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Automate text entry in iOS
One attribute that all tech bloggers admire in other bloggers is the ability to point out hidden (or at least poorly documented) gems in the operating systems and apps we use. Sandro Cuccia at The Mac Observer did a great job over the weekend of showing how to automate text entry in iOS using a built-in capability that not many users know about -- Keyboard Shortcuts To use Keyboard Shortcuts, launch the Settings app on your favorite iOS device, then select General > Keyboard. Toward the bottom of the keyboard settings (seen above) -- which includes such other fun things as auto-correction, enabling caps lock and creating the "." shortcut -- you'll find a section called "Shortcuts." There's already an example shortcut listed; typing "omw" anywhere on an iOS device will expand into the phrase "On my way!" Cuccia points out that the "iOS Keyboard Shortcut feature is very, very basic." He's right; all you get is your words in plain text, with no formatting or carriage returns. But still, anywhere you have access to a text keyboard on your iOS device, you can use the shortcuts. Say, for example, that I wish to expand the shortcut "tuaw" into "The Unofficial Apple Weblog." I'll tap Add New Shortcut, type "The Unofficial Apple Weblog" into the Phrase field and then "tuaw" into the Shortcut field. Tap Save, and then the shortcut is ready to use. Typing the shortcut into any text field displays the phrase in an Auto-Correction bubble, meaning that all you need to do is tap the space bar to enter the phrase. Cuccia has many more keyboard tips available in his full post on The Mac Observer, so be sure to check out this helpful post as soon as you can.
The Mog Log: Returning to your Final Fantasy XIV friends
Despite my best efforts, I was unable to throw open the doors and start demonstrating the wonders of Arcanist with my time in Final Fantasy XIV's open beta. I know, I'm disappointed too. I can offer a summary of what I saw from a glance at the abilities of the class, sure, but that's a little more speculation than I want to lay on people in lieu of real playtime. (The short version is that it looks interesting, and yes, there's a cure in there.) Instead, I'm going to offer some advice to my fellow players coming back into the game with older characters. Think of these not as strict guidelines but as suggestions, tips to make the path through beta and early access just a wee bit easier. I spent most of phase 3 preparing for the launch along these lines, and it might make the transition a bit more gentle for everyone.
Hyperspace Beacon: Five quick and dirty tips for SWTOR update 2.3
This morning, the third major installment to Star Wars: The Old Republic since Rise of the Hutt Cartel hit the servers. BioWare calls Update 2.3 Titans of Industry; I call it Czerka, Czerka, Czerka. I've been on and off test center for the last few weeks, checking out not only the latest zone planet CZ-198 but also the Bounty Contract Week, and I figured that since you guys will likely be jumping right into this new content, I will give you a few tips of my own to help you better succeed in this new venture. Disclaimer: These quick and dirty tips are not endorsed by Czerka Corporation, the Galactic Republic, the Sith Empire, or their affiliates. The Hutt Cartel might endorse these tips, but seriously, when have you known Hutts not to be quick and dirty -- well, at least, dirty?
How to dial extensions with the iPhone
MacObserver this week posted an absolutely awesome tip detailing how to auto-dial phone numbers with extensions into your iPhone address book. Forget having to remember someone's extension number, or trying to keep it handy and accessible with a note, iOS 6 takes care of all the dirty work for you. To get started, go to the contact info of someone with an extension or create an entirely new contact. Hit the "Edit" button in order to make changes to the contact's information page. When you attempt to edit a contact's phone number, you'll be presented with the following screen. If you tap the lower-left button with all of the special characters, you'll notice that options for "pause" and "wait" will appear where the "4" and "6" used to reside. MacObserver writes: A pause adds a two-second delay, which is indicated by a comma. You can add as many pauses as you like, and then you'll type in the extension at the end. So if you know, for example, that a certain business makes you wait six seconds before you can punch in someone's extension number, just insert three pauses as I've done above, and your iPhone will dial the extension for you after that amount of time. Brilliant! It gets even better because the "wait" key will allow you to pre-program in a number of extensions, thereby saving you from having to wait and traverse through a frustrating tree of automatic menus. This is one of the more interesting iOS 6 tips I've seen in a while and MacObserver has a lot more instructive photos if you'd like to put this tip into practice.
Make an SSB with Chrome on the Mac
A site-specific browser (SSB) is a great way to "package" a web app you use every day into a dockable, clickable app that maintains its own cookies, settings and preferences versus your everyday web browser config. On the Mac, the easiest way to make an SSB is via the handy Fluid app, which supports independent prefs in its paid version. Chrome's preliminary "packaged app" support, which will take the SSB concept to the next level, has been supported via dev builds on Windows and Linux since the beginning of the month; you can get a sneak preview of the App Launcher on the Mac, but actual packaged app support is still TBD. If you love the Gmail-savvy simplicity of Mailplane, but can't quite get around the price tag, you might consider an SSB for Gmail, which gives you some of the same functionality. Unfortunately, Fluid builds its SSB support on top of Safari and Webkit, which means your SSB won't be quite as Gmail/Google Docs-savvy as it would be if you were using Chrome. (Try printing a font-heavy Google Docs file from Safari.) There is a way out of this pickle: build an SSB using Chrome as the underlying engine instead. With a quick script and a few Terminal tweaks, you can make a double-clickable fresh Chrome SSB that keeps its own profile well clear of your normal settings. Don't like shell scripts? The CreateGCApp utility packages up the script and does all the work for you. Having a separate instance/SSB of Chrome is particularly handy if you have trouble with Gmail's multiple-account support in your regular browser, as sometimes can happen if one account uses single sign-on via a third party. Once upon a time, you could make SSBs with Firefox via Prism, but that project has been left to wither on the vine. [via Lifehacker & Bracken King]
iPhone 101: Getting more out of Apple's Stocks app on iOS
Apple's Stocks app on iOS isn't terribly exciting, but in typical Apple fashion, it does have a bit more functionality lurking beneath the surface. Pictured below is what you typically see when you fire up the Stocks app. The information is pretty basic. We see that Apple's current share price is US$456, and to the right of that in green, we see how much Apple's share price has gone up for the day, in this case $3.98. If you tap the green rectangle, however, the display changes to reveal Apple's current market cap. If you tap the green rectangle once more, the information changes yet again, this time displaying Apple's daily gain or loss as a percentage. So with a few taps, one can quickly toggle through Apple's market cap and information as to how the stock is performing percentage-wise or terms of dollars and cents. But wait, there's more! If we take another look at the default Stocks view, you'll note that there are three circles at the bottom of the screen. From here, one can simply swipe to the left (from anywhere on the bottom half of the screen) to reveal more information about the selected stock, in this case Apple. On screen two, we're presented with a chart mapping Apple's stock performance over the last six months. One can also tap on the other durations to see Apple's stock performance over other periods of time. What's more, if you rotate the phone into landscape mode, you'll not only be presented with a wider chart of a stock's performance, but you'll also be able to drag your finger across the chart and see at what price a stock closed on a particular day. If we return the phone into portrait mode and swipe to the left one more time, we're now presented with Apple-related news stories. What may not be so apparent, however, is that one can swipe upwards on the presented news stories to reveal even more Apple-related stories from around the web. Lastly, if you want to add stocks to keep an eye on, simply tap the info button at the bottom-right corner of the screen. You'll then be whisked away to the screen below where you can tap on the "+" sign and add whatever stocks you like. So there you have it. Apple's Stocks app may be seldom used by those who don't follow the market, but it does house a tad more functionality than one might expect from an ostensibly boring and vanilla application.
Neverwinter Days: The 14 guides you need to read
I've had a strange start with Neverwinter, to be honest. While I did get in on the 25th with the early-early crowd, shortly thereafter I had to boogie on off to a vacation that canceled out eight days of soft launch gaming time. So even though I got an early start, I'm probably behind many of you -- even those who started on the 30th. That's OK; I'm not in a rush. I'm not the type to get into a speed race or feel the compulsion to become an instant expert by the end of week one. My experience so far has been feeling out what Neverwinter has to offer, mostly by going through the solo quest line, participating in skirmishes, and queuing up for dungeon runs when time permits. And I'm enjoying myself so far, although I still have that "slightly lost" feeling that comes with exploring a brand-new MMO. I need to learn how to create Foundry missions and I haven't even touched professions yet. Maybe you're like me. Maybe you assume that everyone already knows the ins and outs of the game as though he's been playing it for years, while you're an ignorant noob wandering the streets. I don't think you're alone if that's the case, and to help both you and me out, I've done some research to find the top 14 most helpful threads, sites, and articles that all fledgling Neverwinter adventurers should at least skim over.
Newbie tips to surviving the DUST 514 experience
It's DUST 514's launch day, and if you've hit dirt with your face more than your combat boots, then you might need a helping hand with CCP's MMO shooter. PlayStation Universe has posted a pair of guides to help new players get off to a strong start, and since Massively cares about each and every one of you, we wanted to pass them along so that you don't end up a shallow grave on an alien world. The first guide is a hodge-podge of beginner's tips, and the second has to do with earning much-needed skill points. "In the early days, we think it's wise to hoard ISK and SP until a time when you're ready to decide on your specialization," the author writes. "Until then, the Militia Gear is good enough." Good luck, soldiers! If you have any DUST 514 tips or tricks that you'd like to pass along to other Massively readers, please do so in the comments.
Trouble filling those last few raid slots? Try the raid browser
It's frustrating to lose time when you need to fill those last few raid spots, yet the Raid Finder isn't coming up with the players you need. Or maybe you're the one who's seeking a raid group, but nothing seems to be shaking loose that night. In a recent Breakfast Topic on in-game help tools, WoW Insider reader PaulLloyd offered up a strikingly simple suggestion that gives both types of seekers one more avenue of hope: the old-school Raid browser. The wha...? PaulLloyd's not referring to the Raid Finder tab in the contemporary Dungeon Finder feature. This relic of olden raiding days, folks, is the previous system found tucked inside the Social tab. Writes PaulLloyd: This is the "find a raid" system that pre-dates LFR. You would list your interest in a certain raid, and when a raid group is looking for a certain role to be filled, they would look them up on this list. It would've saved me cancelling many raids if people would use it. Sadly, it is hidden away, forcing RLs to use trade chat for missing slots, which relies on people sitting around a city and watching trade chat, which means a huge number of people missing the message. For those wondering "what the hell is the raid browser?" Open the social tab (default 'O'). Select 'Raid' tab. Click 'Other Raids' Button. If you're announcing your availability to a raid, use the 'Choose Raid' tab. If you're looking for people, use the 'Browse' tab. While nobody's advocating using this older system as a replacement for the Raid Finder, it makes a fine adjunct tool that could come through if enough players and raid leaders give it a try. PaulLloyd observes that the system is fairly useless on his realm because players simply don't use it, but other players seem hopeful that it could offer a helpful backup method of finding raiders and raids. What do you think? Seems worth a try!
Managing Notification Center annoyances
Reminders is either one of the most useful apps in OS X 10.8 or one of the most annoying, depending on who you talk to. I use Reminders on my iPhone a lot, but not so much on my Mac. Part of the reason is because I assumed that once a Reminder notification popped up on screen my only options were to leave it there, close it (thus disabling the reminder for good) or "snooze" it. But there's actually a hidden option I never knew about. As Lex Friedman points out in a new OS X tips video over on Macworld, you can actually click and hold on a Reminder notification and then flick it off to the side of the screen. Doing this will tell the reminder to reappear in 10 minutes' time. It's a great option when you want to clear a reminder from your screen -- say, to access a window the the desktop underneath -- but don't want to totally forget about the Reminder. Lex shares several other Reminder tips in his video, so be sure to check it out.
Nifty tip for retaining the detachable plug on an Apple Power Supply
Have you ever lost a "duck head"? That's the term for the detachable plug that comes with Apple power supplies. You can remove the duck head and install a full extension cord, but it's quite irritating to lose the plug if you occasionally want to use just the power supply and its thin cable. Thorin Klosowski at Lifehacker points to a clever idea to attach the duck head to the side of the power brick to avoid losing it. The idea is relatively simple -- all you need is some Sugru, which is a self-setting rubber material that can be shaped by hand, and a round head paper fastener (below). In fact, the tip originated on the Sugru website. The head of the paper fastener is wide enough sit inside of the groove that connects the duck head to the power brick, and the legs of the paper fastener are bent to either side to form a base that is attached to the brick with the Sugru. Several Lifehacker commenters took issue with the tip, one saying that "as soon as the brick gets hot, its (sic) going to come right off." As commenters are the bane of bloggers everywhere, I looked into this and found that Sugru works fine up to 180°C (350°F). If an Apple power brick ever gets that hot, there's something very wrong with it. Do you have any tips for keeping your duck head close to the rest of your Apple power supply? Let us know in the comments (and keep it nice, OK?).
Add a clone partition to your backup drive
In case you missed it, March 31st was World Backup Day, a big topic of discussion on the last few Talkcasts, which culminated in a visit by the team at Dolly Drive. Inspired by the conversation, I wanted to create a clone-sized partition to mirror my SSD. I had an extra external drive on my desk but, like most, it already had some important data on it. In this video I will show you how to add a partition to an existing drive so it can be repurposed to make a clone of your boot drive. I'll be using Dolly Drive Revo, a free Dolly Drive 10 GB Account and Disk Utility in Mountain Lion. The actual cloning can also be done with Carbon Copy Cloner or Super Duper! if you prefer. Warning: Before you attempt any disc-related modifications, please be sure to have a backup of the data contained on that drive.
Lesser-known OS X tricks
Operating systems are so vast and complex it's virtually impossible to find any one person who knows all the tips and tricks an OS offers. OS X is no exception. Whether you're a new user or a long-time OS X user, Macworld has posted a list of seven tricks you might not be aware of. My favorite is the ability to reorganize menu bar icons by Command-dragging them (which, unfortunately only works for native OS X services and not third-party menu bar icons). For the rest of the tips, check out Macworld's post and let us know how savvy of a user you are -- and any of your favorite OS X tips and tricks -- in the comments below.
More Tips for Troubleshooting Automator Workflows
In my last post, I shared some useful tips for troubleshooting Automator workflow problems. I didn't cover everything, though. There are lots of other ways you can troubleshoot your workflow. Here are some more tips to help. 1. Use Get Selected Finder Items Wisely Automator workflows are frequently created to process files and folders. When you save a workflow as an application, you can drag files and folders onto it and they're passed right into the workflow for processing. Other types of workflows behave similarly. Save a Folder Action workflow, for example, and every time new items are added to the folder, they're automatically passed to the workflow for processing. At the top of a workflow, Automator tells you if it receives files and folders as input. From time to time, however, you may notice that your workflow has processed your files twice, or that it's encountered some kind of obscure error. Often, this is due to the presence of a Get Selected Finder Items action at the beginning of the workflow. As enticing as its name sounds, the Get Selected Finder Items action isn't always needed to process files and folders. Remember, depending on the type of workflow you built, those items may be passed automatically to your workflow. In these cases, the inclusion of the Get Selected Finder Items action causes the dropped items to be appended to themselves. This can result in the items being processed twice or an error. So, what's the solution? Just try removing the Get Selected Finder Items action from the beginning of your workflow. Many times, that one simple change fixes the problem. Don't insert the Get Selected Finder Items action at the start of a workflow if your workflow already receives Finder items as input. 2. Finding Missing Output Files Imagine this. You run an Automator workflow that takes a PDF and outputs its pages as images. The only problem is that the images never seem to show up. Sound familiar? If you've ever been unable to find files output by a workflow, it may not necessarily mean that your workflow failed. Those files may actually be buried somewhere on your system. This is because some Automator actions generate their output files in hidden temporary folders. The Render PDF Pages as Images action is one example. It extracts the pages of a PDF as image files, gives them unique names, and saves them into a hidden temp folder. Render PDF Pages as Images sneakily outputs files to a hidden folder. Note that it doesn't have an option to select an output folder. To determine whether this has happened, run your workflow in Automator. Then, open the action's Results area. If there are files or folders listed, you should be able to figure out where they're located by viewing them in list view. An action's Results area tells you if an action really produced a result. To output the files or folders to the desired location, just insert a Move Finder Items action into your workflow. This should move the items from their secret location to the Desktop or wherever else you choose. Use the Move Finder Items action to move hidden output files someplace more useful. 3. Improving Recorded Task Playback A great feature of Automator is its ability to record things you do manually, so you can play them back later as part of your workflow. A not so great feature of Automator is its knack for being unable to play back what it records. There are a number of reasons this can happen, and some options for fixing things. You may have made a mistake while recording. Remember, Automator is watching. So, it picks up your mistakes too. If this happens, try selecting the extra steps in the Watch Me Do action Automator adds to the workflow. Then, press the Delete key to remove them. You can remove recorded steps by selecting and deleting them. You may have moved too fast, and Automator couldn't keep up. It may have missed some of what you did. You can try to resolve the problem by recording the steps again. This time, take your sweet time. Automator may be unable to repeat what you did manually. Unfortunately, Automator can't access everything in OS X. It can access a lot, but not everything. If this happened, consider trying a third-party macro utility, such as iKey. It may have greater reach than Automator. 4. Locating Missing Actions If you've ever launched Automator but have been unable to locate an action that you used in the past, it may not mean that action is entirely gone from your Mac. Automator may just be unable to load it for some reason. For example, maybe the app the action works with isn't installed anymore. You can see what Automator is unable to load by checking the Console app (in /Applications/Utilities). Just open it up, launch Automator, and see what shows up in the Console. The Console app tells you what actions Automator can't load. Here, the Entourage actions weren't loaded because I don't have Entourage installed anymore. I now have Outlook installed. 5. Service Workflows Not Triggering? Have you created service workflows, but when you trigger them, they don't seem to run? Give them some time. For whatever reason, they may take some time to get going. After one has run, however, subsequent service workflows should run a bit faster. You may have also noticed that you can assign keyboard shortcuts to Service workflows. If you haven't noticed this, you can do it in System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts. Assigning a keyboard shortcut to a Service workflow Once you've assigned a keyboard shortcut, you may have found that the workflow doesn't run when you press the keyboard shortcut. One possible fix is to manually choose the workflow from the application's Services menu. Then, once it's been triggered for the first time, the keyboard shortcut often starts working again. Hopefully, these tips and my prior tips have put you on the path to more stable and reliable workflows. Good luck and Happy Scripting!
Ask Massively: How I mine for games journos
In the last few months, the Ask Massively inbox has received several letters about breaking into the games journalism industry and employment at Massively specifically. This first one came from a reader named Vernon: I rarely see current journalists write or blog about their own experiences of getting into the industry. I always told myself I would try to figure out how to make a go of writing about games if the opera thing did not work out. So, how did you get there (Editor in Chief), and how do you get there now? Short answer: the two skillsets rule.
Tips for Troubleshooting Automator Workflows
Automator's great for streamlining time consuming and repetitive tasks on your Mac. It's easy. Just launch it, find a few actions, and string them together to form a workflow. Then, run your workflow anytime you want to perform that series of tasks again. What happens if your workflow doesn't run as you expect, though? Finding and solving problems in Automator is often easier said than done. Suddenly, the simple tool that's supposed to make your life easier has become a real pain in the neck. This week's post covers some things you can do to troubleshoot a finicky Automator workflow, track down the problem, and hopefully solve it, so you can get back to work. 1. Run Saved Workflows in Automator Automator workflows are saved and run in a variety of ways - as apps, iCal alarms, print plugins, and more. When a saved workflow encounters a problem, however, it may be next to impossible to figure out what went wrong. This is because saved workflows don't really include any diagnostic tools. In some cases, the workflow may even fail silently, without alerting you that something is wrong. Your only indication of a problem may be a lack of the end result you were expecting. Not very helpful, especially in a longer multi-action workflow. When you encounter a problem with a saved workflow, your best bet is to open up the workflow in Automator, and try running it there. By doing so, you'll gain access to some of the techniques described below. 2. Fake Workflow Input When you run a workflow app or plugin within Automator, you may see an alert indicating that the workflow will not receive input. An Automator Input Alert for a Text Service Workflow This is because, often, saved Automator workflows expect input for processing. For example, a workflow app may expect dropped files or folders as input, a service workflow may expect text as input, or a print plugin may expect PDF files from the print system. In any case, just dismiss the alert and add an action to the beginning of the workflow to retrieve the required type of input. If your workflow processes files, for example, add a Get Specified Finder Items action. If your workflow processes text, add a Get Specified Text action. Whatever you add, just be sure to remove it once you're finished troubleshooting. Get Specified Text at the Beginning of a Text Service Workflow 3. Check Action Results Automator works by passing information to actions for processing. Most actions perform a very specific function. As such, they accept specific types of information as input. And, they produce different types of output. The New TextEdit Document action, for example, wants text as input. It then adds this text to a new TextEdit document, and passes the document as output for further processing. Often, when a workflow fails or produces an undesired result, it's because actions aren't receiving or producing the expected types of information. To diagnose this problem, click the Results button beneath each action in your workflow. Then, when you run the workflow, you can see exactly what information is being passed from action to action. Suppose, for example, I have a workflow that should take the contents of a text file and add it to a new TextEdit document. I may try creating my workflow with the following actions: Get Specified Finder Items - Configured to get a text file Filter Paragraphs - Configured to look for non-empty paragraphs New TextEdit Document All the actions appear to link up properly, and the workflow may even run without an error. But, the result is not what I want. Rather than the content of the text file being added to the new TextEdit document, the path of the document is added. A Misbehaving Text Workflow An Undesired Workflow Result By displaying the result area of each action in the workflow, I can see that a file path was passed to the Filter Paragraphs action as input. I can also see that the same file path was output by the action, rather than the paragraphs I was expecting. This tells me that there's something wrong with the Filter Paragraphs action. Action Results Indicate Potential Problems Checking the action's description area provides additional clues. It tells me the action expects text as input, not files. Action Descriptions Specify Input and Output Types So, in this case, the fix is to insert an action that outputs text, rather than files, before the Filter Paragraphs action. NOTE: Surprisingly, Automator doesn't include an action for reading text from a file. There are third-party actions available that can do this. Or, as a workaround, you can try using the Combine Text Files action, which receives one or more files as input and outputs their text content. 4. Check Automator's Log Checking the results of an action doesn't always tell you what went wrong. You may glean a little more information by consulting Automator's log area. Press Command+Option+L or choose View > Log to display it. When you run a workflow, the log area tells you which actions ran, and often indicates problems that were encountered along the way, such as an action that wasn't supplied with the appropriate type of input. Automator's Log Area Indicates Successes and Failures Sometimes, the log tells you that information was converted from one type to another. This is because, in some cases, Automator tries to make incompatible actions work together. This doesn't always work, however, and can result in an error. So, be on the lookout for failed conversions. 5. Step Through Workflows Running a workflow and checking action results is great, but it's even more useful to check the results of each step of your workflow as it happens. You can do this by stepping through the workflow step by step. Click the Step button in the workflow's toolbar or select Workflow > Step from the menu bar. Automator's Step Button The above techniques may not resolve every problem you encounter with Automator, but they will certainly help you to more easily identify solutions for some. Happy Scripting!
Ask Massively: With thanks to the tipsters
Massively's tipsters are awesome. You've probably seen acknowledgements of their contributions in posts like these. Without them, we'd be limited to just the research our fairly small staff can drum up on a moment's notice. The tipsters broaden our view and bring us news from games that might otherwise have gone overlooked. We love you guys. We do get tips we won't or can't report on, though. And it's not because we hate you. I promise.
Mac 101: Use Automator to extract text from PDFs
More Mac 101, tips and tricks for novice (and expert) Mac users. Have you every tried to copy and paste text from a PDF into a word processor document like Pages or Microsoft Word? Most of the time the text loses all its formatting from the PDF, which can be a real pain. Too often I've spent a frustrating amount of time putting text back into a coherent order after copying it from a PDF, while wondering why there isn't a simpler way of doing this on my Mac. Thankfully, a friend (who discovered how to from MacWorld) showed me, using Automator. And provided the text in the PDF is formatted correctly (and you're not trying to extract text that is actually an image), it's foolproof as well as free! Here's how. On your Mac, open Automator from Applications. Automator will ask you to select a type for your document. Select Workflow, then hit return. In the far-left column of Automator, click on Files and Folders. In the second column, select Ask for Finder Items and drag and drop it into the far-right space which reads "Drag actions or files here to build your workflow." This becomes your first action. Now click on PDFs in the far-left column and select Extract PDF Text from the second column. Drag and drop Extract PDF Text into the space to the right, where you dragged Find Files and Folders. You'll now see that Automator has created a workflow or one action following another. You're almost there. In the Extract PDF Text bubble of the workflow, select Rich Text instead of Plain Text (next to Output -- this will retain formatting like italics and bold) and choose where you want Automator to place your extracted text files from Save Output To. To finish, simply title and save, but make sure you've save as an application and not a workflow. Now open your new Automator application and select the PDF you want to grab the text from. A new Rich Text document will be created. From there, simply open this document and copy and paste the text into your preferred word processor.
Mac 101: Temporarily disabling Notification Center
One gripe I hear a lot from OS X Mountain Lion users is that they sometimes get notifications bothering them at the most inopportune times. I know that when I'm working on TUAW TV Live, the last thing I want is something else to distract my attention when I'm already distracted by about 15 other open windows. Author and tip maven Saied Ghaffari was showing me one of his e-books the other day that included a very useful tip on how to temporarily shut off those annoying notifications in Mountain Lion. To do this, simply press the Option key and click on the Notification Center icon at the far right end of the menu bar. The icon turns grey to indicate that those banners, sounds and alerts are not going to harsh your mellow. When you're ready to start getting notifications again, do the Option-click on Notification Center dance again and the endless parade will continue.
Talking to Siri: Creating reminders without times
This morning, beloved leader Victor wondered how he could create reminders using Siri without having those reminders tied to a specific time. He loves Siri's easy voice integration but didn't want to schedule these items. He just wanted to add them to his to-do list. Possible? You bet. The secret lies in the way you phrase your request. If you ask Siri to "remind" you, it adds a scheduled item. Saying "remind" is always tied to time, because Siri has to actually nag you directly. [Much like asking a spouse to "remind me to pick up the dry cleaning" who then immediately responds "OK; don't forget to pick up the dry cleaning!", a reminder without a future target time is not that useful. –Ed.] Instead, say "remember." Try saying "Remember to pick up the milk" rather than "Remind me to pick up the milk." Siri adds that item to the Reminders app without a time trigger. As our commenters point out, there are other approaches as well. When Siri asks about the time for a reminder, say "no time," "don't remind me" or "never." You can also say "Add 'Pick up the milk' to my [name of to-do list]," and that will trigger a time-free task. As Victor noted, "Arggh! I was saying it wrong, all this time." Want more Siri tips? There's a book for that.
