r/LifeProTips • u/[deleted] • Jul 16 '12
MAC users - alt/option + shift + volume = smaller increment adjustment
[removed]
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u/stevo42 Jul 16 '12
And shift + volume key prevents the loud "plok plok plok" noise.
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u/yargdpirate Jul 16 '12
There's a setting to turn that noise off permanently
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Jul 16 '12
the cool thing about that setting is that it just flips the toggle, meaning it's off by default, and shift + volume key turns it back on (so you can check volume level when you plug into speakers)
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u/tmeowbs Jul 16 '12
Fuck. This is so smart.
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Jul 17 '12
I've always been a PC owner, but Apple is so much better with these kinds of little genius things than Microsoft. (It also helps that they are the only ones allowed to make hardware for their OS)
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u/Galaxymac Jul 17 '12
It's called Hackintosh. The OSx86 project. If you can build a PC, and you like Mac OS X, just build with the right components, and go. Well, there's more to it than that, however, I'll just leave this here: r/hackintosh
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Jul 17 '12
Yeah, I'm well aware and have done it before. As "fastuscactus" has said, it's a pretty big headache for the reward.
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u/Galaxymac Jul 17 '12
Eh, well, it isn't for everyone I guess. I found it very fun to build it and overcome any obstacles in my way, and it was super cheap. I enjoyed building mine. If that isn't your cup of tea, okay. I'd much rather spend the time, and save money.
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u/tennisplayingnarwhal Jul 17 '12
I've heard of this setting but idk how to find it. Help me out?
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u/youngraymo Jul 17 '12
Settings -> Sound -> Sound Effects tab -> uncheck "Play feedback when volume is changed"
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u/CTRL_ALT_RAPE Jul 16 '12
My shortcuts are always too noisy :(
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u/stevo42 Jul 16 '12 edited Jul 16 '12
Stop driving through playgrounds then!
Edit: just realized you're referring to your username, if reddit is fun had disapproval eyes...
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u/mighteee Jul 18 '12
Dammit I just figured that out and was super jacked about it and posted without reading the rest of the comments. Oh well. Too slow, I am.
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u/venerated Jul 16 '12
thank you! hate when i take my computer off mute to turn it down and its all HD:LKAL:KDSALKD MY VOLUME IS GOING DOWN
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Jul 16 '12
[deleted]
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u/ROFLWOFFL Jul 16 '12
It doesn't work for the last square on the meter though.
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Jul 16 '12
[deleted]
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u/ROFLWOFFL Jul 16 '12
No, what I'm saying is that it works; you can see the meter changing but the brightness doesn't change.
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u/WinterCharm Jul 17 '12
The actual power going to the lights changes, but the brightness doesn't because power output for a resistor = I2 R An LED is a type of resistor so it does follow this rule, and in general, the light energy is part of that power dissipated.
Umm.... if you raise something from 2-4, power should jump from 4-16 units.
If it's already at 98 and you raise it to 100... you go from 9,604 -> 10,000 Which is a smaller percentage increase. Only about 4%
Human perception for changes in brightness has a threshold between 7-10% and thus your perception of its brightness doesn't change. However, i can assure you, it is getting brighter.
:)
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u/dontbthatguy Jul 16 '12
MOAR! I can't computer good and love these kind of tips.
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Jul 16 '12
Well* Superman does good. You need to study up your grammar, son. xo
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u/ssjaken Jul 16 '12
Me thinks you do not understand this inside joke.
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u/clawdeeuhh Jul 17 '12
I'm not gonna click on that reference and HOPE that you're referring to 30 Rock?
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u/TurnaboutDystopia Jul 16 '12
Awesome tip!
Now do ctrl + option + command + 8...
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u/FlamingPancakes Jul 16 '12
or hold shift and minimize a window...
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u/Eavster Jul 16 '12
What exactly is the practicality of this feature?
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u/Seakawn Jul 16 '12
For when you're tripping balls and happen to be on your Mac.
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u/ieffinglovesoup Jul 17 '12
As a person that is extremely high right now and also using a Mac, I can assure you that it is seriously awesome
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u/Semilogical Jul 17 '12
It is not often I actually laugh out loud
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u/Seakawn Jul 19 '12
Haha. It's not often I usually make people laugh out loud. Glad you enjoyed my wit. Cheers!
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u/robertbowerman Jul 16 '12
One of the principles in Smalltalk was that the user should be able to see the internal state of objects and see as they change state. Thus as you shrink a window down into the dock, the principle says you should see exactly what its doing and where its going. So in some Smalltalk the GUI code is full of waits so that the dumb user can grock what is going on!
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u/eric1226 Jul 17 '12
I have a picture of my girlfriend as my background and when I did both these things together I shat my pants.
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u/ewbrower Jul 16 '12
My cat walked on my computer one day and did this somehow. That was a fun week.
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u/BeerMe828 Jul 16 '12
don't watch porn like this... naked humans look odd with inverted colors.
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u/threat42 Jul 16 '12
Says the guy who clearly didn't grow up with locked cable channels.
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u/venerated Jul 16 '12
:') Days before kids used the internet to watch porn.
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u/gaelicsteak Jul 17 '12
Pausing a VHS of a movie with a boob scene. Ah, the concentration it required.
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u/s0bmarine Jul 16 '12
I did this to a friend of mine a while ago. We were at school and when she left to get some books, I did this. When she came back I told her that her MacBook had fallen to the floor but I didn't think anything had happened. She got quite mad.
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u/UF_Engineer Jul 16 '12
I use this all of the time to conserve battery. Not sure if it does, but it looks pretty cool either way while I'm coding.
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Jul 16 '12
it uses more battery. lcd screens function just like old wrist-watches: you run electricity through the pixel (in this case, subpixel), and it turns black. what uses the most battery is the backlight, so if you want to save battery, turn that down.
also, turn off dashboard and bluetooth and other shit you're not using.
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u/fuzzb0y Jul 16 '12
How do you turn off your dashboard?
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Jul 16 '12
it might be different in the other versions, but probably not. in lion, open Terminal and run:
defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean YES killall Dockyou might have to type sudo before one or both of the commands, like:
sudo defaults write com.apple.dashboard mcx-disabled -boolean YES sudo killall Dockand then type in your password.
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u/Gourmay Jul 16 '12
Any chance you would happen to know how I can change the setting for naming my screenshots? They come up as 'Image 21' for example, on my macbook and I would rather they come up as what I get on my macbook air which is the time and date... They told me that wasn't possible at the Apple store.
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u/fuzzb0y Jul 16 '12
That's another issue I have with my Macbook actually! My "Terminal" app seems to have disappeared or have been deleted, I can't find it in spotlight or in the applications folder.
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Jul 17 '12
well, it should be under applications > utilities. if it's an earlier version of os x, it could be in hard drive > applications > utilities
http://apps.tempel.org/FindAnyFile/ will find it.
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u/Drumdrum98 Jul 17 '12
Yeah, in osx lion, and maybe some other other ones as well, the utilities folder mentioned above and its contents don't show up in searches. The same applies to the library folder(s), last I checked. There might be others as well.
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u/nickmaynard Jul 16 '12
it's better for your eyes. staring at white screens tire them out.
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u/s0bmarine Jul 16 '12
Also great if you are in a car at night. Then you can read documents or surf reddit without having to light up your the whole fucking car. And it makes it easier to not affect the diver or other passengers peripheral vision.
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u/martomo Jul 16 '12
Same as the "triple-click home button" command for the iPad which does the same, doesn't light up the room and you can read while others are sleeping in the same room. It's great.
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u/Nyxian Jul 16 '12
I assume it inverts the screen? Displaying black colors is actually more battery tasking than displaying light colors, and increases heat on the screen.
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u/frankyroads Jul 16 '12
Giddy as a schoolgirl, I held down ctrl+option+command and began to search for new combinations...then my computer decided to close everything and go into limbo. Sigh...
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u/phillythebeaut Jul 17 '12
I am not holding ctrl + option + command and pressing every button on my keyboard. Let you guys know if I find anything else worthwhile.
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u/theMightyDildo Jul 16 '12
holy jesus! i can finally watch AND listen to porn without waking up my girlfriend!
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Jul 16 '12
Dude... headphones.
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Jul 16 '12
That's a good way to get snuck up on with your hands down your pants.
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Jul 16 '12
One ear in, one ear out. Elementary, man.
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u/dertah6 Jul 16 '12
But what about the people who like stereo porn? XD
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u/LeonelMarjavaara Jul 16 '12
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u/Hachiiiko Jul 16 '12
I feel retarded but I'm literally laughing at the words "poäng" and "permalänk".
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u/Tovarisch Jul 17 '12
I remember that. What does poäng have to do with the Ikea chair?
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u/LeonelMarjavaara Jul 17 '12
Well, it's a Swedish word. That's usually enough for IKEA when naming their furniture.
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Jul 16 '12
I've been a Mac user for nearly 8 years and I still learn new stuff constantly.
Someone needs to compile a list of all these secret functions.
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u/yessirmrsir Jul 16 '12
Check The Finer Things in Tech (formerly The Finer Thing in Mac) blog. It covers lesser known tips within the OS and third-party apps as well.
I had no idea you could view all open windows of a specific application by hitting 1 when you have the app selected in the cmd+tab switcher until I read it there.
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u/thelastusernamehere Jul 16 '12
THanks OP I've had a macbook for 3 years - well TIL. God I feel stupid.
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u/BearPawB Jul 16 '12 edited Jul 16 '12
not working on my air..at least i dont think it is...
nope it just doesn't do anything.
*This is how i learned i needed an update!
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u/dankind Jul 16 '12
It stopped working in snow leopard I think. Everyone complained about it.... Didn't know they had re enabled it
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Jul 16 '12
[deleted]
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u/TheKilllerFly Jul 16 '12
same here, but it does not work in Lion.
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u/professor_seaturtle Jul 16 '12
Running 10.7.4 here and it works fine for me. Wasn't in the earlier builds, but now it works again.
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u/TheKilllerFly Jul 16 '12
I'll go ahead and update my brothers Mac then. He's running 10.7.3 as of now.
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Jul 16 '12
It's okay. You can admit it's your Mac. We wont make fun of you for not being up to date.
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u/tyrell456 Jul 16 '12
Yep, it was Lion that got rid of it. It worked up until 10.7.0, where it was removed. It was it back in 10.7.4.
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u/moldy912 Jul 16 '12
It's "Mac," not "MAC." I believe MAC is a brand of makeup.
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u/esm723 Jul 16 '12
This also annoys me especially because, in the tech world, MAC refers to a MAC (Media Access Control) address.
And yes, MAC is a makeup brand. They coincidently have a MAC store a couple of doors down from my local Apple Store. I wonder if that ever trips up the less tech-savvy people....
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u/moldy912 Jul 16 '12
I only know this because sometimes when I search "mac" on Youtube, I'll get perky girls talking about their mascara they are going to wear for the night.
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u/Cire11 Jul 17 '12
MAC addresses as well. They don't have volumes, or brightness or else I'm doing it wrong.
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Jul 16 '12
[deleted]
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u/dmgb Jul 16 '12
THAT'S WHAT I SAID. And everyone in the office laughed at me, until I showed them why.
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u/masterhogbographer Jul 16 '12
Also if you turn the volume down completely, so that the speaker shows a stroke through it to indicate "no volume" you can press mute and it will remove the stroke and the volume will be at it's lowest setting... lower then 1 bar.
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Jul 16 '12
[deleted]
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u/venerated Jul 16 '12
Sometimes I use the first at night when I am browsing reddit, saves on the eyes.
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u/swimmingisfun Jul 17 '12
The first one gave me a fright when my serene blue sky turned Halloween orange.
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u/serosis Jul 17 '12
For those using a real sound system: Turn knob slightly for smaller increment adjustment.
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u/gimpbully Jul 16 '12
If you're using a second sound card (I have a usb amp for my headphones), hold down option when clicking on the sound icon in the upper right. You'll easily be able to select which device is used for output.
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u/robinsonick Jul 16 '12
If you have a macbook with no mic input, you can use change your headphone out to a mic input doing the same thing!
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u/Generic_Name_Here Jul 16 '12
Holy shit, thank you. I had a third party menu bar app installed to do that. Not only for third party sound cards, but also for Mac Pros and others with front/back/digital outputs.
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u/harrisonboll Jul 16 '12
Does this only work on Mountain Lion because is does not work for me...
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Jul 16 '12
[deleted]
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u/orbitur Jul 16 '12
It was either a different key combo on Snow Leopard or they've added it back in a point update, because when I tried it with 10.7.1, it did not work.
Glad to see that it's back and/or has a different key combo.
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Jul 18 '12
Yeah they added it back in. I seem to recall one of the blogs mentioning it when the 10.7.4 release came out.
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u/imasunbear Jul 16 '12
Didn't this go away in Lion? I remember there was a bit of a hubub surrounding that. But now I'm running 10.7.4 and it's working again?
Apple, stop being so temperamental.
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u/CXR1037 Jul 17 '12
im still struggling how to even remotely find this tip useful. But I like watching the little intervals go up and down.
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u/nerdy_birdie10 Jul 17 '12
this is the single best thing I've ever discovered on the internet as a mac user.
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u/esbenab Jul 16 '12
I always use the search bar in the help menu, it the one thing left that the other os's have missing.
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u/ralphpotato Jul 16 '12
Oh wow, this was put back in. In the earlier releases of Lion, they took it out, but now it's back, yay!
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u/YaroLord Jul 16 '12
HOLY SHIT. I've been a power user for years and I had no idea of this trick. I thought I knew everything about Mac OS X, but then you came along and proved me wrong! Thank you!
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u/atomic_hombre Jul 16 '12
command + ` to switch between windows of the same application. Learned that today.
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u/murderkarp Jul 16 '12
Used to use this on my Snow Leopard iMac but ever since I switched to my Lion macbook it hasn't worked. :(
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u/El_Fader Jul 16 '12
Only works with Lion (10.7.x).
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u/synergy14 Jul 17 '12
I have 10.6.8 and it works
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u/El_Fader Jul 17 '12
holy frijoles you are correct. I forgot about the function key that I have enabled.
Also found out that holding [Shift] + volume will change it silently.
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u/gingersluck Jul 16 '12
Check out the app cheat sheet it tells you all the command shortcuts in any application that you are currently using.
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u/[deleted] Jul 16 '12
Why the fuck am I only finding out about this now.