MacMost: Archives

“I’ve hacked Time Machine to show files in the future as well as the past. According to our iPhoto collection we go to Hawaii next year.”

Take a look at the new features in iOS 5. New apps like Reminders and Messages add new functionality. Notifications now have a wider set of options. Twitter is built in to many apps. You can move and split the on-screen keyboard. You can sync with iCloud and use an iOS device independent of any computer.

A common troubleshooting technique is to reset your PRAM. This will occasionally clear up problems with your Mac. Learn about PRAM, what it is and how to reset it. Also learn about SMC.

Reflecting back on Steve Jobs' life, here are seven things that I admired about this self-made man. He was an innovator, improver, showman, and and enthusiast. We was also imperfect and uncompromising.

Here’s a school in a high poverty area of Chicago that has 30 old MacBooks. They use them every day. The problem is that a few of them are out of commission because the batteries are getting too old. Lets help them get new batteries so they can once again get full use out of these MacBooks. Join MacMost in supporting this project.

Apple Co-Founder, Chairman and former CEO Steven P. Jobs died yesterday at the age of 56. He was recognized as the driving force behind Apple’s first and latest decades of success.
High school friend Stephen Wozniak and Jobs founded Apple in 1976 producing the world’s first successful personal computer. Jobs went on to oversee the development of the Macintosh computer before leaving Apple in the 80s. During his absence he turned Pixar into the leading animated movie studio, later purchased by Disney. He returned to Apple in the 90s to push Apple to new heights with a string of popular products: the iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad. Apple also changed the music and retail industries during that time with iTunes and Apple Stores.

Apple announced the new iPhone 4s. The new phone will include a faster processor, better camera and come with the ability to listen and respond to voice commands and take dictation. The new phone comes out on October 14. It will also be available on Sprint for the first time. iOS 5 and iCloud will come out on October 12 for some older iOS devices.

There are some odd and unusual things on your Mac that you can do with the Terminal. You can create banners, use your screen saver as your desktop background, look at interesting, daily calendars, and play hidden games.

If you want to view a folder full of photos in the Finder, you can do it using one of several Finder window views. You can also enlarge the icons, use Quick Look or Preview.

Apple sent out invitations to a press event at its Cupertino headquarters with the text “Let’s talk iPhone.” The icons on the invitation indicate that the event will be on Oct. 4, at 10 a.m. in Cupertino and the message will be about the iPhone. Without a doubt there will be discussion of the release of iOS 5 and iCloud. But most reporters also agree that a new iPhone model will be announced as well.
Meanwhile, the iTunes music store plugged remaining gaps in europe by adding 12 countries. Music can now be purchased from iTunes throughout the European Union.

“He wanted to bury a time capsule in the backyard, but it was too expensive. So he is burying an Airport Extreme instead.”

When your hard drive is full it is time to look through your files and determine what you should archive or just delete. Old video files and applications you are no longer using are common culprits. A drive that is almost full can slow down your Mac.

You can combine different elements of iMovie to create your own effects and titles. As an example, learn how to create scrolling end credits that include still images fading in and out on the left.

Smart Playlists in iTunes are lists of songs that automatically update according to search criteria. You can create a Smart Playlist that looks for songs in your library according to how recently they were added or played, or how you have rated them, their genres and other properties.

Apple’s stock price hit new highs this week, contrary to the long-held belief that it would drop following the resignation of Steve Jobs as CEO. But analysts and investors continue to speak highly of the stock.
Strong rumors are pointing to a product announcement on Oct. 5 that could be the new iPhone 5. In addition, the new phone could become available on more networks in the U.S. such as Sprint or T-Mobile.
An iPhone 5 would probably carry iOS 5, the long-awaited update to the iPhone operating system. It may be made available to iPhone 4 and iPad users at the same time. iCloud, Apple’s replacement for MobileMe, would likely also be released at the same time.
Apple produced an update this week to Final Cut Pro X. This update included the ability to export and import projects, paving the way for integration with other tools.

“I’ve got cable with 900 channels and pay-per-view.”
“So what did you watch on TV last night?”
“Nothing.”
“Well I’ve got Apple TV with iTunes, Netflix and YouTube.”
“What did you watch on TV last night?”
“Nothing.”

Check out Gary's list of apps that he suggests most people install on a new Mac on the first day. The list includes some utilities and browser plug-ins. You can get the links and make your own suggestions at https://macmost.com/must-have-lion-apps

In addition to using DropBox to sync files between your Macs, you can also use it to share files with friends. You can make a file public and provide your friends with a link to it. You can also share a folder between friends with DropBox accounts. There is even a special photo galleries folder that will allow you to share photos easily.

A portable Mac using Lion and Time Machine creates local snapshots of new and modified files when it cannot access its TIme Machine drive. These local snapshots can be used to recover deleted or mistakenly modified files. They take advantage of unused space on your hard drive and adjust according to how much space you have available.

Apple issued updates to firmware for MacBook Airs, MacBook Pros and the Mac mini this week. Firmware is a term used to describe small applications and data stored on chips in a Mac, as opposed to hard drives or memory. Firmware that comes with a Mac can be updated by Apple to fix bugs and add features. See http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1471.
These new updates include improvements to how the new Thunderbolt port can be used with external displays, as well as in target disk mode — a way to access your Mac as a hard drive from another Mac with the Thunderbolt connector.
In addition, the updates provide more support for recovery in case of a hard drive failure. Newer Macs with Lion can recover and even re-install Lion with an Internet connection thanks to a special recovery partition and software in firmware. This way Lion can be restored without needing an optical drive or other storage device with a Lion installer. See http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718 for details.