10.5: Safer sleep during networked Time Machine backups
The problem: You have Time Machine set up using a sparsebundle on a network drive, such as a Time Capsule or an AirPort Extreme-connected hard drive. Most of the time, everything works great. Consider this reproducible scenario, however:You are working away at home and a hourly backup starts. Time machine automagically mounts the sparsebundle.You need to leave and put your laptop to sleep, not paying attention to the fact that time machine is working.You move your laptop to work/school and wake it up.The sparsebundle is still mounted, but obviously does not work. Finder and Spotlight grow increasing stuck until you have to reboot your machine. It occurs to you that the image back home was not closed properly and that eventually, this will corrupt your backups!Solution:Install SleepWatcher (I ...
published on Wednesday, the 19. November 2008, macosxhints
Optoma iPod mini-projector due for Apple Japan
Optoma today said it has struck a deal with Apple Japan to launch its version of Texas Instruments' DLP Pico projector in the country under the PK-101 name. The pocket-sized unit will support both the headphone jack-mounted video output of the fifth-generation iPod but will come with a Dock Connector kit that handles video from iPhones and all video-capable iPods that support TV out, creating a p...
published on Tuesday, the 11. November 2008, macintosh-news-network
Gefen unveils rack-mounted switcher for HDMI v1..
Gefen has released a 3x1 rack-mounted switcher with support for HDMI v1.3. "Always on" switching allows users to instantly change between three 1080p HDMI inputs, such as a Blu-Ray player, Apple TV or Sony Playstation 3. The output can be connected to an HD monitor or projector and it works with the latest generation of HDMI, which includes supports features such as Dolby TrueHD and DTS master aud...
published on Friday, the 24. October 2008, macintosh-news-network
An $800 MacBook would be 'the height of folly' - report
Had Apple succumb to calls from industry watchers to release a new MacBook at or below the $800 price point, it would have amounted to "a value-destroying event of epic proportions," according to a newly published analysis.
published on Wednesday, the 22. October 2008, appleinsider
Microsoft turns up anti-Apple dial, Ballmer slams Mac Office
Apple is making strong inroads with Mac OS X and notebooks in particular. In light of Apple's success and today's notebook event, Microsoft and Steve Ballmer have mounted a grassroots offensive against "The Apple Tax."Read More...
published on Tuesday, the 14. October 2008, ars-technica
Mac, iPhone gain browser share at expense of others
The Mac has seen a significant jump in the representation of computers on the web, according to tracking figures from Net Applications. Site visitors browsing from a Mac are said to have amounted to 8.23 percent of the market in September, a rise from 7.86 percent in August. This marks the largest increase during the period, and may have come at the expense of Apple rival Microsoft, as well as s...
published on Wednesday, the 1. October 2008, macintosh-news-network
NEC readies pro 19-inch, 24-inch LCDs
NEC this morning expanded its MultiSync EA screens for higher-end home and pro users with a pair of slightly smaller models. Headlining the updates, the 24-inch EA241WM has the same 1920x1200 resolution as the 26-inch flagship and finds room for a full pivoting display as well as hidden, chin-mounted stereo speakers, a carrying handle and a four-port USB hub. The panel has a now-typical 1,000:1 ...
published on Wednesday, the 1. October 2008, macintosh-news-network
Print PDFs directly to iPod touch (and iPhone)
I frequently want to print copies of maps, directions or other things to take with me on the road. Since I found the app Air Sharing for my iPod touch, I can save the docs to PDF, and then copy them to my iPod touch for offline viewing. I put together an Automator workflow [65KB download] that allows me to do this directly from the print dialog box. To configure the workflow, put the (unzipped) downloaded file into the /Library/PDF Services folder. Open the workflow in Automator, and then set the IP address of your iPod touch or iPhone in the first line of the AppleScript action, and set the save to location in the last action to the desired location on your iPod touch/iPhone. (Note that you need to have the iPhone/iPod touch mounted via Air Sharing to use this workflow.) Finally, save the workflo...
published on Tuesday, the 30. September 2008, macosxhints
Dell launches 7609WU HD DLP projector
Dell recently and quietly launched its 7609WU DLP projector, which is capable of creating 1920x1200 native resolution images with a 16:10 aspect ratio. Its 2700:1 contrast ratio and 3,850 lumens brightness help to make the projected images legible in lit rooms, such as during presentations. The projector can be mounted on desktop or ceilings, and supports both front and rear projection configurati...
published on Thursday, the 25. September 2008, macintosh-news-network
10.5: Keep Boot Camp partitions off the desktop
I wanted to prevent the Boot Camp partition from showing up on my user's destkop, while not preventing other mounted disks from showing there. I had tried editing the /etc/fstab file, but ran into glitches when putting that into an image (OS X and Windows XP) and mass-duplicating it for my 6,000 MacBook users. I then noticed that Boot Camp would pick up what the volume's name was in Windows, and name it in OS X accordingly. So I simply put a dot in front of the name while booted into Windows, and rebooted into OS X.After doing this, the partition no longer shows the hard drive icon on the desktop. It doesn't hide the partition from Finder windows, but it does not show it on the desktop. It was a quick and dirty solution that also worked with the image I created. I believe this only works in the newest version of Boot Camp. [robg adds: I've marked this one ...
published on Monday, the 15. September 2008, macosxhints