News, Reviews and more from Australia's Macintosh Authority
News, Reviews and more from Australia's Macintosh Authority
As a Mac consultant and troubleshooter who has exposure to the Dark Side occasionally, I feel that the Mac is easier to troubleshoot and support than Windows PCs (no flames from Windows fans, please, it's only my humble opinion). That said, Macs, like all computers, will occasionally muck up, and being prepared will make getting back up and running that much easier and quicker. So what's handy to have when your Mac starts to misbehave? The list below is just the start - there are things I haven't included which others will swear by, and things others will think are superfluous. But the following items will certainly come in useful should you need to troubleshoot problems.
Sean McNamara | Mar 26, 2009
Time Machine has revolutionised backups on the Mac - but there are some issues around how it operates which can see backup drives fill up quickly, or data being backed up unnecessarily. This month, we're going to look at some ways to fine tune what Time Machine will back up.
Sean McNamara | Feb 26, 2009
In an earlier piece I wrote about Mac OS X's Unix foundations which talked more about how that Unix underbelly is obfuscated rather than what made that foundation worthwhile. This time, we're going to expose the underbelly a little bit more to understand why Apple chose Unix as the foundation to Mac OS X.
Sean McNamara | Jan 29, 2009
New Year's is the time for new beginnings - when we cast off the shackles of a year of not achieving everything we set out to do and give ourselves a whole new list of admirable things to attempt in the coming year. This applies to our computing life as much as it does our everyday life.
Sean McNamara | Jan 1, 2009
Apple has made much of Mac OS X's Unix-like foundation since before the days of the Public Beta. What does this mean from the practical point of view? Should ordinary users like you and me care about this usually hidden part of the operating system?
Sean McNamara | Dec 4, 2008
Backing up is one of those things you should never stop thinking about. Although I recently covered backup basics here on the AMW site, I thought it worthwhile delving a bit deeper into aspects of backups which don't seem to be thought about very much.
Sean McNamara | Nov 5, 2008
This morning Apple released a new version of its iPhone SDK for developers. iPhone SDK beta 2 includes Interface Builder, a component of Apple’s development tools that lets developers create the interface for their applications. That seems to be the only major change in the latest build, according to the SDK’s read me, which continues to list some known issues. Apple says “this second beta is known to be incompatible with installation folders other than the default /Developer.” Given the importance of UI on the Mac, Interface Builder is a pretty critical tool in the development process, and some developers had chosen to hold off on their efforts until the SDK was revised. Apple unveiled the iPhone SDK at a special event earlier this month, allowing developers to begin building applications for the iPhone and iPod touch. Several high-profile companies have already jumped onboard, demoing their applications at the event. Highlighting the demos was AOL with a native AIM client; other applications from Electronic Arts, Salesforce.com, and Apple were also shown.
