Move Apps Out of the Applications Folder in OS X Lion

Move Apps Out of the Applications Folder in OS X Lion

Dec 29, 2011 - 4 Comments

Have you noticed when you try and move an application out of the /Applications folder in Mac OS X Lion you will end up creating an alias of the app instead? This is a security feature that is new to Lion, intended to help prevent accidentally deleting or moving apps, and in some ways it’s convenient way to quickly make an app alias.

If you want to move an app out of the Applications folder, hold down the Command key while dragging the app.

You will continue to need to enter the administrator password if you attempt to uninstall an app by dragging it into the Trash though.

Merge IOS-OSX, and ditching Intel for A6 - Mac

August 3rd, 2011 - Mac OS X, News, Rumor

Yes, Mac OS X Lion is obviously very iOS-like, and now we’re hearing again that Mac OS X and iOS will begin merging late next year into a single unified OS. This is speculation according to Jeffries & Co analyst Peter Misek, who also suggests the parts of the Mac lineup will be moved away from Intel CPU’s after the introduction of a quad-core A6 CPU.

The speculative report suggests the big changes will start at the end of 2012, and the first Mac to move to an ARM A6 CPU would be the MacBook Air, followed several years later by the MacBook Pro and iMac lineup. Here’s the meat of the post on Barrons:

“We believe Apple is looking to merge iOS (iPhones/iPads) with OS X (Macs) into a single platform for apps and cloud services starting in 2012-13.” Specifically, Misek sees the Macbook Air gaining Apple’s next processor, the “A6,” as he calls it, in the second half of 2012, or some time in 2013, following the debut of the chip in the “iPad 3” in the first quarter of 2012, and in the “iPhone 5” next summer.

Misek thinks MacBook “Pro” models and Mac desktops will stick with the current software and Intel processors in order to maximize 64-bit application compatibility, but that they, too, will switch over to an iOS platform by 2016.

Misek suggests the motivation behind the OS X and iOS merger is for better gross margins and licensing deals, where purchased media content will work on any device and be available via iCloud – although apparently nobody told the analyst this ability already exists now with iTunes.

This really isn’t terribly surprising speculation, and we’ve heard talk of Apple ditching Intel CPU’s before. Also, both iOS and Mac OS X are built upon the same underlying architecture anyway, so merging the two in name wouldn’t be a particularly shocking event. Apple does seem to be easing Mac users into an eventual transition with the introduction of things like Launchpad, fullscreen apps, and other iOS-like features embedded into OS X Lion.

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Comments: 18

Mac OS X 10.7

July 23rd, 2011 - Mac OS X, Tips & Tricks

Do you hate the way iCal looks in Mac OS X Lion? The leather interface of iCal looks like it’s right out of an iPad has definitely caused a split with users, people either love the way it looks or hate it with a passion. For the sake of this article, we’re going to assume you’re not a fan of the leather UI,

Replacing iCal’s Leather User Interface with Aluminum

To ditch the leather, you are going to replace the leather image files with aluminum versions:

• Download the iCal aluminum replacement files by clicking here and unzip them, place this directory in an easy to access location like your desktop
• Navigate to /Applications/ and find iCal
• Important: Make a copy of iCal by selecting the app and hitting Command+D to create “iCal Copy.app” – this is important because it allows you to revert the changes
• Right-click on the original iCal.app and select “Show Package Contents”
• Open “Contents” and then open “Resources”
• Drag all of the previously downloaded iCal aluminum UI replacement files into iCal’s “Resources” folder, replacing the contents (click ‘Apply to All’ and then select “Replace”)
• Launch iCal and enjoy your aluminum interface

I have tested this and it works flawlessly. Just remember to backup the original iCal app (it’s only 42mb) in case you ever want to change back to good old cowhide. Keep in mind that future iCal updates will probably overwrite your changes too.
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Comments: 45

Delete Voices from Mac OS X Lion

Mac OS X, Tips & Tricks - July 29th, 2011 - 5 Comments

One of OS X Lion‘s many great new features are all the new high quality multi-lingual voices (here is how to add them yourself). If you went on a voice adding spree like I did, you may quickly realize that all these new voices take up a fair amount of disk space, each weighing in around 400 MB. On a large enough hard drive that isn’t too big of a deal, but I’m on a MacBook Air with 64 GB so 10 voices taking up 4.3 GB of space matters to me.

Delete Downloaded Voices from OS X 10.7 Lion

Using Finders great “Go to Folder” feature of Command+Shift+G enter the following path:

/System/Library/Speech/Voices/

You’ll see a list of voices, but notice they come in two formats: Voice and VoiceCompact, you can keep VoiceCompact because those are just the short samples, it’s the Voice.SpeechVoice you want to delete to remove the full voice.

For a quick example we’ll get rid of Samantha – sorry Samantha, you sound lovely but you take up too much space – so we will be deleting Samantha.SpeechVoice. Select that folder and either drag it to the Trash or hit Command+Delete to place it there automatically. Because the voice files are contained in /System/ you will need to authenticate with the administrator password in order to delete the file, so type that in, then you can empty the Trash. No more Samantha!

Thanks to Marfil who left this little tip in our comments.

Related articles:

• How to Add New Voices to Mac OS X Lion
• Mac OS X Lion Adds Amazing New Text-to-Speech Voices – Listen to Samples
• Mac OS X Lion to Simplify Uninstalling of Apps with iOS-like Delete Function
• Delete an entire word with Option+Delete

Auto spell correction - Mac OS X 10.7

July 28th, 2011 - Mac OS X, Tips & Tricks
 

Annoyed with OS X Lion‘s new auto correct feature? You can turn disable it quickly:

• Launch System Preferences, click on “Language & Text”
• Click on the “Text” tab and uncheck the box next to “correct spelling automatically”

Auto correct in Lion is seemingly a lot more intelligent than past iOS versions, but it still can be frustrating when you are typing unique names of people, products, companies, slang, and even various tech terms.

Obviously if you want it enabled again, you just need to recheck that box.

Comments: 5

Lion: Ten things that bug me | TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

by Erica Sadun Jul 20th 2011 at 1:00PM

 

It's not that I hate OS X 10.7 Lion. It's an excellent operating system. It's just that there are a bunch of things that make me throw up my hands and say, "What were you thinking, Apple. Are you trying to make the MobileMe Operating System?" Are there no OCD slave-drivers left at Infinite Loop any more making sure that each OS feature is absolutely perfect?

Things You Should Do After Installing OS X Lion | TechCrunch

Posted 17 hours ago.

44 Comments

Lion is here — and as MG summed up in just 3,000 words, it’s great.
No operating system is perfect, though. At least, not for everyone, and especially not right out of the (non-existent) box. Looking to make your Lion experience that much better, we’ve bundled together a bevy of tips and tricks that you really ought to have ready on your first trip into the new OS.
Now, something to keep in mind: these tips aren’t one-size-fits-all. Read through the list and pick out the ones that sound good, and be sure to drop a comment if you’ve got a tip of your own.