Customize Icons in Mac OS X [QuickTip]

Sick of those stock icons in Mac OS X?  Here's a quick tip to re-badge and customize any drive or folder in OS X.  I have a few familiar custom icons that I use, and have gotten very used to.  My OS X experience just isn't complete without em! 

1. Highlight the icon or folder you want to use for your custom icon.
2. Type command-C or right-click and choose Copy.
3. Right-click on any hard drive or folder, and choose Get Info.
4. Navigate to the upper left corner, and highlight the icon.
5. Type command-V or choose Paste from the file menu. 

That's it!  There are a ton of great free open-source icons available at InterfaceLIFT.  Check them out!  Here's a snapshot of my finder's sidebar- easier on the eyes in my opinion than a lot of blue folders. 

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Improve Font Smoothing in Mac OS X [QuickTip]

This may be old news for some, but those new to Mac OS X will find it extremely useful. In Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, Apple removed the ability for the user to adjust font smoothing via System Preferences. For a flat panel monitor, some may prefer to view with the anti-aliasing turned up or down. This simple tweak can reduce eye strain, and improve the rendering of fonts on larger non-Apple branded monitors.

To adjust, open Applications/Utilities/Terminal and type the following:

defaults -currentHost write -g AppleFontSmoothing -int 2

Then reboot to see the changes. You can use any number between 1 and 4, which is the default. The value 2 is apparently best for flat panel screens. If this works well for you, let us know! Further information with comparison screenshots at macworld.com.

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Move Background Windows in Mac OS X [QuickTip]

One of the things I love about Mac OS X is that you can learn new features even after using it for years.  Here's a tip I picked up via the Mac Life Podcast recently.

If you've got a messy desktop, you can get to a window's content and still keep the focus on the top window.  Just hold down the Command key and move the window with your pointer- it will not overlap the top window.  Great for referring something in the background window and typing in another. 

For discussions on this and other topics, register today at tonymacx86.com!