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Candelair - alternative driver for internal Apple® IR receivers

nicoladagostino — 2009-11-09T12:59:55Z

Provides a clean, global fix for Apple® Remote issues many users are experiencing with third party applications under Snow Leopard releases 10.6 and 10.6.1. It's based on Remote Buddy's driver and comes packaged in a preference pane that presents all remote control options at a glance. Candelair is a free download.

Snow Leopard Compatibility: SnowChecker

nicoladagostino — 2009-11-03T11:30:26Z

[...] it tells you whether or not your applications will run under Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. SnowChecker performs a scan of your hard disk for apps, then compares the list of found apps against compatibility info stored at snowleopard.wikidot.com. It displays the the results, noting which apps are OK, which might have slight compatibility issues, and which will be totally hosed under Snow Leopard.

Migration – MacPorts

nicoladagostino — 2009-11-01T11:21:04Z

An installation of MacPorts and the ports installed by it are only designed to work on a single OS release and a single CPU architecture. If you upgrade to a new OS version (e.g. from Leopard to Snow Leopard) or migrate to a new machine with a different type of CPU (e.g. PowerPC to Intel), you may get lucky and have your ports keep working, but in general, things will break.

10.6: Disable and enable Rosetta via Terminal

nicoladagostino — 2009-10-30T20:43:54Z

To disable Rosetta, simply run the following command in Terminal: sudo sysctl -w kern.exec.archhandler.powerpc=/usr/libexec/oah/RosettaNonGrata To re-enable Rosetta after it's been disabled, just run the following command in Terminal: sudo sysctl -w kern.exec.archhandler.powerpc=/usr/libexec/oah/translate

Apple Server Diagnostics 3X106

nicoladagostino — 2009-10-23T10:49:01Z

tests your server for hardware issues. [it] is compatible with Snow Leopard server on the Xserve (Early 2009), Xserve (Early 2008), and Mac mini (Early 2009). [...] You can run it in Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI), which is referred to as AXD EFI tools, or in Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server.

Mac OS X LocationChanger

nicoladagostino — 2009-10-21T10:05:11Z

LocationChanger is a simple shell script and launchd description. The script gets launched after every network change. When running it gathers some information, figures out the location and sets Location accordingly. [Also starts or stops] synergy and a proxy over ssh to forward the synergy socket if at work.

Data 'loss' in OS X: Is there really a heightened risk? [Here's a few situations in OS X where data loss can occur]

nicoladagostino — 2009-10-15T16:28:31Z

File deletion commands [It] can send selected files to the trash with a key command, and also empty the trash with other key commands. [...] Command-Delete → move selected file(s) to the trash shift-command-Delete → Empty trash with confirmation dialogue option-shift-command-delete → Empty trash without confirmation Terminal misuse The terminal contains commands that can delete files on the system really easily. [...] rm -- remove files rmdir -- remove folders (if empty) unlink -- remove files (same as "rm") Undo folder moving in the finder [...] when you copy a folder from one location to another in the Finder and make that the last action done in the Finder. Then open another program and create a document in the newly copied folder. After this, go back to the Finder and press command-Z or choose "undo" from the Edit menu. The Finder will remove the copied folder (that being the last action it did), and will also remove the newly created files in the folder without warning

Add Apple's free Backup.app to your backup toolbox

nicoladagostino — 2009-10-15T09:07:02Z

[...] Apple has a lesser-known application which you might consider using. The app, simply named Backup, was originally available only to .Mac users, but is now openly available on Apple's website. It lists "MobileMe account" as one of its requirements. If you do not have a MobileMe account, each backup is limited to 100 MB.

A fix for G4 iBook kernel panics caused by AirPort cards

nicoladagostino — 2009-10-08T22:54:57Z

Many iBook G4 laptops (and possibly other models) have a problem with the inbuilt AirPort card failing, and then causing regular kernel panics. This can be avoided in Leopard, and possibly Tiger, by replacing the kexts responsible for the AirPort with dud files [...] The first is called IO80211Family.kext [...] the second is AppleAirPort.kext

AppleScript to Switch Mac OS X's Single-Application Mode

nicoladagostino — 2009-10-08T20:54:39Z

Inspired by Lewis Butler's post this script switches Mac OS X's single-application mode on or off. Use Growl for notification and LaunchBar, FastScript or QuickSilver for shortcuts and - focus!

TidBITS Macs & Mac OS X: Revealing Mac OS X's Hidden Single-Application Mode

nicoladagostino — 2009-10-08T20:51:45Z

Lurking in the scary bowels of Mac OS X for all these years has been this little command, which brings back single-application mode. [...] defaults write com.apple.dock single-app -bool true For single-application mode to take effect, you have to relaunch the Dock with this second command. killall Dock That's right, the original single-application mode in Mac OS X Public Beta is still with us. Although it was always intended as a simple option for people who are not computer experts, it turns out to be an interesting option for the power user.

How to use and troubleshoot FireWire target disk mode

nicoladagostino — 2009-10-06T11:17:17Z

Host computers must meet these requirements: Built-in FireWire port or a FireWire port on a PC card, FireWire 2.3.3 or later, Mac OS 8.6 or later These models can be used as target computers: iMac (Slot Loading) with Firmware version 2.4 or later, iMac (Summer 2000) and all models introduced after July 2000, eMac (all models), Mac mini (all models), Power Mac G4 (AGP Graphics) with ATA drive, Power Mac G4 Cube, Power Mac G4 (Gigabit Ethernet) and all models introduced after July 2000, Power Mac G5 (all models), Mac Pro (all models), iBook (FireWire) and all models introduced after September 2000, PowerBook G3 (FireWire), PowerBook G4 (all models), MacBook Pro (all models), MacBook models introduced before October 2008

Mac OS X v10.6: Using MS-DOS (FAT32)-formatted disks for home directories

nicoladagostino — 2009-10-04T12:32:40Z

With the introduction of Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard, you can use MS-DOS (FAT32)-formatted disks, including USB flash drives or external hard drives, to store external accounts or home directories. However, you should be aware of some things if you use a home directory on an MS-DOS formatted disk.

See folder content previews in Quick Look in 10.5 and 10.6

nicoladagostino — 2009-09-30T18:32:27Z

Instead of just seeing the regular folder icon in Quick Look, the folder icon will be semi-transparent, with previews of the folder's contents visible in the Quick Look window, as seen in the image at right. What's more, the preview images will rotate automatically, moving through each item in the folder (click the image to see a movie of the animation). To turn this on, quit the Finder (using Activity Monitor, Terminal, etc.), then open Terminal and enter this command: $ defaults write com.apple.finder QLEnableXRayFolders 1 Relaunch the Finder, and enjoy the new folder X-Ray mode in Quick Look. If you ever want to disable it again, quit the Finder, then repeat the above Terminal command, but change the 1 to a 0.

NTFS Mounter

nicoladagostino — 2009-09-23T18:57:45Z

Although not officially supported, Snow Leopard is now able to mount NTFS volumes with both read and write support. NTFS Mounter simply uses this ability, and provides a simple user interface to the mount command for NTFS volumes.