Just Another Dang Blog » apple

R.I.P Steve Jobs, Stay Hungry Stay Foolish

lopau — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 03:00:31 +0000

Whenever I feel down and need inspiration, your speech at Handford(2005) always never fails to reenergize my spirit and continue to what I am doing.

We have truly lost a visionary. Rest In Peace Mr. Jobs.

Safari Bug on Lion: The application Safari canceled restart

lopau — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 04:59:49 +0000

Noticed a bug on my Safari after upgrading to Lion. Haven’t been able to recreate it is as it appears to be random, when using Safari and you close some tabs. When you try to quit the Safari, the option is greyed out from the Safari Menu and Command+Q does not work. If you try to restart your mac you’ll get the screen shot below.

So far there doesn’t seem to be a patch in place and temporary solution so far is to Force Quit Safari. You can also delete the Safari icon on the dock and add it back. Will keep updating this post still a permanent solution is found or is patched by Apple.

Java Runtime missing on Mac OS X Lion

lopau — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 18:06:14 +0000

From Rosetta missing for PowerPc apps to run on Intel machines, also missing after updating to Lion is the Java runtime which is used for running Java applications in my case particularly my Eclipse IDE.

Well it seems Apple will no longer preinstall Java moving forward on their new OS starting with Lion due to security vulnerabilities with Java and the previous OS. Instead Apple and Oracle are moving towards OpenJDK for the Mac OS X. When you try to run an application that requires the Java runtime environment the software update gets prompted for you download.

Well now I’m back on track on being productive on Lion.

Installing Mac OS X Lion and making an installer backup

lopau — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 05:55:14 +0000

Finally decided to upgrade to OS X Lion and check what all the fuzz is all about, Lion no longer support PowerPC apps which is the one thing so far that I dont like but could live with it.

So far in my opinion its like Snow Leopard with a twist of features from iOS. For a full list of all the new features check this link. The download took forever on my connection the total file size is 3.76GB.

The installation from the Mac App Store is straightforward, after download it would run installation and then restart and should be done in around 25-30 minutes.

But before you go ahead and install Lion you should make a backup of the installer. Apple removes the installer after being installed. So incase you want to reinstall Lion you have to redownload that huge file from the App Store again( by holding Option key then clicking on installed button) or from the new feature Mac Restore which is a utility tool used when you boot up the computer, you have option to use Time Machine, Reinstall Lion (requires WIFI connection), Online Help and Disk Utility.

To make a backup of the installer:

1. The installer is called Install Mac OS X Lion.app and it should have been downloaded to /Applications.

2. Control+click the installer, and choose Show Package Contents

3. Go to Contents > Shared Support > InstallESD.dmg

Now use the DiskUtility to copy the file to a flash drive or another hard drive.

Note: I tried burning it to a DVD and it always fails to boot. Also even though the file is 3.7GB it wont fit in a 4G Flash drive. So be sure you have a 8G USB drive.

4. On DiskUtility, drag and drop the InstallESD.dmg file on the resource pane, plugin your HD or Flash Drive. Click on the Restore option, and drag and drop the resources to the specified fields.

Once done, restart your computer and hold down the Option key. Select the Flash Drive to boot.

July Mac Update Roundup

lopau — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 03:29:40 +0000

Mac Update Roundup

When Apple makes an update its totally goes with a bang.

Update 1: Yesterday the Mac OS X Lion got release with a hefty 4G download and tagged at $29.99 from the Mac App Store.

My rig is ready and I got the latest versions of Snow Leopard but still hesitant with this kind of OS updates Im not an early adopter, I’ll wait it out for another week to see user reviews and most definitely Im sure that there are some bugs to work out.

Update 2: Also a nice refresh is the MacBook Air getting i5 and i7 Sandy Bridge power, OS X Lion and Thunderbolt. This MacBook Air is reported as 2.5x faster.

I got hold of MacBook Air Core 2 Duo couple of weeks ago and my first impression is its really underpowered and slow. Looking forward to the new refresh.

Shot MacBook Air with 13″ MBP.

Update 3: Also the Mac Mini got an update to Sandy Bridget i5 and i7, I was thinking of getting an iMac since it already got Sandy Bridge refresh couple of months ago, now the Mac mini option is looking like a sweet deal to take for those budget strained. Those that want to get in developing apps for Mac and iPhone this should get you started.

Update 4: Notice something different with Apple store site, there is no signs of the plain ol’ MacBook. I thought it was due for a refresh as when I dropped by couple of weeks ago to an Apple store and they dont have any stock. And its official this product line has been discontinued. So no more plastic unibody.

Consuming Social Media Theory

lopau — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:18:27 +0000

With all the social media found in the web its easy to get hanged up and unknowingly spend alot more time on consuming media like reading RSS feeds, checking Facebook, Twitter, reading blogs, etc than getting real work done.

I just saw a video shared to me on Facebook made by Ed Dale on how he keeps his edge by consuming social media in the most efficient manner and using the right technology. I very like much his approach and theory on how and when you should consume social media which is pretty simple but very much overlooked.

When in front of the computer you should be working and developing, consume social media when not working like when on the bed, sala or doing something else.

Ed uses the available resources like an Ipad which is designed to consume content and use it efficiently which he access or read for later when not in front of the computer.

Check out his vid below.

Now I want an Ipad. Planning to get one when Ipad 2 becomes available here in the Philippines.

Setup EC2 and FileZilla with PPK file on Mac OS X

lopau — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 10:07:42 +0000

Coming from a Windows platform where I have tools like Putty to connect via SSH to our EC2 (Elastic Cloud Compute) instance on Amazon web services(AWS) and a tool like Pageant where I can load a .ppk key to allow me to connect my Filezilla client to connect via SFTP.

I had to do the same on Mac OS X which eventually took me a bit of time to figure out. So I’m writing this short tutorial to document how I got it configured, so I can refer to it in the future and also help out those having a hard time setting it up. This tutorial is basically for those users who connect to Ec2 from a Windows platform and then moved to a Mac OS X platform.

1. On Windows using a telnet application like Putty to connect via SSH, you require a .ppk key. So first thing is to locate your PPK key in Windows.

2. Next you need to convert the PPK key to an OpenSSH format. Using PuttyGen load the .ppk file and then save the .ssh file generated. (eg. files aws_rsa.ppk and aws_rsa.ssh)

3. Copy the .ssh file and the original .ppk file over to your Mac directory like the Documents folder

4. Next open up Terminal on your Mac and create a new directory

# mkdir ~/.ec2

5. Copy the .ssh file to the ~/.ec2 directory

#mv /Users/myUser/Documents/aws_rsa.ssh ~/.ec2/aws_rsa.ssh

6. Change the file permission

# sudo chmod 600 aws_rsa.ssh

7. Finally connect to your instance.

# ssh -i aws_rsa.ssh root@ec2-xxx-xx-xxx-xxx.compute-1.amazonaws.com

Replace ec2-xxx-xx-xxx-xxx.compute-1.amazonaws.com with your EC2 public address.

Hopefully you should be able to connect to your server instance then.

Next is straightforward, this is for using a GUI like FileZilla to connect to your instance.

1. Open up FileZilla then go to Preferences

2. Go under SFTP and click on Add Key

3. Browse over to your Documents folder where you saved your .ppk file

4. Create a new site and add the public address for the host and protocol as SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol), user as root and password leave as blank.

That should be it you should be it. You could now SSH using the Terminal or connect via SFTP using FileZilla. Happy cloud computing.

Transfer Analog MiniDV to a MacBook Pro with Firewire 800

lopau — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 04:23:05 +0000

If your like me who still uses an Analog miniDV to capture videos on special events, since early 2008 the MacBook Pro now uses a Firewire 800 and went away with the Firewire 400. You would need special cable or adapter to get the job done.

The last MacBook Pro I used which was issued to me when I was working for the local government was an older model around (2007) not the new unibody. Port available to me back then was the Firewire 400. The cable I used was a 4pin to 6 pin to convert my analog miniDV to digital.

Here is my Sony HC 32 cradle for my analog miniDV where I hook up the 4 pin to the second slot marked DV.

So you can either get an adapter that converts Firewire 400 to Firewire 800.

Or get a 4pin to 9 pin Firewire cable.

I got the 4pin to 9pin cable which cost P900( around $21-$22) in a store I found in SM Megamall.

Now I started to convert all those analog miniDVs I have collected and planning to get a digital camcorder in the future or a point and shoot camera that shoots HD videos.

My Fresh MacBook Pro

lopau — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 15:05:17 +0000

Finally after a long wait, which was also a good thing as the MacBook Pro line got a total refresh that is truly significant than the last one. New processor, new graphics card, bigger RAM and storage, the new technology for 10GB transfer called Thunderbolt. Plus some Facetime HD which records in 720p HD.

I got my MBP last Saturday at Power Mac Center at Trinoma. I actually tried preordering it on a local reseller here in Pampanga particularly Switch in Marquee Mall since last week of Feb, but everytime I make a followup their staff seems clueless and gives excuses that it maybe 2 to 3 months before it arrives etc. So decided to search for contacts numbers for Power Mac Center and when it was available we hurriedly made a short trip to Manila.

I got myself 13 inch as I feel this is more portable and lightweight, I had a chance to use the 15 inch(2008) edition and it was pretty lumpy.

Here are the specs of my 13inch MBP.

13-inch Configurations

	2.3GHz MacBook Pro (MC700LL/A)	2.7GHz MacBook Pro (MC724LL/A)
Enclosure	Precision aluminum unibody
Processor	2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5	2.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7
L3 cache	3MB shared	4MB shared
Memory	4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) of 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM; supports up to 8GB
Hard drive⁶	320GB Serial ATA; 5400 rpm	500GB Serial ATA; 5400 rpm
Slot-loading optical drive	8x SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Graphics	Intel HD Graphics 3000 processor with 384MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory⁵
Video	FaceTime HD camera; Thunderbolt port with support for DVI, VGA, dual-link DVI, and HDMI (requires adapters, sold separately)
Display	13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, 1280-by-800 resolution
Expansion	One Thunderbolt port (up to 10 Gbps), one FireWire 800 port (up to 800 Mbps), two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps), SDXC card slot
Audio	Stereo speakers with subwoofer, omnidirectional microphone, combined headphone/line in (supports digital output)
Networking	10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit) Ethernet
Wireless	Wi-Fi (based on IEEE 802.11n specification)²; Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) wireless technology
Hardware accessories	60W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, power cord
Limited warranty and service	Your MacBook Pro comes with 90 days of free telephone support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase theAppleCare Protection Plan to extend your service and support to three years from your computer’s purchase date. Only the AppleCare Protection Plan provides you with direct telephone support from Apple technical experts and the assurance that repairs will be handled by Apple-authorized technicians using genuine Apple parts. For more information, visit Apple support or call 800-823-2775.
Apple and the global environment	Learn more about Apple’s dedication to reducing the environmental impact of our products and processes. The Apple Product Environmental Specification details the environmental attributes of our products.
Recycling	Apple takes a holistic view of materials management and waste minimization. Learn more about how to recycle your Mac.

And took some unboxing photos:

Total Verdict: It was worth the wait, still expensive as it gets for a laptop but personally for quality, slick design, all aluminum case form and now with the extra juice bump from core duo to core i5 plus the other goodies it’s totally worth every penny. With just having it for a few days, I can say that it is superfast.

MacBook Pro Refresh

lopau — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 05:19:08 +0000

There are rumors that the MacBook Pro will get a refresh by the end of the month. Good news for me as I was tempted to buy this February, I hold it off purchasing til March, apparently there is a refresh, can’t wait for the specs to roll out. Hopefully the Apple PH site will have the latest refresh units available this March though.

UPDATE: 2/25

The rumors are right, the MacBook Pro got a refresh and I like it. So far not much change on the casing but pretty impressive upgrades on the hardware plus introducing Thunderbolt for amazingly fast digital transfer.

The specs for the 13 inch model which I would be getting are the following:

2.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor with 3MB shared L3 cache or 2.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor with 4MB shared L3 cache
4GB (two 2GB SO-DIMMs) of 1333MHz DDR3 memory; two SO-DIMM slots support up to 8GB

MagSafe power port
Gigabit Ethernet port
FireWire 800 port (up to 800 Mbps)
Two USB 2.0 ports (up to 480 Mbps)
Thunderbolt port (up to 10 Gbps)
Audio in/out
SDXC card slot
Kensington lock slot

Hit the link to apple site for more info and specs.