Here are instructions on how to connect your Mac to your flat panel TV to send both audio and video to it. There are a number of reasons why one might want to do this including showing an iPhoto Slideshow, watching a Netflix movie or TV show from Hulu. I’m only providing information about connecting Macs with Intel processors since this covers all Macs back to 2006. Here’s a quick description of what’s involved in connecting your Mac to your TV. First, you need to determine your Mac’s Model Identifier, then you need to buy one or two cables and maybe an adapter. However, there are also a few idiosyncrasies of which you should be aware.

Overview – The types of ports on flat-panel TVs varies from model to model. I’m only going to address VGA, DVI and HDMI ports since they are the most common types. VGA and DVI cables only carry video signals while HDMI cables can carry both audio and video. For this reason, whenever possible, I recommend using a TV’s HDMI port.

For most Macs made between 2006 and the end of 2008 one will need to connect two cables, one cable to carry the video and a second cable to carry the audio. When Apple switched to using Mini DisplayPort connectors in 2009 most Macs can now use just one cable to carry both audio and video from the Mac’s MiniDisplay Port to the TV’s HDMI port. One idiosyncrasy to be aware of is that when using HDMI or DVI to connect your Mac to your TV you might have to change your TV’s display settings to turn off overscan. I’ll address this in a future Tech Tip.

Model Specific Details – For most Macs you can use either Method 1 or Method 2 listed below. For each of these methods I list the Model Identifier for each specific Macintosh model which can use this method. If you don’t know how to determine your Mac’s Model Identifier please read this previous Tech Tip. To buy the cables listed in the method click on the cable name which is a link to a web site which sells the cable. I also list variations on each method that are either required or optional for certain Macintosh models.

Method 1 – Buy a DVI to HDMI cable and a 3.5 mm analog stereo audio cable. The DVI cable will carry the video output from your Mac and connect to the HDMI port on your TV. The 3.5 mm (aka 1/8″) stereo audio cable will carry the audio from your Mac to the audio in (aka headphone) port on your TV.

Specific Macintosh models supported by this method: Macmini 1,1, Macmini 2,1, MacPro 1,1, MacPro 2,1, MacPro 3,1,  MacBookPro 1,1, MacBookPro 1,2, MacBookPro 2,1, MacBookPro 2,2, MacBookPro 3,1, MacBookPro 4,1.

Variation 1 – If your TV has a digital audio input port, sometimes called Digital Optical audio or Toslink then you could substitute a digital audio cable for the 3.5 mm analog stereo cable. Recently, I’ve encountered some TVs that only have digital audio input ports and no longer have a headphone port so you may have to use this digital audio cable instead.

Idiosyncrasy: All of the Mac minis, MacBook and MacBook Pros have a combo audio output port that can accept either an analog 3.5 mm audio cable or a digital Toslink audio cable. The MacPros have separate analog and digital analog ports so make sure you use the correct one.

Variation 2 – If your TV’s HDMI port(s) are already in use then you could use a DVI to DVI cable in place of the DVI to HDMI cable as long as your TV has an unused DVI port.

Variation 3 – If you have one of the MacBook or iMac models listed below then you can use the two cables listed in Method 1 and just add a Mini DVI to DVI adapter in order to connect the DVI cable to your MacBook. Model Identifier: MacBook 1,1, MacBook 2,1, MacBook 3,1 MacBook 4,1, MacBook 5,2, iMac 4,1, iMac 4,2, iMac 5,1, iMac 5,2, iMac 6,1, iMac 7,1, iMac 8,1.

Variation 4 – If you have a MacBook Air, model identifier MacBook Air 1,1, then you can use the two cables listed in Method 1 and just add a Micro DVI to DVI adapter in order to connect the DVI cable to your MacBook Air.

Method 2 – Buy an HDMI cable and a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter. The MiniDisplayPort adapter plugs into the Mini DisplayPort port on your Mac and then you connect the HDMI cable to it. The other end of the HDMI cable connects to an unused HDMI port on your TV.

Specific Macintosh models supported by this method: Macmini 3,1, Macmini 4,1, Macmini 5,1, Macmini 5,2, Macmini 5,3 MacPro 4,1, MacPro 5,1,  iMac 9,1, iMac 10,1, iMac 11,1, iMac 11,2, iMac 11,3, iMac 12,1, iMac 12,2, MacBook 5,1, MacBook 6,1, MacBook Air 2,1, MacBook Air 3,1, MacBook Air 3,2, MacBook Air 4,1, MacBook Air 4,2, MacBook Pro 5,1, MacBook Pro 5,2, MacBook Pro 5,3, MacBook Pro 5,4, MacBook Pro 5,5, MacBook Pro 6,1, MacBook Pro 6,2, MacBook Pro 7,1, MacBook Pro 8,1, MacBook Pro 8,2, MacBook Pro 8,3.

Idiosyncrasy: Typically this configuration will carry both audio and video from your Mac to your TV. However, the first few Mac models that have Mini DisplayPorts port do not carry audio signals. They only carry video signals. I’m not sure why Apple designed these Macs this way since Mini DisplayPort ports can carry both audio and video as evidenced by subsequent models. Apple doesn’t clearly list which Mac models with Mini DisplayPort ports only carry video so if you find that your Mac is one of them then you’ll need to use either a 3.5 mm analog stereo audio cable or digital audio cable to carry audio from your Mac to your TV.

Note: MacBook Pro models 8,1, 8,2, and 8,3, iMac models 12,1 and 12,2 as well as Mac Minis model 5, 1, 5,2 and 5, 3 all have Thunderbolt ports instead of regular Mini DisplayPort ports. Thunderbolt ports look and act the same as regular Mini DisplayPort ports, but they offer additional features as well.

Variation 1 - Macmini models 4,1, 5,1, 5,2 and 5,3 have HDMI ports (as well as MiniDisplay Port ports) built-in so you don’t need to buy the Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter. All you need is the HDMI cable.

Variation 2 - If your TV has a digital audio input port, sometimes called Digital Optical audio or Toslink then you could substitute a digital audio cable for the 3.5 mm analog stereo cable. Recently, I’ve encountered some TVs that only have digital audio input ports and no longer have a headphone port so you may have to use this digital audio cable instead.

Idiosyncrasy: Using a digital audio cable is not an option for MacBook Airs 2,1, 3,1 and 3,2 since their audio output port is analog only.

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Do you receive a lot of packages in the mail and want to have one place where you can easily monitor their status? Then you need Delivery Status by JuneCloud.

I frequently order products on behalf of my clients and I want to be notified of their shipping progress and when they are delivered. Delivery Status lets me do this easily. Initially, I used the free Delivery Status widget. When I received a vendor’s email with a tracking number, I’d add this item to the Delivery Status widget. It can track packages from USPS, DHL, Fedex, OnTrac and many other shippers. Delivery Status would then send me status updates via Growl every time the package made progress towards my door. This was great but I realized I only got updates when my Mac laptop was awake and connected to the Internet and sometimes I wanted to be notified in the middle of the day as I was moving between client appointments. Consequently, I decided to buy the iPhone/iPad Delivery Status app ($5). Now, I get notifications on my iPhone since this app can sync with the widget if one sets up a free account at the JuneCloud web site.

I’ve been using DeliveryStatus for about a year and have been very pleased with its performance. Check it out.

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This week’s Tech Tip is written by our guest blogger, Elizabeth Bowman, President of Innovatively Organized.

Are tasks slipping through the cracks? Feeling overwhelmed by all the responsibilities on your plate?  There are lots of tools to help you manage your to-do list, but how do you know which tools are best?  You’re in luck!  At Innovatively Organized we have put together a list of 4 tools to help you manage your to-do list electronically.  Now, you will be able to access your tasks from home, the office, or on the go from an Internet browser or your mobile device!

Keep in mind, it’s not about having the perfect to-do list, it is about picking a tool that will work for you and using it consistently.

1. TeuxDeux

Compatible with:

• iPhone or iPad

• Internet

• Mac or PC

Highlights:

• Simple design

• Basic list tracker

• Cross out tasks when complete

• Moves un-finished items to the next day automatically

Toodle Do's Interface

2. Toodledo

Compatible with:

• iPhone, iPad, Palm, Blackberry, Droid

• Internet

• Ability to sync with Outlook & TaskAngel

• Has ability to print to-do list neatly

Highlights:

• Comprehensive and robust features

• Offers ability to delegate and email tasks directly

• Can filter and run reports on tasks

• Includes a timer to help you stay on task

3. TaskAngel

Compatible with:

• Native PC software download

• Ability to sync with Toodledo

Highlights:

• Matches Toodledo’s comprehensive task tracking details

• Runs fast on your PC helping you stay productive easily

• Can export your to-do list to Excel

4. 2Do

Compatible with:

• iPhone & iPad

• Ability to sync with Toodledo

Highlights:

• Option to color-code tasks by category

• Provides tabs in the interface on an iPhone and iPad

• Has lots of fields to enter your tasks easily from a mobile device

For more organizing and productivity tips, check out the Innovatively Organized blog!

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Do you ever want to do any of the following tasks?

• View two Word documents side-by-side so you can compare them or more content between them
• View two Finder window side-by-side so you can move files from one folder to another
• Make a window fill your entire screen

If so, Cinch ($7) is an easy to use application that lets you accomplish these tasks. I regularly need to file documents that have accumulated either in my Downloads folder or on my Desktop into folder elsewhere on my Mac. In order to do this easily, I’ll open two Finder windows and then move them to one of the edges of my screen which triggers Cinch to automatically get them to re-size to fill half of my screen. With the two windows sitting side-by-side, I can then easily file my documents. If my brief description isn’t sufficient, please check out the brief but excellent video demonstration.

You can download Cinch and try it for free from the Irradiated Software web site. Irradiated Software also make a slightly fancier window management utility named SizeUp($13) that lets you accomplish the same tasks using keyboard shortcuts and it adds additional features.

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Do you give a lot of computer-based presentations or training? Do you need you audience members to be able to easily view and track your mouse, see when you click the mouse and see the keyboard shortcuts that you press? If so, Mousepose, could be your best friend. In previous Tech Tips I’ve talked about other ways to highlight the mouse and its clicks using MouseLocator and display keyboard shortcuts. using KeyCastr. Unlike Mouse Locator and KeyCastr which are both free, Mousepose costs money ($17), but it offers additional features. For example, it can be controlled and customized using AppleScript and it can dim the screen and put a spotlight on the area around the mouse pointer. If you give computer-based training you might really like Mousepose.

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Have you ever wanted to report a bug or request a feature for an application made by Apple, Adobe or Microsoft? Each company offers you the opportunity to do just that. Use the following web page addresses to submit your bug reports or feature request.

Apple Product Feedback and Feature Request

Microsoft Product Feedback and Feature Request

Adobe Product Feedback and Feature Request

I should mention that you shouldn’t expect to receive any feedback when you fill-out one of these forms. I had a conversation with an Apple Store manager who mentioned that when he had visited Apple’s headquarters, he’d seen a room full of people who were reading and processing all of the feedback which they received.

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Did you know that Apple’s Preview lets you easily annotate PDFs, merge PDFs as well as delete and re-order pages within a PDF? Preview is a free application which comes bundled with Mac OS X. Apple has been quietly updating over the years and it has become quite capable and user-friendly. Just a few years ago one would have needed to buy the relatively expensive Adobe Acrobat Standard or Professional PDF Editor to do many of these tasks.

I should note that there are slight differences in how certain tasks are done if you’re using OS X 10.5′s version of Preview. All of these demonstrations are done using OS X 10.6′s version of Preview.

It’s also important to know that the following techniques may not work on all PDFs. It’s possible for a person who creates a PDF to lock the file in such a way as to prevent others from manipulating it. Typically, locking a PDF like this requires use of an application like Adobe’s Acrobat.

I’ve created short video tutorials on how to do the following tasks. Read the brief text description and then click the link to watch the video.

If you need more extensive editing capabilities then what is offered by Preview then you should check out the relatively affordable PDFPen.

1. Reorder pages in a PDF – Open a PDF file, click the Sidebar button to view the thumbnail icons for each page. Click on one of the thumbnails and drag the page up or down. Look for the horizontal blue line that appears indicating the new location of the page. To remove a page you can simply click on the thumbnail icon for a page to select it and the press the Delete key on your keyboard.

2. Extract pages from a PDF – Open a PDF file, click the Sidebar button to view the thumbnail icons for each page. Click on the first page you want to extract. If you want to extract additional pages then hold down the Command key and click on additional thumbnail icons. Release the Command key and then drag the thumbnail icons to the Desktop. A new PDF file will be created on the Desktop. Rename the file as desired. Open this new file by double-clicking to verify that it contains the pages that you want. You can re-order the pages by following the tip listed above.

3. Move pages between PDFs (Merge PDFs) – Open a PDF file, click the Sidebar button to view the thumbnail icons for each page. Open a second PDF and click its Sidebar button too. Position the two PDFs so you can view both file’s Sidebars at the same time. Select one or more pages from one file’s Sidebar and drag them into the other file’s Sidebar. Look for the horizontal blue line that appears in the receiving file’s Sidebar. This blue line indicates where the new page appear. You can re-order the pages by following the tip listed above. Go to the File menu and select Save to save the changes.

4. Annotate text in a PDF -  Open a PDF file, click the Annotate button to review a row of tools at the bottom of the window. Use these tools to highlight text in a variety of colors, draw a line through the text, enclose text inside a rectangle or oval, add a note in the margin of the PDF.

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If you ever struggle to find your Mac’s cursor then I recommend that you use MouseLocator. This free application puts a halo around the cursor to help your eyes locate the cursor. You can configure how long the halo is displayed. It can be displayed for as little as half of a second or permanently or somewhere in between these two extremes. You can also control how long the cursor must be idle before the halo will re-appear.

I find that MouseLocator is popular with people who use very large monitors or whose eyes are tired. I do a lot of computer-based presentations and I consider MouseLocator to be an indispensable tool. When I’m projecting my laptop’s display onto a large wall, MouseLocator helps audience members locate and track the cursor as I move it around the computer screen.

Check out MouseLocator.

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All batteries will eventually experience diminished efficiency and storage capacity and will need to be replaced. However, regularly recalibrating your Lithium-ion battery will help to prolong your battery’s life and health which helps you to reduce the frequency with which you’ll have to buy a new battery

Apple recommends recalibrating your battery at time of purchase and then every few months after that. Battery University recommends recalibrating your battery every 30 charge/discharge cycles. Apple provides written instructions on how to recalibrate your battery. For years, I had a repeating event on my iCal calendar that sent me an email reminder which included a copy of Apple’s instructions. Recently, I switched and started to use Watts (30-day free trial, then $6.95) which lets me monitor the health of my battery, reminds me to calibrate my battery and then guides me through it.

Apple indicates that one should expect current Mac laptop batteries to retain 80% of their charge capacity after 1000 full charge/discharge cycles. Watts lets you keep an eye on this and alerts you if your battery is not healthy and needs to be replaced. If you have Growl, the notification application installed, then Watts can be configured to display useful notifications and reminders to recalibrate your battery. I recommend Watts, check it out, you might find it helpful.

Here’s a copy of Apple’s current instructions for recalibrating your battery if you own a MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air or PowerBook G4 with a dual-layer DVD drive.

• Plug in the power adapter and fully charge your PowerBook’s battery until the light ring or LED on the power adapter plug changes to green and the onscreen meter in the menu bar indicates that the battery is fully charged.
• Allow the battery to rest in the fully charged state for at least two hours. You may use your computer during this time as long as the adapter is plugged in.
• Disconnect the power adapter while the computer still on and start running the computer off battery power. You may use your computer during this time. When your battery gets low, the low battery warning dialog appears on the screen.
• At this point, save your work.  Continue to use your computer; when the battery gets very low, the computer will automatically go to sleep.
• Turn off the computer or allow it to sleep for five hours or more.
• Connect the power adapter and leave it connected until the battery is fully charged again.

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Have you ever found yourself flipping back and forth between a web page and, say, an email message so you can copy and paste mulitple pieces of information from the web page into your email message? If so, then you should use a clipboard manager application so you have access to multiple clipboards.

Another common use that I have is that I copy a some text and then I get distracted, forget to paste it immediately and end up copying other text. With Mac OS X’s clipboard, which can only hold one piece of data at a time, the first string of text would be overwritten and lost. Clipboard managers store dozens or more items. These items can then be restored from a list of items or sometimes using a keyboard shortcut. I like to use keyboard-based methods since I find them faster.

My clipboard manager of choice is LaunchBar since it’s also a great application launcher. Here are some other clipboard managers that you should consider: CopyPaste Pro ($30), PTHPasteboard Pro ($25), JumpCut (free) and Clips (20 Euros).

JumpCut is a one-trick pony. I’ve used it in the past. It’s simple to use and you can’t beat the price. Many years ago I used PTHPasteboard when they offered a version version. I liked it very much. I haven’t tried CopyPastePro or Clips. Clips is a relatively new clipboard manager but it has a lot of features and capabilities. It could be worth checking out.

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