Application Shortcuts

Pretty much everything that you do on your Mac takes place within an application. (Technically, everything you do takes place within an application because the Finder is considered an app.) You’ll probably have several applications open at the same time. Although Part IV of this book really covers applications in all their glory, this section covers the highlights that should be second nature.

Here’s an easy way to switch applications:

1. Begin by holding down ⌘ and then pressing Tab to bring up a palette listing the currently open applications, with the most recently
used application automatically selected.
2. While holding down ⌘, press Tab repeatedly to move among the application icons until the desired application is selected.

Press ⌘-Shift-Tab to go in reverse order.
3. Release ⌘ to bring up the selected application.
4. Press Escape to cancel the switch.

The Finder, Safari, and a few other applications all have a command similar to ⌘-Tab. You can use ⌘-~ (tilde) to toggle among the open windows.

Working with many applications and windows has two primary considerations: switching among them and clearing out the clutter. Knowing how to hide current and background applications goes a long way toward creating a neater workspace and giving you peace of mind.

* Use ⌘-H to hide the current application.
* Use ⌘-Option-H to hide all the background applications.

Getting fancy with ⌘-Tab

Strange as it might seem, you can also use your mouse (or other input device) in conjunction with ⌘-Tab. After you bring up the palette, you can hover your cursor over an application’s icon to select it and then release the ⌘ key to travel there. You don’t even need to click the mouse for this to work.

This means that you can perform drag-and-drop actions with ⌘-Tab and your mouse or other input device:

1. In an open application, select the text, image, or whatever you want to copy elsewhere.
2. Click and hold the selection.
3. While continuing to hold your mouse click, drag the selection slightly off in any direction.
4. Press ⌘-Tab to bring up the open application’s palette.
5. Use either your cursor or Tab to select the destination application (while continuing to hold both the mouse button and the ⌘ key).
6. Release the ⌘ key to bring up the destination
application.
7. Position your cursor in the appropriate location in the new application.
8. Release the mouse key to complete the move.

This process might seem foreign at first, but it’s remarkably effective and a good alternative to copying and pasting.

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2. Choose File --> New
3. In the Starting Points menu, click Music and Audio. Choose "my iTunes Library" in the "Get content from" pop-up menu. Then in 2nd pop-up menu, choose "Ask for songs and play lists when my work flow runs".
4. In Library list, click Mail.
5. In Actions list, drag the action called New Mail Mail Message into the Workflow pane. Click on the Options button and turn on "Show this action when the workflow runs."
6. Choose File --> Save

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Safari 3.1 was just released hours ago on both Macs and PCs, and the new features that come along with it really improve the browser! Download it from here, or simply launch Software Update from the Apple icon in the menu bar.

The most noticeable new feature for most users should be the new ability to double-click on the tab bar to create a new tab, a feature which already exists in most web browsers. Before the update, you could get this functionality through a plug-in called Twicetab.

Other new features in Safari 3.1 are the newly added support for CSS Web Fonts and animations, and video and audio tags in HTML 5, which most (all?) browsers do not yet support.

Gizmodo has a great video of CSS animations in action here.

If the Safari 3.1 update doesn't seem to be working for you, you should try restarting your computer.

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The smarter, faster, do everything MacBook. Now with Intel Core Duo.

MacBook delivers the power of the Intel Core 2 Duo -- the latest generation of Intel processors -- and a slew of innovative features, including: a built-in iSight camera for video chatting on the go; iLife '06; Front Row; a glossy 13-inch widescreen display; even dual-display support.

Better bang-to-buck ratio
The most advanced and affordable Mac notebook ever gives you a blazingly fast mobile architecture in a beautiful design that costs less than slower, clunkier models. It's like getting a sports car for the price of a scooter. Talk about performance, MacBook's powered with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor with speeds revving up to 2.0GHz.

Pack more punch
In bright white or sleek black, MacBook supports up to 2GB of memory and plenty of storage. Standard models offer up to 120GB of hard drive space, but if you haul a lot of data around, you can order your MacBook with up to 200GB of storage. That's not all. MacBook keeps you untethered courtesy of built-in Bluetooth and AirPort Extreme (802.11g). A 6x double-layer-burning SuperDrive -- standard equipment on the 2.0GHz models -- not only lets you burn DVDs faster but lets you burn capacious double-layer media. And those 2.0GHz models pack 4MB of shared L2 cache, which helps deliver a 6x leap in performance over the iBook or PowerBook before them.1

Friends for iLife
Every MacBook comes with iLife '06 -- an amazing suite of applications that make it easy to live the digital life. Use iPhoto to share entire high-res photo albums with anyone who's got an email address. Record your own songs and podcasts with GarageBand. Break into indie filmmaking with iMovie HD and iDVD. Then take all the stuff you made on your MacBook and share it on the web in one click with iWeb.2 Just turn on your MacBook and you're halfway there.

All smiles
Look closely. See that little lens in the display bezel? That's the built-in iSight camera. Use it to video chat simply by opening iChat AV and clicking a buddy icon (or three). Or fire up Photo Booth and take a few snapshots with the iSight, play around with 16 fun effects, then admire your handiwork. That little camera lets you create web-ready videos, too. Just open up iMovie and start the action. From there, iWeb makes it one-click easy to get your talking head on the web.2 Looks like fun.

Take it on tour
MacBook also features Front Row, so you can navigate your movies, music, photos, and more at the touch of the included Apple Remote -- no matter where you roam. Give an impromptu vacation photo slideshow in your favorite caf

Technical Info

In the box
MacBook

Apple Remote

60W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, and power cord

Lithium-polymer battery

Install/restore DVDs

Printed and electronic documentation

Processor and memory
1.83GHz or 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor

4MB shared L2 cache running at full processor speed on MacBook with 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor

2MB shared L2 cache running at full processor speed on MacBook with 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor

667MHz frontside bus

667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300; two SO-DIMM slots support up to 2GB
-- 1GB (two 512MB SO-DIMMs) in 2.0GHz models
-- 512MB (two 256MB SO-DIMMs) in 1.83GHz model

Storage
60GB, 80GB, or 120GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA hard disk drive; optional 80GB, 120GB, or 160GB 5400-rpm; or 200GB 4200-rpm drive.1

One of the following optical drives:

24x slot-loading Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
-- Reads DVDs at up to 8x speed
-- Writes CD-R discs at up to 24x speed
-- Writes CD-RW discs at up to 16x speed
-- Reads CDs at up to 24x speed

6x slot-loading SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD

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As Macworld slowly creeps up on us, Apple today took the time to announce new versions of their heavy-duty hardware namely the Mac Pro and Xserver, which come equipped with Intel’s new Penryn processors. Both these platforms come with two of Intel’s Xeon 5400 series quad-core processors which allows for 8-core performance, faster FSB speeds and memory, expanded PCI Express 2.0 expansion slots and up to 3 TB of storage. The new version of this server includes an unlimited client license for Mac OS X Server Leopard. Prices for the Xserve start at $3000.

In the upcoming Mac world, we just might see Macbooks based on Intel's new platform. A rumor doing the rounds is of a slim Mac laptop being unveiled. The category we are referring to is the slim-n-thin 12.1 inch laptops, which have come to be highly regarded by both wealthy people and high-end users. Apple, whose products are often described as trendsetters and style icons, will no doubt look to leap into this space.

Another popular rumor that we have already speculated on earlier is the introduction of a new flash-based Tablet that will sport OSX. Considering the massive interest in flash-based products and the quick ramping up of SSD based HDDs, it will only a matter of time before this product shows up too.

On the desktop side, Apple can be expected to update their existing iMac range. We should see multi-core becoming common place from the dual-core options and probably even a move to Nvidia’s new powerhouse 8800 GT.

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