So you’ve come across a .7z file and you’re on a Mac, what is it and how do you use it? First off, a .7z file is an archive format that stands for 7-zip, you can think of it like any other archive file. By default, Mac OS X does not know how to handle … Read More
You can zoom in and out into any image within Quick Look, the instant image viewer built into the OS X Finder, simply by holding down the “Option” key and then using either a scroll wheel on a mouse, or a two finger up or down swipe gesture on a multi-touch track pad. Scrolling up … Read More
The Dock is one of those staple features of Mac OS X, containing all running apps and also serving as a quick launch bar for opening applications and managing multitasking. The Dock is popular and intuitive enough for it to be a core user interface element beyond the Mac, included as a major component in … Read More
If you have ever forgotten a wireless router password, whether it’s your own network or another, you certainly aren’t alone. Typically you just have to enter the password once, save it to your keychain, and you can forget about it, right? Well that’s only true until you actually do need the password again, whether it’s … Read More
You can set Safari in Mac OS X or Windows to always open new windows into new tabs instead. In fact, new versions of Safari default to a variation of this behavior, but older versions need Safari to manually be set to open new windows as tabs, but with a little adjustment you can make … Read More
The dreaded desktop icon clutter, if you’re working like crazy, downloading and saving a lot of files, it’s pretty easy to flip to your Mac desktop to discover it just littered with icons. Taking the time to tidy up all the files on your desktop can distract you from your workflow and, well, it’s just … Read More
Anytime you update your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, via a Mac or PC and using Finder or iTunes, you will get a new IPSW file that is downloaded to an iOS or iPadOS updates folder. Knowing where these IPSW firmware files are located can be helpful when troubleshooting, and when accessing an IPSW for … Read More
Last week I posted that the release date of the Mac App Store was imminent, based on Mac OS X 10.6.6 becoming GM and including Mac App Store support. Today there are further claims to support the idea of an early Mac App Store release, although it should be noted that these are unsubstantiated rumors. … Read More
There are a few ways to properly eject a disk on a Mac, the first and perhaps the easiest method is to use the Disk Eject Key which is located in the upper right hand corner of a Mac keyboard (it looks like the image to the right). The disc eject key applies to all … Read More
It wasn’t long ago that 10.6.5 came out, but now Mac OS X 10.6.6 GM has been released to developers. So what’s the big deal? Well, the next Mac OS X update includes “developer support for fetching and renewing App Store receipts” suggesting that the release date of the Mac App Store is imminent. Other … Read More
You can fine tune how Mac OS X handles archives with a secret preference pane. There’s quite a few features tucked away in the Archives preference pane, including the ability to delete the archive after it’s expanded, reveal the expanded items in the Finder, and of course the same features for compressing files too. These … Read More
Dolphin is probably the best Gamecube and Wii Emulator for Mac that exists, it’s open source and somewhat regularly updated so you won’t be stuck high and dry like the old GameCube Gcube emulator. Dolphin supports playing both Wii and Gamecube discs and downloadable games, and it has your typical emulator features like save states, … Read More
Earlier in the year a patent for a MacBook Touch of sorts appeared, basically it was a MacBook with a touch screen, but that idea was later shot down by Steve Jobs in the Mac OS X 10.7 Lion preview keynote speech who said that touching a laptop screen was ergonomically awkward. Now another patent … Read More
AirPrint is definitely one of the more convenient features of iOS and thanks to a new tool you can turn any printer connected to your Mac or Windows PC into an AirPrint compatible printer. The utility is called AirPrint Hacktivator and it’s very easy to use. Read on to learn how you can make any … Read More
Did you know that multimedia file icons can serve double purpose as media playback? Yes indeed, you can actually play any mp3 or audio file directly in the Mac OS X Finder by using this little known icon playback trick.
Amazon is selling Pixelmator for $17.99 with free shipping, this is a remarkable 70% off the retail price of $59.99. This huge discount is a Cyber Monday only deal with a limited number of copies available, so grab it before it sells out. Pixelmator is a great image editing application for Mac that has all … Read More
This is a handy Finder tip for those who like to use the Column View of the OS X file manager: you can zoom into the Mac OS X Finder Column View Preview panes. Here’s how this works using either a key modifier or multitouch trackpad:
You may notice an excessive amount of disk activity and high CPU utilization from a process called “find” that runs randomly in Mac OS X. This process has been a cause of concern by some users because of it’s behavior, but this is not spyware and the process should not cause worry. If you see … Read More
