To open an app in terminal, type open -a AppName or open /Applications/AppName.app if you want to specify the path. I use it for starting VNC server via SSH.
Bonus: echo “set completion-ignore-case On” > ~/.inputrc will make auto-completion case-insensitive.
When I migrated my Picasa photo collection from Windows to Mac, I didn’t realize that the folder created when you save your changes changed from Originals to .picasaoriginals. To rename all the folders created with the Windows version, run this in terminal:
find . -name Originals -type d -execdir mv ‘{}’ \.picasaoriginals \;
Until today, I was very confused by the fact that iTunes sorted some of my artists by last name and some by first name. Then I figured out why – when editing the mp3/aac meta tags, you can specify custom sort fields. To change the sort field, select one or more songs, right-click and Get Info. Then select a sort artist or other sort fields in the Sorting tab.
MacRumors has pretty much everything you need to know. You can also take screenshots remotely, over SSH. (Just remember that with great power, comes great responsibility.) The only thing the built in functionality can’t do is take full screenshots of windows that scroll beyond the screen. There’s tons of commercial apps to do that, but Papparazzi! will do the job for free.
Do you want to open a particular file with another program in OS X? If you want to open it just once, you can right/control-click and select “Open With.” (Since I have VMware Fusion installed, I can open files in Windows directly from the Finder!)
To open a single file with a particular program every time, right/control-click, and Get Info. Then you can select to program to use under “Open with.”
This change only applies to current document. To change the default program for all documents, click “Change All…” and confirm.
One of the nice touches of OS X is the use of the Helvetica typeface for rich-text editing in TextEdit and other programs. Microsoft’s version of Helvetica is Arial, which is basically a lower-quality rip-off of the original. (To understand my attraction to Helvetica, I recommend watching Helvetica, the documentary.)
However, in Vista/Office 2007, Microsoft released the ClearType Font Collection, a great new set of fonts, including several designed especially for viewing text on computer screens. The two I find particularly useful in this regard are Cambria, which is optimized for viewing small text, and Consolas, which is a monospaced font useful in programming and the like.
So how do you get these fonts in your Mac? Well, they come with Office 2008 for the Mac. After you install office, just go into your favorite editor’s preferences and select Cambria and/or Consolas as your default font.
If you don’t have Office 2008, things are a little trickier. This tutorial will guide you through installing the fonts in Windows and Linux – and OS X, if you install the required Linux utilities via something like MacPorts. Office 2004 users can get some of the fonts with the Open XML Converter. If you have a Vista computer, you can copy them from C:\WINDOWS\Fonts to /Library/Fonts. If you have a pre-Vista OS, you can get them with the free Powerpoint 2007 viewer. If you are still out of luck, you can always purchase them directly from the foundry.
The latest update for the Google Mobile iPhone app has a very cool feature: voice search. You just open Google Mobile, lift the phone to your head and say what you want to find. That’s it. When I said “What is the latest book by Neal Stephenson?” I got:
Your iPhone knows where you are, so you can ask about places and events nearby, and Google Mobile will hook you up.
P.S.: To take screenshots on the iPhone, press the sleep/wake + home button. The screen will flash to let you know it worked.
If you want to access a Windows computer remotely, you can use the built-in Remote Desktop functionality – if you’re lucky enough to be running a professional edition of Windows XP or Vista.
OS X also comes with remote desktop support in the form of a built in VNC server, which is calls “screen sharing”. You can enable screen sharing in the Sharing preference pane. Unfortunately, the built in VNC server and viewer in OS X are very limited, especially if you’re used to the Remote Desktop functionality of Windows.
If you have a few hundred dollars to spare, you can purchase Remote Desktop for OS X. Otherwise, you can enhance the built in viewer and run your own VNC server for free. If you are connecting to OS X from Windows, there are many VNC viewers to choose from, such as Tight VNC, Ultra VNC, and Real VNC. The servers for Ultra and Real VNC are commercial, but the viewers are free. My favorite is the Real VNC viewer from their Enterprise edition. (You can download the viewer separately.)
My favorite option lacking from the build-in functionality is “Adapt to Network Speed”, which automatically adjusts the image quality to the speed of your network.
P.S.: If you want to access Windows from your Mac, get Microsoft’s Remote Desktop for OS X. Another free option for both Mac and PC is LogMeIn.com
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