Thursday, July 5, 2018
If like me, you follow Stephen Hackett’s 512 Pixels, then you know that every couple of months products from Apple’s past are added to the list of Vintage and Obsolete hardware no longer supported by the company. But what do these lists of legacy products mean, and how does an older Mac or ancient iPod make the lists? Age Matters… Vintage [Apple] products are those that have not been manufactured for more than 5 and less than 7 years ago.
Sunday, November 1, 2015
I repair people’s Macs for a living. Often the task requires reinstalling the operating system, and installing updates. Before I return a computer to its owner I always remove the temporary user account I created, and reset the machine back to the Setup Assistant. By following these commands, the owner has the chance to connect to wifi, create a new user account, and sign into iCloud the next time they turn on their computer.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Have you ever tried to install OS X from a USB Flash Drive and received this error message? This copy of the Install OS X Mavericks application can’t be verified. It may have been corrupted or tampered with during downloading. The issue is not with your installation media, but rather with your Mac’s time and date. Follow these steps to set it right. While booted from your OS X Install Media, launch the Terminal from the Utilities menu.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Apple’s trend of replacing user-upgradable parts with components soldered to the logic board has begun. The following is a list of the first Macs in a given form factor to have their upgradable memory and storage replaced with components that are not upgradable short of replacing the logic board. Macs with Non-Upgradable Memory The first Macs in a given form factor with non-upgradable memory. Every Mac since has had its RAM soldered to the logic board with the exception of the Mac Mini (2018 Macmini8,1).
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Readers ask me when is a good time to Repair Disk Permissions? My answer, “when is the last time you booted into Mac OS 9?” Many things you install in Mac OS X are installed from package files (whose filename extension is “.pkg”). Each time something is installed from a package file, a “Bill of Materials” file (whose filename extension is “.bom”) is stored in the package’s receipt file, which is kept in LibraryReceipts in Mac OS X v10.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
When I worked behind the Genius Bar in 2003 there was no Concierge, no booking system, no appointments, and no Genius Bar assistant to help people get in line. Instead there was a sea of faces, impatient customers waiting to be assisted. In the old first come first serve model for Genius Bar management, it was not uncommon for a Mac Genius to help three people at once while trying to hold down a conversation with several onlookers.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
For those of us already running Mac OS X Lion, Mountain Lion will be a minor update. Continuing the iOSfication of Mac OS X, Mountain Lion brings even more apps and features back to Mac from our iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touches. Unfortunately not everyone will be able to take advantage of the polish Apple’s latest cat provides. Mountain Lion, like its predecessors will be leaving some Macs, and some Mac OS X features behind.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
If like me, you are still using a Mac running Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, and want to continue syncing your iCloud email, calendars, and contacts, then these are the insturctions for you. iCloud Email Email is the only iCloud service Apple currently supports in Snow Leopard. Setting up Mail.app for iCloud email is easy once you know the server settings. Launch Mail.app. From the Menu Bar choose Mail, then Preferences.
Friday, January 6, 2012
If you have ever encountered a problem with your Macintosh you might have been advised to zapreset the PRAM, but what is the PRAM and what does it do? The PRAM, or parameter random access memory, is a small amount of non volatile storage on your Mac’s logic board. It uses a built-in battery or capacitor to retain specific system settings even after the power to your computer has been turned off.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Should you buy AppleCare? Every Apple product comes with 90 days of complimentary telephone technical support and a limited one year warranty. AppleCare for Mac extends your service and support coverage to three full years from the date you purchased your computer. It gives you global repair coverage, and direct access to Apple experts for questions on a wide range of topics. But at up to $349 per computer, AppleCare for Mac can be a considerable investment.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Apple may be adding 250+ new features to Mac OS X Lion, but just like Snow Leopard before it some features are scheduled to be taken away. Early Intel Macs Lion’s aggressive system requirements excludes early Intel Macs without a 64-bit compatible processor. This includes the first few versions of Intel powered iMacs, MacBook Pros, Mac minis, and MacBooks equipped with “Yonah” processors. (All versions of the Mac Pro contain 64-bit Xenon processors capable of running Lion.
Monday, June 6, 2011
With the absence of easily obtainable installation media Mac OS X Lion looks like it might make for a difficult clean install. Not so, Apple was hiding the official installation media disc image under our noses the entire time. Purchase and download Lion from the Mac App Store on any Lion compatible Mac running Snow Leopard. Right click on “Mac OS X Lion” installer and choose the option to “Show Package Contents.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
My backup strategy is simple. I have two computers, in two different locations, synchronized in real time over the web using Dropbox. Each computer is backed up hourly using Time Machine on two separate external hard drives. Time Machine keeps hourly backups for the past 24 hours, daily backups for the past month, and weekly backups for all previous months. If I mistakenly delete or overwrite a file on either computer I have thirty days worth of revisions on Dropbox, and twenty four hours worth of hourly revisions on both Time Machine backup.