MacBook 101: save precious desktop pixel real-estate
So, I’ve been cruising with my MacBook Air since February last year—wow, now that I think of it, it’s almost a year with the Air—but it’s only a couple days ago when I discovered a really great tweak for to maximize your desktop’s real-estate.
Normally every Mac computer has the dock by default in the bottom of the screen. That consumes a lot of desktop real-estate, especially if you own a 13″ or 15″ MacBook and use the dock with big icons or with magnification enabled. That being said, I made up my mind to think for other possible dock positions.
After spending some time tinkering this dock problem I came up with a descent solution. Change the dock’s position from bottom to left and enable the hiding option. I’m telling you, if you use a 13″ or 15″ MacBook series computer this little tweak will save you lots of space if you’re working with maximized or normal-sized windows.
Either way, the new experience is stunning. It feels like your whole screen is made just for you and your work. Full-screen-like browsing or making a presentation in Keynote. Don’t believe me? Here are the screenshots (click for awesome Lightbox previews):
This is how I’m working from now on. As I said, it feels like a giant-full screen just for you and your work.
And this appears when I’m hovering my mouse on the left side of the screen. Sweet, small dock.
See? It’s a lot better. I’d recommend you change your dock asap. Trust me.
Your next Google Reader
My Google Reader is getting filled up with lots of RSS feeds. Which means lots of new posts everyday. But in fact, I haven’t opened up my Google Reader for months. I think the last time was it around mid-end August. Yes, you read correctly—August. But why is this?
Well, first of all, time. I’m in a much more complex, demanding and difficult schedule than in summer or even last year. Mainly because I’m Senior in High School and I have to study a little bit (read a ton) more. RSS consumes (a lot) of my time, an amount that I cannot afford anymore. Despite this, RSS is not dead as Dave Winer correctly points out.
Secondly, I’m over with the “read-them-all-as-soon-as-their-posted” era. I’ve grown up since that time—it was like a couple years ago. The frenzy of getting everything read, I think it’s a bit tiring for one’s self. Mentally, bodily and psychologically. Now, I don’t want all the content, I want the best content.
Let me restate it: now I don’t want all the content, I want the best content.
That’s why lately I’ve been on a hunt for a tool, web service, desktop reader—you name it, that would be social (for to share the most interesting and insightful content/posts), easy to use (with a good UX & design) and why not, to had the ability of syncing across multiple devices.
And this service is Instapaper. I have to tell you, I’ve been using Instapaper for a long time now but never thought of this possibility. See, it’s very easy to start. Just ask from your friends and in general, the persons you think they’ve got good content to share, their Instapaper account name or email (that differs based on when the other person created his/her account). And boom—you’re good to go. Just star the item you want to share. You can have it synced with your Instapaper iPhone app, too.
Why do I like Instapaper, why does it beat Google Reader anyway? Let me clarify first, Instapaper is not an RSS reader. Instapaper is a tool that saves webpages for you to read later. Back to why it wins. Reason number one is that I get to see a curation of trending news and posts, not just raw new posts in reverse timeline format. Reason number too is that his curation is fully customizable and with great quality because I select the people I want to read items from. Reason number three is that I can read all this stuff from wherever I feel like I want to read it. Be it iPhone or every other computer that has access to the internet and Instapaper.
If you have an Instapaper account feel free to add my shared posts, or how Instapaper itself puts it: “Another user’s Starred items”. Just add this link in your Folders.
—kudos to @ik_ for this awesome idea.
Mathematical rants: Cantor’s ∞, uncertainty και fuzzy logic
Στο σχολείο διδασκόμαστε μαθηματικά. Όλοι. Από την πρώτη δημοτικού έως την τρίτη λυκείου, κάθε χρόνο, κάθε παιδί, κάθε τάξη, διδάσκεται μαθηματικά. Τι συμβαίνει όμως όταν ξεφεύγουμε από τα “τυπικά” μαθηματικά του σχολείου; Τα τυποποιημένα, αυτά που δεν σε εμπνέουν, μαθηματικά; Ίσως είναι η καλύτερη στιγμή για κάθε “θετικό” ή “τεχνολογικό” άτομο, η στιγμή που πραγματικά αρχίζεις να καταλαβαίνεις το νόημα των μαθηματικών, το γιατί είναι η βασίλισσα και η πιο βασική επιστήμη των επιστημών — πως όλα είναι μαθηματικά. Continue Reading →
Unlock the Wifi’s: new project /Updated
So, the past few days have been very productive, tech-wise. Despite all the heavy homework stuff I had to do, I wrote two new posts. Today though, I came up with an idea—and the idea instantly transformed into a project named “Unlock the Wifi”. Continue Reading →
How To: Download torrents on your Mac (and Windows) remotely from iPhone
I’ve been playing today with Transmission’s WebUI settings, trying to figure out it’s potential and in the meantime I found a very cool life-hack to download any torrent from anywhere in the world on my Mac. Continue Reading →
Foursquare Special Offers από Πλαίσιο και Public
Είμαι πολύ χαρούμενος που γράφω για το adoption του Foursquare από δύο μεγάλα “δικά μας” technology stores, των Public και Πλαίσιο. Και τα δύο brands λοιπόν, φαίνεται πως μπαίνουν στο κλίμα του hyperlocal marketing με geolocated προσφορές μέσω του Foursquare. Continue Reading →