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The iTeen Everything Article Title: The iTeen Everything Article :::::Now Entering the iTeen Everything Zone:::::: I have this bizarre feeling that if you are reading this you are wondering what exactly the title means..... well it means it has almost everything in it. Everything from Tech Support to Homework help. If you are interested in a pretty cool read with some really kick-butt tips and tricks, check this out. Also I'd like to let everyone know that iTeen has added a new member, his name is Brandon and he's one of my close pals! So treat him nicely! Alright on to EVERYTHING!!! Everything Section 1: The...... INTERNET!!! WOOOHOOOO! It's no secret now, the internet is probably the most used thing in the world besides a light bulb. (Well maybe not...) Anyway, it's really popular, and especially among iTeens! With the web, you have access to just about everything you want: information on graphics, programming, and even homework are available for FREE on the internet, cool part is, I found some of the most awesome for Mac Users. First off is something we have the most trouble with, homework! I know, I know, this is going to be hard for you to read about but DEAL WITH IT! This article is going to help you get through all that muck! What I'm talking about here is HomeworkHelp.com Here you can find help on just about any subject from Junior High and Up. Here's what they have available: Junior High School Students/ Middle School Students
High School Students
Check it out, it's pretty cool! They even have stuff to help you prep for tests, LIKE FINALS AAAAHHHH! Sorry, I said the "F" word, I'll go kick myself later. Homeworkhelp.com also has premium classes, which means you pay $$$. Those should be pretty cool, but I have yet to try them out. Oh yea, they also have some pretty cool games there for the occasional break! Onto more of Everything! EVERYTHING Part 2: Well now you know where to go to get internet help, but what do you do if it takes you FREAKIN' FOREVER to get to HomeworkHelp.com? We'll here's a little taste of everything about getting your internet faster. I saw your eyes widen as you read that! We'll here's a trick that's cool. Some of you might know this and other's might not, so here goes! Step 1: Go to the Memory Control Panel Step 2: Take a look at RAM Disk
As you can probably see, the RAM Disk is located in the large rectangle I outlined in red. Where I put the Circle is where you adjust the RAM Disk size. A good size is about 2688k or roughly 2.6MB. This means that 2.6MB of your Physical RAM is now made into a "floppy-like" disk on your desktop. After you have turned it on, if you don't have that disk on your Desktop, restart your Mac, and it should be there. To get rid of the RAM disk, click on Off in the Memory control panel. Your RAM Disk is done. Next what you have to do is go to your favorite browser like Netscape or Internet Explorer, and set your cache folder to the RAM Disk you just made. Here's how to do it in Netscape:
Simply, click on cache in the Category list on the left. Then click on Choose and select your RAM Disk. Now your internet connection will run a bit faster, plus you won't end up with a 100MB Cache Folder in your System Folder. How does this work you ask? Well it's simple really, if you think about it. Web browsers save parts of web pages and pictures in a folder, your computer has to take the time to save those files on the HD. Instead of having to write and read the HD, all that information is stored in high speed RAM where it is accessed really fast. Also, when you shutdown, the RAM Disk is emptied. EVERYTHING Part 3!!! Well what else is there to talk about? Probably the most important thing in the world: getting your computer to work properly. Ever wonder why your Mac seems to run slower all of a sudden? Well there's a good chance you haven't rebuilt your Desktop File in a very very long time. Your desktop file holds directory information on your HD as well as custom icons. That explains why occasionally you don't have an icon on your AppleWorks or Microsoft document or application. At times this file can get very very large, so what you need to is restart your Mac and hold down the [Command] + [Option] keys on startup. You will get an alert once the Finder starts up asking "Would you like to Rebuild your desktop file?" Just click OK and sit back for a little bit. It'll take a little bit, so actually put an audio CD in before the computer boots to the Finder, then it should start playing the CD while you rebuild the desktop file. Not too bad of a trick, eh? Listen to some music while being productive. And your parents said you couldn't even clean your room! HAH! Your multitasking!!!! Well great, your computer runs a bit faster yet you still have problems. Don't be afraid, you aren't alone. You are having occasional errors with files and programs. What you have do to is run Norton Disk Doctor (A part of Norton Utilities) and Speed Disk on your computer. Norton Disk Doctor fixes files, directories, and any part of your HD you can think of (except the real hardware part of it) and it'll let you know if your HD has completely gone bad. Speed Disk will optimize your HD putting everything in a nice clean stack, and even return some lost HD space. It's excellent to have and it'll speed up your Mac a little bit. If you don't have Norton Utilities, go buy it now. If you are completely against Symantec then check out TechTool Pro from MicroMat Systems. TechTool Pro is an awesome tool to have around! EVERYTHING Part 4!!! Sick and tired of being outdated in your software or want to know if there is an update to a version of OpenGL or your favorite application. There's three main places to search for software updates. The first is Apple's own Apple Software Updates web site located at http://asu.info.apple.com. Here you can find updates of everything from OS updates to OpenGL software. This is also a great place to make yourself a backup disk. What's really cool is if you get an old Mac and you need an OS for it, but OS 9 is a bit more than the computer can handle, download Apple's own System 7.x. It's available for free to download. Yup, that's right, a free operating system. The Mac Observer offers a software update service called The Mac Observer's VersionMaster. This service offers the latest Mac software updates with information and direct links to download files. It's searchable and easy to use. The third place for software updates is VersionTracker. This is also a Mac only web site that covers software updates from all third-party developers including shareware apps! Now you know where to get software updates but sometimes it's not good to update your software. I've learned something over the years that I've worked as a Technician and a Mac User, IF IT WORKS, DON'T FIX IT!!! It's true, if your Mac runs true as an arrow, don't update your OS and do all of the other outrageous things we all tend to do or you're going to end up having more problems. Now this isn't always true but it's a good law to live by. I do recommend purchasing an OS update (such as from 8.5 to OS 9) about a month after it's released. Why you ask? Simple, releases always have new bugs. Unfortunately our beloved Apple has them too. Giving Apple and your favorite third-party developers enough time to crush bugs found with the OS and your software is a good idea. Just a nifty tip. So you just updated your software or your new Mac is completely bugging out on you; who do you call? Calling the Ghostbusters won't help, Slime isn't in your hard drive. There is a really cool web site and surprisingly there are a lot of people who don't know about it. It's another one of Apple's "hidden" pages. It's called the TIL Library or the Technology Information Library. Here you can find documents written by Apple's own hand on incompatibilities with hardware or software, on updates to a certain piece of software, or whatever really. Simply type in a keyword and it will bring up a list concerning that item your concerned about. Good chance they will help you with your problem before you take it in to be checked out at your nearest Apple Authorized Reseller. EVERYTHING Part 5!!! Heh, thought there was more did ya? Nope, you see this is the Everything article except if I wrote about everything once, I would be out of a job and Jordan, Steve and Brandon wouldn't appreciate that. In fact, The Mac Observer and every other author would have a bounty on my head for putting them out of a job! HAH isn't that crazy. Here's the interactive part of this, what do you want to know about your Mac? What do you want to know how to do on your Mac! If I don't know I'll find out for you and post it in a future article making a complete set of, well, EVERYTHING!!! Enjoy these tips and I'll have more coming. I will even have something on how to become a Certified Apple Technician!!!! ::::::TRANSMISSION COMPLETE:::::: Logging out User Tootles!!
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