commands

While the OS X Terminal is not a familiar operating environment for most Mac users, those who have had experience with Unix-based systems will find it to be an invaluable tool for managing their systems. One of the most common uses of the Terminal is to establish a remote log-in session on a system using the secure shell (SSH) command, and sometimes invoke multiple connections to the same system and different systems at the same time.

As a result of this, you might find you have many windows open at once to manage these connections in, though starting with Snow … Read more

Ever-expanding drive capacities have reduced the frequency and intensity of search-and-destroy missions targeting duplicate files from "Jason Bourne" to "Austin Powers" levels, yet duplicate files still do your system no good. And, if you boot from a low-capacity SSD, your interest in targeting duplicates for retirement is just as strong as it was for the data warriors of old -- maybe stronger. Good thing WinSimple's Duplicate Commander Portable is ready to deploy. This free tool scours your system for duplicate files, which you can delete, copy, move, and manage.

The program opens with a basic, … Read more

While in OS X people often copy individual files or small groups of files between locations using the Finder, there are times when you might copy hundreds if not thousands of files at a time, especially for the purposes of backing up or migrating data from one drive to another. For the most part, the Finder's copying process is perfectly adequate for moving these files; unfortunately it does have some drawbacks that can hinder the copying process.

When the Finder copies files, it first catalogs all files to be copied and then treats the copy process as one all-or-nothing … Read more

The OS X Terminal is a commonly used utility for troubleshooting OS X, because it allows you to run custom commands and scripts for looking up information and adjusting system settings. While useful, the Terminal is intended primarily for power users who have an understanding of the UNIX underpinnings in OS X.

Often when running commands in the Terminal, various iterations of the command will be executed to try different settings or perform slightly different tasks, which in the Terminal can be frustrating as it can require you type out sometimes extensively long commands over and over again.

For instance, … Read more

One of the defining features of the Mac platform is the Command key, which originated from the Open Apple key on earlier Apple computer systems and joins the Shift, Control, Option, and Fn keys as modifier options for keyboard shortcuts in OS X.

The Command key is the primary modifier key for the Mac platform and is used to perform basic editing and application management commands such as quitting, printing, and copying and pasting, but in addition it can be used in combinations to force a hardware reset and to boot to special modes such as the OS X Lion … Read more

Duplicate files can take up a lot of valuable space on your hard drive, and they accumulate all too quickly when you frequently download, import, edit, and rename numerous files. Duplicate Commander is a simple utility that can help you identify and delete duplicate files. It has more features than some similar programs we've encountered, making it appropriate for both novices and more advanced users.

Duplicate Commander has a plain interface, and the first time the program is launched a pop-up instructs users to click the Search button to get started. We selected a folder that we wanted to … Read more

Ubuntu has announced a change to its version of Linux that ought to get hot-key junkies and voice-control enthusiasts alike to raise their heads with glee.

Ubuntu 12.04 will introduce in April a new Heads-Up Display for interacting with the operating system, wrote Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth. The HUD will allow you to "express your intent" with the operating system and the programs running on it, wrote Shuttleworth.

Currently, it's activated by hitting the Alt key, which opens a translucent box into which you can speak or type your commands. As you start to type the … Read more

Telematics. It's one of the hottest terms in the auto industry these days, and just about every carmaker is rushing to offer its own version of the connected car.

At CES today in Las Vegas, it was German automaker Mercedes-Benz's turn to paint its telematics picture, and it did so, unveiling its @yourCommand system.

As the company put it in a release, "The car becomes a mobile-communications center, then enables [the] driver and passengers to access all modern media and services at any time. Uncoupling from the conventional vehicle development cycles is achieved on the one hand … Read more

RunWithParameters runs any program using a parameter without requiring you to open a command prompt. It integrates with shell menus in Windows Explorer, and it includes many preloaded parameters for popular utilities and browsers. It's free and open source, too.

RunWithParameters' installation wizard lets users enter any file types they want to associate with the program by typing them into a text field separated by spaces. By default, the program handles EXE, BAT, CMD, COM, MSI, and SCR files. RunWithParameters can support custom file types, too. Once you've installed RunWithParameters, you access this simple tool by right-clicking a … Read more