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Mac 101: Mountain Lion's Magic Trackpad triple-finger tap dictionary lookup
Let's say you're reading TUAW and you see that I've used the word "peripatetic" in a post. While some of you would know the meaning of the word, others might be doing a bit of head-scratching and fire up the Dictionary app on your Mac. If you have a MacBook with a multi-touch trackpad or a desktop Mac with a Magic Trackpad, and if you run OS X Mountain Lion on your Mac, you can easily look up words with a simple gesture. In whatever you happen to be looking at on your Mac, simply use three fingers to tap on the word that's causing you confusion. The word is highlighted in yellow, and a small popup shows you dictionary, thesaurus and Wikipedia entries that pertain to it. Sadly, this doesn't work with the Magic Mouse... It's a fast way to look up words without missing a beat, so give that perplexing word a triple-finger tap the next time you're flummoxed or befuddled.
Mac 101: Preview's magnifying loupe
One thing I love about OS X is that no matter how long I use it, I'm often surprised by something that I didn't expect to find. That was the situation last week when i was using Apple's Preview app in OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion to resize an image, and found myself looking at a part of the image through a magnifying loupe. The loupe moves wherever your cursor is, and provides a nice magnified view of whatever you happen to be pointing at. While images might appear a bit pixelated within the confines of the loupe, it's a perfect way to get a closeup view of details that you might otherwise miss. I accidentally made the loupe appear when I was trying to press the "1" key on my keyboard and pressed the "grave accent / tilde" key instead. It's the key just above the tab key and just to the left of the "1" key on the US English keyboard. The loupe toggles on and off with each successive press of the key. Sure, there's not much earthshaking about this feature, but it is both useful and fun to show off to friends who think that there's nothing new to find in OS X.
The Tattered Notebook: Tips and tricks to start the new year in EQII
Hellllloooooo fellow Norrathians! It is I, MJ -- the intrepid explorer, with a penchant for lightning and fire. And am I excited to be here! Right about now you may be noticing a slight change in authorship of your favorite EverQuest II column. You aren't seeing things; through a marvelous confluence of events (and no, I don't mean kidnapping Karen Bryan and locking her in a dank cell in Freeport!), I have the opportunity to share my love of this game with you alongside another Norrathian denizen, Jef Reahard. And any of you who have seen me gallivanting about EQII's many lands on Massively TV every EverQuest Two-sday can attest to the fact I really do love this game. So it is with no shortage of glee that I begin my first Tattered Notebook entry. Feastday, Blossoming 7, of the year 3897 Throughout my most recent journeys, I have noticed that there is a good chunk of population that has either returned to the lands after a lengthy absence (not unlike yours truly a few years back) or is pretty new. For both groups, there are a number of little things that may be unknown or forgotten; heck, I've played for a long time and am still discovering these things! So today I am going to share with you a few of the tips and tricks I have learned for a smoother Norrathian life.
A Mild-Mannered Reporter: Tips for City of Heroes refugees in Champions Online
Champions Online has been a breath of fresh air for the past couple of weeks. It's not a perfect game, nor is it a perfect substitute for City of Heroes, but it's a remarkably good approximation. I would imagine that most players familiar with the latter will feel fairly comfortable in the former, once they get over the obvious differences between the two. Not that the hurdles are exactly minor. For all that I've grown fond of Champions Online, it still has a lot of strange fiddly bits, doing with six different systems what most games do with two or three. Just jumping in cold, as I did, can leave you looking around aimlessly and quite possibly result in your making some choices regarding character builds that you swiftly regret. As I also did. So here are a few tips for players new to the game, tilted in no small part to anyone coming over from our dearly departed CoH. I can't keep you from making every mistake, but I can at least help you get a feel for the game's systems in some small part.
Tips for capturing holiday light memories with your iPhone camera
The iPhone has a great little digital camera built into it. If you're thinking about getting those last photos of the neighborhood and indoor holiday lights before they all come down, here are a few hints to make sure you get a memorable picture. Let's start with exterior lights. The iPhone isn't a terrific low-light camera, but it can still take some stunning shots. The first thing to remember is that you don't want to wait until it is completely dark. If you do, all you'll see in your photo are the lights and some small areas of the house that are illuminated by them. The best time to take your outdoor holiday light photos is just after sunset. Dusk photos will work just fine. You'll have about 20-30 minutes of twilight sky to make your photos keepers. You'll see some sky texturing that way, and the house and holiday lights will both be very visible. If you have a newer iPhone with iOS 6, try the built-in panorama mode, but be sure to hold the phone really steady. Remember, the lower the illumination, the more steady you have to be. Check the gallery below for an example of a panorama shot. %Gallery-174081% Indoor lights are easier to photograph with your iPhone. To add some interest to the photos, place some objects like candles in the foreground to focus on, which will put the holiday lights in soft focus in the background. Of course, people are good foreground subjects -- be sure to focus on them, and let the tree and lights be in soft focus in the background. Avoid using the iPhone's flash if you can. It creates very harsh lighting that changes the mood of the photo, and there's always a potential of causing "red-eye" problems. Those devilish eyes can be removed with iPhoto for iOS, but it's better to not have the problem in the first place.
EVE Evolved: Baiting players is hilarious fun!
I originally planned to put together updated ship setups for EVE Online's newly revamped Caldari, Minmatar, and Amarr Tech 1 cruisers this week, but I've honestly been having far too much fun baiting people in highsec with last week's Vexor setup. I'm having such hilarious fun doing it that I just had to dedicate this week's column to the dirty art of the bait-and-gank! There's absolutely nothing more amusing in EVE than baiting a ship twice the size of yours into attacking you for an "easy kill" and then turning it into a very expensive smoking wreck. The basic idea of baiting is simple: Get yourself flagged as a suspect by committing a minor crime like theft, fly around waiting for someone to attack you, and then tear him to bits. Before Retribution, you were flagged as a valid target only to the individual people you stole from, but once they attacked, you were safe to engage. Now you're flagged to the whole of EVE, making it easier to get a bite but also a whole lot riskier to engage in a crowded area. It's hard to pick and choose your fights when the whole universe is gunning for you, but when you get a good bite, there are some insanely fun fights to be had. In this week's EVE Evolved, I give some top tips on how to safely bait players in high-security space, where to find the best targets, and what ships are most effective.
Ask Massively: Yes, we have heard of your game
Welcome back to Ask Massively, the place where Bree dispenses random thoughts about the sitemeta because you guys are cheaper than a shrink. About 20 people asked: Hey have you guys heard about Pathfinder Online and also why aren't you writing more about Pathfinder Online. P.S. Your coverage of Pathfinder Online is inadequate to my needs. And have you heard about Pathfinder Online?? Yes, we have heard of your game.
Have you seen these WoW players?
Break time? Tilt the screen away from your boss's line of fire, fire up a fresh playlist with your earbuds, and pull up some WoW Insider. (Much healthier than something out of the vending machine, am I right?) How about a behind-the-scenes interview? Who would you like to read more about? Tell us! Who's doing something useful for other players or playing the game in a way that makes you say, "Wow, that sounds cool!"? Let us know what they're up to. Send us your nominations! While an interview with 15 Minutes of Fame isn't exactly designed to be an achievement award for good behavior or service to the gaming community, we'd love to talk with anyone out there who's doing good stuff. (Examples: A guild for players with social anxiety, the quadriplegic player compiling resources for other disabled players, the raider who plays "guide dog" to a blind guildmate.) Know anyone out there who's doing it right? Send us your requests! Who's the Mr. Nice Guy behind that warrior on your realm that everyone seems to know and like? Who's the gnome behind the WoW-themed crochet patterns you download as quickly as can post them? Who's the savvy player behind your favorite resource site? We'll find out. Tip me at lisa@wowinsider.com or @lisapoisso on Twitter. Azeroth's Most Wanted List We're betting you know where the interesting folks are hiding. Check out our Most Wanted List after the break.
Insider's Guide to Mists of Pandaria: WoW Insider readers crowdsource their best tips and advice
Did you know you could do this? We crowdsourced readers' favorite advice for Mists of Pandaria and patch 5.1, to show you all the little inside tidbits you just might have been missing. Included is an entire section of tips for streamlining your dailies -- don't miss 'em! Let's rev up first with a few of our most recent tips and tricks posts: While there are limits to how far you can progress, you can start your farm as soon as you get to Pandaria -- no need to wait for level 90. Get exalted with Lorewalkers in an hour or less; collect all the lore objects for each "story" in a single, enjoyable session, or simply make sure you don't miss any nearby items while you're leveling. Murder this innocent creature, win fabulous prizes. Riding the Darkmoon carousel gives you a buff to XP and rep gains. I can turn into what? A baby panda? Tip: How to see if your Grand Commendation is active. Tip: Where to get new pets in old dungeons. Blingtron now helps you become a natty dresser. If you're a treant, here's how to become hot stuff. Down your dailies and discover hidden delights with our collection of reader discoveries and advice, collected after the break.
Breakfast Topic: Crowdsource your best Mists tips, tricks, and discoveries
Hear that cacophony of clacking and tapping? That's the sound of your fellow readers banging away at their keyboards to help us crowdsource the best tips, tricks, and pointers for Mists of Pandaria and patch 5.1. Let's tip off all our friends who never hit that one area of that zone over there. Or the ones trying the other faction for the first time in Mists. Or that dude who didn't catch what happens if you go over here and try this. I wish I'd known about ... Oh, WOW! Look what I just discovered ... Heyyy! I didn't know you could ... If your tip elicits that kind of response, it's the kind of pointer we're looking for. Need more inspiration? Check out our tips for doing those pesky daily quests or finding sweet little hidden quests. If we get enough good pointers, I'll compile them all up in one fat "just so's ya know" post. So what hot tips would you be most hot to pass on to a friend who was just heading into Mists? What's your favorite don't-miss discovery or most sage piece of advice?
Cascade Finder windows with AppleScript
You're busy. You've got tons of things going on at any given time. Your Mac's screen is constantly cluttered with a bazillion Finder windows, and you keep shuffling them around to find the one you need. Sure, Mission Control in Mountain Lion lets you view all of your Finder windows at once in a pretty tiled view. But, it doesn't sort them, and with a ton of little windows, finding the one you want is no piece of cake. How nice would it be if the Finder had a "Cascade Windows" feature? With a little help from AppleScript, your wait is over. In this post, you'll write a simple AppleScript that sorts your opened Finder windows and cascades them, making it quick and easy to find the one you want and clearing your cluttered screen in the process. Let's get started. Does your screen look like this, with windows everywhere? AppleScript can help. Expose shows your Finder windows, but it's still not always easy to find the one you need If you get stuck with any of the scripting in this post, you can download the complete scripts here. Prep Work First, you'll need some opened Finder windows. If you're interested in the topic of this post, then odds are good that you already have plenty of opened windows. If not, you can open some, or you can run the following AppleScript to create some for testing. Just open up AppleScript Editor in your /Applications/Utilities folder, paste in the following script and run it. The script creates a folder named Cascade Windows Test on your Desktop, adds 10 subfolders to it, opens them, and randomly positions them on your screen. The Cascade Windows Test script creates a bunch of folders and opens them, ready for cascading. Writing the Script Create a new AppleScript Editor document and paste in the following script. Comments have been provided to explain each portion. Running the Script When you're ready, go ahead and run the script. Or, for quick access, save the script as an application and drag it to your Dock. When run, the script asks you to specify how many pixels you'd like between the menu bar and the first window. A default value of 10 pixels is suggested. Tell the script how far down you'd like the first window positioned Next, the script asks you how many pixels you'd like between the left side of the screen and the first window. Again, a default of 10 pixels is suggested. Tell the script how far over you'd like the first window positioned The script asks you how many pixels high you'd like each window, suggesting 300. Give the script a desired window height The script asks how many pixels wide to make each window, suggesting 350. Give the script a desired window width Choose how far apart you'd like the windows from one another. The default is 25 pixels, and should allow enough space to see each window's title bar. Specify an offset between the cascaded windows Finally, the script asks if you want to cascade the windows to the right. Doing so creates a staggered effect. Choose whether you want your cascaded windows staggered to the right The script finds any opened Finder windows, sorts them alphabetically by folder name, and cascades them. Cascaded Finder windows, staggered to the right Cascaded Finder windows without staggering With your windows cascaded by name, just scan through the title bars to find the one you need and click it to bring it to the front. Your days of searching through a cluttered screen of windows has come to an end.
Create Evernote 5 template notebooks with AppleScript
Evernote 5 is a wonderful app for gathering information and keeping it organized and synchronized between your devices. In Evernote, you create notebooks and fill them with notes. These notes can be anything - thoughts, web clippings, files, photos, audio, etc. Whenever you need to recall information you've added to Evernote, just type in a few keywords to instantly locate it. This post shows how to use AppleScript to create template notebooks that contain default template notes. You can use these templates for creating new projects, jobs, or anything else you might need. Let's get started. To Configure 1. First, go to the Documents folder in your home directory and create a folder named Evernote Templates. 2. Go into Evernote and begin creating some notes to serve as templates for your notebook. Suppose you're creating a template for a design project. You might create template notes for materials, meeting notes, phone notes, a status report, etc. Go ahead and enter placeholder text and assign default tags for these notes, as well. Creating template notes in Evernote 3. Once you've created your template notes, select them all. You're going to export them so they can be imported later when you want to create a notebook. Selecting your template notes in Evernote 4. Choose File > Export Notes to bring up the export window. When prompted, enter a name for your template notebook, such as Design Project, and save it into the Evernote Templates folder in your Documents folder. Make sure you're saving in Evernote XML Format (.enex), and that you've chosen to Include tags for each note. Exporting your template notes as an Evernote XML file 5. Repeat the process for any other template notebooks you might want. A folder of exported Evernote XML files that serve as templates 6. Launch AppleScript Editor, located in /Applications/Utilities, and create a new document. 7. Enter the following script into the document: (If you have any trouble, you can download the complete script here.) 8. Save the script as an application and drag it to your Dock, so you can quickly trigger it at any time. Saving the AppleScript as an application To Use Launch the AppleScript application you saved (if you prefer to test right from AppleScript Editor instead, click Run in the toolbar). First, the script looks in your Evernote Templates folder and retrieves a list of exported .enex files. It then asks you to choose one. Choosing a notebook template Next, the script asks you to enter a name for the new notebook. Type the desired name, and click OK. Entering a notebook name The script creates a new Evernote notebook named accordingly, and imports the chosen .enex file. The script then searches the opened Evernote window for the newly imported notes. A new notebook created from a template Notes imported into the newly created notebook Congratulations, you've written your very own notebook template utility for Evernote! Now, with only a few clicks, you can quickly create notebooks containing pre-existing default notes.
NaNoWriMo tools for Apple devices ... and a few hot deals on writing tools
When it's time for Halloween, it's also time for another autumn tradition -- National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo. Over the years, a number of TUAW bloggers and readers have participated in the annual event, which runs exactly thirty days and is designed to give would-be writers the confidence and support needed to write a 50,000-word novel. Let's look at some tools for helping you crank out your novel, and revel in some deals on tools for planning and writing that book. iOS You may mock the idea of using an iOS device as a serious writing platform, but with an external keyboard you can definitely get some work done. All of my NaNoWriMo 2012 pre-planning work has been done on an iPad with a Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover in Apple's Pages (US$9.99) app, and it works very well. This year, thanks to iCloud syncing, I've decided to use Pages as my virtual typewriter and paper for NaNoWriMo. If I want to do work on the iPad, I can turn on the Logitech keyboard, fire up Pages, and get to work. When I am sitting at a Mac, I'll fire up Pages and pull in the document from there. The app, combined with iCloud, is finally quite useful in round-tripping between devices. One other advantage pointed out by my erstwhile publishing companion Erica Sadun was that I should be able to use Dictation on the iPad (as well as my OS X Mountain Lion Mac and iPhone) to write, so perhaps I can actually do some writing on the iPhone this year. When Erica brought this up, it occurred to me that Dictation could be very helpful in writing more realistic dialogue between characters. I'll let you know how that goes... Anyway, let's look at some app choices you have for the iPad other than Pages. I'll leave it to the reader to determine which app fits your writing style and wallet. My Writing Spot for iPad ($4.99) Novel in 30 ($4.99) NanoWriter ($1.99) Storyist for iPad ($9.99) Yarny (free, for iPhone, requires Yarny Pro cloud account) iA Writer ($0.99, universal app) PlainText (free, universal app) A Novel Idea (free, universal app) DraftPad (free, universal app) celtx script ($4.99, universal app, screenwriting) Write 2 ($2.99, universal app) Elements for Dropbox (On sale for $2.99, universal app) Free Writing (free, universal app) Just Type ($0.99, universal app) enso Writer ($3.99, universal app) WriteRoom ($1.99, universal app) Werdsmith (free, $2.99 in-app purchase for full features, universal app) Writing Kit ($4.99, universal app) Byword (On sale for $2.99, universal app) Of all of these choices, my personal recommendations would be Pages, Storyist for iPad, iA Writer, PlainText, or WriteRoom. Mac Many writers are probably going to want to sit down at a keyboard in front of a MacBook or iMac to do their work. It's comfortable, it makes you feel like a real writing professional and with a larger screen you have the ability to tweet your friends while slaving over your hot novel (that's known as having writer's block...). As mentioned, I'll be doing work on the iPad this year, if anything just to see how much the tools have improved. But my MacBook Air and iMac will also be pulling duty as I crank out my daily allotment of 1,666 words. Here are some Mac writing tools you can count on to get your novel written by 11:59:59 PM on November 30, 2012. Pages ($19.99) Write 2 ($6.99) TextEdit (free, comes with OS X, iCloud enabled) Notepad (free) FoldingText ($24.99) WriteRoom ($4.99) WordMate ($12.99) Clean Writer Pro ($0.99) Writer ($2.99) MultiMarkdown Composer ($9.99) StoryMill ($29.99) Manuscript ($39.99) Nisus Writer Pro ($79.99) Zen Writer ($19.99) Microsoft Word (Part of Microsoft Office 2011, $149.99 for Home & Student Edition) Scrivener 2.0 (50% off normal price of $45 for NaNoWriMo winners, 20% off for all participants, and free trial version available for the month of November) Storyist ($59 for download version, use code NANOWRIMO12 for a 25% discount, free Nanowrimo trial edition (download link) is available) Ulysses ($11.99) Although I've personally tried a lot of these apps for TUAW reviews, some tools I'd consider using are Pages, WriteRoom, StoryMill, Ulysses, Microsoft Word 2011 and Storyist. Why Word? Well, if I was going to send my novel to a publisher, chances are very good that they'd want the manuscript in Word format, so make sure that whatever app you use can save your document into Word. Me? I'm using Pages. Good luck, NaNoWriMo participants, and if you're so inclined sign me up as your writing buddy on the NaNoWriMo site -- I'm "Tantalus."
Square making Starbucks debut in November, will accept digital tips in 2013
If you're wondering when Starbucks is finally going to get around to rolling out Square, wonder no more. The company announced that starting in November customers will be able to pay for their no-fat soy mocha lattes using the platform founded by Jack Dorsey. Of course, being able to use Square Wallet at the nation's largest coffee chain is a major milestone for the mobile payment scene as a whole, but loyal customers likely already have a Starbucks card and its associated app. Only problem with both Square and the Starbucks app is you still need to carry cash to tip your barista. Thankfully, at some point in 2013, the company will start accepting tips through its own app and Square Wallet. Which also means you'll be out of convenient excuses for not tipping, you cheap bastard.
FAQ for new pandaren
Are you tired of hearing the same questions repeated while starting a new pandaren? Or are you one of those asking the questions? WoW Insider is here to help. You begin your pandaren on the Wandering Isle. Its location -- and even its existence -- is unknown to the rest of Azeroth when you begin. This added to the fact that pandaren start out as neutral means you will encounter differences from your previous new character experiences. Here is a list of some of those differences as well as answers to other pandaren questions you may have: The Wandering Isle has no mailboxes. You cannot receive or send mail until you choose your faction and leave. So no, you can't send heirlooms to your baby pandaren. You cannot speak to anyone who is not on the Wandering Isle. No whispers. No global chat channels. There is one exception: Battletag and Real ID friends are still accessible for whispers.
Tip: Making ITPC links work with the official Podcasts app
My iPhone 5 arrived last Friday, and because my old iPhone 4 had gotten so cluttered with apps, I decided that instead of restoring from an old backup, I would go ahead and just start over completely. Most of my important documents and logins are all stored in iCloud, so it wasn't a big problem to start from scratch. Doing so will allow me to cut back down on apps, making sure I only install the ones I'll use (at least to begin with). But one issue did present itself: Because I decided to no longer sync with my iTunes install on my Mac, I had to re-subscribe to all of my podcasts manually in Apple's new Podcasts app. Most of those weren't an issue -- I mostly listen to famous podcasts like Adam Carolla's show and the Thrilling Adventure Hour. But a few of my podcasts are harder to find: They come only through ITPC links, which is a special browser protocol that will automatically subscribe you through iTunes when linked (with authentication where necessary, usually for premium content). I tried clicking on the ITPC links for my podcast in Mobile Safari, but Safari, unfortunately, doesn't recognize the link automatically. For a while, I worried that I'd have to sync up to iTunes just to subscribe to the few podcasts that use this authentication. The solution? It turns out to be surprisingly easy: Just change the "itpc://..." specifier at the beginning of the URL to "feed://..." Instantly, when you load up that URL, iTunes will jump in and help you out. In fact, if you have the Podcasts app installed already (and if you regularly listen to podcasts, you should), the app itself will pop up, and load up the feed for you. It makes me wonder why the ITPC protocol itself isn't just supported in Mobile Safari, but nevermind. Changing the URL to "feed" will get you exactly what you're looking for.
Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's skill points and expertise
It's time to ramp up the efforts to help out Star Trek Online newbies -- not just experienced MMO players new to Star Trek Online but new MMO players in general. Since STO went free-to-play late last year, the game has seen an influx of new players, many of whom have discovered and have become a part of the game's wonderful community. To date, there are still many people who are making STO their first MMO and are looking for helpful hints. With the kind assitance and input of many members of the STO and Massively communities, I'm continuing a series of columns devoted to helpful hints for the new player. This week we'll be taking a look at the game's skill trees for playable characters and their bridge officers.
Send Instagram to Dropbox for a cool Apple TV screen saver
Just recently, I posted about the Instacube, a Kickstarter project that allows you to more easily show off your great (or at least well-filtered) photography work on Instagram. But it turns out you don't need a whole cube to do that. With the proper tweaking of IFTTT (a tool we at TUAW also love), you can set up Instagram images to display on your Apple TV's screensaver, making for a fun party trick or just a cool way to show off the pictures you've been taking. All you need to do is save your Instagram pictures to Dropbox, and then share that folder out to the Apple TV, and boom, instant streaming screensaver. There are a few hitches, unfortunately, and the biggest one is that your Apple TV won't automatically pull in new images, so you'll have to sync folders after you add (or remove) any images yourself to see new pictures. If you want to pull in pictures from more than one Instagram user, you'll also have to set up multiple IFTTT recipes, one for each user you want to watch. But the good news is that you can pull in from any other photo feeds as well -- maybe a better solution, to show off pictures from a party, for example, would be to use a Flickr tag so that anyone can post to it. At any rate, it's cool idea for sure. IFTTT is a really powerful tool, and hookups like this can really give your Apple devices to some new and interesting uses. [via MacStories]
Mountain Lion 101: Silencing Notification Center alerts
Mountain Lion's Notification Center is handy. It displays banners and alerts from notification-aware apps to keep you informed of changes, like a new Twitter mention, Calendar event or email message. That last one can get distracting, depending on how much email you receive. Here are some ways to tame email alerts: Disable alerts and banners in System Preferences. Open System Preferences and click Notifications. Select Mail from the list on the right and then click None. You'll no longer see email notifications. Quit Mail. Apple's Mail app won't push notifications if it isn't running. Turn them all of at once. Open Notification Center on your Mac and swipe up to the very top. Move the slider labeled Show Alerts and Banners to the Off position to silence all pop-up alerts and banners (they still appear listed in Notification Center itself). Slide it back to On to restore alerts and banners. If you're worried about a notification popping up when you're making a presentation, don't be. Notification Center is smart enough to recognize when you've got Keynote open and silences notifications on its own. Additionally, it won't display alerts or banners on a mirrored display.
Mountain Lion 101: Notification Center in a hot corner
Apple's Mountain Lion introduced Notification Center to the Mac. This handy feature lets notification-aware apps display pop-up style alerts when something changes, like an incoming email message, Twitter mention, Calendar appointment and more. Apple notes that you can access Mountain Lion's Notification Center by swiping your trackpad or Magic Trackpad from left to right. Alternatively, you can click the Notification Center icon in your Mac's menu bar (here's a more thorough look at Notification Center options). Those are great, but I use a third option. Specifically, I've assigned Notification Center to a hot corner by following these steps: Launch System Preferences and click Desktop & Screen Saver. Click the Screen Saver tab, then click Hot Corners. Click the drop-down menu at your corner of choice, choose Notification Center and then click OK. Now the Notification Center will appear every time you move your cursor into that corner. I suspect you're wondering why, so I'll tell you. First, I run my MacBook Air connected to an external display with the lid closed. Also, I don't have a Magic Trackpad and finally, I've been using Hot Corners for years to trigger Exposé and Spaces, so it's an action I'm used to performing.
