iTunes 8.0.2 Purchase Bug Located, Workaround Discovered
01 December 2008 08:30 EST
Chris Barylick
Even though iTunes updates are usually worth snagging, nothing's ever perfect.
According to MacFixIt, a number of users have reported an issue in which no songs or movies can be purchased in the iTunes Store upon installing iTunes 8.0.2. The problem seems to persist whether users are buying via stored credit or using charge cards on the fly.
The issue, as described by poster "Bryce Lim" on the Apple Discussions board:
"After updating to 8.0.2, I can't purchase anything on iTunes account. Every time I try to purchase music, a TV show or an application I get the error message that '...due to a problem with the iTunes store I have no available store credit for purchasing...' 'I don't have any store credit, I've been trying to purchase with my credit card like I always have been.'"
For many users affected by this problem, credit on the accounts seems to disappear and then reappear at seemingly random times. Luckily it seems the amount of credit is still there, just inaccessible for a while. Additionally, users with gift cards are having problems redeeming them.
Users concerned with the status of their credit are encouraged to contact Apple support via this link or call 1-800-MY-APPLE. In the meantime, users can also try logging out and logging back into their iTunes accounts to work to resolve the issue.
The current fix is as follows:
Reset iTunes' account login It appears that this problem might be with how iTunes is logging into the iTunes store, and as such users have had success by resetting their logins to the store. To do this, from within iTunes sign out of the store account, and then quit the program. Relaunch iTunes and sign back in, then try the account again.
If you've seen this issue on your end or discovered your own workaround to use, please let us know in the comments or forums.
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How-To: How to Force-Restore an Apple TV
05 November 2008 09:16 EST
Chris Barylick
Over on the Apple TV side of the Mac universe, Apple is still selling a pretty useful device that can get into trouble every so often.
Like when someone tries to place strange new programs on it.
On that note, Macworld editor Chris Breen has posted the following tutorial as to how to force-reset an Apple TV unit:
"...when our Apple TV misbehaves in this manner (and I can’t say I blame it) we unplug the Apple TV, plug it back in, and as soon as the Apple logo appears, we mash down the Menu and Minus (–) buttons on the Apple Remote. This should force the Apple TV to ask us what language we’d like to use (I’d prefer Portuguese, but I suppose you’ll choose English as we don’t speak Portuguese) as well as the resolution (oh, go ahead and choose 720p, you old stick-in-the-mud)."
The piece then goes on to tell the user to choose the "Factory Restore" option, reestablish contact with the iTunes library it had been using, reinstall its system updates and then work on installing the previous third party program of your choice, as Senor Breen felt compelled to do in the first place.
Take a gander and if you've discovered your own means of restoring an Apple TV, let us know in the comments or forums.
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Roman Loyola Demonstrates the Late 2008 MacBook Trackpad Magic!
20 October 2008 07:16 EST
Chris Barylick
For brand-new late 2008 MacBook and MacBook Pro owners wondering what to do with the trackpads on their new notebooks, Macworld's Roman Loyola has boldly stepped forth to answer some questions.
The senior editor is featured in video tutorial guiding users how to user one, two, three and four finger gestures as well as customizing settings, right-clicking and how to become acclimated to Apple's new trackpad technology.
Check it out and let us know what you think over in the comments or forums.åç
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Users Reporting Halted Video, Server Interruptions in iChat
29 September 2008 09:36 EST
Chris Barylick
There's an ambivalence about iChat: it can be great or it can be a bit awkward. In this case, it's the latter.
According to MacFixIt, a number of users have reported that the programs video chat functions will open, then freeze and sometimes require a force quit to get iChat 3.0 back up and running.
Per assorted posts over on the Apple Discussions board, several users have discovered that the problem could be associated with faulty QuickTime preference files. As such, in addition to the previous suggestions, it is recommended that users remove the file named "com.apple.QuickTime.plist" from their /username/Library/Preferences/ folder, and restart the computer. Then in the QuickTime preferences be sure to set the streaming data rate to the highest value.
In addition to the freezing problem, some users have discovered that iChat can't properly connect to the iChat server, as noticed by user "peter andreev":
"I'm using AIM through iChat. When I try to connect, I get signed on, lose my connection, and then automatically sign back on, and then lose my connection...back and forth about 6 times within a second. Then it says I've tried to sign on too many times so I'm forced to wait."
The most common fix to this issue is to change the port setting from 5190 to 443, as noted in the following instructions:
Fixes: Change the port to 443: To change the port, go to the iChat preferences and in the Accounts section, select the AIM account and go to the "Server Settings" tab. In there users can change the port from 5190 to 443.Remove the iChat preferences: Go to the /username/Library/Preferences/ folder and remove the file named "com.apple.iChat.plist", and then restart iChat. This will reset the program to the default settings, and as such may overcome any settings problems that might have been causing the connection problems.
If you've seen these issues on your end or discovered a fix or workaround of your own, please let us know in the comments or forums.
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MacBook Hard Drive Update Guide Posted
01 September 2008 09:51 EST
Chris Barylick
If the 80 gigabyte hard drive that came with your MacBook is starting to feel cramped, there's good news.
The following picture isn't it.
And I have no idea why it's there.
Still, the guys over in instructables.com have published a full guide as to how to back up your MacBook's hard drive, where to acquire materials, how to clone your data for backup purposes, what tools you'll need and how to dig into your MacBook to replace the internal hard drive.
Take a gander and if you've found a good shortcut or workaround to help the upgrade process, let us know over in the comments or forums.
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iPhoto Library Recovery Tips Posted
22 July 2008 02:03 EST
Chris Barylick
The iPhoto library, like any other set of files, can run terrifically when things are good and send you screaming for the hills when things break down. The guys at MacFixIt have posted a useful set of tips in which users can recover their iPhoto files in instances where the library will not load under normal circumstances but also from Apple's Time Machine recovery system.
The article's advice:
Don't move the iPhoto library folder. In cases where the folder is moved out of the default "Pictures" folder and a version of the iPhoto application is upgraded, links can become broken between iPhoto and its library. While it should be easy to search for the iphoto library, it appears that the system treats the library as a system file, and therefore does not include it in Spotlight and Finder searches by default. Therefore, a special search must be done to locate the library and point iPhoto to it. In addition, even if the library can be located, corruption may prevent Time Machine from working properly from within iPhoto, resulting in the same "empty library" behavior in iPhoto.
Possible fixes:
Locate the iphoto library and restore it for "missing" libraries:In the Finder press the "command-F" keys to open the search window.
Ensure "This Mac" is selected, and that you are searching for "File Name"
In the filters, click the "Kind" menu and select the "System files" option. If "System
Files" is not available, then go to "Other" and search for that filter to add to the list.
With the filter selected, in the second menu select "include".Finally search for "iPhoto Library" and note it's location.
Open iPhoto with the options key held, and select the iPhoto library from the location you found.
Users can also use Time Machine or other backup files in the Finder to replace "corrupt" libraries with clean copies provided the iPhoto library is in a known location and you believe the library itself it corrupted.
A file called "library6.iphoto" or "library.iphoto" that resides within the "iPhoto Library" package file serves as the catalog for all photos in the library package. Users can restore this file with a working backup file and go from there.
If you've tried this or found your own workaround or fix for iPhoto's library's, let us know in the comments or forums.
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Guide to Customizing Time Machine's Schedule/Backup Behavior Posted
20 June 2008 10:59 EST
Chris Barylick
Although Time Machine is one of the best reasons to move up to Mac OS X 10.5 ("Leopard"), it's kept simple for a reason; to be powerful and not confuse the user. As such, the included controls for Time Machine are essentially an "on" and "off" switch.
Customizing Time Machine's backup scheduling and behavior can be done with third-party utilities or performed manually. For those of you who'd like to do this on your own, the guys at MacFixIt have posted the following outstanding guide as to how to go about this.
First, head over to the /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/ folder and back up the following files:
com.apple.backupd-auto.plist
com.apple.backupd-wake.plist
com.apple.backupd-attach.plist
How to change the backup interval: Use any text editor to open the "com.apple.backupd-auto.plist" file, and change the "StartInterval" key value from 3600 (1 hour, in seconds) to another desired value. The value is in seconds, so calculate the value accordingly, enter it and save the file.Click the jump for the full story...
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Cooling Your Apple Laptop with Activity Monitor and a Cutting Board
20 May 2008 12:44 EST
Chris Barylick
They may have cooled down appreciably since the PowerBook G4 days (a.k.a., "I wasn't planning on a family, anyway"), but Apple's laptops still get fairly warm, a factor which can lead to crashes and other faulty system behavior.
An article on the mighty MacFixIt offers the following solutions to the problem:
-Use Activity Monitor: This tool can be found in the /Applications/Utilities folder and allows users to show down idle tasks or functions that are using an inordinately large percentage of processor capacity.
Per one reader's testimonial:
"I've noticed that Safari can hog the CPU. Sometimes my laptops’ fans will spin up when I am doing nothing more than surfing the web. Activity monitor will report very high CPU usage of Safari. I've found that this may be more of a problem when I have multiple Safari tabs open. [...] Closing safari has helped me."
-The Cutting Board Technique: One reader reported that a standard cutting board provided an open environment that wasn't crowded or packed in an insulating environment (such as on a bed or against clothes). Doug Eldred offered the following advice:
"One of the easiest, cheapest ways to cool a laptop is to place a similar-sized cutting board beneath it. Mine is transparent plastic with a mottled surface, and the little rubber feet that keep it above your counter just about line up with the MacBook's feet. Or, almost any piece of wood/plastic that's the right size plus a few of the small plastic or fibrous 'bumpers' like you'd put on a cabinet door will work for a DIY approach."
If you've found a laptop surface that works well for you, let us know over in the comments or forums.
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Getting Back to Safari 3.0.4 in a Pinch
04 April 2008 09:23 EST
Chris Barylick
In spite of things that have gone well with Apple's Safari 3.1 web browser, a large number of users are still reporting problems with the new application. The guys at MacFixIt have posted the following tips as to go back to Safari 3.0.4 should they need to via this article:
Download Pacifist from here and either the Mac OS X 10.4.11 or Mac OS X 10.5.2 combo updater (if you run Tiger or Leopard, respectively) -- available from Apple's download page. After installing Pacifist, drag the appropriate combo package updater onto the Pacifist icon and select /Applications/Safari.app from the list. Use the "Install" button at the top of the Pacifist window to force an installation of Safari. Next, select /System/Library/Frameworks/WebKit.framework and install it in the same manner. Restart your Mac.
From here, run the Disk Utility program (in /Applications/Utilities) to repair permissions which can become damaged after installation of Safari 3.1.
For my own part, Safari 3.1 has handled everything I've thrown at it pretty well, despite some extensions needing to be updated. If you try this fix, let us know how it goes in the comments or forums.
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Microsoft Acknowledges Office 2008 Security Issue, Offers Fix
29 January 2008 08:23 EST
Chris Barylick
Back on U.S. soil, Microsoft has acknowledged a security issue with the recently-released Office 2008 for Mac suite. According to MacFixIt, the program's installer sets the owner of several files it installs to user ID 502. Once complete, this allows the users full read and write access to the following directories:
-/Library/Automator/ (if it doesn't exist already)
-/Library/Fonts/Microsoft
-/Library/Application Support/Microsoft
-/Applications/Microsoft Office 2008
Where this becomes a problem is that even if the administrator on a Mac OS X-based computer, installs the program, a user with user ID 502 will own the aforementioned directories (even if that user doesn't yet exist). Once a new account is created, that user will have full read and write access to said directories.
Click the jump for the full story...
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Command and Shift Keys Sticking? Try This
17 January 2008 04:57 EST
PowerPage Contributor
I had a problem with my command key and shift key sticking. It was driving me nuts and I couldn't figure out the problem. I tried resetting the key commands in the keyboard control panel to no avail. I tried turning off my computer and removing the battery to no avail.
After weeks of annoying key sticking, I finally called SOS-APPLE and the agent suggested logging out of my user account and logging in as a new user. The problem did not exactly recreate itself in the same manner, but we did notice that the keyboard would stick on certain strings. Finally, we looked at Universal Access under keyboard, and we turned "Sticky Keys" to off, but I'm not sure how they turned on to begin with. This solved the problem!!! What a relief!
Contributed by: Sticky Keys
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iFixIt Posts Outstanding Guide to Replacing Internal Hard Drive on MacBook Pro
14 January 2008 09:00 EST
Chris Barylick
Despite technology being a consistently good thing, there are times where you've got to get your hands dirty. In the case of replacing a hard drive on your MacBook Pro, you won't go insane, but it's best to have a little help.
The guys over at The Unofficial Apple Weblog have linked to iFixIt's outstanding guide as to how to carefully open the MacBook Pro, what tools will be needed and how to get the case apart cleanly before putting it back together.
Completely Random Tip: I do this a fair amount myself and have found that if you print the guide out, then go page by page and scotch tape the screws to where they're supposed to be on the guide pages, it's easy to step back and see where everything goes instead of guessing which size screw fits where.
Either way, take a gander and let us know how this works for you in the comments or forums.
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Removing Non-ASCII Characters May Help Wireless Networks Appear Under Leopard
11 January 2008 08:52 EST
Chris Barylick
In as much as Mac OS X 10.5 ("Leopard") is having a semi-rough time getting out the gate, there are some workarounds that can help.
The guys over at MacFixIt have discovered that the use on non-ASCII characters, especially with third-party routers, can result in said networks not showing up in the Mac OS X AirPort menu.
Readers have offered the following steps to help rename the router from your Mac:
-Select the router from the AirPort menubar item or within Internet Connect (located in /Applications). The router is usually named after the manufacturer, e.g. "Belkin," "Linksys," or something like "Untitled."
-Open a browser and enter the address 192.168.1.1. If one browser doesn't work, try another. Some routers, for instance, cannot be properly configured through Safari, but can through Firefox.
If you've seen a similar error or found a useful workaround, let us know over in the comments or forums.
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In a Pinch: Using a Firewire iPod Cable to Charge an iPhone
27 December 2007 09:17 EST
Chris Barylick
First off, I'm an idiot.
I can concede that point, especially since I flew from Washington, D.C. to Providence without packing my iPhone's sync cable or charger.
The actual sync cable and charger, I think they're lying in a chair next to my Mac Pro. Not in my bag. In the chair.
When my iPhone began to run low on battery life, I ransacked my luggage looking for the cable and charger. Coming up short, I looked at the old Firewire cable used to charge my third generation iPod and hoped for the best.
Oddly enough, it works.
Let's be clear about this: It won't sync your iPhone to your Mac, but it WILL carry a current to the device, allowing the battery to charge. Simply plug the cable into the iPhone, then either plug it to an old iPod wall charger or Firewire port and the iPhone will read as if it's charging normally on its screen. The only difference is that it never syncs with iTunes at any point in time.
This may not be everything you're looking for, but if you're in a hurry or just discovered you didn't pack everything you thought you did, it'll work and keep your iPhone going, which tends to be what matters, especially on the road.
If you've found any cool tricks or workarounds like this, let us know over in the comments or forums.
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Quick Guide to Creating iPhone Ringtones in GarageBand Posted
18 December 2007 10:46 EST
Chris Barylick
Even if you've been unsure as to whether you're cool enough to use GarageBand (rocking out was several items down on your to-do list), the updated GarageBand (version 4.1.1) now includes a feature that allows users to export files as an iPhone ringtone via iTunes.
According to Macworld News, the ringtones can be created via the following steps:
-Set up a cycle region that covers the area you wish to use in the GarageBand song. Note: This area must be 40 seconds or less in length.
-Once the cycle area has been set, choose Share > Send Ringtone to iTunes.
GarageBand is part of the iLife '08 suite, which retails for US$79.00 and requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later to run.
If you've tried the export feature or found a different cool trick, let us know in the comments or forums.
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How to Beat the iPhone Signal Loss Blues
22 October 2007 08:30 EST
Chris Barylick
You love your iPhone, but there are quirks.
Among these are readers who've mentioned losing their cell phone signal when the handset is put into sleep or hold mode.
The guys over at The Unofficial Apple Weblog began polling the developer community regarding this issue and through ApolloIM developer Alex "Arminius" Schaefer, found a workaround for people willing to install third party applications on their iPhone.
Apparently SummerBoard, which adds additional features to the iPhone, can be installed to keep the iPhone awake and thus retain a good cell phone signal connection. Once installed via Installer.app, the user can then create a temporary file to prevent the unit from powering down (TUAW did this and created a small utility called JohnTool that can be downloaded from here via ericasadun.com.
Once downloaded, the utility can then be installed to the iPhone via Installer.app and the iPhone should be good to go.
If you've seen a similar problem or want to throw your two cents in, let us know over in the comments or forums.
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How to Disable SSHD on an iPhone and Prolong Battery Life
24 September 2007 08:00 EST
Chris Barylick
If you've been hacking your iPhone recently, odds are you've likely installed OpenSSH, the tool that allows users to perform remote logins to their iPhones from their computers. In doing so, you also may have noticed that the handset's battery life may have gone down a bit.
Though useful, the OpenSSH program functions as a listener and constantly runs a program called SSHD, which waits for further remote login attempts. Fortunately, the guys over at iPhone Alley have published a quick guide as to how to disable OpenSSH's SSHD component.
The guide assumes you've installed Nullriver's Installer.app;/a> program as well as OpenSSH.
From there, the steps are as follows:
Step 1: From Installer.app, download Community Sources if you haven't already.
Step 2: Under Utilities in Installer.app, install UIctl
Step 3: Go back to the home screen and wait for the iPhone to reload the Springboard. Slide to unlock and launch UIctl. BEWARE: This application has a lot of power and could potentially break your iPhone. If you don't know what you're doing, do not venture outside of these instructions.
Step 4: From UIctl, scroll down until you see com.openssh.sshd and tap it.
Step 5: Tap unload -w. Another message will slide up asking you to confirm. Make sure that the second line says /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.openssh.sshd.plist. If it does not, you didn't select the correct item.
Step 6: Once you're sure that you've selected the correct item, confirm by tapping Do it!. You should now see com.openssh.sshd in red which means that it's no longer running.
Once this is complete, your battery life should be back to normal. If you need to use SSH again (such as for an SFTP function), repeat the steps with load -w instead of unload -w to carry out the function.
If you've tried this or have a similar tip, let us know in the comments or forums.
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How-To: iPhone with JVC Marshmallow Headphones: Toasty Sounds for a Slim Budget.
21 September 2007 03:10 EST
PowerPage Contributor
In spite of what goes on here at the PowerPage with new products, controversies, updates and actions on Apple's behalf that can either make you love the company or want to slam your head against the keyboard with what they're doing, there are still some cool moments to be had.
The best ones tend to be when someone points out a cool idea or simple workaround. Stepping up to the plate, reader, photographer and apparent Civil War reenactor Garrison Gunter just sent in a quick guide as to how to convert the dirt-cheap-but-rather decent JVC Marshmallow headphones into a compatible form that can work with the iPhone's recessed audio jack:
So, feeling frustrated with the state of things relating to the iPhone's recessed headphone jack, I set out to wreck a pair of headphones that I already had in the house. The JVC Marshmallow headphones have a soft foam insert that is essentially the same as the foam rubber found in cheap earplugs which makes them quite comfy, especially at their US$15 price tag. The other thing that makes these headphones a nice backup (or primary, depending on your budget), is that they actually sound great. While not audiophile quality, but they have a decent punch and block out enough outside sound to keep you from needing to jack the volume up.
So I began by thinking that I would need to use my leatherman to carve away the jacket and possibly some of the inner plastic shell that surrounds the 1/8"; connector. As I began to tug at the jacket with my thumbnail, I realized that it wasn't even glued on! It was just slipped over the junction between the cord and connector. The following photo gallery (courtesy of Flickr) shows the quick and simple alteration needed to plug these headphones into the iPhone. I'd be very curious to know if other straight plug headphones can be altered in a similar way (assuming the 90º headphones won't be able to do this).
If you have any cool ideas or workarounds for getting a preferred set of headphones to work with the recessed audio jack on the iPhone, please let us know in the comments or forums.
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Bluetooth Kernel Panic Guide Published
24 May 2007 09:17 EST
Chris Barylick
The guys over at MacFixIt have posted a workaround and repair guide geared towards resolving Mac OS X kernal panics triggered by Bluetooth extensions.
Like the extension conflicts of Mac OS 9, Bluetooth kernel extensions can trigger the system to fail, but can be diagnosed by looking at the system's crash logs and seeing what appears. From here, the user can disconnect various Bluetooth devices to find the culprit and remove kernel extension-related caches with programs like Cocktail and Tiger Cache Cleaner.
Click here to check through the guide and if you've found any fixes or workarounds of your own for these problems, let us know.
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Adobe CS3 Installation Bug Workaround Discovered
01 May 2007 11:23 EST
Chris Barylick
Reader Ciro Coelho sent us this workaround when he found himself unable to cleanly install the Design Premium version of its Creative Suite 3 package:
I got problems as soon as I tried to install CS3 Design Premium on a G5 running 10.4.8 with a Photoshop CS3 Beta installed. I checked the web for a solution to the problem, and found the CS3Clean script. I uninstalled Photoshop CS3 beta and the CS3 Design Premium using its uninstalling routines (Utilities folder), ran the CS3Clean script and trashed preferences as instructed by the script read me files. I tried installing CS3 after repeating the same procedure for 2 existing user accounts, as well as having created a fresh one, to no avail. I then called Adobe and they told me to do what I had already tried. The only solution left, which had been successful with other customers, was to archive and install OS X, or ultimately, to clean re-install it before attempting to install CS3.
For obvious reasons I resisted they suggestion, and found A SUCCESSFUL solution:
-Uninstall all CS3 applications (beta and shipping versions).
-Run Adobe's CS3 Clean script, trash CS3 preferences.
-Mount an external firewire drive.
-Install OS X (I did 10.4.9) onto it.
-Restart and boot up from that firewire drive.
-Insert CS3 CD, install software onto the external drive.
-Restart from your regular internal drive.
-Migrate (Utilities>Migration Assistant) from the firewire drive where you installed a fresh OS X and CS3.
-Restart from that new user account on your regular internal drive. Launch one of the applications from CS3, enter serial number, register computer.
-Login from your regular user account and launch CS3 applications.
If you've seen similar instances of this or created your own workaround, let us know.
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Safari Speed-Up Guide Published
16 April 2007 11:47 EST
Chris Barylick
The folks over at MacFixIt have published a full guide as to how to speed up Apple's Safari web browser.
Topics included cover how to speed up the program's launch by cleaning up the startup routines, clearing out .plist files, removing third-party add-ons, resetting the browser, checking the plug-in inventory and clearing out the AutoFill option.
The guide also recommends lower tech solutions such as power cycling a cable or DSL modem or router as well as reworking your bookmarks and even editing names to increase speed on this front.
If Safari remains your favorite browser for the Mac despite the allure of Firefox, take a gander and let us know what you think.
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Video: How to Recover From a Laptop Liquid Spill
22 March 2007 08:34 EST
Chris Barylick
The guys over at Engadget have linked to a Google video over at Grynx.com demonstrating how to pull a laptop back from the brink of an inadvertent spill.
Or, in this case, two consecutive spills.
Here a group of technology authors poured both a glass of red wine on the keyboard, followed by a glass of lemonade. The group then acts quickly, draining the excess liquid off into a towel, opening the laptop, washing it under tap water, then rinsing the components under distilled water before leaving them out to dry.
The end result is interesting, even if the beginning of the video kind of makes one cringe as the liquid is poured into the Dell laptop's keyboard. A soundtrack of "Kung Fu Fighting" only makes it better and it's a good way to look at a semi-inevitable problem.
If you have comments, ideas or experiences of your own with this, let us know.
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Rosyna Discusses Prebinding Bug in OS X Updates
19 March 2007 02:09 EST
Chris Barylick
A post over on Unsanity wherein the author (identified as "Rosyna") describes the prebinding bug in Mac OS X 10.4.
Simply put, this is where Mac OS X finishes installing an update and enters its "Optimizing System Performance" stage. Here, the operating system is prebinding, or looking off memory offsets of symbols in the operating systems' libraries before a program is launched and won't have to search for these offsets later on (whenever I'm installing an update and it takes a while with someone looking over my shoulder while the Mac reaches this stage, I tell them this is important. And not to interrupt. Ever.)
The "not touching the Mac" part might be just that critical. According to Rosyna's post, Mac OS X features a bug wherein if multiple processes are prebinding at a given time, it's possible for a system's file system to completely zero itself out.
The best way around this: let the "Optimize System Performance" process run to its conclusion and don't launch any applications during this time. The piece also discusses workarounds in case the system happens to zero itself out.
If you've had any experience with this or advice to offer on prebinding under Mac OS X, let us know.