Whew! That took a little longer than I had intended. Three weeks… oy! Well, better late than never.

Welcome to Screencast Number Two: a 15-minute look at the various ways to organize your applications in OS X. Just like the first screencast, this one is aimed at switchers and other Mac newcomers, so I tried to strike the right balance of explaining enough while not insulting your intelligence. I’m happy to hear any feedback about how I did either in the comments here or at stuart@thenewbig.com

I used ScreenFlow to record this ‘cast, so if you’re interested in my further thoughts on the screencasting process, I’ll include them in the full post (click the ellipses, if you’re on the home page). Enjoy!

Show notes

• The three methods I looked at for organizing my applications were to use folders, Spotlight Comments, or standalone applications.


• Lifehacker article Tags: Metadata as a ‘filing system’, by Nick Santilli, discusses how to use Quicksilver and Spotlight Comments to organize your files.


• Punakea provides a complete tagging interface for applications.


• DockFun lets you swap in customized docks or just use the menu bar icon to access your apps.


• DragThing is a very powerful and flexible organizer that lets you access applications both online and on your computer.


• TabMeister is a simple slide drawer for files.


• Leap is a very interesting and powerful program for drilling down through large file libraries quickly and easily.

I’ll bet I missed some good software. I know I forgot to mention using Smart Folders. Anything else? Leave me a comment. [...]

Howdy, y’all. I’m trying a little experiment today: a screencast that I whipped up to show switchers and other Mac newcomers how to manage the OS X menu bar. Just click on the embedded player below to check it out. Show notes are located beneath the video, and I’ll post some thoughts about the screencasting process separately.

I’d love to hear what you think. Please leave a comment here, or email me at stuart@thenewbig.com.

Show Notes

• Turn off the translucent menu bar in Leopard 10.5.2 by opening the Desktop & Screen Saver Preference Pane and unchecking the box next to “Translucent menu bar.”
  


• Many menu items can be turned off by clicking on the icon and then clicking the bottom-most menu item
  


• Move icons using Command+Drag (left or right). Remove icons by Command+Drag off menu bar. (thanks to this forum thread on MacWorld.)
  


• iStat Menus is available at iSlayer.com
  


• Caffeine (to keep your display awake) is available from Lighthead Software.
  


• Slim Battery Monitor by Colin Henein can be found here.
  


• And you can download Free Ruler from Pascal.com
  

Brett Terpstra discovered a wicked cool keyboard tip for those of you running OS X 10.5, something I never would have thought to look for: per-keyboard modifier key settings. Just go to System Preferences, Keyboard & Mouse, the Keyboard tab, and then click the Modifier Keys button at the bottom left. You can then select the keyboard you want to re-map from the top of the page.

I just got a new Logitech cordless ergonomic keyboard and had already resigned myself to mentally swapping the option and command keys. Now, I can save those precious synapse firings.

Which reminds me… why aren’t there any ergonomic Bluetooth keyboards?