Stan's List

As mentioned, if you have migrated from a Mac OS X 10.4 Mac to Mac OS X 10.5, an alert stating “The text entered does not appear to be a recognized URL format” may appear when attempting to connect to a server in the Finder (via the Go menu’s Connect to Server choice). The problem is one of the folders created. Here is Apple’s solution:

1. In the Finder, open the folder named System.
2. Open the Library folder.
3. Open the Filesystems folder.
4. Drag the folder named “URLMount (from old Mac)” to your desktop as a precautionary backup.
5. Once the copy is complete, Control-click the original “URLMount (from old Mac)” folder (not the one on your desktop) and choose “Move to Trash” from the contextual menu.
6. Enter the name and password of an adminstrator if prompted. The first user account created on your Mac is an administrator account.
7. Restart.

The 1394 Trade Association has announced a new specification to increase the speed of FireWire to 3.2 gigabits per second.

The new electrical specification, known as S3200, based the IEEE 1394b standard, preserving all the advantages of FireWire while offering an unprecedented boost in performance.

The new specification uses the same cables and connectors used by FireWire 800, due to the the 1394 arbitration, data, and service protocols were not modified for S3200.

There is no reason to run to every station to install needed software. Computerworld takes a look at nine tools that handle system management tasks in both Mac and Windows environments for both clients and servers. The tools span a range of tasks such as remote installation, license management, and helpdesk functions. More …

According to MacFixIt, connecting a Mac OS 9 (or earlier) computer and a 10.4.9 computer, using Apple File Sharing, have been unable to transfer files between the two computers.

Apple has a solution; in the Terminal, enter this command on a single line, and hit Return:

sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.AppleFileServer TCPQuantum -int 327680

(Make sure the command is all on one line, the format can be seen in the KB article)

According to the article:

Adjusting the TCPQuantum parameter for the AFP server will apparently prevent the timeouts and disconnects between the two operating systems. TCPQuantum in AFP-speak represents a maximum size for a block of data being transferred to or from an AFP server; increasing the amount lowers the number of requests the server has to make for data at the expense of a gradual increase in overhead. More …

Apple has filed a patent for a method which could conceivably allow Airport Base Stations to automatically configure any “connected” wireless networking device. Quoting from Apple patent application:

A method for configuring a wireless networking device, the method comprising interacting with an RFID tag in the wireless networking device when the networking device is brought into physical proximity with a wireless networking base station, such that the interaction causes information to be exchanged between the RFID tag and an RFID transceiver in the base station that facilitates establishment of a wireless network connection between the networking device and the base station.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a method of identifying unique items using radio waves. Typically, a reader communicates with a tag, which holds digital information in a microchip. But there are chipless forms of RFID tags that use material to reflect back a portion of the radio waves beamed at them.

A RFID tag is a microchip attached to an antenna that is packaged in a way that it can be applied to an object. The tag picks up signals from and sends signals to a reader. The tag contains a unique serial number, but may have other information, such as a customers’ account number. More …

InfoWorld is convinced that Apple has plenty of corporate integration initiatives. The article points out that Mac OS X Server supports FTP, DNS, and DHCP. POP and IMAP mail, Xsan and Xgrid add storage-area networking and clustering options, together with an unlimited client license. Apple also has open source packages such as Apache, Jabber, Kerberos, OpenLDAP, Postfix, Samba, and SpamAssassin, integrated in a single interface; What IT would not be in love with this package? More …

MacInTouch has an extensive review which includes a variety of possible ways to configure the new Airport Extreme. Whether it be WAN or LAN, Bridged or NAT, WPA or WP2, it was tested The conclusion, the new Airport Extreme can provide “amazing wireless speed”, but it may not be all good news. More …

Fix verified for later version of Tiger (requires two Terminal commands, just copy and past)

Thanks to MacWindows.com

Apple Matters’ Devanshu Mehta walks through how easy it is to connect your Tivo to your Mac. A couple of Mac software mentioned make it much easier. To start off with you must have the following:

You have a stand-alone Tivo Series 2.
Your Tivo is on the same home network (wired or wireless) as the rest of your home computers.
You have a Mac with OS 10.4 or higher.

More …

ZDNet has a fairly lengthy explanation of why Apple had to charge US$2 for enablers that add 802.11n functionality to most Core 2 Duo and Xeon-based Macs. More …