I play a lot of Call of Duty on the XBOX but i don’t like having to wait to join a multiplayer game. Because of our location it always seems to take forever to find a match or I end up in Spanish speaking ones. To combat this i connect my XBOX directly to my iMac via a VPN to change my IP address to a UK or a US one.

Note, this set up is for Lion 10.7.3. For Snow Leopard 10.6 you have to edit a plist file in terminal.

Heres what you will need:

1. VPN account; i have tried many and HidemyAss is there best.
2. USB to Ethernet adapter, i use the Apple Macbook Air one
3. Ethernet Cable

Don’t be tempted to use a “free” VPN service, they suck and are extremely slow, making for a lagged game play. When you sign up for Hidemyass they offer you a simple setup installer but don’t use this. You will have to manually enter the VPN connection and here how:

1. Open System Preferences / Network
   
2. Click the add (+) interface and choose VPN
3. IMPORTANT: In VPN-Type, select PPTP
4. Set HidemyAss as the service name
5. Click Create
6. This window will now close and you will be taken back to Network Preferences window
   
7. Leave the Configuration as default
8. In the Server Address enter the PPTP IP address of the VPN Server. To get this you will have to login to the HidemyAss website and navigate to PPTP Server on the left of the website. 
9. Whilst one the website note down your username and password above the server list. Bear in mind that your PPTP password is different to any other password (for security reasons).
10. Click Authentication Setting and enter your PPTP password – NOT YOUR ACCOUNT PASSWORD!
11. Click OK to take you back to the network window
12. Click Advanced and tick “Send all traffic over VPN connection
13. Click Connect and wait for the green light on the connection window.
14. To ensure the service is running smoothy visit a IP trace website such as www.tracemyip.org

You will now need to share this VPN network with your XBOX. There two ways of doing this, over WiFi or Ethernet . I prefer Ethernet as its fast for file sharing  (i use my XBOX as a media center also)

Option 1 Ethernet: XBOX will connect directly to you Mac with a Ethernet cable

1. Ensure the XBOX is switched off
2. Connect the Ethernet to USB into you Mac.
3. Then connect an ethernet cable from the adapter directly into the back of your XBOX.
4. Open System Preferences / Network
5. USB to Ethernet should be listed in yellow, if not click the add (+) interface and choose USB to Ethernet
6. Click back or Show all to take you to the main System Preferences window and select Select Internet Sharing
7. In the pull down menu “Share you connection from” choose HidemyAss
8. Then tick USB Ethernet adapter
9. On the left list tick [Internet Sharing] and [Start] in the pop up window, this should now be green and active
10. Turn you XBOX on and check the System Setting / Network / Ethernet/ Test XBOX Live to ensure you have a connection

Option 2 Wi-fi:  XBOX will connect directly to you Mac using a new Wi-Fi network

To use this you will have to have you Mac connected to the internet with an Ethernet cable

1. Open System Preferences window and select Select Internet Sharing
2. In the pull down menu “Share you connection from” choose HidemyAss
3. Then tick WiFi
4. Click the Wi-Fi Option button and set a 5 digit password (WEP Key)
5. On the left list tick [Internet Sharing] and [Start] in the pop up window, this should now be green and active
6. Turn you XBOX on and check the System Setting / Network / Wi-Fi/ Test XBOX Live to ensure you have a connection

Theres one more connection option which i haven’t tried but would mean your Mac connects to the internet via wifi and the XBOX will connect to the ethernet port but I’ve not tested this so I’m not sure if it will work.

(For Gibtelecom setup guide see: http://www.apple.gi/?p=1655 )

1. Choose Setting and scroll down to Mail, Contacts, Calendars.

2. Choose Add Account…

3. Select Other

4. Choose Add Mail Account

5. Name: Enter your Name, this can be any name you wish to be displayed as too person who receives mail from you.

6. Address: This would be you gibnet or sapphire.gi email address. e.g. yourname@sapphire.gi

7. Password: The password you choose when applying for your sapphire account.

8. Description: Enter the word Sapphire or Home email, this can be your personal preference.

9.Click NEXT in the top right corner, after approx 30 seconds a new screen will appear. This is where we have to enter the mail server details.

10. Ensure the POP3 tab is selected at the top.

11. The next 3 lines are the ones you filled out just previously so scroll down to ‘Outgoing Mail Server’

12. For Host Name enter the following: imap.sapphirenet.gi

13. Your Username is the first part of your email address before the @ e.g. yourname

14. Password; this should be filled out from the previous steps. If not re-enter the password as in Step 7 above.

Now i kindly ask for your patience, this can take unto 10 minutes for the sapphire server to respond.

If prompted select Yes when it asks you ‘Do you want to try setting up the account without SSL?’

You might get a notice saying “could not verify certificate” click continue.

IMPORTANT!

You will then need to go into the Outgoing Mail Settings/ SMTP/ Primary Server / imap.sapphirenet.gi and enter your username and password again under the Outgoign Mail Server setting. As below.

Once you do get through just close the setting and open up the Mail app.

After some research on blogs it appears the only way to do it is to ‘Reset’ your photo stream.

But first you would need to make a ‘copy’ of  the photos you do want to keep, by dragging them into your Library in iPhoto…..

….Or selecting and copying them into your camera roll on iOS device.

Bear in mind that if you sync your photos with USB into iPhoto these pics will be in your library already!

You then Disable Photo Stream in iPhoto’s Preferences.

Back on your iOS device open the Settings Menu>iCloud and turn off PhotoStream.

This now means Photos have now been removed from your Mac and iOS device, but the images still remain in the iCloud.

Your next step will be to login to iCloud.com and click on your ‘Account Name’ > Advanced> and Reset your Photo Stream, but don’t threat, your images have been backed up previously as instructed above.

I noticed the empty chair next to the other Directors during the Keynote for iPhone 4s, this would have been Steve’s so they knew he was on his way…

May you rest in peace my friend.

                                             Floral tributes outside my work, photos courtesy of Zaxkia Buckley 

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. – Steve Jobs

If you would like to share your thoughts, memories, and condolences, please email rememberingsteve@apple.com

Since the release of  OS 10.7 ‘Lion’ the media player application Front Row has been discontinued in favor of playing your content on the Apple TV but these can not play avi/mkv files. Even though I own an Apple TV i do have a 2011 Mac mini attached to my Flat Screen so I Front Row was the perfect solution for me! Thanks Apple…..

There is a few blogs posting tutorials on how to copy and install Front from for Snow Leopard to Lion but due to a recent iTunes update this no longer work. To get around this I discovered a free application called XBMC. This works exactly the same as FrontRow but with addition of a few extra features, you can even add custom Skin’s to change the appearance. Another bonus is it doesn’t black out 2nd displays as Front Row did.

I’ve been testing this all weekend and I’m happy to report that it works really well.

I did discover in order for album artwork to display you need to rename all the artwork file to folder.jpg

Im currently using the Rapier Skin which is a really sleek looking design and not cultured with 1000′s of options.

Give it a try, if you get stuck tweet me @appleMANCintosh

Because installation takes place entirely from within the Mac App Store, the usual “clean install” option isn’t present, therefore you will need to create a bootable USB stick or burn a DVD of OS X Lion.

Step 1: Download Lion From the Mac App Store
Go ahead and download OS X Lion from the Mac App store. This is a nearly 4GB download, so if your Internet connection isn’t super fast, you may want to plan to get some other stuff done while you wait.
As soon as the download is complete, exit out of the installation prompt. We don’t want to do an install right now.

Step 2: Find The Install Lion App in Finder (in Your Applications Folder)

Locate the Lion installation program.

Step 3: Right-Click on the Installer, Select “Show Package Contents”

Right click or control-click on the program icon and select “Show Package Contents.” Now, you want to browse to the “Shared Support” folder inside of “Contents” and locate a file called “InstallESD.dmg.” This is the file we will use to create our bootable Lion image.

Copy this file to your desktop or another folder you have easy access to.

Step 4: Start Disk Utility

Open up Disk Utility (it’s in the Utilities folder in Applications). At this point, you should see the various hard drives connected to your Mac. If you haven’t already plugged in an empty USB thumb drive or a hard drive with an empty partition, do that now. Then drag the desktop file ”installESD.dmg” to the left pane file in Disk Utility.

Step 5: Select the USB Drive You Want to Use

Select the attached USB from left side and click on “Partition” tab. Select “1 Partition” from the Volume Scheme dropdown menu. Choose “Mac OS Extended (Journaled)” from the left.

Now click on “Option” at the bottom. Select “GUID Partition Table” and press OK. Now click on Apply at the bottom right to start formatting.. (NOTE: This is will erase all data on your USB flash drive). Once the drive has been formatted, click on “Restore” tab.

In the source menu, drag the “installESD.dmg” to the left pane file we already copied to our desktop into the source field.

For destination, drag the USB thumb drive you want to us into the destination field.

Click Restore and type in your password. This will create the intended Lion bootable USB flash drive.

Step 6: Choose Startup disk

Reboot your Mac with the USB drive plugged in. Hold the “Option” key on your keyboard when you hear the iconic OS X startup chime. You can now boot into your Flash drive from there.If you do not get this option boot as normal then open System Prefernces and choose Startup Disk. Select your USB thumb drive and click Restart (My iMac wouldn’t boot from USB using Option key on boot but this worked).

Once your Mac has rebooted from the USB thumb drive choose Disk Utility and Erase (Format) your Mac internal hard-drive then go through the installation, ready to enjoy a new, clean install of Lion.

Whilst on the subject of Lion Install Apple have released the recovery tool Lion Recovery Disk Assistant, this lets you create a Lion Recovery on an external drive that has all of the same capabilities as the built-in Lion Recovery: reinstall Lion, repair the disk using Disk Utility, restore from a Time Machine backup, or browse the web with Safari. Please note this is for recovery of the operating system only and not users files are content.

If like me you use your Macbook at home and at the office you are probably aware of Domain and Group Policy settings for your office network. This can be frustrating to enter every time you leave home and arrive at the office.

To combat this OS X allows you to use Locations, by setting up a separate location for work and using Automatic for your home you never have to enter these settings again.

What is a “location?”

A “location” is a set of network preferences.

Network preferences has a Location menu that you can use for changing or creating locations. Users of portable computers frequently connect to the Internet or networks in different ways in different places, so “location” reminds you that Mac OS X has the ability to store different sets of network preferences, which you may name for the location in which you use them.

The “Automatic” location

By default, Mac OS X has one location named Automatic, and all available ports are set to active status. A port (or “network interface”) may be a modem, Ethernet, AirPort card, or other device used to connect to the Internet. The name Automatic is to remind you that Mac OS X automatically searches all active network ports for your connection to the Internet. For example: You use a dial-up account at home but have Ethernet at work. If you set up both of these ports then travel between work and home, Mac OS X automatically detects which port is connected to the Internet.

Making new locations

You can create different “locations” in which different ports are active. A “Mobile” location could make only your AirPort card active, and a “Desk” location could make only your Ethernet port active.

Follow these steps to make a new location:

1. Choose System Preferences from the Apple menu.
2. Choose Network from the View menu.
3. Choose Edit Locations from the Location drop down menu.
4. Click the + button and type a name for your new location, such as Mobile, then click OK. The name of your new location appears in the Location menu. Any changes you make to the Network pane now apply to this location. The previous location (“Automatic” by default) will remain as you left it.
5. Choose Advanced from the Network menu enter your domain settings for the office network.
6. When finished, click Apply Now.
7. Quit System Preferences.

Switching between locations

Once you have created locations, you may quickly switch between them by using the Location submenu of the Apple menu. (Not this will not show unless you have added a new location in Network preferences.) Or you can change the Location menu in the Network pane of System Preferences and then clicking Apply Now.

Setting up the same interface for two networks

The default Automatic location does not accommodate having two configurations for using the same network interface in two different locations. For example, if you used your Ethernet port configured manually at work but via DHCP at home, the Automatic location will not let you avoid switching locations in its default state — you would need to switch locations. You can avoid switching locations by adding a new port configuration to your preferred location. Depending on your network topology, you may only be able to use AppleTalk on one network interface at a time.

Thanks to Apple Support for this article

I’ve started using Front Row to watch TV Shows and Movies recently which is fine on a 27″ iMac but i have a Large LED flatscreen in the same room and it always bugged me how Frontrow only displayed on the iMac.

As i have a HDMI cable already connected between my Mac and TV i thought there must be some way to have Front Row displayed on the big screen and indeed there is!.

One unofficial way of configuring Front Row 2.0 to show on the second display is by editing a command line in Terminal resulting in adding the FrontRowUsePreferredDisplayID entry to the com.apple.frontrow preferences.

Before doing that you need to know the ID of your external display. You can determine the ID of the second display using the displaysInfo utility from http://rapidshare.com/files/54473723/displaysInfo.zip

Double click the displaysInfo file to open in terminal and look for the number labelled d2_ID in displayInfos output. In my case it is as follows:

Display_Number:2

d2_ID:188825408

You will need to add this number (188825408 in the example above) as parameter to a new command line in terminal.

Here is an example of mine:

defaults write com.apple.frontrow FrontRowUsePreferredDisplayID 188825408

(in other words copy/paste the info below into terminal but with your number of course!)

Now Run Frontrow and your main screen should now go black and Frontrow will magically appear of screen 2!

You can remove the preference setting and revert to the default setting using this command in terminal:

 defaults delete com.apple.frontrow FrontRowUsePreferredDisplayID

If you cannot find the above file on rapidshare, email me (contact panel top of the page) and i will be glad to send you the file as an attachment.

Heres an easy solution:

DHCP Client ID

You can assign a unique name such as [Steven's iMac] to each device, wired or wireless. This means you can see exactly who is on your network right from the Airport Utility. See last pic

To set you DHCP Client ID on an iPhone/iPad/Touch Navigate to:
Setting / Wi-Fi / “Your Network” / Client ID

On your Mac Select:
System Preferences / Network / Ethernet or Airport / TCP/IP / DHCP Client ID

A full list of devices/users will now show on your Airport Utility.

As an Apple loyalist I try to stick to Apple’s home grown Apps such as Quicktime and not uses applications such as VLC, however there is no such thing as perfection and Quicktime has its bugs especially since the release of Quicktime X on Snow Leopard.

After reading other blogs I have found some really smart improvements via terminal commands:

These all work a treat but if you decide to revert just change the value from 1 to 0 or vice versa.