Thirdpersonmatt

Here’s an interesting article from LifeHacker that talks about obscure functions of your Mac (OS X Leopard). These are things that you forgot that you can do with your Mac.

From saying phrases out loud, launching an application via Spotlight all the way to doubling as an external drive. These are just some things that your Mac can do but it may have skipped your mind or you didn’t know it could do.

Most of these are simple things that may or may not impact your Mac life greatly. Still, they’re fun to know and it will show how much of a Mac geek you are.

My favorite among the 10, believe it or not is the text to speech. There’s just tons of phrases that you can try to make your Mac speak. The great thing is that the speech feature of OS X Leopard is quite good that it’s almost like a live person talking.

The most useful though is the “looking up in the dictionary” function. Now I have little excuse not to learn those big words.

So check out the article here. Post some comments below for some things about Mac functions you’d like to share.

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Our fellow gadget bloggers over at Crave are extremely sceptical about the merits of the TextCu.be, and I admit the self-consciously wacky spelling turns me off: we get it manufacturers, you’re so modern and funky. Now can we go back to proper spellings?

But I still think this little keyring with social networking capabilities (the little keyring that could, if you will…) has promise. For starters, it could appeal to anyone who is banned from using social networking sites at work (just don’t tell them I told you that!). The ability to send Twitter messages and communicate via Facebook could prove cheaper and more convenient than text messaging (although I haven’t checked out how the pricing system for Internet access works, so don’t quote me on that).

Finally, as it’s customizable, the Textcu.be sounds like the ideal gift for an online networking-obsessed teen. (You might even get them to come to a family dinner if they feel confident they can leave their computer for a couple for hours without missing anything!)

At $100, it’s a lot to pay for a gimmick, but I’ll be very interested to see what version 2 can do.

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You’ve heard the expression “More fun than a barrel of monkeys? ” I know, I never understood it either, but how about “Party with your Parrot?”

Now this makes sense since it’s a mobile soundbox that you can take anywhere. And it’s Bluetooth so it works with any Bluetooth stereo (A2DP) source: Bluetooth A2DP mobile phone, Bluetooth-enabled PC computers, or Bluetooth MP3 players. Just send your playlist - it automatically detects the music source whether its Bluetooth or line-in (let’s say you have one of those ancient analogue music devices such as a CD player.)

Light and compact - only 21 ounces - the Parrot PARTY is only 9 inches long but packs a punch, thanks to the Class-D amplifier and two wide-band speakers whose response curve was reconfigured especially for the Parrot PARTY.

Equipped with a built-in rechargeable battery, it gives you more than 4 hours of uninterrupted music wherever you use it – at home or out at a party, the beach, work, . . . So party down with your Parrot. $139 at Parrot.

Don’t miss your chance to win a Parrot PARTY in today’s Popgadget Drop email. Not a subscriber yet? just SIGN UP now.

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Eating only half an apple is easy, but eating half a banana isn’t. Well let me rephrase the statement. Preserving a left-over apple is easy, but preserving a left-over banana isn’t.

Which is why the NANA Saver Banana Holder seems like a good idea. The plastic banana holder can be clipped to the exposed end of a sliced banana to minimize air contact. So that the slice remains fresh for a longer duration – just don’t ask how long as it is not mentioned on the site. What the heck, it is definitely innovation at $2.98.

Via Random Good Stuff.

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Unless every single song on your MP3 player is something you’d be happy to hear when you’re working out at the gym (good luck on staying “in the zone” when a sappy Michael Bolton ballad follows a round of rock tunes), your low-capacity gym companion needs a built-in screen.

That, of course, rules out both generations of the iPod shuffle. Consider instead the Creative MuVo T200, which so happens to have just received a flash memory upgrade. Previously offered with only 2GB of internal storage, the lightweight player that features a built-in USB plug, FM radio, 65K-color 128 x 32 display, voice recorder, and 9-hour battery life is now available with double the gigabytes.

Creative Japan has priced the 4GB MuVo T200 at 6980 yen (about $67), so you can probably expect to pay a similar amount in the US. The new capacity is already up on the Creative USA site, where the 2GB version can be had for $50, so it’s only a matter of time before that drop-down menu lists the 4GB as well.

Via SlashGear.

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