Knowledge is freedom

Posts tagged “Mac OS X Snow Leopard”

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OS X Lion (10.7.x) continued


Screenshot of Mac OS X Snow Leopard, released ...

Following the many issues which I decided to ignore post upgrade as future updates will address these bugs, I posted about two major issues from my perspective connectivity and printer drivers.   Well it gets stranger, fact is some times stranger than fiction.

1.  Print drivers (Lexmark)

Apple have issued an driver update which removes all the error messages, this is a fantastic response in terms of time given all the issues they have to address.  Shame it don’t work at all on my 4900 series device.  I have a network printer and the new drivers only function if you connect the printer directly to your device. Very poor support from hardware supplier, lesson learned avoid Lexmark as the drivers are always poor, until updated.   As I stated in previous post the printer will be changed, but this leaves me with a lack of confidence in both Lexmark and Apple.   Finally my printer been added to the compatibility list and Lexmark have updated the drivers and provided the additional tools needed lets see if they work.  This was much quicker than normal, when Windows 7 was released I had to wait months until the 64bit driver was released, look how long it was in beta and nothing.

It brings back memories of the leap from OS 9 to OS X, leaving customers unhappy with the illusion that using Apple is more expensive than other systems as you have to replace everything because of compatibility issues.  Customers jumping from OS 9 to OS X lost a lot of great legacy apps and money as the only solution was to buy everything again, this time just so we can turn our desktops and laptops in to iOS devices.  Will this to make life easier for the developers and a new road map for the future of Apple?

Previously the statement to answer almost all Apple related questions was everything just works and works well, that statement does not cut it any more and it looks like a long time before that will be uttered again.  What future without Steve Jobs?  The present has broken applications, compatibility issues and growing hardware specs.  It sounds like I’m discussing Microsoft Windows and almost makes Windows sound good, if Snow Leopard was not still an option I would simply say escape while you still can and have money in your pocket so it’s downgrade or throw unknown sums at it.  I resisted the option to deviate this post over to Linux as you can read up about that and make your own decision now the playing field is clear.

2. Connectivity

Having followed the steps advised by Apple support http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4700 I’m very sorry to say they did not work for me.  The only viable solution found was to downgrade after considering the pros and cons, I’m not confident that the situation will be addressed as we are on 10.7.2 now and what else will future updates break.

I am a big fan of Linux and virtual machines, for me at this point Apple was a fantastic platform well worth the money.  But it’s now a supplier of IPhone and the IPad and that’s it, as they have abandoned the desktop.   Post beta testing how on earth could Lion have been released?  It has some fantastic features, but these features don’t make up for the fact the OS has separated itself from the local network \ legacy devices and jumped head first in to the cloud.   For me no access to NAS is a show stopper,  so it’s dual booting time again, remember the early OS X and classic mode days.

Cloud computing is the correct path long term, but until the costs are truly comparable and solutions found for poor / limited or no connectivity how can consumers see Lion as a viable upgrade?  when it’s clearly a stepping stone to nudge the consumer in the direction of cloud computing.  The cost of transfering terabytes to the cloud and security risks, local storage will never go away.  It may take a long time for users to feel that they have not been abused and new customers to want to come over to Apple.  I would have to recommend staying with Snow Leopard which can combine both, as better the functional old dog that you know and trust.

Lion = Apple’sVista, it’s time to wait for the Windows 7 equivalent of OS X, strange how all technology companies keep repeating the same mistakes, once everything catches up and a couple more updates Lion will be ok.  Doesn’t that sound just like Vista, how much customer confidence did Microsoft lose with Vista.   Confidence can make or break any company even the biggest, Vista was great for Apple is the reverse now true?  What freebie or  new feature will Apple have to bring to change our minds and make customers continue to  buy or want Apple hardware?  What will the true cost of the Lion upgrade be?

Compatibility issues

http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/905/cpsid_90508.html

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2586538

http://www.macworld.com/article/161730/2011/08/more_lion_incompatibility.html

http://support.lexmark.com/index?pmv=print&page=content&locale=en&userlocale=EN_US&id=OS22

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29/10/2011 | Categories: Apple, Linux, News, Phone, Unix | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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Total Finder


Mac OS X logo

Total Finder is a Mac OS X finder add-on which brings many features to Apple’s standard finder application. Having used Mac OS, DOS, Unix and Windows for many for many years I have become accustom to many file managers and Mac OS X finder is very nice and easy to use. It does have a few short falls, nothing major but after using other file managers it does not some how feel that it is all that it can be. This is where third-party applications step in, this quick review is of Total Finder high lights one key feature. Dual mode, it does offer several more tabs etc which may be the star of the show for other users but I love dual mode. This application is compatible with Snow Leopard (10.6.x) and Lion (10.7.x), the product is not freeware a single licence costs $18.00. A fully functional 14 day trial version is available for download from http://totalfinder.binaryage.com

free licenses are available see http://totalfinder.binaryage.com/free-licenses for terms and conditions.

Thank you Antonin

I really love Total Finder the dual-mode feature is fantastic, why Apple did not add this feature by default is puzzling. But thankfully Total Finder is here to step in.

Dual Mode

Dual mode is a special mode where Total Finder displays two Finder windows side-by-side. It

is a view similar to what can be seen in classic dual-panel file managers. This is handy in

situations when you want to easily move files from one panel to the other.

Please note that individual Finder windows still behave the same as if they were individual

windows. For example both windows keep their own toolbar. The only difference is that

Total Finder places the sidebar of the right-side window to the right edge and syncs its

width with the left sidebar.

You may enter dual-mode by double-clicking a tab or pressing ⌘U. The selected tab will join

with the tab next to it and form dual tabs with two file browsers side-by-side. To leave

dual-mode double-click the dual tab again. The advantage of this setup is that you can

create multiple dual tabs and manipulate them the same way as single tabs.

With this add-on the feel and experience is more in line with modern browsers making it much easier to interact with the operating system as is the case with other operating systems like Microsoft Windows explorer. The add-on has many features which are documented on the website all of which I will be exploring over the coming weeks while I rebuild my system again post down grade from Lion

The product in the words of the author.

“Total Finder is not a replacement application, it a plugin which improves Finder’s

functionality. This should also offer better interoperability with other applications which

usually expect Finder to be your only file manager. We’ve all seen those menus with “Reveal

in Finder” items, right?

Finder is not going away anytime soon and it has some very unique features like Time

Machine and Spotlight search. Every Mac has Finder installed. You are better to learn how

to live with it than fight it. Total Finder can help and make Finder work better for you.”

http://totalfinder.binaryage.com/

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14/10/2011 | Categories: Apple, News, Unix | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment