Spoken language is informal and therefore sometimes verbose:

You see this informal verbosity in code as well:

if (onDiet) {
    serveDessert(Dessert.BERRIES);
} else {
    serveDessert(Dessert.PIE);
}

But code should be neither informal, nor verbose. If performing one action, code should appear to be performing one action. The Ternary Operator can help:

serveDessert(onDiet ? Dessert.BERRIES : Dessert.PIE);

Used skillfully, the Ternary Operator keeps your code laconic, yet still perfectly clear:

If you haven’t seen Apple’s Quick Tips yet, take a look. The brief 1-3 minute videos feature Apple Geniuses who show you how to get more out of your Mac. They’re also available as a video podcast.

Here’s a small sample of the topics they cover:

An insightful piece by Systems Boy on how iMovie 8’s no-timeline design encourages you to regard your piece in other ways:

In iMovie 8 you’re forced to get a sense of the timing of the piece by watching your piece. This, at least for me, allowed for a true shift in focus. Suddenly I found myself much more engaged in the sound and imagery than the timing. And in my own sense of time, rather than that of actual, precise, numeric time. This was somewhat magical. — iMovie 8, systemboy.com, March 7, 2009

The screenshot tool in Mac OS X contains a nice detail: when you press Command+Shift+4 to select a region, the screen position of the cursor you’re shown before you click are replaced (when you click) by the dimensions of the rectangular region you’re selecting.

I’ve used that tool surely thousands of time, but only recently noticed it when I found myself wishing that it would show me the dimensions of the selection—and discovered that it did.