Month: December 2012

By Simon Slangen, MakeUseOf – December 10, 2012 at 09:01PM

Of all the default applications that come with the Mac OS X operating system, Preview might be the one I use the most. As picture viewers (and PDF readers) come, it’s an amazingly slick and powerful tool, doing everything you’d come to expect, and then some.

That’s one of the most crucial issues with these kind of  apps – you take them for granted, and think you know them inside out, but the chances are you don’t.

Rather more likely is the fact that Preview is still hiding some succulent feature beneath its surface, because however lightweight it feels, make no mistake – it’s riddled with features. Below, we’ve listed ten Preview-related tips and features that you definitely need to know about.

1. Open Multiple Files In One Preview Window

Preview is very apt at handling multiple files at once. You can open one file after the other, creating a separate preview window for each file, but it’s much easier to work with multiple files in a single preview window.

To do this, just select multiple files in Finder using your mouse or the shift and cmd keys, and open them. By opening all these files at once, they will show in a single Preview window, with a file overview in the Preview sidebar.

2. Delete Files

If you have multiple files open in a single preview window, you can use Preview to move one or more of these files to the trash. This is great for culling the bad pictures from a big selection of photographs or screenshots.

Select the files you’d like to delete among the thumbnails in the Preview sidebar, right-click and select Move To Trash, or press cmd+backspace.

3. Create A File From The Clipboard

Since Mac OS X automatically renders files from your screenshots, this feature isn’t often highlighted. However, if you copy a picture from a website, or copy a selection of another picture to your clipboard, it’s a great tool to have in your toolbox.

To create a new file from the clipboard, just select File -> New from Clipboard, or press cmd+N.

4. Manage & Merge PDF Files

You probably already know of Preview’s ability to read PDF files, but it can do much more with those PDF files than just showing them to you. Most of the tips above and below that apply to pictures also apply to PDF files. However, the one feature that stands out is Preview’s ability to manage and merge PDF files.

Rearranging PDF files in Preview is as simple as dragging the pages around in Preview’s thumbnail sidebar. You can even select multiple pages before rearranging them. Deleting a page works just as described for pictures above, you select one or more pages and press cmd + backspace to delete them from the PDF. Finally, to merge two PDF files, just open one file and drag another in Preview’s thumbnail sidebar.

5. File Sharing

It’s very easy to share your pictures or documents to friends and colleagues right from within preview. This includes emailing, using iMessage, AirDrop, Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.

To share a file from Preview, just press the share icon at the top of the document (which looks like a box with an arrow inside), and select one of the sharing options. You can also add the picture to iPhoto the same way.

6. Annotation Tools

Preview comes with a wealth of annotation tools. You can draw shapes, arrows and text boxes on any kind of document, with varying color and line width. When you’re browsing a PDF document, you can also use Preview to highlight individual sentences.

The full array of annotation tools becomes visible when you press the annotation icon next to the search field, or select Tools -> Annotate.

7. Select & Cropping Tools

You don’t need a copy of PhotoShop for rudimentary photo manipulation. One of the things that Preview does almost as well is extracting elements of an image. When you press the annotation icon (left of the search field), a number of selection tools appear to the right of your screen. These include a rectangular selector, elliptical selector, lasso selection, smart lasso and instant alpha.

Using smart lasso, click in an area and slightly drag your mouse in any direction to specify the amount of tolerance that should be used in marking out the boundaries of that area’s selection. You can then copy that selection to your clipboard and create a new document as outlined above, or press backspace to make that part of your image transparent.

8. Color Management

A different kind of photo manipulation is provided through Preview’s built-in color management. Again, you can view this option by pressing the annotation button next to the search field, or by selecting Tools -> Annotate.

Pressing the prism icon in the annotation bar will open the Adjust Color pane. Hear you can tweak the picture’s levels, exposure, contrast, saturation, sharpness, and more.

9. Built-In Version History

In later versions of Mac OS X, Preview comes with built-in version support. This means you can go back in time and go through a number of different iterations of your file, Time Machine-style.

To do so, go to File -> Revert To -> Browse All Versions, or press the little disclosure triangle next to a file’s name in the title bar and select Browse All Versions.

10. Lock That Document

As you’ve seen above, Preview provides a lot of ways to manipulate a document. Sometimes we’re looking for exactly the opposite: keeping it safe from careless hands. Luckily, Preview is able to lock a document on your request.

To lock a document, press the disclosure triangle next to the document’s name in the title bar as show above. In the ensuing drop-down menu, select Lock. This is also where you’ll be able to later unlock the document.

Do you know of any other exciting Preview tricks? Let us know in the comments section below the article!

The post 10 Tips You Need to Know About Mac Preview appeared first on MakeUseOf.

By Aaron Couch, MakeUseOf – December 10, 2012 at 04:31PM

Have you ever seen someone’s phone with a giant bubble in the middle between the screen protector and the screen? Perhaps you’ve been that person or are trying not to be that person. Whether you have tried applying screen protectors before with unsatisfactory results or are about to apply one for the first time, this is the article for you to learn how to apply screen a protector – what to do and what not to do when installing it.

What I’ll do is show you what you’ll need, the method I chose and why I chose it and then a couple more methods that you might try which have also proven to work flawlessly.

What You’re Going To Need

This somewhat depends on your method, and there are a few. Some people just slap the screen protector on and usually that’s what creates the bubbles. Regardless of what you decide to do, there are a few things you’ll always need for applying a screen protector.

• Caseless phone/tablet.
• Clean, non-dusty area.
• Microfiber cloth.
• Plastic credit card.
• Tape.
• Lots of patience.

Depending on your preference you can either use your fingers or a plastic card. I used a card, but others have found success using their fingers.  The screen protector I got actually came with an installation card, but I felt it was too small for the job.

The Best Way Is The “Tape Method”

At first I was a little hesitant to try this, but by the end I had a perfect installation and I highly recommend you do this method for your screen protector.

First, always be sure to line up the screen protector. You want to be sure that the correct side is down (usually indicated with blue lettering) and that the screen protector matches your phone to your standard.

Once you’ve positioned it correctly, add a piece of tape to the side with the tag facing the phone. Again this is the tag with the blue text and also the tag connected to the side you’re going to pull away first. Add three pieces of tape: one on each end and one in the middle.

There’s a pretty neat method of folding this tape under the phone. You want to do this to each piece individually and be sure that the tape is already partially stuck to the side of the phone. What you will do is hold the phone horizontally and flat on the surface and then quickly pull towards you. The tape will fold under and stick to the underside of the phone.

Next you’ll flip the screen protector and wipe both the phone and the screen protector surfaces once more. Then, you’ll begin installation.

When you pull the screen protector away, you don’t want to rip it all the way off at once. Let me repeat this: don’t rip it all off at once. Only remove it slightly and for the whole length (although you’re facing it sideways so one might argue it’s the width) of the screen protector. As you remove it, pull equally across and push, either with a card or your fingers, the adhesive side against the screen.

This is where the patience comes in – you don’t want to be too anxious to just get it done. Take your time, but once you’ve started the process also don’t stop.

Now you will have bubbles at first, but you can push those out with your fingers or a card – again, depending on your preference. To me, a card seemed to work much better. However, there’s a technique to this.

• Push at an angle to the nearest outside edge
• Start in the middle – those are the most difficult to remove

Now all you do is grab the second tag (red text) and pull the top layer of the screen protector back. Then look for and remove any last bubbles. There really shouldn’t be any except for the occasional one along the edge.

The reasons why I decided this was the best method:

• Extra security with the tape.
• The ability to line up the screen protector perfectly and catch any “mistakes” before applying it.

Two Alternative Methods

These two methods do work, but they have their risks which is why I don’t recommend them as much. Nonetheless, they’re still options.

The End To End Method

I didn’t particularly try this method, but it has been proven to work on several occasions. The idea and technique is very similar to the tape method. The only difference is that with this one you start either at the top or bottom of the phone (depending on your preference), peel the bottom layer off slightly – just enough to stick the screen protector to the phone.

Once it’s stuck securely, continue to pull the bottom layer down revealing more of the stick side of the screen protector as you simultaneously push with either your finger or a credit card. Just like the tape method, it is important that you do both at the same time. Then the rest is the same – push out the bubbles, peel off the top layer and you’re good.

The downside to this one (and the reason the tape method is the best) is you don’t have the assurance that the screen protector is secure on the phone. With three pieces of tape, it’s not likely to move, but with only a small section of the screen protector stuck to the phone, I could see it slipping if it wasn’t pressed firmly down.

The Water Method

This one is a bit different and I hadn’t heard of it until I saw this video, but it seems to work alright. You basically wet the microfiber cloth, ring it out and wipe down the phone. Leave any leftover water on the screen (note: make sure your phone is off before you wipe it down). Then you peel off the whole bottom layer of the screen protector and without touching the sticky side, wet it and shake off any excess water (obviously there will be some still on it as you apply it to the phone and the water actually helps prevent bubbles). You carefully start at the top and holding the sides of the screen protector, press down working your way from one end to the other.

Personally, although I’ve never tried this, I’m not to crazy about peeling off the entire protective layer and risking it to my finger prints, dropping it, or placing it on the phone incorrectly. But according to the YouTube video, this works.

Some Important Things To Remember

• There are three layers to the screen protector.
• Wipe down everything on your phone (can’t get it too clean for this).
• Remove any exterior protective phone case
• Line up the screen protector to the phone before installing

Conclusion

That piece of paper above was what came with my screen protector. Although I know how to apply one, I honestly couldn’t figure out what this thing was telling me to do. No wonder so many people screw up – they have terrible instructions like this! But thankfully, there is the Internet that we can all go to for articles, photos and videos to help us figure this sort of thing out.

Again, the tape method is the best, primarily because of the additional security with the tape.

Have you found success with a certain method mentioned here? What about a certain method not mentioned? We’d love to hear your story in the comments below.

The post The Best Way To Apply a Screen Protector To Your Phone Or Tablet appeared first on MakeUseOf.

By Eric Limer, Gizmodo – December 10, 2012 at 04:20PM

Cancer and HIV are both horrible, terrifying things to have in your body, but a new treatment is successfully pitting the latter against the former, and seven-year-old Emma Whitehead is alive to prove it. Months ago she was near death because of her chemo-resistant leukemia, and now she’s in remission thanks to a defanged version of HIV. More »

By noreply@blogger.com (How to Carve Roast Unicorn), How to Carve Roast Unicorn – December 09, 2012 at 11:09PM

“Super Antics #4” by Kerry Callen

LOL!

By (author unknown), Core77 – December 10, 2012 at 03:00AM

Splitting firewood with a hand tool is a solved problem—the axe is one of the oldest tools on Earth—but there’s still a mess of people experimenting with different ways to do it. Here we’ll take a look at a few of these alternate methods, ranging from crazy to clever.

Mechanical Advantage

Any homesteader worth their salt will scoff at these, but they’re worth including just to see the range of what people have come up with.

The Logmatic Wedge Axe has got a real buy-one-get-one-free kind of vibe, and the video quality is horrible, but it’s an earnest attempt to design an easy-to-use tool that concentrates a lot of force on a single point with minimal effort.

The Foot Operated Log Splitter seems like it looked great on paper, but turned out to be underwhelming in reality:

(more…)

By Steve Levenstein, Inventor Spot – Inventions, Innovations, and Interesting Ideas for the Inventor in All of Us – December 09, 2012 at 12:00AM

The built-in vibration sensors inside these Ghostbusters automatic night lights illuminate any room before you enter it. Then they stay on for 8 seconds, allowing you to get to a light switch before automatically switching themselves off again.

By (author unknown), Dilbert Daily Strip – December 08, 2012 at 01:00AM

By Angela Alcorn, MakeUseOf – December 07, 2012 at 03:00PM

Did you spend your last Christmas dinner listening to the same old CD you pull out every year, wishing you had a few more Christmas tunes to fill out the rest of the meal? You know there’s a lot of Christmas-related music available, so it shouldn’t really be so hard to have some around when Christmas rolls around. I mean, Christmas only comes once a year and you want it to be special. Although, I bet sometimes you get caught up organising lights, shopping online for presents, travel, Christmas films and food that you forget about the little things like background music.

This year it will all be different, because soon after you’ve read this post you’ll have downloaded many hours worth of free Christmas music. Then all you need to do is whip up a fancy shuffled playlist in iTunes (or whatever you use) and you’re ready for action when the time comes. You might even enjoy your Christmas collection so much that you listen to Christmas carols for the whole Christmas period, rather than just on the day. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Jamendo Christmas Songs

Search Jamendo for the word Christmas and you’re greeted with over 180 albums and 500 individual tracks. Each can be legally downloaded for free and previewed without any hassle. Check out in particular this “Christmas in minor” album – it’s very different!

Amazon’s Free Holiday MP3s

Not only do Amazon have a great selection of free MP3s, but they allow you to filter the list to show just holiday themed music. There’s a collection of Christmas music just waiting for you to grab it.

Karaoke Version

If you’re into sing-alongs, karaoke or just non-intrusive background music you might appreciate the Christmas MP3s available for free at Karaoke Version. It’s just the backing music, so any terrible vocals you hear are therefore your own problem.

Last.fm Christmas Tag – Stream & Download Free Christmas Music

Most people these days know that you can be streaming online Christmas radio in seconds by using Last.fm’s tag radio feature. What fewer people know is that it’s easy to find free MP3s to download using the same tags to find the right songs. For instance, check out the Christmas, Xmas, Carols, Christmas Songs and Christmas Music tags. From all of these, you can click on a link to the free music downloads, where you can listen to and download whichever tracks you like. If you want to automate it, you can also subscribe to the free music download podcast for that tag in iTunes.

Another 10 Places To Find Christmas Songs

MakeUseOf’s resident free music expert put together a list of 10 Legal Online Sources To Download Free Christmas Music a few years ago. I particularly like the music from AMClassical’s Christmas and Christmas Classical sections.

Searching Hints

It’s possible to search for MP3 files on Google or sites like BeeMP3 and often you will find recordings which are legal to download as so many choirs these days put MP3s of their Christmas concerts online to share. One you’ve found one legal MP3, check to see if it’s in a folder of MP3s (delete the filename.mp3 part of the URL). You might have stumbled across a whole concert of Christmas carols you can legally download.

Also, if you’re trying to remember the name of your favourite Christmas carol, Wikipedia has a useful list of some of the more popular titles.

Which was your favorite free Christmas album? Share the link!

The post 4 Websites To Download Free Online Christmas Music For Your Holiday Party appeared first on MakeUseOf.

By Michael Hession, Gizmodo – December 06, 2012 at 11:33PM

It’s been about a year since Tim Cook took the helm at Apple, and he has apparently decided now is a good time to start talking to people. Brian Williams got first dibs, interviewing Cook earlier tonight on NBC’s Rock Center. More »