Don't like that Ubuntu look? Try turning it into a Mac

I've posted before on making your Linux distribution look like Mac OS X, but the end result was not that perfect.


However, this new tutorial that I just found is specifically directed at Ubuntu Hardy Heron users that want to turn your desktop into Mac OS X Leopard...well, not really! But at least, the look and feel will be enough to fool your fellow PC users. Check out the tutorial here.

Google Calendar / iCal sync...for Leopard only

As interesting as the new Google Calendar / iCal synchronization feature may sound, I won't be blogging about it since it is only available to Leopard users. The Tiger version (Mac OS X 10.4) of iCal does not have the "Accounts" tab that is required to perform synchronization based on CalDAV :-(

How to really cool down your Mac

I used to work on a glass desk, which always kept my Mac's temperature under control. But ever since I had to change to a wooden desk (the glass one no longer fitted the space in the new room), my Mac started heating up more than it should.

At first, I tried using some leftover pieces of wood to place the Macbook Pro a little higher...that is, to avoid having direct contact with the table.


This helped maintain the computer's temperature a little lower, but doing some CPU intensive tasks (like my PhD simulations) triggered the Macbook's fans to work at its maximum, thus making the aluminium case hot enough to turn it into a nice frying pan where I can make some scrambled eggs.

As I was thinking about following Ikea Hacker's suggestion to use the Lämplig trivet as a cheap laptop stand, a friend of mine that had similar problems with his Asus laptop, recommended using a cooling laptop stand with extra fans that he bought on Amazon. So, I bought the Antec Notebook Cooler.


This nice notebook cooler stand works like a charm. It's very silent (due to having two speed settings - "low" for normal use and "high" for some hardcore cooling) and it's USB-powered, which means that I don't have to carry an extra charger. It is also very light, making it possible to carry everywhere in my laptop bag.

It really keeps my Mac's temperature down, which in the long run means that the hardware will probably last longer. And I know what you're thinking: "But the Macbook Pro only has 2 USB ports and keeping one of them occupied with this might be a waste of USB connectivity". Well, the guys at Antec thought of that too. The very own notebook cooler stand's USB connector is a small USB hub making the USB port still usable for other devices.

Cool, isn't it? (see what I did here?)

Twitter + Quicksilver = WOW!

Twitter may just be a new trend on the Internet, but you can't deny that this "micro-blogging" is sometimes useful. Whether I want to follow Imogen Heap's third album recording and production progress or the Nasa's MarsPhoenix ice-seeking activities on Mars, this little web service really comes in handy. And most naturally I decided to join in too.

You can update your Twitter status in many different ways (SMS, Web or IM), but the one that I most often use, Instant Messaging, is almost always down. And it's quite boring to have to have Adium logged in just to update the status. Visiting the website is also quite slow and not that handy.

Since I use Quicksilver for several different tasks on my Mac, I decided to give Google a try with the magic words: Twitter + Quicksilver.


And the first result was exactly what I wanted: a way to use Quicksilver to update my Twitter status. It does need some fiddling around with Script Editor and Keychain Access, but the tutorial is quite simple and direct and you'll have this working in no time.

How to scare a fellow Mac user to death

If you've been using Macs for quite some time, chances are that you've already seen a Kernel Panic by now.


This is the ultimate error message on Mac OS X. There's nothing worse because there's no way to get out of it. All you can do is just press the power button for a few seconds and wait for your laptop to turn off...and then press again to power up.

So, if you've come accross this, you know how unpleasant it can be. Now, imagine that you could scare your fellow Mac users with this but without the hassle of turning off the computer. Now you can with the Kernel Panic Screensaver. Install this on your friend's Mac (or have him or her install themselves) and enjoy their faces turn red.

And while you're at it, why not have iMovie record their faces with the iSight and then upload the video to YouTube for everyone's enjoyment? :-)

Nasa's MarsPhoenix wants to phone home

Even Nasa's Mars Phoenix Lander wants an iPhone 3G. Maybe it needs to phone home like any other alien on a unknown red planet.

The iCal day

Did you notice that today is the only day of the year in which the iCal icon on the Dock doesn't change once you open it? :-)

How to convert an image into another format using Terminal

If you need to change the image format of your screencasts, all you have to do is some tweaking on Terminal. But sometimes, we just want to change the format of a single picture and taking a screenshot of the picture after doing that tweaking, is just too much work. Loading up a CPU-heavy application is also not a good choice if all you want to do is just convert a PNG to a BMP or JPEG.

So, what's the solution? Terminal! That's right, you can use Terminal to do those convertions. For example, to convert an image file input.png into output.bmp use the following command:

sips -s format bmp input.png --out output.bmp

You can also use an option “-z” after the file type specified. This is a resize option. For example the following command:

sips -s format bmp -z 20 20 input.png --out output.bmp

Will convert the image to bmp and then resize it to 20px x 20px.

Check other options here.

Source: Mac Tricks and Tips

When Mac users get bored

If you never get tired of the Mac way of life and you have some time on your hands, maybe you should consider doing one (or more) of the 69 suggestions that UsingMac has posted recently, such as:

• Watch Apple Ads
• Check most used applications on I Use This
• Watch new HD Movie Trailers
• Search Mac vs. PC on YouTube
• Ask their Mac to sing, singing Mac?
• Create Desktop Clutter Art

How to change some secret settings in Mac OS X (10.4 - Tiger)

You've probably heard of the Secrets Preference Pane (developed by Blacktree, the creators of Quicksilver), a manager of several hidden preferences in Mac OS X. However, this is only available for Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5). So, how about Tiger (Mac OS X 10.4) users?

Well, even though some of the preferences are not available for Tiger, you can still use the list of preferences on the Secrets website to perform some interesting changes on your Mac environment. Be careful though, as some of your actions can be very dangerous and can really harm your system.

If you need an example on how to use this, check my previous post on how to change the format of the screenshot pictures.

When Safari and Firefox work together...

A few days ago I posted a nice tip on how to download musics from MySpace using Safari and wget in Mac OS X. In that tutorial, I showed how to use wget to download the music because in Safari I was unable to use the "save as..." function to actually save the MP3 file on the computer. I also explained why this tip didn't work with Firefox (because it doesn't have an Activity window such as Safari's).

But then I discovered that I can paste the "secret" MP3 URL in the Firefox Address Bar and then use the "Save Page as..." to actually save the file.

So, since Safari and Firefox can do some team work, you no longer need to install wget on your Mac to download musics from MySpace.

Source: The Tech In Me

Yet another set of newbie tips, but this time...from Walt Mossberg

If you're an absolute newbie in the Mac platform or if you're considering on switching from Windows to Mac, you should have a look at the set of simple, yet very useful remarks that Walt Mossberg provides here, regarding the differences between Windows and Mac.

Alternatively, you can have a look at the tutorials available at Apple, here (Get started with the Mac) and here (Migrate to Mac).

And what kind of blogger would I be if I didn't say anything about my own blog, which is especially directed at Mac Newbies? :-) That's right, this blog has a nice guide on switching from Windows to Mac too. Enjoy!

How to quickly send a file through Bluetooth

Just a quick tip for today: instead of using the Bluetooth File Exchange application to send files to other devices through Bluetooth, select the file on the Finder and hit Cmd+Shift+B.


Source: MacTipper Blog