Networking over AC

Heard of this? Instead of running Ethernet, and when wireless isn't an option, you run IP over your power lines. I've known about it for a while, and I keep forgetting it's available.

Scan IP addresses on the local network

In Terminal, type "arp -a" (no quotes) and hit return. Thanks, LaCie!

A sort-of fix for Leopard Server

Duane Maas posted this on his blog:

Unfortunately, I have tried to use Leopard as an Open Directory Master, Calendar Server, and AFP server at one account since 10.5.2 was released and in stops functioning under very light load at least once a week. The server starts refusing connections and complains and incorrect user:password combination was entered. After troubleshooting, I have not determined the cause, but I did find out the problem can be solved by stopping and starting the AFP server. Hopefully this will be fixed with the 10.5.3 release.

I have been having this same AFP problem with Leopard Server. The issue is unfortunately epidemic. I was myself hoping it was going to be fixed in 10.5.2. I have had to convert one graphics lab's home folders to NFS (not secure), and they have to connect to file shares over [shudder] SMB! Blech.

I finally, however, discovered this: If you first install 10.5 Server with the "Simple" settings, even though it doesn't initially turn on many of the features one might eventually want, it does do some automated configuration that a) takes some of the nitty-gritty hassle out of setup, and b) seems to make AFP work right!

After you've done Simple, you can config and test the basic features using the new Server Preferences, and then eventually go into Server Admin and Workgroup Manager to get more detailed.

Now, admittedly, the AFP bug is still a stupid thing for Apple not to have fixed yet, or provided a kbase article to solve. And the solution I've just described might not work for every environment. But I was at least heartened that AFP will in fact work on 10.5 Server, and I got to glean some Apple-sanctioned configurations for other services, too.

MacBook Air hacked in under 2 minutes

Mark wrote:

Interesting...

http://www.nytimes.com/idg/IDG_002570DE00740E188825741A001037EB.html?nl=tech&emc=techa1

This is an important cautionary tale, and one that has always applied: One should assume that if someone can lay their hands on your computer, they can get at your data.

Airport Express is now Extreme!

Finally, Apple has put the faster 802.11n in the Airport Express, so
now you can mix an AXP into your Extreme network for AirTunes and not
reduce the speed of your network.

New iPhone plan: UNLIMITED minutes, text, & data

$140/month! I just saved $720 a year!

Blogged from my iPhone

Transferring files from PC to Mac

I want to do a quick Word file backup on my wife's PC.  Can I use a DVD? - Thanks, JW

You sure can, JW. I don't know what DVD burning software you have on the PC, but it should be easy enough.

For what it's worth, however, several slightly easier, and perhaps cheaper, ways to do this are:

~ Email those files to your Mac.

~ Use a flash drive (also called thumb drive, RAM stick, memory stick), which might be cheaper in the long run if you plan to do a lot of this.

~ Turn File Sharing on on the Mac and just drag the files across your home network.

Please call me for any additional explanation on that one, or here's one quick explanation on the web. 

Here's a longer one.

Then, backing those files up, to a DVD or exteral hard drive is, like everything else on the Mac, easier to explain.

Videos on tech "in Plain English"

Love this: Common Craft has created videos to explain things like RSS & Twitter to non-techophiles. I've tried my explanations, almost entirely unsuccessfully, so these will come in handy!

Forget FTP

Following up on the question about FTP software: I just listened to net@night, when they interviewed the creators of Drop.io, a nifty new web-based file-sharing service. It's impressive. Some of the cool benefits & features:

~ free! ~ very simple ~ requires no sign-up, no login, and thus no personal information is collected ~ you can send  in files via the web, email, SMS, by phoning in an audio message, or even with a free fax number anyone can use to fax a doc into your box ~ free conference calls ???

Thought y'all who were needing FTP might want to check this out. Graphic designers can of course use this to share proofs ... you get the picture.

100MB is free, and you can upgrade to 1GB for a tiny $10 a year.

Pogue on "How Dangerous Is the Internet for Children?"

People ask me about parental controls from time to time, and while the new Leopard has better ones than previous Mac systems, my answer remains the same: "If you need it, then you probably have bigger problems than the internet."

David Pogue recently cast a really good look at the subject. He also references a PBS documentary. All parents should probably take a look at both.

Backups: How not to assume nuthin'

I am using Carbon Copy Cloner to backup my MacBook. Any suggestions on how to confirm the stuff is there?

You bet. First of all, whether you are using it manually or on a scheduled basis, you'll get an error if things don't go well. You can go to the Window menu and to CCC Log, and while the log might look a little geeky, you can see if there were any errors.

Also, open external the hard drive on your desktop, go into Users, then into your home folder (probably has your name on it). Go to the View menu and view as List, then click at the top of the Date Modified column to sort the folders in date-order. If you see files with the same date as your last backup, you should be golden.

Your backups: Don't assume nuthin'

Funny how situations seem to arise in groups: I received several calls from folks these last couple of weeks whose automatic backups were not working. One of them LOST THEIR DOCUMENTS.

Fortunately they were able to retrieve the important stuff with the help of FileSalvage, which thankfully most of us will never need.

When I put a backup solution in place, I ask that our client be sure to check regularly to see that the backups are happening. It's the one place where, regardless of how comfortable or tentative someone is with their Mac, I kind of insist that they become familiar with the setup, at least enough to know when it's broken. 

Backups can fail for any number of reasons: 

~ The external backup drive (the box sitting outside your computer) can fail.

~ Power can go out and confuse the backup software.

~ The software can get broken by an update to the Mac.

Suffice to say that it's crucial that you not assume that your backups are happening. If you're not sure how to check them, or which backup software we installed, please give me a call. We should set up at least a short appointment to go over that stuff. Erick or I can write up very quick instructions -- 5 to 10 clicks and you'll be golden.

Thanks for reading!

FTP client, and how to find Mac software

I need to FTP some files and I was wondering if you had a recommendation for a cheap program to use on the Mac (or maybe there is something already on here?).  I used to use Cute FTP, but the version I have is for Windows.

Pardon a longer response, but there's some more general info below that may help in your mastery of the Mac:

Whenever I need software for the Mac, I go straight to Versiontracker or Macupdate, and search for the thing I need, in this case "FTP." Then I sort the results by "Product Rating." The user reviews are so helpful. Then I might sort by "License" to see if any of it's freeware, or at least cheap.

Even though I had a recommendation for you already, I just tried that search at Versiontracker, and found I needed to narrow it down a little further to "ftp client." (In software terms, "client" is one side of a "client/server" relationship, where a server provides services, such as FTP, web, email, what-have-you, to clients. The terms could refer to the application itself or to the computer it's running on. Examples: "We have a file server in our office." or "The FTP server software needs to be updated.")

Anyhoo, here's a link to the search.

You'll see that only four of the top 10 packages fit the bill precisely by having "FTP" and "client" in their description and are "freeware" or "shareware," and only Cyberduck is free. (Plus, its icon is a frickin' cute rubber duck, and you just want to squeeze it. One of my other oft-used Mac apps is a chicken. Y'know, you can't call many Windows programs adorable.)

I also found that Yummy FTP got good reviews, and I also know Transmit is very very popular. You'll see both of those list "advanced features," which you may not need, but if for whatever reason you find Cyberduck lacking, you may find those features, or just their interface or organization, worth the $25 or $30, respectively.

So, all you have to do is click on the link to one of those programs, and click "Download Now" over on the right. Your web browser will download and extract the installer. (Since you're in Leopard, you'll find the file in your Downloads folder, which is in your home folder and shortcutted in the Dock.) You want to make sure you install the app properly, which may mean just dragging its icon to the Applications folder, or double-clicking an instaler. After that you can throw out the installer file if there's one left in Downloads.

Type alphabetically to search Mail.app messages

By accident, I started typing when I was in the message list, and it
went to the nearest best guess. So if I wanted to find "Rodney" I can
type R O D. Sweet!

Why I hate syncing

Here are a couple of screenshots from iCal. In each case, one event on
one calendar got duplicated a gazillion times between four different
calendars.

It happened a couple of different times. one time I fixed it by doing a search for the title, selecting all results and deleting; the second time I just deleted the offending calendars, which got spuriously created by the syncing process anyway — between iCal, Entourage, Plaxo, .Mac, a Treo, an iPhone, and maybe some other devices or services. Having this mass of baloney records in a database just makes syncing go slower and worse over the course of months.

I hope somebody (everybody) fixes this soon. There should be warnings or alerts or errors or something when potential duplication is going to happen.

Leopard finally updated to 10.5.2

As I mentioned in my last newsletter, since 10.5.1, Leopard has been fairly stable. But a couple of computers I manage, especially servers, have run into some pretty dire problems with Leopard.

So I've been waiting for this with baited breath:

Leopard finally updated to 10.5.2

Basic info here, and there's a complete list of fixes here. But what I really want you to know is that, as with any major OS X update, you should download the combo update, rather than letter Software Update do the work for you. I promise, it does a much more thorough job, and keeps your Mac happy.

The 10.5.2 Combo Update can be found here. And the one for OS X Server, here. Just click the blue-underlined file size over on the right.

Macfixit.com, the go-to site for Mac troubleshooting, hasn't released any reports about 10.5.2. Please let me know if you have questions about the update.

Find (and delete) previous email recipients

Want Apple Mail to unlearn your friend's defunct email address?

In Mail, go to Window > Previous Recipients. 

Click on the one you want to ditch, and click Remove from List.

Alternately, if you have someone's old address in the To: field of a message, click the white drop-down triangle to the right of the address (inside the blue oval). Remove from Previous Recipients List is in there, too.

Maybe my favorite hidden Mac feature

Did you know about the built-in dictionary? This is in OS X since Tiger: It's a weird key combo, but it's sooooo cool: In Mail or TextEdit or Safari -- any good Mac app (which excludes, par exemple, MS Office 2004 but includes Office 2008) -- put your cursor over any word, and hold down ctrl-command-D. Cool, huh? (The "command" key is now called that on newer keyboards; it used to be the key with an apple and a squiggly thing.)

Now move your cursor over other words while holding down those keys. Notice that there's a thesaurus in the drop-down that says "Dictionary." Now tell me that's not friggin' sweet.

Finally: real Mac speech-recognition software!

MacSpeech Dictate, shipping in February. I just saw a demo at David Pogue's Macworld Live. It's still young, but it works!

Shipping in February. It's by the folks who did the less-than-perfect iListen, but it's based on the Dragon NaturallySpeaking engine. This is really great news.

Macworld keynote: the Cliff notes

My impressions are the same as everybody else's, I suppose. So here's a quick recap.

Yay, movie rentals!

Boo, 24 hours to watch 'em!

Yay, movie rentals and other shit on Apple TV, justifying the money early adopters (including your humble) paid.

Yay, iPhone updates!

Boo, lame iPhone updates!

Yay, MacBook Air!

Yaaaaaaaaay, MacBook Air, although the maximum of 2Gb RAM is a smart move by Apple to prevent it being used for serious work like graphics or photo manip. (I make grandmas buy 2Gb for their Macs.)

Yay, Time Capsule!

Boo, not letting existing Airport Extremes use their Air Disks for Time Machine backups! (Although one can do it with Mac OS X client or server.)

Yay, Manhattans at Jilian's next door to MacWorld............!