Ultimate Apple

Office 2008’s new default font (Cambria) may be cooler than Times New Roman, but for a lot of people (especially students like myself), Times New Roman is required, and changing it every time you create a new document is a hassle. To change the default font:

1. Open a new document. Don’t type anything in it.
2. Click the Toolbox item in the menu to bring up the Formatting Palette (if you don’t already see it).
3. Expand the Styles menu if it isn’t already open.
4. Hover your cursor over the box that says Normal. A blue down-arrow shows up on the right side of the box. Click the arrow, and in the menu that opens, click Modify Style.
5. Click the box that says Cambria and change it to Times New Roman.
6. Check the ‘Add to Template’ box towards the bottom of the box, then click OK.

Voila! The “Normal” style now has Times New Roman as its default font.

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With Apple’s Mail included in the software update ($20) for iPod Touch firmware upgrade 1.1.3, I was looking forward to really improving the utility of the device by reading my work email. However, the comments I read on the net said that the iPod Touch didn’t have the networking preferences like the iPhone, and thus, VPN couldn’t be done.

But they were wrong!

VPN is hidden in Settings » General » Network, and if your company’s Exchange server has IMAP services activated, then you can configure the iPod Touch to read your work email. The only problem that I have found is that the VPN connection isn’t persistent. If your iPod goes to sleep, the VPN connection drops out. Go back to settings to switch it back on again. Now I have full email wherever there’s Wi-Fi.

[robg adds: This is the same spot where you’ll find VPN settings on the iPhone. I assumed this was documented in the updated iPod Touch user’s guide, but it doesn’t seem to be mentioned…

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Some offices and schools block iChat. One possible way to fix that problem is by enabling SSL connections in iChat. Go to Prefrences » Accounts » Server Settings, and check the Use SSL box.

Note: You must be offline in order to change this setting.

[robg adds: I don't have any way to test whether this works or not.]

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Since installing 10.5, I have found that changing the modifier keys (using the Modifier Keys button in the Keyboard tab of the Keyboard & Mouse System Preferences panel) for my USB external keyboard does not work. However, I have found a way to get around this bug…

I changed the modifier keys in the ‘All’ settings section, and then changed them back in the ‘Built-in Keyboard’ settings, and this left them modified for only my external keyboard.

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Bookmarklets are basically short JavaScript codes that can be opened like a regular bookmark and apply a function to an open web page. One of the most interesting bookmarklets I’ve run into is the Open All Links bookmarklet. It simply locates all the links on a web page and asks you if you want to open them. It should work in any JavaScript-enabled browser (just about all of them.)

Add this link to your bookmarks and open it to activate the bookmarklet. Be careful when using it when there are many links on a page, because it can cause your browser to crash or at the very least go a little crazy.

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WebClip is a new feature that’s built into Leopard’s version of Safari 3 (beta users need not apply). What it does is takes a little section of the internet and makes a self updating Widget out of it.

To do this, click the little scissors icon next to the Reload button, then choose the area you wish to be made into a widget. Once you have all that figured out, click “Add” and Dashboard will automatically open with your new Widget in the middle. It will say “Loading Clip”, this could take a while so let it load. Once it’s done, the result should look something like this:

Note: For some reason, not all the Widgets you make will work the way you intend them to (e.g. they won’t update, or it’s just a blank widget). The service isn’t 100% quite yet but it works all right.

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