Common Mac OSX Keyboard Shortcuts

Updated 31 May 2008: Added F8 for spaces and link this post to Leopard.

I've always been a keyboard person, so this is the portion which I'm most interested in. Here's a listing of some of the keyboard shortcuts which I find useful:

Upon booting up:

• Hold the Option Key > Choose a different startup drive (for e.g. CD, Windows)
• Hold the "C" Key > Boot up from CD if possible
• Hold the Shift Key > Start in Mac Safe mode. Mainly to be used for troubleshooting

Finder commands:

• Shift + Apple/Windows Key + H > Goto your Home directory
  
• Shift + Apple/Windows Key + A > Goto your Applications directory

General commands:

• F8 > Shows you all your workspaces in the Mac (Leopard). This works together with F9.
  
• F9 > Shows you all the windows you have currently open in the Mac
  
• F10 > Shows you all the open windows for the current application
• F11 > Shows you the desktop
  
• Apple/Windows Key + W > Close the current window
• Apple/Windows Key + M > Minimize the current window
• Apple/Windows Key + Q > Quit the current active application
• Apple/Windows Key + Space Bar > Activate the Spotlight at the top right hand corner
• Apple/Windows Key + Tab > Switch between all applications
• Apple/Windows Key + ` > Switch between the open windows within an active application
  
• Apple/Windows Key + E > Eject the CD
• Apple/Windows Key + C > Copy
• Apple/Windows Key + X > Cut
• Apple/Windows Key + P > Paste
• Apple/Windows Key + Z > Undo
• Option + Apple/Windows Key + D > Show/Hide the Dock
  
• Option + Apple/Windows Key + Esc > Force quit an application (if application is frozen)
• Apple/Windows Key + Shift + 3 > Take a picture of the screen
• Apple/Windows Key + Shift + 4 + Space Bar > Take a picture of the active window of your choice
  
• Option + Apple/Windows Key + Eject > Sleep

These are just some of the common shortcuts I use. And of course the power button. :D

Hope it is useful.

The Feds should not cut their benchmark rate

Basically, the recent market turmoil plastered in the newspapers were due to a mortgage problem in the US. US, having a savings rate of -1.5%, are having higher defaults due to loans to people with little or no check on their credit worthiness. To summarize, these people might not be able to pay back. These loans are known as the sub-prime loans. I would say the US banks have proper risk management in place. The problem comes for those mortgage companies that is out to make a quick buck, as seen by the rising number of bankruptcy.

If you have read some other articles from the US, many people, especially those CEOs of the mortgage companies, are saying recession is coming because of this problem. Why are they saying that? That's because they want the Feds to save them by cutting their benchmark rate (current loan rate). The rate is now currently 5.25%. With lower loan rates, these mortgage companies might be able to save themselves.

Will this cause a recession? From a business perspective, I don't see how a company can make such excessive loans to people who are not credit-worthy. Under proper risk management guidelines, this should not happen. I believe the banks might make less money due to losses and defaults from this mess, but they'll survive. Economy will slow down a little since the time of easy money is gone. Recession?? Not likely. US did not become a superpower because of their property prices.

My take is that the current Fed chief is different from the previous chief. I don't think he is interested in bailing out those companies that take big, excessive risks in the name of higher profits. The feds having bigger problems because they cannot afford to cut the rates now when all the indicators are showing that energy and food costs will rise. Even in Singapore, our inflation is going to hit 3% this year, no thanks to the GST increase our government has mandated even though energy and food costs have been consistently rising.

Cutting the rates now might be good for the short-term, but long-term wise, it will just encourage easy credit. If I'm not wrong, US wants to reverse the negative savings rate to positive savings rate. Only way to do that is to make loans expensive. After which normal demand and supply will lower the consumption patterns. I mean if things are expensive, cut down on your expenses. The solution is not to borrow money. Their worry now is that it will lower their consumption too much. That was why they only cut the discount rate, which is the loan rate charged when banks borrow from the Feds.

The Feds should only start lowering the rate next year, and slowly. I won't be surprised if they hike the rate again after lowering it. This should give out a strong signal that they will no longer provide easy credit, and moderate consumption. Translated though, growth is going to slow for the US. For those that are dependent on the US market, they have to start to explore other markets. The global economy has been dependent on the US market for far too long.

I believe that is the main reason why Japan and Asean are going to sign a FTA by the end of this year. This is to boost trade and consumption. It will not stop the slowdown, but it does add diversification. Like it or not, the whole world is dependent on the US spending more than they earn. Times are changing though...

Seems like 2008 will be a very interesting year, with all these problems coming up. Global economy will slow down, as far as I can see. Rise of China remains to be seen. I've no idea how
they are going to do the Olympics. You've no idea how bad the pollution is in China. I can't even see blue skies in Shanghai when I was there.

However this does bring about an important point. I remember clearly that someone in Singapore has tried to compare the property prices here and the prices in Britain, saying our prices are low. Well... In case anyone is interested, Britain is even in a worse state than the US, in terms of their mortgage problems. You won't have mortgage problems if your property is priced in proportional to the average salary right?

Summary of CPF Changes

Updated on 18th Sept 2007 based on the latest news
Updated on 2nd Oct 2007 based on link provided by choozm
Updated on 8th Oct 2007 on CPF RSP Investments
Updated on 16th Oct 2007 on CPF ILP Single Premium Invstments
Updated on 1st Nov 2007 on CPF bank charges for present investments
Updated on 16 Feb 2008 on CPF annuity

Thought I would like to summarize the CPF changes since the "surprises" seem to have died down.

First and foremost, CPF interest rates will increase by 1% for the first $60,000 in all your CPF accounts. Meaning CPF ordinary account (CPF-OA) will have an additional 1% interest for the first $20,000, while the remaining $40,000 in your other CPF accounts will have an additional 1% interest. Note that the additional 1% interest in the CPF-OA account for all the accounts will be credited to your special account/retirement account. The housing loan will still be pegged to the original CPF-OA interest rate (2.5%) + 0.1%, as the extra 1% is considered as a bonus, and not the actual rate.

For those who invest their money using their CPF or has Recurring Single Premium Investment-Linked plans (ILP), the first $20,000 (max) from your CPF-OA, and the first $20,000 (max) from your SA account will be "locked-in". Meaning that now we have another layer of "minimum sum" in our accounts, in terms of investment needs. Existing housing, CPF insurance (includes regular premium ILP) and educational schemes will not be affected by the lock-in. Giving an example, if you have $20,000 in your OA, the lock-in will be for the $20,000 in your OA, $20,000 in your SA. If you have $10,000 in your OA, the lock-in will be for $10,000 in your OA, and $20,000 in your SA. The restriction for the lock-in will kick in 1 April 2008. Those who has already invested will not be affected. However, new RSPs in the CPF accounts will be affected, and subjected to the caps. Meaning if you do not have $20,000 in your OA/SA, you will not be allowed to RSP. The other rules will still apply, and it'll be applied on the actual amount in your accounts. For e.g., stocks restriction will include the $20,000 lock-in amount, and the charges (e.g. agent bank charges) for maintaining the present (not new) investments can still be drawn from your OA regardless of the lock-in.

The special account, retirement account and medisave account (CPF-SA, CPF-RA, CPF-MA) interest rates will no longer be pegged to CPF-OA interest rate + 1.5% (4%). Instead, the pegging will be to the government 10yr bond rate + 1%. Guess what's the rate currently? 3.3%! Average rate is around 3.5%. For e.g., for your first $40,000 in your CPF-SA+CPF-RA+CPF-MA, you will get 3.3%+1% interest rate. The rest of the money in those accounts will only get 3.3%. The current 10 yr bond rate is now around 2.9%. Therefore, the interest will be 3.9%. The government will guarantee a floor of 4% for 2 years (2008,2009). After which, there will be a floor of 2.5% for all the accounts. The CPF interest formula will be reviewed again 5 years later.

Upon reaching 55 years old, your minimum sum now will be divided into 2 portions. 1 portion will still be the sum of money which you will draw down later. A small portion of it will now be used to buy an annuity. An annuity is an insurance product designed to pay you a monthly sum as long as you live. However, the catch is that this payout from the annuity will only come when you reach 85 years old. Estimated payout will be $250-$300 per month. Therefore, you will have to expect a lower CPF monthly payout from your retirement funds because a portion of your retirements funds have been used to buy an annuity, which will not payout until 85 years old.I expect more news on this aspect because these changes are extremely unattractive as of now. Contrary to statistics, not many people can live till 85 years old, and not many people will want to live till that age, especially with the amount of stress we're having here. Please refer to this post for the annuity portion.

The official retirement age will stay at 62 years old. Instead, the government will pass a law stating that the company should re-hire the older workers (re-design the jobs) until 65 years old (year on year renewal) if conditions permit. Therefore, you can only draw down your money from the CPF accounts upon 65 years old. No longer 62 years old. This will take effect from 2012 onwards. They will phase in the changes every 2 years. Meaning 63 years old in 2013, 64 years old in 2016, and 65 years old in 2019. This will gradually be shifted to 67 years old. That means if you're not 62 years old with effect from the change, you're affected by these changes. Those affected directly will get a one-off bonus by the government. Those who are not affected, but voluntarily delay their draw-down age to 65 years old, will also get something from the government. More news will be out on this aspect later.

The deferment bonus will be based on the first $30,000 from your retirement account. Age 50-51: 3%, Age 52-53: 4%, Age 54-57: 5%. Those above 55 years old will receive the bonus on May 2008. The rest will get it upon reaching 55 years old.

The voluntary deferment bonus will also be based on the first $30,000 from your retirement account. It will be 2% bonus for each year of deferment from 62 until age 65. Age 54-55: 2%, Age 56-57: 2% x 2years, Age 58-61: 2% x 3years, Age 62: 2% x 2 years, Age 63: 2%.

In a nutshell, these are the proposed changes to the CPF. The nitty gritty details will be out in September (next month), and it should take effect by 1 Jan 2008. For the layman though, the changes are quite confusing.

The full ministerial statement of all the changes can be found here.

CPF Changes

Updated: Annuities

I never knew that National Day Rally can be so confusing.

First these CPF changes were announced on Sunday:

• CPF raising interest rates by 1% across the board.
  
• Applicable to only first $20,000 in the OA, and $60,000 (inclusive of the OA) of all the accounts combined. The rest of the money will have interest based on the current rates.
  
• The $60,000 will be "locked-in". Meaning you will not be able to use that amount of money to invest in other securities.
• People below 50 years of age as of this year will need to compulsory buy an annuity upon "retirement".
• Retirement age raised to 65 years old.
  

Thoughts after hearing this:

• Interest rate of 3.5% for my OA, and 5% for my other accounts. If I exceed, I get the old interest rates. Not bad... I don't mind putting my money inside.
• $60,000 locked in?? What do they mean by locking in? Does that mean once locked, it cannot be unlocked? Does that mean if someone just make 1 transaction to invest a small amount, the whole $60,000 will not get the additional 1%?
• No details on the annuity so I reserve my comments and thoughts.
  

Latest news today:

• Interest rates for SA/MA/RA will be pegged to long-term bond rate instead of a flat rate of OA + 1.5%.
• Buying of annuity will only take a small portion of the minimum sum. This annuity will only start paying out after 85 years old.
  
• The additional 1% of interest given will be credited to the special account

Thoughts today:

• Totally confused. Now they are "modifying" the news.
• The long term bond rate for Singapore bonds is only around 3.5%. That means that if they peg it, effectively they are reducing the default interest rates for the SA/MA/RA. This is a very big thing, and it should be announced together with the changes.
• With the addition of 1% for the first $60,000, that means the government is effectively removing some interest from the "rich", and giving it to the "poor". Smart move...
• From the latest news of the annuity, that means the retirement funds will be partly cash from the account, and partly returns from the annuity. that means a portion of the CPF will be used to invest in an annuity that will only give returns after 85 years old (estimated about $250-$300). Therefore, if you live longer than expected, you will still get a certain amount per month to "tide" you over. However, that means lower returns from your retirement funds from 65 years old to 85 years old.
  
• The additional 1% credited to SA instead is something I still could not understand. Does that mean all the extra 1% interest generated from all the accounts will be credited to the SA only? Not clear...

Considering that the main details will only come out next month, I guess I'll reserve my "final" thoughts. All in all, apart from the confusion, the changes to the CPF is quite okay. It's budget friendly, and yet help the lower income earners. Although the "retirement age" has been lifted to 65, all in all, I would think by 65, I'll still be alive and kicking. :D

The annuity part needs a bit more digestion. I would very much prefer if it works hand-in-hand with the payout from 65 years old. It will erase the concern that the annuity is "wasted" for those who thinks that they will not live till 85 years old.

The rich will of course not like the changes. :p

Will come back to this topic when there are more news. Confusion...

Securing the MacBook

One of the first things I did when I first booted up my Mac. These are the steps that I did to "secure" my Mac:

1. Create a separate standard user and use that user for your day to day use.
   
2. Click on System Preferences. It's on the toolbar at the bottom, or you can search for it by clicking on the magnifying glass at the top right hand corner.
   
3. Click on Security.
4. If the bottom right hand corner, shows a locked padlock, click on it and enter your administrator user ID and password
5. Ensure "Require password to wake this computer from sleep or screen saver", "Disable automatic login", "Require password to unlock each secure system preference" is checked. I would think the last one should be checked at least so your system preferences can be secured.
6. Click on Show All.
7. Click on Bluetooth.
8. Turn Bluetooth off and ensure that the Show Bluetooth status in the menu bar is checked. Showing the bluetooth status in the menubar will enable the bluetooth icon on the top. This will allow you to turn on and off the bluetooth without going into the System Preference.
   
9. Click on Sharing within the Bluetooth preference.
10. Ensure that the Bluetooth File Transfer is off.
11. Click on Show All.
12. Click on Sharing.
13. If the bottom right hand corner, shows a locked padlock, click on it and enter your administrator user ID and password
14. Click on the Services within Sharing.
    
15. Click on the services you need to be enabled. For a normal user, you can actually uncheck/disable every single service.
16. Click on the Firewall within Sharing.
17. Ensure your firewall is on. For me, the only firewall I have enabled is the Network Time so that my date/time can be synced with the time server.
    
18. Click on the Internet within Sharing.
19. My Internet sharing is off, but this will depend on your usage.
    

This I felt should be the bare minimum. If you are very security conscious, you can also enable File Vault in the security preference, which basically encrypts everything you have. However, you have to take note that if you forget your password and Master password, the files are gone. Some people do check on every checkbox in the Security preference, but I feel that this is overdoing it. I like to balance security with usage. I do not need such high security.

Hope this is useful... I will see if I have time to write about BootCamp. Now, that is interesting... :)

IT is dying?

When I was on-site doing some support, I met one of my old friends in the university. He told me he is becoming a teacher, and quiting IT altogether.

This is the trend now, and has been persisting since 2003. Does that mean IT is dying in Singapore? IT has been one of the most mis-treated groups in Singapore. Problems come and we are the ones at fault. Everything runs smoothly, no words of encouragement or increments. No wonder most has left, and most become teachers.

That's the problem with Singapore. Yes... You're cutting costs due to the competition in the global economy. However, your requirements should also moderate. This is the norm in the US, but over here, it's like treating IT personnel as second-class citizens. Continue this treatment and you'll find that no one will maintain your IT systems. You can have all the infrastructure in place, but with no one writing the software, its as good as heavy paper weights.

One thing I realized here is that the customers here doesn't seem to understand that time IS money. And time is worth much more than any products. You delay the project, there will be costs over-runs. Projects delay and people still go on holiday?

Oh well... I wonder how long I can last in this kind of environment. Back in 1997, we are treasured and appreciated. Now?

Recent Economy Condition

Seems like some of the action started when I was overseas. The big whammer came when I was just back in Singapore. Due to a credit crunch in the US, there was a global market correction. With the exception of China (because they are not really a free market), not a single country was spared.

That just proves how globally connected we are in this new age. Nowadays, there's no such thing like your country got problem, its none of my business. It is your business now.

So what has the US subprime loan problem have to do with Singapore? I can only make a few guesses:

1. Our property market will definitely be affected because most of the buyers for big and expensive apartments have been by foreigners. Prices might correct. Good news to the common folks.
2. Singapore economy might slow because US is the biggest consumer of products in the world. Why? They have a negative saving rates of -1.5%. They are spending more than they are earning. If this reverse, there will be a global slowdown which will persist until China is more matured. However, I don't think there would a recession. This however depends greatly on how the US handle this credit crunch. So far so good.
   
3. Because of the slowdown, the finance sector might be more prudent in dishing out loans. Therefore, SMEs in Singapore might face problems if they depend on loans to sustain their businesses.
   

Actually, has Singapore economy been booming after 2003? To me, certain sectors have been, like the finance and property industry. However, has this spread to the rest of the sectors? Not so, at least from the feedback I gathered. Many sectors have been on the decline steadily throughout the years.

Guess that's why the government has been emphasizing on re-training, and following the times. In this global economy, one must always try to keep up with the rest. This is getting tiring... I really like the days where I was studying. Or maybe I'm too kaypoh. :D

Whew... 1 performance down.

Whew... This has been a real busy week. Somehow, I managed to pull-off the performance yesterday. We played Anime Medley and Prince of Egypt. I got most of my parts correct, considering that I did not look at the score for a month. Does that mean that my playing improved? Or its just my memory? Oh well...

I had a slight scare though. The soloist got mobolized yesterday, and everyone was staring at me after that. I told them good luck. :D Luckily the soloist came back and said that he had 8hours to report back so he continued. Whewwwww. At least something went right this week.

Got a score. Impressions of Japan. Weird piece. C Major, but with so many flats. Hmmm... Guess I have to find time to take a look later. Busy busy busy... Just because of 2 trips I made. Things really pile up fast.

Why everything must happen at the same time?

I've no idea if I'm plain unlucky, or this is the norm. Whenever things happen, everything happens at the same time. Whenever things doesn't happen, nothing happens no matter what I do. Sometimes, I do wonder if all of us are plugged into a central matrix or something.

The past 1 month, I've been flying around, and I've some things that I meant to do that are pilling up.

In the middle of my trips, I got instructions to shift from my Windows laptop, to a Macbook. Luckily, I'm able to figure out how to do my everyday job using the Macbook. Will post some of the Macbook tips soon. Learned some stuff.

After that I received news that even though I missed guitar practise for 1 month, I might need to solo today for a performance!! Okay... I thought that was bad news.

Later on just 1 or 2hours before knocking off yesterday (I meant to knock off on time so I could go back and practise), my boss sprung a surprise on me and I ended up staying until 9+pm so I could rush something out for Monday's meeting. I had to wake up early this morning to practise so I can put up a credible performance later.

Okay, so you might be asking why am I writing a blog entry when I have a performance in a few hours time. That is because my hands hurt terribly. :( Ouch...

Who is more corrupt?

On my trip to Jakarta, someone remarked this statement which I cannot think of an easy answer. Who is more corrupt? The person receiving the money? Or the person giving the money?

Very often we only think about the people receiving the money. How about the person who's giving? I never thought about it. Shows that I need to learn to look more at 2 sides of the story.
Hmm...