Adding free text services

Reader Mark Meyer longs for some productivity of old. He writes:

Under Leopard I had a service that allowed me to change the formatting of selected text (Small Caps, Sentence Case, Title Case, No Caps, All Caps…) unfortunately it broke under Snow Leopard. I have a widget that does something similar but would love to go back to using a service. Are you aware of any services for Snow Leopard that would give me back this functionality?

I am. Devon Technologies continues to offer the free WordServices set of services. This provides 34 functions including, among other things, all caps, lowercase, straight and smarten quotes, insert date and time, and initial caps of words and sentences.

To make it work, you create a Services folder within the Library folder inside your user folder (so ~/Library/Services) and then copy the WordService.service file into this folder. Log out of your account and then back in and… no, the services won’t be in evidence.

To present that evidence, launch System Preferences, select the Keyboard system preference, click on the Keyboard Shortcuts tab, and select the Services entry in the left side of the window (or, to get there faster, select the Services command within any application and choose Services Preferences). In the right side of the window locate the Text heading. Below this heading you’ll find the newly added services. To activate them, simply tick the checkbox next to the services you’d like to use.

Emptying iPhoto’s stubborn trash

A reader who wishes to remain nameless seeks a little iPhoto spring cleaning. Nameless-to-you writes:

There are 474 items in iPhoto’s trash. I’ve been trying to empty that trash and it just won’t. Do you have any suggestions for me in completing this task?

By way of background for others, let me explain that iPhoto has a trash separate from the Finder’s trash. When you delete images in iPhoto, they go into this separate trash and they’re not deleted from your Mac until you expressly tell iPhoto to empty the trash. You do this by Control (right) clicking on iPhoto’s Trash icon and choosing Empty Trash from the contextual menu.

If you’ve tried that with no satisfactory results it’s possible that you’ve hit a fairly common snag where iPhoto has difficulties deleting a lot of images in one go. The solution is to select all the images in the trash, assign an identifying keyword to them (I’d suggest “trash”), and then choose Photos -> Restore to iPhoto Library. This, as you might imagine, places the trashed photos back in your iPhoto library.

Now choose File -> New Smart Album, create an album with a condition that reads: Keyword is Trash, and click the OK button that creates the smart album. Select a hundred-or-so images in that smart album and press Command-Option-Delete. This tosses those images in the trash. Now use the Control (right) click trick to empty the trash. If successful, do the same thing with another hundred images. Keep going until the images are really gone.

If none of this works, iPhoto may have a touch of the corruption. Quit it, hold down Command and Option, and launch it. A Rebuild Photo Library window will appear. In this window you’ll see a number of repair options. Start with the first one (Rebuild the Photos’ Small Thumbnails) and give it a try. Check iPhoto after you’ve done this to see how it behaves. If it’s still funky, give the next option in the Rebuild window a try. Rinse and repeat until iPhoto bends to your will.

Play 5.1 audio in iTunes

Reader Lyle Opseth feels he isn’t getting everything he should from his MacBook Pro and iTunes. He writes:

I have a 17″ MacBook Pro (2009 vintage), which has a digital optical output. I’m trying to play 5.1 audio through iTunes and I find my receiver plays only stereo audio. Is there a way to do this?

There is, but it’s hardly straightforward. The method, originally posted by Graham Booker in his Record and Reverie blog, describes the process. You should definitely read through it, but here’s the gist for movies that contain AC3 audio files:

Install a copy of the free Perian QuickTime plug-in on your Mac. String an optical cable between your Mac and a compatible receiver. Launch Audio Midi Setup (found in the Utilities folder) and in the audio output area select Digital Out from the Source pop-up menu and 48000.0Hz and 2ch-16-bit in the Format area.

Launch the Terminal app and enter

defaults write com.cod3r.a52codec attemptPassthrough 1

Press Return.

If iTunes is running, quit and relaunch it.

Locate the movie you want to view, and play it with iTunes’ Volume slider set to its highest level. Also be sure that the equalizer is off. Place your cursor over the movie so that the on-screen controls appear, click on the small bubble icon, and choose the surround sound track. With a little luck, iTunes should now play the movie with surround-sound audio.

Uninstalling Norton AntiVirus

by Christopher Breen, Macworld.com

Reader Randolph Walker provides me with the opportunity to address a question I get, like clockwork, every two years. He writes:

I was running Norton AntiVirus 10.0 on my iMac. I decided to uninstall it. Now when I restart, I get several small dialog boxes telling me auto protect cannot be activated. It is obvious I did not uninstall this properly. How do I get these little boxes to go away forever.

I’ve yet to encounter a product with the Norton name that can be uninstalled by simply dragging a file or folder to the Trash. These utilities work their magic deep down and scatter files hither as well as yon. If you don’t follow the correct procedure for removing them, you experience this kind of thing.

And the proper procedure is to locate the Symantec Solutions folder inside the Applications folder at the root level of your hard drive, launch the Symantec Uninstaller application, select the Symantec AntiVirus Corporate, Norton AntiVirus, and Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect entries, and click the Uninstall button. Confirm your decision when prompted and then enter your administrator password in the space provided. You’ll be asked to restart your Mac. Do so and Norton should be gone for good.

What, you say you tossed out the Symantec Solutions folder when you attempted to uninstall Norton AntiVirus by hand? You can download the uninstaller directly from Symantec’s site (direct download link: ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/products/norton_antivirus_mac/ver9.0/updates/symantec_uninstaller_102.sit).

Macworld Senior Editor Christopher Breen is the author of “Secrets of the iPod and iTunes (6th edition),” and “The iPod and iTunes Pocket Guide (4th edition)” both from Peachpit Press

and

“Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Essential Training (video)” from lynda.com

Find Chris’ books at www.amazon.com and www.peachpit.com. Get special user group pricing on Macworld Magazine! Subscribe today at http://www.macworld.com/useroffer

By Christopher Breen

Cures for a crusty keyboard

Reader Marcie Phipps seeks to clean up her act. She writes:

I have an old keyboard that I love, but its keys are sticking due to built up dust and gunk. Is there a way to clean it?

This is a common question and with it come solutions both tried-and-true and controversial. Starting with the tried-and-true:

The first step in cleaning a keyboard is to unplug it, grab a can of compressed air (found at any electronic supply store), and blast air around the base of the keys in the hope of dislodging whatever’s gumming up the works. Do this holding the can of compressed air upright. Flip the can upside down and there’s some danger that you’ll squirt propellant into the keyboard.

Turn the keyboard over and give it a good shake in the hope of removing the gunk you’ve loosened. While in this position, blast it a few more times with the compressed air. If a key remains unresponsive after this treatment, gently pry it up with a small flathead screwdriver and clean its post with a slightly damp cloth.

Now, the controversial:

If the keyboard is so filthy that it appears to be a lost cause–as it might after a major coffee, soda, or Mai Tai spill–put it in the dishwasher. Place it in the top rack, dial the dishwasher to a rinse only setting, don’t put soap in the thing, and run it through. Remove the keyboard and let it drain, with keys down, until it’s completely dry–this could take a couple of days.

This is controversial because some keyboard manufacturers suggest that you not do this as they won’t guarantee that the keyboard will survive the ordeal–particularly if you hit the keyboard with really hot water, detergent, and flying cutlery.

Speaking from personal experience, I’ve done this with a beloved Matias TactilePro keyboard that I’d given up for dead (this is the perfect condition under which to conduct this experiment). I’m happy to report that not only did it survive, it works perfectly (and is a whole lot nicer to look at than it once was).

E-mail and the advantages of deception

Reader Gary Campbell expresses a concern about his privacy along these lines:

When I visit some Web sites I’m asked to provide an e-mail address. I’m concerned that this will lead to more spam. Any suggestions?

A couple, yes.

Despite what you learned in Sunday school, your first best option is to lie. When asked for an e-mail address for no apparent good reason, feel free to enter joeblow@example.net and smack the Return key. With luck, the Web site will take this as the goods and let you get on with your business.

Regrettably, this technique doesn’t work as well as it once did. Increasingly, you’re asked to submit an e-mail address and then the asking body sends you a link to whatever you’ve requested via e-mail. If the address you submit is no good, you don’t receive the message, and you can’t get the thing you were after.

That doesn’t mean, however, that you must offer your primary e-mail address. I’ve created a couple of free Google and Yahoo addresses for exactly this purpose. When asked for an e-mail address that I know will result in an activation message, I plunk in one of these addresses. I then check that account for the activation e-mail and then ignore the account until I next need it. (Meaning I don’t include it in a schedule that automatically checks my e-mail.)

If you want to get very fine with this, you can create a new account for each place you visit. For example, if you must submit your e-mail address to Company X, create a new Google account for joeblowcompanyx125@gmail.com. Should you receive spam at this address, you have a reasonable idea of who’s responsible. At that point you can complain or swear off that company in the future.

If you have a MobileMe account you can create up to five alias addresses. Messages sent to these aliases are forwarded to your primary MobileMe address. So, for example, when dealing with the famed Company X, create an alias for joeblowcompanyx125@me.com. After you’ve received Company X’s activation e-mail, delete the alias. Any future messages sent to this account won’t go through as it’s now a dead address.

Macworld Senior Editor Christopher Breen is the author of “Secrets of the iPod and iTunes (6th edition),” and “The iPod and iTunes Pocket Guide (4th edition)” both from  Peachpit Press

and

“Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Essential Training (video)” from lynda.com

Find Chris’ books at  www.amazon.com and www.peachpit.com. Get special user group pricing on Macworld Magazine! Subscribe today at http://www.macworld.com/useroffer

Toronto (Ontario, Canada) – Agile Web Solutions announces the immediate availability of 1Password 3, its award-winning password and identity manager for the Mac. Over one year in the making, 1Password 3 is the most significant upgrade in company history, incorporating years of customer feedback and new innovation from Agile’s unique, comprehensive approach to making its users’ lives more secure and convenient.

1Password 3 adds over 50 fantastic new features and enhancements, as well as some good ol’ fashioned elbow grease. 1PasswordAnywhere – the most-requested 1Password feature of all time – has arrived, enabling users to view their 1Password information on any computer with a modern browser. Users can also now organize their software licenses in a new, dedicated 1Password Vault category, customize exactly what information syncs to 1Password touch on an iPhone or iPod touch, attach and encrypt virtually any file in 1Password, use Smart Search to filter for just the right results, use tags throughout 1Password for new organizational power, edit 1Password items directly from its browser extensions, and more.

These new features and enhancements were fused with a gorgeous new interface and full 64-bit support for Snow Leopard, while 1Password got even better at encrypting and protecting the information that nearly one million users entrust to it every day. Agile Web Solutions toiled away on 1Password 3 for over a year, then tested it with a large, private team for months. Now, all Mac users may experience the many ways in which 1Password 3 can make their lives more secure and convenient.

1Password 3 is compatible with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and 10.6 Snow Leopard. It is a paid upgrade, though users who purchased 1Password 2 on or after February 1, 2009 get free license upgrades to version 3 (that’s nine months of free upgrades!). All other owners of 1Password versions 1 or 2 can take advantage of a limited-time, Early Bird Upgrade Discount. Through the end of November, save 50% off the purchase of a single license upgrade at $19.95 USD, or save 57% off a Family Pack upgrade of five licenses for just $29.95. Full licenses cost $39.95 for single users, and $69.95 for Family Packs.

Agile Web Solutions is dedicated to making Mac OS X even better by creating innovative applications like 1Password, the premier Password Manager for Mac and iPhone, and AllBookmarks, a bookmark manager that collects all browser bookmarks in one place. 1Password is ‘Highly Recommended’ by Macworld, an Apple Staff Pick, and is a Mac|Life Editors’ Pick. All products have free, 30-day trials available from Agile Web Solutions’ site.

Our featured speakers will include:

Jill Morton — Building Colorful Bridges in Pakistan
Jill will share the highlights of her six week workshop in Pakistan — the challenges and rewards of travel in a foreign country with an old, but trusty, Macintosh.

Gregg Kamei — Increasing User Efficiency with Quicksilver
Quicksilver allows users to use the keyboard to rapidly launch applications, manipulate files and data, run scripts, or send e-mail. It is similar to the Mac OS X applications LaunchBar and Butler, but with a different interaction paradigm.

Mark Johnson — MenuMill Serves Up Turnkey Websites to Hawaii Restaurants
Developed in Hawaii, MenuMill is an easy to use content management system that allows you to create, manage and publish a website. It lets you organize your menus, special events and galleries, customize the look of your website and integrate with other restaurant technologies like Open Table — all with simple management tools.

Mark McMahon — Capture, annotate, organize and share with Voila
Voila is an image capturing, annotating and sharing tool, aimed to bridge limited availability of a complete image capturing solution on the Mac platform.

Feel free to bring to bring pupus or dishes to share. HMAUS will provide beverages.

Date and Time: Tuesday, August 25 … 6:00 PM to 8:30 PM

Location: 4th floor party room at the Ko’olani on 1177 Queen Street

Parking: 12-15 guest stalls. Metered street parking on Queen and Waimanu streets.

Fee: There is no fee for this HMAUS event. Feel free to bring a friend!

More information and registration at http://www.hmaus.org/meetings-workshops/mgm-events/

About the the Featured Speakers

Jill Morton

Jill Morton is a color psychology expert with a masters degree, university teaching credentials, and a list of Fortune 500 clients. As the head of Colorcom (www.colorcom.com), she has provided color consultation for Tylenol, Nokia, Dow Chemical, and Xerox. In addition to consultation, she presents educational seminars about color that can be customized to a client’s industry or specific needs.

Her Color Matters web site (www.colormatters.com) is the leading source of information about color (and ranks at the top of all search engines). She’s also the author of the highly acclaimed series of eBooks about color (www.colorvoodoo.com). Her opinions have been widely quoted in publications such as The New York Times, Fortune, USA Today & The Washington Post.

Gregg Kamei

Gregg is a new user who started using OSX about a year ago. He is thoroughly enjoying learning new things about OS X and loves sharing what he learns with other like minded enthusiasts.

Mark Johnson

Mark Johnson is the founder of logicspin, a Hawaii based software development and consulting company. Mark’s experience ranges from his own online auction start-up way back in 1996, the search engine AltaVista, Oracle Corporation, and most recently starting Menumill which provides simple website management and tools for restaurants.

Mark McMahon

Mark McMahon has been working on the series of tubes that make the interwebs for years; as system admin, web developer, instructor, and blogger. Mark is on the HMAUS board of directors and serves as the Communications Chair.

Coming from a Windows background, Mark tries to find the right fit of software for clients and friends, regardless of platform. Learn more at: www.hawaiiwebconsulting.com .

(click the image to see why)

Are you new to Macintosh?

You knew Windows and you knew it well. But you’ve since added a Macintosh to your life and feeling a little unsure about this new relationship. The Mac 101 workshop at the Mac Springfest will help you achieve better harmony in your digital home.

Mac 101 is a class for newbies, switchers and for people who just haven’t had time to really get to know their Mac. We will look around the desktop, explore at the Dock, get an understanding of the System Preferences, learn some shortcuts and, most importantly, try to answer your questions. This is a good class for people who have switched to Macintosh or are planning to switch to Macintosh and want to understand their machine a little better. This session is very low key and relaxed.

More information about Mac Springfest here.

It’s tomorrow!