Adjusting the mouse pointer sizes on a Mac is a simple way to greatly improve accessibility for individuals with visual impairments. But it’s not the only reason to increase the size of the mouse pointer on the Mac screen, and there are other uses though, for example having a less dramatic difference with just a slightly larger cursor can be a nice way to ease locating the pointer on extra large screens or during presentations. Or you can go all the way and have a very large mouse cursor so that its’ extremely easy to find for anyone, which can be helpful for kids, some screen situations, and for users without perfect vision.
The latest versions of iPhoto (11+) and OS X (Mountain Lion+) support Photo Stream screen savers, this means you can have your Mac display a screen saver show that automatically updates the stream of photos based on pictures that are taken on the go with an iPhone, without ever having to manually copy pictures over to the computer or set them into folders like the old fashioned way..
Almost immediately after iOS 6.1.2 was released with a few bug fixes for the Microsoft Exchange data use problem, a new version of the Evasi0n jailbreak utility came out to handle any devices that were upgraded to 6.1.2. It’s still the same Evasi0n jailbreaking experience, untethered and all. Like prior versions of Evasion, the following devices running iOS 6.1.2 are supported: iPhone 5, iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 2, iPad 3, iPad 4, and iPad mini, and the 4th and 5th generations of iPod touch.
Reading List is a great feature of Safari that syncs saved web pages between Safari on all of your Macs and iOS devices. This lets you save web pages to read later and works a lot like Pocket and Instapaper, except that it doesn’t require any additional downloads, toolbars, plugins, or third party apps in order to use, because it’s all built right into Safari in Mac OS X and iOS.
Though it may seem to directly compete with the likes of third party apps like Pocket, Reading List often works best as a temporary bookmark sharing service, letting you send and share links from one of your own devices to another and from computer to computer, without the cluttering of the actual Bookmarks menus with links and web pages you may only need to access once or twice. That is really it’s strong suite for many users, so keep that in mind when using Reading List, and don’t necessarily think of it as a Pocket/Instapaper replacement.
Fresh off the news that Macs at Apple’s corporate headquarters were hacked through (yet another) Java exploit, Apple has released an update for Java that closes that hole, and also disables Java on Macs that have not used the applet in over 30 days. The update is available to all OS X users running 10.7 or 10.8 who have either not manually uninstalled or disabled Java themselves.
Labeled as Java for OS X 2013-001, the update is available now through Software Update and is recommended for all Mac users to install as soon as possible:
Open the Apple menu and choose “Software Update”
Locate and install “Java for OS X 2013-001”
The update is available through the Mac App Store for OS X Mountain Lion users.
Release notes accompanying the Java update are as follows:
Java for OS X 2013-001 delivers improved security, reliability, and compatibility by updating Java SE 6 to 1.6.0_41.
On systems that have not already installed Java for OS X 2012-006, this update disables the Java SE 6 applet plug-in. To use applets on a web page, click on the region labeled “Missing plug-in” to download the latest version of the Java applet plug-in from Oracle.
Please quit any web browsers and Java applications before installing this update.
Apple Inc was recently attacked by hackers who infected the Macintosh computers of some employees, the company said on Tuesday in an unprecedented disclosure that described the widest known cyber attacks against Apple-made computers to date.
Unknown hackers infected the computers of some Apple workers when they visited a website for software developers that had been infected with malicious software. The malware had been designed to attack Mac computers, the company said in a statement provided to Reuters.
Other reports indicate the attack specifically created an open SSH connection on the targeted Macs, potentially allowing for remote access.
Java is frequently a source of malware and security problems on many computers, and it remains one of the few attack vectors that hackers can target Mac users through. Disabling Java system-wide and in web browsers is highly recommended for individuals who do not need it active either for development purposes or for access to certain banking websites. Those concerned about potential malware and trojans in OS X can read our article on some common sense tips to avoid infecting Macs.
iOS 6.1.2 has been released by Apple. The minor update to iOS includes a resolution for a battery drain bug that impacted users of Exchange servers which also caused excessive data usage, but does not fix the passcode bypass bug that exists in prior iOS 6 versions, which is instead targeted by an upcoming 6.1.3 update. The brief release notes mention only this for the 6.1.2 update: Read more »
Activity Monitor and the traditional ‘kill’ command line tool are able to handle most process termination needs, but if you’ve ever needed to target and kill all processes belonging to a single user account, you know it can be a frustrating task. Though Activity Monitor allows you to sort “Other User Processes” and select multiple processes, it does not allow you to terminate multiple processes at the same time. Similarly, the standard kill and killall commands are generally aimed at specific processes, and not at every single task belonging to a specific user account. This is where the ‘pkill’ command comes in, which makes it simple to instantly kill every single process belonging to any user via the terminal.
You can post status updates and tweets to Facebook and Twitter by using nothing more than Siri. Why this may seem like a mere novelty at first, it’s actually extremely useful for situations where you’re occupied or can’t fiddle much with an iPhone, like when driving or running. Because you can summon Siri from the ear phones that come with all iOS devices, this lets you post to your social accounts hands free.
Before being able to post status updates to either social service, you’ll have to add or configure the appropriate accounts to iOS first. Once this is done, you’ll have access to Twitter and Facebook from Siri, and also from Notification Center. Read more »
Apple has started running a pair of new iPad advertisements on TV, both with a heavy emphasis on apps. Labeled “Together” and “Alive”, the television commercials both feature the full-sized regular iPad and smaller iPad Mini, with a stream of constantly changing words that stop on a descriptive word which is then yelled by a crowd of people, before an app comes into focus.
“Together”
“Alive”
The ads started to air on Sunday primetime TV, as usual with Apple.
We’ve heard these commercials described by multiple people as sounding similar to the introduction of the gameshow “Wheel of Fortune”, what do you think? Do you like the ads?
One of the best general iOS features is wifi syncing, which, just as the name implies, allows you to sync content, data, pictures, music, whatever, to and from an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch and a computer running iTunes, without ever connecting the device with a USB cable. Of course, this feature is only useful when it’s working, and a wide variety of users are encountering an issue where wi-fi syncing just stops working. Either the device refuses to show up iTunes, or it disappears immediately when attempting to sync content to it. The solution below will resolve either of those problems and is quite simple.
Before beginning the troubleshooting process, make sure you have already enabled the iOS wi-fi sync ability for the device. The primary reason wireless syncing doesn’t work is because it wasn’t set up in the first place! This only needs to be done once, but it must be enabled separately for each iOS device you intend to use it for. Meaning you’ll turn it on through iTunes for an iPad, iPhone, and whatever other hardware separately. Read more »
Assuming you keep iTunes on the default setting and let the app manage your music files and songs, iTunes will store all of your media nicely in the Music directory of your home folder, with each song kept in a folder according to the album and album artist. Though you’ll usually never need to directly access those files directly, if you’re looking to move your iTunes library to another location or external hard drive, back up your music manually, or make edits to songs directly, you will need file system access to the iTunes music files on your computer.
We’ll point you to a super fast way to reveal and access any single song in Mac OS X or Windows, and also show you where all the iTunes music files, and entire iTunes library, is stored in both Mac OS and Windows too.
This weeks Mac setup comes to us from photographer Paulo A., a recent PC-to-Mac switcher who uses an iMac to process images from his Nikon D600. Hardware used to get the job done includes:
Creative External Sound Card connected to a 5.1 speakers
1TB Western Digital external drive for Time Machine
2TB Lacie Cloudbox as a network disk
iPod Nano 8GB, 6th gen
iPhone 4 16GB
Next up on the gear purchase list is an iPad, which would be another great addition to the lineup.
You’ll notice an ongoing theme of creative professionals with a lot of these Mac workstations we feature, it’s just something unique about Apple gear that helps translate concepts into reality.
Keep these great setups coming! Submit your own Apple and Mac gear desk and workstation pictures to osxdailycom@gmail.com, include a good picture or two, a brief list of the hardware, and don’t forget to mention what you use it for.
Have you ever wished there was a way to know who was sending you a text or giving you a phone call when your iPhone is on silent mode, resting in your pocket or purse? You hear the buzz, but by default you’ll have no way to differentiate that from anyone else.
It turns out there is a way to determine who is calling while the iPhone is on silent, and that’s achieved by creating and setting custom vibration alerts for contacts in a similar way as you can set different ringtones or text tones for contacts.
Getting bored with the current crop of wallpapers scattered across the backgrounds of your various Macs, PC’s and iOS devices? You’re in the right place. We’ve gathered a great collection of ultra-high resolution stunning images from NASA, Hubble, and National Geographic that encompass some crazy pictures from space to equally surreal photos on our own planet earth, and they’re sure to look great on just about any display you throw them on, whether it’s a Retina Mac or iPad.
A few quick notes: the pictures hosted on National Geographic are not direct image links, you have to choose the resolution on their landing page for the device you want to decorate. For the highest resolution image that NatGeo offers, choose the “Desktop” option, then you can scale it down (or up) to whatever device you see fit. Also, the pictures hosted by NASA can sometimes be ginormous, like 8000×8000 pixel JPG files, which is wonderful if you’re looking to stretch them across multiple monitors or decorate a retina display, but it’s a bit overkill for something like the iPhone screen, so you may want to save them all in a folder then take a moment to batch resize them using Preview to a resolutio that is appropriate for your needs. Ok enough chat, let’s get to the good stuff…
Every week Apple picks a high quality iOS app as the “Free App of the Week” choice for everyone to enjoy for free, the catch of course is that it’s only available for a limited time. It’s not just Apple that offers temporarily free downloads though, Starbucks does too with little promo cards, and there’s a whole cottage industry of promotional sites and services that bring attention to apps as they become free for a short time, hoping to spur downloads and installs. These are often great apps and grabbing them can be a great way to build a substantial high quality app library for free, even for iOS devices you don’t even own yet. That’s the best part; you don’t need to have an iOS device nearby to ‘reserve’ those free apps. This means that even if you are no where near an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you can still grab those temporarily free apps to have stored within your iTunes Account permanently, giving you access to them in the future even after the app is no longer available for free.
A bug has been discovered on the iPhone running iOS 6.0.1 and iOS 6.1 which allows users to bypass the lock screen passcode and gain access to a users Contacts and the users Camera roll. The trick only works on iPhones because it uses the Emergency Call button.
Here’s how it works, though we caution against trying this since it does involve a brief dialing of an emergency number. Please follow the directions and immediately cancel those calls. A safer way to test this is to remove the SIM card from the iPhone, preventing any communication with the outside world.
QR codes are those weird looking pixelated boxes you see at some retailers, events, and even some ads. The idea behind them is that you scan the QR Code, to which you will then be provided information about whatever it is you’re scanning, whether that’s jumping to a website, seeing a message, getting a coupon, or some similar action.
Some Android phones ship with a QR code reader installed from their provider as part of a suite of preinstalled applications, but older iOS software does not offer such a feature on iPhone or iPad, which means to scan a QR code on an iPhone you’ll have to visit the App Store first.
Ever had a zip file turn into a cpgz file? This is an infrequent problem, but here’s what happens; When the .zip file is attempted to be unzipped, it extracts into a .cpgz file, which then can also be launched in Archive Utility, only to then turn back into a .zip file, which then turns into a .zip.cpgz file, and basically the archive gets stuck in an infinite loop as it’s being decompressed into one variation of the other, over and over again. Annoying, right? Not to worry, this tutorial will detail how to open a cpgz zip file on a Mac.
Why this happens isn’t always completely clear, but it can be indicative of a few things: Read more »
One of the best general iOS features is 
Update: Apple has introduced 
