My MacOS X» Snow Leopard

howto get rid of applescript in menubar?

amaga — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 20:10:08 +0000

Want to remove the applescript logo in the menubar with the clock and airport ?

Solution:

Hold the Apple key and drag it out of the menu bar.
This works for other Apple menu bar icons like battery, Airport, Input menu, Sound, Displays, etc.

It’s also allows you to drag them off the menubar and rearrange with the cmd key, the other does not. For ones that don’t, there’s almost always an option to get rid of it by looking in the preferences of the app in question.

howto get rid of applescript in menubar? is a post from: My MacOS X

Apple Releases Mac OS X 10.6.7

amaga — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 21:10:16 +0000

Apple today released Mac OS X 10.6.7, the seventh maintenance update for Snow Leopard, via Software Update.

The 10.6.7 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes that:

Improve the reliability of Back to My Mac
Resolve an issue when transferring files to certain SMB servers
Address various minor Mac App Store bugs
For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4472.
For information on the security content of this update, please visit: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.

Apple appears to also be offering a special build for the new Early 2011 MacBook Pro, specifically addressing FaceTime performance issues, graphics stability, and external display compatibility.

Direct links for the various downloads on Apple’s support pages are still going live:

Mac OS X v10.6.7 Update (475 MB)
Mac OS X v10.6.7 Update Combo (1.12 GB)
Mac OS X Server v10.6.7 Update (541.21 MB)
Mac OS X Server v10.6.7 Update Combo (1.15 GB)
Security Update 2011-001 (Snow Leopard – Client) (241.35 MB)
Security Update 2011-001 (Snow Leopard – Server) (473.23 MB)
Server Admin Tools 10.6.7 (241.32 MB)

Apple Releases Mac OS X 10.6.7 is a post from: My MacOS X

How To Uninstalling Xcode in Snow Leopard

amaga — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 21:19:09 +0000

After installed developer tools/Xcode you will lose about 8GB disk space or want to reinstall Xcode ?

To uninstall developer tools/Xcode type in the following command in the terminal

sudo /Developer/Library/uninstall-devtools –mode=all

The system will ask you root password and process will take about 5 mins.

But beware, this completely removes Xcode and once it is gone, it’s gone. Of-course you can always reinstall it. So be sure of what you are doing.

My experience was 8GB from macbook pro.

Note: You can find Terminal in you Mac by going to Applications >> Utilities. (no need to uninstall XCode for that!)

How To Uninstalling Xcode in Snow Leopard is a post from: My MacOS X

Apple Releases Mac OS X 10.6.5

Amaga — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 21:47:43 +0000

Apple today released Mac OS X 10.6.5, the fifth maintenance update for Snow Leopard, via Software Update. The download weighs in around 500 – 700 MB, here are the release notes from Apple:

The 10.6.5 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes that:

improve reliability with Microsoft Exchange servers

address performance of some image-processing operations in iPhoto and Aperture

address stability and performance of graphics applications and games

resolve a delay between print jobs

address a printing issue for some HP printers connected to an AirPort Extreme

resolve an issue when dragging contacts from Address Book to iCal

address an issue where dragging an item from a stack causes the Dock to not automatically hide

resolve an issue with Wikipedia information not displaying correctly in Dictionary

improve performance of MainStage on certain Mac systems

resolve spacing issues with OpenType fonts

improve reliability with some Bluetooth braille displays

resolve a VoiceOver issue when browsing some web sites with Safari 5

For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4250.
For information on the security content of this update, please visit: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.

To download the Mac OS X 10.6.5 update, pull down “Software Update” from the Apple menu. Apple recommends backing up your existing system before installing the update.

Apple Releases Mac OS X 10.6.5 is a post from: My MacOS X

Undelete the trash

Amaga — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:47:57 +0000

People do “accidental deletion” all the time. And because the accidentally deleted files will be kept in the “Trash” folder until you really delete it, you can drag the files you still want to keep back to their original folder. But doing that manually over and over again can be annoying. Now in Snow Leopard, you can right click (or Control + Click) on the poor files, choose “Put Back”, and file/folder will be recovered in original place.

Undelete the trash is a post from: My MacOS X

Custom Alert Sounds in Mac OS X Leopard

Amaga — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:07:47 +0000

On a Mac OS X Snow Leopard operating system, you can give your computer a custom audio alert instead of using the generic tones installed by default on your computer. As long as the audio clips are AIFF format, Mac OS X allows you to use all kinds of clips, including musical tracks, a voiceover, or musical theme. Get creative and add your favorite alert sound to your operating system.

Step1: Open folder with custom sounds
Navigate to the “~/Library/Sounds” folder in “Finder” Command+Shift+G. The “~/Library/Sounds” folder contains all the custom sound files used on your operating system.
Step 2: Copy the sound clip in AIFF format
Copy the sound clip you want to add to the alerts from the location you have it on your computer and drag it into the “~/Library/Sounds”. (Note: The sound clip must be in AIFF format. Convert it to AIFF using iTunes – see next step how to convert to AIFF).
Step3: Convert a the sound clip to AIFF format via iTunes
3.1. Launch iTunes and click the “Preferences” menu.
3.2. Click “General” and click “Import Settings”.
3.3. Choose “AIFF Encoder” in the “Import using” menu and click “Custom” in the “Settings” menu.

3.4. Select “48.000 kHz” sample rate and a 16-Bit sample size. Select “Stereo” under “Channels” and click “OK.” Click “OK” again.
3.5. After importing it, click the sound clip and click “Advanced.” Click “Convert Selection to AIFF” to convert the sound clip to AIFF audio format.

3.6. When the conversion completes, drag the newly created AIFF audio clip to the “~/Library/Sounds” folder (see the Step 1).
Step 4: Done.
Open “System Preferences” by clicking the “Apple” log on the top left corner on your screen and click “System Preferences”. Click “Sounds” and click “Sound Effects.” You should see the AIFF file you uploaded together with other sound clips in the “~/Library/Sounds” folder.

Also, make sure the “Play user interface sound effects” is checked in System Preferences > Sound > Sound Effects.

P.S. Now we have to get this file to show up in the Alerts list in System Preferences, Mail and iCal, etc.

Custom Alert Sounds in Mac OS X Leopard is a post from: My MacOS X

How do I reset my Mac OS X admin root password without an CD/DVD?

Amaga — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 02:56:35 +0000

To reset your OS X password without an OS X CD you have two ways

First Way “create a new admin account”

Reboot
Hold apple + s down after you hear the chime.
When you get text prompt enter in these terminal commands to create a brand new admin account (hitting return after each line):
- mount -uw /
- rm /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
- shutdown -h now
After rebooting you should have a brand new admin account. When you login as the new admin you can simply delete the old one and you’re good to go again!

Second way “Resetting or changing your existing password”

If you’ve ever forgotten your user account password in OS X, All you need is to remember your username (you do remember that, right?) and then reboot your computer.

Hold apple + s down after you hear the chime.
sh /etc/rc
passwd yourusername
reboot

P.S. The only major downside to resetting your password this way is that you’ll lose all keychain passwords,

How do I reset my Mac OS X admin root password without an CD/DVD? is a post from: My MacOS X

How to backup File Vault in Time Machine while logged in

Amaga — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 22:30:21 +0000

Requirements:

Home folder to be encrypted.
Don’t need my Time Machine disk to be encrypted

First, make sure your Time Machine setup is functioning properly.
The XCode installed, as it uses Property List Editor
(Note: you’ll need to change the process a bit if you use a different property list editor.)

How to do that:

You will need to manually edit the preference file for Time Machine, adding the ID string of your File Vault disk to the list of disks to backup. You can’t do this from within System Preferences or otherwise.
One way of finding the ID string of the disk is to open com.apple.finder.plist, located in your user’s /Library/Preferences folder, and look for the FXRecentFolders item.

One of the entries should contain the name of your home folder (your login name) together with an entry called file-data. If it doesn’t, you need to close the plist and visit your home folder in Finder. This will make it a ‘recent folder,’ and then you can check the file again.

The value of _CFURLAliasData inside file-data is the string we need, including the enclosing < and >. Copy this to the clipboard.

Now, disable Time Machine from within System Preferences, make a back up of com.apple.TimeMachine.plist, located in /Library/Preferences, and then open the original file in Property List Editor. Select IncludedVolumes and click Add Child. Select type Data and paste the string you copied earlier.

(If IncludedVolumes doesn’t exist, select Root and click Add Child. Name the new entry IncludedVolumes and make it type Array. Then do the above.)

Check that the path to your home folder isn’t listed in any of the items ExcludeByPath, ExcludedVolumes, or SkipPaths. Save and quit the editor.

Select Back Up Now from the Time Machine menu bar extra to start an initial backup.
Note: You may already have a backup of your image file (located in the hidden folder /Users/.username), in which case you will have duplicates. You might want to exclude this from your backup.

When browsing your backup, your unencrypted home folder will be on the Computer level, alongside your startup disk. Not where it normally is — under /Users — since it is treated like a regular disk.

View Original hint

How to backup File Vault in Time Machine while logged in is a post from: My MacOS X

Setting up Google DNS in Mac OS X

Amaga — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 01:57:09 +0000

1 month ago Google announced on their official blog that they were offering the use of their DNS server to the public.

Today, as part of our ongoing effort to make the web faster, we’re launching our own public DNS resolver called Google Public DNS, and we invite you to try it out.

Why use Google’s DNS?

The average Internet user ends up performing hundreds of DNS lookups each day, and some complex pages require multiple DNS lookups before they start loading. This can slow down the browsing experience. Google have suggested that using their DNS will speed up internet usage and browsing.

Using Google’s Public DNS for Snow Leopard

Step 1 (System Preferences):
Open your system preferences and select the Network panel (it will be in the Internet and Wireless section).
Step 2 (Network preference pane):
In the Network preference pane, make sure your network connection is selected (Airport or Ethernet) and click “Advanced”.
Step 3 (DNS tab):
Open the DNS tab in the next panel and add Google’s DNS servers using the “+” button.
DNS Server 1 (preferred): 8.8.8.8
DNS Server 2 (alternate): 8.8.4.4
Step 4 (Delete old servers):
Delete all your old servers or move them to botton (hold Command + mouse click and move)
Step 5 (Save work):
Then just “OK” and “Apply” your way back out of the various dialogs and you should be good to go.
Step 6 (Testing):
Test that your setup is working correctly; see Testing your new settings

Setting up Google DNS in Mac OS X is a post from: My MacOS X

Howto better font smoothing on some LCD displays

Amaga — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 00:03:36 +0000

One of the unwelcome changes in Snow Leopard, who use certain third-party LCD displays, was the gross simplification of the font smoothing options in the Appearance System Preferences panel.

In Leopard (10.5), a pop-up menu provided a number of options for font smoothing—automatic, standard, light, medium (“best for LCD”), and strong.

In Snow Leopard (10.6), though, that’s been simplified down to simply a yes or no option: “Use LCD font smoothing when available.”

In practice, however, that’s not the case. The problematic LCD displays could be Dell, Samsung, LG, HP, EIZO, Lenovo.

The problem was that the text on the Dell was really “light” and hard to read after upgrading to Snow Leopard (10.6). This made it tougher to read, and led to eyestrain if you are using the machine for an extended period of time.

Lest you think this issue is restricted to those running homebrew netbook Macs, however, that’s not true—apparently standalone LCD displays by Dell, Samsung, LG, HP, EIZO, Lenovo, and possibly others are affected as well.

The top portion of the image is how the document appeared prior to applying the fix;
The bottom was taken after the fix.

Notice how the top image is quite light—dots on “i” characters are hard to see, and the text has an overall gray tinge to it. In the bottom image, the gray is gone, and everything is a bit bolder while still being clear and crisp.

Before (top) and after (bottom) the fix

By zooming in a bit, it’s easy to see the difference between the before and after images.

The top portion of the image at right is before the fix; notice that the font smoothing is done completely with levels of gray.

In the bottom portion of the image, taken after the fix, you can see not only more levels of gray, but the subtle use of some colored pixels to smooth the font—there’s a yellow pixel on the left edge of the dot on the “i,” for example.

If you’ve got an LCD panel that you think looks worse than it did before upgrading to 10.6, you can try this fix to see if it makes things better.
How? Just open Terminal (in Applications -> Utilities) and paste this command, then press Return:

defaults -currentHost write -globalDomain AppleFontSmoothing -int 2

The 2 at the end is equivalent to the old “Medium – Best for flat panel” setting in 10.5. You can also use 1 for light smoothing, and 3 for strong smoothing. This change will only affect newly-opened applications — anything already running will have to be restarted to see the affect of the changes.

Note that if you go back into the Appearance panel and toggle the font smoothing setting, you will override your manually-set value—so don’t do that if you value your newly-smoothed fonts.

Howto better font smoothing on some LCD displays is a post from: My MacOS X

My MacOS X» Snow Leopard

howto get rid of applescript in menubar?

Solution:

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First Way “create a new admin account”

Second way “Resetting or changing your existing password”

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Requirements:

How to do that:

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