os

It came as a mild surprise to me when I woke up today and found that developer Alessandro Levi Montalcini had released an update to his popular USB Overdrive driver and configuration utility. I have been using this for years to customize my mice and other input devices, and while there have been small bug fixes to the previous version released, the driver has been pretty much unchanged for years and the USB Overdrive website has been forever claiming a new release was in the works.… Read more

Periodically MobileMe users and people who have synchronized iPhones and iPods to their Macs have run into problems where items will not synchronize or improperly delete entries, duplicate them, or show other odd behavior. When this has happened, I usually suggest resetting the synchronized data on various devices, and then re-sync them all from one device, using it as a master source. If this fails to work, then resetting the SyncServices folder can help.… Read more

Although the conventional wisdom is that the rise of the Netbook is hurting the Windows business, a Microsoft executive said Tuesday that lower-cost laptops can actually be a good thing.

Speaking at an investor conference, general manager Charles Songhurst said that overall, most people buying Netbooks are either multiple PC owners in developed markets or first-time PC buyers in emerging markets.

"From what we see they are incremental," Songhurst said. "They are new scenarios."

Even if that is true, the fact is that Netbooks have been growing in numbers, while traditional PCs have slumped--a shift that … Read more

The Rosetta dynamic translator that lets PowerPC apps run on an Intel-based Mac is optional and not installed by default on Snow Leopard. While there are Intel versions of most applications available today, for people like me who still have PowerPC utilities it was neat to see Apple make Rosetta dynamically available for download on Macs that do not have it installed but need to run older code. Despite it's availability and ease of installation, at this point I would consider Rosetta to be Apple's last effort at providing PowerPC support, and a feature that is not guaranteed to work.… Read more

Following our previous report on problems with ClamXav and Snow Leopard, it appears the developer has released a new version addresses these issues. Version 2.0.2 brings back contextual menu support, custom folder analysis, and application hangs.

The update is available from the ClamXav website and in addition to bug fixes, adds support for the new Snow Leopard "Services" menu. If you are a ClamXav user and have updated to Snow Leopard, we highly recommend you apply this latest update.

Whenever an operating system is upgraded, there are always some applications or system services that will behave oddly. In some instances, applications will not display properly, or the system will slow down, have unexpected behavior, or show interface oddities.… Read more

The retirement of the 1GB Shuffle wasn't the only thing that flew under the radar amid all the Apple-created chaos Wednesday: the company also rather quietly lowered the price of the OS 3.1 software update for iPod Touch owners.

Those who follow MP3 Insider know that I railed against the $10 price tag and refused to purchase the refresh. Unfortunately, I was forced to back down while trying to test the new Rhapsody app, which requires OS 3.1. Imagine my surprise when the price at check-out was a mere $4.95--still not ideal (that would be free), … Read more

When using your Macintosh the foremost window may periodically lose focus, which can be frustrating when you are typing or otherwise providing input to a window. This usually happens because another window is demanding your attention via an alert or dialogue box.… Read more

With the recent releases of iPhone OS 3.1, Mac OS X 10.6.1 update, and all the new iPod models, one Apple product has flown somewhat under the radar with its new features and enhancements. MobileMe provides a wealth of services for subscribers ranging from Web page publishing to iPhone syncing.… Read more