Lion-to-Lion File Sharing Troubles: Fix!

After upgrading our machines at home to Lion, I discovered that AFP file sharing no longer functioned. I would get various errors when trying to connect from one machine to another. The errors were things like "too many users connected." Well, after much research (apparently there are many problems with Lion's implementation of AFP and SMB), I found that deleting the preference file referenced below and rebooting fixed my file sharing issues.

I had what seems to be the same problem, and I think I solved it: In /Library/Preferences/com.apple.AppleFileServer.plist there were two keys, maxConnections and maxGuests, that were set to 0. Looked like this:

maxConnections 0
maxGuests 0

I changed the values to 10, and it seems to be working now.

[From Unable to share files with other Macs...: Apple Support Communities]

10.6.7 -> Trouble with AddressBookSync

I'm not talking about the little applications you can download to sync up Facebook friend profile pictures with your AddressBook database. I'm talking about an app hidden in the Resources of the System Framework that's used to sync contacts between various devices, including the iPhone. Mine inexplicably went nuts recently and was crashing like crazy with every iPhone sync attempt. A Google search yielded practically nothing, so I knew I had a unique problem. I tried all the typical troubleshooting steps to no avail, including a deletion of preference files. So, here's what finally fixed it:

I used Pacifist to copy the System Framework called AddressBook onto my desktop from the 10.6.7 Combo Updater. I deleted the original in the /System/Frameworks/ folder and replaced with this one. I noticed that the AddressBookSync app was smaller in the Updater, so something obviously went wrong in the update process. After copying the new Framework into the proper location from my desktop, I repaired permissions and voila...no more crashes.

Be Smart with Smart Folders

Most of us don't use OS X to its fullest potential. Here are some great tips for getting the most out of Smart Folders. I have several of these set up, including for System File searches, PDFs, and Preferences. It's kind of like a searching shortcut.

Want to keep track of all documents you have greater than 500MB in size? All your PDFs? All your OpenType fonts? Pictures taken with your Canon PowerShot within the last two weeks that have less than a specified focal length and greater than a specified exposure time? If you can set up a search for something in the Finder, you can make a smart folder for it too.

[From Smart ways to work with smart folders | Business Center | Working Mac | Macworld]

1Password Slow Safari Starts and Command Key Sluggishness

I've had these issues for sometime now. Turns out that I may have discovered something crucial about the problems. Rebuilding the datafile, clearing the cache, and removing all InputManagers did not fix the issues, which were reproducible on two Macs. Removing the Internet plugins also did not resolve the issues.

If Safari is starting slow for you under Snow Leopard and you use 1Password 3, make certain that you remove the old InputManager called something like "1Passwd." I was able to start Safari far faster than before. Until Agile fixes the command key sluggishness issue, make sure you lock your keychain after you're done using it. It's a pain in the ass, but your browsing snappiness will return if you like to use key commands like me.

::UPDATE::

Another discovery (apart from the one listed below) can be read here. Turns out that it's the "key icon" in the Safari menubar that's somehow contributing to the command key slowness in Safari. If I disable that in 1Password's preferences, the sluggishness disappears, even with the keychain unlocked. No clue, but that's somehow the culprit. Maybe it will help others. Please let me know here if you're able to reproduce this problem.

First, I can verify that removing the old InputManager left over from the 1PW 2.x days definitely made Safari (ver. 5) start up faster (2 - 3 icon bounces in the Dock instead of about 10). Start up is almost instantaneous now, thank goodness.

Second, this command-key sluggishness (and even clicking the 1P or key icons) I've been going through has persisted (any Command key combination is slow on Safari 4 and 5). This means sluggish behavior for key combinations like Cmd-T to make a new tab, Cmd-W to close a tab, or even Cmd-Q to quit Safari. Very LONG pauses before the desired result follows the keystroke combination.

However, I made a discovery today that I wanted to pass along to you all at Agile, which may or may not help troubleshoot this issue. It's reproducible on my Mac Pro and my MacBook. The sluggishness ONLY occurs while 1PW is unlocked. As soon as I LOCK 1PW again, the snappiness of my command keys in Safari 5 returns!!! Unlock the keychain, back to sluggishness. Completely reproducible on both my machines.

I have rebuilt the data file and cleared caches several times. The only other InputManagers I still have running are DeliciousSafari and the latest beta of Glims (if that's even still an InputManager).

Any advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

[From Slow Safari startup with 1Password enabled (when the Cache is out of date)]

Ecto Finally Updated to 3.0.2

Seems like every time I buy software, I get screwed. The developer stops developing the software, or the developer gets bought out by a bigger company (who ignores the software), or both. At any rate, I had nearly given up on Ecto...my favorite blogging software (which was chock full of bugs). Still not much better than Ecto out there, so I'm glad they've finally paid it some attention.

ecto 3.0.2 was released today via the built in software updater. The ecto 3.0.2 release includes the following fixes:

updated Amazon plugin
updated Flickr plugin
include Atom03 plugin by default (mostly for older Japanese blog systems)
fixed a URL redirect handling bug
minor documentation updates (link to correct location for support forum, etc.)
the ecto updater now uses a different XML feed to update the software based on the operating system version, separating Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger) from later versions, (Leopard and higher)

[From illumineX: ecto 3.0.2 released]

mDNSResponder Constantly Doing "Something"

I noticed my mDNSResponder connecting constantly to opendns (didn't always happen but when it did it was constant). Found the links below. It basically requires a bit of under-the-hood tweaking.

1. Make a back up copy of the mDNSResponder.plist file as a precaution.
2. Open the mDNSResponder.plist file in Terminal using your preferred text editor. Here is a sample command:
   

   sudo nano "/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.mDNSResponder.plist" 
   

3. Add "<string>-NoMulticastAdvertisements</string>" to the array in the "ProgramArguments" section.
   
   In other words:
   

     <key>ProgramArguments</key>
           <array>
               <string>/usr/sbin/mDNSResponder</string>
               <string>-launchd</string>
           </array>    
   

   becomes...
   

           <key>ProgramArguments</key>
           <array>
               <string>/usr/sbin/mDNSResponder</string>
               <string>-launchd</string>
          <string>-NoMulticastAdvertisements</string>
     </array>
   

4. Save the file.
   
   Important: If you edited the file using emacs, you must remove the emacs backup file (the file with a tilde at the end of the name, "/System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.mDNSResponder.plist~") or your Mac will not start up.
   
5. Restart your Mac.

****

UPDATE 12 June 2010: The problem, as it turns out, was listing my OpenDNS servers in both my Airport Extreme (for the entire home network) and my Mac Pro. As soon as I deleted the OpenDNS servers from Network Preferences on my Mac Pro, everything returned to normal...no more constant outgoing connections. The above method worked too, but it was at the cost of losing Bonjour connectivity on my home network (not acceptable).

[From Snow Leopard disabling mDNSResponder/Bonjour drops internet - Mac Forums]

Mac OS X v10.6 uses the mDNSResponder process for unicast DNS (Domain Name System) functions, as well as Bonjour functions. Disabling the mDNSResponder process will also disable unicast DNS resolution, and without unicast DNS resolution, Mac OS X v10.6 cannot resolve hostnames such as www.apple.com.

In some network environments, administrators may prefer that Mac OS X v10.6 not transmit Bonjour service advertisements. You can use this advanced article if you are a network administrator who needs to disable Bonjour advertising service without disabling Bonjour queries and DNS.

[From Mac OS X v10.6: Disabling mDNSResponder will disable DNS]

Avoid Special Keys in Screen Sharing

Open Terminal and type:

defaults write com.apple.ScreenSharing DoNotSendSystemKeys -bool YES

To restore the old behavior, change the last word to "NO." You can also use a plist editor if you're scared of the Terminal.

If you prefer the 10.5 behavior, wherein special keys are never sent to the remote Mac, there is a solution. It requires Terminal (in Applications -> Utilities), but only for one command. Launch Terminal, then copy and paste the following line (while Screen Sharing is not active):

[From Don't send special keys in 10.6's Screen Sharing | Mac OS X | Mac OS X Hints | Macworld]

Using Preview to Merge and Save PDF Documents

Neat trick for Preview! Changed a bit since Leopard.

For Snow Leopard 10.6.0, Apple changed the way this feature works in Preview Version 5.0 (501) and made it more cumbersome. Here’s how it’s done in Snow Leopard:

Open a PDF.

Expose the Sidebar.

Drag the PDFs you want to include in the Sidebar area.

Note B: The PDFs all retain their name in the Sidebar (contrast with Note A).

Select all but one of the PDFs in the Sidebar.

Drag and drop the selection into the unselected PDF recipient.

Note C: You only get one chance at this or you’ll need to start over. You can only drop one set of PDFs onto the recipient.

Note D: After doing so, the recipient icon changes to include a Binding Comb on the left edge. Moving the arrow cursor over the combined PDF exposes a circle-left-turn arrow on the right edge.

Save or Save As the PDF. Voilà – one PDF.

[From Snow Leopard Changes Preview’s “Combine PDF” Behavior « blog.gerrior.com]

Microsoft: Windows 7 design inspired by Mac OS X

Finally, an admission. Although, Vista itself was inspired by OS X! They're not admitting that here. Any idiot could figure that out. However, Vista sucked. I hear Windows 7 is a better ripoff of OS X...LOL! The really funny line is when they claim that their copy of OS X is more STABLE than OS X. I'll believe that when I see it.

When it looked to redesign its dominant operating system after the struggles of Windows Vista, Microsoft reportedly turned to Apple's Mac OS X for the "look and feel" of Windows 7.

Simon Aldous, partner group manager with Microsoft, told PCR that the graphical style of Windows 7 -- which he calls "Vista on steroids" -- was inspired by the look of Apple's Mac OS X. The new Windows operating system launched in October.

"One of the things that people say an awful lot about the Apple Mac is that the OS is fantastic, that it's very graphical and easy to use," Aldous said. "What we’ve tried to do with Windows 7 -- whether it's traditional format or in a touch format -- is create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics. We've significantly improved the graphical user interface, but it's built on that very stable core Vista technology, which is far more stable than the current Mac platform, for instance."

[From AppleInsider | Microsoft official admits Windows 7 design inspired by Mac OS X]

100 Tips, Tricks, and Features of Snow Leopard

Self explanatory. Go there, read, and be happy with your new, fast kitty.

After installing Snow Leopard on our Macs, the Mac|Life staff began scouring the inner crevices of 10.6 looking for all the features we can. While Snow Leopard has been advertised as more of a speed increase and "tightening of screws" of the OS, it still has some great features that'll help you work faster.

After spending the weekend with the new OS, we found 100 features, tips, and tricks that should help get you up to speed and make you a Snow Leopard power user.

[From 100 Snow Leopard Tips, Tricks, and Features | Mac|Life]

What Apple's Snow Leopard Has In Store

I'll be going for it once I know my recording gear and software will behave with this kitty.

Here’s a look at how three of these additions to Snow Leopard—64-bit computing, Grand Central Dispatch, and OpenCL—work and how they could improve your Mac experience sometime soon.

[From Inside Snow Leopard's under-the-hood additions | Mac OS X | Macworld]

And then, the smaller stuff...which in some ways is more exciting than the major stuff:

[From Snow Leopard's smaller changes | Mac OS X | Macworld]

ACL Found But Not Expected Weirdness

If you see a bunch of these messages when repairing permissions, here's how to deal with it:

if you try to repair permissions and get a bunch of acls found but not expected

to fix this some chmod commands need to be executed in the terminal.

Essentially open up a terminal and do the following:

cd /
ls -le

look at the Applications and Library folders in the listing and you should see they have specific ACLs. On one of my machines the Applications folder had 2 and the Library had one. On the other both had just one.

to remove these ACLs do the following:

sudo chmod -a# 0 "/Applications"
sudo chmod -a# 0 "/Library"

[From InsanelyMac Forum > How to repair "ACL found but not expected" message in disk utililty]

Ballmer: Macs are a $500 Logo?

This moron just won't get it, will he? Being notoriously WRONG about Apple (especially his blundering iPhone prediction), Ballmer continues failing to understand the nature of true innovation that his company must alway plagiarize and pass off as their own. There's a lot more under the hood with the Mac OS--far more than Windows has, including that latest OS X copy called Vista. The hardware is irrelevant; the little bitten apple logo is irrelevant, though admittedly stylish.

America is a consumer culture that buys a logo; Americans will also pay more if they GET MORE, dumb ass.

Apple gained about one point, but now I think the tide has really turned back the other direction," Ballmer said, via webcast. "The economy is helpful. Paying an extra $500 for a computer in this environment -- same piece of hardware -- paying $500 more to get a logo on it? I think that's a more challenging proposition for the average person than it used to be."

[From Ballmer: 'Tide has really turned' against Apple in computer market - TechFlash: Seattle's Technology News Source]

Silent Keynote Exports

If your Keynote exports are all fury and no sound, follow the instructions below to fix them.

After recording your narration, move to the Finder, Control-click on your presentation file, and choose Show Package Contents. In the resulting window, locate the narrationTrack0.m4a file. This is your narration track. Make a copy and move it to the Desktop.

Open both the narration and video files in QuickTime Player Pro. Select the audio track, select everything in it, and copy. Now select the video track and choose Edit -> Add to Movie. The audio track will be added to the video track.

With luck, the two will be in sync. If not, you might wish, instead, to import the video track into GarageBand and then place the audio track in a separate track and move it around so the two are in sync.

[From A fix for mute Keynote exports | Mac 911 | Macworld]

Leap-year bug kills Zune

To quote Star Wars: Now Ballmer's failure is complete.

December 31, 2008 (IDG News Service) Microsoft's Zune 30GB music player just wasn't ready for a leap year.

That's what owners of the devices discovered Wednesday morning when they awoke to find their players frozen and unworkable.

The problem turned out to be "a bug in the internal clock driver related to the way the device handles a leap year," Microsoft Zune spokesman Matt Akers said in a posting to Zune forums Wednesday. The issue does not affect all Zune players, but all models of the Zune 30GB are potentially affected, he said.

Zune is Microsoft's alternative to Apple's popular iPod devices.

The bug disabled the players on Dec. 31, the last day of a leap year. Microsoft expects that the bug will resolve itself by Jan. 1, when the device's internal clock will reset itself.   [From Zune chokes on leap-year bug]

Preview app: Print non-contiguous pages

Print non-contiguous pages in Leopard’s Preview | Mac OS X Hints | Macworld:

Open your multi-page PDF in Preview, hold down the Command key, and click on each page you’d like to print. With more than one page selected, the File -> Print menu item changes to read File -> Print Select Pages. Choose that, or just press Command-P, and you’ll print the selected pages.

Be careful out there, Mac users

There's a way around everything. The best thing you can do is to use multiple layers of software and physical security. Make it hard on your would-be thief in every way possible.

Use an Open Firmware Password (yes, I know how that can also be defeated). Use a physical lock on your Apple laptop. Use iSight or some other security software to track your computer BEFORE its data is erased (I'd wager few thieves will understand the Mac the way they do PCs). When you're out and about, turn on every security gizmo in your Mac that you can--screensaver password, disable auto-login, enable timed logout, lock your keychains, etc., etc. Use a firewall when you're not behind a router.

In short, protect your data first and your machine second. Make your Mac a less delectable target.

Reset OS X Password Without an OS X CD | TheAppleBlog:

To reset your OS X password without an OS X CD you need to enter terminal and 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!

User accounts and file sharing in Leopard

Computerworld - User accounts and file sharing in Leopard: What's new:

NetInfo is no more, and you can now create groups and share any folder on your Mac.

Apple has made some major improvements in Leopard when it comes to creating and managing user accounts, file sharing and remote access. The biggest change, though, is something most Macintosh users may never see because it was accomplished so seamlessly: Apple has retired the proprietary NetInfo database that has stored and managed local accounts since the beginning of Mac OS X.

Spotlight can do more than you think

Quick math and quick photo location are just a few!

5 Things You Never Knew About Spotlight | TheAppleBlog:

You probably know that you can access Spotlight quickly with the Command-spacebar keyboard shortcut, but here are a few more tricks you might not know exist.

Empty iPhoto Trash, Regain Space

Make sure you empty your iPhoto application's trash every now and then!

iPhoto, the secret disk space thief | MacUser | Macworld