Sanziro » Mac

Apple releases OS X Lion 10.7.3

Gaius Parx — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:53:13 +0000

Apple released the latest update to OS X Lion 10.7.3. This release includes support for new languages (Catalan, Croatian, Greek, Hebrew, Romanian, Slovak, Thai, and Ukrainian), improves compatibility with Microsoft Windows file sharing and Active Directory, new RAW image support for new cameras such as Canon S1 and Nikon 1, updates Safari to 5.1.3, and other bug fixes. Update is via the usual Software Update.

About the OS X Lion v10.7.3 Update

Apple releases first update to Mac OS X Lion Apple has released OS X 10.7.1, the first update to...
Apple released Digital Camera RAW compatibility update 3.5 supporting Nikon D7000, Canon Powershot G12, Lumix GF2 and Lumix GH2 Apple has released update 3.5 to its Digital Camera RAW,...
Apple releases Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.7 Apple has released Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 3.7 which adds...

App of the week: Alfred

Gaius Parx — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 14:48:22 +0000

Alfred is a productivity app that can do many things. You invoke Alfred with a customizable hot-keys which will bring out the command bar. Enter an app name or search term and Alfred will execute your order. Alfred is an app launcher and a search helper. Alfred can also do basic calculations, check word spellings and helps you issue system commands.

Alfred on Mac App Store

App of the week: Dropbox Among the many cloud storage services available today, Dropbox is...
App of the week: Foursquare Foursquare may no long be the great buzz it was...
App of the week: Where’s My Water? If you’re running out of new levels for Angry Birds...

Display a note when the screen is locked in OS X Lion

Gaius Parx — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:39:39 +0000

New in OS X Lion is the ability to display a message when the screen is locked. This is useful to inform your co-workers not to meddle with your Mac in your absence. Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy. Under the General tab, check the option “Show a message when the screen is locked” and key in your note below. If you’re not able to check the option or key in the note, click on the lock icon at bottom left corner to unlock for editing.

iTunes Artwork screen saver in OS X Lion OS X Lion comes with a new “iTunes Artwork” screen...
iOS 4.1 security bug allows you to make calls and access contacts info from locked phone Someone has uncovered a security bug in Apple’s iOS 4.1...
About full-screen mode in Mac OS X Lion Full-Screen mode is a new system wide feature in Mac...

Merge video clips using QuickTime Player in OS X Lion

Gaius Parx — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:16:03 +0000

QuickTime Player in OS X Lion has the capability to merge multiple video clips into one movie. Simply drag the clips you want to add into a movie window. QuickTime Player will automatically scales or crops the clips so they match the dimensions of the movie. You can even trim the head or tail of any clips before saving the combined clips as new movie. If your video editing is just trimming and combining clips, instead of the more elaborate iMovie, you can just use QuickTime Player to achieve the same result.

Shorten learning time by speeding up video playback A lot of training materials these days are delivered via...
How To Enable HTML5 Video Player in YouTube YouTube by default will use its Flash video player even...
How to remove Flash Player from Mac OS X Starting with the recent revised MacBook Air, Apple no longer...

How to change Finder and Mail sidebar icon size in OS X Lion

Gaius Parx — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 11:21:45 +0000

If you find the sidebar icons in Finder and Mail a little too big or small, you can change it from System Preferences.

From System Preferences > General, click on “Sidebar icon size”. A drop-down menu will give the options “Small”, “Medium” and “Large”. The default settings is “Medium”.

Finder button to reveal or collapse sidebar and toolbar When you mount a DMG file for example when installing...
How to ‘fix’ the toolbar icons of Mail and Preview app in OS X Lion Mail and Preview app in OS X Lion default to...
How to change the computer name in Mac OS X Lion Your Mac’s computer name is setup automatically by the OS...

Hide unwanted System Preferences options in OS X Lion

Gaius Parx — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 09:04:24 +0000

If you find the options in System Preferences overwhelming, you can selectively hide those unwanted options from displaying.

Open System Preferences app. Click and hold on the “Show All” button to reveal a drop down menu. Select “Customize…” at the bottom of the menu.

From the customize screen, uncheck those options that you want to hide, and then click the “Done” button to save the changes.

How to change Finder and Mail sidebar icon size in OS X Lion If you find the sidebar icons in Finder and Mail...
How to ‘fix’ the toolbar icons of Mail and Preview app in OS X Lion Mail and Preview app in OS X Lion default to...
Shortcut to access Sound Preferences on Mac OS X When you click on the sound icon that is docked...

Turn off dock’s indicator light for open applications in OS X Lion

Gaius Parx — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:55:00 +0000

If you use the dock but hate the blue indicator light below open applications, OS X Lion now allows you to turn the lights off. Go to System Preferences > Dock, uncheck “Show indicator lights for open applications”.

Hide unwanted System Preferences options in OS X Lion If you find the options in System Preferences overwhelming, you...
How to disable Dashboard as a space in OS X Lion Spaces, introduced in OS X Leopard, gives you virtual desktops to...
10 Quick Ways To Launch Mac OS X Applications You do not always have to use the Dock or...

iTunes Artwork screen saver in OS X Lion

Gaius Parx — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:32:53 +0000

OS X Lion comes with a new “iTunes Artwork” screen saver, which displays album covers from your iTunes library as flipping grids of images. When you click on an album cover, the songs from the album will start playing.

The settings for screen saver is under System Preferences > Desktop & Screen Saver.

Display a note when the screen is locked in OS X Lion New in OS X Lion is the ability to display...
How to change Finder and Mail sidebar icon size in OS X Lion If you find the sidebar icons in Finder and Mail...
Hide unwanted System Preferences options in OS X Lion If you find the options in System Preferences overwhelming, you...

Where is AirDrop on my Mac?

Gaius Parx — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 08:58:26 +0000

AirDrop is a new OS X Lion feature that provides an easy way to share files between Wi-Fi enabled Macs, using drag-and-drop right from within Finder. Unfortunately AirDrop is not available for all Macs running OS X Lion as the feature requires a Wi-Fi hardware feature available only on newer Macs.

If AirDrop is not listed on your Mac’s Finder window sidebar or under the Go menu, then your Mac doesn’t support AirDrop. Apple has a support document listing the Macs supporting AirDrop. Macs that are the same as or newer than the models listed below support AirDrop:

MacBook Pro (Late 2008 or newer). MacBook Pro (17-Inch Late 2008) does not support AirDrop.
MacBook (Late 2008 or newer). White MacBook (Late 2008) does not support AirDrop.
Mac Mini (Mid 2010 or newer).
Mac Pro (Early 2009 with AirPort Extreme card, or Mid 2010).

Apple Support Doc: Can I use AirDrop with my computer?

Apple posts first software update for new MacBook Air Apple has posted the first software update for the freshly...
7 Technologies For Your Next Apple Mac and MacBook People normally do not upgrade their Mac or MacBook every...
CoreLocation and Multi-Touch Comes to Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Two iPhone technologies, CoreLocation and Multi-Touch, are coming to the...

How to enable AirPrint for your old printer using AirPrint Activator

Gaius Parx — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:47:57 +0000

AirPrint is the printing module of iOS that enables wireless printing from apps from your iPhone and iPad. However in order to support AirPrint, printers need to have wireless networking feature and specifically enhanced in hardware in order to support AirPrint. You can check out the list of current AirPrint compatible printers from Apple support site. Before you rush out to buy an AirPrint printer specifically, read on.

If your current printer is not AirPrint compatible, you can still enable AirPrint by running an agent software such as AirPrint Activator on your Mac. AirPrint Activator app will broadcast the printers connected on the Mac to your iOS devices via the AirPrint protocol. When you send a print job from iPhone, AirPrint Activator will route the print job to the printer.

The prerequisite for AirPrint Activator is a running Mac in order for the connected printers to be accessible. You also need to enable OS X’s “Printer Sharing” from System Preferences > Sharing.

AirPrint Activator is a third party solution and is not endorsed by Apple. There are other similar apps but AirPrint Activator is recommended as it is simple, it works and it is free (donation is happily welcomed by the developer). Until Apple release similar feature in future OS X, AirPrint Activator is the next best thing without spending the extra for a new printer.

AirPrint Activator

How to enable AirPrint in Mac OS X Apple did not release AirPrint support in Mac OS X,...
Is your printer supported by OS X Lion? Before upgrading to OS X Lion, it is wise to...
Apple releases iOS 4.2 beta to developers Apple has released the first beta of iOS 4.2 to...