Mac, LInux and things in between

I’ve just released the first version of netaman. A very simplistic script that automatically configures a Ubuntu Server 9.10 system as a Mac OS X 10.4+ compatible AFP server. Read more about it at http://blog.dustinrue.com/netaman.

As a followup to my previous post I thought touching on how to get the most out of the Mac keyboard and mouse or trackpad would be a good idea. Although the keyboard and mouse are mostly the same between a Mac and a PC there are a few key differences that can really get a guy hung up.

Keyboard Shortcuts
Watch a long time Mac user and you’ll undoubtedly see them using a large number of keyboard shortcuts. Keyboard shortcuts let you perform actions that would normally require the use of a mouse but switching from the keyboard to mouse is a time consuming task.

If you’re coming from Windows then you probably know at least some keyboard shortcuts. Ctrl+c for copy, ctrl+v for paste. You know that most keyboard shortcuts using the ctrl key plus some other key to get something done. You might also know that the Windows key plus some other key on the keyboard will fire off something completely different. On the Mac the majority of the keyboard shortcuts are fired off using the command key. Below I have a list of some of the most common keyboard shortcuts on the Mac. It is not an exhaustive list

Shortcuts that work nearly anywhere

• command+x, command+c, command+v: cut, copy, paste
• command+space bar: spotlight search. Really useful for launching apps
• command+left or right arrow: One area I’d fault the Mac on, poor use of home/end. This shortcut replicates home/end in most situations. In some apps they are remapped to change tabs, like in iTerm
• fn+delete: On laptops, fn+delete will act like the delete key on a PC keyboard, deleting the character in front of the cursor.
• command+tab: Switch between apps
• command+~: Switch between windows of the current app
• F3: On the newer Mac laptops and the aluminum keyboard, F3 initiates the all windows exposé.
• option+e and then the letter: Gets you that thing above the e
• ctrl+click: Right click
• command+q: Closes all windows of the current app and quits the app
• command+w: Closes the current window (or tab in some apps)
• command+m: Minimize current window
• command+h: Hide the current application. Similar to minimizing an app but doesn’t require Dock space
• command+option+h: Hide all windows other than the current window
• option+mute,volume up/down: Open audio preferences
• option+F3: Exposé preferences

Discovering More
If you want to know about more keyboard shortcuts look no further than the menu bar. Just click a menu and look at the symbols shown to the right of a menu item. The ⌘ is the command key, ⇧ is shift, ⌥ is option, ⎋ is your power button and ⌫ is your backspace (delete) key. ⌥⌘T will usually bring up a special characters palette allowing you to find these symbols and more.

Also know that the option key serves as a modifier for a lot of things. For example, if you hold down the option key and then click the AirPort icon in the menu bar (by the clock) you’ll additional information about the wireless network you’re connected to. If you hold option while clicking the apple menu, the usual “About This Mac” will become a shortcut to the System Profiler.

The Trackpad
While the keyboard is fun and all, the trackpad is where the real magic is. Using the multi-touch trackpad found on the latest generation of Mac laptops will make any other trackpad nearly impossible to use. The trackpad, made of glass with the perfect texture, is large and also serves as the button. You can click using just about any part of the trackpad which actually comes in handy more often than you’d think.

A favorite sticking point of Windows users is that Macs don’t have mice or trackpads with multiple buttons. They then assume that OS X doesn’t understand the venerable right click. This couldn’t be further from the truth. OS X has supported context based right click menus from day one. Accessing them was just different, in the beginning. You’ll find that control+click will produce a right click menu, but so will clicking the trackpad with two fingers. If you’re a fan of tap to click as I am, then you’ll you can find that setting in System Preferences. Once enabled, tapping on the trackpad with two fingers will produce the right click menu. Over time, I’ve found this to be much more useful than a dedicated button because I can get the menu from anywhere on the trackpad.

Here’s a list of the other capabilities of the multi-touch trackpad:

• Two fingers slid up or down: Scrolling, just like the wheel mouse
• Four fingers slid up: Show desktop
• Four fingers slid down: Exposé

For more visit the trackpad preferences in System Preferences. Apple also provides a lot of good information on this topic at http://www.apple.com/support/mac101/work/

Think I missed something? Leave it in the comments!

I know someone who just picked up a new Mac and it got me to thinking, I bet people new to the Mac platform don’t know about all of the great software you can find for the Mac. I thought I’d write up a post on some of my favorite free and paid apps.

• Firefox
• RipIt: DVD ripping made easy
• Adium: Multi-protocol chat
• Growl: Must have notification system
• NetNewsWire: RSS reader that syncs with Google Reader
• BootChamp: Simple menu for rebooting directly into your BootCamp OS installation
• Tweetie: Twitter client
• iTerm: I can’t let go of this great ssh client.
• 1Password: Store all of your passwords. LastPass is free alternative that is more cross platform
• Automator: Built in robot too useful not to mention
• Caffeine: Sometimes you just don’t want your Mac to dim the display or go to sleep.
• Colloquy: Decent IRC client
• Cord: Remote Desktop Client for Mac.
• CrashPlan: Time Machine is good but I just have to have a second way of backing up all of our photos. CrashPlan really does a good job and has saved me.
• HandBrake: Very good video encoder and DVD ripper (requires VLC)
• Loginox: Swap out that ridiculous login screen image.
• MarcoPolo: Change preferences based on your location or “context.”
• MacFusion: Mount/Map ssh/sftp servers in Finder allowing any app to directly access remote files
• smcFanControl: The Mac generally does a good job with the fan but there are times when having it cranked up on high is a good thing, especially for your lap.
• NTFS-3G: Mount NTFS drives as read/write
• SmartSleep: Preference pane that allows you to adjust how your Mac sleeps or hibernates

I think that about covers it. There are far more applications in my applications directory but the apps I listed are must haves in my book. If there are any apps you think I missed leave a comment.

I just realized that my new theme broke my pages. This is fixed. I also just realized that some of the pages were pulling images from my old gallery that I’m unable to find good hosting for right now. I’ll fix the images as soon as I can.

It seems that content creators don’t get this whole web thing yet. Jeff Zucker’s accusation that Boxee stole Hulu content is amazing because all Boxee did was use the available API at the time to list available Hulu content and then display the video off of Hulu, complete with all of Hulu’s branding and advertisements. Boxee made it simple to display Hulu on your computer or TV and Hulu/NBC didn’t like that. Boxee attempted to expand Hulu’s audience – for free – and Hulu shut it down! Rather than allow this to happen and show their advertisers how much their viewer base has grown and how much value there is in advertising on Hulu they yanked the carpet out from under Boxee. Not smart.

You can read about Jeff Zucker’s statements at betanews.com

I’m not at all convinced this is going to fix the problem for Toyota. Obviously I’m not an engineer or anything but the fix just doesn’t match the description of the problem. If people were saying “my car won’t slow down when I take my foot off the gas” I’d believe them but a sticky pedal isn’t going to cause a car to suddenly accelerate.

Toyota to ship out fix to sticky pedals