Tech Talk: Upgrading Your Mac Q&A
by Elizabeth Crane

You never know where the challenges are going to come from when you're upgrading to a new machine, even if you're switching from a relatively modern Mac to a brand new one. Sometimes it's the little things that can be the bumps in the road toward smooth daily operations. ASJA member Mary Beth Klatt wrote to me with a series of little problems that were muddying up the clean transition she had planned from her vintage 2002 iMac to her new MacBook laptop running 10.5.2.

The gleaming new machine on her desk wasn't just an impulse purchase to satisfy a lust for new Macness. "I had to buy a new one," she says. "My old iMac was slowly dying. The screen flickered." And despite the long hours the two had spent together, she added, "I don't think the machine was trying to get romantic." With her new machine in place and all of her old data safely ensconced (she uploaded her files to iDisk for temporary storage, then downloaded them back again), she got into the business of fine-tuning the details.

Q: Is there an easy way to get my electronic digital signature on pdf files? Right now, I have to print out the pdf file, sign it, scan it in again, and then send it off into e-mail oblivion.

A: According to the Adobe Web site, you need the Self-Sign Plug-in (there's a link to a file at www.adobe.com/security/digsig.html and scroll down to Create a Digital Signature).

Q: What antivirus or spyware software do you recommend for MacBooks?

A: I've never worried about a Mac virus so I've never used an anti-virus or anti-spyware program on a Mac. And while I am fully willing to be convinced by a coherent, non-hysterical argument that I need anti-virus software, I have yet to read or hear any such argument.

Q: I have a question about photos and iPhoto's editing software. For example, most photographers recommend taking pictures at the highest resolution possible with a resolution of 600 dpi, and then lowering the resolution on the computer. How do I lower the resolution on my MacBook? I don't see an option in iPhoto for knocking down the resolution. Any thoughts on how to do that without purchasing a pricey Photoshop program would be appreciated.

A: For re-sizing photos, I use PhotoSmart from HP. You can get a free download of it at the HP site. Make sure you get a Mac OSX version, and when you're installing it, ignore the fact that it thinks it only wants to work with an HP camera. It will, in fact, work with any digital photo files.

Q: I really wanted to watch that ground-breaking video, "ASJA's first-ever Webcast: Online video for Promotion and Platform." I used my Firefox browser on my MacBook and went to the appointed URL at the appropriate time. Nothing happened! I just saw this message "Standing by ... feeding frenzy in progress." After about 15 minutes of nothing, I wanted to join that frenzy. But since I was in Chicago and the webcast was in New York, I simply headed to the refrigerator.

Months later, I still have yet to see this landmark broadcast (I have it downloaded on my desktop). Yet there's another soon. I don't want to miss one live minute!

How can I watch the next episode of "As ASJA Turns," oops, I mean "Pitching Practice," slated to hit my screen (or so I hope)?

A: Before I could answer the question, I needed a little more information. Turns out, double-clicking on the file launched Quicktime, which would then fail to run the .asf file, and going to Finder>File>Open With … yielded nothing in the way of a secondary media player. At which point, I suggested that she download VLC Media Player (available at www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html among other places). In my experience, file formats that are presented for the public are usually optimized for Windows PC users, not us Macheads. It often requires a workaround to be able to access specialized content, so, as a seasoned Mac user I have several media players on hand for just such an occasion. I can't help drumming my heels a little bit in pointless frustration that things don't just work, but there you go. Perhaps the ASJA Web site would consider putting up Mac-friendly files as well as PC-friendly files. Hmm, note to self: write to Bruce.

I followed up with Klatt to see if the new media player worked and she reported back with a big ten-four. "VLC Media Player works great!! There weren't even any glitches with other programs on my MacBook. I was kind of dreading the download, thinking I would have to call Apple to resolve some incompatibility issues. But nothing! I'm really looking forward to watching videos such as the ASJA webcasts. Hopefully, this will translate into ideas that I can use in my career."

Mac Tech over and out.

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Elizabeth Crane writes for various publications about all manner of things, including parenting, education and technology. Her latest book is, Say Yes To College: A Practical and Inspirational Guide to Raising College-Bound Kids, co-authored with Sharon Chandler (Penguin Perigee). Send her your Mac questions at ecrane@well.com