Mac OS X Snow Leopard: The Missing Manual (Missing Manuals)

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Chapter 21. Safari, iChat, and Sherlock

Apple is obviously intrigued by the possibilities of the Internet. With each new release of Mac OS X, more clever tendrils reach out from the Mac to the world's biggest network. You don't have to look any further than the Dashboard (Section 5.11) to see how much Apple loves integrating the Internet into every nook and cranny of Mac OS X.

Still, some of Tiger's most powerful Internet tools are full-fledged programs , not widgets. In addition to Mail (Chapter 20), Tiger includes the newly beefed-up Safari Web browser; iChat for instant messaging, voice chatting, and videoconferencing; and the now-aging Sherlock program for targeted Web searches.

NOSTALGIA CORNER

Where to Specify Your Preferred Mail and Browser Programs

Hey! Where the heck do I specify what browser I want to open when, say, I click a link in an email message? It used to be in the Internet panel of System Preferences, but that panel doesn't exist anymore !

You're right. What used to be the Internet panel is now the .Mac panel, and the places where you set up your preferred email and Web programs have gone off to the great software company in the sky.

This is going to sound a little odd, but you actually specify which browser you want to use by opening the Safari browser that came with Mac OS X, choosing Safari Preferences, clicking the General tab, and then using the Default Web Browser pop-up menu at the top.

You specify your preferred email program the same way, but in Mail instead of Safari.

At least that's the way Apple wants you to do it. But if you like being able to set your default Web browser and email program (and RSS reader, and so on) from System Preferences, try RCDefaultApp, a free System Preference panel that's about 50 times more powerful than the old Internet panel ever was. (You can download it from the "Missing CD" page at www.missingmanuals.com.)

This chapter tackles the latter three members of this motley crew one by one.

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