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- 10.5: A possible fix for an iChat 'Camera in use' error
With an Intel iMac running Leopard, I kept getting an error that the built-in iSight was in use. To fix this problem, I now do this from Terminal as an admin user, and I can again use the camera:
$ sudo killall VDCAssistant
I do not even have to restart iChat for the fix to take effect. The way I deduced this is that I ran sudo lsof | less -i, searched for usb, and found this VDCAssistant process using some VDC (whatever that is) library that the QuickTime component of iChat was using, too. So I decided to kill that process.
The system respawns the VDCAssistant process, but after that, the iSight camera can be used again in iChat -- at least until it suddenly becomes unusable again, for no particular reason I can determine.
- Virtualize Mac OS X Client on VMware Fusion
VMWare Fusion 2.0 beta2 supports virtualizing Mac OS X Server as a guest OS. If you try to install a Leopard Client guest, however, you get an error: "The guest operating system is not Mac OS X Server." However, if you create an ISO/CDR image from your Leopard install DVD, mount it, then do this in Terminal...
touch "/Volumes/Mac OS X Install DVD/System/Library/CoreServices/ServerVersion.plist"
After running that command, unmount the image. You can now use that image to install Leopard Client into VMware Fusion with no complaints. After you install, reboot VMware Fusion from the install DVD ISO again, launch Terminal, and run this command:
touch "/Volumes/Macintosh H...
- Completely uninstall PhoneView
The procedure outlined on Ecamm Network's website for uninstalling PhoneView is not necessarily complete. The Ecamm website indicates "to uninstall PhoneView, simply drag the PhoneView icon to the Trash icon on your dock." However, by default PhoneView will enable an option in its preferences to "launch PhoneView when iPhone is Attached." The effect of this option is to create an entry in the Login Items tab, which can be found in Accounts section of System Preferences.
If you just trash PhoneView Demo.app, the entry in the Login Items tab is NOT removed. Unfortunately, that means that every time you login from now on, the PhoneViewHelper.app will run. The best way to avoid this situation is to be sure to uncheck the box 'Launch PhoneView when iPhone is Attached' in PhoneView's preferences before trashing PhoneView Demo.app.
If you happen to delete PhoneView Demo.app without unchecking the box, then you can cleanup in one of two ...
- How to minimize iPhone data traffic using MobileMe
Here are my conclusions so far based on a series of packet sniffing experiments to understand how much data is used by the iPhone.The most conservative data use sync options are to turn the master "push" switch off, and to set the fetch settings to manual. When that happens, calendars and contacts seem trigger an immediate sync when new items are added. Otherwise, there is no apparent periodic traffic unless you trigger a manual sync (done by entering the application itself.) You can usually trigger a manual sync by entering the application whose data you want to sync. With the conservative settings, exiting and entering an application (contacts, calendar, etc) seems to remind the iPhone to check for new data from MobileMe. If the phone hasn?t recently checked for a few minutes, over the next 10 to 15 seconds, the phone will reach out over the network and poll fo...
- 10.5: Use keyboard shortcuts to file in iTunes and Mail
In, Leopard, it's possible to make a keyboard shortcut for contextual menu items -- for instance, for the Show Package Contents entry in the Finder's contextual menu.
This feature can be quite handy in other programs as well, such as Mail or iTunes. In those two programs, I use it for the commands to move messages or songs to mailboxes or playlists. The key is to create a shortcut in Keyboard Shortcuts tab of the Keyboard & Mouse System Preferences panel with the name of the playlist or mailbox you want to move an item into, and choose the appropriate program as the Application.
Note that this will only work if your playlist (or mailbox) name is not already a menu item somewhere (so your "Close Window" playlist is out). If you have more than one playlist (or mailbox) of the same name, the fi...
- 10.5: Back up Time Machine's sparse image bundles
If you're using Time Machine to back up Macs to a Time Capsule or networked hard drive, each backup is contained in a single sparse disk image bundle (.sparsebundle) disk file. When your backup contains weeks' or months' of data, if that single file is lost or damaged, you'll obviously lose all of your backups. It is therefore quite important to back up the sparse bundle and test the backup! Here's one way to do that that, though there are many other methods available:
Copy the sparse bundle back to your Mac (and then remember to exclude it from Time Machine's backups, using the Options button in the Time Machine System Preferences panel).
Use Disk Utility's Repair Disk feature on the mounted .sparesebundle to insure that it's in good shape. This should be quite fast when run on the local copy of the sparse image bundle.
If Disk Utility doesn't find any issue...
- Access Private MobileMe web galleries from iPhone
I have noticed something interesting: When visiting certain Apple websites (MobileMe sites in particular) on the iPhone, the URL is modified, with /iPhone/ being interjected. Thus the iPhone is being recognized as the originator, and the site is tailored accordingly. The problem here is that you don't necessarily get to the site you really want.
For example, if you want to go to me.com, you don't get to log in there, but rather you get a page advertising MobileMe. Obviously Apple is trying to tell you that you have direct access to MobileMe through other means on the iPhone. This doesn't help if the MobileMe feature you wish to avail yourself of doesn't work on the iPhone, such as sending from MobileMe aliases or viewing subscribed calendars.
Now I've noticed another instance of where this acts to your disadvantage on the iPhone. If you create a private webgallery (i.e., have it not listed in your main we...
- iPhone remembers volume for headphones and speakers
I have notice that my iPhone running v2.0 will remember the volume for headphones and speakers independantly. For example, if you have headphones connected and set the volume to 50%, then remove them and set the volume to 100%, when you reattach the headphones the volume returns to 50% and vice versa. This also works on an iPhone 1st generation running v2.0. I do not know if this was a feature in v1.0, however.
[robg adds: This works in both phone mode and iPod mode; the onscreen display when setting the ringer volume level even tells you that you're setting the headphone ringer level when you've got headphones plugged in.]
- See Gmail unread message count in Safari's dock icon
If you are like me, you want to keep an eye on your private e-mails even when you're working. In my company, all ports except the ones for FTP and HTTP are blocked, so there's no chance to run e-mail client software such as Mail. I also don't want to log into my mail account every hour (IT/help desk is watching you...), or install a special widget or menulet -- but now I've found a nice way to stay informed about new messages in my Gmail mailbox.The following assumes you have Safari running all the time, and that you're using Gmail (or any other mail account with an RSS feed available).Download the Safari Dock Status SIMBL plug-in. Eventually you have to install SIMBL as well. With the help of SIMBL, you can extend some aspects of Safari (and other applications). Both are free, but install them at your own risk.SIMBL comes with an installer, but th...
- Easily sync iPhone without backing up first
This recent tip showed how to disable the backup process when syncing an iPhone by using a Terminal command. The way I do it is much less elegant, but has the benefit of being simple for novices and allowing the user to choose whether to perform a full back-up or a simple sync when the phone is plugged in.I've created an album in iPhoto called iPhone Sync which contains one photo. When I plug in my phone (which is set to not auto-sync on connect), I can perform the lengthy backup by pressing the Sync button in iTunes.If I only want to perform a basic sync (which will copy any new music, videos, or applications to the phone), however, all I have to do is toggle that album in the Photos tab of the iPhone in iTunes. This adds an Apply button where Sync used to be. Clicking the Apply button avoids a full back up, and only copies over new files.[robg adds: Another...
- Sleep Macs via SleepWatcher based on monitor state
When I use GeekTool, my computer won't go to sleep because my hard drive keeps getting accessed. Since I don't want to let this tool go, I have devised an alternate way to get my Mac to sleep. This remedy uses Bernhard Baehr's SleepWatcher. Now, there has been a hint about using this utility in the past, but it doesn't address a key point: your computer falling asleep when you are using it.If you are doing a lengthy activity that doesn't involve touching the keyboard or mouse (watching a movie, for instance), your computer should stay awake. SleepWatcher doesn't know that, so in the middle of your movie, your computer falls asleep. The easy way around this is to tell SleepWatcher to sleep only when your monitor is off.
Here is my SleepWatcher config file ...
- Check for future-posted articles via JavaScript
Many news sites post the next day's contributor columns several hours before providing a link on the website. Since these typically use a standard, date-based URL, I've created JavaScript bookmarks that automatically update to check if tomorrow's column has been posted.For example, the following bookmark will check to see if David Pogue's latest State of the Art column has been posted. (Since his feature runs every Thursday, the bookmark will pull up his next column when it's posted on Wednesday afternoon/evening). The standard URL format for his column is:http://www.nytimes.com/YEAR/MONTH/DAY/technology/personaltech/DAYpogue.htmlSo my JavaScript bookmark looks like this:javascript:d=new Date();window.open("http://www.nytimes.com/"+d.getFullYear()+"/0"+(d.getMonth()+1)+"/"+(d.getDate()+1)+"/te...
- Create a Time Machine-like feature for Safari tabs
Safari's new 'Reopen All Windows From Last Session' feature is great, but it needs to be improved upon. For example, I usually have a lot of windows with a lot of tabs. Unfortunately, if I start up Safari and then close it down without first clicking 'Reopen All Windows From Last Session,' well, my last session is now a single window. What I want is something like Time Machine for Safari.I have been using the following method (posted on my blog) for several months. Basically, the process involves creating a script and a LaunchAgent to run the script. I hope that this helps others as much as it has helped me
Developer: Limit Point Software/ Product page Price: $10 [Free trial available]Without fail, every few weeks it seems I'd get an email or iChat from a relative that went something like this: "Hey, I just shot a QuickTime movie with my digital camera, but I did so with the camera rotated. Can you use QuickTime Pro on it for me, and rotate it the way it's supposed to be?" So they'd then email me a large file, I'd take two seconds to rotate it in QuickTime Pro, save it, and email it back to them. I figured there had to be a better solution, and after some web searching, I stumbled on TransformMovie.This simple app lets you rotate -- in any increment of degrees that you like -- movies, as well as flipping them horizontally and/or vertically. You can also sca...
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