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Q&A: MacFixIt Answers

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed in by our readers.

This week people wrote in with questions about the PCI Express Expansion Slot Utility not working on some Mac Pro systems, the option to bounce e-mail messages not being present in Mail, how to install OS X Lion on an external hard drive, and an explanation for the "ACLs found but not expected" error in Disk Utility. We welcome alternative approaches and views from readers, so post your own suggestions in the comments!

Question: PCIe expansion slot utility not working MacFixIt reader Frank … Read more

More PCI-express SSD cards coming to OS X

SSD technology as a replacement for conventional hard drives has been one of the biggest advancements in modern computing, allowing for massive speed improvements along with far less power usage.

Solid-state technology has been around for years in the form of flash drives and MP3 players, but only in the past 3 to 4 years has the technology taken off, allowing for larger storage devices to be developed.

While most people envision an SSD drive to be in the form factor of a 2.5-inch notebook drive, the technology is also available in a PCI-express card format that allows for … Read more

Thunderbolt gearing up to stick around

Apple's last major connectivity advancement was in the late '90s with FireWire, which was used as a replacement for the SCSI bus on Mac systems; however, the licensing and complexity of the port made it a less attractive option than alternatives like USB for many device manufacturers, especially given the ease of implementation and eventual speed of USB 2.0. While FireWire has extended beyond its initial 400Mbps speeds to offer 800Mbps, and potentially up to 3,200Mbps, in the face of current alternatives the technology does not seem to be advancing much beyond its current implementations.

Given the … Read more

Thunderbolt expansion devices beginning to crop up

In the wake of the announcement by Sonnet for its Thunderbolt-based Echo ExpressCard adapter that will allow any compatible ExpressCard to work on a Thunderbolt Mac, peripheral developer Magma has announced a Thunderbolt-based expansion chassis for full-size PCI Express cards that will accommodate anything from audio cards, modems, and connectivity peripherals to video cards for additional displays.

According to a press release, the Magma "ExpressBox 3T" will hold up to three PCI Express cards side-by-side to offer any Thunderbolt-equipped Mac the option to add more functionality, even if the Mac does not have any built-in expansion ports, which … Read more

FTC: Intel has until 2013 to tweak tablet chip

Intel has until 2013 to add an interface to the tablet-centric version of its Atom processor, as device makers are targeting the chip for Netbooks, the Federal Trade Commission said in a "modified settlement order" today.

"The agreement reached in August is now final but there is a minor modification to it," Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy said today. "That modification is related to Oak Trail, which is for a tablet computer design. Some OEMs (device makers) have decided to design it into a Netbook-type device and under the definitions of the agreement, that made it … Read more

PCI compliance: What it is and why it matters (Q&A)

If you own a bank account or use credit cards, chances are you've heard the term "PCI compliant." But you probably don't know what it means.

The term is heard more and more frequently these days as data breaches at merchants like TJX, parent of TJMaxx, and payment processors Heartland Payment Systems and RBS WorldPay land millions of card records in the hands of hackers. Criminals are using the data to make purchases and withdraw money from accounts of unsuspecting victims who did nothing wrong; they just owned a card.

It's a huge and growing … Read more

IT's successful standards

The nice thing about standards is that there are so many of them.

This old saw is arguably less true than in years past. Today, for a lot of reasons, there's more pressure to reach agreement on one way to do a certain thing. (Think the HD DVD vs. Blu-ray debacle for an example of what happens when vendors can't agree on a single approach.)

Standards aren't a single thing. Some have been blessed with the appropriate incantations by some official or quasi-official body. Others come from an industry consortium. And still others are "de facto&… Read more