Category: Mac & OS X

Add Twitter capability to Safari with Ostrich extension

By now it should be no secret that you can add extensions to Apple’s Safari web browser. One new extension allows you to read and send Tweets with the click of a button.

Ostrich is accessed through a button in your browser bar which drops down an overlay window containing Tweets from your Twitter stream. The icon also notifies you of the number of unread Tweets with a red badge.

Ostrich for Safari

Ostrich adds Tweeting to Safari with the click of a button

One of the few features of Ostrich is the ability to automatically add a link to the page you’re currently on to a new Tweet, which you access by clicking the plus button in the upper right corner. And that’s what brings me to the single problem I have with this extension. When you click that plus button, a new window is spawned with a tiny text entry box; a royal pain in the behind, if you ask me. To be fair, the Ostrich feedback page does indicate that the developer is working on adding text input without spawning a new window.

Ostrich isn’t for everyone. Twitter power-users will want to avoid it due to it’s simplistic interface and lack of extra features. But if you’re only the occasional Tweeter, or you own a Macbook with a smaller screen and are trying to save screen space, Ostrich might fit the bill.

How to create customized OS X Mail stationery in Snow Leopard

Back in 2007, I wrote a tutorial on how to create your own customized OS X Mail stationery when Leopard was first released. To this day, it’s still one of the most popular articles on this site. I decided it was about time that I took a look at it again to make sure nothing had changed with all the updates to Leopard, and the release of Snow Leopard.

Mac OS X Mail Stationery

You can create your own customized Mail stationery quite easily

This tutorial is fairly simple, and you’re only limitations are your graphics skills. Of course, if you have knowledge of HTML, you can do a lot more with your customization. For the sake of this tutorial though, I’ll keep it simple.
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Use Facebook chat service in iChat

I’m not a big “chat” kind of guy, but I do use my Facebook account to chat with friends once in a while. The problem I have is that I hate that Facebook’s chat lives in the web browser. It’s a pain, and I would much rather use Mac OS X’s iChat app.

Fortunately, you can set up iChat to work with Facebook’s chat quite easily. This offers you the features of iChat, with all your friends on Facebook.

You’ll need to know your Facebook username, which if you’re unsure, you can get here.

iChat with Facebook

Setting up iChat to use Facebook chat is easy

Here are the simple steps to get iChat up and running with Facebook chat:

  1. Open iChat and hit Command + , to bring up the preferences
  2. Click the Accounts tab at the top of the iChat window
  3. Click the + symbol at the bottom left of the window to add an account
  4. In the Account Setup window that pops up, add the following:
    Account Type: Jabber
    Account Name: [your Facebook username]@chat.facebook.com
    Password: Your Facebook password
  5. Click the arrow next to Server Options to view the server inputs and enter the following:
    Server: chat.facebook.com
    Port: 5222
  6. Make sure the two checkboxes are UNCHECKED

That should do it.

Where to get Safari 5 extensions

Safari

With Safari 5 offering the ability to add features via extensions, but a central extension site hosted by Apple still not available, you might be wondering where to find some great extensions to expand your Safari web experience.

You could spend an afternoon Googling for them, or you could visit the following sites, which already offer links to numerous great extensions.

Safari Extensions Tumblr blog – Jonas Wisser has set out to list every available Safari extension he comes across. The site lists links and screenshots for the extensions. Generally speaking, this is the first site you’ll want to check.

PimpMySafari – This site has been around for a long time, but with the release of Safari 5 and a new site owner, it’s taken on new life. Unlike the previously mentioned blog, PimpMySafari promises to feature only the best extensions as determined by Scott Jangro. The site also features plugins and other ways to pimp out Safari.

Reddit Extension list – Some dude over at Reddit has composed a list of great extensions. I’m not sure how long the list will remain useful.

Safari Extensions list – Mac OS X Tips (a UK site) has put together a small but useful list as well. Be sure to check this site out for other useful Mac OS X tips!

Apple will soon offer a list on their site of “approved” extensions, but until such time, these sites offer plenty of useful add-ons for Safari users.

The most annoying thing about Apple’s Safari web browser

SafariAfter years of loving the speed of the Safari web browser but hating the lack of features, I was anxious to see what Apple had in store for us with Safari 5. Unfortunately, I’ve found the most annoying behavior still exists, and it keeps me from using Safari on a regular basis.

For many years I was a fan of Firefox – mostly due to extensions, which I used heavily. While Safari was faster, it just lacked too much for my day-to-day use. When Google released Chrome for the Mac, I switched almost immediately. The developer releases contained extension support long ago, and I was happy to take advantage of the new speed, along with most all the extensions I used.

When Apple recently released Safari 5 with extension support, I decided to give it another try.
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Add HTML5 capabilities to Dreamweaver CS5

DreamweaverAdobe has made available an extension which provides initial support for HTML5 and CSS3 in Adobe Dreamweaver CS5, and helps you easily create HTML5 pages and CSS3 styles. It also includes updates and WebKit improvements for Design View and Live View rendering.

While HTML5 and CSS3 will not be finalized for some time, the extension provides support for a set of currently-implemented features in Adobe Dreamweaver CS5.

This extension enhances Dreamweaver CS5 in the following ways:

  • Introduces the Multiscreen Preview panel , allowing for Live View display on 3 different screen sizes, with Media Query support. (Window > Multiscreen Preview)
  • Adds code hinting for the HTML5 Tag Library with new tags, attributes, and properties.
  • Updates code hinting for new attributes and values in existing HTML tags.
  • Adds code hinting for the following CSS3 specifications: 2D/3D Transformations; Animations; Background and Border; Basic User Interface; Line Layout; Marquee; Media Queries; MultiColumn; Ruby; Text; and Transitions.
  • Updates Live View to support < video > and < audio >. (Requires Quicktime installation.)
  • Improved rendering for CSS3 in Live View.
  • Adds HTML5 starter layouts to the New Document Dialog box.
  • Offers better rendering for new tags in Design View.

You can download the HTML5 Pack here.

Easily add Spotlight comments to files in Mac OS X Finder

Searching for and finding files with Mac OS X’s Spotlight is fast and easy. Unfortunately, adding keywords and comments to your files and folders isn’t quite as simple. This little OS X Service will change that.

Add Spotlight Comments

AddSpotlightComments Service for Mac OS X

AddSpotlightComments Service is just what the name implies, a Service that makes adding keywords and comments simple. You install the workflow file to your ~/Library/Services folder and restart the Finder. Once installed, you can right-click on a file or folder in the Finder and select Add Spotlight Comments from the bottom of the Contextual menu. A dialog box appears where you can type in your keywords, comments, or whatever other info you wish. It’s that simple.

There are other utilities that offer this capability, but none are so seamless and simple.

Using Safari 5’s Reader feature

SafariApple introduced a new feature when it recently released Safari 5 called Reader. Reader allows you to view the content of a web page in a clean, easily readable interface – perfect for those who articles on sites that are riddled with graphics and ads that have nothing to do with the article itself.

This is fantastic feature for website viewers, but not so welcome to content creators who could be missing out on ad clicks that keep their sites running. But I’ll leave that discussion for another time. With the name Reader, you might think Apple simply updated their RSS feed reader that was already present, but that is not the case. Reader is an all new feature which allows you to focus on reading a single article on any given web page. More on when you can and can’t use Reader after the jump.
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Hide files and folders in the Mac OS X Finder

If you share a computer with someone, or your office computer is accessible to prying eyes and you want to hide a file or folder of private documents, it’s quite easy to do without the need to download any software.

Let’s say you want to hide a folder in your Documents folder called “MyStuff.” You can do it simply by launching the Terminal (found in your Utilities folder inside Applications) and typing the following:
chflags hidden ~/Documents/MyStuff

Once your MyStuff folder is hidden, it will not appear in the Finder, but it will still be accessible via the Finder’s Go>Go to Folder (Command + Shift + G) and typing in the path to the folder.

To unhide your MyStuff folder, simply type the following:
chflags nohidden ~/Documents/MyStuff

If using the Terminal isn’t your thing, you can download Hideaway, which does the same thing, only you just click a few buttons instead of typing code into the Terminal.

How to truly delete a file in Mac OS X

Securely Empty TrashMost people aren’t aware that when you empty the trash in Mac OS X, you aren’t actually deleting a file. It’s true. Selecting Empty Trash from the Finder menu, or using the Command + Shift + Delete keyboard shortcut simply marks the chosen files or folders in a way that allows the system to overwrite them whenever it needs to. The actual files remain on your hard drive until the system actually writes another file on top of them.

In order to truly delete a file or folder, you must use Mac OS X’s Secure Empty Trash command under the Finder menu. When you use this method to empty your trash, the system actually overwrites the file with gibberish data, mostly ensuring your file is unrecoverable.

Securely Empty TrashIf you’re concerned about security, you can set Mac OS X to always securely delete your files when you empty the trash the normal way by going to your menubar and choosing Finder>Preferences, and turning on the Empty Trash Securely item.

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