Latest Posts in Working Mac

Opinion: Acrobat.com app suite still undercooked

The following article is reprinted from the BizFeed blog at PCWorld.com.

Adobe’s Acrobat.com suite of collaborative applications is just out of beta and features word processing, web-conferencing, PDF creation, and file storage apps. A quick test-drive shows promise, but reveals a lack a cohesiveness and key applications still in beta.

Acrobat.com consists of five applications: Buzzword, Connect-Now, Create PDF, Share, and My Files, which are word processing, Web conferencing, PDF conversion, file sharing and file storage applications, respectively. Spreadsheet and presentation applications are also available, but not yet officially released.

The service offers three subscription levels: Free, Premium Basic (Oxymoron alert), and Premium Plus. The differences lie in the number of Connect-Now participants and the number of PDF documents that can be converted. Premium Basic runs $14.99 a month or $149 yearly versus $39 and $390 for Premium Plus

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Switch network settings with ease

Every time you move your Mac laptop—from the office to home, from home to the neighborhood coffee shop—you must adjust its network settings. Ethernet or Airport? VPN or no?

You could change all those settings manually, each time you move. Or you could—and should—use the Location feature built into the Mac OS X’s Network system preference pane instead. Locations are saved profiles that you use to ensure your laptop is using the right network adapters and VPN settings for your current whereabouts, whether you’re at work, at home, at the coffee shop, or anywhere else.

Here’s a quick guide to the basics of using Locations, some not-so-basic tips, and some recommendations for third-party programs that can extend your Mac’s location awareness even further.

Creating a new location

When you open the Network preference pane (System Preferences -> Network), the location drop-down is right there at the top, showing the selected location. Below that, you should see a list of currently available network adapters on the left, and settings you’ve assigned to those adapters on the right.

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Wolfram Alpha research secrets

The following article is reprinted from the PCW Business Center at PCWorld.com.

I was born 5 hours and 17 minutes before a full moon began to rise over Minneapolis. The sky was nearly cloudless, and the temperature outside was 46 degrees Fahrenheit.

These facts are admittedly just a party trick from Wolfram Alpha, the Internet’s new “computational knowledge engine.” I just told it when and where I was born, and it came up with those details. But the engine’s future—and its real power—comes from comparing all kinds data on its servers.

Wolfram Alpha leaves the googling to the search engines. Instead of relying on spiders to crawl sites, employees enter and scrutinize its data, applying both manual and automated methods. Its value comes from making comparisons, overlaying stock charts, creating tables and graphs that report similarities and differences in socioeconomic data, and otherwise helping you draw conclusions from intersecting details.

Someday, when sufficient data is in place, you could compare a favorite baseball player’s home run record versus the time of the game. The framework exists for this kind of detailed search, and you can already make similar queries on other topics.

You have to think differently to begin tapping into Wolfram Alpha’s abilities. Here are some tips on how to get started with this new kind of comparison engine.

Exchange support coming with Snow Leopard

Editor’s Note: The following article is reprinted from the BizFeed blog at PCWorld.com.

Apple announced a variety of improvements to its OS X operating system during Monday’s Worldwide Developers Conference, though one feature in particular should pique the interest business users in Snow Leopard. In the forthcoming OS X update, users will at last be able to use Microsoft Exchange without requiring the aid of outside software such as Microsoft Entourage.

In a demo of the new features, Apple senior vice president of software engineering Bertrand Serlet explained that the three built-in contact, scheduling, and e-mail apps will now feature Exchange configuration as a standard option. Users can simply enter their Exchange e-mail address and password, and Snow Leopard will automatically configure all three apps at once.

Serlet went on to demonstrate the features in action, which is a sight most Exchange users are already quite familiar with. With Exchange configured, calendar entries, e-mail folders, to-do items, notes, and other data will sync automatically between users on the same server.

This is certainly a welcome move for business users and network admins who manage Macs in their business environments. Whether it signals a more serious focus on the workplace for Apple remains to be seen.

Snow Leopard will ship in September as a $29 upgrade for Leopard users.

Troubleshoot your Internet connection

Your Internet service provider tells you that your service should provide “up to” 8 Mbps downstream. But then a Web-based speed tester tells you you’re getting less than that. Who’s to blame here?

To figure that out, you have to look at four components of your Internet connection: your local area network (LAN), the gateway (typically a router) that connects your LAN to your broadband modem, the modem itself, and the wide area network (WAN) that connects that modem to your ISP.

(What’s that you say? You haven’t tested your broadband speed? You really should. DSLReports.com has a long list of them. To use one correctly, make sure that nothing else is happening on your network or over your Net connection—no automated backups, no file downloads, no streaming video, not even any e-mailing. If at all possible, plug the computer directly into your broadband modem.)

The Local Network

Because you control your own LAN, it’s a good place to start troubleshooting a problem with your broadband. (In addition to the advice that follows, you should also consult Troubleshooting AirPort Interference and Improving AirPort’s Range.)

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The Gateway

The second Internet-connection component that can slow down your Internet connection is the gateway. Typically, that’s a router, such as an AirPort base station, connected to your broadband modem.

Double-Check Your NAT: If your service is 30 Mbps or faster, and your gateway is configured to hand out private network addresses to your local network, that gateway might become a bottleneck for data.

The problem is that network address translation (NAT), which lets multiple devices on a local network share a single gateway IP address, requires constant computation. Every hunk of data passing in or out needs to have the addresses rewritten. If that data is coming in at high speeds, your gateway’s NAT may not be able to keep up.

If you have a superfast Internet account, the workaround is to pay for static IP addresses from your ISP and manually assign one to each of your Macs. You can then turn off NAT in your gateway.

Disable WDS: If you connect multiple base stations via Wi-Fi using the Wireless Distribution System (WDS)—in Apple base stations released starting in 2007, this functionality is called Extend A Wireless Network—you could be shortchanging your bandwidth. When WDS is turned on, each byte of data sent has to be retransmitted for each base station. So if you have two base stations, your network’s bandwidth is cut in half; if you have three, it’s cut in thirds; and so on. Disabling WDS and instead using Ethernet or powerline networking to connect your base stations should restore your full speed.

The Modem

The biggest problem with modems is that they get old.

Make Sure Your Modem Is Modern: If you haven’t bought a broadband modem or received a new one from your ISP within the last three years, call your ISP to make sure the one you have is up-to-date enough to handle your connection.

Some early DSL modems still in use don’t support the faster speeds of newer DSL lines—their slower CPUs can throttle downloads. Newer hardware can work faster.

Similarly, older cable modems that support the DOCSIS 1.0 standard won’t be able to keep up with networks that encode data with DOCSIS 2.0 (or, as is increasingly the case, DOCSIS 3.0). Check your cable modem’s manual to see which standard is in use.

Your ISP might swap your old modem for a new one at no cost. If you’re renting the modem, you should (politely) demand that upgrade. If your initial contract term is up, you can often renew and get a new modem at no cost. If you’re within a contract term, suggest that you’re thinking of switching providers; you could very well get a new modem in response.

Check Your Connections: Because a broadband modem has one input for a phone line or a coaxial cable, a bad hunk of cable or a wobbly plug can mean inconsistent service, with frequent drops or slowdowns.

Watch the Lights: As with your gateway, keep an eye on your modem’s status lights if the network slows down. One DSL modem I had crashed every time a Mac connected to its Web interface, but I’d never have known that if I hadn’t been watching its status lights. If something like that happens, call your ISP to start troubleshooting. (Mine was unable to solve the problem; I ended up switching ISPs.)

The Wide Area Network

If you’ve checked your local network, gateway, and modem, and they all seem to be up to snuff, you should check one more potential source of Internet slowdowns: the wires between your modem and the Internet.

Check Your Cable Again: The cable from the back of your broadband modem to the nearest phone or cable wall jack can suffer from the same problems as any Ethernet cabling on your local network. Check it for bends and kinks, and make sure the insulation shows no signs of wear. If it does, replace it. With coaxial cable, make sure the hard-to-turn hexagonal nut around the connector is as tight as it can be. To be sure, lift the cable to release tension while turning the nut.

Call Your ISP: If you suspect that the line outside your house is causing connection problems, call your ISP and ask for a line test. Such tests aren’t as useful as they might be: they can detect only whether your modem is responding. (If you have DSL, your provider may also be able to check the impedance on the line and use that to figure out if it is achieving the proper signal-to-noise ratio for your line speed.)

Watch the Weather: At some point, a wire leaves your house and connects to a demarcation point at a utility pole or a buried line. That connection is typically exposed to the elements. If your bandwidth sags when the wind blows, call your ISP for a service call to check the wire. When service is erratic, calling your ISP is especially useful; a technician may be able to test the line and witness a problem. (Keep in mind that if the ISP doesn’t find a problem, you may have to pay for a service call.)

Call an Electrician: If you’re certain that there’s a problem between your modem and the Internet, but you’re also certain that the problem doesn’t lie between your modem and the wall jack or between your house and the ISP, you may have a problem inside your walls. (For example, I once had a wasps’ nest in an exterior wall, and the insects ate the insulation on the cable coming into the house.) Indoor wiring is your responsibility; if you’re sure that’s where the problem lies, you’ll have to either hire a professional (in some states, that means an electrician) or pull some new wire yourself.

[Glenn Fleishman writes constantly about networking, mostly wireless, and is the author of Take Control of Your 802.11n AirPort Network (Take Control Ebooks).]

Gmail power tools

Five years ago, using Web mail meant putting up with flashing banner ads, spam, miniscule inboxes, and embarrassing addresses like ninjapirate73@hotmail.com.

Gmail changed all that. Google’s free Web-based e-mail service offers a so-good-you-forget-it’s-there spam filter, multi-gigabytes of storage, custom addresses, and more, all for free. That’s why two years ago I moved all my personal and business e-mail to Gmail. If you use multiple computers and handheld devices (as I do), it just makes sense to have all your messages, contacts, filters, and folders in one place, where they are available from any Internet-connected device.

At first, I used desktop clients such as Mail and Thunderbird to check and manage my Gmail account. But pretty soon I switched to Gmail’s Web interface, and I’ve never looked back. One big reason: an impressive collection of power tools that make me more productive. Here are a few of my favorites.

Enable Gmail Labs

Last summer Google engineers opened Gmail Labs, where they test advanced features.

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Beyond the Genius Bar

The time will come when something goes wrong with your Mac—something you don’t know how to fix yourself. That’s when you’ll likely consider a trip to your local Apple Store. There, at the Genius Bar counter, you’ll find Apple-trained experts ready to help for free with whatever ails your Mac. But the Genius Bar is not the only place you can turn. Whether you don’t have an Apple Store in your town or you’re just not ready to jump in the car and go, you have options:

Try the telephone

You can still find old-fashioned telephone support at 800/275-2273. It’s free for 90 days for most products, and for two years if you purchased AppleCare. If you prefer, you can avoid waiting on hold by placing your phone request at the Apple Expert page. Apple will call you at an agreed-upon time.

Choose online chat

Apple offers online chat help for a few products, notably MobileMe.

Check repair options

To find out about your warranty status and what repair options are available for any Apple product, check out Apple’s Online Service Assistant.

Learn more about your Mac

If what you need is general tutorial help rather than a fix for a specific problem, the Apple Store can still be of value. Skip the Genius Bar and instead select one of the many free workshops, from an iLife ‘09 introduction to a session about using Final Cut Pro. Each store maintains its own schedule. Or, for more personal help, spend $99 and get a year’s worth of training sessions via Apple’s One-to-One program. You’ll find details about what’s going on at the store nearest you by visiting its Web site (such as this page for the San Francisco store).

Find an Apple authorized service provider

Lastly, you may consider going to an Apple Authorized Service Provider. These providers may be more conveniently located than an Apple Store. They are also typically less expensive and not as busy (so you are more likely to get help as a drop-in visitor).

Make the most of the Genius Bar

If you work your way through the quick fixes and my other troubleshooting suggestions without success, you’ll exhaust your patience. This can easily happen if your Mac’s problem lies with its hardware—in most cases, you can’t do those repairs yourself. More rarely, you might have a software problem that you can’t figure out, despite your best efforts. In either case, the time has arrived for a trip to the Genius Bar. Here are a few suggestions for getting good results:

1. Bring Apple problems to Apple

Not surprisingly, the Genius Bar is best suited for problems with Apple products. Geniuses are less likely to help—and may even refuse to do so—with problems involving third-party hardware and software. If you know your problem is with Adobe Photoshop or a Canon printer, for example, you’re usually better off contacting the makers of those products than dealing with the Genius Bar. If in doubt (perhaps the problem is with Apple’s printing software rather than the Canon printer), you can always let the Genius sort out whom to ask for help.

2. Make an appointment

Don’t drop in at an Apple Store unannounced. The Genius Bar is incredibly popular. Just show up and you’ll likely have to wait several hours before your name is called. If you arrive on the late side, you probably won’t even have the option to wait—there won’t be any more time slots open for that day.

You’ll be much better off if you make an appointment for your Genius Bar visit via Apple’s Web site. Arrive a few minutes early and check in with the concierge. In most cases, the Genius Bar will call you up within minutes of your appointed time.

3. Check your warranty

Apple products generally come with a one-year warranty. If you purchase AppleCare, that extends it for another two years. For a product that’s still under warranty, there’s a good chance that Apple won’t charge you for repair or replacement. Occasionally, it may offer a free repair or replacement even if the warranty has expired. It can’t hurt to bring in your hardware and check things out.

If you expect to be paying for any repairs, you may face some difficult decisions. Many repairs cost almost as much as a replacement. Would you rather spend $800 to fix your three-year-old MacBook or get a new one for $1,000? Ideally, give this possibility some thought before your visit.

4. Bring in the hardware

If possible, have on hand all the hardware required to demonstrate your problem. For example, if you are having a problem getting your MacBook to connect wirelessly to your AirPort Base Station, bring both the laptop and the AirPort. If this isn’t practical, at least have the model names and serial numbers of the additional products. And of course bring your Mac with you.

5. Be ready to leave everything there

If it turns out that your Mac needs a repair and you give the go-ahead, you’ll probably have to leave your Mac with Apple. Don’t even make an appointment for the Genius Bar until you know you can do without your computer for a few days. And since there’s always a chance that you’ll lose data on your hard drive, back up the drive before you take off for the store.

When quick troubleshooting fixes fail

You’ve tried quick fixes. You’ve searched the Web for help. Still, your Mac is unhappy. It’s time to focus on finding the cause of your problem instead of just getting rid of the symptoms.

Track down the source of trouble

When your computer is running smoothly, it’s a very good idea to set up a separate troubleshooting account using the Accounts preference pane. Leave this account untouched and unused until things start to go awry.

For example, suppose you are having a problem where an application keeps crashing on launch. Log in to your troubleshooting account by selecting Log Out username from the Apple menu, and then selecting the account from your login screen. Launch the troublesome application. Does it launch successfully now? If so, you’ve discovered a critical piece of information. You now know that the cause of the crash is almost certainly some file within your Home directory—the folder that holds all the files for your usual user account. (Your Home directory is labeled with a house icon and your user name.) You can move on to the next troubleshooting step.

On the other hand, if you use a different account and the crash still occurs, you’ve learned that the source of the problem is probably outside your Home directory. As you’ve presumably already tried reinstalling the application to no avail, the problem is most likely in the /System/Library or /Library folders—or perhaps one of the invisible Unix folders. Fixing problems like these outside your Home directory can be tricky. If you’re feeling intrepid, one of OS X’s troubleshooting utilities may be able to help (see “Five helpful troubleshooting utilities you already have”). For many people, though, a problem of this type merits a visit to the Genius Bar.

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Five helpful troubleshooting tools you already have

Apple's Disk Utility and its First Aid feature may be one of the best and most familiar places to turn when things go wrong. But there are many problems that First Aid can't solve. In such cases, Apple's diagnostic programs may come to the rescue. Here are the ones I depend upon most often:

Network preference pane and Network Utility

If you’re having trouble with an Internet connection, your first stop should be the Network preference pane. Click on the Assist Me button. From the dialog box that appears, select Diagnostics. If you still need more help, and you have sufficient technical skills, try Network Utility (in /Applications/Utilities). See “Inside Network Utility” for a guide to its most useful features.

Activity Monitor

When you’re wrestling with systemwide problems, such as your Mac slowing down, Activity Monitor (in /Applications/Utilities) is the first place to turn. This program lists all your open processes, including applications as well as those behind-the-scenes activities that you don’t see in the Finder.

Start by checking Activity Monitor’s CPU column. If one application is consistently showing an especially high percentage (anything over 30 percent would certainly qualify), it may be the source of your problem. If it’s an application you know you can safely quit, highlight it and click on Quit Process. Otherwise, if you don’t want to chance quitting something unfamiliar to you, restart your Mac. For more information, see “Monitor misbehaving Macs”.

Console

You can’t fix anything with Console (in /Applications/Utilities), but with a little determination you can use it to learn what needs fixing. Check the admittedly arcane Console and System logs. Here you might see the name of an open application, together with some error message that sounds as though it could be related to your symptoms. Even if the mentioned application doesn’t appear to be related, quit it (especially if the timing of the message concurred with the symptom’s appearance). If the problem goes away, you now know where to focus your energy as you do further troubleshooting. For more information, see “Tracking down trouble with the Console”

System Profiler

The simplest and most straightforward of the lot, System Profiler (in /Applications/Utilities) provides a wealth of detail about the status of your hardware and software. Want a quick check to see if your Mac’s RAM is installed properly? Need to know whether you’re running the latest version of your printer’s driver? Want to know who manufactured your DVD drive and whether it can read +R DL (double-layer) discs? System Profiler can answer all of this and more.

If you’re planning a trip to the Genius Bar, System Profiler lists the serial numbers and firmware numbers of your hardware components—from the Mac itself to USB and FireWire peripherals. These numbers can often assist a Genius in diagnosing your problem. If you’re can't bring all your peripheral devices with you, jot down the numbers for any hardware that you suspect may be related to your problem.