Yusuf Goolamabbas

Got this via Ali Ebrahim who recently purchased a Time Capsule but the information should be valid also when using an external USB disk connected to an Airport Extreme Base Station

Basically it is that for the AirDisk you have some options:

1. Entire disk password
2. User account based passwords

You’d generally want to do (2) and the gotcha is that you can’t switch between the two without wiping all data on the disk clean.

Another gotcha is that you can’t migrate your existing TM backup to an AirPort enabled AirDisk. Meaning that whatever history is stored in your existing TM backup would be lost.

I recently reinstalled my 20″ iMac (last 2006 model) from Tiger to Leopard. Today, whilst trying to print something on my HP PSC 1210 inkjet printer I found that it was not possible to print in black-and-white as I used to do in Tiger because the Quartz filter option was not available in Leopard

Here’s the workaround

1. Go to print the document. Use the item “Open PDF in Preview” item under the PDF Services drop down menu at the bottom left of the print
   window.
2. After the document appears in Preview, choose Save As… from the File menu.
3. Either change the name or use the Replace option when prompted. Select the output format as PDF and use the Quartz Filter to select “Black and White”. Click the save button

Not happy with Apple for making it so complicated to print in black and white. Going to send some feedback to them

• Apple has made major changes to iCal in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, introducing integration with its own new WebDAV-based iCal Server included in Leopard Server. Here’s a comprehensive history of software-based calendar applications and a look at what’s new in iCal 3.0.
• Apple OS X Leopard: A beautiful upgrade
  Finally, a PC Unix that everyone can love. OS X Leopard is a triumph of customer-focused engineering

Recently I started having some issues with my 20″ Core 2 Duo iMac. First, my mighty mouse would only scroll up but not scroll down. I cleaned it as best as I could looking up various pages on the Internet which went into considerable details on what one could do to extract dirt without opening up the mouse (it seems impossible to me)

Having failed to coax the mouse to scroll in both directions, I just replaced with a cheap Genius mouse. Borks the white look but hey I can work.

A few days earlier, I couldn’t use my audio line-in port. I’m a heavy user of Skype and nobody could hear me. I switched multiple headsets but nothing would work. The internal microphone worked but it picked up a lot of ambient noise.

So I called into AppleCare, I called a local Hong Kong number and from the accent of the person answering it would seem that it was answered in Singapore. I was quickly registered into Applecare and described both the above problems. I then asked for on-site service and was told that Apple Hong Kong would call me and it would probably be scheduled in a couple of days.

A few hours later, Apple HK called and said they could come an hour later to my house. I was at work at that time and told them to come in the morning the next day. Score one for an uber fast response.

Next day, a technician turns up and pokes around. He determines that he has to replace both the logic board and the mouse. Both of which strangely have to ship out from Singapore even though they are made in China. The technician said he would come again next week.

Overall, very pleased with the experience.

I came across PixelMator via TUAW today. For the price of US$ 59. It seems to be a very slick tool for someone who is looking for some sophisticated image editing tools without paying for the cost of Photoshop. As TUAW says

The demo showcases some impressive Pixelmator features, including working with multiple layers and objects, opening Photoshop files and moving layers from one image to another, taking a picture with an iSight camera and embedding it into the current working image, and even some slick blending modes.

Another low cost application is Lineform which at US$ 79 is a steal for its features and its UI design. It’s the winner of the 2006 Apple Design awards

I have been using MacOSX for some time and of the things I have found unique to this operating system is that their is some awesome software available at low cost available for it. A piece of software in particular I would like to mention is ArtRage which is not exclusively MacOSX, it’s also available for Windows but as the image on the right shows, with the right creative talent one can create stunning masterpieces. The artwork is by Karachi based painter Waheed Nasir who was the featured artist in December 2006 on Wacom’s Community site. Artrage is available for US$ 19.95 and it has a free edition too. Feature comparision between the free and paid version is available here

I also like the OmniGroups OmniGraffle application

For instant messaging, my choice is AdiumX