November 25th, 2009

Six updates for your parent's computer over Thanksgiving

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 10:33 am

Categories: Snow Leopard, Software, Software Update

Tags: Apple Macintosh, Thanksgiving, Photograph, Computer, Productivity, Jason D. O'Grady

If your like most, you’re probably getting ready to go to your parent’s (or grandparents) house for a delicious Thanksgiving feast.

If you are, do your folks a favor and load up a flash drive and/or external drive with some of the latest and greatest software updates for their computer.

Here are some quick suggestions for five easy upgrades for your parent’s Mac on Thanksgiving.

1. Back up all photos. If your folks have a digital camera, back up all their photos to an external drive. If you burn them to disc, make two copies and bring one home to your house. While you’re at it, burn a copy of your photos to leave at their house. If their hard drive is more than three years old, it’s a ticking time bomb. Backup all data regularly.
2. Run Disk Utility (it’s in Applications > Utilities) and Repair Disk Permissions. This cleans up a lot of system gunk that builds up over time and makes the Mac run better. This is especially important before undertaking a major system update, like #3 below.
3. Upgrade to Snow Leopard (Mac OS 10.6), it’s only $29, well worth the price and it’s faster and more secure. Just make sure to run software update afterward and patch up to 10.6.2 and install all of Apple’s recommended updates too. You may want to start the update before dinner is served though, it takes a while.
4. Install the latest version of FireFox (currently 3.5.5). If they’ve already got FireFox, make sure that it’s patched up, auto-updating (Preferences > Advanced > Update) and in the Dock. If they’re using Internet Explorer – put it in the trash.
5. Configure iChat for screen sharing with this excellent tutorial. This it eminently useful for those “I lost the AOL icon” phone calls. If you have a MobileMe account, you can also set up your parent’s Mac for remote access via Back to My Mac. If you’re having router issues, read this article.
6. Set your folks up with a Google account, it works with Docs, Spreadsheets, Calendars and gets them a free Gmail account too. Even if you don’t think that they’ll use it immediately, set it up anyway, and make sure that they remember the password.

While you’re at, customize your Mac with some tasty Thanksgiving icons (pictured) from Icon Factory. Happy Thanksgiving!

Photo: TUAW

November 25th, 2009

QuickBooks 2010 for Mac processes credit card transactions

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 9:31 am

Categories: Review, Software

Tags: Apple Macintosh, Credit Card, Intuit QuickBooks, Credit Card Transaction, Jason D. O'Grady

It’s the day before Thanksgiving here in the U.S. which kicks off the rabid fourth quarter shopping melee which starts tomorrow. While there are plenty of tools that will help you shop (as I covered yesterday) what about if you’re on the other side of the cash register?

If you’re a business owner or otherwise involved in your company’s finances the last three months of the year mean something completely different – accounting.

In the world of accounting there’s pretty much one player – QuickBooks – and the best just got better. Intuit just released QuickBooks 2010 for Mac ($199) and it’s a worthy upgrade.

QuickBooks 2010 for Mac can now process credit card transactions directly using Intuit Merchant Services and features new “Guide Me” functionality that guides you through creating invoices and entering customer information. QB2010 now also tracks billable hours, instantly generating timesheets and sending invoices to clients.

QuickBooks for Mac also has several features unique to the Mac version, including:

• Back up to MobileMe
• Synchronize contacts with Mac OS X Address Book
• Add reminders to iCal
• Share data with your accountant or other Windows-based users

All QuickBooks really needs is a companion iPhone app that can sync data bidirectionally over WiFi and over the Internet.

If you’re in business and need to track every dollar coming in and going out with in-depth reporting, create invoices, track payments and manage expenses, QuickBooks 2010 is your ticket.

November 24th, 2009

1Password is must-have eshopping nirvana

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 11:59 am

Categories: General, Review, Software

Tags: Apple Macintosh, Thanksgiving, Credit Card Information, 1Password, Agile Web Solutions, 1Password 3, Desktops, Hardware, Jason D. O'Grady

There’s a big holiday this weekend in the U.S. called Thanksgiving which precedes the even larger Christian holiday of Christmas. Curiously, the time in between is known for the massive uptick in retail purchases. Many retailers rely on heavy sales during the crucial fourth quarter to push them into profitability for year – hence the name Black Friday.

I’m not one for bricks and mortar shopping if I can avoid it, and I especially eschew in-store shopping between Thanksgiving and Christmas due to the suffocating crowds and snarled parking lots. I’m mostly an online shopper theses days and if you are too I’ve got a Mac software tip that will definitely help come Cyber Monday.

Agile Web Solutions has released version 3.0 ($40, upgrades $20) of its excellent password and identity manager 1Password. I’ve been using 1Password for a long time and it’s one of the few pieces of code that I consider to be a “must-have” application. You know, the kind of app that annoys you when it’s not on a Mac that you’re using? For me it’s right up there with Quicksilver.

For those that haven’t tried it, 1Password stores all of your passwords, logins and credit card information and enters them into Web forms with a click in your browser’s menu bar. It’s convenient when filling in registration forms and even better for entering credit card information when shopping online. In fact, shopoholics and other restraint-challendged Mac users may want to stay away from this app – it makes shopping almost too easy.

1Password desktop is particularly useful when combined with its corresponding iPhone app (iPassword Pro, free through 12/1) which I reviewed in July 2008. The iPhone app syncs to the desktop version over WiFi so that you access your saved logins, passwords and account numbers from just about anywhere.

1Password 3 includes a number of new features and improvements, including:

• Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) compatibility
• Access your data everywhere with 1PasswordAnywhere; even Windows and Linux
• Easily track your licenses with the new Software section
• Encrypt files and emails with Attachments
• A new Smart Search feature

The full list of new features, screenshots, and videos is available on the Agile Web site.

November 4th, 2009

Bare Bones updates BBEdit

Posted by David Morgenstern @ 10:29 am

Categories: Developer, Software

Tags: Folder, Behavior, BBEdit 9.0, Supply Chain Management (SCM), Apple Mac OS X, Apple Mac OS, Enterprise Software, Software, Operating Systems, David Morgenstern

BBEdit, Bare Bones Software’s leading HTML code and text editor was updated to Version 9.3 on Tuesday with new features and interface tweaks.

The product page for BBEdit 9 is topped with “It doesn’t suck.” And they are right.

Bare Bones said the update is free for all customers with BBEdit 9.0 through 9.2.1. Here are some items from the change list that caught my eye:

Invisible File handling. In previous versions, BBEdit would let users search inside SCM administrative directories when they uses the “Search Invisible Folders” command. Now, that’s an option that customers must turn on via a pref.

When scanning folders for various purposes (multi-file search, Find differences, and others), SCM administrative directories are specifically ignored, even if “Search Invisible Folders” is turned on: CVS, .svn, .git, .hg, .bzr. This avoids potential disasters that can result from indiscriminate search and replace in such directories. If, however, you choose to live dangerously, you can allow BBEdit to see inside of these directories:

Read the rest of this entry »

October 8th, 2009

Apple releases iPhone OS 3.1.2

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 2:18 pm

Categories: Software, Software Update, iPhone, iPhone OS 3.0, iTunes

Tags: Jason D. O'Grady

Apple today released iPhone OS 3.1.2 to all iPhone users. according to Apple’s release notes, the update includes the following bug fixes and improvements:

• Resolves sporadic issue that may cause iPhone to not wake from sleep
• Resolves intermittent issue that may interrupt cellular network services until restart
• Fixes bug that could cause occasional crash during video streaming

iPhone 3.1.2 is mostly bug fixes for problems introduced in iPhone 3.1 including the mysterious random shutdowns that users have dubbed “coma mode.” Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to include a fix for the GPS bug.

It’s a 241.7MB download the iPhone 3G and is available by connecting your iPhone to iTunes and selecting “check for updates” from the Info tab.

After installing 3.1.2, you’ll also be prompted to install v.5.6 of the AT&T carrier settings:

Have you installed it? What have you found?

September 30th, 2009

iWork '09 adds security to Web service

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 9:21 pm

Categories: Microsoft, Office, Software, Software Update, iWork

Tags: Security, Web, Web Service, Apple Inc., Apple iWork, Apple Mac OS, Microsoft Office, Operating Systems, Software, Office Suites

Apple’s iWork ‘09 productivity suite ($79) enjoyed an upgrade to version 9.0.3 today. The update addresses general compatibility issues, improves overall stability, updates the help, and fixes a number of other minor issues in Keynote, Pages, and Numbers according to Apple.

The 66MB update addresses issues with the size of images and movies, working with dates and durations, exporting to CSV and improves the comment notification and security in Apple’s companion cloud service iWork.com.

Keynote is the best presentation application for the Mac OS – bar none. It blows PowerPoint out of the water. I like Pages because it comes with a lot of nice templates for flyers and such, but must confess that I rarely use Numbers.

What’s your take on Apple’s competitor to Microsoft Office? Do you use it?

September 21st, 2009

Moving your iTunes library the right way (Updated)

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 5:00 am

Categories: Software, iTunes

Tags: Apple iTunes, Digital Music, Digital Media, Personal Technology, Consumer Electronics, Jason D. O'Grady

In the process of moving my iTunes library from my internal SSD to the OptiBay hard drive that I installed last week and I was reminded that moving an iTunes library isn’t a trivial task.

Haphazardly moving your iTunes library to another volume can cause your iTunes tracks to turn into broken links, as denoted by an exclamation point icon…

… and the dreaded “could not be found” dialog box:

Props to iLounge’s Jesse David Hollington for his excellent piece on Transferring your iTunes Library in which he copiously documents the process for both Mac and Windows.

In a nutshell, the proper way to move your iTunes library is to change the iTunes Music folder path in Preferences > Advanced, then select: File > Library > Organize Library (”Consolidate Library” in iTunes 8).

In iTunes 9 you’ll see a new dialog box:

Clicking Upgrade to iTunes Media organization organizes your iTunes Music folder into subfolders for Audiobooks, iPod Games, Mobile Apps, Movies, TV Shows, Music, Ringtones, Voice Memos, etc.

Mac OS X Hints notes that once you’ve checked Upgrade to iTunes Media organization you won’t have to do it again (the option will be grayed out) and that it may cause your next music backup (via Time Machine or other backup app) to potentially take a long time, especially if you have a large iTunes collection.

Update: Reader “cactiroy” reminds me that the other way to point to a different library is to hold the option key down when launching iTunes. A dialog appears asking you to choose an iTunes library, which would be the one on the new location. All your links will work. It will remember this location unless it’s on an external drive that isn’t connected. This works for iPhoto libraries also.

September 2nd, 2009

Pandora One desktop app revved to 2.0

Posted by Jason D. O'Grady @ 8:24 am

Categories: Music, Software

Tags: Music, Desktop App, Pandora, Desktops, Hardware, Jason D. O'Grady

I’m a huge fan of music streaming service Pandora and have been using it for a while. I love listening to it while working on my book and recently bit the bullet and ponied up the $36 for a Pandora One subscription.

Paying for Pandora One eliminates the ads and gives you uninterrupted music (the free version asks “are you still listening?” every hour), a higher quality 192kbps stream and a slick desktop app (which used to come with the free version, but I digress.)

In a blog post yesterday Pandora announced the released of a major update to the Pandora One desktop app. Version 2 adds even more features previously only available in the Web interface, including:

• You can now view your song history. Just click on the album art to reveal arrows to navigate through the last hour of your playlist. Thumb up (or down) or buy any song that played in the last hour.
• We’ve added a progress bar. Want to know how much is left to play of the current track? Just click the album art to reveal the time elapsed and remaining for the current track.
• Windows users can hover over the system tray icon to see the name of the currently playing artist and song.
• The app remembers where you placed it on your desktop and how loud you like your music. The next time you start it, it’s right where you left it.
• Song transitions have been sped up so you don’t need to wait long for a thumbs down to get rid of the current song.

What Internet streaming service do you use on your Mac?

August 28th, 2009

Snow Leopard's 'restricted' applications

Posted by David Morgenstern @ 2:34 pm

Categories: 10.6, Leopard, Snow Leopard, Software

Tags: Apple Macintosh, Apple Inc., Apple Mac OS X, Tools & Techniques, Apple Mac OS, Desktops, Operating Systems, Software, Management, Hardware

In a technical note, Apple lists third-party programs that are restricted during installation (what Cupertino calls “migration”) and others that it knows will crash on opening. Ironically, some are Apple apps.

In Mac OS X v10.6: About incompatible software, the company offers two lists: one that the Snow Leopard installer will isolate in a folder titled Incompatible Software; and another that Snow Leopard will prevent from launching.

Software restricted from opening

After installation if you try to open (”launch”) software known to quit unexpectedly, Snow Leopard will prevent the application from opening and you will receive a dialog notifying you of the incompatibility. If you see such a dialog on your Mac, use the table below, then check with the software vendor to see if any Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard-compatible updates are available.

Some of the restricted apps are older versions, even of Apple products. However, some users won’t have updated their software and should check the list before upgrading. Some of the listed apps and drivers on the list may be important to your workflow.

Here are a few that caught my eye (in eyeball order):

Silicon Image SiI3132 drivers (these are the drivers for ExpressCard storage such as eSATA drives)
Parallels Desktop 3.0
Elgato EyeTV Versions 3.0 & 3.1
Apple Aperture Versions 2.1.1 and earlier
Keynote Versions 2.0.2 and earlier
AirPort Admin Utility for Graphite and Snow routers Version 4.2.5
Adobe Director MX 2004 Version 10.2

August 7th, 2009

Microsoft releases XML fix for Mac Office, Open XML converter tool

Posted by David Morgenstern @ 11:00 am

Categories: Microsoft, Software, Software Update, Windows

Tags: Apple Macintosh, XML, Microsoft Corp., Office Open XML, Tool, Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter, Microsoft Office, Office Suites, Software, David Morgenstern

Microsoft on Thursday released a pair of updates to fix a problem with Open XL documents: Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.2.1 Update and Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter 1.1.1.

According to Microsoft’s Knowledge Base article of the issue,  users of MS Office 2008 for Mac couldn’t open Open XLM documents or templates. They found an error message like this:

Microsoft Excel cannot open the file. You may have to download the latest updates for Office for Mac. Do you want to visit the Microsoft Web site for more information?

Of course, visiting the Microsoft Web site really wasn’t what they wanted.

The Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter is a stand-along tool that lets users of older versions of MS Office open and edit documents created in Office 2008 for Mac or Windows 2007 Office.