To make a .pdf in almost any Mac application:
1. In the Title bar, click File>Print

2. In the popup window, click the PDF button

3. Choose a location, name your document and save. You can even insert keywords and the like, if you’re cool like me.

4. If you want, you can preview the document in preview without saving it, or email the .pdf right from this prompt. Pretty rad if you ask me!

One click fills the cup and keeps your computer awake…
…and one click turns it off and allows your computer to use the screen/power saver.
Super simple, and it works. Awesomeness.

I only wish that I could decaffeinate myself that easily…

Watch CBS Videos Online

CBS link via Lifehacker.com

“A big red button is, by human nature, an object of compulsion. If you see it, you are overcome with the desire to push it. But what happens when you do?”

I need one of these!!! Here’s the story behind the EPB.

First, find that file (in my case, a .torrent file) and right click (or control + click) it. Select “Get Info” from the menu.

From this menu, click the triange beside the “Open With” pane to reveal the default application switcher.
Select your app from the drop down menu (I want Transmission) and then click “Change All“
Voila! Close the window!
Note: Oh, and if you only want that single file to open in that program, and all the rest to still stay in the other type, don’t click “Change All”. Just close the window.

No more!

Brando’s USB to SATA/IDE cable connects all 2.5″ and 3.5″ IDE and SATA drives (even optical ones!) to your computer.

I don’t have one (yet), but the reviews I’ve read look upon it quite favourably. Brando sells it for $35, but you can find it at other places for around $15. Hey, my birthday’s coming up in November!

To activate Spotlight, you can either click on the magnifying glass on the top right of your screen, or use the keyboard shortcut: command + spacebar.
Once you activate Spotlight, type in what you want to find. Every file, from applications to emails to documents, are indexed by your computer.

Find the file/application you want, press enter and it will open the document or application.

Why is this so important? Well, I never use the dock anymore. I rarely use the Finder to find stuff. Spotlight is where I go for everything! It’s faster than taking your hands off of the keyboard or searching through endless finder windows for that one document from last year…

Remember: command + spacebar!

Notes:
1. Top Hits (most frequently accessed files or applications) are always the first hit at the top and are automatically highlighted. This makes it super easy to launch applications. Just hit enter when you see the name of your favourite application!

2. Everything in your documents –not just their names– are indexed by Spotlight. If you can’t remember the file name, but can remember that it had the words “cashflow” and “Greg Benson” in it, type them into Spotlight and the document will show up

3. If you just want to see where a file is rather than open it (like if you want to copy it to your portable USB drive), highlight it, then press command + enter to open its enclosing folder

4. If you don’t see the file you’re looking for, hit “show all” for a longer list

5. If you’re looking for a specific type of file, you can specify what you’re looking for right in Spotlight. Just type in a keyword or two, then kind:jpeg, kind:document, kind:pdf, kind:photoshop… you get the idea

6. Want to know a word’s definition, synonym, etc? Type it into Spotlight and select definition!

I haven’t installed anything new. I haven’t added any large files to my computer. But I keep running low on hard drive space! How do I find out what is taking up all the room on my iBook?

Apple’s Finder doesn’t cut it. It’ll tell you how much space is left on your hard drive, but it doesn’t give you a bird’s eye view on what is taking up your hard drive space.

Enter Grand Perspective. This free application gives you an interactive, graphical “tree view” of your Mac’s hard drive.

Step 1: Download and install Grand Perspective.

Step 2: Select the hard drive of concern:
Step 3: Wait a few minutes for Grand Perspective to scan your hard drive
Step 4: Be overwhelmed by the graphical representation of your hard drive. (FYI, the largest block is my iPhoto library)
Step 5: Mouse over the larger blocks to find out what they are and how much space they’re taking up, then click on the blocks you don’t think you need, then click “reveal” to see where it is in the Finder
Step 7: Delete and repeat!

This is an awesome free app and I know it saved Alexa a huge headache; she found out that Azureus was taking up 7.5GB of space. Needless to say, she deleted Azureus and is now using Transmission and enjoying having almost 1/5th of her hard drive back!

note: There is a rhyme and reason behind the colours and groupings of the squares that Grand Perspective uses: Files in the same folders are grouped together, then folders that are in the same folders, etc.