If you want to quickly access the Mac OS X System Preferences, you can do so with an indirect keyboard shortcut trick by holding down the Option key and then hitting various function keys. This jumps directly to the System Preference panel corresponding to the function key.

For example, Option+Brightness pulls up the Display preference pane, Option+Expose brings up the Mission Control / Expose preferences, Option+Volume controls bring up the Sound preferences, and so on.

These are the function keys we’re talking about here, they’re across the top row of modern Mac keyboards including portable Macs and external Apple keyboards. Pressed in conjunction with the “Option” (alt) key on the keyboard will launch into the relevant system preference panel:

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The Mac App Store includes a hidden Debug menu that can be enabled with a simple defaults write command. The menu includes a variety of interesting options and tweaks that are clearly intended for internal development purposes.

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The Wall Street Journal is reporting that when Verizon announces the iPhone tomorrow, they will include an unlimited data plan as one of the service options:

Verizon Wireless, the country’s largest wireless carrier, is confident enough in its network that it will offer unlimited data-use plans when it starts selling the iPhone around the end of this month, a person familiar with the matter said.

Assuming the report holds true, this would be a significant differentiating factor between the Verizon iPhone and AT&T iPhone wireless plans. The move by Verizon is seen as an attempt to lure bandwidth hungry users away from AT&T’s network and onto Verizon. iPhone with unlimited data used to be available on AT&T’s network, but the company later scrapped the plans in favor of tiered bandwidth pricing.

Plan details and rates for the Verizon iPhone unlimited data plan are currently unavailable, but we will find out the details tomorrow during the official announcement. If you’re an existing AT&T customer, you can check your iPhone data usage to determine if an unlimited data plan would benefit you enough to make the network switch.

Redsn0w 0.9.7b6 is now available to download as the sixth beta in the iOS 4.2.1 untethered jailbreak public test program. This release fixes bugs that prevented Skype from functioning properly.

The Dev Team notes that Redsn0w 0.9.7b6 can be run on top of existing 0.9.7b5 jailbreaks, and if you’re only looking to repair Skype functionality over beta 5 then all you need to do is run redsn0w and deselect every checkbox. If you missed beta 5, then you’ll find that Bluetooth support is now included and working as intended.

Download Redsn0w 0.9.7b6

• Download now (Mac OS X)
• Download now (Windows version unavailable)

The release is currently limited to Mac users but the Dev Team reports they are actively working on improving the Windows version, although there was no timeline given.

If you’ve ever accidentally used cat on a binary file, you’ll have seen the gibberish that results and how it can totally screw up your Terminal window with loads of weird characters. Of course there are many other ways to bork up your command line prompt which seems to become unrecoverable through the typical clear command string, but there is a really easy trick to use if you happen to experience this.
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Along with the Mac App Store came Angry Birds, the wildly popular iPhone game that was then brought to the iPad, Android, Windows, and is now making waves in Mac OS X.

If you haven’t played Angry Birds before, it’s remarkably simple in concept, you just fling various birds at objects to try and destroy some green pigs. In practice, it’s a bit more complex and you have to utilize different birds capabilities to knock down objects which respond to contact and gravity. It’s surprisingly engaging (read: addicting) which explains the runaway success.
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Update: Redsn0w 0.9.7b6 is now available and includes Skype support, it can be installed over beta 5.

Redsn0w 0.9.7b5 is now available to download, this is the fifth release in the redsn0w untethered jailbreak beta test. This release is somewhat significant in that it resolves several major bugs in the prior version, most notably Bluetooth is working again.

The iPhone Dev Team has also added an ‘anti-piracy plea’ to the release, stating that unless you have legitimate access to the iOS 4.2b3 IPSW file through the iPhone Developer Program you shouldn’t use the latest untethered Jailbreak Monte release.

Download Redsn0w 0.9.7b5

As of now redsn0w 0.9.7b5 is currently for Mac, but there is a Windows version that is being worked on.

• Download now (Mac OS X)
• Download now (Windows version currently unavailable)

The Windows version is apparently extremely slow which is why it is not released to the pubic yet, the Dev Team is actively working to speed up the application and when it is in a usable state they will release it for download. This may come in a version after redsn0w 0.9.7b5, we will update when we hear word on this so follow our redsn0w or jailbreak updates for more information.

As usual, if your iOS device is currently jailbroken with a previous redsn0w beta, you should do a fresh restore prior to using this version.

I launched the Mac App Store today and when trying to download an app I was hit with a strange error saying my request could not be completed, here’s the exact message:

“We could not complete your request. There was an error in the App Store. Please try again later. (@@errorNum@@)”

The “@@errorNum@@” looks a lot like an error in reporting itself, so in other words I got an error in my error (cue Xzibit meme). Nonetheless it was preventing me from downloading anything from the App Store.

Fixing this was as easy as quitting and relaunching the App Store, and since then I haven’t received it again.

That’s a bit more simple than fixing Mac App Store Error 100 which involves logging out of your user account. I suspect many of these errors are just growing pains and Apple will work them out in a software update.

Want to remove and uninstall Flash Player from a Mac? Some users install Flash but later decide they do not want the app and plugin on their Mac, thus will want to remove it. Adobe Flash Player is known to cause a slew of issues, slowdowns, battery drain, crashes, and other problems for Mac OS X. If you’re fed up with Flash, you can ditch it by choosing to uninstall the Flash player and entire related Flash plugin package from the Mac.

There are a few ways to accomplish this, but we’ll cover the simplest approach that uses the Adobe Flash Player uninstaller application to remove the plugin from the Mac, this is preferred because it’s a fairly automated process.

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Sometimes things go wrong and you need to put your iPhone into Recovery Mode to restore it and get it working again. It turns out that Recovery Mode is what your iPhone goes into when you are doing a standard iOS upgrade or restore anyway, but you may want to put your iPhone into recovery mode for other reasons to troubleshoot a device, restore it, or perhaps for jailbreak purposes. Whatever the reason, you can place any iOS device into recovery mode, which allows you to restore a bricked iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with the help of iTunes. You’ll need a computer (Mac or Windows) and a USB cable to complete the Recovery Mode based restore process. You can either restore from a backup, or set up the device as new, that is your choice.

The article here will discuss entering into Recovery Mode on iPhone models with a clickable Home button including iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6, iPhone 5s, iPhone SE, iPhone 5, iPhone 4s, and iPhone 4. Additionally, the same steps can be used on iPod touch models with a clickable Home button, and older iPad models too.

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Try not to get too excited, but you can get Minesweeper for Mac OS X now. That’s right, your favorite Windows game that has been following you around since Windows 3.1 and undoubtedly wasted tons of your PC time is now here to keep your company on the Mac.

The graphics are as amazing as ever, and the gameplay in Minesweeper for Mac is identical to the classic Windows version, so you’ll instantly know how to play. Just start clicking away in that imaginary 4-bit retro mine field.

I’m poking fun here, but Minesweeper is actually a really popular game and there was clearly pent up demand for Mac users to get the game because it’s currently in the “Top Free” downloads list on the Mac App Store. Yes, that means you’ll need to get the App Store first (part of the Mac OS X 10.6.6 update) so get that before joining the Minesweeping party.

You can download Minesweeper directly from the App Store (App Store link).

Update: Apparently Minesweeper for Mac is no longer free, it now costs $0.99 from the App Store.

I really like the MacBook Air 11″ so it should be no surprise that I’m posting a picture of one, but this is also a bit of a homage to Angry Birds making its way to Mac OS X via the Mac App Store.

If you don’t have Angry Birds yet, don’t get it, it’s a huge time suck and you’ll find yourself playing it far more often than you should be. I got it on my MacBook Pro and I hate it, mostly because I can’t stop firing birds from a slingshot into blocks of ice. If you thought it was addictive on your iPhone, wait til you see it on the Mac. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

This picture is from TwitPic

The iPhone is coming to Verizon on 1/11/11, according to the Wall Street Journal:

Verizon Wireless will say Tuesday that Apple Inc.’s iPhone is finally coming to its network, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The Tuesday is obviously next Tuesday, which is the date on the mystery Verizon invitation that was sent out. So much for speculation about the Verizon iPhone, if the WSJ is saying this, it’s about as close to a confirmation as a rumor can get.

Last year, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times both said the iPhone was coming to Verizon in “early 2011.”

More Verizon iPhone rumors… earlier today there was a report that the Verizon iPhone was going to be launched on February 3rd, but that may be wrong (or maybe it’s the availability date)… now press invites are being sent out to a Verizon event on Tuesday (Apple’s favorite day), January 11.

This report comes from MG Siegler on TechCrunch, who says the following:

Well, for one thing, I don’t typically get invites directly from Verizon to anything. At least not that I can recall. They usually send those directly to the MobileCrunch and CrunchGear guys. But this invite appears to very specifically be for me — it’s non-transferable. Would Verizon send me such an invite unless it was specially about Apple?

In case you didn’t know, MG Siegler is TechCrunch’s resident Apple fan, so it would be a fitting selection for Verizon to choose. While there’s no specific mention of Apple on the invite, the only thing expected to come out of Verizon that wasn’t already announced at the CES Expo is the Verizon iPhone.

Is anyone else sick of the Verizon iPhone rumors? Just release it already.

A new report from BGR claims that the launch date for the Verizon iPhone is set for February 3rd. Citing “a source close to Apple,” they point to blacked out retail dates for employees vacation requests “between February 3rd and February 6th — Thursday through Sunday.” This is significant because “Back in June of last year, Apple picked the dates of 24th to the 27th for its iPhone 4 weekend launch — also a Thursday through Sunday.”

While this should be considered a rumor, BGR has been dead on with leaks and launch dates in the past.

This all comes just days after an alleged iPhone 5 video appeared on YouTube before being taken down. Some claimed the device in the video was a Verizon iPhone, but the device did show a sim card slot which raises more questions than answers.

Here’s a few pictures of iPad 2 mockups, presumably based off of the leaked case designs that have made the rounds on various Chinese websites. You’ll notice it looks pretty similar to the iPad 2 hardware mockup that Engadget found at CES inside an iPad case.

These pictures originally appeared on MicGadget who initially claimed they were leaked pictures of iPad 2 before correcting the story saying they were just mockups. Mockups or not, I think these look great.

Here are some more pictures:
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This is hilarious, you can run classic Mac OS from a Macintosh Plus directly atop iOS on your iPhone or iPod touch thanks to an emulator called Mini vMac.

What you’ll need to get this working:

• A jailbroken iPhone or iPod touch (here’s our jailbreak downloads and info)
• Mac Plus ROM image (you can get those here)
• Disk images for older Mac software you want to run (various places on the web)

Now that you have those requirements met, on your jailbroken iPhone or iPod:

• Launch Cydia and add the following repository: http://apt.namedfork.net/iphone
• Then find and download “Mini vMac”
• Place the previously downloaded ROM file (it must be named vMac.ROM) into /var/mobile/Library/MacOSClassic

Disk images for other software should be placed in that directory as well to be loaded.

Is this particularly useful? Of course not, but it sure is fun. You can read more about Mini vMac for iPhone at the developers site, namedfork.net.

I just downloaded Mac OS X 10.6.6 and launched the Mac App Store to get out some apps. When trying to download an app I was hit with this error message:

“We could not complete your App Store request. An unknown error occured (100). There was an error in the App Store. Please try again later.”

Hmm, well trying again later doesn’t solve anything, but this does:

Fix the Mac App Store “Unknown Error 100”

• Sign out of the Mac App Store via the Store menu
• Quit the Mac App Store
• Log out of your Mac OS X user account (from the Apple menu)
• Log back in to your user account
• Launch the Mac App Store, sign in, and try downloading again

You should be able to download any app trouble free now. If you still have problems, reboot your Mac.

I originally resolved the problem by rebooting (the default troubleshooting tip when all else fails) but MacStories found that just logging out of the user account and back in is enough to make the App Store work as intended.

Enjoy the Mac App Store!