Change OS X cursor size
~MacOSXHints
The Accessibility pane of System Preferences holds a number of interesting adjustments you can set to make your Mac easier to use. One of them is the ability to change the size of the cursor; the pointer you see on your screen.
Go to System Preferences > Accessibility, then click on Display. Drag the Cursor Size slider from Normal (smallest) toward Large. Find the size you want to use, and close the preference pane.
I have a 27” Thunderbolt Display, and I find the normal-sized cursor a bit small, so I’ve set mine to be a bit larger. You may find this to be a useful tweak as well.
Note that some applications may not use the changed setting.
Browse the Web in full- screen mode
~MacWorld
New in iOS6 is an option to browse the Web in full-screen mode — at least when you are using your iPhone in landscape orientation. Doing so frees up the pixels that are otherwise occupied by Safari’s location bar and tab bar.
Just rotate your phone to the landscape mode, and then press the full-screen double-arrows at the bottom, right corner.
Prepare iOS device to give or sell
~MacOSXHints
I’m giving one of my iPads to someone soon, and a recent TechHive article pointed out the easiest way to prepare an iOS device to give or sell to someone.
Go to General > Reset, then tap on Erase All Content and Settings. If you have a passcode set, you’ll need to enter the passcode to continue. An Erase iPad dialog will inform you that this will erase all media and data, and reset all settings; tap on Erase.
Another dialog will ask if you’re really sure you want to do this. Again, tap on Erase. The screen will go black with an Apple logo and a progress bar, then you’ll see the iOS device’s name (iPad, iPhone, iPod touch) and a slider. Slide the slider to begin setting up the iOS device as a new device.
The TechHive article also noted that you can use this process to wipe and restore an iOS device; at one point in the setup process, you’ll see a choice to set up the device as a new one, or to restore from an iCloud or iTunes backup.
When the process has completed, you’ll have an iOS device with the stock apps and settings.
Mobile Safari – access recent browsing
~MacWorld
In Mobile Safari, tap and hold the Back button to see a list of your recently visited pages. On the iPad, tap and hold the browser’s New Tab Plus (+) button to peruse a list of recently closed tabs.
Cancel a Mac Store app update while it’s downloading
~MacOSXHints
In the Updates section of the Mac App Store, if the user chooses to update an app or apps, the interface offers the ability to pause the download of the update, but seemingly not to cancel it. Canceling the download is pos- sible by holding down the option key. The “Pause” buttons change to “Cancel” buttons.
Quickly send Safari links
~MacWorld
Q. Before I upgraded to Mountain Lion, I was able to look at a webpage in Safari and choose “File — Mail Link to this Page” to create a new email message that had the link to that page embedded in it. That feature is gone in the latest version of Safari. How do I bring it back?
A. the command is still available (as is its command+I shortcut). Just choose File — Share, hold down the <Shift> key, and then select Email Link to this Page. Mail will open and create a new email message, planting a link to that page in the body of the message.
Log Out Quickly
~MacWorld
Pressing Option when you use the Apple menu changes the Log Out command. It loses the ellipsis that signifies an impending dialog box, which means you can skip the Are You Sure You Want To Quit… dialog box. You’ll still get to save any changed documents before the logout proceeds.
Relaunch the Finder
~MacWorld
When you have trouble in the Finder— it freezes, or windows go wonky when you change views—relaunching it is an almost sure-fire cure. Access the Relaunch command by pressing Option and then clicking the Finder icon in the Dock for its menu. (Unlike other Option-key Dock menu changes, this one requires that you press Option before you open the menu.)