Jin and Tonic

Setup headless Lion Server

michaeljin — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 16:16:01 +0000

So we’ve had a couple of weeks now to play with Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and Lion Server. There have been some changes!

First, doing a headless setup of Lion Server, say, on a new Mac mini server is a whole different affair. Before, all you needed was Server Admin and the serial number. Not anymore.

You need to grab a copy of Server.app – either by purchasing it or copying it from your server onto your desktop machine via your favourite method. Mine is target disk mode.

Next, fire up Server.App and then go to Manage > Connect to Server.

Use Bonjour Browser to find the IP of the new server and then connect to it using the username root and the full serial number as the password. And relax! The rest should be fairly easy.

Whilst you’re at it, might as well grab the new version of Lion Server Admin Tools.

iCloud and MobileMe transition information for existing users

michaeljin — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 22:10:24 +0000

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4597

Italy

michaeljin — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 16:41:49 +0000

My notes regarding my recent trip to Italy with just an iPad and a camera…

Click here to read more…

Skype vs FaceTime

michaeljin — Mon, 02 May 2011 09:41:20 +0000

I think in my experience, FaceTime usually has better quality video and often smoother on poor-connections than Skype.

It’s just a shame that it doesn’t have a list or any indicators showing you whose online at any given time.

Filemaker Pro not seeing remote databases

michaeljin — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 11:47:43 +0000

Symptoms: Filemaker Pro client can see a Filemaker Server remote host but the list of available databases remains blank.

Possible resolutions: Ensure Filemaker client is running with admin privileges with necessary compatability modes. Check firewall has the appropriate rules to allow in/outbound communication.

Actual resolution: Corrupt ‘server.pem‘ in the Filemaker program folder.

Check to see if this file is less than 5kb. If it is, chances are it’s corrupt.
Simply copy server.pem file from another Filemaker installation that is working fine and replaced it.

Credit to this forum

Anti-Virus for Mac – Free?

michaeljin — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 17:06:21 +0000

We all know that Macs are generally safer to use than their Windows counterparts, but that’s no reason to get complacent!

Below are several (ok, three) respected antivirus companies, such as Intego and Sophos are offering anti-virus for Mac, for free.

Sophos Mac Anti-Virus

Intego VirusBarrier Express (Mac App Store link)

ClamXav

As always, the best virus protection comes from user education. Don’t download and run apps from dodgy sources. And if it asks for the administrator username and password, then be doubly vigilant!

How to print labels and envelopes

michaeljin — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 20:14:53 +0000

Ah the humble Apple Address Book. What wonders it holds within the Print menu.

For those who have yet to experience the joy of printing onto envelopes and labels, you can do it all from Address Book.

Simply select a contact (or several), go to File > Print and then expand the print dialogue box.

Click on the Style drop-down menu and choose from a plethora of options, including (but not limited to) a pocket address book. Exciting.

Set your options et voila!

Hint: It might take a couple of attempts before you get the orientation of the envelope/label sheet correct as different printers feed paper differently. But persistence and trial & error is key!

Happy printing!

Sync with Google not showing

michaeljin — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 21:26:51 +0000

For some Macs running 10.5.8, checking out Address Book preferences only show the presence to sync with Yahoo, MobileMe and Exchange. Despite Google contacts sync also being supported.

What gives?

Well, as it turns out, all it needs is the presence of an iOS device. You don’t even need to sync to it. Just plug it in and launch iTunes. Once iTunes is up, disconnect and restart Address Book.

Google Sync will now “magically” show up.

Sony NEX Firmware

michaeljin — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 20:58:45 +0000

This is exciting (if old) news. Apparently the new firmware for the Sony NEX series cameras addresses a lot of the usability issues.

Hmm. Very tempted now.

10.6.5 Update

michaeljin — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 11:08:40 +0000

A bit slow to call this one but just realised that the recent 10.6.5 update has quelled the issue myself (and many others) have been experiencing with Hardware Growler and the Ethernet port.

More info here

But suffice to say, I haven’t seen the message since!

Merry Christmas!