Second Coming of Apple (MACS)

[DewDiligence]

For now, I'm using Safari (instead of Firefox) for accessing all webpages from Dow Jones sites (WSJ/Barron's/MarketWatch/Pharmalot).

[Doc Holliday]

You might want to try searching the web for "Firefox WSJ website problem." An answer must be out there someplace. Heard Windows 8.1 has problems with some sites, but that probably isn't it. I'd look for a Firefox blog to talk to people about it. Good luck. Stuff can get annoying sometimes.

[DewDiligence]

I check the board for new posts. Currently, I’m having a problem with the WSJ’s website; when using Firefox, tabs and windows from the WSJ’s website often cause Firefox to become non-responsive when I attempt to close them. This may not be a Mac-related issue, however.

[janice shell]

lol, not completely. People do drop by if they have problems they hope someone can help with.

[Doc Holliday]

Wow=============== What am I posting here for. I see this board has been dead for years.

[Doc Holliday]

If there is a problem that came up recently that you can't shake, you may be able to shake it by going to a restore point that your computer set about a month ago before the problem started. You may also want to look at what programs were loaded to your computer recently.

Also, if you load a new Java, make sure the old one is deleted.

[Doc Holliday]

I just ran across this board. I only load Java from the Java site. If you load it from any other site you may have problems. I don't load anything from this site.

[Chrisau]

OK...I've got an Ipod 5th generation. One of those things where you swipe the face to get to what you want. That doesn't work very well either. Oh, I have two of them, one with a camera and one that doesn't. I can't find any way to take a picture, I can take videos. Also.....How do you delete stuff on these things?

[Stocks4John]

I'm not an Apple user but I received this message from a friend.....

Here’s a problem for you. I downloaded the new operating system on my iPad 2. I looked at something and then closed it to go to supper. When I came back and tried to open it it asked for my passcode. I never had one. The numbers were there with letters below them – like the telephone pad – and there was space for only 4 numbers/letters. I tried several things that didn’t work. I went on line and asked the question and got a method of getting a password when you’ve forgotten it. It involved hooking the iPad up to my laptop while holding down the home key. When iTunes appeared I could let up on the home key, but the iTunes symbol appeared, but no way to connect to it. I tried it several times to no avail. I tried again on the iPad to enter another passcode, but I had reached my limit, and now it’s locked. Can you find anything?

[poorgradstudent]

Ah yes, I forgot it was PCI based flash.

Well, perhaps eventually someone will make external enclosures for those two. But in the mean time, you're very correct that SuperDuper won't provide the swapping capability that I like,

[mouton29]

<< I suspect the new Mac Pro will also have easily swappable drives. >>

The new Mac Pro (the cute, extremely fast, and expensive cylindrical desktop) won't even have internal drives. I suspect you mean the new MacBook Pro.

[poorgradstudent]

I should have mentioned one other thing. The external back-up disks that I use are 2.5 inch laptop hard drives that I put into a reusable external enclosure. That way, they can be used as an external USB backup disk and, if necessary, the hard drives in them can be swapped out anytime. The bonus here is that if you use SuperDuper and your laptop hard drive fails, then you can simply take the back up hard drive out of the enclosure, pop it into your laptop (deceptively easy) and continue as if nothing happened*.

As for restoring through Time Machine, you're very correct in that you can use the program to do so. However, if your laptop hard drive fails and you want to restore through Time Machine, then you need to buy another drive, put it into the computer and then use the external Time Machine drive to restore. With SuperDuper! you can just swap the backup drive directly into the computer and you'll be back posting on iHub within 5 minutes (!).

And yes, SuperDuper and Time Machine can be used together. Although both are forms of backup, they have slightly unique niches.

Regarding my comment about use on laptops, my understanding is that changing the hard drive on an iMac is relatively cumbersome and not something people look forward to. In that respect, the convenience of having SuperDuper diminishes since you'll probably have to take it to an Apple Store to do the swap. In contrast, it's very easy on laptops as long as you have a 10 dollar set of screwdrivers. I suspect the new Mac Pro will also have easily swappable drives.


* Depending on when you made your last SuperDuper clone, some files may be out of date. Time Machine or another service like Backblaze can remedy that situation.

[DewDiligence]

This program allows you to make a clone of your hard drive in an external hard drive so that *if* something happens, you can simply swap the drives out and continue as if nothing happened.

Supposedly, Time Machine can be used to install an exact replica of your existing system, including even such details as app and viewing preferences and icons. My external hard drive would not physically fit into my laptop, so an actual disk swap couldn’t be done; however, I could use Time Machine restore my exact system configuration to my current laptop (assuming the hardware still worked) or to a new machine.

[SuperDuper] works best for laptops.

Can you elaborate on this? Thanks.

In addition to Time Machine, I would strongly recommend picking up a copy of SuperDuper!

Do the two programs work together?

[poorgradstudent]

In addition to Time Machine, I would strongly recommend picking up a copy of SuperDuper!

This program allows you to make a clone of your hard drive in an external hard drive so that *if* something happens, you can simply swap the drives out and continue as if nothing happened. This solution works best for laptops.

I've never really been able to get into Time Machine. There was something cumbersome about it, at least to me. I use Backblaze for that capacity, and it does allow you to fetch older versions of files although that's never been something that I've used.

[DewDiligence]

Finally got around to installing Time Machine with a 1-terabyte external drive. It was baby simple.

[janice shell]

Funny. Today the IHub stuff is working for me. Maybe in order to do so IHub had to do something to make the recent update work?

[janice shell]

lol, then try one. Pick any stock and click on "trades".

[DewDiligence]

I haven't tried any Java apps on iHub.

[janice shell]

Odd. I should be good to go, but evidently I'm not. Does time and sales work for you here?

[DewDiligence]

I downloaded the new Java and used a Java app (not on iHub) without incident.

[janice shell]

IHub time and sales and charts aren't working for me again. So I checked software updates, and there was one for Java. Downloaded it.

And I'm still getting "blocked plugin" for the charts, and for time and sales...

[janice shell]

Good! I think they put out the update yesterday or late Friday.

[DewDiligence]

I’m back in business! Software updates had the Java patch, which was not the case last time I checked. Apple must have put it on very recently.

p.s. My main computer has Snow Leopard, but I have an ancillary Mac that is running regular Leopard.

[janice shell]

lol, I dunno. But isn't that Snow Leopard? In that case, I think you need to check your Apple software updates.

[DewDiligence]

I just tested a Java app, and it's still not working. What should I do to make it work? I'm running OS-X 10.6.8.

[janice shell]

No. The new Java patch works for Lion and Mountain Lion, but not for Snow Leopard. So Apple had to whip up something of its own for Snow Leopard users.

[DewDiligence]

For Snow Leopard only?

[janice shell]

Oracle's come out with a new Java patch, and Apple's allowing it. For now.

http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-57567291-263/apple-updates-java-for-snow-leopard-following-blockage/

[janice shell]

Did you read the first article? It explains how they do it. I think they simply disallow all versions of Java except for one that doesn't yet exist.

[janice shell]

I wonder what Oracle plans to do now. Evidently they're being kind of huffy about it.

[DewDiligence]

BTW, I'm curious from a technical standpoint how Apple can disable Java for all Mac users in one fell swoop.

[DewDiligence]

I never noticed it the first time, LOL. Today, I did.

[janice shell]

This is the second time Apple's done it. The first time, Apple allowed the patch. And then yesterday--having apparently found new vulnerabilities--they blocked Java again.

http://www.macrumors.com/2013/01/31/apple-once-again-blocks-java-7-web-plug-in/

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/01/30/oracle_java_security_analysis/

[DewDiligence]

Apple has disabled Java for security reasons, which means some of my apps (including streaming quotes at E*Trade) are not working. Even though Oracle claims to have a patch for the security holes, Apple hasn’t implemented it yet.

Does everyone else here have the same problem?

[DewDiligence]

Walt Mossberg’s review of Dragon Dictate 3 for the Mac:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443982904578046583290174540.html

[janice shell]

A million thanks!

That's just ridiculous. Maybe the developers will read those comments and restore it to where it ought to be. In the meanwhile, I'll write down the keyboard shortcut till I remember it.

[mouton29]

empty cache -- evidently you need to enable that. Try this:

https://discussions.apple.com/message/19104478#19104478

[janice shell]

Version Version 6.0 (7536.25). That's the one they sent me last night, the bastards.

I discovered accidentally that you can just type search terms into the location bar, but I'm not sure I like it.

And I DO want to be able to empty the cache.

[DewDiligence]

What version of Safari did you download?

[janice shell]

Aaaarrrrgggh! Last night before I went to bed, I was alerted to two software upgrades. One was for Safari; I forget what the other was.

So I downloaded them. I wish I hadn't. I discovered two very annoying changes. First, I can't elect to empty the cache anymore; that option is completely gone when I click on "Safari" at the upper left.

Second, the Google search box has been removed from my toolbar. I went to "View" and "Customize toolbar, and tried, as instructed, to drag the Google search box to the toolbar. Doesn't work anymore.

Anyone have ideas about fixing this? I do a lot of Google searches. And I clear cache every time I log out.

Edit: Oh wait... It seems this is a deliberate new feature; evidently you just type your search terms in the location bar.

Now there’s one simple field for both search terms and web addresses. When you enter a web address, Safari takes you right to the web page — and even fills in the entire URL. Safari finds what you’re looking for in a faster and smarter way. As you type in the field, Safari stays one step ahead and suggests a Top Hit — the closest match to what you’re looking for. Safari uses pages from your bookmarks and history to find a Top Hit, so you find the right web page fast.

http://www.apple.com/safari/

I'm not sure I like it, and what the hell happened to "empty cache"??

And I guess Mountain Lion, which I don't have, turns your Mac into a touch screen:

Tab View gives you the big picture of your browsing. Just pinch to see all your open tabs. Swipe left or right to move between them. And tap a tab to go right to the website. Multi-Touch makes Tab View a fun and natural way to browse.

[janice shell]

Yes. It's sad.

[poorgradstudent]

RIP Jobs.

[DewDiligence]

For the past 14 years, AAPL’s corporate mantra has been: “When you buy something from Apple, you do things Steve Jobs’ way—or no way at all.” It’s worked astonishingly well.

[janice shell]

Yes, it's too bad...

[poorgradstudent]

Looks like Steve Jobs' health has taken a turn for the much worse... he just resigned as CEO.

[DewDiligence]

Whenever I access the OS-X Dashboard for more than a couple of seconds, my browser opens an empty tab with a url of the form:

https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/drt/si?p=…

Does anyone know why this is happening? It’s a new problem for me on Snow Leopard insofar as it never happened under Leopard, but I would think this is a browser issue rather than an OS-X issue.

Comments? T.i.a. Dew

[mouton29]

I don't see the harm in trying. Another possibility is I copy my Crossover files and e-mail or otherwise transmit them to you. They were created under a slightly older version of cross over and I think your version will "update" them in some fashion, but who knows, maybe it might work. Why don't you try your method first and report back.

[DewDiligence]

Since nothing I’ve tried with respect to Crossover bottles and apps has replicated the capability you have—and the capability I used to have under (non-Snow) Leopard—does it make sense for me to try the brute-force method of simply copying the Crossover files “as is” from my old Leopard system to the new Snow Leopard system? If it doesn’t work, I can simply delete the copied files, so what’s the downside?

On a related matter... I haven’t been able to get RealPlayer webcasts to play under Snow Leopard on either Firefox or Safari despite downloading the RealPlayer-for-Mac plug-in. This isn’t a serious drawback since few webcasts are offered in RealPlayer format these days, but it’s a curious problem.

[mouton29]

Well, I tried listening to the Jeffries presentation as well as the last quarterly MNTA report, in both cases I could zip forward and back by 15 minutes without a problem. The MNTA presentation ran in a separate WMV 9 window, the Jeffries just ran in IE 6.

I wonder whether the "upgrade" to 10.1.0 introduced an issue and if so whether you install the earlier version I have, 10.0.1.

[DewDiligence]

I may have celebrated a little too soon. Although WMP now plays under Crossover, the scroll bar is only partially functional. When I move it backward by any amount or forward by more than a few minutes, it craps out. Current configuration: WMP 6.4, IE6, win98 bottle.

Moreover, for some reason Flip4Mac fails to work in Safari for some WMP webcast, although it does work for others (without forward scrolling). Flip4Mac doesn't work at all under Firefox.

This whole problem must be an attempt by MSFT to force people who listen to webcasts to buy a Windows PC rather than a Mac. I can’t conceive of any other reason for such incompatibilities to exist.