The Mac Space Blog

Address Book

• Improves reliability of Address Book syncing with iPhone and other devices and applications.

• Improves the reliability of AirPort connections, including improvements when roaming in large wireless networks with an Intel-based Mac.

• Improves reliability of synchronizing files on a portable home directory.
• Fixes an issue in Mac OS X 10.5.4 and 10.5.5 in which managed users may not see printers that use the Generic PPD.
• Client computers that use UUID-based ByHost preferences now respect managed Screen Saver settings.

• Addresses an issue that could cause an encryption alert to appear in the chat window.
• Setting your iChat status to “invisible” via AppleScript no longer logs you out of iChat.
• Resolves an issue in which pasting text from a Microsoft Office document could insert an image rather than text.

• Includes general improvements to gaming performance.
  
• Includes graphics improvements for iChat, Cover Flow, Aperture, and iTunes.
• Includes fixes for possible graphics distortion issues with certain ATI graphics cards.
  

• Includes overall performance and reliability fixes.
• Improves Connection Doctor accuracy.
• Fixes an issue that could cause messages identified as junk to remain in the inbox.
• Fixes an issue that could cause Mail to append a character to the file extension of an attachment.
• Addresses an issue that could prevent Mail from quitting.
• Improves reliability when printing PDF attachments.

• Contacts, calendars, and bookmarks on a Mac automatically sync within a minute of the change being made on the computer, another device, or the web at me.com.

• Improves Apple File Service performance, especially when using a home directory hosted on an AFP server. Important: If you are using Mac OS X 10.5.6 (client) to connect to a Mac OS X Server 10.4-based server, it is strongly recommended that you update the server to Mac OS X Server version 10.4.11.
• Improves the performance and reliability of TCP connections.
• Improves reliability and performance for AT&T 3G cards.
• Updates the ssh Terminal command for compatibility with more ssh servers.

• Improves printing for the Adobe CS3 application suite.
• Improves printing for USB-based Brother and Canon printers.

• Addresses an issue in which a parentally-controlled account could be unable to access the iTunes Store.
• Includes general fixes for time limits.
• Resolves an issue that prevented adding allowed websites from Safari via drag and drop.

• Fixes issues that could cause Time Machine to state the backup volume could not be found.
• Improves Time Machine reliability with Time Capsule.

• Improves compatibility with web proxy servers.
  
  

• Includes Mac OS X security improvements. See this website for more information.
• Addresses inaccuracies with Calculator when the Mac OS X language is set to German or Swiss German.
• Improves the performance and reliability of Chess.
• Improves DVD Player performance and reliability.
• Performance improvements for iCal are included.
• Fixes an issue when running the New iCal Events Automator action as an applet.
• Adds a Trackpad System Preference pane for portable Macs.
• Improves compatibility with smart cards such as the U.S. Department of Defense Common Access Card.
• Updates time zone data and Daylight Saving Time rules for several countries.

I recently ran out of hard drive space on my Apple MacBook.  My huge iPhoto library was the culprit.  So I found a great deal on a hard drive and swapped it out with the one in the MacBook.  Below is a walk through on upgrading your MacBook hard drive, and ending up with a spare external drive to boot!

Step by step MacBook hard drive upgrade:

Get a new 2.5″ drive

Get a 2.5″ SATA drive and 2.5″ external case (USB and/or Firewire).  Note: newer MacBooks no longer have a firewire port so be sure to get the correct external case for your needs.  The MacBook’s internal drive is a 2.5″  SATA drive.  I found a 250GB model for a little over $100.  While buying the drive, I picked up a USB external case for the old drive, so I could use it as a backup drive and for transferring the data.

Format new hard drive

Put the new drive in the external case and format it using Disk Utility, located in the Utilities folder.  Be sure to select GUID Partition Table which ensures bootability with Intel based macs.

Backup the old drive

Now it is time to transfer data to the new hard drive.  I recommend using Carbon Copy Cloner to backup your internal drive to the new external.  Though CCC is easy to use and free, it does have some advertisements which rotate while the backups are proceeding.

When the backup is complete, you can actually go to your system preferences and select the external drive as your boot drive to test it out by rebooting.  Once you’re confident the backup is good to go, power down and unplug your MacBook.

Switch the drives

It is now time to switch the drives.  You’ll need a coin, small philips screwdriver and a T8 Torx screwdriver.   Pull the external drive out of the case.  Open the MacBook’s battery lock (coin) and remove the battery. Remove the L shaped metal plate shown in the left image below.

The area behind short side of the L shaped plate is where the hard drive is located.  There’s a white pull tab you’ll need to access to pull out the drive.

Pull out the drive using the pull tab. When you have the drive out, use the Torx T8 to unscrew the drive from its EMI (electromagnetic interference) shield.  Being careful not to touch the circuit boards of either drive, put the new drive in the EMI case and screw it in.  The drive will slide right back into place.  Reassemble the L bracket and replace the battery.

Enjoy all that new hard drive space’

You should now be able to boot your Mac.  If you aren’t able to boot because the startup disc can’t be found, use the OSX install disc to reset the startup disk.

Done!

I was checking out the new MacBooks the other day.  I was getting excited about the day I could pass my old one down to my kids or sell it on ebay and get a new shiny one.  Then I noticed something horribly wrong.

THERE’S NO FIREWIRE ON THE NEW MACBOOKS!

DOH!  OOPS. I’m sure Apple, the inventor of this amazing technology called  “Firewire,” just forgot it.  It can’t be that Apple wants to force people like me, who use many many firewire drives and other devices like audio and video interfaces, to buy MacBook Pros?  No way.  That would be very “microsoft” of them to do something like that wouldn’t it?

I’m sure Apple will announce a big “ooops” and recall all the MacBooks and replace them with ones which have Firewire.  Unless that happens, I WON’T EVER be in the market for a MacBook again.  That doesn’t mean I’ll buy a brand new MacBook Pro either.  Now I don’t know what I’ll buy.

If you are in the need of ram for your Macintosh, here’s a good chart for you to check out which will tell you the correct type to buy:
DDR2 667MHz FB-DIMM ECC RAM:

• Mac Pro

DDR2 5300 SO-DIMM RAM:

• MacBook Pro
• MacBook
• Mac mini with Intel Processor
• iMac with Intel Processor

DDR 4200 RAM:

• Power Mac G5 (Dual-core 2Ghz or 2.3GHz and Quad 2.5GHz)
• iMac G5 (with iSight camera)

DDR 3200 RAM:

• Power Mac G5 (Single and Dual Processor models, 1.6-2.7GHz)
• iMac G5 (without iSight Camera)
• Mac mini (Power PC, 1.25GHz – 1.42GHz)
• Power Mac G4 (1.25GHz and higher)
• eMac (1.25GHz and above)

DDR 4200 SO-DIMM RAM: