To take a screenshot on a Mac simply do the following:

Command-Control-Shift-3 to save the current screen to the clipboard.

Command-Shift-3 to save the current screen to a file on the desktop.

As many of you know Apple is close to releasing a new update to it’s much applauded Mac Operating System OS X. The update is called Snow Leopard and will introduce several low-level fixes to the Mac. It will also add a few nice new features.

Some of the improvements:

1) About 6GB stripped right out! The new OS is much much lighter.

2) Faster start-up and shutdown.

3) A new version of QuickTime (called QuickTime X) that adds many of the pro features to the free version. You can also now edit in Quicktime!

4) Up to 50% times faster Time Machine Backup.

5) Faster Wireless connectivity.

6) The brand spanking new Safari 4. Which is supposed to be much faster and much more stable then previous versions.

*Note: PowerPC Mac users are unable to install Snow Leopard. They have finally been dropped. Intel Macs only.*

So. How do you get all that and more for only $9.95? Well it’s simple. If you bought a Mac after June 8th that includes OS X Leopard but not Snow Leopard then all you need to do is go to this website: http://www.apple.com/ca/macosx/uptodate/. Fill out the form, mail it off, and your upgrade should come soon after that! You have until December 26th, 2009 to get your copy.

But what if you didn’t buy your Mac after June 8th? What then? Don’t fret. As long as you’re running Leopard you can buy the upgrade from Apple for the awesomely reasonable price of $29. If you’re running an older version (such as Tiger) you’ll need to shell out $169. However that price includes an upgrade to both Leopard and Snow Leopard.

Cheers!

I run a business and I don’t want people going on youtube or Face Book, is there any way I can block these sites for cheap? I have a mac and Safari.

NOTE: New method below.

Do you work in a retail store? I see teenagers on Facebook at the local mall or Best Buy all the time. Hilariously enough the employees at these stores are either annoyed…..or on Facebook themselves!

Onto your question. There is a simple way of blocking websites on a Mac. Simply modify a file called “HOSTS”. This file allows you to add as many websites to it as you want. You can either block the websites outright or have them redirect to whatever site you want. The procedure is ridiculously easy.

Here’s how:

1. Click on Go at the menu bar.
2. Go to Utilities and select Terminal in the window that opens. (without quotation marks)
3. Type in “sudo pico /etc/hosts” (without quotations)
4. You will be asked for you password. Enter it.
5. Terminal will open the hosts file. Move the curser down to the end of it and enter in the following (without quotation marks):

“127.0.0.1 http://www.facebook.com”

“127.0.0.1 http://www.youtube.com”

And that’s it! Save the file and exit the terminal. When you’re done fire up Safari and try to go to facebook. You can’t!

EDIT! PLEASE FOLLOW THESE STEPS IF THE ABOVE DO NOT WORK!

Several people have told me in the comments below that the above did not work for them. I tried it on 10.5 myself recently and could not find a way to save the HOSTS file after it have been modified. So here is a workaround.

1. Disregard the above.
2. Click on Go at the menu bar.
3. Go to Utilities and select Terminal in the window that opens.
4. Type in sudo su. Press Enter.
5. If at any point you’re prompted for a password please type it in.
6. Type in “echo “127.0.0.1 www.xxx.com” >> etc/hosts (with quotation marks and substituting xxx with the site you want to block. Press Enter
7. Type Exit. Press Enter.
8. Close Terminal, restart your browser and you should be good to go!

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