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Dear Aunt TUAW: Should I mess with my recovery partition?
Dear aunt tuaw, I'm hoping you can tell me how to perform a non-destructive reclaim of the recovery partition space. I'm on Mac OS X Lion and wish to simply reclaim that odd 700 MB without jeopardising my main partition. Your loving nephew, Oscar Dear Oscar, Auntie is sorry, but this sounds to her like an absolutely utterly terrible idea. Lots of services require that the recovery partition be left alone. Find My Mac is the first thing that comes to mind. But that's not all. Apple put that recovery partition there for a really good reason -- it's one of the best ways you get to reinstall the OS, repair your disk, or restore from Time Machine without having to deal with external discs. Sure, if you have a 64 GB SSD (Auntie does on her beloved MBA), that 700 MB represents a big chunk of space -- but Auntie feels it would be tremendously poor judgement (metaphors about "penny wise pound foolish" spring to mind) to try to proceed in the direction you're proposing. Hugs, Auntie T. Got advice for Oscar? Disagree with Auntie? Sound off in the comments.
Apple drops the 'Mac' from OS X Lion, Mountain Lion (update: began at WWDC)
Clearly, cats are in. But Mac, it seems, is out. Apple has quietly dropped the Mac name from its latest OS X Mountain Lion operating system, while also retroactively changing the Lion branding on its website. While it's clearly a marketing move and won't affect the user experience, it looks like Cupertino is further defining the line between hardware and software -- Mac is hardware, OS X is software, and that's the end of that. Apple purists will need to download the developer preview of Lion to see the change reflected on the OS side of things, though that could always change with 10.7.4. Hit up the source link to see for yourself.Update: After reviewing our WWDC coverage, it looks like Apple began referring to its latest operating system as "OS X Lion" last summer, as you can see in the banner just past the break.
Apple unleashes OS X Mountain Lion Preview to Mac Developer Program
You may still be purring your way through our in-depth preview, but Mountain Lion is now officially out of the bag, with Apple releasing a preview version of its latest OS X to the members-only Developer Program. If you're up to date on those $99/year dues, you can head on over to the Member Center to get your OS 10.8 fix, and start checking out those shiny new Messages, Reminders, Notes and Notification Center apps. Or kick up your feet and bring your desktop to the big screen with AirPlay Mirroring. If you have the Apple-approved credentials to proceed, you can find all that and more by making your way over to our source link just below.
OS X Mountain Lion 10.8 in-depth preview
Apple OS X Lion (10.7) review Apple's OS X Lion USB sticks now available online for $69 Apple updates EFI firmware on 2010 Macs: offers Lion internet recovery, not much else You can bid farewell to the days of Apple's theatrical OS reveals -- at least until OS 11 rears its head, anyway. In the meantime, the outfit has seemingly been content to strip away more and more pomp and circumstance with every subsequent big cat release. Lately, the company has settled into an evolutionary release schedule, eschewing full-fledged makeovers in favor of packing in lots of smaller changes, many of them quite granular indeed. It's a trend that can be traced as far back as 2009's OS X Snow Leopard (10.6), a name designed to drive home the point that the upgrade wasn't so much a reinvention of the wheel as a fine tuning of its predecessor, Leopard. The arrival of Lion (10.7), though, marked a full upgrade. With features like Launchpad and Mission Control, it seemed like it might be the last version Cupertino dropped before finally pulling the trigger on operating system number 11, and perhaps transitioning to something with an even stronger iOS influence. Right now, at least, the company's not ready to close the book on chapter X, but it is giving the world a first peek at 10.8. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Mountain Lion.
VLC hits version 2.0: brings presents to all the platforms (update: it's the RC version)
Open-source friend to all the video codecs, VLC media player, has hit version 2.0, bringing with it a raft of new features across Mac OS, Windows and Unix versions. VideoLAN's also brought the player kicking and screaming into this decade with a better (read; less Windows 98-looking) makeover. The PC version will include a new 64-bit edition, while Mac OS X users will get a new iTunes-esque look, playback for Blu-ray and a new native full screen mode for Lion. There's also a new subtitle manager and support for multiple videos inside RAR files. There's also two extra surprises; an iOS version makes a return to the fold, with the development of an Android version appearing in the change log. Willing to give the first release a try? The files are available for your platform of choice at the source link below. Update: This is the release candidate version, so you won't be able to update your existing version. And it looks like 64-bit Windows users will have to wait a little longer. Image credit: Felix Kühne
Apple updates EFI firmware on 2010 Macs: offers Lion internet recovery, not much else
Staring forlorn at that two-year-old MacBook, just sitting there in the corner? Well, there's good news; Apple's decided to furnish those 2010 models with a new EFI firmware update. Arriving on its MacBook Air (late 2010), iMac (mid 2010) and MacBook Pro (early 2010) models, it adds support for Lion's internet-based recovery feature -- something that's very useful for those optical drive-less MacBook Airs and Mac minis. The update also fixes a bug on Air models, where it would reset if the power button was pressed immediately after booting from deep sleep mode. You can consult your Mac's software updater for the new firmware -- it's out there now.
EFI Firmware Update brings Lion Internet Recovery to 2010-model Macs
Apple has released three EFI Firmware Updates for 2010-model Macs, including the iMac, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro. This update enables Lion Internet Recovery on those older Macs. Introduced in OS X Lion alongside the mid-2011 updates to the MacBook Air and Mac mini, Internet Recovery enables access to disk repair or OS X Lion installation options via a broadband internet connection. This is intended for use on a failed hard drive or a blank drive that's never had OS X installed on it. Together with a series of earlier firmware updates, all Macs introduced from 2010 onward now have access to Internet Recovery features -- with just one notable exception. Even the newest Mac Pro is still excluded from the support list for Internet Recovery. For both Mac Pro owners and those of you running Lion on a 2009 or earlier Mac, not having access to Internet Recovery isn't the end of the world. If you have a spare external drive, you can either build a recovery disk, or you can roll your own full Lion installer disk.
Users report Rosetta problems after Security Update 2012-001
Several OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard users are reporting that Power PC-coded apps no longer work after applying Security Update 2012-001. The Apple support boards are full of stories about Rosetta apps crashing when any command is selected from the menu bar. Complaints seem heaviest from those running older versions of Microsoft Office, Quicken, FileMaker and Photoshop. Some users have recommended unofficial workarounds for the problem (attempt at your own risk), and it isn't known if Apple will fix the issue. Rosetta was deep-sixed in Lion, but was working fine in Snow Leopard until the security update was issued on Wednesday. Rosetta was introduced in Mac OS X 10.4.4; the code-translation layer allows apps that require a PowerPC Mac to operate on Intel-based Macs. Meanwhile, this week's Lion update had its own share of issues, with a number of users seeing strange graphics on screen and getting caught in a loop where applications would not close or re-open. Fortunately, it seems that applying the 10.7.3 combo update fixed the issue for many users.
Dear Aunt TUAW: Help me find a WiFi stumbler app for Lion
Dear Aunt TUAW, I'm a Mac IT professional, and often find myself configuring, troubleshooting, and optimizing wireless networks. In the past I used AP Grapher to graph wireless strength and find competing Wi-Fi networks as I walk around my clients' offices. This allows me to pick the best channel to use with the least competition, troubleshoot wireless strength, and find the optimal location for my hardware. In Lion, AP Grapher has gone from unstable to unusable. I've found that it hasn't been updated since 2007. I have tested other Mac stumbler applications, but have yet to find one that works with Lion. Most crash on launch and others don't reliably detect wireless networks. Can you recommend a Mac application for graphing my wireless strength and recording info about competing wireless networks? Thanks! Your loving nephew, Aaron Dear Aaron, Auntie asked around and it looks like iStumbler will be your best bet. Note that it's currently at its 100 GM Candidate 3 beta stage of development. Another suggestion is the open source KisMAC. You might also want to try out the Wi-Fi diagnostics app that's bundled with Lion's Core Services. Hugs, Auntie T. Special thanks to Fraser Hess, Adrian Burgess, Alex Patsay, Harris Kleyman, Alex Sebenski and Julian Kussman.
Passware claims FileVault 2 can be cracked in under an hour, sells you the software to prove it
Lunch hours may never feel safe again. That is, if you have a Mac running Lion / FileVault 2, like leaving your computer around, or have unscrupulous colleagues. Data recovery firm Passware claims its "Forensic" edition software can decrypt files protected by FileVault 2 in just 40 minutes -- whether it's "letmein" or "H4x0rl8t0rK1tt3h" you chose to stand in its way. Using live-memory analysis over firewire, the encryption key can be accessed from FileVault's partition, gifting the pilferer privy access to keychain files and login data -- and therefore pretty much everything else. If you want to try this out for yourself, conveniently, Passware will sell you the software ($995 for a single user license) without so much as a flash of a badge.
OS X 10.7.3 causing CUI errors for some, Combo Update recommended
It's not a good thing when a simple point release of Apple's desktop OS causes a flurry of error reports with a central theme of "I just installed the 10.7.3 version of Lion and now nothing works." Last night and this morning, threads began popping up on Apple's support forum and elsewhere indicating that a flaw in the 10.7.3 delta updater is resulting in app crashes with a characteristic "CUI CUI CUI" overlay on some interface elements. While it should be noted that there are plenty of reports of users updating with no issues whatsoever, there's no denying that for those affected this is a painful and unfortunate bug. It's especially awkward for users who don't have a bootable backup or another machine to help the recovery process, because it leaves your Mac pretty much unusable. The good news (mostly) is that it should not be necessary to resort to Time Machine or other data restores to get back into working condition. Tipsters on the Apple boards and a helpful walkthrough at OS X Daily recommend using the OS X 10.7.3 Combo Updater to resolve the problem. (If that link comes up 404, it's a Safari quirk; just reload.) If you can boot your Mac into Safe Mode -- just hold down Shift during startup until the desktop or login window appears -- then you should be able to download and install the Combo Updater and proceed normally. If you can't get running in Safe Mode, you have a few options; with a second Mac running Lion or a visit to the Genius Bar, you can mount your machine in Target Disk Mode and install the combo update directly. You also can take advantage of Lion's Recovery Partition, which should be present on any machine where 10.7 was installed by the conventional process. Holding down the R key at startup will boot you into Recovery, where you can then reinstall Lion. The 10.7.3 combo update should be downloaded and installed normally as part of the recovery cycle. Do not erase your drive or restore from Time Machine, it is not necessary. The only thing that you should need is a fresh install of the OS X system, which will not impact your data or applications. While Lion is a lot more 'recoverable' than past versions of OS X thanks to the Recovery Partition and the ease of retrieving purchased apps from the Mac App Store, a self-inflicted foulup like this one reminds us all that Apple makes mistakes (sometimes really bad ones -- remember the iTunes version on Windows that ate music files?) and that the only sane pre-upgrade policy is to have solid, tested backups. The other point that bears repeating is sometimes harder for us to internalize, but it's equally valid. If your livelihood depends on your Mac (or your iPhone, or iPad, or PC) working as expected, installing any updates in the first day of availability is just plain dumb. Production machines need to be boring, predictable and unsurprising -- so leave them alone for days, weeks or months if necessary to make sure that any patches and 'improvements' you want to make don't leave you twisting in the wind on a deadline, or tearing your hair out over data loss. Thanks to Matthew and everyone who sent this in.
OS X Lion 10.7.3 released with Safari 5.1.3, Wi-Fi bug fix
The third update to OS X Lion, 10.7.3, has been released and is now available in Software Update. A list of some of 10.7.3's fixes are below. Of potentially greatest interest is the fix that purports to "resolve a Wi-Fi connection issue when waking from sleep" -- I know both of my Macs have fallen prey to this bug several times under Lion, and it's been a fairly widespread issue. Hopefully this bug has indeed been squashed once and for all. The OS X Lion v10.7.3 Update includes Safari 5.1.3 and fixes that: Add Catalan, Croatian, Greek, Hebrew, Romanian, Slovak, Thai, and Ukrainian language support Address issues when using smart cards to log into OS X Address compatibility issues with Microsoft Windows file sharing Address an issue printing Microsoft Word documents that use markup Address a graphics performance issue after sleep on some earlier iMacs that use ATI graphics Resolve a Wi-Fi connection issue when waking from sleep Address an issue that may prevent Safari from opening before joining a wireless network Fix a potential issue authenticating to an SMB DFS share Include RAW image compatibility for additional digital cameras OS X 10.7.3 is available via Software Update, or you can download it directly from Apple's support site.
Apple seeds seventh 10.7.3 beta to developers
Apple released the seventh beta of Mac OS 10.7.3 (build 11D50) to developers yesterday amid the hubbub of the financial conference call. The update lists no known issues and asks developers to focus on iCloud Document Storage, Address Book, iCal, Mail, Spotlight and Safari. The delta update is a 997.01 MB download while the combo is 1.26 GB in size. The last beta release didn't list known issues, either, so perhaps this update is almost baked and ready. If you're a developer, grab it and poke around.
Apple iBooks 2 textbooks video walkthrough and screenshots (hands-on)
We had a few minutes to browse through iBooks 2 textbooks following Apple's press conference this morning, but now we have a fully-loaded iPad 2 to play with, so we decided to spend some more time getting educated in the comfort of our in-house studio. You already had a chance to get familiar with the new app and associated media earlier today, so this time it's all about the visuals. Browse through the galley below as we explore Life on Earth before taking a front seat in Biology and getting our hands dirty with Frog Dissection. And if you're feeling brave, there's a juicy video walkthrough just past the break.
Apple iTunes U hands-on (video)
Would you like to make more money? Sure, we all would, and a great way to do that is to get a better education. There was a time when you had to go to schools or rely on shady mail-order diplomas. Now you can use your iPad and get the same thing with the new iTunes U app. It's an extension of the existing iTunes U service, which has been around for about four years despite few people knowing anything about it. This new apps should change that. Join us for a full exploration of why.
Apple iBooks 2 textbook hands-on (video)
We just got our first opportunity to get our hands on one of Apple's new interactive textbooks and we have to say, they're as good as they looked during the live event. We tried a few titles, ranging from steady textbooks to more exotic stuffs, but by far the best is the selection from E.O. Wilson called Life on Earth. Join us for full details and video demonstration of the future of learning after the break.
Apple announces free iBooks Author OS X app for publishing books to the App Store
We're here at Apple's education-themed event at the Guggenheim museum in New York City, and the company's just followed up its long-awaited textbook announcement with something unexpected: iBooks Author, a free OS X program for creating books. The intent is really for teachers and other educators to produce educational materials, but Apple says the format can apply to any genre. Aside from the free part, the real story here is ease of use, with the ability to drag and drop photos, videos and even Microsoft Word files into various templates. If you use Apple's own suite of office apps, in particular, you can drag and drop a Keynote presentation into the doc, and it'll live on as an interactive widget. (You can whip up other widgets, too, though you'll need to know Javascript or HTML.) Moving beyond the main text, authors can also arrange glossaries by highlighting and clicking words, and clicking again to add a definition. In a surprise move, Apple also said authors can publish straight to the store, though we're waiting for clarification that textbook writers and other scribes are actually exempt from Cupertino's notorious approval process. In any case, the app is available now in the App Store (for OS X Lion only, sadly) so you can cracking on that definitive Kurt Vonnegut glossary you never knew you had in you. Update: We've got our hands-on up! Update 2: Apple has confirmed some key approval and revenue-sharing details. First, authors will be subject to the same App Store approval process as developers. Writers can offer their books for free, or for as much as $14.99 -- the same price cap for textbooks sold in the store. And, like developers, authors must agree to a 70/30 revenue split, with writers pocketing 70 percent after Apple takes its share.
OS X Lion 10.7.3 build 11D46 seeded to developers (updated)
The next Lion seed is out for developers. OS X Lion 10.7.3 build 11D46 is a 1.2 GB combo update / 989 MB delta update file. This build focuses on iCloud document storage, Address Book, iCal, Mail, Spotlight and Safari. The last seed was released a week ago. Apple released 10.7.2 to the general public in October, which added iCloud support.
OS X 10.7.3 build 11D42 seeded to developers
Apple has seeded Mac OS X 10.7.3 beta build 11D42 to developers. The build comes in at 989.75 MB for those updating from 10.7.2 and 1.26 GB for those updating from any previous version of Mac OS X Lion. According to MacRumors, Apple has asked developers to focus their attention on Spotlight, Safari, Address Book, iCal and Mail. The release notes contained in build 11D42 indicate that the build will add Catalan, Croatian, Greek, Hebrew, Romanian, Slovak, Thai, and Ukrainian language support, address issues when using smart cards to log into OS X, resolve issues authenticating with directory services and address compatibility issues with Windows file sharing. Apple's last update to Lion was in October of last year with 10.7.2, which brought support for iCloud to Macs running Lion.
Firefox 9.0 offers Mac OS X Lion gesture support
Firefox 9 is out now (the public page hasn't been updated yet as of this writing, but the build is available from official links already), and while that in itself isn't really big news (the uberpopular browser updates all the time, and plenty of people have already chosen to use Chrome or another browser anyway), there is one big note in this update worth mentioning: The app will now natively support two-finger swiping gestures on your MacBook (or Magic Mouse or trackpad, if you have one of those running). That means that without extra add-ons, you can now swipe two fingers forward or back to browse through your history, in addition to the other usual gestures available to most apps, like using two fingers to scroll and so on. The update to version 9 also adds improved theme navigation for OS X Lion as well, so that's a nice bonus. One thing that's not in the app yet is an actual Lion-style full-screen mode. Firefox has its own fullscreen mode, but it's not exactly the one-app view that Apple expects. And while Firefox is easy enough to install and update on its own, there's no Mac App Store version yet. Mozilla may not be interested in running updates through Apple's App Store, but it might be easier for users to do so. At any rate, if you're running Firefox on your Mac, you should grab the update now. I personally like Firefox, but for some reason it's never run well on my MacBook, and I switched over to Chrome full time a few months ago. But it's a solid browser (aside from some issues with memory leaks, mostly having to do with Flash, in my experience), and this update adds a little more Mac-specific functionality as well.