Category: Mac & OS X

Troubleshooting: List installed 3rd-party kernel extensions

TerminalBack in the days prior to OS X, it was easy to find 3rd party (and Apple) system extensions on your Mac. They were all located in the System>Extensions folder. With OS X though, the task of even knowing which kernel extensions are installed isn’t quite as easy, which can be particularly frustrating when you’re troubleshooting an issue on your Mac.

For the geeks among you, it’s quite easy though. To list all 3rd party extensions, simply launch the Terminal app located in your Utilities folder and type the following:
kextstat | grep -v com.apple

You can also list all the Apple-installed kernel extensions by typing:
kextstat

I came across this little hint over at OSXDaily, a site I visit quite often because of the variety of topics covered.

Deleting backups on iPod Touch and iPhone to save space

iTunes creates backups of settings and certain other information on iPhone and iPod touch devices, which can be used to restore those settings to those devices after a software restore or transferring to a new device. The problem is, those backups take up space.

iPhone backups

Deleting iPhone backups is easy with iTunes

You can delete those backups quite easily in iTunes simply by visiting iTunes>Preferences from the menubar. Select Devices from the icons across the top of the dialog window.

In the list below the icons, click the name of your device and hit the Delete Backup button. That’s it, space saved.

Free DVD to iPhone conversion software

DVD To iPhoneIf you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, or simply wish to convert video to a number of formats, you can get a free copy of iSkySoft’s DVD To iPhone software just for friending them on Facebook, and giving them your email address.

This free app promotion ends this week, so go to iSkySoft’s special Facebook page now, click the Like button at the top of the page, provide your email, and download the software. In about a minute you’ll receive a license number in your email to activate your free copy of the software.

Here, File File offers access to your home Mac from your iPhone

Here, File FileEver need a file while you’re out and about? Here, File File (HFF) is an iPhone/Mac pair of apps that allows you to access all of the files on your home Mac(s), wherever you go.

DropBox is fantastic, but you have to remember to put files in the DropBox folder. With HFF, you can access your Mac at home with your iPhone when you’re on the road. All your files are accessible as long as your computer is turned on, with no fuss on your part.

Here, File File requires a router that supports NAT-PMP or UPnP (you can set up port forwarding on your Mac if you don’t have a supported router).

If you’re wondering if the app is any good, consider the fact that Apple used the App in one of their iPhone commercials. Don’t need much more endorsement than that!

How to quit multitask apps on your iPhone

With Apple’s release of iOS4 for iPhone and iPod Touch we finally received multitasking, a feature requested since apps became available. However, if you’re not paying attention, you can quickly find yourself with 16 apps open, with no obvious way to quit them.

Quitting apps in iOS4

Quitting apps in iOS4

You activate multitasking by double-clicking the Home button at the bottom of your iPhone or Touch. This sends the active app into a sudo-hybernation mode. You can access those opened apps by double-clicking the Home button at any time have the multitask dock slide up from the bottom of the screen and display the open apps. Swiping to the right will show you up to 4 screens of open apps, all using battery life – though only a bit.

I’m not sure why Apple didn’t make it more obvious, but you can quit those apps simply by pressing and holding your finger over any app icon until a circular red icon appears on each icon. Clicking that red circle will close the apps. Press the Home button one more time to resume working.

Add Twitter capability to Safari with Ostrich extension

By now it should be no secret that you can add extensions to Apple’s Safari web browser. One new extension allows you to read and send Tweets with the click of a button.

Ostrich is accessed through a button in your browser bar which drops down an overlay window containing Tweets from your Twitter stream. The icon also notifies you of the number of unread Tweets with a red badge.

Ostrich for Safari

Ostrich adds Tweeting to Safari with the click of a button

One of the few features of Ostrich is the ability to automatically add a link to the page you’re currently on to a new Tweet, which you access by clicking the plus button in the upper right corner. And that’s what brings me to the single problem I have with this extension. When you click that plus button, a new window is spawned with a tiny text entry box; a royal pain in the behind, if you ask me. To be fair, the Ostrich feedback page does indicate that the developer is working on adding text input without spawning a new window.

Ostrich isn’t for everyone. Twitter power-users will want to avoid it due to it’s simplistic interface and lack of extra features. But if you’re only the occasional Tweeter, or you own a Macbook with a smaller screen and are trying to save screen space, Ostrich might fit the bill.

How to create customized OS X Mail stationery in Snow Leopard

Back in 2007, I wrote a tutorial on how to create your own customized OS X Mail stationery when Leopard was first released. To this day, it’s still one of the most popular articles on this site. I decided it was about time that I took a look at it again to make sure nothing had changed with all the updates to Leopard, and the release of Snow Leopard.

Mac OS X Mail Stationery

You can create your own customized Mail stationery quite easily

This tutorial is fairly simple, and you’re only limitations are your graphics skills. Of course, if you have knowledge of HTML, you can do a lot more with your customization. For the sake of this tutorial though, I’ll keep it simple.
(more…)

Use Facebook chat service in iChat

I’m not a big “chat” kind of guy, but I do use my Facebook account to chat with friends once in a while. The problem I have is that I hate that Facebook’s chat lives in the web browser. It’s a pain, and I would much rather use Mac OS X’s iChat app.

Fortunately, you can set up iChat to work with Facebook’s chat quite easily. This offers you the features of iChat, with all your friends on Facebook.

You’ll need to know your Facebook username, which if you’re unsure, you can get here.

iChat with Facebook

Setting up iChat to use Facebook chat is easy

Here are the simple steps to get iChat up and running with Facebook chat:

  1. Open iChat and hit Command + , to bring up the preferences
  2. Click the Accounts tab at the top of the iChat window
  3. Click the + symbol at the bottom left of the window to add an account
  4. In the Account Setup window that pops up, add the following:
    Account Type: Jabber
    Account Name: [your Facebook username]@chat.facebook.com
    Password: Your Facebook password
  5. Click the arrow next to Server Options to view the server inputs and enter the following:
    Server: chat.facebook.com
    Port: 5222
  6. Make sure the two checkboxes are UNCHECKED

That should do it.

Where to get Safari 5 extensions

Safari

With Safari 5 offering the ability to add features via extensions, but a central extension site hosted by Apple still not available, you might be wondering where to find some great extensions to expand your Safari web experience.

You could spend an afternoon Googling for them, or you could visit the following sites, which already offer links to numerous great extensions.

Safari Extensions Tumblr blog – Jonas Wisser has set out to list every available Safari extension he comes across. The site lists links and screenshots for the extensions. Generally speaking, this is the first site you’ll want to check.

PimpMySafari – This site has been around for a long time, but with the release of Safari 5 and a new site owner, it’s taken on new life. Unlike the previously mentioned blog, PimpMySafari promises to feature only the best extensions as determined by Scott Jangro. The site also features plugins and other ways to pimp out Safari.

Reddit Extension list – Some dude over at Reddit has composed a list of great extensions. I’m not sure how long the list will remain useful.

Safari Extensions list – Mac OS X Tips (a UK site) has put together a small but useful list as well. Be sure to check this site out for other useful Mac OS X tips!

Apple will soon offer a list on their site of “approved” extensions, but until such time, these sites offer plenty of useful add-ons for Safari users.

The most annoying thing about Apple’s Safari web browser

SafariAfter years of loving the speed of the Safari web browser but hating the lack of features, I was anxious to see what Apple had in store for us with Safari 5. Unfortunately, I’ve found the most annoying behavior still exists, and it keeps me from using Safari on a regular basis.

For many years I was a fan of Firefox – mostly due to extensions, which I used heavily. While Safari was faster, it just lacked too much for my day-to-day use. When Google released Chrome for the Mac, I switched almost immediately. The developer releases contained extension support long ago, and I was happy to take advantage of the new speed, along with most all the extensions I used.

When Apple recently released Safari 5 with extension support, I decided to give it another try.
(more…)

About The Graphic Mac

The Graphic Mac
Connect with me on:
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Pinterest