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I have lots of chores this weekend. Grace had a minor crash on her motorcycle (any that you walk away from…) and broke her collarbone, so I am serving as her right arm as she recovers. That means some gardening and other chores–it is amazing how much Grace does!
Nevertheless, I hope to get out on my bike for at least a little ride this weekend as it looks like a warm and sunny weekend.
Thanks for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!
Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
_Don, Kali, Dawn & Mike_
I love it when readers write to ask a question and I can actually find an answer! A reader asked if I had heard of anyone having trouble when trying to view PDFs in Safari or Firefox.
I tried launching the URL for a PDF that he had trouble with first in Google Chrome, and the PDF loaded fine. Then I went to the URL in Safari and though the PDF opened, for a second or two, the screen was black.
With this info, I then searched for “Safari black screen PDF plugin” and with the power of the Internet, I found the solution. It turns out that there was an issue with Adobe Acrobat and the plugins that Safari had installed:
In Safari 4.0.4, the screen turns black when you try to view PDFs…
Solution:
# Make sure that in your Adobe Acrobat or whatever Adobe you are using under *Adobe > Preferences > Internet “Display PDF in browser using:…”* is NOT active
# Quit Safari
# Open Finder: *Macintosh HD > Library > Internet Plug-Ins* and delete any plugins related to PDF (at least two of them: AdobePDFViewer.plugin and PDF BrowserPlugin.plugin)
# Open Safari and ENJOY
It seems that this is quite a common problem, so if you have experienced the same, this will fix it!
I’ll have my account of the MobileMe to iCloud transition in a second, but I first wanted to mention an amendment to last week’s iCloud article. I included only a partial explanation of what happens to .me/.mac email addresses if you don’t switch, and I realized after a few of you pointed it out that it definitely read incorrectly!
To clarify for current MobileMe email users: *Your .me/.mac email address WILL still exist, even if you don’t switch to Lion and upgrade to iCloud.*
*Apple states:*
bq. *”You can choose to keep using your mail after MobileMe ends, even on devices that don’t meet the iCloud system requirements. Just go to “*me.com/move*”:http://me.com/move and select the option to keep using your email after MobileMe ends. Once you have completed this short process, your mail will continue to work on devices that don’t meet the iCloud requirements after MobileMe ends on June 30th, 2012.”*
Hope that helps all of you who have asked email-related questions, and I apologize for the confusion! Now, onward…
About two weeks ago, I made the transition from MobileMe to iCloud. I had waited a while since the switch was announced, primarily because of my two machines (work and home), only one was running OS 10.7, Lion. The one running Snow Leopard was my work machine, and definitely the one I spend most of my time using.
Like many of you, I was concerned about my iDisk, iWeb files and making sure that my contacts were all migrated correctly. However, I wanted to make sure that I started the switch in plenty of time before June 30th, so if anything went wrong or I had questions, I’d have enough time to address them (the same can’t be said for many other things in life, alas…).
*Before I started, I made sure that a) both of my computers were running at least 10.7.2, and b) that I had iOS 5 on my iPhone.* Then, it was “*Go Time:*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/images/2917.png I went to “*Mobileme.com/move*”:http://mobileme.com/move to start ‘er up.
I found that the migration wizard was very straightforward–it was basically a series of web pages that look like “*this.*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/images/2918.png Note that there are services that Apple is waiting until the 30th to eliminate–Gallery, iDisk and iWeb–but also that there are services that __immediately__ cease to sync, such as Dashboard widgets, Keychains, Mail settings and rules.
One of the most helpful instructions I found is the reminder to back up your contacts, calendars and bookmarks before moving. To do this, go to each app and select File > Export to save the file. (Hopefully, you won’t need it, but it’s great to have!)
Once you’ve continued through the screens to set up your iCloud account, you’ll see “*this page.*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/images/2919.png At this point, you’re done with the computer portion of the setup, and each device that is running iOS 5 will have a handy little popup on it indicating that once clicked, the iCloud transition will be complete.
I had no issues with my upgrade, but I’m still plotting what to do with my website created with (and hosted by) iWeb services. I’ll keep you posted and continue to address your specific questions.
Again, here’s a helpful link to the MobileMe/iCloud FAQ:
“*Apple.com/mobileme/transition.html*”:http://www.apple.com/mobileme/transition.html
*iOS 5.1.1 Released*
Technically, this was last week, but we’ll include it in here anyway, in case you haven’t updated yet! In it: Bug and reliability fixes for AirPlay, Safari and more.
“*Read more here.*”:http://www.tuaw.com/2012/05/07/ios-5-1-1-update-now-available-in-itunes-and-ota/
*OS 10.7.4 Update*
The latest update to Lion includes a patch for a serious FileVault bug and Safari 5.1.7, which contains stability improvements.
“*Read more here.*”:http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/09/apple-drops-os-x-10-7-4/
*Security Updates for Mac OS 10.5 Leopard*
For those of you still running Leopard, take note of the security updates released this week from Apple.
“*Read more here.*”:http://tidbits.com/article/13005
Greetings loyal Kibbles & Bytes readers! My name is Michael Scott Duplessis and I am the newest member of the marketing team at Small Dog. I have worked here since September of 2010, formerly in the Phone and Web department. If any of you have called our sales line (1-800-511-MACS) in the last year and a half there is a good chance that we have spoken.
My history with Apple computers goes back to the 3rd grade when I started using an Apple IIe computer in the classroom. My favorite program was “*Logo.*”:http://el.media.mit.edu/logo-foundation/logo/programming.html I loved entering simple commands to create complex patterns with the turtle. Little did I know that, according to Logo creator Seymour Papert, I was increasing my body-syntonic reasoning skills the whole time. These days I use these skills to get three stars on Angry Birds.
My other current interests include science fiction and science fact. I think that it is because of this that I was recently described by head marketeer Dawn as “the nerdiest member of the marketing team.” That is quite an accomplishment at a computer company, so I am very proud to have earned this honor. I am also a musician (guitar, bass, keys, and accordion) and use my “*13 inch MacBook Pro*”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/Apple/MacBook_Pro/13in/ to record using “*Logic Pro.*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/logic-pro/id459578486?mt=12%26uo%3D6%26partnerId%3D30
I look forward to writing more articles for Kibbles & Bytes. In the meantime, you can check out the articles I have written during my time at SDE:
* “*Fine Art and the iPad*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/fine-art-and-the-ipad/
* “*The Future Is Now*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/the-future-is-now/
* “*Felis Catus and the iPad*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/felis-catus-and-the-ipad/
* “*Space: The Final Frontier*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/space-the-final-frontier/
_Dear Friends,_
This week, I did a presentation to one of Vermont’s outstanding companies, “*SymQuest,*”:http://www.symquest.com/ at the company’s annual meeting of their nearly two hundred employees. SymQuest’s president, Larry Sudbay, asked me to do it over lunch one day, and I admit that my first thought was, “how do I get out of this?” However, SymQuest is a great company and also one of the Deane C. Davis Award winners, so I agreed.
I knew that I needed to make the presentation about something that I was passionate about, so my thoughts immediately went to socially responsible business, motorcycles and dogs; soon, though, I gravitated toward science fiction and settled on the theme, __Science Fiction, Science Reality.__
It was fun putting together the presentation, and Dawn was a great help in finding clips from TV and movies to include. I showed how concepts dreamed up in sci-fi had found their way into reality. It also gave me the opportunity to show a bunch of Apple commercials to this PC-oriented crowd. (When I entered the auditorium, a woman came up to me and said, “I’m the only Apple user in the room…”)
I started my talk with a survey: How many people had iPods? About 70% raised their hands. I asked about iPhones and iPads with nearly the same results, and even when I asked about Mac, the PC crowd appeared to have about 35% closet Mac users. That got the talk off to a good start–many years ago, as I was stressing about giving a public speech, my PR consultant, Peg Devlin, called me over. As I leaned over to talk to her, she scolded me for being nervous and just said “get up there, relax and have some fun.” Simple advice, but I think about it every time I give a talk.
Larry and SymQuest made a $1,000 donation in my name as an honorarium and we gave that to “*ReBuild Waterbury,*”:http://rebuildwaterbury.org/ a non-profit aimed to help a nearby town hit very hard during Hurricane Irene. It was very nice of them to do that!
I rode my motorcycle out to Minneapolis for the ASMC conference with Jason Lewantowicz, our Service Manager. We took 4 days to get out there and 3 to get back, traveling through Canada and taking the high speed ferry over Lake Michigan on the way out. The Apple Specialist Market Cooperative meeting was one of the best ever with great attendance, lots of vendors and good presentations.
I was out in the hall chatting with some Apple folks when one of my friends came running out of the meeting and said “Don, get in here it is all about you!” So, I came in and on a 40-foot screen was a picture of my smiling mug with Hammerhead, my Bulldog. Gair Maxwell was giving a presentation called “The Branding Highway” and was using me and Small Dog Electronics as an example of how to do it right. He showed some of our commercials and it was great recognition.
The MacBook features an advanced NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics card, a 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and a Mack Extended Warranty that covers manufacturer’s defects for a full three years after the initial 90 days of ownership.
Original iPads are still in stock, and we’ve paired the 64GB iPad with a free Contour case this week! Buy alone or with the Mack 3-Year Extended Warranty for just $40 more–you’ll save a bundle and protect your investment.
I remember when Windows 98 introduced the ability to support multiple displays. If you had a desktop system with room for multiple video cards, you could have multiple monitors. This was great for those of us who ran way too many applications at once–you could split your workspace between multiple desktops. Since that time, video chips have gotten more powerful and can now drive multiple displays with a single chip.
Apple’s iMac and MacBook lines feature an internal display as well as a port to connect an external display. The displays can be configured to run the same desktop on both (which comes in handy for presentations), or two different desktops. With a USB to VGA adapter, you can add a third display, but it won’t be very fast. The Mac mini has no built-in display, but has adapters for two external displays–Mini DisplayPort and HDMI–and could potentially drive a third display with the USB adapter.
With the introduction of Thunderbolt, it is now possible to have multiple displays on any system that has a Thunderbolt port. The 15″ and 17″ MacBook Pro systems can support two Thunderbolt displays connected in a chain. The 13″ MacBook Pro can support a total of two displays, whether they be the internal plus one external, or two externals. (Plugging in a second external display disables the internal display.) The MacBook Air can drive one external display.
According to Apple, if you have multiple Thunderbolt devices, the Thunderbolt Display should go first, then any other devices like a hard drive should be connected to the Thunderbolt Display. Putting the display last in the chain affects data throughput of the other devices.
You can daisy chain a Thunderbolt display with an Apple CinemaDisplay, or any other display that uses a Mini DisplayPort connection. You just have to put some other Thunderbolt device between them. Connecting the CinemaDisplay directly to the Thunderbolt Display does not work.
Do you have an older iPod or iPhone that has a sluggish Home button? Does it take a couple taps to get it to register? It may just need to be recalibrated.
Before today, I didn’t even know you can do this; I’d always figured it was just a failing part. But thanks to an article on “*snapguide.com,*”:http://snapguide.com/guides/ I learned that you can recalibrate the button.
In order to do this, you need to open up one of the stock Apple apps (like Calendar, YouTube, Weather, Maps, etc.). Once the app is open, hold down the power button until the red “slide to power off” shows up, then immediately press and hold down the home button until the slider goes away. The app quits and you’re back at the home screen. There’s no guarantee that this will fix the problem, but depending on the issue, it may.
You can read the original article “*here.*”:http://snapguide.com/guides/calibrate-your-home-button/
__Editor’s Note: I discovered that I had a bad habit of using the Home button to turn on my iPhone instead of using the Sleep/Wake button. As a result, my Home button was very sluggish and I was afraid it was starting to fail. Once I trained myself to use the Sleep/Wake button, I reduced the amount of use on the Home button dramatically, and in return, it’s much more responsive. In conjunction with this tip, I think any Home button seemingly “on the verge” can be saved.–KH__
Apple has released an update to Lion, bringing the OS version to 10.7.4. It includes a number of fixes, most notably that it patches a pretty serious FileVault bug.
Other notable fixes:
* Resolves an issue in which the “Reopen windows when logging back in” setting is always enabled.
* Improves Internet sharing of PPPoE connections.
* Improves using a proxy auto-configuration (PAC) file.
* Addresses an issue that may prevent files from being saved to an SMB server.
* Improves printing to an SMB print queue.
* Improves performance when connecting to a WebDAV server.
* Includes RAW image compatibility for “*additional digital cameras*”:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4757
* Improve the reliability of binding and logging into Active Directory accounts.
The OS X Lion v10.7.4 Update includes Safari 5.1.7, which contains stability improvements. It also includes a version check for the Adobe Flash plugin, so if you are using an outdated version of Flash, Safari will disable it.
Here’s a question for you: How much stuff do you have in your attic or basement, or a storage shed someplace, that you just don’t need anymore?
You put it away, thinking some day you might need it. Perhaps it isn’t working, but you decided it was a waste to throw it out. Maybe you planned on getting it fixed so you could give it to someone going to college. More likely, it’s sitting in your house, taking up space and gathering dust. You’d throw it out, but sometimes you have to pay to get rid of it.
Now’s the time to do some house cleaning! Twice a year, we hold an eWaste Recycling Event so you can dump your old electronic gadgets. All you have to do is drag it to us, and we’ll do the rest. We have a team set up to unload your vehicle, put it on pallets, and haul it away–all for free! You don’t have to pay any disposal fees.
We’ll be holding two eWaste Recycling Events in June. On Saturday June 16, join us at the Mall of New Hampshire from 9am to 3pm. We’ll be set up in the rear parking lot near the Food Court entrance. Then, on Saturday June 30, we’ll be at Rutland High School from 9am to 3pm. We’ll take anything electronic–televisions, radios, DVD players, old computers, even microwaves and toasters. Last May, we collected almost 175 tons of stuff. Help us beat that number this year!
“*Click here for more info.*”:http://www.smalldog.com/ewaste2012
In this week’s Tech Tails, we bring you some info about the 10.7.4 update, how to fix a sticky Home button on your iOS device, and how to run multiple monitors on a Thunderbolt system.
As always, thanks for reading!
Glenn
“*glenn@smalldog.com*”:mailto:glenn@smalldog.com