In this increasingly digital age that we all live in, we’ve grown accustomed to leaving electronic trails everywhere. Not that we have any choice, that is. Most of us realize that when we delete something from our computers- whether it’s an email, a picture, a document or something else – we may have physically removed it from our machine, but copies of it may live on in other places, for example on our employer’s backup server.
However, we often assume that the copy that we deleted from our computer is no longer on our computer. That isn’t true. No its not magic – remnants of the file are still on your computer, and in many cases it’s fairly easy to recover that file that you thought you deleted. While that may be handy when you deleted something accidentally, it may not be as useful when you’re trying to permanently delete a file. Emptying the trash doesn’t mean that the file is gone for good.
But if you use a Mac, the smart folks at Apple have given you a built-in option to make sure when you press delete, the file is gone. For good. Here’s how:
1) Simply click anywhere on your desktop so that the ‘Finder’ menu is displayed at the top of the menu bar.
2) Select Finder from the menu bar, and then select Preferences.
3) Click the Advanced button.
4) Check the box that says “Empty Trash securely”.
5) Close the Preferences window.
Now, when you open your Trash, you will see the option to empty the trash securely – which means that your Mac will delete the file and then overwrite the space that file originally occupied many times so that it cannot be recovered.
It will take longer to empty your trash this way – and you need to make sure that you really don’t need those files that you throw away – but you should have the peace of mind knowing that when you want to make something disappear from your Mac, there’s an easy way to do it that doesn’t require the skills of David Copperfield.
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Two of my favorite technology users and writers, Kate Boehret and Walt Mossberg, over at the Wall Street Journal, have put together a nice primer for folks who may wake up this December 25 with a new, shiny puppy Mac under the tree. If you’re one of those lucky people or if you need a refresher, click here to check out their solid tips.
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In recent days I’ve heard from a few friends who have called me with tech-related questions (read: tech-related problems) and have complained about various problems with their Macs. All have been software-related in way or another (combined with a little bit of user-error); one was new to Apple and unaware of configuring and running Software Update; another friend experienced third-party software compatibility issues after upgrading to Snow Leopard. Nothing out of the ordinary – these are all easy to fix – but they caused agida for these nascent Apple users.
It got me thinking about software on the Mac in general. While I love these machines, I probably only use 40 to 50% of my Mac’s capabilities on a regular basis (although for me that is increasing). For the average user that’s probably about right – at least initially. A lot of that extra capability comes from non-Apple software; in fact, Macs are fantastic machines because of their ability to support many open-source and third-party applications, normally without issue. They are easy to both install and uninstall, and generally enhance the user experience significantly.
However, in my view sometimes too much extra software starts to weigh down your machine, and is unnecessary. What to do? Just make sure that you really need that extra software before installing it. Sometimes – despite what you are told or what you read – you may not. It’s important to understand what your Mac can do on its own; in many cases, it is more than you think. Much more.
For example – a few months ago I upgraded my 3+ year old iMac to Snow Leopard. Then I decided it was time for a new home scanner and printer combo (yes, and old-school fax too – I still use one). Instead of installing the bloated software that came with the printer/scanner/fax, I simply launched Image Capture – software that was already on my machine natively from Apple (located in the Applications folder on your hard drive). It immediately recognized the new scanner functionality – and voila! – no need for that 150MB of extra software. Goodbye CD-ROM.
That’s one less software application to support, learn how to use, and worry about. More importantly, it’s one less application that can give my Mac – and me – heartburn.
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It’s happened to all of us, and no, it’s not that big of a deal. Despite how great Macs are, every now and then they misbehave – DVDs and CDs sometimes get stuck. However, thanks to our friends over at The Unofficial Apple Weblog, getting it unstuck is a snap.
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Flash drives are a part of our lives – each of us probably carry at least one or more of these handy devices, they’re great storage devices and a very safe and easy to use data transfer gadget.
However, as great as they are, in some ways they are just like another hard drive – over time, they can and will fail. What to do? A little bit of periodic maintenance should extend its life and ensure that your files won’t become damaged or corrupted. Simply re-formatting your flash drive from time to time is all it takes.
Windows Users (Mac coming soon)
First you’ll need to copy the data on your flash drive to another computer or device. Insert the drive into your computer as you normally do and open the flash drive as you normally do when accessing it (e.g. by opening ‘My Computer’ and then the flash drive, or by double clicking on the drive on your desktop). The fastest backup option may be to simply copy your files to your desktop by clicking the files and dragging them to a folder on your desktop.
Once your files are copied over, right click on the flash drive. There should be an option to re-format the drive:
1) Select that option, then click ‘Start’.
2) In a few minutes it should be done (depending on how large the flash drive is). The drive is restored to its pure state, and any parts of the drive that may have been at risk of failing are repaired in this process.
3) After it’s done, simply copy back your files from your desktop to the flash drive.
However in all things in life what sounds too good to be true probably is. At some point your drive will fail for good – so just make sure that the data you keep on this terrific device isn’t your only copy.
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I love technology, plain and simple. The constant innovation and cutting edge breakthroughs all fascinate me. But nothing fascinates me more than being able to be a user of technology – whether that’s at work, at home, or just generally in my life. And when it works – that’s fantastic, especially when it makes my life more efficient.
But when it doesn’t work – I enjoy trying to figure out why, and how to fix it. That puts me in the minority of the people that I know, and probably why I’m the friends and family help desk these days. Everybody else I know just wants their equipment, devices and accessories to simply work. All the time. But as smart as our devices and computers are today, they are incredibly complex machines that are only getting more so. At times, they will break down.
To me technology is an asset – no different than your car, your home, or your lawnmower. It must be maintained – just like all of those other assets I just mentioned. Maintaining and caring for technology will not only increase it’s life but will also help to ensure that things continue to go smoothly, that the computer is there ready to go when you need it.
But that’s where most us fall down. Maintaining technology is hard to do, not because we can’t do it, but because we don’t want to. Maintaining technology takes time and energy at a time when most of us have little left of either in our day.
Enter Boxes & Pipes. My goal is to share original tips I’ve learned along the way, and the best of other tips that I’ve discovered online that have worked for me. What will follow will be a combination of best practices, tips that show you things your technology could do that you didn’t know, and how to fix the small things that inevitably creep up so that you’re less frustrated.
Technology should be fun. And Boxes & Pipes can help!
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