Category: Apple

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Adding iTunes Next Track Keyboard Shortcut for Logitech Easy-Switch Bluetooth Keyboard

The new Logitech Easy-Switch Keyboard for the Mac is an awesome keyboard.  It has a big advantage of 3 keys that quickly connect to 3 different Mac or iOS devices.  You can put your Mac on button 1, iPad on button 2 and iPhone on button 3.  Just one press and you’re ready to type on the device.  Unfortunately, to have these 3 buttons, the iTunes next track and previous track buttons aren’t there like on Apple keyboards.  I use those all the time and its just not the same having to take your hands off the keyboard and mouse over to iTunes to click next.  Fortunately, the Mac has the ability to define new keyboard shortcuts.

Step 1 – Create a new Service for iTunes Next Track via automator

Launch the Automator app and create a new Service.  In that service, Run AppleScript and select no input for what the service receives.  The AppleScript tells iTunes to go to the next track.  Save the service as iTunes Next Track.  You can create a new service and do the same for iTunes Previous Track.  It is exactly the same process except change the AppleScript “next track” to “previous track”.

Step 2 – Define the Keyboard Shortcut

Your new Services should appear under Keyboard Shortcuts in System Preferences.  They are at the bottom of the Services list.  Here you can select the shortcut and then enter the keyboard shortcut you want to use.  In my case, I chose to use “option command =” because the = key also has a + on it so + to go next track and – to go previous track.  You must choose this shortcut wisely or it may not work.  If an app that has focus has the same shortcut, it will overrule this one so you need to choose something that doesn’t seem present in the apps you are using.  That’s part of why I had to use “option command” because just one of those with = is already in use in some programs I use.

Fortunately, the play/pause and volume buttons are still there so those don’t need to be re-created on the Logitech Easy-Switch Keyboard.  Even though I now have to hit 3 keys at once instead of just the next button, the Logitech Easy-Switch Keyboard is the best wireless keyboard for the Mac.

 

 

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WiFi Scanner for Mac

There’s a decent WiFi scanning tool built into Mac OS X Mountain Lion. This can be helpful when trying to diagnose interference issues based on channels and signal strength. It’s a bit tricky to find. Go to your hard drive, then the following folders:
System – Library – CoreServices

Then click on the app “WiFi Diagnostics”. Then a window pops up to help you create a diagnostic report. I ignore that and just click on the top menu:
View – WiFi Scan

Then you’ll see this handy program:

Wi-Fi Scanner Mountain Lion

If you use this program a lot, you can drag it to the desktop or your Applications or Utilities folder.

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Windows RT Preview

The Verge has a preview of the final version of Windows RT which will run on the ARM-based tablets that will be priced to compete with the iPad.

Microsoft is betting big on this, but you can still see the rough edges.  Small touch targets and traditional mouse-optimized apps on a touch tablet are terrible when everyone is familiar with the easy-to-use iPad.  Microsoft is trying to have it both ways, leveraging existing apps while building new apps at the same time.  But if users need to spend any time in desktop mode, they’ll be disappointed. And it’s not powerful enough to please traditional desktop users. Hopefully this is just a short-term transition phase which will be remedied soon by lots of native touch-optimized apps.