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mac OS X

How to Tweet From Mountain Lion
Editor's Pick

Tweet in 10 Seconds Flat From Mac OS X

Tweeting dynamos, listen up: you can send micromessages in 10 seconds flat (or less!) from a Mac, and your fellow geeks are about to show you how.
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Tweeting dynamos, listen up: you can send micromessages in 10 seconds flat (or less!) from a Mac, and your fellow geeks are about to show you how.

Apple's latest operating system for Mac, Mountain Lion ($20), has built-in Twitter sharing that makes tweeting pics from your desktop and links from Safari faster than ever. And for other important info, like URLs from emails, quotes from ebooks, or highlighted text in non-Safari browsers, we've got a guide to using a quick Twitter for Mac shortcut (free).

Become a social-media maven by streamlining your workflow with these four ways to take advantage of Mountain Lion's superspeedy Twitter integration.

Step One: Set Up Picture Files Picture Files Links From Safari Links From Safari Using the Twitter Desktop App Using the Twitter Desktop App
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How to Speed Up Your Mac Computer
Geek tips

12 Days of Geek Tips: Speed Up Your Computer For Happy Holiday Gaming

Is that the new Diablo III under the tree?
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Is that the new Diablo III under the tree? Why yes, it is, and we can't wait to break open our sci-fantastic PC game. If there's a stack of new play waiting to be unearthed come Christmas Day, then make sure your computer is gaming-ready with these absolutely effortless ways to speed up your machine.

These tried and true methods may seem simple — obvious, even — but don't be surprised when you restart your MacBook and it's like you've just unboxed it.

  • Restart every few days — Putting a computer to sleep means that applications are ready to go when you turn on your screen. But sleep mode slows down computer speed over time, and restarting the operating system allows the computer to run on a clean slate. Plus, it allows an overheated machine to cool down.
  • Clean desktop clutter — What's the point of having awesome geeky wallpaper if you can't even see it? Those hundreds of icons take up precious memory (RAM), and moving the files into different folders or deleting them entirely will help your computer run faster. Tired of dragging and dropping? The amazing Trash keyboard shortcut (command + delete) will speed up the process.
  • Empty the Downloads folder — Every day, make sure email attachments, pictures, song files, and GIFs get dumped into the Downloads folder. Go to your Home folder > Downloads. Keep necessary files, but trash the ones you'll never open again. Many browsers will unzip compressed files automatically and keep the zipped files in the Downloads folder; you can delete these, too.

More ways to increase speed after the break.

Speed Up Computer
Geek tips

10 Effortless Ways to Speed Up Your Computer

When you wake up your sleepy Mac, the last thing you want to see is the spinning rainbow beach ball of doom.
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When you wake up your sleepy Mac, the last thing you want to see is the spinning rainbow beach ball of doom. But the dreaded pinwheel is easier to avoid than you might think. We've compiled a list of 10 simple ways to turn your sad, sluggish Mac into one happy machine. One caveat! Before following these tips, don't forget to back up your data to an external drive (a good habit before running any computer maintenance or update anyway).

These tried and true methods are almost too easy, and it's important to remember that executing just one of these tasks won't be enough. However, completing some (or, better yet, all) of them will dramatically improve computer performance. Eventually, you should take these measures before your computer starts to get sluggish. Perform routine weekly maintenance, and you will be well on your way to becoming a Mac(Book) pro.

  1. Run Software Update — In addition to updating your software when your computer prompts you, you can also combat a slow machine by manually making sure that the latest versions of Mac OS X and other Apple applications (e.g. Safari, iTunes, and iPhoto) are installed. Go to the Apple icon in your menu bar > Software Update and let the application check for new software.
  2. Restart every few days — Putting a computer to sleep means that applications are ready to go when you turn on your screen. But this slows down computer speed over time, while restarting the operating system allows the computer to run on a clean slate. Plus, it allows an overheated machine to cool down.

Read even more ways to speed up your computer after the break.

Noisy Typer OS X App
Tech News

Would You Like Your Computer to Sound Like a Typewriter?

Craving the cool, nostalgic clicks of an old-school typewriter?
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Craving the cool, nostalgic clicks of an old-school typewriter? Noisy Typer, a free OS X download, adds the sound of a typewriter to your laptop keystrokes. Developed as a F.A.T. Lab (Free Art and Technology) speed project by Theo Watson, the app runs in the background of your normal computing tasks.

Not only does it work across all applications — email, web, Word, etc. — but it also includes the full spectrum of typewriter sounds: letter keys, spacebar, backspace, carriage return, scroll up, and scroll down. What do you think?

Apple Mac OS X Lion Details
News

Steve Jobs Unveils Mac OS X Lion, Coming Next Summer

Steve Jobs introduced Mac OS X Lion this morning, which will be bringing iOS features to the Mac.
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Steve Jobs introduced Mac OS X Lion this morning, which will be bringing iOS features to the Mac.

Key features include:

  • Multitouch gestures — Used with new Magic mouse, trackpad, and tablets, not by touchscreens on computers.
  • App Store — Seven billion apps have been downloaded from the App store, so now Apple will bring a store to the Mac. One-click downloads, free and paid apps, auto installs to your computer, auto app updates, licensed for use on all personal macs, and developers get 70 percent of the profits for their apps.
  • App home screens — Called the launch pad (which looks a lot like the widgets launcher), this icon allows you to get to all of your apps with a click. Just like iOS, you can create folders and organize your launch pad for easy access.
  • Full-screen apps — All of your apps can be opened up to full screen, and switching between apps, home screens, and documents can be done by "flicking" your trackpad.

View 15 Photos ›

Learn about Apple's new Mission Control feature, when you can expect Lion, and a few more screenshots, when you read more.

Mac OS Leopard Tip Secure Empty Trash Deletes Files Permanently
Geek Tip

Geek Tip: Empty Your Trash For Good

Spring cleaning your gadgets isn't confined to just their surfaces — your desktop and hard drive need to be spruced up as well (the better to keep you running, my dear).
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Spring cleaning your gadgets isn't confined to just their surfaces — your desktop and hard drive need to be spruced up as well (the better to keep you running, my dear).

And what does everyone do? We throw files into the trash, and then conscientiously empty the trash.

Even after you've emptied the virtual can, though, your deleted files still exist.

Want to get rid of them for good? Then use this feature (for Mac OS X Leopard only): Secure Empty Trash.

Just select Secure Empty Trash from the Finder menu, and when the pop-up asks you to confirm that you want the items in the trash permanently erased, click OK. Poof, they're gone.

Source

Geek Tip: Take Cleaner Screenshots
Geek Tip

Geek Tip: Take Cleaner Screenshots

Being able to take screenshots is useful for many reasons, but no matter how practical your reasons, your shots can still be clean and aesthetically pleasing.
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Being able to take screenshots is useful for many reasons, but no matter how practical your reasons, your shots can still be clean and aesthetically pleasing.

If you're a Mac OS X Leopard or Tiger user, you probably know to take screenshots with Shift + Command + 4, which gives you a little cross hair icon to select the area to take a screenshot of. Take that further and press that combo, and then hit the space bar. Instead of a cross hair icon, you'll get a little camera icon.

This enables you to take a perfect shot of one single application (even if it's buried under layers of windows). The resulting screenshot, like the one pictured here, gives you perfect edges, that cool shadow effect, and zero messiness.

iChat's Screen Sharing Lets You Work Together, From Anywhere
Geek Tip

Geek Tip: Work Together With Screen Sharing

The first time I used iChat's Screen Sharing feature was to help my mom figure out how to attach a photo in an email.
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The first time I used iChat's Screen Sharing feature was to help my mom figure out how to attach a photo in an email. Apparently, this whole technology thing still keeps my parents entertained, 'cause they told all of their friends what went down the next day. Since then, I've used screen share to collaborate on stories, photos, and of course, help my parents figure out how to spin up their www, aka, check their emails.

A sweet little feature from OS X Leopard, is screen-sharing capabilities, which are just a click away in your system preferences (under sharing). They'll allow you and the other user to share a screen, while letting you both participate. In the past, if someone "shared" your screen, you wouldn't be able to click around on your own. But Screen Sharing not only lets you iChat, but share ideas at the same time.

It comes in pretty handy on those times when you and a co-worker need to flesh out a design, approve photos, or even troubleshoot, but aren't in the same office. I know I get good use out of it with my family alone! Just call me Geek, IT Specialist!

Geek Tip: Smart Folders In Mac OS X
How To

Geek Tip: Smart Folders In Mac OS X

Yes it's true, your Mac is even more brilliant than you ever imagined!
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Yes it's true, your Mac is even more brilliant than you ever imagined! Smart Folders contain items which are based on search criteria that you set in the preferences of that particular folder! In real time, these folders automatically add or remove your documents from your Mac, unlike traditional folders where you would manually need to put documents in certain folders.
Want some more clarification? Check out this official definition from the Mac OS X website:

"Smart Folders contain documents grouped together based on search criteria that you define instead of their physical location. Computer file systems are rigid: a file can only be in one folder inside a hierarchy of other folders on your disk. Smart Folders fundamentally change the way you organize your stuff because now a file can literally be in two folders (or many) at once without duplicating or moving the underlying file."