The Malaysian Tech Blogger
Posts tagged Mac OS X Mountain Lion
Assertion Bug Will Crash Apps in Mountain Lion if Triggered
3 months ago
The Next Web has uncovered a bug in OS X that will crash the current application almost every time if invoked. Reportedly, in applications that support text entry fields, if you type the text “File:” followed by three forward slashes in the field to indicate a file address, then the program being used will freeze and then quit.
The bug is a problem in a core system service called Data Detectors that is responsible for handling dates and locations, part of which is a checking routine for an entered URL address. When you type information into programs that support Apple’s central text-handling services in OS X, the system apparently actively checks text strings with a service called Data Detectors, and part of this routine is to validate URL addresses; however, when handling filesystem addresses it runs into an error it cannot recover from, which results in the crash.
This happens when you copy and paste text as well, so if you were to transfer text that contains the offending string of characters from one program to another (even by dragging and dropping), then programs you inserted it into would likely crash.
Shown here are instances where TextEdit crashed upon the offending string being entered, followed by the crash reporter utility itself crashing when handling the error report that likewise contains the string. Luckily, this should be an uncommon occurrence since it does have some requirements. For one, the bug is only triggered by a standalone instance of the offending text string, so if you type those characters surrounded by parentheses or brackets or otherwise make the first character in the string not be an “f” then there should be no problem. The one exception to this appears to be the use of quotation marks.
Also, the bug is somewhat case-sensitive. The accepted form of the text by the Data Detectors service is for the word “file” to be lowercase, so the error will only be triggered if you include any combination of capital letters. Additionally, Apple’s work flow preservation features in OS X should help manage the issue for any who encounter it. While the current application will crash, Mountain Lion’s Resume feature in OS X should return the window locations and contents to where they were when the program halted. The system’s Auto Save feature should also preserve most if not all of the changes made to the documents before the crash.
While most programs tap into Apple’s text-handling services and therefore are affected, not all interface with these services. Older programs and some technical programs such asWaveMetrics’ Igor Pro computational platform and BareBones’ TextWrangler are not affected. Additionally, while the OS X Terminal utility itself is affected, the Bash shell and programs that run in it are not. Therefore, if you go to the Terminal’s preferences and type this faulty string in a text field (for example, setting the default opening command) then the program will crash, but you can type it all day at the command line or in a text editor like Vi or Pico and be perfectly fine. This issue only appears to affect versions of OS X Mountain Lion so far. In its testing The Next Web found it does not happen in installations of Snow Leopard or Lion, which I have confirmed with direct installations of both and in virtualized installations of OS X Lion.
Unfortunately, being a text-handling bug, if it does get triggered then the issue may have a feed-forward effect in the system’s crash reporter and logging services. Generally if a program crashes then the system will open the crash reporter utility so you can send details of the problem to Apple. It appears the offending text string is included in the crash report and is similarly handled when the reporter opens, resulting in it crashing as well. The same may happen if you use the OS X Console utility to review the crash logs. While the ongoing system log in the console will show the crash instances and the text string, if you select a crash log that contains it then the Console will invoke this bug and likewise crash. It is very likely that Apple will address this bug in an upcoming OS update, but until then, if you are running Mountain Lion be sure to avoid typing this specific sequence of characters.
How to check the battery condition in Mac OS X
6 months ago
All batteries die over time, and OS X offers a quick way to determine if yours is on its way out. If you have a laptop system, then it helps to ensure the battery is working properly, since as with any system, over time and use the battery will begin to lose its charging capabilities and give you less and less running time. To compensate for the gradual loss in charging capability, it may help to regularly calibrate your battery to ensure its charge is accurately reported to the system, but this will not give you any indication of the battery’s overall health.
To check the condition of your battery, first go to the Energy Saver system preferences and check the option to show the battery status in the menu bar (this should be enabled by default on most laptop systems). In the battery menu that appears you will be able to see the power source and estimated charge time remaining in addition to links for opening the system preferences; however, if you hold the Option key when opening this menu, then you will see a Condition option appear that will tell you the health status of your battery.
The available health conditions are the following: 
- Normal — the battery is working as expected
- Replace Soon — the battery should hold ample charge to allow you to work, even though it holds less than its original capacity
- Replace Now — the battery will not hold enough charge to give you ample work time
- Service Battery — the battery is experiencing an error (regardless of how new it may be) that could result in an unstable capacity. While it should continue to function, it is recommended you have it serviced.
With these options available, if your battery is only giving you a few hours of running time or is not charging fully even after calibrating, then be sure to check its health using these options to see if the system is detecting a problem with the battery. If not, then you might need to look into what programs and services are running that could be draining the battery, but if the system does report poor battery health then you should have the battery replaced.
This information about the battery can also be found in the System Information utility (available by generating a full-system report in the About thisMac dialog box in the Apple menu). By selecting the Power section in the generated report, you will see charge and health information about your battery, including the number of complete charge cycles it has been through and the estimated condition determined from these charge cycles (the same that is reported in the battery menu). 
A charge cycle is a full discharge and recharge of your battery, and the system determines the number of these by summing up every partial use and recharge of your battery. For instance, if you fully calibrate your battery and discharge it followed by a recharge, then that counts as one charge cycle. If you use half of your battery one day and charge it, then a quarter of it the next day, followed by a quarter the final day, and then charge it back up, you have in these uses put another charge cycle on the battery.
The number of charge cycles your battery is capable of will vary between 300 and 1,000 depending on the system you own, which under most circumstances should give you at least several years of battery life, but this will vary for each system and how it is used. You can look up the estimated maximum charge cycle count for your system in this Apple Knowledgebase document.
How to Make a Bootable Mac OS X Mountain Lion (10.8) USB Install Drive
OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion will be offered exclusively through the App Store, familiar territory for Apple since OS X Lion was provided the same way. Thankfully it’s still possible to create a bootable OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion installer from any USB drive, be it a flash key or external hard drive. By creating a bootable install drive, you can perform clean OS X 10.8 installs, install it on separate partitions, and install OS X Mountain Lion on Macs that don’t have internet connections. We’ll walk through the process here, but don’t forget to check OS X 10.8 system requirements for the destination Mac before beginning.
If you already have the Mac OS X Mountain Lion install DMG extracted, skip this first set of steps and jump directly to making the bootable drive below.
Download OS X Mountain Lion and Extract the DMG File
- Download OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion from the App Store
- Go to the /Applications/ directory and right-click on “Install Mac OS X Mountain Lion.app” selecting “Show Package Contents”
- Open the “Contents” directory and then open “SharedSupport”, looking for a file named “InstallESD.dmg”
- Double-click on InstallESD.dmg to mount it on the desktop
Make the OS X Mountain Lion Install Drive
- Launch Disk utility and connect a USB drive to the Mac
- Select the USB drive from the left menu and click on “Erase” tab, choose “Mac OS X Extended (Journaled)” as the format, then click on the “Erase” button in the corner
- Now select the formatted USB drive from the left side and click on the “Restore” tab
- Drag the previously mounted “Mac OS X Install ESD” image into the “Source” section
- Drag the formatted partition to the “Destination” section, then click on “Restore”
- Confirm that the USB drive will lose it’s data and enter the Admin password when asked
Disk Utility will now create a bootable OS X Mountain Lion installer drive out of USB drive using the disk image, this can take a little while depending on how fast the drive and Mac are but 20-30 minutes isn’t unusual. When finished, reboot the Mac and hold down the Option key to bring up the boot menu:
Select the orange “Mac OS X” option and you will boot into the OS X Mountain Lion installer, from here installation is the same as normal. Click on Continue, select the destination drive, and install.
Mac OS X Mountain Lion adds iOS-style
1 year ago
Mac OS X Mountain Lion – the next version of Apple’s glossy desktop operating system — is getting an automatic downloads feature that’s borrowed straight from iOS. The latest edition of the Mountain Lion developer preview adds the new tool, which sees other Macs logged into the same account automatically downloading apps when you purchase them,9to5Mac reports. The new feature doesn’t seem to work yet, but expect it to be primed and ready to go once Mountain Lion is finished. It’s due out this summer. iOS devices already offer this feature, funneling apps to your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad if you’ve already bought them on another bit of kit. If you’ve never experienced this feature on your own iDevice and are wondering how to turn it on, go to Settings and tap Store. You might have to enter your Apple ID and password, which any iOS user will know is always a thrill.
Avid operating system watchers will know Apple’s slowly adding more and more features from its mobile platform to its desktop variant. Mountain Lion will also bring iOS-style notifications, for example, which will incorporate programs such as email and iMessage, as well as Twitter mentions and direct messages. Other incoming features include AirPlay Mirroring to stream your Mac’s screen to a telly that’s hooked up to Apple TV, as well as iOS apps Notes and Game Center. A new security tool called Gatekeeper will only let software that’s had Apple’s stamp of approval be installed on your computer. Will you be taming Mountain Lion? Or would you rather keep Apple’s wildcat out of your camp with a ring of Windows 8 perimeter fires? Which iOS features would you like to see worked into OS X? Notify me in the comments or on our Facebook wall.
Apple slips out new OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion beta
1 year ago
Apple on Wednesday supplied its developers with an updated version of OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Developer Preview 3, the pre-release build of the forthcoming Mac operating system update.
Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion
Apple slips out new OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion beta, leaves 2007 MacBook Pro in a momentary lurch. The software update is now available in the Mac App Store. People familiar with the latest build said it is identified as “12A206J.” Apple has reportedly informed developers that MacBook Pro model released in mid-2007 are not compatible with the new build. The issue is expected to be resolved with a future update. People familiar with the build also said that an error occurs when using Fast User Switching, in which the desktop may appear white for several seconds. Problems are also said to remain with the share menu related to Mail and Twitter in the pre-release build.
Issues are also said to remain from the previous build, including the fact that Notes no longer sync with iTunes, and Java applets may not work in Safari. Apple also reportedly informed developers that QuickTime screen recordings can be corrupted when using machines with Nvidia graphics processing Wednesday’s update is the second issued for the third developer preview of Mountain Lion; the last update was supplied to developers on May 1. OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion Developer Preview 3 was first supplied to Apple’s development community in April.The second preview of Mountain Lion came about a month before, in mid-March. Mountain Lion is scheduled to go on sale on the Mac App Store this summer. More on the next version of the Mac OS X operating system will be shown off at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference, which will kick off on June 11 in San Francisco, California.
Apple iMac Touch Concept – The power at your fingertips
1 year ago
To be inform, there is no official product of Apple iMac Touch, it’s just a concept. Apple iMac Touch with flex base running on both Operating System which is Apple OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion and iOS5 with Retina-Display. The 27-inch Apple iMac Touch features with the resolution of 4096-by-2304 HD resolution. The resulting pixel density by 174 pixels per inch. It makes text and graphics look smooth and continuous at any size. It also included Siri Function.
The intelligent assistant that helps you get things done. Ivy Bridge. Spring by Intel with new Ivy Bridge i5 and i7 Processors. Thunderbolt. Two Thunderbolt ports for high speed data transfer. This concept was develop by Joakimulseth. It was made in Cinema 4D R13, Adobe Illustrator CS5, Adobe Photoshop CS5 and Adobe After Effects CS5.
Mac OS X Mountain Lion Sneak Preview with iCloud Integration!!!
You’re about to use your Mac in all-new ways with OS X Mountain Lion. Because it’s designed with innovations from iPad and it works even better with iCloud. And that makes everything you do on the Mac smarter, easier, and even more fun. Watch the video
This is an early OS developer preview of Apple’s Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion. We got a chance to check out some of the new features so you can get a quick tour of Apple’s latest big cat OS in this slideshow. Mountain Lion will be Apple’s first major OS release since iCloud came into play. Now everything from setting up a new Mac to syncing your info across iOS devices and Mac computers becomes possible when you log in with your Apple ID.
It just works. In more ways than ever. In OS X Mountain Lion, sign in once with your Apple ID and iCloud is automatically set up across your Mac.1 That means right away iCloud keeps your mail, calendars, contacts, documents, and more up to date on every device you use. So when you add, delete, or edit something on your Mac, it happens on your iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. And vice versa.
Mac keeps the conversation going. Messages does everything iChat does, and so much more. For starters, it comes with iMessage. And just like iMessage in iOS, it lets you send unlimited messages to anyone on a Mac or an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS 5. Send photos, videos, documents, and contacts — even send messages to a group. You can see when your message has been delivered and when someone’s typing a reply. Turn on read receipts, and they’ll see when you’ve read a message. With end-to-end encryption, your messages stay safe and private. And you can start a conversation on your Mac and pick it up on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. So nothing is left unsaid.
Now nothing slips your mind. When you have so much to do, Reminders helps you get it done. It’s all in a list. More than one, in fact. Make as many lists as you need and easily add to them. Set due dates and you’ll get alerts as deadlines approach. Check items off your lists as you go and keep track of what you’ve completed. And to be sure you don’t forget anything, iCloud keeps your reminders up to date on your Mac, iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch.
A feature for your thoughts. Notes in OS X Mountain Lion is designed for whatever’s on your mind. Think it up. Jot it down. Make it even more noteworthy with photos, images, and attachments. You can add, delete, and flip through your notes or do a quick search. Use the Share button to send your notes to friends or colleagues with Mail or Messages. Pin important notes to your desktop so they’re easy to get to. And take them with you everywhere. Notes works with iCloud, so when you create or edit a note on your Mac, it automatically updates on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
See what’s new with you. All in one place. Something new is always popping up somewhere on your Mac — an email, an instant message, a friend request, a calendar alert, and more. Notification Center makes it easy to stay up to speed, because there’s one place to see everything. Notification banners appear on your desktop and disappear quickly so they don’t interrupt what you’re doing. Swipe to the left, and you’ll see all your notifications in a simple, ordered list. So you’ll always know what’s up as soon as it comes up.
When you see it, share it. You’ll find the Share button in many OS X Mountain Lion apps. It’s the new, easy way to spread the word — links, photos, and videos, too. Send links from Safari. Send your notes via Mail and Messages. Post photos to Flickr. Send videos to Vimeo. And tweet just about anything.
Tweet right from your apps. OS X Mountain Lion keeps you on top of all things Twitter. Sign in once and you’re all set to start tweeting — and you don’t have to leave the app you’re in. Tweet links and photos directly from Safari, iPhoto, or Photo Booth with the new Tweet Sheet. Tweet comments and add locations. And when someone mentions you in a tweet or sends you a direct message, you’ll get a Twitter notification right then and there.
Mac gets in on the game. The Mac is about to go up against iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch — in a friendly Game Center way.2 Now it’s a bigger playing field with even more competition. Just create a Game Center account with your Apple ID. Then sign in and you’re in. Friends will find you fast, and you’ll track them down easily. Get a multiplayer game started or go up against people you don’t know. Check out leaderboards and see how your high score ranks against opponents’ scores around the world. And discover new games based on the ones you and your friends already play.
Your Mac is on TV. This new feature in Mountain Lion is made for an audience. With AirPlay Mirroring, you can stream what’s on your Mac to your HDTV via Apple TV. Show web pages and videos to friends on the couch. Share lessons with a classroom. Present to a conference room. It’s a big deal for your Mac. And for everyone around it.
A more secure Mac. Under your control. Gatekeeper in OS X Mountain Lion makes the Mac safer than ever. It helps prevent you from unknowingly downloading and installing malicious software. And it gives you control over which applications to download and run on your Mac. Now you can choose from three security options. You can download and run applications from anywhere, just as in OS X Lion. To be even safer, download and run apps from the Mac App Store and apps with a Developer ID. Or download and run only apps from the Mac App Store — the safest setting of all. Gatekeeper lets you decide which setting is best for you.
It’s a new Mac experience in China. OS X Mountain Lion brings all-new support for many popular Chinese services. And they’re easy to set up. Mail, Contacts, and Calendar work with QQ, 163, and 126. Baidu, the leading Chinese search provider, is a built-in option in Safari. The video-sharing websites Youku and Tudou are included in the new Share Sheets, so users in China can easily post videos to the web. They can also blog with Sina weibo, the popular microblogging service. And with improved text input, typing in Chinese is easier, faster, and more accurate.
Now it’s easy to set up Mail, Contacts, Calendar, video sharing, web searching, and blogging
on your Mac using many popular services in China.
