Use a second keyboard to control Ableton Live
If you use Ableton Live on a Mac, but don't have the money for a MIDI controller for some functions, consider mapping a second keyboard in Caps Lock mode to additional functions -- even a fold-up keyboard will work! The Macs I've used have always allowed one keyboard to have Caps Lock on and the other to have it off, meaning one keyboard will still type lowercase and one will type in CAPS. Ableton Live allows you to map both capital letters and lowercase, so you can map your computer keyboard (or laptop keyboard) to some functions (like triggering loops, sounds, songs, or EQ functions), and map the second keyboard, with CAPS LOCK on, to other functions (more loops, sound effects, etc.)
published on Tuesday, the 26. August 2008, macosxhints
10.5: Use Caps Lock to send keystrokes via AppleScript
I finally had that eureka moment, on how to detect Caps Lock using Applescript, while trying to help out on this forum thread about auto-logging out from a Mac.The Applescript calls KeyboardViewerServer.app, and checks the value of the CAPS key via the Keyboard Viewer window. A return value of 1 means the Caps Lock key is down, and a return of 0 means it's up. The really strange -- but good -- thing is that even if the Keyboard Viewer window is not actually visible, the value still gets returned. (If it pops up the first time you run the script, just close its window). Here's a test script to demonstrate how it works:
published on Tuesday, the 12. February 2008, macosxhints
MacBook numeric keypad, Num Lock going the way of the dodo
David Pogue has pointed out that Apple is eliminating the numeric keypad functionality and Num Lock key on MacBooks, supposedly because the company wants to standardize its keyboards.Read More...
published on Wednesday, the 9. January 2008, ars-technica
Apple's new keyboard protects from OVERZEALOUS TYPISTS
Hit the caps lock key unintentionally all the time? The new Apple keyboard might have built-in guards just for you.Read More...
published on Friday, the 5. October 2007, ars-technica
Can Firefox Out-Surf Safari on the Mac?
Firefox offers a couple of features that are important to me, and are pretty much standard fare for modern Web browsers: Pop-up blocking and tabbed browsing. The overall interface, however, felt more and more clunky as the week went on. I'm a big fan of keyboard shortcuts because they let me keep my hands on my keyboard instead of pulling me away to my mouse/trackball/graphics tablet.
published on Monday, the 12. March 2007, macnewsworld
Archive any selected Mail message as a .emlx file
Want to file your emails outside of Apple Mail? Do you wish you had the same functionality as Entourage's 'drag and drop to a folder' in Apple's Mail? Are you in an office environment and need to save client emails to the server? Using a keyboard shortcut, this hint will export your Apple Mail message as a .emlx file (the best type -- as it appears in Mail, with all attachments enclosed), prompt you as to where you want it saved, and how you want the file named. Here's how to do it: Download and install MailActOn. Open Mail's Preferences and go to the Mail Act-On section. Enable Menu bezel automatically disappears, and set Fade after to one second (this is important, as it otherwise locked up on me). Open Script Editor and copy and paste this script. Save it somewhere where you can find it. ...
published on Tuesday, the 28. November 2006, macosxhints
10.4: Remapping keys in Mac OS X 10.4
The Mac OS X 10.4 Keyboard & Mouse preference pane provides a way to remap certain keys. However, the interface doesn?t expose the full functionality -? a common problem with Apple software. Note that this guide assumes you?using the bash shell. Read on to learn... What keys can be remapped without the use of any third?party software? How do I remap those keys? How do I remap the Caps Lock key to the Escape key? What keys can be remapped without the use of any third?party software? (The following list shows the key name on the left, and that key's value on the right.) None ? ?1 Caps Lock ? 0 Shift (Left) ? 1 Control (Left) ? 2 Option (Left) ? 3 Command (Left) ? 4 Keypad 0 ? 5 Help ? 6 Shift (Rig...
published on Tuesday, the 29. August 2006, macosxhints
New Apple Bootcamp Released
eebra82 writes "Apple just updated their Bootcamp website with the release of Bootcamp 1.1 beta. It adds extended hardware support, including the ability to install XP on any internal disk, built-in iSight camera support, built-in microphone, right clicks with Apple key, more keyboard buttons such as Delete, NumLock, PrintScreen and ScrollLock. Numerous annoyances are no more thanks to motherboard updates, too. This release is 200 MB or so over the previous 90 MB install, which is due to heavier driver support such as included Nvidia video drivers."
published on Wednesday, the 16. August 2006, apple-slashdot