Mac OS X Snow Leopard for Power Users: Advanced Capabilities and Techniques

493 Pages·17.734 MB·English

by  Scott Granneman

Advanced Mac OS X Capabilities and Techniques
for Users and Developers
Mac OS X Snow Leopard
Power Users
for

Scott Granneman

Mac OS X Snow
Leopard for Power Users

■ ■ ■
Scott Granneman

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Mac OS X Snow Leopard for Power Users
Copyright © 2010 by Scott Granneman
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ISBN-13 (pbk): 978-1-4302-3030-4
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To my toddler son Finn, who’s started on iOS already but will graduate to Mac OS X soon.

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Contents at a Glance
■Contents..........................................................................................................v
■About the Author.............................................................................................x
■About the Technical Reviewer........................................................................xi
■Acknowledgments.........................................................................................xii
■Chapter 1: Introduction: Advanced Secrets of Mac OS X................................1(cid:1)
■Chapter 2: Maintaining Your Mac....................................................................9(cid:1)
■Chapter 3: Expanding Upon the Basic Tools..................................................51(cid:1)
■Chapter 4: Using Safari to Its Fullest...........................................................111(cid:1)
■Chapter 5: Stepping Beyond Safari..............................................................151(cid:1)
■Chapter 6: Using the Internet to Its Fullest .................................................195(cid:1)
■Chapter 7: Securing Your Mac & Networks.................................................237(cid:1)
■Chapter 8: Backing Up Your Mac.................................................................267(cid:1)
■Chapter 9: Manipulating and Sharing Pictures...........................................295(cid:1)
■Chapter 10: Having More Fun With Audio & Video......................................315(cid:1)
■Chapter 11: Key Utility Tools for Text & Archives........................................371(cid:1)
■Chapter 12: Digging Deep as an Admin.......................................................403(cid:1)
■Index............................................................................................................453
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Contents
■Contents at a Glance.......................................................................................iv(cid:1)
■About the Author.............................................................................................x(cid:1)
■About the Technical Reviewer........................................................................xi(cid:1)
■Acknowledgments.........................................................................................xii(cid:1)

■Chapter 1: Introduction: Advanced Secrets of Mac OS X................................1(cid:1)
Power Users and Mac OS X....................................................................................................................................1(cid:1)
What You’ll Learn....................................................................................................................................................3(cid:1)
What You Need to Already Know............................................................................................................................5(cid:1)
■Chapter 2: Maintaining Your Mac....................................................................9(cid:1)
Managing & Upgrading Your Apps..........................................................................................................................9(cid:1)
VersionTracker Pro..........................................................................................................................................10(cid:1)
AppFresh..........................................................................................................................................................13(cid:1)
MacUpdate Desktop.........................................................................................................................................14(cid:1)
Bodega.............................................................................................................................................................17(cid:1)
Which One Should You Use?............................................................................................................................20(cid:1)
Further Resources...........................................................................................................................................27(cid:1)
Deleting Apps........................................................................................................................................................27(cid:1)
AppZapper........................................................................................................................................................28(cid:1)
AppTrap...........................................................................................................................................................31(cid:1)
AppCleaner......................................................................................................................................................33(cid:1)
Further Resources...........................................................................................................................................34(cid:1)
Keeping Your Mac Running Well...........................................................................................................................35(cid:1)
OnyX.................................................................................................................................................................35(cid:1)
Repair Permissions Weekly With Automator....................................................................................................38(cid:1)
Further Reading...............................................................................................................................................43(cid:1)
Upgrading Mac OS X Point Releases.....................................................................................................................44(cid:1)
What to Do Before Your Upgrade.....................................................................................................................44(cid:1)

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■ CONTENTS
What to Do During Your Upgrade.....................................................................................................................47(cid:1)
What to Do After Your Upgrade........................................................................................................................50(cid:1)
Summary..............................................................................................................................................................50(cid:1)
■Chapter 3: Expanding Upon the Basic Tools..................................................51(cid:1)
Improving the Dock...............................................................................................................................................51(cid:1)
Navigating the Dock.........................................................................................................................................51(cid:1)
A 2D Dock........................................................................................................................................................52(cid:1)
Faster Force Quit.............................................................................................................................................52(cid:1)
Adding Spacers to Your Dock..........................................................................................................................53(cid:1)
Lock the Dock..................................................................................................................................................54(cid:1)
Hiding Instead of Minimizing Apps on Your Dock............................................................................................55(cid:1)
Calling Out Hidden Dock Items........................................................................................................................55(cid:1)
Making an App Dockless.................................................................................................................................56(cid:1)
Hovering and Highlighting Stacks....................................................................................................................56(cid:1)
A Nicer List View for Stacks.............................................................................................................................58(cid:1)
Creating New & Useful Stacks.........................................................................................................................59(cid:1)
Further Resources...........................................................................................................................................62(cid:1)
Fixing the Finder by Improving Open and Save....................................................................................................62(cid:1)
Replacing the Finder.............................................................................................................................................65(cid:1)
ForkLift.............................................................................................................................................................65(cid:1)
Path Finder.......................................................................................................................................................76(cid:1)
Xfile..................................................................................................................................................................82(cid:1)
Spotlight................................................................................................................................................................85(cid:1)
Spotlight via the Command Line......................................................................................................................86(cid:1)
Search for Files................................................................................................................................................87(cid:1)
Search for Files by Name.................................................................................................................................87(cid:1)
Search for Files in Specific Folders.................................................................................................................88(cid:1)
Search for Files in the Current Folder..............................................................................................................89(cid:1)
Search for Files by the Kind of File..................................................................................................................90(cid:1)
Search for Files by Date...................................................................................................................................92(cid:1)
Learn About the Metadata Spotlight Knows About Files..................................................................................93(cid:1)
Learn About Search Operators.........................................................................................................................98(cid:1)
Search for Files by Type (Kind)........................................................................................................................99(cid:1)
Search for Images Taken with a Particular Camera......................................................................................100(cid:1)
Search for Images of a Particular Size..........................................................................................................101(cid:1)
Search for MP3s of a Particular Length and Bitrate......................................................................................101(cid:1)
Construct Complex Queries Using Smart Folders..........................................................................................103(cid:1)
Use Complex Queries in Smart Folders..........................................................................................................107(cid:1)
Further Resources.........................................................................................................................................109(cid:1)
Summary............................................................................................................................................................109(cid:1)
■Chapter 4: Using Safari to Its Fullest...........................................................111(cid:1)
Speeding Up Safari.............................................................................................................................................112(cid:1)
WebpageIcons.db..........................................................................................................................................112(cid:1)
Top Sites........................................................................................................................................................114(cid:1)
Enabling the Develop Menu................................................................................................................................116(cid:1)
Picking the Best Add-ons....................................................................................................................................117(cid:1)
The Safari Add-On Dead Pool.........................................................................................................................120(cid:1)
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■ CONTENTS
Glims..............................................................................................................................................................120(cid:1)
Xmarks...........................................................................................................................................................124(cid:1)
GlimmerBlocker.............................................................................................................................................127(cid:1)
1Password.....................................................................................................................................................135(cid:1)
ClickToFlash...................................................................................................................................................136(cid:1)
Working with the Bookmarks Bar.......................................................................................................................139(cid:1)
Adding the Best Bookmarklets...........................................................................................................................140(cid:1)
ToRead...........................................................................................................................................................140(cid:1)
Readability/Readable.....................................................................................................................................142(cid:1)
PrintWhatYouLike...........................................................................................................................................144(cid:1)
Bit.ly...............................................................................................................................................................146(cid:1)
Add to Amazon Wish List...............................................................................................................................147(cid:1)
Further Resources..............................................................................................................................................148(cid:1)
Summary............................................................................................................................................................149(cid:1)
■Chapter 5: Stepping Beyond Safari..............................................................151(cid:1)
Exploring Web Browser Alternatives...................................................................................................................151(cid:1)
WebKit............................................................................................................................................................152(cid:1)
Firefox............................................................................................................................................................154(cid:1)
Camino...........................................................................................................................................................157(cid:1)
Chrome/Chromium.........................................................................................................................................160(cid:1)
Opera.............................................................................................................................................................167(cid:1)
Stainless........................................................................................................................................................172(cid:1)
Others............................................................................................................................................................175(cid:1)
Choosing Between Browsers.........................................................................................................................181(cid:1)
SSBs: Site Specific Browsers.............................................................................................................................186(cid:1)
Prism..............................................................................................................................................................187(cid:1)
Fluid...............................................................................................................................................................190(cid:1)
SSB Icons.......................................................................................................................................................192(cid:1)
Further Resources.........................................................................................................................................193(cid:1)
Summary............................................................................................................................................................193(cid:1)
■Chapter 6: Using the Internet to Its Fullest .................................................195(cid:1)
Building a Better Mail and Address Book...........................................................................................................195(cid:1)
Making Mail Faster........................................................................................................................................197(cid:1)
Syncing Your Address Book with Facebook..................................................................................................198(cid:1)
Keeping Up with Twitter, Facebook, and Other Social Services.........................................................................202(cid:1)
TweetDeck and Seesmic Desktop.................................................................................................................202(cid:1)
Twitterrific.....................................................................................................................................................203(cid:1)
Tweetie..........................................................................................................................................................205(cid:1)
Socialite.........................................................................................................................................................208(cid:1)
Further Resources.........................................................................................................................................214(cid:1)
Transferring Files................................................................................................................................................214(cid:1)
Cyberduck......................................................................................................................................................214(cid:1)
Transmit.........................................................................................................................................................218(cid:1)
Speed Download............................................................................................................................................221(cid:1)
Further Resources.........................................................................................................................................222(cid:1)
Torrenting Files...................................................................................................................................................223(cid:1)
Transmission.................................................................................................................................................224(cid:1)
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■ CONTENTS
TED.................................................................................................................................................................229(cid:1)
Miro................................................................................................................................................................232(cid:1)
Further Resources.........................................................................................................................................236(cid:1)
Summary............................................................................................................................................................236(cid:1)
■Chapter 7: Securing Your Mac & Networks.................................................237(cid:1)
Managing Passwords..........................................................................................................................................238(cid:1)
1Password.....................................................................................................................................................239(cid:1)
Further Resources.........................................................................................................................................251(cid:1)
Encrypting Your Data..........................................................................................................................................252(cid:1)
Encrypting Your Hard Drive............................................................................................................................252(cid:1)
Knox...............................................................................................................................................................253(cid:1)
Encrypting Your Data.....................................................................................................................................257(cid:1)
Further Resources.........................................................................................................................................260(cid:1)
SSH.....................................................................................................................................................................260(cid:1)
Changing the Default SSH Port......................................................................................................................261(cid:1)
SSH Into Multiple Sites Simultaneously.........................................................................................................264(cid:1)
Summary............................................................................................................................................................266(cid:1)
■Chapter 8: Backing Up Your Mac.................................................................267(cid:1)
Backing Up Your Files Offline..............................................................................................................................267(cid:1)
Time Machine................................................................................................................................................267(cid:1)
Carbon Copy Cloner.......................................................................................................................................269(cid:1)
Synchronize! X...............................................................................................................................................273(cid:1)
Further Resources.........................................................................................................................................277(cid:1)
Backing Up Your Files Online..............................................................................................................................277(cid:1)
Dropbox..........................................................................................................................................................278(cid:1)
CrashPlan.......................................................................................................................................................283(cid:1)
Amazon S3.....................................................................................................................................................286(cid:1)
Further Resources.........................................................................................................................................293(cid:1)
Summary............................................................................................................................................................294(cid:1)
■Chapter 9: Manipulating and Sharing Pictures...........................................295(cid:1)
Taking Screenshots............................................................................................................................................295(cid:1)
A Note on Screencasts........................................................................................................................................301(cid:1)
iPhoto..................................................................................................................................................................302(cid:1)
Speeding up iPhoto........................................................................................................................................302(cid:1)
Integrating iPhoto with Flickr.........................................................................................................................303(cid:1)
Integrating iPhoto with Facebook..................................................................................................................307(cid:1)
Further Resources.........................................................................................................................................309(cid:1)
Manipulating & Converting Images Quickly........................................................................................................309(cid:1)
Automator......................................................................................................................................................309(cid:1)
Shrink O’Matic...............................................................................................................................................312(cid:1)
Summary............................................................................................................................................................313(cid:1)
■Chapter 10: Having More Fun With Audio & Video......................................315(cid:1)
Codecs and Containers.......................................................................................................................................316(cid:1)
Codecs You Need................................................................................................................................................319(cid:1)
Exploring Alternatives to QuickTime and iTunes................................................................................................320(cid:1)
VLC.................................................................................................................................................................321(cid:1)
MPlayer OSX Extended..................................................................................................................................327(cid:1)
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