Well the answer may be to get yourself a Mac Mini, preloaded with Snow Leopard Server. You can buy one of these little dynamite machines for less than £900 including VAT in UK, or $950 US, and be up and running in less than an hour. The standard Apple Mac Mini Server comes with a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 4 GB RAM, and two 500 GB Hard drives as standard, with a Geforce 320M graphics adapter, and of course Snow Leopard Server 2 installed.

Be warned, however, that this machine does not include an optical drive, as does it’s client cousin, or a keyboard or mouse, and you will need your own display. It does have two graphics ports, a HDMI port, with an included HDMI to DVI conversion lead. It also includes Wi-Fi wireless networking (based on 802.11n specification; 802.11a/b/g compatible), Gigabit Ethernet wired networking (10/100/1000BASE-T), Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) for connecting with peripherals such as keyboards, mice and cell phones, and four USB 2.0 ports and a FireWire 800 port. Not bad in such a tiny form factor!

If you want to use a VGA display you can buy an optional adapter Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter, which allows you run up to 2560-by-1600 resolution. Please note that the Mac Mini Server has a Mini DisplayPort, not a Mini DVI port, so you need an Apple MB572Z/A Mini Display Port to VGA Adapter cable, or equivalent. See the link below for a suitable product, or contact Apple.

The setup is quite simple, with a Mac quality Assistant to guide you through the process. One note of caution is offered here; if the server you are setting up will serve as an Open Directory Master and DNS server, you should not set up a new Open Directory domain until you have read and understand the implications. One of the pitfalls of simply walking through Mac OS X Server’s automatic Server Assistant tool, is that the Assistant offers you the option of setting up a new Open Directory domain. This can cause problems if the server you are setting up will serve as an Open Directory Master and DNS server. See Understanding Mac OS X Open Directory later for more information.

Another thing to be aware of of if you are a hands on person and just want to get going. Make sure you have the server software serial number cards that are essential during the setup process! That is one of the first things the Server Assistant requires, and if you have thrown away the packaging in your enthusiasm to get going, you will have a problem. Not that anyone we know would have done that, you understand!

In use, the Mac Mini Server runs cooler that the client version with its built in internal optical drive. Is seems that the internal optical drive generate most of the heat in a Mini, while the disk drives generate very little, which contributes to the heat savings claimed by Apple. As a benchmark, a Mini with Snow Leopard Server should handle a work-group or small business of 25 users with a bit of room to spare.

For the corporately minded, who like the server bolted into a 19″ rack, there is even a nifty little attachment you can buy, which allows two Mac Mini Servers to be secure in a 1U rack mounted enclosure. Neat!

Further reading about Mac OS X server:

• Apple MB572Z/A Mini Display Port to VGA Adapter
• Sonnet RackMac Mini 1U Rack Kit
• Understanding Mac OS X Open Directory

To set this up and try it out for yourself, follow the following sequence on the target Mac:

• Go into System Preferences
• Select Sharing
• Check Remote Management
• Note down the the IP address of the Mac, you will need this later
• Click on Computer Settings
• Check VNC viewers may control screen with password,
• Enter a suitable password and the click OK

Your Mac is is now ready to receive input from another machine on the network. Now go to the machine you want to use to control your Mac and install a VNC client such as Chicken of the VNC, (for a Mac) or TightVNC (for Windows).

Using Chicken of the VNC

• Open Chicken of the VNC and at the VNC Login screen check if the target Mac is listed. If not, click on New Server, and enter the IP address you noted earlier and the password, and click Connect. If the Mac is listed, select it and enter the password, then click Connect.

Using TightVNC for Windows

• Open TightVNC Viewer (for a default Windows installation this will be under Start, All Programs, in the TightVNC folder)
• In the New TightVNC Connection enter the IP address you noted earlier and Click Connect.
• At the Standard VNC Authentication dialogue enter the password and click OK

Remember if you want to make a remote connection though a firewall, you will need to set up Port Forwarding, and point port 5900 to the IP address of your machine. You can do this by logging into the router with the administrator name and password.

You can now access your Mac OS X machine across the network as if you were sitting at it. Enjoy!

If you are interested in using your desktop Mac remotely, the links below may be usefull:

• Download Chicken of the VNC for Mac OS X
• Download TightVNC for Windows

On a Mac it is simple to install extra fonts. You just download them and then open the Zip or Archive file in Finder and then double click the font so that it opens in Font Book. If the font is what you are looking for just click the Install Font button. OpenType fonts work in Mac OS X, and TrueType fonts work in Mac OS X and earlier versions.

There is a little bit more to do in Windows, and you must be an Administrator on the target machine to install or remove fonts.

To install a font in Windows the hard way, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. Type the following command, and then click OK:
   %windir%\fonts
3. On the File menu, click Install New Font.
4. In the Drives box, click the drive that contains the font that you want to add.

Alternatively, you can also browse to a file in Explorer and then either

• right-click on the font file, and then select ‘Install’ from the drop-down menu.
• double-click on the font file to open the font preview and click the ‘Install’ button.

We are installing the new font for embedding in a header graphic, so everyone will see the same result. We tend not to use these custom fonts on web pages as most viewers will not have them installed, and you dont want to lose fancy twirls and long descenders.

A great site to visit is dafont.com where they have an excelent selection of Free, Shareware, Free for Personal Use and Public domain/GNU GPL fonts which will meet most needs. We particularly liked the Sci-Fi selection which includes gems like Star Jedi and terminator! We discounted fonts marked “Free for personal use” as this newsletter is to support a database which is launching in a corporate market.

Why not explore the wonderful world of fonts and give you next newsletter some character?

• Pull out the MacBook Pro magnetic power connector.
• Close the lid as if putting it away for the night.
• Reinsert the power connector
• Open the lid as if waking it up

The machine then should be ready to authenticate you to continue working.

The science behind this is wooly at best, but assumes that the MacBook Pro is in fact self aware, but lonely, and goes into a sulk if you leave it alone for too long. Pulling the plug and closing the lid puts it to sleep properly, and powering up and opening the lid again wakes it up again, as if it has had a good night’s sleep. So far it has worked every time!

For skeptical people who do not believe in anthropomorphism, try seeing the explanation as a metaphor; it does not matter if there is a poisonous snake by your foot, or if you just believe there is, your reaction is the same. Try the sequence and see if it fixes your MacBook Pro Dark Screen Problem, then let us know your explanation!

The unusual thing is, I could see that the machine was still running, as I had a second display plugged into the external graphics adaptor, and the screensaver had been showing there. Moving the mouse pointer to the second display stopped the screensaver, and I was able to successful log on, even though I could not see the main screen. This brought up the desktop on the external display, which showed that machine was still running.

After I Googled MacBook Pro Dark Screen, which showed lots of people have had the same problem, I concluded that there are a lot of expensive sounding fixes involving changing Screens, Inverters and Reed switches! I really want a simple, no cost, fix for the dark screen problem. I tried the recommended F5 keyboard backlit dim followed by F6 brighten sequence, but to no avail. I also tried a Command-Option-P-R sequence, as someone suggested that it might be a power management problem.

The idea that the MacBook Pro power management may have become confused gave me an idea. Yes I know that is anthropomorphism, but sometimes it helps to understand what is going at a higher level of abstraction, without bothering about details like facts. So having made that mental leap, I tried the following sequence:

• Repeatedly press F5 until the keyboard went dark
• Pull out the magnetic power connector.
• Close the lid as if putting the MacBook Pro away for the night.
• Open the lid and reinsert the power connector as if waking it up.

As if by magic, the machine sprang back to life and displayed the login box, and all was well. This was the first time I had experienced the dark screen without resorting to rebooting to fix it. Celebrations all round!

Now logic would suggest that pressing backlit buttons F5 and F6 could have no impact on the screen. Pulling out the magnetic power connector has never made a difference to the dreaded dark screen before, nor has closing the lid and reopening it. How about the sequence of steps, exactly as listed? Well I have never tried it before, in my recollection, so perhaps it is the sequence? We will see, next time the dark screen occurs.

In the meantime, if anybody actually knows what causes the dreaded MacBook Pro Dark Screen, or repeats my sequence and has it work for them, please let me know. You can click here to contact me via TechCo Support, or post a comment below.

Remember that all sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic! Have a Happy New Year!

1. Switch to the screen that you want to capture
2. Hold down Command (Apple key) + Shift + 3, then release all keys
3. Use your mouse to click on the screen

You will see a picture file appear on your desktop, which is the captured image file.

You can Print Screen (screen capture) just a portion of your screen, which is really useful if you are wanting to focus on a particular part, say an icon.

1. Switch to the application or screen where you want to screen capture
2. Hold down Command (Apple key) + Shift + 4, then release all keys
3. You will see the mouse cursor has changed to +
4. Use your mouse to select the portion you wish to capture.

You will see a picture file appear on your desktop, which is the screen capture image.

If you want to print screen for a particular application window you can

1. Switch to the screen that you want to screen capture
2. Hold down Command (Apple key) + Shift + 4, then release all keys
3. You will see the mouse cursor has changed to +
4. Press the space bar once
5. You will now see the mouse cursor has changed to a camera
6. Use the camera to select which application window to screen capture

As before, you will see a picture file appear on your desktop, which is the captured image file.

However as Windows users are used to the captured image going straight to the clipboard, you can mimic this behavior on a Mac as follows:

1. Switch to the screen that you want to capture
2. Hold down Command (Apple key) + Control + Shift + 3, then release all keys
3. Use your mouse to click on the screen

The captured image is now in the clipboard, ready to for you to paste into your chosen application.

The full list of built-in Mac Screenshot Commands are as follows: