Hot Computers & Programming How-Tos

How To: Create PDFs in Mac OS X

A PDF file is a great way to share your documents with anyone. Both Macs and PCs can read them and it's very easy to create them in Mac OS X. From any application that you can print from, go to File–Print–which will open up the print dialogue box–and find the PDF button in the lower left corner. To learn more, and for a complete walkthrough of printing to PDF in Mac OS X (as well as information on using the handy Web Receipts) feature, watch this video tutorial.

How To: Administer Wiki Server under Leopard Server in OS X

Whether it's a small business or a work group inside a large corporation, all members need access to the same materials in order to work effectively. Mac OS X server makes it easy for groups to collaborate and communicate through their own Wiki-powered Internet website. In this video tutorial, you'll learn how to adminster the Wiki server in Leopard Server in Mac OS X.

How To: Use Wiki Server in Mac OS X

Whether it's a small business or a work group inside a large corporation, all members need access to the same materials in order to work effectively. Mac OS X server makes it easy for groups to collaborate and communicate through their own Wiki-powered Internet website. To learn how to use Wiki Server with Mac OS X Server, watch this video tutorial.

How To: Use iCal Server

Mac OS X server includes a calendar server for users and groups to coordinate events, schedule meetings, reserve resources and use time more effectively. To get started using iCal Server on your own Mac OS X Server, watch this video tutorial.

How To: Create drag-and-drop file copies and aliases in OS X

When you drag files or folders on your Mac OS X system from one location to another, you expect them to be moved to the new location and not copied. In this video tutorial, you'll learn two things you can do while dragging these files and folders to change the default behavior. Learn to copy and create file aliases using the option and option buttons with this OS X video tutorial.

How To: Manage your Mac OS X Leopard server

Whether you're using your server for a work group, small business or large organization, Mac OS X Leopard Server offers a number of great applications that will help you manager your server. In this video tutorial, you'll learn how to use server administration tools to manage your server directly or remotely. For more information on server management in Leopard Server, watch this video tutorial.

How To: Install Microsoft Silverlight 2

In this video, Tim Heuer demonstrates fundamentals of ensuring that end users have a good installation experience when installing Silverlight 2. He walks through a few deployment methods and demonstrates tips on how to test your own experience. For more information on installing Microsoft Silverlight 2, watch this video tutorial.

How To: Use the gconf-editor in Ubuntu Linux

This video tutorial takes a look at using gconf-editor in the Ubuntu Linux distribution. In particular this video addresses what gconf-editor is, how to use it, and what it offers. While this tutorial is Ubuntu-oriented, its lessons will work on other systems such as Fedora and gNewSense, but only if they are GNOME-based. To learn more about gconf-editor, and why you should learn how to use it, watch this how-to.

How To: Program in PostSharp

PostSharp is an free, open-source and extensible platform for enhancement of .NET assemblies, that is: PostSharp transforms assemblies after compilation. Pretty abstract, isn't it? Not so much. It has great applications. PostSharp Laos, a Lightweight Aspect-Oriented Solution, provides aspect-oriented programming (AOP) to .NET Developers without the learning curve. This tutorial presents an introduction to the PostSharp programming language, one that's more than sufficient to get you started. ...

How To: Use the fingerprint scanner on an Lenovo X60 Tablet PC

If I were to tell you you could login to your Lenovo PC using your fingertips, you probably wouldn't be very impressed. The Lenovo X60 Tablet PC, however, is equipped with a biometric fingerprint scanner, which is, in fact, quite impressive, and which you can use to login to your Windows machine in the place of a password. To learn how to use it, watch this handy how-to.

How To: Build a simple Core Data application in Mac OS X

Core Data is a powerful data-management framework introduced with Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger. When you take advantage of Core Data, it slashes the amount of custom code you need to write in order to manage application data. Opening, saving and undo management can all be handled by Core Data, freeing you to concentrate on creating unique features for your application. This video tutorial, which presents a general introduction to using Core Data, will walk you through the process of building a simple...

How To: Use date and time functions in Ruby

New to the Ruby programming language or simply looking to brush up on your skills? In this installation from his Rubyology series of Ruby tutorials, YouTube user cmatthieu demonstrates some of the cool time functions supported by the Ruby programming language. Make time for and with this how-to.

How To: Install and use the Python programming language

In this how-to, you'll find instructions for programming with the Python programming language. More specifically, this tutorial addresses everything from locating and installing Python to running it and writing your first programs. If you're interested in learning more about the Python programming language, watch this helpful video tutorial.

How To: Change your hard drive icon in Mac OS X

The hard drive icon is the single-most prominent icon on most Mac OS X desktops. As such, you should have some say in how it looks and, as it turns out, you do: In this video tutorial, you'll find step-by-step instructions for changing your hard drive icon. To learn what you'll need to do to change your hard drive, or any other, icon, take a look.

How To: Map text files with MapForce

MapForce supports flat files as the source and/or target of any mapping involving XML, database, EDI, web services or other flat file data. In this how-to, you'll find instructions for mapping data from arbitrary text files (such as log files, CSV, fixed-width, and other legacy data sources) to databases and XML files.

How To: Map EDI data with MapForce

MapForce includes support for the two most popular EDI formats, UN/EDIFACT and ANSI X12. In this how-to video, you'll learn how to use MapForce to map and convert data between EDI messages (X12 and UN/EDIFACT) and XML, databases, or text files. Learn to map EDI data with this how-to.

How To: Call C and C++ from Python with SWIG

If you're interested in learning a general purpose, high-powered programming language, Python might be the way to go. In this installment from his video tutorial series dedicated to programming in the Python programming language, you'll learn how to call C and C++ from Python using SWIG, or the Simplified Wrapper and Interface Generator. To get started using SWIG with Python, take a look!

How To: Create interactive programs in Python

If you're interested in learning a general purpose, high-powered programming language, Python might be the way to go. In this installment from his video tutorial series dedicated to programming in the Python programming language, you'll learn what's necessary to create an interactive program from a Linux shell. To get started programming with Python, take a look!

How To: Use the vi editor for Python programming

If you're interested in learning a general purpose, high-powered programming language, Python might be the way to go. In this installment from his video tutorial series dedicated to programming in the Python programming language, you'll learn how to set up the vi editor to code in Python from the Cygwin Windows/Linux environment. To get started programming with Python, take a look!

How To: Set up a bash shell for Python programming

If you're interested in learning a general purpose, high-powered programming language, Python might be the way to go. In this installment from his video tutorial series dedicated to programming in the Python programming language, you'll learn how to set up your bash shell for programming in Python.

How To: Set up Cygwin for Python programming

If you're interested in learning a general purpose, high-powered programming language, Python might be the way to go. In this installment from his video tutorial series dedicated to programming in the Python programming language, you'll learn how to install the Cygwin Windows environment. To get started setting up to program with Python, take a look!