Just like to take this opportunity today to thank and also reply to one of our reader’s enquiry over the weekend. One of our reader who has just switched from being a PC to a Mac user have asked us how to create or take screen shots on Mac OS X (Leopard).
Those who have been Windows users for some time will know that PC keyboards have all got the Print Screen key whereas nowadays Mac keyboards no longer have this on their keyboards but it doesn’t mean the function has been taken away. So though a very simple function, I can understand why the question was sent.
So here are the commands that are required in order to create a screen shot on Mac OS X, the thing to remember is that unlike Windows’ Print Screen function which takes a screen shot of the whole of the screen. Mac OS X gives you the choice of choosing, as long as you remember the right hot key that is!
There are three main ‘modes’ available:
- Apple (Command) Key + Shift + 3
Captures entire desktop to a file on the desktop as ‘picture #’ . This option lets you capture the whole screen. If you want just one window on your screen, you will have to edit the picture using image editing software.
- Apple (Command) Key + Shift + 4
Allows you to use your mouse to select a specific part of your desktop for capture. This will turn your mouse pointer into a cross, please hold down the mouse button and drag to select the part of the screen you want. When you release the button the screenshot will “snap” that part of the screen. Press ‘Esc’ to release.
Here’s a sample screen shot of my dock just taken a second ago:
- Apple (Command) Key + Shift + 4 then press Spacebar
This one can be a handful! But it can be quite useful in some situations because it allows you to select which window to capture.
Of course, there are lots of applications out there that also often the same functionality if not more, but we’ve never needed to download and use any of them, if you know of a good one which you would like to recommend, feel free to leave your comment below!
HP’s latest TouchSmart IQ series PCs along with others such as Sony’s new all in one VAIO desktops have probably been one of the few newest PCs on the market to become a major competitor for Apple iMacs. But what’s kept iMacs ahead of the game in my view is that they’re designed by Apple to function smoothly and faultlessly with Mac OS X (as well as Windows), having said that users often try to tweak their way through so that they can get the best of both and here is an example of that.
Aaron Nelson from Hijinks Inc. has written a few steps on just how he did the whole process on his HP Touch Smart IQ507, the video below shows him booting it up and demonstrating a few tasks on the TouchSmart’s touchscreen.
Unfortunately, the touchscreen is almost completely ‘out of touch’ and requires some serious calibrating. In addition to that, there seems to be some hardware issues as well. He has to disable the on board audio every time he logs in, so that the keyboard and mouse will be recognised. Apart from that, browsing the web and using the TouchSmart’s built in card reader doesn’t seem to cause any trouble.
So there you have it folks, iMacs threatened? Maybe in the future but for now, there are still some related compatibility issues that needs to be first addressed. But if you’re interested, feel free to hit the link below to check it out!
[via Hijinks]
One annoying thing about using Vista is that it’s got this new feature that XP didn’t used to have. You can delete the recycling bin on your desktop! Though your recycling bin doesn’t look like a desktop shortcut, in fact it is!
So don’t panic, if you have deleted it, it’s not the end of the world and it doesn’t mean you will never ever be able to remove anything from your PC again.
In today’s tip, the video below will show you how you can restore your recycling bin easily…
Just found two short clips on YouTube (part one and two) of a Japanese guy, DIY enthusiast I reckon, disassembling his Google Android T-Mobile G1, I wonder what exactly it is that he’s interested in finding out about. He looked like he knew what he was doing, I wish I knew what he was saying though, if anyone could translate this, we would greatly appreciate it!
Otherwise, we don’t recommend you try this at home!
Part 1
Part 2
Some kids these days can be so keen when it comes to DIY, sometimes more so than adults themselves and this is an excellent example of that. Over at instructables, we just stumbled across this really useful and unique DIY which in my opinion would be greatly appreciated by cyclists who too enjoy abit of DIY for their rides. This 13-year old has designed signal lights which flashes as the cyclist riding the bike turns, that way cars from behind not only sees a bike ahead but also knows the cyclist is about to turn.
Hope the embedded code below works ok for you (might not work 100% in feeds though):
Stan Taylor and his physics class at Miles Community College built a hovercraft powered by an average electric leafblower, some very standard materials like plywood and heavy plastics but the result is pretty fun and exciting. As you will see it can bare weight, I suppose the only restriction is the length of the powercord, watch it in action in the video below.
If you’re interested, full instructions are available here for you to get started right away!
If you or someone you know loves to play games like Street Fighter, then you will know things can get abit out of hand or too much for the PSP to handle. Sometimes in order to pull the right move you want, you need a proper controller. That’s not the reason why modder “F00″ built this mod but its a great excuse to get your hands on this I think very cool and unique SNES controller mod.
The mod was done when F00 was approached to do a mod for someone who had difficulty with the controls on the PSP, here’s how it was built…
This mod was achieved by adding a small socket to the back of the psp ( the socket was sent to me by a friend some time ago so I dont have a part number. I believe it was intended for a cell phone). I taped all of the relevant points on the psp mother board (some of which where horribly close together and tiny. Actually not some ALL of them where), and then ran these to the socket. I used a file and dremal to cut a whole in the back of the psp and the socket fitted in with a satisfying *click*. I then put together a custom cable and plug that would fit the newly attached socket. This was then wired to the snes controllers pcb (attached directly to the traces of each button.
