There are so many puns we could use to kick off an article on memory, but we will resist that particular temptation.What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is everything you need to know about memory – the standards, speeds and, most importantly, what you should be looking for in your PC.
The processor and memory are a closely-knit double act, without a stream of data whizzing back and forth, the world's fastest processors are so many silicon sandwiches.
The development of high-speed processors is irretrievably linked to the development of high-speed memory chips sitting on an ever-faster memory bus. Just as with the development of processor, every time a wall is reached some clever sausage finds a way to make memory run even faster.
Now we've got double data rates, deep prefetch buffers, quad pumping buses, dual and triple channel and so on. We've tested all the famous names in memory circles: Corsair, Kingston, Crucial, OCZ, Patriot and more. We've modules with heat spreaders, flashing lights and we've plain-Jane types too. We've run single, dual and triple channel systems from 800MHz to 1,600MHz to see how fast data is shifted in practice.
Do the fancy-pants sticks live up to their overblown names (usually sporting a dubious use of the letter X for some reason)? How important are latency timings and does technical speed translate into actual gains that come in useful when you need it? How much better is dual and even triple channel? All shall be revealed.
A brief history of RAM
The development of modern transistor-based memory dates from 1964 and the first commercially available DRAM chip: the Intel 1103, was released in 1970. This replaced magnetic core memory which used a matrix of magnetic rings that acted as little switches to control current. DRAM is essentially a matrix of little capacitors and transistors laid out in rows and columns, only in a very, very tiny form.
Between then and now there have been a slew of memory types and technologies, including Fast Page RAM, Extended Data Out, plus lots of different physical standards and technologies, all which would fill pages, so we'll whiz forward in time.
The two main types of modern volatile memory (turn off the power and the data is gone) are Dynamic Random Access Memory and Static Random Access Memory, or, as you see them on the packet, DRAM and SRAM. While SRAM is faster, it's more expensive and you can't fit much capacity on a chip. It's used in caches and embedded devices, your processor's on-die cache is SRAM.
PC main memory is based on DRAM. It's simpler and enables huge capacities. DRAM developed into SDRAM, which is synchronised with your system bus (timing is everything), the faster the system the faster the memory as its locked to the FSB.
As processors became faster their appetites for data quickly outstripped SDRAM. The main thrust of memory development over the last few years has been Double Data Rate, or DDR, which first appeared in 2000. This can transfer data on both the rise and the fall of a signal, which is really, really clever.
It means that for one click of the clock cycle two 64-bit data blocks are transferred from the internal buffer though to the memory bus. It also has a 2-bit internal prefetch between the internal I/O buffer and the memory chips. Since its 64-bits wide this is also quoted as a two-word prefetch.
To take a DDR-400 module for example, internally it fetches two bits per cycle at 200MHz across a 64-bit bus. While externally it transfers two blocks of 64-bits on one cycle. There now follows some maths.
The internal data rates match the external data rate, of course. For our DDR-400 internally we've 200 (the internal clock frequency) times 2-bits (the 2-bit prefetch); times 64-bits (the bus width); divided by 8 (to render it in bytes rather than bits). This gives us our 3,200MB/s theoretical maximum data transfer rate.
Externally, we've 200 times 64-bits; times two (the double data rate part); divided by 8 again, which gives us the same transfer rate. Thus on a 200MHz bus you've doubled the data transfer rate at a stroke and produced an effective speed of 400MHz.
Doubling the doubler
DDR2 does the same trick, but widens the prefetch to 4-bits per click. This means the internal clock only has to run at half the speed of DDR to achieve the same performance, which uses less power, or you can leave the internal speed alone and it'll double the internal transfer.
DDR2-800 sits on the same 200MHz memory bus (now quad-pumped to cope, transferring four blocks of 64-bits per cycle) and gives us an effective speed of 800MHz. DDR3 doubles things again using the same trick, delivering a healthy eight bits per cycle internally. We now have an effective 1,600MHz memory module, still running on the same 200MHz internal clock but requiring a quad pumped 400MHz FSB to keep up (which is about as fast as it'll go without major engineering).
Officially data transfer should be quoted in MT/s, MegaTansfers per second, which give the raw data transfer rate without using clock cycle speeds, which are rather misleading. But, high clock speeds sell well and sound good.
All sorts of speeds in MHz are thrown around: the true speed, the I/0 bus clock, the data rate and so forth, few are actual physical frequencies employed. Still, what would PCs be without some obfuscating jargon?
What type and what minimum speed you need is defined by your motherboard. Delivering more data to the data lines than it can transfer is pointless, again the limiting factor is the memory bus speed and width. RAM sticks matched properly to your board deliver exactly what the memory bus can handle.
A 64-bit bus at 100MHz has a maximum of 800MB/s, which PC-100 SDRAM is designed to deliver. Move to a 200MHz FSB with four data transfers per cycle (quad pumping) and we reach 6,400MB/s, the standard for DDR2-800. Thus overclocking memory is about overclocking the bus.
Knowing your timings
As with processors the same silicon can be run at different speeds. For memory modules on top of the basic bus speeds there are the internal timings and how fast data can be retrieved from the matrix of transistors once the module has received the address along the control wires. This is given as a set of three or four numbers separated by hyphens.
These are the CL, RCD, RP, and RAS timings, this last one is often omitted and often just the first value is quoted.
These numbers are [another deep breath] Column Address Strobe Latency (how many clock cycles it takes to select a particular memory column), Row Address to Column Address Delay (self explanatory really), Row Precharge Time (the time taken to switch to a new row), and finally Row Active clock (the cycles to access a new row).
Timings are all in clock cycles, unlike older asynchronous memory, which is quoted in nanoseconds (if you can remember back that far). Basically the lower the timings are the better. Often the first three values are the same, hence just the CAS latency is enough to give you an idea of a module's speed.
A CL of five, for example, means the memory controller will have to wait for five clock cycles before the requested data is delivered. The timings for DDR2 are slower than those for DDR and DDR3 are even slower still.
However since it's measured in clock cycles it doesn't translate directly as the increased clock frequency makes up the time. DDR3-800 running at CL6 has the same effective latency as DDR2-400 running at CL3 since the 'true' clock is twice as fast (the 'true' clock speed, is actually the effective internal clock speed due to the larger prefetch).
All aboard the bus
Ideally you want memory to run at he same speed as the processor. Unfortunately this is next to impossible given the phenomenal frequencies possible on a chip. Processors have been improving faster than memory speeds and the transfer rate of data between processor and main memory has become a bottleneck.
You can't just crank up the Front Side Bus either, running very high frequencies over a whole PCB is not easy. The traditional PC design (if we can call it that) has two main motherboard chips, called the northbridge and the southbridge.
The northbridge's main job is as the memory controller and running the AGP and PCI-e bus. It is connected to your RAM with a set of data lines to transfer the bits, and the address and control lines, which send the memory locations to the RAM.
The northbridge is connected to the processor through the Front Side Bus, everything taking its basic timings from the main clock generator. It's this chip that defines what type and speed of memory you'll need, and those data lines limit the transfer speeds.
The FSB bus speeds and widths have risen from the heady days of the PC-AT with its 8MHz clock and 16-bit data lines. Initially, bus speeds matched the processor, however processor speeds soon outstripped the ability of motherboards to cope reliably and cheaply, and the processor clock multiplier was born.
The PC bus is now 64-bits wide and runs at up to 400MHz (on Intel's finest). Data capacity is increased by shifting two bits per cycle (as with DDR memory), or quad pumped and shifting four bits per cycle, using something called 'Gunning Transceiver Logic', which runs two cycles at 90° to each other, this turns your 200MHz base clock into an effective 1,600MHz bus.
Speeds have pretty much topped out now, limiting data transfer to 12,800MB/s. Both AMD and Intel have developed new standards for shifting data about, AMD's has HyperTransport and Intel has its QuickPath Interconnect. Both are point-to-point systems that trounce the FSB. Both controllers are on the processor, giving the CPU direct access to the main memory, which is jolly good news.
The simplest application of Intel's QPI adds a connection between the processor and a much reduced northbridge chip, more complex applications have QPI connections all over the shop. Intel added QPI controller on its LGA1156 and 1366 chips and AMD uses HT on the AM2/2+ and AM3 chips.
Onboard memory controllers mean lots more pins, hence it requires new socket standards. Both systems offer non-uniform memory access, great for multiprocessor systems.
The first version of QPI offered double the theoretical data rate of Intel's fastest FSB. Speeds are quoted as the equivalent of shifting 64-bits every two clock cycles in each direction. It actually has 42 lanes and shifts 80-bits in two clock cycles, 64-bits of data and 8-bits error correction and an 9-bit 'header'. Calculating actual theoretical data rates is a tad complex, but 3.2GHz equals 25.6GB/s.
AMD's HyperTransport is not dissimilar in intent if not in the exact form, at full speed it also runs at 3.2GHz. It actually shifts data in 32-bit packets over up to 32 links. Again, the maths is a bit complicated but magically arrives at the same 25.6GB/s figure. What are the chances?
Enter the officials
Where would we be without rules? Enter JEDEC, the Joint Electron Devices Engineering Council, who sets the standards. It has defined a set of parameters for memory modules to ensure that everybody gets on and everything works as advertised.
So that your motherboard knows what memory it has onboard there's a little EEPROM chip on the module with 128 bytes of identifying data, the SPD and Serial Presence Detect chip. You need this for JEDEC certification.
Where you have standards you always get people trying to better (or break) them. The SPD holds all the timing information (up to three variations for DDR and DDR2), manufacturing details and various bits and bobs. Can you see what's coming next? Yep, others started adding more information to the ROM.
Generally a 256 byte ROM is fitted which leaves plenty of room for manufacturers to add extras. Enhanced Performance Profiles is an extension of the SPD developed by Nvidia and Corsair which adds extra timing and voltage profiles to make it easier to push your memory in compatible boards. Its works with Nvidia's nForce 5,6 and 7 mobo chipsets.
Extreme Memory Profile is a similar effort from Intel, which holds more extreme memory settings available to compatible boards. Both are excellent when it all comes together but it does mean you need to match memory and motherboard carefully, which was what the JEDEC standards was trying to avoid in the first place. Still it is worth considering if you are specifying a system.
RAM-ping up the OC
Yeah, this is PC Format so we have to mention overclocking at some point. Most overclocking is centred around pushing the processor. Either upping the clock multiplier and/or increasing the bus speed.
The first won't effect your memory but fiddling with the FSB will overdrive your RAM, which may or may not be happy about that. Fitting compatible modules which are rated faster is an easy fix if that's the case.
Increasing the memory voltage can help stability too, although it is not without some risk. This is where specialist memory comes into its own: can it survive higher voltages? You will need to know.
The JEDEC specification does allow some room: DDR3 is rated at 1.5V, but the specification allows for an absolute maximum of 1.975V before permanent damage is done, whether it works at that voltage is another matter.
What memory overclocking options are available will depend on your mobo, better ones aimed at tweakers will offer a multitude of options and support an asynchronous memory controller. This will enable you to run the memory bus at a different speed to the processor bus (some fraction or multiple), useful if your memory has more potential than your processor.
Pushing up (that is to say down) the timings can also improve memory performance. Some boards enable you to adjust each timing separately, others just allow the main CL timer. Lowering the timings will – fingers-crossed – raise performance but the modules are generally sold at the best timings they can comfortably achieve, so it's not always a success.
Raising the latency is another way to make modules stable at higher clock rates, although this doesn't always mean better overall performance – more benchmarking and experimentation is required. What fun.
Overclocking QPI and HT systems is a similar affair. Fiddling with the base clock will overclock QPI, for example, on Intel systems, which is on a multiplier (18 or 24 of 133MHz). You can play with the VVT and Unicore. The Unicore is the L3 cache and memory controller and runs at twice the memory base clock. It also controls the L3 cache, which may upset the latencies, which isn't a good thing.
Both QPI and HT are very capable sub-systems, which are mostly doing their thing fast enough, so you won't see much gain tying to get just the memory running faster. Note also that the HT bus can be rather sensitive to tweaking and things will get unstable fast.
Changing the CPU multiplier is a more successful approach. The best bet for maximum performance is to go for the lowest latency modules you can. You can struggle to mess about with bus speeds to gain a few MHz, but opting for a CL4 over CL5 modules, for example, drops latency by 20 per cent at a stroke and gives a appreciable performance gain without tears. All clear now?
Now we know what is what, its time to see what's out there in memory land to see if it is worth buying fl ashy memory or just sticking to a bog standard sticks. All the major players are here, so let's get to it...
Kingston HyperX 2000Mhz - £80
Performance or capacity? That, dear reader, is the question. At least, it is when it comes to system memory if you're rig building on a budget.
Of course, you'd be illadvised to make Intel's high-end LGA1366 platform your starting point if penny pinching is crucial. After all, thanks to its server-sourced, triple-channel interface you'll need a trio of DDR3 sticks to maximise memory bandwidth.
But no matter. Instead, enter Kingston's HyperX 2,000MHz kit.
Read the full Kingston HyperX 2000Mhz review
OCZ Platinum 1600Mhz- £81
Two sticks of RAM. A couple of gigabytes a piece. That's pretty much how PC memory rolls here in late 2010.
After all, the reality for many PC buyers is that Intel's high end LGA 1366 platform and its triple-channel memory interface is overkill. You get better value on the desktop with the more affordable LGA1156 socket and a dual-channel setup.
Odds are, therefore, you're in the market for a 4GB dual-channel kit. But how fast does it need to be and how much money should you spend? OCZ's Platinum kit is temptingly cheap.
Read the full OCZ Platinum 1600Mhz review
A-Data Extreme 2000Mhz - £91
They're crammed in down here at the cheaper end of the dual-channel performance memory market.
Unlike the high-end stuff, the development budget doesn't stretch to fancy frills. Flashing LEDs, sleek and slender cooling fins and clip-on coolers are not part of the equation sub-£100.
Standing out from the crowd is therefore that much trickier. AData's answer is to give you more of what really matters.
Read the full A-Data Extreme 2000Mhz review
Crucial Ballistix 1600Mhz - £118
Crucial is the IBM of memory makers. It's the brand you buy when you can't afford to cock it up. Use Crucial's online system configuration tool and compatibility is near-as-dammit confirmed.
Mere compatibility is hardly the stuff of high performance thrills, however. That's where the Ballistix sub-brand comes in. In theory, it combines Crucial's well-earned rep for reliability with speed.
This particular triple-channel Ballistix kit weighs in at 6GB, 1,600MHz and 8-8-8-24, the latter being latency timings.
Read the full Crucial Ballistix 1600Mhz review
Kingston HyperX 1600Mhz - £132
There's no getting round it. Intel's LGA1366 platform is pricey. The cheapest compatible CPUs typically cost £200 or more. You'll also need to unload at least another £125 or so for a mobo. And it would be rude not to snag a decent graphics card. Call that an extra £150.
Once you've spent that much, it doesn't make sense to be a cheapskate choosing your triple-channel memory kit. In that context, there's a strong argument for setting your sights no lower than the likes of Kingston's HyperX 1,600MHz.
Read the full Kingston HyperX 1600Mhz review
GSkill Tri-Channel 1600Mhz - £135
This does not bode well for GSkill. Judged purely on the official specifications, this snazzy looking 6GB triple-channel kit shouldn't stand a snowball's chance.
After all, at £135 it's more expensive than both Kingston's HyperX 1,600MHz effort and Crucial's Ballistix 1,600MHz offering, in the latter case by a long shot.
Thing is, the Tri-Channel is not only rated at the same 1,600MHz frequency but clocks in with tardier 9-9-9-24 timings.
Read the full GSkill Tri-Channel 1600Mhz review
Geil Evo Two 2000Mhz - £136
Hardcore gaming memory is the claim. But does Geil's Evo Two dualchannel DDR3 kit have the, er, game?
First impressions are outstanding. The classy presentation and packaging suggest your £136 is money well spent. Meanwhile, the DIMMs themselves are beautifully engineered with alloy heat spreaders extending into modular black and red fins.
On paper, the specification looks pretty cool, too. Rated at a speedy 2,000MHz, the real showbiz moves involve latencies of 6-9-6-24.
Read the full Geil Evo Two 2000Mhz review
Corsair Dominator GT 2133Mhz - £140
The £140 price-tag is a lot of cash for a dual-channel 4GB memory kit, even one rated at a lofty 2,133MHz.
In fact, look a little closer at the Dominator GT's specifications and the pricing looks even more preposterous. After all, timings of 9-10-9-24 are nothing special, even taking into account the flighty frequency.
However, this observation does disregard a number of benefits that come with this DDR3 kit.
Read the full Corsair Dominator GT 2133Mhz review
Corsair XMS3 2000Mhz - £149
We've grown familiar with Corsair's high-end Dominator kits and their sleek alloy cooling fins. So it's a little unnerving to crack open this more mainstream XMS3 kit and discover plain-old pressed metal heat spreaders applied to the DIMMs.
For once, expectations of high quality work against Corsair. However, look past the visuals and there's plenty to like. For starters, thanks to the 2,000MHz rating these sticks are no slouches.
Read the full Corsair XMS3 2000Mhz review
Crucial Ballistix Tracer 1333Mhz - £173
What price do you put on appearance? To even consider Crucial's Ballistix Tracer 1,333MHz triple-channel DDR3 DIMMs, it needs to be high bordering on the stratospheric.
This is the second most expensive 6GB kit on test. But it's rated at a lowly 1,333MHz. It's also devoid of any substantial cooling apparatus, aside from cheapo heat spreaders.
What the Ballistix Tracers do have, however, are lights. Lots and lots of pretty lights.
Read the full Crucial Ballistix Tracer 1333Mhz review
Patriot Sector 5 2400Mhz - £225
Do you remember the days when 400MHz DDR memory seemed impossibly exotic?
Fast forward to 2010, add another 2,000MHz and welcome to the state of the art. In fact, even today a claimed clockspeed of 2,400MHz is undeniably exceptional. But is it going to be worth paying over £200 for? For that matter, is it actually achievable?
The answer to the second question is: it's a little tricky. One of the key barriers to hitting 2,400MHz has nothing to do with the memory itself.
Read the full Patriot Sector 5 2400Mhz review
A-Data XPG Plus 1866+ - £244
How much is cooling a factor for high performance memory? Expert opinion, you might say, is divided and both sides are dug in deep.
Still, we're sure about one thing. If anything is holding back this triple-channel memory kit from AData, it ain't the cooling.
We know this because the XPG Plus has perhaps the most elaborate heat dissipation arrangement we've seen on any memory stick.
Read the full A-Data XPG Plus 1866+ review
Bench analysis - Making sense of an awful lot of numbers
Our dual and triple-channel candidates were tested courtesy of Intel Core i7 860 and Core i7 975 processors, respectively. Where possible, memory dividers were used to hit target memory frequencies.
Otherwise, the base clock and CPU multiplier were adjusted with a view to maintaining the standard CPU clockspeed. Each DIMM kit was tested at 1,333MHz, the advertised frequency and the maximum stable clockspeed.
When overclocking, moderate voltage increases slightly beyond Intel's recommended limits were used on both platforms. Our memory bandwidth and latency metrics were generated using the latest release of SiSoft's Sandra suite.
Thanks for the memories…
Should there only be one thing that you can take away from this test, bar the fact that Corsair and OCZ are a bit damned tasty when it comes to the ol' memory stick game, it's that those big numbers on the serious, and seriously expensive, performance RAM modules aren't the whole story.
Because of the current motherboard chipsets we have at the moment being limited to a stock frequency of 1,600MHz, getting the top-end modules up to their rated speeds needs some rather serious overclocking know-how. And that means making sure that both your motherboard and processor are capable of hitting the clockspeeds that are required of them to get the most out of your memory choice.
The Patriot Sector 5 2,400MHz kit was the worst offender. It comes in with a headline-grabbing numeral off the bat, but even with a halfway decent motherboard and CPU combo we couldn't get anywhere near that rated frequency. It shows what a gamble the performance memory game can be.
The Geil kit was a strangest of the lot though. Our mobo and CPU setup proved capable of hitting its rated 2,000MHz speed, but refused to go north of 1,600MHz. But there were some real winners, most especially the OCZ and the Corsair XMS3 kits. Neither sported the most outrageous cooling solutions, neither had any eye-pleasing lighting systems adorning their PCBs, but both hit 2,000MHz with ease.
The OCZ Platinum is the top choice for anyone out there with a DDR3 dualchannel setup wanting the most bang-for-buck out of their RAM. Corsair then have it sewn up on the triple-channel front. True we couldn't get past the rated 2,000MHz speed, but right now there are limited returns going up past that rating.
Going forward we're looking toward the new Intel chipset, Sandy Bridge, which is coming out early next year with the possible promise of higher, non-overclocked, memory speeds. This is possibly going to be more in keeping with the 2,000MHz mark and will render some of the more high-end kits increasingly relevant.
For now though it's an easy split between the two memory giants of Corsair and OCZ.
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Review: MSI CR630
The MSI CR630 is from MSI's Classic range of laptops and, while it's cheaper than the other similarly priced laptops, it lacks the power and portability to compete. An AMD 2.1GHz Athlon II P320 chip provides the processing power here and, while there's 4096MB of DDR3 memory, initial benchmarking results weren't encouraging. Further testing proved that, while not as bad as originally thought, performance is on the basic side, and similar to that of the Medion Akoya P6512.
Everyday performance
You'll be able to run everyday office applications concurrently, but just not as smoothly or fast as the likes of the Packard Bell EasyNote TM98 or Fujitsu LifeBook AH530, for example - both of which feature Intel chips.
Like many other laptops, an integrated ATI Radeon HD 4270 graphics card makes this laptop unsuited to anything but the lightest of multimedia use. You will easily be able to carry out some light photo editing on your holiday snaps, however.
There's an integrated optical drive for watching and burning DVDs, although the 320GB hard drive could be better, with the HP Pavilion dv6-3040sa and others offering far more storage.
When power is sacrificed, portability usually benefits, as powerful components quickly suck the life from a battery. However, this laptop provides a poor 176 minutes of life, making it one of the least suited to travel.
At 2.5kg, it's not the lightest machine either. Those after portability should check out the Dell Inspiron M101z.
The laptop's 15.6-inch screen is good enough for everyday use, but we thought that colours lacked some vibrancy, meaning those who regularly watch DVDs or browse their photos might want to check out the Medion Akoya P6512 instead.
The firmly built chassis makes this a durable option, but the shiny plastics quickly attract smears and smudges. The weave pattern implemented is inoffensive.
We were very impressed by the laptop's keyboard. There's a little bit of sponginess, but generally we enjoyed using the isolated-style keys, which are spread just the right distance from each other, and this is a laptop that you can type comfortably and fluidly on for many hours.
An ExpressCard slot is included, which is rare for this price, but unfortunately there are only two USB ports. Both are positioned rather inconveniently at the rear of the chassis, which makes quickly attaching peripherals a bit of a pain.
The MSI CR630 failed to win us over due to its poor performance and limited portability. Usability is better, however, and those on a budget who type regularly will enjoy using the keyboard.
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Tutorial: 98 Snow Leopard tips, tricks and tweaks
With version 10.6, OS X has got to the point where it has so many great features that it's almost impossible to know all of them. Steve Jobs loves to show off the latest OS X bells and whistles during his keynotes whenever a new version is released, but even he doesn't have time to share the more subtle tips and tricks.
OS X 10.6, also known as Snow Leopard, is chock-full of secrets and shortcuts that you're expected to discover by yourself. Fortunately you don't have to pick your way through the OS hunting for techie tidbits because we've gathered up 99 of the best of them for you here.
Whether you're after tips to make your backups easier, ways of working smarter in Finder or saving time when using the internet, they're all here for you over the next few pages. Each set of tips is divided into sections, so you can find the type of shortcut you're after. You'll also find an icon next to each tip for quick reference.
We're willing to bet that even the most seasoned Mac user won't have used half of these cunning techniques on their machine. With this huge selection of tips at your disposal, prepare to speed up the way you work on your Mac forever.
1. Extra menu bar info
Common items on your menu bar such as Bluetooth, AirPort and MobileMe Sync can be quickly checked on with a simple click to view a dropdown menu full of options.
If you want a little more detail from these menus, hold down the Option key while clicking for an advanced view.
MobileMe Sync will show you the status of each sync, which includes Mail, Contacts and Calendars; AirPort will give details of your current connection, as will Bluetooth, and you can set your audio inputs from the volume control.
2. Add any folder as a Stack
Stacks are a really handy way to access files and folders from your Dock, but did you know that you're not limited to just Downloads and Documents? Try dragging any folder to the same position on your Dock and it will automatically be turned into a Stack.
Why not try dragging your Applications folder to your Dock and using it as a handy way to access all of your applications – it's much faster then using the Finder.
If you want to remove a Stack from your Dock, simply drag it off and watch it disappear in a puff of smoke.
3. Built-in screen grabs
Capturing an image of your screen can be important for many reasons, whether you need to snap an error message for tech support, record a receipt page on the web or simply save an image.
You could use Grab in your Applications/Utilities folder, but why not just hit Shift+Command+3 for a fullscreen grab and Shift+Command+4 to select an area of the screen to grab. If you hit Shift+Command+4 and then [Space] you can grab a single window too.
Grabs taken this way will be stored on the Desktop, so keep your eyes peeled for them.
4. App switching with Exposé
Exposé offers a handy way to see all of the windows you currently have open, whether you're using Active Screen Corners or one of the keyboard commands.
When using Exposé you can also switch between individual apps by pressing the Tab key. Each time you press Tab the view switches to open windows of a particular open application, enabling you to quickly find the window you need and access the application.
5. Stationery Pad
Do you have a document that you use as a template on a regular basis? If so, why not select it and hit Command+I or choose Get Info from the File menu. Under the General section of the Get Info screen, click the Stationery Pad option to create a copy of the file every time it's launched.
You work on the copied version so you never overwrite your original. This tip is ideal when used with text documents and can make it easier to send the same letter to a group of people.
6. Customising Dock items
Apple includes a number of applications on your Dock by default but you probably won't use all of them that often. If you would rather limit the number of items on your Dock, simply drag apps away from it to remove them.
The reverse is also true: simply drag an application onto the Dock, making sure it's between two apps, and it will happily sit there waiting for you to launch it. You can also click and drag apps to new locations on the Dock.
7. Open With…
Files on your Mac launch their default application every time you open them, such as Text Edit for TXT files. But you can change this behaviour for particular documents if you wish.
Choose a file and select Get Info from the File menu then use the Open With… drop-down menu to pick the app you want the file to open in. Here you could tell a TXT file to open in Microsoft Word rather than Text Edit if you wanted.
8. Recover ignored software updates
Sometimes the Mac's Software Update utility pops up when you don't have time to look at it. While there are some essential updates required when the app appears, it's easy to click Ignore and forget about it.
If you do this, then realise you needed the update, open Terminal from the Applications folder and type softwareupdate > reset-ignored to recover it.
9. Spotlight reveal
Searching for files in Spotlight is a handy way to access the documents you need in a flash, but it opens them by default. If you don't want to open the file hold the Command key and click on it to reveal it in the Finder.
10. Force magnify Dock
If you have Dock magnification turned off but fancy using it every now and again, hold down Ctrl and Shift while you move the cursor across it for some ad-hoc magnification.
11. Icon size slider
Try using the little slider found at the lower right corner of Finder windows in icon view. Dragging it to the right will increase the size of the icons within it, which is ideal for browsing images.
12. Resize the Dock
The quickest way to adjust the Dock's size is to click and hold your cursor on the bars between Stacks and your apps. Move the mouse up or down.
13. Show Item Info
Keep an update of your disk space on the Desktop. Right-click your Macintosh HD on the Desktop, click Show View Options and turn on Show Item Info.
14. Add an icon to Finder windows
Is there an app, file or folder you use regularly? If you want it within easy reach at all times, why not drag it onto a Finder window next to the search box so you can launch it from there?
15. Clean up Desktop icons with a click
If your Desktop begins to look a little cluttered and messy, simply right-click or Ctrl+click on it and select the Clean Up option from the menu that appears. Your icons will now move to nice orderly positions in the blink of an eye.
16. Quick Alias Access
Take some of the hassle out of connecting to a shared computer, server or folder by Ctrl-clicking it and creating an alias. Now move this alias to your Desktop or Dock and connect to it with a quick double-click.
17. Quick Look Magnify
When you're viewing an image in Quick Look you can turn your cursor into a magnifying glass by holding down the Option key. Click the image to zoom in and hold down Shift and Option when clicking to zoom out.
18. Activate fullscreen Quick Look mode
Rather than pressing [Space] to invoke Quick Look when you have a file selected, use Option+[Space] to open it in fullscreen mode. It's perfect for viewing a whole photo; Option-click on an image to zoom in, and Shift+Option-click to zoom out.
19. Custom sounds
There are only a handful of Mac OS X system alert sounds available to you by default, but there's nothing to stop you from adding your own. Start by finding a short AIFF file or create one in GarageBand.
The next step thing to do is locate the folder MacintoshHD/System/Library/Sounds and drop the file in there. If all goes to plan and the file you have chosen is compatible, it will be available from the Sound Effects tab under the Sound System Preferences pane for you to use as a system alert. There are also plenty of files to download from the web for this purpose.
20. Time Machine exclusions
If Time Machine is using a lot of space or taking a lot of time to back up your computer, consider excluding larger files, such as movies from those you want to save.
Say, for example, you own the DVD of a movie on your Mac; you already have a backup essentially, so there's no need to keep copies of it using Time Machine.
Head to the Time Machine System Preferences pane and tell it which files to ignore by clicking on the Options button and selecting files.
21. Keyboard Viewer
From the Keyboard System Preferences pane, you can choose to show the Keyboard and Character Viewer in the menu bar. Once turned on, a small keyboard icon appears on the menu bar from which you can launch the keyboard viewer. So why would you want to do this?
Quite simply, this display is extremely useful when you need to use a particular character but can't quite remember the combination required.
Holding down one or more modifier keys such as Option, Ctrl and Command shows the symbols invoked on each virtual keyboard key so you can select the right one. You may find it saves you a lot of time indeed.
22. DVD or CD Sharing
Did you know you can make use of the optical drive in your Mac from another computer? This is ideal for those using a MacBook Air or if you need to access a disk across multiple computers.
From the Sharing System Preferences pane you can turn on DVD or CD Sharing, which will show a copy of the inserted disc to all connected Macs.
Macs on your network can then make use of the disc as if it were in their disc drive. For more protracted, intensive use however, we would recommend using an Ethernet connection rather than Wi-Fi for disc sharing.
23. Assign apps to Spaces
Once you get into the groove using Spaces it can prove to be a great time-saver and, if you're used to moving a particular application to a designated space, why not make sure it always opens in that space?
From the Exposé & Spaces System Preferences pane you can assign an application to a particular space and it will appear here until you make a change, even after you have quit the application. Setting a space for web browsing and email is just one use for this technique. There are many more, depending on your usage.
24. System scheduling
It's easy enough to just leave your Mac and let it go to sleep after a certain period of time, but in the name of energy saving, you might want to consider telling your Mac to take a break and turn off at a particular time every day.
This can easily be done by clicking Schedule under the Energy Saver System Preferences pane, where you can set a specific time for your computer to boot up as well. Give your Mac a rest when you do to keep things flowing coolly and smoothly.
25. AirPort status
If you connect to a Wi-Fi network, it can be frustrating to keep jumping back and forth to the network settings to change base station or find out why you've lost your connection.
By setting AirPort status to appear in the menu bar from the Network System Preferences pane you can check if your Wi-Fi is connected, see the strength of the signal and join new networks from your desktop. You also have the option to turn AirPort off and on from the menu bar.
26. Keyboard shortcuts
There are hundreds of keyboard shortcuts in Mac OS X and that's not even including the apps you run on a day-to-day basis. Get the lowdown on useful key combinations and set some new ones by heading to System Preferences and moving to the Keyboard Shortcuts tab under the Keyboard pane.
From here you can view and switch on shortcuts for a range of utilities and Mac OS X settings, including Screen Shots, Spotlight, Dashboard and Dock and Display settings.
27. Navigate Spaces
Rather than use the menu bar to switch between Spaces, set a keyboard shortcut in System Preferences so you can switch Spaces using the arrow keys combined with Option, Ctrl or Command.
28. Lock Screensaver
For some added security you can set a password for your screensaver that's applied each time it starts. Use Security in System Preferences to set this up.
29. RSS Visualizer screensaver
If you like the Word of the Day screensaver, how about an RSS feed version? Enter an RSS feed, from a blog to a Twitter account, into the RSS visualizer screensaver and enjoy.
30. CDs & DVDs
Tell your Mac what it should do when you insert a CD, DVD or picture CD using the CD & DVDs section in System Preferences. Setting Front Row to launch when a DVD is inserted can be useful.
31. Timed Desktop background
Liven up your Desktop background from the Desktop & Screensaver System Preferences pane by setting it to change over time.
32. Function key switch
If you're sick of accidentally turning your Mac's volume down when you're trying to use ℠to Exposé all windows, head to the Keyboard System Preferences pane and set your F keys to standard functions.
33. Mouse controls
Make the most of your Mighty or Magic Mouse by setting new controls for it from the Mouse System Preferences pane. You can apply a right-click or use momentum scrolling in order to quickly move up and down pages.
34. Analog Clock
Add a more retro feel to your timekeeping by choosing the Analog Clock option from the Date & Time System Preferences pane, which shows a clock face rather than a digital reading in the menu bar.
35. Wake for network
If you access files from another Mac on your network, you can avoid access problems if one of them goes to sleep simply by selecting Wake for network access from the Energy Saver pane in System Preferences.
36. More Recent Items
If you frequently use the Recent Items list – accessible from the Apple menu – to launch apps and open files, you can increase the number of items shown by changing the number in the Number of Recent Items option from within the Appearance System Preferences pane.
37. The way to wipe a thumb drive
If you've ever encountered a thumb drive that has stopped working or even fails to mount, you can likely fix it by reformatting it using Disk Utility.
Plug in the drive and then launch Disk Utility from the Applications folder. It should still appear in the list of devices on the left of the screen so you can select it and then use the Erase tab to perform a quick wipe, and pick a formatting type to fix things up.
Once this process is complete, give the drive a try – it should work properly again.
38. Stickies
Let's face it, Stickies are nothing new; in fact, they've been a part of the Mac operating system for years and haven't really changed a great deal in that time.
If you've not tried them out, they're like a Desktop version of the Dashboard sticky note widget and provide you with a handy way to make notes or store snippets of information and reminders.
However, you can make them more useful by turning them translucent and setting them to float above all other windows from the Note menu – that way you never lose them.
You can access the Stickies app from the Applications folder. Check the menu bar for these options. There's no limit to the amount of Stickies you can have on your Desktop, so why not go crazy!
39. Record video in QuickTime
QuickTime X offers a few unique content creation features that are astoundingly easy to use. The first is audio recording, which will record any audio coming from your Mac's built-in microphone or connected device. Video recording works in the same way, making use of the built-in iSight camera.
Finally, you can also record your screen as a movie to show others how to perform a particular process. All you need to do is head to the QuickTime File menu, where you can access these features and select your input devices using the drop-down menu.
40. Drag text onto Dock icons
When you're viewing a website or text document – or even writing one – you can select a block of text and drag it out of your chosen application. If you drop this block onto the Desktop it will automatically create either a text or image clipping.
What's more, though, you can drag these snippets onto application icons in the Dock to initiate specific actions. Dropping a block of text onto the Safari icon, for example, will search that text with Google. And dropping a block of text onto the Mail icon will add the text to a new message. Give it a go!
41. Share and trim your movies in QuickTime
QuickTime may have lost a few features when it became QuickTime X but it did gain a few tricks as well. One such bonus is the ability to export any movie that QuickTime can play to a format that plays nicely with iPhones, iPods and iPads.
Click the share button to the right of the QuickTime playback controls and select a destination for your movie from iTunes, MobileMe or YouTube. You can also choose to trim your movie within QuickTime using an iMovie-esque scrubber system.
From the application's Edit menu, choose Trim and the heads-up display will appear at the bottom of the video window, as well as a thumbnail strip. Drag to select any portions to cut.
42. Sync Google And Yahoo! calendars
iCal now supports syncing of Google and Yahoo! calendars and it's easier than you might think to set up.
Start by heading to the iCal Preferences screen and then click on the Accounts tab. From here, click on the + button at the bottom of the screen and select your chosen account from the Account type dropdown menu.
Now all you need to do is enter your email address and password into the fields provided, and you're off and running with your new calendar events merged with your existing iCal dates.
43. Paste and match style
Don't you just hate it when you paste some text from another document into an email or text file and it brings its formatting with it? Fortunately, there's a simple workaround for most Mac applications that support text input, which will prevent this messy pasting problem from occurring.
Instead of using Command+V to simply paste your copied text, use Shift+Option+Command+V to paste the text and match it to the formatting of your document. This is an especially handy tip when you want to paste some text from the web straight into an email message.
44. Save as PDF
If you can print a document in Mac OS X then you can convert it into a PDF too. Next time you go to print a file from Word or any other application, click on the PDF button at the bottom left of the print screen.
From here you can select where you want your document saved to, choose a new title, input author information as well as a subject and keywords. You can even apply security settings if the document is of a sensitive nature.
45. Minimize windows into application icon
Minimising lots of windows can clutter your Dock. Turn on Minimize windows into application icon in the Dock's System Preferences pane.
46. Screen Zoom
Combine a keyboard button with mouse scrolling to zoom in and out of your Mac's screen. Set it up from the Universal Access System Preferences pane under the Seeing tab.
47. Auto time zones
Automatically set the time based on your current location – turn on the feature found in the Time Zone section of the Date & Time System Preferences pane and turn AirPort on.
48. Quick iCal Events
Rather than exporting iCal events or adding people to them within the app, drag an event from iCal to the Desktop. From here you can share the file via any method.
49. Startup app launch
Under the Accounts System Preferences screen you can set applications to launch when your Mac starts up, using the Login Items tab.
50. Change cursor size
Sometimes the Mac's typing cursor is a little hard to spot on the screen, but this can be easily fixed. From the Universal Access System Preferences pane under the Mouse tab, you can increase its size using a slider.
51. Quick screen dim
If you ever need to completely hide your screen – you're watching YouTube videos when the boss walks in and you should be working, for example – simply hit Shift+Ctrl+Eject to reduce the screen brightness to zero.
52. Application switcher
You can quickly jump between open applications using the application switcher, which is invoked by pressing Command+Tab. Simply add Shift to the latter combination to move backward through your open apps.
53. Put Back Trash
If you move a file or folder to the Trash and later realise you need it to be returned to its original location, don't fret. You can simply right-click or Ctrl+click on the file within the Trash and choose the handy Put Back option.
54. Show app from Dock
There is a way to quickly access all open windows for a particular application in Snow Leopard. All you need do is click and hold the application's icon in the Dock. From here you can also quit and hide the app, among other more app-specific options.
55. Find a lost password
If you have noticed pop-ups that mention storing passwords in your keychain but don't really know what they mean, take a moment to get acquainted to Keychain Access in your Utilities folder.
This is where Mac OS X stores all of your login passwords and more, and you can find a password you've forgotten from within Keychain Access too. Simply click on a keychain type from the pane on the left and then click on Passwords.
Next, find the site or service you are logging into from the list, double-click it and then select the Show Password option.
56. Make the most of your remote
The Apple remote (both the old model, shown below, and the newer version), which used to come with desktop Macs and is now available separately, has some cunning tricks beyond simply controlling Front Row.
Even when Front Row isn't running, you can control your Mac's volume, play/pause movies in QuickTime (though not, by default, when using VLC player) and skip tracks in iTunes with the tiny controller.
And for those of you who can't be bothered to get up to put your Mac to sleep, you can hold down the play/pause button to do the job from across the room. Now that's what we call convenience!
57. Remote install Mac OS X
As the name implies, this clever application enables you to install Mac OS X onto another Mac over AirPort or Ethernet. This is ideal for MacBook Air users who don't have a drive to put the install CD in or if you're just plain lazy.
Another bonus of Remote Install Mac OS X is that it can also be used to run Disk Utility and Apple Hardware Test on a remote Mac, so you don't have to keep moving between machines to perform a little tech support.
58. Quick Dictionary
We've actually got two tips in one for you here. Firstly, did you know you could bring up the Mac OS X Dictionary by clicking on a word in compatible apps and pressing Ctrl+Command+D to bring up a floating window?
From this shortcut or by using the Mac OS X Dictionary app directly, you can look up your chosen word in the regular Dictionary, Apple Dictionary, Thesaurus and even Wikipedia.
Simply click on the tabs along the top of the Dictionary interface to change the source.
59. Disk Utility
Sometimes things just go wrong with your Mac and Disk Utility is there when they do. Capable of erasing discs, formatting hard drives and creating partitions, Disk Utility also offers some handy tools for troubleshooting.
Run Repair and Verify processes on your Macintosh HD from within Disk Utility to find and fix any problems your Mac's main drive might have.
Disk Utility will also warn you if your hard drive needs replacing so you can quickly back up and get yourself an upgrade before the worst happens.
60. iSync
If, shock horror, your mobile phone isn't an iPhone, you can still sync your Address Book and iCal information to it from your Mac using iSync.
Connect your mobile phone via Bluetooth or USB and then run iSync to keep everything up to date. You will first need to check if your device is supported by iSync, information on which can be found via Apple's support pages online.
If you're a BlackBerry or Windows Mobile user, however, you'll likely be out of luck as far as syncing goes.
61. Use Dashboard widgets on the Desktop
Start by opening the Terminal application and try not to be scared by the frightening-looking command line interface. Now type defaults write com.apple. dashboard devmode YES followed by killall Dock and close the Terminal application.
Now, when you go to the Dashboard you can click and hold a widget and then hit your Dashboard shortcut key (normally F12) to leave the Dashboard with your widget in tow.
This should work for all your widgets and, when you don't want a widget on your Desktop anymore, hold Option and hover over it until an X appears. Click the X to close the widget.
62. Quick envelope printing
If you want to send snail mail to someone in your Address Book, the normal process would be to copy and paste their address and then import it into a word processor to print out an envelope.
Failing that, you might even write the envelope by hand. Your Mac doesn't want you performing such analogue tasks so it enables you to click on a contact in Address Book, choose Print from the File menu and a perfectly formatted envelope print is created.
You just need to remember to put the envelope in the printer. Not much to ask, is it?
63. Scientific Calculator
The default Calculator found in Mac OS X is a functional little tool but it has a more powerful side. If you choose Scientific or Programmer from the View menu, more advanced calculations can be made.
64. Migration Assistant
Don't worry about forgetting anything when moving files between an old and new Mac: make use of Migration Assistant. This often overlooked app enables you to move applications, settings, files and even entire user accounts between Macs.
65. Play movies from an external drive in Front Row
By default Front Row looks for movies in your Mac's Movies folder. If you want to keep your movies on an external drive, simply create an alias (Ctrl-click and select Make Alias) to your external HD movies and add them to your Movies folder.
66. Add new fonts
There are thousands if not millions of free fonts on the web that you could be using right now. All you need to do to make them available in all your applications is drag them into Font Book and activate them.
67. Annotate PDFs in Preview
Preview isn't just for looking at images – have your say when it comes to documents by clicking on the Annotate button and using the text box, arrows, shapes and other tools for your annotation needs.
68. Activity Monitor
Does your Mac seem a bit sluggish today? Fire up Activity Monitor to get the lowdown on which applications are using up your resources. You can even opt to kill these processes from within the app.
69. Make your Mac work for you
If you haven't tried it already, take a look at the many ways Automator can make your life easier by carrying out repetitive tasks for you. You tell it what to do, Automator does the work.
70. TextEdit suggested words
Next time you're struggling for the spelling of a word in TextEdit, start typing the first few letters and then hit the Esc key. A list of possible words will pop up for you to choose from.
71. Adjust colours in Preview
You're ready to share a photo with a friend and open it up in Preview only to find the image is a little washed out. No problem: head to the Tools menu and select Adjust Color to use the editing pane. You'll find options here similar to those in iPhoto.
72. Safari extensions
Safari 5.0.1 offers extensions that can enhance the functionality of the browser and add new features. You can find a list of available extensions at http://extensions.apple.com and, unlike many plugins, extensions can be installed with a single click.
There is a wide range of extensions available, including social networking and news add-ons. To uninstall an extension, head to Safari Preferences and choose uninstall from the Extensions tab.
73. Private browsing
Sometimes, when you're shopping for a surprise gift, for example, you might want some privacy online to prevent anyone viewing the pages you've visited or searches you have made. Safari offers this privacy in the form of Private Browsing, which can be turned on from the Safari menu.
When Private Browsing is turned on any information regarding sites you visit, as well as usernames and passwords, are not stored. Neither will any search fields you use remember your queries, so they won't pop up in future when anyone else uses the computer.
74. Redirect Mail
Rather than forwarding an email message to someone, you can also redirect it so it appears in exactly the same way you received it, with the same sender and content in place.
Simply select the message and then choose Redirect from the Message menu, or hit Shift+Option+E and then add your chosen recipient in the To field.
Now the email will appear to be from the original sender but will show the Resent-From field, which will include your own email address. Redirected messages in your inbox always show a distinguishing lightning bolt next to them.
75. Images in email signatures
From the Mail Preferences menu you can add signatures for all or a selection of your accounts. In the Signature field, you can include text and links that will appear at the bottom of all your email messages and you can include images too.
Simply drag your image into the Signature field to include it as part of your signature and then open a new Mail message to check that it looks okay. It's best to use small images, however, as the image size will be added to the overall size of your email.
76. Safari Open in Dashboard
If there's a section of a website that you visit frequently, why bother with the hassle of launching Safari and navigating to the page when you could just pop open your Dashboard and view the section there?
In order to add a Web Clip to your Dashboard, navigate to the page you want to add and then select Open In Dashboard from Safari's File menu. A small box will now appear that enables you to set the area you want to capture. From here you can simply click Add to send the clip to your Dashboard, where it will remain and update automatically.
77. Mail Rules
Along the lines of smart mailboxes but a little more detailed, Mail Rules are an often overlooked feature of Mail that enable you to organise and filter incoming mail and thereby keep your inbox less cluttered.
Using simple criteria, you can set emails from specific senders or those that contain specific content to automatically move to a new mailbox (including Junk Mail) or be highlighted in your inbox for easy identification.
To get started with this feature, open Mail Preferences and click Rules, then add one or more rules to begin organising your incoming messages. Rules can then be dragged up and down to alter their priority. Give it a try!
78. Reader mode in Safari
When you're reading articles online it can become distracting when adverts pop up or appear alongside the text. Using Reader mode in Safari 5 enables you to focus solely on the content without anything luring your eye from the page.
Compatible pages will show a Reader button in the address bar when you visit them, or you can hit Command+Shift+R. From this simplified view you can zoom, email a link or print the page.
We've found that Reader rarely appears on the front page of a site but will appear when you view individual posts.
79. Always open Safari web links in new tabs
Safari tabs are a handy way to avoid cluttering your Desktop with multiple browser windows. Clicking on a link in another application will often launch a whole new window, however, which goes against this tidiness.
In order to ensure Safari opens each new link in a new tab, head to the Safari Preference pane and click on the Tabs section.
From here you can select Always from the drop-down menu to open pages in tabs instead of windows. If you prefer not to use tabs you can turn them off entirely too, though, personally, we wouldn't!
80. Undo in Safari
If you're using the new Safari 5.0.1 you have access to a very handy trick that could save a lot of hassle. If you accidentally close a tab, don't worry – you can hit Command+Z to bring it back immediately.
81. Pin Top Sites
Using Safari's Top Sites feature offers an easy way to access pages you've recently visited. If there's a page you want to permanently appear, click the edit button and use the pin button to stick it to the Top Sites page.
82. Smart mailbox
The benefits of a smart mailbox are plenty. Create one using the plus button at the bottom left of the Mail interface and set conditions that will filter messages to the smart mailbox.
83. Mail notes
Need to remember an important piece of information? Jot it down into a Mail note and it will appear in your inbox as well as sync to your iPhone and iPad, if you have syncing set up.
84. Visual bookmarks
Flick through bookmarks and web history using Cover Flow. Simply click the Bookmark button at the top left of the Safari interface.
85. Mail stationary
Make your emails more entertaining by clicking the Show Stationary button when writing a new message. Now you can choose from a range of colourful options that link to your media libraries, to make your correspondence shine.
86. Mail threads
Back and forth email conversations can clutter an inbox, but there's a simple solution. By turning on threading from Mail's View menu, all messages in a conversation will be grouped into a collapsible thread to keep things tidy – such as Google Mail.
87. Drag tabs
If you have multiple tabs open in Safari you can quickly reorganise them by simply clicking and dragging them to a new position. If you drag a tab out of the Safari window it will automatically create a new window.
88. Bookmarks Bar
Rather than add a bookmark to the standard Safari Bookmarks folder, why not add it to the Bookmarks Bar so you can access it from the main Safari window with a single click.
89. View and save RSS
If you want to access the RSS feed for a page in Safari, simply click on the RSS button that appears on the right of the address bar. From here you can copy and paste the feed address to add it to other applications and services, such as Mail or NetNewsWire.
90. Single User Mode
Single User Mode bypasses a number of standard elements of Mac OS X and puts the user straight into the console where they can make changes using command line utilities. This mode is primarily used to fix problems that occur during startup or when a Mac fails to boot properly.
In order to launch Single User Mode, the Mac needs to be restarted and the Command and S keys held during startup as soon as the startup chime is heard. A wide range of useful Single User Mode commands can be found on Apple's support pages.
91. Hardware Test
For access to advanced troubleshooting tools if your Mac is exhibiting errors or not booting correctly, you can load the Apple Hardware Test from the install DVD that came with your Mac. With the disc in the drive, boot up your Mac and hold down the D key when you hear the startup chime.
The Apple Hardware Test enables you to scan your discs and drives as well as other components to detect any problems with your computer's hardware. This information can then be provided to tech support for advice on replacements and fixes.
92. Reset PRAM & NVRAM
The acronym-suited mouthfuls Parameter Random Access Memory and Non-volatile Random Access Memory refer to special stores of information for Mac OS X such as time-zone settings, startup volume, speaker volume, DVD region settings and more.
Resetting the NVRAM or PRAM can fix a number of Mac problems including startup issues. In order to reset the values, hold down Command+Option+P+R as soon as you hear the startup chime. If done correctly, your Mac will restart and you'll hear the chime again. Now the PRAM or NVRAM will have been reset and you can release the keys.
93. Safe Boot Mode
Safe Boot Mode is often the only way to boot into Mac OS X if the boot drive is encountering problems. This is normally exhibited by the startup hanging at the default grey screen, preventing OS X from booting.
By launching into Safe Boot Mode via holding down the Shift key during startup, your Mac forces a directory check of the startup volume and only launches the bare minimum of kernel extensions, fonts and startup items required, so as to avoid any that may be causing problems and allow for easier identification.
Of course, safe Boot Mode also enables you to make changes to prevent problems when booting your Mac in the future.
94. Eject CD
If you have a disc in your drive that is refusing to eject, restart your computer and hold down the mouse button as soon as you hear the startup chime. This should eject your disc while your Mac starts up.
95. Startup Manager
If you're having trouble with your hard drive and need to boot your Mac from a different drive or disc, hold down the Option key during startup to open the Startup Manager, which will enable you to select a different volume.
96. Start From Disc
To boot up your Mac from an install disc or other bootable CD or DVD, insert the disc and then hold down the C key while the computer starts up. Your Mac will then look for and boot from the disc.
97. Target Disc Mode
Holding T during startup will tell your Mac to mount its drive on the desktop of a host computer connected via FireWire cable. This can be used to copy files between Macs or for troubleshooting a disc fault.
98. Verbose Startup
Sometimes you may need to start your Mac in Verbose mode to show all system messages normally hidden during startup. Hold down Command+V at startup.
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Review: Medion Akoya P6512
The Medion Akoya P6512 is a uniquely designed machine with some nice features, but also a few drawbacks. At 2.5kg, this laptop falls right in the middle in terms of size. However, the mains adapter is quite a hefty beast, while the 204-minute battery life is a bit low, which also limits portability. As a result, regular travellers would be better served by the Dell Inspiron M101z or the Samsung Q330.
The dual-core AMD Athlon II P320 2.1GHz processor provides decent performance and we found it handled office tasks with ease, as well as light multi-tasking. However, Intel-based machines at this price produced far better results in our tests.
One of the Medion's strengths is its dedicated ATI graphics card, which has greater multimedia power than the integrated solutions found in most other laptops at this price point. Only the HP Pavilion dv6-3040sa performed better in our tests. Photo and video editing are dispatched without problem, while even older games run smoothly.
The 15.6-inch TFT display is excellent. It doesn't have the glossy coating of many other screens, but images are impressively lifelike and colours just as deep and rich. The lack of a glossy coating means the screen is non-reflective and can comfortably be used outdoors.
This laptop's sharp design also helps it to stand out, with an attractive finish to the silver lid and black interior. Other touches, such as a triangular power button and glowing touchpad, are unique and rather appealing.
An isolation-style keyboard is once again in place and proves as comfortable to type on. The typing action is smooth and quiet, and there's a separate numeric keypad, although the return key is reduced to a single row.
Above the keyboard there are two shortcut buttons, one for ejecting the DVD drive and another for opening your favourite application, although these are a little more compact than we would have liked.
Bundled software
Medion has included a generous bundle of software, including CorelDRAW Essentials and CyberLink Power2Go, although the version of Windows 7 is only 32-bit.
There are also only two USB ports for connecting peripherals, although an eSATA port is included for rapid data transfer with external hard drives.
The included 320GB hard drive is adequate for most users.
The Medion Akoya P6512 has a number of positive and negative features. Performance is decent, backed by the dedicated ATI GPU, and build quality is strong, but portability is limited and features are mixed.
Related Links
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In Depth: The place where ZX Spectrums never die
Amiga. Spectrum. Atari. BBC Micro. Does a little shiver of excitement run down your spine when you read those hallowed names? Yes? You're not alone. Vintage computers and consoles are making a comeback, of sorts. No longer gathering dust in attics across the land, they're being re-introduced into the wild to show a new generation of computer fans what they were capable of and, more importantly, what people can do with them today.
There are discussion groups, fan clubs, websites, museums and even festivals dedicated to classic computers. More and more people are embracing old-school computing and they're becoming increasingly vocal about it.
There are people out there whose hobbies and even jobs revolve around preserving these technologies for later generations, keeping them alive and functioning so others can discover their delights. And there are more of them than you may think.
The recent Vintage Computing Festival, which was held at The National Museum of Computing (TNMOC) at Bletchley Park, made this very apparent. The biggest celebration of vintage computing held in Britain to date, the VCF attracted over 30 private exhibitors, along with thousands of fans of technology through the ages.
It wasn't just a static display of old computers in glass cases – visitors could touch the old machines, buy them, play classic games on them, program them and even log on to Twitter from them. Old technology in action.
It wasn't just a curiosity – the festival was a celebration of these old computers, especially the rarer ones. The machines weren't just from the many stored at TNMOC either, with many from private collectors keen to show off the rarities they owned, and to share them with an appreciative crowd.
Whispered gasps of "It's a ZX80 – I always wanted one of those!" and "Is that really 3D Monster Maze?" abounded. For a vast number, the festival was a homecoming; a return to their digital roots.
Vintage classics
Versions of the Vintage Computer Festival (VCF) have been running for over a decade in the USA – it started, naturally, in Silicon Valley – so it was high time it made its way over to our heritage-laden shores.
We spoke to lead organiser Simon Hewitt to ask how the UK version came about. "One of TNMOC's trustees, Kevin Murrell, had heard about the Vintage Computing Festivals that were a regular event over in the US," Hewitt explains.
"He mooted the idea of running a similar event here among the volunteers and I picked up on it. We combined the basics of the US and German events, but put a British slant on it by including more of our homegrown machines. We also wanted to give it a bit more of a broad appeal to families, as well as making it a showpiece event for the museum. I phoned around various friends and contacts who were interested in 'retro' computing and it all started from there."
So why was this the right time to try it out in the UK? "Interest in retro computing and vintage computers has been steadily increasing over the last two or three years," Hewitt explains.
"Various smaller events had been popping up all over the country on a regular basis, and there was always a healthy turnout in terms of visitors. Television programmes such as Micro Men and Electric Dreams, which the BBC originally screened in mid-2009, attracted healthy viewing figures that have warranted regular repeats. This told us that the interest was out there.
"I spoke to a few friends who either ran or attended the events which were already taking place, basically asking them, 'Do you think it is worth us trying to do something on a much bigger scale?' The answer was a resounding 'yes', so we did."
Park life
There's no doubt that the VCF was a huge success. "No one had predicted what the atmosphere would be like," says Hewitt. "It actually felt like a summer festival – lots of smiling faces and people genuinely enjoying themselves."
The venue for the festival couldn't have been more apt: the TNMOC is located slapbang in the middle of Bletchley Park, the birthplace of digital computing. Even when not playing host to events such as the Vintage Computing Festival, it's TNMOC's mission to collect and restore computer systems, and to allow people to explore that collection for inspiration, learning and enjoyment.
The museum is a charity, relying entirely on donations to continue showing off the development of computing. Its range works back from today's digital commodity masterpieces to the pioneering wartime efforts that resulted in machines such as Colossus, the first programmable electronic computing device, which was used by British codebreakers to read encrypted German messages during World War II.
It's staffed mostly by volunteers who give up their time to help share these computing relics with the general public. Kevin Murrell is one of a group of trustees that set up TNMOC. We talked to him about the VCF event and asked him if he thinks the appreciation of vintage computing is on the rise.
"Over the past few years, appreciation of our computing heritage has really taken off," he answers. "People are suddenly realising how far we have come in just a few decades – in their own lifetimes. One of the most common comments we all heard at the VCF was 'I've used one of those'. People realise that they are living through a time of momentous change and that they have been part of it."
Murrell clearly gleans a lot of pride from his position in the TNMOC. And the most exciting part of his role? "Bringing a machine that was thought to be lost to history back to life," he says, "and then seeing the reactions of the original designers and users when the computer is running again." In many ways it's like a modern-day Dr Frankenstein position, only with fewer torches and pitchforks…
Some may think that this interest in older machines is just about clinging on to a bygone time, but Murrell thinks there's more to it. "It's not just nostalgia," he says.
"TNMOC's primary aim is education – we hope to inspire the next generation of computer scientists, and all the evidence is that we are doing just that. By working with vintage machines, it's much easier to get a better appreciation of how they work. A visit to TNMOC takes people beyond applications and helps them understand much more clearly how computers actually work."
One of the exhibitors, Andy Spencer of the Retro Computer Museum, agrees. "Older machines are simply better systems," he says with a smile. "If you want to write a game on a PC or Mac, you usually need an expensive bit of software to start programming. On older machines, nine tenths of the operating system – including a programming language – was built in. You turn the machine on and there it is, so within minutes, and at no extra cost, you can write some basic games."
The fact that these classic micros still have something to offer to people today was backed up by the number of families in attendance at the VCF. As a delighted Simon Hewitt says, "There were five-year-old children engrossed in 25-year-old computer games. I doubt anyone predicted that."
Micro-maintenance isn't just the preserve of big institutions such as TNMOC, as the lengthy list of exhibitors at the VCF made abundantly clear. There are still clubs up and down the country dedicated to particular machines, where fans meet to discuss and swap tips on maintaining and programming their vintage models.
What's even more impressive is that these fans are constantly re-inventing the ways in which these machines can be used. The Sinclair ZX Spectrum on display running a Twitter client was testament to that, as was a playable port of Guitar Hero for the Commodore 64.
Or how about creating internationally acclaimed music with classic computers? That's what PixelH8, AKA Matthew Applegate, who performed at the VCF, uses his old machines for. Every sound in his songs is programmed from scratch and performed on software written for machines such as the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Acorn Electron and MSX. Who would have thought that tinkering with 'defunct' machines could lead to you collaborating with Damon Albarn and Imogen Heap?
Amiga power
The power of vintage computing fans shouldn't be ignored either. It's unlikely that the latest iteration of the Amiga, which made its debut at the VCF, would exist if it wasn't for the strongly devoted and almost rabidly loyal Amiga fan base.
Called the AmigaOne X1000 (it's named after the original Amiga 1000, released by Commodore back in 1985), it runs the operating system AmigaOS4. As one of the organisers of the Amiga area at VCF, Michael Carrillo of Amiga North Thames, explains,
"There are a lot of ex-Amiga users out there who would dearly love to see the Amiga make some sort of niche market comeback. The Amiga computer was marketed in Europe as a games console, only with a keyboard.
"It was the Xbox/PlayStation/Wii of its day, so obviously it holds a lot of nostalgia for the folks who played the games. Sadly, what most people in Europe who owned the old 'Classic' Amiga don't know was that buried and probably forgotten at the back of the cupboard was a very powerful, compact operating system. Now they're all using Windows or Mac OS X or Linux and are unaware of what they had within easy reach."
Other people at the festival were drumming up support for new clubs, including Sean Billings of www.vintagecomputerclub.org.uk. As he explains, "I originally wanted to set up a museum to showcase the private collection that I've built up over the years, but I decided that a museum was a bit hands-off as, after all, the fun is in using them, playing games, learning to program them and so on."
Sean used to be an engineer working on these machines, and he's keen to keep them in the public eye. He says, "Luckily, there are still a lot of the original people around who have a working knowledge of these systems, but this could so easily be lost if younger generations aren't interested in what preceded their iPhone or Netbook."
The message from the VCF's collected masses, united by their love of vintage computing, was crystal clear: get involved. Get active. Who knows, the next person your collection inspires may be the computer scientist of tomorrow.
We'll leave the last word to Simon Hewitt of TNMOC. We asked him what the most exciting thing about working with vintage computing was. He answers,
"The bated breath as you wait to see if something works! Some of these machines may be temperamental, quirky, even plain awkward at times. That's what gives them their character and charm.
"Their capabilities encapsulate a period in time, from the rudimentary interface of the Elliott 803B to the 16-bit graphics of the Amiga 500."
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