Every time GarageBand exports a song, it first creates an uncompressed mixdown file, called Output.aif. It then compresses this file into the file that you actually see. If you ever want to access the raw, uncompressed file, you can do this:

1. Initiate the export. GarageBand says it's creating the mixdown.
2. Open up Activity Monitor (Applications » Utilities » Activity Monitor) and select the GarageBand process.
3. Press the Inspect button at the top.
4. Select the Open Files and Ports tab. Copy the contents of it into a text editor.
5. Search the text for Output; it's usually on the last line.
6. Copy the path to the clipboard -- it will be something long and ugly like /private/var/ folders/8c/8c6KjuqYGKCLxYlDtiJFJk+++TI/ -Tmp-/GarageBand/Export/Output.aif (robg says: Note that spaces were added to the path shown here to allow line breaks; the real path won't have spaces, of course.).
7. Open up Terminal (Applications » Utilities » Terminal). Enter mv, press the Space Bar, then press Command-V to paste the copied path, then press Space Bar one more time. Do not press Return yet.
8. Drag the folder in which you wish to save the raw mixdown file into the Terminal window, then press Return.
9. Wait for GarageBand to finish creating the mixdown.

That's it! As you moved the Output.aif file, GarageBand doesn't know where it is, so when it tries to compress the file, it'll fail. Therefore, the compressed M4A file won't be created.

[robg adds: I haven't tried this one.]

If you ever wish iMovie HD had more export options, like your favorite converter app (mine is MPEG Streamclip), there's a very simple way to use your third party converter app on an iMovie project. Control-click on the project file in the Finder and select Show Package Contents from the pop-up menu. Navigate into Shared Movies » GarageBand, where you'll find a tiny .mov file. Use this file as the input for whatever converter you want to use.

You can also simply double-click this file if you wish to watch your video without opening up iMovie HD.

[robg adds: Note that this hint applies to the older version of iMovie, not the new iMovie '08.]

If you use Facebook, you might be interested in syncing your friends' profile images and birthdays into your OS X address book. After trying a number of programs, none met my needs. So I created AddressBookSync, a free Facebook/OS X tool which matches Facebook friends to contacts in Address Book, and is able to sync their profile picture and birthday information. This utility is probably most useful for people who sync their phones (such as an iPhone) with their OS X Address Book for contact information. This way, they can keep their contacts' pictures updated with their latest and greatest Facebook profile picture, which will show up when they call.

AddressBookSync does not and will not support the synchronization of phone numbers or email addresses as Facebook does not allow this by their Terms of Service.

[robg adds: I haven't tested this utility. Note that this hint was submitted by the program's author, but given that it performs a useful service and seems to be completely free of charge (and any advertising in the app or the linked site), I felt it worth sharing.]

We have had a few video cameras, but it was always a real pain to submit short video clips to YouTube. Basically, I would need to create a short movie in a program like iMovie or Final Cut Express and then export it. This is something that is too complicated for my wife, so she asked me for some way to simply drag and drop a video onto an icon in her dock.

I put together these two scripts to automate that process. Just install youtube into /usr/bin/local, and youtube.app into /Applications (and then drag it to your Dock). First, here's the youtube shell script: You need to have ffmpeg installed, of course -- I suggest MacPorts -- and you may need or want to modify the above shell script to set the ffmpeg options, or the path to ffmpeg. Remember to make the script executable, too.

If you install LeeSoft's completely free ViOrb in your VMware Fusion Windows XP virtual machine (VM), then set the VM to use Unity mode, the ViOrb will stay running at the bottom left of your screen. As long as your dock isn't massively long, there's plenty of room for the Orb, and it works just like your Windows Start menu. You can then run programs in Unity mode and have access to the full Windows start menu, similar to Parallels' Coherence mode.

[robg adds: The functional Start menu is the one Parallels feature I miss when using Fusion, and ViOrb provides a relatively seamless workaround. (To get the original Start menu back, just right click on the ViOrb and select Exit from the contextual menu.)]

Macosxhints will be closed today and tomorrow for the Thanksgiving holiday (and Black Friday shopping extravaganza). For those in the US, I hope you have a safe and enjoyable holiday. The hints will return as usual on Monday

In the interim, I invite you to ponder OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard's actual "for sale" date. Apple stated last June that it was going to ship within "about a year," but exactly when will that be? Take your best guess in our latest poll. Personally, I voted for March, due mainly to it being the release month for the original OS X 10.0, but I've heard rumors of everything from January to July. What do you think? Will it Snow early next year, or will it be a summer Snow?

If you double-click an event in the 10.5 version of iCal, you get a little pop-up window with some details and Edit and Done buttons, as you probably already know. This window might look worthless for editing, but even if you don't press the Edit button, if you drag and drop some text onto this pop-up window, the text will be added to the notes field of the displayed event.

I did this by accident and was surprised it happened, so I tried a few more things. Drag and drop a file, and it is added as an attachment. Drag and drop a person from Address Book, and they are added as an attendee. You can also drag multiple people, or an existing group, to have them all added as attendees. Drag a URL, and its added as a clickable URL. So despite appearances, you can actually do some basic editing in the event info pop-up window.

[robg adds: If the even has an existing URL, it will be replaced with what you drag into the window. You can also add to an existing attendee list when dropping contacts. However, if the event has an existing Note, you won't be able to drag and drop text onto this window -- it will just 'bounce back' when dropped.]

I have auto-login enabled for my iChat accounts, and yet sometimes I start iChat wanting only some of the accounts to go online. Instead of quickly logging off those accounts I don't want logged in, I hold down the Shift key while iChat is starting. This disables auto-login for that session only -- the general preference is still intact, and the next time you start iChat (without using the Shift key), your accounts will auto-login as normal.

We know compiled NIBs don't open in Interface Builder (part of Xcode). As almost all Apple programs use compiled NIBs, it's a real pain to try to tweak their interface elements with Xcode. But some non-Apple programs use regular non-compiled NIBs, so the trick it to copy the compiled keyedobjects.nib file into a regular .nib resource, and then open it with Interface Builder.

Just navigate to the Content » Resources folder of the program you want to edit then, find, select and drag and drop the keyedobjects.nib you need to edit to some other non-compiled .nib. The original compiled keyedobjects.nib will then open and allow every usual interface tweaking.

Of course, I had some concerns about this trick. But I used it to edit the Keynote 3 resources, and so far, I've haven't seen any problems -- and Keynote is as stable as before. A nice way to edit the Leopard interface, maybe?

[robg adds: I haven't tested this one.]

The temperatures outside are dropping rapidly, and many of you will find your hands wrapped in thick gloves. And then suddenly, an important phone call drops in. Unless you've plugged in your earphones, or connected your Bluetooth headset to the iPhone, it will take quite a long time to get your hands free to slide the button to speak. So how to answer this important call quickly?

There are "alternative" ways to interact with your iPhone without having to uncover your fingers. For basic actions such as accepting a phone call or unlocking it to read a text message, you can use either your nose or, for some more precise gestures, your tongue. I know this isn't the most elegant way to operate your beloved iPhone, but in some cases, it needs to be quick and dirty...

For those of you finding this disgusting, but still don't want to run around with cold fingers, consider buying some fancy iPhone-enabled Dots Gloves. And for true lovers, you can act as if you were kissing your iPhone to speak to your friend!

[robg adds: I, um, haven't tested certain aspects of this one...and I have no intention of doing so! Still, the issue of winter + fingers in gloves + iPhone interaction is a relevant one for much of the world. In addition to the Dots Gloves linked above, Google found a number of interesting solutions to the problem, including gloves with flip-back tips, gloves without thumb or first finger tips, and Tavo gloves (warning: Flash-only site) that use a different material on the thumb and forefinger that apparently allows touchscreen interaction. If anyone has experience with iPhone-enabled gloves, feel free to post your thoughts...]