Tips for iLiving

Seems like more people are joining in on the Apple-computing sensation these days. And who can blame them? If you haven't already, try using iTunes for a week or two, and imagine an entire operating system designed like that. An operating system that--you know--makes sense.

But I digress. I think that I've come to realize that there are a lot of things I take for granted on a Mac. And once in a while I'll encounter someone new to the system, and everything is so vibrant and new. And sometimes, in the midst of all that excitement and going, "Ooooh look! The Dock!", some might miss out on some of OS X's more useful features. So here's a small list, for any new Mac converts out there, of a few handy tricks to get the most out of your oh-so-delicious computing experience:

1. Application switching.
To switch between different open applications in OS X, hold the Command key (aka, the "Apple-key," or "that squigley four-leaf-clover key") and hit tab. Keep holding the Command key, and repeatedly press tab to cycle through all your open apps. Pressing shift-tab will cycle backwards.
This is one of the most handy, bread-and-butter features of Mac OS I use, and it can easily be missed by newcomers. One of the main reasons I upgraded to Panther (OS 10.3) was for Exposé, but to be quite honest, I don't really use it all that much. Command-tabbing is faster, and it doesn't demand that I remember which hotkey I assigned to it.

2. Quit your applications.
I tend to see this a lot when Windows users switch to Mac. They'll click on the shiny red button at the top of the window, thus closing it, and then go on to do other things. And it's quite understandable that they do so. On a PC, closing all the windows of a program will typically exit the program for you (correct me if I'm wrong, Windows-gurus. That's what I do, anyways). In OS X, closing all your windows leaves your program running, only sans-windows. This running application is still waiting for you to do stuff, and hogging up resources in the meantime. So do your dear friend a favor (I mean your Mac, not me. I don't really mind either way), and press Command-Q to quit your applications when you're done with them.

3. Force quitting.
In the rare event that one of your applications crashes, you'll probably have to force-quit it. A bit of warning, though: using the force-quit command will chuck all your unsaved changes to the wind. But if you're application is freezing up anyway, you might not have any other option. With that said, this is how you do it:

- Press Command-Option-Escape
- Choose the application you want to quit from the list
- Hit Enter, or click "Force Quit"
- Mourn the loss of your unsaved changes
- Hit OK, and go on computing

4. Create an encrypted disk image.
I just stumbled upon this handy little tip recently. Say you have some sensitive personal documents on your hard drive (credit card information, social security numbers, top-secret chili recipes, whatever), and you'd like to lock them up somewhere safe--you know, just in case your Mac gets stolen by some raging Apple-coveting PC-user. Well lucky you, because you can create an encrypted disk image with OS X's Disk Utility. Whatever you put inside this virtual disk is password protected, thus deterring all but the most hax0Rz of computer thieves. So here's what you do:

- Open up the Disk Utility application (it's usually tucked away in the Utilities folder inside the main Applications folder)
- Go to File --> New --> Blank Disk Image (or, if you're using OS 10.3, go to Image --> New)
- Enter the disk's name (hopefully not "Super Secret Credit Card Numbers--LOOK!!")
- Choose a disk image size (you might want to choose a CD-sized image, just in case you want to burn it to a CD later).
- Choose "Read/Write," assuming you want to, you know, actually put stuff in here.
- Choose AES-128 as the encryption method (It's the only one available).
- Click "Create."
- Type in your super-secret password.

Now, if someone happens to steal your beloved Powerbook laptop, never fear, because you've already put all your personal documents inside an encrypted disk. Now they'll never be able to make Habanero-chili just the way you like it!

5. Right-clicking on a Mac.
The lack of a built-in right-click is one of the biggest gripes I hear against Macs. And I tend to agree with them. Right-clicking is pretty nifty, and I personally think Apple should include two-button trackpads and mice with their computers. But it's not all bad. You could always go out and buy a two-button mouse. And yes, that second button will work. The options that drop-down when you right click usually aren't as extensive as you'd find on a Windows computer, but it'll get most of the important jobs done. If you don't want to go out and buy a mouse, you could always hold down the Control (ctrl) button as you click for the same functionality. Lame, yes, but what can you do? Use a PC? No thanks.

::Update::
I just remembered another useful trick that's found in Mac OS X.

6. Print to PDF
If you're using your web browser, word processor, or really anything that lets you print, you can go to File --> Print, and click the "Save as PDF" button at the bottom of the dialog box. Choose a place to save it, name it, and you're good to go. Send it, archive it, stick it in a stew. Real handy.

::End of update::

Those are some of the more useful ones that I can think of right now. Oh, and it seems that OS X can utilize some Emacs key bindings, which I'm trying to toy around with a little bit. Seems like it'd be neat if you can get the hang of it.

But the best Mac tip I can give is simple: get a Mac. Just wait for your current PC to break down and die. Shouldn't take that long. Hah. And once you go Mac, you never go back.