...and yet one more update from Apple. Time Capsule and AirPort Base Station (802.11n) Firmware 7.3.2
I must admit, I have an irrational fear of firmware updates. The Time Capsule and AirPort Base Station (802.11n) Firmware 7.3.2 update requires that you already have AirPort Utility 5.3.2 installed (versions for Leopard, Tiger and Windows are available). What does it do? Well, let's see what Apple has to say... The Time Capsule, AirPort Extreme and AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n*... [read more at MacMerc.com]
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Apple releases software updates for Time Capsule, Airport
Filed under: Software UpdateApple has released a few updates for its Time Capsule and Airport products. AirPort Utility 5.5.1 for Mac includes general bug fixes and addresses the following issues: Not importing all settings when importing a configuration and not propagating MAC address control lists when using an extended network. The update weighs in at 10.24MB. Apple Time Capsule & AirPort Base Station 7.5.1 provides several fixes for the latest Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme Base Station (Late 2009) including an issue with wireless performance in the 5GHz band and an issue with creating a Guest Network in the 5GHz band. Apple recommends that the above AirPort Utility 5.5.1 (Windows version here) or later be installed before updating to Firmware version 7.5.1. The update requites Mac OS X 10.5.7 or later, Windows XP SP3 or later, Windows Vista SP1 or later, or Windows 7. Both updates can be downloaded via the links above or through Software Update.TUAWApple releases software updates for Time Capsule, Airport originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 01 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments Apple - Time Capsule - Unofficial Apple Weblog - Software Update Apple - Mac OS X
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Apple updates Time Capsule and Airport Extreme with internet sharing
Filed under: Hardware, AirportA closer look at the gaggle of Apple hardware updates today shows a rather useful change to both Time Capsule and the Airport Extreme base station.MobileMe members can access any file on a hard drive connected to either product via the internet. The older versions allowed hard drive sharing to people on the same network. Now the feature has been extended to allow you to get these files from anywhere.You initiate the sharing by registering your Airport Extreme or Time Capsule with your MobileMe account. When you are away from your Mac, that hard drive will show up in the Finder sidebar. The drive must be a USB drive -- there is no support for either flavor of Firewire on the AE or TC.It does not appear that this remote sharing feature has been added to the last generation of these products, although a firmware update might be able to accomplish it. No word from Apple on whether or not this will happen. Update: the Apple Sales internal site (thanks Mr. X) is listing the following... looks like that feature is going to work on the older gear!Note for existing AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule customersExisting AirPort Extreme (MA073 and MB053) and Time Capsule (MB276 and MB277) customers can access their AirPort Disk / Time Capsule disk through Mobile Me over the Internet by upgrading to AirPort Utility 5.4.1 and AirPort firmware 7.4.1. Subscription to Mobile Me online services is required for this feature. Simultaneous dual-band Wi-Fi and Guest Networking features are only available to new AirPort Extreme (MB763) and Time Capsule (MB764 and MB765) customers.This update is obviously designed to boost the attractiveness of the MobileMe service, to which Apple has been showing increased attention of late. Apple specifies that Leopard is needed for this feature, so Windows subscribers to MobileMe appear to be out of luckThanks to everyone who sent this in.TUAWApple updates Time Capsule and Airport Extreme with internet sharing originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Time Capsule and AirPort Base Station (802.11n) Firmware 7.3.2
Filed under: Wireless, Airport, Software UpdateAlong with the Mac OS X 10.5.4 update tonight, Apple also released firmware 7.3.2 for Time Capsules and AirPort Base Stations. Apple states that it "includes general fixes and compatibility updates" for both Time Capsule and AirPorts with 802.11n. Most likely your AirPort (or Time Capsule) will find and download the update automatically; however, you can also visit the Apple Support Downloads page to download the installer package for Leopard, Tiger, or Windows. Thanks to everyone who sent this in!Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Apple updates Time Capsule and AirPort Base Station Firmware
Filed under: Wireless, AirportLast night Apple released a firmware update for Time Capsule, AirPort Extreme, and AirPort Express Base Station with 802.11n. Here are the fixes: Fixes some problems with extending and maintaining connectivity with extended networks Fixes an issue with clients that enable 802.11 "Power Save" Fixes connectivity issues with some third-party devices Fixes an issue when the base station is configured for PPPoE Fixes some Back To My Mac issues with connectivity and support for third-party routers All of those sound like issues that could affect quite a few people -- especially those with (gasp!) "third-party" devices. I've certainly had issues with Back To My Mac using a Netgear router, so we'll see if this helps. In any event, firmware updates are recommended especially if you've had any of the above symptoms.TUAWApple updates Time Capsule and AirPort Base Station Firmware originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Software Updates & New Release Highlights For Week Ending 2007-07-05
I'm trying to get back on track with these posts and, as always, do not hesitate to post your top picks from the previous week in the comments, especially if I missed something major (usually an app that I do not use or did not have time to try since I at least grab and tinker with anything I've posted if not regularly use). VirtualHostX - 1.0.11 - A handy little app that lets you configure Apache virtual hosts (Apple-install or “MAMP” stack) via a GUI (as opposed to gnarly config files). Works with 10.4 & 10.5 and provides the ability to backup & restore configs. This update fixes a DocumentRoot bug and includes the author's new OpenFeedback Cocoa framework which allows for submitting bug reports & feedback from inside apps. Well worth the $7.00 USD if you work with web sites on your Mac. TrailRunner - 1.7v240 - Summer is a great time to kick-start your fitness routine and TrailRunner is a great way to gauge your progress. This update enhances the track merge functionality, enhancements to the Workout History view and weblog publishing features, new compatibility with the Nike+ Sportband (no need for the iPod version) and the ability to integrate with nikeplus.com to retrieve workout, goal and competition data. Leopard-only, but free! Bee Docs Timeline - 3D Edition - 2.1.3 - Primarily a bug-fix release to this timeline-designer. Full version cost is $65.00. Leopard-only. Adium X - 1.2.7 - The best, multi-platform chat client for OS X had two updates which, when combined, fixed numerous bugs including ones in XMPP, ICQ and MSN compatibility. 10.4/10.5 & free! TrueCrypt - 6.0 - This awesome security/encryption tool added parallelized encryption/decryption on multi-core processors (operations are now “n” times as fast according to the number of processors or cores). Other enhancements include an improved volume format and the ability to create hidden volumes. 10.4/10.5 & free! Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection - 2.0 - Microsoft finally updates their Mac RDC client with an improved OS X look & feel and a ton of features. 10.4/10.5 and free! MacFuse - 1.7.1 - Mostly bug-fixes to this free tool which allows your Mac to use all sorts of other filesystems. 10.4/10.5 Apple Time Capsule & AirPort Base Station - 7.3.2 - If the blinky, yellow light did not coax you into finding out what was going on, note that there is a very slight point update to the firmware on these Apple WLAN devices that fixes issues with poor throughput, the inability to connect to devices, some AirTunes dropout issues, and errors with “double NATting”. Stanza - 10.0 Beta - This is an interesting e-book reader that supports a large number of formats and exporting numerous devices including the iPhone. 10.4/10.5 and beta (check site for pricing) Shatner Facts - 1.0 - For some reason, I couldn't resist this rather silly little widget. Everything you wanted (or never wanted) to know about William Shatner. If you download this, post your favorite bit of Shatner-trivia in the comments. 10.4/10.5 compatible and (of course) free.
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Glenn Fleishman on the AirPort Update
Glenn Fleishman: The 7.3.1 firmware update for Time Capsule and AirPort Extreme Base Station network gateways adds two significant improvements, neither of them mentioned in Apple’s release notes. You can archive the internal drive in a Time Capsule appliance — copying its contents, including backup images of networked systems — to an externally conncted USB drive at full USB speeds, without round-tripping the backup through a mounted AFP server. And, apparently, USB-connected drives on an AirPort Extreme Base Station are available for Time Machine backups in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. â
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Airport Firmware 7.4.1 Update Available
While we were expecting new firmware for previous generation Airport Extreme and Time Capsule devices to drop this week, some will be disappointed that this update does not magically update the hardware as well. Airport Firmware 7.4.1 enables the Back to my Mac disk sharing feature announced this week for previous generation Airport Extreme and Time Capsule devices. This release also updates the brand new Airport Extreme and Time Capsule devices with dual-band networking to fix a few bugs that were not caught in the initial release. It does not, however, enable dual-band networking or guest networking on older devices as that feature relies on the new hardware found in the Early 2009 versions of the Airport Extreme and Time Capsule. Airport Express users get no love (beyond bug fixes) as Air Disk sharing is not supported on those devices. Here is the list of updates… For AirPort Extreme (Early 2009) and Time Capsule (Early 2009) that ship with firmware 7.4, the firmware 7.4.1 update: Resolves an issue in which a client computer may be disconnected when waking from sleep Addresses an issue in which redirecting SMTP port services may disable IP-layer networking Improves the reliability of Back to My Mac-based disk sharing Includes recent AirPort security updates For AirPort Extreme with 802.11n (Fast Ethernet), AirPort Extreme with 802.11n (Gigabit Ethernet), AirPort Express with 802.11n, and original Time Capsule models, the firmware 7.4.1 update: Enables remote administration and remote access to compatible USB connected drives via Back to My Mac (except on AirPort Express) Improves reliability when backing up to a Time Capsule via Time Machine Includes recent AirPort security updates The Mobile Me features allow you to access files that are stored on a USB drive attached to your base station. I tested this earlier this morning with a spare USB drive. It could not be simpler to turn on the Back to my Mac feature in Airport Utility — you literally just type in your username and password. I then tried to hop on my neighbor's Wi-Fi to see if I could see my drive. Unfortunately, my neighbor's router does not support UPnP or NAT-PMP so I could not see my shared drive through Back to my Mac. I assume that if you are on two networks that support Back to my Mac, you would be able to see your shared drive just fine. Maybe I'll wrap up my Airport instead of See's Candies for them next Christmas. You can still enable drive sharing over the WAN port as well, but this is a little different than the Back to my Mac sharing. Sharing over the WAN port just means filesharing via AFP or SMB, only enabled on the WAN ethernet port in addition to the LAN ports. The only disadvantage that this method has is that you have to know the IP address of your Airport base station to connect to it from a remote network. Back to my Mac gets around this by having the computer or Airport Extreme register their current IP address with the Mobile Me service. Your computer just checks in with Mobile Me to get the address of your Airport Extreme and then opens a connection to it. The other advantage of Back to my Mac is that ISP's often lease out IP addresses for a limited period of time, after which they may change. Back to my Mac will update the IP address automatically on any change. If you do not have the Mobile Me service, you can accomplish the same result by registering your Airport's public IP address with DynDNS or a similar service. If the Airport is providing NAT services to your local network, you could even set up a computer behind your Airport to automatically update this entry if the public IP address were to change. Beyond the cool new features, I am glad to see that Time Machine reliability has been addressed for the Time Capsule. I have one client that was never able to get Time Machine to backup reliably to their Time Capsule. I am looking forward to trying this new firmware release, and I will let you all know if this firmware update fixes their situation in the comments below. If you have your own stories with Firmware 2.4.1, be sure to share them here. Green your IT. Save Money. Save the Planet » Register at $295 / $495 regular » Hear Microsoft, IBM, Dell and Cisco execs at GigaOM's Green:Net.
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Apple releases Time Capsule, AirPort Base Station updates
Posted by Dennis SellersApple has released Time Capsule and AirPort Base Station (802.11n) Firmware 7.4.1. The company says the update addresses security-related issues the could lead to a denial of service attack, an unexpected device shutdown, or allow someone to observer private network traffic.
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Mac OS Ken: 04.01.2010
NYTs Pogue Reviews iPad for Techies and the Rest of Us / WSJs Mossberg Is 98 Percent Praise for the iPad / Apple Insider Sources Say Multitasking In Pre-Builds of iPhone OS 4 / Ars Techinca Looks at OS Upgrades and the iPad EULA / Apple Updates QuickTime 7 for Leopard and Windows / Apple Updates AirPort Utility and Some Base Station and Time Capsule Firmware / Apple Updates MobileMe Gallery App for iPhone and iPod touch / KPCB Doubles iFund Stake to 200 Million Dollars / Rumors Have Canada Getting the iPad on April 24 / WSJ Says AT and T Teaches Apple a Thing or Two About Wireless Networking / Greenpeace Worries Under the Cloud
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50 Common Mac Problems Solved
We present the Ultimate Mac Troubleshooting Guide, so you can banish the peskiest problems once and for all. Mac problems? Isnât that an oxymoron? If you just switched to the Mac from Windows, you might be thinking that you accidentally picked up one of your old PC magazines--and, by the way, weâve got solutions to the seven most common problems switchers encounter, too. If youâre a longtime Mac user, you could even be wondering where we get off accusing the Mac platform of being problematic.Using a Mac is generally painless and trouble free, but things can go wrong. Usually theyâre not catastrophic (for solutions to true Mac disasters, click here). Sometimes the things that go wrong are those little annoying things that you just shrug off--over and over, until you finally have to deal with them.Weâre here to help you tackle the 50 most common problems in eight different categories, once and for all. If your problem isnât covered here, email us at ask@maclife.com, and weâll try to solve it in a future issue. General Mac Problems The Mac OS is, fundamentally, as trouble-free as operating systems get. But nothing's perfect. Here's what to do when you hit a snag.1. I want a tabbed finder.Download the incredibly versatile Path Finder ($40, www.cocoatech.com), which gives you all sorts of features that are missing from the Finder, such as tabs, stacks, bookmarks, and panes. Sounds like fun to us!Now THIS is the Finder we've always dreamed of. Thanks, Path Finder!2. I can't print anymore.This could be caused by a variety of different issues relating to your printer hardware or printer drivers, so you may need to contact the printer manufacturer for more help. But if your Mac is causing the problem, itâs always a good idea to reset your entire printing system by going into your Print & Fax System Preference, right-clicking in the printer list, and choosing Reset Printing System.3. I travel all over town with my MacBook, and Iâm sick of reconfiguring my settings every time I show up at a location Iâve been to before. Why canât my Mac remember various location settings for me--my default printer, mounted servers, iChat screen name, Bluetooth settings, everything? Try NetworkLocation ($29, www.networklocationapp.com), which can perform dozens of actions on your Mac whenever you switch to a new location. Best of all, its AutoLocate feature will determine where you are, using the same SkyHook Wireless Wi-Fi Positioning System that your iPhone uses, and it will automatically change all of your settings for you. If you frequently switch physical locations, NetworkLocation can save you both time and headaches changing your Mac's settings. 4. I forgot my OS X password.After retyping your password very carefully at least twice to make sure you just didnât mistype it, youâll need to haul out your OS X install disk, insert it into your Mac and restart holding down the C button. After selecting your language of choice, in the menubar, select Utilities > Reset Password. Follow the directions and there you go. Just try not to get a lobotomy after resetting it!5. My CD or DVD is stuck in the optical drive and wonât come out when I press Eject.After holding down the eject button for several seconds to no avail, restart your Mac and hold down the primary button on your mouse--the trackpad button will work as well if youâre on a MacBook--and during startup the disk should eject.6. My Mac is not recognizing devices plugged in to one of my USB ports.First, make sure your Macâs firmware is up to date--check Software Update and the Apple Support Downloads page (support.apple.com/downloads/) and install any firmware updates you find for your machine.If nothing happens, turn off your Mac, unplug the power cable, disconnect all peripherals, and let it sit for five minutes. Plug it back in, reconnect the keyboard and mouse, turn it back on, and try the USB ports again.Check the Support Downloads page for firmware updates for your Mac.If theyâre still unresponsive, you will need to reset the PRAM (parameter RAM) and NVRAM (nonvolatile RAM), which stores some system and device settings that your Mac accesses on startup. Shut your Mac down. Then position your fingers above the Command, Option, P, and R keys on your keyboard. Turn the Mac on, then immediately press and hold those four keys before you see the gray screen. Keep them pressed until the Mac restarts again and you hear the startup chime for the second time. Then let âem go. When your Mac is finished starting up, check those pesky USB ports.If theyâre still not behaving, thereâs one more thing you can try before making a Genius Bar appointment: resetting the SMC, or system management controller. Directions for resetting the SMC on your MacBook Pro are found at support.apple.com/kb/HT1411. Instructions for all other Macs are linked from support.apple.com/kb/HT1894. In Search Of...Search Solutions Leopard makes finding files and data on your Mac relatively trouble-free, but when it comes to search, there are improvements and tricks you can apply to make it even better. Here are two solutions to common search problems we hear about from a fair number of Mac users. 7. My Spotlight results have stopped working reliably.If itâs a single non-Apple program that isnât showing up properly in your Spotlight results, try turning off and on the Spotlight indexing in that particular app.If youâre still getting Spotlight results for an app that you got rid of a while ago, you may not have completely deleted all of the data or databases that are associated with that program.Spotless gives you a nice GUI for managing, deleting, and rebuilding your Spotlight indexes.If itâs an Apple program--or your entire Mac--that isnât working properly in Spotlight, try re-indexing your whole hard drive by going into the Spotlight System Preference, clicking on the Privacy tab, then dragging your hard drive into the list. Wait a moment, and then remove your hard drive from the list again.If youâre still having problems, you may need to bring out the big guns by using Spotless ($17, www.fixamac.net), a Spotlight index-management tool that can help fix most Spotlight problems.8. I need more power, flexibility, and customizability with my Spotlight searches and Spotlight results.Get HoudahSpot ($25, www.houdah.com), which lets you create extremely detailed search requests and customize the results to your liking.HoudahSpot handles Spotlight searches with much more flexability than Apple's built-in Spotlight search. 3 Essential Utilities Three more Mac problems solved--before they happen! 9. Disk Warrior($100, www.alsoft.com) This is a great preventative maintenance tool for rebuilding your Mac's directory and keeping your mac running quickly and smoothly. It's also a great emergency tool for repairing disks that have missing files or will no longer mount.10. Cocktail($15, www.maintain.se/cocktail/index.php). This general all-purpose utility will clean the caches on your machine, run the UNIX maintenance scripts, unlock hidden features of your Mac, and much more.11. SuperDuper($28, www.shirt-pocket.com). This disk cloning utility is great for backing up or transferring all the data on your entire computer to a fully bootable state. Next Page: Email and Web Problems... Email and Web Problems We know you spend most of your time in front of a Mac online or pounding out email. Here's how to answer when trouble comes knocking. 12. I use a webmail client to check email, but every time I click on an email link, it launches Apple Mail instead.You can set up Apple Mail to access your webmail account using IMAP or POP (check with your webmail provider for instructions on how to do this; some charge a fee for this service), or you can install the program Webmailer (free, www.belkadan.com/webmailer), which lets you set any webmail site as your default email program.We set up Webmailer to take us to Yahoo's webmail system whenever we click on an email link.If you use Gmail, you have a few additional choices: You can install Google Notifier (free, toolbar.google.com/gmail-helper) and set that to your default email client in Mailâs preferences. Or you can use the outstanding Mailplane ($25, www.mailplaneapp.com), which provides many more features than the Gmail website.13. I can receive but not send email messages.Outgoing email messages are typically sent over the Internet using TCP port numbers 25, 465, or 587. However, in an effort to reduce spam, some ISPs and firewalls are set up to severely restrict the use of those ports. For example, AT&T is notorious for blocking port 25 for its DSL customers, unless youâre sending email with the AT&T email address assigned to your DSL modem. If youâre using AT&T (or another service provider that has similar restrictions), call the technical support number and request that they unblock port 25 for you. If you donât control the Internet access where you are located, contact your email host to see if they have an alternate port that you can send email on. You can specify alternate port numbers in your email appâs account settings. If all else fails, you should be able to send email through your webmail system until you can physically get yourself to a different location that has no restrictions.Our Web-hosting company, hostbaby.com, allows us to send email messages over alternate port 2525, which typically bypasses any firewall restrictions that have been put in place.14. When I reply to or forward an email, the original message isn't entirely quoted in my reply--sometimes just the header and a few characters are quoted.If you used your mouse to highlight some text in the original email, and then you clicked on forward or reply, only the words that you selected will be quoted in your new email. To override this behavior in Mail (it canât be overridden in Entourage), go into Mailâs Preferences, click on the Composing button, and you can set it to include all of the original message. If the problem still happens after this, your Mail preferences might be corrupt. Quit Mail, and trash the file located at yourhomefolder/Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist. Also try upgrading to Snow Leopard, which makes Mail more reliable in general.The Composing preference in Mail ensures that your replies and forwards will always quote the original email message in their entirety.15. I want to send an email later, not now.Each email client handles this slightly differently.In Entourage, choose Message > Send Message Later or click on the Send Later button. (In Entourage 2008, youâll need to add the Send Later button to your toolbar by choosing View > Customize Toolbar from any outgoing message.) Your messages will queue up in your outbox, and then you can send them all at once by creating an Entourage schedule (Tools > Schedules) or by clicking the Send & Receive button.In Thunderbird, choose File > Send Later. Your messages will queue up in the Unsent folder until you choose File > Send Unsent Messages.The Send Later Extension lets you schedule your outgoing messages in Thunderbird.The Send Later Extension for Thunderbird (free, www.unsignedbyte.com/?page_id=4) lets you schedule an exact date and time in the future to send your message.Surprisingly, Mail provides no ability to send messages later. You could take all your accounts offline (Mailbox > Take All Accounts Offline) before clicking on the Send button, in which case your messages disappear until you quit and relaunch Mail to find a temporary outbox with your messages sitting in them. Or, to schedule emails for a later delivery time that you specify, install the Schedule Delivery script which is a part of Mail Scripts (donations requested, homepage.mac.com/aamann/).Finally, LetterMeLater (free, www.lettermelater.com) offers another way to schedule emails to be sent at a later time.16. I have multiple folders entitled Drafts, Sent, Junk, or Trash for my IMAP email account.Setting up an IMAP account can be a little tricky. After typing your valid account settings into your email program, there are two additional steps:First, youâll need to set the proper IMAP path prefix (sometimes called the âroot folderâ or IMAP server directory) in your account settings. For example, Gmailâs IMAP Path Prefix is [Gmail].Defining your IMAP server's root folder is an often-forgotten step when setting up an IMAP email account.In Entourage, you set this on the Options tab of your IMAPâs account settings. In Thunderbird, click the Advanced button on the Server Settings tab. In Mail, this is on the Advanced tab of your IMAPâs account settings.Then youâll need to designate which folders on the server should be used for storing your drafts, sent messages, trash, and junk. In Entourage, you set this on the Advanced tab of your IMAPâs account settings. In Thunderbird, this is done in the Copies & Folders section of your account settings. In Mail, go out to your main viewer window and select a folder on the server (in the left-hand margin, underneath the IMAP account name), then choose Mailbox > Use This Mailbox For.17. Whenever I address an outgoing email, I get unwanted email addresses for people who aren't in my address book.Most email clients keep track of addresses that youâve emailed to in the past and will suggest those addresses to you in the future when you start to type the same characters. You can turn off this feature in Entourage and Thunderbird by going into their preferences. In Entourage, this is found on the Compose tab. In Thunderbird, this is on the Composition > Addressing tab. You canât turn off this feature in Mail, but you can clear the list from time-to-time by selecting Window > Previous Recipients, selecting the names and clicking Remove from List.In Mail, you have complete control over your Previous Recipients list.18. When I email long Web links to others, they sometimes get broken up onto multiple lines and don't work correctly.Try putting angle brackets () around long URLs to help them travel safely across the Internet without âbreaking.â Or you turn to TinyURL (free, www.tinyurl.com), which will turn those long URLs into, well, tiny URLs!19. I wish Safari's built-in search field worked with more websites than just Google.You may want to switch to Firefox, which has the built-in ability to customize its search field with any number of search engines that you specify. Otherwise, check out the Safari plug-ins Saft ($12, haoli.dnsalias.com) or Glims (free, machangout.com), both of which let you customize Safariâs Google search field. And one of our favorite utilities, iSeek ($15, www.ambrosiasw.com) lets you add a global customizable search field to your Macâs menubar that works with any Web browser.iSeek places a fully customizable search field in our menubar at all times.20. I want to filter inappropriate websites so my kids can't access them.Although Mac OS X has built-in parental controls that you can turn on for individual accounts, you can gain more control by purchasing software like ContentBarrier ($50, www.intego.com) or Net Nanny ($39.99 a year, www.netnanny.com). Even better, weâve discovered that one of the quickest, easiest, and most effective ways of filtering all the computers in your entire household is to switch your DNS servers to the free OpenDNS servers (free, www.opendns.com).ContentBarrier is one of many options you have for blocking websites on your Mac. 21. My Internet connection is slow.Thatâs a tricky one. A sluggish Net connection could be caused by any number of things, so here are a few troubleshooting tips to start with:Try resetting Safari (Safari > Reset Safari). Then, try a different Web browser to see if the problem happens there as well. You may also want to uninstall any Internet plug-ins that you have installed recently.Next, check your upload and download speeds at www.speakeasy.net/speedtest and see if youâre getting the speeds youâre paying for. If not, try power cycling both your modem and router, such as your Airport Extreme. Turn off or unplug the device, let it sit powered off for several minutes, then plug it in or switch it on again.Our latest speed test from Speakeasy.net shows us that we're not currently getting the full upload speeds for which we've been paying the big bucks!If these methods donât address the slowdown, try plugging your modem directly into your Mac using an Ethernet cable to see if the problem goes away. If so, your router may be the problem. If youâre using an Airport Extreme or Airport Express, launch Airport Utility to see if there is a firmware upgrade available. If so, install the firmware upgrade and see if that helps.If not, your Mac could be the problem--you may need to perform an Archive and Install of your operating system, which is one of your options on the Mac OS X Leopard Installation DVD.And itâs always possible that your modem or Internet line is the problem too, in which case you should call your ISPâs technical support number. Next Page: Photo and Office/iWork Problems... Photo Problems These solutions to common photo issues will make you want to say "cheese." 22. I need to quickly resize an image and make some color corrections to it, but I can't afford Photoshop and don't really want to learn how to use it.Preview has the built-in ability to resize images and adjust colors. Open up your image in Preview and select Tools > Adjust Size or Adjust Color.This image-size adjustment dialog box is from Preview, not Photoshop!23. I want to email photos from iPhoto through my webmail account by clicking on iPhoto's Email button.Even if youâve installed Webmailer, as mentioned in problem #12, the email button in iPhoto will only work with four email clients: AOL, Eudora, Entourage, and Mail.However, if you use Gmail, youâre in luck because Mailplane ($25, www.mailplaneapp.com) installs an iPhoto plug-in that lets you click on iPhotoâs Email button and send your messages through your Gmail account.In any dialog box, you can activate QuickLook when browsing your iPhoto Library by selecting a photo and pressing the spacebar.Otherwise, go into your webmail program, and attach photos using the standard method. Leopardâs dialog boxes give you the ability to browse through your iPhoto library, and they even let you use QuickLook by clicking on a photo and pressing the spacebar.24. I want to use iPhoto '09 to export photos to Facebook, but there are too many problems with it.Forget about using iPhoto â09âs poorly implemented Facebook âintegration.â Instead, use the outstanding Facebook Exporter for iPhoto (free, developers.facebook.com/iphoto).Use Facebook Exporter for iPhoto to tag, add captions to, and upload your Facebook photos right from within iPhoto.25. I created a PDF file with lots of embedded photos in it, but now the file is way too large to email.Open up the large PDF file in Preview and select File > Save As. Where it says Quartz Filter, choose Reduce File Size, then click Save. VoilĂ ! Youâve now saved a much smaller version of your PDF file, which will be easier to email.Choose this Quartz Filter in Preview to reduce the size (and quality) of large PDF files so you can email them without choking your email server.For even more control over the resulting quality of PDF size reduction--and to batch-process multiple PDF files at once--try PDFshrink ($35, www.apago.com).If you still canât get the file small enough for your needs, try a file-sending service such as YouSendIt (www.yousendit.com).26. Somebody emailed me a PDF file with lots of embedded photos in it, and I need to extract the photos from the file.File Juicer ($18, www.echoone.com) will extract images, sounds, and more from any filetype.File Juicer can extract all these types of files out of other files. Office/iWork Problems Work smarter not harder with these troubleshooting tips for common productivity apps. 27. I created an awesome slide show in Keynote, but I have to present it on a PC. I tried exporting it to Microsoft PowerPoint format, but I lost my transitions, effects, transparencies, gradients, and more--basically, all the cool stuff.Export your Keynote file to a QuickTime movie instead. As long as the PC has QuickTime installed on it (which it should, if it has iTunes installed), youâll be able to play back your presentation with all of its awesomeness intact. If the PC doesnât have QuickTime, download it for free from www.apple.com/quicktime.With the "Fixed Timing" option, we can set our QuickTime movie to automatically advance to the next slide on a regular interval.When you export your movie, you have several options for how it should advance from one slide to the next. For example, if you set it to manually advance, you simply have to press the spacebar on the PC to move to the next slide.28. Iâve included presenter notes (View > Show Presenter Notes) in a Keynote slide show, but when I play or rehearse the slide show, the notes donât show up onscreen.In Keynoteâs preferences, click on the Presenter Display button, and check the boxes for Notes and âUse alternate display to view presenter information.â Now your notes will show up when you play or rehearse your slide show.This checkbox lets you toggle between mirrored displays and dual displays.However, if you start seeing your notes on both your computer screen and the projectorâs screen, your computer is set to mirrored (instead of dual) displays. You can toggle these display modes while the projector is connected to your Mac by launching System Preferences, choosing Display > Arrangement, and deselecting the Mirror Displays checkbox.29. I use Office 2008 to create Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files, but my Mac-using colleagues canât open the files because theyâre using Office 2004.TextEdit can open and edit Word 2008 files. And if your colleagues have iWork â09 installed, they can work with all of your Office 2008 files in Pages, Numbers, or Keynote.Otherwise, youâll need to save the file in an earlier file format. Choose File > Save As and select the format that corresponds to Office 97â2004. You can also set this older format as the default in your preferences for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.Choose the .doc format to avoid compatibility issues with people using earlier versions of Microsoft Word.Alternatively, your colleagues can install Microsoftâs Open XML File Format Converter (free, www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads), which will convert your Office 2008 files into a format that Office 2004 can read. Next Page: Syncing Problems... Syncing Problems Data syncing can be particularly stressful since we need access to info anywhere these days. We've got solutions. 30. I want to sync some--but not all--of my iCal calendars across my Macs.Donât use MobileMe to sync, which always synchronizes all of your calendars. Instead, use BusySync ($25, www.busymac.com) or BusyCal ($40, www.busymac.com), which both give you an incredible amount of syncing options.BusyMac's products are true champions when it comes to publishing and subscribing selected calendars without any dedicated servers.31. I want to synchronize my iCal calendars and Address Book on my Mac to Outlook on a PC.Sign up for MobileMe ($99 a year, www.apple.com), which will keep all of your Macs and PCs (and iPhones!) in sync with each other.Spanning Sync effortlessly syncs your calendars and contacts to Google.Or, you can use Google Calendar and Google Contacts as a conduit. On the Mac side, youâll need Spanning Sync ($25/year or $65/one-time purchase, spanningsync.com). On the PC side, youâll need Google Apps Sync ($50/year, tools.google.com/dlpage/gappssync).32. I keep getting duplicate entries on my iCal calendar.Sounds like youâre trying to sync your Entourage calendar with iCal. Thereâs a known bug with Entourage that causes repeating events to multiply out of control in iCal. We donât know of any long-term solution at this time except to ditch Entourageâs calendar and stick to iCal for your calendaring needs. To do this, uncheck the box for syncing events in Entourageâs Preferences (on the Sync Services pane). To erase iCal dupes, try iCal Cleaner (free, www.busymac.com).33. Iâm getting two of each calendar entry on my iPhone.You may be trying to sync your calendars through both iTunes and MobileMe. Youâll need to choose one method or the other, not both. If youâre syncing wirelessly through MobileMe, then go into your iPhone settings within iTunes and uncheck all of your calendars there.The exception to this rule is iCalâs Birthdays calendar (enabled in iCalâs preferences, this calendar pulls birthdays from your Address Book), which can only be synced through iTunes, so it must remain checked in iTunes.34. My U.S. Holidays and other Internet-subscribed iCal calendars are not syncing between my Mac and my iPhone.Any Internet-subscribed calendars must be resubscribed to directly from your iPhone. You can manually set up the server on your iPhone by going to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Add Account > Other > Calendars.You must resubscribe to your iCal holiday calendars on your iPhone all over again.Or, you can automatically subscribe to a calendar by using Safari on your iPhone to choose from Appleâs extensive selection of calendars at www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/calendars.35. iTunes no longer launches automatically when I attach my iPod or iPhone to my computer.If your iPhone or iPod is very low on power or if the battery is fully depleted, it can take up to 10 minutes to appear under Devices in iTunes.Otherwise, you may have unchecked the box in iTunes for your device that says âAutomatically sync when this iPhone/iPod is connectedâ or âOpen iTunes when this iPod is attached.âYou may have also removed the iTunesHelper application from your Login Items in your Account System Preferences, which is required to automatically launch iTunes. You can get this back by reinstalling iTunes (www.apple.com/itunes) or by manually dragging iTunesHelper into the Login Items. iTunesHelper can be found by right-clicking on iTunes in the Finder and choosing Show Package Contents, then going to Contents > Resources.36. I want to synchronize files between two computers.There are many different programs available to help you with this task, but our favorite is ChronoSync ($40, www.econtechnologies.com). ChronoSync can automatically mount remote servers, wake your local Mac from sleep, schedule your synchronizations, archive backup copies of your files before syncing, and even give you a list of proposed changes before it makes any of them.Synchronizing files between two different computers is as simple as drag-and-drop with ChronoSync.While you can use ChronoSync to synchronize to any type of volume or folder, if you specifically want to sync to another computer, you may want to additionally purchase ChronoAgent for an extra $10. ChronoAgent lets you communicate directly with a remote Mac faster than using AFP or SMB, and you gain full root access, so you can copy anything without any restrictions.37. I turned on MobileMe syncing on my iPhone, but nothing is syncing to my Mac or Me.com.Itâs possible that the MobileMe servers arenât communicating properly with your iPhone. An Apple support rep recently admitted to us that this is an extremely common problem that MobileMe users may experience every few months until Apple increases the reliability of its MobileMe syncing servers. So you may want to keep these instructions handy for future reference.First, find out if MobileMe sees your iPhone at all. Activate Find My iPhone on your iPhone (Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > your me.com account > Find My iPhone). Then, from a computer (not your iPhone), go to your MobileMe account page at https://secure.me.com/yourusername. Click on Find My iPhone to see if the MobileMe website sees your phone. If not, try turning off your iPhone and turning it back on again. If the MobileMe site still doesnât see your phone, try deleting your MobileMe account on your iPhone and re-creating it again.We feel like Big Brother is watching us with Find My iPhone's crosshairs centered directly on our house!Once Me.com sees your iPhone, try adding an event or a contact to your phone and see if the change shows up on your MobileMe calendar (www.me.com/calendar) or address book (www.me.com/contacts) within a few minutes.If not, you will probably have to reset all of your sync data on Me.com with information from your Macâs iCal and Address Book. Make a mental note of any recent unsynced changes youâve made on your iPhone, because youâre going to lose them in this process. Also, sign out of Me.com. Go into the MobileMe System Preference on your Mac, select the Sync tab, click on Advanced, and then click Reset Sync Data. Click on the right arrow so that you are replacing all sync info on MobileMe with âinfo from this computer.âLog back into Me.com and verify that it now has your current information for contacts and calendars. If not, you will have to reset the SyncServices database on your Mac. Apple has instructions on this process at support.apple.com/kb/TS1627.But before following those instructions, be sure to do two things on your Mac: First, repair your permissions using Disk Utility (Applications/Utilities), and, second, repair your keychain using Keychain Access (in Disk Utility, pull down from the Keychain Access menu and select Keychain First Aid). After that, try syncing again from the MobileMe System Preference pane.This is how it should look when you're about to overwrite information on the MobileMe website with information from your Mac.Once Me.com has your current information, you are ready to go back to your iPhone. On your iPhone, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data. Turn Push off, then completely turn off your phone for 30 seconds. Turn your phone back on and re-enable push. Then, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > your Me.com account and turn off and on each one of the sliders for the information that youâre trying to sync (Contacts, Calendars, Bookmarks, etc).Wait several minutes, and hopefully all your current information will reappear in your calendar and contacts on your iPhone.If not, you will probably need to have a live chat with a MobileMe support agent. Go to www.apple.com/support/mobileme. Choose any of the troubleshooting options underneath Syncing with MobileMe in the left-hand margin, and a Chat Now button will appear. Next Page: Video, Music, and Backup Problems... Video Problems These tips address problems you might encounter trying to play video files on your Mac. 38. Iâm trying to use my Apple Remote on my Mac to watch movies through Front Row, but the other computers in the room--along with my Apple TV--are inadvertently responding to my remoteâs button presses.You need to pair each one of your Apple Remotes to a particular device. Apple has instructions on how to do this at support.apple.com/kb/HT1619.39. Sometimes I can't play Web videos.Out of the box, your Mac can only play Flash and QuickTime videos. To play other video formats, youâll need to install one or more of the following free apps:>> Flip4Mac Windows Media Components for QuickTime (www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/wmcomponents.mspx)>> Perian (www.perian.org)>> Microsoft Silverlight (www.microsoft.com/silverlight/)>> RealPlayer (www.real.com)>> VLC (www.videolan.org)40. I want to convert video files to other formats, particularly those that will work on my iPod or iPhone.To convert your video files into many different formats--including iPhone and iPod compatible formats--try Video Monkey (free, videomonkey.org), VideoDrive (7.99 euros, www.aroona.net), or CosmoPod (8.90 euros, www.cocoamug.com). To convert DVDs, try HandBrake (free, www.handbrake.fr).41. I want to download a Flash video from the Web.Thereâs a little-known trick in Safari that lets you download Flash videos that are embedded in webpages. Bring up the Activity Viewer (Window > Activity) and look for a file that appears that it may be your video file, perhaps based on its large size or the fact that it is so large that it is still loading. When itâs finished loading, hold down the Option key and double-click on the video file. Safari will download the file into your Downloads folder for you, and you can monitor the progress through the Downloads window.Little-known Safari secret: You can download Flash vids, like Funny or Die's famous "The Landlord" starring Will Ferrell, to your Desktop to watch at your leisure.If youâd like an easier way to download Flash videos, try TubeTV (donations requested, www.chimoosoft.com), Videobox ($15, www.tastyapps.com), or TubeSock ($15, www.stinkbot.com).42. I want to download a QuickTime video from the Web to my Mac, so I can watch it later.If youâve purchased QuickTime Pro ($30, www.apple.com/quicktime), you can download many QuickTime videos right from the Web by clicking on the triangle in the lower right-hand corner of the video and choosing Save As QuickTime Movie.However, some QuickTime videos, including those on Appleâs website, donât let you download them directly. To download these devious videos--with or without QuickTime Pro--view the source of the webpage in Safari (View > View Source) or Firefox (View > Page Source). Do a search for .mov (the file extension for QuickTime videos) to find the full URL of the video file. When you find it, copy the entire URL of the video file. Then, launch QuickTime Player on your Mac and select File > Open URL and paste in the URL. Now you can save the video file onto your computer.43. I bought an external USB webcam, but my Mac laptop isnât recognizing it.If your Mac is running Mac OS 10.4.11 or later, it can recognize almost any USB webcam on the market, usually without installing any drivers.If youâre running the latest version of OS X but still having problems, the iUSBCam (www.ecamm.com/mac/iusbcam) and macam (webcam-osx.sourceforge.net) websites provide helpful tips and driver downloads.Note that Mac programs like iChat and Skype will first try to use your built-in internal camera before using any external webcams. To change this, youâll need to go into the preferences of those programs to change your video input source.If youâre unsuccessfully trying to use your external webcam in Photo Booth, you have to switch back to the internal camera in iChatâs preferences before launching Photo Booth. Music Problems How to keep rocking in the free world. 44. I want to make iPhone ringtones from a song that I didnât purchase (or isnât available for purchase) from the iTunes Store.If you have a track in iTunes that you own on CD and that youâve ripped to iTunes, you can make a ringtone from it for free in GarageBand â09. Click here for instructions and scroll down to âRoll Your Own iPhone Ringtones,â which also provides instructions for doing the same thing in QuickTime Pro).45. My iTunes library is full of duplicates.For smaller libraries, use iTunesâ Show Duplicates feature (File > Show Duplicates) and manually remove the extra files. iTunes only matches on Artist and Title information though, so be careful not to delete legit alternate versions of tracks--live versions, for example. For better duplicate control, try Dupin or some of the iTunes scripts available at www.dougscripts.com.46. One of the rubber tips from a pair of third-party earbuds got stuck in my ear--help!Believe it or not, this has happened to us too--more than once. We recommend keeping a pair of tweezers handy, just in case a tip come off in your ear canal, which can sometimes happen if you pull the âbud out too quickly. Itâs happened to two Mac|Life editors, both of whom agree that having something small and unreachable lodged in your ear can be pretty traumatic.47. My iTunes library is spread across multiple Macs. How can I keep two iTunes libraries synchronized?If all you want to do is listen to iTunes music housed on another local Mac (i.e. connected to the local network), just turn on iTunesâ sharing feature (Preferences > Sharing and check âLook for shared librariesâ). To share your own tracks, also check âShare my library on my local network.â You can also store libraries on a network drive that supports iTunes sharing, to share tunes without needing another Mac up and running all the time. To keep two libraries in step for syncing iPods, use a utility like TuneRanger ($29.99, my.smithmicro.com) or SuperSync ($29, www.supersync.com).You don't have to share all your iTunes content--and you can password-protect it if you want, too. Backup Problems Don't tell us you don't back up--especially since Time Machine makes it so easy! Here's what to do when you run into problems. 48. I want to restore a file from a Time Machine backup of a different Mac or an older backup of my main Mac that Time Machine no longer recognizes (due to a new backup drive, a new logic board, or a new internal hard drive).You can restore any Time Machine backup onto any Mac, if you know a few tricks involved with restoring.The first one is related to an odd decision by Apple: You can only browse other Time Machine volumes by adding the Time Machine icon to your dock, then right-clicking on the icon and selecting Browse Other Time Machine Disks.There's our hidden option to browse other Time Machine disks!But even if you do that, it wonât see your Time Capsule or other external Time Machine drives, even if theyâre mounted on your Desktop. In Finder, you actually have to manually choose the .sparsebundle file that represents the computer that was backed up, double-click on this file, let it mount on your Desktop, and then Time Machine will let you choose the resulting mounted disk image to restore from.49. Time Machine is giving me an error message thatâs too vague for me to interpret.The programs TM Error Logger (donations requested, www.carnationsoftware.com) and Time Machine Buddy (free, www.bluedog.com.au) can help you interpret what has gone wrong with your Time Machine backup.50. Iâd like Time Machine to back up to multiple external hard drives, so I can keep one backup drive offsite and one backup drive onsite.Time Machine can correctly keep track of backups on multiple external hard drives. Just give your hard drives different names, and whenever you connect the other drive, youâll need to manually make a trip to Time Machineâs System Preference and change the disk there.