Category: Tutorials

The young guys over at HaiTeq have been running into issues with Launchpad updating after installing software that wasn’t bought on the Mac App Store. Because of this, they’ve figured out a workaround to force Launchpad to refresh its data base.

Removing the database files from the user’s Dock application support folder and restarting the Dock allows Mission Control and the Launchpad to re-build the database from scratch, updating the presentation with all the new applications.

Here are HaiTeq’s steps, with a few modifications on my part for safety. Admittedly, if you are not comfortable at the command line, this is not the hack for you.

1. Launch Terminal (from /Applications/Utilities/Terminal).
2. Navigate to the Application Support folder in question (cd ~/Library/Application\ Support/Dock)
3. Open the folder (open .) and drag all the .db files to the trash.
4. Restart Dock (sudo killall Dock, followed by authentication)

I am not a Launchpad/Mission Control user and cannot verify these steps will reflect newly installed software. However, I did test them out for safety, and my Lion install is still working; my db file was instantly re-generated, and I did not find any harmful side-effects.

Please share your experiences in the comments.

How to refresh OS X Lion’s Launchpad contents originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 03:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ralph Perdomo reports that he has ported OS X Front Row to Lion by moving several frameworks and the application itself from his old Snow Leopard install. He wrote up the procedure over on his weblog and has provided an optional installer for anyone who didn’t keep a Snow Leopard install around.

Perdomo reports that the re-installed application seems to work well, and he does not seem to have run into conflicts from what I can tell. The frameworks/app in question are:

• /System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app
• /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/BackRow.framework
• /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iPhotoAccess.framework
• /System/Library/LaunchAgents/com.apple.RemoteUI.plist
• /Applications/Front Row.app

TUAW has not had a chance to test this hack out, but we applaud Perdomo for his creativity in the face of OS upgrades.

How to install Front Row on Lion originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 21 Jul 2011 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thanks to the patent system, the tech market is looking more like Parker Brothers’ “Monopoly” game every day. According to Bloomberg, Apple and Google are two of the companies reportedly interested in purchasing mobile tech designer InterDigital for its 1,300 patents related to information transfer.

Google recently lost a bid for Nortel’s patent portfolio, a bid that Apple, Microsoft, and other companies won. InterDigital’s patents are supposedly “deeper and stronger” than Nortel’s, however, which makes it a keen target for the major players in the mobile industry.

It’s kind of sad that we’ve reached the point where every time a tech company passes “Go” in Silicon Valley, they have to sweat over landing on someone’s patented hotel space and cough up billions of dollars if they want to keep playing. Since that’s apparently how the game is played these days, though, it’ll be interesting to see who winds up with InterDigital’s US$3.1 billion portfolio after the bidding is over.

Apple and Google may be in a bidding war over InterDigital patents originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple announced last week that it would begin offering volume purchasing for iOS apps, and a week later the program is open for enrollment (but still U.S.-only, unfortunately). Enrolling in the program requires that you be authorized to make purchases for your company, and you’ll also need a valid D-U-N-S number.

Volume purchasing allows businesses an alternative to the App Store for bulk purchases of iOS apps. All paid apps in the App Store are available through the program, at the same price as that listed in the App Store. Note that Apple’s guide to the program doesn’t mention anything about discounts for bulk app purchases, so purchasing Keynote for all 50 of your employees is going to run you close to US$500.

Custom B2B apps are also offered, allowing a level of customization and privacy not offered through the traditional App Store purchasing route. The program also simplifies bulk distribution of iOS apps, allowing distribution of purchased apps’ redemption codes via email, an internal website, or third-party Mobile Device Management.

There doesn’t appear to be any cost to enroll in the program, and it seems to be pretty close to addressing most of the features businesses interested in volume purchasing have been asking for since not long after the App Store’s debut.

Apple launches B2B store for volume App Store purchases originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 22:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First, make sure you’ve updated your 10.6 system before installing Lion — there’s a Migration Assistant update.

While you wait for the download, here’s where to see your progress.

If you wanted to do a clean install, Macworld has some info. If you want to make an installer disc, here’s info on that.

Once Lion is installed:

If you find Apple’s Natural Scrolling is melting your brain’s muscle memory, here’s how to turn it off.

Learn more about Launchpad.

Find out how to see your drive’s capacity in Finder again.

Get the scoop on revamped Mail.

Learn how to use and customize Mission Control.

Full Screen apps have some hits and misses.

Some gripes about Lion, and some workarounds.

How Lion handles saving, and the new Versions implementation.

Lion and Time Machine, plus info on locked documents.

Lion Server is the least expensive OS X Server ever, and it’s easier to setup than ever before.

All our Lion tips in one convenient place originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In the hustle and the bustle today, we failed to note a minor detail in Apple’s Lion press announcement, but MacRumors picked it up:

Users who do not have broadband access at home, work or school can download Lion at Apple retail stores and later this August, Lion will be made available on a USB thumb drive through the Apple Store(R) (www.apple.com) for $69 (US).

So much for the absence of physical media. The option to download at an Apple Store is nice (either bring your Mac, or bring a drive with enough free space to carry Lion home); the USB install media will be equally nice, and very welcome for those supporting multiple machines with touchy ISP connectivity. It’s an extra $40, but them’s the breaks.

Lion will ship on USB drives in August originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It didn’t happen for last week’s show, but today on TUAW TV Live you’re going to see a lot of Lion. Not only will I show you my pictures from my 2009 trip to Africa (just kidding), but I have a pile of demonstrations to show you. Even if you’ve already installed OS X Lion, you’re sure to hear a few tips that I’ve picked up using the new OS over the last few months.

Bring any questions that you may have about Lion to the chat room, and if I don’t have an answer, I’m sure we can get one from the experts who frequently watch the show. I’m a big fan of the new OS X Lion Server, so I’ll also demo it and some Lion-friendly apps.

Below, you’ll find a Ustream livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments.

If you’re driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you’re stuck in traffic, please don’t — keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone and join the chat by downloading the free Ustream Viewing Application. If you’re on an iPad, you should be able to use the Skyfire Browser to watch the stream, although you will not be able to participate in the chat.

We’ll start at about 5 PM ET, so if you’re seeing a prerecorded show, be sure to refresh your browser until you see the live stream. For those of you who are not able to join us for the live edition, you’ll be able to view it later this evening on our TUAW Video YouTube channel and as part of the new TUAW TV Live podcast viewable in iTunes or on any of your Apple devices.

TUAW TV Live: OS X Lion demonstrations and more originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In typical Apple epic poem fashion, the Apple Store went down early this AM and came back up shortly thereafter with new goodies — and one valiant missing hero of days gone by.

First we saw the Thunderbolt-equipped Cinema Displays which were inadvertently leaked earlier this week.

Then we saw the expected MacBook Air spec bump, including a triumphant return to glowing keyboards. Thunderbolt is again a winner here, as the diminutive port will enable the Air to grow far beyond its tiny footprint.

The Mac mini was revamped without an optical drive, but with faster processors and that ubiquitous Thunderbolt port.

Finally, we bid adieu to the venerable (but sometimes maligned) MacBook. The plastic-clad “entry level” Mac portable traces its roots back to the iBook, one of the Macs which helped Apple regain its place in computing as an innovative and design-focused engineering company. The MacBook will still be available to schools, but it appears it was edged out between iPad and the 11″ MacBook Air. Farewell, polycarbonate pal.

For more on how the new Mac mini stacks up against the Mac Pro, which hasn’t seen a design revamp in a few years, check out “Mini vs Pro: consumer Macs grow up.”

A roundup of hardware news, Wed 7/20: Thunderbolt, MacBook Air, Mac mini originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Adobe posted a knowledge base article today showing a few “known issues” that their products have with OS X Lion. As the image above shows, it’s really more than just a few issues — it appears that most of the Adobe product line has one problem or another.

In each case, Adobe has done its homework on figuring out what doesn’t work with Lion, and it’s well documented. It’s a bit disappointing, however, that the company’s engineers haven’t corrected these issues between the time of the first Lion developer preview and the current release.

Some of the more exciting issues revolve around a frequent offender: Flash Player. Adobe warns that “Flash Player may cause higher CPU activity when playing a YouTube video. Possibly related to disabled hardware acceleration,” and that “The Flash Player settings dialog does not respond to mouse clicks. If you find yourself in this state, you can use the “tab” key to change the focus to the “Close” button and use the spacebar to close the dialog. While not all settings are available, you can also use the Flash Player native control panel located in System Preferences.”

If you want the full lowdown on the open issues in Adobe’s products — and, if you’re a pro graphic artist, designer, Flash animator or video editor, before you even consider upgrading to Lion — be sure to click the knowledge base link above.

Thanks to TUAW reader James for the tip!

Adobe notes products with Lion-related “known issues” originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One of the amazing things about the Lion announcement a few months ago was OS X Lion Server, which Apple said would be available for $49.99. That’s the lowest cost for any version of Mac OS X Server by a wide margin, and a price point that might make some people think twice about whether they’d be better served (pun intended) with the Server version of 10.7.

Starting several weeks ago, I installed Lion Server on a test Mac while researching a chapter for my upcoming Lion book. What I found was a powerful, yet extremely easy-to-use server operating system that makes a server available to anyone who wants one.

Rather than an expensive (Snow Leopard Server was $499) and distinct version of the Mac operating system, which was the traditional OS X Server approach, Lion Server is an app that is purchased and downloaded from the Mac App Store. Once installed, users are gently guided through the steps that they’ll need to set up a local server. Note that if you’re planning on having your server be Internet-connected (i.e., using it as a mail or web server), you will also want to have a good working knowledge of DNS and also install the free Server Admin Tools 10.7. As you can see in the image below, Lion Server does a very good job of explaining the differences in network configuration to server novices.

To say that I was impressed with the ease of use of Lion Server is an understatement. In the past, even setting up a local server for use in a workgroup could be frustrating without experienced guidance. With the help of Lion Server’s “Next Steps” capability (see below) and excellent built-in documentation, I was able to configure the server, set up test users and groups, and get services set up and running easily.

The Server App (below) is somewhat like Server Admin “Lite.” It’s a friendly-looking app that is logically laid out and has a lot of good help available. When services are up and running, a small green dot indicates at a glance that all is well with the world. The Server App can also be used to provide administration of certain functions of a network-attached AirPort Extreme or Time Capsule.

Probably the most exciting piece of the server software wasn’t when I connected a Mac to it, but when I was using iOS devices to access calendars, address books, and shared folders. Using CalDAV, CardDAV, and WebDAV for these three services made connecting my iPhone and iPad to the server a piece of cake. Any iOS app that supports WebDAV can be made to work with shared folders on the server (below), which should make businesses that are deploying iPads and iPhones very happy.

Performance of Lion Server seems improved versus 10.6, although I haven’t benchmarked it. I had my test server set up on a MacBook Air, and even with numerous services enabled it never seemed to slow down the Air or tax its processor.

As in previous versions of OS X Server, Web and Wiki server are nicely paired services that can be set up almost instantaneously to create a small business intranet. The Wiki tool is easy to use from Safari, and users can even set up a personal blog in seconds (below).

The Server Admin Tools will seem very familiar to existing Mac OS X Server administrators and don’t really appear to have changed all that much. For setting up more advanced network services like DHCP, DNS, NAT, Open Directory, Xgrid, or Software Update Server, you’ll want to have Server Admin Tools installed (unless you feel like configuring them from the OS X command line).

Who is Apple’s target market for Lion Server? Well, it will definitely continue to get the organizations that use Mac OS X Server, and I think administrators will like the fact that they can leverage their existing experience. But Lion Server also puts more small businesses and homes into the potential market for server.

The “Next Steps” function in the Server app is so good about answering questions users will have during set up that it makes it very simple to set up a local server. For those more sophisticated setups, however, you’ll want to have a certified Apple professional helping you out.

Even hobbyists who are curious about Lion Server can now afford to purchase and install the app. Apple has really opened the doors of the server room to anyone who wants to join in on the fun.

Several of the images used in this article are taken from the upcoming Apress book Taking Your OS X Lion to the Max.

OS X Lion Server: Making servers accessible to all originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 15:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Have you ever wanted to keep an eye on what’s happening with the hardware on your system using pop-up notifications? Well a little known extra to a very well known program called Growl could be just the ticket.

HardwareGrowler (HwG) comes packed with Growl in the “Extras” folder on the Growl disk image (as seen above) and can be installed just like any other application. Once up and running, HwG will notify you of any hardware changes to your system. If the MagSafe adapter gets yanked out or the power cuts out, HwG will tell you. If you plug in a USB drive or a network drive disconnects, HwG will let you know. In fact if anything changes behind the scenes on the hardware front HwG has you covered.

It’s a nice simple application that has no user-configurable preferences to speak of, simply launch and you’re ready to go. If you want to change the style or sounds associated with the notifications all you have to do is change it in the Growl Preference pane. HwG has a persistent dock icon, but you can get rid of manually with quick tweak.

So if you’ve been after a program to notify you if your MacBook gets accidentally unplugged, or you lose connection to a vital network or network drive, HardwareGrowler is a brilliant free little utility that you probably already have but just didn’t know it.

HardwareGrowler can be downloaded as part of the free Growl package from Growl.info.

Thanks to miguelpontes for the suggestion.

TUAW’s Daily Mac App: HardwareGrowler originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 15:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I really enjoyed the Wii game LostWinds, released a few years ago as a downloadable title on Nintendo’s popular home console. So I’m excited to hear that the developer, Frontier Developments, is planning to bring the original game over to the iPhone and the iPad, as well as the Android platform.

The game features a little protagonist named Toku, who can either move around the beautiful cel-shaded world himself, or have the wind, managed with motion controls, help him get little boosts and support. On the iOS version, Toku will apparently be moved via an on-screen touchpad, and of course the motion controls will be replaced with swiping and gestures.

Sounds fun. The game also had a sequel called “Winter of the Melodias,” though it appears this initial release is just for the first title. The game is expected out on the App Store later on this year.

Wii platformer LostWinds coming to iOS originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lion is a multi-gigabyte download, coming in around 4 GB, but when you start there is no onscreen indication of how it’s going aside from the tiny progress bar in the Dock. Where’s the little graph like the one you get in Safari when you are downloading software in the Mac App Store? Well, the solution is available, but not particularly .

Once your download starts, bring the Mac App Store window front and center. You’ll see an icon called ‘purchases’, so click on it and you’ll get the progress bar and a time estimate of how long the download will take. You can also go up to the menu bar, and under ‘Store’ you’ll find ‘check for unfinished downloads’ which will give you the same information. It’s a bit surprising that the progress bar just doesn’t appear when a download starts, but you can still get the information if you know where to look.

Happy informed downloading.

Where to find the download progress for your Lion install originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Considering that the Lion release today (which has gone swimmingly) was a vote of confidence, Apple has moved to get most of its boxed software out of the Apple Store completely, sending a notice out to retailers to discontinue titles like iWork ’09, iLife ’11, Aperture 3, and most of GarageBand’s Jam Pack addons. All of that software will of course be available on the App Store with a download, but Apple won’t be keeping them in the actual retail store any longer.

This follows Apple’s actions earlier this year to remove a number of peripherals and retail games included inside Apple Stores. Much of the hardware is still available, and of course the games can be purchased with a digital download, but Apple seems to want to have its stores as clean and simple as possible.

And who can blame them? Apple’s latest strategy has been to narrow down product lines and streamline software purchases with an App Store model, and that’s worked out just great so far. With Lion already a solid indicator that customers are ready to take to the Mac App Store when needed, there’s little if any reason left to bother with actual boxes and discs any more.

Apple discontinues most boxed software originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Some of us have Command-S wired into our hands. Whenever we write a few words or enter a couple of cells into a spreadsheet, our hands twitch and we compulsively type a Command-S to save a document, just in case… A new feature of OS X Lion is Auto Save, which is going to stop a lot of Mac users from doing the Command-S twitch. Versions is another related feature that keeps copies of different versions of your documents for posterity.

Auto Save takes a snapshot of whatever you happen to have open on the screen in an app at any particular time, and saves it for you. Let’s say that you have TextEdit open with three different documents, all scattered about on your 27″ display. None of the documents have been saved, and you suddenly realize that you need to leave for a meeting. You quit out of TextEdit, and the familiar “Do you want to save the changes you made in…?” dialog doesn’t appear. No problem. The next time you launch TextEdit, all three of those documents open up in the exact same locations on your screen that they were in originally.

Another cool feature of Auto Save is the ability to revert to a last saved version of a document. That’s helpful when you’re working on a document, add a lot of changes, and then suddenly realize that what you’ve added is … crap. Just select Revert to Saved or Revert to Opened from either the File menu or a disclosure triangle next to the title of the document, and you’re back to your original document.

What’s fascinating is that Auto Save and Versions keep all of the different versions of your document in one file. There’s no folder full of saved versions with time and date stamps — instead, you just see the file and all of the magic is done internally.

What if you don’t want a file to be accidentally changed. That’s where the Lock feature comes in handy. Two weeks after the last time you edit a document, Lion auto-locks it for you. The next time you try to make a change, Lion asks if you want to unlock the file or duplicate it to create a template.

Versions brings the power of Time Machine to individual documents. In many Lion-savvy apps now, there’s a “Save A Version” menu item that takes the place of the previous “Save” item. This is where that muscle memory that you built up doing Command-S is going to come in handy. As you write a document, you can continue to use Command-S from time to time to save a version of a document. When you want to go back to a previous version, choose “Browse all versions” from the drop-down menu near the title bar of the document and a very Time Machine-like window appears:

The Versions window provides a side-by-side comparison of your current document version with all of the other saved versions. If you find a previous version that you want to copy something from, just do a copy and paste between the two. There’s also a Restore button for making a previous version the “live” version of a document.

At this time, Auto Save and Versions are only usable in specific Apple apps, including iWork 9.1 (Pages, Keynote, and Numbers) and TextEdit. As more apps are updated to take advantage of the many new features of OS X Lion, we’re sure to see the convenience and security of Auto Save and Versions become commonplace.

OS X Lion: Auto Save and Versions to the rescue originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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