installments

OS X Lion has been released and is available in the Mac App Store to download and install. While its availability solely as a download may have its conveniences, the lack of its initial distribution on optical or other media has been met with a decent amount of criticism, especially by those looking for options to troubleshoot and customize their OS installations. Apple's approach to installing and managing your Lion installation does offer a decent amount of flexibility, but if you would like to have your Lion installation on DVD, then you absolutely can do this.

Luckily the OS … Read more

OS X Lion has just been released as a Golden Master build to developers, and provided all goes according to plan it should be slated for public release sometime later this month. Unlike with prior releases of OS X, Apple has taken a few different turns with Lion, especially in how it will be distributed to users. In addition, the system requirements for the upgrade are going to be a bit more constrained than in the past, so here is how to best prepare for the upgrade.

The first thing to do is ensure your system will run it. Any … Read more

Many new software companies invite individuals to sign up for their beta program. This means the user will experience the app before other users and will have private access to the APK (Google's Android Package) that contains the app itself. However, APKs sent via email can sometimes be fickle when installing. This is why adding APKatcher to your phone will help eliminate this issue and give you two options for installing apps from email.

Step 1: Install APKatcher from the Android Market.

Step 2: Open the e-mail with attached APK file.

Step 3: Click on the Install button at … Read more

Not content with Apple's App Store as a software distribution mechanism, a group of iOS developers is taking matters into its own hands by working on a tool to let iPhone users browse and install applications and system tweaks through Safari.

Spotted by the iPhone Download Blog, the new project dubbed "Lima" is the creation of the Infini Dev Team and aims to complement, and perhaps one day replace, third-party application installers already available to those with jailbroken iOS devices. The hack lets users install applications from third-party software repositories, hosted on the Web and accessed through … Read more

Some Android phones use the default onscreen keyboard built into the OS, while others have preinstalled keyboards that are meant to enhance the user experience. However, not everyone is content with either keyboard, so that's why the Android Market is full of alternative choices. Below are a few easy steps for changing your Android's software keyboard to one that is better aligned with your needs.

Search the Android market for "keyboard." Many keyboards cost a few dollars, but also offer trial versions before purchase. Ultra Keyboard Trial is a great example free-to-try app.

After installing, open … Read more

Microsoft released updates to Office 2011 and other Office versions earlier this week that provide a number of security updates to the program and are recommended installations for people running Office on their Macs. The updates seem to install fine on most systems, but a few people have contacted us and mentioned on the Office for Mac forums that they are experiencing problems with hanging or other errors when attempting to install.

If you are having troubles installing the latest updates, there are a few things you can try:

Turn off sync services in Outlook's preferences MacFixIt reader "… Read more

Retail DVDs that are stamped as opposed to burned track-by-track in a home burner are more compatible with drives and usually can be read by most DVD burners. Despite this, sometimes there may be issues with a particular drive that prevent a disc from being read or used in special situations such as a boot drive.

If this happens with your boot DVD, there are several options available:

Replace the disc

Check the disc for any visible errors, and if they are present, then try replacing it. Sometimes people have had success in getting new discs at Apple retail stores, … Read more

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer e-mailed questions from our readers. This week there were questions on upgrading OS X for use with iLife, transferring bookmarks from Safari to Firefox for the iPad, increasing the size of interface elements in OS X, and managing blinking question marks when installing OS X. We continually answer e-mail questions, and though we present a few answers here, we certainly welcome alternative approaches and views from readers and encourage you to post your suggestions in the comments.

Question: Upgrading Mac OS X to run iLife MacFixIt reader "Henry" asks:… Read more

Simnet UnInstaller 2010 is a free utility for uninstalling programs from Windows PCs. It's compact and easy to use, and removes programs as completely as the Windows uninstaller. However, it does less than the Windows uninstall tool and similar free uninstallers. It also offers to help you manage your programs, but it only uninstalls them.

Simnet UnInstaller shares a similar interface with the developer's other tools, a compact, colorful dialog with buttons marked About, Status, Programs, Settings, and Help. The Settings are limited to check boxes for automatic updates and creating a System Restore point before uninstalling software. … Read more