Wal-Mart is offering a Hewlett-Packard Deskjet 1050 All-in-One Printer for $20, with free-to-store or free-to-home standard (not overnight) shipping.
This all-in-one prints, scans and copies but does not fax. It requires Mac OS X 10.5 or better, or Windows XP SP2 or better on your computer. The unit seems to have gotten decent reviews, and ink isn't too outrageously priced (as inkjet refills often are); black cartridges are around $15 and color around $20. The package does not include a USB printer cable.
It's been my experience that H-P makes decent to very good printers, but this is another example of the Gillette School of Marketing: give away the razor and charge 'em for the blades. At this price, though, it almost becomes disposable.
(Between you and me, I don't think this is going to last -- so if you're interested, don't wait too long... :)
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Mac Backups, part 3: Whole disk duplication
It's not a matter of if your hard drive is going to fail. It's a matter of when.
--Zen proverb
In Part One of this discussion of backups we talked about what you might want to back up and how to organize it, and in Part Two, we outlined relatively painless methods of backing your critical data up to another disk. In Part Three, we'll talk about duplicating your entire hard drive, and how to go about it.
Despite my admittedly overzealous approach to critical data backup, there are times when I want a reasonably fresh copy of my entire hard drive -- OS, Applications, settings, data, everything -- all nicely lined up the way I like it. But why go to the trouble? I've been doing daily backups of all my critical data, and I have installation disks for the operating system and all of my application programs -- why do the extra work?
Very simply put, you will have a hard drive failure at some point. Count on it. And a whole-disk backup can be a big time-saver when that happens.
Let's go back to when you first bought your system: it arrived with an operating system already installed, and whatever core programs (iPhoto, iTunes, etc.) that came with it. But of course, between the time the machine left the factory and when it arrived on your desk, a couple of OS updates and maybe a security patch were issued, so they had to be downloaded and installed...and those updates are getting bigger all the time. The last OS update I downloaded was over 700 megabytes; a big download no matter how fast your Internet connection is.
You've also invested a fair amount of time installing and configuring application programs, utility programs, printer and scanner drivers, and stuff like that. And time is money. That's where products like Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper (catch the play on words?) come in. Either of them has the ability to duplicate an entire drive, with all your OS updates and programs intact. Your drive can be duplicated to another drive, or all poured into a single file called a disk image (called a DMG, not to be confused with OMG!).
The advantage of taking the first route -- duplicating to another drive -- is that it gives you the ability, in the event of a hard drive failure, to simply restart the machine from your backup drive and go back to work with a minimum of lost time. If you've also been using something like Chronosync to back up your critical data on a regular basis, you have a setup that cuts your losses almost completely -- or at least down to losing only that work you've done since the last backup.
I do a whole disk backup more-or-less annually. Why so infrequently? Because it takes a lot of time, depending on how large your primary drive is and how fast your machine is. My last one took something like six hours. But hey -- once my disk has everything installed and updated, there ain't that much that gets added through the year. If I happen to do a big upgrade -- say from OS X 10.5 to 10.6 -- then I do another whole-disk backup.
The process is pretty straightforward: as with Chronosync, you specify a source disk (the disk to be copied), a destination disk (the disk you're going to copy it to, and hit "Go!" (Hint: configure your backup and start it just before you leave the office for the day. Let it run overnight. Makes things fairly painless.)
The result is a total mirror image of your hard drive; a functional twin of your primary drive. If your primary drive crashes, you simply reboot from your backup and continue working (while you send someone to get a replacement for the drive that just crashed, muy pronto).
The important thing to remember here is that you need to have an empty -- as in totally blank -- hard drive to copy to, because your destination disk will be completely erased before your primary drive's contents are copied to it.
When the copying is finished, you're done. Don't do anything else with your new backup except let it sit there -- unless your primary drive crashes, of course.
The ability of SuperDuper and Carbon Copy Cloner to create a single file containing all of your primary hard drive can be useful sometimes, too. I have one client who does a single-file clone of her hard drive every couple of months to one of those little external hard drives that looks like a deck of cards, and then puts the backup drive in her safe-deposit box. This gives her an offsite backup, in case of fire, flood, theft, vandalism, or ghosts in the machine. With pocket-sized external drives under $100, it's fairly cheap insurance -- remember, a computer or hard drive can be replaced. Your time and critical data can't.
The DMG file that's created will be roughly the same size as the sum total of the contents of the drive being imaged, so be warned that files get pretty big. Also, you'll have to unpack this to another hard drive to be able to boot from it. But having said all that, I find it kind of comforting to have an image around somewhere, just in case. I mean, it don't cost me nothin'...
As always, if you have questions feel free to send me an email.
return to Quinn-Pulver.com
All content copyright ©2010, Bill Pulver, and may not be reproduced without express permission.
--Zen proverb
In Part One of this discussion of backups we talked about what you might want to back up and how to organize it, and in Part Two, we outlined relatively painless methods of backing your critical data up to another disk. In Part Three, we'll talk about duplicating your entire hard drive, and how to go about it.
Despite my admittedly overzealous approach to critical data backup, there are times when I want a reasonably fresh copy of my entire hard drive -- OS, Applications, settings, data, everything -- all nicely lined up the way I like it. But why go to the trouble? I've been doing daily backups of all my critical data, and I have installation disks for the operating system and all of my application programs -- why do the extra work?
Very simply put, you will have a hard drive failure at some point. Count on it. And a whole-disk backup can be a big time-saver when that happens.
Let's go back to when you first bought your system: it arrived with an operating system already installed, and whatever core programs (iPhoto, iTunes, etc.) that came with it. But of course, between the time the machine left the factory and when it arrived on your desk, a couple of OS updates and maybe a security patch were issued, so they had to be downloaded and installed...and those updates are getting bigger all the time. The last OS update I downloaded was over 700 megabytes; a big download no matter how fast your Internet connection is.
You've also invested a fair amount of time installing and configuring application programs, utility programs, printer and scanner drivers, and stuff like that. And time is money. That's where products like Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper (catch the play on words?) come in. Either of them has the ability to duplicate an entire drive, with all your OS updates and programs intact. Your drive can be duplicated to another drive, or all poured into a single file called a disk image (called a DMG, not to be confused with OMG!).
The advantage of taking the first route -- duplicating to another drive -- is that it gives you the ability, in the event of a hard drive failure, to simply restart the machine from your backup drive and go back to work with a minimum of lost time. If you've also been using something like Chronosync to back up your critical data on a regular basis, you have a setup that cuts your losses almost completely -- or at least down to losing only that work you've done since the last backup.
I do a whole disk backup more-or-less annually. Why so infrequently? Because it takes a lot of time, depending on how large your primary drive is and how fast your machine is. My last one took something like six hours. But hey -- once my disk has everything installed and updated, there ain't that much that gets added through the year. If I happen to do a big upgrade -- say from OS X 10.5 to 10.6 -- then I do another whole-disk backup.
The process is pretty straightforward: as with Chronosync, you specify a source disk (the disk to be copied), a destination disk (the disk you're going to copy it to, and hit "Go!" (Hint: configure your backup and start it just before you leave the office for the day. Let it run overnight. Makes things fairly painless.)
The result is a total mirror image of your hard drive; a functional twin of your primary drive. If your primary drive crashes, you simply reboot from your backup and continue working (while you send someone to get a replacement for the drive that just crashed, muy pronto).
The important thing to remember here is that you need to have an empty -- as in totally blank -- hard drive to copy to, because your destination disk will be completely erased before your primary drive's contents are copied to it.
When the copying is finished, you're done. Don't do anything else with your new backup except let it sit there -- unless your primary drive crashes, of course.
The ability of SuperDuper and Carbon Copy Cloner to create a single file containing all of your primary hard drive can be useful sometimes, too. I have one client who does a single-file clone of her hard drive every couple of months to one of those little external hard drives that looks like a deck of cards, and then puts the backup drive in her safe-deposit box. This gives her an offsite backup, in case of fire, flood, theft, vandalism, or ghosts in the machine. With pocket-sized external drives under $100, it's fairly cheap insurance -- remember, a computer or hard drive can be replaced. Your time and critical data can't.
The DMG file that's created will be roughly the same size as the sum total of the contents of the drive being imaged, so be warned that files get pretty big. Also, you'll have to unpack this to another hard drive to be able to boot from it. But having said all that, I find it kind of comforting to have an image around somewhere, just in case. I mean, it don't cost me nothin'...
As always, if you have questions feel free to send me an email.
return to Quinn-Pulver.com
All content copyright ©2010, Bill Pulver, and may not be reproduced without express permission.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
iOS 4.2: Printing from your iPhone and finding it when it's lost
Now that iOS 4.2 is safely downloaded and installed on my iPhone, I decided to try the new features I'm most interested in, AirPrint and Find My iPhone.
AirPrint allows iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch users to print. Really, it does. Mostly. So far, it works only with a very small number of printer models (seven, total) currently available from HP. If you have one of these printers you know it; if not, don't worry -- with Printopia ($10 from Ecamm Network) installed on my Mac, I was able to print to all of the printers on my network, including a USB inkjet and my sixteen-year-old Apple LaserWriter 16/600 workhorse. AirPrinting via Printopia is a little on the slow side, but if you ever need to print from your iPhone or iPad, it's an eminently workable solution.
Find My iPhone does what it claims -- it shows you where the heck you left your iPhone, on a map in your computer's web browser. It didn't work so well for me because it requires an iPhone 4, and alas, I have a 3GS. But, I've used it back when I had a trial run on Apple's MobileMe service, and was able to easily locate my wife Joanne (and her phone) right in front of Cinderella's Castle. In addition to allowing you to determine your phone's location, Find My iPhone also allows you to remotely wipe your phone should it ever be lost or stolen...something I wish I'd had the time somebody swiped mine... :(
AirPrint allows iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch users to print. Really, it does. Mostly. So far, it works only with a very small number of printer models (seven, total) currently available from HP. If you have one of these printers you know it; if not, don't worry -- with Printopia ($10 from Ecamm Network) installed on my Mac, I was able to print to all of the printers on my network, including a USB inkjet and my sixteen-year-old Apple LaserWriter 16/600 workhorse. AirPrinting via Printopia is a little on the slow side, but if you ever need to print from your iPhone or iPad, it's an eminently workable solution.
Find My iPhone does what it claims -- it shows you where the heck you left your iPhone, on a map in your computer's web browser. It didn't work so well for me because it requires an iPhone 4, and alas, I have a 3GS. But, I've used it back when I had a trial run on Apple's MobileMe service, and was able to easily locate my wife Joanne (and her phone) right in front of Cinderella's Castle. In addition to allowing you to determine your phone's location, Find My iPhone also allows you to remotely wipe your phone should it ever be lost or stolen...something I wish I'd had the time somebody swiped mine... :(
Monday, November 22, 2010
iOS 4.2 available today
Apple has released iOS 4.2 for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad this morning. For iPhone and iPod Touch users it brings AirPlay (a wireless method of streaming music to AppleTV and forthcoming wireless speakers) and AirPrint (for printing to appropriately equipped printers). For iPad users it also adds multitasking, folders, and a unified inbox for Mail. When your device is next due for an OS check, iTunes will automatically see the update's availability and offer to download and install it for you.
I'm not due for an OS update until Friday and so far haven't been able to force (or fool) iTunes into downloading it prior to that. Yeah, I know I should be able to just hit "Check for Updates" but my guess is that Apple planned it that way to avoid overloading their servers. Stay tuned, and as always, exercise care when rushing out to do a major update. They sometimes bite.
(Update: Apple released the iOS update a couple of hours after their press release, which is why I couldn't download it earlier. It's downloading as I type this at 9:30 PM EST, though. It's a big brute -- 401 megabytes.)
I'm not due for an OS update until Friday and so far haven't been able to force (or fool) iTunes into downloading it prior to that. Yeah, I know I should be able to just hit "Check for Updates" but my guess is that Apple planned it that way to avoid overloading their servers. Stay tuned, and as always, exercise care when rushing out to do a major update. They sometimes bite.
(Update: Apple released the iOS update a couple of hours after their press release, which is why I couldn't download it earlier. It's downloading as I type this at 9:30 PM EST, though. It's a big brute -- 401 megabytes.)
Friday, November 19, 2010
Microsoft is having a Black Friday sale. Go figure.
The Redmond software giant is cutting the price of Office for Mac 2011 starting Thanksgiving Day, and continuing through Monday November 29. The depth of the cuts may vary depending on the vendor, but Amazon is reducing the Home & Student Edition (which does not include the Outlook email client) to $80 for the single-license version and $110 for the three-license pack. Regular Amazon prices are currently $120 and $150 respectively. The Apple Store, Best Buy and others will also cut prices, though it's unclear how deep their discounts will be.
The Redmond software giant is cutting the price of Office for Mac 2011 starting Thanksgiving Day, and continuing through Monday November 29. The depth of the cuts may vary depending on the vendor, but Amazon is reducing the Home & Student Edition (which does not include the Outlook email client) to $80 for the single-license version and $110 for the three-license pack. Regular Amazon prices are currently $120 and $150 respectively. The Apple Store, Best Buy and others will also cut prices, though it's unclear how deep their discounts will be.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Backups, Part 2: Backing up just your data
In Part 1 (last week; see "Older Posts" at the bottom of the page), we talked briefly about the 'what' of back up -- should you back up just your data files, or the entire drive? In Parts 2 and 3, we'll start to look at how to accomplish each.
I'll start off by saying that I'm a fan of having a full-drive backup tucked in a drawer or on another drive somewhere. It can be a real time-saver -- reinstalling an operating system and all your application programs is a pain in the ass. Then again, making a full-drive backup can be a pain, too. We'll look at methods for doing that a little farther down the road; for now, let's concentrate on just getting your data backed up.
Once upon a time we used floppies for job storage. Floppies were followed variously by other dead-as-Michael-Jackson media like Syquest cartridges, digital backup tape, ZIP disks, and the like. Each had it's moment, but in 2010 we've outgrown them. Data has started to accumulate exponentially, and older backup media just can't hold it all.
So I'll let you in on a secret: additional hard drives are dirt cheap right now. If you shop it right, you can get a drive two to four times as big as what you have now for well under $100. Depending on what model and vintage your computer is, you may want to get an external drive with a FireWire interface, or you may want a USB 2.0 connection. At this point, USB 2.0 is preferable to FireWire since Apple is starting to phase the latter out, but if you're not sure if your machine can handle USB 2.0, shoot me an email and I'll look it up.
But go out and buy an external drive. Right now. I mean it. Now. I'll wait until you get back.
*****
Back? Good. With a much larger hard drive, you can now back up all of your data fairly painlessly. Step One is to organize your files (I can hear artists from here to Montana groaning).
Create a new folder and call it "Stuff I Can't Live Without" or something clever like that. On my own system I've given that folder the awesomely uninspiring name "Sync," since my goal is to synchronize what's in my must-have folder with a mirror twin on another drive. Windows users can create their 'Can't Live Without' folder in their My Documents folder.
The key here is to put ALL of your important stuff into that one folder. All of it. Financials, taxes, love letters, client job files, all your pictures, pretty much everything digital you value (except for your music -- we'll touch on that later.).
Now, create another folder on your external drive with the same name as your first catchall folder. That first folder -- the one with all the stuff you want to backup -- is your source folder. The one on the external drive is your destination folder. It's where the files you're backing up will be deposited.
This is where the backup software comes in. I use Chronosync for Macintosh; it's inexpensive ($40), robust, and bulletproof (always a good thing when considering backup software). Windows users can use Microsoft's Synchronization Manager. Start your backups by first telling the software where your source folder is, then your destination folder, and whether you want to backup in one direction only -- copying from your internal to external drive, say -- or make the contents of your laptop's sync folder consistent with the sync folder on your desktop by copying in both directions. You can save these settings as a sync document, so that next time you want to back up, you just have to double-click once.
My Sync folder is a little over 60,000 files, and takes maybe 5-6 minutes to synchronize with my desktop computer (my version of an external drive) over a wireless network. All of my backups are synchronized bidirectionally, laptop to desktop and back.
I actually have six Chronosync documents set up to deal with everything I want to keep safe:
I usually backup my email three or four times a day -- that way I can start an email on my laptop, sync it, then continue typing my draft on my desktop, as I did with this blog post. It's quick and painless. My container files are set to run automatically at a pre-scheduled time; mine enjoy the quiet of 3:00 am.
Finally, once a week Chronosync automatically does a complete backup of my entire one terabyte (1,000gb) internal hard drive to a second 1TB drive, because I keep a lot of stuff I'm experimenting with outside of my Sync folder, stuff that's just too big to backup to my laptop drive.
Is it too much backup? Probably...but I'm a professional geek. Can the process be simplified? Absolutely. Remember, though -- applications and operating systems can be replaced. Your data can't. It's the past however many years of your life in digital format.
And obviously, there are other ways to go about this -- Apple's Time Machine, Retrospect and others come to mind -- but this is one very tightly focused way to go about preserving your data.
So to summarize: 500Gb external hard drive, $60. Chronosync, $40. Your data: priceless. Any questions?
(If you DO have questions, send me an email and we'll see what we can figure out.)
Next, in Part 3: Duplicating your entire drive
return to Quinn-Pulver.com
All content copyright ©2010, Bill Pulver, and may not be reproduced without express permission.
In Part 1 (last week; see "Older Posts" at the bottom of the page), we talked briefly about the 'what' of back up -- should you back up just your data files, or the entire drive? In Parts 2 and 3, we'll start to look at how to accomplish each.
I'll start off by saying that I'm a fan of having a full-drive backup tucked in a drawer or on another drive somewhere. It can be a real time-saver -- reinstalling an operating system and all your application programs is a pain in the ass. Then again, making a full-drive backup can be a pain, too. We'll look at methods for doing that a little farther down the road; for now, let's concentrate on just getting your data backed up.
Once upon a time we used floppies for job storage. Floppies were followed variously by other dead-as-Michael-Jackson media like Syquest cartridges, digital backup tape, ZIP disks, and the like. Each had it's moment, but in 2010 we've outgrown them. Data has started to accumulate exponentially, and older backup media just can't hold it all.
So I'll let you in on a secret: additional hard drives are dirt cheap right now. If you shop it right, you can get a drive two to four times as big as what you have now for well under $100. Depending on what model and vintage your computer is, you may want to get an external drive with a FireWire interface, or you may want a USB 2.0 connection. At this point, USB 2.0 is preferable to FireWire since Apple is starting to phase the latter out, but if you're not sure if your machine can handle USB 2.0, shoot me an email and I'll look it up.
But go out and buy an external drive. Right now. I mean it. Now. I'll wait until you get back.
*****
Back? Good. With a much larger hard drive, you can now back up all of your data fairly painlessly. Step One is to organize your files (I can hear artists from here to Montana groaning).
Create a new folder and call it "Stuff I Can't Live Without" or something clever like that. On my own system I've given that folder the awesomely uninspiring name "Sync," since my goal is to synchronize what's in my must-have folder with a mirror twin on another drive. Windows users can create their 'Can't Live Without' folder in their My Documents folder.
The key here is to put ALL of your important stuff into that one folder. All of it. Financials, taxes, love letters, client job files, all your pictures, pretty much everything digital you value (except for your music -- we'll touch on that later.).
Now, create another folder on your external drive with the same name as your first catchall folder. That first folder -- the one with all the stuff you want to backup -- is your source folder. The one on the external drive is your destination folder. It's where the files you're backing up will be deposited.
This is where the backup software comes in. I use Chronosync for Macintosh; it's inexpensive ($40), robust, and bulletproof (always a good thing when considering backup software). Windows users can use Microsoft's Synchronization Manager. Start your backups by first telling the software where your source folder is, then your destination folder, and whether you want to backup in one direction only -- copying from your internal to external drive, say -- or make the contents of your laptop's sync folder consistent with the sync folder on your desktop by copying in both directions. You can save these settings as a sync document, so that next time you want to back up, you just have to double-click once.
My Sync folder is a little over 60,000 files, and takes maybe 5-6 minutes to synchronize with my desktop computer (my version of an external drive) over a wireless network. All of my backups are synchronized bidirectionally, laptop to desktop and back.
I actually have six Chronosync documents set up to deal with everything I want to keep safe:
• My email database. I just can't afford to lose my email and address book. Can you?You can also create a 'master' Chronosync "container" file that combines all of your various backup configurations into one file. Click one button and they all run. Done.
• Joanne's email database. This way we both have our most current email database, whether at home or on the road.
• My "Sync" folder. This is my life, my everything. All my client files, my technical library, all of our photos (12,000+), our personal info, financial and medical info...you get the idea.
• My iTunes Music folder. Well, there went another 30gb.
• My "Installers" folder. All of the software installers I use regularly, and all the stuff I'm evaluating. It's a lot.
• My iPhone backups. Every time you connect an iPhone or iPad to your computer, the first thing it does is back itself up to the hard drive (provided you have iTunes properly configured). I keep a copy of my iPhone backup on my laptop -- it's that important to me (especially since my iPhone's already been stolen once...having backups, I was able to restore my replacement phone more-or-less painlessly).
I usually backup my email three or four times a day -- that way I can start an email on my laptop, sync it, then continue typing my draft on my desktop, as I did with this blog post. It's quick and painless. My container files are set to run automatically at a pre-scheduled time; mine enjoy the quiet of 3:00 am.
Finally, once a week Chronosync automatically does a complete backup of my entire one terabyte (1,000gb) internal hard drive to a second 1TB drive, because I keep a lot of stuff I'm experimenting with outside of my Sync folder, stuff that's just too big to backup to my laptop drive.
Is it too much backup? Probably...but I'm a professional geek. Can the process be simplified? Absolutely. Remember, though -- applications and operating systems can be replaced. Your data can't. It's the past however many years of your life in digital format.
And obviously, there are other ways to go about this -- Apple's Time Machine, Retrospect and others come to mind -- but this is one very tightly focused way to go about preserving your data.
So to summarize: 500Gb external hard drive, $60. Chronosync, $40. Your data: priceless. Any questions?
(If you DO have questions, send me an email and we'll see what we can figure out.)
Next, in Part 3: Duplicating your entire drive
return to Quinn-Pulver.com
All content copyright ©2010, Bill Pulver, and may not be reproduced without express permission.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Meet The Beatles
One day after the entire Beatles catalog was added to the iTunes Music Store, a full fifteen of the lads' albums are among the digital retailer's Top 50 sellers. Leading the charge are Abbey Road (#7), The White Album (#9), Sgt. Pepper (#10) and a $150 box set containing all 13 studio albums, plus videos and concert footage (#12). Frankly, I'm a little surprised -- from the looks of these numbers it would seem like only a few people have ripped their CD collections into iTunes.
One day after the entire Beatles catalog was added to the iTunes Music Store, a full fifteen of the lads' albums are among the digital retailer's Top 50 sellers. Leading the charge are Abbey Road (#7), The White Album (#9), Sgt. Pepper (#10) and a $150 box set containing all 13 studio albums, plus videos and concert footage (#12). Frankly, I'm a little surprised -- from the looks of these numbers it would seem like only a few people have ripped their CD collections into iTunes.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Apple releases iTunes 10.1
Apple has released iTunes 10.1. This update will be required by iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad users who want to upgrade to iOS 4.2, which is due "real soon now." The iTunes update requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later, or Windows XP SP2 or later.
The update can be gotten by going to System Preferences -> Software Update on your Mac, or via 82mb download.
Apple has released iTunes 10.1. This update will be required by iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad users who want to upgrade to iOS 4.2, which is due "real soon now." The iTunes update requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later, or Windows XP SP2 or later.
The update can be gotten by going to System Preferences -> Software Update on your Mac, or via 82mb download.
Friday, November 12, 2010
iOS 4.2 delayed?
Despite Apple's never having set an official release date, rumors suggest that the 'impending' release of iOS 4.2 will be delayed a bit due to wifi issues on the iPad, which is already one version of OS behind the iPhone and iPod Touch. But now that Verizon Wireless is carrying the iPad and wanting it to work seamlessly with their MiFi device, wifi issues could be deadly for Apple. Hey, this is why they beta-test software, people.
Despite Apple's never having set an official release date, rumors suggest that the 'impending' release of iOS 4.2 will be delayed a bit due to wifi issues on the iPad, which is already one version of OS behind the iPhone and iPod Touch. But now that Verizon Wireless is carrying the iPad and wanting it to work seamlessly with their MiFi device, wifi issues could be deadly for Apple. Hey, this is why they beta-test software, people.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Apple Releases Security Update
Apple today (11/11) released Security Update 2010-007 for Mac OS X 10.5, and a 10.6.5 update for Snow Leopard users. Depending on what version of operating system you're running (go to the Apple Menu and pull down to 'About This Mac' to find out), your download will range anywhere from 240mb up to a whopping 977mb. You can go to the Apple Support web site and search for it (which can be painful), or just fire up System Preferences and click on Software Update (my suggestion). Unsurprisingly, many of the fixes in these updates are for Adobe's Flash...continuing the slap fight that's currently going on between the two companies.
Once again, waiting a day or two probably won't kill you. (Special note for those who use PGP's Whole Disk Encryption: do NOT do the 10.6.5 update yet.)
Apple today (11/11) released Security Update 2010-007 for Mac OS X 10.5, and a 10.6.5 update for Snow Leopard users. Depending on what version of operating system you're running (go to the Apple Menu and pull down to 'About This Mac' to find out), your download will range anywhere from 240mb up to a whopping 977mb. You can go to the Apple Support web site and search for it (which can be painful), or just fire up System Preferences and click on Software Update (my suggestion). Unsurprisingly, many of the fixes in these updates are for Adobe's Flash...continuing the slap fight that's currently going on between the two companies.
Once again, waiting a day or two probably won't kill you. (Special note for those who use PGP's Whole Disk Encryption: do NOT do the 10.6.5 update yet.)
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
I suppose this is why I still have a job.
I just spent a bit of time setting up a handheld device, and in the process went online to determine the correct configuration for some setting or another. While reading, I came upon the following bit of advice posted by someone who allegedly had experience with this particular gizmo:
"[your] Internet I think must be DSL Wireless in your house. Then you have to type your WEP addrress which you can get from your Internet provider. Call them. It may be your home phone number. That's it. Hope this helps!!"
This is so wrong on so many levels; with peer assistance like this I'm amazed that anybody in this country gets anything done at all. Just because you read it online doesn't necessarily make it so...
I just spent a bit of time setting up a handheld device, and in the process went online to determine the correct configuration for some setting or another. While reading, I came upon the following bit of advice posted by someone who allegedly had experience with this particular gizmo:
"[your] Internet I think must be DSL Wireless in your house. Then you have to type your WEP addrress which you can get from your Internet provider. Call them. It may be your home phone number. That's it. Hope this helps!!"
This is so wrong on so many levels; with peer assistance like this I'm amazed that anybody in this country gets anything done at all. Just because you read it online doesn't necessarily make it so...
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
If you own an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad...
Apple is scheduled to release an update to iOS, the operating system that
powers the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, to version 4.2 sometime in the very near future.
It's got some cool stuff, including the ability to print to wifi wireless
printers, and a fix for the Daylight Savings Time/Alarm Clock issue that's
been reported in the media. It's also a decent-sized upgrade -- and of
course, they can't test it on each and every iOS device out there.
The first time you sync your iDevice after the upgrade is released (and following your machine's 'check for updates' schedule), iTunes will tell you that it has a big software update to download and install. While the quality of Apple software releases is generally very good, consider telling iTunes "Remind Me Later" and then waiting a week or two before installing the update.
Usually if there are any major glitches in a significant release like this, they've got them fixed after a couple of weeks, and iTunes will ask you again at some point (depending on how your update schedule is set) if you want to install it.
You've survived this long without iOS 4.2; you can't wait another couple of weeks to make sure it's bug-free? As my colleague and friend Ed Leifer points out, it's better to be on the leading edge than the bleeding edge.
I'm just sayin'.... :)
Apple is scheduled to release an update to iOS, the operating system that
powers the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, to version 4.2 sometime in the very near future.
It's got some cool stuff, including the ability to print to wifi wireless
printers, and a fix for the Daylight Savings Time/Alarm Clock issue that's
been reported in the media. It's also a decent-sized upgrade -- and of
course, they can't test it on each and every iOS device out there.
The first time you sync your iDevice after the upgrade is released (and following your machine's 'check for updates' schedule), iTunes will tell you that it has a big software update to download and install. While the quality of Apple software releases is generally very good, consider telling iTunes "Remind Me Later" and then waiting a week or two before installing the update.
Usually if there are any major glitches in a significant release like this, they've got them fixed after a couple of weeks, and iTunes will ask you again at some point (depending on how your update schedule is set) if you want to install it.
You've survived this long without iOS 4.2; you can't wait another couple of weeks to make sure it's bug-free? As my colleague and friend Ed Leifer points out, it's better to be on the leading edge than the bleeding edge.
I'm just sayin'.... :)
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Backups, Part 1
Let's face it -- doing backups sucks.
Everyone knows they need them, nobody wants to do them, and far too many people get caught short without them when disaster strikes. If your primary hard drive were to suddenly blow up, a comprehensive backup strategy would (in a perfect world) allow you to simply switch startup drives and go back to work with all your files intact and all your applications ready to go.
Alas, it ain't a perfect world. Get over it. It's probably best to think of backups the same way you think about car insurance: needful, reassuring, and something you never want to use -- though everybody does, at some point or another. So let's look first at what data we have to be concerned with backing up, and later we'll discuss the easiest way(s) to deal with making sure it's all safe and sound.
What material do I need to back up?
Let's say your hard drive has crashed (and remember, it's not a matter of "if" so much as "when"). When your drive goes down and you have your operating system installation disks at hand, plus all the disks needed to reinstall your application software, you're in pretty good shape. In a case like this, all you really need to be backing up on a regular basis is your personal data -- your job files, personal financial info, photos, music, your email and address book -- all the stuff that makes up your digital life.
In a scenario like this, all you'd need to do following a drive failure is install a new hard drive, format it, reload the operating system and your application software, and then restore your personal data. All of this can probably be done in an afternoon -- if you have all the disks and are current on your personal data backups.
If you DON'T have your operating system and application install disks, things become a little more difficult. Without an OS or the programs to open your files, your data is just so much junk. So if you don't have those software installation disks, your backup strategy needs to include not only your data, but all your apps and possibly your OS as well. This probably means 'cloning' your drive, or making an exact duplicate of it, before the meltdown happens.
Of the two general backup methodologies described above, the first is probably the easiest to set up and maintain; the second is the most comprehensive. What I'd like to do over the next few days is explore the pluses and minuses of each method, and talk about doing it with a minimum of fuss and bother.
A couple final notes: this discussion won't cover every possible backup method -- the techniques used in enterprise-level backup is a whole 'nother can of worms -- but it does cover some of those that I've found effective in the small office environment. And finally (for today, anyway), while a lot of the comments will be Macintosh-centric, the principles involved apply to any platform. If you want to talk about applying some of these procedures to your Windows network, send me an email and let's talk.
Next, in Part 2: Backing up just your data
return to Quinn-Pulver.com
All content copyright ©2010, Bill Pulver, and may not be reproduced without express permission.
Let's face it -- doing backups sucks.
Everyone knows they need them, nobody wants to do them, and far too many people get caught short without them when disaster strikes. If your primary hard drive were to suddenly blow up, a comprehensive backup strategy would (in a perfect world) allow you to simply switch startup drives and go back to work with all your files intact and all your applications ready to go.
Alas, it ain't a perfect world. Get over it. It's probably best to think of backups the same way you think about car insurance: needful, reassuring, and something you never want to use -- though everybody does, at some point or another. So let's look first at what data we have to be concerned with backing up, and later we'll discuss the easiest way(s) to deal with making sure it's all safe and sound.
What material do I need to back up?
Let's say your hard drive has crashed (and remember, it's not a matter of "if" so much as "when"). When your drive goes down and you have your operating system installation disks at hand, plus all the disks needed to reinstall your application software, you're in pretty good shape. In a case like this, all you really need to be backing up on a regular basis is your personal data -- your job files, personal financial info, photos, music, your email and address book -- all the stuff that makes up your digital life.
In a scenario like this, all you'd need to do following a drive failure is install a new hard drive, format it, reload the operating system and your application software, and then restore your personal data. All of this can probably be done in an afternoon -- if you have all the disks and are current on your personal data backups.
If you DON'T have your operating system and application install disks, things become a little more difficult. Without an OS or the programs to open your files, your data is just so much junk. So if you don't have those software installation disks, your backup strategy needs to include not only your data, but all your apps and possibly your OS as well. This probably means 'cloning' your drive, or making an exact duplicate of it, before the meltdown happens.
Of the two general backup methodologies described above, the first is probably the easiest to set up and maintain; the second is the most comprehensive. What I'd like to do over the next few days is explore the pluses and minuses of each method, and talk about doing it with a minimum of fuss and bother.
A couple final notes: this discussion won't cover every possible backup method -- the techniques used in enterprise-level backup is a whole 'nother can of worms -- but it does cover some of those that I've found effective in the small office environment. And finally (for today, anyway), while a lot of the comments will be Macintosh-centric, the principles involved apply to any platform. If you want to talk about applying some of these procedures to your Windows network, send me an email and let's talk.
Next, in Part 2: Backing up just your data
return to Quinn-Pulver.com
All content copyright ©2010, Bill Pulver, and may not be reproduced without express permission.
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