1. Enable Cut and Paste Files in Mac Finder
Open Terminal and type:
defaults write com.apple.finder AllowCutForItems 1
and then restart Finder. When files or folders are selected in Finder, the Cut command will be active in the Edit menu, and present in the context menu.
Source:
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20060626085238931
2. Remove Flash Cookies
You can control Flash cookies via Macromedia's Flash Player Settings Manager, which is an actual Flash application you load in your browser (that is, the picture you'll see on that page is not an image; it is the actual Settings Manager).
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20091114062050800
3. HDMI with Audio from Macbook
http://kanexlive.com/products/item.aspx?id=3495
Also available on Amazon, but more expensive than buying direct.
Beware, the USB version cannot do surround sound.
The more expensive version with the mini jack connector will do surround sound. Note that most MacBook Pro audio jacks are actually "minijacks". See:
http://blog.neyrinck.com/?p=23
4. Dual Link DVI + MacBook Pro Hell
Display Port sucks because it requires an active converter chip to change to DVI, not just a simple thru wire connector change. What's worse, these chips consume so much current that they can't even run off of the DisplayPort power supply. What's totally miserable is that Apple's solutions costs $100 and doesn't even work reliably:
A third party version for $90 works better:
http://www.9to5mac.com/34348/review-kanex-mdpc30-minidisplayport-to-dual-link-dvi-adapter/
But why should these issues exist in the first place??
5. Microsoft Office Excel 2007 and 2008
Do not buy this product! It is unbearably slow on a 1 year old Intel Macbook Pro. Open office has vastly superior performance, and Octave (free Matlab clone) is another possible choice although it is harder to work with. My gripe is that Excel is supposed to 'excel' at graphing data. But graphing is painfully slow; a graph of 10k points takes 2-3 minutes to refresh each time any change is made.
Apparently there is a performance patch for windows, but not for Mac. I'm not sure if Microsoft intentionally degraded the Mac experience, or if they are simply incompetent. I know that the newer versions of Excel on Windows machines are also much slower than the 2003/2004 versions. What were they thinking???
Solution: Run Windows XP or Windows 7 with VirtualBox on your Mac and then run Office 2003 or 2004 from the virtual machine.
5b. Change reference style in Excel Mac: Command-T
5c. Data Analysis ToolPak is no longer in Office. Microsoft sucks... now available as a separate add on:
http://www.analystsoft.com/en/products/statplusmacle/download.phtml
6. X11 + Cadence Crashes on Snow Leopard
Unfortunately, Apple isn't updating X11 with the rest of the software updates. The old version has some serious bugs. You'll need to install the latest version yourself (its actually called XQuartz - just Google it).
Source: http://eddie.niese.net/20080208/x11-issues-on-mac-os-x-solved/
7. Set Duplex Printing as Default in Mac OS
In web browser go to: http://localhost:631/admin/
Select your printer.
Go to Maintenance on the left drop down box
Go to Set Default Options in the right drop down box
Change to duplex!
CUPS will ask you for a UNIX username and password when you perform printer administration tasks remotely or via a web browser. The default configuration requires that you use the root username and the corresponding password to authenticate the request.
8. MacBook Pro Home, End, PageUp, PageDn
fn-opt-left = Home
fn-opt-right = End
fn-opt-up = PageUp
fn-top-dn = PageDn
9.Mac UnRar Program
10. Longtime Windows will probably agree that the Winkey-L shortcut is one of the handiest around. Offering the ability to instantly lock your screen and hide your work from prying eyes, OS X surprisingly offers no such equivalent. Luckily, LockTight is a small preference pane add-on that lets you configure the familiar hotkey for all your screen locking needs. Just remember, if it isn't already enabled, you'll need to ensure your Mac requires a password when exiting the screensaver — otherwise, that hotkey won't be doing you much good.
11. Efficiency junkies have lamented the Mac's inability to tile windows for years, leaving users to manually resize and organize windows themselves. Luckily, ShiftIt comes to the rescue, offering a set of simple hotkeys that will move an active window around your screen however you see fit, side-by-side, or top and bottom. But unlike in Windows, you can only tile two windows at a time, leaving other apps to sulk in the background — the best you're going to get unless you run to Boot Camp.
12. Windows Remote Desktop Size
To set a larger display, save your connection and then edit the file using a text editor, changing the key DesktopSize:
<key>DesktopSize</key>
<dict>
<key>DesktopHeight</key>
<integer>1200</integer>
<key>DesktopWidth</key>
<integer>1920</integer>
</dict>
13. Switch between overwrite and insert modes (OVR INS)
Push "SHIFT + INS (the Zero "0" key on your numpad)" to change mode INS/OVR.