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Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me read data from my nano
Dear Aunt TUAW, Greetings from overseas from the long-lost branch of Dutch family members and thanks for al. your helpful posts. My question is the following. I have an iPod nano (sixth generation) which I use quite often as a flash drive. The problem is that I can not use it on a Windows PC since I have set it up initially with my Mac. Is there any way to make this work since quite a lot of people around me (still) use Windows PCs? Your loving nephew, Ivo Dear Ivo, The Windows-OS X file system divide is one of long standing. Unfortunately, the last time Auntie dealt with this problem herself was a badjillion years ago, back when MacOpener was still relevant. So take that in mind as she dishes out advice from the age of the dinosaurs. Your nano is normally formatted using Apple's HFS+ file system. A utility like MediaFour's MacDrive or Paragon's HFS for Windows may solve the problem for you. According to their marketing text, they allow you to mount, read, and write OS X formats from Windows. Each costs US$20 but both utilities offer a free trial, so you can make sure your nano is readable on your Win PC before putting down your money. Hugs, Auntie T.
Seagate reveals 9mm 2.5-inch GoFlex external HDD, third-party GoFlex certification process
CES is just kicking off in earnest tonight in Vegas, and Seagate's wasting no time in dishing out a smattering of new releases. Up first is the outfit's slimmest external drive yet: the new, ultrathin GoFlex HDD, which holds a 2.5-inch drive within, but measures just 9mm thick -- that's 38 percent slimmer than the existing GoFlex drive. At least initially, it'll only be offered in a 320GB model, and the USB 3.0 port ensures that it'll run laps around your older USB 2.0 model. Mum's the word on pricing, but you can expect it to ship out this spring. Moving on, there's a new raft of GoFlex for Mac external drives, which arrive HFS+ formatted and ready to play nice with Time Machine. Each one ships with FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 adapters, but allow for USB 3.0 or eSATA to be used with Windows PCs. The GoFlex for Mac houses a 2.5-inch HDD and will sell for $199.99 (1TB) / $249.99 (1.5TB), while the limited edition of that very product will only be available in a 1TB ($199.99) version. There's also a GoFlex Pro for Mac, housing a 7200RPM 2.5-inch HDD and costing $149.99 (500GB) or $179.99 (750GB). Wrapping up this collection, there's a GoFlex for Mac drive that'll go for $219.99 (2TB) or $279.99 (2TB). Lastly, and potentially more importantly, Seagate is finally opening up the GoFlex standard that it has been pushing so vigorously of late. As of now, the only products that support the GoFlex platform -- which allows various connectors to be attached to your existing HDDs -- are Seagate-branded. But today, Seagate's revealing a Certified GoFlex Storage System that'll enable third-party vendors to make wares that are also welcome in the family. Here at CES, the company is planning to showcase a line of prototype concept devices, and while we've yet to see what exactly those are, we are told that the certification also endorses the soon to be established SATA-IO Universal Storage Module (USM) specification. Better still, a number of other companies (Antec, GIEC, Hi-Sense, Ionics and Thermaltake) are planning to showcase GoFlex-approved gear here at the show, including a TV, a laptop, desktop PC, "plug computer," DVR and docking station. Needless to say, the possibilities here are near-endless, and we're definitely looking forward to see just how many odd places a GoFlex adapter ends up. Update: We just got a look at what the SATA-IO USM modules slots might look built into the likes of a ThermalTake case -- spot them immediately below! %Gallery-112190%%Gallery-112580%
Ask TUAW: Automatic file sorting, Disk Utility, iPod battery replacement, and more
Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we've got questions about automatically sorting downloaded files, using Disk Utility to change partitions and format external drives, using a KVM in a multi-platform environment, replacing an iPod touch battery, and more. As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. Leave your questions for next week in the comments section at the end of this post. When asking a question, please include which machine you're using and what version of Mac OS X is installed on it (we'll assume you're running Snow Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify), or if it's an iPhone-related question, which iPhone version and OS version you have.
Linux creator disses Leopard file system
During the latest Linux conference in Melbourne, Australia, Linus Torvalds was quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald saying that the Leopard file system was "complete and utter crap." As you may know, Torvalds is the parent of the Linux kernel. He said that he still prefers Leopard to Windows Vista; However, he went on to say that both companies are using their operating systems to propel more software and hardware sales. We'll refrain from commenting on various drawbacks of Linux distributions when compared to Mac OS X, but if you're curious about the challenges and pleasures found when moving to Linux, have a look at the Flipping the Linux Switch series produced by our colleagues at Download Squad. [via MacNN]
Things that make Time Machine cranky
Hey there, Austin Powers, are you having trouble getting your Time Machine to be-have? Two Apple tech notes spotted by Macfixit.com point up a pair of issues that may prevent your backup mojo from working. First, if Time Machine backs up about 10 gigabytes and then stalls out, you probably need to reformat your target drive with either GUID or APM partitioning (depending on whether you're backing up an Intel or a PPC machine; no word on what to do if you plan to back up a mixed environment to the same drive). Second, if your backup files don't show up in the Space: 1999 interface, chances are you've got non-alphanumeric characters in your computer name, and you'll have to change that before TM will work properly. If you've upgraded your computer, you need to give the new machine the same name as the old one. It's not yet clear why the machine name is crucial to proper TM functionality -- perhaps the path names need to be "UNIX legal" to work with TM's linking scheme? In any case, try these two tips if your Time Machine is trapped in feudal Japan. [via Macfixit]
Leopard Spotlight: Preparing for Time Machine
One of the most visible new features in Leopard is Apple's integrated backup tool, Time Machine. Taking backups -- a chore that few people do and even fewer do correctly -- and making them one-click simple is bound to improve the lives of millions of Mac users who, despite being practically perfect in every way, sometimes delete files they don't mean to delete. (I know, painful but true.) There is a lot of excitement about Time Machine, but also some confusion; reader Matteo wrote in from Switzerland to ask that we cover some basics for setting up Time Machine. Your wish; our command. Most of our answers are gleaned from Apple's feature page for TM, a worthwhile read.
Leopard does / does not use ZFS, part III: it does! (kinda)
Hopefully this is the last time we'll be forced to post on this topic, but we're not holding our breath: now InformationWeek -- which quoted an Apple executive this morning stating the polar opposite -- is reporting that Sun's ZFS file system IS in fact included in Leopard, albeit with a number of huge caveats. According to a company spokesperson seeking to clear up Brian Croll's "misstatement," while HFS+ continues to be the primary system used in OS X, ZFS has been coded in as a latent, "read-only option available from the command line." An IW reader claims to have accessed the system through Disk Utility's Erase menu, and states that "ZFS is only available on non-boot drives on Sun systems, so this is also the case for Leopard" -- seemingly reinforcing Croll's later assertion that Apple is really only "exploring it as a file system option for high-end storage systems with really large storage." So there you have it: Sun's Jonathan Schwartz wasn't pulling our leg after all, even if ZFS fanboys won't be pleased with the (presumably) final word on this.
Iomega unveils 1TB UltraMax and 120GB Black external HDDs
Iomega's got a soft spot for Mac users (or pre-formatted HFS+ drives), as its two new external storage options both come ready to rock on OS X. On the desktop side, a whopping 1TB now sits behind the unmistakable cheese-grater grille (up from the previous 640GB and 750GB options) in the latest UltraMax drive. Moreover, the unit comes with FireWire 400/800 and USB 2.0 connectivity, a built-in port hub, and cables for all three connectors. The twin 7200RPM SATA drives support both RAID 0/1 and JBOD, while those looking for backup software will be elated to find EMC's Retrospect Express packaged in. On the portable front, the 5400RPM 120GB Black hard drive needs no AC adapter to get to spinnin', and features both FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 ports while weighing just 5.8-ounces and receiving the same backup application as the big guy. Both drives can be snapped up right now, and while the presumably PowerMac-inspired 1TB UltraMax will run you $499.95, the pocket-friendly Black only demands $189.95.[Via TGDaily]
ZFS in Leopard?
The French site Mac4Ever appears to have found evidence (in the newest developer release) that Leopard will include the ZFS file system to supplement HFS+. What is ZFS you ask, and why should you care? Well ZFS is a pretty darn cool next generation file system created by Sun that includes a variety of cool new features for protecting your data (if any file system features can properly be called "cool"). John Siracusa over at arstechnica has written about ZFS several times, rather excitedly. I'll let him explain what the excitement is about: "ZFS does away with the old restrictions on volume size and scope, while also addressing data integrity and performance issues, all from a purely software perspective. (Like one slide says, "ZFS loves cheap disks!")The end game is a world where storage-even personal storage-actually behaves like the magically intelligent, infinitely expandable cloud that we'd all like to think it is, and less like those temperamental little cylinders (to use some diagram-speak, if I may). It's daring, free-thinking stuff."If this is true and ZFS is in fact shipping with Leopard, it may go a long way towards explaining how Time Machine will work in the final release, despite the fact that in the original developer release Time Machine did not use ZFS. It would be yet another example of Apple being out on the edge and leading the mainstream PC industry (linux hackers don't count) forward.[Via Digg through OSNews]
MacDrive 6 - read/write Mac-formatted drives and discs on Windows
If, for one reason or another, you just can't get around having to work on a PC either at school, in the office or elsewhere, MacDrive for Windows 98 - XP might alleviate some of those daily headaches you've been having. Recently updated to version 6, MacDrive enables Windows to open, read from, write to and even format Mac OS-formatted discs and drives (HFS/HFS ). While this includes hard drives, CDs, DVDs, floppies (uh, what's a flop-y?), Zip, Jaz, SyQuest and more, CD and DVD burning is only available for Win 2K, 2K3 and XP. The beauty of MacDrive, or so Mediafour's website boasts, is that working with HFS/HFS drives is completely seamless once the software is installed - no learning curve, no extra steps. While I (fortunately) don't have a Windows machine to test this, Mediafour offers a free trial (form link). MacDrive costs $50, and Mediafour offers a 30-day "Love it or Return it" money-back guarantee.
