How To : Make All Your Apps Go Full Screen [MAC]

Sometimes, if you are tired of seeing an annoying desktop behind your important application window, or even if you are just looking to make your screen wider so you can record a video, you generally want to make your application full screen. To do this, their is a little double arrow at the top right hand corner, and you would click it. HOWEVER, a BUNCH of applications on the Mac don’t support this, and it is a hassle trying to make it go full screen. I was faced with the same problem, because I wanted to record some Minecraft while easily switching through Skype calls so my viewers could hear their voices. However, the full screen for Minecraft was not supported, and the alternative was just as bad, I could go full screen but not be able to switch through applications. So I did a bit of homework. I looked into different steps and methods, and I discovered a way to make my Minecraft full screen with two FREE items called SIMBL and Maximizer. If you are reading this, you may have the same type of problem, so I have put these steps together in a How-To, aimed directly at those who need help with this.

Step 1: The first step is going to be to download both of the applications. You can download SIMBL and Maximizer from the links down here, and after you are done open both of them. Also, use the SIMBL for Snow Leopard and Leopard, it is the easiest and works for all the Mac OS X 10 updates like Lion and Mountain Lion:

http://www.culater.net/software/SIMBL/SIMBL.php

http://chpwn.com/apps/maximizer.html

Step 2: The next step is to open SIMBL. You want to download and install it onto your computer. Once that is done, you are going to open the Maximizer application. In it, there will be a file called Maximizer.bundle. Be sure to drag this to your desktop. One this is done, you are ready to move onto Step 3.

Step 3: Now that you have installed SIMBL, you are going to want to open your Finder, usually located on your dock. Once you are in, press these keyboard controls: CMD + SHIFT + G. After you do that, a pop up will come with the words /folder or /library. You are going to want to change this so that it says this folder: /Library/Application Support/SIMBL/Plugins

Step 4: You are now in the Plugins folder for SIMBL. Remember that Maximizer Bundle that you put in your desktop earlier? Now you are going to drag it into your Plugins folder. After that, you can exit out of Finder, and open up App Store. If it has the two arrows at the right top corner to enlarge, than you have done it correctly! If not, make sure you have the right version of Maximizer.bundle installed, and that you did all the commands correctly.

If this How To helped you guys out at all, be sure to leave a LIKE. Don’t forget to COMMENT if there is anything that I missed, if there was a bug, or you guys need help! Also, be sure to FOLLOW me, I do TechTastic blogs every week, on Mondays! See you guys in another blog!

How To : Download and Use OpenEmu [ALL Video Game System Emulator for Mac] FREE!

I am sure a lot of you gamers out there probably have been wanting a free, and easy to use, emulator to play all your favorite games, such as Pokemon, The Legend Of Zelda, Super Smash Bros, etc. But the problem is you are not able to find the correct way to do it, and what’s worse is that you are on Macintosh, so it is much harder! However, you are in luck, because I will be showing you how to download and use OpenEmu, an emulator that has ALL popular systems loaded on it, and how to get it for FREE! Be warned, this emulator is only for Mac and you cannot use it for Windows, though I might do another tutorial on that. But anyways, let’s get started, and hopefully you will have OpenEmu loaded and working by the end of this tutorial!

Step 1: The first step is to download the app. It is for Mac, and you can download the roms for this emulator from this site too. I will go more in-depth of roms in another tutorial, but basically it is the game that you want to play, like Pokemon FireRed. You are going to scroll down and hit the “Download Now” button. Beware, there are going to be ads that ask you to download now also, but the OpenEmu downloader is a green arrow going into a disk:

http://coolrom.com/emulators/mac/35/OpenEmu.php

Step 2: Now, right after you open the file, it will ask you to install it. You will have to let it install, but when you come across ads be sure to deny them so you can get rid of the threat of AdWare on your computer! Anyways, after you install it you will get an icon showing the OpenEmu logo, and the Applications folder. You want to drag it into your Applications folder, and it will copy there. If you want to, you could also drag it to your dock or desktop for easy access to your game.

Step 3: Now that you have downloaded it, you have to open it. It will ask you to insert a rom, and you can get those from the  CoolRom website I showed you earlier. Now you are able to play! Just import the rom and select the console it uses! You can save or pause the game with buttons on the bottom, and even record a Let’s Play if you want!

That is how you can play games on an emulator for the Mac called OpenEmu. If this tutorial helped you in any way, be sure to leave a LIKE. If there is anything I should fix or add to this tutorial, be sure to tell me in the COMMENTS. Also, don’t forget to FOLLOW me for Tech Related blogs, coming out every Monday! See you guys in another blog!

Don’t forget to watch my Pokemon AshGray Let’s Play, I used OpenEmu to record it!