Growth of iOS, the mobile operating system that powers iPhones, iPads, iPod touch, and Apple TV, is exploding. To put iOS’s success into some context, Asymco crafted the above chart to demonstrate the growth curve relative to years of Apple products on the market. The most staggering observation? Apple sold 156 million iOS devices last year alone, that is over 30 million more units shipped than all 28 years of the Macs existence, where it has sold 122 million computers. Overall, the iOS platform totals over 316 million devices sold in a few short years.

Look to iOS to Understand Mac OS X
If you’re wondering why Apple has been pushing the Mac platform to more closely resemble iOS with the release of OS X Lion and OS X Mountain Lion, this is it. The simplicity, familiarity, and success of iOS is too much to resist. PC’s, and Macs too for that matter, are indeed becoming the “trucks” that Steve Jobs predicted several years ago at D8 2010, becoming greatly outnumbered by the “cars” (in this case, iOS devices). Jobs’ now famous quote from that conversation:

“When we were an agrarian nation, all cars were trucks, because that’s what you needed on the farm. But as vehicles started to be used in the urban centers, cars got more popular. Innovations like automatic transmission and power steering and things that you didn’t care about in a truck as much started to become paramount in cars. … PCs are going to be like trucks. They’re still going to be around, they’re still going to have a lot of value, but they’re going to be used by one out of X people. … I think that we’re embarked on that. Is the next step the iPad? Who knows? Will it happen next year or five years from now or seven years from now? Who knows? But I think we’re headed in that direction.”

The only thing Jobs’ was wrong about was how soon it would happen. As Asymco notes, it only took four years for iOS to overtake OS X.

Simplicity is the Future
None of this means the Mac is dead or dying though, in fact Mac sales are more impressive than ever before, but it does signify the changing roll of computers and how we define a PC. It makes us question who needs what hardware, and for what purpose. Frankly, for many users an iPad – or iPhone – is more than adequate to handle the routine tasks of daily technical life, be it reading or sending emails to browsing the web and listening to music. The Mac (and PC) will certainly still be around for those required to perform more complex tasks, but that market is undoubtedly smaller, and this has already been proven by the runaway success of iOS. As a result, traditional desktop operating systems are evolving towards simplicity. The Mac and PC are ultimately over-engineered and too powerful for the average users technical needs, this helps to explain Apple’s OS X strategy and Microsofts Windows 8 concepts, the power and underlying complexity is still there, but the experience is becoming simpler.

As DaringFireball noted when linking to the Asymco chart, “The lesson: simplicity sells.” If you have any doubts about this or where the industry is going, just look at that chart.

Flickr has an endless supply of beautiful photos that make for fantastic automatically updating image screen savers in Mac OS X.

All you need is a good Flickr stream and you can easily create a new screen saver from it for your Mac.

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Apple TV owners have an extra incentive to upgrade their Macs to the latest versions of OS X; AirPlay Mirroring. With AirPlay Mirroring, you can stream the Mac desktop and whatever application is on screen to an HDTV wirelessly through the Apple TV, making it easier than ever to watch videos from a Mac or play games on a much larger TV screen from a couch.

This is an awesome feature that became supported on the Mac with newer versions of OS X, here is exactly what you’ll need to use it:
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Alright so you downloaded iMessages for Mac beta and decided it was a little too beta for every day use, and now you want to use iChat again right? As you probably noticed, when you install Messages it replaces iChat, but that doesn’t mean that iChat is gone for good, and uninstalling Messages Beta is actually extremely simple.

1. Launch Messages from the Applications folder
2. Pull down the “Messages” menu up top and select “Uninstall Messages Beta”



3. Confirm that you want to uninstall Messages and reinstall iChat by clicking “Install”



4. Let the process finish and reboot the Mac to complete the restoration of iChat to OS X

Messages for Mac is a bit rough around the edges, which isn’t too surprising given that it is beta software. With how easy it is to remove though, it’s worth trying out. If you haven’t installed Messages beta yet, it’s best when it has another iOS device with iMessage configured to use alongside of it, otherwise it’s just a generic chat client with a new user interface

Messages Crashes Before I Can Uninstall, Help!
If Messages app continues to crash on launch, navigate to /Applications/ and right-click on Messages.app, choose “Get Info” and uncheck the option to open in 32-bit mode. Messages should now open and you can uninstall as usual.

Want to see OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion in action? Here are a few video previews to show off some of the new features and changes. The first is Apple’s official preview, unofficially rehosted on YouTube and embedded below although it’s best watched on Apple’s website in HD:
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With every new version of Mac OS X comes new system requirements, and as expected a few machines are getting cut from the list of compatible Macs. The newer the Mac the better, but here is what we know so far about system requirements for OS X 10.8:

Basic System Requirements for OS X Mountain Lion:

• 64-Bit Intel Core 2 Duo processor or better required
• Ability to boot into OS X 64-bit kernel
• Advanced GPU chipset required
• Internet connection required to download and install OS X 10.8

You can check for 64 bit kernel boot suport by typing “uname -a” at the command line, launch the Terminal to do this. The uname -a command will return something like this:

Darwin MacBookAir 11.2.0 Darwin Kernel Version 11.2.0: Tue Aug 9 20:54:00 PDT 2011; root:xnu-1699.24.8~1/RELEASE_X86_64 x86_64

Look for “x86_64” to verify that a Mac is booting into a 64 bit kernel. This will happen by default with most OS X Lion compatible Macs, but Snow Leopard users won’t necessarily boot into the 64 bit kernel by default and will have to verify compatibility with the list of hardware below.

Macs that will support OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion

As usual, the newer the Mac the better:

• MacBook Pro – 13″ from mid 2009 or later, 15″ from late 2007 and newer, 17″ from late 2007 and newer
• MacBook Air – late 2008 and newer
• iMac – models from mid 2007 and newer
• MacBook – 13″ aluminum from 2008, 13″ from 2009 and newer
• Mac Mini – early 2009 and newer
• Mac Pro – early 2008 models and newer
• XServe – early 2009 models and newer

Macs that are NOT expected to support OS X Mountain Lion

Older Macs and those with weaker GPU’s will likely be left behind:

• Anything with an Intel GMA 950 or x3100 integrated graphics card
• Anything with an ATI Radeon X1600
• MacBook models released prior to 2008
• Mac Mini released prior to 2007
• iMac models released prior to 2007
• Original MacBook Air

This list of compatible and incompatible Macs and system requirements are based off of the first OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview and may be subject to change, we will update when we learn more about the specifics. OS X Mountain Lion will be released this summer but presumably long before that we will know precise system requirements and what Macs are and are not supported by the new version of OS X. Stay tuned.

Thanks again Daryl

Apple has a knack for picking gorgeous desktop wallpapers, and the all new OS X Mountain Lion is no exception. As you’ve undoubtedly seen in the developer preview information and screen shots, the new default wallpaper is another beautiful space themed image of a swirling blue galaxy (maybe a white dwarf, actually), a bit more subtle than the Andromeda galaxy wallpaper found in OS X Lion. It’s offered as a whopping 3200×2000 pixel image and you can download it below:

• Download the full sized wallpaper here

Even if you can’t can’t run the Dev Preview, you can at least grab the new wallpaper and Messages beta and pretend to run the latest OS X. Developers can download the Developer Preview now, and OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion will be released this summer.

Thanks Daryl

Messages is the all new iChat replacement coming to Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, it provides for the same unlimited messaging features that iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad users have right now, but brings this right to the Mac desktop. With Messages, you can send photos, videos, attachments, contacts, locations, and more, without any SMS or MMS fees, and you can initiate a FaceTime video chat with a click of a button.

While OS X Mountain Lion’s release date is this summer, you don’t have to wait to download Messages for Mac, you can grab a fully functional beta for free right now.

• Get Messages Beta directly from Apple here

Messages will ultimately replace iChat, but all iChat services and protocol support continues to work the same. You’ll still be able to use iChat accounts, AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, Jabber, and FaceBook.

What are you waiting for? Grab Messages for Mac beta today. If you are a developer and plan on downloading the OS X Mountain Lion Developer Preview, Messages is already bundled and you won’t need to get it separately. Compatibility seems to be limited to OS X 10.7 Lion or later, so earlier versions of Mac OS X will need to update to use the new messaging client.

Update 6/11/2012: OS X Mountain Lion will be available in July for $19.99!

OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion is currently available as a Developer Preview, meaning registered Mac Developers can access and download the next Mac OS right now. But what about the rest of us? When can we expect to have OS X Mountain Lion on our Macs?

The public release date of Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion is slated for “Summer 2012” , this is posted both on Apple’s Mountain Lion preview site and was mentioned by Apple’s marketing chief Phil Schiller.

A summer 2012 release is just a year after the release of OS X 10.7 Lion, indicating that Apple is cranking out new OS versions faster than ever before. In fact, Mac OS X is now expected to have a major update every year from now on, a break from Apple’s previous tradition of releasing major updates every other year.

How will you get OS X Mountain Lion? The same way as OS X Lion became available, it will be an upgrade offered directly from the Mac App Store as a simple download and install. Prices aren’t yet known, but it’s largely expected to be another $29.99 update, matching OS X Lion’s price.

Stay tuned, we’ll update you as we learn more specifics.

Apple has released the first developer preview of Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion today, the next major release of the Mac operating system. Mac OS X Mountain Lion looks has even stronger iOS influence than OS X Lion and brings many iOS features to the Mac platform. Some of the rumored features like iMessage and AirPlay Mirroring are included, although as of yet there is no mention of Siri. Here are the prominent new OS X 10.8 features to be expected:

• Messages – replaces iChat to bring full iMessage support to the Mac
• Notification Center – just like iOS
• Share Sheets – allows easy sharing of links, videos, photos between apps
• AirPlay mirroring – send wireless video to an Apple TV
• Notes
• Reminders
• Game Center
• Twitter Integration
• Gatekeeper – anti-Malware app installation guard

OS X Mountain Lion is reportedly built with iCloud integration in mind, and we can expect to see many conveniences of the cloud tied further into Mac OS X.

Here is what Phil Schiller said about OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Developer Preview:

“The Mac is on a roll, growing faster than the PC for 23 straight quarters, and with Mountain Lion things get even better,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The developer preview of Mountain Lion comes just seven months after the incredibly successful release of Lion and sets a rapid pace of development for the world’s most advanced personal computer operating system.”

You can read more about Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion on Apple’s Preview Page.

Developers can download OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion right now from the Mac Dev Center.

Screen shots taken in Mac OS X save to files prefixed with “Screen Shot” in the file name, but the names of screenshots can be changed to anything else. We’ll use a defaults write command to adjust the naming convention of screen shots taken on the Mac. This can be helpful for many purposes, and it’s easy to do and undo back to default if need be.

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We have shown you how to uninstall Mac apps before, but some applications can leave residual elements around in the form of preferences, plist files, caches, logs, and even the origin DMG or PKG installer. If you want to thoroughly remove all traces of an application but don’t want to dig around in various directories to find and delete those extra files yourself, you should download AppCleaner for Mac OS X.

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Sometimes, Mac OS may not remember wireless networks that have been joined or connected to before. This may be due to an error, or it may be because of a settings option. In this article we’ll discuss what to do if you find that a Mac is not remembering wi-fi networks as expected, including the settings to look for, as well as a troubleshooting technique that may resolve these issues.

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Mac OS X has a hidden super quiet volume setting that is somewhere between completely muted and the lowest volume level, here’s how to access it:

• Use the Volume Decrease key (F10 or F11) until the volume is muted, signified by the volume graphic with a slash through it
• Now press the Mute key (F9 or F10) to see the slash disappear and the volume level set at zero bars

The audio output level is now set at the super quiet setting, with sounds just barely audible enough that you can identify them. This is a perfect setting to couple with temporarily muting the boot sound for using a Mac in meetings, libraries, classrooms, or other places where silence is necessary, allowing you to continue to hear audio without distracting others.

Update: The precise keys vary depending on the Mac and Apple keyboard in use. Newer MacBook models may be F10 and F11 rather than F9 and F10, you may want to focus on the keys icons rather than the label instead to be sure.
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You can prevent the installation of new apps onto an iOS device by enabling a restriction setting. There are plenty of reasons to want to disable app installing, but this is a particularly effective kid-proofing feature before letting a youngster use an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to prevent any accidental charges or purchases.

Disable App Installation in iOS

• Launch Settings and tap on “General”
• Tap on “Restrictions”
• Tap “Enable Restrictions” to allow access to additional options and set a passcode
• Scroll down to “Installing Apps” and swipe to OFF

While in the Restrictions settings, disabling in-App purchases is a just a bit further down the list and makes some sense to use as well. Similarly, you can also disable the ability to delete apps in the Settings screen, preventing any accidental deletion of data or apps.

To undo the app install restrictions, you will need to reenter the previously set passcode, then swipe the ON switch next to “Installing Apps” again.

Rarely, you will need to force quit an iOS app. While iOS is generally very stable, every once in a while you’ll encounter a third party app that misbehaves. iOS apps can freeze or become stuck, and you’ll usually know instantly because the iPhone or iPad becomes unresponsive to touch behavior, or something within the app is clearly running amuck. A stuck app is different from a normal crash, which randomly quits an application, and it’s different from a full system crash which usually brings up the spinning wheel logo.

When an iOS app becomes unresponsive, the best thing to do is to forcibly quit the app using the trick we’re going to demonstrate here, the app can then be relaunched and usually is sufficient to remedy the apps situation back to good working order again. If you’ve never done it before you will find the process is actually similar to turning off an iOS device, but you stop one step short of that. The whole thing only takes a few seconds and it’s extremely easy to do.

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It’s the rumor that just won’t die, Apple is said to be actively testing an iPad with a smaller 8″ screen, according to a new report from Wall Street Journal.

Officials at some of Apple’s suppliers, who declined to be named, said the Cupertino, Calif.-based company has shown them screen designs for a new device with a screen size of around 8-inches, and said it is qualifying suppliers for it.

The smaller screened iPad is said to feature the same display resolution as the existing iPad 2 at 1024×768 pixels. The Wall Street Journal cautions that “Apple, which works with suppliers to test new designs all the time, could opt not to proceed with the device”, but suggests that Apple is continuously looking at the smaller iPads as a way to expand the product line in an increasingly competitive market.

Many competing Android tablets have opted for smaller displays, most to limited success, although the Kindle Fire has become quite popular since it’s launch late last year. Rumors of Apple working on smaller iPads, or “iPad Mini“, have existed for quite some time, with a recent report from DigiTimes stating such a device could ship in the fourth quarter of this year.

For the time being, the only new iPad you should expect is iPad 3, which is expected to be announced on March 7 with a retina display, 4G LTE, and a quad-core CPU.

Boosting the speed of Mission Control animations can make Mac OS X feel a bit faster when switching between windows, spaces, and apps within the feature. It’s easy to do and reversible if you decide you don’t like it, launch the Terminal to get started. These defaults commands work in Lion, Mountain Lion, and beyond.

Speed Up Mission Control Animations

This will speed up Mission Control quite noticeably but still maintain a decent looking animation:

defaults write com.apple.dock expose-animation-duration -float 0.15

Now kill the Dock to restart Mission Control:

killall Dock

Do a three-fingered swipe up or down to see the difference in speed.

Super Fast Mission Control Animations
If you want extremely fast animations, this is your defaults write command:

defaults write com.apple.dock expose-animation-duration -float 0.1

Again, kill the Dock for changes to take effect:

killall Dock

As you may have guessed, you can adjust the animation speeds by changing the number after the -float flag, the larger the number the slower the animation, and the lower the number the faster the animation. The default setting is probably about 0.2 or 0.25, meaning anything larger than that starts to be slower than default. Whole numbers become increasingly slow, similar to holding down the shift key.

Slowing Down Mission Control Animations
This is marginally slower, but can quickly become a nuisance with usability:

defaults write com.apple.dock expose-animation-duration -float 1

Followed by:

killall Dock

Disable Mission Control Animations
This removes all animations, making Mission Control just snap in and out:

defaults write com.apple.dock expose-animation-duration -float 0

Killing the Dock is required for the animations to disappear:

killall Dock

The effect of disabling the animation is quite jarring and unless you’re trying to preserve frame rate for some reason it’s not very pleasant.

Return to Default Mission Control Animation Speeds

Want Mission Control to be back to normal? Use the following defaults command to clear any customizations, returning to the default setting:

defaults delete com.apple.dock expose-animation-duration; killall Dock

Check out more of our Misson Control tips.