mac

Apple has issued a supplemental update for version 10.8.2 of OS X, which addresses a few problems users are having with the way the OS handles the Keychain in some systems. The update is for Macs issued in 2012, and is a small 26.65MB download that will apply new versions of the SecurityAgent process and its supporting daemons and configuration files.

SecurityAgent is a background process that implements protocols for accessing certificates, keychains, and other security measures in OS X, and provides interface elements for user interaction with these, including dialog boxes that prompt for usernames and … Read more

After making changes to the drive configuration in OS X you may run into an issue where the system will not boot as fast as it previously did. In these cases the system may sit at the gray boot screen for a while before the OS loads, but when it finally does, the system will otherwise run just fine.

This problem can happen after several types of drive configuration changes, which include replacing a faulty drive, upgrading the drive to a larger or faster one, or migrating to a new storage approach such as a custom Fusion Drive setup in OS X Lion or later.… Read more

The OS X Character Viewer is a system-wide text entry service that allows for quick access to numerous special characters from fonts in your system. While the use of keyboard modifier keys (Shift, Control, and so forth) allow for quick access to some common alternative characters, there are numerous Greek, currency, math, and emoticon symbols that can be accessed through the Character Viewer panel in OS X.

This panel can be accessed from the Edit menu in most applications, but can also be opened using keyboard shortcuts or the input menu, as outlined in this previous article.

The basics of … Read more

Maybe it's that Black Friday shopping time of year or maybe Apple is trying an experiment, but it appears that the company now may be selling its refurbished products on eBay.

According to 9to5Mac, which noticed the site a few weeks ago, the eBay store has been up for about a month, and many aspects of it exactly mimic Apple's Web store. For example, the refurbished products are the exact same price and come with the same perks as the Apple Store, like a one-year warranty, original OS, and "final quality inspection by Apple."

OS X's encryption service, FileVault, originally stored users' home folder contents in encrypted disk images. In OS X Lion, FileVault now uses Apple's new CoreStorage volume manager to encrypt the entire disk. With CoreStorage, the OS configures a small hidden partition with a preboot welcome screen that looks like the standard OS X log-in window and contains user accounts that are authorized to unlock the volume and cause the system to load and automatically log in to the account specified on the preboot screen.

Unfortunately, while more secure and while offering a relatively seamless experience when sitting at … Read more

If you own one of Apple's latest 2012 Mac Mini systems and are attempting to update it to the latest version of OS X, you may find the update is not available via the App Store's Software Update service. Furthermore, if you download the manual updater for 10.8.2 and attempt to install it, you will see an error that states: "Error: OS X Update can't be installed on this disk. This volume does not meet the requirements for this update."

The reason for this error is the 2012 Mac Mini requires a special … Read more

The OS X character palette is a convenient option for accessing multiple unicode symbols that are part of modern font collections. Not only can you use fun items like emoticons, but you can also enhance writing with scientific and mathematical symbols, foreign script characters, symbols, and even Braille.

Having these characters in the character palette makes managing them far easier than prior approaches in which unique symbol and dingbat fonts had to be used.

If you would like to use the OS X character viewer, it can be accessed in a few different ways:

Mac OS X 10.9 could be dubbed "Lynx," says blog site AppleScoop.

The rumor sounds plausible. It would continue Apple's trend of naming its OS after ferocious felines. Over the past few years, OS X has leaped from Leopard to Snow Leopard to Lion and then to Mountain Lion.

However, the intel is decidedly second-hand.

The information comes from a "reliable source" who claims to have talked to someone inside Apple. The person reportedly saw some internal papers that indicated Apple was finalizing the name of OS X 10.9. But the source couldn'… Read more

Apple's newly redesigned iMacs might launch on schedule, after all.

Apple plans to launch its new 21.5-inch iMac later this month and the 27-inch model next month, Apple news site 9to5Mac is reporting today, citing sources. The blog's sources say that Apple has already started to ship the smaller models to distribution facilities.

That claim refutes a report that surfaced last week, suggesting Apple would be forced to delay its iMac because of producers' issues with a new friction-stir welding process that melds the two major pieces of the iMac's aluminum body together. That report, which … Read more