MasonSklut.com | The Macintosh Weblog

Converting DVD’s For Your iPod

One of the reasons why I purchased an iPod touch was for the ability to watch movies. The screen was much bigger on the iPod touch making it a lot easier to view a full-length movie. I have many movies on my computer as well as a large DVD collection, all of which I wanted to somehow get onto my iPod touch. Thanks to a wonderful app called Handbrake, I can now easily convert DVD’s and other movies on my computer to use on my iPod touch. Not only does Handbrake convert DVD’s to the iPod format, but it also converts to PSP, Xbox 360, AppleTV, iPhone, and for use on your computer. Here’s how:

1. Download the Handbrake application if you have not already done so.
2. Insert a DVD into your computer or locate the movie on your computer you would like to convert.
3. Open up Handbrake and select the movie.
4. It will scan the movie and then show the information about the movie concerning the time, chapters, and titles.
5. If you are using a TV series DVD (e.g. Seinfeld) you have to be very careful about how to select the titles because there are multiple episodes on each disc.
6. In this situation, select the title number from the “Title” menu, change the name of the file name under “Destination” to correspond with that title number (e.g. “Users/Mason/Desktop/Movies/Seinfeld Episode 1” for Title 1, etc). Then, you must click “Add to Queue” after each time you change the name and title.
7. Usually, there are out-takes, extras, or what not towards the end of most TV series DVD’s. Make sure don’t select those if you don’t want them.
8. To make sure you are selecting the right title numbers, just look at the time of the title (usually short times) and if you still aren’t sure, click the “Picture Settings” button and it will show you snapshots of that title.
9. Click the “Next” button in the bottom right corner in the Picture Settings window and you can browse through the scene to double-check if it’s the scene you wanted.
10. After you have added all the correct titles and corresponding file names to the queue, select the “Toggle Presets” button and choose the format you want to convert the video to.
11. For example, I would choose Apple > iPhone & iPod touch if I wanted to use the video on my iPod touch.
12. Once you’re done with that. click “Show Queue” then click “Start”.
13. The biggest trick is to make sure you are always choosing the right titles and then adding them to the queue with the right file name in sequential order.
14. Movies that already on your computer are ready to convert once you’re in Handbrake: just choose a format (iPod, PSP, etc), a destination for the converted movie to go, and then click Start.

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Finding The Best Deals On Amazon (For $0.01)

This past year, I’ve been doing lots of reading mostly from two of my favorite authors: Daniel Silva and David Baldacci. Due to how books are printed nowadays, I find it much easier read a hardcover book than a paperback. The font size and line spacing is much larger with hardcover books. The only setback with purchasing hardcover books is the hefty price tag. Thanks to the online store, Amazon, purchasing hardcover books has never been easier. This is more of a personal experience I’m going to share with shopping on Amazon. First off, let me tell you that buying used books is not a bad thing. In fact, I’ve purchased over 15 used books these past two years on Amazon, saving me well over 200 dollars.  Here are several pointers I have about finding the best deal for used books for when you go onto Amazon.

1. Search for the book that you would like to purchase.
2. When you go to the page that shows the book you want, look for a round box that says “Also Available In”.
3. If there is not a box, then just click the used link.
4. The reason I like to use the box is that is where you can find the hardcover versions.
5. When you see the version of the book you like, just click the link next the type of book you want.
6. For example, if I wanted Hardcover, I’d click the link in the Other Offers column that is directly across from “Hardcover”.
7. After you click that link, a new page will load with all of the used, new, and collectible versions of the book.
8. If you want the best deal, browse through the used/new selection and try to find one under a dollar — most of the time you will.
9. Even is if it is a used book, most are in readable condition (just read the user comments to make sure).
10. Once you’ve found the book, just add it to your cart.
11. If you do the math, buying a brand new hardcover would have cost me about $25 at a local bookstore. Instead I payed $4 for a used book ($0.01 for the book + $3.99 for shipping). Pretty good reason to use Amazon, right?

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Tips For Speeding Up Torrents

Torrenting is a very controversial topic nowadays, especially with music piracy. For some people, like myself, I strongly believe torrenting should be allowed. One example where torrenting is helpful is for students. There are times when a student does not want to put out several thousand dollars for a program like Final Cut Studio. I’m aware that there are student discounts on software like Photoshop, but many companies still don’t offer them for higher-end applications. On the other hand, many people prefer to get movies from torrent, which is very understandable with movie ticket prices these days. I’ve put together some helpful tips on how to use a torrenting program, uTorrent (PC & Mac) to decrease the time it takes for a torrent to download.

Change Priority For Multiple Torrent Files

1. By having the ability to change priority on a file basis, you can not only speed up your torrents, but get only the files that you need (e.g. just the video file or serial number).
2. In uTorrent, go to the Files tab and select the files that you need and right-click.
3. Change the priority to High Priority.
4. Next select the files you don’t need (like .nfo, .txt, sample.avi, etc..) and change the priority to Don’t Download.

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Limit Download And Upload Rates

1. Surprisingly, when you limit the download rate instead of using unlimited speed, the download time will decrease significantly. Same thing with the upload rates, in part because the more you’re uploading the more peers will connect, therefore causing more connections.
2. Go take the Verizon online speed test when you aren’t downloading anything.
3. After the tests are complete, you should get two numbers: the Download rate and the Upload rate.
4. Next you need to convert the rate from Mbps to KB/s via Google (e.g. 1.8 Mbps to KB/s).
5. Now you use that for your download rate/upload rate in the uTorrent preferences.

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Change BitTorrent Settings

1. Global Connections limits the number of people worldwide to connect to the torrent you’re downloading.
2. To change this number, go to uTorrent > Preferences.
3. Under the BitTorrent tab, increase your Global limit number (e.g. 1000) and the Per Torrent limit (e.g. 300).
4. If you don’t know what number to put in either of those fields, just experiment until you notice faster download speeds.
5. Under the same BitTorrent tab, make two other changes: Queues (Transfers: 3; Downloads: 2)  and Outgoing Encryption (Enable).
6. Those settings will increase your speed because you are limiting the number of active downloads and outgoing encryption, which gives you more overall connections.

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Network Settings

1. Most torrent networks use the TCP port 6881 and above. Due to the amount of internet usage that BitTorrent accounts for, many internet service providers (e.g. Verizon, Comcast, Bellsouth) want to limit the connection on those ports (6881-6999).
2. Therefore, it can help to make your TCP port somewhere above 10,000.
3. Go to uTorrent > Preferences and go to the Network tab. Under the Incoming TCP port field click the Randomize Now button until you see a TCP Port that is above 10,000.
4. If you are using a router, make sure you have the “Automatically map port” field checked.
5. If you need access to your router’s settings, go to Network in System Preferences to find the address. Then type in your router address in a web browser. Contact your internet service provider if you have trouble changing your router settings.

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Helpful Resources For Beginner Photographers

A little over two years ago, I bought my first digital SLR camera. When I first started taking pictures with it, I kept the settings in automatic mode. I had the feeling that if it was on automatic, then it would handle just about any situation on its own without any intervention. Well, that was when I found out I was completely wrong. After going to local classes at a camera store, I started to understand the different settings and when to use them. I still continue reading many articles online and tutorial books at my local bookstore.  Because I know what it was once like to start off with a DSLR for the first time, I thought I’d share some helpful places where you can find tips on how to use your camera to its full potential.

Digital Photography Field Guide

By far, this has been one the most helpful little books that refreshes just about anything when you need it. The Digital Photography Field Guide book gets you started off with the basics of the camera controls and slowly leads into the more complex things like lighting and exposure. I still bring this book in my camera bag because I know that there will always be a time when I need it.

This Week in Photography

TWIP is a podcast created by Alex Lindsay of PixelCorps. When I first started listening to this podcast, one of the main things that I really liked was that the guys were straight up about their reviews. They would tell you what works and what doesn’t. That’s the kind of the material you need at the beginning because the further along you come, the more options there are as far as photography equipment and software goes. In each episode, they go over a poll that was posted the previous week, post a contest link, reviews of the week, and websites or podcasts to visit.

Photoshop User TV

When it comes to learning about anything Photoshop, these guys know it best: Scott Kelby, Matt Kloskowski, and Dave Cross. In each video episode, each guy usually shows a tip that they have learned recently in Photoshop. Ranging from anything like making people look skinnier or how to create a holiday card. Thankfully, because they show some really creative tips, I always find something useful that I can use within my own photos. Another nice part of the show is the quick breaks that they have with tips on using your SLR camera or other equipment.

Digital Photography School

Probably one of the most useful resources for me by far, Digital Photography School, created by Darren Rowse of ProBlogger, has tons of everyday tutorials. Each week, I like to check out the newest content on their website and see if there’s anything that I could use as an outdoor photographer. Fortunately, I always come across something that I can use like “Family Portaits Do’s and Don’ts” or “10 Ways to Take Stunning Portaits“. The best part is that if you are unsure about what to do, you can always ask the thousands of users on the forums who are willing to help you.

Abduzeedo

Fabio Sasso, is one of the most inspirational graphic designers I’ve ever seen. Everyday, he posts something called “Daily Inspiration”, which is basically a collection of graphic design pieces or photographs that he has found creative. As a photographer, it helps to see how other people work and what other styles of art are out there. I’ve learned to look at taking pictures very differently after browsing through some of Fabio’s Daily Inspiration posts. His blog also covers many other topics such as web design and Photshop, so I would highly recommend you take a look at it.

Outdoor Photographer

The first time I saw this magazine was in a bookstore when I was just browsing around the Photography magazine stand. The title of the magazine was what initially grabbed my attention, “Outdoor Photographer”. The main reason it grabbed my eye was the fact that I was an outdoor photographer myself, so it would only make sense for me to be focused on that name. Since that day, I’ve been a subscriber to Outdoor Photographer. I love how they show detailed pictures in their articles to make it feel like you’re actually there. The topics in the magazine cover anything from creating powerful landscape shots to thinking like Ansel Adams. If you’re just starting off with photography, I would recommend keeping the magazines because they are very informative for only a couple of dollars an issue.

Flickr

One of the best ways to share pictures with friends outside of email is Flickr. Many users like it because it gives others a chance to see your work and comment on it as well. On the other hand, I use it to find out how certain images were taken. One of the coolest features about digital photography is that everything can be stored electronically, including the properties used when taking the picture such as: ISO, shutter speed, white-balance, and aperture. When you want to learn the most about your SLR and when to use certain settings this is when it becomes helpful. When you are browsing through someone Flickr photos, there is usually a link that is called “More Properties” located under Additional Information. Having access to what settings were used in other people’s pictures is very valuable information. I also find Flickr helpful for finding places to go. When I’m about to go on trip somewhere, it helps to know what places look nice, especially for photography. And what a better way to find out than Flickr. Users post pictures of the places to visit and best locations for taking pictures. Just like I talking about earlier with Abduzeedo’s Daily Inspiration articles, Flickr has many creative photos which give you a new perspective on how to see things the next time you’re out on a photo shoot.

Make Browsing The Web Much Easier With AutoPager

A couple months ago, I switched over to Firefox completely after using Safari as my main browser. Now that I have found the right plugins and tweaked the settings, using Firefox has helped me browse the web smarter. Being a web developer, I’m constantly looking for lots of information on various websites, forums, and personal blogs. I’ve been so accustomed to having to click on the “next page” or the “1, 2, 3″ links on the bottom of the page that it never really bothered me. All I can say, is that after installing the AutoPager plugin, I’ve been able to browse through sites much faster and save myself time.

Installing AutoPager

1. Download Firefox if you don’t already have it installed.
2. Get the AutoPager plugin from the Firefox website or from the “Get Add-ons” menu inside of Firefox (Tools > Add-ons).
3. AutoPager will work instantaneously after you restart Firefox.

Tweaking AutoPager To Work On Every Site

1. I have noticed on some sites it can be hard for AutoPager to detect the “next page” or the “1, 2″ links.
2. In order to make custom settings on a per-site basis, all you have to do is go to Tools > Auto Pager > AutoPager.
3. A sidebar will appear on the left of the screen.
4. In the URL Pattern field make sure the correct website address is filled in.
5. Then for the Link XPath and Content XPath, simply click the yellow spy-glass icon in the AutoPager sidebar. This will automatically detect the links.
6. Just to be sure, click the “Test Site” button that looks like a stack of papers.
7. If the site continues to the next page as you scroll down—success!
8. If not, then use the Pickup Link and Pickup Content buttons to select the links manually.
9. Just hover over the parts of the page that have links and/or content, click once and they will show up in the sidebar.
10. When you’re done making changes, click the Green checkmark icon to save the changes.

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Change AutoPager Display Settings

1. One of the most annoying part of AutoPager is the display that shows after the page loads.
2. To get around this, simply open up the AutoPager settings (Tools > Auto Pager > Manage Settings > General tab)
3. Once you’re in the General tab, change the “loading notification style” and “page break style” fields so that each one says display:none;
4. This way the page will look normal and there won’t be a gray page break line in between each page and the loading sign won’t be as obtrusive.

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How To Repartition Physical Disk Space In VMware Fusion

Ever since I have been using VMware Fusion, I never really thought about managing the disk space. Primarily because most of my documents and applications were stored on my Mac and not in the virtual machine partition. Therefore, when it did come time for installing applications in VMware, there were installation problems. It takes a little bit of work, but after following these instructions of which my tutorial is based on, you should be all set.

Getting The Tools For The Job

1. GParted – (download)
2. VDiskManager GUI – (download)
3. VMX Extras – (download)

Setting The Max Disk Size

1. With your Windows XP virtual machine shutdown completely, open up the VDiskManager GUI application.
2. Click on the Expand tab in VDiskManager. Then click “Choose”.
3. Go to “username/Library/Virtual Machines/Windows XP/Windows XP.vmdk”
4. Type in the maximum disk size you want in the box below. Then click “Go”.

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Editing The Startup Screen

1. You need to edit the startup screen so you can run commands.
2. To do so, open up the VMX Extras application.
3. Go to File > Open and browse to “username/Library/Virtual Machines/Windows XP/Windows XP.vmx”
4. In the Preconfigured Options tab, change the “BIOS Delay” to 5 seconds and then click “Change”.
5. Close VMX Extras and save the changes.

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Preparing GParted For Bootup Disk

1. In order to make the final changes for the repartition, you need to use GParted.
2. In VMware Fusion, go to the Virtual Machine > Settings menu (⌘ (Command) + E) and choose CDs & DVDs.
3. Under the CDs & DVDs menu, choose “Use disk image” and select the “GParted.iso” file.
4. Startup the Windows virtual machine in VMware Fusion now and hold down F2.

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Using The BIOS Startup Screen

1. After holding down F2, you should see the Main BIOS screen.
2. Hit the right arrow key until you are in the Boot tab.
3. Now use the “-” and “+” to manipulate the order of devices until “CD-ROM Drive” is on the top of the list.
4. Now hit the ⌘ (Command) key and F10 to save the configuration.

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Using The GParted Startup Screen

1. After saving your configuration, you will see the GParted intro screen.
2. Choose the first option, “GParted Live” (Default settings).
3. In the next pop-up screen, choose “Don’t touch keymap” and hit Return.
4. Hit Return when asked  “Which language do you prefer?” (English is default).
5. Hit Return when asked “Which mode do you prefer?”.
6. In the GParted screen that appears, use your arrow keys (because the mouse does not always work) and arrow over to “Resize/Move”.
7. Now drag the slider with your mouse (if it does not work with your mouse, enter numbers for the boxes). Then hit Tab until the “Resize/Move” button is selected below.
8. Now hit Tab once until the Undo button is selected, then arrow over to the right and select Apply and hit Return.
9. In the small pop-up window hit Tab until Apply is selected, then hit Return to apply the drive size changes.
10. You should see a window that shows the current status.
11. After it is done, close the window and close GParted by hovering your mouse over the Exit button and then click it when you see the black hand.
12. Now use your down arrow keys and choose Shutdown and hit Return.
13. As it shuts down you may receive a message window, choose Yes and hit Return to finish the shutdown.
14. If Windows starts up by accident, just shut it down from the main screen.

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Final Touches Before Using Newly Repartitioned Virtual Disk

1. Go to the Settings menu in VMware Fusion after making sure the virtual machine is shut down.
2. Under the CDs & DVDs settings, change it so it says “Automatically detect physical CD/DVD drive”.
3. With your virtual machine off, go to VMX Extras and open the “username/Library/Virtual Machines/Windows XP/Windows XP.vmx” file.
4. Go to the Preconfigured Options tab and change the BIOS Delay back to the default which is “No Bios Delay”.
5. Boot up Windows, it may do a disk check if necessary and may require you to restart after it fully boots.
6. Double check that your hard drive disk space has increased (My Computer > Local Disk (C:) > Right-click > Properties).

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How To Use Roxio Toast For Every DVD Project

Last year I purchased Roxio Toast because I needed a customized DVD burning software for my family video project. What drew me to Toast, was the ability to fit more onto a DVD disc without sacrificing quality. After spending more time with it, I have come up with several helpful ways to use Toast to its full potential.

Importing DVD’s For Use With iPod or iMovie

1. To import DVD’s into Toast, go to the Convert menu (AppleTV/iPhone icon).
2. Once, you have inserted the DVD of your choice, choose how you want to export it.
3. Located in the bottom left corner is a small gear icon which shows you the export options.
4. If you want to export the DVD for use on your iPod or iPhone, select the corresponding name under the Device drop-down.
5. If you want to export the DVD for use in iMovie, select “DV” from the Device drop-down menu.

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Burning An iMovie Project Without Using iDVD

1. One of the key problems with iMovie is that you have to go through iDVD to burn your iMovie project onto a DVD. With Toast, you just drag your iMovie project and it takes care of the rest.
2. To start, locate your iMovie project in Finder.
3. Then, drag it into the DVD-Video section under the Video menu.
4. If you wish to add a menu-style you can, but you don’t have to because the disc will automatically start playing the movie.
5. Now, click the Record button.

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Adding Flare To Movie DVD’s With Menu Styles

1. If you are making a DVD with several movies on it, you might want to consider using menu styles to visually organize the movies.
2. In your Toast project, choose the menu style you want by going to the Menu Style drop-down menu in Options sidebar.
3. Once, you have selected a style, feel free to edit the settings for that style by clicking on the More button in the Options sidebar.
4. A window will appear with three tabs: Disc, Menus, and Encoding. Choose Menus.
5. In the Menus window, you can add a title, edit the font colors, change the number of buttons, and so on.

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Creating A Photo Disc For PC and Mac Users

1. Toast makes it very easy to create a PC and Mac compatible photo disc because it uses Mac OS X drag-and-drop technology.
2. Simply just drag pictures from iPhoto, Lightroom, or where ever your photo library is into Toast’s Photo Disc section under the Data menu.
3. When you are all set, click the big red Record button and soon enough all of your pictures will have been burned onto a DVD or CD.
4. If you insert the photo disc into your computer, you will get a few neat options: Slideshow, Add to iPhoto (for Mac users), and Photos (folder).

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Helpful Tips For Using Adobe Lightroom

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, so I’ve had plenty of time to work on some projects of my own. One has been trying to completely edit and re-organize my photo library. I have been using a mixture of iPhoto, Bridge, and Photoshop for most of photo editing needs until now. I’ve transitioned into one mainstream way of editing my photos via Adobe Lightroom. It makes things so much easier for me to quickly catalog and edit all of my pictures in one screen.

Change Lightroom’s View Mode For Easier Editing

When I edit photos, I prefer to have no distractions at all. That includes Gmail notifications in my menubar, extra panels in Lightroom, and the Mac dock. This way I can get maximum screen real estate.

1. Go to Window > Screen Mode > Full Screen and Hide Panels.
2. If want to show a panel that is hidden in one of the screen modes, just click on one of the arrows for that panel.

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Stacking Images of Similar Form and Design

After making the move from iPhoto to Lightroom, I wanted to figure out an easier way to catalog similar pictures. Instead of making a folder for similar images, I can create a virtual stack of them. This way when I’m looking through 5,000 pictures, it takes up less space in the library window.

1. Select images in the library that are of the same thing or very similar in form.
2. Right-click and choose Stacking > Group into Stack.
3. Since I’ve probably used this about fifty times now, it makes it easier to add a keyboard shortcut for this command. Read my article on making keyboard shortcuts if you want to know how.
4. If you get a pop-up that says “Could not create stack”, right-click on the images you want to stack and choose “Show in Finder”. Now move them to the same folder.
5. Then synchronize Lightroom so the changes appear. Go to Library > Synchronize Folder… and it will sync the library with the selected images.

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Keyboard Shortcuts To Be More Efficient In Lightroom

As you know, I love using keyboard shortcuts when possible. Not only does it improve your proficiency with the application, but it also makes editing images a breeze. I’m only giving just a few because these ones are the ones I use the most.

1. When you are in in any screen and want to quickly get back to your library, hit the ‘G’ key.
2. To move to the Develop panel, hit the ‘D’ key.
3. To quickly adjust the screen mode, hit the ‘F’ key and shuffle through the different modes.
4. To rate pictures for faster searching later on, just hit the number (1-5) on your keyboard.
5. To add a color label to your photos, just hit the number (6-9) to on your keyboard.
6. To quickly compare two selected images, tap the ‘C’ key.
7. To rotate an image 90° clockwise, hit ⌘ (Command) and “]” and to rotate an image 90° counter-clockwise hit ⌘ (Command) and “[“.

Use SlideShowPro To Make Your Own Professionally Designed Web Galleries

Ever since I got back from recent vacation, I’ve been looking for an online service to share my pictures on. Most of the ones I looked at had either limited storage (Picasa) or a generally basic interface. SmugMug was nice, but not quite at my level of customization. Then I thought I’ll just host my own gallery with my website because it’s easier, faster, and cheaper thanks to SlideShowPro.

1. To install SlideShowPro, buy it from here.
2. Once you have downloaded the zip for it, find the “slideshowpro.lrwebengine” file inside the Web Galleries folder.
3. Now drag the “slideshowpro.lrwebengine” file and the Web Templates folder into “Library/Application Support/Adobe/Lightroom/Web Galleries”.
4. The next time you open up Lightroom go to the Web panel and choose SlideShowPro from the “Engine” menu (top right).
5. Adjust the settings until your happy with the gallery, then hit the “Export…” button to export the gallery.
6. Use an FTP program (Coda or CyberDuck) and upload the folders onto your server.
7. To view a sample photo gallery, check out the examples page on SlideShowPro’s site.

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Use Custom Email Accounts (With Gmail) On Your iPod Touch

When I got my iPod touch, the one thing that frustrated me was the email function. I have several email accounts — work, personal, and the one that comes with my ISP. The only problem was none of these accounts worked with the iPod touch’s Mail application because they require the use of my ISP to send outgoing messages. Thankfully, incoming messages can be received anywhere with a Wi-Fi connection.

About a year ago, I signed up for a Gmail account and really never got to using it because I already had email accounts. Recently, I thought I’d give it a shot and see if I liked it — and surprisingly, I did. For a web application, the customization is almost endless — from themes, to keyboard shortcuts, to calendars, ‘to-do’ lists, and more. After downloading the Gmail Notifier for Mac OS X, I felt satisfied with using Gmail as my main email. Then I had to figure out what to do with all my other email accounts…

Thankfully, Gmail is so customizable that it allows auto-forwarding of your other email accounts. Perfect. Now, I can use Gmail as a “hub” for all of my email accounts. What if I want to send emails using one of the other email accounts’ addresses? Easy. Gmail allows you to add your mail accounts and send mail using those email addresses through Gmail. Now you must be asking how I did all of this? Here’s how:

Get Mail From Other Email Accounts

1. Sign into your Gmail account, or if you do not yet have one, sign up for one.
2. Click on the Settings link in the top right corner of the screen.
3. Enable POP and IMAP under the Forwarding and POP/IMAP section.
4. Now, go to the Accounts section and click the “Add another mail account” link under “Get mail from other accounts:”.
5. Type in your email address and click Next Step.
6. Enter the correct settings for those email accounts.
7. Also, I recommend that you make a label for those emails by checking off “Label incoming messages:” and selecting “New Label” from the drop-down menu.
8. If you Gmail to remove the email message from the other email accounts after it has been forwarded to Gmail, un-check “Leave a copy of retrieved message on the server”.
9. Now add the account by clicking the Add Account button.

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Use Gmail To Send From Your Other Email Addresses

1. Assuming, you are already signed into Gmail, go to the Settings link.
2. Next click on Accounts.
3. Under the “Send mail as:” section, click on “Add another email address”.
4. Once you have entered that email address and clicked Next Step, click Send Verification.
5. Check that email account you just added for a message from Gmail that will verify the account.
6. Once you’ve clicked on the link in the email message the account will be automatically added.

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One more thing I should tell you. If you are planning to use Gmail on your iPod touch, make sure you add the account manually so you can use IMAP. Otherwise, the Mail.app on the iPod touch automatically uses POP. The beauty of IMAP is it allows you to sync your mail with your devices (laptop, iPod touch, work/home computer, etc). Follow Google’s instructions so you won’t get confused.

If you want to be able to send mail from your other email addresses, you can do that from Gmail’s website (choose “From” drop-down menu when you compose mail). If you’d like to reply to the message using the same email address it was sent to, read these instructions. You can also make a default email address from Gmail by  clicking “make default” next to the email addresses under the ‘Send Mail As’ section in Accounts.

Why I Love Apple’s Customer Service

Recently I purchased a set of Anti-Glare Film for my refurbished 16GB iPod touch. First, I must say my refurbished iPod touch came in the mail without a scratch on the front or back. It came with new packaging, documentation, earphones, and a cleaning cloth. I was stunned at how my first refurb product from Apple turned out so well. In the end, I payed $219 for a 16GB iPod touch that costs $299 retail.

Now back to the Anti-Glare film set I bought. There was a slight problem — I ordered the one for the 2nd generation iPod touch, when I have the 1st generation. The thing is there was no clear way for me to know this until I applied the film set and noticed it didn’t fit correctly around the home button (square button). After about five attempts at applying the film set, I gave up and just took it off. I threw away the package when I got it originally (thinking that I would not need to keep it). So, when I called Apple’s Customer Service hotline, I wasn’t sure they would allow me to exchange or return the item. After waiting for less than two minutes on the phone, Customer Service picked up. I told them what happened about getting the wrong film set. Then I told them honestly that I threw away the package and was not sure how I could do a return. They placed a next-day order of the Anti-Glare film set for the 1st generation iPod touch for no charge at all. I couldn’t believe it. After this experience, I now understand why Apple has such a high-ranked customer support.

A few pointers that I should mention, I used eight Apple gift cards on Black Friday when I made this purchase over the phone. I made it over the phone because Apple gift cards beyond 3 years do not have a PIN and therefore are not valid with online purchases. Apple kindly helped me out on the phone with the order. The mistake was that the agent ordered the wrong Anti-Glare film set (which is not so easy to find on Apple’s online store).

Just a few things I learned after applying the film onto my iPod touch twenty times. The first time will rarely work perfectly, there is always a small particle of dust. What I learned is to take it off the iPod using a post it note on one of the corners and place the film sticky-side up on top of something like a magazine. Then get three strips of masking tap to cover the sticky side of the film. That strips the dust off. Then reapply the film. Start towards the bottom, lining up the home button and the hole on the film and use a credit card to slowly press the film down. When you’re done you will see the bubbles made from the masking tape. If you wait about 1 hour they completely go away and it looks perfect. If you do notice dust later on, just follow the masking tape trick. Hope that helps.