The Preferred Toronto Apple Reseller of MacMedics:
The Preferred iPod and iPhone repair shop in Toronto of MacMedics:
A Safe Way To Dispose Of Your eWaste – And Get A Tax Receipt Too!
My Preferred Canadian-Based ISP
-
Oct
13
Cautionary (Snow Leopard) Tail
Filed Under Advice, Alerts!, Apple News | Leave a Comment
It’s been about a month-and-a-half since Snow Leopard (10.6/10.6.1) has been in the wild. As I’ve written and suggested about every major upgrade (or even update) – BACKUP is CRITICAL. Apple tests it’s software in controlled conditions and it’s impossible to anticipate every scenario. That being said a particularly nasty bug (not a virus or anything like that, but a software glitch) has made it’s appearance. It seems that for users who upgrade from an existing 10.5 system i.e. you had 10.5 on your system and you upgraded to 10.6 as opposed to wiping your drive out and starting from scratch or buying a new machine with 10.6 pre-installed AND have utilized the GUEST account system it is possible to LOSE ALL OF YOUR DATA if you log into the Guest account and then log out:
Reports have been cropping up on the Apple Support forums that users have been losing all their data due to a nasty bug in Snow Leopard, Apple’s latest Operating System. Many users are reporting that all settings are being reset and most data is gone, according to iTWire.
The problem, can easily be reproduced when a user logs into the ‘guest’ account, either on purpose or by accident, and when they log back out of the account and back into their normal one, they find that their account has been fully reset with all data wiped and lost – the account is like a brand new one. The home directory still exists under “/Users/username” but is completely empty.
Users are reporting that the data is unrecoverable and cannot be found anywhere on the hard drive, and the only way to restore it is if the user has been performing backups on a separate hard-drive. Apparently the problem has been present since a few days after launch, as the forum post dates back to 12th September
Apple has acknowledged the issue:
“We are aware of the issue, which occurs only in extremely rare cases, and we are working on a fix,” an Apple representative said in a prepared statement Monday.
The notion of the issue as ‘rare’ is being challenged since it seems to be easily reproducible. More from the Neowin site that’s reporting it:
It seems the only work around at this stage is to disable the Guest account, or at least disable it and then re-enabling it so that it’s a native Snow Leopard account. Another suggestion is to create a new account and enforce parental controls, if you really need a temporary account.
It’s not clear how many users are affected, but it seems like any user who had Leopard before the upgrade, and had the guest account enabled are affected and are at risk.
Update: CNet has published a method to restore the files from a Time Machine backup to a new, identical user profile. If you have lost files due to this problem, and have an intact backup please follow the steps found here – the restore process may take over two hours to complete.
Update #2: For those who are concerned that they could be affected, our recommendation is to disable the guest account fully. If you require it though, make sure you make a complete backup of your hard disk before you try the account again if you upgraded from Leopard to Snow Leopard, just to be safe.
Again – the importance of Backup can never be overstated. It is a critical aspect of computing today. Data loss can strike at any moment from a random hardware failure to lurking software bugs. If you buy a new machine you have to buy a companion hard drive to go with it for back up or use an online service to back up your critical files. Email services like Google or Google Premier or any IMAP-based system ensure your mail is backed up as well. Apple’s Operating System since 10.5 basically begs users to back up their information using Time Machine when an external device is attached. Please heed the warning.
Again, to reiterate about this current issue:
To avoid the bug, while Apple continues to work on fixing it, it is suggested to disable any accounts without passwords (e.g. “guest” account) and do not log in and out of any such accounts.
Aug
26
As a followup to the last post Macintouch has provided a compatibility page for Snow Leopard which I strongly urge users to peruse. Apple is releasing Snow Leopard on August 28th – a full month ahead of schedule – which is compromising 3rd party application developers’ ability to fully test or release updates to incompatible software. Adobe has announced that most (that’s right, they use the word ‘most’) of Adobe CS IV is compatible:
“As for Adobe Creative Suite 4
, everything is good with the exception of auto-updates to Flash panels (which I guarantee you’re not using) and Adobe Drive/Version Cue (which doesn’t work at the moment on 10.6). CS3 & earlier haven’t been tested.”
Adobe Creative Suite CS3 Design Premium
is a relatively recent release which caused some of Nack’s readers to question the company’s testing methods. Answering these complaints, Nack states: “I’d frankly be shocked if people at Adobe & Apple really hadn’t tested CS3 on 10.6. I *think* it’s just some corporate conservatism at work here, and Adobe doesn’t want to over-promise anything. As I say, though, I’ll try to find out more.”
However, Adobe’s tech support briefing warns: “You may therefore experience a variety of installation, stability, and reliability issues for which there is no resolution. Older versions of our creative software will not be updated to support Mac OS X Snow Leopard (v10.6).”
Personally, I think CS 3 will work as it would really alienate a lot of Adobe and Mac users if it didn’t. I also think Adobe has tested it with Snow Leopard (and Apple probably has too) – they’re just not going to allocate huge technical time to ironing out certain bugs.Maddening. Macintouch reports that:
Leister Productions Inc., the publisher of Reunion 9 genealogical software, sent e-mails out to its users stating that their program has incompatibilities with Snow Leopard. An update should be available in a week or two.
I use an application called Daylite for my business. I’m hoping to have a beta in my hands shortly that is compatible with the new cat as the current version (3.9.3) is not – don’t even think about installing it over earlier versions than the most current. I won’t be installing SL on any of my own production machines until my main apps are deemed compatible. So again, please be careful and do your homework before making the transition.
Early Reviews
For those of you who want to read about early reviews check out 9to5Mac’s “Snow Leopard reviews start coming in…”
And of course you’ve got read David Pogue’s: Apple’s Sleek Upgrade
———————————————————-
UPDATE: Adobe has already responded to the CS 3 compatibility issue:
Principal Product Manager for Photoshop John Nack pointing to a new FAQ document noting that only Creative Suite 4 will be officially supported on Apple’s forthcoming Snow Leopard operating system, with Creative Suite 3 and earlier versions reportedly not having been tested on Snow Leopard.
Nack has now posted an update after investigating the CS3 situation in which he reveals that Adobe and Apple actually did do extensive testing of at least Photoshop CS3 on Snow Leopard and found that it is in fact compatible with the new operating system.
It turns out that the Photoshop team has tested Photoshop CS3 on Snow Leopard, and to the best of our knowledge, PS CS3 works fine on Snow Leopard.Nack notes that only two minor issues remain that his Photoshop team is aware of: window highlight rings in Exposé and text field nudging in Japanese versions of Snow Leopard. But while Photoshop CS3 otherwise appears to be perfectly compatible with Snow Leopard, Adobe has chosen to not categorize it as officially supported due to the level of testing it feels would be required in order to be entirely confident in that statement.
That was fast! Follow the above link for more info and wait for more announcements from other software companies.
Mar
31
Spring Is When The Worms Come Out
Filed Under Advice, Alerts!, Recommendations, Tech News, Tips | Leave a Comment
They walk the parks at night with flashlights on their heads and buckets at hand. They’re trolling for worms!
But they won’t find Conficker in the ground. Perhaps you’ve heard of it or have been hearing about it. 60 minutes just ran a scare piece on it on Sunday – I’ve provided the segment in it’s entirety:
Supposedly one of the nastiest worms to hit computers since, well, the last nastiest worm to hit computers. It has infected some 500, 000 computers already! Microsoft has offered a $250,000 bounty for the creators of the worm. Come April 1st this dormant worm is set to receive some kind of instruction to do…nobody knows. Maybe something nasty like steal all the world’s credit card information – or maybe nothing.
Well, not all computers. Not Macs! Yes folks, for those of us who use the best operating system and application suites on the planet – you’re safe! Even with all the new shiny Mac laptops and Mac desktops out there, the increased share of the market hasn’t yet attracted an infection by this little bugger. The Mac remains the safest operating system to use. However…
…Mac users who run Windows on their Macs are at the same risk as those running Windows on PCs.
In other words, if you run Windows on your Mac via Boot Camp, Parallels Desktop or VM Ware Fusion your Windows partition is vulnerable. Now, if your Windows section does become infected it won’t infiltrate the Mac side – you may have to wipe your Windows operating system and start again (at the very least disinfect it), but the Mac remains safe. It is highly recommended that you run all the Windows security updates as well as update or install the latest anti-virus and anti-spyware software for Windows. If you’re really scared, just unplug your computer from the internet the night of March 31st or shut off your wireless connection and wait it out.
Click on the link for a great FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) on Conficker from CNET. They provide a background on this beast and best practices to deal with this new potential threat. For example, for Windows users Panda Security has released a free “vaccine” tool for blocking viruses that spread through USB drives. Microsoft has a Conficker removal tool. Again, the Mac OS itself is NOT under threat.
Feb
27
Gone Phishing
Filed Under Advice, Alerts!, MobileMe | Leave a Comment
There is a MobileMe phishing scam roaming the net in an attempt to get users to part with their credit card information. Basically, a user receives an email telling them their MobileMe account is about to expire or their credit information needs to be updated:
In another attempt to con MobileMe users into providing their credit card information, a scammer has sent out spam spoofed to appear to come from Apple, which directs users to a fake site designed to look like Apple’s. Users who follow the email link and enter their information on the poorly formatted, fake Apple web page will be sorry.
Please check out Apple Insiders expanded story on this: NEW PHISHING SCAM TARGETS MOBILE ME USERS
Feb
9
Peace Of Mind
Filed Under 1. HOW TO..., Advice, Rants, Security, Tips, Views | Leave a Comment
As many of you who read this blog know I am constantly reminding people to back up their data – I never seem to get tired of pointing this out. Just as importantly is securing the data you already have. Security can mean different things depending on your concerns and approach. For some it’s ensuring that you have that basic backup of your important information – that’s one kind of security – against data loss.
So, you’ve got your backup. Check. However, what happens if you lose or have your computer stolen? All that important information like your passwords, credit card information, writing, pictures, contacts, calendar – personal and professional information – all of it is at risk. It’s a very violating feeling to have your computer stolen. I’ve had this happen to me and it’s awful. Even if you have a backup the knowledge that someone may have access to your information is unnerving. You may have to cancel your credit cards, change all of your passwords, call colleagues or friends to be on the look out for any breached information you may have stored.
What can you do to make sure this doesn’t happen to you? These are my suggestions – each has advantages and disadvantages:
1. Give your computer a password! Many of my clients feel they don’t need a password because they’re the only ones using their machine. Please don’t get lulled into this trap. Give your machine a basic password – preferably something beyond 1234, your name or ‘password’.
2. Check out the Security System Preference Pane. There are some very basic things you can choose to do that can help dissuade a casual breach of access to your Mac – in an office or at home. Within this Preference Pane you’ll find the ability to require a password to wake your machine from sleep or a screen saver – someone passing by your machine will probably keep on going. You can also require a secure password to unlock other important Preference Panes – see screen shot.
3. Even with all of these built-in features if someone has physical access to your computer they can by-pass all of these measures by booting up your machine with a startup DVD or external hard drive. To prevent this you can utilize another free utility that comes with every Mac – a Firmware password. Each Startup Disk has on it a utility called Firmware Password Utility. With this you can implement a password at a deep level of the operating system. This will prevent someone from booting up your machine from another media, mounting the drive using Target Disk mode as well as other modes of starting up. This can also prevent diagnostic trouble-shooting modes so be aware of this.
4. Yet another security feature is Apple’s File Vault feature. This protects your Home directory with very sophisticated encryption standards. To you your data appears normal. However, if someone were to steal your machine your data would be secure, even if they booted up your machine from another source – unless they knew or figured out your password (hence no 1234 here)! An issue with Filevault arises with the use of Time Machine. Because File Vault encrypts your directory as a single secure image it will continually back up the entire image and not just the smaller changed files. This can fill up your backup destination much faster.
5. There are 3rd Party solutions as well some of which can help locate your stolen Mac, disable it remotely, take pictures of the thief, where they surf etc…Orbicule is one, MacPhoneHome another as well as Lojack.
6. One solution I’ve used in the past is Securikey – a USB security key approach. With this implemented, your laptop or desktop is only usable with the insertion of the specially formatted USB key – even if your password is breached. It encrypts your Home Directory like Filevault and the data is useless to a thief. If you lose your key the company keeps a backup set which you can get access to by identifying yourself properly with a prearranged authentication.
7. Backup is, as I’ve mentioned, security. An important step is to make sure that you don’t keep your backup and your primary source (computer) in the same location, especially when you travel. Thus, a diverse and secure approach to backup might include an offsite copy of important information using a service like MobileMe, SugarSync, iDrive etc…That way, in the case of loss or theft you will have recourse to those important files. All of these services encrypt their data on remote servers.
Jan
29
iLife 09 Arrives
Filed Under Advice, Apple News, Apple Updates | Leave a Comment
One of the major announcements made at Macworld earlier in the month was that of iLife 09, Apple’s package of iMovie, iTunes, iPhoto, iWeb et. al. The new package just began shipping yesterday and although I haven’t had a chance or time to check it out yet, others have. One of the applications with the biggest changes is iMovie 09. When iMovie 08 was released last year a lot of users responded with much vitriol – they basically hated it. It was a radical departure from all previous incarnations of iMovie – some said it shouldn’t have been called iMovie. In fact, Apple was forced to release a free downloadable version of iMovie 6 HD for those who had purchased iLife 08 and were so unhappy. Well, Apple seems to have been listening to those complaints and the demo I saw of the new application in action in San Francisco was impressive. Gizmodo has a review of the new version which I suggest checking out.
Apple is shipping the new version of iLife 09 with all new Macs. Also, for those of you have a bought a new Mac in the last couple of weeks or are about to and don’t find the new version pre-installed Apple is offering a free offering of it through their iLife 09 Up-To-Date program.
Dec
18
Software Update Issue
Filed Under Advice, Alerts!, Apple Updates, Recommendations, Tips | Leave a Comment
Here’s a classic case of Catch 22. Apple has documented an issue with their software update feature in 10.5 – found under the Apple Menu and usually scheduled to prompt a user with newly available updates:
Symptoms
When attempting to update software using Software Update in Mac OS X 10.5, the update process may stop responding while “Configuring installation” is visible in the update window. This can occur if Software Update attempts to install an update that was only partially downloaded.
They claim the latest 10.5.6 update fixes this problem. Their solution is to use the problematic Software Update to download the update!
Resolution
1. Quit (or if necessary, Force Quit) Software Update. Note: If the issue occurs while installing an update after log out (such as an update that requires a restart), shut down your Mac by holding down the power button, then power it back on.
2. Click the Finder icon in the Dock.
3. From the Go menu choose “Go to Folder”.
4. Type: /Library/Updates
5. Click Go. The /Library/Updates folder opens.
6. Select all contents of this folder and move them to the Trash.
Once the above steps are complete, use Software Update again to re-download and install the update.
To avoid this issue, download and install the Mac OS X 10.5.6 Update or later. Note that this update must first be installed to avoid the issue; the issue may occur while downloading the Mac OS X 10.5.6 Update or later.
So – keep reading the Leopard reader reports if you’re concerned about the latest update and if you’re having difficulty follow the instructions above. I also suggest downloading the 10.5.6 Combo Update as a stand-alone installation which Apple always provides to avoid the whole software update issue altogether. This is a standard and recommended practice. Here are links to Apple’s stand-alone updates (note: it’s a rather large download):
Dec
15
10.5.6 Update Arrives
Filed Under Advice, Apple Updates, MobileMe, Tips | Leave a Comment
As predicted, Apple has released a 10.5.6 update to it’s current 10.5 (Leopard) client and Server operating system. At the update link provided Apple’s first line of advice is to BACKUP. Please, please, either wait to see how the update is received by the Mac community (click here for 10.5.6 reader reports) or back up your data before applying the update and follow the other advice you’ll find there.
A notable aspect to the update is the addition of real ‘push’ services to Apple’s MobileMe service. When it was first introduced, Apple advertised it as ‘exchange for the rest of us’ wherein contacts, mail and calendar events would update almost immediately on a client’s desktop, laptop and phone. In reality, it was taking almost 15 minutes unless a user manually synced each new change and the company withdrew the claim until it could actually provide the feature. Apple now claims, with the the 10.5.6 update that MobileMe now delivers on that promise.
Dec
1
Bright Spots and Flash Backs
Filed Under Advice, Apple News, Security, Views | 2 Comments
On the heels of the report that Microsoft is losing further ground in both web browser share and market share – it has dipped below 90% for the first time in quite a long while - and Apple’s share rising to 9.25% (10 times less, but come on…) I wanted to share this great piece of near nostalgia. This is pre-iPod, pre-Intel, pre-everything really great and cool. Apple also posted better than average sales on Black Friday at it’s stores and was a bright spot on an otherwise lackluster holiday season kickoff in the US. Click on the link if you don’t see the embedded video. Now if only Air Canada’s aeroplan site would only work with Safari!
The Original Apple Store - presented by Steven P. Jobs
Find more videos like this on MyAppleSpace
In other news….
In a curious twist, Apple released a knowledge base article ’encouraging’ Mac users to begin to use Anti-Virus programs
so that virus programmers have more than one application to circumvent, thus making the whole virus writing process more difficult.
Appleinsider suggests that this points to a softening of Apple’s opinion on this matter. My experience has been that Macs are fairly immune to most of the threats out there and that, although there are proof of concept viruses that can affect the platform there is nothing widespread out there. That being said, many of my clients communicate with Windows-based users and their machines can become carriers of a virus. If you are in this position it might be a good idea to heed Apple’s advice.
UPDATE – 12-3-2008
Apple just pulled their knowledge base note concerning the need for anti-virus software stating that the Mac OS is built to withstand such kinds of attacks. Read more here.
Nov
23
Tips From The Apple Core
Filed Under Advice, Fun, Tips, Views | Leave a Comment
iMacs, MacBooks, Mini’s, MacPros – all these great machines with the best feline Operating System (Leopard) around and what do most people do – write email and surf the web! Okay, not everyone. What I do hear a lot is that we all have these wonderful computers, but we tend to either under-use them or not know how to fully utilize what have in our hands.
My job, which is my delight, is help people find solutions to the things they do everyday. There are a lot of great resources out there and I will be forthcoming with more. A great place to start is with Apple’s very own and very helpful Quick Tips Podcast. When you click on this link iTunes will open and navigate to the proper place. There you will find 30 second videos that will demonstrate some of the basic and not so basic features you never knew you didn’t know (Rumsfeld anyone?). This is a great resource for beginners and old-hands alike.
What is a Podcast? Think of a Podcast like a radio program – which is what it basically is. There are thousands of audio and video podcasts being made by both Professionals and non alike and they are available to you directly from within iTunes. Just click on the Podcast selection in the left-hand source menu, choose to view the Podcast Directory and be prepared to be amazed. What’s even better – most are FREE! You can listen on demand, subscribe to ones you like, sync them to your iPod or iPhone – did I mention they’re FREE?!