Mac OS X 10.8 “Mountain Lion” available now!

Yesterday at Apple's quarterly earnings results, Apple dropped the bomb that its new OS, “Mountain Lion” would be releasing today, July 25^th. Priced at $19.99 ($10 less than its predecessor) and available through the Mac App Store, 10.8 brings features that continue to bridge the gap between mobile desktop operating systems. All the 200+ new features can be found on Apple's website, though unfortunately, those who found themselves unable to upgrade to Lion would be in the same boat here, as the download requires either Snow Leopard (10.6.8) or Lion (10.7). With Windows 8 releasing only three short months from now, the stakes are high for a battle royale in the digital world.

Which operating system are you more excited for: Mountain Lion or Windows 8? Let us know in the comments!

Source: Apple

How to change energy saver settings in Mac OS X

Description: This is a how-to article for Mac OS X on the topic of changing the energy saver/sleep mode settings. This is primarily useful if the settings have changed, or if there is a specific need.

1. Close any open programs on the Mac.
2. Click on the Apple Icon in the top left corner of the screen, then choose System Preferences.
   
   


3. On the new System Preferences window, choose Energy Saver
   
   


4. If this is a MacBook or MacBook Pro you can choose between changing settings for when it is running on Battery or when it is running from the Power Adapter
   
   


5. Change the slider bars to the appropriate times, and check the appropriate options below. If you want to set it to Defaults, use the Restore Defaults option in the bottom right.
   
   


6. Once completed you may click on the Lock icon in the bottom right to prevent any further changes without entering the password.
   
   

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

How to add a keyboard shortcut to change the input language in Mac OS X

Description: This is a how-to article on the topic of adding a keyboard shortcut to change the input language to Mac OS X. This would be useful if you need to type in any language other than English.

1. Close any open programs on the Mac.
2. Click on the Apple Icon in the top left corner of the screen, then choose System Preferences.
   
   


3. On the new System Preferences window, choose Keyboard
   
   


4. At the top of the Keyboard window, choose Keyboard Shortcuts
   
   


5. On the left, choose Keyboard & Text Input
   
   


6. In the middle, check the box next to Select the previous input source
   
   


7. Note that a caution symbol will appear, and a message notifying you that there are conflicts. To resolve these conflicts, click on the Spotlight group on the left, or whichever group has the yellow caution symbol.
   
   


8. In the middle, verify that the item with the caution symbol is not used regularly and then uncheck the box to resolve the conflict.
   
   


9. Once that is done the conflict is shown as resolved, and the corresponding keyboard combination can be used to change keyboard input languages.
   
   

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

How to uninstall a program on a Mac

Description: Uninstalling programs on a Mac is different than PC. This article will show you how to completely remove a program and its contents.

1. From the desktop, navigate to the "Applications" folder on the dock and expand it.
   
   


2. Select the application to be uninstalled. In this case, it´s iTunes. Drag the program from the Applications folder to the Trash Can on the dock.
   
   
   
   


3. Now, to remove the files left behind by the program itself, click on Finder (the first icon on the dock), then click "Library".
   
   


4. Within Library, click "Preferences" and find the Folder pertaining to the application you wish to uninstall.
5. From here, just repeat Step 2. Drag the folder to the Trash Can on the dock.
   
   


6. The program is now completely removed from the computer.

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

How to setup and run a Time Machine backup with a Time Capsule

Description: Mac computers have a built in backup utility called "Time Machine". This article will describe how to set up a Time Capsule and perform a backup

1. First, make sure the Time Capsule is powered on and connected to the network, or the machine. (For Network Setup, please refer to the Time Capsule owner´s manual)
2. Open the Time Machine program. By default, it is on the dock, though it is also available in the Applications folder as well.
   
   


3. Click and drag the slider to turn Time Machine from Off to On.
   
   


4. A prompt will appear warning that no backup drives have been set. Click Set Up Time Machine.
   
   


5. This will bring up a list of available backup devices. Choose the drive you wish to use, and then select Use for Backup.
   
   


6. The Mac will then attempt to connect to the drive. If the drive is password protected, enter the password and select Connect
   
   
   
   


7. Once connected, Time Machine starts automatically backing up the file system. The Backing Up progress bar will give an estimate to the total amount of time necessary to do the backup.
   
   


8. The computer is now configured to automatically backup the file system.

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.