Tribe.net. Local Connections jory http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq/thread/25ecbaf4-c854-4c3f-b4e1-ba0b5cc43246 2007-09-29T16:47:06Z 2007-09-29T16:47:06Z

<div>A fairly common problem with an easy solution. <br/> <br/>* Boot from the CD/DVD that came with your computer (or a generic OS X installer disc) <br/> <br/>* Once past the initial screens, go up the menubar and find the item "Reset Password..." <br/> <br/>* Select your internal drive, when it is presented. <br/> <br/>* Select your user from the pop-up menu <br/> <br/>* Enter a new password and click "Save". <br/> <br/>A good visual walk-thru of these directions is available here: <br/> <br/>http://kb.wisc.edu/helpdesk/page.php?id=3853</div> <div> posted in <a href="http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq">OS X FAQ</a> - 0 replies </div>

jory 2007-09-29T16:47:06Z jory http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq/thread/aab6662b-f1b0-4fc7-bf2a-7beffdb065c5 2007-06-19T04:51:17Z 2007-06-19T04:51:17Z

<div>There's not really a way to password protect a particular directory on Mac OS X. However, you can create an encrypted disk image using Disk Utility and store sensitive documents inside it. The protection is decent and Leopard will actually up the protection quite a bit, so it's something to look forward to. <br/> <br/>An alternative is to buy a product, such as PGP, and create an encrypted disk image with it. It's basically the same solution, but provides enormous protection. I think Disk Utility's encrypted images are "good enough" for most uses and that PGP is really a bit overboard for most users. <br/> <br/>The last good alternative I can think of is using FileVault. This will encrypt your entire home folder and decrypt it only when you log in, keeping all your data inaccessible from others. The thing to know is that FileVault simply does what I described first off, creating an encrypted disk image, but for your entire home directory. <br/> <br/>Personally, I don't want to put all my data at risk if the image should become corrupted, so I don't fine FileVault to be much peace-of-mind. I prefer doing it manually as I first described.</div> <div> posted in <a href="http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq">OS X FAQ</a> - 0 replies </div>

jory 2007-06-19T04:51:17Z jory http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq/thread/16d770e9-63f2-4999-ad95-f1684d46496d 2007-06-10T07:21:56Z 2007-06-10T07:20:26Z

<div>Your computer runs applications like Mail, Firefox, Photoshop, etc. These are all programs. Your computer runs one program at its heart called the kernel, which in essence is the supervisor that runs the other programs. You might wonder why a supervisor is needed. The various programs are all essentially running at the same time. And, sometimes they need access to shared resources, like your disk drive, memory, the screen. Even devices like your dvd/cd drive or a thumb drive. But, all these things are essentially only able to talk to one program at a time. So, the supervisor program is the ambassador to all of those shared resources on behalf of the various programs running on your computer. <br/> <br/>A kernel panic simply means that the supervisor program has encountered an error that it cannot resolve, and it has chosen to quit rather than proceed. It is easy to say "why not just ignore the error and go on." I think it is safe to say that for the most part, the folks who implemented the kernel do have it proceed whenever possible, and that when it does choose to quit, it is because there is no other choice that is better. Worse choices include ruining data on your hard drive, etc. <br/> <br/>I've encountered kernel panics mostly when my computer had a hardware problem. I had a laptop with a cracked motherboard. I could repeatably and reliably cause a kernel panic by applying slight pressure to opposite corners of the laptop. I had a tower that would get a kernel panic whenever I started doing a lot of work (quite frustrating). Turns out one of the processors was overly sensitive to heat and would fail when the machine got too hot, which only happened when I was doing a lot of work. In both cases the hardware repair eliminated the kernel panics. <br/> <br/>It is also possible to get a kernel panic because of a software problem. This would most likely be a software problem in the kernel itself. After all, any program can have bugs, and complicated programs more so. And, the kernel is a very complicated program, as you might imagine. But, it is pretty damn stable, all things considered. Less often, an application can cause a kernel panic. This is more rare precisely because the kernel is written in a fairly defensive manner, expecting applications to make mistakes and do foolish things; however, fools know no limits and are ingenious in their foolishness. So, there can be no perfect defense. <br/> <br/>I guess one analogy in real life is that sometimes your supervisor has a bad day because of something happening at your job, or because of something you or one of your peers has done. And, he wigs out, shouts at everyone and disappears into his office and locks the door for a while. Work stops for a while while everyone gets their head together, and then things pick up again and work continues. The supervisor comes out of his office, apologizes (if they're a reasonable person) or says something cryptic you don't really "get" to explain their behavior, and gets on with life. That's a kernel panic in the real world.</div> <div> posted in <a href="http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq">OS X FAQ</a> - 1 reply </div>

jory 2007-06-10T07:20:26Z jory http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq/thread/ba1808b1-8395-4d14-aea0-4c84486c2626 2007-04-05T14:36:45Z 2007-04-05T14:36:45Z

<div>The initial release version of the MacBook Pro (MBP) tended to run hot. By June 2006, Apple had pretty much figured out how to manufacture them properly, so mine only runs hot when it is being taxed. <br/> <br/>If yours is running hot, there are a few things you can check: <br/> <br/>* Run the Activity Monitor and see how busy your CPU is. Be sure you are looking at "All Processes", not just "My Processes". If the CPU History graph (at the bottom of the Activity Monitor window) is not mostly black, then your CPU us being utilized heavily and you can either quit some applications or turn on the fans. (Continue reading for more info about the fans.) <br/> <br/>* Be sure that you're running at least 10.4.7. This update brought with it a fix to a kernel thrashing issue that would heat the machine up very very fast. <br/> <br/>* Install MenuTemperature and monitor how hot your machine gets. You can get it here: http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/21767 <br/> <br/>* Install either smcFanControl or Fan Control and you'll be able to turn on the fans to cool the machine down. The difference between these apps is: <br/> <br/>smcFanControl: manual fan control application <br/> <br/>http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/23049 <br/> <br/>Fan Control: automatic fan control system preference that uses a threshold <br/> <br/>http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/23137/fan-control <br/> <br/>Personally, I use smcFanControl, since I work in a recording studio and wish to not have my machine be noisy without my consent. <br/> <br/>Epilogue <br/> <br/>My experience is that most heat issues on the Intel-based laptops are due to applications and their CPU usage. I keep Activity Monitor and MenuTemperature running all the time and closely watch what's happening as I use the computer. As a result, my MBP tends to run around 102-117° F all the time. iTunes raises the temp to around 135° F and heavy usage apps, such as Final Cut or Cleaner, can raise it to 170-182° F! When I run smcFanControl and the machine is up at 180° F, it comes down to 140° F within a few seconds.</div> <div> posted in <a href="http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq">OS X FAQ</a> - 0 replies </div>

jory 2007-04-05T14:36:45Z jory http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq/thread/3010cf3c-3a02-429a-b6f9-398d5253d897 2007-03-20T05:29:29Z 2007-03-20T05:29:29Z

<div>This question comes up a LOT. Unlike Windows, most Macs will run just fine without much user maintenance, but there are many recommendations folks run. You will probably hear a lot of folks recommend running "Repair Permissions", which is a topic of much discussion. Some will also tell you to get a copy of Cocktail or Onyx. <br/> <br/>Personally, I spend as little time as possible maintaining my computer. I sometimes leave it on overnight to allow the built-in scheduled maintenance routines to run (they are divided into daily, weekly, and monthly scripts and do not run when your machine is asleep). Periodically I run DiskWarrior, but it's infrequent. <br/> <br/>The real answer to the question is that there really isn't anything you HAVE to do. Lots of folks will give you their recommendations (some of which I consider voodoo), but you'll be just fine most of the time if you simply use the machine and don't worry much about it. <br/> <br/>More important is the practice of backing up your data, but that's another discussion.</div> <div> posted in <a href="http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq">OS X FAQ</a> - 0 replies </div>

jory 2007-03-20T05:29:29Z jory http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq/thread/92ef06d3-0ba5-4459-bc63-951af80973e9 2006-11-09T16:44:02Z 2005-11-30T16:42:35Z

<div>There are a number of ways to do this, but I find the most effective to be a third-party PreferencePane for OS X, RCDefaultApp. You can find it here: <br/> <br/>http://macupdate.com/info.php/id/14618 <br/> <br/>RCDefaultApp, once installed, will show up in the System Preferences and allow you to set all kinds of default settings, such as preferred email or FTP clients, MIME defaults, type/creator defaults, and more! <br/> <br/>I recommend all Mac users have it installed.</div> <div> posted in <a href="http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq">OS X FAQ</a> - 1 reply </div>

jory 2005-11-30T16:42:35Z jory http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq/thread/9e6c220b-7dfe-499a-9320-cb3370dea19c 2006-09-28T17:23:24Z 2006-09-28T17:23:24Z

<div>Found at this website: http://rixstep.com/2/20040510,00.shtml <br/> <br/>Startup <br/> <br/>C start from CD <br/>D start from 1st partition <br/>N start from network server <br/>T put computer in FireWire Target Disk mode <br/>X start in OS X <br/>⌥ show all startup disks <br/>⌥⇧⌘⌫ start from external drive or CD <br/>⌥⌘OF open firmware <br/>⌥⌘PR zap PRAM (hold until 2nd chime) <br/>⌘S single user mode <br/>⌘V verbose <br/>mouse button eject CD <br/>⇧ after power-up: turn off kernel extensions <br/>after login: prevent startup items from opening <br/> <br/>Power <br/> <br/>⌃⌘-power restart <br/>⌃⌥⌘-power shut down <br/>⌥⌘-power sleep <br/> <br/>Application Management <br/> <br/>⌘-tab cycle forward through applications <br/>⇧⌘-tab cycle back through applications <br/>⌘~ cycle forward through application windows <br/>⇧⌘~ cycle back through application windows <br/>⌥⌘-esc Force Quit dialog <br/>⌘-toolbar <br/>lozenge cycle forward through toolbar displays <br/>⇧⌘-toolbar <br/>lozenge cycle backward through toolbar displays <br/>⇧⌘3 screen dump (entire screen) <br/>⇧⌘4 screen dump (drag a rectangle) <br/>⇧⌘4,space,click screen dump (highlighted window) <br/>⌘-space cycle forward through keyboard layouts <br/>⇧⌘-space cycle back through keyboard layouts <br/>⌘-drag window <br/>title bar adjust window in background <br/>⌥-click Dock icon <br/>or window switch to new program, hide previous one <br/>⌥⌘-click Dock icon switch to new program, hide all others <br/>⌘-drag rearrange or remove menulets or toolbar icons <br/>⌘-click <br/>window title expose path in popup <br/>⌥-zoom button maximise window <br/>⇧-minimise button minimise window slowly <br/>⇧-click minimised <br/>window in Dock open window slowly <br/>⇧-close button close window slowly <br/>⌥⌘W close all application windows <br/>⌥-close button close all application windows <br/>⌥⌘M minimise all application windows <br/>⌥-double-click <br/>title bar minimise all application windows <br/>⌥-click Dock icon restore all application windows <br/>⌥-minimise button minimise all application windows <br/>⌥⌘D toggle appearance of Dock <br/>⌘-drag onto <br/>Dock icon prevent Dock icons from moving <br/>⌥⌘-drag <br/>onto Dock force program to open dragged item <br/> <br/>Outline View <br/> <br/>⌘← Collapse <br/>⌥⌘← Collapse All <br/>⌥-click <br/>disclosure triangle Collapse All <br/>⌘→ Expand <br/>⌥⌘→ Expand All <br/>⌥-click <br/>disclosure triangle Expand All <br/> <br/>Safari <br/> <br/>⌫ Back <br/>⇧⌫ Forward <br/>⌘/ Page Load Test Window <br/>⌘[ Back <br/>⌘\ Status Bar <br/>⌘] Forward <br/>⌘| Address Bar <br/>⇧⌘A Autofill Form <br/>⌥⌘A Activity <br/>⌥⌘B Bookmarks Bar <br/>⌥⌘E Empty Cache <br/>⌥⌘F Google Search <br/>⇧⌘G Find Previous <br/>⇧⌘H Home <br/>⌘K Block Popups <br/>⌘L Open Location <br/>⌥⌘L Downloads <br/>⇧⌘N Add Bookmark Folder <br/>⌥⌘P Snapback <br/>⌥⌘S Search Results Snapback <br/>⌥⌘U View Source <br/>⇧⌘→ Next Tab <br/>⇧⌘← Previous Tab <br/>⌘↑ Page Upper Left <br/>⌘↓ Page Bottom Left <br/> <br/>Text <br/> <br/>⌃A move to beginning of paragraph <br/>⌃B move one character back <br/>⌃D delete character to right <br/>⌃E move to end of paragraph <br/>⌃F move one character forward <br/>⌃K delete text to end of paragraph <br/>⌃N move to next line <br/>⌃O insert newline <br/>⌃P move to previous line <br/>⌃T transpose characters <br/>⌥⌫ delete word to left <br/>⌥⌦ delete word to right <br/> <br/>Text Field <br/> <br/>⌥← move one word left <br/>⌥→ move one word right <br/>⌘← move to beginning of line <br/>⌘→ move to end of line <br/> <br/>Text View <br/> <br/>⌥↑ move up one page <br/>⌥↓ move down one page <br/>⌘← move to beginning of line <br/>⌘→ move to end of line <br/>⌘↑ move to beginning of view <br/>⌘↓ move to end of view <br/> <br/>Terminal <br/> <br/>⌃A move to beginning of line <br/>⌃E move to end of line <br/>⌃T transpose characters <br/>⌃U erase line <br/>esc,B move one word back <br/>esc,C capitalise next word <br/>esc,D erase next word <br/>esc,F move one word forward <br/>esc,L make next word lowercase <br/>esc,U make next word uppercase <br/>esc,⌫ erase previous word <br/> <br/>Menu <br/> <br/>⌘+ Make Bigger <br/>⌘, Preferences <br/>⌘- Make Smaller <br/>⌘. Stop <br/>⌘: Spelling <br/>⌘; Check Spelling <br/>⌘? Application Help <br/>⌘A Select All <br/>⌘B Bold <br/>⌘B Toggle Toolbar <br/>⌘C Copy <br/>⇧⌘C Show Colors <br/>⌘D Add Bookmark <br/>⌘D Don't Save <br/>⌘D Find Previous <br/>⌘E Eject <br/>⌘E Use Selection for Find <br/>⇧⌘E Export <br/>⌘F Find <br/>⌘G Find Next <br/>⇧⌘G Go to Folder <br/>⌘H Hide Application <br/>⌥⌘H Hide Others <br/>⌘I Get Info <br/>⌘I Italic <br/>⇧⌘I Import <br/>⌘J Scroll to Selection <br/>⌘K Connect to Server <br/>⌘K Erase Deleted Messages <br/>⌘L Link <br/>⇧⌘L Lower Case <br/>⌘M Minimize <br/>⌥⌘M Minimize All <br/>⌘N New (Window) <br/>⌘O Open <br/>⌘P Print <br/>⇧⌘P Page Setup <br/>⌘Q Quit Application <br/>⇧⌘Q Log Out <br/>⌥⇧⌘Q Log Out Without Confirmation <br/>⌃⌥⇧⌘Q Force Log Out Without Confirmation <br/>⌘R Refresh <br/>⌘S Save <br/>⇧⌘S Save As <br/>⌘T New Tab <br/>⌘T Show Fonts <br/>⌘U Underline <br/>⇧⌘U Upper Case <br/>⌥⌘U Capitals <br/>⌘V Paste <br/>⌘W Close Tab <br/>⌘W Close Window <br/>⇧⌘W Close Window <br/>⌥⌘W Close All Windows <br/>⌘X Cut <br/>⌘Z Undo <br/>⇧⌘Z Redo <br/> <br/>Numeric Pad <br/> <br/>fn0 Button Hold <br/>fn1 Mouse NW <br/>fn2 Mouse NN <br/>fn3 Mouse NE <br/>fn4 Mouse WW <br/>fn5 Button Click <br/>fn6 Mouse EE <br/>fn7 Mouse SW <br/>fn8 Mouse WW <br/>fn9 Mouse SE <br/>fn. Button Release <br/> <br/>Universal Access <br/> <br/>⌥⌘* Toggle Zoom <br/>⌥⌘+ Zoom In <br/>⌥⌘- Zoom Out <br/>⌥⌘\ Toggle Zoom Antialiasing <br/>⌃⌥⌘* Toggle Monochrome <br/>⌃F1 Toggle Full Keyboard Access <br/>⌃F2 Highlight Menu <br/>⌃F3 Highlight Dock <br/>⌃F4 Highlight Active Window <br/>⌃F5 Highlight Toolbar <br/>⌃F6 Highlight Utility Window <br/> <br/>VoiceOver <br/> <br/>⌘F5 Toggle VoiceOver <br/>⌃F7 Toggle '⌃⌥' Lock <br/>⌃⌥F7 Show VoiceOver Menu <br/>⌃⌥F8 Open VoiceOver Utility</div> <div> posted in <a href="http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq">OS X FAQ</a> - 0 replies </div>

jory 2006-09-28T17:23:24Z jory http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq/thread/1a18bcd0-6469-4b53-bc16-c891ba994b31 2006-08-23T03:27:21Z 2006-08-23T03:27:21Z

<div>The following is a listing that covers some of the esoteric and confusing vocabulary computer folks sometimes throw around. <br/> <br/>* 1394: The official IEEE number for the peripheral connection also known as "Firewire" or "iLink" <br/>* 802.11: The official IEEE designation for "WiFi" wireless IP networking <br/>* AC: Alternating current, the kind of electricity that comes out of a wall socket <br/>* Airport: Apple's brand name for 802.11 technology: both the protocol and physical devices <br/>* Alias: A computer icon or file which points to another alias, folder, file or document <br/>* Bluetooth: A short-range wireless technology used in phones, printers, keyboards, mice <br/>* Bonjour: An easy-to-use local network protocol built into some devices, OS X and iChat (formerly called "Rendezvous") <br/>* Bookmark: An Internet URL or shortcut, usually saved and managed within a web browser <br/>* Bridge: Network connector for two disparate network types, such as localtalk/ethernet <br/>* Broadband: High-speed Internet connection such as through a DSL or cable modem <br/>* Cache: Files stored on your computer temporarily, as from recently visited web sites <br/>* Cable Modem: Bridge used to provide Internet connections over coaxial cable TV wiring <br/>* CRT: Cathode Ray Tube, the "television-style" computer monitor common since the 1970's <br/>* DC: Direct current, the kind that comes out of a wall wart or line lump (transformer) that many computer devices use. <br/>* DHCP: Dynamic Hosting Control Protocol, a way to allocate IP addresses "on the fly" as needed <br/>* Download: To transfer a file from a network server to your local computer <br/>* DSL: Digital Subscriber Line, a protocol to deliver high-speed IP connections over telephone wires <br/>* Ethernet: A physical network connection, usually looks like a fat telephone cable <br/>* Favorite: AOL and Internet Explorer term for a web bookmark or alias <br/>* Freeware: Copyrighted software available for free without source code <br/>* Firewall: A network node designed to filter traffic, usually for security reasons <br/>* Firewire: Apple's brand-name for 1394, a peripheral connection type often used for video cameras and hard drives <br/>* Gateway: A network node through which one connects to another network or Internet <br/>* Hub: A box which shares one connection with many ports, similar to a power strip but for USB, firewire or ethernet <br/>* Internet: the worldwide collection of network protocols for email, web, Usenet and more <br/>* IP: Internet Protocol, the addressing and transfer protocol most common on the Internet <br/>* IP Address: A numeric node on an IP network, analagous to a telephone number or extension <br/>* ISP: Internet Service Provider, a company which provides an IP address and Internet access <br/>* LAN: Local Area Network, usually one's intranet, home or office network <br/>* LCD: Liquid Crystal Display, the "flat" kind of computer monitors such as on laptops <br/>* Line Lump: An electrical transformer that converts AC power to DC power. Many devices (like switches, hubs, and routers) come with line lumps. A line lump is essentially the same as a wall wart, but has the transformer part-way down the cable, so as to not use up a large amount of AC outlet space. <br/>* Mac: Short for "Macintosh," usually indicating Macintosh OS or components <br/>* MAC: Media access control, technical name for an ethernet or 802.11 hardware interface <br/>* Malware: Software which uses resources to harm the host computer (viruses, spyware, etc) <br/>* Modem: technically a device for connecting computers over analog phone lines but often used for any connector between a computer and a telephone or broadband network <br/>* Network: Computers or devices connected for communication: telephones, printers, etc <br/>* NIC: Network interface card. Almost always used to refer to a computer's built-in ethernet <br/>* Open Source: Copyrighted software distributed with source code: free to use and modify <br/>* Port: a physical connector for cables OR a specific protocol number at an IP address OR translation of a program from one OS to another <br/>* Power Strip: Short, multi-outlet extension cord, provides no backup power or protection <br/>* Rendezvous: Apple's brand name for a local network protocol, also called "Bonjour" <br/>* RJ-11: the clip-in connector used for telephone cables, wall, phone and modem jacks <br/>* RJ-45: the telephone-style connector at the end of most ethernet cables or within cards <br/>* Router: A "smart" network node which can distribute network traffic <br/>* Shareware: "Try before you buy" commercial software distributed on the honor system, to be purchased <br/>* Sharing hub: A router (usually with DHCP server) which apportions one IP connection among many devices, similar to a telephone switchboard <br/>* Shortcut: Windows' term for "alias" but sometimes short for multi-key combinations which execute commands as "keyboard shortcuts" <br/>* Subnet: A network setting which much match for computers to see each other on a LAN <br/>* Spyware: Software which surreptitiously "reports back" user activity without user knowledge <br/>* Surge Suppressor: A power conditioner which sits between electronics and the wall outlet <br/>* Switch: Usually a network device with some traffic management: faster than a hub but not as sophistated as a router or bridge <br/>* Trojan Horse: a malicious program which relies on tricking the user into launching it, the sort of malware most likely to infect a Macintosh computer <br/>* Upload: To transfer a file from your computer to a network such as the Internet <br/>* UPS: Uninterruptible Power Supply, a battery which sits between your computer and the wall outlet, to provide temporary power in case of a "brownout" or emergency <br/>* URL: Uniform Resource Locator, protocol and address such as "aol.com" or "mailto:president@whitehouse.gov" <br/>* USB: Universal Serial Bus, an inexpensive peripheral connector popularized by the iMac: used for keyboards, printers, mice, digital cameras, flash drives, inexpensive hard drives, etc. <br/>* Virus: A program which uses its host environment to replicate without user intervention, usually "malware" which damages files on the host computer <br/>* WAN: Wide Area Network, usually larger than one workgroup or building <br/>* Wall Wart: An electrical transformer that converts AC power to DC power. Many devices (like switches, hubs, and routers) come with wall warts. The name is derived from the amount of space the transfer uses around an AC outlet. <br/>* WiFi: "Wireless Fidelity," marketing term for intermediate-range wireless IP connection <br/>* Worm: A kind of malware which propogates itself, usually over a network to consume bandwidth </div> <div> posted in <a href="http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq">OS X FAQ</a> - 0 replies </div>

jory 2006-08-23T03:27:21Z jory http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq/thread/e5304520-fbb4-4d80-9ae2-e0fe88ed4de9 2006-08-19T16:15:33Z 2006-08-19T16:15:33Z

<div>Most likely, your backup battery is no longer holding a charge. Apple has provided a nice chart of part numbers that will help determine which battery your computer needs for a replacement: <br/> <br/>http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=11751 <br/>http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86181 <br/> <br/>Some batteries are easily serviced by pretty much anyone, but some are soldered in. If you are not sure, visit an Apple Store or other Apple repair tech near you.</div> <div> posted in <a href="http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq">OS X FAQ</a> - 0 replies </div>

jory 2006-08-19T16:15:33Z jory http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq/thread/41d7adfb-2947-4307-9955-a98f3b5a960b 2006-05-13T22:41:06Z 2006-05-13T22:41:06Z

<div>Past OS X Releases <br/>-------------------------------- <br/>10.0 (Cheetah), last release 10.0.4 (?) <br/>10.1 (Puma), last release 10.1.5 <br/>10.2 (Jaguar), last release 10.2.8 <br/>10.3 (Panther), last release 10.3.9 <br/> <br/>Current OS X Release <br/>----------------------------------- <br/>10.4 (Tiger), (as of May 2006, last release is 10.4.6) <br/> <br/>Announced OS X Release <br/>----------------------------------------- <br/>10.5 (Leopard) <br/> <br/>============================ <br/> <br/>More details at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_OS_X</div> <div> posted in <a href="http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq">OS X FAQ</a> - 0 replies </div>

jory 2006-05-13T22:41:06Z Milo http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq/thread/88af08e3-528b-4117-8142-01592399ac67 2006-04-17T14:15:46Z 2006-04-17T14:15:19Z

<div>Since the question keeps coming up, here are a number of software players and tools that can be used for the various media formats. I expect that this list will change, and is probably no way exhaustive. <br/> <br/>Apple QuickTime/QT Pro: <br/>Plays MPEG (mpg) 1, 2, 4 | .mov | .mp3 | .aif | .wav - the "Pro" version will also let you do minor editing of different types of files. <br/>http://www.apple.com/quicktime/mac.html <br/> <br/>Apple DVD Player: <br/>Plays DVDs, usually <br/> <br/>VideoLan Client (often called VLC) <br/>Very robust media player. Able to play .AVI files, including ones that have been encoded in 3viX, DivX, etc. Supports multi-region DVDs, VCDs, subtitle files, VIDEO_TS, etc. If you want to watch .AVIs, this is the player for you. <br/>http://www.videolan.org <br/> <br/>MPlayerX <br/>Similar to VLC with support for a variety of formats of files, including WMV9 (windows media). <br/>http://mplayerosx.sourceforge.net/ <br/> <br/> <br/>Windows Media Player <br/>A player for the Windows Media filetypes (WMV). Now discontinued by M$ <br/>http://www.microsoft.com/mac/otherproducts/otherproducts.aspx?pid=windowsmedia <br/> <br/>Flip4Mac <br/>Reccomended by M$ as a WindowsMediaPlayer for Mac replacement. Upgradeable to a Pro + Studio versions. <br/>http://www.flip4mac.com/wmv_download.htm <br/> <br/>ok, that should be a start. I'll continue to update this, and if people want to add or make corrections, let me know. Next time look for conversion tools.</div> <div> posted in <a href="http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq">OS X FAQ</a> - 0 replies </div>

Milo 2006-04-17T14:15:19Z jory http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq/thread/b9d066e5-1d08-4048-8568-0d52ce7d5b5b 2006-04-16T16:40:50Z 2006-02-13T02:53:24Z

<div>Files with the .avi file extension sometimes do not play on the Mac natively because the proper decoder is missing. This is because AVI files (which originally, and usually, come from Windows) are only a file wrapper around a piece of video. The .avi extension does not indicate what video codec the clip was encoded using, and sometimes, that codec is not part of QuickTime. <br/> <br/>In many cases, VLC will play these files, though! You can get VLC here: <br/> <br/>http://macupdate.com/info.php/id/5758</div> <div> posted in <a href="http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq">OS X FAQ</a> - 2 replies </div>

jory 2006-02-13T02:53:24Z jory http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq/thread/407a84c7-5661-4272-947e-ddc1a481faeb 2006-03-31T18:36:20Z 2006-03-31T18:36:20Z

<div>Primarily, this depends on what you've got on your machine. There's another FAQ item here that can help you identify where your space is being absorbed, but here are some ways to actually free up space: <br/> <br/>For identifying drive usage, try WhatSize: <br/> <br/>http://macupdate.com/info.php/id/13006 <br/> <br/>WhatSize is basically a GUI front-end for the du UNIX command. <br/> <br/>------------- <br/> <br/>Another place you can free up space is by removing extra printer drivers that are not used: <br/> <br/>http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/8070 <br/> <br/>------------- <br/> <br/>Languages absorb a LOT of space and OS X defaults to installing all of them. Here are some apps that can strip extra languages out: <br/> <br/>Monolingual will remove extra languages from your applications: <br/> <br/>http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/7758 <br/> <br/>TinkerTool System will remove extra languages from the operating system: <br/> <br/>http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/13662 <br/> <br/>--------------- <br/> <br/>Youpi Optimizer can also remove extra languages: <br/> <br/>http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/6934</div> <div> posted in <a href="http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq">OS X FAQ</a> - 0 replies </div>

jory 2006-03-31T18:36:20Z jory http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq/thread/1a011ee9-cc6c-4330-a2ed-dbb8502f86a3 2005-12-23T23:58:22Z 2005-12-23T23:58:22Z

<div>Region Coding is a copy protection/sales protection scheme created by the DVD Forum to prevent DVD-Video discs from being sold in markets other than those they were intended for. The concept is that movies typically are released on DVD in the US around the same the same film hits the big screen for the first time in other countries, such as England, so without Region Codes people could buy the movie on DVD and never pay top dollar to see it in a cinema. This is all well-documented as part of the DVD spec. Incidentally, the DVD Forum is made up of the major manufacturers and all the major film studios. <br/> <br/>VLC is a video playback software. VLC stands for Video Lan Client. It is cross-platform and free and can be found here: <br/> <br/>http://www.videolan.org <br/> <br/>MacTheRipper is an application that allows a user to extract the CSS-encrypted contents of a DVD. You can find it here: <br/> <br/>http://macupdate.com/info.php/id/14414 <br/> <br/>RPC stands for Region Protection Code. When DVD-ROM drives first started shipping about 6 years ago, manufacturers (and the DVD Forum) recognized that it would be silly to make drives for each region, so RPC was created to give manufacturers rules by which they could program the Region Codes for a drive using the firmware. RPC-1, which was the initial version, would allow 5 region code changes, that way consumers could set their Region Code the first time they tried to play a DVD in their new DVD-ROM. After 5 changes, the Region Code was supposed to be locked in, however a backdoor was left in place so manufacturers could allow a consumer another 5 changes, since they might have made a mistake. <br/> <br/>Of course, hackers quickly discovered the backdoor and realized there was no limitation on exploiting it. When the DVD Forum found out that people were exploiting the unlimited manufacturer resets, they required manufacturers to limit the number of resets to 4 MAX. So, for the past 5 years (or so), manufacturers have been shipping drives that can only allow 4 maximum manufacturer resets, which is referred to as RPC-2. That means a total of 20 changes total. There is no circumventing this limitation. <br/> <br/>Naturally, though, it doesn't end there. There are several really talented hackers who have discovered that the difference between RPC-1 and RPC-2 drives is usually a simply modification to the firmware, which is the onboard software that runs the drive itself. So, many drives have been hacked to reprogram them to be RPC-1, even though they originally shipped as RPC-2. <br/> <br/>Hacking drives to RPC-1 went on unabated for quite some time, but many manufacturers have taken steps to make reprogramming the drives incredibly difficult. For example, the Matshita UJ-815 drive was one of the first to store its firmware onboard in an encrypted manor. Before that, a simple software tool could extract the existing firmware so a hacker could modify it. With encrypted drives, obtaining the firmware to hack is much trickier. Typically it means waiting for the company that OEM'd the drive (like Apple) to ship a firmware updater. Then, the firmware is available to inspect and can sometimes be hacked. <br/> <br/>If your DVD unit doesn't have any RPC-1 hacks, you don't have a whole lot of options. VLC tends to play DVDs regardless of the Region Code, however some newer drives will refuse to even read the disc if the Region Code doesn't match. If VLC works for you, then you can play the movies. If not, you can try MacTheRipper to copy the DVD to your hard drive. If neither of those work, you are essentially out of options. <br/> <br/>Some good resources: <br/> <br/>http://forum.rpc1.org/dl_all.php <br/>http://www.powerbook-fr.com/dossiers/dvd_region_free_en_article30.html</div> <div> posted in <a href="http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq">OS X FAQ</a> - 0 replies </div>

jory 2005-12-23T23:58:22Z jory http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq/thread/7defcf0b-484e-48f3-a280-a664d20adc6e 2005-12-01T02:00:47Z 2005-11-28T19:34:28Z

<div>When booting, hold these to change how the machine starts up: <br/> <br/>Cmd-V ---- Verbose mode -- displays what's actually occurring while OS X boots up <br/> <br/>Cmd-S ---- Boots into single-user mode (which provides a Unix shell as the root user). <br/> <br/>Shift ---- When held at boot, will disable any kernel extensions. When held when logging-in, will disable any user-specific start-up items.C ---- Boot from a CD <br/> <br/>D ---- Boot using the first partition <br/> <br/>N ---- Boot from a network server <br/> <br/>R ---- Reset the screen on a PowerBook <br/> <br/>T ---- Start in Target mode (to use a machine as if it was a FireWire hard drive) <br/> <br/>X ---- Boot in OS X (if OS 9 was the previous OS) <br/> <br/>Option ---- Show a list of possible startup disk options <br/> <br/>Cmd-Opt-Shift-Delete ---- Boot from an external drive or CD/DVD-ROM <br/> <br/>Cmd-Opt-P-R ---- Zap the PRAM (Will restart and chime again. Do at least 4 times!) <br/> <br/>Cmd-Opt-O-F ---- Boots into Open Firmware</div> <div> posted in <a href="http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq">OS X FAQ</a> - 1 reply </div>

jory 2005-11-28T19:34:28Z jory http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq/thread/6b16238e-2c2b-4d78-b00c-e4601b7e9bbb 2005-11-28T19:49:25Z 2005-11-28T19:49:25Z

<div>Terminal (also known as the shell) is a place you can run Unix commands under OS X. The shell is very powerful and extremely useful, although it may seem rather daunting to many. <br/> <br/>A lot of the little utilities that have been released as Shareware or Freeware are really just running Unix commands that you could actually just run yourself (which might be safer) by typing. <br/> <br/>I highly recommend that every Mac user learns the very basics of using the Terminal, even if they can only list a directory, navigate the directory structure, create and delete directories, move or remove files &amp; directories, and modify file permissions. <br/> <br/>O'Reilly has an OUTSTANDING beginner book available for $20. http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/ltigerunix/ The earlier versions for Jaguar and Panther are fine, too.</div> <div> posted in <a href="http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq">OS X FAQ</a> - 0 replies </div>

jory 2005-11-28T19:49:25Z jory http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq/thread/b4afdf4d-10b3-4664-8a5e-8392924b9638 2005-11-28T19:43:33Z 2005-11-28T19:43:33Z

<div>To find out where the bulk of your space is being used, do the following: <br/> <br/>(Note that [ENTER] means hitting the enter key) <br/> <br/>* Launch Terminal <br/> <br/>* type this: <br/> <br/>cd / [ENTER] <br/> <br/>* type this: <br/> <br/>sudo du -h -d 1 [ENTER] <br/> <br/>* You will now see a listing of how your drive space is being used. Using the "cd" command, you can change directories and find out what exactly is absorbing space.</div> <div> posted in <a href="http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq">OS X FAQ</a> - 0 replies </div>

jory 2005-11-28T19:43:33Z jory http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq/thread/cf44b40b-cd1e-4a6d-8e8d-85eab1b0a9f5 2005-11-28T19:26:44Z 2005-11-28T19:26:44Z

<div>This is hotly debated. Here is my approach to the question: <br/> <br/>PowerBooks and iBooks (and other portables) <br/> <br/>* Absolutely! Portable computers, no matter how careful you are, receive a lot of abuse. I am extremely careful with my PowerBooks, but they always end up going to Apple under APP at least twice. <br/> <br/>Desktop machines <br/> <br/>* Could be helpful. Most real issues will sort themselves out in the early days, but if you are likely to need to call Apple after the first 90 days, APP could be useful. If you buy an Apple Cinema Display, I recommend AppleCare, but you must purchase the display and the computer at the same time, as well as the AppleCare. <br/> <br/>iMacs and other lower-end machines <br/> <br/>* Again, could be helpful. Given the lower cost on APP for these machines, it really isn't a bad call, especially since iMacs have built-in LCDs.</div> <div> posted in <a href="http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq">OS X FAQ</a> - 0 replies </div>

jory 2005-11-28T19:26:44Z jory http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq/thread/d5f2c30e-3e99-4d30-9d24-37aab563f891 2005-11-28T19:21:22Z 2005-11-28T19:21:22Z

<div>A very frequent question indeed! <br/> <br/>Before asking you can search http://MacUpdate.com and http://VersionTracker.com, as well as http://Google.com <br/> <br/>If you don't find an answer in any of those three places, then submit a question to the OS X tribe ( http://osx.tribe.net )</div> <div> posted in <a href="http://tribes.tribe.net/osxfaq">OS X FAQ</a> - 0 replies </div>

jory 2005-11-28T19:21:22Z