System extension cannot be used:
I received an error that the CNQL2406_ClassicNotSeize.kext was not installed correctly. Turns out after a bit of internet digging, that the file isn’t even required anymore and was installed with a previous version of OS X to make our Canon Lide 60 scanner work. Would be useful if the dialog box told me that! Quick solution is just to delete the file from the /System/Library/Extensions/ folder.
Apple launched the OS X Mac App Store on 6 Jan 2011. A standalone application that replicates the iTunes App Store (now featuring over 300,000 apps) used for buying Applications for the iPod Touch and the iPhone. The Mac App Store uses an iTunes account (Apple ID) but does not require iTunes to run. There are featured applications, Top Charts and Categories as well as Search to find applications you are looking for.
From a user perspective the applications seem to be reasonably priced and are a one-click install with no unzipping or mounting .dmg files as is usually the case on the Mac. Once apps are purchased from the store an icon appears in the dock at the bottom of the screen and you are ready to use. Upgrades are handled for the user also. For developers they get the same deal as wih the iOS focus app store. Apple take 30% with the developer getting 70%. For this Apple provide the hosting and the developer avoids having to focus on promotion and distribution as would be the case on their own site.
Since Apple provides a level of quality control to all the Apps submitted to the Mac App Store (in the same way as is applied to the iTunes App Store) there is some assurance that the Apps work okay. However, it also means that Apps written using non-standard or a custom API cannot get their App onto the store. Apple have also removed their old software catalogue section from their website which used to showcase applications available from Apple and 3rd parties.
Having initially thought that the idea would not transfer well to a “proper computer”, I have been pleasantly surprised by the Mac App Store. Although on a phone it is more or less essential to click your way round, rather than type URLs or command line instructions, I was not convinced that this reasoning would stand when a full size screen and keyboard were available. Clearly there will be some that will rule out the Mac App Store as stifling their freedom or not allowing a certain piece of software to run. Many will be on Linux already though. I think they will be in the low single percentage points of Mac users who won’t be able to use the Mac App Store for the fast majority of their application purchases. There is still a segment of the population that have yet to embrace computers at all and this kind of development is a step in the right direction to getting computers working more like consumer electronics.
If Apple could lower their prices slightly at the bottom end of their range and Windows doesn’t gain a near identical feature in Windows 8, Macs could see a growth in percentage share over the next year or two.
1Password for Mac is a password management tool. It is also available for PC and iPhone and iPad. There is a trial version that works for 7 days and the full version costs $40. There are free alternatives but the having tried a couple the thing I like best about this product is the option for one-click to open a website and enter the username and password details. I had previously been using Firefox to remember my passwords but the advantages of 1Password are the availability of an iPhone app that can synchronise login details and the ability to secure all the passwords with a strong “master password”.
Having used the product for a week I so far have had few problems with it. I initially imported my stored passwords from Firefox and started to sort through and delete the old passwords and sites that no longer existed! I was surprised to discover that Firefox was remembering 130 passwords for sites on the internet and this didn’t include some that I have stored in my head. 1Password allows auto-filling of passwords in both Safari and Firefox and to cross-browser functionality works well.
Google have launched the Google Chrome web browser for Mac.
Here are a few fun facts from us on the Google Chrome for Mac team:
73,804 lines of Mac-specific code written
29 developer builds
1,177 Mac-specific bugs fixed
12 external committers and bug editors to the Google Chrome for Mac code base, 48 external code contributors
64 Mac Minis doing continuous builds and tests
8,760 cups of soft drinks and coffee consumed
4,380 frosted mini-wheats eaten
Sounds like not very many soft drinks or mini-wheats (whatever they are?)
Time Capsule Memorial
Apple’s Time Capsule backup device is a wi-fi router and single hard drive in one box. Although rather expensive compared to the cost of a stand alone external hard drive they do have the advantage of the slick Apple styling.
Unfortunately it appears that the, as advertised “server grade” hard drives don’t last as long as some might expect. The Time Capsule Memorial site currently lists over 500 devices that have died, with an average lifespan of 17 months.
Many people have previously stated that a backup solution based on a single hard drive was flawed from the outset.
Apple have released details on Snow Leopard, the latest version of Mac OS X. Key features inlude better support multi-core processors with Grand Central Dispatch and OpenCL to use the powerful graphics chips (GPU) for more than just graphics. It also boasts a 6GB reduction in hard disc footprint by removing legacy code.
March 2009 has seen updates to the remainder of the Macintosh range following the much publicised Macbook updates earlier in the year. The Mac Mini looking very long in the tooth has been tweeked externally with a Display Port (and mini-DVI) and extra USB (bringing the total to 5). The biggest internal changes are the addition of Core 2 Duo and the upgrade of the graphics to an Nvidia 9400M. This uses shared system memory but is still a marked improvement and sets the way for Open CL functionality coming in the Snow Leopard version on OS X (10.6).
The iMac and Mac Pro have seen updates beefing up the internals with no change to the externals.
Apple Mac Mini
