Posts from the Member Education Category at Mac@AOL Blog

AOL Desktop for Mac - Mail In Depth

Posted May 21st 2008 2:00PM by Lee Givens
Filed under: Member Education, AOL Desktop for Mac

Today, we launch the first of many in-depth articles on using AOL Desktop for Mac. I want to start with Mail. We've been getting a lot of feedback and every developer is being briefed on issues being reported using the handy Feedback button on the toolbar. Remember, if you would like to get a response to your feedback (I'll try to get back to as many of you as possible!), I need to get your e-mail address (you can type your e-mail address in the optional e-mail field on the Feedback form).

Topic 1 - First Run Mail Experience (mail performance)
When you first install and launch AOL Desktop for Mac, you'll notice it installs and launches in seconds. After logging in, some users may notice that the application may seem sluggish, this is due to the application downloading mail for the first time and if you have hundreds (or even thousands!) of mail messages in your New/Old or Inbox. You can make the mail experience better by letting AOL Desktop for Mac to finish adding your mailbox to the new mail database. This should only take a few moments, resulting in a better experience day-to-day.

Topic 2 - Mail Display Issues
Some users have experienced mail display issues, where mail listing may be jumbled or your mail header (e.g., To:, From:, Subject:) may not be updated with the current mail message you're viewing. We have our mail team working around the clock to address this issue.

Topic 3 - Default Font for Mail
Like many AOL users, I like picking my favorite font and font size. This is one of our top requests and we'll be posting information on this feature on the Mac@AOL Blog. Hang in there, we'll get back to you.

Topic 4 - How do I Add a BCC: or Signature?
To the Right of the 'To:' field, you will see a pull-down menu that will reveal all kinds of neat things. You can add a BCC: or Signature or even hide the stylebar, if that's what you need.

I'll be posting a new AOL Desktop for Mac In-Depth article every day for the next week, so stop by and share your feedback.

thanks...

Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

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Feedback Friday - 5/16

Posted May 16th 2008 10:25PM by Lee Givens
Filed under: Member Education, AOL Desktop for Mac

This is our first post-launch Feedback Friday and we're still reading through ALL the feedback we've gotten from our nifty Feedback button on the AOL Desktop for Mac Toolbar. Please keep the comments coming, we feel it's the best way to hear from our users and help the AOL Mac Team prioritize new features and our projects during the year.

First, for those of you new to the Mac@AOL Blog, we review feedback we received and try to answer the most reported issues right here on the blog. You can review our previous Feedback Friday articles to get an idea (or find an answer) about an issue.

Previous editions of Feedback Friday:

Feedback Friday - 2/15

Feedback Friday - 2/29

Feedback Friday - 3/21

Feedback Friday - 4/18

Question 1 - How Can I Find an Answer to My Problem?
Well, the first place you should look is AOL Support Portal for Mac and the Mac@AOL Blog. You can search keywords or tags by using the handy Search Box, in the upper right corner of the blog page.

Also, if you use the Feedback Button on AOL Desktop for Mac and leave your e-mail address in the comments box, we may be able to contact you directly. And yes, we read EVERY comment posted. I also review all comments left at the bottom of blog articles. We are totally committed to listening to our users.

Question 2 - I'm getting an 'Error 800' When Access My Favorites
We identified an issue on the AOL Favorites servers and we worked closely with our network operations team to get it fixed. Please try it again and let us know if you're having problems (leave me a comment below!).

Question 3 - Can I Get an RSS or E-mail When a New Blog Article is Added?
Yes, along with very handy links on the right navigation bar, you will see the Subscribe box. You can add the RSS feed to your favorite RSS news reader (MyAOL is a great way to stay on top of your feeds!) or you can enter your e-mail in the 'Feed by Mail:" box.

Question 4 - AOL Desktop for Mac 1.0 is Missing My Favorite Feature
This is only the beginning - The AOL Mac Team is busy working on the next update for AOL Desktop for Mac and some very exciting new applications on the Mac (and other platforms running Mac OS X - hint, hint). As we begin the development process, we interview users, read comments on AOL and most major Mac sites to gauge what features are important to our users. The AOL Mac Team will also be at Macworld Expo (can't wait until Macworld 2009!) and Apple's World Wide Developers Conference in a few weeks to speak face-to-face with users and developers using AOL software and technologies.

Finally, I want to end this article with some comments from users who haven't used AOL software or services in a while and may be hesitant to jump back in. I want to shed some light on the new AOL and clearing up some myths about AOL's Mac software:

Have you visited TUAW.com (The Unofficial Apple Weblog), Engadget.com, TMZ.com, Switched.com, MapQuest.com, Joystiq.com, downloadsquad.com, or autoblog.com? Guess what, ALL of the sites listed are AOL websites. And if you like Apple's iChat, it runs on the #1 IM network in America - AIM.

On the software side, AOL Desktop for Mac doesn't hide any nefarious software on your Mac or pop advertisements over your windows (I swear!). AOL Desktop for Mac won't interfere with other apps on your Mac and can co-habitate with AOL for Mac OS X for users making a slower migration.

Monday, our kickoff of in-depth features of AOL Desktop for Mac. We will focus on Mail, so stop back soon!

thanks...
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

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Feedback Friday - 4/18

Posted Apr 18th 2008 5:10PM by Lee Givens
Filed under: Member Education, AOL Desktop for Mac

I hope you're enjoying the sunny weather (nice in N. Virginia!) and trying out the new Beta 14 release of AOL Desktop for Mac. We've received a lot of feedback this week and I want to jump right in.

Question 1 - I would like to sort by last name or company
Answer: Beta testers have commented that they would like to organize their AOL Address Book contacts by other sort orders. We have captured that request and it's on our enhancement list. Our goal with AOL Desktop for Mac 1.0 is to get the foundation in place for additional features and products in the future. As we wrap up AOL Desktop for Mac 1.0, AOL Beta Test users will get information on how to stay in the AOL Mac beta community and continue to get information on new betas.

Question 2 - Can I add 'Write Mail' icon to my toolbar?
Answer: Yes. We have added a whole bunch of your favorite AOL web sites and functions that some of you would like to have on the toolbar. You can add Write Mail to your toolbar by doing the following:

1. Launch AOL Desktop for Mac (no need to sign-in, but you can if you like)
2. Go to View>Customize AOL Toolbar...
3. You will see the customize sheet (below) appear. All you have to do is drag any icon to the toolbar and you'll see the other icons make room for the newest member of the toolbar family. If you want to go back to the factory defaults, just drag the complete set (at the bottom of the customize sheet) to the top.

Question 3 - What's going on with AOL Chat?
As we have blogged about before, AOL is moving from the traditional chat rooms to AIM Chat. AIM Chat opens up all new chat functions - audio/video chat (if you have an attached/built-in iSight camera). User created chat rooms are available or you can join in on one of the many chat rooms in the new AIM Chat directory. It's going to take some time until all the old chat rooms are moved over (AIM Chat is in public beta), but we feel the experience will be greatly improved over the traditional chat.

Just a quick note, you can subscribe to the Mac@AOL blog by mail or RSS feed, just enter your e-mail address in the Subscribe box on the lower right column or click the orange + sign

to subscribe to the RSS feed.

Have a great weekend!
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

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Auto-Quit Print Queues in Mac OS X Leopard

Posted Apr 10th 2008 10:12AM by Lee Givens
Filed under: Member Education, Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)

You upgraded to Leopard, now when you print, the Printer queue opens in the Dock. Great. But what happens when you're done printing? It's still there. The print queue is like a guest who won't leave. You can fix this and it's easy.

You just need to do the following:

1. Open System Preferences and select Print & Fax:

2. Open a print queue by clicking Open Print Queue... button. Now you'll see a printer in your Dock.

3. Once your print queue is in the Dock, you can Control-Click the printer icon (or right-click icon) and then select Auto-Quit. That's it!

Now your print queues will appear during printing and 'go home' after their done.

Thanks...
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

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Feedback Friday 3/21

Posted Mar 24th 2008 6:05PM by Lee Givens
Filed under: Member Education

Yes, this episode of Feedback Friday is on Monday, but hey, it's March Madness, so I ask for a bit of leeway :)

Our friend Sam in Member Services has delivered the top 4 articles requested by users on AOL Help. I'll cover these and you'll see the 3/28 installment of Feedback Friday focusing on comments from the AOL Beta Message Boards.

1. Send and Receive E-mail Attachments on AOL® Desktop™ for Mac®

Some users are getting used to the new way of sending and receiving attachments. This support article covers both attaching and saving files that are attached to e-mail. FYI..you can send a total of 16MB of attachments (single or multiple files).

2. E-mail Features on AOL® Desktop™ For Mac®

What are the new e-mail features in AOL Desktop for Mac? This article covers info on Spell Check, changing font size, customizing your mail and adding a mail signature.

3. Buddy List® features on AOL® Desktop™ for Mac®

One of my favorite AOL Help articles, this article covers all the features of the AOL Desktop for Mac Buddy List. You can learn how to add, delete or search Buddies. There's more: you can also set invisible mode, set an away message or learn how to set up a Buddy Chat.

4. Install AOL® Desktop™ for Mac®

Our fourth-most popular Support Portal article provides how-to's on downloading and installing AOL Desktop for Mac. With Leopard (10.5.x), users are still getting used to the Download folder. It does keep the desktop cleaner :)

Thanks and have a great week!
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

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AOL Desktop for Mac Address Book

Posted Mar 10th 2008 2:12PM by Larry Aasen
Filed under: Member Education, AOL Desktop for Mac

The Address Book in AOL Desktop for Mac is a great place to store all of your contacts for email, IM, and cell numbers. It can easily handle thousands of contacts and is easy to use. It also continuously syncs to the host so your entire Address Book is available wherever you go online.

To view your Address Book in AOL Desktop for Mac, click on the Window menu and select the Address Book menu item.

You can also create mailing Groups where you add multiple contacts to one list. Then you can send one email to everyone on the list at the same time. This can save you valuable minutes if you're managing the softball team or school PTA list.

There are many other great features in the Address Book including quick searching, email to contact, IM to contact, and drag and drop. Try the Address Book in AOL Desktop for Mac today and keep yourself organized.

Larry Aasen
Developer, AOL Desktop for Mac Team

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Feedback Friday - Leap Day

Posted Feb 29th 2008 7:22PM by Lee Givens
Filed under: Member Education, AOL Desktop for Mac

Today's leap day version of Feedback Friday features info on issues our beta testers are having with mail in the upcoming AOL Desktop for Mac and the Top 5 AOL Member Services articles from the AOL Support Portal.

Our AOL Beta Central staff and the AOL Mac Team is working to collect all the information we can get on the sporadic e-mail issues cropping up for some of our Beta testers. We have the whole team working to get the fix in before we release AOL Desktop for Mac Beta 10. Please stop by the blog often to get updates on our efforts.

On the AOL Support Portal for Mac, you'll find troubleshooting info, explanations of common error messages, tips for our AOL Mac products and numerous help articles written by our AOL Member Services team.

You can visit the support portal by clicking:

http://help.aol.com/help/product/macaol/

Here are the Top 5 AOL Desktop for Mac articles, accessed by our users on AOL Support Portal for Mac:

1. Managing Screen names on AOL Desktop for Mac

2. Deleting the cache, cookies and browser history on AOL Desktop for Mac

3. Send and receive E-mail on AOL Desktop for Mac

4. E-mail preferences on AOL Desktop for Mac

5. My saved e-mails and favorite places are missing on AOL Desktop for Mac

We'll be back soon with updates on the AOL Desktop for Mac issues. Please continue to submit your feedback at AOL Beta Central.

Today's Feedback Friday Did You Know? Did you know that your free AOL Mail or free AIM account can be used with AOL Desktop for Mac? All AOL client software can be used with your free AOL account (yes, this includes the Windows versions).

thanks...
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

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Feedback Friday - February 15, 2008

Posted Feb 15th 2008 6:05PM by Lee Givens
Filed under: Member Education, AOL Desktop for Mac

Welcome to Feedback Friday, the AOL Mac Team's roll-up of some of the most pressing issues posted by our users on the AOL Beta message boards.

First up, we released AOL Desktop for Mac - Sneak Peek (Beta 8) yesterday. Please take a look at the previous post for more information. Let's jump right into some of the top issues we've been following:

I'm having issues with AOL for Mac OS X after I upgraded to Leopard, Mac OS X 10.5?
The AOL Mac Team has been working closely with Apple to identify the issue and get the fix out to our users. Apple released Mac OS X 10.5.2 this week and it brings a whole bunch of fixes and most importantly, AOL for Mac OS X now works with Leopard. You can upgrade to 10.5.2 by using Apple Software Update under the Apple menu. Please read the Member Services article for more information or visit Apple. As recommended by Apple and almost every experienced Mac user - please make a back-up of your system prior to installing 10.5.2 (or any updates for that matter!).

I've been using previous betas of AOL Desktop for Mac and my preview is blank?
We're still working on some specific issues regarding displaying of mail, but you can do the following before re-installing AOL Desktop for Mac Beta 8:

1. Remove the following folder: [Home]/Library/Application Support/AOL Desktop
2. Remove the preference file: [Home]/Library/Preferences/com.aol.aoldesktop.plist

The [Home] directory will be the user's home directory (you'll see the little house icon next to the home directory in the left pane of any Finder window).

Where's my e-mail? It seems to be disappearing.
We've done a lot of work on the AOL Desktop for Mac mailbox. You should follow the instructions above if you're still having issues with mail after installing Beta 8. Also, please leave a comment below on your mail issues and please provide some additional info: Do you have a firewall? What type of Mac are you using and what OS version? What type of Mac OS X account are you using (you can see this under System Preferences->Accounts). You can also leave feedback on AOL Beta Central

I get a Server Error dialog box when I'm using AOL Desktop for Mac.
Please take a look at the instructions above to remove the support files from Application Support and Preferences in your OS user's Library folder. Also, please fill out a bug report at AOL Beta Central.

Where's AIM Chat? I'm having issues with AIM Chat.
You can find the AIM Chat toolbar button in the toolbar customization sheet. I posted instructions on changing your toolbar icons back in December 2007. AIM Chat is still in public beta and we'll be reporting on the future of AOL Chat later on the blog. You can also get to AIM Chat by typing http://chat.aim.com in your browser.

Where's the return receipt feature?
I will take this feature request back to the team. Even though we're busy working on bugs, please continue to send us requests for features that you don't see in the current Beta build of AOL Desktop for Mac.

I get a "beach ball" or the system slows when using AOL Desktop for Mac.
Please download AOL Desktop for Mac - Sneak Peek (Beta 8), we've done a lot of work on inner-workings to minimize any non-system delays. If you're experiencing slow downs, please use the bug report form at AOL Beta Central to let us know.

We'll be back next week with all new articles on the Mac@AOL blog (thank goodness the writer's strike is over :) I would also like to thank Larry, one of our Mac Team engineers for getting the cool custom printed M&Ms.

Thanks....
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

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The Benefits of WebKit

Posted Feb 12th 2008 9:10AM by Lee Givens
Filed under: Member Education, AOL Desktop for Mac

What's WebKit? It's the browser rendering engine (the software that handles the downloading and displaying of web sites) that powers Safari and AOL Desktop for Mac browser. Last year, when the AOL Mac Team had to decide on the browser platform for AOL Desktop for Mac, WebKit was the hands-down favorite. If you're a AOL Desktop for Mac user, whenever Apple updates WebKit, you *magically* get the update in the AOL browser. You will never have an obsolete browser.

We covered WebKit in an earlier post on October 5, 2007.

Check out the article at MacUser - they have found that the upcoming WebKit is up to 250% faster than what everyone's used to today (600% faster than Firefox!).

The top bar (Native) is the upcoming WebKit rendering engine. The shorter the bar, the faster the display of the web site. This is good news to all Mac users and users of the iPhone and iPod Touch, all three use WebKit in the Safari browsers.

If you're the kind of person who thinks this is cool, you can read about the speed improvements at the Surfin' Safari blog, managed by the open source WebKit community (thanks to Oliver for the clarification!).

Note: if you're not familiar with nightly builds, wait until Apple releases the new WebKit in a software update.

Thanks...

Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

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How to Customize Emoticons in AOL Desktop for Mac

Posted Feb 5th 2008 11:34PM by Lee Givens
Filed under: Member Education, AOL Desktop for Mac

Did you hear? AOL Desktop for Mac Beta 6 introduced the ability to customize your emoticon set. All you need to do is launch AOL Desktop for Mac (beta 6 or higher) and open Preferences from the AOL Desktop menu item.

Click the Expressions tab and then click "Edit My Expressions..." button. You should now be on the Expressions chooser web page:

Now, just click Change in the Emoticons box and select a new set. That's it! Close any active IM windows and you're all set.

Thanks!
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

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AOL Desktop for Mac: Customizing the Toolbar

Posted Dec 3rd 2007 2:05PM by Lee Givens
Filed under: Member Education, AOL Desktop for Mac

Did you know you can add, move or remove most of the toolbar items for AOL Desktop for Mac? Each major component that has a toolbar has the ability to customize. If you use a Mighty Mouse or a 2 button mouse, most of the changes are as easy as right-clicking any of the grey area around the buttons in the toolbar:

From the contextual menu, just select Customize Toolbar...

You can also access tool bar customization by going to the View menu:

If you really want to show your Mac-skills, you can Command-drag the icon to any position on the toolbar or even off the toolbar, if you want to remove it. If you want to reset the toolbar, just drag the default set to the toolbar and, boom - it's back like magic.

Here are all the customization options for the application toolbar:

Thanks...
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

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AOL Pictures for Mac

Posted Nov 23rd 2007 1:09PM by Scott Basham
Filed under: Member Education, AOL Pictures for Mac

My name is Scott and I'm a QA engineer on the Mac Team at AOL. The first Mac I owned was an early 400 MHz PowerMac G4. As a hobbyist photographer I get a lot of use from the AOL Pictures for Mac client. The AOL Pictures website's support for Mac browsers has improved dramatically over the last year but the experience is still optimized for Internet Explorer due to its extensive use of Active X plugins. This is where AOL Pictures for Mac helps to level the playing field. Among other things, AOL Pictures for Mac gives you the power to select multiple photos at once to upload, take your favorite photos and set them as your desktop, or make them into a screensaver with the click of a toolbar button.

One of the first things I do after loading photos into iPhoto from my camera is use the AOL Pictures Uploader for iPhoto to get my pictures online (accessed through iPhoto's Export function, this doesn't work yet in iPhoto '08, but a future update should remedy that).

Doing this allows me to share the photos with friends and family (sharing is built into the AOL Pictures client) and more importantly gives me unlimited space to backup my photos online in case my hard drive crashes (knock on wood) or I get burgled again (knock on wood and check the deadbolt).

If you prefer to use something other than iPhoto, AOL Pictures for Mac allows you to add photos to albums by dragging and dropping photos from Finder into the client. Once uploaded, Get Info (Command+i) lets you add captions to photos when you have a story to tell.

Using the iPhoto plugin, I have uploaded photos taken during a visit to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles with my point and shoot camera. It was a great day to visit as the sky was clear and the temperature mild. Enjoy: http://pictures.aol.com/galleries/sabasham

What do you think of the AOL Pictures for Mac client?

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Feedback Friday - November 9th

Posted Nov 9th 2007 2:50PM by Lee Givens
Filed under: Member Education, AOL Desktop for Mac

Welcome to Feedback Friday. The AOL Mac Team has released AOL Desktop for Mac Beta 3. You can download the new beta from the usual location: AOL Beta Central

New in Beta 3 (and Fixed Issues):

Import personal filing cabinets (from AOL for Mac OS X)

Inline image support in mail
Auto-complete for usernames in mail from AOL address book
Save mail by dragging to saved mail folder
Type before or after mail text when replying. Start typing at top is the default.
Offline mail composition now supported
Emoticon support in AIM (Smileys)

AOL Expressions for AIM implemented
Support for common AOL keywords (Command-K)

We are working on making AOL Desktop for Mac work with Apple's new OS - Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Please stay tuned. In the meantime, please review the known issues when you're testing the new beta. If you find any issues, please use the Beta Central feedback or bug reporting systems.

Attention Leopard users running AOL for Mac OS X (version 10.3.7)
The AOL Mac team is investigating issues for users running Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Some consumers who have installed Leopard are experiencing issues with AOL for Mac OS X. AOL is working with Apple to correct these issues and recommends the following workarounds until a resolution is available:

Issue: Cannot read mail within AOL for Mac OS X.
Alternative: Use Safari to access AOL Webmail at http://mail.aol.com

Issue: Unable to open the Preferences option from the AOL menu.
Alternative: Use Keyword : Settings to access preferences.

Issue: When writing email, the Attachment button is not visible.
Alternative: Drag and drop your attachment to the attachment window.

Recent feedback from the AOL Beta Central message boards:

Where is AOL Chat?
AOL Chat will be appearing in an upcoming AOL Desktop for Mac beta. We plan on supporting AOL's chat community in AOL Desktop for Mac. We understand that chat is one of the most important social networking features AOL offers its users of the desktop client software. In the meantime, AOL Desktop for Mac beta will coexist with AOL for Mac OS X (10.3.7) so you can continue participating in AOL Chat.

What is beta software?
It really depends on the company or software developer. Some companies use very extended beta periods (2-3 years is not uncommon) and some beta periods are very specific (2-3 months). The main reason the AOL Mac team has released AOL Desktop for Mac beta to our beta community is to get a wider range of feedback than from just the internal team. The software engineers are looking to get real-world testing since everyone's Mac configurations are unique. Does it have bugs? Yes. Is it missing features? Yes. We could wait until we're almost done, but it leaves little room for additional features or user interface changes. The AOL Mac team monitors every aspect of the beta process. EVERY message board post is read and discussed. You will see direct involvement of the beta community in every beta released.

Is AOL Desktop for Mac just web software? When is AOL for Mac OS X going to get updated?
AOL Desktop for Mac is the future platform for AOL integrated software on the Macintosh. AOL for Mac OS X is not going to be updated with changes like new features or a different browser engine. After Apple moved to Mac OS X and the Intel processor platform, they removed support for a lot of legacy technologies (that AOL for Mac OS X was built on). While these changes paved the way for developing new, fast and stable software for the Mac, AOL for Mac OS X (built during the transition period) doesn't take advantage of them. The new AOL Desktop for Mac is built on Cocoa and uses the new technologies Apple has released in the past few years. The AOL Mac team is working to get the best features of AOL for Mac OS X (AOL mail, browser, dial up support, AIM, AOL toolbar, chat, Keywords, Favorites, and Address Book) into AOL Desktop for Mac. If you have a feature or request, please leave the team a comment.

Thanks!
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

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AOL Radio for Mac Overview

Posted Oct 12th 2007 12:10PM by Lee Givens
Filed under: Member Education, AOL Radio for Mac

What's AOL Radio for the Mac? It's a CD-quality streaming media service that delivers favorite XM Radio channels along with dozens of other music channels ranging from bluegrass to 80's metal bands.

What's the difference between AOL Radio for Mac and iTunes' radio channels? The radio stations in AOL Radio are the actual XM Radio channels or radio channels programmed by AOL, not just Internet broadcasts from on-air radio channels. By programming our own channels, we can offer you unique channels not found on the FM dial. This means you can be listening to the "All Dave Matthews" channel and then switch over to "VideoGameScores" for you gamers. AOL also offers channels from Spinner.com and our in-house "Sessions @ AOL."

Continue reading AOL Radio for Mac Overview

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AOL Desktop for Mac Tech Brief #1

Posted Oct 3rd 2007 5:40PM by Lee Givens
Filed under: Member Education, AOL Desktop for Mac

We're getting some great feedback from the community and wanted to post a tech brief (first of many) for some of our new users on the Mac platform.

The history of the Macintosh platform can be described in three major processor transitions - beginning with the Motorola 680x0 then to the PowerPC and today with Intel core processors. With each era, Apple has masterfully transitioned the entire code base to be optimized on each processor platform. In this article, we'll be discussing what's the tech around Universal Binary application on the Mac.

When you hear the words "Universal Binary" it tells you that the application was written and built using specifications Apple released during the initial announcement of the new Intel platform. You may also see the following icons on the website or on the retail packaging:

What does this mean to you?
The AOL Desktop for Mac application was built from the ground up as a Universal Binary, ensuring that it will run to the fullest potential on the Macintosh hardware its installed on. AOL Desktop for Mac will run nicely on PowerPC G4 and newer processors (G5 and Intel) but will run on any Mac that has Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger installed. A Universal application actually contains code for both PowerPC and Intel CPUs so that it will run natively on both Macintosh architectures. On AOL Desktop for Mac-this means web pages will load instantly. You can install the entire application in seconds and launch AOL Desktop on your Mac quickly.

How can I tell if an application is a Universal Binary?
Rosetta, the software Apple provides on the Intel version of Mac OS X takes care of applications that are not Universal. If you're interested to see if an application you've installed can run at the maximum native speed, go to your Application folder, select the icon for the application and press Command-I (File > Get Info) and you'll see the word "Universal" in parentheses (see below):

In the next few weeks, we'll cover AOL Desktop's web rendering engine (WebKit) and cover the benefits of Cocoa applications.

Thanks...
Lee Givens
AOL Mac Product Lead

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AOL Desktop for Mac - Mail In Depth

Feedback Friday - 5/16

Feedback Friday - 4/18

Auto-Quit Print Queues in Mac OS X Leopard

Feedback Friday 3/21

AOL Desktop for Mac Address Book

Feedback Friday - Leap Day

Feedback Friday - February 15, 2008

The Benefits of WebKit

How to Customize Emoticons in AOL Desktop for Mac

AOL Desktop for Mac: Customizing the Toolbar

AOL Pictures for Mac

Feedback Friday - November 9th

AOL Radio for Mac Overview

AOL Desktop for Mac Tech Brief #1

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