The Preferred Toronto Apple Reseller of MacMedics:
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A Safe Way To Dispose Of Your eWaste – And Get A Tax Receipt Too!
My Preferred Canadian-Based ISP
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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.
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
12
10.5.6 System Update Imminent
Filed Under Apple Updates, Recommendations | Leave a Comment
It seems Apple will be releasing another incremental update to 10.5 (Leopard) either today or over the weekend so don’t be surprised if Software Update prompts you to apply it. As with any update my advice is to BACKUP your data before applying any system update. You may also want to wait a few days or a week after the update release to gauge the results. Check back with the Tech-No-Phile blog for my followup.
Nov
19
The Other 90%
Filed Under Recommendations, Tech News, Views | 1 Comment
Last year I heard about an idea that really caught my attention – so much so that I participated with my support and money. That idea and now reality is One Laptop Per Child spearheaded by Nicholas Negroponte. The program aims to provide laptops for the other 90% of us – the $100 laptop. What exactly is One Laptop Per Child about? It’s about the power of education. It’s mission statement is
…to create educational opportunities for the world’s poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning. When children have access to this type of tool they get engaged in their own education. They learn, share, create, and collaborate. They become connected to each other, to the world and to a brighter future.
Since this is a blog about technology I can’t think of a better way to spread it’s potential than through programs of this kind. Last year the OLPC launched it’s Give One Get One special which allows a supporter to both buy one and either get one for a child here in North America or themselves and/or donate both to the enterprise and this week began that campaign again.
The price is kept down by the scale of the program and the non-profit nature of the approach. I suggest watching Nicholas Negroponte’s TED video (a little dated from 2006, but the it’s all there) and the website to get a sense of the vision.
Given the recent election of Barack Obama in the United States on the theme of change, here is a way to make a real difference in a child’s life, a community’s hope and humanity’s future generation(s):
Most of the nearly two billion children in the emerging world don’t have access to adequate education. The XO laptop is our answer to this crisis—and after nearly two years, we know it’s working. Almost everywhere the XO goes, school attendance increases dramatically as the children begin to open their minds and explore their own potential. One by one, a new generation is emerging with the power to change the world..
There are many worthy causes and good ideas vying for attention this time of year – this is my pitch for just one. Check out this link for more videos and pics and see how this incredible tool is making a difference.
“With the laptop we can say that our school is really elevated because the children are really learning more… They see themselves discovering things that they have never been doing before.” — Mrs. M., Galadima School, Abuja, Nigeria
Sep
19
An Important Reminder…Again
Filed Under Advice, Recommendations, Views | 2 Comments
The fallout from the recently released 10.5.5 system software update continues to grow with user experiences varying from speed and stability improvements to some serious display issues. I suggest checking out the various reader reports on the update at Macintouch.
Also, and here is the reminder, please Back Up any important information before running the update. The best is to have a cloned copy of your drive backed up to an external device. You can use a utility such as SuperDuper ($30) or Carbon Copy Cloner (free). I will provide a How To… video for cloning a drive soon. Although Apple’s Time Capsule offers excellent day-to-day backup it is time-consuming to perform a total recovery from if one needs to restore a system quickly.
A combination of SuperDuper and Time Machineon a single drive is the best defense against data loss in my opinion at this time (SuperDuper understands Time Machine drives and can back up to the same volume without deleting any data). If you’re using an Intel-based Mac the drive must have a GUID partition which is configured using Apple’s Disk Utility (this is done during the initialization phase of formatting a hard drive for use). Again, I will cover this in a video.
Sep
12
New iPhone 2.1 Software Released – First Impressions
Filed Under Apple News, Recommendations, iPhone | Leave a Comment
As I leave the city for Manitoulin Island Apple decides to release it’s 2.1 iPhone software! Of course I had to apply it before leaving. The apps seem zippier. Searching for contacts is quicker. Downloading and installing App Store applications seems much more efficient and leaves the icons in place instead having to move them again after installation. Support for the ‘Genius’ playlist is present. The 3G logo seems to have changed from a white text with blue box around it to a simple white 3G text. The actual iPhone backup feature within iTunes is supposed to be faster. Here’s the small list of tweaks and features the update is to have addressed and added:
iPhone version 2.1 contains many bug fixes and improvements, including the following:
* decrease in call set-up failures and call drops
* significantly improved battery life for most users
* dramatically reduced time to backup to iTunes
* improved email reliability, notably fetching email from POP and Exchange accounts
* faster installation of 3rd party applications
* fixed bugs causing hangs and crashes if you have lots of 3rd party applications
* improved performance in text messaging
* faster loading and searching of contacts
* improved accuracy of the 3G signal strength display
* repeat alert up to two additional times for incoming text messages
* option to wipe data after ten failed passcode attempts
* Genius playlist creation
That’s all for now – gotta go! Remember to back up your important files before upgrading (calendar, address book etc… – see the How To.. section of the blog).
Aug
28
The River I Step In Is Not The River I Stand In
Filed Under Recommendations, Rumours, Tips | 3 Comments
I’m often asked – should I buy a Mac now or should I wait? There are definitely cycles of product refreshes and introductions – both hardware and software. The trick is to know where one is in that cycle. Generally, Apple upgrades the main Operating System or OS (currently 10.5.4, Leopard) every 12-18 months. Product introductions can happen within a year after initial rumours (MacBook Air) and then every 3-6 months after their introduction (MacBooks, MacBook Pro’s, iMacs etc…). Apple is slated to introduce Mac OS 10.6 (aka Snow Leopard) next January and I council my clients to adopt about 2-3 months after that while the kinks get worked out and third-party software and hardware get on board.
Rumours are ripe at the moment about imminent announcements of new iPods and laptops. The speculation is that Steve Jobs will be headlining an ‘event’ in early to mid-September. Pundits feel we’ll see announcements about new iPods and perhaps some iPhone software and MobileMe Service updates followed later by the introduction of revised MacBooks, MacBook Pros and perhaps the MacBook Air (and even iMacs).
I generally recommend buying the best machine you can afford when you really need a new machine. That way, if you get caught purchasing at the end of cycle you can nurse your regrets with the knowledge that you needed your suddenly old machine when you got it. The good news is that machines are getting so fast that the so-called yesterday’s machine is still a remarkable piece of technology whose potential most users rarely tap.
Aug
20
Macs and the Mafia
Filed Under Advice, Malware, Recommendations, Security | 3 Comments
It seems the Russian Mafia is targeting the Mac with a piece of Malware. See this post from Macintouch.com and this one from Intego for details. If you’re concerned about this sort of thing the best piece of advice is to only download software from trusted sources. Also, the browser Firefox will not automatically mount these kind of Disk Images. Safari, by default, does. To protect yourself from this in Safari, turn off (uncheck) the “Open safe files after downloading” function within it’s General preferences. There are anti-virus and anti-spyware packages out there for the Mac. Intego has a couple of offerings as well as Norton Anti-Virus from Symantec.
Aug
14
How to fit 40GB of music on an 8GB iPhone
Filed Under Ah Ha!, Fun, Recommendations, Tech News, Views, iPhone | Leave a Comment
Wow, my 50th post! To mark it I want to share with anyone who is interested this great application that will work on your Mac, PC or Linux machine as well as with your iPhone (but an iPhone is not needed). Have you ever wanted to share or have access to your iTunes music from another location – perhaps you’re traveling or you’re at a friend’s place and you would just love to play that new tune you bought or heard from your laptop, but the music is on your desktop at home. Or maybe you have your iPhone and are in the same situation. Or, perhaps, like a friend of mine once inquired: how can I fit 40GB of music on my 16GB iPhone?
The answer is a piece of software from SimplifyMedia and it has a companion offering for the iPhone on the APP store. Download the computer version from the first link and then navigate to the APP store on your iPhone or from within iTunes using this link to get it onto your device. The instructions are clear (a bit more complicated for our Windows brother and sisters). After you’ve created your username and password you will be able to view your iTunes library from your iPhone or other computer INCLUDING lyrics when available and information on the artist. If you love music you will love this great application. And the really good news is that it is free for the computer version and free for a limited time for the iPhone.
Aug
12
MobileMe Insight
Filed Under MobileMe, Recommendations, Views | Leave a Comment
I came across this great article by Jean Louis Gassée about his take on the shaky MobileMe launch and his thoughts about the service in general. He puts the service in the context of Rim, Amazon and Google’s offerings and is a highly recommended read by the man who once had Steve Job’s position at Apple.