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Category: Mac

Fix for increased file size when removing a PDF password on Mac OS

Over the last couple of months I received some password protected PDF files. While using this kind of protection is easy for casual users, I find it kinda annoying that it forces me to add a separate step to my process when storing these files without a password on my local disk. And here I noticed some quirks when doing that step on Mac OS. The easiest way to remove the password is clearly to use the Preview application, and to export / save the document as a new fileContinue readingFix for increased file size when removing a PDF password on Mac OS

How to solve Apple ID login failure: AMD-Action:downloadProduct:SP

Since I have upgraded OS X on my MacBook Pro to OS X El Capitan (10.11) and moved my users home folder to another partition as described in an earlier blog post, I was not able to sign into the Apple or iTunes store anymore via native applications. It was still working fine via the browser. The failure displayed was: “AMD-Action:downloadProduct:SP”. Yes, very helpful. No further link for help nor was I able to find anything about it on official support pages. Querying the web for a while I finallyContinue readingHow to solve Apple ID login failure: AMD-Action:downloadProduct:SP

Moving home folder to another encrypted volume on OS X

Over the last weekend I was reinstalling my older MacBookPro (late 2011 model) again after replacing its hard drive with a fresh and modern SSD drive from Crucial 512GB. That change was really necessary given that simple file operations took about a minute, and every system tools claimed that the HDD was fine. So after installing Mavericks I moved my home folder to another partition to make it easier later to reinstall OS X again. But as it turned out it is not that easy, especially not given that OSContinue readingMoving home folder to another encrypted volume on OS X

Sharing Keyboard and Mouse between Mac’s with Teleport

Working on two or even more machines in parallel would require a KVM switch or just a neat software like Teleport which lets you share your keyboard and mouse simply over the network. One big advantage against Synergy is that this solution comes as a prefpane and embeds the configuration UI and the backend within one application. Further once a Mac has been enabled for sharing other Mac’s will automatically find it in the network. Anyone who has security concerns will be happy that the connection can be encrypted. AfterContinue readingSharing Keyboard and Mouse between Mac’s with Teleport

Restarting VmWare guest if shutdown is not successful

Today I run into the problem where one of my Vmware guests with an installed Windows XP wasn’t able to shutdown. The only option users have via the UI is to put the machine into sleep. But that doesn’t help at all. I wanna have a running XP box again. Waking up from sleep still shows the same problem: “Windows is shutting down…”. So how someone can kill this instance to restart it like a manual hard boot? The first thing I tried was to kill the Vmware application viaContinue readingRestarting VmWare guest if shutdown is not successful

Replacement of the cracked MacBook topcase

Some month ago I noticed a little crack in the topcase of my MacBook. It happened in the area where your thenar is placed while using the keyboard. I haven’t made too many thoughts about because the guarantee has still expired. But with the time its getting bigger and bigger. So I just wondered if other people are also affected by this issue. I searched on Google to find an answer and found an interesting article at apfeltalk.de. As mentioned in the discussion it could be a manufacturing error whichContinue readingReplacement of the cracked MacBook topcase

Temporary folder for Firefox and Thunderbird on OS X

In February last year I bought my first MacBook with OS X 10.4 alias Tiger installed and I was happy to say “Hello” to the Apple folks. Ever since it was a bit of work and I had to learn a lot until everything worked like expected. But there is still one thing which bugs me when running Firefox or Thunderbird on a fresh OS X installation. Both applications don’t use a reasonable temporary folder. Instead files which are opened by helper applications are stored under ~/Desktop or ~/Download andContinue readingTemporary folder for Firefox and Thunderbird on OS X

OS X leaks keyboard shortcut for optional button in dialogs

Hey, what’s up with my Tiger? I didn’t realized it all the last weeks but why there is no keyboard shortcut anymore to cancel a dialog? It was a fine thing to only have to hit the space key. I mainly used it within Lightroom to delete an image from the database. But as I see now, the button hasn’t a small blue border anymore. It’s cumbersome to grab the mouse and navigate to the cancel button. Does anyone of you also have this problem? I could imagine that thisContinue readingOS X leaks keyboard shortcut for optional button in dialogs

Update 2007-009 kills my MacBook

Today I got a notification from the Apple update tool that a new update is available. I hit ok, to install the Update 2007-009. After rebooting my system OS X presents a black screen. I like the console on Linux but I’m totally stranded at the moment. I used dmesg to get closer which module or application is responsible for the behavior but didn’t really find anything for the moment. But probable VMware Fusion could be the reason. After trying to restart from the installation DVD it doesn’t even recognizeContinue readingUpdate 2007-009 kills my MacBook

Enhance your OS X address book

I’m really impressed. After nearly one year in using my Macbook I could learn about hidden features of Apple software each day. All of them will give your live more power and also simplifies your work-flow. Today I will tell you some nice features of the OS X address book. The trigger to have a deeper look at possible address book features was an email I received on Monday. Someone answered the message I sent him a while back and annotates that I used the wrong address. So my firstContinue readingEnhance your OS X address book

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