Mac OS X

Our utilities update report is a list of updates for Mac utilities that have been released in the past week. Though a utility can be any tool that helps you perform a routine task (including image manipulation and synchronization), our focus in this column is to bring you those tools that help in troubleshooting Mac hardware and software problems.

Maintenance TinkerTool System is a collection of useful utilities for OS X, which can tweak and customize the Mac experience as well as run maintenance routines to correct any system slowdowns. The latest version adds a new "Emergency Tool" … Read more

One of the changes Apple made to iTunes that several people have been disappointed with is the app's lack of colors in the sidebar, making the window look out of focus and a bit bland. Some people have looked into hidden settings and other ways to modify iTunes to bring the colors back.

Unfortunately, changing the sidebar contents is not as simple as entering a command in the Terminal. Instead, you must alter the ".rsrc" file in the program package, which is not a very straightforward task.

Luckily, some people have tried this effort and made their … Read more

If you regularly use Automator workflows with iTunes, you may want to hold off on upgrading to iTunes 10. MacWorld recently uncovered an issue with the new update in which automator workflows for iTunes are no longer functional after upgrading the program.

Normally Automator has the following workflow actions available for iTunes:

Add Songs to iPod Add Songs to Playlist Ask for Songs Change Case of Song Names Delete All iPod Notes Eject iPod Filter iTunes Items Find iTunes Items Get Selected iTunes Items Get Specified iTunes Items Get the Current Song Import Audio Files Import Files into iTunes New … Read more

With any program being updated, there will be a few quirks at first while the new features get used in various people's setups and configurations. The same goes for iTunes 10, where people are finding a few oddities that seem to be feature changes or bugs that need to be ironed out.

iPhone 4 apps causing crashes Some people have been experiencing crashes in iTunes 10 when connecting their iPhone 4 devices and selecting applications to transfer. If this happens, try resetting the iPhone and also try removing iTunes' preferences (called com.apple.iTunes.plist and stored in the /… Read more

Apple's iTunes 10 upgrade brings a number of interesting enhancements to the program, including the "Ping" social-networking option and the new clutter-reducing "hybrid" view for album covers and song listings. Despite these features and other new improvements, when it comes to the user interface there are some outstanding drawbacks in the new version of iTunes.

When you launch the program for the first time, the initial impression is that somehow the window may not be in focus. As an OS X user I am used to window elements being crisp and colorful when a window … Read more

On the heels of today's announcement of iOS 4.1 (coming to iPhone and iPod touch next week), Apple has given developers the iOS 4.1 Gold Master version, the last development step before the public software release and the last chance for Apple to spot any bugs we will be blogging about in a couple weeks.

As noted in Steve Jobs' keynote address at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, iOS 4.1 looks to solve many of the bugs we tech writers have been using for blog fodder over the last few months. Fixes include improvements to the proximity sensors … Read more

When Apple released some of the final updates to OS X 10.5 for PowerPC systems, a number of Harman Kardon iSub owners found their speaker systems no longer worked properly with their computers. The problem appeared to be a driver-related error but neither Harman Kardon nor Apple stepped up to fix the issue and owners had to resort to other speaker systems.

Recently, an open-source project "iSub Fix" has become available, which is a small driver replacement for PowerPC-based Macs running OS X 10.5.8, which should get the iSub working again. The package comes with … Read more

Apple has released iTunes 10 for Windows and Mac, which brings a number of new features to the program including a new icon (finally!), a hybrid column view to prevent repetitive album listings, and a new social network for music called Ping.

The update is available through Software Update in OS X, but can also be downloaded from the iTunes Web site (Apple has updated their site to say iTunes 10 is "coming soon"); however, be sure to take a couple of precautions before installing it.

Let others test it

We do not expect there will be major … Read more

Apple announced Tuesday afternoon it will provide live video streaming of Wednesday's music event, but unless you have access to a Mac, iPhone, iPad, or iPod, you are going to be out of luck.

The event, starting at 10 a.m. PDT at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, will be available at Apple.com, but only on Macs running OS X 10.6 and the Safari Web browser, or on an iPad, an iPhone, or iPod Touch running iOS 3 or higher, according to a media alert posted Tuesday by Apple. For those who don'… Read more