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You might be familiar with my plaints about the Software Engineer, but I wonder if the following isn't another prime example
..where my excellent No. 2 Son Sky put me onto the Tab (eg, Open in New Tab), a very handy feature of my new Mac OS. However the title in each tab is in black on a dark grey background so in using it you have to sit up and squint, a very move which the mouse was devised to obviate
Thus does anyone know how to improve the contrast--thanks
dalehileman
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F14 and F15 are the keys on my mac keyboard that adjust Brightness. you can also adjust it in the Displays section of your System Preferences.
formerly known as etaoin...
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eta thank you most kindly for that suggestion, lightening up the entire screen using F15 does help a bit though I had hoped to find a way to improve the contrast just in the Tabs
I will also look into System Preferences although I'm finding it very difficult to wade through my 458-page Leopard manual but that's hardly your fault so thanks again
dalehileman
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there used to be third-party haxies which allowed you to change the "brushed metal" look of Safari, but I'm not sure those are still around. you will notice that the selected tab is brighter than the others.
formerly known as etaoin...
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there used to be third-party haxies which allowed you to change the "brushed metal" look of Safari, but I'm not sure those are still around. you will notice that the selected tab is brighter than the others. Yes and it's the only one I can read without sitting up and squinting. If anyone in the PC Industry with influence by chance happen to be reading this, please try to persuade Board Members everywhere to quit recruiting their software people from homes for the autistic, underachieving, misanthropic, and yes, blind
dalehileman
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you might consider changing the screen resolution, look in System Preferences/Displays. smaller numbers will mean bigger type size.
formerly known as etaoin...
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you might consider changing the screen resolution, look in System Preferences/Displays. smaller numbers will mean bigger type size. Thank you again et for your interest and patience but I am quite happy with its size and hate to further reduce active window available by enlarging the tabs but instead hoped to improve the contrast between the black lettering and the dark grey background which I consider the ultimate in software stupidity It's likely that what I'd like can't be done but once more thanks
dalehileman
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I just pulled up the Safari browser for Windows and boy, howdy! it really is dark, and it seems to get progressively darker as you move deeper (read, downwards). I googled safari title bar contrast and noticed some interesting discussions on the topic -- it looks like it's become more of an issue with Safari-4.
anyways, is it possible to reposition the 'tab bar' to the top of the stack (as it were) to take advantage of the (seeming) gradient?
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tsu I tried dragging it but with no luck. Meantime however I happened upon a practical solution: Just click on them one at a time til you get the window you want
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Most monitors have brightness and contrast controls built in, usually with front panel buttons. Dunno if this is the case with the obviously superior Mac monitors.
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formerly known as etaoin...
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----please, draw me a sheep----
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No, seriously guys, it's entirely practical since the window appears almost instantaneously
Nonetheless thanks for your attention to my quest
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old hand
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Maybe it's because you are all men.... Dale, have you tried changing the skin? A different color combination might work just dandy for you. IE has some nice ones built in. I use a really nice on Firefox, and my tabs are wine colored with an ochre colored font, very easy to read; no squinting! :0)
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two thank you for that suggestion, when my No. 1 Son next visits I'll ask him about that possiblity. However, I'm reluctant to introduce any new programs since at 78 I don't expect to have mastered just Mac til age 104
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you can't change the skin on Safari.
but yes, Dale, perhaps you should try a different browser. I like Camino very much, and Omniweb is now free.
formerly known as etaoin...
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Don't sell yourself short, Dale. I don't care if you're 204, if you are using the internet this well, switching browsers will not throw you off. There's no rocket science at all. They're all pretty similar with bookmarks, tabs and such, and I have no doubt you could make the switch easily. The nice thing is, you don't have to make a choice. You can add Firefox (or any other), try it out, see if you like it, and still have your Safari right there waiting for you. In fact, you can have them both open at the same time, and use them both simultaneously! I do this regularly at work, where the District software is occasionally incompatible with Firefox (but less often now than in years past), so I use IE for those applications, and Firefox for my streaming audio and Wordsmith, etc. :0)
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Thank you again guys--and gals--as many have recommended Firefox so there must be something to it and I will discuss it with my IT
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just to be contrary, I dislike FireFox. I find it very un-Mac-like; clunky, slow, ugly, regardless of skin-changes.
that's not to say I don't use it, but.
I much prefer Camino, or Omniweb, or iCab. until Safari 4 came out, I was using Camino, mostly.
my 2¢.
;¬ )
formerly known as etaoin...
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just to be contrary, I dislike FireFox. I find it very un-Mac-like; clunky, slow, ugly, regardless of skin-changes...........
my 2¢.
;¬ ) Interesting observation as I find Mac also somewhat clunky: http://www.freeratio.org/showthread.php?p=5892223#post5892223
dalehileman
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well, I really don't know why I'm replying, but I still don't understand this thought:
"Mac is almost devoid of editing capability, requiring you to laboriously switch back and forth between say Mail and Word."
formerly known as etaoin...
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well, I really don't know why I'm replying, but I still don't understand this thought:
"Mac is almost devoid of editing capability, requiring you to laboriously switch back and forth between say Mail and Word."
Bill's Outlook incorporates Word, facilitating editing of one's email. However, Mac's Mail lacks this intimate blending so if you do much editing you must be continually switching your message back and forth between it and Word
dalehileman
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formerly known as etaoin...
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dale, I think that many folks that have a pc with the XP operating system don't have what you had, which sounds like an Outlook/Office combination and allows the option of using Word as the mail editor. those folks are like me, and have Outlook Express, which has a limited (Word-like) editing capability. just FYI.. eta: shame on you for shouting at dale. 
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eta: shame on you for shouting at dale. I know, I'm sorry.
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By "edit" I mean to access macros such as those provided by Word which make it possible to expedite a typical operation that might otherwise require multiple keystrokes. I believe that Word provides about 400 such macros, including for example the standard B, I, U, and T as well means to place any of the others also in the taskbar for instant access . These might include styles, bullets, selective highlights, dictionary, border, centering, thesaurus, navigation, selective caps, small caps, interchanging characters or words, subscripts and superscripts, inserts and format of various kinds, etc etc etc In addition what I call the personal macro, or one you can compose for a special purpose may also be placed in the Outlook taskbar. For example to restore spelling flags in a large document requires a routine entailing 18 keystrokes. In Outlook, to facilitate the operation one merely composes a personal macro for the purpose, placing a link in the toolbar so that when needed the entire megillah can be accessed with a single click of the mouse Wile I realize in Mac Mail a number of keyboard macros are available for these purposes, it's a nuisance to have to learn and then remember all the necessary keystrokes. Otherwise Mail has virtually no editing capability at all except spelling, which by the way is grossly unsatisfactory, unable to recognize dozens if not hundreds of common misspellings So in editing an email message, for instance, it becomes necessary to cut and paste it back and forth between Mail and Word, very tedious. To this end my IT No. 1 Son composed for me two rather complex macros for the purpose, making it possible to switch the message back and forth in only one or two quick clicks of the mouse. However, not everyone has an IT in the family, while the integral system of Outlook/Word is still quicker and more convenient Although it's sure than Mac will eventually realize its mistake and provide more nearly complete editing capabilities, in the meantime if you do much writing or corresponding but were considering a switch from Bill to Mac you might want to hold off
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Maybe it's because you are all men.... Dale, have you tried changing the skin?........with an ochre colored font, very easy to read; no squinting! :0) two thank you for the suggestion but I'm not sure Mac provides that capability, while I'm reluctant to acquire and learn a new browser such as Firefox, which incidentally, more than one correspondent has advised against. As I may have mentioned, I have dealt with the problem by the simple expedient of clicking on each tab successively until I hit the one I want
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eta: shame on you for shouting at dale. I know, I'm sorry. No you'e not. However, one develops a thick skin participating in Internet boards, this hotbed of mutual recrimination so virulent that many refuse even to discuss it in retrospect
dalehileman
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how dare you tell me I'm not sorry?
I am, because I am not an angry person, and have no desire to "yell" at you.
the fact of the matter is, that these tirades against macs should be happening at the Apple forums, not here. I have tried and tried to help you, and yet you keep asking the same questions and ranting the same rants.
and I have no idea why it would take 18 keystrokes to put spell-check back on. seems to me, in the time it takes you count all your keystrokes, you could have done a lot of other things....
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[=etaoin]how dare you tell me I'm not sorry? I am, because I am not an angry person, and have no desire to "yell" at you.
Good for you eta, yes I note you're a bit more evenhanded than many other quibblers. I have long maintained that the drubbings one gets on the various boards owe to a subconscious tendency on the part of the perpetrator, who if the truth were known actually enjoys being angry the fact of the matter is, that these tirades against macs should be happening at the Apple forums, not here. I have tried and tried to help you, and yet you keep asking the same questions and ranting the same rants. Admin is free to delete any post it feels is not consistent with the purposes of the board or constitutes a breach of protocol without at all offending. Otherwise, there is no requirement whatever to read my posts, prominently identified by my nickname in bold font in the box to the left of each post As for repetition, many participants, especially newcomers, often have not encountered the original to which reference is made I do incidentally present a link to discussions such as this at the Apple Suggestions site Anyone wishing to further vent his tirades, I am dalehileman@me.com and evidently don't care who knows it ......and I have no idea why it would take 18 keystrokes to put spell-check back on. seems to me, in the time it takes you count all your keystrokes, you could have done a lot of other things.... [/quote] I'll send you a copy of the macro if you like but I get the feeling you might not have much use for it if you don't compose very long messages and besides it doesn't work with every OS
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Maybe it's because you are all men.... Dale, have you tried changing the skin?........with an ochre colored font, very easy to read; no squinting! :0) two thank you for the suggestion but I'm not sure Mac provides that capability, while I'm reluctant to acquire and learn a new browser such as Firefox, which incidentally, more than one correspondent has advised against. As I may have mentioned, I have dealt with the problem by the simple expedient of clicking on each tab successively until I hit the one I want upon later reflection on the Safari browser, I've noticed that merely mousing over the tabs "highlights" the text contained therein to a quite readable state without resorting to actually opening them to see what's what. but that's just me.
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.... Dale, have you tried changing the skin?........with an ochre colored font, very easy to readquote]
two thank you for the suggestion but I'm not sure Mac provides that capability.......... [quote]upon later reflection on the Safari browser, I've noticed that merely mousing over the tabs "highlights" the text contained therein............ tsu I believe you're speaking of the bookmarks strip, But in the Tabs strip immediately below it the entries don't light up like that when you run the cursor over them--or at least not in my Safari
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well, you're right, dale, the tabs don't "light up", but if you leave your mouse there a moment a label pops up, which is even better! (at least on my Safari)
^--for about five secs.
Last edited by tsuwm; 04/14/09 10:27 PM.
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that's the behavior I see as well, on Safari 4. on both tabs, and the bookmark bar.
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tsu thanks for the tip. However the label takes so long to appear that it's actually quicker to click on each tab successively
If I weren't so lazy I'd instead sit up and crook my head so as to view the tabs through the bottom lens of my trifocals
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