Desktop Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Divvy up your windows

by Brett Terpstra (May 17th, 2010)

For those who deal with a lot of windows, especially on multiple screens, any utility that makes it easier to organize and reposition those windows quickly is a boon. I've used SizeUp for a while now, and have become very accustomed to being able to quickly snap my windows into halves or quarters of ...

Survey: Consumers are replacing other computers with iPad

by Mike Schramm (May 8th, 2010)

So, now that both versions of the iPad are out and available, it's probably time to ask the question: does a device like this replace another computer, or is it an entirely new category? Back during the announcement, Jobs was adamant that it was definitely a netbook replacement ("Netbooks aren't ...

Five reasons why I still like the iMac

by Steven Sande (Apr 19th, 2010)

I'm about to buy a new iMac to replace the 20" that's been gracing my desktop since the Intel iMacs first arrived on the scene back in 2006. It's still a pretty good machine, with a 2 GHz Intel Core Duo CPU and 2 GB of RAM, but it's been somewhat sluggish for me lately and I want to replace it with ...

Confirmed: "Not charging" iPad does recharge

by Erica Sadun (Apr 8th, 2010)

When TUAW reader Gregory P. wrote to us yesterday, claiming his "Not charging" iPad was, in fact, charging, I admit I was pretty skeptical. After all, the new iPads have been widely reported to be incompatible with USB hubs and lower-power USB ports. Gregory claimed to have charged up his new iPad ...

Twelve things to do with an old Apple computer

by Mark Bowytz (Apr 7th, 2010)

As I type this article on my MacBook Pro, I can't help but glance over at my poor PowerBook Lombard G3 with its awesome translucent bronze keyboard, sitting in its dusty laptop bag. The battery is long toast. When I last booted it up, the clock thought that the system time was close to 1970 thanks ...

First Look: iDisplay

by Erica Sadun (Apr 2nd, 2010)

iDisplay is one of those apps that you receive as a press release in your inbox and just when you're about to move on, it suddenly hits you exactly what that app does. And you go "Oh man! Yes!" In this case, iDisplay transforms your iPad or iPhone into a second monitor for your Mac. I haven't ...

Valve: Coming to the Mac is "biggest event in Steam's history"

by Mike Schramm (Mar 18th, 2010)

The good folks at Joystiq got to sit down and talk with John Cook, the director of Steam at Valve, and he says there's probably no comparison to the news about Steam coming to the Mac -- it is "the biggest event in Steam's history." He says that not only is it big news for the company and its ...

BumpTop offers a 3D desktop on your Mac

by Mike Schramm (Jan 20th, 2010)

I've never really gotten into the whole 3D file navigation thing (ever since "It's a Unix system! I know this!", it's seemed pretty corny), but BumpTop might be the exception I've been waiting for. It's a 3D overlay for your OS X desktop that turns files into 3D objects to move around, pin on the ...

Poll: What do you use your Mac mini for?

by Joachim Bean (Oct 23rd, 2009)

Here at TUAW, as you probably know, we really love the Mac mini. Some of us have a mini hooked up to our TV, some are used as servers, and some are used as great desktop computers (including mine). We wanted to ask you what exactly you use your Mac mini for, so we came up with this in-depth poll. ...

New Macs, something else tomorrow?

by Mike Schramm (Oct 19th, 2009)

Engadget is the latest to report a rumor that's been circulating for months: tomorrow may be the day that we finally see those new Macs we've been waiting on. John Gruber claims we're going to see new MacBooks and iMacs (which we'll rate as "expected"), updated Mac minis (wouldn't be a huge ...

BlackBerry alert! BlackBerry Desktop Software for Mac arrives

by Steven Sande (Oct 2nd, 2009)

A TUAW reader zapped us a note with his BlackBerry device to tell us that as of today, BlackBerry Desktop Software for Mac is available (we first noted it as "coming in September" back in July). It's a free download [link], and requires Mac OS X 10.5.5 or better, BlackBerry device software ...

Mac 101: Learn more about your files at a glance

by Robert Palmer (May 18th, 2009)

Welcome to another edition of Mac 101, TUAW's series for beginners. Today, we show you how to get more bang for your desktop real-estate buck with Finder icon labels. Have you ever wanted to know how large a picture on your Desktop was, but didn't want to open it (or even just hit ⌘I to get info)? ...

Corral your desktop windows with SizeUp

by Brett Terpstra (Apr 27th, 2009)

I want to make a quick mention regarding one of the most useful utilities I've found in recent days: SizeUp. It allows you to resize and reposition windows using keyboard shortcuts. It's no secret that I like my screen real estate, and making the most of it is a big deal to me. You can sit and ...

Nambu native Twitter client for Mac

by Mat Lu (Apr 16th, 2009)

In the most recent Ask TUAW, we addressed a question about Twitter (follow TUAW!), and asked readers for their favorite clients. Several users suggested Nambu, and having just put it through its paces, I can see why it's so popular. Nambu is a native Mac application designed for multiple social ...

Beta Beat: Grape, a new way to manage your Desktop clutter

by Brett Terpstra (Apr 14th, 2009)

Grape, just released as a beta, is a new take on desktop file management. I've seen several attempts at innovative user interfaces for file management in my day, some better than others, but this is the first one I've been really excited about. In the words of the author -- Stéphane at ...