Apple released a new SMC firmware update today for the original (non-unibody) MacBook Pros. This update further refines the fan behavior to try and keep those graphics chips cool. Highly recommended software update. Keeping your MacBook Pro running cool is the best way to keep the machine healthy.
Apple released a great tutorial section of videos for IT professionals working in the education sector. It gets down and dirty in to the topics of network and client management, open directory architecture and directory integration. For our customers wanting step-by-step lessons for directory integration with OS X Server and what it can do for them in their education environments, these videos are a good place to start. Each of the videos showcase an individual topic, and best of all they are free.
[ Apple Tutorials ]
For those that haven’t upgraded to iLife ’09 yet, here’s one of the reasons you might consider it. Places is a new feature that geo-tags your pictures with longitude/latitude coordinates and plots the points on a map. If you have a 3G iPhone, the built-in GPS function automatically does this. Also any GPS enabled digital camera will work. If either of those aren’t available, you can drop a pin on the map, type a name of a place, or enter an address to geo-tag the image.
Click on a map point to see all pictures taken at that location. You can create a Smart Album based on a location as well. Pretty neat. Now I just need to travel more and fill up that map.
[ iLife '09 ]
I played guitar in my early teens, and not realizing it was probably a bad idea to stop, I did. Now, 15 years later, I’m picking up the guitar again. The internet back then didn’t have all the great info it has now, so I had to purchase chord books and sheet music to learn chords and play my favorite songs (lots of Metallica & Pearl Jam at the time). Now, every song you ever wanted to learn is out there for free, and there’s a cool little app called GuitarToolkit for your iPhone and iPod Touch for $10.
It has a built-in tuner (worth the price of admission alone), a chord finder for every chord you can think of (or not think of), a metronome and a nifty scales section. It supports 6 and 12 string guitar, as well as 4 and 5 string bass. There’s a left handed mode for those that need it.
I’ve found myself spending hours learning chords and scales. I shoot for one new chord a day, this way I’ll build back my knowledge level slowly. I haven’t had any issues with the app so far, and if you’re trying to brush up on your skills, it’s a great investment.
[ GuitarToolkit ]
In stock from the Apple Store
Apple quietly announced new 2.13Ghz white MacBooks today.
These books remain popular not only because of the low price point, but because they’re great machines.
The white MacBook is the most popular laptop we see here at MyService (not because it is more prone to damage or failure, but because of the high volume Apple has sold.)
It’s a great size and weight and is easy to upgrade. Lot’s of my family and friends use this guy.
We’re happy to see another rev (although this must be the last?)
[ Apple Store ]
My iPhone Home Screen
You talked, we listened.
Ever since the original iPhone came out, our customers have been asking about where to go to get their iPhones repaired. We’ve gotten tons of quote requests and phone calls describing all manner of accidents (cracked screens, liquid spills, angry pets, etc.)
We’re happy to say that starting today, MyService now offers iPhone repairs.
You’ll get the same great customer service and quality new parts all with our 24hr turnaround.
We’ve also introduced a new shipping option called Express Shipping. After your order is submitted, we instantly email you an overnight shipping label to affix to your iPhone box. This saves you money on shipping costs and means you’ll get your phone back even faster. Most repairs are completed the same day they arrive and shipped back out.
Check out our iPhone page for more details.
With the release of the first Intel Mac laptops, Apple introduced a new type of sleep state known as Safe Sleep.
Safe Sleep stores the contents of RAM and other system settings onto the hard drive itself so that if the laptop looses all power, your work is not lost and you can recover quickly once power is restored.
Traditionally, when a computer sleeps (and is unplugged), the battery provides enough power to keep the laptop on and the contents of the RAM in tact. If you were to fully drain the power or remove the battery, the system would shut off and any unsaved work would be lost. On PowerBook G4 models, there was a backup battery that allowed you to hot swap a battery or drain the main battery without losing any data.
Safe Sleep takes this one step further. When you put any MacBook to sleep (close the lid or select Sleep) the computer first writes the contents of the RAM and other settings to the hard drive.
The battery or ac adapter still keeps the laptop on (hibernated) and keeps the RAM contents in tact which allows for the quick wake up normally associated with waking a computer from sleep. You can press any keyboard key or open the lid to wake the laptop normally.
If the battery fully drains or is removed, Safe Sleep is used to “wake” the computer by accessing the files that were stored by Safe Sleep on the hard drive.
Note: Since the computer is technically off, the keyboard will not wake a computer in Safe Sleep and the power button must be used. The computer will boot to a dimmed screen with a progress bar on the button as it loads the saved contents on the hard drive.
Safe Sleep is found on all MacBooks and is enabled automatically. It really just adds another safeguard to saving your work (and time) when the battery drains or you lose power. It works in conjunction with traditional sleep methods which allow for a faster wake time.
First MacService Direct Mail Postcard. Circa 2003
In the early years of MyService, our advertising consisted of postcards that we would send out to our local customers in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Here are a few examples of these postcards. Note the rudimentary photoshop skills which at the time we were quite proud of.
For those that use multiple computers and like to have some of the same files accessible on both, or you frequently share files with other people over the web, this one’s for you. Dropbox creates a folder on your Mac (your Dropbox) that is stored on your Mac and stored on the Dropbox servers at the same time. When you drag a file in the folder, it automatically updates the copy on their servers, and keeps a local copy. The local copy helps when you don’t have an internet connection and you need to access the files.
Share with others Dropbox can be used as a backup system (see previous post), but I like to use it to share files. Do you have a colleague across the country (or the office) that you collaborate with? In the Dropbox web interface you can share a folder and allow access by giving your colleague’s email address. Once they sign up and install the application, they’ll automatically see the shared folder in their drop box. When you put a file in the shared folder, seconds later it shows up on their end, along with a notification that a file was added. They offer clients for Mac, Windows and Linux, along with a web interface.
Share with yourself Install the application on two or more of your computers. Login using the same user name and password. Drop one file from one computer and it will soon show up on the other.
Other tricks If you’d like to control the fonts, iWork templates or folders across multiple mobile computers, here’s a quick and dirty method to do it. Create a shared folder with the required files, then create an alias on the user’s computer of the shared folder and place it in the desired location, replacing the original folder with the alias. The next time the user connects to the internet, all the files you made to files in the shared folder will get updated automatically.
How much? Free if you store under 2GB, $10 a month for up to 50GB, $20 a month for 100GB.
[ DropBox ]
Calibrate every few months for the best performance.
Did you know that you can calibrate your Mac laptop’s battery to boost performance and prolong its life?
There is an internal microprocessor (that can be calibrated) in the battery that provides an estimate on the amount of energy left in the battery. This calibration helps to keep the onscreen battery time and percentage display accurate. This in turn helps the computer properly charge the battery reducing the overall amount of cycle counts on the battery.
Apple recommends calibrating the battery when you first use the computer and then every few months.
For MacBook, MacBook Pro, MacBook Air and PowerBook G4 (15″ 1.67 DL SD only)
1. Plug in the power adapter and let the book fully charge (green light will appear on the power adapter.)
2. Keep the power adapter connected for at least 2 hours (to charge the PRAM battery) You can use the machine during this time.
3. With the machine on, unplug the power adapter and let the computer run until the battery fully drains and the laptop goes to sleep. Leave the machine in sleep mode (or off) for at least 5 hours.
4. Connect the power adapter and let the battery fully charge (until the power adapter light turns green.) That’s it.
For iBook and PowerBook G4 (All models except 15″ 1.67 DL SD)
Fully charge the battery (green light on power adapter.) Unplug the power adapter and run the laptop until the battery drains (it powers off or goes to sleep.) Connect the power adapter and let the battery fully charge. That’s it.