os

When you load a website, or use any other fully qualified domain name (ie, www.macfixit.com), the name needs to be resolved to something that your computer can use, such as an IP address. The service that does this is DNS, or "Domain Name System", which is essentially the index or address book for the internet. The DNS network consists of servers and resolvers that work to cache and propagate a distributed hierarchical database of internet names, domains, and subdomains. The resolved IP addresses are sent to the client system (your computer) when you make a DNS request.… Read more

Check Software Upate! Apple has released a couple of updates to Java, this being the first for Snow Leopard and the sixth for Leopard, bringing the latest versions of Java for OS X (SE6 and SE5) to versions 1.6.0_17 and 1.5.0_22, respectively. These updates addresses security issues with applets gaining elevated privileges and invalid certificates being treated as valid.… Read more

A number of people have found the use of some multi-touch gestures on their MacBook and MacBook Pro computers have stopped working. While two finger gestures such as pinch and scroll may still work, those that use three and four fingers may not anymore. Additionally, others have had instances where the computer refuses input of any kind.… Read more

QuickTime streaming server supports authentication for people who connect with QuickTime player; however, when you connect with QuickTime X in Snow Leopard to a server that requires authentication, you will get an "Unauthorized" message and the media will not play.… Read more

The world's second-largest PC maker has designs on being the first to offer a Chrome OS Netbook.

Acer Chairman J.T. Wang said in an interview with Digitimes that he's "confident" his company will be first out of the gate with Google's open-source operating system pre-installed.

The earliest it would be available is mid-2010, according to Digitimes' unnamed sources.

Acer was just one of several hardware makers previously announced to be working with Google on implementing Chrome OS, along with Asus, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo, and Toshiba. Dell, which hasn't committed to it fully yet, has … Read more

When backing up your iPod or iPhone in iTunes, you may run into problems where the program may hang, crash, or display an error message claiming the backup could not be saved on the computer. This problem may affect iTunes versions 7, 8, or 9, and may happen on PCs as well as Macs.… Read more

As part of Psystar's partial settlement with Apple, all models of the company's Open Computer featuring preinstalled Mac OS have been removed from its Web site.

A quick visit to Psystar.com Wednesday morning reveals all five products the Mac clone maker had been selling since 2008 are suddenly "out of stock." It follows Tuesday's partial settlement, in which the Florida-based Psystar agreed to pay $2.65 million to Apple for copyright infringement, in exchange for Apple dropping the other claims of trademark infringement and unfair competition.

Though Psystar has agreed to a settlement payment … Read more

Many challenges will have to be solved before Google is ready to release Chrome OS, its browser-based operating system for Netbooks. One of the biggest ones could be something as far offline as it gets.

Driver support has derailed many an operating system release, perhaps most recently causing headaches for Microsoft and Windows Vista. As a result, Google is paying close attention to the thorny problem of making sure Chrome OS will work with the myriad devices consumers can be expected to connect to those Netbooks, said Linus Upson, engineering director for the Chrome browser and Chrome OS.

"The … Read more

Apple's ongoing copyright infringement dispute with Mac clone maker Psystar is getting a bit of attention these days as the January 10 date of the trial draws nearer and both companies have tried to settle without going to trial. When Psystar first started selling Mac clones, Apple seemed uncharacteristically silent and did not respond to inquiry about the situation. When it finally did several months later, it appeared it was not going to pursue the situation with a "cease and desist" atmosphere. Now it's clear that Apple took a measured response to not only squash Psystar's Mac clone efforts, but also to ward off others interested in cloning Macs.… Read more