Switcher Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Kevin Harter, Switcher

by Kevin Harter (Jul 18th, 2009)

I'll bet you're just dying to know exactly who this "Kevin Harter" fella is that has tarnished the pages of your favorite blog lately. And just what in the heck does he know about Macs, anyway?! Well, let me fill you in. Hailing from Fort Madison, a town of about 10,000 in rural Southeast Iowa, I'm ...

Mac 101: Force Quit

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (Jul 13th, 2009)

If you're switching from Windows you may be familiar with an old friend, the Task Manager. Apple provides a similar tool, with an easy way to force unruly applications to quit. I'll get to why you'd want to do this in a moment. To access Force Quit, you can either go to the Apple menu in the top ...

Real World Bento: the formidable, personal database

by Megan Lavey-Heaton (May 14th, 2009)

It suddenly occurred to me that my needs for software have changed. It was while I was browsing for a native Mac application for monitoring weight loss that I realized that little out there would suffice if it couldn't sync with my iPhone. While there are several popular online sites for tracking ...

Mac 101: How to set a default printer

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (Apr 16th, 2009)

Over time you may wind up with several printers set up for your Mac. This results in a list of available printers every time you go to print. If the default (the first one selected) isn't to your liking you can always change it. To do so, bring up System Preferences and go to Print & Fax. Now ...

My Dad, the Switcher: Day 140

by Robert Palmer (Mar 13th, 2009)

Yesterday, Robert talked about setting up a new Mac Pro for his switcher Dad. Today, setting up Windows proves to be a bit of a headache. When I mentioned to my best buddy Cameron that Dad was getting a Mac Pro to replace his just-months-old Mac mini, he said "Wow. He sure moves quickly when it ...

My Dad, the Switcher: Day 139

by Robert Palmer (Mar 12th, 2009)

Last October, Robert's dad -- a hard-core Windows developer -- bought himself a Mac mini to see what the fuss was all about. The first two installments of the series are available here. Now, we find out what's happened since. Mom sent me an email about two weeks ago now, irritated. She said that ...

Ask TUAW: Recovering pictures, updating Facebook, iPhone battery life and more

by Chris Ullrich (Feb 25th, 2009)

Once again, it's time for another edition of Ask TUAW: the place where we try to answer all of your Mac and Apple-related questions. This week we're taking questions about recovering pictures from corrupted compact flash cards, Twitter for the iPhone, extending iPhone battery life and more. As ...

Switching to Mac or iPhone in your future? Enter to win two great learning tools

by Victor Agreda, Jr. (Dec 22nd, 2008)

If you're new to the Mac or just bought an iPhone you could pore through the "Switch 101" series on Apple's site, you could browse our Mac 101 or iPhone 101 series, or you could spend a few bucks and get trained fast. We checked out "It's About Time" products at this year's Macworld (remember back ...

Belkin's Switch-to-Mac USB Cable

by Steven Sande (Nov 12th, 2008)

Peripheral maker Belkin has taken note of the fact that a lot of people are switching to Macs. Their new Switch-to-Mac USB Cable, available in the US now for US$49.99, is designed to streamline the process of moving files from your PC running Windows XP or Vista to your Mac running Tiger or Leopard. ...

My Dad, the Switcher: Day 7

by Robert Palmer (Oct 31st, 2008)

Last week, my previously-very-anti-Mac dad started using a Mac mini, and I wrote about his experience -- positive, to say the least. If you haven't read the story of his first day with the Mac, you might want to read that first. Yesterday, one week in, I checked in to see how he's doing. So far, Dad ...

My Dad, the Switcher: Day Zero

by Robert Palmer (Oct 23rd, 2008)

This is the first part of an occasional series about my Dad, who, as a long-time Windows user, decided to switch to the Mac. If you're interested in the whole story, more installments are here. As far as database management and Windows programming is concerned, my dad is what you'd call ...

Sweden's Foreign Minister calls his new Mac 'a new world'

by Robert Palmer (Oct 6th, 2008)

Former Swedish Prime Minister (and now Foreign Minister) Carl Bildt has, "after much reflection, examination and discussion" decided to switch to a Mac. Welcome to the family, Carl! May we recommend your next purchase: a snazzy IKEA desk to go with your Mac? According to the minister's website (in ...

Mac 101: System Preferences

by Dave Caolo (Jul 3rd, 2008)

This is another entry in our continuing Mac 101 series, aimed at new Mac users. These tips are old hat for veteran Mac users, but will save some people a lot of grief. I know several people who have switched from Windows to the Mac over the past year. While they're happy with their decision, they ...

Mac 101: system-wide thesaurus at the touch of a hotkey

by Jason Clarke (May 10th, 2008)

As a Mac switcher, my Mac's built-in spelling and grammar checking has been a huge productivity boon for me. I'm someone who often gets stuck on a word, and since nothing's ever good enough for me, I've often wished that Leopard also included a built-in thesaurus. While that's not currently in the ...

Scot Finnie on Mac vs. PC pricing

by Michael Rose (Jun 9th, 2007)

Here at TUAW, we welcome all those yearning to breathe free of Windows, especially high-profile technology columnists like ComputerWorld's Scot Finnie. Longtime PC writer Finnie made a public switch to the Mac in February after a 3-month trial, and he's not looking back. This week, in an article ...