With the introduction of Mac OS X Lion the way we resize Finder or application windows has been (IMHO) dramatically improved in that we can now resize a window from any corner or edge. Previously to Lion we could only use the bottom-right corner of a window to resize.

With Lion’s new resize window we also have a few hidden options. These include:-

• Resize a window while holding down the “alt” key. Resizes a window equally on both sides.

• Resize a window while holding down the “shift” key. Resizes a window proportionally.

• Resize a window while holding down the “cmd” key. Resize a window in the background without making it the active window.

Lastly we have have a final bonus window feature that has been in Mac OS X for years but still amazes the uninitiated when first shown.

Minimise any window to the Dock while holding down the “shift” key minimises in slowmo. Still amazing!

See also Russell’s slow motion list view tip

Microsoft have once again removed some great features from Office for Mac 2011, starting with the ability to break down group contacts and stopping you seeing who is a member of the group.

Another great feature they have disabled is the ability to sync Categories, when you make someone a delegate and they add an event entry into your calendar, it will show up in your Outlook calendar as no category and won’t change the colour, this has been a rather inconvenient for busy clients who rely on the use of categories.

If you are going to run this update, please be sure to run a back up of all your contact information.

However, especially if you have my luck, you most likely did. I have detailed below the issue I came across and how I resolved them.

Please Note: As with everything, please, please, please make sure you have a full backup that has been booted up and tested to be working before going ahead with these steps.

Profile Manager shows ‘error when reading settings’ in Server.app

I’m sorry to say I found this one to have only one fix. Reset Profile Manager and start again. Helpfully enough the instructions for this were discussed by Peter earlier last week.

When running the Profile Manager configuration assistant an error 1 appears.

In my experience this was due to an Open Directory Master already being created that Profile Manager didn’t like.

The first time I had this error, my only fix was to export my Open Directory contents, destroy the LDAP (by demoting the server in Server Admin), then re-run the configuration tool.

Once I started getting the error again, even after following the above steps. I found this to be due to some saved certificates and keys from a now decommissioned Open Directory. This was done by launching the Keychain Access application(/Applications/Utilities/Keychain Access.app), navigating to the system keychain and removing any and all certificates and keys that refer to Code Signing, CA, Certificate Authority and the server’s hostname. After this, I had to also recreate the SSL certificate I created.

When enrolling a device I get an unknown error.

The first step is to ensure you have installed the ‘Trust’ profile from the enrolment form before installation the enrolment profile.

If you still have the same issue, then it may well be an issue with the Apple Push certifications.

I found that if you have the Apple Push certifications on one Apple ID, then try to get another set using the same ID (even after revoking the old certificates) then this error will show up. You need to create a brand new Apple ID (see my last post) and try to get some new Push Apple Certifications in the Server.app.

If this is not possible, you’ll need to reset Profile Manager and start again.

Conclusion

A much shorter post this week but I feel it’s just as important as last weeks and will hopefully help someone out there.

Did this help you? Would you care to share your own story? Please do! We’d love to hear your stories and every response will help someone out there!

As always, please feel free to ask questions, or make suggestions for future topics in the comments below.

Links

Apple’s Mac OS X Server

This post follows up from my previous post on “Configuring Lion Profile Manager”

While the author has taken care to provide our readers with accurate information, please use your discretion before acting upon information based on the blog post. Amsys will not compensate you in any way whatsoever if you ever happen to suffer a loss/inconvenience/damage because of/while making use of information in this blog.

Apple is now offering MobileMe users a way to keep their existing email addresses and calendars without having to upgrade to iCloud, after MobileMe shuts down for good on 30 June 2012. Until a couple of weeks ago, it looked as though the end of MobileMe would mean the permanent disappearance of access to email for me.com or mac.com addresses that hadn’t been upgraded to iCloud. This was a real problem for users with machines that didn’t meet the minimum requirement for iCloud.

At the beginning of May, however, Apple sent email messages to people with valid but unconverted me.com and mac.com addresses, informing them that they could keep those addresses, as well as access to their MobileMe calendars, even if they can’t sign up for iCloud.

When you now visit me.com/move there will be an option to keep using your email after MobileMe ends. Once you have completed this short process, your mail will continue to work on devices that don’t meet the iCloud requirements after MobileMe ends on June 30th, 2012.

There is one tool which I have had for more years than I can remember, Perian. Commonly referred to as the Swiss Army Knife for QuickTime, Perian added a number of video codecs required to view most video formats available via the Web and was the answer for many who were trying to find a way to view obscure, outdated video files.

The development have announced today that it will no longer be making future versions of the plug-in. A posting on the Perian Web site, said they will be halting support for the software after 90 days from its final release. The source code will then be posted to an open-source community (Google Code or GitHub), where others can try maintaining it if they so choose.

There will be no official support for Perian in Apple’s upcoming OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, but unless Apple changes the way the programme is allowed to interface with QuickTime then it should continue to function, though there are no guarantees.

Goodbye old friend

Source 

Ask the average Mac user what a Firmware password is and the usual response is a raised eyebrow and a shrug of the shoulder, yet is this something that more people should know about?

What is a Firmware password?

A firmware password allows us to lock the firmware on a Mac computer so that it will only boot to the default startup disk on the computer – typically the hard drive. Any combination of startup key commands will then be disabled or will prompt you to type the password in before continuing.

Why is this a good idea?

Many users don’t realise it but it is incredibly simple to reset a users password in Lion or gain access to the hard drive by other means. Quite simply, a couple of minutes with an unattended computer can be more than enough to gain access to it.

So how do I set a Firmware password?

Well in Lion this is quite straight forward, just take the following 4 steps.

1. Turn on your computer while holding down the ‘Command’ + ‘R’ keys to boot to Lion Recovery.
2. Once booted, select the Utilities option in the top menu bar and choose ‘Firmware Password Utility’
3. Enter your Firmware Password.
4. Restart your Mac

The key thing now is to NOT LOSE YOUR FIRMWARE PASSWORD!. In order to remove it or boot to anything other than the hard drive, you will now require your password.

If you do forget it, only an Apple Retail Store or an Apple Service Provider such as Amsys will be able to remove this for you.

Note – Amsys is not responsible for any issues with your computer or the forgetting of your Firmware password if you follow the above steps. Use at your own risk!

From a developers point of view, having written your new application at some point you will need to test it on real hardware. For iOS this isn’t such a big deal. Apple have very tight control over the number of devices/screen resolutions that you would need to test against. So for instance for iPhone there are only 2 screen resolutions, iPhone 1-3G and Phone 4/4S, the same applies to iPad.

Now take a moment to think about those poor Android developers. There’s a company called Animoca, a Hong Kong mobile app developer that has seen more than 70 million downloads, it reportedly does quality assurance testing with about 400 Android devices. Again, that’s testing with four hundred different phones and tablets for every app they ship!

The photo below is just a sampling of Animoca’s fleet of Android test units

Ouch!!

STOP, before you go down that one way street you might want to try resetting Profile Manager with this one liner.

sudo sh /usr/share/devicemgr/backend/wipeDB.sh

Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC):

By resetting the SMC we can correct or eliminate reasons why you are experiencing this fault.

Please follow these steps:

Reset on an iMac:

1. First you need to shut down your Mac, only once this is done can you move to the next step.
2. Unplug the Mac’s power cable from the back of the Mac.
3. Wait 15 seconds before re attaching the power cable.
4. Now wait a further 5 seconds before turning the Mac back on.

Reset a Macbook / Macbook Pro:

Caution is advised when removing the battery on a Macbook as part of resetting the SMC as this can be hot from being used. Wait for it to cool down before you proceed.

Only some models of Mac portables are desgined for the users to remove the batteries. These are the current models that you can remove batteries for:

Macbooks:

MacBook (13-inch, Mid 2009)
MacBook (13-inch, Early 2009)
MacBook (13-inch, Late 2008)
MacBook (13-inch, Early 2008)
MacBook (13-inch Late 2007)
MacBook (13-inch Mid 2007)
MacBook (13-inch Late 2006)
MacBook (13-inch)

Macbook Pros:

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2008)
MacBook Pro (15-inch Early 2008),
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Late 2008), and earlier

1. Shut down the Mac before you start.
2. Disconnect the power adapter (if you have this connected).
3. Remove the battery.
4. Once the battery is removed press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
5. After 5 seconds release the power button and reinstall the battery into the Mac.
6. Reconnect the power adapter and turn the Mac back on.

If, after resetting the SMC, the problem hasn’t resolved it is recommended that you send your machine to an Apple Authorized Repair Centre.

Apple has released the Mac OS X 10.7.4 Update for client and server. This update includes a variety of bug fixes and security updates. Two of the most significant changes are a fix to a restoring windows bug and a patch for a potential security issue with FileVault passwords. An update to Safari is also bundled within the software update.

The complete change log for 10.7.4 client is as follows:

• Resolve an issue in which the “Reopen windows when logging back in” setting is always enabled.
• Improve compatibility with certain British third-party USB keyboards.
• Addresses permission issues that may be caused if you use the Get Info inspector function “Apply to enclosed items…” on your home directory.
• Improve Internet sharing of PPPoE connections.
• Improve using a proxy auto-configuration (PAC) file.
• Address an issue that may prevent files from being saved to an SMB server.
• Improve printing to an SMB print queue.
• Improve performance when connecting to a WebDAV server.
• Enable automatic login for NIS accounts.
• Include RAW image compatibility for additional digital cameras.
• Improve the reliability of binding and logging into Active Directory accounts.

The complete change log for 10.7.4 Server is as follows:

File Sharing

• defining custom names for file share points
• using Kerberos authentication
• emptying trash when using a network mounted home directory
• using WebDAV with third-party iOS clients
• copying files and Finder information over SMB
• general reliability of SMB file services

Profile Manager

• enhanced payloads and management settings for iOS and OS X clients
• reliability of device enrollments after changing server hostname
• configuring VPN management settings
• using profiles to join 802.1x networks
• installing enterprise iOS applications
• setting iCloud, Spotlight and Media Restrictions for OS X clients

Web Server

• improved handling of URL redirects and alias matches

Mail Server

• improved reliability of SMTP services
• prevent overwriting of manually configured greylisted mail servers

The update also includes specific fixes for:

• more flexible service data storage
• reconfiguring DNS settings when changing hostnames
• editing DNS expirations
• archival and migration of Open Directory
• preserving local accounts during upgrades