Do just about anything on your Mac with your iPhone

I used Air Mouse Pro [iTunes  Link] quite often back in the day. In my opinion it is  one of the best mouse/trackpad applications for the iPhone. The setup is  quick, and it not only allows you to use it as a trackpad but also as a  gestures based pointer. You use it like a remote control for a TV,  flick your wrist and the cursor flies up, down, left, right, etc. Before I  had my Roku, I was using it everyday to watch movies on my Mac via  Netflix.

R.P.A. Tech, the makers of Air Mouse Pro, released a  significant update earlier this year. Now not only is it a mouse, but also an application launcher. It syncs with your dock  giving you the ability to launch, switch to and quit any application  sitting in your dock. Air Mouse gives you a visual of your current dock right on  your phone. Toggling the applications is very similar to the command +  tab [⌘+tab], command + Q [⌘+Q] shortcuts.

But what if you  want to launch and application that’s not in your dock? I have been  using Google’s Quick Search Box (gQSB). Right away the gQSB became my  default app launcher. I press [⌘+⌘] to activate the box, type any  application’s name and hit return. So how do we tie the two together to launch any application or command? Well, Air Mouse Pro has a separate  module controlling the the function keys F1-F12 as well as four shortcut  buttons you could use for assigning applications or scripts.

But the  gQSB is set to run in the background so it’s already open, it needs  activating not opening.

Here’s the steps:

1. Under the QSB  prefs make sure ‘open at log in’ is checked, then assign an obscure  keyboard shortcut to activate.

gQSB Preferences Window

-I used control+grave accent (tilde)  [⌃+~], making sure it was not already assigned to  the system.

Keyboard Shortcut’s

-You  may notice ⌘+⌘ is already assigned, but Air Mouse Pro only allows one  modifier key so you must create a new shortcut.

2. In the  Air Mouse server settings go to the ‘Hot Key Setup’, for the name I  chose gQSB, and the action is control+tilde [⌃+~], click apply with Air  Mouse open on your phone.

Air Mouse Pro Hot Keys Setup

You should now see one of the four buttons on top in the functions  module as gQSB. If everything went as planned tapping it will activate  the box.

Air Mouse Pro Function and Shortcut Module

From there you can do anything from launching any app, opening  files, Google queries. Best of all QSB can control system commands. Type  trash to empty the trash, shutdown, etc, a couple good article on all the  functionality can be found here and here.

The combination of Air  Mouse Pro [iTunes Link] and the Google Quick Search Box allow’s  you to do just about anything with your Mac from your phone.

I hate flying

Traveling by air is the biggest pain in the ass, it’s not just my imagination. I’m a cynic, I admit that, but airports, airplanes and the airlines annoy me just as much as cellular and insurance companies. Actually more considering I have to go through the traveling “process” more often. Although I do believe that some of the reasons many flight attendants and airline employees are less than a joy to work with is aggravation from their companies making the rules of conduct. But in my opinion that excuse quickly runs out.

Many of the low-level suits of the airline companies, those on the phones and in the airports, have the same artificial sense of elitist entitlement as their “frequent flyer”, “advantage” and any of the other eye-roller titles the blood suckers give to the customers they hook.

It’s not difficult to notice so many of the simple improvements airlines can make to make the flight just a little bit more bearable. obvious size constraints aside, my being 6’ 3” I could use just a tad more leg room, but my comfort runs into profit margins as it would require a reduction of seats. What would that mean in the long run? Simply put, an easy excuse to raise the fairs even more. So let’s focus on what could be done with the tools we already have. The drink cart: does it have to be the same size as the aisle? Especially since most airlines no longer serve food on the average flight? If you look at the cart you will notice that the edges have a metal trim on every corner and edge. I find it odd that it’s such an armored device considering most other trims in the plane are plastic and rubber to cut weight.

Another thing you will notice are all the dings and dents. To me, that’s like the fear I get parking next to a beat up car in the parking lot. Whether it’s the driver or the car(t) it doesn’t matter, truth is, it’s probably a combination of the two. Get some foam or any kind of padding, and wrap that up. Everyone will thank the first airline that implements this because everyone at one time or another has been a victim of the cart, and it hurts.

But I do want to stress again that the carts do not have to be that heavy or wide. There are so many lighter and better maneuverable alternatives available. Look at any of the latest high-tech baby strollers. Those hold and house the safety of a helpless child, something anyone sane person cherish’s much more than a bag of peanuts and a Sprite.

The armrest needs to be wide enough to hold more than 2/3s of an adult elbow. I always think about the non-verbal struggle my brother and I would have on family vacations when we would fight for armrest real estate. One person would always be taking up the front half and the other would have the back. What’s even worse is the raw deal the middle seat gets having to share with both neighbors.

Can we give some love to the brave one that gets blocked in by not one but two passengers? The window seat experience would be just a little bit more bearable if the surface around the window frame were a padding similar to what’s around the drink cart. It can’t be a porous foam as that would cause just a bit more spreading of bacteria and germs. Though its not like we should really worry about that considering the close quarters passengers sit in, but we are trying to improve the situation. By having the padding sealed it would allow for quicker better cleaning.

I would like to hear suggestions others have, feel free to add to the list…