Apple | Single Measures

Replace Intel MacBook Pro HD (Pre Unibody) with SSD

By: Graham Smith

24-03-2011

Looking to replace your MacBook Pro HD with a new SSD? These are the instructions if you have a pre Unibody Intel MacBook Pro; the opening up instructions do vary considerably from the Unibody version.

Took me 5–10 mins to fully open it up, including removing the existing hard drive and putting in my new OCZ Vertex 2 SSD. The only tool you might not have is the T6 Torx Screwdriver and optional Spudger.

Now have a SSD in both my MacBook Pro and MacPro, it’s well worth the upgrade.

Source http://ifixit.com

Clocky for Mac – World Clock App by @StudioDalton

By: Graham Smith

23-03-2011

Apple, Software & Apps

My friends over StudioDalton have released another fine app: it’s called Clocky and it’s specifically for the Apple Mac.

Clocky will prove itself useful if you have a practical need to keep on top of global times, or if you are just particularly interested. As a fair number of my clients are quite different time-zones, being able to quickly tell at a glance when they are sleeping or due to rise will be quite useful.

Clocky is very discreet and is conveniently accessible via the Apple menu.

Source http://studiodalton.com App Store http://itunes.apple.com

Apple Inc. Files For Granny Smith Apple Corps (Beatles) Logo

By: Graham Smith

19-03-2011

Apple, Logo Design

Could we eventually end up seeing the famous Granny Smith apple logo–used by The Beatles: Apple Corps–being used by Apple Inc? Or will it just be filed away in a musty drawer, never to see the light of day again?

Source http://namedevelopment.com

10 Unusual Things I Didn’t Know About Steve Jobs

By: Graham Smith

19-03-2011

Apple, Fountain of Knowledge

Read the article, read the comments then make your own mind up. All to easy to cast negativity on someone when faced with a list of facts–some being controversial with the benefit of hindsight–that cover the 56 years of his life.

Source http://jamesaltucher.com

Infinite USB

By: Graham Smith

18-03-2011

Apple

Would it be safe to say, that this would be the sort of thing you wished you had thought of?

Also, wonder if Apple kicks it’s collective ass when they see other companies coming up with such neat designs. This would look more than at home as an Apple accessory.

Source http://ifdesign.de Found http://incrediblethings.com

Sidestep for OS X by Chetan Surpur

By: Graham Smith

16-03-2011

Apple, Mac Tips, Software & Apps

Automatically secure your Internet connection in unprotected wireless networks

From the website :

Sidestep is an open-source application for Mac OS X that sits quietly in the background, protecting your security and privacy as you browse the web. When Sidestep detects you connecting to an unprotected wireless network, it automatically encrypts all of your Internet traffic and reroutes it through a secure connection to a server of your choosing, which acts as your Internet proxy. And it does all this in the background so that you don’t even notice it.

Source http://chetansurpur.com

MEO File Encryption for Mac 1.11

By: Graham Smith

10-03-2011

Apple, Mac Tips, Software & Apps

I have one file on my Mac that contains some pretty sensitive information: passwords, account numbers etc, yet I have been quite lazy about securing it. All it would take is a home burglary and I could potentially be in a lot of trouble.

Time to remedy.

Found this neat application via Google search, “MEO File Encryption for Mac 1.11“, and it works perfectly. The beauty is you can create a self decrypting file that doesn’t require the software to be installed, you just need your pass-key to decrypt it.

This one file is now encrypted and I have search and deleted all backed-up and archived versions of that file. Feel much better.

Source http://apple.com

Encrypt your Evernote files

As a side-note, did you realise you can encrypt Evernote text? If you use Evernote to save important personal information, you can encrypt it for security. It works on all versions, including iPhone. All you do is enter the pass-key to read that previously encrypted file. http://forum.evernote.com

Mail Perspectives – minimal mail boxes from Indev

By: Graham Smith

07-03-2011

Apple, Productivity, Software & Apps

Just downloaded a neat plug-in for Mail after reading about it in Macworld. Mail Perspectives is awesome, just what I need, compact windows for my Inbox etc. Now you can just keep what you need in view, opposed to the whole Mail app window.

You get a 30 day demo; worth trying out if you like to keep your desktop neat and functional.

Source http://indev.ca Found via http://macworld.com

Illustrator Keyboard Shortcut Browser Bug

By: Graham Smith

03-03-2011

Apple, Fountain of Knowledge, Software & Apps

A week or so ago Illustrator playing silly beggars with most of the usual keyboard commands refusing to work. These included most ‘Option’ and ‘Space Bar’ commands. As well as losing these shortcuts, general weirdness would prevail.

This was the first time ever I had experienced such weirdness, yet it seems to be a pretty widespread issue.

When these keyboard commands disappear, you really understand how slow things become having to select each command with the mouse. It really did feel too crippling to try and muster on, the bug had to be vaporized.

Attack

At around this time I had downloaded Chrome Beta, so thinking this was the culprit, deleted it and downloaded the previous version. No joy there.

I then re-installed the entire Adobe Creative Suite, dumped crap load of pref’s, ran various disk utilities like DiskWarrior and other accepted forms of trouble shooting app’s. Still nothing.

Also around this time I had moved to a 64Gb SSD, so thinking it was just a case of a dodgy cloned OS X, I even re-installed the operating system. I have this down to a fine art, so didn’t take too long. Also felt good to be running lean and mean again, but no joy with the defeating the bug.

During this time of troubleshooting, Xmarks had been flashing up a dialogue box asking for my PIN number, each time I would just click it away as a minor annoyance. I didn’t enter the PIN because I couldn’t remember it and it just wasn’t that important.

The culprit

It then struck me that this could be the problem. This PIN dialogue box had started popping up around the time of both the SSD and Chrome Beta install. Being the sharpest spoon in the drawer I reinstalled Xmarks and recreated a new account, this stopped any further PIN requests and so far, 8hrs later, no loss of keyboard commands in Illustrator.

It is early days, but the bug would appear within minutes of quitting and relaunching Chrome. So 8hrs¹ is a pretty good stretch of time

Since tweeting about this bug I do know many people are having a similar problem, but I don’t believe everyone would be running Xmarks. If you are not running Xmarks it could still be some browser plugin, extension or browser app compatibility issue. So if you haven’t tried yet, uninstall all your extras and see if that helps. It might be part of the problem, you never know.

¹ It’s now nearly been 24 hours, and still no occurrences of the Illustrator and Browser bug.

LifeProof iPhone 4 Case – Everything Proof, Except Fire-proof

By: Graham Smith

03-03-2011

Apple

When the iPod first came out–I managed to get a pretty solid case for that–as I went travelling around Egypt for 3 months. Fully enclosed, with rubber seals, it certainly makes you less anxious about damaging your ‘gear’.

This LifeProof case looks pretty good, and doesn’t seem to add too much overall bulk. Ideal for taking to the beach, on your mountain bike, or wherever harm may be lurking for your iPhone.

Source http://lifeproof.com Found http://doobybrain.com

Gerd Arntz iPhone Memory Game Including +4000 Pictograms

By: Graham Smith

01-03-2011

Apple, Software & Apps

Source Gerd Arntz Memory App \ Found via Grain Edit

Getting Notified – iOS vs webOS by @Cocoia

By: Graham Smith

01-03-2011

Apple, Web Development

Insightful article by Sebastiaan de With. Looking at Apple’s inperfect implementation of notifications on iOS when viewed alongside notifications implemented in webOS.

Source http://blog.cocoia.com

ForkBombr EXCLUSIVE: Leaked PR Release for iPad 2 Launch

By: Graham Smith

27-02-2011

Apple, Mac Tips

What a scoop if this is legit, and no reason to think it isn’t.

Via Forkbomber : Editor’s Note: A little birdie from Cupertino sent this to me. They stressed that this is the real deal.

Apple Launches iPad 2

A Magical & Revolutionary Device for the Bathroom Lover in Everyone
SAN FRANCISCO—Mach 2, 2011—Apple® today introduced iPad 2, a magical update to the revolutionary device that changed the course of computing history forever. iPad 2’s responsive Multi-Touch™ display…

“Without any doubt, iPad 2 is the best bathroom computer ever created,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Users will be able to enjoy their apps and media in more ways — and in more places — than ever before.”

…iPad 2 features next-generation Multi-Touch applications. Every app works in both portrait and landscape, automatically animating between views as the user rotates iPad 2 in any direction. The precise Multi-Touch interface makes surfing the web on iPad 2 an entirely new experience…

iPad 2 is powered by A5, Apple’s next-generation system-on-a-chip. Designed by Apple, the new A5 chip provides exceptional processor and graphics performance along with long battery life of up to 14 hours…

Pricing & Availability
iPad 2 will be available in late March worldwide for a suggested retail price of $499 (US) for the 16GB model, $599 (US) for the 32GB model, $699 (US) for the 64GB model…

Read the rest : http://forkbombr.net/exclusive-ipad-2-launch/

How to: MacBook Pro 17″ SSD Install [HD]

By: Graham Smith

27-02-2011

Apple, Mac Tips

Pretty much all you need to know about installing your SSD of choice into your MacBook Pro, includes info on updating the SSD firmware. I opted to go with a Crucial 64 Gb SSD for my MacBook Pro and the OCZ Vertex 60Gb for my MacPro.

Also, if you are looking for a 2.5″ to 3’5″ conversion kit for an SSD in your MacPro, this post will be of use : SSD, MacPro and Icy Dock SATA 2.5 to 3.5 HD Converter

Moving iTunes Backup folder ideal for SSD users

By: Graham Smith

26-02-2011

Apple, Mac Tips

Found this nugget via Ben Brooks, bit late for me, but useful if you plan to migrate to SSD anytime soon.

If you are looking to go SSD, this post may be of use : SSD, MacPro and Icy Dock SATA 2.5 to 3.5 HD Converter

Source Link http://mactalk.com

Type Specimen for iPad from Suitcase Type Foundry

By: Graham Smith

25-02-2011

Apple, Software & Apps, Typography

This looks pretty spunky, as long as you plan to buy fonts from Suitcase Type Foundry of course.

Source Link http://suitcasetype.com

How do I deauthorize computers from iTunes

By: Graham Smith

23-02-2011

Apple, Fountain of Knowledge

The real question would have made the title too long, so…

How do I deauthorize computers from my iTunes account when I no longer have the computer?

Found this on Quora, as I realised some of my earlier Mac’s had not been deauthorised prior to getting rid of etc. The upshot is, once you reach your 5 limit, you can reset to 0 and start over.

Source Link http://www.quora.com