Mac’s latest update to OS X, Lion, is geared toward trackpads. You can use your trackpad to launch Mission Control, to swipe between full screen apps, and even to navigate in Safari. If you want, though, you don’t have to stop there. With a free tool, you can assign even more gestures to perform certain actions.
If you have more than one computer sitting on your desk, and don’t want extra mice and keyboards cluttering up your workspace, take a look at Synergy. Synergy is free and open source software that lets you control multiple computers with one keyboard and mouse, using your home network. Each computer will need its own monitor. Once you’ve set it up, you can drag your cursor from one computer’s screen, right off the edge to the other computer’s screen.
We’ve previously covered how to quickly switch audio sources if you’re on Windows. The tool that we covered comes in handy, for example, if you want to switch your audio and mic input over to your headset to make a Skype call. But what if you’re on a Mac, and want to do the same? A free app, SoundSource, has you covered.
SoundSource can be installed to your menu bar, and from there it is a simple matter of clicking it, and selecting your input or output source from the menu that drops down. SoundSource also lets you adjust volume, and gives you a quick link to sound preferences and MIDI setup.
If you’re constrained for space on your menu bar, you can get much of the same functionality by holding down the option key and then clicking on the Sound icon on your menu bar. You won’t get the granular volume control offered by SoundSource, but you will be able to switch devices. Credit to TUAW for this native OS X tip.
If you find that you’re switching your audio source on a Mac with any regularity, check out SoundSource. The link at the end of this article takes you to the free apps by Rogue Amoeba, the developer. SoundSource is at the bottom of the page.
SoundSource [Rouge Amoeba]
If, like me, you’re relatively new to the Mac world, you stumble across tips that are both incredibly useful, and incredibly simple. One such tip concerns how to add folders to your Finder sidebar. There are several reasons you might want to do this. Perhaps you have a folder that you access all of the time, and don’t want to go digging for it. Or perhaps you’re in the middle of a project, and want to temporarily access your project folders with one click. Getting those folders into the Places section of your Finder sidebar is easy, using either of two methods.
Yesterday we covered five ways to boost your productivity using a text expansion program. If we’ve sold you on the value of a text expansion program, your next question may concern which program to get. We previously mentioned how to use text expansion for free on Windows using Texter, an app that we identified as one of five tech tools to increase your productivity in a non-tech job. Texter was the first text expander that I used. When I added a Mac to my repertoire, though, one problem that I ran into was that Texter is a Windows-only app. I started using TypeIt4Me on the Mac, but then I had to manually enter my expansion snippets to keep them in sync between Mac and Windows. Recently I discovered a better solution – two separate apps (one on each platform) that can use the same snippet file, synchronized over Dropbox. I’ve been in text expansion heaven ever since.
