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TUTORIAL: How to launch apps from your Mac’s keyboard with Spotlight

ICON Mac OS X SpotlightThere are oodles of ways to launch apps in OS X. You can double-click an app in the Applications folder, click an app icon in the Dock, invoke Launchpad and click the desired app, or choose an app from the Apple menu’s Recent Items > Applications submenu. You can even add commonly used apps to the toolbar of Finder windows by Command-dragging them up there.

But what if you don’t want to take your hands off the keyboard? Is there any way to open an app without touching the mouse or trackpad? Indeed there is, courtesy of Spotlight.

You’re probably familiar with Spotlight as a search tool, both for finding files and folders on your Mac, and for ferreting out information on the Internet (in OS X 10.11 El Capitan, Spotlight can even find weather forecasts, sports scores, and stock prices). But what you may not realize is that among the files that Spotlight can find are all the apps on your Mac, and you can launch them with just a few keys. Follow these steps:

  1. Press Command-Space to display the Spotlight window.
  2. Begin typing an app’s name, such as “ac” for Activity Monitor. For apps whose names have multiple words, you can type the first letter of each, as in “ic” for Image Capture. And if an app name is a single InterCapped word, it’s fine to enter just the capitalized letters, as in “ft” for FaceTime. Spotlight searches, and while it should be nearly instantaneous, if it doesn’t show the app you want at first, give it a few seconds.Activity Monitor detail
  3. If the app you want to launch is highlighted as the top hit, press Return to launch it. If it’s not the top hit, you can either continue typing to narrow the search or arrow down to it in the list, and then press Return.

That’s all there is to it! As you might guess, you can use the same technique to open documents or even System Preferences panes.

Cleverly, Spotlight is adaptive so if the first time you type “ac” it suggests Adobe Content Viewer, once you select Activity Monitor instead, it will know that “ac” should open Activity Monitor in the future.

On the downside, Spotlight isn’t always as fast as you might like, and while it guesses relatively well, you may find that its conception of what an app is called doesn’t always match with what you want to type.

So give Spotlight a try, and if you find that you like launching apps from the keyboard but want the best possible experience, try one of the four excellent keyboard launcher utilities on the Mac: Alfred, Butler, LaunchBar, or QuickSilver. Alfred and QuickSilver are both free, whereas Butler costs $20 and LaunchBar—the most powerful and popular of the pack, is $29.

Connecting Point’s ‘Head Back with a Mac Sale’ | Free Canon All-in-One; no-interest 18mo. financing

Connecting Point's 'Head Back with a Mac Sale' - FREE Canon PIXMA All-in-One, plus special financingSummer’s almost gone. Time to head back to school. Head back to work. Time to Get. Stuff. Done.

And the best way to get stuff done? A new Mac from Connecting Point.

And getting one is now both easy and affordable: For a limited time, Connecting Point’s offering special financing and terrific incentives.

Canon PIXMA MX472 All-in-One Printer/Scanner/Copier/Fax

Canon PIXMA MX472 All-in-One Wireless inkjet office solution features an Automatic Document Feeder for unattended multi-page scanning and copying, 50-page fax memory, AirPrint support, and up to 4800 x 1200 dpi optimized color printing. Retail price $99.99

Whether you’re upgrading, or switching from Windows, now’s the best time to buy, during Connecting Point’s ‘Head Back with a Mac Sale,’ running from Wednesday, August 27th through Saturday, August 30.

During this sale, buy any Mac and get a FREE Canon Pixma MX472 All-in-One printer / scanner / copier / fax (which normally retails for $99.99).*

Plus get six, 12, or even as much as 18 months interest-free financing, with your good credit.**

But don’t delay: This sale lasts just four days. When we close for the night on Saturday, our ‘Head Back with a Mac Sale’ closes, too!

*Limited to stock on hand.  **NO INTEREST, IF PAID IN FULL WITHIN 6, 12, OR 18 MONTHS on qualifying purchases made with your GE Capital Retail Bank Home Design credit card between May 23rd, 2014 and January 16th, 2015. Interest will be charged to your account from the purchase date if the promotional purchase is not paid in full within 6, 12, or 18 months. Offer applies only to single-receipt qualifying purchases. No interest will be charged on the promo purchase if you pay the promo purchase amount in full within 6, 12, or 18 months. If you do not, interest will be charged on the promo purchase from the purchase date. Depending on purchase amount, promotion length, and payment allocation, the required minimum monthly payments may or may not pay off purchase by end of promotional period. Regular account terms apply to non-promotional purchases and, after promotion ends, to promotional balance. For new accounts: Purchase APR is 29.99%; Minimum Interest Charge is $2. Existing GE Capital cardholders should see their credit card agreement for their applicable terms. Subject to credit approval.

Apple debuts OS X Yosemite public beta

Today, Apple released a beta version of the next version of its Mac operating system, OS X Yosemite. Yosemite was announced and previewed at Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference in June; the official release is slated for sometime this fall.

As Information Week says:

Participating in Apple’s OS X Beta Program — which is distinct from the Beta Seed Program for Mavericks — is free, but there may be non-monetary costs, such as time or data lost due to crashed applications. Apple warns the OS X Yosemite Beta “may contain errors or inaccuracies and may not function as well as commercially released software.”

Another cost comes in the form of silence: Apple considers its beta software confidential and forbids beta testers from posting screenshots or discussing the software publicly. By agreeing to Apple’s Beta Program terms, testers promise to take reasonable steps to keep Apple’s software confidential, such as shielding the screen of a Mac running OS X Yosemite from onlookers.

If, after all that, you’re still interested in participating in the development of the next generation of Mac operating systems, you can sign up for the public beta here.

Apple Mac Pro now in stock at Bend and Medford locations

It’s an elusive beast, but we’ve finally managed to capture one.

Mac Pro on display at Medford Connecting Point

Mac Pro on display in Medford

We refer, of course, to Apple’s most powerful desktop system, the Mac Pro. It is a completely re-imagined workstation-class Mac, designed from the ground up for the most demanding applications. If you are editing video, rendering 3D models, or working with gigantic Photoshop files, this is the computer for you.

This particular version features a quad-core Xeon processor, 12GB of memory, and 256GB of ultra-fast flash storage. And even though it’s just under 10 inches tall, the expansion options are incredible. With its six Thunderbolt 2 ports and dual AMD FirePro D300 graphics processors, you can drive an array of three 4K displays, or six Apple Thunderbolt displays.

Mac Pro on display at Bend Connecting Point

Mac Pro on display in Bend

The unusual cylindrical design of the new Mac Pro has been a polarizing one. We think it’s beautiful, a triumphant wedding of industrial design and art. What do you think of its surprisingly compact, shiny minimalist blackness?

We’ve got it on display right now in both our Medford and Bend stores. We invite you to stop in and unleash this beautiful beast.

VIDEO: Watch this morning’s Apple WWDC keynote in its entirety

Apple WWDC 2013 keynote presentationIn case you missed it…

This morning, at the keynote of the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple made a few announcements. OK, more than a few. There’s a lot of good stuff here: OS X Mavericks, iOS 7, new MacBook Airs, a sneak peek at the jaw-dropping new Mac Pro… and more.

Click here to watch the entire presentation.