10.7: How to download the OS X Lion Installer or any App Store app on Lion

There’s been a lot of talk about how to get the OS X Lion Installer after you installed Lion. The main purpose of this may be to get the Installer dmg to create a bootable Installer disk, as described elsewhere. Many missed doing that before installation, me included.

But actually this hint will work to force download any purchase on the Mac App Store.

There’s an easy method to force a download within the Mac App Store without any tinkering. It seems to be the official method, although I found no description of this in any of Apple’s documentation.

So here’s how to do it:

  • Open the Mac App Store.
  • Navigate to your Purchased page.
  • Hold down the Option key on your keyboard and click on your ‘OS X Lion’ purchase link (not on the ‘installed’ button).
  • You see the Lion product page. It should say ‘Installed,’ but that button is clickable. Hold down the Option key again and click on ‘Installed.’ If you don’t hold the option key it will tell you there’s already a newer version installed.
  • Enter your login credentials.
  • Download.

It’s important to hold down the Option key twice. Once on the Purchased page, once on the Lion page. You also can’t navigate to Lion directly, you need to open it from the purchases page. But if you follow this procedure you should find the Lion Installer within your Applications folder.

via 10.7: How to download the OS X Lion Installer on Lion – Mac OS X Hints.

Show hidden files Mac OS X 10.7 Lion

To enable hidden files/folders in finder windows:

  1. Open Finder
  2. Open the Utilities folder
  3. Open a terminal window
  4. Copy and paste the following line in:
    1
    defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES
  5. Press return
  6. Now hold ‘alt’ on the keyboard and right click on the Finder icon
  7. Click on Relaunch
You should find you will now be able to see any hidden files or folders. One you are done, perform the steps above however, replace the terminal command in step 4 with:

1
defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles NO

via MikeSel.info.

About the OS X Lion v10.7.1 Update

The 10.7.1 update is recommended for all users running OS X Lion and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability and compatibility of your Mac, including fixes that:

  • Address an issue that may cause the system to become unresponsive when playing a video in Safari
  • Resolve an issue that may cause system audio to stop working when using HDMI or optical audio out
  • Improve the reliability of Wi-Fi connections
  • Resolve an issue that prevents transfer of your data, settings, and compatible applications to a new Mac running OS X Lion
  • Resolve an issue where MacBook Air may boot up when MagSafe Adapter is attached
  • Resolve an issue causing intermittent display flickering on MacBook Air
  • Resolve an issue that causes the SD card slot in Mac mini to run at reduced speed with SD and SDHC media

 

For detailed information on this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4764.

via About the OS X Lion v10.7.1 Update.

Lion Recover Disk Assistant – Apple releases tool to create an OS X Lion recovery/installation external drive

For those who are unable to use the web-based recovery tool for OS X Lion, Apple has released a new Mac application that allows users to create their own OS X Lion recovery/installation external drives. Specifically, this drive lets you reinstall Lion, repair the disk using Disk Utility, restore from a Time Machine backup, or browse the web with Safari. You need a recovery HD already setup to create this new drive. Here are the instruction straight from Apple:

The Lion Recovery Disk Assistant will erase all data on the external drive when creating the Recovery HD. You should either backup your data before running the Lion Recovery Disk Assistant, or create a new partition on the external drive.

If you need to create a new partition on the external disk

1. Open Disk Utility, located in the Utilities folder in Launchpad.

2. Select the drive on which you would like to install the Recovery HD and add a partition. Note: Partition should be at least 1 GB in size.

3. Click Options and make sure GUID Partition Table is selected.

4. Make sure the format for the partition is Mac OS Extended Journaled.

5. Click Apply.

Open Lion Recovery Disk Assistant and follow the on screen instructions to create a Recovery HD on the external drive.

When the Lion Recovery Disk Assistant completes, the new partition will not be visible in the Finder or Disk Utility. To access the external Recovery HD, connect the drive, then restart the computer and hold the Option key. Select Recovery HD from the Startup Manager.

The Lion Recover Disk Assistant download is available here.

via Apple releases tool to create an OS X Lion recovery/installation external drive | from 9to5Mac | Apple Intelligence.

Apple iCloud: What it is, and What it Costs

With Apple revealing iCloud price details along with the beta version of iCloud.com, now seems like a good time to explain what the service is to anyone who missed Apple’s announcement in June.

iCloud basics

iCloud does not replace local storage on iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches. What it does is keep your data in sync between any Apple device or PC that you own. For example, if you’re writing a document in Pages on an iPad, that document will automatically be available for editing on your iPhone or a PC, with no need to transfer files by e-mail or USB.

iCloud also remembers your device’s settings, apps, home screen layouts, ring tones and text messages, so all of that information is available if you upgrade or replace your iPhone or iPad. Think of it like the backup function in iTunes, but through the Internet instead.

Which apps use iCloud?

Apple’s iWork productivity software — Pages, Numbers and Keynote — can sync documents through iCloud. Contacts, Calendar and Mail will also be updated automatically across multiple devices. A new service called Photo Stream allows you to download your 1,000 most recent photos to a computer or other iOS device for 30 days. You can also store a device’s entire camera roll in iCloud for longer.

Third-party apps will be able to use iCloud as well. Rovio, for instance, could make Angry Birds data available across devices so your iPhone and iPad will show the same progress through the game. It’s up to developers to implement these kinds of features.

What’s included for free, and what costs extra?

Apple will provide 5 GB of iCloud storage for free, but iTunes music, apps, books and Photo Stream don’t count against that total. iCloud storage is consumed by documents, mail, app data, your full camera roll, settings and other device information. Additional storage costs $20 per year for 10 GB, $40 per year for 20 GB and $100 per year for 50 GB.

Apple suggests that 5 GB of storage should suffice, but that depends largely on whether you’re storing lots of photos and videos on your Camera Roll, and how much app data you’re backing up. The former should be easy to determine — you can already see in iTunes how much data is used by photos and video — but the latter will be harder to pin down until we see how many developers adopt the service.

Who is this for?

People who own multiple iOS devices will get the most out of iCloud, because it saves the hassle of manually transferring data between iPhones, iPads and so on. Owners of a single Apple device may still appreciate iCloud’s automatic backup function, which makes replacing hardware easier.

iTunes is separate

One possible point of confusion with iCloud is how iTunes purchases factor into the service. When you buy music from iTunes, it can be automatically synced to all of your iOS devices, and it won’t count against your free storage. A paid service called iTunes Match is completely separate from iCloud, and syncs any music you haven’t purchased from iTunes for $25 per year.

When will this be available?

iCloud arrives this fall, alongside iOS 5.

via Apple iCloud: What it is, and What it Costs | PCWorld.

Android vs iPhone by state: Who is on top?

Android vs iPhone by state: Who is on top?

Would you like to know what mobile operating system dominates in your state? Planning to move anytime soon? Here’s a map that can guide you in the right direction! Stats and info graphics are always fun, but today we have something extra special for you.

This map shows which US states are dominated by Android, Blackberry or iOS. Android and iOS are obviously the most dominant platforms in the country, but some states are still Blackberry territory and some others that are neutral.

There’s somewhat of a pattern in this map, as you can see. It seems there’s a sort of an invisible diagonal line separating the distribution of platforms. The map illustrates that iOS dominates in the northern/eastern half of the country, while Android seems to dominate in the southern/western section.

These statistics are very interesting, but we have decided to take things a little further. Aside from just knowing which platform is on top (and where), we decided to see how the numbers relate to other maps with state-by-state information.

See the entire article at Android vs iPhone by state: Who is on top? | Android and Me.

Google Chrome Mouse and Track Pad Swipe Gestures in OS X Lion

Three finger swipes still work in Google Chrome. The issue you’re having is that default swipes in Lion are two fingers. Go into System Prefs, then into trackpad and change the swipes from 2 fingers to 3. You can also make it both 2 and 3 finger swipes to accomplish the same thing, in which case swiping will work in Chrome and you’ll see get the cool two finger swipes in Safari that have special animations.

Reset a Lost OS X Account Password

Depending on the circumstances, this task could take 5 minutes or could even be completely impossible. Here is a run through of the different ways you can reset an account password depending on the type of account, whether FileVault is enabled and whether you have the Mac OS X Install Disc.

If you still know the Administrator Password

If you still know the password to an administrator account, it is very simple to reset any standard or managed user’s password. While logged in as the administrator, open up System Preferences and click on the Accounts section. All the accounts on the computer should be listed down the left hand side. Under each account name it should say Admin, Standard or Managed. If the lock at the bottom of the window appears locked, click on it to allow changes to the preferences.

The next step is to select the user whose password you want to change and click on the Reset Password button. Enter the new password and click Reset Password. If you have created multiple Administrator accounts, you can use this method to reset their passwords too, as long as you know the password for the original administrator account.

Resetting an Administrator Password
Obviously, if you don’t have access to an administrator account, you can’t carry out any of the above steps. If you have forgotten the Administrator password or you can’t log into your Mac at all, you will need to use the Mac OS X Install Disc.

Enter the Mac OS X Install Disc that is the closest version to that running on the Mac. For example, if you are running Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, you should enter the Snow Leopard install disk, not any earlier ones. Restart the computer, and hold the C key as it starts up. This might take longer than usual, and you can release the C key as soon as the Apple logo appears on the screen. When the window appears, choose your language and click the right arrow.

The next step depends on what version of Mac OS X you are using. Generally you need to choose Reset Password from the Utilities menu. For earlier versions of Mac OS X, choose Reset Password from the Installer menu.

Choose your Hard Drive from the top and then choose the Account from the drop down menu. Be careful not to select System Administrator, as this is actually the root user, not the administrator account on your Mac. Now enter the new password, click Save, quit the Installer and restart the computer.

Note that there are a few issues with this method. Firstly, it does not reset your keychain password. You will have to do this separately. Secondly, do not attempt this if you have FileVault enabled. To reset an FileVault protected account, you need the master password.

Resetting a FIleVault Protected User’s Password
If you have enabled FileVault to encrypt your Account, you need to know the master password that you set when you enabled it. This is the password that the administrator should know that allows you to reset any password on the computer. If you have forgotten the master password, unfortunately your data is lost forever.

If you know the master password, start by attempting to log into your account. When you get the password wrong three times, you will be able to click “Forgot Password”. Now you will have to enter the master password and then a new login password for your account.

If you have lost the Mac OS X install Disc
If you have lost the install disc, don’t try and use one from an earlier version as this might permanently block you out of your account. You really have two options: Firstly, you could buy a new copy of Mac OS X (try Amazon). Secondly, there is a way of resetting an administrator password without the disc if you are running Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. Note: Do NOT do this with a FileVault protected account, or your data will be lost forever.

First, note the short name of the account. This is the same as the name of its home folder, but not necessarily the name that appears in the login window. Restart your computer, and while it is starting up, hold Command-S. This will start up your Mac in Single User Mode. Once it has started up, you will need to enter three lines of code. Enter sh /etc/rc and press return. Then enter passwd yourusername and hit return. Now you will have to enter a new password twice. What you type won’t appear on screen, but it is working. Once you have done this, type reboot and hit return.

Similarly to the Install Disc method,this will not reset your Keychain password. You will have to do this separately.

via Reset a Lost OS X Account Password | General, System Preferences, Terminal, Utilities | Mac OS X Tips.

How to Install Missing Java Plug-in With Mac OS X Lion (OS 10.7.x)

How to Install Missing Java Plug-in With Mac OS X Lion (OS 10.7.x)
If you are running OS X Lion (OS 10.7.x) on your Mac, you may need to install the latest Java Plug-in.  To do so, please follow the fast and easy steps below:

1.  When you encounter a Java applet, you may see “Missing Plug-in” display.

2.  Click the down arrow to download the missing Java Plug-in.  In the dialog that displays, click the “Install” button to start the Software Update.

3.  The Java Plug-in will download to your Mac.

4.  The Java Plug-in will install on your Mac.

5.  Once the Java Plug-in has downloaded and installed successfully, click OK.

You can also download Java for OS X Lion here

Proudly powered by WordPress | Theme: Baskerville 2 by Anders Noren.

Up ↑