Remap F4 to Open LaunchPad on Older Pre-Mac OS X Lion Keyboards

Aug 12, 2011 - 10 Comments
Flip F4 in FunctionFlip

Since the launch of Mac OS X Lion, all keyboards on new Mac products have replaced F4 with a ‘LaunchPad’ button instead of the old Dashboard button. If you have pre-Lion Mac, you can remap that F4 Dashboard button to open LaunchPad instead though, here’s how:

Assign Apps to Desktops in Mission Control

Aug 11, 2011 - 11 Comments
Assign Apps to Spaces in Mission Control

If you use multiple Desktops (aka Spaces aka Virtual Desktops) in OS X Lion’s Mission Control, you can set apps to specific Desktops, all Desktops, or no specific Desktop at all. Right-click on the apps icon in the Dock Navigate to Options, and then from the “Assign To” sub-menu select one of the three choices: … Read More

Toggle Full Screen Mode with a Keyboard Shortcut in Mac OS X

Aug 10, 2011 - 47 Comments
Add a Full Screen Keyboard Shortcut in Mac OS X Lion

Want to get the most out of Mac OS X native Full Screen app mode? Assign a keyboard shortcut to toggle Full Screen mode with a simple keystroke. This will work to flip in and out of full screen mode of Mac OS in any app that supports the feature, and it only takes a … Read More

MenuPop Gives Instant Access to Application Menus from Anywhere

Aug 9, 2011 - 3 Comments
MenuPop

Ever wish you could access an applications menubar immediately, from anywhere? MenuPop fulfills this desire, activating an apps menu from anywhere with the click of a hot key or mouse cursor, by creating a contextual menu out of the main menu. This means you can access the Apple  menu, File, Edit, everything, instantly from … Read More

Quickly Display Invisible Files in Mac OS X with Bifocals

Aug 8, 2011 - 8 Comments
Show Invisible Files quickly with Bifocals for Mac OS X

The problem with traditional solutions like a defaults write command to show hidden files in Mac OS X is that they’re permanent unless another defaults write command is executed, this isn’t a big deal for some users but if you just want a quick glance at invisible files than busting out the command line is … Read More

Stuck in Chrome Full Screen? Exit Chromes Full Screen Mode in Mac OS X Lion

Aug 6, 2011 - 11 Comments
Exit full screen mode in Chrome under OS X Lion

If you’ve found yourself stuck in Chromes full screen mode, you’re not alone. Chrome has it’s benefits, like syncing and the native omnibar, but unfortunately Chrome does not play well with Full Screen Mode under Mac OS X Lion – at all. You are free to click the full screen button to get in, but … Read More

Show Available Disk Space in Mac OS X by Showing the Folder Status Bar

Aug 5, 2011 - 27 Comments
Show available disk space and status bar in Mac OS X Lion

In Apple’s quest to simplify the Mac user experience, they hid the windows status bar in Mac OS X starting with Lion and continuing through with Mountain Lion, Mavericks, OS X Yosemite, El Capitan, and Sierra. Obviously that change is here for good, and while this definitely makes for a cleaner appearance when looking at … Read More

Fun with iPhone Chargers

Aug 5, 2011 - 5 Comments
iPhone Charger

We get a lot of silly submissions but this one from Reddit takes the weekly cake for it’s creative modification to the iPhone AC Adapter plugs. If you want to do this yourself, grab a couple of wiggly eyes and get sticking. Thanks for sending this in Daniel

Combine Safari’s URL and Search Bars with Safari Omnibar

Aug 5, 2011 - 28 Comments
Safari Omnibar combines the Search and URL bars

One of the best things about Google Chrome’s user interface is the combined URL and search bar, where a single input bar serves both purposes, but is smart enough to know the difference between a search query and a URL. Safari doesn’t have this feature, but Omnibar fills that gap. Safari Omnibar combines Safari’s URL … Read More

AT&T Removing Unlimited Data Plans From Unofficial Tethering Users

Aug 4, 2011 - 5 Comments
AT&T tethering SMS

Unsurprisingly, AT&T is continuing to actively pursue users who partake in unofficial tethering methods by means of a jailbreak. This isn’t really news though, we mentioned that AT&T was cracking down on unofficial tethering back in March, but nonetheless those who are still using apps like MyWi are continuing to get notifications from AT&T. Earlier … Read More

Official Mac OS X Lion USB Install Media Now Available from AppleCare

Aug 4, 2011 - 10 Comments
Lion USB Install Media from AppleCare Now Available

Don’t want to make a Lion USB install drive or DVD yourself? It’s easier than ever, but if you aren’t up for it, you can now get an official Mac OS X Lion USB recovery drive from AppleCare. The word is that these Lion USB installer drives will officially cost $69, but some users are … Read More

Cancel Downloads from the Mac App Store

Aug 3, 2011 - 38 Comments
Cancel Download from the Mac App Store

If you ever need to cancel an active download from the Mac App Store, you can quickly do so in OS X (on any version) with a really simple trick. There’s not much to the cancel download trick, here’s all you need to do: Hold down the Option key from the “Purchases” menu in the … Read More

Always Show Scroll Bars in Mac OS X

Aug 3, 2011 - 73 Comments
Show Scroll Bars in Mac OS X Lion

The scrollbars in new versions of Mac OS X are hidden until activated by use, that is, by scrolling, making them invisible by default. This is the new default behavior that works very well if you primarily use a trackpad with your Mac. I use an external mouse with my Mac quite often though, and … Read More

Re-Download Mac OS X Lion from the App Store

Aug 2, 2011 - 104 Comments
re-download Mac OS X Lion from the App Store

Need to redownload Mac OS X Lion from the Mac App Store? If you plan on making an install drive but you already upgraded to Lion, you’ll need to redownload the Installer so that you can extract the DMG file. This is the sure fire way to do it, in short, hold the Option key … Read More

The Easiest Way to Make a Lion Install Disk, USB, SD Card, or DVD is Lion DiskMaker

Aug 2, 2011 - 13 Comments
Easily Make a Lion Install DVD or USB Drive

If you don’t want to deal with the already simple task of making a Lion USB install drive or boot DVD, you will probably like the little third party utility called Lion DiskMaker, it’s an AppleScript that handles everything for you as long as you have the requirements met. In order to use LionDiskMaker, you … Read More

Can’t Install XCode 4.1 Because of iTunes? The Fix is to Kill iTunesHelper

Aug 2, 2011 - 28 Comments

Xcode 4.1 was made available as a free download through the Mac App Store for OS X Lion owners, but many users are encountering a strange error when they go to install the development suite; an error message pops up saying that XCode can’t be installed while iTunes is running telling you that “In order … Read More

Dual External Displays are a No-Go on MacBook Air 2011 via Thunderbolt

Jul 29, 2011 - 11 Comments
MacBook Air and external Thunderbolt display

One of the more exciting features of the new MacBook Pro 15″ and 17″ and iMac series is that you can use dual external displays by daisy chaining them via the Thunderbolt port. Unfortunately, this ability is lost on the 2011 MacBook Air, due to the weaker Intel HD 3000 graphics chip and a stripped … Read More

Windows VS Mac OS X as Judged by Ease of Wi-Fi Connectivity

Jul 29, 2011 - 33 Comments
Windows vs Mac

Not to pour anymore fuel on the Windows vs Mac fire, but this wifi setup guide from McDonalds is an excellent illustration to show how the same task is handled on each operating system. On the left, you’ll see two lengthy Windows XP and Windows Vista walkthroughs with a multiple of clicking, configuring, properties, tabs, … Read More

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