But as Apple continues it’s rise in popularity, you can feel safe in making the switch to an Apple computer now because there really is nothing it can’t do. With the addition of Apple Boot Camp software, which now comes with the Leopard version of Mac OS X, you can easily setup Windows XP or even Vista as a dual boot system.

There are a few tips that I can give you to make this process go smoothly because even though it is easy to get everything setup, there are a couple of things in the setup guide that I didn’t bother to read first that caused problems.

The first step is to run the Boot Camp Assistant application. You can find this by going to Applications -> Utilities. Run through the steps in this wizard and create the partition for your Windows installation. When you finish, it will ask you to put your Windows installation disk in.  You will need to make sure you have a full installation disk, not an upgrade disk.  Also, if you are installing Windows XP then it has to be a SP2 install disk.

Put in the installation disk and restart. This will allow it to boot to the installation disk and start the Windows installation process. Go through the installation wizard to the partition selection page. At this page, select the Windows partition you created with the Boot Camp Assistant. On the format options, make sure you select the Full format FAT32 option. You cannot use the Quick format option or it will cause problems with finishing the installation.

After the Windows installation has finished copying the installation files to the hard drive and restarts, make sure you hold down the Option button so it gives you the option to boot into the Windows partition. If you do not do this, you’ll never complete the installation because it will just keep booting to the Mac OS partition.

Once you’ve completed the Windows installation, you’ll need to run the setup.exe program from the Leopard installation disk to let it finish setting up and installing the drivers to make all of the hardware function correctly in windows.

One last optional step to improve the access to your Windows OS is to buy and install Parallel’s Desktop 3.0 for Mac. This will give you the ability to run both operating systems at the same time as well as mirror and share files between the two operating system.

To figure out the MAC address of your iPhone, start at the home menu. Select Settings -> General -> About. Scroll down that screen and you’ll see a setting called “Wi-Fi Address”, that is your iPhone MAC address.

Now enter that exact address as an allowed MAC address on your wireless network. The directions on this will vary because every router’s menu and interface is different so consult your router manual if you need help with this.

Once you have done this, go back to your iPhone and go to the Settings menu again. Select Wi-Fi and it should display your network in the list of available networks to connect to. Click the network name to connect.

I found myself facing an interesting question today regarding DVD duplication on Mac OSX (I’m using Tiger). I have created many DVD’s using iDVD but I had yet to need to do this.
Is there an easy way to duplicate an existing DVD on Mac OSX?

The short answer is yes. The best part of this is that everything you need to be able to do this is built right into Mac OSX.

The first thing you need to do is put the DVD you wish to duplicate into your drive. It will probably try to open and play the DVD so make sure you exit out of the DVD Player application.

Create A Local Image Of The DVD

Open up the Disk Utility application. This can be found in your Applications/Utilties folder.

When this first opens, you’ll see the DVD drive list on the left side. Select the appropriate DVD drive for the source list and click the “New Image” button.

Enter the file name for the image and select the location you want to save it to. For the settings, select the follow:

• Image Format: DVD/CD master
• Encryption: none

Click the Save button and it will create an image of the DVD on your local hard drive.

Burn The DVD Image

Now that you have an image of the DVD on your hard drive, you can create as many copies of this disc as you need.

You should see the disc image file (.cdr) listed on the left side of the Disk Utility application. Select the image you would like to burn and click the “Burn” button.

Insert a blank DVD disk into the drive and click the “Burn” button.

It was a simple lesson that I’ve heard many times but until I saw it in action, I did not fully understand the power of it.

Play To Win

If you want to succeed at anything in life, make sure you approach it with an attitude that you a playing to win.

Expect the unexpected

Many of you may have missed it but the best college football bowl game may have been the least popular one. Boise State was not expected to be able to play with Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl this year. Not only did they play with them, they looked like a team that expected to win the game.

Even in the face of adversity as they were down by seven with 0:51 left in the game, they were playing like they came there to win no matter what it took. They ran some of the most impressive (and risky) plays but the most impressive move by the Boise State team didn’t happen during a play, it was a decision that was most likely made a few weeks ago.

The coaches were faced with what most teams wouldn’t even have considered a decision when they scored a touchdown in the first overtime. They had the choice to either kick the extra point to tie (and go to another overtime) or go for two to win.

Most teams would not have hesitated to kick the extra point and stick around to see another day. Not Boise State, they never even looked at their kicker to go on and kick the extra point. In fact, they were so quick to go for it, the other team had to call a timeout because they weren’t ready.

Boise State players and coaches were on the same page that they were there to win the game not just play along with Oklahoma. And it showed on the final play. It looked as if they had this play drawn up for this exact situation all year long.

They were prepared and expected to win that game and they did.

So what does this have to do with my business or life?

Everything. When I saw this happen, I thought about many situations in business and life which I went in not to lose instead of going into it to win.

It is amazing how just that simple change in attitude can completely change the result.
You should have the same approach to everything you do in life. Figure out ahead of time that you are doing something not just to do it but to win at it and succeed. It will not only change they way you approach that event but how you perform and most likely the result.

Why is it we describe the things we want to do in life as important instead of necessary?

The definition of important is “marked by or indicative of significant worth or consequence” while the definition of necessary is “of an inevitable nature” or “absolutely needed”.

Instantly you can see the difference between the two words.

Look at the things that you do on a regular basis. A normal day will most likely involve you eating, going to work, and sleeping. Why is it that we do these things?

Because they are necessary.

If you decide that it isn’t necessary to go to work, then you won’t go. But the consequence of that decision is probably going to be losing your job.

So lets face it, what we do on a daily basis are things that are necessary.

How do you describe your dreams?

Things that you want to do are typically considered important but not necessary. That’s why they never get done. Until something makes the jump from important to necessary, you will never get to it. There are simply too many other necessary things in life to get to those that are just important.

It’s easy for someone to say that something is important to them. Important leaves room for it not to happen. You can always get to the important things tomorrow.

But when something becomes necessary, you will stop at nothing to make sure it happens. It must happen and it must happen now. Why? Because it is necessary.

History has shown that humans are capable of accomplishing the most amazing things. But in each circumstance, you will find one common factor, necessity.

If you are having trouble getting what you want out of life, chances are, that something is only important to you, not necessary.

How can you make sure you accomplish more of your dreams?

That is simple, make your dreams and goals something that is necessary to you. Only then will it become a high enough priority in your life to do whatever it takes to make it happen.

If you can ask yourself the question “Is this something that I have to do?” and can honestly answer “Yes”, then that is not only important but necessary. You have made the first step to making it happen.

Can you change the way you think?

You are where you are in life because of the priorities you have and had. In order to change your life, you must change the way you think and prioritize. So the question really should not be can you change the way you think but rather…

Will you change the way you think?

Once you have made this decision, you will think about your dreams differently. You finally put them higher on your list of priorities. They will no longer only be important to you but now they will be necessary.

“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.”
-Christopher Reeves

Are your dreams inevitable?