Tips and tools on using a Mac

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# Philosophy on tools

I use what works for me, I adapt quickly, and I’d prefer not to pay for it.

Most of these tools are open-source. Advice is gratis 😉

As of 2020, I am running Linux. If I ever go back to Mac, I would use all of these again.

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# Remember your thoughts

You get a scratchpad stuck on the top toolbar. Perfect for quick notes and ideas.

Download the MenubarNotes app here.

Code is here. Made by my friend David Bui.

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# Move applications around

This makes me feel like a wizard. Custom shortcuts to resize and move windows.

First, download the Hammerspoon app here.

After you launch and start the program, press ⌘-O (Cmd-O) and copy-paste this config file.

All of the commands use a “mash” (Ctrl-Option-⌘) plus one letter:

• ⇧ (up arrow): resize to fullscreen
• ⇦ or ⇨ (left or right arrow): resize to halfscreen on left or right side
• ⇩ (down arrow): resize height to halfscreen
• I,J,K,L: move windows up, left, down, right
• R: reload the config
• W: “Hello World” pop-up

I recommend opening Hammerspoon, clicking on Preferences (light switch icon), and checking “Launch Hammerspoon at startup”.

You can write your own commands too! More about Hammerspoon here.

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# Command-line

Don’t know what this is? Try this tutorial or read about it on Wikipedia.

I use the default Terminal app and use the built-in shell. I get good mileage out of my shortcuts in ~/.bash_profile.

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# Text editors

Don’t know what this is? Try this brief article or read about it on Wikipedia.

For prototyping new ideas, I love Project Jupyter. I find interactive notebooks good environments to play and create. I’m also enjoying the new JupyterLab interface.

I like Visual Studio Code for text and smaller projects:

• There’s good support for Python, HTML/CSS, JavaScript and its frameworks.
• It’s pretty simple to use and had support for syntax highlighting and linting I liked.
• It’s more heavyweight than (gratis but not open-source) Sublime Text but much faster than Atom.

For Java projects, I’ve used Eclipse IDE but more recently IntelliJ Community Edition.

For bigger Python projects, I’m trying (and liking) PyCharm Community Edition.

For writing, I am starting to use (gratis but not open source) Typora. I love that I can write in Markdown, and immediately read the same words in generated Markdown.

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# Things change

I try to remove new features I don’t like:

• I change the scroll back to “unnatural”.
• No “Hot Corners” for me.
• I don’t like Spotlight (Cmd-Space) searches going online, so I disable online searching.
• I disable the Notification Center by turning on “Do not Disturb” from 12am to 11:59pm.

I try not to keep strong opinions. This list may evolve over time.

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You don’t save time if you are obligated to reallocate it.