boot

Keep AppleJack close by for when you have system issues

Like a fire extinguisher by your stove or a lead pipe by your front door, AppleJack can be extremely useful to have in the right situation. This free command-line utility can help you do a small suite of essential Mac maintenance tasks, without needing an OS X install disk or secondary startup disk.

Don't be intimidated by hearing the words "command-line": if you already have AppleJack installed on your machine when you start up in Single User Mode (the only time you'll ever want to use AppleJack, by holding down command-s when you restart), you'll … Read more

Installing OS X on an external drive: What to expect

One of the advantages OS X has over Windows is the easy ability to install OS X on practically any supported local volume, meaning that regardless of the hardware, if the volume can be mounted locally (as opposed to a network share) you should be able to install a copy of OS X to that volume and boot to it.… Read more

Trash solution summary: Cannot delete files

One problem that crops up from time to time is stubborn files that will not move to the trash, or be deleted from the trash when the command is given to do so. There may be errors that accompany these behaviors which include files in use or access denied errors, but at other times there may be no such error.… Read more

Options for Reading Mac drives in Boot Camp

Despite the advancements in virtualization technologies, Boot Camp is still the best option for compatibility and overall speed when you want to run Windows programs on your Apple hardware. This will arguably always be the case, but while speed is a perk, native support for NTFS in OS X and HFS in Windows prevents quick file transfer both to and from the partitions.… Read more

iPhone 4 details and more

iPhone 4. A few surprises but mostly what we expected: front-facing camera, HD video recording and editing, flash, multi-tasking, video calling, and a new body.

No big surprises but technology lovers are still very excited about it all, myself included. I've been getting a little bored with my iPhone lately and feeling very tempted by Android phones, particularly the HTC Evo.

This afternoon's edition of Loaded has a brief summary of all things Stevenote. If you want more, we will break the keynote into several bits over the next 24 hours so you can watch it at your … Read more

Boot Camp update for 2010 13-inch MacBook Pros (now) available

UPDATE: Apple has finally released the boot camp updates initially discussed in this article. This article has been revised to reflect this development.

Apple has released a knowledgbase article outlining a Boot Camp update for the 2010 13-inch MacBook Pro. The update is for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of windows, and addresses a problem where the Boot Camp Control Panel would display warnings when changing the display brightness, as well as problems with no audio for headphones.… Read more

Start over with a clean Vista installation

Windows 7 has done wonders for Microsoft's reputation, which was seriously tarnished by the ice cold reception that greeted Vista, Windows 7's predecessor. That's the conclusion of the 2010 American Customer Satisfaction Index, which is compiled annually by the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business, the American Society for Quality, and the CFI Group.

According the ACSI results released Tuesday, Microsoft's customer satisfaction score jumped 8.9 percent in the past year to 76 (on the survey's 100-point scale). That's higher than Microsoft has scored on the survey in the last … Read more

LifeHacker article: Triple-boot your Mac without Boot Camp

Apple's Boot Camp utility has made installing Windows on your Mac in a dual-boot environment a very streamlined process. With just a few clicks you can use the Boot Camp assistant to partition and format your drive for use with Windows, and then install Windows onto the ready partition. Apple also supplies drivers with Boot Camp so various Apple hardware will work in that environment.… Read more

Cure a malware-infected PC with $6 flash drive

Security software gets you only so far. Sometimes a bit of malware manages to sneak through, at which point, well, you're screwed. PC viruses, spyware, rootkits, and their ilk are like kids who move home after college: once they're in, they're nearly impossible to get out.

Today's deal equips you with a tool you can use to cure an infected PC after the fact. It starts with the 2GB Kingston Data Traveler USB flash drive, which Buy.com is selling via eBay for $5.99 shipped.

Update: That deal has ended, but Adorama has the same drive for $7.95 shipped.… Read more