Neil's Apple Blog

No joy for the iPad with Google+

2012-01-13T09:13:00.001-05:00

The Google+ web site crashed Safari on my iPad three times in a row in desktop mode. The mobile version of the site is crippled. There's a half decent app for the iPhone, but nothing for the iPad. Let's hope Google stops treating the iPad like an afterthought and builds some decent apps for their social media service.

Full Screen: My Favorite Feature

2012-01-12T23:54:00.001-05:00

My favorite feature in Lion is, without a doubt, the ability to view apps in full screen. Most browsers offer this feature already (try pressing F11). It's great to be able to use it for other apps. The thing is, the borders of my Mac screen is cluttered with visual junk. I've got an army of icons on the right of my menu bar, for features I rarely use; I've got my dock tucked away on the left side of my screen with these microscopic icons that expand when I mouse over.

It's a significant amount of visual information, and frankly, for the vast majority of the time, it's just noise. I don't need access to all of that stuff when I'm trying to get something done. I want to be able to focus, and all that visual clutter just tempts me. Look at all the apps I've got running! Why don't I just pop over to my browser and see what's going on there? Look, it's Facebook! Here's someone I haven't seen in years! I wonder what they're up to?

And before I know it, I've completely lost track of what I was doing before. Now, with full screen, you can just focus on the app at hand. If you want any of those features, they are available just by running your cursor against the top or the sides or the bottom of the screen, and you are just a keystroke or a mouse click away from good old fashioned standard view, with your menu bars and docks and icons, icons, icons.

In this same spirit, Lion's overall visual style is much more muted. Gone is the lurid translucent eye candy, the scroll bars and window controls that look like Willy Wonka was hired to design the interface after he just finished his work on a new line of hard candies. The focus is now on what you are doing, not what an awesome looking operating system you have.

This was, I suspect, inspired by iOS, where your iPhone or iPad can only display one app at a time and you need to reach for the home button to switch to something else. I became quite attached to that approach on the iPad, and it's really the only way to go on a phone. Even iOS clutters the screen with a status bar across the top, so you can see what your signal strength is for Wifi, whether bluetooth is on, and of course, what time it is. So Lion's full screen mode is really superior, because everything is hidden, except for the app. It's gotten to the point where I find the standard view almost jarring, a riot of visual noise crying for my attention.

Fixing an External Volume that became read-only

2011-11-10T05:40:00.003-05:00

I store my iPhoto library on an external USB drive, formatted as HFS+, but all of a sudden, iPhoto started complaining that the volume was read-only and couldn't run. The fix: unmount and remount the volume in Disk Utility.

Getting Ready for Lion: Mac OS X 10.7 - Before you install

2011-10-31T16:29:00.000-04:00

I've waited long enough! Lion is now up to version 10.7.2, and it's time to make the move. Also, I want to connect my computer to iCloud, which is currently (only) supported in Lion. It's time to install Lion, but before I jump in, I want to make sure my Mac is ready.

Check Your Hardware

My MacBook Pro Core Duo with 2 GB of RAM is about the least powerful Mac I could install Lion onto, although according to MacWorld, any Mac released after 2006 should be able to handle it. It's strongly recommended that you upgrade to 4 GB if you can.

Prepare

Update your Apple software using Software Update. Use the App Store to download updates for other apps, and check to see if your favorite apps are also up-to-date if you didn't install them through the app store.
Check your startup disk with Disk Utility and ensure that permissions are set correctly.
Ensure your Time Machine backup is current.

Download

Lion is only available through the App Store, which means you need at least Snow Leopard (10.6) to download it, even. It's about a 3.8 GB download, so you may want to set it to download overnight if you have a slower connection.

When you purchase Lion from the App Store, you'll download a 3.81 GB file to your Application folder called Install Mac OS X Lion. I strongly suggest you back up this file to an external hard disk or network volume before you proceed with the installation, or follow the instructions on How to make a bootable Lion install disc or drive. You can use this to install Lion to another partition, to ensure Lion will work with your system.

Other Resources

The definitive OS X 10.7 Lion installation checklist - from GigaOm, this guide covers all the stuff you should do before you upgrade.
Get your Mac ready for Lion - MacWorld's pre-installation guide.
How to burn a Lion boot disc - If you want to create a installation DVD from your download.
How to make a bootable Lion install disc or drive - You can also make a bootable Lion flash drive or hard disc volume

Mac-only Skype security flaw discovered

2011-05-09T12:08:00.002-04:00

The Mac is vulnerable to malicious attack, just like Windows and Linux computers. In this case, it's vulnerable even though Windows and Linux users are not. "The long and the short of it is that an attacker needs only to send a victim a message and they can gain remote control of the victim's Mac," says Gordon Madden, describing the vulnerability he discovered on his recent blog post.

Skype responded on their blog, announcing a minor update, 5.1.0.922, released on April 14th. The solution is simple: Select Skype > Check for Updates and download the latest version, which includes the fix.

You can read more about this issue on the MacWorld blog post, Researcher identifies Skype 5 for Mac security flaw.

If you've had any problems with the patch, or Skype, or Mac security issues, post a comment here.

Set up the Mac Snow Leopard (10.6) Firewall to Allow Screen Sharing

2010-09-18T15:21:00.000-04:00

If you think Screen Sharing is configured correctly, but you can't connect to your Mac and share the screen, there may be a problem with your firewall settings. To check your current firewall settings on Snow Leopard (10.6) Mac to confirm Screen Sharing is correctly configured:

Check your Mac's Firewall Status

Open System Preferences
Click Security
Click the Firewall tab.
Check the Firewall status, on or off?.
Click the lock to make changes.
Enter your password.
If required, click [Start].

Review Open Ports

On the Firewall tab, click [Advanced...]
If required, uncheck Block all incoming connections
Screen Sharing should appear near the top of the list of configured services.
Confirm that Allow incoming connections is selected for Screen Sharing
Click [OK] to confirm the settings.

If problems persist and you still can't connect, turn the firewall off (follow the steps above to Check your Mac's Firewall Status) and then try to connect again. If you still can't share your Mac screen, the problem is not the firewall settings.

Connect to a Mac OS X Screen Sharing Server with Ubuntu's Remote Desktop Viewer

2010-05-20T10:14:00.001-04:00

Recent versions of Ubuntu, such as the recently released Ubuntu 10.04 LTS ("Lucid Lynx") include by default the Remote Desktop Viewer (Applications : Internet : Remote Desktop Viewer), which is really Vinagre, A VNC Client for the GNOME Desktop. This VNC client supports connections to Mac OS X using the Mac's Screen Sharing service, Apple's built-in implementation of the VNC server protocol.

Whether this works flawlessly or causes no end of frustration depends entirely on how you configure the Mac Screen Sharing server. Here's how to start viewing your Mac's screen (the server) on your Ubuntu desktop (the client).

Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)

The Mac VNC Server is called Screen Sharing. To configure it:

Open System Preferences : Sharing
Click the lock to make changes and enter an administrative user name and password.
Check Screen Sharing and Screen Sharing: On appears.

Configure Authentication Preferences

Click [Computer Settings]
Check Anyone may request permission to control screen
Check VNC viewers may control screen with password:
Enter a password you'll remember.
Click [OK]
Select Allow access for: All users
Click the lock to prevent further changes.

Mac Configuration Tips

You must specify a password, and not just for security reasons. If the Ubuntu Remote Desktop Viewer tries to connect to a Mac without a password set, it becomes confused and the connection fails.
You must allow Anyone to request permission to control screen and allow access for All users or you won't be able to log in either.

Connect using Ubuntu's Remote Desktop Viewer

Log into your Ubuntu desktop computer. To view your Mac's screen:

Select Applications : Internet : Remote Desktop Viewer
Your Mac's Computer Name should appear in the list of servers in the left column.
Click on you Mac's name and type in the password you entered on the Mac.
Click [Connect]

Troubleshooting Tips

Although OS X 10.5 runs on PowerPC Macs, like G5 computers, Vinarge gets the colors wrong when it displays the desktop. Intel Macs running 10.5 don't have this problem.

Using the Apple Bluetooth Keyboard with Your iPad

2010-05-19T10:38:00.000-04:00

My vintage (2008) MacBook Pro, SnowSurfer, just stopped displaying anything on the screen, rendering it basically useless, so I'm desperate to utilize my older Apple devices to keep on working. I'm still using an iMac G5 (iFive) as a scanner workstation, and I'm composing this post on iFive right now. But it doesn't take much to peg this old-school processor at 100%, so I'm going to see if I can use the iPad as much as possible. This requires hooking up a keyboard, since using the on-screen keyboard for all but the shortest entries is impractical.

My first attempts to pair the keyboard didn't work. I tried pairing my old school large format white-and-clear plastic Apple Wireless Keyboard, but the pairing process stalled out and never asked me to enter the pairing key code. This is too be expected, according to Apple's iPad: Apple Wireless Keyboard compatibility note on their Support site.

My 2007 Aluminum body Bluetooth keyboard (3 batteries) should work just fine, according to Apple. But, I'm having trouble getting the two to talk to each other. I finally got it to work by enabling discoverable mode (Apple Wireless Keyboard - 2007).

Here's my cheat sheet for troubleshooting Bluetooth keyboard connection problems with your iPad:

Search the web to confirm that your keyboard will even work with the iPad.
Replace the batteries in the keyboard. Low power issues cause all kinds of connection problems with Bluetooth.
Turn your iPad off by holding down the lock button in the upper right corner. Then turn it on again by holding down the same button.
On the iPad, go to Settings > General > Bluetooth. Turn Bluetooth on (or turn it off and on).
Turn the keyboard on (or off and on) to ensure the keyboard is in discoverable mode.
Follow the on-screen prompt and enter the passcode.

Enjoy your keyboard, and be sure to try the standard keyboard shortcuts:

Cut, Copy, Paste and Undo using the command key.
Command-Arrow and Option-Arrow to move the cursor quickly.
Hold down the Shift key while moving the cursor to select text.

Watch Amazing iPad Keyboard Tricks to see these keyboard shortcuts in action. I don't think these shortcuts are truly amazing, but "Pretty Useful iPd Keyboard Tricks that You Are Probably Already Using on Your Mac" is not such a compelling headline.

If you've gotten another Bluetooth keyboard to work with your iPad, post a comment below.

SuperDuper!

2010-03-04T11:20:00.000-05:00

I'm a big fan of SuperDuper!, the free backup and disk copying utility that specializes in creating bootable backups:

We do this by quickly and efficiently creating a fully bootable copy of your source drive. Perhaps more importantly, recovery is near immediate, even if the original drive is completely unusable, because you can start up from your backup and continue working.

I use it if I'm going to vaporize the contents of the boot volume (to prepare for a clean install of Mac OS X, for example) to ensure I can roll back to the original set up. You can also use it to maintain a bootable backup using the Disk Image Read/Write "Sparse" Bundle option, which I also like to use to back up before I erase.

To make SuperDuper! part of your daily backup routine, you can purchase the full version,

to unlock scheduling, Smart Update (which saves a lot of time), Sandboxes, scripting and more.

Worth $27.95, I think.

WD 2 TB My Book Essential Product Review

2010-03-04T11:06:00.003-05:00

I just bought a Western Digital My Book Essential 2 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive to back up a number of Macs I'm upgrading, and then to use as additional storage for my Mac mini media center, miniwood. It ships with an NTFS partition and some drive management software called WD SmartWare that ships on a separate partition that mounts as a read-only CD. Unfortunately, many of the Mac tools I want to use, like SuperDuper and Time Machine, require a Mac partition. The WD SmartWare tools support backup and recovery, as well as letting you tweak some of the drive settings, lock the drive, and so on. I don't want to use a proprietary backup solution when I've got two good free options (Time Machine and SuperDuper) that just require a Mac partition.

At first, I tried to erase the main NTFS partition in Disk Utility, but I couldn't create a Mac partition on the Erase tab. as I got an "undefined Erase error". Oddly, I could Instead, I had to select the hard drive and then use the Partition tab to create a Mac partition. This worked, but I still have the somewhat irritating WD SmartWare partition chewing up 220 MB of perfectly good disk space. [Note: UltraNEO points out in the comments, below, that the WD SmartWare partition is actually embedded in the proprietary controller card, so it doesn't take up any disk space, and of course can't be deleted either.]

So, although I'm a big fan of Western Digital drives, this model is not ideal for uses that require a Mac partition, such as SuperDuper backups. If you don't mind working a little harder in Disk Utility to prepare a Mac partition, however, you can use most of the drive for a Mac volume.

If you've been able to remove the WD SmartWare partition on your WD My Book Essential, let me know.

Upgrading the RAM on a MacBook

2010-03-04T10:16:00.001-05:00

I'm upgrading the RAM in a white 2007 MacBook (2.2 GHz Intel Core Duo), replacing the two 512 MB chips with 2x1GB PC2 5300 667Mhz SODIMM DDR2 RAM, to max out the RAM at 2 GB. I picked up the 1 GB chips at MicroCenter.

The only tool required is a small Phillips head screwdriver; I used one from my glasses repair kit.

To upgrade the RAM, start by removing the battery from the back of the computer. There's a handy diagram on the bottom of the battery compartment that I must admit I couldn't understand until I watched this helpful video: How to Install Memory into the Apple MacBook.

I recommend checking out the video because it covers a lot of little tips that make the whole endeavor go much smoother. Note that the Philips head screws in the bracket you remove are captive; in other words, you can't unscrew them entirely from the bracket, which means you can't lose them unless you misplace the entire bracket (a nice design touch; thanks Apple).

Not mentioned in the video, but important to remember any time you are handling RAM chips:

Always discharge any static electricity you may have accumulated on your person before you grab a chip by touching some metal, preferably on the computer. In this case, there's plenty of metal in the battery compartment; just touch it before you pop the chips out.
Always handle the RAM chips by their edges; don't grab the circuit board area, and don't touch the metal contacts along the edge that seats into the memory slots.

After I swapped in the new RAM, I replaced the battery, flipped the MacBook over, and turned it on. As soon as the Finder loaded, I went straight to the Apple menu and selected About This Mac to confirm the computer was recognizing the entire 2 GB. All set!

SnowSurfer: MacBook Pro

2010-02-20T22:23:00.000-05:00

My primary computer, SnowSurfer is a MacBook Pro running Mac OS X 10.6.2.

SnowSurfer

2/20/10 10:13 PM

Hardware:

Hardware Overview:

Model Name: MacBook Pro

Model Identifier: MacBookPro3,1

Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo

Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz

Number Of Processors: 1

Total Number Of Cores: 2

L2 Cache: 4 MB

Memory: 4 GB

Bus Speed: 800 MHz

Boot ROM Version: MBP31.0070.B07

SMC Version (system): 1.16f11

Serial Number (system): W88041YMX92

Hardware UUID: 00000000-0000-1000-8000-001EC20F7FFE

Sudden Motion Sensor:

State: Enabled

Network:

Bluetooth DUN:

Type: PPP (PPPSerial)

Hardware: Modem

BSD Device Name: Bluetooth-Modem

IPv4:

Configuration Method: PPP

IPv6:

Configuration Method: Automatic

Proxies:

FTP Passive Mode: Yes

Service Order: 0

Ethernet:

Type: Ethernet

Hardware: Ethernet

BSD Device Name: en0

IPv4:

Configuration Method: DHCP

IPv6:

Configuration Method: Automatic

Ethernet:

MAC Address: 00:1e:c2:0f:7f:fe

Media Options:

Media Subtype: Auto Select

Proxies:

Exceptions List: *.local, 169.254/16

FTP Passive Mode: Yes

Service Order: 1

FireWire:

Type: FireWire

Hardware: FireWire

BSD Device Name: fw0

IPv4:

Configuration Method: DHCP

IPv6:

Configuration Method: Automatic

Ethernet:

MAC Address: 00:1f:5b:ff:fe:04:07:ea

Media Options: Full Duplex

Media Subtype: Auto Select

Proxies:

Exceptions List: *.local, 169.254/16

FTP Passive Mode: Yes

Service Order: 2

AirPort:

Type: AirPort

Hardware: AirPort

BSD Device Name: en1

IPv4 Addresses: 192.168.1.3

IPv4:

Addresses: 192.168.1.3

Configuration Method: DHCP

Interface Name: en1

Network Signature: IPv4.Router=192.168.1.1;IPv4.RouterHardwareAddress=00:18:01:29:61:77

Router: 192.168.1.1

Subnet Masks: 255.255.255.0

IPv6:

Configuration Method: Automatic

DNS:

Domain Name: home

Server Addresses: 192.168.1.1

DHCP Server Responses:

Domain Name: home

Domain Name Servers: 192.168.1.1

Lease Duration (seconds): 0

DHCP Message Type: 0x05

Routers: 192.168.1.1

Server Identifier: 192.168.1.1

Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

Ethernet:

MAC Address: 00:1e:52:76:17:cc

Media Options:

Media Subtype: Auto Select

Proxies:

Exceptions List: *.local, 169.254/16

FTP Passive Mode: Yes

Service Order: 3

Software:

System Software Overview:

System Version: Mac OS X 10.6.2 (10C540)

Kernel Version: Darwin 10.2.0

Boot Volume: SilverSurfer140

Boot Mode: Normal

Computer Name: SnowSurfer

User Name: Neil Johnson (neil)

Secure Virtual Memory: Enabled

64-bit Kernel and Extensions: No

Time since boot: 23 minutes

ATA:

ATA Bus:

HL-DT-ST DVDRW GSA-S10N:

Model: HL-DT-ST DVDRW GSA-S10N

Revision: AP09

Serial Number: K1U7CS92027

Detachable Drive: No

Protocol: ATAPI

Unit Number: 0

Socket Type: Internal

Low Power Polling: Yes

Power Off: Yes

Audio (Built In):

Intel High Definition Audio:

Device ID: 0x106B00A0

Audio ID: 44

Available Devices:

Speaker:

Connection: Internal

Headphone:

Connection: Combo

Internal Microphone:

Connection: Internal

Line In:

Connection: Combo

S/P-DIF Out:

Connection: Combo

S/P-DIF In:

Connection: Combo

Bluetooth:

Apple Bluetooth Software Version: 2.2.4f3

Hardware Settings:

SnowSurfer:

Address: 00-1e-52-e3-49-35

Manufacturer: Cambridge Silicon Radio

Firmware Version: 1965

Bluetooth Power: On

Discoverable: Yes

HCI Version: 3 ($3)

HCI Revision: 1965 ($7ad)

LMP Version: 3 ($3)

LMP Subversion: 1965 ($7ad)

Device Type (Major): Computer

Device Type (Complete): Macintosh Portable

Composite Class Of Device: 3670284 ($38010c)

Device Class (Major): 1 ($1)

Device Class (Minor): 3 ($3)

Service Class: 448 ($1c0)

Requires Authentication: No

Services:

Bluetooth File Transfer:

Folder other devices can browse: ~/Public

Requires Authentication: Yes

State: Enabled

Bluetooth File Exchange:

Folder for accepted items: ~/Downloads

Requires Authentication: No

When other items are accepted: Ask

When PIM items are accepted: Ask

When receiving items: Prompt for each file

State: Enabled

Devices (Paired, Favorites, etc):

FireFly-D880:

Name: FireFly-D880

Address: 00-06-66-00-d8-80

Type: Unknown

Services: SPP

Paired: Yes

Favorite: No

Connected: No

Manufacturer: Cambridge Silicon Radio ($3, $ce0)

Incoming Serial Ports:

Serial Port 1:

Name: Bluetooth-PDA-Sync

RFCOMM Channel: 3

Requires Authentication: No

Outgoing Serial Ports:

Serial Port 1:

Address:

Name: Bluetooth-Modem

RFCOMM Channel: 0

Requires Authentication: No

Serial Port 2:

Address: 00-06-66-00-D8-80

Name: FireFly-D880-SPP

RFCOMM Channel: 1

Requires Authentication: No

Diagnostics:

Power On Self-Test:

Last Run: 2/20/10 9:50 PM

Result: Passed

Disc Burning:

HL-DT-ST DVDRW GSA-S10N:

Firmware Revision: AP09

Interconnect: ATAPI

Burn Support: Yes (Apple Shipping Drive)

Cache: 2048 KB

Reads DVD: Yes

CD-Write: -R, -RW

DVD-Write: -R, -R DL, -RW, +R, +R DL, +RW

Write Strategies: CD-TAO, CD-SAO, CD-Raw, DVD-DAO

Media: To show the available burn speeds, insert a disc and choose View > Refresh

Ethernet Cards:

pci168c,24:

Type: Other Network Controller

Bus: PCI

Slot: PCI Slot 5

Vendor ID: 0x168c

Device ID: 0x0024

Subsystem Vendor ID: 0x106b

Subsystem ID: 0x0087

Revision ID: 0x0001

Link Width: x1

Marvell Yukon Gigabit Adapter 88E8055 Singleport Copper SA:

Name: ethernet

Type: Ethernet Controller

Bus: PCI

Vendor ID: 0x11ab

Device ID: 0x436a

Subsystem Vendor ID: 0x11ab

Subsystem ID: 0x00ba

Revision ID: 0x0013

Link Width: x1

FireWire:

FireWire Bus:

Maximum Speed: Up to 800 Mb/sec

Graphics/Displays:

NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT:

Chipset Model: GeForce 8600M GT

Type: GPU

Bus: PCIe

PCIe Lane Width: x8

VRAM (Total): 256 MB

Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)

Device ID: 0x0407

Revision ID: 0x00a1

ROM Revision: 3175

Displays:

Color LCD:

Resolution: 1440 x 900

Pixel Depth: 32-Bit Color (ARGB8888)

Main Display: Yes

Mirror: Off

Online: Yes

Built-In: Yes

Display Connector:

Status: No Display Connected

Memory:

Memory Slots:

ECC: Disabled

BANK 0/DIMM0:

Size: 2 GB

Type: DDR2 SDRAM

Speed: 667 MHz

Status: OK

Manufacturer: 0x7F7F7F8300000000

Part Number: 0x202020202020202020202020202020202020

Serial Number: 0x00000000

BANK 1/DIMM1:

Size: 2 GB

Type: DDR2 SDRAM

Speed: 667 MHz

Status: OK

Manufacturer: 0x7F7F7F8300000000

Part Number: 0x202020202020202020202020202020202020

Serial Number: 0x00000000

PCI Cards:

pci168c,24:

Type: Other Network Controller

Driver Installed: Yes

Bus: PCI

Slot: PCI Slot 5

Vendor ID: 0x168c

Device ID: 0x0024

Subsystem Vendor ID: 0x106b

Subsystem ID: 0x0087

Revision ID: 0x0001

Link Width: x1

Link Speed: 2.5 GT/s

Power:

Battery Information:

Model Information:

Manufacturer: Sony

Device name: ASMB012

Pack Lot Code: 0001

PCB Lot Code: 0000

Firmware Version: 0110

Hardware Revision: 0500

Cell Revision: 0303

Charge Information:

Charge remaining (mAh): 4351

Fully charged: No

Charging: No

Full charge capacity (mAh): 4998

Health Information:

Cycle count: 31

Condition: Normal

Battery Installed: Yes

Amperage (mA): -1430

Voltage (mV): 11920

System Power Settings:

AC Power:

System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10

Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10

Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10

Automatic Restart On Power Loss: No

Wake On AC Change: No

Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes

Wake On LAN: No

Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes

Battery Power:

System Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10

Disk Sleep Timer (Minutes): 10

Display Sleep Timer (Minutes): 2

Wake On AC Change: No

Wake On Clamshell Open: Yes

Current Power Source: Yes

Display Sleep Uses Dim: Yes

Reduce Brightness: Yes

Hardware Configuration:

UPS Installed: No

AC Charger Information:

Connected: No

Charging: No

Printers:

The printers list is empty. To add printers, choose Apple menu > System Preferences…, click Print & Fax, and then click Add (+).:

CUPS Version: 1.4.2 (cups-218.5)

Serial-ATA:

Intel ICH8-M AHCI:

Vendor: Intel

Product: ICH8-M AHCI

Speed: 1.5 Gigabit

Description: AHCI Version 1.10 Supported

FUJITSU MHW2160BHPL:

Capacity: 160.04 GB (160,041,885,696 bytes)

Model: FUJITSU MHW2160BHPL

Revision: 0081001C

Serial Number: K11GT7C2GVYF

Native Command Queuing: Yes

Queue Depth: 32

Removable Media: No

Detachable Drive: No

BSD Name: disk0

Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)

S.M.A.R.T. status: Verified

Volumes:

SilverSurfer140:

Capacity: 141.6 GB (141,599,703,040 bytes)

Available: 116.33 GB (116,332,859,392 bytes)

Writable: Yes

File System: Journaled HFS+

BSD Name: disk0s2

Mount Point: /

WINDOWS20:

Capacity: 18.1 GB (18,098,208,768 bytes)

Available: 3.76 GB (3,758,260,224 bytes)

Writable: Yes

File System: MS-DOS FAT32

BSD Name: disk0s3

Mount Point: /Volumes/WINDOWS20

USB:

USB High-Speed Bus:

Host Controller Location: Built-in USB

Host Controller Driver: AppleUSBEHCI

PCI Device ID: 0x283a

PCI Revision ID: 0x0003

PCI Vendor ID: 0x8086

Bus Number: 0xfa

USB High-Speed Bus:

Host Controller Location: Built-in USB

Host Controller Driver: AppleUSBEHCI

PCI Device ID: 0x2836

PCI Revision ID: 0x0003

PCI Vendor ID: 0x8086

Bus Number: 0xfd

Built-in iSight:

Product ID: 0x8502

Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Inc.)

Version: 1.55

Serial Number: E07339B1EEA9D997 (03.01)

Speed: Up to 480 Mb/sec

Manufacturer: Apple Inc.

Location ID: 0xfd400000

Current Available (mA): 500

Current Required (mA): 500

USB Bus:

Host Controller Location: Built-in USB

Host Controller Driver: AppleUSBUHCI

PCI Device ID: 0x2834

PCI Revision ID: 0x0003

PCI Vendor ID: 0x8086

Bus Number: 0x1a

Bluetooth USB Host Controller:

Product ID: 0x8205

Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Inc.)

Version: 19.65

Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec

Manufacturer: Apple Inc.

Location ID: 0x1a100000

Current Available (mA): 500

Current Required (mA): 0

USB Bus:

Host Controller Location: Built-in USB

Host Controller Driver: AppleUSBUHCI

PCI Device ID: 0x2835

PCI Revision ID: 0x0003

PCI Vendor ID: 0x8086

Bus Number: 0x3a

USB Bus:

Host Controller Location: Built-in USB

Host Controller Driver: AppleUSBUHCI

PCI Device ID: 0x2830

PCI Revision ID: 0x0003

PCI Vendor ID: 0x8086

Bus Number: 0x1d

USB Bus:

Host Controller Location: Built-in USB

Host Controller Driver: AppleUSBUHCI

PCI Device ID: 0x2831

PCI Revision ID: 0x0003

PCI Vendor ID: 0x8086

Bus Number: 0x3d

USB Bus:

Host Controller Location: Built-in USB

Host Controller Driver: AppleUSBUHCI

PCI Device ID: 0x2832

PCI Revision ID: 0x0003

PCI Vendor ID: 0x8086

Bus Number: 0x5d

Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad:

Product ID: 0x021a

Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Inc.)

Version: 0.18

Speed: Up to 12 Mb/sec

Manufacturer: Apple Computer

Location ID: 0x5d200000

Current Available (mA): 500

Current Required (mA): 40

IR Receiver:

Product ID: 0x8242

Vendor ID: 0x05ac (Apple Inc.)

Version: 0.16

Speed: Up to 1.5 Mb/sec

Manufacturer: Apple Computer, Inc.

Location ID: 0x5d100000

Current Available (mA): 500

Current Required (mA): 100

AirPort:

Software Versions:

Menu Extra: 6.2 (620.24)

configd plug-in: 6.2 (620.15.1)

System Profiler: 6.0 (600.9)

Network Preference: 6.2 (620.24)

AirPort Utility: 5.4.2 (542.23)

IO80211 Family: 3.1 (310.6)

Interfaces:

en1:

Card Type: AirPort Extreme (0x168C, 0x87)

Firmware Version: Atheros 5416: 2.0.19.8

Locale: FCC

Country Code: US

Supported PHY Modes: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Supported Channels: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 149, 153, 157, 161, 165

Status: Connected

Current Network Information:

cyberdyne:

PHY Mode: 802.11g

BSSID: 0:18:1:e9:84:6e

Channel: 11

Network Type: Infrastructure

Security: WPA2 Personal

Signal / Noise: -45 dBm / -96 dBm

Transmit Rate: 54

Other Local Wireless Networks:

WYTO4:

PHY Mode: 802.11g

BSSID: 0:18:1:f9:18:88

Channel: 1

Network Type: Infrastructure

Security: WEP

Signal / Noise: -83 dBm / -96 dBm

Copy Music from Your Mac to your Android Phone via USB

2010-01-28T17:01:00.001-05:00

With a USB charger / connection cable, it's easy to copy music files from your Mac to a Google Android phone, like the Motorola DROID. How to copy music to your Android phone from your Mac:

This tutorial will take you step by step through the process of adding audio files (MP3, OGG, WMA etc) to your Android phone.

The tutorial includes some handy screen shots, and step-by-step instructions.

Mac Essentials: Leopard

2009-12-13T02:02:00.005-05:00

Here's what I need on my Leopard account, in order of appearance:

Safari: get online. Other browsers I like: Firefox, Google Chrome
MobileMe: automatically sync bookmarks, calendar, contacts, remote storage across all Apple gear (Macs, iPods, iPhones). Replace data on computer for the first sync.
OmniFocus: Preferences > Sync > MobileMe; authenticate; Replace your database and start syncing? [Sync]
DropBox: my files (and passwords)
1Password: Sync passwords across Macs, after Dropbox synchronizes.

Without using Mail, my home folder is 1.34 GB.

Essential Web Sites

Google Account
My Yahoo

Apple Settings

Enable Spaces
Dock: Left. Option-Cmd-D = Toggle Dock

Other Favorites

TextMate

Sad Macs

2009-12-12T23:45:00.006-05:00

Silversurfer is hurting. My primary login is not working well.

Now, I logged in to the Guest account on SilverSurfer. Do I see those crazy Safari slowdowns? Right now, I'm using the new Chrome beta for the Mac to type this into Blogger.com.

I've managed to confound iFive. I'm hoping to execute a clean shutdown. I'm mid-sync with the iPod Touch and I've managed to max it out.

Here's my plan for SilverSurfer: Make a disk image, save it to a local HD, then update to Snow Leopard.

I think there's some problem with my account, since the Guest account seems to handle a heavy load without a problem.

So, can I make an image from the guest account?

I'm in pretty good shape, right now, with a local text editor and a quick login to my blog. I like that Chrome is out on the Mac, too.

I'm thinking that before I pull the plug on SilverSurfer, I'll try to set up a new account for me.

Rocking the Mac Terminal

2009-06-29T22:22:00.001-04:00

For the system administrator
Shutdown:shutdown now
Restart:shutdown -r now
Install all updates:sudo softwareupdate -i -a

Install only recommended updates

sudo softwareupdate -i -r

Other cool links

The extremely Handy Mac OSX Command Line Tricks | Snipe.Net
For the hardcore: Art Of Geek » Useful Mac OS X Terminal Commands.
Short but sweet: Hidden Gems Inside Mac OSX Terminal | A BulletProof Idea*
25 Terminal Tips Every Mac User Should Know | Mac|Life
Use "defaults" for just about everything: Secrets (from Blacktree)
40 Useful Mac OS X Shell Scripts and Terminal Commands covers system administration, networking, clipboard manipulation, web server & HTML,
Pimp your Mac via the command line: Top 50 Terminal Commands | Mac Tricks And Tips - lots of tweaks for the Mac UI, plus some other useful hacks. Also: List All Possible Terminal Commands (press and hold Escape), and the useful Five Quick Terminal Tips.
A shorter version of some key Pimp My Mac commands: Top 15 Terminal Commands for Hidden Mac OS X Settings | Terminal, Dock/Exposé/Dashboard, iTunes + iPod, Finder, Safari.
From Lifehacker - Useful Command Line Tricks for Mac Users - includes cool Spotlight tips.
Terminal commands for improving Spotlight covers Spotlight-specific commands in detail.
An extensive alphabetical list of OS X commands

Eject or boot from a CD or DVD at startup

2009-03-27T10:57:00.001-04:00

To eject a disc that won’t pop out if you try to eject it in the Finder (Cmd-E):

turn on or restart the Mac
hold down the Eject button on the keyboard (Apple keyboard required, of course).

To boot from a CD or DVD that you’ve inserted while the Mac is running:

select Restart from the Apple menu
hold down the “C” key as soon as the Mac restarts.

You can let go as soon as the little rotator appears under the apple icon.
If you don't want to restart, you can open the terminal and enter:
disktool -l
Find the disk number for the CD or DVD (probably disc2, but it is disk3 on my MacBook Pro) and then enter:
disktool -e disk#

where # is the number of the CD or DVD

Mac AntiVirus: ClamXav.com

2008-12-27T13:10:00.000-05:00

ClamXav is a free anti-virus package for Mac OS X which, as of today, supports Jaguar (10.2) through Leopard (10.5). VU versions for Jaguar and Panther (10.2 and 10.3) are unsupported, but Tiger and Leopard are actively maintained, Universal Mac applications. Go to the ClamXav Download Page to get your version. I liked this flavor of antivirus for the Mac because it is based on the ClamAV open source antivirus toolkit for UNIX. You can learn more about the Clam AntiVirus toolkit from their website, and this is a standard option in most Linux distributions. After you download the disk image file, simply drag the ClamXav application to your applications folder and run it from your hard disk. The first time you run the program, it will ask to install the ClamAV Antivirus engine. After you run the separate installer, you’ll need to start the program again. Take a moment to update the virus definitions, and then run a scan on any folder or volume on your Mac.

Super-Clean Screenshots

2008-12-21T20:11:00.002-05:00

From Apple, a great tip: Super-Clean Screenshots

capture an image of your entire screen by typing Command-Shift-3. Typing Command-Shift-4 lets you choose a specific part of your screen to save as a screenshot ... Hold down the Command, Shift, and 4 keys, then press the Spacebar ... move [the] camera icon over the element you’d like to capture, that element is highlighted. Click your mouse or trackpad, and you’ve captured a screenshot of just that element — no further cleanup required.

Perhaps we'll see some more screen shots here on the blog...

Move Time Machine Backups to a New Volume

2008-11-02T22:43:00.010-05:00

I used up all the room on my 160 GB Time Machine volume, so I picked up a Western Digital My Book Essential Edition 1 TB Hard Drive to increase my backup capacity. How do I transfer my existing Time Machine backup from the old, maxed-out disk to the new one? I'm running Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard; the steps might be different for other versions of OS X. As it turns out, you can't just drag your old Time Machine backups to the new disk using a Finder copy. Time Machine creates all kinds of "hard links" to the files that aren't changed. If you just copy these files in the Finder, you'll create full copies of all the links, ballooning the size of your backup exponentially. Instead, you need to use a Block Copy operation. This requires that you completely erase the new drive as part of the copy procedure. Here's an overview of the steps I followed to transfer my Time Machine backups. Note that I use both "drives" and "volumes" to refer to logical disk drive volumes.

Ensure that the system isn't trying to work with your Time Machine drives.

Turn off Time Machine & stop using the original drive for backups.
Tell Spotlight not to index your Time Machine drives.

Perform a Block Copy of your original Time Machine database to the new drive.
Tell Time Machine to use the new drive as the Time Machine backup drive.

It took me a while to get this to work, as I ran into some permissions issues. To start, I found this tip for Mac OS X 10.5: Move Time Machine backup to another drive, which recommended using a Disk Utility Restore to copy the data. Unfortunately, I get the message:

Could not restore - Operation not permitted

even with Time Machine turned off. It looked like the Mac was trying to access the new drive while I was doing the backup. So, I turned Time Machine off completely, using these steps:

Deactivate Time Machine

Open Time Machine Preferences.
Turn Time Machine OFF using the slider switch.
Click [Change Disk...].
Select None.
Click [Use for Backup]

These steps will prevent Time Machine from trying to access the drive at any time during the (potentially) lengthy period it requires to move your data. I also recommend turning of Spotlight indexing for the Time Machine drives (not a bad idea in general, because you really don't need to index the backups with both Time Machine & Spotlight).

Turn off Spotlight Indexing for your Time Machine drives

Open Spotlight preferences (System Preferences > Spotlight).
Select the Privacy tab.
Add your Time Machine disks to the Prevent Spotlight from searching these locations list box using the Add (+) button in the lower left, or dragging the disk icon from the Finder to the list box.

[Antonio notes in the comments: Boot from the Leopard DVD so you can perform all of the following steps without having to make of the any adjustments to Spotlight described above.]

Block Copy the Time Machine Backups using Disk Utility Restore

I used the Disk Utility Restore feature to move my data. It failed the first few times because I neglected to erase the destination disk, to allow Disk Utility to use Block Copy mode. Here's how to do it:

Open Disk Utility.
Select the original Time Machine volume.
Click the Restore tab.
Drag the icon for the original Time Machine volume to the Source: field.
Drag the icon to for the new Time Machine volume to the Destination: field.
Click Erase destination -- this is important because it addresses the permissions issues that plagued me, and also allows Disk Utility to use a block copy mode.
Click [Restore].

Note that you'll need to authenticate to perform these steps. The end result: it took about 7 and a half hours to restore 150 GB of data on my 2.4 G Hz MacBook Pro. More than half of this time was the verification pass. Also, the name of the source volume was applied to the destination, which was a little confusing. Now, it's time to point Time Machine at the new drive.

Open Time Machine Preferences and authenticate, if required.
Click [Choose Backup Disk...].
Select the disk you prepared (I renamed it with a more descriptive name).
Click Click [Use for Backup].
Confirm the Time Machine slider is set ON.

I selected a folder that has had lots of changes, and opened the Time Machine "lost in space" interface: it's got backups for the last six months -- it looks like it worked.

Carbon Copy Cloner

I took a close look at the comments on the tip Move Time Machine backup to another drive and it looks like Carbon Copy Cloner (CCC) is another option. Since the Disk Utility approach didn't work the first few times, I also tried using CCC to copy the data via block mode. Here's what I did in Carbon Copy Cloner 3.1.2

Selected the old Time Machine volume as the Source Disk.
Selected the new Time Machine volume as the Target Disk.
For Cloning options:, select Backup everything,
Check Delete itmes that don't exist on the source (this is required to use block-copy mode, which is recommended). Note that this also erased today's Time Machine backup from the new volume, but that's not a problem.
Click [Clone].

Now it's time to do something else, as this process is going to take quite a while. In fact, it didn't work at all: I checked the CCC Log and everything was failing, and CCC was using rsync to move the data, not block mode. So, I canceled, and instead used Disk Utility with the Erase destination option, as described above.

Super Duper

[Update] Super Duper is another disk copy tool for the Mac, and is now my favorite choice for Time Machine transfers. To use Super Duper to move your Time Machine database to a new volume:

Turn off Time Machine (as described above) to avoid permissions issues. Note that SuperDuper will automatically turn off SpotLight and turn in back on, if required.
Start Super Duper.
Select the Time Machine volume you want to Copy from and the new volume you want to copy to.
Select using Backup - all files
Review the What's going to happen? text for details on what Super Duper is about to do.
Click [Copy Now] and authenticate if required.
Click [Copy] to confirm this is what you want to do.

Note that this process will erase the destination or target volume. Also note how Super Duper tells you exactly what it's going to do before it does it, and what it's doing as it works away. I really like this program.

Use Your New Time Machine Volume

Now that your Time Machine database is on a new volume, you need to tell Time Machine to use it.

Open System Preferences > Time Machine
Click the lock in the lower left corner to make changes, and authenticate.
Click [Change Disk...]
Select the new Time Machine disk.
Click [Use for Backup]

This will turn Time Machine back on.

Other Resources

Mac Forums: Move Time Machine Backup to new drive.
Carbon Copy Cloner
Super Duper

Freemind on the Mac, and converting to OPML

2008-09-17T09:51:00.000-04:00

I wrote last year about a great open source brainstorming and mind mapping tool, Freemind 0.8.0 - Java Mind Map software, but I was concerned that the program hadn’t seen a significant update in several years. Well, it’s just been updated this year to 0.8.1, and you can download it from SourceForge.net: FreeMind. Version 0.9.0 is still an unstable beta, and not readily available As a Mac guy, I’m interested in Importing/exporting to FreeMind from my favorite outliner program, OmniOutliner. I started by downloading version 0.8.1 from 2008-01-26, as a Mac OS X .dmg file, which is the most recent version of the program available as a DMG file. Next, it’s time to run XSLT transformations on the Mac. Some XSLT resources: The Tao of Mac - Resources led me to XSLT Tools Scripting Addition. I downloaded their XSLT Tools. I also looked at AquaXSL, from Scandalous Software - Mac XML Tools by Todd Ditchendorf, which is not suitable for bulk transformations, but demonstrated that I could take a FreeMind document, convert it to OPML, and open it in OmniOutliner. I can script this using Automator: Transforming a Shell Script into an Automator Action using the xsltproc tool, or I can just do it from the command line, like this: xsltproc --verbose --output output-file.opml /Applications/FreeMind/accessories/mm2opml.xsl inputfile.xml Note that xsltproc doesn’t care what the file names or extensions are, either. Now I’m getting greedy: I’d like to use these tools to connect FreeMind to OmniFocus. Answers to the question Export to omni outliner? led me to some AppleScripts that might help: Omnifocus to Omnioutliner Pro exporter and Create an OPML version of the Omnifocus database, or Curt Clifton | Software offer some export scripts for OmniFocus. These tools are useful for anyone who uses mind mapping software that supports OPML, including NovaMind Pro Mind Mapping Software.

iMac G5 Death Throes

2008-07-26T12:32:00.002-04:00

The iMac G5 named iFive, which I boot without a keyboard, is in its death throes: it crashed again while booting up. Power supply issue? This time, I could save the report to Apple. Reporting didn't work until I plugged in a USB mouse. So, here it is: Unresolved kernel trap(cpu 0): 0x300 - Data access DAR=0x0000000000000038 PC=0x000000000005FDD8 Latest crash info for cpu 0: Exception state (sv=0x4DE32280) PC=0x0005FDD8; MSR=0x00009030; DAR=0x00000038; DSISR=0x40000000; LR=0x0005DEB4; R1=0x1CEF3C70; XCP=0x0000000C (0x300 - Data access) Backtrace: 0x02C9E424 0x00062538 0x00063344 0x000A865C 0x000ABB80 backtrace terminated - frame not mapped or invalid: 0xBFFFF890 Proceeding back via exception chain: Exception state (sv=0x4DE32280) previously dumped as "Latest" state. skipping... Exception state (sv=0x4DCCEC80) PC=0x8FE23CE8; MSR=0x0000D030; DAR=0x8FE49424; DSISR=0x40000000; LR=0x8FE23CA4; R1=0xBFFFF890; XCP=0x0000000C (0x300 - Data access) Kernel version: Darwin Kernel Version 8.11.0: Wed Oct 10 18:26:00 PDT 2007; root:xnu-792.24.17~1/RELEASE_PPC panic(cpu 0 caller 0xFFFF0003): 0x300 - Data access Latest stack backtrace for cpu 0: Backtrace: 0x000954F8 0x00095A10 0x00026898 0x000A8204 0x000ABB80 Proceeding back via exception chain: Exception state (sv=0x4DE32280) PC=0x0005FDD8; MSR=0x00009030; DAR=0x00000038; DSISR=0x40000000; LR=0x0005DEB4; R1=0x1CEF3C70; XCP=0x0000000C (0x300 - Data access) Backtrace: 0x02C9E424 0x00062538 0x00063344 0x000A865C 0x000ABB80 backtrace terminated - frame not mapped or invalid: 0xBFFFF890 Exception state (sv=0x4DCCEC80) PC=0x8FE23CE8; MSR=0x0000D030; DAR=0x8FE49424; DSISR=0x40000000; LR=0x8FE23CA4; R1=0xBFFFF890; XCP=0x0000000C (0x300 - Data access) Kernel version: Darwin Kernel Version 8.11.0: Wed Oct 10 18:26:00 PDT 2007; root:xnu-792.24.17~1/RELEASE_PPC Model: PowerMac8,1, BootROM 5.2.2f2, 1 processors, PowerPC G5 (3.0), 1.6 GHz, 768 MB Graphics: GeForce FX 5200, GeForce FX 5200, AGP, 64 MB Memory Module: DIMM0/J4000, 256 MB, DDR SDRAM, PC3200U-30330 Memory Module: DIMM1/J4001, 512 MB, DDR SDRAM, PC3200U-30330 Modem: Jump, V.92, Version 1.0 Network Service: Built-in Ethernet, Ethernet, en0 Serial ATA Device: ST3300620AS, 279.46 GB Parallel ATA Device: MATSHITACD-RW CW-8123 USB Device: General Purpose USB Hub, Up to 12 Mb/sec, 500 mA USB Device: External HD, Iomega, Up to 12 Mb/sec, 500 mA USB Device: USB Device, Up to 12 Mb/sec, 500 mA USB Device: Kensington USB/PS2 Wheel Mouse, Kensington, Up to 1.5 Mb/sec, 500 mA

Leopard's built-in VNC server doesn't quite work

2008-07-25T20:17:00.002-04:00

It would be great -- if it worked. Paul Holbrook notes in his blog:

Mac OS 10.5 has a VNC server built in to allow remote access back to your Mac. Many sites have claimed that standard VNC clients will work with Mac OS VNC.

Mr. Holbrook reports some success with Windows on the LAN, but nothing from a remote client. I haven't had any luck connecting over the LAN using the Linux command line client, xvncviewer. I get the following error:

main: End of stream

It's not the firewall, since the superb Vine Server 3.0 for Mac OS X 10.4 & 10.5 worked like a champ: I installed it on my Leopard machine, and then connected immediately with xvncviewer over the LAN. I'll let you know if I get the remote connection going.

MAMP Virtual Domains

2008-07-16T01:02:00.002-04:00

Set up virtual domains for MAMP with this great hack from springworks. Be sure to quit MAMP first.

From the tip on the Joynet board:

With a text editor that can open hidden files (eg TextWrangler (free) or TextMate), open /private/etc/hosts
Find the line which reads

Code:

127.0.0.1    localhost

3. add the name of your chosen virtualhosts at the end of this line, separating each of them with a space, like this:

Code:

127.0.0.1    localhost mytestdomain1.dev mytestdomain2.dev

4. Save the file. You will need to provide an Administrator password to do this.

5. Create a folder for each of your test domains in the Sites folder in your home folder, eg: /Users/myusername/Sites/mytestdomain1.dev /Users/myusername/Sites/mytestdomain2.dev

6. Now open the MAMP httpd.conf, which you can find in /Applications/MAMP/conf/apache/httpd.conf

7. At the end of this file, insert the following:

Code:

NameVirtualHost *:80
<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerName localhost
DocumentRoot "/Users/myusername/Sites"
</VirtualHost>
<VirtualHost *:80>ServerName mytestdomain1.dev
DocumentRoot "/Users/myusername/Sites/mytestdomain1.dev"
</VirtualHost>
<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerName mytestdomain2.dev
DocumentRoot "/Users/myusername/Sites/mytestdomain2.dev"
</VirtualHost>

8. In the MAMP preferences, choose the Ports section and click on the "Use default Apache and MySQL ports". Now stop the MAMP servers and restart them again.

You should now be able to reach all of your test domains at the same time, using just the domain name as the address, none of this "localhost:8888/mytestdomain1/" stuff.

Tidy Service

2008-07-14T01:39:00.003-04:00

Tidy Service is a simple OS X Service that cleans up markup using the powerful HTML Tidy library originally created by Dave Raggett.

[From Tidy Service]

Works great with TextWrangler.

MAMP: Mac Apache MySQL PHP

2008-06-11T09:02:00.000-04:00

Like the LAMP software bundle, MAMP - Mac - Apache - MySQL - PHP is a great web development platform for Apple Macintosh computers. But, MAMP behaves like a stand-alone Mac application: “MAMP will not compromise any existing Apache installation already running with your OS X. You can install Apache, PHP and MySQL without starting a script or having to change any configuration files! Furthermore, if MAMP is no longer needed, it is sufficient to delete the MAMP folder and everything returns to its original status (i.e. MAMP does not modify any of the "normal" OS X).” The MAMP PRO configuration application makes it extra easy to configure the system, especially virtual hosts.

Boot Camp and Windows XP SP 3

2008-05-10T18:46:00.002-04:00

I created a 16 GB partition on my MacBook Pro, SilverSurfer, and installed Windows XP, slipstreamed to Service Pack 2 (SP 2). I could have saved myself some trouble by installing from a version of Windows XP that was slipstreamed to SP 3, but I didn't have one handy. Because, when I tried to install SP 3, after a successful installation of Windows XP, I got an "Out of Disk Space" error message that said I needed only 4 MB more.

Yet, I had over 12 GB (not MB) of free space. It turns out that the Boot Camp installer that you run in Windows after the installation does not create a required registry key, BootDir. The update to Boot Camp for Windows XP from Apple (v. 2.1) makes the fix, and after downloading and installing the update from Apple, SP3 installed correctly.

Temperature & Power Consumption

2008-05-07T12:00:00.004-04:00

The MacBook Pro, SilverSurfer, is now encased in a plastic shell to protect the fine aluminum exterior from the slings & arrows of the typical laptop's existence. But: will the plastic serve as insulation? Of course it does -- but so much so that the heat generated exceeds the Mac's safe ratings? Once I started working on this, I realized that temperature is a pretty good stand-in for energy consumption and thus battery life. To track temperatures, I downloaded Temperature Monitor 4.5 software download - Mac OS X - VersionTracker. See the Temperature Monitor: Description page at the author’s site, Marcel Bresink Software-Systeme, for details on their invaluable little free utility. Here’s a some data from Temperature Monitor today: 12:18 PM Start: 3:19 ago, basically 9 AM. Low temp is just under 100 degrees F. on the Graphics Processor Diode, the hottest reading on the computer. Specifically, the GPD starts at 96.8 F and peaks at 177 F! CPU A Temperature Diode (CATD) starts at 77.0 F and peaks at 165.2 F, now at 120.2 F. MacBook Pro SilverSurfer morning temperature readings. I think it was the screen saver using all those cycles. The second-highest peak was when the automated backups kicked in, around noon: some heavy disk work: Time Machine & ChronoSync network backup. But without question, it looks like the screen saver is heating the thing up faster than putting the computer in the microwave (which is, of course, not recommended). I switched to the "Computer Name" screen saver to save processor cycles.

Sync Issues: iCal and OmniFocus

2008-04-14T18:24:00.000-04:00

Trouble syncing with iCal? - The Omni Group Forums

Graphics problems on the MacBook Pro

2008-04-13T09:54:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I stumbled across a grim issue with the MacBook Pro graphics chip, the nVidia 8600 GT. I'm not convinced it's a hardware issue, yet, but this morning's disaster sure looks like one. I booted up, twice, and saw a strange blocky pattern on the screens. The third time, I plugged in the power, and it booted without a problem. I shut down and rebooted, removed the power cable, and then rebooted again, but couldn't recreate the problem. I did take photos, though. More Info:

Apple: Display Freezing - http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1065674

If you can SSH into your Mac with the crashed graphics and run:

sudo /usr/bin/killall -HUP WindowServer but this will quit (kill) all open programs running in the window OS. At least you can do a clean restart. Fixing it The first thing is to back up.

ChronoSync
Sync .Mac
Copy my User directory to an external HD
Back up the system log.
Remove the LGU:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6669894

Community rollback package version 1.2:

http://www.hurrikenux.com/Testing/UnofficialLeopardGraphicsUpdateRollback1.2.zip from hurrikenux Creative.

Then, run Software Update. The LGU appears again. Select it, and then choose Update > Ignore Update... to avoid installing it again.

GnuCash 2.2 on Leopard 10.5

2008-04-13T09:46:00.000-04:00

Having successfully installed GnuCash 2.2 on my Tiger (Mac OS X 10.4) computer, iFive, it’s time to install it on my new MacBook Pro running Leopard (10.5). I started with the same instructions I used before: MacOSXInstallation - GnuCash. To run GnuCash on Leopard, you must install version 2.2.x. Otherwise, the instructions are the same as installing on Tiger, with some minor complexities. As noted in the wiki, If you are using OS X 10.5 (Leopard), then you will need to install fink from source. I just installed the most recent XCode, so I’m ready to compile... Compile done. Here’s how I did it: cd Downloads/fink-0.28.1 ./bootstrap . /sw/bin/init.sh fink selfupdate; fink index; fink scanpackages fink install gnucash2 /sw/bin/gnucash Oddly, Terminal stopped echoing the characters I typed after the installation. I closed the Terminal I had open, and reopened another. All set.

The New MacBook Pro, SilverSurfer

2008-04-01T19:49:00.001-04:00

I had my heart set on a 17 inch MacBook Pro, but there were some problems: • The older 17-inch screens were very dark, especially the high resolution options. • The new LED screens are suffering from some unusual problems -- see MacBook Pro LED Screens Show Stripey Failures Plus, the price... so when I saw MicroCenter was offering $150 in-store rebates for last generation of MacBook Pros, I had to check it out. I picked up a 15-inch 2.4 GHz Intel Core Duo with a 160 GB hard disk. I’d like to resize the existing partition to make room for a Windows Boot Camp Boot Camp partition: Macworld | Resize partitions on-the-fly. I’m quite pleased with the value I got for the money. I picked up 4GB of RAM for $100. Right now, I’m downloading all the software updates... [Only one update would prove to be a problem, but what a problem it was! See my subsequent post, Graphics problems on the MacBook Pro, for the sordid tale!]

Connect a Mac (Tiger 10.4) to a WPA Wireless Network

2008-03-17T21:52:00.003-04:00

Learn how to Connect a Mac (Tiger 10.4) to a WPA Wireless Network with these step-by-step instructions on how to set up AirPort with a secure connection to your wireless (WiFi) network, plus some handy tips and troubleshooting information.

GnuCash 2.2 on the Mac: Tiger 10.4

2008-03-10T14:27:00.001-04:00

I use GnuCash on the Mac & my Linux box, but I've just run into problems with the reporting on my Mac. I want to upgrade to the latest version on the Mac -- today, this seems to be 2.2.4, across all platforms. The GnuCash Wiki article on MacOSXInstallation got me started. I'll use Fink and Fink Commander to install it on my iMac 1.6 GHz PPC G5, but I have to add the "unstable tree" to fink to get the latest version. Before I can get started with fink, I need to download the latest Xcode from Apple - ADC Downloads. Installing this updates the Mac gcc compiler so I can run the latest fink. Then, I update Fink in Terminal: fink selfupdate This updates to the latest version by compiling with my new gcc code from Xcode fink -V Package manager version: 0.28.0 Distribution version: selfupdate-rsync (0.8.1), 10.4, powerpc Good to go! Latest version. fink configure Mostly to select my preferred mirrors for important libraries; here I can also add the unstable tree to fink. fink selfupdate; fink index; fink scanpackages One of these failed -- I think it was "index" but I'll have to run these as separate commands, because... Fink complains when I try to install gnucash2: WARNING: unable to determine last selfupdate time. You should run 'fink selfupdate' to get the latest package descriptions. Funny, I just did that! The error is: Failed: Fink::SysState: Could not resolve inconsistent dependencies I run the fink update commands separately: fink selfupdate fink index fink scanpackages No errors, this time, when I run these commands in Terminal. From Fink Commander, I select gnucash2 and then Source > Install. No error this run either about the selfupdate, but the install fails the same way; a closer look at the output reveals:

While trying to install: guile16-dev-1.6.7-1013 guile16-shlibs-1.6.7-1013 The following inconsistencies found: Unsatisfied dependency in guile16-libs: guile16-shlibs (= 1.6.7-1010) Unsatisfied dependency in guile16: guile16-shlibs (= 1.6.7-1010) Trying to resolve dependencies... Could not resolve inconsistent dependencies! Fink isn't sure how to install the above packages safely. You may be able to fix things by running: fink scanpackages sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install guile16-dev=1.6.7-1013 guile16-shlibs=1.6.7-1013

Let's try that! It pays to actually look at what's on the screen... ... compiling ... Compilation completed this morning (~10 hours!). To run then newly compiled Gnucash: /sw/bin/gnucash-bin gnc.bin-Message: main: binreloc relocation support was disabled at configure time. Abort trap This produces error code 134, as well. gnucash mac abort trap - Google Search Nabble - MacPorts - Tickets - Gnucash splash no further suggests running sudo /sw/bin/gnucash-bin --gconf-path= I select: Update Search Path> GnuCash updates the search path > [Apply], but that didn’t work. I end up running: /sw/bin/update-gnucash-gconf but this fails as well. “Abort Trap” is too general a search term. gnucash mac "binreloc relocation support was disabled at configure time" - Google Search leads me to try: /sw/bin/gnucash-bin --nofile To no avail. But, when I run: /sw/bin/gnucash The splash dialog comes up and stays up. When I terminate, I notice another dialog hiding behind it. /sw/bin/gnucash --nofile The app opens, and throws up a bunch of dialogs. Finally, I’m able to use File > Open to open my data file. Time for a Save As... Everything works, except I can take it down when I select the custom profit & loss report. This is what got me started in the first place with this upgrade. In terminal, I move the following version 1.8 files out of ~/.gnucash:

config-1.8.auto saved-reports-1.8

Now startup is much faster and I don’t see any error dialog boxes. It turns out the report I want is: Reports > Income & Expense > Income Statement

CronoSync stumped by daylight savings time

2008-03-09T14:01:00.003-04:00

Today is the start of Daylight Savings Time. Both my iMac, ifive, and iBook, gforce, updated the system clocks correctly, thanks to Apple.com's NTP servers. But, ChronoSync thinks all of the files on the iBook were modified exactly one hour later than their counterparts on the iMac. The significant issue is, I believe, not the type of Mac, but the location of ChronoSync. I used the file set on the iMac, where ChronoSync is running, as the master set of files. Right now, ChronoSync is pushing my entire Documents directory over to the iBook, just to sync the date stamps on all the files.

Problem: Error 6003 for .mac

2008-01-02T20:44:00.000-05:00

Get error code from dotmacsync.log (found in Spotlight). Google: .mac sync error 6003 From Apple's boards re: 6003, some Terminal mojo, that didn't work; neither did resetting the sync history.

Here's how to do it manually, by deleting the history file:

If you haven't done so lately, make a backup of your iCal calendars (iCal File menu > Back up iCal)
Quit out of all open programs
Make sure that nothing is syncing (Spanning Sync, .Mac, iSync)
Move this folder to the trash: ~/Library/Application Support/ SyncServices
Restart
Open iCal and give it a few minutes to write out the new database ...

This worked! No errors. Now, to iCal...

"Your calendar information is being reset..."

And it works! Sweet!

Freezing iMacs may be victims of hardware

2007-11-09T14:10:00.000-05:00

I'm planning on buying a new Mac for the home office, with Leopard, to replace my aging G5 iMac. I was considering:

The iMac all-in-one
A Mac Book Pro laptop
The Mac Pro tower

Based on the problems reported with the video and display in the iMac, that's not looking like a good option. The iMac I'm using now needed a new hard disk, because the original overheated. Similar problems with the Mac Book make me nervous about that, too. It's looking like the Mac Pro is the way to go: that big, well-ventilated metal chassis has plenty of room for air flow. Also, since it's not a new design, I won't be beta-testing Apple's latest component crunch. Finally, if things really get bad, I can always replace the graphics card myself. Finally, it's just the fastest damn Mac you can buy. For a portable rig, I'll just keep using my old-school iBook G4 until I can't stand it, which will probably be for quite some time. Can't beat the slower chips for long battery life!

DevonTHINK Pro Office

2007-08-30T15:21:00.001-04:00

I'm working on a big project now that involves a large email archive. I took the plunge and bought DevonTHINK Pro Office, which has proven to be fantastic at managing a large amount of email. I'm going to use this in some other projects, and see how it works. Right now, it's a nice complement to Mac Mail's smart folder feature.

Running Commands or Scripts on the Mac Every Day

2007-08-08T15:51:00.001-04:00

I used the following tip to run an rsync backup command on the Mac Mini file server:

If you wanted to be extra cautious, you could create a file called "daily.local" (without the quotes, but with the period), and add the command to that and place it in:
CODE
/etc/periodic/daily/
You would need to make it executable, so would have to run the command
CODE
chmod 555 daily.local

Useful and Interesting Mac Terminal Commands

2007-07-18T14:57:00.000-04:00

Great for system administrators & Linux geeks -- from Bombich.com, home of Carbon Copy Cloner.

WordPressDash

2007-06-27T10:45:00.001-04:00

Downloaded and installed:

WordPressDash is a blogging tool for your Mac OS X Dashboard. Derived from DashBlog, WordPressDash was built especially for WordPress users and offers category support.

How to Use a Grave Accent on a Mac

2007-06-27T09:25:00.001-04:00

Press Option + ` (the key to the left of the 1 key), and then press the letter you want accented.

HandBrake: Cross-platform Video Conversion

2007-06-22T11:31:00.002-04:00

Handbrake converts video files to different formats from the command line, or using a Mac (or Windows) GUI. I used HandBrakeCLI on my Linux box to prepare a video for my iPod, but it only got me part way there. The recommended instructions for using Handbrake on the Mac were very clear and helpful.

ffmpegX

2007-06-22T11:27:00.000-04:00

FFmpegX converts video files to different formats on the Mac using the ffmpeg open source tools.

The iLounge

2007-06-22T10:58:00.000-04:00

Now that I've got my new video iPod, I want to put some video on it. Besides the obvious movie promo downloads from iTunes. The iLounge has some great instructions on how to convert video in different formats to iPod compatible formats:

Finally with iPod

2007-06-20T23:30:00.000-04:00

Today, I finally took the plunge and bought a new video iPod (80 GB) -- black!

Macs now cheaper than equivalent PCs

2007-06-12T17:43:00.000-04:00

This article from Computerworld echos the results of my research: When you do the point-by-point comparison, Apple is actually a better value for some needs. Why? This makes sense when you think about it.

Apple maintains a smaller inventory of computer models (and therefore, parts) than most PC manufacturers.
Apple doesn't have to pay the Microsoft tax.

The result? If you compare a Mac with an equally-configured PC, the Mac typically comes in several hundred dollars cheaper.

What is the best format for an external hard disk to use on both Mac and Linux

2006-08-02T14:30:00.000-04:00

I want to be able to read the data from a USB 2.0 external HD if the Mac it is connected to fails. How should I format it?

The Mac OS X operating system supports several variations of the Hierarchical File System (HFS) and a Unix File System (UFS). KernelThread.com describes the different file systems in detail.

Although the Mac's Disk Utility will format a volume as a Unix File System (UFS), this format is (evidently) supported only by FreeBSD. I've tried to mount UFS volumes formatted with Disk Utility in Linux (Ubuntu/Kubuntu) -- it won't mount, nor does QParted recognize the volume.

It turns out that the Mac OS Extended (HFS+) format is supported in Linux, with caveats. ArdisTech released a HFS+ Linux driver which you can download from Sourceforge. According to the Gentoo Wiki HOWTO for HFS+, you should turn off journaling. Also, support for the case-sensitive flavor of the HFS+ (HFSX) is only available in the Linux 2.6.x kernel. Also, Mac OS X 10.3 (Jaguar) does support HFSX, but such support is not visible in any of the GUI tools. For example, you can't use the Jaguar version of Disk Utility to create a HFSX volume.

Based on this, I decided to format my external hard drive(s) that will be connected to a Mac as HFS+ with journaling. In Disk Utility, this is Mac OS X Extended (Journaled). This way, I can work with the disk in Mac OS X 10.3 (Jaguar) and 10.4 (Tiger). Also, it looks like I could read this format in Linux, 2.4.x or better, as long as I turn off journaling.

How to upgrade the RAM in your Mac Mini

2006-07-28T17:01:00.000-04:00

The MethodShop's instructions on How to upgrade the RAM in your Mac Mini gave us the tips we needed to upgrade our new Mac Mini Intel Single Core (1.5 GHz) from the stock 512 MB to 1.25 GB. That's right, we had to discard 256 MB -- there were two of those installed in both of the RAM slots, so we had to yank one to replace it with the 1 GB chip. We found that the new Intel Mac Minis are laid out slightly differently than the old PowerPC Mac Minis; specifically, the RAM is now tucked under the hard drive, lying parellel to the motherboard. Evidently, the older Mac Minis had a slot for a RAM upgrade that allowed you to insert the chip vertically (perpendicular to the motherboard) without having to pull the hard disk/DVD assembly. How did we find out? The first set of instructions we used didn't correspond to what we found inside the box. I started removing some pins from the bottom of the RAM slots when I realized that we were not working on the same computer as the one depicted in the instructions. The MethodShop's instructions were, however, spot-on.

Mac Speech Recognition Software

2005-10-31T16:09:00.000-05:00

A review of prominent Mac speech recognition products.

Mac Essentials: OSXvnc

2005-10-24T22:58:00.000-04:00

This VNC server for Mac OSX is, as far as I know, the only way to go on the Mac for serving VNC. The OSXvnc SourceForge project page has the latest information, links, downloads, and archives. Version 1.61 pegs my processor when I [Start Server]. Also, the RealVNC client can't connect to it. Version 1.5 doesn't peg the processor. I downloaded OSXvnc 1.5 from The OSXvnc SourceForge downloads page, but it was a trick to find.

Themes for Gnome Apps on the Mac

2005-06-23T13:46:00.000-04:00

GIMP 2.0 on MacOS X : How To includes information on how to use a theme in OS X

Mac Essentials: Quicksilver Program Launcher

2005-06-21T11:26:00.000-04:00

Quicksilver is a free application launcher for Mac OS X. This program is so essential because it helps overcome some of the significant limitations of the Mac Dock. I've tested it on Panther (10.3), and a new version for Tiger (10.4) is also available. Go to http://quicksilver.blacktree.com/ for the latest.

Back on the Mac

2005-06-21T11:01:00.000-04:00

After many years on Windows, and some serious work on Linux, my primary computer is an Apple iBook G4 (1 GHz, 14" screen), running OS X Panther 10.3.9. Since this computer runs all the commercial software I used on Windows and all of the open source software I use on Linux, there's really no need boot into anything else for most of the work I do. Plus, having access to the bash command prompt is pretty cool, too. I started on the Mac back in 1988, on a Fat Mac 512, and ran my business, Cadent Technologies Corp., on Macs until 2001, when the last of the Macs were replaced by Windows boxes. That's when I really started to work with Linux, athough I started using Unix in the mid 90's.