Screenshots: we all take them. To show a co-worker or IT support person what’s not working on our computer, or to send a picture of a spectacular sunset in Minecraft to brag to our friends on Facebook, perhaps. Last week, we looked at a way to change the default screenshot name via some Terminal magic in OS X Lion. Today, we’re going to look at something perhaps even MORE useful: changing the default image type of those screenshots.
Ever plug your laptop into an LCD projector and have to switch to a much lower resolution than you’re used to? Do you use a lot of menubar apps? Have a hard time seeing all those menubar apps when you’re using a lower resolution display setting? If so, today’s tip is for you.
I have to admit it. I take a lot of screenshots here when trying to illustrate these daily tips. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to name them something more useful, say, like “Cult Of Mac Tips?” Well, it turns out there is a way to do that, requiring only a dip into the Terminal app and some copy and pasting. Ready?
Sometimes, we need to speed up the response of our mouse or our trackpad, like for a First Person Shooter game. Other times, we might need to slow it down, so we can work with more detailed graphics files in a drawing program. SmoothCursor, from the folks at leftbee apps, is a simple little utility that does just that.
Ever need to quickly change audio input or output settings on your Mac, but don’t want to hop into the System Preferences, find the Sound preference pane, then click around the tabs? Maybe you’re in the middle of a super important presentation and just need the sound to work for that amazing video you’re sharing? Well, todays quick tip will have you blasting the audience’s eardrums in no time.
Wondering how Spotlight works, or why it can’t find a file that you were SO SURE you had saved on your hard drive? Turns out that Spotlight is in essence an index of all the metadata from the files on your hard drive. When you type in a search query, the app searches the index, rather than the actual files on your hard drive. This is what makes it very fast in finding the info you are searching for. Unfortunately, that index itself can get out of date or corrupted, or can be deleted by mistake when restoring a hard drive, for example. Luckily, there are two ways to reindex, or rebuild, Spotlight’s database.
Devon Technologies offers up this free search app, EasyFind. They’re touting it as a free alternative or supplement to Spotlight, and say it’s faster and more responsive, especially when searching for text files. If you’ve used Spotlight lately, you know that it can have issues, especially due to the indexing feature, which may be out of date or corrupt.
MiniUsage is a clever little menu bar app for Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later. It allows users to see what’s going on within their system, from memory to CPU to disk access, right from the OS X menu bar. It’s also compatible with AppleScript, so savvy users can geek out a bit and customize the behavior of the app.
I myself have had issues with OS X Lion not remembering my home wireless network. Or, more accurately, not choosing it when waking my MacBook Air from sleep. So when I came across this tip, I figured I’d share with the rest of you.
Yet another new feature in Mac OS X Lion, Mission Control transitions with an animated shrinking and growing of the current Space, showing all the other Spaces and open app windows for easy control over all the display options. If you feel like this transition could use a bit of a speed boost, try this easy tip.
Optimizing your Mac can be a time intensive process, require expensive software, or need more knowledge of the inner workings of the computer than you’re willing to learn. When older Macs start to slow down or show quirky odd behaviors, using an app to optimize and clean things up can be a tremendous time and energy saver. It may also provide a zippier computer at the end of the process, something everyone will appreciate.
Can’t find that file you just downloaded?
Keyboard shortcuts are for power users, right? Well, not ONLY them. Even relative newcomers to OS X tend to know about Command-C (Copy), Command-X (Cut), and Command-V (Paste). They might even know how to open the Applications Folder (Command-Shift-A) or the Utilities Folder (Command-Shift-U). But This one was new, even to me, a relatively seasoned user of Mac OS X. Popping open the Downloads folder from the Finder is simple, with a Command-Option-L. Be sure to thank us later. (Update: Or thank the ever vigilant folks in the comments for their good catch – we’re nothing if not responsive.)
The most secure way of password protecting your online life is to create a random strong password, one now one can ever guess. The problem, of course, is that you won’t be able to guess it, either. Or remember it. Luckily, we’ve found a nice solution to this problem: Password Gorilla, freeware that will help us all keep track of our passwords.
Here’s another OS X Lion feature: the Launchpad. It fades in and out when being shown and hidden. You’d think this was just the way things are, but there’s actually a way to disable it. Why would you want to? Older computers that still support OS X Lion might need a little less to worry about, and turning off animations like this (or the “move to dock” window function) can help things feel a bit snappier. Or, maybe you just don’t like the fade in and fade out. Have it your way.
Dock Spaces allows users to have up to ten different customized docks, each with its own set of applications, documents and stacks. This simple shareware app will also let users set the preferences for each instance of Dock that they set up, including the size, position of the screen, and magnification.
While there are many features in OS X Lion that excite me, one that does not is the Resume feature. Clearly, Apple thought that opening windows from the last time an App was open would be a time saving feature, but I just find it annoying. Are you with me?
If so, we’ve got three separate ways to get rid of this behavior.
Yeah, that gray linen login screen looked cool when it first appeared in OS X Lion, but honestly? It’s gotten a bit bland. As is typical of Apple, of course, there’s no built in way to change it. We’ve found two ways, one that messes with the system files (you’ve been warned!) and one that uses a third party app to allow us all to have even more pictures of LOLcats on our computers. Or, you know, our kids or pets or something.
As we all age, chances are our senses will age along with us. As someone with great vision most of my life, I was aghast a couple of months ago when I couldn’t read the writing on a watch battery, no matter how close or far I held it from my eyes. So sad!
Luckily for us, and for thousands of users with visual impairments, OS X has a plethora of ways to interact with the Mac, all built right into the operating system. In this tip, we’ll focus on the vision side of things.
The first thing I disliked about Mac OS X Lion was the way it changed the Dashboard display. It’s nice to be able to see behind the widgets to the stuff I’m working on in the background. Especially if I’m using a widget like the Calculator, or the Weather, or the Conversion widget to see how much that import from Europe might cost me in US dollars.
Mac OS X Lion, however, puts the Dashboard into it’s own separate space, complete with opaque background that looks like an odd mix of linen theme and bubble wrap. Or maybe a non-skid floor tile from a spaceship? I dunno. Regardless, not being able to see through the background was an issue, until now. I no longer have to launch the stand alone Calculator app to do a quick sum, and can go back to enabling the Dashboard, using the Calculator widget, and dismissing it just as quickly.
iCal brings out the love/hate side of the Mac fan base, with folks either praising the built-in Mac calendaring app or spreading vitriol thickly all over it. Regardless of your own specific opinion, however, todays tip will allow users to have just a bit more control over their iCal app.