Mac OS X

Taking a screenshot in OS X is a popular option for capturing activity on your computer, whether for communicating instructions to people or documenting events that are happening on your system. Usually screenshots are taken when sitting at the local system, but if needed you can also do so remotely by several different means.

The easiest way to take a remote screenshot is by using the Screen Sharing service in OS X. By enabling this in the Sharing system preferences and then connecting to the remote system to view its screen, you are provided a couple of ways to take … Read more

Apple has issued a supplemental update for version 10.8.2 of OS X, which addresses a few problems users are having with the way the OS handles the Keychain in some systems. The update is for Macs issued in 2012, and is a small 26.65MB download that will apply new versions of the SecurityAgent process and its supporting daemons and configuration files.

SecurityAgent is a background process that implements protocols for accessing certificates, keychains, and other security measures in OS X, and provides interface elements for user interaction with these, including dialog boxes that prompt for usernames and … Read more

After making changes to the drive configuration in OS X you may run into an issue where the system will not boot as fast as it previously did. In these cases the system may sit at the gray boot screen for a while before the OS loads, but when it finally does, the system will otherwise run just fine.

This problem can happen after several types of drive configuration changes, which include replacing a faulty drive, upgrading the drive to a larger or faster one, or migrating to a new storage approach such as a custom Fusion Drive setup in OS X Lion or later.… Read more

The OS X Character Viewer is a system-wide text entry service that allows for quick access to numerous special characters from fonts in your system. While the use of keyboard modifier keys (Shift, Control, and so forth) allow for quick access to some common alternative characters, there are numerous Greek, currency, math, and emoticon symbols that can be accessed through the Character Viewer panel in OS X.

This panel can be accessed from the Edit menu in most applications, but can also be opened using keyboard shortcuts or the input menu, as outlined in this previous article.

The basics of … Read more

OS X's encryption service, FileVault, originally stored users' home folder contents in encrypted disk images. In OS X Lion, FileVault now uses Apple's new CoreStorage volume manager to encrypt the entire disk. With CoreStorage, the OS configures a small hidden partition with a preboot welcome screen that looks like the standard OS X log-in window and contains user accounts that are authorized to unlock the volume and cause the system to load and automatically log in to the account specified on the preboot screen.

Unfortunately, while more secure and while offering a relatively seamless experience when sitting at … Read more

If you own one of Apple's latest 2012 Mac Mini systems and are attempting to update it to the latest version of OS X, you may find the update is not available via the App Store's Software Update service. Furthermore, if you download the manual updater for 10.8.2 and attempt to install it, you will see an error that states: "Error: OS X Update can't be installed on this disk. This volume does not meet the requirements for this update."

The reason for this error is the 2012 Mac Mini requires a special … Read more

Mac OS X 10.9 could be dubbed "Lynx," says blog site AppleScoop.

The rumor sounds plausible. It would continue Apple's trend of naming its OS after ferocious felines. Over the past few years, OS X has leaped from Leopard to Snow Leopard to Lion and then to Mountain Lion.

However, the intel is decidedly second-hand.

The information comes from a "reliable source" who claims to have talked to someone inside Apple. The person reportedly saw some internal papers that indicated Apple was finalizing the name of OS X 10.9. But the source couldn'… Read more

Apple's next major release of its desktop and notebook operating system is once again expected to gain additional features from iOS devices, according to Apple blog 9to5mac.

Citing trusted sources, the blog today says Apple plans to add full-on integration with Siri, the voice assistant that can be found on Apple's iPhones, iPods and iPads.

Apple already took the first step in that direction earlier this year by adding dictation to OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, which was released in July. The dictation feature lets users talk into their microphone and transcribe into text, but it does … Read more

Apple will be ending its beta program on December 14 for testing its new Messages service that is part of OS X Mountain Lion and iOS.

In releases of OS X prior to Mountain Lion, Apple included its iChat instant messaging program that consolidated numerous messaging services such as Jabber, AIM, and Yahoo chat into one interface; however, this did not integrate with Apple's own iMessage and FaceTime services that it included in the iPhone as alternatives to SMS messaging.

To tackle this gap, Apple released Messages Beta for OS X in February as part of the Mountain Lion … Read more