This tip I found whilst listening to the MacObserver's Mac Geek Gab

One option is to create a password protected Disk Image with AES encryption, it's simple to create one:

Open Disk Tools: Applications>Utilities> Disk Tools

From the File menu, select New>Blank Disk Image

A window will appear:

Give the new image a name, perhaps something that won't draw attention to it, so calling it Top Secret may not be the best idea.

Select Where you wish to save it.

When choosing the Size of the file, keep in mind what you are going to put on it, if it's just a few text files then something like 2.5mb may be fine, but if it's audio/video you may want to choose something larger.

Select AES-128 under Encryption and Format should be a sparse disk image. Sparse Disk Images are meant to grow as you add files.

Click Create and you will be asked to provide a password:

Choose a strong password, 8 characters or more numbers and letters. Remember to uncheck the Remember password (add to Keychain) box. If you leave it checked you will be circumventing part of the security of the Disk Image.

Press OK

Your Disk Image will be created and appear in your Finder windows sidebar.



You can then copy those documents you wish to keep safe to it, once you're done press the eject button to it's right.

To open your Disk Image again, locate where you've saved it, and double-click. It will then appear back in your sidebar.

How often do you use Dashboard? Come on, own up? Do you ever click on it or press F12 by mistake, and say *!!??**## waiting for it to appear (I'm sure it's quicker on newer Macs).

Perhaps you don't like the idea it's sitting there all the time, taking up precious memory.

There is an option to turn it off using Dashboard Killer, it doesn't actually delete it, it just gives you a handy option to turn it off and on.

Makes for a nice rhyme! I know none of us have a Mac Pro, but you never know when someone may pop out and get one, and when you do you'll be wondering why you can't run Front Row, all because you don't have a remote?

Well, now you can. Just follow the hint over at macosxhints.com.

Of course, most of us can't run it full stop without a lot more hacking. I did manage to get it running on my PowerBook 12" and my older 15" TiBook, using my phone, via Salling Clicker as a remote, but it only ever seemed a novelty, having a laptop kinda negates placing your computer far away just to use FrontRow with a remote.

I was thinking, Smart Playlists in iTunes, had it been created by someone in the UK, would've been called Clever Playlists, don't you think? Well, there's a nice post over at kottke.org, with a really nice tip on creating a handy Smart Playlist in iTunes, go take a look!

If you're asking, what is a Smart Playlist? You can read about them on Apple's website, needless to say, they're like standard iTunes playlists, but instead of just being tracks you've dragged and dropped, they're dynamic, and are able to say list all your iTunes from a certain year, type etc, but you can combine them.

To quickly create one, in iTunes select New Smart Playlist from the File menu (option+command+n) or hold down the option key, the standard + button in the bottom left of iTunes will change to a Cog wheel, click on it and up will appear a Smart Playlist window. Set whichever settings you like (like the one above). Click OK and it will appear on the left, then all you have to do is give it a snappy title.

I've some simple ones, like a Smart Playlist that lists songs by date added. They can change the way you listen to your music.

There's also a website dedicated to them, so if you can't think of any yourself, there's some ideas for you over at smartplaylists.com

Apple have updated the MacBook, following on from the MacBook Pro. The MacBook now sports the intel Core 2 Duo chips. Apple claim they're 25% faster than the previous model.

13-inch: White 1.83Ghz/512Mb/60Gb Combo - £749
13-inch: White 2.0Ghz/1Gb/80Gb SuperDrive - £879
13-inch: Black 2.0Ghz/1Gb/120Gb/ SuperDrive - £999