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June 15th, 2010
Information from Software Update.
The 10.6.4 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard. It includes Safari 5 and general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes that:
- resolve an issue that causes the keyboard or trackpad to become unresponsive
- resolve an issue that may prevent some Adobe Creative Suite 3 applications from opening
- address issues copying, renaming, or deleting files on SMB file servers
- improve reliability of VPN connections
- resolve a playback issue in DVD Player when using Good Quality deinterlacing
- resolve an issue editing photos with iPhoto or Aperture in full screen view
- improve compatibility with some braille displays
For detailed information on this update, visit http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4150.
For information on the security content of this update, visit http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.
June 7th, 2010
Information from Software Update.
This update contains new features including:
- Safari Reader: Click on the new Reader icon to view articles on the web in a single, clutter-free page.
- Improved Performance: Safari 5 executes JavaScript up to 25% faster than Safari 4. Better page caching and DNS prefetching speed up browsing.
- Bing Search Option: New Bing search option for Safari’s Search Field, in addition to Google and Yahoo!.
- Improved HTML5 support: Safari supports over a dozen new HTML5 features, including Geolocation, full screen for HTML5 video, closed captions for HTML5 video, new sectioning elements (article, aside, footer, header, hgroup, nav and section), HTML5 AJAX History, EventSource, WebSocket, HTML5 draggable attribute, HTML5 forms validation, and HTML5 Ruby.
- Safari Developer Tools: A new Timeline Panel in the Web Inspector shows how Safari interacts with a website and identifies areas for optimization. New keyboard shortcuts make it faster to switch between panels.
Other improvements include:
- Smarter Address Field: The Smart Address Field can now match text against the titles of webpages in History and Bookmarks, as well as any part of their URL.
- Tabs Setting: Automatically open new webpages in tabs instead of in separate windows.
- Hardware Acceleration for Windows: Use the power of the computer’s graphics processor to smoothly display media and effects on PC as well as Mac.
- Search History with Date: A new date indicator in Full History Search shows when webpages were viewed.
- Top Sites/History Button: Switch easily between Top Sites and Full History Search with a new button that appears at the top of each view.
- Private Browsing Icon: A “Private” icon appears in the Smart Address Field when Private Browsing is on. Click on the icon to turn off Private Browsing.
- DNS Prefetching: Safari looks up the addresses of links on webpages and can load those pages faster.
- Improved Page Caching: Safari can add additional types of webpages to the cache so they load quickly.
- XSS Auditor: Safari can filter potentially malicious scripts used in cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.
- Improved JavaScript Support: Safari allows web applications that use JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) to run faster and more securely.
For more information about fixes that improve performance, stability and compatibility, see: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4134
For information on the security content of this update, visit: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222
May 26th, 2010
Yes, you read that right.
I use Firefox. I think it’s the best browser around — mostly because of its wide support for plugins and its frequent updates.
But I also have an iPad. And iPad includes and supports the Apple Safari Web browser.
One of my first challenges was to get my Firefox bookmarks into my iPad’s Safari browser — and to keep them synced. Here’s what I did.
Step 1: Set Up Firefox Bookmark Synchronization
I use two computers regularly (an iMac on my desktop and a 13″ MacBook Pro) and occasionally use two others (a 15″ MacBook Pro and a Dell Laptop). It was natural to want my bookmarks synchronized between these computers. So years ago, I began using a Firefox plugin that handled synchronization for me. That plugin has evolved over time and is currently called Xmarks Bookmark and Password Sync.
 Xmarks works with a free account on the Xmarks.com Web site. (If you are a more experienced user and have your own server, you can sync to your own server instead.) You set up an account on Xmarks.com, install the plugin in Firefox on all your computers, and configure the plugin to point to your Xmarks.com account. You then synchronize. The first synchronization gives you options to overwrite or merge booksmarks; do whatever you think is right for your situation. From that point forward, Xmarks will automatically synchronize bookmarks when you open and quit Firefox.
Although I’ve been doing this for years now, this became my first step to syncing my bookmarks with Safari on my iPad. If you don’t already use Xmarks, set it up as your first step.
One note here: Xmarks has other synchronization features. For example, as the name implies, it also synchronizes passwords. You can use this feature, too, if you like. And it displays search results with ratings and other features. Explore this on your own.
Step 2: Set Up Safari Bookmark Synchronization
The next step is to get your Firefox bookmarks on Safari. You can do this with Xmarks for Mac OS X 10.6.
 Download the installer, run it, and follow the instructions in the Installation Wizard to set it up on your computer. Be sure to point it to the same Xmarks account you use for Firefox. When you perform that first sync, tell it whether you want to merge or overwrite bookmarks. When the sync is complete, your Safari bookmarks should match your Firefox bookmarks.
 One thing to keep in mind here: if you have multiple Macs and use a MobileMe account to synchronize various Mac OS items — including Safari Bookmarks — you don’t need to install Xmarks for Mac OS X 10.6 on all of your computers. Just install on one and let MobileMe do the rest of the synchronization for you.
Step 3: Set Up iPad Bookmark Synchronization
At this point, it should be pretty easy to figure out how to synchronize your Mac’s Safari bookmarks with your iPad’s Safari bookmarks. There are actually two ways to do this:
If you have a MobileMe account:
- Make sure Bookmarks synchronization is turned on on your Mac in the MobileMe preferences pane (see previous screenshot) and sync.
- Make sure your MobileMe account has been set up on your iPad.
- On your iPad, tap Settings and then tap Mail, Contacts, Calendars. This should take you to the Mail, Contacts, Calendars screen.
 Tap the e-mail address for your MobileMe account. This will display its options, shown here.- Tap to turn on the Bookmarks option.
- Tap Done.
Bookmarks will now be synced through MobileMe.
If you don’t have a MobileMe account:
- Use your USB cable to connect your iPad to the computer you use to synchronize data and install music and apps. Ideally, this computer should have Foxmarks for Mac OS X 10.6 installed on it.
- On your Mac, open iTunes (if it has not opened automatically) and select your iPad in the Source list under Devices.
- Click the Info tab near the top of the iTunes window.
- Scroll down to the Other section.
- Turn on the check box labeled Sync Safari Bookmarks. (This check box only appears if you are not using MobileMe to sync bookmarks.)
- Click Sync. If prompted to merge or overwrite bookmarks, choose the appropriate option for your situation.
Bookmarks will now be synced through iTunes.
Works for Me
This is my solution. Is it the only one? Probably not. If you have a different (or even better!) solution, don’t hesitate to share it with us in Comments on this post.
May 16th, 2010
What I just submitted to the App store.
It is what it is…and nothing more.
 I think the majority of people giving this app very low ratings are not realizing what Numbers (and other iWork apps, for that matter) is: a mobile application. Given the limitations of the hardware and interface, it simply cannot be a stand-alone solution for all of a person’s spreadsheet needs.
That said, Numbers has a few serious shortcomings. The inability to read/write Excel files is certainly one of them. If you need this feature, you should not buy this version of Numbers. (Wait until that feature is added, if it ever is, and stop giving low ratings just because it’s not here yet.) The inability to exclude certain worksheets from PDFs is another. There are also limitations on formatting, etc.
 But what is Numbers supposed to be? I think it’s a way to use existing worksheets on your iPad. To that end, I’ve taken an extremely complex 3-tabbed worksheet with references between all three sheets and a pair of charts and successfully brought it from Excel to Numbers on my Mac to Numbers on my iPad. This worksheet, which calculates weight and balance for a helicopter load, is instrumental to my charter business needs. With Numbers for iPad, I don’t need to have my laptop with me or spend a lot of time with a calculator. I can perform these calculations in minutes on my iPad — and even send the final worksheets and charts to my base of operations for reference and filing.
But if you expect Numbers to meet all your spreadsheet application needs, your expectations are far too high. Sure, it’s good for the simple stuff. And yes, it can help you present and modify existing Numbers worksheets when you’re on the go. But you’ll be sorely disappointed if you expect to quickly and easily create professional-looking spreadsheet documents with this app on your iPad. I don’t think that’s a reasonable expectation at all.
April 14th, 2010
It’s easier than you might think.
As you work with your Mac, installing and using software, it creates a bunch of configuration files that it stores in various places throughout your computer. Most of these files can be found in the various Library folders, tucked inside their own folders. There are hundreds of these files and every time you install and use some software — even trial software that you later delete — these files are created and hidden away in your system.
These unused files bit me this week when, for some reason, my BlackBerrry refused to sync with iCal and Address Book. The week before, I’d downgraded from Mac OS X 10.6.3 to 10.6.2. (Long story why; I don’t recommend doing this.) To make another long story short, it turns out that the BlackBerry Desktop software had lost track of some of its components. Making the matter worse was that I’d used both the Missing Sync and Pocket Mac in the past and their configuration files and extensions were still lurking about in my system, causing BlackBerry Desktop to choke.
While you can use an application like AppZapper (which I recommend) to uninstall software you no longer use, I’ve discovered that even uninstallers leave files behind. The best way to make sure a software program is completely gone is to search for and manually delete any remaining configuration files.
The trouble is, when you use the Finder’s search box to search for a file, it automatically excludes system files. This is actually a good thing for two reasons (that I can think of):
- It minimizes search results to match what you’re most likely trying to find (which isn’t usually system files).
- It prevents novice users from stumbling upon and possibly deleting or modifying system files that are better left alone.
So what do you do? Easy. You tell Mac OS to search the library folder where you expect to find the files.
Here’s an example. I use the program Fission by Rogue Amoeba to edit audio files. I like it; it’s good. But suppose I decided I wanted to stop using it and remove every trace of it from my computer.
I could search my hard disk for files named Fission. The results might look like this:
But is that all there is? I don’t think so. I’ll open the Library folder in my Home folder and do the same search, but with the Library folder selected. Here are the results:
See the difference? The second search displayed two configuration files and a folder likely containing more related data. (The fourth file in the list is a data file for Yojimbo which I’d likely not want to remove.)
If I were serious about removing all traces of this program from my computer, I’d search not only by the name of the program but all or part of the name of the developer. (Rogue Amoeba is a great example because either word is likely to find just files related to software by that developer.)
You might want to repeat this process for all Library folders — the one on your hard disk’s root directory, the one in the System folder on your hard disk, and the one in any user’s Home folder (if you have access to it).
Performing this exercise for Missing Sync and Pocket Mac files this morning uncovered literally dozens of configuration files scattered all over my hard disk. Deleting them freed up space and prevented the possibility of these files interfering with incompatible software that I currently use.
Need More Information?
 You can find more information about searching your Mac in Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard: Visual QuickStart Guide. Chapter 5 covers the Spotlight search feature in a great deal of detail.
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