Computers are just like anything else, they need attention and maintenance. Even though Mac’s are known the world over to be reliable and quality computers, they still need some pretty routine things done. Just like a car, you can’t perpetually ignore it and expect that it will run forever. Here’s a list of some of the routine operations you should be doing regularly to your Mac so you can make it run better and longer:
Disk Space
Checking your disk space is the first thing you should do. Every model comes with a different hard drive size. You can go online and look up your model and see how big your hard drive is. You can check this simply by double clicking on your HD icon on your desktop. In the bottom bar of the window that pops up, you’ll be able to see how much is left. If you have less than half of your space left, then you should probably start cleaning up your hard drive. Go through all of your files and applications and see what you don’t use or programs that you just don’t need anymore. Rarely does anyone do this and all that extra junk is cluttering up your computer and making it run slower. You should be doing this on a regular basis.
Programs
If you’re noticing slow performance, look at how many programs you run at any one time. Some people set their computer to automatically start programs when the computer is turning on. Though this feature is handy for those who need specific programs all the time, the majority of users simply have too many programs running at once. If you only open up the programs that you need at the time, then you’ll see a noticeable difference in the way your computer runs.
Widgets
Widgets are the little icons that rest below the screen. They’re quick links to the applications and the sit in your dock. If you’ve ever seen someone with practically every application on their computer just resting in their doc, then you should realize that these widgets consume critical power from the processor and memory. You might have thought that it’s harmless to keep all of those applications resting in your dock, but in actuality, it’s taking up a lot of your computer’s resources, even when they’re not active.
Disk Utility
This is another way to speed up your Mac’s performance. You can go to the disk utility and select your computer’s internal hard drive and then click Repair Permission. This will take some time, but the results will be substantial. Doing this every month will check and fix your Mac’s internal hard disk space and do wonders for its operations optimization.
All of these steps are good to do regularly in order to keep things running smoothly. If you ever have an issue with performing any of these tasks, then you can go online for some Technical Support. Not everyone is computer savvy and there’s nothing wrong with that. You could also look online for other ways that you can optimize your computer’s performance.
It has taken a while but Verizon customers are now able to jailbreak untether their iPhone 4 on iOS 4.2.8. This jailbreak uses the PwnageTool 4.2 Bundle.
Here is a step by step video to show you how to do it yourself.
Otherwise you will need to do the following:
Download PwnageTool 4.2.8
Right click PwnageTool 4.2, select Show Content Package and move over to Contents-Resources-Firmware Bundles and then copy the iOS 4.3.8 bundles in the folder.
Start iTunes and hit Restore while holding the Option key
Select iOS 4.2.8 firmware and wait for it to be restored
It has been confirmed by Microsoft that service pack 1 for Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 will be released next week. The Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 update will have a lot of performance, security and stability bug fixes.
Service Pack 1 does come with one caveat, though: users will not be able to use Sync Services to sync with the MobileMe calendar beginning on May 5th.
PwnageTool 4.3 has just been released and it is the easiest way to jailbreak any iOS 4.3.1 device. Here is a step by step guide on how to implement PwnageTool 4.3.
Step 1: Download PwnageTool 4.3 for Mac.
Step 2: Download iOS 4.3.1 firmware. Move all these files to the desktop.
Step 3: Start PwnageTool in “Expert mode” and select your device:
Step 4: Browse for iOS 4.3.1 firmware for your device as shown in the screenshot below:
Step 5: Now select “Build” to start creating custom 4.3.1 firmware file:
Step 6: PwnageTool will now create the custom .ipsw file for your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch which will be jailbroken.
Step 7: Now follow the following steps to enter DFU mode using PwnageTool:
Hold Power and Home buttons for 10 seconds
Now release the Power button but continue holding the Home button for 10 more seconds
You device should now be in DFU mode
Step 8: Start iTunes, click on your iOS device icon from the sidebar in iTunes. Now press and hold left “alt” (option) button on Mac, or Left “Shift” button if you are on Windows on the keyboard and then click on “Restore” (Not “Update” or “Check for Update”) button in the iTunes and then release this button.
This will make iTunes prompt you to select the location for your custom firmware 4.3.1 file. Select the required custom .ipsw file that you created above, and click on “Open”.
Step 9: Now sit back and enjoy as iTunes does the rest for you. This will involve a series of automated steps. Be patient at this stage and don’t do anything silly. Just wait while iTunes installs the new firmware 4.3.1 on your iOS device. Your iOS device screen at this point will be showing a progress bar indicating installation progress. After the installation is done, your iOS device will be jailbroken on iOS 4.3.1.
Apple has just seeded Mac OS X Lion to developers and this is something that every developer is going to want to get their hands on. The Max OS X Lion has been quite buggy so far, but this is the first main update for the software.
It seems like Apple went from 11A390 for the initial build to 11A419. That seems to indicate that a number of builds were tested out internally before this one was released.
It is expected that Mac OS X Lion will be released at WWDC which is coming up in a couple of months time.
This build of OS X Lion is for developers only, so make sure you grab it now.
Cleverfiles has just released the first official version of Disk Drill. Disk Drill is a data recovery application for Mac which recovers damaged and deleted data from external or internal hard drives, memory cards, iPod etc and allows protecting data by using Recover Vault technology.
Currently the application comes in two version: basic and pro versions.
Disk Drill Basic version protects files from accidental deletion with Recovery Vault and recovers lost data from Mac disks.
Disk Drill PRO features a number of advanced scanning modes for data recovery of FAT, NTFS, HFS/HFS+, other file systems. It allows to rescue files which were deleted long ago and even after formatting.
Data recovery software is always important and this kind of software will always be needed. Disk Drill is a great tool that is definitely worth a look.
You may want to use a high resolution so you can see more files, folders, desktop items, and view graphics at the best possible resolution. Or you may prefer a smaller resolution. Here’s how to adjust your screen resolution.
Open System Preferences and click Displays to display its preferences.
Click the Display tab; your display’s supported resolution settings are listed in the Resolutions pane, from the lowest to the highest resolution.
Select any of the choices to change the resolution. A lower resolution gives you less desktop space to display windows and interfaces, but these will also appear larger. A larger resolution maximizes your screen space, letting you see more of a photo or document, and can help you manage applications whose interface elements span multiple windows.
To adjust your screen’s brightness, move the Brightness slider left to make it dimmer, or right to make it brighter.
Koobface Trojan is back, and now it comes with a few surprises for some friends: Infecting Mac OS X and Linux OS. Intego, the Mac Security Blog, informed that this virus is spreading through social networks and does affect Mac computers as well as Linux.
Koobface appears in social networks like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace and now they will not infect only Windows computers. One of the common messages we should receive indicating the presence of Koobface: “Is this you in this video?” once we click on the link it will try to run an applet from Java which will install a malware in the OS.
As for Windows, Koobface will run a local web server and an IRC Server, acting as a Botnet and as a DNS changer; and of course will try to reproduce to other computers.
Intego assures that the Intego VirusBarrier X6 and X5 detect and eradicate this malware, but we must avoid running any unknown Java applet in our computer, and if so, we should detect an installation is running and quickly cancel it.
Prey Project it’s pretty cool software created for users who want an effective way to locate their devices in case they get stolen. Prey can be installed in Windows, Linux, Mac or any device with Android OS, including smartphones.
Prey can notify users about the device location sending a signal over the Internet, or SMS in case of Android phones. The program runs as an agent in background and is completely silent. Here are some of the specs:
Open Source and completely free.
100% geolocation aware. Prey uses either the device’s GPS or the nearest WiFi hotspots to triangulate and grab a fix on its location.
Know your enemy. Take a picture of the thief with your laptop’s webcam so you know what he looks like and where he’s hiding.
No unauthorized Access. Fully lock down your PC, making it unusable unless a specific password is entered.
Wifi auto connect. If enabled, Prey will attempt to hook onto to the nearest open WiFi hotspot when no Internet connection is found.
Watch their movements. Grab a screenshot of the active session.
Scan your hardware. Get a complete list of your PC’s CPU, motherboard, RAM, and BIOS information.
Light as a feather. Prey has very few dependencies and doesn’t even leave a memory footprint until activated.
Keep your data safe. Hide your Outlook or Thunderbird data and optionally remove your stored passwords, so no one will be able to look into your stuff.
Full auto updater. Prey can check its current version and automatically fetch and update itself, so you don’t need to manually reinstall each time.
Massive social networks like Twitter demands, for normal users and companies, not only using it but also maintain several accounts, publishing a lot of information and also brand monitoring. For that, SplitTweet is the tool.
SplitTweet is a simple and free web app which will provide you a single place to handle several Twitter accounts with all the necessary information of each: Replies, direct messages, favorites and the most important one brand mentions features, which experts in social media can use it to monitor the behavior and popularity of their brands.
SplitTweet also provides a simple dashboard where you can monitor all the important activity around your accounts. Another important feature of this web app is the possibility to automatically tweet the same in several accounts.
Currently the application comes in two version: basic and pro versions.
