar, go to your Bookmarks collection to find the bookmark. To see your Bookmarks collection, click the Bookmarks button on the Bookmarks bar or choose Bookmarks, Show All Bookmarks.
Viewing an RSS Feed
RSS stands for really simple syndication, and it’s an easy way for news organizations, bloggers, and others to offer a constantly updated stream of content. With Tiger, Safari has been renamed Safari RSS and can display RSS feeds for any website that offers one—you can tell by the RSS button next to the site’s web address.
Click the RSS button to see the site’s RSS feed.
Click Read More to see the rest of an article if it’s not all visible.
Type words in the Search Articles field to search for those terms in the site’s RSS articles.
Drag the slider to determine how much of each article shows in the window.
Tip: That’s the Way I Like It
You can further customize your RSS display by choosing a different Sort By option (Date is the default) and by choosing which articles to view (All is the default).
Tip: Time and Again
When you have a feed’s settings just the way you like them—including article length and sort order—you can bookmark it so that when you return, the display will be just the same. Click Add Bookmark under Actions.
Organizing Bookmarks
Some people never bookmark anything. Others are sensible enough to bookmark only sites they know they’ll need again. And still others—naming no names here—bookmark just about everything. If you’re in that third group, chances are you could stand to spend some time organizing your bookmarks.
Note: More Bookmarks
You can fit a lot more bookmarks in the Bookmarks bar by using submenus. Create a folder for each bookmark category, and then drop your bookmarks inside. Back in the main window, click a category name to see the submenu of bookmarks.
Choose Bookmarks, Show All Bookmarks (or click the Bookmarks button in the Bookmarks bar).
Click a collection in the Collections column to see the bookmarks it contains.
Drag bookmarks up or down to change their order.
Click a bookmark and press Delete to remove it.
To add a bookmark to the Bookmarks bar, drag it into the Bookmarks Bar collection.
To add a bookmark to the Bookmarks menu, drag it into the Bookmarks Menu collection.
To add a submenu to the Bookmarks menu, add a folder by clicking the Add button, give it a name, and then drag bookmarks into the folder.
To change the name of a bookmark or folder, click it again, type the new name, and press Return.
Tip: More Address Book Integration
If you keep your contacts’ URLs in the Address Book, you can add them to the Bookmarks bar or menu automatically. Choose Safari, Preferences and click the Bookmarks button; then click the appropriate check box to add Address Book items.
Using the History in Safari
Safari’s History listing is just what you need when you need to go back to a website you visited recently but forgot to bookmark. It keeps track of the last several days of your surfing exploits, neatly listing the websites you visited in folders labeled by date.
To return to one of the pages you’ve visited recently, click the History menu in Safari and choose the page’s name.
To go back to an earlier page, click the History menu and choose the appropriate submenu; then choose the page’s name.
To mark a specific page you know you’ll want to return to, choose History, Mark Page for SnapBack.
To return to a marked page, choose History, Page SnapBack.
Tip: A Fresh Start for History
If you’ve been surfing a lot and you’re finding the History list a bit too crowded to let you find what you want, choose History, Clear History to start over with a blank History.
Tip: Automatic SnapBack
When you use Safari’s Google search field, search results are automatically marked for SnapBack. When you click to view a page in the results, click the orange SnapBack button in the search field to return to that page.
Automatically Filling Out Forms
Every time you buy something from a web store, create a new account with a website, or sign up to receive some service from a website, you have to input the same information. Wouldn’t it be nice if Safari could remember that information and type it in for you? Guess what? It can.
On a page with a form that requires this information, choose Edit, AutoFill Form (or press
-Shift-A).
The information is automatically filled in.
To enable AutoFill to work with other types of forms, choose Safari, Preferences.
Click the AutoFill button and check User names and passwords and Other forms.
Tip: When Safari Gets It Wrong
Safari tints the fields yellow where it’s inserted information. If Safari guesses wrong and inserts incorrect data, just click in the field and type the correct information to fix it.
Note: First Things First
Before using AutoFill, make sure your address, phone numbers, fax number, and other information are correct in your Address Book (which you’ll find in the Applications folder).
Using Tabbed Browser Windows
Neatniks will love this feature. If you like to flip from one web page to another and back again, here’s how you can keep from cluttering up your screen with a zillion Safari windows: tabs. Keep all your pages open in one window, and move from one to another by just clicking the tab at the top of the window.
Tip: Don’t Stop Now
If you’re in a hurry, you’ll appreciate knowing the quickest way to open a web page in a separate tab: Press
while you click the Back or Forward arrows or as you click a link.
Note: Not the Only One
Cool as it is, tabbed browsing isn’t unique to Safari. Apple uses the concept elsewhere, such as in iChat (it’s great for managing multiple conversations), and other web browsers, including Firefox, Opera, and Camino, support it as well.
To create a new tab in the current window, choose File, New Tab.
Enter the address for the new page or choose a bookmark.
Click a tab to view the page it contains.
To change the order of the tabs in a window, drag the tabs to their new locations.
To turn multiple open windows into tabs in a single window, choose Window, Merge All Windows.
Choose Bookmarks, Add Bookmarks for These Tabs to add a bookmark set that contains a bookmark for each tab in a window.
Click the X next to its name to close a tab.
Click the close button at the top of the window to close the window and all its tabs.
Tip: Bookmark Group Therapy
If you frequently use a particular group of web pages, you’re going to love this combination of bookmarks and tabbed browsing. First, bookmark all the pages you want to have open at the same time. Then create a group on the Bookmarks bar that contains these bookmarks. Finally, click the bookmark group and choose the last option from the pop-up menu: Open in Tabs. Presto! All the pages you need are open, each tidily tucked into its own tab.
Searching Within a Web Page
Sure, Spotlight finds anything on your computer, and Google finds anything on the web (and pretty much anywhere else), but sometimes you’ve gotten to the right web page and you still can’t find what you want. That’s when it comes in handy to be able to search through the text on the page itself.
Choose Edit, Find, Find, or press
-F.
Type the word for which you want to search.
Click the arrow buttons to highlight each instance of the search term.
Click Done to hide the Find banner.
Note: It Counts!
Note that when it finds your search terms on the page, Safari also tells you how many matches it found. This is a great way to get a quick count of, for example, the number of employees named “Paula” in a company directory.
Browsing Securely
Not a week goes by that we don’t hear about another frightening case of identity theft or data theft in the news. One way to protect yourself is to make sure that no one else can see where you’ve been on the Web and what you did there. To accomplish this feat, Safari features Private Browsing.
Choose Safari, Private Browsing.
Click OK to turn on Private Browsing.
Tip: Keeping It Really Safe
If you’re concerned about online safety, you can take more precautions. Choose Safari, Preferences and click Security to see a range of options for disabling features like JavaScript, managing cookies, and turning on high-end encryption so that if intercepted, your personal information still can’t be deciphered. Of course, some websites won’t work if you turn on the strongest security options—life is all about trade-offs.
Accessing Your Mac Remotely
Wouldn’t it be cool if you could just grab a file from your home Mac while you’re at the office? You know right where the file is, if you could only . . . . With Leopard, you can connect to any Mac that’s logged in to .Mac with your user name and password and control it just as though you were sitting in front of it. Here’s how.
Note: I Gotta Be Me
For Back To My Mac to work, both Macs must have your .Mac member name and password entered on the Account pane in .Mac System Preferences. Be sure to click Sign In if you haven’t already.
Tip: Something to Share
If you don’t see the Screen Sharing or Connect As buttons, you probably haven’t turned on any sharing services. In System Preferences, click Sharing, and then click next to the services you want to activate, such as File Sharing or Screen Sharing.
In System Preferences, click the .Mac button to view preferences for .Mac.
Click Back To My Mac.
Click Start to turn on Back To My Mac.
In a Finder window, click your other Mac in the sidebar under Shared.
Click Share Screen to control the other Mac’s screen.
Enter your user name and password and click Connect.
Click the Full Screen button to see the other Mac’s screen at full size.
Note: The Bad News
Back To My Mac only works with .Mac, so if you haven’t joined yet, you’re out of luck. You can still use a separate program to control remote computers, such as Timbuktu (www.netopia.com), which works both over the Internet and on a local network.
Controlling Kids’ Computer Use
Learning how to work with computers is important—in fact, for today’s kids it’s pretty much unavoidable—but no parent wants kids sitting in front of the computer all day and all night. Mac OS X’s Parental Controls enable you, as an admin user, to set limits on how much your kids use your Mac and what they can use it to do.
Note: Logging Activity
Click the Logs tab to see lists of which website users have visited, which programs they have used, and who they communicated with using iChat, along with which websites were blocked. You can allow or disallow access to sites and iChat contacts using the Restrict and Open buttons.
Choose Apple menu, System Preferences.
Click Parental Controls
Click the name of the user for whom you want to set controls, then click the lock button to unlock the Parental Controls preferences. Click Enable Parental Controls.
Enter the username and password and click OK.
Click the System tab and set restrictions on access to the Finder, the programs installed on your Mac, and hardware configuration.
Click the Content tab to hide adult content in the Mac OS X Dictionary and on the web.
Click the Mail & iChat tab to limit use of email and instant messaging to specified users.
Click the Time Limits tab to set time limits for computer use.
Note: More Than the Internet
Parental Controls aren’t just about the Internet. Check out the settings at the bottom of the System tab: You can control whether a user can burn discs, administer printers, modify the Dock, and change his or her password.
Tip: Mother, May I?
To receive automatic notice that a restricted user is attempting to contact someone who’s not on your approved list, go to the Mail & iChat tab, check Send permission requests to and enter your email address.
Backing Up to Your iDisk
Backing up your important files is a good thing, but you won’t appreciate how good it is until you need that backup someday. In the meantime, take the experts’ word for it—set up a backup routine and stick to it. If you’re a .Mac member, you can automate backups to your iDisk with Apple’s own Backup software, which you’ll find in your iDisk’s Software folder.
Note: When to Upgrade
Backup is great for home users or very small businesses that don’t need to back up a lot of data. If you need to back up your entire hard drive daily, however, you should look into an industrial-strength backup program, such as Retrospect (www.dantz.com).
Double-click Backup to open it.
Check the backup plan that you want to use, and then click Continue.
Double-click the backup plan to make changes to it.
Click Back Up Now to begin copying your files to the specified backup location.
Double-click an entry in the Destination and Schedule list to change the schedule for automatic backups.
Select a frequency, time, and day and click OK. Backup starts automatically at that time and backs up the files currently selected.
Note: Backing Up the Big Files
If you have a built-in CD-R drive, CD-RW drive, or SuperDrive, you can back up to CDs or DVDs. They hold more information than your iDisk, and backups go faster.
Caution: For the Stubborn Ones
Still not backing up? Remember, you’re the one with the most to lose if your hard drive crashes irretrievably. And statistics show that a major crash will happen to every computer user sometime in his or her life.
Creating a .Mac Home Page
HomePage features built-in templates for photo albums, file sharing, iMovies, résumés, new baby announcements, invitations, and more—each category comes with anywhere from a few to a couple dozen page templates you can customize to suit your needs.
Tip: Rolling Your Own
If you’re already a web wizard, you can create your own web pages in any program. Just drop them into the Sites folder on your iDisk and make sure the main page is called index.html; your pages will be published just like ones created in HomePage.
Use your web browser to go to www.apple.com; then click the .Mac tab and sign in.
Click My Pages in the column on the left side of the page.
Click a page category on the left side of the page.
Click the right side of the page to choose a page from the category.
Type your changes in the text entry fields and click the buttons to insert photos from the Pictures folder on your iDisk or add web links.
Click Preview to see how the page looks.
Click Edit if you want to make more changes, or click Publish if you’re satisfied.
Tip: Letting the World Know
If you want to let your friends know about your new website, click the Announce Site button at the top of the page that appears after you click Publish. You’ll be guided through creating an e-card that will be emailed to your friends to publicize your new home on the web.