iTunes stopped downloading app store application updates?

If you're anything like me you'll have quite a few apps from Apple's App Store. Have you ever noticed that for some unknown reason, even though you know there's an update, iTunes simply refuses to admit that there's one available? Well if you're having this problem then here's the solution that worked for me.

First up open up iTunes and click Applications in the source list. Now you should see icons for all your downloaded apps. Click on a blank spot in the app window and then use the select all command (Command-A) under the edit menu. At this point all your apps should be surrounded by a blue line. Next up hit the backspace key...

Now before you panic you're not going to loose all you're apps and have to re-download them. Just make sure you click keep files at the dialogue box that appears and not delete files. Once that's done head over to the File menu and select Add to Library... (Command-O). Browse to your Home folder, the one with the little house for an icon in the sidebar. Then to the Music folder. Now the iTunes folder inside that and then finally click the Mobile Applications folder. Now all you need to do is click Open and you'll see all your App Store apps re-appear within iTunes.

Check for updates should now work as advertised.

If this solution helped you then please let me know in the comments section.

iPod shuffle, now with less control

Moments ago Apple released the new iPod shuffle. The new shuffle is now half the size of the original and comes in at £59 for a 4GB capacity. While there is a nice new feature in voiceover allowing you to now have more than one playlist on your shuffle.

As great as all that is there is one major flaw to the new shuffle, the removal of controls. Apple has moved the controls for operating your iPod onto the iPod's earbud cord. While that might not initially seem like a problem what happens if your earbuds stop working? Gone is the ability to pickup another set of earbuds or headphones and continue enjoying your music. If your earbuds cease to function then so does the new shuffle. You can of course still turn it off and on at the shuffle, but without earbuds to start it playing what would be the point?

Accessing Airport Disks using MobileMe

Apple have announced the availability of Time Capsule and AirPort Base Station (802.11n) Firmware 7.4.1. This update brings the ability to access your Time Capsule hard drive or Airport connected shared disks while on the road.

To make this possible Apple is making use of a technology within Mac OS X Leopard known as Back to my Mac. Back to my Mac is a technology that allows MobileMe subscribers remote access to a Macs hard drive. This update extends this ability to Time Capsule drives and Airport Disks.

Here's how to get started -

The first step is to use Airport Utility to update your Airport firmware. Simply click on your Airport base station and provided you are online you will see a button to click to update the firmware automatically.

Once the update has been downloaded and the base station updated its time to let it know your MobileMe username and password. To do this once again select the base station to which you would like to enable remote drive access. Then click the manual setup button and if prompted enter your base station password.



Next select the Advanced tab along the top of the manual setup pane.



Now select the MobileMe tab. This is where you need to enter in your MobileMe account name and password. Once that's done click update and your new settings will be saved and your base station will reboot and that's all there is to it.



To access your shared disks now all you need to do is open a finder window and you should see your drive in the sidebar under the shared heading.

One point to note about shared disks is that they do not operate the same way your iDisk does, as such they are not available via the MobileMe web site, only via your Macs sidebar under the shared category.

I hope this short guide to disk sharing via the new Airport firmware proves useful. If you have any suggestions for improvements or if this works for you please let me know.

MobileMe usability issues still present despite update

While Macworld has praise for the new updates to MobileMe, I'm not so impressed. One major flaw and one minor irritation still reside within the MobileMe system, particularly for UK residents.

The first issue I want to bring to MobileMe users attention is the missing preference pane. Ok, so it's not technically missing, it's still there, you just can't get to it.



As you can see from the above image the cancel and save buttons at the bottom are cut off outside the window. That normally wouldn't be an issue but in this window you can't scroll down to reach the buttons. Sure it's a little thing but if you were using a smaller window then you'd loose the buttons entirely.

Next to the annoyance for UK users.



While address formats are available for the United States, France, Japan and Germany, the United Kingdom address format is conspicuous by it's absence. Now I know the UK isn't the only country affected by this problem and I'm sure Apple will add more formats as time goes on, but these missing address formats really affect MobileMe's usability for residents of non-supported countries.

Are you backed up? - Part One

In this multipart series I take a look at backup methods and why backups are important. This time it's the turn of simple CD and DVD backups.

If you ask them, the vast majority of computer users will tell you that there data is not backed up. More importantly those that do have a backup in place will rarely have an off site backup to complement that backup.

When considering if a backup is important to you it's important to ask yourself a few questions. If your computer hard drive stopped working right now would you be losing any money from lost work stored on it? Would you lose anything important to you and your family such as photos and videos? Would you lose purchase music, TV shows or movies that you would need to purchase again to get back? If you answer yes to any of these questions then you are in need of a backup. Lets look at your options.

Starting with the simplest form of backup you could simply burn a CD or DVD of all your personal data. Programs such as iTunes and iPhoto make this process easy and even have menu items that walk you through the process. As for your personal data, right-click or control-click on your Mac's desktop and select "New Burn Folder". This will create a folder on your desktop with a hazardous waste symbol on it. Name this folder something to indicate what your backing up, such as documents backup. Now you just need to open up your home folder and drag what you want to save into this folder. If you open the Burn Folder that is now on your desktop you'll notice the minimum disc size required along the bottom of the window, please keep in mind that a CD can generally hold around 650MB and a DVD can hold around 4.7GB of data. If you are close to these maximum sizes you may need to separate your data over multiple discs. Once you've copied all your data into your burn folder, open it and click "Burn" which is in the top right corner of the window. Your Mac will now ask you to insert a CD or DVD of the required size and then will begin backing up your data onto your disc. Once this is done you'll want to label the disc making clear what it holds and also what date the backup was performed. Now store it someplace safe, preferably away from your computer in case of theft or other physical damage occurring in that area. You don't want your backup to be destroyed at the same time now do you?

For Sale - PowerBook G3 (Pismo) parts

This past weekend I stripped down an old fully working PowerBook G3 (Pismo model). It really had became time to lay this old laptop to rest, mainly because a dog chewed through the power supply cable and I didn't feel like replacing it. Anyway that means that I now have the parts for sale. All of these were taken from a fully working PowerBook G3 but are sold without warranty.

Here's what's available -

Screen - The screen has a few dead pixels and the top case is scratched here and there but it's in a good condition considering the age.

Single Stick of 512MB Memory - A single 512MB chip, the maximum this laptop could take.

HDD Caddy - Includes torx screws to secure a HDD to it.

HDD Flex Cable

Inverter Board - This is the one that the display connects to which then connects to the logic board. Sometimes if the screen dies then this can be the problem.

An Airport Compatible Card - While not an original Apple Airport card, this is simply an IBM branded version of the same card. Provides 802.11b wireless access to suitable Macs.

DVD-ROM Drive Module

DC and Sound Card - One of the more common problems with a laptop is a damaged power jack in pre-magsafe days.

Top Case with Track Pad - As you would expect from an 8 year old laptop, slightly scuffed and worn looking.

Keyboard

If you're in need of a repair guide for replacing any of these part then check out iFixit.com for step-by-step instructions.

Shut down, restart and sleep with keyboard commands

Ever wanted to save a few extra clicks or button presses when you're done with your Mac for the day? Well now you can do that, restart or sleep your Mac by using these simple keyboard commands.

Shut down - To shut down just hold down the control, option and command keys and then press the eject key.

Restart - To restart your Mac all you need to do is hold down the control and command keys and press eject.

Sleep - And finally if you're one of those people that like to just put their Mac to sleep rather than shut it down, just hold down the command and option keys and press eject.

So there you have it, three quick time saving key commands to sleep, restart or shut down your Mac.