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Pretty much everyone has downloaded from the iTunes store, but not too many of us know just how iTunes keeps track of computer authorization. Every device on the internet has at least two unique identifiers: a MAC address and an IP address.
MAC is an acronym for Media Access Control. Many believe that Mac, the abbreviation for Macintosh, should be written with capital letters – this is incorrect. Likewise, iPod – not iPOD or IPOD; iMac – not iMAC or IMAC; etc. Network interfaces have MAC addresses; Macintoshes can be called Macs.
Since your MAC address is completely unique, it’s the ideal way for iTunes to know that you’re authorized to play purchased content on any given machines. Trouble is, your ethernet port is part of the main logic board, which requires replacement in some repairs. With a new main logic board comes a new MAC address, which confuses iTunes and some other, generally high-end, software.
You’re allowed to authorize up to five computers at any one time to play your purchased content, but replacing your logic board changes the MAC address. If you didn’t de-authorize before repair, you’ve lost 20% of your available authorizations. I made this mistake a few years ago when I had to replace the logic board in a Mac Mini hooked up to my television, and when I sold my iBook. I also lost an authorization when my two-week-old PowerBook G4 flew off the roof of my car at highway speed. Thankfully, iTunes allows you to de-authorize all computers on your account once annually.
I only have one Machine these days, a 17-inch MacBook Pro, so this hasn’t been a problem of late for me. It’s a common question asked our technical support team, and a good fix to file in your troubleshooting arsenal.
The full details from Apple can be found here: “http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1420”:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1420
I am a huge fan of Spotlight, and use it so constantly that I’d be completely lost without it. Years ago, before Spotlight debuted in MacOS X 10.4, I had neatly organized folders and a filing system that worked very well–when I used it. Spotlight takes file search several steps further and actually allows you to search within files.
If you’re an advanced Spotlight user, you already know that you can tweak your search terms to find what you need. I detailed this process in “Tech Tails #683,”:http://blog.smalldog.com/techtails/?c=tt683 and I still receive e-mails from readers thanking me for publishing it. If you’re Spotlighting like a pro, this tip will be of comparatively less use, but for the rest of us who use Spotlight differently, it’s a useful piece of knowledge.
Open the Spotlight preference pane in System Preferences, and ensure the “Search Results” tab is selected. You can drag the items in this list up and down; those items at the top of the list will appear first in your search results, while those at the bottom of this will will appear last in your results.
Happy Tuesday,
I had the pleasure of watching five dogs, Owen included, over the weekend. It was good for all involved to have some very active days filled with swimming and hiking and lots of dogs in a beautiful setting at the base of Stark Mountain. Moxie, the six-month-old red heeler, seems to have a problem with Owen and continued her chronic misbehavior by lunging, barking, and snapping at Owen. She’s much better now than she was in her very early months, so we’re hoping to see that trend continue.
I’m amazed at my dog’s tolerance of this kind of behavior. When Owen is in our stores, it’s not uncommon to see children climbing on him, tugging his ears or tail, and he’s always taken it in stride and insisted on more play.
We strive to show the same patience to our customers are our technicians and sales associates help you on the phone or in our stores. It’s written right into our “mission statement:”:http://www.smalldog.com/about
Service mission: To offer the best possible customer service by providing a wide range of products, competitive pricing, superior tech support, and excellent customer support. Each customer is treated fairly and honestly as we ourselves would expect to be treated.”
If, for some reason, you are unsatisfied with a Small Dog experience, “we want to know!”:mailto:feedback@smalldog.com
As always, thanks for reading, and keep in touch.
Matt
“matt@smalldog.com”:matt@smalldog.com
Until 08/31 we’re offering all Apple software titles on sale, from 10% – 25% off! Some stand-out offers include the latest version Final…
We’ve seen several generations of Macs in the last decade, and at some, a new adapter was introduced to connect video devices to…
The new Mac Pros (shipping soon) are tremendously exciting. Back in the day, new Mac Pros would be a topic of conversation for weeks. Now, of course, iPhone-related news is the most exciting topic going, and updated Mac Pros are but an expected footnote.
I’m glad to see Apple is still in the desktop computing race. I’m looking forward to testing Final Cut Studio (and Motion in particular) on these new machines. We’ll let you know how it goes!
In the meantime, find us on “Twitter”:http://twitter.com/hellosmalldog and “Facebook,”:http://www.facebook.com/smalldogelectronics and I hope you have a great weekend and week!
Your Kibbles & Bytes Team,
_Don, Kali, Ben, and Ed_
Until 08/31 we’re offering all “Apple software titles”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/Apple|Software on sale, from 10% – 25% off! Some stand-out offers include the latest version Final Cut Studio on sale for $749.99 – the lowest price you’ll find anywhere. Final Cut Studio includes Motion, Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack, and DVD Studio Pro.
“MobileMe”:http://www.smalldog.com/wag20253/at_kb is on sale for 25% off. you can use this to register MobileMe service for the first time, or choose to use this special offer to renew your MobileMe service.
“Click here to see all Apple software titles – all on sale until 8/31!”:http://www.smalldog.com/category/x/x/x/Apple|Software
Stevie Wonder’s “__Superstition__”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fitunes.apple.com%252Fus%252Falbum%252Fstevie-wonder-the-definitive%252Fid3440159%253Fuo%253D4%2526partnerId%253D30 was the first song to come up on shuffle during my commute this morning. I’m normally not a very superstitious person, but when Garrison Keillor reminded me that it was Friday the 13th on the Writer’s Almanac, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was more than a coincidence. Combined with the fact that Mia–a Black Lab–crossed my path as soon as I walked into the office, consider me spooked!
Since superstition is abound, and it’s the only Friday the 13th this year, I thought that it would be especially relevant to lay a few common Mac superstitions to rest. For longtime Mac users the following may seem basic, but keep in mind that many switchers unfortunately are led to believe these myths are true due to previous experience on PCs.
*Your Mac Isn’t Virus-Immune:*
OK, so this one is pretty basic: Macs simply do not get viruses. You’d be surprised how many people immediately construe software or hardware-related issues as a virus. The fact is that there has never been a reported virus on a Mac. There have been internally developed proof-of-concepts as well a security flaws and vulnerabilities in various releases of Apple software, but there has never been a full blown Mac virus in the same vein as those so prevalent on the PC.
*Dell Printer + Mac = 7 Years of Bad Luck:*
This myth is partially true. You will have bad luck if you attempt to get a Dell branded printer to work on a Mac, but likely not 7 years worth. The PC Manufacturer is the only one whose printers are incompatible with Macs. The good news is almost every other USB 2.0 and network-based printer on the market is. A very common misconception amongst switchers is that their existing printer will be incompatible with a new Mac. Not only should the printer be compatible, but many popular printers feature plug-and-play functionality with Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard!
*Macs Don’t Play Nice at the Office:*
The majority of businesspeople rely on Microsoft’s Office Suite to some extent in their daily workflow. Since many businesses principally use PCs, it can be a little daunting bringing your new Mac into the office. Many people forget to realize that Microsoft has a version of their popular Office software designed exclusively for Macs! This means that you can continue to use Word, Powerpoint, and Excel even if you jump to a new Mac. Existing documents in Microsoft’s formats are even cross compatible between platforms. Though the interface in the Mac programs is subtly different from their PC counterparts, there is practically no learning curve associated with the software if you have previous experience with it.
Right now the most current edition of Office is *2008*. However, if you purchase the suite between *now and November 30th*, you can qualify for a free upgrade to *Office 2011* when it becomes available. See “*here*”:http://images.smalldog.com/rebates/office2011.pdf for details.
So there you have it. Rest assured that your Mac is free from all of these common tech superstitions. As for yourself, be sure to avoid ladders, black animals, and mirrors for the rest of the day. Happy 13th!
Next Thursday, we’re launching a new feature called *TopTen.plist* on our blog “Barkings.”:http://blog.smalldog.com/at_kb
TopTen.plist is a weekly list of the top ten items related to our favorite subjects. Our favorite subjects, of course, are basically Macs, software titles for Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod, apps, music, dogs, hot dogs, food, gadgets, food, the environment, food, Apple history and culture, and food.
Some people say that top ten lists are just a way to grab traffic online. While we can’t deny that thought never crossed our minds, our lists are truly intended to be a fun way to assemble and rank a bunch of related items. By posting them weekly, we’ll get to explore different topics (though it really will generally stay Mac-related, and we’ll mostly keep it useful for you).
We very much want your feedback for ideas for future lists. And when the lists are posted, feel free to comment on the lists with your own ideas, feedback and suggested rankings.
The weekly TopTen.plist will be posted on “Barkings”:http://blog.smalldog.com/at_kb every Thursday afternoon. The first one will be listed next week. Again, let us know if you have ideas for future lists!
This past Wednesday, Apple released the second revision to its iOS4 mobile operating system. This incremental update is focused entirely on patching a security vulnerability associated with Safari’s handling of PDF files. Under the previous iterations of the OS, a malicious PDF file could break through security by exploiting and subsequently crashing the Compact Font Format Handler in Safari. Introduced alongside comex’s fairly innocuous web based “JailbreakMe” exploit, this vulnerability has raised several security concerns. Though the jailbreak is legitimate, the same PDF exploit easily opens the gateway to malicious attacks which could put a user’s data and hardware at risk. Though no such attacks have been reported, a user would merely have to open a PDF to put themselves at risk.
Sensing the potential danger, and attempting to maintain their grasp over unlocked phones, Apple was quick to roll out an update. Though this update fixes the Safari security vulnerability, it also disables any “extra” features. While the update weighs in at a sizable 500MB, it addresses no other issues besides the Safari exploit. Users experiencing other issues under iOS4 will unfortunately have to wait until iOS 4.1 before their problems are further addressed.
Releasing a fix for iPad users as well, Apple has updated the iPad’s OS to version 3.2.2. Both updates can be easily downloadable through iTunes. Upon syncing your device, you should be automatically prompted with a message alerting you to the update. As always, we recommend backing up your device before performing a software update.