Homebrew – For Noobs (Like Me)
I do not know what I’m doing when it comes to the terminal on my Mac. But one use-case, I really like, is Homebrew. So I wanted to explain what it is, and how to use it, to other newbies!
How to install it
I get that I haven’t told you why yet, but to install it, you just copy this into your terminal: $1
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
Then you just follow the quick guide. (I think you only have to copy and paste one set of commands.) For Mac, you can also go here to download the latest .pkg file.
It’s a “package manager”
And this just means that you use it to install, uninstall, and update other apps. These can both be command-line software (called formulae in Homebrew parlance) or what most would recognise as regular apps (called casks).
And here’s how you use it:
Installing something is as easy as typing brew install firefox. That’s it! No going to a website, no downloading of installers, no dragging and dropping, no nothin'! And you uninstall by typing brew uninstall google-chrome. Even though you’d be surprised by how many apps support installation through Homebrew, not every app does. Furthermore, every “app name” has to be only one word – so brew search chrome will help you find out if the app you want is there, and how you should address it.
It's Not Too Late to Listen to the October Trilogy
Terrific Albums for the Autumn
For any Norwegians reading this, this recommendation will be categorised as very cliché. But clichés are just that for a reason – and if you haven’t listened to these albums, you’re in for a treat.
The albums I’m referring to, are the following, by the Norwegian artist Thomas Dybdahl:
- … That Great October Sound (2001)
- Stray Dogs (2003)
- One Day You’ll Dance for Me, New York City (2004)
They were all released in October, and are the perfect companions to wool jumpers, a fireplace, and warm soup. But I get that listening to three albums is a big ask. So as a taste, you can listen to his shortest song, which is also one of my favourites: Dice
A Shortcut for Automatic Mac Dock Changes
Waste Your Money on Things That Last
A Defence of Buying Things
A couple of years ago, I was working full time as a teacher. And even though the pay in that profession is far too low, I was still quite comfortable (economically). However, the last few years, I’ve had way less spending power. I wanted to take a master’s degree, which (sadly, and luckily) led to my mind sort of rupturing, and me getting diagnosed with ADHD.1 Now I’m learning how I really work, while trying to get a freelance lifestyle up and running. I’m lucky in that I know that I can get a teacher job if I like (and need) to.2 And even luckier: I’m in a position where I can survive on less income for a while. So, we’ll see what the future holds – but nonetheless: Currently, I don’t have a lot of money to waste.
Some notes on privilege:
I live in a wealthy country, with plenty of social security, and come from a middle-class background. And the reason I talk about 'not having money to waste' instead of 'being poor' (even though I don't have a lot of income), is that I still have everything I need (and more). After all, this post is about being in the position of having money to waste! So I do know that I'm very privileged. However, I hope the principles I'm trying to get across can be relevant for several levels of affluence.
I’m not saying it’s wrong to spend your money on things like holidays and experiences. And you can absolutely argue that these things last in their own way! But I just wanted to give a little shout-out to something I feel like gets recommended less than those.
Pre-purchased luxury
How to Change macOS Keyboard Shortcuts for Window Management
Or Any Other Keyboard Shortcut, for That Matter (With Extra Added Fun for Multilingual Users)
This year, Apple decided to upgrade the default window management on macOS, from terrible to OK. However, I’ve heard some complaints about the keyboard shortcuts, as they use the Globe key, which can cause some problems if you want to automate the hotkeys somehow.
But I have good news: You can change these, and any* other, keyboard shortcuts!
16/10-24: Now updated to work with weird apps, like Discord!
Here’s (one way) how:
If you go into the System Settings app, hit Keyboard and then the button Keyboard Shortcuts…, you’ll open up a screen. In this, you can then hit App Shortcuts to come here:
This screen is for changing the keyboard shortcuts to the items in your menu bar (or adding to those who don’t have one already), like those shown in this image:
You can either add them only to specific apps (like you can see I’ve done), or to All Applications – and when we’re dealing with this window management, we need to do the latter.
Hitting + gives us this screen:
When writing the menu title, you have to be very specific. Here’s what it could look like: Format->Bulleted List
The spelling and capitalisation has to be exact – and you need to separate levels with a - and > and no spaces.
Here’s what it looks like if I want to set a hotkey for tiling a window top left:
Window->Move & Resize->Top Left
As the option sits two levels deep, I have to add a bit more – but it works!
Yes, the hotkey is Shift + Ctrl + Optn + Cmd + E, heh. But I use Karabiner-Elements to set up Caps Lock as all of those keys at once.1 Doing that creates a separate modifier, not used by any apps. A word for this, is Hyperkey, and it’s sometimes denoted by this symbol: ✦
The easiest way to set it up is probably with this little utility by Ryan Hanson, and I greatly recommend doing it.
I go more into how I manage windows here – but this is the short version:
- I always resize with just my left hand
- I’ve made a “grid” that uses Hyperkey (Caps Lock) + a letter:
WandEis Top Left Quarter and Top Right QuarterAis Left Half,Sis Maximise/Fill, andDis Right HalfZandXis Bottom Left Quarter and Bottom Right Quarter
The grid isn’t perfect, as I couldn’t set Hyper + Q as a hotkey, and I like to keep Hyper + C as OCR Copy. But I still really recommend this setup! For the rare cases I need something else, I use Lasso (launced with Hyper + Space).
Cons of the System Settings method:
- Pretty fiddly – you can’t even paste text, as it will think you’re trying to set
Command + Vas the hotkey - Doesn’t get backed up – you have to do it again if you reinstall macOS (Pro tip: Take a screenshot to “back up”!)
- Only works on menu bar items
Pros of the System Settings method:
- Works without third-party software
- Will change the displayed hotkey in the menu bar – making it easier to remember
An alternative: Keyboard Maestro
Big Milestone for Me: First One-a-Month Member
My little blog is added to the One-a-Month Club’s website. It’s “[a] collection of blogs and other web projects that make supporting them both simple and inexpensive by offering access to everything for as little as $1 per month.” The site is run by the excellent Jarrod over at Hey Dingus, and inspired by Manuel Moreale:
But I recently realised that tiers are the wrong approach. At least for me. I believe in kindness. I believe that if you decide to support something I do, you should get all the benefits, no matter how much you pay.
I also realised that 1$+/month is the best price possible when it comes to supporting online creators. The 1 part means you can set it up and forget about it because it’s a low enough amount that won’t make too much of a difference for the majority of people who are considering supporting online creators. The + part allows you to contribute more if you want to do so. And that’s just perfect.
And recently, I achieved two milestones is one, thanks to Numeric Citizen: Get a mention on a blog I follow, and my first donation.1
