Icons are important. The way they look to the end user can make or break an application, or they can used to help identify folders and better organize your data. If you’ve ever wondered how to design an icon, and a good at that, check out the link below for some excellent tutorials on how to design a good icon.
15 Terminal Commands to Supercharge Mac OS X
There was a time was that Mac users would stare blankly or visibly shudder when the words ‘command line interface’ were uttered. But with Mac OS X being a Unix variant, Apple bundled Terminal right from the start, enabling Mac users to geek out as much as their PC-based colleagues.
Although you can replicate the results or functionality offered by most Terminal commands via various bits of freeware and shareware, it’s simpler to fire up the command line and paste in a handy command. Below are my favorites, centering on workflow efficiency and system streamlining and improvements.
* Note: If Terminal becomes a mess at any point, ‘clear’ removes everything from the current window or tab.
Terminal commands to tweak your system
Starting with the system itself, here are four workflow-orientated tips:
1. Kill a process
killall (process name)
If a process is misbehaving or needs a restart, use the above command. For example, ‘killall Finder’ restarts Finder. Note that process names are case-sensitive.
2. Show hidden files
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles true
This shows hidden files in Finder. Take care to not trash something you shouldn’t. Replace ‘true’ with ‘false’ to put things back to normal.
3. Force expanded dialogs
defaults write -g NSNavPanelExpandedStateForSaveMode -boolean true
defaults write -g PMPrintingExpandedStateForPrint -boolean true
These commands force expanded dialog boxes for saving (top) and printing (bottom), if an app doesn’t already have a custom setting. Use ‘false’ to reverse the commands.
4. Declutter your ‘Open With’ menu
/System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Versions/A/Support/lsregister -kill -r -domain local -domain system -domain user
The ‘Open With’ menu often gets full of junk. The above command, which must be pasted/typed as a single line, clears it out and starts again.
Terminal commands to tweak the Dock
The commands below can help to improve your Dock and Stacks. When you’re done inputting commands, restart the Dock with ‘killall Dock’.
5. Make the Dock 2D
defaults write com.apple.dock no-glass -boolean yes
Switch ‘yes’ to ‘no’ if you go temporarily insane and hanker for reflective ‘glass’.
6. Make hidden app Dock icons semi-transparent
defaults write com.apple.Dock showhidden -boolean yes
This turns Dock icons of hidden apps slightly transparent, making hidden apps easier to spot. Again, ‘no’ reverses this.
7. Make Dock app icons spring-loaded
defaults write com.apple.dock enable-spring-load-actions-on-all-items -boolean yes
Dock stacks are spring-loaded, but app Dock icons aren’t. To change this, use the above command. This unhides and focuses an app when you hover an item over its icon.
8. Turn on stacks highlights
defaults write com.apple.dock mouse-over-hilte-stack -boolean yes
When a stack is set to ‘Display as Stack’, a highlight appears behind icons when you navigate using the keyboard. The above command forces the highlight to appear when using the mouse also.
9. Create recent-item stacks
defaults write com.apple.dock persistent-others -array-add '{ "tile-data" = { "list-type" = 1; }; "tile-type" = "recents-tile"; }'
Make sure the above is pasted as a single line. On restarting the Dock, you’ll see a stack next to Trash. Click-hold and you can set it to show recent apps, documents or servers, or ‘favorite’ volumes or items. Run the command again for further instances that can be set to different display options.
Terminal commands to tweak Dashboard
Some Mac users hate Dashboard so much they want rid of it, whereas others want widgets to stay put when Dashboard closes. The following tips enable these things. Use ‘killall Dock’ after entering commands for changes to take effect. (Dashboard is part of the Dock process.)
10. Disable Dashboard
defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean yes
Reverse this by using the same command, but replace ‘yes’ with ‘no’.
11. Drag widgets to the desktop
defaults write com.apple.dashboard devmode yes
This command activates developer mode for Dashboard. Once it’s active, click-hold a widget and close Dashboard. The widget will stay put, floating above other windows. To put it back, click-hold, open Dashboard and ‘drop’ the widget. (This is fine for one-offs, but if you’re a massive widget junkie, consider buying Amnesty Singles, a $10 app that converts widgets to Mac OS X applications.)
Terminal commands for better screen grabs
Mac OS X bungs screen grabs on the desktop in PNG format. When taking multiple grabs, regularly moving them is annoying, and you might prefer a different format…
12. Change your screen grab format
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type jpg
Alternate formats are ‘tiff’ and ‘pdf’ or the default, ‘png’. Logout and back in for changes to take effect.
13. Amend your screen capture location
defaults write com.apple.screencapture location (path)
If you don’t like typing a full path, add a space after ‘location’ and drag a folder to Terminal from Finder – the location will be added automatically. Again, a logout/login will be required for this change to be made. A more likely place for screen captures is a folder within ~/Pictures.
Terminal commands to make your Mac more fun
14. Make your Mac talk
say (string)
Replace ‘[string]‘ with some words to make your Mac talk.
15. Play Tetris
This isn’t technically a Terminal tip, but you can use Terminal to access Emacs and play a little Tetris. Type ‘emacs’, hit Return, wait for Emacs to load, hit Escape, type ‘x’, then ‘tetris’ and then Return. Arrow keys and Space control the falling blocks.
Finally, if you don’t like opening Terminal and typing commands, many of these changes can be done via TinkerTool and Secrets. But Terminal is where the action’s really at for a generation of Mac users finally getting comfortable with typing (or at least copying and pasting) the odd command.
Switch to Gmail Now Easier than Ever
Been looking to move a friend or relative to Gmail, but they complain the move from AOL, Yahoo, Hotmail, or their ISP email would be painful? Well, now you can let them know that Gmail now offers an easy switching tool.
New sign-ups to Gmail from here on out should see a feature in their settings, under a renamed “Accounts and Import” tab, that can make an account switch with just a few checkboxes and one button push. Contacts, old mail, and new mail for the next 30 days can be grabbed from a fairly big list of supported email providers.
You won’t get the kind of fine-grained control you’d have with the manual process of consolidating multiple email addresses with Gmail, such as making your email still seem to arrive from your old address for a while (or forever) and having custom filters for your incoming old mail. But it does look like an easier solution for those making the switch themselves, or helping someone else do it without sitting at their keyboard for a good chunk of minutes.
Existing Gmail users will eventually see the same import tool in their own Settings, but Gmail’s team warns that it will be a slower roll-out than normal. Check out the link below for details.
Import your mail and contacts from other accounts [Official Gmail Blog]
The Wyzo Web Browser
If you like Firefox, then you have to try out Wyzo. Built from the Firefox core, Wyzo integrates BitTorrent capabilities, download acceleration, and much more—though you can get many of Wyzo’s best features in Firefox if you’re not up for the switch.
Here are some of the better features than help Wyzo stand out amongst the broad variety of web browsers out there today:
- BitTorrent Integration: Wyzo integrates BitTorrent downloads directly in the browser—and at speeds comparable to many desktop BitTorrent apps. Want the same in Firefox? Grab the FireTorrent extension.
- Download Acceleration: Wyzo supercharges your downloads (claiming speed boosts up to 10x faster) with multi-source downloads. Want the same in Firefox? Check out the FireDownload extension or the beloved DownThemAll.
- Cooliris Previews: This couldn’t be more straightforward. Wyzo comes with the Cooliris extension installed by default, integrating beautiful graphics and cinematic navigation to your browser. Install it in Firefox and you’ve got the same.
Agreed, this functionality may be available as a plugin for Firefox, but with such a nice integration into the Wyzo browser, it’s defintely worth a closer look. Wyzo is a free download for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.
Mac OS X Menubar Hack: Display the Date
If you don’t want to install another piece of software to see today’s date in your menubar, you can add it manually in System Preferences.
1. In System Preferences, open International and go to the Formats tab.
2. Next to Dates, click the Customize button. Arrange your date in the format you want to appear on your menubar. Use the down arrows on each element to choose between formats (January, Jan, 01, 1, etc.) I chose ( Apr 28 ), as shown.
3. Now, select the entire date format and copy it to your clipboard (Cmd+A, Cmd+C). Hit OK.
4. Hit the Customize button next to Times. Choose the “Medium” format.
5. Paste the date format on your clipboard next to the time format, and hit OK. You’re done!
Using @import in CSS
I’ve been using CSS quite frequently over the last few years to design my web pages. In the process of using it, I have come across some very useful features that have made my design strategy and develop phases much more enjoyable. At the top of the list is the @import rule. This rule allows you to include external style sheets in your document. It is a way of creating a style sheet within your document, and then importing additional rules into the document.
To use the @import rule, type:
<style type="text/css">
@import url("import1.css");
@import url "import2.css";
</style>
The url() is not required. The double quotes are required for valid XHTML, but browsers that support url() tend to support it with or without quotes.
You can also include an @import rule in a style sheet with styles:
<style type="text/css">
@import url("import3.css");
p { color : #f00; }
</style>
@import rules must always be first in a document
Finally, you can also import a style sheet for just a specific media:
<style type="text/css">
@import url("import4.css") tv, print;
</style>
This acts the same as if you had defined the media type in the <style> tag.
Browser Support
Netscape 4.x and IE 3.x do not support the @import rule. Internet Explorer 6 and below do not support the media designation. IE 4.x has some support for the @import rule, but it’s spotty, and it’s best not to rely on it.
iPhone 3.0 SDK Delivers
I recently downloaded the beta version of the third iPhone SDK and all I can really say is hold on to your seat and get ready for some killer apps to be available very soon. Also known as the iPhone 3.0 SDK beta, it allows developers to view the new features and also gives them ample time to test the new features in their applications.
Among the 100 new features announced by Apple, some are really interesting to the iPhone developer community. Developers can now design applications utilizing the In App Purchase (IAP) feature that lets users to engage in micro purchases for their application add-ons after purchasing the application previously from the iPhone Store.
There is more good news in store for iPhone developers with the Push Notification Services (PNS) feature, included in the iPhone 3.0 SDK release. The PNS allows third party servers to send latest updates of their applications or services through a constantly open IP to iPhone and iPod Touch users who have subscribed to such services.
Third party hardware developers can now create many more cool and exciting iPhone stuff with the new list of accessories announced by Apple in the 3.0 beta SDK release. Developers can now also build peer-to-peer applications that allow users to stay in touch in real time and utilize various social networking sites to their advantage.
If this wasn’t enough iPhone developers can now dig into 1,000 new APIs to do new stuff and find additional functionalities in their applications. I’m really excited about what I saw under the hood… I may even jump in and start building apps 
LinkedIn or Left Out?
Recently, it has been said “In this economy” is the new “That’s what she said”… And for good reason. While jobs are being cut in every direction, business plans are being updated on a daily basis, and when who you know is what matters most, I’ve found that the best tool out there for finding work is LinkedIn.
When I first set up my account a few years ago, I didn’t really put much effort into learning what it could do, instead I just added a few of my previous jobs and called it a day. Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to examine the service more closely and what I found was a big time lead generator and networking tool. Below, I’ve listed a few ways in which you can use LinkedIn to help you find work in the tough economic climate we live in today.
Increase your visibility.
By adding connections, you increase the likelihood that people will see your profile first when they’re searching for someone to hire or do business with. In addition to appearing at the top of search results (which is a major plus if you’re one of the 52,000 product managers on LinkedIn), people would much rather work with people who their friends know and trust.
Improve your Google PageRank.
LinkedIn allows you to make your profile information available for search engines to index. Since LinkedIn profiles receive a fairly high PageRank in Google, this is a good way to influence what people see when they search for you.
To do this, create a public profile and select “Full View.” Also, instead of using the default URL, customize your public profile’s URL to be your actual name. To strengthen the visibility of this page in search engines, use this link in various places on the web> For example, when you comment in a blog, include a link to your profile in your signature.
Increase the relevancy of your job search.
Use LinkedIn’s advanced search to find people with educational and work experience like yours to see where they work. For example, a programmer would use search keywords such as “Ruby on Rails,” “C++,” “Python,” “Java,” and “evangelist” to find out where other programmers with these skills work.
Improve your connectability.
Most new users put only their current company in their profile. By doing so, they severely limit their ability to connect with people. You should fill out your profile like it’s an executive bio, so include past companies, education, affiliations, and activities.
You can also include a link to your profile as part of an email signature. The added benefit is that the link enables people to see all your credentials, which would be awkward if not downright strange, as an attachment.
No matter what situation you’re in right now, getting an account on LinkedIn is a must. Get in now to avoid missing out later!
10 Applications for Web Developers
I’ve been working in the web development field for over 10 years. In the process of discovering new and interesting tools to use, I have narrowed down a list of 10 items that are a MUST for all web developers when doing work in the office, on the road, or on a client’s computer. Enjoy!
1.) Aptana Studio
Aptana Studio is an excellent developer environment for coding in nearly all the popular languages found around the web today. With a growing user base and a foundation in the solid Eclipse platform it will give any web developer the tools he or she needs to produce powerful, complex code for their projects. I have personally replaced Dreamweaver CS4 with Aptana and couldn’t be happier.
2.) Firefox
The Firefox web browser might not be the fastest currently on the market, but with an abundance of addons and solid support on nearly every operating system in existence it is hard to overlook as an excellent choice for your primary browser.
3.) Filezilla
If you do much work on a website you’re probably gonna need an utility to transfer files between your computer and your web server. Filezilla can do that with ease with support for FTP, SSH, and more.
4.) XAMPP
There are a lot of ways to display your site on your local computer, but XAMPP is the only one I’ve found that will run on all the major platforms. It is easy to install and administer and comes with all the necessary features to turn your local machine into a top-notch test server. (I’ve even seen it run on a few production web servers although I wouldn’t recommend the practice myself)
http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html
5.) The Gimp
Photoshop might be the most popular image manipulation program on the market, but it isn’t the only one that can handle image manipulation for the web. The Gimp is an excellent, if somewhat complicated, image editing package which can work all sorts of magic on any photo you want to put online. For vector graphics it can be used in conjunction with Inkscape to provide a solid package for creating and editing everything from logos to pictures from your last company picnic.
6.) SmartSVN
SmartSVN is a Subversion client which allows you to interact with a Subversion repository. Subversion, in turn, is a version control system allowing you to not only keep a repository of all the data in your project, but it can also keep track of changes, rollback changes, and perform all sorts of other tasks of use to a web developer. It can even be a solid alternative for deploying your work to your production server without the use of FTP or another file transfer method in which it can be easy to forget a file. There is even an excellent free SVN host available at XP-dev.
http://www.syntevo.com/smartsvn/index.html
7.) VirtualBox
Virtualbox is a free virtual machine from SUN. It allows you to run other operating systems on top of your main system which can then be used for testing your project on other browsers and configurations. For example, if you have a Mac you could run Windows within VirtualBox on your mac and use it to see how your project looks in Internet Explorer or other browsers not available on your Mac.
8.) Xmarks
Originally known as Foxmarks, Xmarks is a service which can backup and sync the bookmarks and passwords from your browser. This is a must if you use multiple machines yourself or even if you just want to pull up a page on a machine other than your own as you can even access your bookmarks from their online interface. Currently it works with Safari, Firefox, and Internet Explorer on all the major operating systems.
9.) DropBox
DropBox is a cross-platform file backup and synchronization service that not only backs up your most important data, but also seamlessly synchronizes it on your other computers. Of all the applications I use on a daily basis this one is definitely the handiest as I never have to worry about forgetting anything important. Like Xmarks it even has a web interface in case your at a different computer and need access to one of your documents.
10.) Google Apps
Although not a local application like the rest of this list, Google Apps is an excellent resource for helping you set up your personal web identity as well as those of your clients. It allows for hosted email, calendar, and other services on your own domain name and does so while providing users with the often familiar GMail interface that so many people already know.
Friday Favorites
Well, it’s the first Friday of the month… And that means listing more of my favorites to share with you! Feel free to bookmark and share these links if you think they may be useful to you or people you know. Enjoy!
Crackberry.com
If you have a BlackBerry smart phone, then this is the place to go for an excellent collection of free ring tones and wallpaper. UPDATE: BlackBerry just introduced a new app store to compete with Apple. I’ve downloaded and installed on my phone and have to tell you it’s a giant leap forward for RIM.
hulu.com
This is an excellent website to watch all the latest television shows and even movies. It basically pulls video from NBC, CBS, FOX and others and let’s you manage and watch this content in one place. There are even full-length movies and popular commercials on there as well.
MacUpdate.com
If you have a Apple computer, then MacUpdate is the place to go for keeping your software up-to-date. If you set up a member account, you can even be sent email alerts when new software is released. I use a lot of different apps and this is the best thing I’ve found to manage it all.
OpenDNS
OpenDNS provides industry-leading Web content filtering, anti-phishing, DNS infrastructure and navigation services. It is a MUST HAVE, especially if you have a home or small business network. With five little kids in the house and three of them using the computer on a daily basis, it’s a real convenience to know that their web experience will be clean and kid-friendly.
Woot.com
One killer deal every day, until product runs out. This is Woot!