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Facebook’s new video calling feature is specifically designed for each browser and OS combination out there. Unfortunately, Facebook didn’t account for those people using Lion (You’ve got a week Facebook).
The fix is easy however: Just change your Browser user agent to something a little more traditional and you are video chatting.
For instance, in Safari, hit up Safari 5.1-Mac and you are golden.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufdXy_NZjXc]
Apple packages an elegant little USB key with its MacBook Airs that allows you to restore Snow Leopard if your machine goes south. But with many people upgrading to Lion, few will want to go through the process of downgrading to Snow Leopard and again to Lion if the machine goes bad.
Here is a way to upgrade your USB Key to Lion as well as your MacBook Air.
MacBenTosh has posted (thanks, Danny!) a video guide showing how to format the restore key into a drive that works like a normal 8GB rewritable Flash drive. To follow along with the instructions in the video you’ll need an instance of Windows running in a virtual machine, Boot Camp or a separate PC. After restoring, the key will be shown as a 8GB drive.
From that point, Egg Freckles has posted a guide on how to create a Lion disc. Of course Lion will only be available from the App Store (or Dev site), but it’s nice to have a local, external installer.
Update: October 26th: Seagate just released a firmware update
The Post PC age is upon us and we’ve now got new iOS devices in all shapes and sizes in our homes. But getting and sharing media to all of these many devices starts to become a chore, especially when on the go. One solution is moving media into an Internet-connected NAS or the (i)Cloud.
Unfortunately, pulling that data down to your iDevice when you are on the go, especially high quality video, can be an expensive burden on your wireless data plan. Just a few movies can put you over your monthly data limit. And that’s where you have a speedy Internet connection that can handle a full screen movie. And what do you do when there is no signal (camping?) at all?
Seagate thinks they have a solution to this problem with their new $200 Goflex Satellite 500GB hard drive. Read on for the full review:
When updating the MacOS, bugs are usually a part of the ordeal. After upgrading to 10.6.8, 9to5Mac readers have had printers connected via their networks drop, optical audio out stop working, and some Parallels bugs. Never fear, there are fixes for all of these problems:
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As with just about any new Apple product release, iFixit has torn apart the Thunderbolt cable. Why a boring cable? iFixit has revealed that the new Thunderbolt cable actually has active chips inside, making transfers faster.
We found two Gennum GN2033 chips in the connector, one on each side. They were flanked by other, much smaller chips that surely added to the cable’s cost: two chips labeled S6A 1JG on one side, and chips labeled 1102F SS8370 and 131 3S on the other. Of course, there were tons of little resistors (providing impedance as needed) all around the larger chips.
Thunderbolt’s release on MacBook Pros and iMacs should be followed by new Macs coming soon. Inside the cable chip housing below
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uayELibjHEA]
Lifehacker has posted a nifty guide to building a Hackintosh, Mini style. This Hackintosh is very similar to Apple’s Mac Mini in price but more burly in specs. Hackintoshes offer a great way to learn about the innards of computers and how they work.
The end product ran up a price tag of $599.65, which is a very fair price for what you’re getting.
Here’s what you’ll need:
The squad over at Lifehacker used tonymacx86’s CustoMac Mini tool and a good suite of hardware. While this isn’t as small as a Mac Mini, it is very close and is a lot faster. Check out Lifehacker’s video above on how to set this up and visit their post for a list of hardware. We have to warn you, this isn’t for every computer user, because you need to know how to build your own computer and do a little tinkering.
If a Hackintosh Mini isn’t for you, check out tonymacx86’s guide to making a Sandy Bridge Hackintosh. Intel’s Sandy Bridge processor is rumored to be included in many of the new Macs. Why not go ahead and build one on the cheap? Tonymacx86 has all the answers.
You not only can sync your media wirelessly in iOS 5, but it appears you can enter Recovery Mode using ‘RecBoot, Etc’ from the Mac.
Does this mean the iPhone Dev Team may come out with a “Wireless Jailbreaking Tool”?
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We know Apple charges a premium on storage. That’s why many people buy RAM and HDD/SSD storage for their Macs from third party retailers, saving lots of money. With iOS devices, however, Apple is able to keep out third party upgrades because the devices are sealed shut. That’s why a device with 16GB costs $100 less than a device with 32GB of RAM, which in turn costs $100 less than a device with 64GB of flash storage. Apple buys Flash for less than anyone else on earth but mere mortals can get storage for a fraction of what Apple charges.
So here’s this Time Capsule thing.
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$299 for 2TB. To upgrade to a 3TB drive, you’ll need $200 more. How absurd is this? The difference between a 2TB and 3TB drive is like $40.
Not only is this beyond the call of the “Mac Tax” but it is crazy easy to get around. For an extra $150 (Still $50 less than the 3TB model) you can buy a perfectly good 3TB USB Seagate or Western Digital hard drive from Amazon. Then just plug it into the back of the 2TB model and you have 5TB of addressable space. You’ve been able to use USB drives since 2008 as Time Machine backups or Network Attached Storage.
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Of course it is nice to have the drive in a convenient little package with only one plug, but for $200, only getting an extra TB seems a little absurd.
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As noted by MacRumors, Apple Final Cut Pro support documents strongly recommend updating to Mac OS 10.6.8
Updating to Mac OS X v10.6.8 or later is strongly recommended when using Final Cut Pro X, Motion 5, or Compressor 4.
Yeah, Apple. Yeah. (Readers are reporting no issues with 10.6.7 btw)
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To get started, Apple now has a Best Practices KB page live. To access the user manuals online, use the following links:
The manuals are also available in-app from the ‘Help’ menu.
As for Cameras, you’ll want to check yourself here. Media Cards? Head over yonder.
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq8sjcOdAsc]
A jailbroken app called ‘iUsers’enables the iPad to behave a little more like your Mac by supporting multiple user profiles.
The tweak puts a user profile button on the iPad’s homepage, where users can be switched fairly simply. For now only apps, music, and other content are shared between users, but the data inside the apps (game hi-scores, etc.) are user specific. iUsers’ developer is currently working on implementing more granular user data. The tweak is making its way to the Cydia marketplace, but if you’re eager you can find the instructions to installing iUsers over at BlogdoiPhone.
Hopefully we’ll see this natively in the iPad soon, and maybe Apple will decide to Sherlock it at some point in the future.
The Mac/PC is no longer the hub of your digital world according to Steve Jobs and while the traditional computer was demoted to just a ‘device’, iOS devices did get some promotions at WWDC this week as well.
One notable addition is that you can set up an Apple Airport or Time Capsule from an iOS 5 device, like in the screenshots above.
Let’s just say this one more time: No Mac Needed.
Thanks Clay!
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One interesting feature of iOS 5 that we’ve been tracking since yesterday is that users have been reporting the above ‘unsecured call’ warning. While it isn’t in any of the documentation we’ve seen, it appears that Apple is warning users of the possibility that their phone calls can be eavesdropped on.
It likely warning of the possibility of a GSM IMSI Catcher basestation which can intercept unecrypted calls. Wikipedia notes that unecrypted call detection isn’t new:
there are a few mobile phones that show a small symbol on the display, e.g. an exclamation point, if encryption is not used. Another point is the calling number. Since the network access is handled with the SIM/USIM of the IMSI-catcher, the receiver cannot see the number of the calling party. Of course, this also implicates that the tapped calls are not listed in the itemized bill.
Video of a DEFCON talk on IMSI catcher below:
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Before we even start, obviously this is something that isn’t covered by warranty and may destroy your phone. Once you go to iOS 5, you cant go back. APPLE WILL LIKELY FIX THIS IN AN UPCOMING iOS 5 UPDATE AND YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO USE YOUR DEVICE (until iOS 5 final is released or a developer adds your phone to his or her device list).
Gizmodo posts a video on how to activate an iPhone on iOS without having your device ID provisioned by a developer/Apple. The exploit uses a combination of Voiceover and the pull down notifications to activate the phone. The user that found this exploit says the device continues to work after restarts (so you won’t need to activate it every time you restart). The steps are below:
1. Download the iOS 5 IPSW file from the web (it’s easy and readily available. Just Google it and torrent it down).
2. Update your iPhone using iTunes. To do this, connect your iPhone to your computer, click on the Check for Update button with theOption (Mac) or Shift (PC) key pressed. Select the iOS 5 IPSW file from the place you downloaded it to.
3. Wait until it upgrades. A new activation screen will appear.Activate iOS 5
1. Triple click the home button. This will activate the Voice Over.
2. Triple click the home button and Emergency Call will appear.
3. Click on Emergency Call and, while it’s switching, swipe with your three fingers down.
4. The Notification Center will appear!
5. Click on the Weather widget. The Weather app will load.
6. Click on the home button to exit to the iPhone’s springboard.
Simply add a few bucks (to the Mac App Store) to get the “Server.app”. Apparently that’s all you need according to this screenshot from Lion Help. (via Hardmac). No word on exactly how much the server.app costs (we’re thinking a few hundred?) or how much Lion itself will cost for that matter. We’ll know soon, though.
If this product works as advertised, I see huge potential. The new $99 Kanex mLinq adapter (PDF) does something pretty simple and incredible. It plugs into your Intel-based Mac’s USB port and outputs to HDMI at full 1920×1080 (1080P) HD resolution…with sound. The device is even powered by the USB port so there are no messy extra wires to contend with. You will need to install some software first (provided) but if it works at a respectable frame rate, this product is a winner in our book.
The device will do smaller display resolutions as well.
For older Macs that don’t have the Audio built into the Mini Displayport/Thunderbolt port, this may be the best option for HDMI video out. For newer Macs that have maxed out their display ports, another one is now available.
We’re working on getting a demo and hope to have a review up shortly.
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We’ve spent the past few weeks using the Seagate GoFlex Slim 320GB portable hard drive and have come away with some mixed feelings on the drive. On one hand, it is obviously the thinnest external hard drive in the market and it is plenty fast with its internal 7200 RPM internal drive. In fact, it is about the same depth as an iPhone 4.
On the other hand…
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via some Dutch Dude who didn’t have any issues installing an SSD in the Hard drive Bay
According to a blog post at OWC, the new iMacs have a temperature sensor in their hard drives which will restrict replacing with non-Apple hard drives.
For the main 3.5″ SATA hard drive bay in the new 2011 machines, Apple has altered the SATA power connector itself from a standard 4-pin power configuration to a 7-pin configuration. Hard drive temperature control is regulated by a combination of this cable and Apple proprietary firmware on the hard drive itself. From our testing, we’ve found that removing this drive from the system, or even from that bay itself, causes the machine’s hard drive fans to spin at maximum speed and replacing the drive with any non-Apple original drive will result in the iMac failing the Apple Hardware Test (AHT).
Here’s the thing though: What if you order an iMac without a hard drive? One iMac option is just the SSD which is mounted on the optical drive? Perhaps there is a way to disable fans altogether and thats what ships with SSD-only iMacs?
Clearly some more investigative work is necessary.
As of today, MobileMe stopped using Sync Services, Apple’s own platform for data synchronization between your programs and supported devices. As we pointed out, this has affected recently released Office for Mac 2011 Service Pack 1 which relied on the platform to sync Outlook calendar with your iPhone. As a result, Mac people must physically connect their device and sync via iTunes, which kills the purpose of push calendar in the first place.
Alternatively, you can change your email client and go through the email server supported by the Mail app. Sounds like too much hassle just to keep your Outlook calendar and iOS gadget in perfect sync.There’s a workaround that lets you wirelessly sync Outlook calendar with your iOS device via Windows – on your Mac.
Random booting issues no more, Apple has issued a hard drive firmware fix for late model iMacs.
This firmware update fixes a hard drive issue that may prevent some iMac (21.5-inch and 27-inch, Mid 2010) systems from booting properly.
New iMacs, of course are expected next week.
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Australian readers are reporting that Apple’s iPods had dropped in price up to AU$50. 3rd party retailers haven’t all reflected the price drops. Full price details below. Anyone else seeing a price drop out there?
One of Lion’s most noticeable features is the reversal of how scrolling works – now it’s meant to be more like iOS. While many Lion reviewers have said that it takes just a few minutes to get used to, now you have the opportunity to get your brain tweaked ahead of Lion’s summer release. Developed by Nick Moore at Pilotmoon Software, the simple application “Scroll Reverser” for Mac OS X Leopard can be downloaded here.
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A few minutes ago, Cydia lead developer Jay Freeman tweeted that Cydia 1.1 had hit the repos. For more of what is in Cydia 1.1, Saurik gave the following details to iPhoneDownloadBlog:
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First things first: This is experimental and we take no responsibility for what you do to your computer with these instructions.
With the release of the Lion Beta, the Mac OS now has support for TRIM use on SSDs. TRIM allows SSDs to perform better by erasing unused data sectors ahead of time. More on TRIM here.
However, some enterprising users have been able to get TRIM support on Mac OS 10.6.7
Update: Oskar Groth, also known as Cindori, built a script to enable any SSD on 10.6.7.
Download TRIM Enabler, follow along in Mac Forums, Xlr8yourmac, and Hardmac was first to document the process.
