If you have been able to get your hands on a copy of the first developer preview of OS X Mountain Lion (legally, of course), you can follow this tutorial to setup a dual-boot of OS X Lion and OS X Mountain Lion on your Mac computer. Keep in mind that Mountain Lion is considered "beta" (or as Apple likes to call it, "developer preview") software, so it shouldn't be installed over a primary machine. A dual-boot scenario, however, would allow you to keep OS X Lion (the stable version) and OS X Mountain Lion (the buggy version) side-by-side.

Step 1: Enter Disk Utility. It's located in Applications>Utilities or you can do a Spotlight search for it.

Step 2: On the left-hand sidebar, select your internal hard drive. Don't click "Macintosh HD" - click on the top hierarchy (it should contain the manufacturer of the hard drive). See the screenshot below for more information.

Step 3: On the "Partition" tab, click the "+" symbol to add a new partition and give it a size in GB. Any number above 20 GB should be good enough here, just keep in mind the more you plan on using OS X Mountain Lion and holding data on its partition, the more space will be required. In addition, double-check that "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)" is selected in the drop-down box. As for the name of the partition, call it something that you'll remember (we recommend "OS X Mountain Lion").

Step 4: Once you're done, click "Apply" and allow the changes to be made. This process may take a while since you're partitioning the hard drive, so be patient. At times, your Mac may also appear unresponsive ("spinning rainbow"). All of this is completely normal.

Step 5: Once your partitioning is completed, go ahead and open up the OS X Mountain Lion installer. Once prompted, be sure to check the "OS X Mountain Lion" partition that we created earlier as the install destination. If you select anything else, you risk installing Mountain Lion over your current partition.

Step 6: Let the installer do its thing, and once everything is all set and done, you should be booted into OS X Mountain Lion.

Notes

• Your OS X Mountain Lion installation will automatically become the default startup disk. This means that, every time you boot up your Mac, OS X Mountain Lion will be the OS it loads. To change this, enter System Preferences (located in Applications)>Startup Disk and choose the partition that has your OS X Lion install (likely going to be called "Macintosh HD")
• This tutorial will also work if you have a previous version of OS X installed, such as Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Just keep in mind that your Mac may not support OS X Mountain Lion at all, so be sure to check the compatibility list before spending your time on this
• To switch between OS X Lion and OS X Mountain Lion, restart your Mac and after hearing the startup tone, hold down the "Option" key. Once a menu pops up on the screen, navigate using the left and right arrow keys

Keyboards are great when you think about it (hear me out for a second) - they let you type nearly anything, but they can also be used for things that you'd normally not think keyboards could be used for; a primary example is navigation on a webpage.

Let's paint a picture to better describe the situation - you're on a blog and you've clicked on a post that you want to read. But, you want to be able to go to the next post (and back), both quickly and efficiently. On a majority of blogs, you'd have to go back to the homepage and select the next article (or maybe there are "next" and "previous" links handy for you). However, this process could be simplified using the keyboard.

We're going to show you how to integrate keyboard navigation on a WordPress-based website using only a few lines of JavaScript.

First, copy the code below into a text editor:

<script type="text/javascript"> $(document).keydown(function(e) { var url = false; if (e.which == 37) { // Left arrow key code url = $('.prev').attr('href'); } else if (e.which == 39) { // Right arrow key code url = $('.next').attr('href'); } if (url) { window.location = url; } });</script>

Let's examine this code briefly - each "if" case that you see above is for a different button on the keyboard that we'd like to use. The numbers after the "==" in each if statement are the key codes for the specific keys on the keyboard (for example, the left arrow key is 37, while the right arrow key is 39). A link is available in the Resources section of this tutorial that displays all of the key codes that you may need. Moving on, the "url = $('.prev').attr('href');" portion looks for a CSS class on a <a href=""></a> on the same page, which houses the next and previous post links. For example, the class in this case is called "prev" and "next."

Modify the code above to suit your needs, but if you're going to be using this for navigation between next and previous posts, we recommend keeping the same code. Continue adding "else if" blocks to the code for more keys.

Once you have your code finalized, open an FTP client and navigate to your current theme's folder (usually located in /wp-content/themes/CURRENT THEME NAME). Find the header.php file, open it in a text editor, and paste in the JavaScript code right before the </head>. Save the header.php.

Next, find the single.php file in the same folder and open it in a text editor as well. Copy and paste the following code before the <?php get_footer();?> line.

<ul style="display:none">    <li class="prev">        <?php previous_post_link('%link', 'Previous'); ?>    </li>    <li class="next">        <?php next_post_link('%link', 'Next'); ?>    </li></ul>

Save the single.php file and close the text editor.

Once you do this, go to your website and click on a post to enter the single post page. From there, try hitting the left and right arrow keys and you should notice that you can now navigate through articles via your keyboard!

If you have any questions or run into any issues, please leave a comment below and we'll look into it.

Resources

• Key codes

Earlier this week, Google unveiled a new version of its navigation bar, which removes the old black bar that runs across the top of the screen for a new interface that appears when rolling over the Google logo. The company did give plenty of details on the new "Google Bar," but has remained silent on when the update will be rolling out to the masses. 

Thankfully, as a result of some investigate work, you can begin to use the new Google Bar now (and show it off to your friends and family). Follow these steps:

NOTE: If for some reason you clear your browser cookies, these actions will become erased. You will have to perform this tutorial again to begin using the new Google Bar.

Step 1: Go to http://google.com in either Firefox or Google Chrome. 

Step 2: Once Google is loaded, press one of the following key combinations that is specific to you:

• Windows (Google Chrome) - Control+Shift+J
• Mac OS X (Google Chrome) - Command+Alt+J
• Windows (Firefox) - Control+Shift+K
• Mac OS X (Firefox) - Command+Shift+K

Step 3: Once the Console loads, type in or copy+paste the following line of code and hit Enter:

document.cookie="PREF=ID=03fd476a699d6487:U=88e8716486ff1e5d:FF=0:LD=en:CR=2:TM=1322688084:LM=1322688085:S=McEsyvcXKMiVfGds";

NOTE: If for some reason the above code appears in more than one line, after you copy it into the Console, be sure to delete any line breaks to have the code on a single line only. 

Step 4: Re-load Google and you should notice the new Google Bar!

Are you a fan of it? Let us know in the comments below!

While everyone will eventually ge the new YouTube layout, there is a way to begin using it now if you are using Firefox or Google Chrome as your web browser. Follow these steps:

NOTE: If for some reason you clear your browser cookies, these actions will become erased. You will have to perform this tutorial again to begin using the new YouTube interface.

Step 1: Go to http://youtube.com in either Firefox or Google Chrome. 

Step 2: Once YouTube is loaded, press one of the following key combinations that is specific to you:

• Windows (Google Chrome) - Control+Shift+J
• Mac OS X (Google Chrome) - Command+Alt+J
• Windows (Firefox) - Control+Shift+K
• Mac OS X (Firefox) - Command+Shift+K

Step 3: Once the Console loads, type in or copy+paste the following line of code and hit Enter:

document.cookie="VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE=ST1Ti53r4fU";

Step 4: Re-load YouTube's website and you should notice a new user interface!

Do you like the redesign? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!

Many have expected that Apple would directly integrate something similar into Mac OS X, but that has yet to happen - or has it? Mac OS X Hints has discovered a "secret" (not so secret anymore) Terminal "hack" that allows users to get a pop-up notification of the "Now Playing" song in iTunes. The notification appears above the iTunes icon in the Dock when enabled. 

At this time, it's unknown whether Apple is testing a notification system in OS X and is beginning with iTunes, or if this is the remnants of a system that was being worked on. 

Nonetheless, follow these steps if you'd like to enable a "Now Playing" notification for iTunes on Mac OS X:

NOTE: Please keep in mind that this tweak only works on Mac OS X 10.7 or later (a.k.a. "Lion")

NOTE: Please quit iTunes before beginning this tweak

Step 1: Launch Terminal - it can be found in Applications>Utilities>Terminal

Step 2: Copy and paste in the following code EXACTLY as it appears below:

defaults write com.apple.dock itunes-notifications -bool TRUE;killall Dock

Step 3: After this, open iTunes and beginning playing a track. You should notice a notification pop-up and then disappear after a few seconds. If you notice that there is no iTunes icon on the notification, enter Terminal once again and copy and paste the following EXACTLY as it appears:

defaults write com.apple.dock notification-always-show-image -bool TRUE;killall Dock

That's it! You should now have a working iTunes "Now Playing" notification directly from Mac OS X!

SBSettings is a well-known jailbreak tweak that allows users to swipe across the top of any screen on an iOS device and see a series of toggle switches that allow you to perform certain tasks, such as the aforementioned ones. However, many iOS users do not like the idea of jailbreaking, whether it be for one reason or another. 

Luckily, a tool was recently released that allows users to place icons on their homescreen that, when tapped, will bring them directly to that specific preference section in Settings. The setup is simple:

Step 1: Go to the following webpage on your iOS device: http://iphoneza.co.za/IconSettings/ and scroll down until you see the header "Single Icons (new .mobileconfig method. Use if you only want to install a few icons):" 

Step 2: Find the specific preference pane that you would like to open from the homescreen. A good example would be Brightness, since users tend to change that a lot. 

Step 3: Click on the Brightness link. The Settings app will launch and you should see a screen similar to below:

Step 4: Click the "Install" button, type in your passcode if you have one, and allow the tool to install. 

Step 5: Once the install is complete, click the home button to exit Settings and there should now be an icon on your homescreen that says "Brightness."

Step 6: Simply click the "Brightness" icon on the homescreen and you will be brought to the Brightness preferences in Settings. 

Repeat these steps for any other Settings panes that you would like to use. 

Here's how to enable Panorama View in iOS's Camera app:

NOTE: Your iOS device does NOT need to be jailbroken for this to work. You must be running iOS 5 for this to work, however. Any iOS 5 device that includes a camera can have this feature enabled.

Step 1: Download iBackupBot from this website. You do NOT have to purchase the software - simply download the free trial version. Be sure to download it for your respective operating system!

Step 2: Open iTunes and plug in your iOS device to your computer. Select your device in the left sidebar of iTunes. Under the "Backup" section, make sure that you have "Backup to this computer" selected (not "Backup to iCloud"). If you had to change this option, sync your device to iTunes. If you did not have to change this option, sync your device to iTunes.

Step 3: Once the sync is completed, open iBackupBot and select the latest backup you've created in the sidebar on the left. It will take a few seconds for the folder to extract - be patient. Once the folder is extracted, you should notice a long list of files on the right.

Step 4: Find the file titled: "Library/Preferences/com.apple.mobileslideshow.plist" and double-click it. If you downloaded the trial version of iBackupBot, simply click "Cancel" on the box that will likely pop up.

Step 5: You should now notice an editor window appear. Find the text that reads:

<key>DiskSpaceWasLow</key>

</false>

Underneath that, type in the following EXACTLY as it appears below:

<key>EnableFirebreak</key>

<string>YES</string>

Step 6: Next, click the save icon in the top left hand corner of the editor window. Then, click the red power button icon to close the window.

Step 7: Click on the icon in the toolbar that is circled in red below. Choose "Yes" in order to restore from a backup.

NOTE: This "restore" is not the same as a restore in iTunes. It will be much quicker and no information will be lost.

Step 8: After confirming that you would like to restore from a backup, wait until the device restores and restarts.

That's it! Enter the Camera app and click the "Options" button. You should notice a new Panorama button that you can click and begin using.

iOS 5 has been out for a couple of weeks now and while it does have bugs, the most major one is definitely battery life. Users, specifically who have the iPhone 4S (but also the iPhone 4), have been claiming significantly reduced battery life and having the phone drain quite an amount of battery when in standby.

While nobody knows the root cause of the issue, there are certainly many things you can try to improve battery life on iOS 5 and the iPhone 4S/iPhone 4. Please keep in mind that not all of these solutions will work for everyone, so we recommend trying each one individually and looking for improvement.

Solution 1: Turn off sending diagnostic and usage data to Apple

The first possible solution that could solve your battery problems is turning off your device sending diagnostic and usage information to Apple. To do this, enter Settings>General>About>Diagnostics and Usage and clicking "Don't Send." Turning this off will have no impact on the features available on your device - it only stops Apple from receiving crash, performance, etc. reports.

Alongside this, we recommend turning off the location service for sending in diagnostic information. To do this, enter Settings>Location Services>System Services and turn off "Diagnostics and Usage."

Solution 2: Turn off unneeded location services, especially time zones

Another thing that may help you solve battery woes is to disable all or some of the location services on your device. To do this, enter Settings>Location Services. From there, you may want to disable any apps that are currently able to use your location for information. If you'd like to disable all Location Services, simply flip the switch at the top.

If you'd like to get more precise, go down to the bottom and select "System Services." From there, you can disable specific system-level services that are able to use your location for information. We recommend turning off "Diagnostics and Usage," "Location-based iAds," and "Setting Time Zone."

Solution 3: Turn off apps that are able to send notifications

Another source of battery drain, especially when your device is in standby, is apps that send notifications. These include Messages, Mail, Phone, etc. While you obviously would want to keep those on, games and other apps should be disabled from sending you notifications to improve performance and battery life.

To do this, enter Settings>Notifications and select which apps are able to send you notifications or not.

Solution 4: Disabling some or all of iCloud's services

A new feature in iOS 5 is iCloud, which keeps contacts, calendars, email, photos, etc. in sync between devices. While it is a very cool feature to have and use, it also takes up a good amount of battery life (for obvious reasons - constant checking and pushing of information).

To disable some or all of iCloud's services, enter Settings>iCloud. From there, you can turn off some services or all services. We recommend keeping backups on, as well as Find My iPhone (if you use it).

Solution 5: Disabling the obvious - Wi-Fi, Cellular Data, Bluetooth, etc.

This one has been a solution since the beginning. If you're not using services such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, we recommend turning them off. All of these things can be turned off in the Settings.

If you have any other possible solutions to poor battery life on iOS 5, leave us a comment below!

Earlier this week I showed off my iPhone with data only and the benefits of the device. Now I am here to show you how it actually works in a step by step tutorial for those who have been asking. 

Needs: You'll need an AT&T microSIM card, if you need a new account then you'll need an unactivated SIM. You may also use an existing active SIM. An iPad 3G is needed to activate an unactivated card. If you don't have an iPad you can buy an iPad 3G and return it without the SIM or use a display iPad in certain stores. You will also need an iPhone with 3G capabilities. 

1. Activate the SIM card in the iPad by setting it up in the Settings application. (Skip this step if you have an already activated SIM).

2. On your iPhone while connected to Wi-Fi go to unlockit.co.nz. On the web app tap continue, custom APN and choose your country and carrier. Then you tap create profile. This installs the APN on the iPhone, you may need to enter your passcode if you have one. After the APN is installed turn on Wi-Fi so you can correctly test the network connection after the next step. 

3. Remove the SIM from the iPad 3G and put it in the iPhone. Wait for the iPhone to find the network, which can take up to many minutes. 

4. Test, while making sure Wi-Fi is off open Safari and try to load a webpage. If it loads then you have correctly done the process and can use your iPhone with data only. If you can't load a webpage make sure you have done all the steps correctly and 3G service is available in your area.

That's all you need to do in a very small number of easy steps. If you are having problems ask in the comments below or contact me on Twitter. We must warn that this most likely breaks AT&T's terms and conditions you agreed to when activating a SIM card. 

Siri can send text messages to people just by listening to you so it is possible to tweet, you just have it send a text message to Twitter's short code. 

1.  Qualifications: A Twitter account associated with your mobile phone number, an iPhone 4S and internet connection.

2.  Activate Siri on the iPhone 4S by holding down the Home button. Say "text [your message]."
For example, here I said: "Text this tweet was sent from Siri period."

3.  Siri will now ask you who to send the message to. Say the Twitter short code for your country/carrier. In the U.S. it is 40404. Say "40404."

4.  After address Siri to send the message to Twitter she'll ask your to confirm. You can tap the buttons on the screen or say "send" or "cancel." You may even say "edit" if you want to edit the message. 

This may not be the fastest method for sending regular text messages through Siri, but I believe it is the only way to send SMS updates to Twitter. You may find yourself attempting to say "text Twitter this tweet was send from Siri period" but you'll receive a message that Siri cannot help with Twitter. In addition, when Siri asks to whom to send the message if you say Twitter, even if it is in your contacts, it'll just keep asking. 

After all, Twitter is integrated into iOS 5, here's to hoping Apple adds the functionality to officially tweet from Siri. 

The below tutorial is based on the assumption that you would be running Windows 7 on your systems but this would not change much if you are running XP.

Step 1: ITunes saves the database and library details under C:\Users\[user name]\Music\iTunes. So in your System 1 go to C:\Users\[user name]\Music\iTunes and select all the files ending with .itdb, itl and .xml and zip them.

Step 2: Chose your own way of transfering the above zipped file to your new system, I e-mailed them. But again its your choice, the end result is that the zip file should be in your neww system.

Step 3: In your new system go to the same place as above (C:\Users\[user name]\Music\iTunes) and copy all the files ending with .itdb, .itl and .xml and move them to a new folder and probably name the folder as "Backup" (This is just to be safe in case we require the original files back).

Step 4: Unzip the files you have got from system 1 to C:\Users\[user name]\Music\iTunes in system 2.

With the above step you are done. When you connect your iPhone and try to sync anything you would not get the message that your existing data in iPhone would be erased. Though it is a 4 step process its actually very simple and should not take more than couple of minutes. Now, if you add any data to either of the libraries you would have to follow the same procedure so that .itdb, itl and .xml files are same in all your systems.

Was the tutorial useful? Were you able to follow the exact steps and get your work done? If you are unhappy or happy let me know @maheshmaestro and also leave a comment here so that I can update the post accordingly.

If you are anyone like me who have lost all your old apps while upgrading to iOS 5 then you should be reading this post. So the scenario is, you had like 50-100 apps in your iPhone and you see few or none of them got transfered after the upgrade. If you have tried to restore from backup and no luck on that either, then don't worry you have landed in right place. Read below step by step process to get back all your purchased apps.

Step 1: Open the iTunes from your desktop and click on "Purchased" link.

Step 2: In this window in the right hand side top you would see two tabs that reads "All" and "Not in my Library". "All" tab shows you all the purchases you have made so far and "Not in my Library" tab shows Apps that are not there in your library and which you can download from iCloud. And in that tab if you see a small "cloud" symbol against a app that would mean you can download that app from iCloud and sync to your iPhone. Unfortunately you would NOT see the cloud symbol for all the apps eventhough that is not there in your iPhone. Aim is to get that cloud symbol on all the apps so that you would be able to download them again.

Step 3: Click on "Apps" tab in your iTunes left hand bar. You would see all your purchased apps which are there in your library already, though you are not able to sync them back to your iPhone. The Apps that are greyed out means they are not found in your local computer hence iTunes is not able to sync them back to iPhone. Now don't worry as iCloud has them all, its just that we need to be able to download those apps from iCloud.

Step 4: Remove the "App" from your library that is greyed out and that you are not able to sync with iTunes.

Step 5: Click on "Purchased" link again and go to "Not in my library" tab. The App you deleted from you library would appear here with the cloud symbol. Click on download and once download completed sync to your iPhone and enjoy your old App.

Was this tutorial useful? Were you able to follow the steps and get your lost apps back in place? Do let me know @maheshmaestro.

I just did the whole exercise myself and thought would share with the viewers who are dying to upgrade their iPhone 4 to iOS 5 but still would want to use GEVEY sim.

What you need to know: As of now GEVEY has not released a new SIM that is compatible with the new baseband that comes with factory stock iOS 5 firmware. Hence you would have to "preserve" your existing baseband and then upgrade so that you are able to use GEVEY.

What you need to go ahead:

1. You would need to download the latest Sn0wbreeze version which allows you to custom make the stock ipsw so that baseband is preserved. You can download the latest Sn0wbreeze 2.8b8 from here

2. You would need to download the iOS 5 firmware and keep it safe before we start. You can download the firmware from here . It is 774mb and you would get a ZIP format file.

3. This is a special step that you have to do, because the downloaded ipsw would be in .zip format the sn0wbreeze wouldn't identify it. Hence you would need to change the extension to .ipsw. You can google and check how to do that depending on what version of windows OS you have. If you are having windows 7 then follow these. Go the folder you have saved .zip file --> click organize --> click folder search options --> click on view tab --> uncheck the option "Hide extenion for known file types" --> Then just rename the file with ending .ipsw instead of .zip

How to UNLOCK: Now the prerequisites are over and you are all set to UNLOCK your device. It is very easy if you follow the steps exactly. Do NOT panic at any moment as Sn0wbreeze is an excellent tool to work with.

Step 1: Execute the Sn0wBreeze exe, click ‘OK’ and click ‘Close Credits’ and click the blue next button in the bottom right-hand corner.

Step 2 : Either Drag or browse the .ipsw file which you created above. Click next.

Step 3: Click the blue next button in the bottom right-hand corner, and select Baseband Preservation Mode. You will receive a reminder about jailbreaking, ignore it and click next.

step 4: Now Sn0wBreeze will start building your firmware. It will give you the option to play PacMan, or stick to the spinner. I didn't want to get distracted hence i stayed with spinner. Totally upto you but i suggest if you are doing this for the first time use the spinner and stay focused.

Step 5: Once completed, Sn0wBreeze will place the custom created firmware on your desktop. It will be prefixed with “Sn0wBreeze”. Easier to identify.

Step 6: You are almost done, now all you need to do is follow the onscreen instructions which will take you DFU mode. Just FOLLOW the instructions including the timings.

Step 7: Sn0wBreeze will run ‘iReb’ and do somework for you which you don't have to worry at all. Click ok, and close out of Sn0wBreeze completely.

Step 8: At this stage you would have to open your iTunes and automatically your device would be identified by iTunes as in "recovery" mode.

Step 9: VERY IMPORTANT STEP --> Click "shift" + "Restore" key, to select the ipsw created by Sn0wbreeze. If you don't click Shift key + Restore (button in iTunes window) then you would NOT get the option. And ensure you select the ipsw which has "Sn0wbreeze" in its name as only this file would have your old BB preserved.

Step 10: iTUnes will do rest of the job and at the end when it reboots you are DONE. Your device is UNLOCKED with old BB so that you can use your GEVEY.

Step 11: I would suggest you remove your GEVEY while doing this as once your iPhone reboots after installing iOS 5 it would ask for activation and at that time you must just have your original sim.

Step 12: Open the SIM tray and pop your GEVEY you would always do and enjoy UNLOCKED iPhone 4 with iOS 5.

Please share your comments if you have had any problems with above steps. I just did above and am UNLOCKED.

When entering Launchpad, the default background is a blurred out version of your desktop wallpaper. However, Apple has provided a way to slightly change this to your liking. Here's how to change the background of Launchpad on OS X Lion slightly:

To change the background, first enter Launchpad. You can do this by clicking the icon in your Dock, pinching with three fingers if you have a multitouch trackpad, or finding the Launchpad application in your Applications folder. Once in Launchpad, click the Command key (⌘) and the "B" key on your keyboard simultaneously. You should notice the background change to something slightly different every single time you press the B key (be sure to keep holding the Command key). 

The options are:

• Blurred out version of desktop wallpaper (default)
• Gray, blurred out version of desktop wallpaper
• Desktop wallpaper with no blur
• Gray version of desktop wallpaper with no blur

Your background style choice is remembered every time you enter Launchpad. 

Blurred, gray version of desktop wallpaper

Desktop wallpaper with no blur

Desktop wallpaper with blur (default)

Gray version of desktop wallpaper with no blur

Step 1: Be sure you are logged into your Facebook account and visit: http://developers.facebook.com. In the navigation bar at the top, click on "Apps."

Step 2: Click the "Create New App" button in the top right hand corner of the page. Enter whatever value you would like for the "App Display Name." Enter whatever you would like for the "App Namespace," but the field can only accept lowercase characters and dashes (no numbers or underscores). Agree to the Platform Privacy Policy and click Continue. 

Step 3: Enter any security verifications that may appear and click Submit. Once you are brought to a page that looks like the following, scroll down to the bottom and click "Save Changes." Do NOT change any information on this page. 

Step 4: On the same page, you will see a navigation bar on the left side of the page. Click on the section that reads "Open Graph." In the "People can _______ a _______" field, type random things. For example, "People can read a book." Once you've filled them out, click "Get Started."

Step 5: Once you are brought to a page that looks like the following, scroll to the bottom and click "Save Changes." Do NOT change any information on this page. 

After roughly five minutes of waiting, return to your Facebook homepage. You should notice a notification on the top of the screen inviting you to join the Timeline developer preview. Follow the instructions onscreen from that point.  

Credit goes to TechCrunch for providing basic outline steps. 

Mac OS X Lion was released late last month and as people continue to browse around the new OS X version, more and more changes begin to appear. One of those changes is the inability to delete iTunes from the Applications folder. You may need to reinstall iTunes or drag it to the Trash for another reason, but this is more difficult to do in OS X Lion.

Here's how to remove iTunes when using OS X Lion:

Step 1: Go to the Applications folder and find iTunes. Do NOT open it! Close iTunes if it is open already. 

Step 2: Right-click on iTunes.app and click "Get Info"

Step 3: In the small window that pops up, scroll down to the bottom and click on the little lock symbol in the bottom right. Type in your administrator password.

Step 4: Next, in the same window, find the "Sharing and Permissions" section. Find the group that is named "everyone" (it should have permissions listed as "Custom" initially). Click on the drop down and select "Read and Write" as the permissions choice.

Step 5: Close the little window and see if you can now drag iTunes to the Trash. 

Step 1: Launch iTunes and make sure you have your iPhone plugged in.

Step 2: Choose the song you'd like to use as a ringtone. Right-click on the song in iTunes and select "Get Info"

Step 3: Under the "Options" tab, check the box next to "Start Time" and "Stop Time." The ringtone cannot be more than 30 seconds long, so be sure to choose a start and stop time that you'd like to use (and only 30 seconds). Click "OK" when done. 

Step 4: Right-click on the same track again and select "Create AAC Version." Once the AAC version of the clipped song is created (you should notice a new track in your library with the exact same name as the original), right-click on the new track and select "Show in Finder" (on a Mac) or "Show in Windows Explorer" (on Windows). 

Step 5: A new Finder or Windows Explorer window will appear. Make sure that the track selected ends in a ".m4a" - drag this file to your desktop. Go back into iTunes and delete the clipped version of the song by highlighting it, right-clicking, and selecting "Delete." 

Step 6: Go back to your desktop and change the extension of the track from ".m4a" to ".m4r" (no quotes). On a Mac, you can do this easily by selecting the track, hitting the "Return" key, and change the old extension to the new one. On Windows, extra steps may be involved due to specific configurations.

Step 7: Once the extension of the song is changed, double-click it and it should import under the "Ringtones" section in iTunes automatically. Simply sync your iPhone and the ringtone should be available for choosing on the device. 

Notes

• Once you've completed this entire process, be sure to go back into iTunes, right-click on the original track, select "Get Info," and uncheck the "Start Time" and "Stop Time" boxes
• To make sure that the ringtone will sync to your iPhone, make sure you have enabled syncing ringtones in the device manager in iTunes  

Mac OS X Lion included an update to Safari, version 5.1, that included several new features. One of the new features is called "Reading List." Reading List allows you to save pages that you'd like to read later - it's very similar to bookmarking a website. And for that very reason, many users of OS X Lion and Safari 5.1 don't like Reading List.

Thankfully, Apple has included a very simple setting to hide Reading List's icon in the Safari toolbar. Follow these steps to do just that:

Step 1: Launch Safari (located in the Applications folder)

Step 2: Click the Safari menu and enter the preferences for the app. Alternatively, you can hold the Command key with the comma key and the preferences window will pop up.

Step 3: Click on the "Bookmarks" tab in the preferences window. Find the checkbox that reads "Include Reading List" and simply uncheck it. 

That's it! Close the preferences window and you should notice that the Reading List icon is now gone in the Safari toolbar. Keep in mind that you're not disabling Reading List altogether, just hiding the icon so you can't access it.

However, for Mac OS X systems, there is a very easy workaround if you'd like to set the Google Chrome Canary build as your default web browser. Here's how to do just that: 

Step 1: Launch Safari (Applications>Safari) - it comes with your Mac, meaning you don't have to install it.

Step 2: Once Safari is loaded up, open up its preferences (Safari menu>Preferences)

Step 3: Under the General tab, find the section labeled "Default web browser," click the drop down menu, and select Google Chrome Canary as the default browser. 

Quit Safari and that's it! You've set Chrome Canary as your default web browser. 

Thankfully, one developer has created a small tool that allows you to fine-tune exactly which apps will appear in Launchpad, without actually removing them from your computer. Any app can be removed, even ones you didn't download from the Mac App Store. 

Simply download the tool here: http://chaosspace.de/dev/launchpad-control-hide-apps-from-launchpad/. Then, unzip the file and double-click on the install file. This file will open System Preferences and install a new pane for you to access the tool. Once you're in the pane, simply uncheck the apps you don't want to appear in Launchpad. Finally, click "Apply." Your Dock will disappear for a few seconds and then re-appear. Enter Launchpad and the app(s) that you've select to not appear in Launchpad should be gone!

Safari on iOS includes a feature that allows you to add a website to your device's homescreen for easy access. Obviously, just as any other thing on the homescreen, the link to the website includes an icon. By default, iOS will take a small preview of the website and use that as the icon on the homescreen. However, you can easily change that by adding some code to your header. Here's how to do that:

First, you're going to need to pick the image you'd like to use. Resize the image to have a resolution of 72 x 72 and save it (being sure to keep the original, un-resized image also). Then, resize the same image to have a 114 x 114 resolution and save that as well. Next, upload the images (all three of them) to where you're going to be hosting them (image uploading service, server, etc.)

After you do that, head over to your HTML code and find the <head></head> section. Add the following code into that section:

<link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="LINK TO ORIGINAL IMAGE" />
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="72x72" href="LINK TO 72 x 72 IMAGE" />
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" sizes="114x114" href="LINK TO 114 x 114 IMAGE" />

Note: Remember to change the capitalized text in the code above to links to your images.

The original image will be used as a backup case. The 72 x 72 image will be used for the iPad and the 114 x 114 image will be used for devices with a Retina display (like the iPhone 4). 

Other notes

• By default, iOS automatically adds a gloss and rounded edges effect to your image when it's on the homescreen. To make sure this works correctly, be sure that the original image you're going to use is perfectly square and doesn't have any pre-gloss effect added. 

Modal windows are great - they're not popup windows, but they grab the users attention by filling up either a portion or entire screen. For those of you who don't know what modal windows are - they are boxes that appear when clicking or hovering over something on a website. They usually appear alongside a dark background. You can see a couple examples of modal windows by scrolling to the top of this page and clicking on the "Got News? Let Us Know..." link. 

However, modal windows can be somewhat difficult to code. Here's how to create one:

Download Source Code (right click and save as) | Demo

HTML Code

Before you begin the dirty work, you're going to want to get your basic HTML structure down for the modal window. Use the code below and modify it if needed. We recommend placing the following code directly after your <body> tag to ensure it loads correctly.

<!-- Begin modal window --> 

<div class="boxes"> <!-- Container Div -->

    <div style="height:auto !important;padding-bottom:50px;margin-top:125px" id="test" 

    class="window">

         <p>CONTENT OF YOUR MODAL WINDOW GOES HERE</p>       

    <!-- Button that can close the window -->

         <img alt="Close this window" style="cursor:pointer;float:right;position:absolute;

         top:-13px;left:-15px" class="close" src="FILL WITH LINK TO IMAGE"/>

    <!-- End button that can close the window -->

    </div>

</div>

<!-- Container that fills the screen: do not remove! -->    

    <div class="mask"></div>

<!-- End container that fills the screen: do not remove! -->

<!-- End modal window -->

JavaScript Code

Next, we need to create the JavaScript code that will allow for the modal window to appear when clicking on a link. We recommend placing this code directly above the closing </body> tag as, if for some reason there is an issue, the rest of the page will continue to load without issue. 

<script type="text/javascript">

$(document).ready(function() {  

    $('a[name=modal]').click(function(e) {

        e.preventDefault();

        var id = $(this).attr('href');

        var maskHeight = $(document).height();

        var maskWidth = $(window).width();

        $('.mask').css({'width':maskWidth,'height':maskHeight});         

        $('.mask').fadeIn(100);   

        $('.mask').fadeTo("fast",0.8); 

        var winH = $(window).height();

        var winW = $(window).width();

        $(id).css('top',  winH/2-$(id).height()/2);

        $(id).css('left', winW/2-$(id).width()/2);

        $(id).fadeIn('slow');

    });

        $('.window .close').click(function (e) {

        e.preventDefault();

        $('.mask, .window').hide();

    });    

       $('.mask').click(function () {

        $('.mask').hide();

        $('.window').hide();

    });        

});

</script>

CSS Code

Finally, we need to style the modal window. Here's the basic CSS to do that. To change the color used as the background when the modal window is active, simply change background-color:#000 in .mask to your liking. 

.mask {

  position:absolute;

  z-index:9000;

  background-color:#000;

  display:none;

  opacity:0.3 !important;

  filter:alpha(opacity=30)!important;

}   

.boxes .window {

  position:absolute;

  width:600px;

  background:#FFF;

  height:300px;

  display:none;

  z-index:9999;

  padding:10px;

  box-shadow:12px -5px 27px #333;

  border-radius:3px;

}

#boxes #dialog {

  width:375px;

  height:203px;

}

Other Notes

• Make sure that you have the following code inside your <head></head> tags

	<script type="text/javascript" 

        src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.5.1/jquery.min.js"></script>

	<script type="text/javascript" 

        src="https://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jqueryui/1.8.11/jquery-ui.min.js"></script>

        <script type="text/javascript"

        src="http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.3.2/jquery.js"></script>

        <a name="modal" href="#test">This displays a modal window when clicked</a>

Download Source Code (right click and save as) | Demo

Many users of iTunes on Mac OS X have probably seen the "Do you want the application 'iTunes.app' to accept incoming network connections?" error pop up once or twice. Despite the fact that you click "Allow," the message may continue to pop up every single time you open iTunes. This not only gets annoying, but it likely means that something is wrong on Mac OS X's side with the Firewall. 

There are many different ways to fix the issue and not every single one will work for everyone. Try the two solutions below, in order, and hopefully the issue will be resolved.

Solution 1: Reinstall iTunes

This is probably the most simple solution. First, go to the Applications folder and drag iTunes to the Trash. Empty the Trash and restart the computer. Once the computer starts back up, head over to Apple's download page for the latest version of iTunes here: http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/. Download and install the latest version of iTunes. Your library (songs, movies, audiobooks, podcasts, etc.) will remain intact. 

Re-launch the app and check if the error continues to pop up. If it does, continue to the next solution. If not, congratulations!

Solution 2: Trash Security Preference File

The next solution is what fixed the error from showing up for us. First, launch Terminal (Applications>Utilities>Terminal) and copy + paste the following exactly as it appears: sudo chmod 640 /private/var/log/secure.log. You're going to be prompted to enter a password - type in your password (you won't actually see it being typed, however). Once you do that, quit Terminal.  

Next, launch Finder and navigate to the following path: /Library/Preferences. Find the file that is named com.apple.alf.plist and drag it to the Trash. If there is a file named com.apple.alf.plist~orig, drag that file to the Trash as well. Empty the Trash and restart the computer. 

Once the computer restarts, open iTunes and check if the error still pops up.

One of these two solutions should fix the issue for you. Be sure to let us know how it goes in the comments!

Mac OS X Lion, Apple's eighth major release of Mac OS X, included a new feature called Mission Control. Mission Control combines Dashboard, Expose, Spaces, and Full-Screen apps into one, easy-to-view screen. In general, Mission Control has received mixed opinions from upgraders - some say that it's great, while others say that it's too cluttered. 

One complaint that users have of OS X Lion is its use of linen-based wallpapers (like the one found when entering Mission Control). Many would like to change this background to something more unique and elegant. Luckily, with a little modding, you can change the wallpaper of Mission Control. Here's how to do just that:

Step 1: Find the resolution of your display. To do this, open System Preferences (Applications>System Preferences or Apple menu>System Preferences). Click on the "Displays" preference pane and look at which resolution is currently applied to your display.

Step 2: Find the background that you'd like to use. It can be anything - a nice wood wallpaper or the same one you're using for your regular desktop(s) on Lion. Open the image up in a photo editor (for example, Photoshop) and resize it to match the resolution of your display. It may be easier for some of you to find an image that is the exact resolution of your display from the beginning, as you may not have access to a photo editor with resizing capabilities. Save the resized image to your desktop, making sure that it is in .PNG format and named defaultdesktop.

Step 3: Navigate to the following directory via Finder: /System/Library/CoreServices/Dock.app. Right-click on Dock.app and click "Show Package Contents." Then, navigate to: Contents>Resources. Find the image called "defaultdesktop.png" and re-name it to "defaultdesktop-old.png."

Step 4: Drag-and-drop the image that you saved to your desktop into this folder. You may be asked to enter your password - make sure you do so correctly.

Step 5: Once the image copied into the folder, open Terminal (Applications>Utilities>Terminal) and type in the following command exactly as it appears: killall Dock. You should notice your Dock disappear and the background of your desktop go gray for a few seconds. 

That should be it! Enter Mission Control and you should have a new background for it!  

Mac OS X Lion, Apple's eighth major release of Mac OS X, included a revamped Dashboard application that acts as a separate space (or "desktop," if you prefer) to the left of all of the rest of your spaces (or desktops). We've already shown you how to switch back to the old Dashboard from OS X Snow Leopard if you absolutely hate the new version.

However, one complaint many upgraders to Lion have been mentioning is the background/wallpaper that Apple chose for use in Dashboard (that dark, dotted wallpaper). Many don't like it, but luckily, with a little modding, you can easily change the background to whatever you would like. Here's how to do just that:

Step 1: Find the resolution of your display. To do this, open System Preferences (Applications>System Preferences or Apple menu>System Preferences). Click on the "Displays" preference pane and look at which resolution is currently applied to your display.

Step 2: Find the background that you'd like to use. It can be anything - a nice wood wallpaper or the same one you're using for your regular desktop(s) on Lion. Open the image up in a photo editor (for example, Photoshop) and resize it to match the resolution of your display. It may be easier for some of you to find an image that is the exact resolution of your display from the beginning, as you may not have access to a photo editor with resizing capabilities. Save the resized image to your desktop, making sure that it is in .PNG format and named pirelli. Save another copy of the same, resized image in .PNG format, titled mini_pirelli.

Step 3: Navigate to the following directory via Finder: /System/Library/CoreServices/Dock.app. Right-click on Dock.app and click "Show Package Contents." Then, navigate to: Contents>Resources. Find the image called "pirelli.png" and re-name it to "pirelli-old.png." Next, find the image called "mini_pirelli.png" and re-name it to "mini_pirelli-old.png."

Step 4: Drag-and-drop the images that you saved to your desktop (both of them) into this folder. You may be asked to enter your password - make sure you do so correctly.

Step 5: Once the images copied into the folder, open Terminal (Applications>Utilities>Terminal) and type in the following command exactly as it appears: killall Dock. You should notice your Dock disappear and the background of your desktop go gray for a few seconds. 

That should be it! Check Dashboard and you should have a new background for it!  

Mac OS X Lion included a completely redesigned Dashboard application that, by default, acts as a separate space (or "desktop," if you prefer) to the left of all of your other spaces (or desktops). Many OS X Lion users enjoyed this simple, but much needed refresh to Dashboard. However, there are some upgraders to the new OS from Apple that absolutely hate the new Dashboard and would like it to go back to the way it looked and acted in Mac OS X Snow Leopard (by flying in above all of your open windows). 

Luckily, Apple included a very simple way to change the Dashboard back to the way it was in Snow Leopard, even if you're running OS X Lion. Here's how to do just that:

Step 1: Launch System Preferences (Applications>System Preferences or Apple menu>System Preferences)

Step 2: Find the preference pane that is titled "Mission Control"

Step 3: Uncheck the check box next to the option that reads "Show Dashboard as a space"

That's it! Now, if you hit the Dashboard icon on your keyboard or go to the Dashboard app, it will fly in above all of your windows, just like in Snow Leopard. 

One of the most touted features in Apple's new Mac OS X Lion release was a completely redesigned Mail application, dubbed "Mail 5." Mail 5 takes the design of the email app on the iPad and brings it the Mac, basically mirroring it. Many early upgraders to Lion have been impressed by the new Mail app, but some users don't like the "iPadification" of it.

Luckily, Apple has included a simple and easy way to switch back to the old design of the Mail app, even when running in OS X Lion. Here's how to do just that:

Step 1: Launch Mail in OS X Lion

Step 2: Enter the preference pane for Mail by clicking the Command key, along with the comma (,) key. Or, you can go to the menu bar and click Mail>Preferences

Step 3: Click on the "Viewing" tab in the preferences pane window that pops up

Step 4: Under the Viewing tab, you should notice a check box titled "Use classic layout." Simply click on that check box and close out of preferences.

That's it! Mail should now look just as it did in Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

When Google first released Chrome in 2008, it had a feature that many, including me, loved - the "Omnibar." The Omnibar is Google's fancy name for the address bar in Chrome, but, it includes one feature that other web browsers don't - the ability to search Google directly. In many browsers, you have two bars in the toolbar - the first being the traditional address bar and the second is the search bar, which allows you to not go to Google.com, for example, to search for something. Firefox also has the ability to search Google directly from the address bar. 

One web browser that has lacked this feature is Apple's Safari, until now. One developer has created an extension for Safari users that allows them to easily search Google directly from the address bar, just like in Chrome. The extension, cleverly dubbed "SafariOmnibar," is available for download from GitHub here: https://github.com/downloads/rs/SafariOmnibar/Safari%20Omnibar-1.1.pkg. SafariOmnibar will work for Safari 5.0 (Snow Leopard users) and Safari 5.1 (Lion users). 

All you have to do is download the extension, run the package, and restart Safari. If you see that the search bar on the right side of the toolbar in Safari has disappeared, you know that the extension has successfully installed. You should now see just one, giant address bar in Safari. 

Go ahead - you know you want to!

One developer found out about the lack of Front Row in Mac OS X Lion and took it upon himself to build a small package that users can run to install Front Row in Lion. In case you were wondering, the package installs the following files, which are apparently the only ones needed to run the media app:

• /System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app
• /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/BackRow.framework
• /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework
• /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.RemoteUI.plist
• /Applications/Front Row.app

To install Front Row, all you have to do is run the package found here: http://www.mac-hatter.com/blog/frontrowenablerforlion/FrontRowEnablerforLion.pkg.

Be sure to let us know in the comments if this worked for you. 

Yesterday, Spotify officially launched in the United States after a long wait. Spotify is a service that allows its users to stream music and it has three tiers, described below:

• Free tier: ad-supported, limited streaming per month
• $4.99/month tier: ad-free, unlimited streaming
• $9.99/month tier: ad-free, unlimited streaming, mobile support, offline support

Normally, to get access to the free tier of Spotify, you have to be invited by someone who is using one of the paid plans. However, a workaround has been found that allows anyone in the U.S. to have access to the free plan from Spotify, without the need of an invite. 

Here's how to get going:

Step 1: The biggest thing to remember in this tutorial is that you have to appear to be located in the United Kingdom. To do that, you're going to have to run through a proxy (like the one here: http://daveproxy.co.uk/). If you use DaveProxy, you're going to notice quite a few pop-ups appear - just close them as needed (don't worry - no viruses). 

Step 2: Go to http://daveproxy.co.uk/ and in the URL field, type in: http://spotify.com. Basically what this steps does is, it makes Spotify.com think you're visiting the website from the UK, not from the U.S. 

Step 3: Once on the Spotify website through the proxy, signup for an account by going to the top right-hand corner of the webpage and clicking on the "Log in" button. From there, click on "Sign up." As part of the signup process, you're going to need a zip code from the UK - just Google for one  (here's one for McDonald's: SW1A 2BX). 

Step 4: Once you're all signed up, head over to http://spotify.com/login as you normally would (no proxy, just type it directly into your web browser's address bar). Login using the credentials you chose earlier. 

Step 5: Once you're logged in, head over to http://spotify.com. You're going to notice a black box at the top of the page that reads "Continue to Spotify.com." Click on it. You should now be logged into your account and on the Spotify webpage, but your account is still based in the UK.

Step 6: To change that, click on your username in the top right-hand corner of the webpage and click on "Edit Profile." Change your country to the United States, type in your real zipcode, and save the changes. 

Step 7: That's it! Just download the Spotify app onto your computer from here and begin using it! 

Let us know in the comments if this works for you, or if you have any questions. 

Here's a quick tip on how to access the Library folder that used to be non-hidden in the home folder:

Step 1: Open a new Finder window.

Step 2: Hold down the following key shortcut: Command-Shift-G. You should notice a window popup over the Finder that asks for a directory. 

Step 3: In the window, copy+paste or type the following directory: ~/Library.

Step 4: Hit the "Go" button and if you did everything correctly, you should be inside the Library folder. 

With all rumors pointing to a release of Apple's next Mac operating system, Mac OS X Lion, sometime this week, we thought it's appropriate to take you through all the steps to prepare your Mac for the upgrade. Mac OS X Lion will be available via the Mac App Store only and will cost $29.99 to download. 

Follow all these steps and your Mac will definitely be ready for the next big cat from Apple!

Step 1: Make sure your Mac can upgrade to Mac OS X Lion

Apple has stepped up the system requirements for its newest OS; so even if you upgraded to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the current release of Mac OS X, you may not be able to upgrade to Lion. According to Apple, your Mac must be equipped with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor to run Lion. With that being said, some people have claimed to install Lion on Core Duo processors, but it will require some work. In addition, Apple recommends at least 2 GB of RAM.

To check what processor your Mac has, simply click the Apple logo in the menu bar and select "About this Mac." Your processor is listed on the window that opens up. 

Step 2: Update to the latest version of Mac OS X Snow Leopard

Apple recently released Mac OS X 10.6.8, a maintenance update to Snow Leopard that gets your Mac ready for the Lion upgrade. You're probably going to want to update to 10.6.8, along with any other updates available, before upgrading to Lion to ensure proper installation. 

To update your software, click on the Apple logo in the menu bar and select "Software Update..." 

Step 3: Uninstall any apps that you no longer use

If you're not using some of the apps that your currently have installed on your Mac, it may be a good idea to remove them. It's a good idea to remove them because it may speed up installation and it's the perfect time to do some "spring cleaning" on your Mac. 

To remove apps (the simple way), open up the Applications folder and drag the apps you would like to uninstall to the Trash. The more complex way involves using a third-party app (such as AppCleaner) to remove all remnants of the apps you uninstall. 

Step 4: Check your hard drive for any errors

As with any major software upgrade, you want to make sure your hard drive is in good "health." You don't want to waste your time installing an OS on an already failed (or failing) hard drive, which may cause errors during installation. To check and repair any issues with your hard drive on Mac OS X, simply launch the Disk Utility app (Applications>Utilities>Disk Utility).

From there, click on "Macintosh HD" (or whatever your main hard drive is named) in the sidebar on the left. Make sure the "First Aid" tab is selected and click on the "Repair Disk Permissions" button. When that process is complete, click on the button that says "Verify Disk." Hopefully everything will come back clean, but if not, pop in your Mac OS X Snow Leopard Install DVD and repair the disk. 

Step 5: Backup all of your files

Congratulations! The dirty work is done. Now, you're going to want to backup all of your important files using a method of your choice. While the chance of something happening during the upgrade to Lion is very slim, it's never bad backup your files. There are many different options you have to backup your files, listed below:

• Use Time Machine (built-in to Mac OS X Snow Leopard)
• Backup manually to a USB drive
• Backup manually to an external drive
• Clone your entire hard drive using a tool like SuperDuper 

Step 6: Check for incompatible apps

The last part of the upgrade process is to check for incompatible apps. While there likely isn't anything you can do to fix apps that won't work on Lion, you can at least be prepared - look for alternatives if there is an app that doesn't work yet. A growing list of apps that work and don't work on Lion can be found here: http://roaringapps.com/apps:table.

In addition, we recommend you contact the developer(s) of the app that doesn't work to see if an update is in the works or will be available soon. 

That's just about it! Your Mac is ready for the Mac OS X Lion upgrade!

However, there is a very easy solution to forward all your emails from your Yahoo! Mail account to another service, such as Gmail. Here's how to do it:

Step 1: Login to your Yahoo! account. Go to http://yahoo.com and click on your name in the top right-hand corner of the page. You should notice a drop down menu show up - click on the "Account Info" link.

Step 2: If prompted, type in your account's password and sign in.

Step 3: Scroll down on the page until you notice a link on the left-hand side of the page that is titled "Set language, site, and time zone." Click on it.

Step 4: In the drop down menu next to the text that reads "Regional Site and Language," find "Yahoo! United Kingdom" and click on it.

Step 5: Save your settings and close this page.

Step 6: Login to your Yahoo! Mail account and enter the settings (it's different for every design you're on, so look somewhere near the top of the page). In the menu on the left, find the section that reads "POP & Forwarding." Click on it.

Step 7: You should now notice the option to forward your messages from Yahoo! Mail to another email address is enabled. Type in the email address you'd like to forward the messages to in the text box on the page. 

That's it! 

You may remember that yesterday, Google decided to block its test users of the Google+ social network from inviting people to the service. The search giant imposed this block because of "insane demand" for invitations to Google+. However, just minutes ago, It's All Tech found a way to bypass this block. 

All you have to do is get someone to share a post from their stream on Google+ with you (sent to your email address). From there, you can click a link in the footer of the email and you're brought up with the signup page for Google+. 

To "celebrate" the finding, we're giving away ten invites to Google+ for the first ten people that email brian [at] itsalltech [dot] com.

[Thanks, Ben] 

UPDATE: Turns out 9to5Google figured this out earlier. But, the invitations are still up for grabs!

CSS includes two great ways to space elements between each other - they're called "margin" and "padding." Many people just starting out at CSS will likely mix up the purpose of the two because they do the exact same thing. However, there is still a difference and it's a pretty important one: margin is used for spacing between the edge of one element and the element(s) next to it, while padding is used for defining space between the content of the element and the edge of the same element. We've included a handy graphic above that explains the concept. 

Now, let's do some examples:

Example #1: Let's use padding to give some text a little space in a box. We gave the text 5 pixels of space in this example. 

Example #2: Let's use a margin to space out two boxes from each other.

How to use padding and margin

Padding

#element_name {padding-top: 10px;padding-right:10px;padding-left:10px;padding-bottom:10px}

The above can be shortened down to:

#element_name {padding:10px}

Margin

#element_name {margin-top: 10px;margin-right:10px;margin-left:10px;margin-bottom:10px}

The above can be shortened down to:

#element_name {margin:10px}

Some quick notes:

• Keep in mind that adding the margin and/or padding elements will increase the width of the element they are associated with
• You can combine the margin and padding elements to add both space for content and space between elements (as seen in example #2 above)

A new feature in Apple's upcoming eighth major release of Mac OS X, dubbed "Lion," is called Resume. In short, Resume allows users to quit an application as they normally would and when they re-launch the app, have the exact state of what they were doing before quitting, appear. For example, you're performing a search on Google in Safari, quit Safari, and re-launch it. Instead of displaying the homepage as in Mac OS X Snow Leopard, you're going to see the same Google search that you were performing earlier. 

While this feature can be very useful in some cases, in others it is not. And for those cases, Apple built-in a different keyboard shortcut that allows users to not use the Resume feature when quitting an app for that specific time. All you have to do is click Command-Option-Q and that will quit the app you're currently using. Re-launch it and you'll notice that the Resume feature didn't work and you'll be on your way with a fresh start. Keep in mind that, every time you do not want to use the Resume feature, you're going to have to use this keyboard shortcut. 

Here's how to do just that:

Step 1: First, you're going to want to launch up your favorite FTP client (something like CyberDuck on Mac OS X or FileZilla for Windows).

Step 2: Navigate to the following directory: /wp-content/themes/your_current_theme. Of course, replace your_current_theme with the directory of the theme that's currently active on your WordPress-based site.

Step 3: Find the file that contains the WordPress "loop." It's different for every theme, but common names are template.php, index.php, and home.php. Look for the piece of code that looks similar to: <?php if ( have_posts() ) : while ( have_posts() ) : the_post(); ?>

Step 4: Set this aside for now. Next, you have to get the code for the Google +1 button from here: http://www.google.com/webmasters/+1/button/. Follow the steps on the webpage to get the code you'd like. Copy the code that looks similar to this: <g:plusone></g:plusone> 

Step 5: Go back to the file you had open with the WordPress loop. Paste the +1 button code into this file, making sure it's INSIDE the loop. You're likely going to have to play around with the location of the code to change where the button is rendered on your site. Once you get the best location for the button, save the file.

Step 6: Next, open up the file in the same theme directory that's called footer.php. Copy and paste the following code into this file, right BEFORE the closing </body> tag: <script type="text/javascript" src="https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js"></script>. Save this file.

Step 7: If you reload your website, you should see the +1 button rendering in the spot you'd like it to. However, right now, the button is only "+1-ing" the current URL, not the URL of the post. To change this, once again open the file that contains your loop. Find the +1 button code and change it to: <g:plusone href="<?php the_permalink();?>"></g:plusone>. Make sure that, if you made any modifications to the +1 button when you first got the code (like the size), make sure you don't loose that. Save the file.

That should be it! You should have the Google +1 button all set and running on your WordPress-based site.

There are a bunch of cool effects that you can add to a website to make it stand out. Some involve CSS and interesting features, but others are the back-end work of a website. One thing that you may want to add to your website is the ability to display random images. Whether it just be random images that you took or made, or ones that you find on the Web, the following tutorial will show you how to accomplish this.

The code that you're going to have to use is below. Please look at the comments (identified by a // at the beginning of a line) to see what needs to be modified to fit to your website.

<?php

// Change this number to the total number of images that you'll be using
$total = "5";

// Change to the type of files to use. Examples include: .jpg or .png
$file_type = ".png";

// Change to the location of the folder containing the images
$image_folder = "/random";

$start = "1";

$random = mt_rand($start, $total);

$image_name = $random . $file_type;

?>

If you would like to have each image link to a website when a user clicks on the image, use the following code:

<?php
if($image_name==1){echo "<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"#\"><img src=\"$image_folder/$image_name\" alt=\"$image_name\" /></a>"; }
if($image_name==2){echo "<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"#\"><img src=\"$image_folder/$image_name\" alt=\"$image_name\" /></a>"; }
if($image_name==3){echo "<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"#\"><img src=\"$image_folder/$image_name\" alt=\"$image_name\" /></a>"; }
if($image_name==4){echo "<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"#\"><img src=\"$image_folder/$image_name\" alt=\"$image_name\" /></a>"; }
?>

Use the format above if you have more than four images. Change the # symbol in the <a href> of each if statement to the link that you'd like to use.

If you have any questions, please leave a comment below and we'll try to assist you.

Rounded box corners

Many websites nowadays are making some of their more boxy elements have rounded edges to add elegance. Before CSS3 was around, this would have to be done via an image. But, here's how to do it via CSS3:

Let's break this down: the #rounded-edges part is the name of the element. Feel free to change the name, just keep the # in there at all times. The border-radius part is what actually makes the magic happen - don't change this. And last, but not least, the 5px part is how rounded the edges of the box should be. The bigger the number, the more rounded the edges and vice versa.

Keep in mind that you may have to make some modifications to this code to make the border-radius work in all modern Web browsers. For example, for Firefox, you're going to want to use -moz-border-radius in place of border-radius.

Box shadows

To add some depth to their boxy elements, websites are now adding shadows to the mix. They're extremely customizable, and easy to integrate. Here's how:

Let's break this one down as well: the #box-shadow part is the name of the element. Feel free to change this, just be sure to keep the # part. The box-shadow is what makes the magic happen - don't change this. The first 10px is the horizontal offset of the shadow. If the number here is position, the shadow will be on the right. If the number here is negative, the shadow will be on the left of the box. The next 10px is the vertical offset. If the number here is negative, the shadow will be above the box. If the number here is positive, the shadow will be below the box. The 5px is the blur of the shadow, or in easier terms - how sharp the shadow is. If the number here is 0px, then the shadow will be sharp. The bigger the number, the smoother the shadow. The #000 part is the color of the shadow. In this example, the shadow color is black.

Again, you may have to change the box-shadow part inside the {} to make the styling work in all Web browsers: for Safari and Chrome, change it to -webkit-box-shadow. For Firefox, change it to -moz-box-shadow and for Opera, change it to -o-box-shadow. You can have multiple box-shadows (each separated by a ; ) in the same element to make the effect work in all browsers.

Text Shadows

To add some cool effects to text, some web designers may add a shadow to the text to give it some depth. This wasn't new in CSS3, but is beginning to become more widely used as support for text shadows is improving. Here's how to make text have shadows:

And of course, let's break this down: the #text-shadow part is the name of the element. Feel free to change this, but be sure to keep the # part. The text-shadow part is what makes the magic happen - don't change this. The #000 is the color of the shadow. In this example, the color of the shadow is black. The 20px part is the x-coordinate of the shadow, while the -10px part is the y-coordinate. Finally, the 5px part of the blur of the shadow - in other words, how sharp it is.

That's it! Now you can make boxes that have rounded edges, have a shadow, and have text inside them with shadows to add a cool small effect.

Here's how to setup backup encryption for iOS devices in iTunes:

Step 1: Plug your device into your computer via a USB cable. If iTunes does not automatically open, manually open it.

Step 2: If your device automatically begins to sync, allow it to do so. If it doesn't, continue to the next step.

Step 3: Click on your iOS device in the sidebar on the left in iTunes. Make sure you are on the "Summary" section.

Step 4: Scroll down to the bottom until you see a section titled "Options." From there, find an option that says "Encrypt iPhone backup." This may be somewhat different from device to device, but the general text is the same.

Step 5: Click the check box next to Encrypt iPhone backup and enter a password you'd like to use. DO NOT FORGET THIS PASSWORD!

Step 6: Click the "Set Password" button and let iTunes and your device do its thing. Once it's done, your backups will be encrypted and if someone wants to use them, they'll need that password you entered in step 5.

That's it!

When the first developer preview of Apple's next Mac OS, Mac OS X Lion, was released earlier this year, most users immediately noticed that scrolling was reversed. What does this mean? When you want to scroll up a page, you must move your fingers down the trackpad or mouse or whatever you're using. If you want to move down a page, you must move your fingers up. It's exactly the opposite of what we're all used to.

It seems as though Apple got this whole idea of reverse scrolling from iOS and they want to stick with it. For some users, like me, it was relatively hard and confusing to get used to. It's especially confusing if you have to go from Mac OS X Lion to an older version of Mac OS X or Windows, since they all use "normal" scrolling. But, if you're on Mac OS X Snow Leopard or Mac OS X Leopard, one developer has got  you covered - just download his small app and it enables reverse scrolling on your computer, just as if you were running Lion. This would allow you to get some practice in, so when Mac OS X Lion is officially released this summer, you'll be ready.

Here's how to get Scroll Reverser running:

Step 1: Download the app from this website and unzip the file after it's downloaded.

Step 2: Drag the app from the location you unzipped the file from to your Applications folder.

Step 3: Open up the app.

Step 4: You'll notice a new icon in your menu bar that looks like two arrows going in opposite directions. Click on that icon and make sure "Reverse Scrolling" is checked off.

That's it! Start getting some practice in for Mac OS X Lion!

Whether you're making a YouTube video or want to show your friend how to do something on their computer, having the ability to record your screen is very important to some people. On Mac OS X, there are several third-party applications that allow you to record your screen, but most of them cost quite a bit of money.

Something that many people probably don't know is that, as of Mac OS X Snow Leopard, Apple allows users to record their screens without any third-party applications. All you have to do is launch QuickTime Player X (again, Snow Leopard users and above only), which is located in your Applications folder, click File in the menu bar and then "New Screen Recording." To begin recording your screen, just press the red button in the window that will pop up.

It's important to keep in mind that this method of recording your Mac's screen will not include any effects or other features that you may find in a third-party app. You can add those on if you wish in a video editor later on, however. But, if all you need is a simple screen-recording app, your search is over - just launch QuickTime!

Whether you're using a themed lockscreen that doesn't do it for you, or you just don't want to have text on your lockscreen, removing the "Slide to Unlock" text in iOS is relatively easy to do.

Step 1: Follow our tutorial on how to use OpenSSH on your iOS device and connect to your computer.

Step 2: SSH into your device.

Step 3: Navigate to the following directory in the FTP program that you're using: /System/Library/CoreServices/SpringBoard.app/YOUR LANGUAGE.Iproj (ex. English.Iproj)/SpringBoard.strings

Step 4: Open the file in a text editor. Find the line that begins with "AWAY_LOCK_LABEL" (no quotes).

Step 5: Remove everything inside the quotes after the equal sign on the same link, making sure you keep the quotes there.

Step 6: Save the file and upload it back to your device if needed.

Step 7: Restart your device.

That's it! You should no longer have the "Slide to Unlock" text on your iOS device lockscreen.

Method 1:

Step 1: Launch iTunes and plug in your device.

Step 2: Once the device is recognized in iTunes, click on it in the sidebar of the application and click on the "Summary" tab.

Step 3: Scroll down the tab until you see the header titled "Options" and uncheck the setting that says "Open iTunes when this iPhone is connected" (or iPod touch or iPad).

Step 4: Close iTunes.

Method 2:

For Windows

Step 1: Click on the Start Menu.

Step 2: Click on the "Run" button and type in: "msconfig.exe" (without the quotes).

Step 3: Go to the startup tab in the window that pops up, scroll down until you see an option that says "iTunesHelper" (no quotes), and uncheck the box next to it.

Step 4: Click apply, close the window, and restart your computer.

For Mac

Step 1: Launch System Preferences by going to the Apple menu>System Preferences....

Step 2: Click on the Accounts button under the System category.

Step 3: Click on your user name in the sidebar on the left and then navigate to the Login Items tab.

Step 4: Remove "iTunesHelper" (no quotes) by selecting it and clicking on the minus button.

Step 5: Close System Preferences.

That's it! Which ever method you choose, iTunes should no longer launch automatically when you plug in your iOS device.

Method 1: Direct code

If you know how to modify code for your theme in WordPress, this may be your best option. You don't have to install any third-party plugins and you have the ability to control the code of the Like button. The following are configurable when using the code below:

• Layout style: standard, button count, or box count
• Show/hide faces
• Width of the button
• Verb to display: "like" or "recommend"
• Font: Arial, Lucida Grande, Segoe UI, Tahoma, Trebuchet MS, and Verdana
• Color scheme: light or dark

The basic code is below and you can change the options around following the rules above:

<iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=<
?php the_permalink();?>&amp;
layout=standard&amp;show_faces=true&amp;width=450&amp;action=like&amp;
colorscheme=light&amp;height=80"
scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:450px; height:80px;"
allowTransparency="true"></iframe>

A good place to inset this code is in index.php/home.php or single.php.

Method 2: Plugin

If you're not sure exactly how to integrate the Like button using code or you're worried something might break if you try, using a plugin is probably best for you. There are many available, but the easiest one to setup is likely Simple Facebook Connect. To setup the Like button via this plugin, download and activate it in WordPress (base), activate the SFC - Like Button plugin, and then configure the settings for the button in the Simple Facebook Connect settings panel.

That's it! Which every method you choose, you should now have a functioning Facebook Like button in WordPress.

Method 1: Integrating using code

If you don't want to install any extra plugins on your WordPress website, you can use code directly from Twitter to integrate the button. If you're not used to modifying code on your website, or you're worried something might break, just skip to the plugin section of this article.

The basic code to integrate the Tweet Button on a WordPress site is below (good place to put it: index.php/home.php or single.php):

<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"
        src="http://platform.twitter.com/widgets/tweet_button.html?url=
<?php echo urlencode(get_permalink($post->ID)); ?>&amp;
via=[YOUR TWITTER USERNAME]&amp;text=<?php wp_title(); ?>"
        style="width:130px; height:50px;">
</iframe>

Be sure to fill in the information that is capitalized in the code.

Method 2: Integrating using plugin

The easier way to integrate the Tweet Button is by using a plugin. There are many different ones available, but the easiest to setup is Simple Twitter Connect - activate the plugin base, activate the plugin called STC - Tweet Button, and configure the settings in the Simple Twitter Connect panel.

That should be it! No matter which method you choose, you should now have a functioning Tweet Button on your WordPress website.

CSS 3 is the next web standard for design and introduces a number of cool new features. One of those features is a text-shadow style, which, in turn, allows us to create cool "letterpress" effects for webpages. Here's how to do just that:

Firstly, we're going to want to build our HTML code, which includes our styling for the effect.

[sourcecode language="plain"]<!DOCTYPE html>
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<style type="text/css">
body {
background: #474747;
}
h1 {
font: 90px Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, Sans-Serif;
text-align: center;
color: #222;
text-shadow: 0px 2px 3px #555;
}
h2 {
font: 60px Tahoma, Helvetica, Arial, Sans-Serif;
text-align: center;
color: #222;
text-shadow: 0px 2px 3px #555;
}
</style>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />
<title>CSS Letterpress Effect</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>It's All Tech CSS Tutorial</h1>
<h2>This is an example of a CSS-only "letterpress" effect. It uses CSS 3.</h2>

</body>
</html>

<p>[/sourcecode]

Now that you have your HTML code, all you have to do is modify the colors (if you want to). The background color in this example is #474747 and the text color is #555.

That's really it! You now have a letterpress effect made purely in CSS!

Step 1: Make sure that "White icon labels" is checked off in WinterBoard.

Step 2: Next, SSH into your iOS device by following our previous tutorial on how to do so.

Step 3: Launch your FTP browser and navigate to the following location: /Library/Themes/White Icon Labels.theme

Step 4: Open the file Info.plist in your text editor and delete everything inside of it. Copy and paste the following text into the file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple Computer//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">

<plist version="1.0"><dict>

<key>UndockedIconLabelStyle</key>

<string>color: white; text-shadow: #000000 0px 2px 3px</string>

<key>DockedIconLabelStyle</key>

<string>color: white; text-shadow: #000000 0px 2px 3px</string>

</dict></plist>

Step 5: Save the file and re-upload it to the FTP browser that is connected to your iOS device via SSH.

Step 6: Restart your iOS device.

Once your device reboots, you should notice that you once again have text shadows on your home screen and you can once again read text!

Basically what happened is that Apple changed the way graphics are handled in iOS 4.2, and thus, breaking the feature for older devices since they were not made to run multitasking anyways.

Here's how to get multitasking working again on your iPhone 3G or iPod touch second-generation running iOS 4.2.1:

Step 1: Download the latest version of redsn0w here and open redsn0w.

Step 2: Follow the steps on the screen until you reach a screen which asks you to check which things you wish to install/enable with the jailbreak. Make sure that multitasking is UNCHECKED!

Step 3: Once you've unchecked multitasking and selected everything else you would like to do with the jailbreak, continue to follow the steps on the display.

Step 4: After the device is jailbroken and restarted, follow our previous tutorial on how to install and use OpenSSH on your iOS device. Once you have everything set up, launch your FTP browser.

Step 5: Navigate to the following path in your FTP browser (which is connected to your iOS device): /System/Library/CoreServices/SpringBoard.app/n72ap.plist (for iPod touch 2G) or n82ap.plist (for iPhone 3G). Open the file in a text editor.

Step 6: Find the following string in the file you just opened:

<key>multitasking</key>

<false/>

and change the <false/> to <true/>.

Step 7: Also, find the string:

<key>opengles-1</key>
<true/>

and change it to:

<key>opengles-2</key>
<true/>

Step 8: Save and upload the file back to your iOS device.

Step 9: Restart your iOS device and check to see if multitasking is working again (it should).

Notes:

• There is a known issue where lines will show up on different buttons and text boxes throughout iOS after making these changes. There is currently no fix available (and there may never be).

As you probably know, Apple scaled down the AirPrint feature in iOS 4.2 significantly, right before release. Currently, AirPrint supports 11 printers in total, and they must be shared from your Mac or Windows computer for your iOS device to find it. However, several developers have created tools to be able to use AirPrint in iOS 4.2, to its fullest potential, and with unsupported printers. Here's how to get it working (Mac OS X only):

Step 1: Download and open AirPrint Hactivator (found here).

Step 2: Click on the toggle switch found in the application's window and when prompted, enter your administrator password.

Step 3: Once the process is finished, a window will appear, instructing you to remove your printer in System Preferences and then add it back. Do this.

Step 4: After you re-add your printer, make sure you check the box next to "Share this printer on the network" in System Preferences.

Step 5: On your iOS device, enter an application that supports AirPrint (Mail is an example) and check to see if you can add your printer and print successfully.

Notes:

• Your Mac that you set up AirPrint Hactivator on must be on at all times that you would like to print from your iOS device
• This hack requires Mac OS X 10.6.5 and an iOS 4.2 device

If you have any questions or run into any issues, be sure to leave a comment and we'll help you out.