A BulletProof Idea*

Hidden Gems Inside Mac OSX Terminal

// February 22nd, 2008 // 2 Comments » // Apple, Applications, Mac, OSX, development, tutorials

Inside the Terminal app on your Mac, you can apply a number of great command functions that enable you to ‘pimp out’ your mac and reveal many hidden features. I’m going to list a few really useful and purely cosmetic ones that you can try out.

Web Inspector

This is a really useful feature that does not feature on Safari by default and enables you to inspect elements and source code inside a web page, not quite web development toolbar, but handy. The only downside to this app is that unlike Firebug you cannot edit code on the fly.

Heres the code: defaults write com.apple.Safari IncludeDebugMenu 1
Replace the code to defaults write com.apple.Safari IncludeDebugMenu 0 to reverse this function.
Once this is enabled in Safari, you can open it up in two ways – Via the menu option or you can Control/Right Click to open the application.
Heres a screenshot of what it looks like:

Make Hidden Icons In The Dock Translucent

Type: defaults write com.apple.Dock showhidden -bool YES
Type NO to reverse this funcion

Activate Mouse-Over Gradient In Leopard

This creates a gradient background shadow in stacks and the dock when mousing over using Leopard.
Type: defaults write com.apple.dock mouse-over-hilte-stack -boolean YES
killall Dock
Type NO to reverse this function

3 Dimensional Dock In Leopard

Does what it says on the tin.
Type: defaults write com.apple.dock no-glass -boolean NO
killall Dock
Type YES to reverse this function

Drag Widgets Out Of Dashboard Onto Desktop

Here you can drag widgets from your dashboard onto your desktop. You need to re-launch the dock for this to take effect by typing “killall Dock” and hitting enter. If you click and hold onto a widget in the dashboard and then press F12 to return to the desktop, the widget won’t disappear with the rest.
Heres the code: defaults write com.apple.dashboard devmode YES
Type NO to reverse.

Make A Screen-Saver Your Desktop Background

This enables you to set your screen-saver as your desktop background. When enabled you can stop this by pressing Control-C or Command.
Heres the code: /System/Library/Frameworks/ScreenSaver.framework/Resources/ ScreenSaverEngine.app/Contents/MacOS/ScreenSaverEngine -background

Show Hidden Files In Finder

You can use this to show any hidden files in finder
Type: defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
Type FALSE to reverse this function.

If you have any handy terminal functions you would like to share, get in touch and I will list them here.

Create a custom iPhone ringtone in iTunes

// December 16th, 2007 // No Comments » // tutorials

You may have noticed that in one of my RSS feeds this week came an article from lifehacker showing you how to use Garageband to create ringtones for your iPhone. However, if you use a PC running Windows, you do not have this option. Well, it’s your lucky day, you can create ringtones just using iTunes, heres how.

Select, duplicate and convert the track

First find a track that you like in your iTunes library and duplicate it. Now convert that track to AAC by selecting the duplicated track, right clicking (windows), or CTRL/click (Mac) and select convert to AAC.
Please Note: make sure you have a back up of the track you are using just in case you make a mistake!

Edit the start and stop times

Ringtones have to be 40 seconds in length, so go to File > Get Info > Options. In the start time box enter the start time you would like the track to start playing. Then in the stop time box below, enter the stop time. Remember, the total duration has to be 40 seconds and no more.

Check the two boxes next to these fields and then check Remember Playback Position. Now you have your track.

Convert the file extension

We need to convert this to a ringtone and the way to do that is to first delete the track from iTunes. Do not send to the recycle bin or the trash, instead keep the file (use finder to locate it on a mac). Once located, we need to re-name the file with the extension m4r this will tell iTunes that it is a ringtone.
Double click the file to open it in iTunes, then double click once more and it should pop into your iTunes folder. Double check this by clicking on ‘Ringtones’ in the left hand column of your iTunes interface.
And there we have it, a custom ringtone for your iphone without using garageband.
Enjoy!

Shiira

// November 16th, 2007 // No Comments » // browsers

Shiira is a web browser based on Web Kit and written in Cocoa. The browser offers private browsing options so that history and cookies are not recorded when activated. The browser is of comparable stability and speed to Safari, making it among the fastest and most functional browsers for users of Mac OS X. One of the main advantages: elegant, breathtaking design and user interface.

The goal of the Shiira Project is to create a browser that is better and more useful than Safari. All source code used in this software is licensed under BSD and is publicly available.