If you use SSH even somewhat often, it would benefit you to setup a basic SSH config file. If you’re curious why, would you rather type something like this:

ssh -p 6851 user@servername.domain.com

Or just type:

ssh name

I know what I’d rather do, so let’s get this working. I’m going to use nano editor because it’s user friendly.

Launch the Terminal and type the following:

nano ~/.ssh/config

You’ll probably have a blank config file and that’s fine, so here’s what we’ll add to it:

host shortcutname
HostName server.domain.com
Port 5555
User username


Here’s how this might look:

I keep things indented to make them easier to read but it’s not necessary. Once your server and login info is inputted, hit Control+O to save the file, then Control+X to quit out of nano.

Now you can just type the shorthand to connect to a server, such as ‘ssh osxd’ and the full hostname, port, and username will be included for you.

There are many more possibilities with SSH configs, if you want to check out more options just look at the manual page with “man ssh_config”

Check out some more command line tips while you’re at it.

If you’re trying to access the Mac App Store and you are getting the “Cannot Connect to App Store” error, you can typically resolve the issue with a few simple troubleshooting steps.

This article will walk through some simple solutions to reconnect to the Mac App Store.

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In a recent speech, Steve Wozniak compared tablets and the iPad to TVs, and suggests that the iPad is the culmination of what Steve Jobs has long wanted to create at Apple; a consumer friendly appliance for everyone.

Here are some of the better quotes via MacWorld:

“The tablet is not necessarily for the people in this room,” Wozniak told the audience of enterprise storage engineers. “It’s for the normal people in the world,”

And here’s the quote on Steve Jobs’ long awaited vision of the iPad as a consumer appliance:

“I think Steve Jobs had that intention from the day we started Apple, but it was just hard to get there, because we had to go through a lot of steps where you connected to things, and (eventually) computers grew up to where they could do … normal consumer appliance things,”

I definitely agree with the idea of an iPad (or tablet) being the perfect PC for a regular user, but it’s obviously much more than that too. Apple touches on this well in their new iPad 2 “We Believe” commercial, and we’re only at the beginning of the platforms life.

You can read the full text at MacWorld.

If you want to quickly backup an entire website through FTP, the absolute easiest way to do this is through the command line using the wget command. In fact, you can backup an entire site (or whatever else is on the entire FTP server) with a single command string.

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Redsn0w 0.9.6rc9 is the first untethered iOS 4.3.1 jailbreak that is available for both Mac OS X and Windows. Redsn0w is one of the easier jailbreak tools to use, just follow the instructions and you will be jailbroken in a few minutes.

This guide will perform an untethered jailbreak with iOS 4.3.1 on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 GSM, iPod Touch 4G, iPod touch 3G, iPad, and Apple TV 2. Note that iPad 2 and iPhone 4 CDMA are not supported by this version of redsn0w. If you rely on ultrasn0w for an iPhone unlock, do not use this version of redsn0w.

How to Jailbreak iOS 4.3.1 using Redsn0w 0.9.6rc9

1. Download iOS 4.3.1 IPSW and install it on your iOS device if you haven’t done so already
2. Download Redsn0w 0.9.6rc9 (Windows & Mac OS X versions available)
3. Launch Redsn0w and click on “Browse”
4. Locate the iOS 4.3.1 IPSW file you downloaded in the first step and click “Open”
5. Select “Next”
6. Select the checkbox next to “Install Cydia” and click “Next”
7. Make sure your iOS device is turned off and plugged into your computer and then click on “Next”
8. Follow the on screen instructions to put your iOS device into DFU Mode: Hold down the Power button for 1 second, then continue to hold power while holding the Home button for 10 seconds, then release the power button but continue to hold the Home button for another 15 seconds.
9. Once you are successfully in DFU mode, redsn0w will perform the jailbreak for you so let it do the work. Your iOS device will then restart automatically and you will be jailbroken

If you need to undo the jailbreak for any reason, it’s very simple, just restore your iOS device from within iTunes.

Redsn0w 0.9.6rc9 has been released for download, this is the first version of Redsn0w that will perform an untethered jailbreak with iOS 4.3.1. Redsn0w 0.9.6rc9 is compatible with iOS 4.3.1 on iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 GSM, iPod Touch 4G, iPod touch 3G, iPad, and Apple TV 2, but the iPad 2 is currently not supported.

Download RedSn0w 0.9.6rc9

The latest version of Redsn0w is available for Windows and Mac OS X:

• Download Now (Mac OS X)
• Download Now (Windows)

If you are not sure what to do, you can read our how to guide on jailbreaking iOS 4.3.1 using redsn0w 0.9.6rc9.

If you need to create custom iOS 4.3.1 IPSW, you can use PwnageTool 4.3 instead.

PwnageTool 4.3 has been released, this is the first untethered jailbreak available for iOS 4.3.1 and works for the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 GSM, iPod Touch 4G, iPod touch 3G, iPad, and Apple TV 2. Note that PwnageTool 4.3 will currently not jailbreak iPad 2 or the Verizon iPhone, or any hardware that is not compatible with iOS 4.3.1.

If you’ve been holding out on updating to iOS 4.3.1 in order to jailbreak without a tether, now is your chance. If you rely on the ultrasn0w unlock, be sure to preserve your unlocked baseband and then use ultrasn0w unlock for iPhone 4 & 3GS with iOS 4.3.1.

Download PwnageTool 4.3

PwnageTool 4.3 is currently available for Mac OS X users. These are all direct download links with the exception of the torrent file:

• Mirror 1, Mirror 2, Mirror 3, Mirror 4
• PwnageTool 4.3 Torrent

We’ll update a list of mirrors as they become available.

Finally, here is our guide to jailbreak iPhone iOS 4.3.1 with PwnageTool 4.3, this allows you to unlock iPhone iOS 4.3.1 with ultrasn0w.

If you get easily distracted by things sitting around in the background on your Mac, HazeOver might be for you. It’s a free utility that casts a shadow on all inactive windows. In other words, any window that isn’t in the foreground will be “hazed over.”

With HazeOver open, windows actually phase in and out of the shadow, so it’s a neat visual effect even if you aren’t using it to minimize distraction, and perhaps you just want some additional eye candy on your Mac.

Oh and if you use multiple monitors on your Mac, it will only cast shadows on your primary display, but the developer is working to fix that bug.

You can download HazeOver for free from the developers site.

This is a pretty cool app with a variety of uses and utility. Maybe you want to reduce distractions, or highlight the foremost window, or maybe you want another alternative to the Single Application Mode feature that doesn’t completely hide background apps and windows. Give it a try, it’s pretty cool!

Apple has started to air the first iPad 2 commercial, it’s a bit different than their past TV ads but it’s still undeniably Apple. The commercial declares “This is what we believe; technology alone is not enough” it then goes on to describe the iPad 2 a bit, but it’s real message is that while the iPad 2 is amazing, it’s the people using it that make it so special.

The commercial kind of reminds me of the recap video that was played at the iPad 2 launch event, which was much less about the iPad and more about how people are using the device and how it has changed their lives. It’s a good message and I like the videos, certainly more than the recent iPhone 4 commercials.

Apple certainly hasn’t needed to advertise the iPad 2, it still sells out at every new shipment and finding one is a challenge. If you’re still looking (hey me too!) you have to check iPad 2 stock in your region by calling resellers. They all seem to sell out soon after getting a shipment, so moving fast is essential.

In a somewhat hidden feature of iTunes, you can display a music spectrum analyzer in place of the iTunes song info. All you need to do is click on the little play icon in the song info area, it’s highlighted below with an arrow pointing to it:

This has probably been around for a while but I just stumbled upon it accidentally. I had never thought to click on that button, I long assumed it was a play and pause song icon.

Mac OS X Lion Developer Preview 2 has a new version of the default Mt Fuji wallpaper. The new picture shows some clouds in the foreground and the mountain itself has a bit less snow on it, creating less of a contrast. As usual for Apple’s default desktops, it’s absolutely beautiful, and it makes a great desktop background.

Click the image above or here to download the full version, it’s a rather large 3200×2000 pixels.

Here they are alongside each other, the new Fuji Mountain default is on the left, and the old Lion Fuji wallpaper from the first Developer Preview is on the right:

Apparently the Lion Space wallpaper from Versions is also different in the new Developer Preview as well, we’ll see if we can track it down.

Thanks for sending this in S.E.!

If you’ve been a Mac user for a while, you’ll remember the Apple Extended Keyboards. They were very responsive and made a wonderfully crisp clicking sound as you typed. If you’re still in love with the old ADB powered Apple Extended Keyboard I don’t blame you, and you can reignite that old flame by using that very keyboard on an iPad or iPad 2. Here’s what you’ll need to do this:
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Here a MacBook Pro and MacBook are both connected to external displays. That flip clock screen saver seems to be turning up all over Mac setups lately.

Picture from flickr

Apple turns 35 years old today! The company was created on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, it was based out of Steve Jobs parents garage, and their first product was the Apple I encased in wood that you can see above. Yea, that’s not an April fools joke, the first Apple computer was made out of wood.

Fun facts about the Apple I:

• Apple I was first demoed in April of 1976 at the Homebrew Computer Club in Palo Alto, California
• It went on sale in July of 1976 for $666.66, the unusual price was chosen by Steve Wozniak because he liked repeating numbers
• CPU clocked in at 1 Mhz
• RAM was 4 KB, but was upgradeable to 8 KB or even 16 KB via expansion cards
• Apple I is now considered a collectors item, one of the computers recently sold for a whopping $213,600 at a London auction

Here’s one of the original advertisements for the Apple I:
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It’s April Fools today, which means the world is full of pranksters and the internet is largely useless and filled with outrageous stuff. We’ll do our part but try to still be useful (sort of), so with this in mind here are some Mac pranks that are fun to pull on April Fools, or any day:

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You’ve seen the iPad 2 show off a childs fridge art, now the iPad is acting as a $500 grocery list, stuck magnetically on a refrigerator. Amazing use of this piece of technology. What’s next in the realm of innovation? Is there any other amazingly great things you can do with an iPad and it’s magnetic smart cover?

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No this is not an April Fools joke. Select Apple customers are being sent email invitations to sign up to be testers for Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. No developer account is required, but you’ll have full access to the current developer releases of Lion.

Free access to Mac OS X Lion sounds almost to good to be true, so what does Apple want in return? Other than your confidentiality, they want users to actively participate in the program by using Lion on a regular basis, providing feedback, and filing bug and crash reports when they occur. Obviously the goal is to expand the end-user testing beyond just Mac developers.

Fittingly, the program is called AppleSeed, and if you were lucky enough to get an invite, you just login, sign your confidentiality agreement, and then you can go about downloading Mac OS X Lion Developer Preview 2. If you’re going to sign up, you might want to consider installing Mac OS X Lion on a separate partition so you can maintain your existing Snow Leopard installation.

If you didn’t get an invite from Apple, there’s currently no way to opt into the program, but you can always sign up to be a Mac developer and download Lion through there.

The future of iOS is quietly shaping up behind the scenes at Apple, and we’ll probably get a good look at iOS 5 during WWDC 2011, but until then it’s mostly a guessing game. That is, until someone digs up some patents that show potential features in a currently unreleased product. Case in point, PatentlyApple has discovered a patent that describes Spaces (virtual desktops) in use on a “Multifunction Device” that looks a lot like an iPad.

iPad… or Touchscreen Mac?
While the patent drawing does look like an iPad, I think it’s just as possible that the multifunction device could be any touchscreen display, even for a currently unreleased touchscreen Mac. I say this because the behavior described in the patent is similar to how Spaces works in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, where you sweep between Spaces by using the trackpad. It’s also reminiscent to the multitouch gestures you can enable for iPad by using developer tools with iOS 4.3. Those gesture similarities could even hint at further merging and sharing of features between future versions of iOS and Mac OS X.

Last year, multiple patents showed up for things like a MacBook tablet, MacBook Touch, and even an iMac Touch that runs both iOS and Mac OS X.

You can see more details of the patent at PatentlyApple. Remember, not all Apple patents see the light of day as a feature or a product, but they can give us great insight into what Apple is working on.