Site of the Week: A Resource for OS X Server Users

OK, this is focused on Vermonters. Everyone else who reads Kibbles gets to order tax free from Smalldog.com every day (we don’t charge sales tax on orders that ship out of Vermont.)

As Don mentioned above, Vermont is having a sales tax holiday on Saturday, August 22. There will be *no sales tax on items that cost $2,000 or less.* You could buy five high-end MacBook Pros for $1999.99 and not pay sales tax on a single one of them. The savings can add up, as sales tax in Vermont is 6%, and even 7% in a couple of towns (South Burlington, Williston).

We’re having a party to celebrate with special offers, extended hours in our Vermont retail stores, in our call center, and in our warehouse, where our shippers will be processing orders all day.

“Click here to read our Vermont Sales Tax Holiday FAQ.”:http://www.smalldog.com/taxholiday

Dear Friends Tax Free day is coming up this Saturday and most of the staff is busy making preparations for what will likely…

True story: a few years ago, a school had purchased fifty brand-new iMacs with the LCD display on the swivel neck. Soon after they were set up in the computer lab, a well-intentioned but misinformed maintenance person used a strong ammonia-based cleaning product on them. Unfortunately, this permanently marred the displays with an opaque, cloudy haze. Lesson learned: don’t use industrial cleaning products on a brand new LCD monitor. And thus concludes our Mac Treat for this week. Just kidding.

I’ve recently transitioned to all-glossy display Macs at home (more on that below). Here are some tips I’ve picked up (and tested) for cleaning those displays. Fortunately, cleaning a glossy display is pretty much the same as cleaning a matte display.

First, before cleaning any display or monitor, it’s best to let it cool down. Multiple sites report that “you cannot effectively clean a glossy TFT screen when it’s hot or has been in use for an extended period of time.”:http://blogs.zdnet.com/Apple/?p=1127

Second, I recommend using “iKlear”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/39155 to clean any display (matte or glossy). iKlear comes in several different packages, including one with “a bulk spray bottle, microfiber cloth, and 12 travel iKlear singles,”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/39155, and another with “20 iKlear singles packs”:http://www.smalldog.com/product/41154.

If iKlear isn’t available, I will use a barely damp microfiber cloth (or paper towel) to clean the display. In my experience, iKlear does a better, less-streaky job of cleaning a glossy display than a damp cloth. iKlear is non-toxic, anti-static and doesn’t contain ammonia, alcohol or other solvents. It can be used to clean the display and body of a Mac, and can also be used on eyeglasses, sunglasses, HD televisions, iPhones, iPods, etc.

With iKlear it’s best to clean small areas at a time (rather than using broad swipes). Then go back and polish the entire screen so it’s streak-free. When cleaning a notebook display, use one hand to support the back of the display while polishing with the other. If you’re using iKlear in the spray bottle, be careful not to spray any liquid into your Mac’s ports or vents. In fact, it’s a good idea not to spray your Mac at all; instead, spray a little iKlear onto the included cloth (or other microfiber cloth) and then use the cloth to clean the machine.

To use water to clean a glossy display, simply dampen a microfiber cloth (or paper towel in a pinch) and swipe in broad strokes. Again, especially if you’re using water, the cloth should be barely damp.

Apple has a very limited support article on cleaning Apple products “posted here.”:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3226?viewlocale=en_US

Apple just released two firmware updates: one addressing Bluetooth issues and one addressing disconcerting noises and system slowdowns in MacBook Pros with 7200RPM internal hard drives. Both updates can be downloaded directly from Apple, or by running your Mac’s Software Update application. You can launch Software Update by clicking on the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your Mac’s screen, then browsing down the list to “Software Update.” Firmware Details from Apple:

*Hard Drive Firmware Update 2.0*
MacBook Pro Hard Drive Firmware Update 2.0 reduces certain infrequent noises made by 7200-rpm drives. These drives shipped with the June 2009 MacBook Pro.

To complete the firmware update process, please follow the instructions in the updater application (/Applications/Utilities/Hard Drive Update.app). The updater will launch automatically when the installation is complete.

“Click here to download the hard drive firmware directly from Apple.com.”:http://support.apple.com/downloads/Hard_Drive_Firmware_Update_2_0 New Hard Drive firmware will be: 0007APM2

*Bluetooth Firmware Update 2.0.1*
This update provides bug fixes and better compatibility with the Apple Wireless Mighty Mouse and Apple Wireless Keyboard. It installs on all Macintosh systems with Bluetooth based on the Broadcom chipset.

“Click here to download the bluetooth firmware directly from Apple.com.”:http://support.apple.com/downloads/Bluetooth_Firmware_Update_2_0_1

Every so often, a call comes through to our tech support department about a pop-up window saying that the computer is infected with a virus or some other malware. A larger and larger chunk of the Mac community is recent Switchers, those who’ve made the switch from Windows to Mac. If you have a computer running any variant of Windows and you see that message, there is cause for alarm in most cases, especially if you click through the link. But, if you have a Mac, there is absolutely nothing to worry about! There are no known viruses or malware for Macs running any variant of OS X. There were a handful of viruses for the classic MacOS, but because that operating system hasn’t been updated in about ten years there is little cause for alarm there.

Search engines do a reasonably good job at filtering out “scareware” web sites, but if you’re a frequent user of the Internet you should expect to see one of these messages at some time or another.

It should be noted that Macs running Windows through Boot Camp or emulation software like Parallels and VMWare will need virus protection on the Windows side. If your boot camp partition or virtual machine becomes infected with a virus, your Mac will not be affected. Small Dog offers Symantec AntiVirus for Windows, which is widely recognized as the best AntiVirus protection available for Windows. It’s a necessary add-on for any Windows or Parallels purchase.