upgrades

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer e-mailed questions from our readers. This week there were questions about burned discs no longer being recognized, upgrading from OS X 10.4 Tiger, using a third-party PDF printer in OS X, and CPU temperatures spiking in MacBook Pro systems. We continually answer e-mail questions, and though we present a few answers here, we certainly welcome alternative approaches and views from readers and encourage you to post your suggestions in the comments.

Question: Burned CDs not being recognized anymore MacFixIt reader "Russell" asks:

Apple is said to be beefing up its storage capacity with an order of storage equipment from Isilon Systems that tops out at 12 petabytes.

The news, which was picked up by AppleInsider earlier today, comes from a source at Isilon who told site StorageNewsletter that Apple was the buyer, and was making the purchase to "manage the video download of its customers using iTunes."

CNET has contacted Isilon for comment on the report.

EMC announced plans to acquire Isilon five months ago for $2.25 billion, a 29 percent premium on the company's stock price at … Read more

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer e-mailed questions from our readers. This week we have questions on replacing the proper backup to use before upgrading OS X, how to determine the bitness of your processor, options for resizing Finder columns, and managing permissions for centralized iTunes libraries. We continually answer e-mail questions, and though we present a few answers here, we certainly welcome alternative approaches and views from readers and encourage you to post your suggestions in the comments.

Question: Proper backup before upgrading OS X MacFixIt reader "Marija" asks:

Today's receivers may be jam-packed with the latest technology, but they lack the muscle of high-end power amplifiers. If your home theater is above average in size, say 300 or more square feet, and you like to listen nice and loud, there's a good chance your receiver's power amp is the weak link in your system.

People ask me about this stuff all the time: "Denon, Onkyo, Pioneer, Sony, and Yamaha receivers all boast up to the nanosecond surround processing modes, connectivity options up the whazoo, and fancy remotes--so what exactly would a brawny amplifier get … Read more

Because I'm still digging out from last night's snOMG, here's an update of a post I wrote a few months ago.

Haven't yet upgraded your home PCs to Windows 7? No surprise there: a single upgrade license retails for $119.99, which I find outrageous for an operating system--even one as solid as Windows 7.

As you may recall, several months back Microsoft rereleased the Windows 7 Family Pack, a three-PC upgrade edition of Windows 7 Home Premium (32-bit or 64-bit, your choice). The price: a much more reasonable $149.99.

If you didn't pull … Read more

Music is all around us, it's just that very few people actually listen to it. Sure, you have music in your car, iPod, or computer, but is the music just a soundtrack to other activities? If music, a la carte, can't hold your attention from time to time you're definitely not an audiophile. Worse yet, you're missing a lot.

Think about it: the people who made the music sweated the details, agonized over the sound, the mix, and the performance for weeks or months. The composer tweaked the work to the nth degree, and still, very, … Read more

About a year ago I picked up a fairly entry-level 52-inch Sony LCD TV, the KDL-52V5100, as a second TV for a playroom. For a year, the set worked fine, then a few days ago a babysitter asked me to please fix it because it wasn't working.

At first, I figured someone had simply set the cable box to the wrong input. But a quick input assessment ruled that out as the possible culprit. I moved onto the next likely source of the problem: the cable box, which I unplugged, then waited for it to cycle through its painfully long rebooting process.

Still, nothing. No picture. Not even a menu. Conclusion: the cable box had crapped out. It had happened before, it would happen again.

I packed the thing up and the next day set off for a Time Warner Cable service center that happened to be about six blocks away from the CNET offices in Manhattan. My old cable box, a Samsung non-DVR model, was promptly chucked in a bin and I was handed a newer model Samsung box that was black instead of silver. I was happy. It matched the TV.

But upon returning home and hooking it up, the same thing happened. Nothing.… Read more

Haven't yet upgraded your home PCs to Windows 7? I can understand why: a single upgrade license retails for $119.99, which I find exorbitant for an operating system--even one as solid as Windows 7.

As you may recall, about a month ago, Microsoft rereleased the Windows 7 Family Pack, a three-PC upgrade edition of Windows 7 Home Premium (32 bit or 64 bit, your choice). The price: $149.99. That's a little more like it.

If it wasn't "like it" enough for you, though, your patience just paid off: Dell Home has the Windows 7 Family Pack for $119.99 shipped. (… Read more

Since iOS 4 was released in mid-June, iPhone 3G and 3GS owners have complained that the software has their phones seemingly grinding to a halt: slow keyboard response time, frozen unlock screens, and a battery that drains faster than with previous versions of the software.

Now a deeply unsatisfied customer is taking her iOS 4 complaints to court.

On Friday, San Diego resident Bianca Wofford sued Apple for violating the Consumer Legal Remedies Act, unfair business practices, and false and deceptive advertising. In the suit she claims that iOS 4 rendered her iPhone 3GS completely unusable and that Apple support … Read more