Signing up for ITunes US Account (from Singapore) without having to use a credit card

I found this really useful tip online, to sign up for a US ITunes account without having to provide your credit card information.

You will need your Mac/Macbook in order to do this.

1. On your Mac, under System Preferences, click on "iCloud". 

2. There is a Manage button in the right bottom corner. Click on it.

3. Click "View account", and enter your Apple ID and password (or if you do not have one, sign up for it first).

4. Apple ID Summary will appear and you may edit your Payment information there,

5. There is the option to choose "None" under payment in this page.

Viola! You are now set to download free apps/content from ITunes US!

PS: after fiddling around the store for a day or so, I find that ITunes US has loads more interesting and better apps!! 

Do-Not-Call registry to start by end of next year in Singapore - Hooray!

I read with interest the news, which says that the Do-Not-Call registry will be in operation in Singapore soon. This is really good news for me. I receive, on some days, 4-8 calls from unknown numbers. Initially, I tried to be nice and pick up the calls. However, as the callers can be very persistent in trying to get me to hear their sales pitch (the latest credit card, loan programme, fund transfer, insurance), I no longer pick up these calls.

Until the Do-Not-Call registry gets set up, I have found a good way to handle these calls, by making the calls unobtrusive using the following steps (please note that I am using an Iphone and hence, the steps are for Iphone users):-

1. Create a new contact called "Nuisance Caller" (or whatever name you want to give it).
2. Store numbers which you know belong to this category of callers under this contact.
3. Customize the type of alert that you would like to get. For me, I set the alert to "no alert", i.e. no ring tone, no vibration. So basically, I will not be disturbed when a "Nuisance Caller" calls my number.

That's all to it!

Running Windows 7 on Mac using Parallels 8 - It works!

I am a happy person today. I managed to set up my Macbook Pro to run Windows 7 via Parallels 8!

Here's the configuration:

1. Mackbook Pro (13 inch, mid 2010. 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB Memory. Lion OSX 10.7.5. About 70 GB free storage).

2. Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac
(you can get it from most computer shops that sells Mac stuff and from Amazon (link opens to Amazon website) Parallels Desktop 8 for Mac
3. Windows 7 Home SP-1 64 bit, OEM version
(you can get the retail version from some computer shops (slowly being phased out as Windows 8 is not available) Amazon (link opens to Amazon website) Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Steps:

1. I first did a bootable backup of my hard disk using Carbon Copy Cloner (the old version 3.4.7 which was free. The new version now costs US$40 *gasp*) on my 1 TB Toshiba Canvio 3.0 Plus external hard disk (got it for S$105 at Sim Lim Square).

The backup is made just for peace of mind, in case anything goes wrong during installation. I partitioned 300 GB of the 1 TB hard disk using Disk Utility that comes with the Macbook Pro. For it to be bootable, remember to choose GUID partition type (if you have a Intel based Mac like mine). The other 700 GB is for storage. The cloning process took a few hours, for my 250 GB storage hard disk.

To check whether or not your newly cloned external hard disk is bootable, reboot your Mac while holding down the Option key. This allows you to choose the boot up disk (i.e. my newly cloned external hard disk in my case).

Boot up check - SUCCESS

2. Once the backup and boot up check is done, I checked my Mac storage to ensure that there is at least 20 GB of free storage for the installation. Of course, I would think the more freed-up resources you have, the more fuss free and speedy the installation.

3. I inserted the Parallels installation disc and installation was a breeze. Merely followed the instructions, and let the program run. It came to a screen which requested me to put in the Windows installation disc.

Parallels Installation - SUCCESS

4. At this point, I inserted the Windows 7 installation disc and Parallels took over the installation from there. I bought my Windows 7 Home OEM disc from Sim Lim Square for S$115. Having read on the internet that some people had problems using Windows 7 OEM discs to install Windows 7 on their Mac with Parallels, I was filled with trepidation. However, Windows 7 installed without a glitsch. YAY! The process of installing Parallels and Windows 7 took about 1 hour.

Windows 7 OEM Installation - SUCCESS

5. I was able to use Windows 7 without having to restart my Mac. However, just to be on the safe side, I restarted my Mac. No problems faced. Windows 7 is present as a desktop icon. To start using it, I just have to click on the icon and Parallels + Windows 7 starts.

6. The main purpose for my installing Windows is to allow me to use MS Office. I have a Office XP installation disc from my old scrapped PC, which I now use to install in Windows 7 (on my Mac!). Running Windows 7, I inserted my Office XP installation disc and the system took over from there. An installation window popped up, just like how it would be like in a normal PC, and Office XP installation proceeded as usual.

MS Office Installation - SUCCESS

I am now able to use MS Word on my Mac while enjoying the OS X interface at the same time. Mac gestures work in MS Word as well :) Only thing that I have to get used to is the different keyboard shortcuts.. eg, for super scrip (crtl shift =) and sub script (ctrl =) and paste special (option e s).

COOL!

Other posts which you may be interested in:

• Using my Kindle as a news reader