x-files

Address document-handling frustrations in OS X

When using current programs on your Mac to manage files generated from an older system, you may run into some errors in which the libraries and services used in the current program cannot properly interpret details of the files. This usually results in a formatting issue similar to a missing font, but it can also result in crashes or hangs.

Recently MacFixIt reader John wrote in regarding such an issue:

I have been trying to work with some PowerPoint presentations in Keynote in order to covert them to a Keynote presentation. I keep receiving an error that PICTD has quit. … Read more

Managing locked files in OS X

In OS X there are several ways to prevent access to files, including putting them in locked disk images or changing their permissions setting so only select accounts on the system are permitted to read them.

In addition to these options, the OS X Finder supports another method of locking a file. When you open the information window for the file, you can check the Locked check box to prevent the file from being edited, even by people who otherwise have access to it. When this lock is enabled, the file's icon in the finder will have a small … Read more

Cutting, copying, and pasting items in OS X

When it comes to incorporating new features in Macs or OS X that have been tried and true in other computing systems, Apple sometimes takes a bit of a stubborn approach and attempts to incorporate the feature in novel ways.

For instance, when Apple finally released its own multibutton mouse, it used touch-based surfaces and to date has still not released a mainstream mouse with two main click surfaces. Sometimes Apple's approaches, like its use of gestures and two-finger clicking on trackpads, hit the mark, but in other situations the new approaches may take some getting used to.

One … Read more

TextEdit in Lion changing document extensions to TXT

Apple's TextEdit program is a convenient utility that allows for quick viewing of various basic text formats, including standard TXT and RTF formats, as well as other ASCII text documents such as property lists, HTML, and programming and scripting codes. Many people have come to rely on TextEdit for making small and quick changes to files, but recently some have encountered a problem in Lion's version of TextEdit in which the program does not seem to handle file name extensions properly.

MacFixIt reader "Edward" writes:

TextEdit insists on adding .txt [to documents] no matter what. There … Read more

About FileVault 2 in OS X 10.7 Lion

Ever since its introduction in OS X 10.3, Apple has maintained its FileVault encryption technology for securing home folders in an encrypted disk image that mounts when users log into their systems. Apple's only major changes to this technology were in Leopard with the implementation of Time Machine, where sparsebundle disk images were used to facilitate incremental backups. In OS X 10.7 Apple has introduced a full revision of FileVault, that approaches file encryption from a completely different standpoint.

With FileVault 2, Apple has done away with the standalone encrypted disk images in OS X, and replaced … Read more

Concerns about password and data safety in OS X

A few days ago we posted an article discussing ways to reset passwords in OS X in the event of a password being lost. After this some people wrote in with concerns about the apparent ease at which password security can be overcome, since anyone with an OS installation DVD can reset account passwords and gain access to data on a system.

This is true for the most part, and is an unfortunate security quirk that can be found in many operating systems, including OS X, Windows, and Linux. Basic password security on a system can be overcome if someone … Read more

Weekly troubleshooting utilities update

Our weekly utilities update report is a list of updates for Mac utilities that have been released in the past week. Though utilities can be any tool that helps you perform a routine task (including image manipulation and synchronization), our focus in this column is to bring you those tools that help in troubleshooting Mac hardware and software problems.

This week we have updates for fsevents-based file-system managing utilities, graphics and system managing hardware utilities, a few network diagnostics and information utilities, and one system maintenance program.

File-system utilities Yesterday, I outlined some of the benefits of using fsevents utilities … Read more

File selection behaviors in OS X

Many people who are new to the Mac may run into some confusion when trying to apply file selection techniques in OS X. For the most part, icon selection in OS X is straightforward and designed to be intuitive, but there are some situations where the selection behaviors change, notably between icon and the various list views.… Read more

Former punk John Doe on P2P, music labels, Radiohead

There's hardly a corner of the entertainment business John Doe hasn't explored.

He's not one of the people who waxes on about rights and wrongs in the music and film industries without any hands-on knowledge. The band Doe formed, X, was part of the first wave of punk rock bands that stormed Los Angeles in the late 1970s. The band's 1981 "Wild Gift" was named Album of the Year by Rolling Stone and The New York Times. Doe is also an actor and has appeared in dozens of movies and TV shows, including "… Read more