Launchpad Kills Muscle Memory
September 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment
I've been using Launchpad for a couple of months now, and it took me a while to figure out why Launchpad is so difficult to use as an application launcher.
It turns out that after I spent all that time initially dragging apps around in Launchpad and getting them arranged in way that suited me, Launchpad on its own moves apps around within the Launchpad screen.
What happens is, I drag a particular app to the first spot in the third row in Launchpad. I use Launchpad a few times to launch that app. My mouse hand developed muscle memory… Continue reading »
Resizing Windows in Lion
July 30, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Apple finally gave us the ability to resize windows from any edge or corner. For years, I've wished Apple would copy Windows on that feature; resizing only from the bottom right corner is so last century. It's one of the few things — possibly the only thing — that I think Windows does better than Mac.
With Lion, we finally get that ability. Now, you can grab any edge or any corner of a window and resize the window by dragging that edge or corner.
And it gets even better! You can resize two opposing edges or opposing corners simultaneously… Continue reading »
How To Add An Application to Launchpad
July 28, 2011 by 5 Comments
Some of you are probably wondering, like I did, why some of your applications aren't available in Launchpad. You launch Launchpad and wonder, "Why isn't Microsoft Word showing up in Launchpad?" or "Why isn't Quicken in Launchpad?" or "Why isn't my favorite app that I keep on my Desktop not in Launchpad?" There are a variety of reasons that an app may not appear in Launchpad.
Apps Outside the Applications Directory
Launchpad automatically grabs all applications in your root /Applications directory and in your /User/username/Applications directory. If you keep some of your apps in other locations, they won't appear in… Continue reading »
Making Application Groups in Launchpad
July 28, 2011 by 2 Comments
Launchpad, out of the box, is a jumbled mess, and if you're anything like me, you took one look at it, panicked, and decided you never wanted to go there again.
You might want to give Launchpad another look. With a little effort, you can organize things to make Launchpad work for you.
One of the biggest issues is how to make groups of applications in Launchpad, or to un-group already-grouped applications.
Making Groups in Launchpad
Grouping applications together in Launchpad is easy. Just grab an app with your mouse cursor and drag it on top of another app. A… Continue reading »
Classic Color Meter: Replacement For DigitalColor Meter
July 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment
I updated my two previous posts about the destruction of Apple's DigitalColor Meter, but I decided this is worth of post of its very own.
Ricci Adams has released an app called "Classic Color Meter," a perfect drop-in replacement for the old DigitalColor Meter.
It's available through Apple's App Store, and you can find more info about it here: Classic Color Meter
CCM uses the exact same method of sampling a color from the screen. The exact same keyboard command to lock onto a specific pixel (command-L), and a simple command-shift-C to copy the hex value to your clipboard for… Continue reading »
My Backup System, And A Retrospect Dilemma
July 27, 2011 by 4 Comments
I've been using Retrospect for many years as a core component of my multi-layered backup plan. My normal backup plan consists of the following:
Retrospect
Runs automatically every day. Backs up all changed and new files to DVD. I have quite an accumulation of Retrospect backup DVDs (and CDs from years past). I back up to 2 backup sets, on alternating days.
I really like knowing that I have a set of backups on removable optical media, sitting in my office supply closet, completely impervious to the worst power surge or lightning strike that a south Florida thunderstorm can throw… Continue reading »
Digital Color Meter Alternative
July 26, 2011 by 3 Comments
The Hex Color Picker provides essentially the same functionality as Digital Color Meter
I went looking for an alternative to Digital Color Meter (R.I.P.), which Apple destroyed in the Lion update.
There doesn't seem to be a stand-alone program that you can download and use, but there is a pretty easy way to get the same functionality back, by adding a hex tab to Apple's built-in color picker. I didn't panic, because I was pretty I'd find a solution.
First, you need to download the Hex Color Picker. Don't worry that the "Requirements" don't mention Lion — Leopard & Snow… Continue reading »
Apple Destroyed Digital Color Meter!
July 24, 2011 by 3 Comments
OMFG, I just launched Digital Color Meter for the first time since upgrading to Lion. Apple has utterly destroyed it!
The old DCM (Snow Leopard and earlier) was an incredibly useful little utility that allowed me to pick up any color from anywhere on the monitor, in any program, and get the hex value for that color. I could lock DCM onto any single pixel with command-L, copy the hex value to the clipboard, and paste it into a CSS file in my text editor.
No longer. Apple has removed that cabability. Now I can only get the RGB value.… Continue reading »
Lion Kills Apple’s USB Modem
July 23, 2011 by 4 Comments
USB modem that works with OSX Lion
See this post for a USB modem that works with OSX Lion
I was having problems with the new "Mission Control" in Lion. I could use Mission Control just fine, but I couldn't set or change anything Mission Control-related in my System Preferences. When I would try to access Mission Control's settings in System Preferences, SysPreferences would hang until I force-quit it, or else it would just crash on its own without waiting for me.
<img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-148" title="Unchecking "Open in 32-bit mode" fixed Mission Control System Preferences for me — but killed… Continue reading »
More on Lion’s Launchpad
July 22, 2011 by 1 Comment
In yesterday's "First Impressions" report on Lion, I complained that Launchpad was unusable because it grabbed every single executable program on my machine, and that there was no way to get rid of them.
It turns out, it's not as bad as I thought, but it's also worse.
Losing the Windows Apps
First off, there is a way to make Launchpad ignore the Windows executables. If I go into the virtual machine configuration settings and tell it not to share Windows applications with Mac, then Launchpad ignores all the Windows apps.
Great! Launchpad becomes somewhat usable at this point.
Grouping… Continue reading »
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