The Tips - Mac Kung Fu - page 224

Tip 201
Make the Volume Ultra-Quiet
If your Mac has built-in speakers, you'll be familiar with altering the volume
using keyboard shortcuts (usually via the F11 and F12 keys). What you prob-
ably don't know is that there's a secret ultra-low volume setting.
To access it, press the volume decrease hotkey until the sound is muted (that
is, the speaker icon on-screen is struck through). Now press the actual mute
hotkey (usually F10). You'll see that the volume level is set at no bars. However,
the sound isn't muted. In fact, it's a notch quieter than the lowest setting
usually allowed—enough to hear things in a very quiet room.
Tip 202
View Application Icons Close-Up
This isn't the most useful tip in the world, but it's worth a try if you're a fan
of your Mac's look and feel and want to explore more. Here are a variety of
ways to view most Mac application icons, which are often high-quality works
of art.
Using Preview
Go to the Applications folder within Finder, click the application whose icon
you'd like to examine, and hit COMMAND + C to copy it to the clipboard. Start
Preview (open Finder, select the Applications list, and then double-click Pre-
view) and hit COMMAND + N to create a new file based on the clipboard contents.
Hey, presto! You should now be able to view (and even save) the application
icon in glorious high resolution. Several different sizes will be available, shown
in the drawer at the side.
Looking Inside Packages
You can also look inside individual app packages to find the icon, along with
any other icons the app uses. To do this, just find the app in the list within
Finder, and then drag and drop it on top of the Preview icon on the Dock.