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Snow Leopard and Lion neck and neck on Thunderbolt file transfers
Macworld has been doing some more testing in Thunderbolt performance, this time between the Snow Leopard and Lion operating systems. The results say that if you spent that $30 on Lion just so your Thunderbolt connection would go faster, you probably wasted your money. Results weren't that different, coming in only a few megabytes a second apart but still well within the optimum speed for the various transfer services. In general, Thunderbolt's going to be fast no matter what operating system you're using it on. Macworld also did some testing between the MacBook Air and the 17" MacBook Pro, and again, while the Air's flash memory gave it the edge in a file writing test, most of the speeds didn't differ more than a couple of megabytes. In other words, there are quite a few other, more important considerations to keep in mind when you're looking for a system, besides just how it runs Thunderbolt. If you're looking for what will really limit or boost your file transfer performance, you'd do better to look elsewhere.
Snow Leopard to get iCloud support in 10.6.9 update?
Apparently those of you who aren't upgrading to Cupertino's latest and greatest desktop OS will be able to sling bits through iCloud with the upcoming 10.6.9 update. The screenshot above comes via an eagle-eyed developer, who's already upgraded his MobileMe account to the service and also happened to open its forebearer's preference pane on a machine running Tiger. No word on when it'll drop (we'd place our bets alongside iOS 5's launch this fall), but looks like those of you running Snow Leopard got some readin' to do.
Rumor: iCloud support coming in Snow Leopard 10.6.9
According to a image sent in to MacRumors, iCloud support may be coming to Snow Leopard users. As you can see in the screenshot above, the .Mac preference pane in a previous OS X's System Preferences reads: "You will no longer be able to sync with this machine because you've upgraded to iCloud. iCloud requires a computer running Mac OS X Snow Leopard v10.6.9 or later for Contacts, Calendars, and Bookmarks." This message appeared in OS X 10.4 Tiger after a developer updated his MobileMe account to an iCloud account. The notice appears to be the first indication that OS X 10.6.9 is in the works. Presumably it will only include minor bug fixes and provide limited iCloud support for Snow Leopard. Currently Apple states that iCloud will require OS X 10.7, but that is presumably for the more advanced Documents, iTunes Match, Photo Stream, and Backups features. It's reasonable to assume Apple isn't going to lock non-Lion users out of their @me.com email addresses.
Mac 101: Additional tips for OS X Lion's Mission Control
TUAW's Dave Caolo did an in-depth look at OS X Lion's new window/application manager, Mission Control, the day of OS X Lion's launch. If you're completely confused about Mission Control's features, Dave's post is a good place to get a baseline of knowledge on this new feature. In this post, I'll be covering two additional features of Mission Control that will help alleviate some of the confusion associated with it, especially if you're used to the way Spaces worked in earlier versions of Mac OS X. Tip 1: Assigning applications to a specific Desktop Mac OS X Snow Leopard had a preference pane in System Preferences that allowed you to assign applications to a particular Space. Unfortunately, Mission Control's preference pane in OS X Lion has no such feature, which has led to a lot of confusion amongst users who were comfortable with Snow Leopard's method of assigning apps to Spaces. It turns out this feature hasn't vanished altogether in OS X Lion, but it has been moved to a somewhat less "discoverable" location. It's also less configurable than the preference pane setup Spaces had in Snow Leopard, but that may actually be of benefit to novice users. First, use Mission Control to navigate to the Desktop you want your application to be assigned to. Once there, right click the Dock icon for the application you want to assign -- if the application isn't one you normally keep in the Dock, you'll need to launch the app first. After right clicking the app's icon, you'll see a contextual menu pop up. On this menu, under Options, you'll see a submenu called "Assign To" with three different options: All Desktops, This Desktop, or None. "All Desktops" is just that; the app will follow you around no matter which Desktop you're using. "This Desktop" will "pin" the app and its windows to your current Desktop, both now and for all future launches of the application. You can still move windows between Desktops manually if you desire, but by default they'll open in the assigned Desktop. The third option, "None," is the default; applications aren't assigned to any particular Desktop, will simply launch in whichever one you're currently using, and will stay there when you navigate to a different Desktop. Assigning applications to a particular Desktop can help a lot in keeping things organized. I'll offer my own setup as an example: Desktop 1: Safari, Echofon, Mail, iChat -- My main Desktop gets all my communication tools assigned together. Desktop 2: Aperture, Photoshop -- All my photo editing apps in one spot. Desktop 3: Pages, Keynote, Numbers -- I have this desktop set aside for "Productivity" apps. Desktop 4: iMovie, Handbrake -- This Desktop is devoted to video editing/transcoding apps. All Desktops: Finder -- Obviously I don't want to move to a different Desktop every time I need to dive into the file system. This may not be true for all users migrating from Snow Leopard, but my Spaces preferences from Snow Leopard carried over to Lion, so I didn't have to re-assign any applications after upgrading. Tip 2: Assign a different wallpaper to each Desktop A feature I always wanted to see in Snow Leopard's Spaces was the ability to assign different background pictures to each Space in order to make them visually distinctive. Without that, it was sometimes difficult to tell which Space I was in. This feature has found its way into OS X Lion, and it's quite simple to set up, especially if you already know how to change your desktop background (easy to find in System Preferences under "Desktop & Screen Saver"). To simplify things, first assign System Preferences to "All Desktops" using the tip above -- this will save you some headaches if you're changing multiple Desktop backgrounds at once. Then, navigate to the Desktop whose background you want to change. Once there, change the background in System Preferences. Simple. Using different backgrounds for each of your Desktops will make navigating between them in Mission Control much easier -- especially since Apple hasn't yet implemented any way to rename Desktops. Hopefully these two tips will help you get more out of Mission Control than you would otherwise. The feature is above all meant to help you organize things and make them easier to navigate, but it does take some tweaking to get Mission Control to realize its full potential.
The Washington Post reflects on Lion's first week of availability
Like the rest of us, the Washington Post is taking a look at Lion after a week of use. It's mostly positive, but writer Hayley Tsukayama finds Lion a bit quirky. Chief criticisms are the change to natural scrolling (which can be turned off) and some of the complicated gestures when using a track pad. Mission Control also gets a thumbs down. The positives from Tsukayama's perspective are the stability, overall simplicity and increased security of Lion. The article suggests a person test drive it for awhile before pulling the trigger if you harbor some doubts. I know in my case I turned off many of the new features to make Lion more like Snow Leopard. I was also disappointed in the mail bugs (it just doesn't work with some POP accounts and I have a 13 year old legacy account I still want to use) and my network attached storage is defunct unless I get (fingers crossed) a firmware update. OK, readers. After a week of use is Lion a hit or a miss for you? Or more of a mixed bag? What should Apple do to make you happy?
Mac OS X 10.6.8 v.1.1 and Supplemental Update issued
If you haven't made the upgrade to OS X Lion yet, Apple has a couple updates available for your Snow Leopard-running Mac. These updates come in two flavors, depending on whether you've updated to OS X 10.6.8 already or not. For those running 10.6.7 or below, there's Mac OS X 10.6.8 v.1.1. This 453 MB update bundles together the already-released Mac OS X 10.6.8 update with a supplemental update, also issued today. If you haven't updated to 10.6.8, that's the update you want. If you've already updated to 10.6.8, you want the Mac OS X 10.6.8 Supplemental Update, which fixes a couple issues from the 10.6.8 update and also appears to bundle in the Migration Assistant Update that Apple released just before Lion's launch. This update is just over 10 MB. If you're still confused about which update you want, the easiest route is to just run Software Update from the Apple Menu and let it figure things out for you.
Migration Assistant Update for Mac OS X Snow Leopard released
On the eve of the launch of OS X Lion, Apple has released a Migration Assistant update for Mac OS X Snow Leopard. The 714 KB update issues the following fix: This update addresses an issue with the Migration Assistant application in Mac OS X Snow Leopard that prevents transfer of your personal data, settings, and compatible applications from a Mac running Mac OS X Snow Leopard to a new Mac running Mac OS X Lion. In other words, this sounds like a critical update for anyone running Snow Leopard on their current Mac but planning on moving their data over to a new Mac with Lion as its OS.
Software Update: Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 5, Mac OS X 10.5 Update 10
Java for Mac OS X 10.6 has just been updated to Update 5, and a visit to Software Update will bring the latest and greatest version of Java to your Mac. If you're still using Leopard, Java for Mac OS X 10.5 is now at Update 10. According to the release notes, "Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 5 delivers improved reliability, security, and compatibility for Java SE 6. Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 5 supersedes all previous versions of Java for Mac OS X 10.6." The Snow Leopard release is only for Mac OS X 10.6.6 and later. The Leopard updater is available for Mac OS X 10.5.8 and Mac OS X Server 10.5.8. The security notes for the updates state that the new version fixes "multiple vulnerabilities in Java 1.6.0_24, the most serious of which may allow an untrusted Java applet to execute arbitrary code outside the Java sandbox." The updaters bump Java to version 1.6.0_26. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4593 has more details about the updates. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222 will be the location for information about the security content of the updates, although that information had not yet been posted by Apple at the time this article was written. You can check out all our software update posts on the right hand side of TUAW.com or on this page.
Mac OS X 10.6.8 update now available
It looks like Apple's getting another fix in before Lion slinks on to the scene. Mac OS X 10.6.8 is now available for download, and brings with it a number of "general operating system fixes," including further support for IPv6, improved VPN reliability, and removal of known variants of Mac Defender. It also promises to fix a glitch that has Preview randomly shutting down, and will get the App Store ready to roar for when Lion lands on the scene. We're getting it going on our laptop at home. If you've done the same, let us know how it's working out for you.
What Mac owners need to know after today's WWDC announcements
With Mac OS X Lion coming in July and the free iCloud service coming in the fall, owning a Mac is about to get a whole lot more exciting. Today's WWDC keynote was full of announcements about the new services Lion and iCloud will offer, and whether you're a Mac newbie or an old hand, it's worth looking at a condensed list of what this means for the future of the Mac. Mac OS X Lion 1. Lion will be available in July, and it only costs US$29.99 for all your devices. Quite a few people expected the next version of Mac OS X to be cheaper than the $129 Apple charged for the first five versions, but we were pleasantly shocked to see it being offered for the same price as the current version, Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Not only that, but your OS X Lion install is valid for any Mac you own, meaning "family versions," the more expensive multi-user OS X versions Apple used to offer, are now a thing of the past. That's largely because... 2. Lion will only be available through the Mac App Store. Apple has made it so you no longer need to buy a retail box with a disc containing the Mac OS X installer. This makes it so you can install Lion on any Mac associated with your iTunes account. There are some unaddressed questions about this process (more on that later), but one thing is certain: if Lion is only available via the Mac App Store, that means it's only available to Snow Leopard users. The Mac App Store isn't available on Mac OS X Leopard or earlier versions, so if you haven't updated to Snow Leopard yet, it looks like a Leopard-to-Lion upgrade will actually cost you about $60. 3. If you have a desktop Mac, now's a good time to go get a Magic Trackpad. Apple has gone full-tilt on integrating Multi-Touch gestures into Mac OS X. The company started integrating such gestures in early 2008, but Mac OS X Lion is making them an integral part of the OS. If you want to get the most out of Lion, and you have a Mac mini, iMac or a Mac Pro, you'll need a Magic Trackpad to take full advantage of features such as Mission Control. Meanwhile, almost all Mac notebooks manufactured after early 2008 should be able to use the new gestures. 4. Mac OS X is taking some design cues from iOS. Launchpad, a simplified-app launcher, should be familiar to anyone who's used an iPhone or iPad. Apps can run in full screen if you choose, emulating the "one thing at a time" nature of working on the iPad. Mail is getting a new dual-column layout, with conversation views identical to what we've had in iOS for some time now. Also similar to the way things work in iOS, apps will resume right where you left them when you reopen them. Speaking of which... 5. Saving and backing up files will be easier than ever. The way Apple's described it, you might never need to worry about losing an in-progess file again -- or manually saving it, for that matter. Taking another cue from the way things have worked on iOS, applications will now automatically save your work as you go. The new Versions feature will also keep track of different saved versions of your work, similar to the way Time Machine's worked for file backups since Mac OS X Leopard. With this feature, one of the decades-long bugbears of the computing world has been addressed at last; now, if an app or your computer crashes out, your work will always be safe. iCloud 1. iCloud replaces MobileMe -- for free. If you were always eyeing up MobileMe's services but didn't want to shell out the $99/year Apple was asking for, worry no longer. Everything MobileMe used to do, iCloud will do for free, starting this fall. 2. iCloud wirelessly syncs data across all your devices. If you've got iOS devices or are a multi-Mac household, you'll find iCloud makes it easy to keep data synced from one device to another. This means you can keep your mail, calendar entries, and contacts synced across multiple devices, automatically and wirelessly. MobileMe has done this for years (and .Mac before it), but iCloud will do it free of charge, so there's no reason not to use it. 3. Photo Stream makes syncing recent photos manually a thing of the past. A thousand of your latest photos can be synced between devices immediately over iCloud. So if you take a photo on your iPhone or iPad 2, it'll show up on your Mac right away, without having to hook your devices together first. The latest 1,000 photos on your Mac can also be streamed to an iOS device over iCloud. 4. iTunes Music purchases now appear everywhere. Buy a song in the iTunes Store on your iPhone, and it shows up automatically on your Mac. Buy a song in iTunes on your Mac, and it shows up automatically on your iPhone. This is a feature people have been wanting for years now, and it's finally available. Unanswered questions 1. How can you install Mac OS X Lion on a new, empty hard drive? If the only way to install Mac OS X Lion is by downloading it via the Mac App Store, it's going to be very difficult to put it on a brand-new hard drive unless Apple provides us with workarounds. Maybe you'll be able to burn your copy of Lion to disc after downloading it or install it on a USB drive. At any rate, I hope Apple gives us an answer to this besides "keep your Snow Leopard disc handy" or "use Target Disk Mode with another Mac," because both of those solutions are suboptimal, to put it lightly. 2. Will Lion be available on disk for institutional use (schools, corporations) or for users with poor internet access? Some of us at TUAW think Apple might still offer Lion on disc for institutional use at schools or businesses, but it's too early to tell if that's the case. As for individuals with poor internet access, you're probably out of luck; the writing has been on the wall for those users ever since Apple stopped bundling iTunes installation discs with iPods. Mac OS X Lion will be available for download next month, and iCloud will debut in the fall. Put the two together, and the Mac becomes more powerful than ever before.
Apple cracks down on MacDefender, prevents malware downloads with daily quarantine list
Preconceptions aside, Apple products do occasionally spread viruses, and not just the biological kind, which is why Cupertino saw fit to equip Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard with a quarantine function to safely set malware aside. This week, however, Apple's kicking those digital white blood cells into high gear, updating that quarantine list daily with a new background process. The company's primarily got its crosshairs on the recent MacDefender scare, of course, but on the off-chance malware starts coming out of the woodwork, it sounds like you won't have to wait for a formal security update to be forewarned of the dangers. If privacy's your primary concern, however, you can also opt-out -- take a gander at our source links to see how it's done. [Thanks, Jake]
Mac Security Update 2011-003 now hunting MacDefender
Mac Security Update 2011-003 has appeared in Software Update and is available for immediate download and installation. According to KB article HT4657, the update provides a File Quarantine definition for the OSX.MacDefender.A malware and Mac OS X 10.6.7 will now automatically update the definitions on a daily basis. The update will also search for and remove MacDefender and its known variants. If you prefer to defuse your malware manually, be sure to refer to our guide. The update will be available later directly from Apple Downloads, and we'll update this post with a direct link at that time.
Upcoming MacDefender patch is not the first AV tweak to Mac OS X
This upcoming MacDefender patch is not the first time Apple has tweaked Mac OS X in response to a malware threat. Many people forgot that recent versions of OS X were designed with a built-in malware detection system. Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5 Leopard had a validation system called File Quarantine. In Leopard, it triggered a warning dialog box when you opened a file that was downloaded from your browser, email client or iChat. OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard improved upon File Quarantine by adding a system to check files against known malware definitions. These definitions were stored in the XProtect.plist file. Just last year, the 10.6.4 release of Snow Leopard contained a malware tweak to detect a backdoor Trojan horse. This fix was not mentioned in the OS X documentation, but security firm Sophos noticed a new entry in the XProtect.plist file for the Pinhead-B threat. This Trojan horse was distributed as a ripped copy of iPhoto. If you installed the fake program, hackers could use your Mac to send spam, take screenshots or snoop through your files. Unlike the MacDefender threat, the iPhoto Trojan horse was dismissed by the Mac community. Infected people were pirating software and brought this upon themselves. MacDefender, though, is a whole new ballgame. People encounter it while innocently browsing the Web and are easily duped into believing the Apple Security Center is real. It's not the apocalypse, but it's definitely a wake up call. [Via Sophos and Macworld]
iTunes, Tiger, and irrational ire: The difference between updates and upgrades
Update: After we posted this story, reader Nate emailed us to suggest that if you find yourself in Rupert Jones' shoes (with a new iOS device that requires Leopard/iTunes 10 for sync support, but still running Tiger on your Intel Mac), call AppleCare. He says that Apple's support team will ask you for your iPhone/iPad/iPod touch serial number... and then send you a copy of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, free of charge. No word on whether this is official policy or merely an ad-hoc accommodation, and it's possible that the upgrade deal is only available to US customers, but it's worth a shot. --- Rupert Jones of the Guardian recently discovered -- to his utter shock and dismay -- that his four-year-old MacBook running a nearly four-year-old OS can't run current software without being upgraded. His MacBook runs Tiger, which means he can't run iTunes 10, which further means he can't sync with any of Apple's latest portable gear. Anyone reading this probably knows the next step: pay to upgrade to Leopard, download iTunes 10, and get on with your day/week/life. In fact, I'm willing to bet that our readers knew about OS X Leopard when it first launched in late 2007, and chose an upgrade path long ago, whether it was buying Leopard on a disc or upgrading to a new Mac with the OS pre-installed. Most of you probably also moved up to Snow Leopard when it launched, or within a few months. Rupert Jones didn't do either of those things. In the three and a half years since OS X Leopard's release, he chose to stick with an older iteration of Mac OS X. And four years later, he's blaming Apple for his inability to run current software or sync with current hardware. According to Jones, Apple is "penalizing" him and "thousands of other loyal customers," and not enabling iTunes 10 to run on older versions of Mac OS X amounts to telling these customers their computers are obsolete. "It seems we have been left with gadgets we can't use, unless we pay more money for a software update," Jones opines. There's a basic problem underlying this argument: like many people, Jones apparently doesn't understand the difference between a software update and an upgrade. That difference is usually simple, and it boils down to dollars. Updates are (mostly) free. Upgrades are (mostly) not.
Report: 68% of Mac users running Snow Leopard
As GigaOm points out, a new report from Net Applications shows that 68% of Mac users are running OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. Mac OS X 10.5 is a distant second at 24%, while Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger holds just 6% of the Mac market. The remaining 2% is made up of Macs running Mac OS X 10.3 or below. For those of you keeping track, the highest ever adoption of a Mac OS was 10.5 Leopard, which reached a 71% Mac market share in July 2009, a month before Snow Leopard shipped. Net Application's numbers are interesting, but I'd like to find out what OS a majority of our readers are running. Vote in the poll below -- and if anyone is still running OS 9, you're gonna have to let me know why in the comments. %Poll-63270%
Scroll Reverser brings Lion, iOS reverse scrolling to Snow Leopard
One of the more surprising features of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion has been the change to reverse scrolling. With reverse scrolling, your hand actually moves up to scroll down a page. This is contrary to the common method of scrolling that is used in most major operating systems, where the hand moves down to scroll down. Reverse scrolling is used on iOS devices, where it feels very natural -- it's like you're moving a piece of paper up and down in a frame to reveal the content on it. While reverse scrolling can be turned off in Lion through System Preferences, many developers who are beginning to work with the Lion developer preview find that they prefer this very iOS-like way of interfacing with their Macs. Those developers are at a disadvantage when they switch back to earlier versions of Mac OS X -- they basically have to remember what OS they're working with and make a mental switch to the proper scrolling direction. Now, developer Nick Moore has created a small utility to reverse the scrolling on Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6. Scroll Reverser (free) adds a menu bar item allowing the direction of scrolling to be toggled. That's perfect for developers who want to keep their Macs as Lion-like as possible, but would like the ability to go back to the tried-and-true direct scroll when necessary. If you aren't a developer and would like to get a taste of what reverse scrolling feels like, download the utility and give it a try. [via Mac OS X Daily]
Safari 5.0.5 and Security Update 2011-002 now in Software Update
Seems like the update fairy has been very busy today. In addition to the iOS 4.3.2/4.2.7 updates that appeared moments ago, Mac OS X users can now download Safari 5.0.5 and Security Update 2011-002. Details on these updates are not yet on Apple's security page, but they should be showing up shortly. Please note that both the security update and Safari update require a reboot.
Air Display for Mac: Turn another Mac into an extended display
One very popular and fun iPhone / iPad app that I love to use is Avatron Software's Air Display. As we described in a First Look back in May of 2010, Air Display turns an iOS device into a small wireless monitor that can be used to display app windows from a Mac or Windows computer. Now Avatron has made Air Display even more useful by creating a Mac app to do the same thing. Air Display for Mac (US$19.99 in the Mac App Store) is a bit more expensive than its iOS sibling, but it's also more capable than the mobile device version -- especially if you have a second Mac with a large screen. Similar to Air Display for iOS, Air Display turns a Mac into a wireless display for extending the desktop of your other Mac or Windows computer. Air Display is available in the Mac App Store, and needs to be installed on the Mac that you want to turn into a secondary display. You then need to visit the Avatron website to download the host software for your primary computer. As noted, that computer can be either a Mac (running Snow Leopard) or a Windows PC (running XP, Vista or 7). You do have to reboot the host computer during the installation process. The same host software works with both iOS and Mac extended displays.
Apple seeds sixth Mac OS 10.6.7 build to developers
Apple has seeded the sixth build of Mac OS 10.6.7 to developers for testing. Build 10J860 comes just five days after the release of the previous build, build 10J858. No known issues are reported with the build, and developers have been asked to continue focusing their attention on AirPort, SMB file sharing, Bonjour, graphics drivers and the Mac App Store application. Although no one can predict when Apple will release the public version of 10.6.7, MacRumors suggests that because of the increased pace of build turnaround and the increment of just two build numbers from 10J858 to 10J860, the development of 10.6.7 could be very near completion. AppleInsider reports the delta update weighs in at 400 MB, 34.4 MB smaller than the previous update.
Apple seeds fifth Mac OS 10.6.7 beta build to developers
This Thursday Apple seeded build 10J858 of Mac OS 10.6.7 to developers for testing. It's beginning to look a little like clockwork as yesterday it was a week since Apple released build 10J85, and just over a week before that, they released build 10J846. This is the fifth beta build of Mac OS 10.6.7 to come out within the last five weeks. As reported by MacRumors, the combo update clocks in at 1008.8 MB and 434.4 MB for the delta update. As with previous 10.6.7 builds, no known issues are reported with build 10J858. Alongside AirPort, SMB file sharing, Bonjour, graphics drivers and the Mac App Store application, Apple has added Safari to the list of items developers have been requested to concentrate their testing on. We've no way of knowing when Apple will release Mac OS 10.6.7. We can only assume it will be at some point before the release of Mac OS X Lion, which is slated for release this coming summer.