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Leveraging your Hot Corners

My favorite setup with Hot Corners is below (see screenshot below). I move my mouse into the top right of my screen to get at my Desktop, I move it into the bottom left to see all windows across all applications through Exposé, and I start my screen saver from the bottom right – with password locking, for privacy reasons.

To make this possible: Just explore the Hot Corners area of System Preferences -> Exposé & Spaces -> Exposé tab. You can also change the Screen Saver settings from System Preferences -> Desktop & Screen Saver -> Screen Saver tab. I like the word of the day, as per my Feng Shui article. Lastly, enable Screen Saver password from System Preferences -> Security -> General.

Adding attachments to an email message – the convenient way

There are several ways to attach a document to an email … Read more …

Reposition the window behind the frontmost, without shifting focus

Ever have two windows open, one mostly on top of the other, and want to line them up better so you can see certain contents in both? Or more easily drag something from one to the other, perhaps.

Try this: Command-click and drag in the grey title bar of the window behind the frontmost, to move it around without shifting focus. You can even resize that same window by command-click dragging in the little resize box in the far bottom right corner.

See your current document’s location and move up the file hierarchy with ease

Have you ever had a Word document open, and wondered where it actually lives in your file system? Or wanted to quickly access the other contents of your document’s enclosing folder?

Try this: Command-click or right-click the name of the document in the middle of the … Read more …

“Manipulation” is almost like a covert death threat for most people. The moment you even say the word manipulation, everyone’s shields go up to 110%.

You can’t manipulate me! I have free will! I will do what I want, and will not be coerced or controlled!

What we don’t recognize is that we all use manipulation EVERYWHERE.

We sell our ideas to our friends, we influence our better halves into various activities (out of the gutter, people), and we make the clerk at Safeway smile.

You: “I want to see Avatar! It sounds like an amazing movie, and my friends are making fun of me for not having seen it.”
Them: “I prefer a romance, thank you.”  *crossing arms and raising one eyebrow*
You: “But wouldn’t it be great to just shut off your logic and experience a feast for the senses? We watched a romance last week.”

Which phrase … Read more …

Part of maintaining harmonious relationships involves doing nice things for others. Just ask your mother, BFF, or significant other.

Here’s a baker’s dozen of the most relevant insider tips from technicians, to help keep your Mac happy and working reliably:

1. Restart every couple of days

This is the “great refresher” – like a cat nap for your Mac. If you see any strange behavior, a restart often does wonders to clear it all up. Your Mac will often get some spring back in its step as well.

2. Quit your open applications as you go

In essence, freeing up memory (RAM) as you go. The more applications you have open at once, the more beach ball action you will see, the more sluggish it feels. This is like emptying your pockets, wallet, and purse of unneeded papers to travel lighter and be more spry when shopping on Robson.

Best … Read more …