APP: Cyberduck | FTP for Mac OS X.

Cyberduck | FTP for Mac OS X.

Here's an awesome, free, opensource FTP client for OSX. What more can I say.

TIP: Email a URL using Applescript

I find stuff all the time on the internet that I like to share with other people. In an attempt at making that easier, here's an applescript that I found on the apple site and modified it a little bit to do just what I wanted. This script only works with apple mail.

If you haven't enabled the script menu, do so by running Applications/AppleScript/Install Script Menu. You will see the new applescript menu appear by the time at the top of your screen.

Open the script editor and paste this into it...

tell application "Safari"
set this_URL to the URL of document 1
set window_title to the name of document 1
end tell
tell application "Mail"
activate
set this_message to make new outgoing message with properties {visible:true, subject:window_title, content:("Check this out: <" & this_URL & ">")}
end tell

Save your new script with a title like 'Email this URL' and drop it in your Library/Scripts/Safari folder. If there is no Safari folder in there, create one. Now when your in safari, choose your new script from the scripts menu and a new email will be created with the page title as the email subject and a link to the page in the body of the email. Very nice.

It might seem like a lot of work at first but once you get the hang of applescript, there is a lot more that you can do with it. It's well worth knowing.

APP: LargeType - A service that displays large type

LargeType - A service that displays large type
If you like the Large Type feature for phone numbers in the Address Book, you will love this little program. You can large type any selected text from any program. You use it through the services menu. Just select some text, go into services and select LargeType and there it is, big and transparent on the center of the screen. The latest use I have found for it is to teach my oldest how to read. I type a word in Orator (which I will be reviewing later), select it and LargeType it. Then I can use Orator to say the word. My kid loves it and it keeps her interest since she loves to hear the computer talk to her.

TIP: Mac OS X 10.4: How to prevent .DS_Store file creation over network connections

Mac OS X 10.4: How to prevent .DS_Store file creation over network connections

I have a share on my wifes windows box that I use to move files to and from my Mac. Those .DS_Store files that appear all over the Windows share drive me nuts. Check out this article on how to stop that from happening. Be warned though, some folders may not view too well on the remote share. In some folders, I have seen all the files in the folder piled on top of each other. It's a trade off I guess and it's easy enough to put back just like it was if it doesn't work well for you.

SNIP: Introductions

So here's my little monster. A tray loading iMac from 1998. I've upped the RAM to 192mb and replaced the hard disk with a 40 gig drive. It's got a 266mhz processor and a fan... ohh I hate that fan. I'm running OSX 10.3.9. Hopefully one day soon I can afford to update to at least a 600mhz slot loading iMac. Of course, I would love to get a 14" iBook but it doesn't seem to be in the cards (or the budget) right now. I've also got a 512mb ipod shuffle and a HP 4x6 photo printer and a HP photosmart 620 digital camera. I use this machine for email, web browsing, photos, iTunes, MS Office, chat, calendar, addressbook and general goofing off. Oh yeah, I also use this machine to maintain this blog. I'm going to share what I have learned about dealing with everyday stuff, productivity, getting things done and general survival on a macintosh. I love the mac platform but just like everything else, it's not without it's challenges. I hope you can find something that you can use here.

Thanks for reading!

- Steve