In this week ’s Dashboard roundup , I shroud ways to take projection screen capture ; get help with geometry ; and listen to Internet NPR . I also pick a “ Why ” of the week .
Capture 0.7.9 (; destitute ) . When it do to take screenshots , my favorite utility is the commercial-grade Snapz Pro X , thanks to its advanced features and flexibility . But if your requirements are more modest , Vanilla Soap ’s Capture Widget is a nifty utility that provides approach to many hidden option of Mac OS X ’s built - in screen - capture feature . The first time you use it , click the “ Show Advanced Options ” text to set your options : screenshot filetype ( JPEG , TIFF , PNG , GIF , JPEG2000 , PICT , BMP , QuickTime , PSD , or PDF ) ; screenshot destination ( by default , the Desktop , but you may drag any folder onto the Widget to use that folder as the destination ) ; scale ( 10 % to 100 % ) ; and range quality ( Low to Best ) . you could even choose to have screenshots sent to the Clipboard rather of deliver to file .
Once you ’ve set your predilection , the Widget ’s clit are where the natural action is . First click the Full Screen , Window , or Selection button to indicate which eccentric of screenshot you require to take ; then click the Camera button to take the screenshot . Dashboard will disappear and the screenshot will be take . ( Of course , if you chose Window or Selection way , you ’ll have to employ the mouse to designate the appropriate window or screen selection , respectively . ) Alternatively , if you want to take a screenshot of Dashboard , the Hide / Show Dashboard button lets you do so — all of the Widget image in today ’s column were direct using Capture .
Unfortunately , in an exertion to keep the Capture Widget small — an effort I generally applaud — the text and icons can be difficult to show , peculiarly on blind with small pixels . I ’d like to see the developer increase the size of Capture slightly so as to make the text and icon more readable . Also , because Capture is found on OS X ’s own screen capture feature , it has the same limitations ; for exemplar , you ca n’t apply it to take screenshots of daddy - up or pull - down menus
TRIGger mini 1.1 (; free ) . When I first took geometry , determine the cosine of an angle meant think of formulas — or at least memory aid such as “ SOHCAHTOA ” or mnemonics such as “ Some Old Horse . ” But if you ’ve got a Mac running Tiger — and more and more pupil at all levels do — the TRIGger mini Widget is a handy tool . Simply drag the on - covert line to take form the appropriate slant ( from 0 to 359 degrees ) and the “ complete trilateral ” for that angle is displayed ; the Widget then tells you , to three decimal places , the value for sine , cosine , tangent , secant , cosecant , and cotan — each semblance - coordinated to its comparable line on the triangle . TRIGger mini is intuitive , attractive , and informative — what more could you take for in a study aid ?
RabbitRadio 0.6 (; free ) . Internet radio has become increasingly popular , as it lets citizenry listen to stations far out of range of their wireless , and America ’s NPR affiliate have been among the first to espouse this fresh technology . If you ’re a fan of NPR , RabbitRadio gives you instant access to 13 NPR affiliate across the country — KQED , WAMU , WGBH , WUOT , WBUR , WDET , WDUQ , KPCC , KRWG , WMUB , KEXP , KCRW and WHYY — right from Dashboard . Via the “ back ” of the Widget , you choose your favored station ; stations are grouped by neighborhood ( west , northeast , midwest , south ) for easier browse . You then control playback via the Widget ’s on / off and volume up / down clitoris . ( you’re able to also use the keyboard : The return key human action as on / off , while the + and – button control book . ) Best of all , the Widget does n’t take up much Dashboard space .
Unfortunately , those affiliates that stream their audio via a Shoutcast waiter often cut out after 10 to 15 moment of playback ; accord to the developer , this is in reality a bug in QuickTime 7 — on which the Widget depends — that will hopefully be set up by Apple in a future update to QuickTime .
Widget “ Why ? ” of the Week
Each week , I give a good - natured poke at a gubbins that makes me guess , “ Why was this necessary ? ” This week ’s “ why ” goes toMood Tracker . Quite just , Mood Tracker shows your mood via a “ smiley face . ” But it ’s not magic — you have totellit your humor , via the options on the back : Happy , Sad , Sick , Mad , Cold , Confused , or Tired . It then puts on the appropriate “ side ” for that mood .
What would make this a killer Widget ? The most obvious lineament would be the power to mechanically sense your moods — say , for example , by monitoring how severely you bang on your keyboard or slam your PowerBook ’s lid close . ( OK , so maybe this would only work for detecting ire , but it would be a new purpose of the Motion Sensor on new PowerBooks ! ) What would also be great is the ability to broadcast your modality to others on your local meshing — a form of “ Do n’t bother Steve right now ; he ’s Confused ” word of advice . Or what about iChat compatibility ? sure enough , your Buddies can betoken their Available or Away status , but what I need to have intercourse is if my Bos is trite , Sick , or Mad before I send him a message inquire for a raise . Once Mood Tracker tally this charming functionality , I ’ll be the first to use it .
