- 03 9428 4999
You probably have or know of someone who has a story or two about some terrible loss of data at some point. See Pixar’s own recap of how they almost lost Toy Story completely after an entire year of work http://bit.ly/IfzJrN
It’s not fun to loose data, be it work, creative endeavors, financial records, the list goes on. With our dependency on computers and the data within going up, so goes the importance of having an up to date and reliable back up strategy.
The point is that most of these stories or situations are preventable and the misconception that your back up is up to date can be very costly and painful.
The simplest and most straight forward kind of Back Up available to a Mac user is using Apple’s own Time Machine software built right into OSX 10.5 and above.
As per Apple:
Time Machine is the built-in backup that works with your Mac and an external drive (sold separately) or Time Capsule. Connect the drive, assign it to Time Machine, and start enjoying some peace of mind. Time Machine automatically backs up your entire Mac, including system files, applications, accounts, preferences, music, photos, movies, and documents. But what makes Time Machine different from other backup applications is that it not only keeps a spare copy of every file, it remembers how your system looked on any given day—so you can revisit your Mac as it appeared in the past.
For more details: Click here
To use Time Machine plug any external Hard drive into your Mac, as long as it’s capacity is larger than the internal drive of that Mac. OSX may prompt you to use an external hard drive when initially plugged in if Time Machine is already switched on – this is fine to choose this way.
Otherwise you will have to open System Preferences under the Apple menu, select Time Machine and turn the switch on. It will prompt you to choose an external Harddrive to use – select the one you have specified for this purpose and let Time Machine do it’s work. By the way this can take quite a while so best to do it over night the first time.
After the initial back up, Time Machine backs up every hour and only grabs the new or newly modified files. Not only is it very economical on hard disk space but restoring files is easy through its own interface.
How to check that it’s working and up to date.
To check and/or restore files, click on the Clock icon at the top right of the screen: The drop down menu will tell you the latest backup or that it’s either backing currently.
Click “Enter Time Machine” to enter the Time Machine interface allowing you to view previous versions of your file system through Finder to find the file you were looking for.
In fact it is a very good idea to try to restore a file and make sure it restores correctly – try it on something unimportant so as to make sure you don’t lose anything valuable.
Everything is going to be okay.
Congratulations if you have made it this far then you have a working and up to date back up. Now please do make sure to keep it up to date which is very easy, just plug it in and let it do the work. For the desktop users out there, just leave it connected and for you portable people ie MacBook Pro users, make sure to plug it in from either every night to once in a while.
A final mention.
While having a backup is fantastic it is not the be all and end all. Having a back up that is not in the same location as your computer, effectively an “off site” back up offers the best protection from theft or fire damage.
Any backup questions are welcomed here at Mac Aid. We want to make sure your data is safe.
We are pleased to welcome another technician to our line up: Mr Sergio Pacheco.
Marketcircle have released Daylite 4, their business and productivity management application for Mac OSX and iOS. The new version, released today, is a major upgrade from previous versions offering some fantastic changes including a more streamlined workflow and interface and enhanced integration within the Daylite eco-system of applications. Read on for more info.
Read more here.
FileMaker, Inc.have released the FileMaker 12 database software line. FileMaker version 12 has proved to be a serious update providing some great features but requiring some thought into the upgrade process. Read on for more info.
Read more here.
Purchase an Adobe® Creative Suite® 5.5 full license or upgrade between March 26th and May 6th, 2012 and receive an upgrade to CS6―at no additional cost.
Click the image for a larger version.
Contact us at Mac Aid for pricing.
Apple release updates to disable the Flashback Trojan.
We at Mac Aid, know that ordering consumables can be a hassle and so have come up with a way to make it hassle free for you.
Apple have made it very easy for any user to deal with the Flashback Malware with the release of an update through Software Update. There’s no reason to not install the update as if you are online then you are at risk.
To run Software Update, click the Apple icon top left of your screen and then Software Update. If not already installed there will be a Java Security update that as Apple states, does the following:
“This Java security update removes the most common variants of the Flashback malware. If you do not use Java applets, it is recommended that you disable the Java web plug-in in your web browser.
This update is recommended for all Mac users with Java installed.
For more information on how to disable Java in your web browser see:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5241
For details about this update see: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5243“
Also if you are comfortable in Terminal you can check if you are infected by copying and pasting the below text without the quotation marks.
“defaults read /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info LSEnvironment”
If you get the message “The domain/default pair of (/Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Info, LSEnvironment) does not exist”, you must then enter:
“defaults read ~/.MacOSX/environment DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES”
If you get the message ”The domain/default pair of (/Users/joe/.MacOSX/environment, DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES) does not exist”, then your Mac is safe. Basically, the “does not exist” message means you’re clean.
If you find that you are one of the few infected then run Software Update and/or give us a call so we can help.
We at Mac Aid, know that ordering consumables can be a hassle and so have come up with a way to make it hassle free for you.
Read more here.
Adobe are getting ready to release CS6 and have also announced that through to May 6th, if you purchase CS5.5 you will receive CS6 FREE once it ships.
Read more here.
We know that ordering consumables can be a hassle, you need to figure out what products you need, then where to buy them, where they’re in stock and possibly even make a trip to go get them.Mac Aid want to take this hassle away from you.
Register your printer with us to be supplied with an individually numbered sticker that will be assigned to your printer model information and applicable supplies. Attach the sticker to the printer for future reference.
When it comes time to order stock, simply contact Mac Aid (use the QR code for contact details if required- see below), tell us the number on your sticker, what you need, be it toner, drum, magenta ink we can quickly have it drop shipped to you directly. Ordering becomes a hassle free affair.
Sticker looks like this one below, with QR code for contact details. Go ahead try it.
To register contact us here at the office and we’ll set you up, and send out a sticker to attach to your printer. Easy.
If you were interested in recycling rather than disposing of your cartridges, then consider dropping them to us next time you’re in. Or you can give them to our technician when they visit you.
Apple release updates to disable the Flashback Trojan.
Read more here.
Adobe are getting ready to release CS6 and have also announced that through to May 6th, if you purchase CS5.5 you will receive CS6 FREE once it ships.
Read more here.
The new iPad
The much anticipated new iPad was announced end of last week and will be available for sale March 16th. It will sport a much higher resolution screen, 2048-by-1536-pixel resolution at 264 pixels per inch (ppi) to be exact.
The processor has been bumped to a Dual-core Apple A5X, the camera now a 5 megapixel ‘iSight’ camera and the unit now has support for 4G network.
The new iPad’s resolution will be stunning, exceeding that of a 40” High Definition Plasma display and even that of the screen that Apple used to broadcast to the room at the Keynote.
The new iPad will go on sale March 16th alongside the existing iPad 2 which will sport a reduced price. Preordering is available though the shipping time has slipped to 2-3 weeks. It should be interesting to see how Apple meets this demand.
more info here:
http://www.apple.com/macosx/mountain-lion/
Mountain Lion
Apple announced Mountain Lion around 2 weeks ago, and it was listed with an interesting collection of iPad inspired features. Notification Centre; much like notifications for iOS5, Messages; Mac to iPhone and iPad messaging, Mail 6, Reminders and Notes.
Mountain Lion is suggested to be a ‘major’ update and will also be first OS to be sold exclusively on the App Store, with Apple choosing not to release on a USB stick as an option this time.
Much like how Lion took us in a direction where Mail was the same as it was on iPad, we should see unified versions of apps running across various devices. It will be fantastic for integration and ease of use but any further thoughts will have to wait to Mountain Lion is seen which, by the way, will be a long way away yet.
more info here
http://www.apple.com/macosx/mountain-lion/
p.s. You are able to download the Beta version of Messages for free at the above website, link down the very bottom. Requires OSX Lion v10.7.3.
A collection of recommended apps. Alfred; an app launcher, web searcher and shortcut extraordinaire, Optimal Layout, a power window layout manager, and xType; a flexible text expander.
Read more here.
