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Recently, TouchPad, an app for remotely controlling your Mac from your iOS device, introduced an update that allows you to dictate text through Siri on your device and have it show up on your Mac. You can use this handy little feature in combination with Alfred, a launcher application for OS X, to make it easier to open programs, perform searches and open files on your computer from across the room.

What you’ll need

You’ll need an iPhone 4S with Siri turned on to get started, of course; TouchPad by Edovia from the iOS App Store ($4.99); and Alfred running on your target Mac, which you can pick up for free from Alfredapp.com. You’ll also need to make sure Screen Sharing is enabled on your Mac, which you can set up by going to System Preferences > Sharing and then checking the Screen Sharing box.

How it works and what you can do

Alfred basically allows you to quickly accomplish tasks through typing queries, application and filenames, instead of having to use the mouse to navigate through folders and your Launchpad application manager. With TouchPad, you can dictate text instead of typing it, which, if you’re operating a media Mac from your couch, for example saves you a lot of time and potential for improper entry via your iPhone’s software keyboard.

To get started, make sure Alfred is running (after the first run, it should be configured to launch at Login). Then, using TouchPad on your iPhone 4S, select the target Mac as the server, and use the software keyboard to type “Alt (⌥) + Space,” which calls Alfred up. Then, tap the microphone icon on your iOS device’s virtual keyboard within TouchPad, and simply say the name of any application you want to find. It should then transfer the text to Alfred, which will show if it found a match, and you can hit “Return” on your iPhone to launch it.

You can dictate any text you like, and options for searching the web will pop up, including Amazon, Google and Wikipedia by default. In Alfred’s preferences under the Features tab, you can also set up a custom search for any URL of your choosing, such as Facebook for instance.

Under the Features tab, you can set keywords to trigger actions related to certain files. By default, saying “Find xx” will locate files in Finder that match whatever term you use; “Open” followed by a keyword launches the file using its default associated application; and using “in” will find specific instances of a term within a file. Keywords allow you to control system features like shutting down your Mac, restarting or emptying the trash.

Even more possibilities

With the paid Alfred Powerpack for £12 ($18 USD), you can add more features to your Siri-enabled voice commands, including the ability to launch and control iTunes, email a contact or open Address Book, and enter specific URLs that launch automatically in your default browser.

Of course, this is all about Siri basically replacing typing, and you still have to hit the software “Return” key to make the magic happen, but it’s a lot easier than fumbling with VNC or virtual trackpad software when trying to navigate a Mac set up as a media center. If you’ve found other neat ways to use Siri on your Mac, please share them in the comments.

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Yesterday we posted a story about the possibility of new features being implemented in a future update to Siri. However, if you don’t feel like waiting, today the guys over at Techland have put together some tips and tricks for getting the most out of Siri and accomplishing tasks that aren’t currently built-in.

While text message charges will of course apply, here are a few tips for updating Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ by redirecting them through SMS. You can head over to Techland for many more Siri related tips and tricks including searching with Bing and Yahoo, dication tips, and how to “teach Siri hard-to-pronounce names”.

For Facebook:

For Facebook, text “Hello” to 32665 in the United States (or the short code for whatever country you’re in), then follow the link in the reply to finish the setup process. Add the short code to your Contacts, and name it “Facebook.” That way, you can tell Siri to “send a text to Facebook saying …”

For Twitter:

For Twitter, text “START” to 40404 in the United States (or the short code for other countries), then respond with your username, then your password. Add the short code to your Contacts with the name “Twitter.”

For Google+:

For Google+, visit your settings page and scroll down to “Set delivery preferences.” Add your cell phone number, but be sure to click “don’t notify me” if you don’t want incoming Google+ messages by text. Verify your number with the code you receive by phone, then add the short code “33669″ (in the U.S.) to your contacts as “Google Plus.” Updates are shared with everyone in your circles.

“What? No way, that’s not my Enrique Iglesias track. How’d that get on my iPhone?” Have you ever had your musical tastes harshly criticized by a friend who’s browsing through the music library on your iPhone? Apple’s now enabled users to avoid those awkward moments of friends discovering your guilty pleasures by allowing you to delete songs from your iPhone or iPad.

The process is just like deleting an unwanted email in your inbox. Simply find the track(s) you don’t want on your iOS 5 device anymore, slide your finger over the track listing to the left or the right to reveal a hidden “delete” button, and then select “delete” and the track is gone. Unfortunately there’s no mass delete option, so those Backstreet Boys songs are gonna have to be deleted one at a time.

With iTunes Match coming down the pipeline, the ability to delete unwanted tracks will be a much needed feature for those with large music libraries who need to free up disk space to download new music from iCloud. One of the nice things about the feature is that it treats all tracks equally, whether they were downloaded to your device directly from the iTunes app, or sync’d to your iOS 5 device previous. You can even delete the track that is currently playing.

• How Steve Jobs Just Monetized Pirated Music [WWDC 2011 Reaction]
• Use Volume Button Extender for Easy Music Control on Your iPhone [Jailbreak Superguide]
• One More Thing: iTunes Match Music Locker For $24.99 Per Year [WWDC 2011]
• Digital Music Sales Fall as iTunes Prices Increase
• Apple Moves Closer To Cloud-based iTunes With Streaming Samples

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAhP-yLJJ9s

When Steve takes the stage tomorrow morning, it’s pretty much a sure bet that he will use the words, magical, amazing, beautiful, and extraordinary a few dozen times each as he introduces the new iOS 5, iCloud and OS X Lion. We’re sure that iOS 5 is going to be great, but the iOSMagic Team has dreamed up something more amazing than even Steve Jobs can deliver.

[via Gizmodo]

• New Icon For iCloud Revealed at WWDC
• This Is What To Expect From Apple’s New iCloud Music Service [Feature]
• Apple May Give iCloud Away For Free With Lion
• Watch Steve Jobs Describe iCloud Back In 1997 [Video]
• WWDC 2011: What Are You Most Excited For? [Poll]

Some time we need to empty the trash folder when we are working on terminal. you can simple do this using the following command.

rm -rf ~/.Trash

to delete other user trash, use:

sudo rm -rf /Users/user_name/.Trash

*to delete other users trash, you have to use sudo.

If you use your Mac on a cross platform network often, you’ve surely run into the obnoxious creation of .DS_Store files. If you’re curious what the file is used for, DS_Store is a hidden file for Mac OS X that stores various bits of data for the Finder to remember, like icon position, making it completely useless for anyone besides you to see. By default, your Mac will create the .DS_Store file’s all over the place including accessed computers that aren’t Macs, creating an annoying mess for network users to find. Thankfully you can easily turn off the creation of DS_Store files on network connections:

Stop .DS_Store file creation on network shares

Launch the Terminal and type the following exactly:
defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteNetworkStores true
Restart your Mac and you will no longer have those pesky .DS_Store files appearing every time you browse a network share.