Resizing an Off-Screen iTunes Window

I’ve been using my MacBook full-time, either connected to the my 24" Apple LED Cinema Display or untethered on the couch or wherever. There’s one little annoyance that I had discovered, and since remedied. I figured I’d share it here.

When I work from my desk on the Cinema Display, some windows will be expanded to sizes that end up overflowing the smaller built-in display when I unplug. I’ll usually have a few Finder windows that are either completely or partially off-screen. (Shouldn’t they always be automatically resized for the new screen-space?) No trouble. You just hit the Zoom/Resize button on the top left corner of whichever window. However, if the iTunes window is overflowing the screen and you can’t reach the drag-resize corner on the bottom right, the Resize button collapses the iTunes window to the small "Player" display. I never even use this mode since Apple has incorporated basic iTunes controls in the function keys on the keyboard.

I Googled my dilemma a while back and didn’t find a solution, but I finally got the keywords right today. I found this blog thread where people were discussing a bunch of AppleScripts and plug-ins to manage Finder windows. I began to get a little disheartened with Apple for creating such an annoying bug that seemed so simple to squash with a little foresight and QA. But my faith in their UI practices kept me going.

“ijeff” says in post #11 that all you do is Option-Click the Resize button and the window will be refitted within the screen dimensions. You can also choose Windows > Zoom from the top menu, adds “Greg” in post #12.

Apple software is typically intuitive once you know a few basic key functions. This one was a mindbender for me and apparently other long-time Mac users. Gotta remember the hidden power of the Option/Alt key.

Transmitting Live from Mars

I've just contributed some information to Wikipedia. I've edited grammar and spelling before while surfing, but this is different. I've filled in a gap in the entry for De la Soul's "3 Feet High and Rising". The track "Transmitting Live from Mars" samples a seven inch, 33rpm record of French lessons. I own it. It's part of a box set, and my copy is in mint condition.

I forget when or where I picked it up, but I've had this set for years in a shoebox with the rest of my old seven inch book 'n' records. I remember listening to the whole thing while I was working or cooking or something, and the phrases that start the third lesson hit my ears like a prank caller suggesting I play a game of solitaire. It's really bizarre to stumble upon a sample like this in its original context.

I wore out my "3 Feet High" tape back in ’89. I listened to that thing every day on the bus to and from school. It was a loooong ride. I've probably listened to that particular track thousands of times. The backing music is a sample from "You Showed Me" by the Turtles. It's a dreamy song to begin with, but this De La track takes it to another place. Mars?

This has happened before. I've picked up other oddball dusties and have recognized samples. I had a Kojak Book and Record Set that was sampled on "Let Me In" from "De la Soul is Dead."

Woman: "What's this? In your pocket, that bulge. Harry, let me see it."
Woman: "Let me see the gun, Harry. I wanna see if it's been fired!"
Harry: "Why are you complaining? I've always given you a piece of the action."

You can find that one on eBay for as much as $20 sealed, but never a note in the listings to say that it was sampled by one of the most influential hip-hip acts of all time.