Genius

  • Legacy Apple Products

    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 … read more

  • Return to First Boot

    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 … read more

  • Unverified Install

    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 … read more

  • Soldered to the Board

    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. … read more

  • Repair Disk Permissions

    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 … read more

  • Abandoned PowerBook G4

    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 … read more

  • What Mountain Lion Left Behind

    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 … read more

  • Bringing iCloud to Snow Leopard

    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 … read more

  • Zapping the PRAM

    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 … read more

  • Should You Buy AppleCare?

    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 … read more

  • What Lion Left Behind

    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 … read more

  • Burn a Lion Boot Disk

    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 … read more

  • My Backup Strategy

    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 … read more