Toggle AirPort on and off using keyboard shortcuts
This is the simplest way I've found to toggle the AirPort card on and off without using third party applications or too many buttons. Hopefully others will appreciate this function as I do. Note: This function is tailored to a MacBook, as the F5 and F6 keys have no predetermined function on these machines. Other machines may need the shortcut keys to be edited. Create two keyboard shortcuts. Go to the Apple menu » System Preferences » Keyboard & Mouse » Keyboard Shortcuts tab. Click the plus sign at the bottom of the window, and select All Applications from the pop-up menu in the next dialog. In the Menu Title box, type Turn AirPort On with that exact case and spelling. Set the Keyboard Shortcut to F5, then click Add. Click the plus sign again, leave the pop-up menu set to All Applications, and in the Menu Title box, type Turn AirPort Off with the shortcut key also set to F5 -- only one of these functions will be displayed at a time. In t...
published on Friday, the 17. October 2008, macosxhints
Share a FireWire drive via FireWire networking
To make this hint work, you need to have a FireWire drive with two ports on it, two FireWire cables, and two Macs with built-in FireWire. To make things easier, I turned off AirPort and disconnected the Ethernet -- I wanted to make sure that I was getting the full speed of the FireWire, as my second Mac only has 100base Ethernet capabilities.Connect the FireWire drive to a Mac with file sharing set up on it, and then connect that drive's other FireWire port to any other Mac. Next enable networking over FireWire in the Networking System Preferences panel. In the setup panel, give the computers manual IP addresses -- I used 10.0.0.2 and 10.0.0.3, and a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. Finally, simply connect to the Mac with the drive showing up in the Finder, and it will show up in sharing!This allows you to network over FireWire and share a hard drive, which for me is useful for today's task of backing up all of my DVDs onto the drive. It could be useful for a multitude ...
published on Tuesday, the 22. July 2008, macosxhints
Avoid spinning cursors on network volume disconnect
Before a network volume disconnects -- or prompts you to disconnect -- you're likely to have a period of anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes where wheels of death start popping in your running applications. At first you think something bad is happening, and then you get the notice that a network volume can no longer be found. I still don't understand why this can't be fixed.In the meantime, turning off your airport from the menu bar (assuming you're connected wirelessly) speeds up the process dramatically. As soon as you suspect you're having the problem, turn it off. You'll get the disconnect from volume box and then you can turn it right back on and continue.Not a fix exactly, but it helps![robg adds: This used to be really bad in 10.4, but with 10.5, I haven't noticed many problems with disconnected shares causing issues in apps on machines that were connected to those shares.]
published on Monday, the 19. May 2008, macosxhints
Apple releases 10.5.2
Apple has just released 10.5.2 via Software Update. There are a slew of changes/fixes, some of which are: Improved Airport connection reliability and stability Improved Dashboard widget performance Updated Stacks with a List view option, a Folder view option, and an updated background for Grid view Ability to turn off transparency of menu bar Reduction in overall menu transparency Adds a menu [...]
published on Monday, the 11. February 2008, apple-blog
Turn AirPort on or off with AppleScript
If your laptop is running unplugged and you need to conserve battery life, one way of saving power is to turn off AirPort. (You may also run into situations where you'd want to turn AirPort on or off as part of a longer script, such as to keep it from dying completely when putting a MacBook to sleep while Internet Sharing is enabled.) Although there seems to be no reliable way of turning AirPort on or off directly via the shell, it is possible to get around that by manipulating OS X's Locations with the scselect command. First, create a new location called AirPort-Off in the Network preferences pane. With this new location selected, select Network Port Configurations under the Show pop-up menu, and deselect AirPort. Then select your previous location, which for most people would probably be Automatic. Now, you can turn AirPort off by running scselect AirPort-Off and back on by running the last command, replacing AirPort-Of ...
published on Tuesday, the 31. July 2007, macosxhints
Fix a potential issue with NETGEAR routers and Bonjour
Short version: To rid Bonjour printing (and other Bonjourish?) problems from your NETGEAR router, turn off IPv6 under System Preferences » Network » AirPort » TCP/IP tab » Configure IPv6 (the button at the bottom of the window). Long: I have sometimes had problems with printers not working over Bonjour for certain computers, despite the fact that every setting seemed to be correct. It took me some time to realize that it was always a NETGEAR router (the one I specifically have in front of me is a WGR614v5), and I finally realized it was when trying to use Bonjour printing between a wired and a wireless computer. Using Bonjour Browser, I saw that the printer was registered on the host's IPv6 address, which I guess the NETGEAR router can't route when converting between wireless and wired. Turning IPv6 off and doing the usual reboots brings the amour of Bonjour back.
published on Friday, the 9. March 2007, macosxhints
Easy blocking of internet access to avoid distractions
As much as one would like to exercise pure personal discipline in avoiding constant web browsing and email checking when we need to be working seriously, sometimes it takes a little bit of a forced "fencing off" of distractions. Some routers have timing routines built into their config -- but not AirPorts (as far as I can tell.)Here's what to do: go buy a cheap household lamp and appliance timer (usually under ten bucks from your hardware store; here's the one I use. I have my timer set to 'turn off' access between 7:00am and 1:00pm. You can get timers that give you one, two, or three cycles daily. Now, the real tip, with two options:Put the timer between your cable modem and your AirPort. This will block all access, including to your local network. It keeps your VOIP phone service on. Put the timer between your cable modem and the AC wall pow...
published on Thursday, the 11. January 2007, macosxhints
10.4: Resolve Bluetooth range problem on Mac Pros
My new Mac Pro had a problem with Bluetooth: the reception between the Mac Pro and my wireless Mighty Mouse was terrible. The mouse worked fine at about two feet from the Mac Pro, but at three feet, it skipped and stuttered. I contacted AppleCare, and they were going to send a technician to change the Bluetooth module. It turns out, in the meantime, that I found this thread on Apple's discussion boards talking about this problem, and offering a solution. In short, there are a few wires coming from the motherboard to the Bluetooth and AirPort modules, and two of them are mislabeled. I've written up the problem and solution in this article I hope this helps others who have problems with the Mac Pro and Bluetooth, and I hope that Apple notices what the real cause of this problem is.
published on Thursday, the 28. September 2006, macosxhints