Chris Herbert

730 posts on MacStories since September 2010

Vector & pixel trafficker for Seymour Midwest LLC, regular MacStories contributor, Hip-Hop junkie all day long; Apple addict circa 1976.

[email protected]

Tip: Use Pocket’s Keyboard Shortcut In Google Chrome

Earlier this week, Pocket updated its ultra-handy bookmarklet and Chrome extension by adding tags after you’ve saved something. Along with this, the Chrome extension also received a useful shortcut (OS X: CMD+Shift+P, Windows: Ctrl+Shift+P) for even quicker saving.

This morning as I was drinking my coffee and reading my RSS/Twitter news I updated the Chrome extension, and then tried the new key combo… and tried… and tried. The only thing Chrome was doing was bringing up the Print Preview dialog box. Upon searching some Google Groups pages, I found an easy fix to disable the Print Preview box and let Pocket use its new shortcut as intended.

Directions: Type ‘about:flags’ in Chrome’s address bar and locate the ‘Disable Print Preview’ option. Click the underlined ‘Enable’ to disable Chrome’s print preview, then restart Chrome. Now CMD+Shift+P (OS X) or Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows) should activate the Pocket key command. Personally, I’d love for Pocket to add user-customizable shortcuts, so that users will have the option to use something else besides the default command to avoid this problem entirely.

By the way, if you haven’t checked out Pocket yet, read our review.

Kickstarter: Do More with the iPad + Brydge

Wow, Kickstarter has been on fire lately. People have some really great ideas that everyone wants to be a part of. Remember the Pebble from two weeks ago? It was looking for $100,000 in funding and now is at almost $7 million with 22 days left. Amazing!

Another product that’s getting a lot of attention is the Brydge, an accessory that turns your iPad into an Apple worthy laptop. “Brydge is an elegant solution to the lack of quality iPad keyboards and accessories currently on the market.” It’s made from aerospace-grade aluminum and optional stereo speakers. Load your iPad into the patent-pending extra-strong hinge and connect via a Bluetooth connection. The optional built-in stereo speakers are an excellent addition to the Brydge since the iPad lacks stereo sound.

Video after the break. Read more

The Humble Botanicula Debut

Spring is here, and what a better way to get you in the mood than a new game called Botanicula. Botanicula is a point’n’click exploration game created by the makers of award-winning Machinarium, development studio Amanita Design and Czech band DVA. Five friends, little tree creatures, set out on a journey to save the last seed from their home tree which is infested by evil parasites. Humble Bundle is debuting this game and offering more cross-platform titles (DRM free) to raise money for the habitat conservation charity World Land Trust. Donate for a great cause and get a bundle of excellent games in return. If you donate more than the average, you can acquire the bonus title Windosill, not otherwise available with the initial line up. If you bought these games separately, it would cost around $53, but they are letting you set the price. If you pay at least $5, you can optionally get a key to redeem the games on Steam (for Mac and Windows).

The Humble Botanicula Bundle includes lots of great titles such as Machinarium, Samorost 2, Windosill and the full-length feature film Kooky (with art direction by Amanita Design founder Jakub Dvorský), giving you plenty of unique Indie gaming to romp through this Spring. Soundtracks are also included with Botanicula, Machinarium, and Samorost 2. You can find links to all the great games below.

There’s fourteen days left to donate, so you have plenty of time to cash in your paycheck and donate to a worthy cause. Be sure to check out The Humble Botanicula official launch video after the break and get amped up!

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