Mac OS X is a system full of small details. Sometimes these do not do anything really useful and sometimes are actions that will eventually make it really necessary for reasons of accessibility and time savings.
I propose a list of little tricks that I find quite interesting:
As we said Samuel, the ALT key hides some secrets if used in combination with others. For example, pressing ALT and clicking on the icons in the menu bar can view more detailed information on the wifi network to which we connect, select the audio input and output, information on Bluetooth, etc.. On the other hand, if we press ALT and click a Dock icon automatically hides from us the application.
If you remember, in Leopard could highlight items in a stack , as in Snow Leopard does the same terminal command.
defaults write com.apple.dock mouse-over-hilte-stack -boolean yes killall Dock
If we click on an application icon, which is executed in the Dock and hold the mouse button click we will Expose for all windows of that application and provide options for Exit, Hide, or options such as Open at logon, Maintain Show the Dock or the Finder.
Mac OS X has always been characterized by the concept of Drag & Drop (drag and drop). To this day I still see as many users to take a photo in iPhoto to Pixelmator, Photoshop or just export it to Mail first and then open with appropriate application. Do not waste time clicking on the file (photo, audio file, video, etc …), dragged into the application window or icon and drop. Time is money.
If you always liked iTunes mini player who appeared to press the green button on the window of that application and now you miss it in the new version of iTunes, 9, do not worry. As we commented in another entry Apple.Wisecodes, simply press ALT + click on green button will reappear. Remember, the ALT key.
Just run a simple command in the terminal we can make the list view in stacks behave like that seen in crosslinked.
defaults write com.apple.dock use-new-list-stack -bool YES$ killall Dock
Snow Leopard in the way that we can assign keyboard shortcuts has improved. In Mac OS X Hints shows how to create shortcuts to, unless we use application launcher, open the application you want with a simple keystroke. For that we created a new service application with the Open action.
In Snow Leopard is now possible to take screenshots of any content that we are playing with DVD Player. In previous versions when we conducted a screen showing in black the player window.
Try to select text within Safari or any application and drag it to the desktop, you have a file with the selection but if instead of dragging it on the desktop icon for TextEdit, Pages, … we have the text ready to edit, modify, …
Finally, browse into Mac OS X is a good activity for the moments of boredom. Like you find a trick that may become essential for your best user experience. Sure there are many more, a matter of time to discover little tricks.
Language Switcher is an application that allows you to start any application that we installed in the languages in which it is available. From the very Language Switcher will allow us to choose a language and run the application. If the application is not in the Applications folder, you can choose it with File, Add from the menu. We can also indicate a Language Switcher always run the application in the chosen language.
Another interesting option is to boot multiple applications at once.
Language Switcher is free (the author admits donations) and is optimized for Snow Leopard.
Intel has launched its new processors, Intel Mobile Core i7. Based on the Westmere microarchitecture, whose main feature reduced power consumption, four cores, two threads per processor thanks to HyperThreading and the possibility, depending on the cores used, raising the frequency of using technology Turbo Boost.
The new Core i7 Mobile are fabricandos with 32nm technology and the three models available are: Core i7 Extreme i7 920XM a 2 GHz Core i7 i7 820QM to 1.73 GHz and the Core i7 720QM to 1.6 GHz as we have discussed, these frequencies are the ones that work all the cores at a time but if only one can reach the 3.2 GHz thanks to Turbo Boost.
And what does this mean for the Apple world. Well, possibly becoming the short term at the heart of the future and why not iMac, MacBook family.
As you begin to read, many ways echoed the possibility that Apple will refresh the iMac and MacBook soon. This as always rumors, but analysts who have received comments on orders of buses, memories, etc …
The truth is that if we analyze the different ranges of desktops and laptops is not unreasonable to think of an early update. Thanks to Mac’s buyers see as the iMac is the end of its “life cycle”, from March 2009 and maintain design features. And despite being in portable mid-cycle could get some extra face to the Christmas campaign.
Therefore, if the iMac renewing short-term bet by two possibilities: a simple physical redesign and maintenance of virtually the same technical features with a new lower price, as we are accustomed lately, or the introduction of the new Core i7 Mobile which would keep prices and provide a team with a single power without sacrificing the design reduced because the temperature would not be a problem.
In the notebook is more difficult to clarify ideas. And if I had to bet something would be a slight renewal of the white polycarbonate MacBook. The white MacBook remains a design that already has three years and even with its good performance and price is at a point where most users prefer to put a little extra and buy the MacBook Pro 13 “.
But if Apple takes advantage of all the development made in the Pro range, produces a thinner team even with the same technical features and a lower price could be a hard blow to the PC market and even the NetBook. Currently, most manufacturers have an initial range between 500 and 600 euros to be compared with a MacBook is not no big deal. Imagine a 700 euros MacBook’s environment, I think that would wipe sales.
What is clear is that soon we will see how the power of Mobile Core i7 flood the Mac, giving a power that Snow Leopard will squeeze even more. I believe the first Mac in miros will incorporate the new iMac because, despite its lower power and heat generated, the battery of a laptop would be greatly diminished if we turn on every processor possibilities. In tests conducted by other means say that by using the Turbo Boost the battery lasts an hour excasa. But hey, if manufacturers like Eurocomm have already released notebooks with these mics why Apple does not.
Anyway, my intention is not to create anxiety to see the new teams or wait for updates later be disappointed. If today you are thinking of buying a new Apple computer will tell you only if you need a Mac now compralo quietly, if not expected.
Today, for those who follow with particular interest from Apple today, see ads like these can not produce anything but a healthy envy.
In the coming weeks will release an Apple I through eBay, one of the top 200 computers manufactured by Apple and specifically by Steve Wozniak with his own hands.
These teams came to light in July 1976 at a price of 666.66 dollars. And now estimated to be no more than fifty teams, which makes them an authentic collector’s item valued between 14,000 and 16,000 dollars.
We will, when offered for sale as they end up paying for it. Of course, for the seller is a good deal more economical even for sentimental own an Apple I is something that is priceless.
What you see in the image are Flips. Some video players video camera included. Well, it seems that Cisco Systems are the ones behind the gadget and, taking the camera out of nano, are trying to shade in some way when Apple product.
It’s funny to read as “The imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” I would have expected such a comment to Microsoft, but Apple … I do not know, maybe the times are changing, Apple may now be somewhat loose creativity . But … what if we see it from another point of view? Apple had a lot of users wanted to know that radio is the iPod and now when I have included. What if what happens is that Apple is opening the mind, ceasing to be so functional? I mean, an iPod was for music and as we have been drawing new generations (especially the latter) Apple has been putting things that do not exactly have to do with music. Maybe the camera on the iPod is nothing but the natural process that has been bringing the iPod to date.
How do you see? Is this a new Apple even listening to your customers? Or, indeed, a lack of ideas that the company is suffering from Cupertino?
He spent a week now since Mac OS X Snow Leopard went on sale for all mortals. He talked about many things, I deeply analyzed and highlighted all its aspects. But one aspect of which little or nothing was said about the source code was the same. Rodrigo Gomez, manager of new business for Apple Latin America said about it:
It is one of the most important updates to the operating system has had to date, with a rewrite of nearly 80 per cent
That is, practically rewrote the entire Operating System. A remarkable achievement which few would be enthusiastic to do. For example, even though Microsoft is aesthetically changed much, its source code has no major modifications.
And speaking of aesthetics, Rodrigo said:
While the interface is different, a little smarter, its use is more or less the same. Thanks to increased performance provided by the Mac OS X v10.6 users will not see differences … but it will feel.
While not using Mac OS X, I think there’s the essence of his philosophy. You do not necessarily have to notice all the changes that are made with just enough to feel the change. Maybe that’s why Windows 7 is so praised, so changes are not noticeable, but if performance.
On the changes of Snow Leopard, Gomez stressed that applications are written once but the system compiles for 32 and 64 bits. Also do not forget OpenCL technology, which leverages the processing of the graphics card when not in use.
As expected, Apple is doing things right, let’s talk about quality and usability of the software.
The video is of Matt Fisher, a boy of 16 who maintains the site Mac OS X tutorials where we can see some hidden features in Snow Leopard quite interesting among them are:
Coverflow
Spotlight
Resize icons in the Finder
Different ways to view in Preview
Minimize applications in the Dock icons
Organization of keyboard shortcuts
Finding and fixing the date and time
Display the date in the menu bar
Batteries
Replacing Text and symbols
Put the option back in the trash
I found very interesting because there were things to know before watching it. “You have learned something?
The video belongs to a group of developers who love low-level programming called Unreal Voodoo presented at the Assembly 2009.
It is made with a Mac Classic II that has a 68030 at 16 MHz. The video is a couple of laptops that get a Macintosh for the first because it is not able to do graphics too powerful. It is quite funny and taking into account what equipment you have, it’s unbelievable.
TweetMyMac is a small application that lets you use the Twitter microblogging service to perform certain actions on our team. Among them get screen shots, pictures with the iSight, you know the IP address of your Mac, etc … by sending a direct message to the Twitter account.
The basic requirement is to create an account to which you send messages with the corresponding commands. Once the receiving TweetMyMac give the order to execute and return the appropriate response.
But be careful, to use TweetMyMac you must consider two things: first, that is currently in beta, which means you can give some little problems or simply not work quite right, and second, do not use your main Twitter account and the new that we believe is protected.
TweetMyMac is free and apart from donations, which is always appreciated and motivate developers hope to share with them all that we can detect faults.
