If you want to explore Android OS but you don’t have an Android phone, you can install Android OS directly into a virtual machine on your PC running either Mac OS X, Windows, or Linux. This process is pretty easy and it’s completely free, so if you’re interested in seeing what the biggest iPhone and iOS competitor is like, have a go.

Oh and before you ask, this tutorial is designed for Mac users but the process is identical in Windows and Linux too, so if you’re at work or you don’t have a Mac handy, you can follow along just the same. All of the download links are cross-platform compatible too.

How to run Android OS in a virtual machine

You’ll need to download a few things to get Android running atop your desktop OS, don’t worry it’s all free software:

• First you’ll need to download and install VirtualBox do that from here for Mac, Windows, or Linux
• Next you’ll want to download an Android Virtual Machine image, these are freely available for download here (these are specifically VirtualBox images)
• Uncompress the Android VM image file (Mac users can open 7z files with Unarchiver)
• Launch VirtualBox
• Select “Create New Virtual Machine”
• Select “Use existing hard disk” and click on the folder icon to select the Android VM file

• Locate your Android VM file and select it with VirtualBox
• VirtualBox will now import the pre-made Android OS virtual machine image, you can allocate it however much RAM you want but a typical Android phone has somewhere between 128MB and 512MB, I chose 256MB of RAM for my image
• To launch Android, simply select the image from the sidebar of VirtualBox and then click on the “Start” button at the top of the window

You’ll see some command line stuff fly by which is expected since Android is running atop Linux (kind of like how Mac OS X runs on a BSD base and iOS runs on a Mac OS X base). Let Android boot and soon you’ll see the Android desktop, VirtualBox will capture your mouse and keyboard (use left Command key on a Mac to escape) and you’ll be able to play around with Google’s mobile operating system.

This specific tutorial runs Android 1.7 but if you look around you can find newer Android virtual machines available. Now if you’re having fun with Android you can go a step further and dual boot Android OS and iOS on iPhone 3G and 2g models. If you choose to install Android onto your iPhone, you will need to jailbreak your iPhone first, and note that some features don’t work, which makes it more of a fun hack than a practical operating system replacement.

Restoring your iPhone to a previous backup is really easy, so if you’re new to the process of backups and restoration don’t let the techy sounding nature make you shy away.

Here’s how to restore your iPhone from a backup:

• Connect your iPhone to the computer and launch iTunes
• Right-Click on the iPhone and select “Restore from Backup”
• You’ll see the “Last Synced” time and iPhone name to restore to
• Click ‘Restore’

If you notice that the last synced time is not particularly recent, you just need to backup your iPhone more often! Keeping frequent backups is a good idea across all devices, whether its your Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, or whatever.

Be aware this process restores the contacts, calendars, notes, text messages, and settings, it does not revert to prior iPhone firmware or baseband nor does it wipe the iPhone and restore all factory settings, that is an entirely different process. If you need to unjailbreak an iPhone or iPad the process is quite similar.

If you frequently access a file server from a Mac it’s pretty helpful to map the network drive to your desktop. There’s two ways to do this, one method is just mapped for one time use and will reset after a reboot, and another method is a more permanent route that allows the mapped network drive to always appear and mount on your desktop after system reboots and user logins.

Map a network drive to Mac OS X

This method maps a network drive that will disappear if the network connection drops or if you reboot your Mac:

• From the Mac OS X Finder, hit Command+K to bring up the ‘Connect to Server’ window
• Enter the path to the network drive you want to map, ie: smb://networkcomputer/networkshare and click ‘Connect’
• Enter your login/password and click “OK” to mount the network drive
• The drive will now appear on your desktop and in the Finder window sidebar

Map a network drive to Mac OS X that re-mounts after system reboot

This method allows you to reboot your Mac and have the mapped network drive automatically remount and appear on the desktop, this is more persistent than the above method:

• From the Finder, hit Command+K
• Enter the path to the network drive you want to map, ie: smb://networkcomputer/networkshare and click ‘Connect’
• Enter your login credentials and click “OK”
• The drive is now mounted, but continue on to map for system reboot persistence
• Now enter into System Preferences, from the Apple menu
• Click on ‘Accounts’
• Click on “Login Items”
• Click on the + button to add another login item
• Locate the network drive you previously mounted and click “Add”
• Exit out of System Preferences

Your network drive will now be mapped and automatically remounted when you reboot your Mac.

Make the mapped network drive visible on the Mac desktop

It’s possible that the mounted drive will not appear on the desktop due to a system setting. If you want the mapped drive icon to be visible on the Desktop, be sure to do the following additional steps:

• From the Finder, open Finder Preferences by hitting Command+,
• Click the General tab
• Select the checkbox next to ‘Connected Servers’
• Close Finder Preferences

Selecting the checkbox next to Connected Servers ensures that you’ll see the icon on your Mac Desktop, otherwise it will only be visible in the Finder window sidebars and Open/Save dialogues.

Remount mapped network drive with a click

A great additional step for either method is to create an alias of the mapped network drive. This allows you to reconnect to the share with just a click. Here’s how to do this:

• Right-click on the mapped network drive on the Mac OS desktop
• Select “Make Alias”

Now you can double-click that alias to reconnect to the network drive instantly.

As you may have guessed, shared network volumes are treated differently by the OS than external drives and disk images, which is why this a different technique than what you use to mount an ISO in Mac OS X. You can also access and mount smb shares via the command line which allows for scripting possibilities, if you’re interested in a more technical approach.

If you use a Hotmail account, you’ll be happy to hear that you can now use your Hotmail account on your iPhone thanks to Microsoft enabling Exchange ActiveSync support. This allows Hotmail to push and sync email, calendar, and contacts to your iPhone.

Set up Hotmail on the iPhone

Here are the steps to setup Hotmail to sync and push to your iPhone (this works on the iPad too):

• Launch Settings
• Tap on “Mail, Contacts, Calendar”
• Tap onto “Add Account”
• Select “Microsoft Exchange”
• Enter your full Hotmail email address into both the Email and Username fields
• Leave Domain blank
• Enter your password
• Enter “Hotmail” as the Description
• Tap onto “Next”
• Now you must enter the server, use “m.hotmail.com” for the Server name then tap onto “Next”
• The iPhone will now verify that your Hotmail information is entered correctly, the next screen you’ll be able to enable Mail, Contacts, and Calendars

Hotmail is the original web mail, so it’s not surprise there’s still millions of hotmail accounts still in use today despite the competing offers from Google, Yahoo, and others. It’s a bit surprising it took Microsoft this long to get Hotmail working with the iPhone, but better late than never.

Apple and Amazon are rapidly changing the way books are consumed and read thanks to the iPhone & iPad and Kindle. The other effect of this is that it’s actually helping to ease the barriers to entry into the book publishing and sales market.

In the past an author would need to have an agent pitch books to publishers in the hopes it might get picked up, but not anymore. Now if you have a Mac and a word processor and a bit of patience, you can create your own book in the EPUB format and upload it directly to the iTunes iBookstore for sales.

OK well it’s not quite that simple (yet), but it’s not that difficult either. Just jump through a few hoops and you can get your book for sale on Apple’s online bookstore ready to be downloaded by anyone who owns an iPad or iPhone, here’s how:

Write and Publish a Book to the Apple iBook Store

First, some relatively simple requirements: you’ll need an Intel Mac running 10.5 or newer with adequate hard disk space and preferably a high speed internet connection.

1. Write the book (obvious) and get it into the iBooks compatible EPUB format (see below, it is easy to take a file and convert to EPUB format)
2. Get a unique ISBN number for each book title you plan to release. Cost is $25 per ISBN and you can fill out an ISBN application here
3. Get the following ready: a US tax ID (social security number or EIN), valid iTunes account with credit card on file
4. When all of the above is met, you can apply to be part of the iBookstore distribution network at Apple.com

How do I create an ebook in the EPUB format?

Almost any text containing document format can be converted into EPUB ebook format and there are multiple free software options available to do this. If you would like a walkthrough check out our guide on how to convert to EPUB. It covers most major source file types you’d want to convert including PDF, RTF, HTML, DOC, TXT, and more.

Thanks to a recent software update, you can also create an ePub with Pages if you already own the iWork office productivity suite from Apple.

If you’re looking for a free solution that doesn’t involve iWork/Pages and you don’t need help, just go ahead and download Calibre, it is a good choice because it will automatically create book structures like chapters, table of contents, and allow you to insert book metadata. Oh, and it’s free (open source is nice). The interface is a little strange but it gets the job done and for the wonderful price of free, we can’t complain too much.

Can I convert an existing text or word file to EPUB?

Yes, you will need to download a program that handles the ebook conversion for you. There are many free options, see above or refer to our article on how to convert to EPUB.

Can anyone help me sell my book on Apple’s iBookstore?

Yes, there are several companies that will handle many of the complexities of selling on the iBookstore for you, but you’ll still need your book ready in the EPUB format. The best way to do this is to use an Apple approved iBookstore aggregator, Apple conveniently provides a list of approved aggregators for the iBookStore. Most of these charge an upfront fee and then handle all the distribution services for you, in many cases you’ll then receive 100% of the revenue of book sales after Apple takes their iTunes Store cut. Prices vary widely so be sure to get a few quotes before agreeing to a single aggregator.

The iPad is beautiful, no doubt about it, but once you’ve handled it for a while you might notice the screen gets dirty rather quickly. The worst thing about the iPad is that it shows up fingerprints and smudges so easily, this is despite the fact that the screen has an anti-oil coating on it.

Cleaning the iPad screen

The proper way to clean the iPad display is to use nothing but a soft damp cloth:

• Turn off the iPad and disconnect it from any accessories, cables, or docks
• Using a very soft and slightly damp cloth, gently wipe the iPad screen. Be sure to not allow moisture to get into the openings of the iPad
• Repeat until the iPad screen is clean again

Can I clean the iPad screen with Windex?

No, for the love of Apple please do NOT use Windex or window cleaners! This includes rubbing alcohol, nail polish remover, and the like. The chemicals in window cleaners and these products can damage the oleophobic screen coating and actually make the iPad screen less responsive to touch over time. Not worth it, do not use chemical cleaners!

What can prevent the iPad screen from showing fingerprints and getting dirty?

Your best bet to keeping the iPad screen clean is to just wipe it down frequently with a soft cloth. If you get annoyed with the fingerprints though, you can use a screen protector product like the invisibleSHIELD which doubles both as a way to protect the screen from scratches and also reduces the appearance of fingerprints.

There are also anti-glare iPad screen protectors available if both the glare and the fingerprints bother you.

Line numbers are so useful to have in a good text editor that I’m surprised they aren’t enabled by default in TextWrangler. Regardless, they’re easy to display so here are two different ways to show line numbers in a text file. The first is through the View menu:

• In TextWrangler, open the View Menu
• Navigate to the “Text Display” submenu
• Select “Show Line Numbers

Change take effect immediately and you can hide the line numbers by just selecting the option again. You can also set the line numbers within the TextWrangler preferences:

• Open ‘Preferences’ within the “TextWrangler” menu
• Select “Text Status Display” from the left sidebar preference options
• Select “Show Line Numbers
• Close Preferences

EPUB stands for ‘electronic publication’ and it’s the accepted standard format for digital book publishing. If you want to make an ebook that can be read on a digital device, you’ll need it in this EPUB format.

You can convert virtually any text containing document to EPUB format, which is the preferred format for reading on many ebook readers, including the Barnes & Noble Nook, Android, and the Apple iOS iBooks platform that runs on iPhone and iPad (note that the Amazon Kindle currently favors .mobi format which Calibre can also publish to). Here are the exact steps to convert a file to EPUB.

How to Convert to EPUB

For the purpose of this conversion walkthrough, we are going to use a free application called Calibre. It’s open source (meaning free) and cross platform compatible with WIndows, Mac OS X, and Linux clients available to download and use.

• Download Calibre (it’s free) for whatever OS you will use it on
• Open Calibre, make note of the “Calibre Library” folder it sets, and open the file you want to convert to EPUB format – the interface is a little unusual but look for the Book icon in the upper left toolbar with a + on it

• In this “Open Book” dialogue, you’ll want to select ‘All files’ to make it easy on yourself when finding your file to be converted to EPUB
• Now you will want to convert this open file to EPUB, click on the Book icon with the recycle arrows on it

• On this conversion screen, you can adjust the table of contents, metadata, author name, publisher, comments, and change the ebooks cover image. When you are finished making these changes, double check that the Output format is set to EPUB and then click the “OK” button to start the conversion

• Conversion is usually pretty quick and the newly converted EPUB book will be placed into the Calibre Library folder that you setup when you first opened the program. By default this is set to “~/Calibre Library/” in Mac OS X and “\My Documents\Calibre Library” in Windows.
• Locate this newly created EPUB file, which will be named something like “Name-of-book.epub” and you are finished

That’s all there is to it. If you have any intention on self publishing, or you just want to read a book on your iPad, iPhone, Nook, or Android, EPUB is the best possible format. EPUB is also the standard format you’ll download when you receive a digital book on the aforementioned devices, it is the accepted standard for publishers and conversion houses for digital book distribution and sales. Remember that the Amazon Kindle prefers MOBI but using the same process as above you can convert to Kindle formats easily.

Converting PDF, HTML, Word DOC, etc to EPUB

Calibre supports EPUB conversion from the following formats without any modification: CBZ, CBR, CBC, CHM, EPUB, FB2, HTML, LIT, LRF, MOBI, ODT, PDF, PRC**, PDB, PML, RB, RTF, TCR, TXT.

Word DOC to EPUB conversion
You’ll notice that the Word DOC format is missing from the above initial compatible format list, but this is not a problem. Just save the Word DOC file to an HTML or RTF file from within Word and you can then convert that RTF or HTML compatible file into EPUB.

Using PDF, TXT, and RTF to convert to EPUB
PDF files will convert fine but you may lose some images in the process if they are in the vector format. TXT does not maintain any styling so your EPUB will look remarkably bland if you use TXT as your source format, RTF retains better but still limited styling as well.

Converting HTML to EPUB is preferred
Note that HTML is a preferred source format because EPUB supports the use of CSS styling and inline images, this helps maintain styling consistency when creating and styling your ebook.

You can quickly remove any third party System Preference pane from the Other section of “System Preferences” by control-clicking or right-clicking on the icon, and selecting “Remove Preference Pane”, it will immediately disappear.

If you need to convert FLAC to MP3 in Mac OS X for free, the best way to do this is using a utility called All2MP3.

Convert FLAC to MP3

Here are the steps to convert FLAC audio to MP3 format within Mac OS X.

• Locate the FLAC audio files you want converted
• Download All2MP3, it’s a free utility that will handle the conversion
• Launch All3MP3
• Drag the FLAC audio files into the All2MP3 GUI
• If you wish to adjust quality options, use the sliding bitrate scale. The default is set to 320kbps.
• Click on “Convert”

All3MP3 goes to work and handles all the conversion. The time it takes depends on the processor speed of your Mac, but it’s generally really fast for audio conversion standards. The FLAC files will be converted to MP3 within their original directory, so look for the new converted files in the same place.

What is FLAC anyway? Can iTunes play FLAC?

FLAC stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec, and every once in a while you’ll come across audio files that are in this format. FLAC files are great because they’re usually of very high quality,but they’re annoying because iTunes can’t open a FLAC file by default. The solution is to convert the FLAC to MP3 format, and then iTunes can read it as usual.

Using the same app you can also convert wma to mp3 amongst other supported audio formats, including MPC, APE, WV, FLAC, OGG, WMA, AIFF, WAV, and others.

Call me old school or retro, but SNES was truly one of the greatest consoles ever made. OK, so really it wasn’t just the console, it was the games that made SNES so great, and now you can play all those awesome SNES games directly on your iPad.

Play SNES on iPad: Method 1

There’s actually two ways to play SNES on the iPad. The first is by using a program called SNES HD, which is an iPad port of the popular SNES emulator for Mac called SNES9x. This app is really cool because for one it’s totally free, and it lets you use the iPhone as a remote control!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Jailbroken iPad
• iPhone for remote control
• SNES HD package (free download)

You can get SNES HD here, it’s a free download. You’ll want to checkout that page as well for instructions on installation, which uses Cydia to install the package.

Play SNES on iPad: Method 2

The second method isn’t free, but as shown in the picture above it lets you play SNES using a Wiimote as the controller. This is covered in more detail on LifeHacker, and will require the following:

• A Jailbroken iPad
• SNES4iPhone from the Cydia store for $6
• Wiimote (this is going to be your SNES controller, sweet!)
• iPad sync cable (USB cord that comes with your iPad)
• A Mac/Windows/Linux PC (to run the jailbreak software)

You’ll use an app from the Cydia store called SNES4iPhone, and then sync the Wiimote up to be your remote. If you’re a super geek you can probably figure out the whole process on your own, otherwise check out LifeHacker: Play SNES in four easy steps to get it all working on your iPad.

Remember that in either situation you will need to jailbreak your iPad before you’ll be able to play any SNES games on your iPad. It’s my opinion that Nintendo and the classic game makers should join together and release an official SNES player for iPad, then charge for the individual games. I think this would be a big hit and would be a great way to revive some classic games that many people have long forgotten and no longer have an ability to play.

Oh and one more thing, SNES4iPhone will work to play SNES on the iPhone and iPod touch too!

Thanks to the new iPhone OS update, you can easily disable iPhone data usage when on a cellular network (this is separate from the ability to disable data roaming).

• Tap on “Settings”
• Tap on “General”
• Select and tap “Network”
• Tap the On/Off switch next to “Cellular Data” to disable cell data use
• Close Settings

Now your iPhone will no longer use cellular data. You can enable use just by tapping the on/off switch again.

Combining this with a periodic check of iPhone data use is a great way to avoid overage charges.

This is really important when trying to stay within the data usage constraints of the revised AT&T data plans, which you can read more about on our iPhone 4 price guide.

Note that this ability was included with the new iOS 4 update, so prior versions of the iPhone OS do not have the same functionality.

By default your iPhone will automatically sync and create a backup each time your iPhone is connected to your computer. If you want to manually create an iPhone backup though, it is very easy.

How to start an iPhone backup:

• Plug your iPhone into your computer
• Launch iTunes
• Select your iPhone in the ‘DEVICES’ list
• Right-Click on your iPhone
• Select “Back Up”
• Wait for iPhone backup to complete

This will create a backup of your iPhone that you will be able to restore from later, and the procedure is the same in Mac OS or Windows. It is a good idea to create a current backup before you download and install the latest iOS version.

Does this work to backup my iPod touch or iPad?

Yes, backing up an iPhone, iPod, iPod Touch, or iPad, is all the same process and handled through iTunes in the exact same manner.

Additional iPhone Backup Resources

* How to speed up slow iPhone backups
* Find the location of iPhone backups and access the files directly

As you’ll soon be able to tell, I am annoyed with Adobe Update Manager, and thankfully I found a way to disable it completely. In case you didn’t know, Adobe Update Manager starts itself automatically on system launch and takes over your Mac while it sorts out whatever it does that I don’t want it to do, it’s the very definition of annoying.

Unfortunately, Adobe doesn’t make this easy for the novice user, but bear with me and follow the steps exactly and you’ll disable the update manager from launching on it’s own.

Disable Adobe Update Manager

You need to create a file called com.adobe.AdobeUpdater.Admin.plist in your ~/Library/Preferences/ which can be done in two different ways, through the Terminal with a defaults write command, or by manually creating the file with a text editor.

Here’s how to do it through the command line:

* Launch Terminal (located in /Applications/Utilities/)
* At the command prompt, paste this command exactly

defaults write com.adobe.AdobeUpdater.Admin Disable.Update -bool yes
* Hit return to execute the command and create the plist file

You can double-check that the file has been created by looking in ~/Library/Preferences/ for the file. Now, theoretically at least, Adobe Update Manager will not launch on Mac user login and system boot.

There is also the option of manually creating the plist file, either though a plist editor or if you’re familiar with plists just by using a text editor.

Again you need to create a file located at /Library/Preferences with the name com.adobe.AdobeUpdater.Admin.plist with a boolean set true to “Disable.Update”, as you can see in the screenshot below:

Now you should be able to reboot your Mac, logout of a user, and anything as usual, without the annoyance of Adobe Update Manager barging in on your computing session. Stopped in it’s tracks!

I love Photoshop and Illustrator and use both frequently, but I’m really not a fan of some of the stuff that Adobe is piling into the installs nowadays. Remember when you would just have one folder that contained Photoshop? What happened to that? Now you have forty app folders spread out in fifteen directories buried here there and everywhere, Adobe is treating Mac OS X like it’s a Windows filesystem maze. One of my biggest peeves of this app gluttony is the independently launched Adobe Update Manager, it rears its annoying head often on System boot and there is no obvious way to disable it through the preferences. Guess what Adobe, when I want to update my independently installed 3rd party software I will do it myself! Don’t launch some program right after boot and have it take over my Mac!

You can setup virtually any Mac as a home theater media center, all you need is the right tools. Yes, that means your MacBook Pro, MacBook, Mac Mini, iMac, even Mac Pro, can all turn into a media center, and it’s a lot easier than you might think.

For the purpose of this article, we are going to assume you have an HDTV that supports HDMI input, and, preferably a Mac that supports HDMI output with audio (for Mac’s that don’t support direct HDMI output with audio, read on anyway there is a solution for you too). When you are finished with this article, you will be able to have a complete Mac Media Center hooked up to your TV, creating an awesome home theater, and you’ll be able to control the whole thing wirelessly from your couch.

Setting up a Mac Media Center

Here’s what you’ll need to setup a media center with your Mac:

• HDTV that accepts HDMI input
• Mac that supports video/audio output (newer Mac models that support full HDMI highly recommended, the New Mac Mini is perfect)
• HDMI cable (and/or other appropriate cables if your Mac doesn’t support direct HDMI out)
• Apple Remote Control
• Apple Wireless Keyboard and Apple Wireless Mouse – these are optional but highly recommended if you want to browse the web and play games on your media center
• Plex – Plex is arguably the best media center software solution and runs right on top of Mac OS X as an application. It’s got a beautiful interface, vast media support, and is free to download. What’s not to love?

Step 1) Get the proper Video Output Adapters

So first things first, get your cable situation squared away. Newer Mac’s support full HDMI out with audio and video carried over the same cable, but on many models you’ll still need an adapter. For instance, my MacBook Pro 2010 model only needs a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter and a standard HDMI cable, because it supports full HDMI output. The new 2010 Mac Mini supports direct HDMI output with no additional cables at all, so you’d only need an HDMI cable.

Your cable requirements are going to vary from machine to machine, so determine which output adapter is needed for your Mac.

Step 2) Download and Install Plex Media Center Software

Plex is really great media center software that runs right on top of Mac OS X.

Features of Plex Media Server include:

• Easily catalogue, organize, and access all of your media files: movies, music, pictures, etc, directly within Plex
• Automatically download movie, TV show, and album artwork, episode information, IMDB ratings, and more
• Plays HD video content nearly flawlessly
• Plug-in video support for Hulu, Netflix, Youtube, MTV, Vimeo, and more
• Diverse codec support for various video and audio file types
• Interface is completely skinable allowing you to change the appearance to another theme that fits your setup, TV, or preferences
• Subtitle support for foreign language movies
• Shoutcast stream support and awesome visualizers for music
• Weather updates for whatever regions you specify (it will automatically detect one by default)
• RSS feeds support
• Works with the Apple Remote, Wireless Keyboard, or Wireless Mouse
• Support for hardware accelerated H.264 video playback on Nvidia 9400M, GT320M, GT330M chipsets

As you can see Plex is full featured, and that’s exactly why we’re using it for our Mac Media Center. If there is an app that is easier to use and as full featured as Plex, I haven’t found it yet. Setting it up is an absolute breeze.

How to setup Plex:

• Download the latest version of Plex
• Drag the app to your Applications folder
• Launch Plex
• Let it sync with your Apple Remote (it may want to install 3rd party drivers as a bug fix, no problem)
• Using your keyboard (or Apple Remote), navigate and select your Video source destination (directory, hard drive, whatever)
• Watch movies, TV shows, play music, whatever

Yes, it’s that easy, seriously. Plex will automatically pull your music library from iTunes too, so there’s practically no setup.

Here’s a screenshot of the media browser interface:

Step 3) Connect your Mac Media Center to your TV

This step is pretty straight forward, you just need to be sure you have the proper cables. For for the sake of this tutorial we’ll pretend we have a new 2010 Mac Mini, all this machine requires is an HDMI cable to connect from the Mini to an HDMI port on your TV.

Step 4) Enjoy your Mac Media Center!

Once you have Plex running and your Mac connected to the TV, that’s all you have to do! Now it’s time to sit back and enjoy your media center. You can also further customize Plex by downloading additional plugins, you can access these directly through the Plex application.

So that’s it. Now for some Questions and Answers…

How do I browse the web or play games on my Mac media center?

Just quit out of Plex and launch Safari or a game. Once your Mac is connected to your TV, the TV is basically a large external monitor for the Mac, so you can treat it as such and play virtually any game, browse the web, or anything else you’d otherwise use a Mac for.

Why just focus the media center on newer Macs with HDMI out?

The reason we recommend newer Mac’s that support full HDMI video/audio exporting is just ease of setup. In fact, you can setup the exact same media center on a Mac that doesn’t support full HDMI output, you’ll just need additional items. What can be done with just an HDMI cable on newer Mac’s requires additional cables to perform the same task on an older Mac; for example, an older Mac might need a mini-DVI to DVI adapter, than a DVI to HDMI adapter, plus the HDMI cable, plus an additional AUX cable to output audio. The exact requirements will depend on your Mac model but it’s not complicated as long as you know what you need. In other words, if you have an older Mac, don’t get discouraged, just get the right adapters and the rest of this guide works the same for your media center too!

My Mac doesn’t export HDMI, what can I do?

If your Mac doesn’t support direct HDMI output, you can use a DVI to HDMI adapter to still output to HDMI, just remember that you will need an additional cable to carry the audio signal from your audio output jack to audio input on the TV, since DVI does not transmit audio.

Additional Mac Media Center resources

• Mac Mini Media Center – a guide exclusively for setting up a media center on your Mac Mini, complete with remote torrents support and a webserver
• Rip DVD’s on your Mac – what media center is complete without media to watch? Rip your DVD’s and watch them from your Mac hard drive

Some pictures of the pictures in this article are from Flickr, others are screenshots from Plex. If you have any questions, feel free to chime in or email us!