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OS X Yosemite will be available for free this fall
Apple just announced that its latest desktop operating system, OS X Yosemite, will be available as a free upgrade to Mac users later this fall. Developers, meanwhile, will have access to it starting today. In addition to this, Apple revealed that, through its public beta program, some non-developer folks can start playing with the new version of OS X in the summer. Yosemite brings a completely redesigned user interface and deep integration with iOS, to highlight a couple of things. We'll likely hear more about Apple's OS X Yosemite in the days to come; for now, stay tuned to our WWDC liveblog to get more Apple-related coverage.
Apple announces iCloud Drive
Apple has announced the next evolution for iCloud, called iCloud Drive, at the WWDC 2014 keynote. The service will work similarly to Dropbox. You'll be able to quickly pull up your files from across your iCloud directly in your Finder folders. This includes any iCloud apps and files you might have on your iOS device but not your computer, like SketchBook Pro. This promises to link iCloud, iOS, and OS X together in one neat place. Interestingly Apple, is also offering support for Windows along with OS X and iOS. For iPhone fans who are still latched onto Microsoft this feature will be a blessing.
WWDC 2014: Apple announces OS X 10.10 Yosemite
Craig Federighi introduced OS X 10.10 Yosemite at WWDC 2014 today, saying that it included a concept that Apple developers label as continuity. Like iOS 7 in 2013, OS X Yosemite received a major design overhaul, including redesigned icons and translucent backgrounds. Key features of OS X Yosemite include: A dark mode for people who don't care for the light themes. Redesigned icons and translucent backgrounds. Redesigned sidebars for apps. A new today view for the notification similar, like the one that is in iOS 7. This view can be expanded to show additional widgets from third-party apps. New views in Calendar for week and day views. A redesigned Spotlight that looks and appears to behave a lot like Alfred and similar app launchers. The addition of iCloud Drive, which will sync folders on your Mac to iOS and Windows. A redesigned Mail with Mail Drop, which will send large attachments through iCloud to avoid having emails bounce back from having too-large attachments. There is also the integration of Preview features that let you mark up an email. Redesigned Safari with a smart search field and everything condensed into a single bar. The ability to AirDrop and hand-off files between Mac and iOS The ability to instantly detect a mobile hotspot if your phone is nearby The ability to make and receive phone calls and SMS from your Mac. OS X Yosemite will be available to developers today. Those part of the OS X Beta program will receive the update this summer. It will be a free release to the public in the fall.
WWDC 2014: OS X by the numbers
Here's some quick numbers that Tim Cook shared at WWDC 2014 this morning regarding OS X Mavericks and its adoption. 12% Mac growth in the past year versus a negative growth for the industry overall. More than 40 million copies of Mavericks installed since October, most in Apple's history. More than 50% of install base working on latest OS. Cook says this is the fastest adoption ever. By comparison, only 14% of Windows users have adopted the latest version of Windows. We'll have more updates from WWDC 2014 all day.
WWDC 2014: TUAW staff predicts keynote announcements
We're just a couple hours away from the WWDC 2014 keynote, where we will get our first official look at what Apple's been working on for the past year, especially in regards to iOS and OS X. Here's what TUAW staffers believe will (and won't) be discussed. What's your wacky predictions? Let us know in the comments. Steve Sande Steve provided us with a top 10 list: The iWatch will not be announced, but there may be some reference to future wearables since developers will need to start preparing to work on such a device. Home automation platform announcement is a solid prediction. Won't be iHome, though, since another company already appropriated that name for hotel room docks years ago... HealthBook or whatever Apple decides to call the "quantified self" platform is a go. Opening parts of Siri to developers will happen. At least one announcement of upgraded hardware - my guess is that a faster Mac mini will be available. Hopefully smaller as well! iOS 8 with inter-app communications, TextEdit and Preview, AirDrop with Mac! OS X 10.10 Yosemite, with AirDrop to iOS and all new UI design Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine will make at least one appearance on stage Apple TV SDK Aperture 4 announcement Megan Lavey-Heaton I'd be interested to see if any sort of iTunes subscription program is finally unveiled as part of a change to iOS/OS X, but my bet is that this sort of iTunes overhaul would be a part of the next iPhone/iPod refresh later this year. I don't think we're going to see the iWatch either. But like Steve mentioned above, they're going to refer to it coming so developers could get ready for it unless it's closed off from third-party developers at first like the original iPhone. I'll be surprised, but thrilled, if we get a new Apple TV. I wonder if we're going to see any changes to Time Capsule/Airport thrown in as well. It would be interesting to have iBeacon integrated into an Airport Base Station as part of a home-automated network. Mike Wehner I don't think Apple can announce the health tracking functionality of iOS 8 without addressing the hardware it would need to go along with it -- like the iWatch, for example. So either we'll see both Healthbook AND the iWatch, or neither. New iMacs would be nice, as would a Retina-equipped MacBook Air, but I'm not holding my breath on those. Definitely a thorough look at the new OS X, and lots and lots of iOS-style flat textures making the move to the desktop. Dave Caolo Untucked shirts. Mike T. Rose Integration/API layer for health devices
Mac 101: Send a message with a screen grab quickly through OS X Notification Center
OS X's Notification Center is great for receiving incoming alerts, but you also can use the panel to compose a quick message and send it via the Messages app. Even more useful is the ability to add a screen grab right along with your text, making it perfect for those "you gotta see this" moments. To use Notification Center to pen quick messages, you need to enable the feature by opening System Preferences > Notifications and then selecting the "Share Button" option in the left-hand column. Make sure the checkbox next to "Show share button in Notification Center" is selected as shown above. Once the share button option is enabled, you can open Notification Center by clicking on the icon in the top right-hand corner of the menu bar. You now should see a box at the top with the label "Messages" as shown below. If you don't see the Messages option, you may have to drag down on the Notifications pane, which is the same gesture you use to expose the "Do Not Disturb" option in OS X. When you see the Messages icon, you can click on it to open a small message composition box where you can enter the recipient's contact information and your message. The contact information is pulled from your OS X address book so you can easily type in a few letters of a person's name and OS X will list the compatible address book entries. Just click on the address book entry you want to use. Type in your message, and when you have finished composing it, you can send it along by clicking the "Send" button. One useful option in this quick messaging is the ability to add a screen grab to an outgoing message. Follow the steps above to create a new message, add a recipient and type in your text. Before you hit send, right-click (or control-click, or two-finger click on a trackpad) on the text entry box to open the contextual menu. At the bottom of this contextual menu is an option to "Capture Selection From Screen," which provides you with the ability to select a region of your screen that you want to embed into your message. To add the screen grab, just select the "Capture Selection From Screen" option, use the crosshairs to select the area you want to capture and wait a few seconds for OS X to do its thing. Depending on what you are capturing, you may have to size up the windows in advance so your content appears on the screen when notifications is open, Once you select the region of the screen you want to capture, the screen grab will appear in your message and you can send it along by pressing the send button.
iTunes 11.2.2 update released featuring podcast bug fix
Apple has just released iTunes 11.2.2, a seemingly minor update that fixes a bug that's been annoying podcast fans. In the previous version of iTunes, some podcast episodes would unexpectedly download after upgrading. Beyond the podcast fix, the update also brings a few new stability improvements. It's interesting to note that Apple has released three updates for iTunes in the past two weeks alone. iTunes 11.2 introduced enhanced podcast support on May 15, followed by the 11.2.1 update on May 16 that fixed a bug that hid the /users folder. Hopefully this latest update for iTunes doesn't turn off the glowing Apple logo on the front of your MacBook. You can download the update in the Mac App Store.
Mac 101: How to type an accented character in just a few seconds
If you communicate internationally, there will be times when you need to use an accented character in your prose. If you don't use these special characters very often, you may fumble around OS X looking for a way to add to your text. Don't waste extra time hunting through the preferences or the character viewer looking for a match, these accented characters are right at your fingertips if you know where to find them. The quickest way to add an accented letter also is the easiest one to remember. Just tap and hold the letter key and a box will appear with a selection of the available accents. You can click on the correct character or type the number underneath the character that you want to enter. It works with all the vowels as well as a few consonants that have special accents, like C, L and N. Now that you this trick, it'll only take you a few seconds to enter "olé" the next time you want to express your enthusiasm.
All the best new apps and app reviews last week on TUAW
Last week was a busy one for app news and announcements, giving your favorite TUAW writers a chance to post some great reviews of the apps that grace their home screens. Here's a quick roundup of our recent reviews -- and a few app roundups -- you may have missed: App Reviews Zodiac Dodge asks you to save a monkey from a familiar Mario enemy FlixAPix adds animated transitions to your iOS photos TechSmith Fuse eases iOS to Mac/PC media transfers Daily App: Turn yourself into a rocket scientist with SimpleRockets RedShift is a nailbiter of a game for iOS Daily App: Litely uses a soft touch when applying filters to your photos The amazing Word Lens app for iOS is now free Daily App: Why 100 Balls is at the top of the App Store charts The MotorMouth lets you tell the world exactly what you think Table Tennis Touch should be twice as expensive as it is Marco Polo: find your iPhone by shouting at it Telenav Scout for iOS now powered by OpenStreetMap New Apps Plants by Tinybop [iOS Universal; $1.99] Unearth the secrets of the green kingdom! Note by LKMAKE for iPhone [iPhone; $2.99] Yet another note app for iPhone, iPad and Mac. Bill Killem [iOS Universal; Free] Storm the rooftops of Los Angeles with guns blazing as you fight for Earth in all its pixel glory. Drawn to Life [iOS Universal; $4.99] Draw your own Hero to save the world! Darkrume [iPad; $2.99] Darkrume is the best Flickr Client for your iPad to be designed yet. Bounden [iPhone; $3.99] A whimsical dancing game for two players, with choreography by the Dutch National Ballet. Twist and twirl elegantly, or get entangled with a friend. OmniFocus 2 [OS X; $39.99] We understand, you're busy. You've got stuff to do. Work. Home. Play. Activehours - Unlock your pay [iPhone; Free] Activehours lets you get your paycheck anytime you want. Why wait until payday? Swaly [iPhone; Free] Swaly allows you to localize yourself in real time and to share your position with your friends! Road Story [iOS Universal; Free] Control cars to avoid crashes and become crossroads operator. Gain experience and level up to unlock new powerful bonus cars and new crossroads. MyAScript [OS X; Free] MyAScript - you can save and run AppleScripts on your Mac Frontline: Road to Moscow [iOS Universal; $2.99] Seize Russia. Win the war. The German Army needs YOU to command their forces into the most ambitious invasion plan ever imagined: invade Russia and lead the mighty Wehrmacht on towards Moscow. Alone in the Dark® [iOS Universal; $0.99] Solve the mystery behind the suspicious death of Jeremy Hartwood! Fallen Lords [iPad; $1.99] Fallen Lords is a cooperative board game in which you and up to 3 friends explore the buried city and defeat the Fallen Lords before they escape their ancient bonds! Slyde [iPhone; Free] Slyde is the place to discover, follow, and share hot new music singles the way they were meant to be experienced, directly from the artists! All for free! Powershot [OS X; $0.99] Powershot will be an essential screen capture app in your Mac. BOOM 909! [iPad; $0.99] Boom 909 integrates one of the most popular drum machines of the 80's into the modern mobile producers workflow. Record of Agarest War [iOS Universal; $14.99] HyperDevbox is proud to announce that the massively popular tactical role-playing game (J-RPG) for home video game consoles, Record of Agarest War (English version), is now available for iOS. Campaign Monitor [iPhone; Free] Monitor gives you real-time campaign and subscriber reporting in your pocket, so you can keep in touch with what's happening in your account when you're on-the-go. EchoHam [OS X; Free] EchoHam allows Amateur Radio operators to use the Echolink network from their iMac. iPastels [OS X; Free] Simulating soft (chalk) pastels, oil pastels and color blending, the iPastels app tries to be as realistic as possible. TUAW will be back next week with another round of app reviews, so be sure to drop by to see what's new and what's cool.
Mac 101: How to scroll quickly through a web page or long document
In so many areas of OS X, Apple has added quick little tricks that make it easier for you to complete an action -- such as using the Option-Shift key when adjust volume to raise or lower it in smaller increments. When you are reading a long document that does not have a text entry field, you can use the space bar to scroll quickly down the document. The space bar will jump you down the page in large increments and is a much faster method of scrolling than the page down arrow, which moves you in smaller increments. When you reach the bottom of a document, you can use the shift-space bar combination to move back up the document in an equally quick manner. The only caveat is the space bar option does not work when the document has a text entry field as you need the space bar to add spaces between your words. As a result, you cannot use this trick when you are writing a long blog post in a web page editor or using a desktop text editor to modify a long document. It works perfectly, though, when you are reading a long webpage or browsing a PDF in Preview.
Mac 101: How to manage website Push Notifications in OS X Mavericks
OS X Mavericks added a new feature to Safari that allows websites to send you push notifications when there is breaking news and other new content. Websites that support this function will display a pop-up asking you if you want to receive alerts when you visit their website for the first time. If you are like me, you may click on the button just to get the alert out of the way without realizing what you just permitted. Thankfully, Apple provides an easy way for you to manage these push notifications within Safari. In Safari's preferences section, you can see which websites are sending you alerts and which ones are disabled. You also can disable those sometimes annoying push notification requests entirely. Follow these steps below to manage your Safari push notification list and other push notification preferences: 1. Open Safari and select "Safari" from the menu and then choose "Preferences." 2. Click on the tab labeled "Notifications." 3. The dialog box should display your website list at the top, with each site's push notification status clearly indicated as "Allow" or "Deny." 4. Select "Allow" if you want a website to send you push notifications or "Deny" if you want to disable the alerts. 5. You also can use the buttons at the bottom to remove websites from the list, individually via "Remove" or in bulk using "Remove All." 6. At the bottom, there is a checkbox labeled "Allow websites to ask for permission to send push notifications", which is the global switch that toggles on and off the notification request feature (the popup that asks if you want alerts). 7. If you select that checkbox, then websites will ask you whether you want push notifications. 8. If you deselect this checkbox, Safari will ignore all push notification requests and you can browse uninterrupted. Note: If you don't see this checkbox then you need to update Safari as it is only available in Safari 7.0.3. 9. If you want to fine tune your alerts, you can click on the "Notifications Preferences" button to open the system-wide notification settings for OS X. 10. This notification panel allows you modify how the alerts are displayed (None, Banners, Alerts) as well as prevent the alerts from appearing either on the lock screen or in Notification Center.
Mac 101: How to add images to an iMessage
Adding images to an iMessage on your iPhone is easy to do as there is a "camera" icon right next to the message composition field. On the Mac, though, this option is not readily apparent, leaving many desktop users scratching their head when they want to add a simple image to a message they are writing. Though it is not intuitive, Messages for Mac does allow you to attach on image to an outgoing message. There are two basic ways -- one uses the Finder, while the other uses the sharing feature that is available in most apps. Using the Finder If you haven't started writing a new message, you can select the image in Finder and right-click on it to bring up the contextual menu. Select "Share > Messages" from the contextual menu to create a new message. This opens a small dialog box directly over the Finder window that allows you to enter the recipient information and a text note before sending the image. If you already have a message in progress, then you will need to follow the steps below: Position the Finder window and the Messages window side-by-side on your screen. This makes it easy to drag the image from one window to another. Select an image file in the finder. (This also works in iPhoto if you have that app open) Drag the file to the text entry field in Messages. You will see a "+" icon as you add the image. You can add text directly after the image or use Option-Return to add some line returns between the image and your text. Using the "Share" feature in third-party apps Many OS X apps that work with images, such as Preview or Acorn, allow you to select an image and then choose the Share option either from the main menu bar or from the contextual menu. When you share an image from a third-party app, Messages launches a small dialog box where you can enter the recipient information as well as add some text before sending it along.
Thie Weekend in the App Store -- the best free apps, new apps and app updates
Here are some of the best free apps, app updates and new apps that have landed in the App Store recently. All app prices are USD and subject to change. Some deals may expire quickly, so grab them while you can. Apps Now Free Block Fortress: War [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $1.99] Welcome to the Blockverse: an alternate and blocky dimension, home to a diverse collection of alien civilizations. DashCam [iPhone; Now free, down from $1.99] Have your own black box/dashboard camera. This application can be used with cars, bicycles, motorcycles, boats, anything that moves. Calendars 5 by Readdle [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $6.99] Calendars 5 is complete re-imagining of what the best mobile calendar experience should be. Smart Photo Organizer [iOS Universal; Now free, down from $1.99] Smart Photo Organizer is an application to create different albums for Screenshots, Photos and movies. New and Notable Apps Voxen [iPad; $7.99] Voxen is a voice synthesizer. It lets you synthesize singing voices. Any voice, not just the few voices that someone else designed into it. The Photo Cookbook – Barbecue Grilling [iOS Universal; $3.99] This Photo Cookbook is intended for all grilling enthusiasts. netwars – The Butterfly Attack - Episode 1 - An Interactive Graphic Novel about War on the Web! [iOS Universal; $2.99] The story is anything but science fiction. The scenario is alarmingly real. The digital war affects every one of us, and it's happening right now. The Elements Flashcards [iOS Universal; Free] Flashcards is based on the ground-breaking original app The Elements, turned into a powerful memory aid for those moments when you really need to know your elements. Updates you don't want to miss Shadow Puppet [iOS Universal; Free] Create custom videos that are easy to share. Version 2.0.2 brings the following changes: Include video clips, not just still images Add music from your library or choose one of our background songs Easily search the web for images and animated GIFs Overlay text and stickers Draw to animate and highlight Higher quality video export with optional HD export upgrade TuneIn Radio Pro [iOS Universal; $3.99] Discover, follow and listen to what's most important to you from the world's largest collection of sports, news, music and talk stations. Version 6.1.1 brings the following changes: One-click play for the stations you follow in your profile (previously called 'favorites'). Get to the content you love, faster! Time remaining for programs is back, so you can see how much time is left in your favorite shows. You can enter Car Mode through the car icon on the top left of Browse (from version 6.0 on). Wordpress [iOS Universal; Free] With WordPress for iOS, you can moderate comments, create or edit posts and pages, view stats, and add images or videos with ease. Version 4.0.3 brings the following changes: Adjusted user interface for media management to allow for faster insertion of images. Improved accessibility of the stats interface. Launched live chat support on a limited rollout. Fixed many miscellaneous bugs. iHunt Journal [iOS Universal; $8.99] This is the ultimate all-in-one hunting app - it manages all your hunting memories plus it allows you to research and plan your hunts. Version 3.3.2 brings the following changes: Game type filtering - iOS 7 only Inventory check extension: Now with validity period for all checks Export, Import and Dropbox Exchange extension Optimizations for iPhone 5s, database size and integration of latest G. Maps
Daily App: FilePane is a versatile multi-tool utility for OS X file management
FilePane is handy Mac utility that simplifies the sometimes cumbersome task of managing your files. It's lightweight, sits in the menu bar and provides quick access to a variety of tasks such as resize image, convert text to PDF and more. FilePane sits quietly in the menu bar and activates whenever you select a file (or files) and drag them across your screen. When you start the dragging process, a small box appears that prompts you to "Drop Here." When you drop you files in this hot zone, a small dialog appears with a variety of options depending on the file type you have selected. The available options for each file(s) appear as icons, which makes it difficult when you start using the app. Most are self-explanatory, but I did find myself having the consult the cheat sheet provided with the app. You can find this icon list by opening the app in the menu bar and clicking on the question mark. The app supports images, text documents, multiple files and folders and provides with the following choices: show file size copy file path to clipboard move file email file AirDrop file resize image on the fly (images only) set as Desktop picture (images only) share on Twitter/Facebook (images only) convert it to PDF (text documents only) print (text documents only) and more Once you have identified the appropriate action for your file, you can then select it and follow the prompts to complete it. For example, I often drag an image file and choose to resize it. The app allows me to enter in the dimensions and provides an option to make it proportionate, which is useful if I want an image that is 600 pixels wide and an appropriately scaled height. FilePane is reliable -- it hasn't crashed nor affected the performance of my Mac because it is so lightweight. It works in other apps and it is not constrained to only the Finder, though that is where it is most useful. It also works in web browsers and document editors, allowing you to perform actions on the text and images that you select and drag. My only critique of FilePane is the duration of the "Drop Here" window can be frustratingly short when you are working in a large Finder window that is filled with files. Sometimes I would drag a set of files, pause for a second or two and the "Drop Here" window would disappear. I found that I had the files with the purpose of dropping them on the hot zone and had to drag with minimal pause. I believe this timed disappearance is a feature, allowing the hot zone to disappear quickly when you are dragging for reasons other than to activate FilePane. For example, I did notice that the FilePane drop zone activated I was managing my emails in a web browser. Every time I dragged an email to a folder, the "Drop Here" box appeared and then disappeared fast enough that it did not get in the way. FilePane is useful for OS X owners who want a quick and versatile method of accessing the most common actions for a file. It offers a variety of options that are different from those available when you right click on a file and is extremely easy to use. FilePane is available from the Mac App Store for US$4.99.
Mac 101: How to quickly hide desktop icons
If you need to use your Mac for a presentation at work or school, you may want to tidy up your machine by removing all the icons that are cluttering up your desktop. You can drag all the icons off your desktop for your presentation and then drag them back when you are done, but that method can be inconvenient and increases the chance that you could accidentally lose a file or two in the moving process. There is an easier way that allows you to temporarily hide the icons, while still keeping the files in their original location. The simplest way of hiding your desktop icons is to use a third-party app to do all the work for you. You can check out Camouflage (US$5.99), which has been around for a long time and is regularly updated to support the latest version of OS X. There's also Desktop Curtain ($4.99) that supports a variety of options for setting the curtain coverage amount, extending the cover to external monitors and more. If you prefer a no-frills option, then you should download the free HiddenMe app and see if that does what you need it to do. OS X owners who are comfortable with the terminal app can use the following command to hide all icons on the desktop without deleting or moving the files stored in the desktop folder. This first command will remove the icons: defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool false && killall Finder While this second one will restore all the icons: defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool true && killall Finder If you have any other interesting Finder or terminal tips, please share them in the comments.
Panic announces upcoming Coda 2.5 will not be available in Mac App Store
Panic yesterday announced that it would not release the upcoming 2.5 version of its Coda development tool in the Mac App Store due to Apple's Sandboxing restrictions. Sandboxing is meant to increase the security of OS X by limiting an app's access to files stored on your Mac unless the app has been given permission to read or write to those files. Panic confirmed it is ready to release Coda 2.5, but the company is running into hurdles with sandboxing that would delay the app's availability. The company worked extensively with Apple to overcome most of the sandboxing issues with Coda 2.5, but it is still encountering a few remaining challenges that it decided to putting aside in order to release the app as soon as possible. As a result, Coda 2.5 will not be sandboxed and will be available only from Panic's website. Panic has made it easy for customers who bought an earlier version of Coda from the Mac App Store to upgrade to version 2.5 when it is released. Panic also introduced Panic Sync to replace iCloud sync. You can read more about this transition in the blog post on Panic's website.
TUAW TV Live: 3 things every Mac owner should be able to do
Nowadays, Mac owners have a variety of ways to learn more about their computers. There are One-to-One sessions and seminars at Apple Stores, Mac user groups, magazines, and even online classes such as those offered by Screencasts Online and Lynda.com. Yet it's often surprising how often that those of us in the Mac-iverse find out that some newer users don't know about common things that they should be doing to keep their computers in top shape. Today, Shawn "Doc Rock" Boyd and I will each discuss three of those things that we think every Mac owners should know how to do. Be sure to take part in the chat, and offer up your ideas on the "must-have" knowledge for Mac users. To watch the show and take part in the chat, just scroll down a tiny bit, log into the chat room, and be sure to press the "play" button on the video window around 5 PM to watch the stream. If you don't have time to watch the complete show today, come back to this post later when we'll have the recording available for your viewing pleasure. Contact the podcast Follow the hosts on Twitter: @stevensande, @docrock, @TUAW Send your questions to @stevensande E-mail us: tvlive at tuaw [dot] com
Mac 101: How to work with two apps without switching windows
OS X has a little known feature that allows you to scroll open windows while they remain in the background. Usually, you discover this feature by accident when you are using an app in one window, hover your cursor over another open app window and scroll your fingers by mistake. You then are shocked when the background window contents move in response to your fingers. The ability to scroll the content in a window that does not have the focus (is in the background behind the window in which you are working) is available in OS X and many Linux distributions, including Ubuntu. I use this background scrolling all the time when I write. I keep my text editor in the foreground and the web browser in the background. This arrangement allows me to scroll a web page and not have to switch windows when I am done reading and want to type in my text editor again. This background scrolling works with any combination of apps. One bonus feature is the ability to interact with a web page that is in the background using the command key. If you are reading a page and it has a link, you can open the link in a new tab without losing your focus by holding down the command key and then clicking on the link. This option is useful when you are multitasking and don't want to be slowed down by switching windows. For example, I can stay in my email client and open a few browser windows while I wait for an email attachment to download. If you have any other OS X tips, please share them in the comments.
Alfred 2.3 adds external triggers and more
Alfred for Mac is one of my favorite utilities. So much more than an app launcher, it lets me find and move files, control apps and even set complex workflows into action for a super-effecient work day. Things get better with version 2.3, which is out now. External triggers, case-sensitive hotkeys and other changes only make this app better. External triggers are so cool. In a nutshell, you can use an AppleScript from outside Alfred to tell it what to do. Attach one to a Calendar event, for example, for precision timing. Meanwhile, you use Alfred to select which app opens a specific file. Think of it as Finder's "Open with..." command but much more efficient. The marquee feature is context-sensitive hotkeys. I use a utility like Alfred because I don't like reaching for the mouse over and over, all day long. Perhaps you're the same. Now you can make your hotkey triggers case-sensitive. There's also an option to disable a combination when a certain application is frontmost, and a unique setting for when you're using Photoshop. Hotkey conflicts are a huge pain in the backside, and Alfred 2.3 does a lot to address it. Alfred is among the apps I install on a new Mac immediately. This update is an example of why.
Mac 101: Using the OS X application switcher for more than moving between apps
Command-Tab key combination is familiar to most experienced Mac users. It brings up the Application Switcher, allowing you to switch from one application to another just by hitting the Tab key to cycle through the running applications. If you know the correct key combinations you also can close or hide apps as well as use them to open documents. Moving beyond just tabbing through the open apps is easy, just use this cheat sheet of key combinations as a guide: Command-Tab: Will move you forward through the open apps. Command-Shift-Tab: Will move you backward through the open apps. Command-Tab-Q: Will close the app selected in the switcher. Command-Tab-H: Will hide the app selected in the switcher. Command-Tab-1: Will show the open windows of the app selected in the switcher. Drag Finder document to Command-Tab: Start to drag a document in Finder, hit Command-Tab to launch the application switcher and drag the doc to the appropriate app in the switcher. If you have your own tips and tricks that work with the application switcher, please share them in the comments.