Filed under: Mac 101
Mac 101: Enter directory paths when in open/save dialogs
Last week I told you about easily switching directories (folders) while in an open/save dialog. This was great when you knew where a folder was located in a specific place, and you could drag + drop it on the dialog. But what if you want to type in a directory path (i.e. ~/Desktop)?
While in an open/save dialog, pressing Command + Shift + G will allow you to type in a directory path. For instance, if I wanted to open my Documents directory for my user, I would type ~/Documents. The tilde (~) tells the computer to look in the current user's home directory.
Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 section.
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Have you ever been using Safari on your 
If saving YouTube videos as favorites and making your own playlists online with their services isn't enough to quench your thirst for their literal flood of content, TubeSock lets you take things one step further by allowing you to save the videos and even convert them for your iPod. It's a small utility that allows you to enter a YouTube URL or simply a video ID, and it can show you a preview of the movie and offer a couple of saving and export options including H.264, PSP, audio-only and even a plain Flash FLV file. TubeSock can also install a bookmarklet in Safari for speedier delivery, and it can even send exported videos straight into iTunes to complete the ultimate YouTube-to-iPod workflow. 
A while ago I decided to bring some sanity to the way I do things and organize all my stuff. I'm working on a design thesis in my multimedia undergrad degree, I'm constantly doing research for my blogging work, and I have countless other projects and ideas that were growing in both size and disorganization in my Home folder. When I decided to finally start getting organized, I realized I might not be the only person in this position, and I figured I would turn my research and testing experiences into a post; a sort of survey of what some call 'digital junk drawer' applications.
VideoDownloader is a slick Firefox extension that allows you to save content from websites, including embedded videos at sites like YouTube. The extension adds a small icon to Firefox's status bar that, when clicked, offers a pop-up window with a download link of the actual file you want. Simple and painless. The one catch I've run into so far: the files from some Flash-embedded sites like YouTube are .FLV, and while I have the latest Flash player installed, I can't seem to find it, and not even Safari will open these with a File > Open command. Other than that, this extension has worked great for grabbing all sorts of media so far.
You could also file this under "fantastic
Automator actions that Apple should've advertised when Tiger was being released."
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