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Filed under: OS, Mac 101

Mac 101: ZIP files for easy e-mail

by Cory Bohon (RSS feed) on Dec 17th, 2007

We're all faced with the problem of e-mailing large files. This task can be made simple by using Mac OS X's built-in "Compress" tool. This feature makes it easy to not only compress one file into a ZIP archive, but also multiple files or entire folders. Just select the files you need to ZIP and right-click on one of them. When you select Compress, then in a couple seconds (this will take longer depending on the file size) you will be presented with a nice ZIP archive containing all of your files in it. Just drag the ZIP file into your e-mail and send!

There are alternatives, such as StuffIt ~~Expander~~ Deluxe, but if all you are doing is compressing files, there really is no need to spend money since Mac OS X will zip and un-zip the archive handily.

Tags: Archive, Compress files, CompressFiles, file management, FileManagement, ZIP file, ZipFile

Filed under: Software, Productivity, Internet Tools, Deals

MailSteward archiving app for just $34.95 at MacZOT today only

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Jul 27th, 2007

After I realized that I needed to find a way to archive and search the healthy amount of email I deal with in Apple Mail these days, I finally decided on MailSteward. There are indeed a number of email archiving options available (and Hawk Wing's list is probably still as good as any), but MailSteward's powerful array of features and ability to search the archives it creates won me over.

If you're looking for a similar solution and MailSteward just might be it, today is a great day to make the jump: software discount site MacZOT is offering the MailSteward for just $34.95. That's a savings of 30% off its normal price of $50, so it's a good opportunity to finally get into the habit of archiving all that mail that you can't entirely delete just yet.

Tags: apple mail, AppleMail, archive, archives, email, maczot, mail, mail.app, mailsteward

Filed under: Software, Cool tools, Productivity, Internet Tools

Pyro 1.6: Campfire client gains search, drag and drop file transfer enhancements and more

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Jun 12th, 2007

It's been over a year since we first mentioned Pyro, the powerful Mac OS X client for 37signals' Campfire web-based chat service for groups and businesses. While I personally didn't pick up a copy back then since I wasn't a Campfire user, I'm not entirely familiar with every change that has come since April '06. Still, even the most recent list of changes warrants Pyro another mention, especially since I'm looking at using Campfire for a few uses and projects.

In addition to already offering a dashboard and central location for all your Campfire chats and displaying message status alerts in the Dock icon, check out what's new in Pyro 1.6:

Any file type can be dragged onto Pyro to share in a Campfire chat
Pyro will automatically zip a folder or .APP
Dragging an image from a web browser will insert a URL for that image instead of uploading it
Campfire's new sidebar search field now works in Pyro
Support for the new WebKit installed by Safari 3 beta (mentioned on the Pyro development blog)
and of course, bug fixes

As Campfire's example uses page details, there are a lot of great scenarios for such a slick web app, and Pyro looks like the perfect tool to bring together the coolness of Campfire with the power of Mac OS X. Surprisingly, Pyro is still offered free, and even though Campfire primarily focuses on business users by offering a few paid accounts, it too has a free account with which you can register and tinker around to see if Campfire is right for your use.

Tags: 37 signals, 37Signals, archive, business, campfire, chat, collaborate, design, file transfer, FileTransfer, image, images, pyro, search, url, zip

Filed under: Software, Productivity, Internet Tools

Script to archive Mail.app messages by month

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Feb 5th, 2007

For pro-email users and organization aficionados, Mail.app's archiving abilities leave just a tad to be desired. There are of course a few 3rd party options for archiving and/or exporting messages from Mail.app, and Tim Gaden's excellent Plug-ins and add-ons list at Hawk Wings is a great resource to track down a solution that works for you. Fortunately, in his never-ending quest to find all things Mail.app, Tim found yet another solution in the form of an AppleScript called MailArchiveByDate written by Doug Hellmann. As its name suggests, this script will archive selected messages into a mailbox structure based on year and month the message was sent. You'll get a structure like so:

2006

01

02

etc.

Doug also includes instructions for setting up this script to work with Mail Act-On, the excellent plugin from Scott Morrison (developer of MailTags) that allows you to execute rules via keyboard shortcuts.

Altogether, this is one powerful (and relatively cheap, considering Mail Act-On is donationware) system for archiving Mail.app messages while at the same time keeping them accessible right inside of Mail.

Tags: applescript, archive, mail, mail.app

Filed under: OS, Software, Tips and tricks

Apple Support doc: retrieve files from an Archive and Install directory

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Dec 18th, 2006

I probably wipe my Macs once or twice a year, sometimes after a particularly grueling semester of work and screwing around with loads of 3rd party haxies and utilities in the name of TUAW. Each time I go through this hand-washing process, I make sure my continuous backup (thanks to Econ Technologies' ChronoSync) is as up-to-date as possible, and then I wipe the machine clean, installing a fresh copy of Mac OS X. I've always seen the option to 'Archive and Install,' but I never bothered to learn about the process, as I was always worried about how to retrieve files at a later date if I took that path. Maybe this 'clean slate' is a holdover from my Windows days, but I've always felt 'safer' starting with a fresh hard drive (but a guy can change).

If you're not like me and actually are more curious about taking the Archive and Install route, this Apple Support doc will shed some light on how to handle these archived users after all is said and done, as well as how to create a disk image of your previous user directory and then retrieve files from said image. The doc certainly streamlines the process, offering a few simple steps to get your archive on.

Tags: apple, archive, archive and install, ArchiveAndInstall, disk image, DiskImage, mac, os x, OsX, support, support doc, SupportDoc

Filed under: Software, Productivity, Internet Tools

iSticky offers notes with reminders, sending via Bonjour, more

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Jun 12th, 2006

Sticky notes are great, but sticky notes that can have reminder alarms, be sent to other Macs via Bonjour, sent over the web and SMS, archived and more - are better. If any of these features have your inner nerd excited, then check out iSticky - a sticky note app on steroids. Also on the feature list are themes, categories, encryption, document linking and more.

While we don't think iSticky is Universal yet (at least, the author isn't bragging about it on the site), a demo is available. iSticky also offers a wide range of licenses depending on which features you need and whether you need a family/business pack. Prices run from $16 USD (single license, Bonjour sending but not over the web) up to $90 USD for a 12 license pack with all the toppings. Check it out if Apple's Stickies just aren't cutting it for you anymore.

Tags: archive, bonjour, categories, category, internet, isticky, net, send, share, stickies, sticky, sticky notes, StickyNotes, theme, themes, web

Filed under: Software, Cool tools, Productivity, Internet Tools

GmailUI Extension for Thunderbird

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Jun 2nd, 2006

If Gmail's UI floats your boat but you prefer using a desktop email client for 'no waiting for a refresh' feel, Ken Mixter has developed a Thunderbird extension just for you. The GmailUI extension brings many of the shortcuts and search expressions of Gmail to Mozilla's Thunderbird client. Keyboard shortcuts like J and K for moving up and down through messages, as well as search expressions such as 'subject:' and 'from:' can now be a part of your Thunderbird experience. Ken even went so far as to include Gmail's 'archive' functionality and (oddly) a quick calculation function, right from within Thunderbird's search box.

The extension appears to be completely free, and Ken is accepting feedback and suggestions at his site. Head over to Mozilla's addons site to grab the extension, or check out Ken's site for a lot more details of everything GmailUI is capable of.

[via Gmail.pro]

Tags: archive, DLS, expression, expressions, feel, Gmail, GmailUI, keyboard, look, search, shortcut, shortcuts, Thunderbird, user interface, UserInterface

Filed under: Software, Universal Binary

Stuffit 10.1 finally goes Universal, loses installer

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on May 1st, 2006

Allume Systems has finally cranked out a (beta) Universal Binary of their 'hate it but gotta have it lying around' free Stuffit Expander. It seems they were going for bonus points with this release, as they removed some of the 'hate it' factor by finally doing away with an installer; it is now a DnD .app from a mounted disk image.

This version is also localized into Japanese, French and German, and is available from either VersionTracker or Stuffit.com, though as of this writing that page still says the latest release is 10.0.

Tags: archive, expand, expander, open, Stuffit, Universal Binary, UniversalBinary

Filed under: OS, Software, Internet Tools, Security

More minor security flaws in Mac OS X

by David Chartier (RSS feed) on Apr 22nd, 2006

Security-Protocols has discovered a few more minor security issues in Mac OS X that mainly pertain to how the OS and a few of its apps handle images and opening zip archives. From a quick glance through the listed errors, they pretty much amount to crashing an app, though a couple of the Safari issues cause "the application to crash, and or may allow for an attacker to execute arbitrary code."

Apple has been notified of the issues and will apparently be fixing them in the next security update. As Tim Gaden at Hawk Wings (where I found this) says: the classic advice of being careful about what attachments and links you open and click on should keep your Mac humming along just fine.

Tags: archive, crash, Mac, OS X, OsX, protocol, Safari, security, zip

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