Mac

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How to jailbreak iOS 7 using evasi0n7 [Mac tutorial]

As we just told you, the evad3rs have released a new jailbreak tool called evasi0n7, and it allows you to easily jailbreak iOS 7. The good news is that the hack works with all flavors of iOS 7, which includes iOS 7.0.1, iOS 7.0.2, iOS 7.0.3, 7.0.4, 7.0.5, and 7.0.6. (no jailbreak for iOS 7.1 at this time).

As usual, the evad3rs have made the utility fairly easy to use. But also as usual, we know there will be folks out there looking for a bit of help using it. So we’ve created an easy-to-follow tutorial to show you how to jailbreak iOS 7 on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch...

How to record direct feed footage from iOS to a Mac or PC

Lots of people have asked me how I go about recording footage directly from the iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. The process is one that is simple and straightforward with the help of a couple of hardware and software tools.

From time to time I will record footage directly from an iOS device, while at other times, I like to record the screen using an external camera so that you can see my hands as I work with the device. Depending on the circumstances, I've been known to switch up my methods for doing so.

The bottom line is that there are times in which you should definitely go the direct feed route as opposed to recording the screen externally. As the saying goes, there are many ways to skin a cat, but the method that I've been using has been working quite well for me. Have a look inside as I spill the details on what makes a successful iOS device recording setup.

How to control your Nest thermostat from the menu bar

I wouldn’t call myself a Nest Learning Thermostat early adopter, but I did acquire one fairly early in the game, and I haven’t looked back. The Nest, as you’re likely well aware of, is the new-aged thermostat from iPod designer Tony Fadell. The Nest allows users to control the thermostat from anywhere in the world using a web browser, or by using an iOS app for the iPad or iPhone.

Mac users have sort of been left out in the cold; pun intended. Desktop users have basically been relegated to using the web browser in order to control the Nest, as there is no official Nest app available for OS X. The good news is that developer Joseph Workman has taken the initiative to wrap the Nest’s web interface into a handy utility called Climate, and it runs in the Mac’s menu bar. This makes it so that you can quickly access the Nest’s temperature controls and other features from anywhere on your Mac.

We’ve taken the initiative to create a video walkthrough in order to showcase to you how Climate works, and why it’s so beneficial to Mac users. Jump past the break to see all the details.

Shiori: my favorite Pinboard utility for the Mac

In episode 002 of Let’s Talk iOS we talked about Pinboard, and why it’s such a useful service for saving bookmarks. I won’t get too much into the specifics about Pinboard on this post, so I urge you to listen to that episode if you haven’t already. The episode does a good job of explaining the methodology behind Pinboard, pricing, etc.

What I do want to talk about is an awesome Pinboard utility called Shiori. A free download for OS X, Shiori is a Pinboard utility that allows you to quickly add new bookmarks to your Pinboard account and just as quickly search all of the contents of your account.

Shiori runs in the menu bar, and both its add and search functions can be accessed by a pair of useful keyboard shortcuts. Have a look inside as we go hands on with Shiori on video. If you’re at all interested in saving bookmarks for the longterm, then I’m positive you’ll find Shiori useful.

How to clear duplicates from Open With menu on Mac

I love my Mac but sometimes it does some strange things, such as showing me duplicate entries in the "Open With" contextual menu you get when you right click on a document. While I'm not sure why it happens, I hear it's due to the Launch Services database.

Of course, there probably is a valid explanation as to why and how it happens. Some people might even be able to convince me it's more of a feature rather than a bug, but the fact of the matter is that it drives me absolutely insane.

If like me, you are annoyed by this, I'll show you how to delete duplicates from the "Open With" menu on your Mac.

How to stop Google Chrome’s annoying keychain access request messages

Have you ever had Google Chrome on OS X present a pop up message that states: Google Chrome wants to use your confidential information stored in the...blah, blah, blah...in your keychain?

Even if you select Always Allow, Deny, or Allow, the message continues to pop up each time you visit specific sites. I tried disabling password syncing in Chrome's settings, clearing all saved passwords, etc., all to no avail. Basically, I got to the point where If I saw that message one more time, I was going to rip my hair out!

But I solved the issue, and it was actually easier, and more obvious than I expected. If you're having the same problem, which apparently many Chrome users on the Mac are, then take a look inside for the fix...

How to jailbreak iOS 6 using evasi0n [Mac tutorial]

As we just told you, the evad3rs have released their jailbreak tool called evasi0n, and it allows you to easily jailbreak iOS 6. As we always do, we’ve created an easy to use written and video walkthrough to show you how to jailbreak iOS 6 on your iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches.

The good news is that evasi0n works with all flavors of iOS 6. That includes iOS 6.0, iOS 6.0.1, iOS 6.0.2, and of course, iOS 6.1. The evad3rs have worked hard to create easy to use tools, which allow you to jailbreak iOS 6 using Mac OS X, Windows, and even Linux.

We have personally confirmed that this tutorial works on every iOS 6 compatible device outside of the Apple TV 2 and Apple TV 3. This includes the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4, iPad mini, iPod touch 4G, and iPod touch 5G. This first tutorial will show you how to jailbreak any of those devices using evasi0n on Mac OS X, and we will shortly follow up with Windows and Linux tutorials.

How to add a keyboard shortcut to any Mac app menu command

Don't you just hate it when one of your favorite Mac apps is missing an obvious keyboard shortcut for an often used menu command? I recently ran into that issue with Pixelmator.

I made the switch to Pixelmator, because it is one of the few decent image editing apps that features support for the MacBook Pro with Retina Display. Normally I'm a CS5 user, but since Adobe's suite lacks Retina support, I felt compelled to make the switch.

Although I don't find Pixelmator to be as intuitive as Photoshop, making the switch hasn't been all that bad. It's snappy, features a bevy of options, and best of all, it looks gorgeous on the Retina Display. If I had to pick a flaw, I'd say that one of the most glaring miscues is the lack of a dedicated keyboard shortcut for exporting your work. Fortunately that can be remedied with a quick trip to System Preferences...

How to create an OS X Mountain Lion USB installation drive

Creating a USB install drive is one of the simplest ways to ensure that a fresh clean installation of OS X Mountain Lion is only a few steps away. Gone are the clunky days of using CDs to reinstall an OS.

Inside, we'll show you how to setup your very own OS X Mountain Lion USB installation drive, using an easy to follow video walkthrough.