Mac.LTL

I came across this posting today: Apple just gave out my Apple ID password because somone asked. So with all the hype about how OS X is so great and secure, what happens when the problem is with Apple corporate itself?

Here’s an excerpt from the post:

I tried to log in to Apple Developer Connection this morning to find out that my password had been changed and the email associated with my account was now a yahoo.com address that wasn’t mine. Luckily, my “security question” was still the same, so I was able to reset the password and email address back.

Based on the emails that have appeared in my .Mac mailbox, this was accomplished by sending this classy one-liner to Apple:

am forget my password of mac,did you give me password on new email marko.[redacted]@yahoo.com

So a little crude social engineering to compromise your data. I’ve had and heard issues about Apple’s lack of a privacy policy, data destruction, and how they will handle repairs of their computers. But this is pretty bad.

I was a bit leary when I had to drop of my MacBook for repair and the guy asked me for my password that he proceeded to type into his “genius” computer. I was also concerned about what they would do with the backup they made of my hard drive. While I had no problems, it is apparent that the system is not setup to protect you. I remember dealing with Dell and Gateway, they’d ask you to remove your hard disk before sending in a laptop for repair.

Does anyone else have any Apple stories like this?

So, I purchased a wireless Apple Mighty Mouse last week and was severely disappointed. I purchased an external mouse for my MacBook because I’ve started writing software again and the trackpad is usable but too slow. Performance is my main driver and I was not prepared to be so underwhelmed (i.e. pissed off).

The mouse response felt sluggish and unnatural. When trying to be precise it felt sticky and jerky. I first thought the bluetooth was a lame interface and the source of my issues, but that was not the case. It was my second suspicion that was confirmed… the problem lies with the mouse acceleration curve (it’s software, it’s in an OS X driver setting, and it can be easily fixed by Apple). But, alas, OS X has no setting for acceleration and apparently has not had one for a long time. The cause and some solutions to the problems of the “feel” of the mouse in OS X has been well described. Read the article, it’s a great overview.

So how do we fix this feeling like our mousepad is a piece of fly paper? Well, my suggestion is to download MouseFix 1.2, a free program by Richard Bently. Why do you want this solution? First, because it’s free. Second, because in version 1.2 someone copied the acceleration parameters from Windows! Get it, run it, it’s great. I suggest setting the acceleration factor command line parameter to 1.8 (the default is 2)… so run it like:

./MouseFix 1.8

After that, play with your tracking speed for your mouse to dial in what feels good. If you are on a laptop, you’ll probably also need to decrease the tracking speed of your trackpad to dial it in. At first you may not like the new feel because you have spent years and years as an unsatisfied user who has eventually gotten used to crap. But after a short period you’ll find it’s much better, even the trackpad is much nicer to use after the fix.

Have fun actually being able to click on things now!

Oh, and as a final rant, why is this issue so infuriating. Because I spent $70 for a mouse… just because it matches my laptop! For double to triple what a good mouse should cost I expect perfection, or at least something pleasurable and effective to use. Yes, this was not a hardware problem, but since Apple controls the whole ecosystem the software that integrates the hardware should be perfect. And anyway, the hardware isn’t even that nice… the “squeeze” feature requires a hard squeeze that is uncomfortable, I sometimes miss-click the left vs right buttons, the ergonomics aren’t that great, and the features that work well are no better than any other $15 mouse. I hate that I am now bought into Apple and form comes before function… except for my iPhone, few complaints over that!

This is another episode of How To Make the Mac Not Suck for Power Users. In this episode I’ll show you how to make a great looking “Windows Start Button” on the Dock with hi-resolution icons and seamless integration with OS X through VMWare Fusion in Unity Mode.

Here’s the button on the dock…

Here’s what it looks like when you click on the button!

I’ve provided a high resolution icon pack for everyone. Download the high resolution Windows Icons here. These icons are from http://www.wincustomize.com so go there to check out more icons.

And finally, here is the video tutorial…

When I switched to OS X I missed not having the full path displayed to me in the Explorer, er… Finder, window as I browsed my drive. All is not lost, there is a simple option to enable a full path listing in finder. Adam also enlightened me that on any finder window you could ⌘+Click on the title bar to see the folder listing as well.

Here’s a quickie on the problem and how to fix it.

I now present to you the first in an infinite part series of How to make the Mac not suck for power users. This episode is on enabling tab keyboard navigation throughout the system. It’s also my first video posting ever, so give me some slack.

Moving to the Mac (about a month ago when I purchased a new MacBook) has been kinda lame because of the lack of power features and UI elements I’m accustomed to on Windows. I’ve since found ways to overcome a lot of these limitations. Among other things I’ll eschew blog about, I’ll be generating some posts and some videos on How to make the Mac not suck for power users.