You know how it is. There are a bunch of apps out there that allow you to open and edit different types of files on your iOS device. Look, we get it. You just want to view the file, right? No need to edit or collaborate or whatever. Just, you know, look at it. Sadly, while iOS is fairly magical, it only has a few file types it can view natively. Which is where today’s tip comes in.
Chances are, you’ll want to keep track of how your computer is working. There are many apps out there to help you visualize this info, like the app we talked about a couple of weeks ago, MiStat. Today’s tip app does a similar function with a much lighter interface.
Hey, did you know that there’s a compass inside your iPad? Well, there is, and developer plaincode decided to geek it out with a ton of other things that compasses can do. Technically, it’s a Vector Magnetometer, which means it measures the magnetic field around you (which is what a compass does, basically) as well as acceleration. Apparently, the devs had an iPhone version, and are working hard on a Universal version of this app, so they’ve got this one up (iPad only, for now) for free.
Good heavens there are a lot of warnings in modern computing operating systems, am I right? Yes, I totally did want to close that window. Honest.
One of the more annoying warnings in OS X is the one that pops up when you try to change the three letter extension on a file, like changing an image file to something else, say, .jpg to .gif or whatnot. Honestly, I should be able to do this. Usually, I do it when I get a file from another person who may not have such a great handle on how the file extensions work. If you want to get rid of the standard warning when you do this, today’s tip should help.
Oh, hey there. Remember that computer app we showed you last week that helps you figure out what’s taking up a lot of space on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad? Well, it turns out that lots of folks have burgeoning Other categories, as well. The fine (and ruggedly handsome) folks at OS X Daily have found a couple of solutions to fixing this problem, and we figured we’d share them with you, as well, in today’s tip.
If you’re anything like me, you leave all your files in one big clump on the Desktop for later “sorting.” Then, again if you’re like me, you put all these files into a hastily constructed “Sort Me” folder right before you connect the projector for that big presentation you have to do so no one sees just how many LOL cat pictures you have. Right? No? Ok, skip the LOL cat part. Today’s tip is a “search-not-organize” user’s dream, allowing the best of both worlds.
Here’s a scary scenario: you’ve spent hours and hours creating the perfect Keynote presentation for your job, and you show up to the room you’re going to show it off, only to find that you’ve forgotten your little white dongle that connects the iPad to the big screen TV in that room. Uh oh. Luckily, there IS an Apple TV sitting there (conveniently). Lucky you, you get to keep your job. Getting the iPad signal up to the big screen isn’t quite as intuitive as connecting it to a HDMI cable, but it is pretty simple.
I can think of a ton of reasons to use a timer: boiling eggs, practicing times tables, timing a shower to conserver water, and a host of other tasks both domestic and official. Most of us have a timer, either on our iPhone or on a microwave in the kitchen. What if you wanted to time several things at once, though? Luckily, we’ve got you covered with today’s tip.
Yes, you can plug your iOS device into iTunes and get a bar graph of the space available, but what if you’re out and about and want to download something? How do you know at a quick glance how much space is left? Today’s tip shows you one way to do that.
Can’t get enough of the sweet Linen pattern from the OS X Lion login window? Want to make your Launchpad look even MORE like iOS with dark gray linen goodness? Well, today’s tip is just for you.
The other day, I was setting up an iPad for a client of mine when I noticed that there was 5 Gb of space being used on the device. When I plugged the iPad into my Macbook Air and opened iTunes, it said that the iPad had 3.9 Gb of space in the “Other” category, but none of the files in the file sharing section of iTunes were that big. This conundrum led me to today’s tip.
I’m a longtime user of Quicksilver. I mainly use it to launch apps without having to drop into the Finder and use the mouse, but I know it has a ton of other features that allow power users and geeks alike to work more productively. With the rumored demise of Quicksilver hitting the internets once in a while, I’m always trying out new launchers, which brings us to today’s tip.
Saved email drafts in iOS are ridiculously cumbersome to get back to. You have to tap all the way back out to the main Mailboxes page, scroll down, tap the mailbox you want, scroll down again, and then tap (finally!) the Drafts folder. This is rather cumbersome, right? Well, we found something that is MUCH faster.
Playing music through iTunes is something we do every day. It’s great to be told what track is playing when it starts, but not everyone wants to run a system notification app like Growl. If you still want to be see what the current iTunes track is, check out today’s tip.
If you use Gmail like a lot of us do, you may have noticed that when swiping across an email to delete it, you’ll only have an Archive option. Well, if you’ve set up your email as a Microsoft Exchange account, you’ll have the option to delete the mail rather than just archive it. Here’s how.
Many of us manage Mac labs, whether for a school or a community agency, that require users to acknowledge an Acceptable Use policy, or agree to terms about using the computer. Wouldn’t it be great if there was some way to get this to show up on the Mac before a user logged in? Turns out, there is.
A good pair of calipers can measure a small object much more accurately than a ruler or tape measure. Buying one, however, could cost around $100 or so, according to RealCaliper developer Pocketdemo e.u.r.l. Here’s how to use this $1.99 app to measure something small.
It used to be that clicking on the computer name in the login window would give various bits of system information. Sadly, Mac OS X Lion has done away with this useful little feature. Lucky for us, though, there is a Terminal command that can bring back some of the same feature to Lion.
One of the best things about iOS is the search function. Whether you have too many apps like I do, use it as an app launcher in its own right, or just need to find a specific email or contact, Spotlight is the way to go. However, you might not ever need to search your devices calendar app, or you might not have any podcasts, audiobooks, or voice memos to search, either. If so, today’s tip is for you.
Images and their various types are a funny thing. There are a ton of them out there, including jpg, png, psd, tiff, gif, and the like. They all have their uses and pros and cons. But what happens when you have a bunch of, say, png files and need them all converted to jpg? You COULD open them one by one in Preview and duplicate, then save each one as a jpg, but you don’t have that kind of time. Or patience. Lucky for you, today’s tip should help.
There are lots of hidden features in the iPad keyboard, but here’s one that will help you shave off a millisecond or two, raising your typing speed and productivity in one fell swoop. Or swipe. Here’s how.
This tip comes via OS X Daily, one of Cult of Mac’s favorite tips sites. Check them out for more great tips!
Ever wish your dull, boring first/last name combination username was just a bit more awesome? Yeah, so do we. Here’s a quick tip on how to change it, Captain Awesomepants.
Ever try to do a quick bit of math on your iPad when it was fresh out of the box? What’s up with that, Apple? Where’s the app that comes with every iPhone and iPod touch, the calculator? Well, today, we’ll point you in the direction of a good free one, so you can add the functionality that should have been on your iPad to begin with.
Deleting apps on the Mac has always been an easy affair, with a drag and a drop and a whistle on the wind. Compared to Window’s uninstaller process, Mac users have had it pretty darn easy. These days, however, some apps like to clutter your hard drive up with a bunch of wacky preference and configuration files. What’s an OCD mac user to do? We’ve got one potential answer in today’s tip.
Sure, it’s easy to delete apps from the iPhone or iPad. Simply tap and hold on any icon, see the wiggle dance, and tap the red X button. But sometimes you’ll want to make a choice about which apps to delete based on more objective criteria than, “meh. I dont’ want this game anymore.” Like when you run out of room on your iPhone, for example. How do you know which ones to dump? Today’s tip should help.
