Archived entries for
Cinch
High quality utility for Leopard that allows you to easily resize windows to fullscreen or half-screen and back. Tried it for a week and now I’m hooked. Free version with periodic nag or $7 paid.
2 Dock related tips I take for granted
Part of the reason I like to post tips and tricks to my blog is so I can refer to them later if I’m doing a fresh install or setting up someone else’s machine. But there are at least two tips I just thought of that I’ve never posted because they are automatic for me.
1. 2D Dock. I’ve just never been a fan of the 3D Dock introduced in Leopard. Here’s how to get it.
2. Recent Things Stack. There is a recent items option in the Apple menu but that requires two clicks. With this tip you can get there with one click. I typically keep it set to recent applications. Here’s how to get it.
Restore default icons in Mac OS
Once again, a simple and intuitive solution to a problem that had been nagging me for a while. If you’ve ever changed the icons of folders in your user directory and wondered how to get them back to the originals, there is a drop dead easy way… Just Get Info, click the icon and hit backspace!
Post #4 claims an AppleCare “Genius” didn’t even know this. Why am I not surprised..
Dashboard Kickstart
Here’s a utility that auto-refreshes your Dashboard widgets on login and wake so that when you activate the Dashboard they appear instantly.
Using email aliases in Mail.app
Impressive that after over 6 years of using Mac OS I’m still discovering useful new tricks. If you use Mail.app and want to easily send mail using different email “aliases” (from addresses) this link describes the simplest way to do it.
DashNote
Really digging this Dashboard widget for SimpleNote. I prefer it over the web app. Looks nice too.
A few MacBook Pro sleep tips
I agree, for my usage I prefer using hibernate (aka safe sleep) over plain sleep. I tend to sleep it for long periods and don’t like losing battery life. And since I have a super fast SSD, I hardly notice any difference in the time it takes to wake.
Why I always disable “Wake On Lid Open” on my MacBooks
I also made this change. I prefer to have more control because there are times when I may open the lid (say to clean it) and not want it to wake straightaway.
I’m not done yet though. I’m still on the lookout for a way to use the MacBook Pro in clamshell mode (with the lid closed) without a real keyboard or mouse connected. Often when traveling and what not I’ll connect it to an HDTV to watch a movie and will use my iPhone to control it. But since there is no real keyboard or mouse attached (only VNC) normal Mac OS clamshell mode doesn’t engage. I’ve tried InsomniaX but haven’t been able to get it to work. And it appears that project is now dead.
And last but not least it would be nice to disable USB wake as well. As in, when I unplug my iPhone on my way out the door in the morning it would be nice if my computer didn’t wake up.
Force rebuild Spotlight index
Noticed some strangeness with Spotlight searching.. Just to be safe I wanted to force a rebuild of the index. Here’s how..
