Handy Tips for Mac Users (with links for the rest of you)
David Pogue's column in the Times is devoted to tips and tricks for gadgets and software that many people don't know.
www.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/technology/personaltech/19pogue.html
He followed up it with a bunch more on the Times website, which in turn is trailed by a host (159 right now) of suggestions from readers.
pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/19/25-more-tech-tips-and-tricks/
A number of the tricks are Mac-specific. Here's one from a reader that I've never seen documented anywhere:
On the Mac, I use Cmd-i if I want to email the contents of a web page (such as a Pogue column). And then if I want to convert it all to text, strip out graphics and ads, etc., use Shift-Cmd-t. This trick only works with Safari and Apple Mail, AFAIK. It is a major reason why I keep Safari around as my default browser.
BONUS:
Here are a couple more from readers that use Mac features I was aware of in a way I hadn't previously thought of:
A useful trick on the Mac is to use Control-Command-Shift-4 to get the crosshair cursor to draw across a portion of the screen you want to copy to the clipboard, then open Preview and select Command N to open a new window from the contents of the clipboard (the image). Then do a Mail Selected Image from the File menu. While in Preview, you can annotate the screenshot with arrows, text, rectangles, etc. For example, you could copy part of a Google Earth image and then add directions to your home with the annotation features. Preview automatically reduces the size of the image before sending as an email. Works like a charm.
and
On any Mac system...When a website has a black background, I like the ease of flipping it to white (and back to black afterwards) by holding the Control-Option-Command keys, then tapping the "8" key on the top row.
I hope these prove useful to some of you.