I’ve owned a Macbook for almost 2 years but have never really bothered with iCal. I tried it out a while back and had set it up to send me reminders (they call them alarms) via email. Then my trial .Mac email address expired (that’s the email address it used to send me reminders) and I stopped using Mail, too. Here’s how to set up email reminders without needing a .Mac (or MobileMe email address).

Step 1

The first thing you should do is get Mail set up with whatever email address you’d like to use to send the reminders, assuming you’re not using a .Mac or MobileMe address.

Mail –> File –> Add Account:

Step 2

Next you want to change the email address from which Mail will be sending your iCal reminders. Choose the one you just added.

Mail –> Preferences –> Composing –> Send New Messages From:

Step 3

Add a new email address to which Mail will send the iCal reminders (if you haven’t already done so). The default is the Mac email address. You may want to make it an address that goes to a smartphone, so you get them directly.

Address Book –> Card –> Go to My Card –> Edit –> Add New Email Address (green plus symbol)

Step 4

Now it’s time to create an event and add the alarm, which will be an email. Or, you can edit an existing event to include an email alarm.

iCal –> Get Info (right-click on event) –> Alarm –> Email –> Choose Where You Want to Send the Reminder

And there you have it. Now you can receive iCal reminders directly to your smartphone and you don’t need a .Mac or MobileMe account to do it!

iPod – Reset it When it Freezes

iPod has become synonymous with MP3 player, like it or not. In all likelihood, you (or someone you know) owns one. If it freezes, this is how to fix it:

Courtesy of  www.online-tech-tips.com:

iPod Touch

To reset iPod touch, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button at the same time until you see the Apple logo show up on the screen.

iPod Classic

1. Toggle the Hold switch on and off. (Slide it to Hold, then turn it off again.)

2. Now press and hold the Menu and Select buttons until the Apple logo appears, which may take about 6 to 10 seconds. You may need to repeat this step.

Notes:

• If you are having problems resetting the iPod, go ahead and set it on a flat surface. Then make sure the finger pressing the Select button is not touching any part of the click wheel. Also be sure that you are pressing the Menu button towards the outside of the click wheel, not near the center.
• If the above mentioned steps do not work, then you can try connecting your iPod to a power adapter and plug the power adapter into an electrical outlet, or connect the iPod to your computer. Make sure the computer is turned on and isn’t set to go to sleep.

iPod Shuffle

1. First , eject your iPod shuffle from iTunes, if you have it connected.

2. Then remove the iPod shuffle from the USB dock.

3. Move the switch that is on the top of the iPod shuffle to the off position.

Note: When iPod shuffle is off, the green stripe by the switch is not visible.

4. Wait 5 seconds.

5. Move the switch back to the on position so green stripe will be visible in either position.

BlackBerry – Useful Key Shortcuts

I am one of those rare Mac users that owns a BlackBerry and does not really have any desire to have an iPhone. As such, I have picked up some useful BlackBerry key shortcuts that you may find useful.

Select Text

To highlight text, press Shift, then move the scrollball up or down.

Capitalize Letters

Press and hold letters down to make them capitals.

Scroll Down

Use your spacebar to scroll down a page, then press Shift and the spacebar simultaneously to move back up.

Navigate Through Applications Quickly

Press the ALT and Escape keys at the same time, keep holding ALT and use your scrollball to navigate left and right.

Mac – Front Row and Screenshots Made Easy

Front Row (Command Key + ESC)

Does the above image look familiar at all? If not, this is Front Row (for Leopard and Snow Leopard). It allows you to easily access, well, you can see for yourself. Here’s one of the cooler features:

Theatrical Trailers

If you’re looking to watch movie trailers but don’t want to fuss with searching for them, there’s an easy way in Front Row. Just click on Movies -> Theatrical Trailers and then scroll through tons of trailers. As you can see below, you’ll get a synopsis, actors, director and more. Sorry the screen shot is older; I couldn’t figure out how to do a screen grab while in Front Row. When you watch the trailer, it will be full screen and high quality.

Screenshots

I only recently discovered how to take a snapshot of the whole screen using a keyboard shortcut. Before that I had been using a widget to accomplish it. Each has its own benefit. A third way is through a Firefox add-on. Allow me to elaborate:

Keyboard Shortcut

Pressing the Command (Apple) Key, Shift and the number 3 will result in your whole screen being captured. Try it. You’ll even hear the sound of a camera shutter. By default, the screenshot is saved to your Desktop with a name like “Screen shot 2009-10-03 at 8.18.56 PM.png”.

Widget

Screenshot Plus is a little more flexible, giving extra options in screengrabbing. In the image below the features are (L-R): Full screen grab, Timed full screen, Grab a window, Grab a widget and of course Drag a picture (as you can see).

Note:If you need to refresh a Mac widget, click on it and press Command (Apple key) + R.

Firefox Add-On

Screengrab is a neat little add-on that gives you the option to Save or Copy the following: Complete Page/Frame, Visible Portion, Selection or Window. It’s similar to the widget but can sometimes be a little more convenient in allowing you to copy. See below.

Facebook – Automatically Post Wordpress Posts to Facebook

If you use Wordpress and Facebook and would like an easy way to tell your Facebook friends that you’ve posted a blog entry, then Wordbook is the solution for you. This plugin allows you to cross-post your blog posts to your Facebook Wall. Your Facebook “Boxes” tab will show your most recent blog posts.