Mac OS X Linux Tech

Month: May 2008

  • Leopard 10.5.3 update released

    Apple has just released Mac OS X 10.5.3 update and the changes are not earth shattering. Here is a list of changes in Leopard OS X 10.5.3 posted at Apple Support. Most important to me would be this one: “Addresses reliability issues when performing a full restore from a Time Machine backup.” [Hint: don’t install…

  • Alternative to Safari: Camino Browser

    A good alternative browser to Safari on Mac OS X Leopard is Camino. Camino is based on Mozilla’s Gecko engine, so it operates much like Firefox on Mac, but a hell of a lot quicker. Camino just released version 1.6.1 (May 20, 2008), which fixed stability and security issues from their last major release, 1.6,…

  • Download divx for Mac

    To play divx videos or movies in QuickTime / Front Row on Mac OS X, you need to install a divx codec. If you open an .avi file and see only black, you likely don’t have a divx codec installed. Download a free divx codec for Mac here then following these walkthrough instructions on how…

  • Switch Between Keyboards on Mac

    Say you have different keyboard layouts cause you’re bilingual and need access to accents or different alphabets. The normal way to switch between these two keyboards would be to show the keyboard icon on the top Menu bar and simply click on the icon and choose the keyboard layout you wish to use. Although this…

  • Caution filename not matched when unzipping multiple files

    Fix for “caution: filename not matched” error when trying to unzip multiple files at once in Terminal. Solution for unzipping multiple zip files with a single command. Open up a Terminal window on OS X, go to the directory containing the zip files and enter this command: unzip *.zip The backslash escapes (prevents) the wildcard…

  • Loud MacBook Drive Sounds Listen and Compare

    Think you have a loud or noisy CD/DVD drive in your MacBook / MacBook Pro? Apple was kind enough to record the noises from SuperDrives installed in MacBooks so that we can compare our drive sounds to that of “normal” SuperDrives.  In my opinion, the SuperDrives make horrible loud clunky noises completely unbefitting of sleek…

  • How to Turn Off Safe Sleep

    First find your current sleep setting by opening Terminal in OS X and entering this at the prompt: pmset -g | grep hibernatemode That should return you something like “hibernatemode 3”. Remember this number, send an email to yourself, write it down on a scratch pad, whatever it takes to remember your default mode. Mode…

  • Can’t Wake MacBook Pro from Sleep

    Open the lid and nothing? Tap keys, change brightness, close and re-open lid and your MacBook still in sleep mode? Solution: Turn off Safe Sleep. Or use Smart Sleep. If you open your MacBook lid and notice that you can’t wake your MacBook from sleep, it’s because of the Safe Sleep system Apple designed. This…

  • Terminal in OS X Leopard or Tiger

    Open Finder Go to Applications => Utilities Double click on Terminal or highlight Terminal and Apple/Command Key + Arrow Down.

  • LED Screen Color Balance MacBook Pro

    In a follow-up to my previous post on the best laptop screen – MacBook Pro 15″ LED backlit screen, I’ve discovered why the laptop screen is quite different in displaying the same photo as compared to something like a Samsung SyncMaster 206bw which I use as my secondary display. It comes down to screen gamut…