MacAdam    

Another thing a lot of people want is to change their mail configuration (at least the so called SMTP server which is the server you send your emails through) when they change network location. The SMTP servers are protected and don’t usually allow emails from other network than their own. So, when at home, you need to use your Internet Provider (ISP) server and when at work, you need to use your company server. Some other system configurations could be changed with the network location, like the default printer, or default internet browser home page.

There are several solutions to achieve this. The easiest way is probably to buy Location X which is easy to configure with a nice Graphical User Inteface (GUI) and probably worth the 20$ it costs.

However, if you don’t want to pay for this, there is the script way. You can choose the easy one, SwitchLocation AppleScript with Automator or use the complex LocationChanger which looks more elegant.

I choosed SwitchLocation, here is what I did:

1. Dragged SwitchLocation onto the Applications->Automator icon
2. For Mail block, changed the Mail account name and smtp address for Home Configuration
3. For Printer, changed the name of the queue for Home Configuration
4. Deleted other blocks
5. Saved As SwitchHome in ‘Home Folder’/Library/Scripts
6. Opened Applications->AppleScript->AppleScript Utility
7. Checked Show Script Menu
8. Unchecked Show Library scripts
9. Did the same for a SwitchWork script for my Work configuration.

Still I would like to be able to:

• Change the Network Location from the script
• Close Mail.App and Printer Setup Utility after configuration is finished

Of course MacOS X is a great operating system but in the real world, you can need to run an application that is only available on Microsoft Windows. And with Intel-based Macs, you can now install and natively run Windows XP thanks to Apple Boot Camp.

It worked well for me following the Boot Camp Manual except one problem:

I performed the installation with the USB Mighty Mouse connected and it locked the keyboard preventing to resume Windows XP SP2 installation at some point.

So, don’t use an external mouse when installing Windows ! 

The IR Remote Control delivered with new Macs is cool and anybody using Microsoft PowerPoint for his presentations would think about using it to control the PowerPoint Slide Show. Though it is not natively possible, here is how you can make it work with iRedLite utility.

1. Download, Install and Run iRedLite
2. Open iRedLite editor (Tools->Show Editor)
3. Add a section (press + in the left pane [Remotes and Sections]) and name it PowerPoint
4. Add a library (press + in the right pane [Libraries]), name it PowerPoint and select it
5. Add a group (press + in the right pane [Groups]) and name it SlideShow
6. Add an AppleScript Action (press + AppleScript in the right pane [Actions]) and name it Start/Stop
   Press "Edit Action" Tab and paste the following code
         tell application "Microsoft PowerPoint"
             set mySSS to slide show settings of active presentation
             set show type of mySSS to slide show type speaker
             set sShow to run slide show mySSS
         end tell
7. Select this new Start/Stop action
8. Select the PowerPoint Section in the left pane
9. Press the Play button on the left pane remote control drawing
10. Add the Start/Stop action to this button (pressing the + in the lower left corner)
11. Select the Current App->Cursor Movement->Right Action
12. Press the Next button on the left pane remote control drawing
13. Add the Right Action (pressing the + in the lower left corner)
14. Select the Current App->Cursor Movement->Left Action
15. Press the Prev button on the left pane remote control drawing
16. Add the Left Action (pressing the + in the lower left corner)
17. Press Save

There you go, open iRedLite, select PowerPoint then open a PowerPoint Presentation.
You can start the slide show using the Play button and browse the slides with the Next and Previous buttons

Not so easy without spending a few bucks on commercial software but still, it is possible, here is how.

For Mail data: 

1. Import Outlook Mail data in Mozilla Thunderbird on a Windows PC.
2. Use Eudora Mailbox Cleaner to convert Thunderbird mbox files to Mail
   Tips:
   - Download link is at the bottom of the page.
   - Follow the advices from the web page
   • Compact your folders in Thunderbird first (File->Compact Folders)
   • Drag each Thunderbird mbox file onto the Eudora Mailbox Cleaner icon
   • Choose Mozilla Thunderbird option
   • Rebuild the imported mailbox in Mail (Mailbox->Rebuild)

For Contacts:

For Agenda:

I have no complaints to formulate against any computer hardware or software companies and developpers groups.
This blog only reflects my quest for tools that matches my requirements and is by no mean meant to encourage or discourage anybody towards a specific computer platform.

Diversity is the key to freedom. 

Welcome to MacAdam, the genesis and roadmap of my Mac experience !

I used to be a PC geek for about 20 years now, though I did use all kind of computers, since my good old Sinclair Spectrum to high end workstations and servers from Digital, Sun, SGI or HP with some incursions to the Apple world of Macintosh.

After a failed attempt to use GNU/Linux as my sole OS for my laptop PC, I acquired the Intel-based MacBook Pro and here I share my comments.