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Day 3
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OS Customization

I guess it’s time to get back to work pic.twitter.com/pUFaFio6Ur

— Cassidy Williams (@cassidoo) October 1, 2019
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

A few golden rules:

  • Automate everything you possible can.
  • Search instead of navigate.
  • Find keyboard shortcuts for commonly used actions.

1. System Settings

It's beneficial to be proficient with your tools: it’ll save you a lot of time and make you feel more comfortable behind your MacBook. It's the same with driving, at some point you can control the car almost automatically so you can focus on the traffic.

Assignment 1.0

Open your system preferences and play around with some. Anything you want to customize? You might want to tweak your dock or have a look at some accessibility settings.

Assignment 1.1

You spend quite some time in finder. You can customize how items get viewed. Play around with the settings.

Assignment 1.2

You can also customize your dock (taskbar). Change icons, change the size, auto-hide it, put whitespace between items.

Assignment 1.3

Have a look at automator. Any repetitive tasks you can automate? You might also want to take a look at Siri shortcuts.

Assignment 1.4

You can also try out IFTTT to automate between multiple devices (phone and macbook).

2. Hidden OS settings

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ym2pxzWpTNw" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Assignment 2.0

There are a lot of 'hidden' and 'secret' settings that can only be enabled trough the command line. Snazzylabs has some video's about them. Have a look at some of his video's and see if you can enable any additional settings.

🚨 Nerd Alert!

Optional assignment: Have a look at what .dotfiles are and try to create your own .macos executable to set-up your computer.

Keyboard remapping

  • Caps locks to ctrl
  • Key repeat
  • Trackpad gestures
  • MacOS touchbar
  • Keyboard shortcuts in applications

Assignment 2.2

Have a look at your keyboard and trackpad settings. What can you customize? Can you remap keys on your keyboard?

Assignment 2.3

Have a look at some common OS shortcuts, write down some your frequently use. Any new ones you did now of?

3. Utilities

You can extend the capabilities of your OS by installing applications, menu bar items and utilities.

Assignment 3.0

You probably don't want to manually drag windows. You can use a window manager for that. Find one, install it and try it out!

Assignment 3.1

Have a look at MacMenuBar. Any handy utilities our applications you want to install? You can look at Powertoys for Windows.

📝 IMO (1:00h)

💻 Automate everything
Listen to this Syntax.fm podcast episode about automating stuff. Did you get any more ideas? You can also watch the hackertools MIT video's about OS customization. Any advanced things you would like to try?