For those who prefer the old fashioned method of reading printed directions on paper, maps and directions can be printed directly from an iPhone or iPad via the built-in Maps app in iOS 5. This is handy if you need to give someone else paper directions, or if you don’t want to potentially get a ticket for using a smartphone while driving. Using the tip is quite simple, as MacTrast shows us.

Note: To use the Maps print feature, an AirPrint compatible printer must be nearby. There are third party tools to enable AirPrint with any printer in Mac OS X or Windows available.

• Launch Maps and get directions to a destination as usual
• Tap the curled page button at the bottom right corner of the Maps app
• At the next screen, tap “Print” and then select the AirPrint printer to print to

The printed instructions come in an easy to follow format:
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The holiday classic “A Charlie Brown Christmas” is now available as an interactive story book on the iPad. Featuring digitally remastered illustrations from the original 1965 animated TV classic, it features voice narration and the soundtrack from the original Charlie Brown episode, but the experience has been optimized for iOS. You can play Schroeders piano, finger paint, interact with items on screen, and even decorate your very own Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

• A Charlie Brown Christmas – $6.99 (App Store link)

Whether you have kids or you just want to feel like a kid again, this app is a must have. A Charlie Brown Christmas works on the iPhone and iPod touch as well, but it’ll be best on the larger iPad display. Check out the video below:

Recently we covered how to show full file names on the Mac OS X desktop, avoiding the abbreviated labels that occur when a file or folders name is too large to fit in the allowed character count limit. That trick was done by increasing the desktops grid size, but as one of our readers pointed out in the comments, you are still limited to a maximum of 20 characters in a file name. Using a defaults write command, this can be adjusted to display very long file names without shortening them. As you may have guessed, this is achieved by increasing the desktops grid size even further.

Increase the File Name Displayed Character Limit in Mac OS X

The displayed character limit can be increased to virtually any number, for the purpose of this tip we’ll increase the file names character limit from 20 to 50.

Launch the Terminal from /Applications/Utilities/ and enter the following command.

defaults write com.apple.finder FXDesktopLayoutGridCharCount 50; killall Finder

Entering this command will change the count and immediately restart the Finder so changes take place. If you want fewer or more characters, adjust the number on the end accordingly. The screenshot at the top of this post shows a 100 character limit, but too large a number can look strange, making 50 a good compromise for showing long file names and not making a disaster of the desktop.

Restore the Default File Name Character Limit
defaults write com.apple.finder FXDesktopLayoutGridCharCount 20; killall Finder

Using the above command, the Finder will also restart and the desktops file name limit will be restored to the default setting of 20 characters.

Thanks to Brah for the great tip left in our comments

Update: Additional testing and user feedback suggests the defaults write trick may work in Mac OS X 10.6 only. For OS X 10.7 Lion users, increasing grid space works to the same effect but doesn’t require Terminal intervention.

“Siri, start my car”, “Siri, Set the thermostat to 72 degrees” – saying that to the iPhone and having an AI agent perform those tasks sounds futuristic doesn’t it? It’s not from the future though, it’s now, thanks to the ambitious work of a third party developer who created something called Siri Proxy.

As the name suggests, SiriProxy is a proxy server to Apple’s Siri assistant that allows for creating custom plugins that perform virtually any function, including tasks like remotely starting a car, locking and unlocking car doors, and even querying and controlling a home thermostat. The potential here is huge, and none of it requires any on-device hacks or jailbreaks because it’s handled away from the iPhone on a remote server.

Due to it’s very early stage in development, setting up Siri Proxy isn’t the most easy thing in the world. You’ll need an iPhone 4S, and some experience with Ruby, certificates, web servers, and OpenSSL (you’re setting up a web server, after all). If that’s you, check out the source code and instructions on how to get it working here.

Here are some videos of Siri Proxy in action:
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Amazon is deeply discounting the base model MacBook Air 11.6″, slashing the price 15% taking $150 off the base $999 tag, bringing the price to $849.99 with free shipping. Amazon doesn’t charge sales tax for most states, making the deal even better for many. The Black Friday deal is live now, and presumably will continue throughout the day tomorrow.

• MacBook Air 11.6″ Laptop (NEWEST VERSION) – $849.99
• MacBook Air 11.6″ 4GB / 128GB (NEWEST VERSION) – $1098

This is cheaper than any other offer for the newest MacBook Air, beating the official Black Friday deals offered by Apple.

Update: The initial Amazon $150 off deal is gone but they reduced the next model by 8%, they’re adjusting prices quickly.

If you’re looking to buy some extra media storage for your computer, or you just need a larger Time Machine backup drive, pay attention, because Amazon is having a great sale on external hard drives. The best part is they’re not limiting these discounts to Black Friday, so they’re live now. Most are USB 2.0 but there’s a couple Firewire drives in the mix too if you don’t mind paying extra for the interface. All drives can be formatted for Mac or PC compatibility.

Free shipping, and no lines? Works for me. Don’t miss Amazon’s internal hard drive and SSD deals too.

External Hard Drives

• Western Digital My Book Essential 2 TB External Hard Drive – $129.99
• Iomega eGo 2 TB External Hard Drive – $169.43
• Iomega eGo 1TB External Hard Drive – $140.43
• Western Digital My Book for Mac 2 TB External Hard Drive – $129.99
• Western Digital My Book Essential 3 TB External Hard Drive – $229.99
• G-Technology G-DRIVE 3TB External FireWire Hard Drive 0G01973 – $341.43

Portable External Hard Drives

• Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 750 GB Portable External Hard Drive – $99.99
• Western Digital Elements SE 1 TB Portable External Hard Drive – $109.62
• Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 1.5 TB Portable External Hard Drive STAA1500100 – $159.99
• Buffalo Technology MiniStation Stealth 500 GB Portable External Hard Drive HD-PCT500U2/B – $85.77
• Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex 500 GB Portable External Hard Drive STAA500105 – $116.08
• Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1 TB Portable External Hard Drive – $149.99

Interestingly enough, some of the portable drives are almost as cheap as the less portable variants, typically the difference between the two is 2.5″ vs 3.5″ drives, USB powered vs AC adapter, and what can be a substantial difference in weight and size.
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Apple started airing a new iPod Touch commercial titled “Share the Fun”, and in the process is about to launch a new song into popularity. Many of their recent commercials have featured minor instrumental soundtracks, but now they’re right back in their old habits of picking a catchy song for a TV ad and skyrockting the artist and their music into pop culture.

So what’s the song that all the kids are lip syncing in the new iPod touch commercial?

It’s “Tongue Tied” by GROUPLOVE , a band out of Los Angeles, California. Of course, it wouldn’t be in an Apple commercial if you couldn’t get the song from iTunes:

• Get the song or full GROUPLOVE album on iTunes (iTunes link)

The full music video to GROUPLOVE’s song “Tongue Tied” is below:

Apple has started to air a new iPod Touch commercial titled “Share The Fun”, the commercial features both the 4th gen white and black iPod touches being used to play games on Game Cnter, take pictures, tweet, use FaceTime, and a variety of other fun activities.

This one is much more similar to the fun and upbeat iPod and iPod touch commercials from the past with a playful feel to it, compared to the more serious iPad 2 commercials and the new Siri iPhone 4S commercials that focus on the real life uses of the device.

If you’re wondering what the song is in the newest commercial, it’s Tongue Tied by GROUPLOVE.

Amazon is having a huge sale on hard drives right now, and it’s not just exclusive to Black Friday. Arguably the best part is free shipping and you don’t have to visit a crowded store.

If you’re aiming for maximum performance, an SSD can’t beat, or if you just need tons of space for storage and media, there are plenty of options for both desktops and laptops. Be sure to check that your Mac (or PC) can accommodate the interface and drive size beforehand.

SSD Deals

• Corsair Force 3 120gb SATA III 2.5″ SSD – $166.49
• Kingston SSDNow 128gb SATA II 2.5″ Hard Drive SV100S2D/128GZ – $197.50
• Samsung MZ-5PA256 256gb SSD – $387.94
• Samsung 470-Series MZ-5PA256B 256gb 2.5″ SATA II SSD – $386.21
• Corsair Force GT 120gb SATA 2.5″ SATA III SSD (CSSD-F120GBGT-BK) – $194.99
• Samsung 830-Series MZ-7PC256N/AM 256gb 2.5″ SATA III SSD – $399.99
• Intel 320-Series 120gb SATA III 2.5″ SSD – $189.95
• Samsung 830-Series MZ-7PC128D/AM 128gb 2.5″ SATA III SSD – $229.99
• Corsair Nova Series-2 60gb SATA II 2.5″ SSD (CSSD-V60GB2) – $89.99
• Kingston HyperX 120gb SATA III 2.5″ SSD SH100S3B/120G – $240.99
• Kingston HyperX 240gb SATA III 2.5″ SSD SH100S3/240G – $448.50
• Intel 320-Series 120gb SATA 2.5″ SSD – $189.99
• Kingston HyperX 240gb SATA III 2.5″ SSD SH100S3B/240G – $469.99
• Intel 320-Series 160gb SATA III 2.5″ SSD – $275

Internal 2.5″ Hard Drives

• Seagate Momentus XT 500 GB 2.5″ SSD Hybrid – $148
• Hitachi Travelstar IC25N040ATMR04-0 40gb Hard Drive 2.5″ – $69.99
• Seagate 2.5″ 320gb SATA II Hard Drive ST9320325AS – $125.25
• Hitachi Travelstar 2.5″ 640gb SATA II Hard Drive 0J11562 – $93.88

Internal 3.5″ Hard Drives

• Western Digital 2.5 TB SATA III Hard Drive WD25EZRSDTL – $147.72
• Seagate Cheetah 146gb 3.5″ Hard Drive ST3146855LC – $190
• Western Digital WD5002ABYS 3.5″ Hard Drive 500gb – $100.99
• Western Digital 250gb 3.5″ Hard Drive WD2500JS – $83
• Hitachi Deskstar 3.5″ 2 TB SATA III Hard Drive 0F12115 – $211.99
• Seagate Cheetah 73.4gb 3.5″ Hard Drive ST373455LC 15K RPM – $84.99
• Fujitsu MBA3073NC 3.5″ 73gb Hard Drive 15K RPM – $65
• Hitachi Ultrastar 3.5″ 300gb Hard Drive 0B23661 15K RPM – $239.46

Some of the 3.5″ drives spin at a whopping 15,000 RPM, but for the price/performance, you may be better off with an SSD anyway.

Exposé was replaced with Mission Control in OS X Lion by name, but that doesn’t mean some of the most useful functions of Expose are gone, and in fact what you could see in Expose is still around in the newest versions of Mac OS X, including Mountain Lion 10.8 and newer. One very popular feature was the application Expose feature, which revealed all windows for a specific app, and this is still around in Mac OS X but it’s now visible through a gesture combination.

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Forgetting a user account password can be a major frustration for Mac users, but fortunately there are a some simple and secure ways to recover and reset a lost password on any Mac. One of the best ways to handle this situation and reset a lost password is to use an Apple ID, which allows a user to reset a Mac OS login password by using the same Apple ID that is used for the App Store, iTunes, iCloud, and Apple Support.

This method works for resetting forgotten passwords in all new versions of MacOS and Mac OS X, including MacOS High Sierra, macOS Sierra, Mac OS X El Capitan, OS X Yosemite, Lion, Mountain Lion, and Mac OS X Mavericks, and is extremely fast and easy, making it a preferential choice for most users rather than going the command line route of resetting a OS X password with the passwordreset tool, or by creating a new user account.

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In the market for an external monitor this Holiday season? These Amazon deals are active now and some are up to 50% off, while the in-store deals start on Black Friday itself and offer huge discounts on other brands if you don’t mind a busy visit to the stores. Whether some of the discounts are worth battling the hoards of shoppers is your call, but here’s a good selection of some of the best external display deals out there for Black Friday 2011:

External Monitor Deals for Black Friday

• ViewSonic VA2702W 27-Inch Full HD 1080p Widescreen LCD Monitor – $259 – Amazon.com
• ViewSonic VX2250WM-LED 22-Inch Widescreen Full HD 1080p LED Monitor– $169.98 – Amazon.com
• Viewsonic VX2450WM-LED 24-Inch (23.6-Inch Vis) Widescreen LED Monitor with Full HD 1080p – $189.99 – Amazon.com
• HP 2711x 27-Inch LED Monitor – $299.99 – Amazon.com
• Dell Ultra-Slim 23″ S2330MX Flat Panel Monitor – $169.99 – Dell Home Systems
• Dell UltraSharp 24″ U2412M Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor – $299 – Dell Home Systems
• Acer G185HV b 18.5″ Widescreen LCD Monitor – $69.99 – Office Depot
• Samsung SyncMaster™ B2230 21.5″ LCD Monitor – $119.99 – Office Depot
• HP 23″ HD LED Widescreen Monitor – $119.99 – Best Buy
• Acer 21.5″ Flat-Panel LCD Monitor – $89.99 – Best Buy
• HP 23″ Widescreen LED Monitor – $129.99 – OfficeMax
• HP 2011X 20″ Widescreen LED Monitor – $89.99 – OfficeMax
• AOC 24″ Widescreen LCD Monitor – $149.99 – OfficeMax
• AOC 19″ Widescreen LCD Monitor – $69.99 – OfficeMax
• Acer 20″ Widescreen LCD Monitor – $79.99 – OfficeMax
• Acer 23″ Widescreen LCD Monitor – $99.99 – OfficeMax
• Samsung S22A100N 21.5″ LED Monitor – $119.99 – Staples
• Samsung 23″ Widescreen LED Monitor – $139.99 – Staples
• HP 2311x 23″ LED Monitor – $129.98 – Staples
• Dell ST2421L 24″ Widescreen LED Monitor – $179.98 – Staples

Don’t miss our other Black Friday deals lists and posts, including for iPods, Apple’s deals, and more.

Black Friday is quickly approaching, Apple is having their own sale, but you can sometimes find even better deals by looking elsewhere. Some of the best deals come from iPod touch combination deals, where you can buy a discounted iPod touch that comes bundled with a generous gift card to the same store or to the iTuneS Store. We’ll cover iPods and iPod accessories here, just be aware that many of these deals are available in-store only and won’t be available for purchases online.

iPod Touch & iPod Nano Deals & Sales

• iPod Touch 8gb Plus $25 iTunes Gift Card – $179.99 – Fred Meyer
• iPod Touch 8GB (4th Gen) w/$50 Gift Card – $199.99 – ToysRUs
• iPod Touch 32gb (4th Gen) w/$50 Gift Card – $299.99 – ToysRUs
• iPod Touch 8gb (w/ Free $40 Target Gift Card) – $195 – Target
• iPod Nano 8gb (6th Gen.) – $129 – Target
• iPod Touch 8gb (w/ Free $40 Target Gift Card) – $195.00 – Target
• iPod Touch 8gb 4th Generation (w/ FREE $50 Best Buy Gift Card) – $194.99 – Best Buy
• iPod nano 8gb (6th Generation, Latest Model) – $124.99 – Best Buy
• iPod Touch 32gb (4th Gen.) – $274.99 – Best Buy

iPod Docks & Accessories Deals & Sales

• Altec Lansing iMT620 inMotion Classic Portable iPod Dock with Rechargeable Battery and FM Tuner – $61.99 – Amazon.com
• iHome iH15 LED Color-Changing Speaker System with Built-In Subwoofer for iPod – $42.99 – Amazon.com
• Kensington K39243US Power Bolt Car Charger for iPhone and iPod (Black) – $9.99 – Amazon.com
• Kensington K39258US Nightstand Charging Dock for iPhone, including iPhone 4, iPod touch, iPod – $19.99 – Amazon.com
• Griffin Aerosport Adjustable Armband Case for iPod nano 6G (Black/Gray) – $10.99 – Amazon.com
• iHome Portable Docking Station – $48.88 – Big Lots
• iHome Colortunes Portable Stereo Speakers – $39.88 – Big Lots
• Sony MHC-EC69i 100 Watt System with iPod Dock – $99.99 – Shopko
• Sony Desktop iPod Stereo System – $139.99 – Shopko
• iHome Portable Speaker System – $59.99 – Shopko
• iHome iPod Clock Radio – $59.99 – Shopko
• GPX Bi100 Portable Speaker for iPod – $19.99 – Shopko
• $100 iTunes Gift Card – $80 – Best Buy
• iPod Touch Accessory Bundle with Case, Wall and Car Charger – $9.98 – Best Buy
• iPod Nano Accessory Bundle with Armband, Wall Charger and JVC Gumy Earbuds – $14.97 – Best Buy
• V-MODA – Faze Headset for Apple iPod and iPhone – $19.99 – Best Buy
• Memorex Stereo Docking Station for iPod/iPhone/iPad – $44.99 – Best Buy
• iHome – Dual Alarm Clock Radio for Apple iPod and iPhone – Best Buy – Best Buy
• iHome Dual Alarm Clock Radio for your iPhone/iPod – $59.99 – Staples
• Memorex MIni Stereo Speaker System for iPod and iPhones – $19.99 – Staples

Happy shopping!

If you make any customizations to Mission Control, or if you encounter obvious problems with how Desktops and apps are handled and assigned, you can restart Mission Control without having to reboot the entire Mac.

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If you’re recording video chat or just troubleshooting problems with iChat, knowing the frame rate and other video statistics can be helpful information.

From the Video menu, pull down to “Connection Doctor”, then select the “Statistics” option from the pull-down menu to see the window shown up top. The group under “Local” is your own Mac, and below will be the screen name and statistics of the Mac you are video chatting with.

Frame rate typically hovers around 15 FPS on a high speed connection for both parties, which is slightly lower than what is usually seen in Facetime video calls on the same internet connections.

Apple will participate in a Black Friday sale this Friday, November 25, and some Apple Stores will open at midnight to accomodate anxious shoppers. For those who don’t want to visit a physical store, Apple’s Online Store will also feature sales for the one day sale event.

• MacBook Air – Save $101
• MacBook Pro – Save $101
• iMac – Save $101
• iPad 2 – Save $41 to $61, depending on model
• iPod touch – Save $21 to $41, depending on model
• iPod Nano – Save $11

A large variety of accessories are also discounted, including Apple Wireless Keyboards, iPad smart covers, headsets, iPhone cases, and more.

The special one-day Apple shopping event.
This Friday, November 25.
Mark your calendar now, and come back to the Apple Online Store the day after Thanksgiving for the special one-day event. You’ll discover amazing iPad, iPod, and Mac gifts for everyone on your list.

Apple’s Black Friday sales are generally similar to educational discounts, except they apply to everyone. Last year, this meant $101 off iMac, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro models, a $41 savings off the iPad, and a $21 discount on the iPod touch. Other items often have minor discounts as well, but the iPhone typically retains the same pricing structure.

Black Friday is a shopping holiday that immediately follows the Thanksgiving holiday in the USA, while it’s generally US focused, many other countries also adopt sales on that date as well, and Apple has placed the same notification on most of their other worldwide sites, including UK, Australia, Canada, France, and Germany.

Check your local Apple Store hours if you plan on shopping in person, otherwise just visit the Apple Online Store on Friday.

Traveling abroad can quickly become frustrating when you attempt a search on Google.com and discover you are redirected to the local countries variant of Google, with the local language and all. This language redirect can happen when using a VPN or proxy as well. While this is convenient for things like local search and Maps, if you’re trying to find results in English while you’re in a non-english speaking country or on a non-english Google site, the redirect is annoying and can end up being outright confusing.

Fortunately, there’s a simple and quick solution to the automatic Google country redirect, insuring that you’ll always visit the one-and-only Google.com regardless of your current location on the globe.

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Letters to Steve: Inside the E-mail Inbox of Apple’s Steve Jobs is a new e-book from Mark Milian that catalogues the late CEO’s direct engagements with customers and fans through email.

This book is based on interviews with many of the customers and fans Jobs communicated with. These tales reveal the intricacies of how Jobs portrayed himself as likable and accessible through direct interaction with fans. He handled customer-service inquiries himself and carefully revealed hints about upcoming Apple products, guaranteeing headlines on blogs. However, some of these letters, when analyzed, provide a glimpse into his “reality distortion field,” in which he lobs insults, bends the truth and uses misdirection in order to manipulate anyone on the receiving end.

Some of the emails have been seen before on various forums and websites, but the book compiles them into an easily digestible format. It’s probably not going to be as compelling as the official biography, but for just a couple bucks it sounds enjoyable enough.

• Letters to Steve: Inside the E-mail Inbox of Apple’s Steve Jobs for $2.99

The book is offered exclusively through Amazon as a Kindle title, but you can read it on just about any hardware with the free Kindle app that works with iPhone, iPad, Mac OS X, Windows, Android, Windows Phone 7, Kindle Fire, and even Blackberry.