Wednesday, June 16, 2010

iTunes 9.2 Update

Quickly Apple released another release update for iTunes 9.2 after the WWDC 2010. This is closely related to the iOS4 support with sync features of iBooks, folders and more. I am very excited waiting for the iOS 4.0 for iPad, which will be released in the Fall.

This time the iTunes 9.2 update for iMac 24 has the same size as that for my iMac 27, as you can see in the progress snap-shot.





The following is the summary of space difference between before and after the update:

Command: df -lakUsed(Kilobytes in 1024-blocks)
Before ...84,932
After...206,280
Difference (A-B)121,348

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Mac OSX 10.6.4 Update

Today Apple released a major OS X update: 10.6.4. The update package for my iMac 27 is over 600MB. I noticed that the same update for my iMac 24 is 315.5MB. Not sure why there is so big difference in terms of hardware.



The following is the summary of space difference between before and after the update:

Command: df -lakUsed(Kilobytes in 1024-blocks)
Before ...2,292
After...4,240
Difference (A-B)1,948

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Safari 5.0 Update

Apple silently updated Safari to 5.0 today, or maybe yesterday. Steve Jobs did not mention it at all in the yesterday's WWDC keynote speech. I watched the whole speech and it was about iPhone 4 and iOS4, and was very exciting. Anyway, it is time to update the browser to 5.0. Here is the long list of the update:



The following is the summary of space difference between before and after the update:

Command: df -lakUsed(Kilobytes in 1024-blocks)
Before ...669,808
After...700,312
Difference (A-B)30,504

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

iPad with Bell Carrier

I read some news about iPad activation with Bell and many people complain about difficulty to activate it. Basically you have to make a call to activate. Many people say that Rogers is like AT&T in US, easy to set up directly from the device.

I got the Bell SIM card from Apple store. So I decided to give it a try at 1-800-667-0123. It does not take too long to talk to a person in late evening about 10:00pm. The activation staff actually is off. However, the internet staff, James, helped me to set it up.

I have a Bell phone so it is easy to tell my personal information to setup an account. I got an account and a phone number. The phone number is for iPad to connect to Bell network, and it is not a real phone. It is just used for the SIM card to communicate with Bell.

There are two plans: $15 for 250MB 30 days or $35 for 5B 30 days. The plan can be activated from the device with no WiFi available because WiFi has priority connection. When the limit is reached for 30 days or 30 days is reach with some limit left, the plan will terminated. In order to continue to use, a new 30 day plan has to be purchased. In Rogers term, it is called as "top it up".

By the way, my SIM card is pre-registered already. During the phone call I talked to James, I saw Bell (3G) and Bell on Settings->Carrier. James told me that I can chose a plan anytime now from the device. It is a prepaid plan on device. When I pay it, the usage is available right away. It is very cool and it is not so bad to set up. It looks like a very simple way to use it. Just like to shopping in mall or store, when you pay it, you get the product.

I got my iPad on the date when it was released in Canada, May 28, 2010, at the local Apple store (Market mall). I just could not wait for it. Actually, I did not have time to play it in the last weekend. Then my Apple web order arrived yesterday. I picked up at the Federal depot office. This evening I returned one I got from the store. To my surprise, there is 10% restocking charge. I was not informed about the charge for the open product when I purchased it. It was opened at the store by the staff (they provided free setup and show on that day) and I told them I had an order on the way. Without the disclosure of the charge, I felt not happy and really not happy about it. The fight will go on. I'll update its progress.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Java for Mac 10.6 V1.0 Update

Todya's update is Java for Mac 10.6 version 1.0 update.

The following is the summary of space difference between before and after the update:

Command: df -lkUsed(Kilobytes in 1024-blocks)
Before ...472,216
After...392,168
Difference (A-B)-80,048


Wednesday, May 19, 2010

How to Kill an Application

Some Mac applications are running like background services. For example Growl, EverNote and Dropbox. The only interface is at top right menu bar. The problem is that sometimes their interface or context menu are not available; as a result, there is no way to quit the application. My Dropbox has this problem after a while.

I tried to use Mac Force Quit... from Apple menu, but I could not find them. Fortunately, there is an alternative way to do it. Here are the steps to do:

  • Open Terminal
  • Type command: ps -A |grep Drop. You will see Dropbox application process id(pid), time and application location.
  • Type the command to kill the Dropbox: kill [pid].

All those ps and kill commands are most commonly used UNIX commands.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Epson Printer Update 2.3.1

Todya's update is for Epson Printer, which is specific for the printer I have purchased and installed. The link in the update description does point to Apple's support web site with generic description and long list of printers.

Starting today, I'll do clean update. That means I'll clean my trash first, then restart my OS. Record the space I have before the update. Run the update, clean trash again. Finally restart Mac OS, and record the space after the update. Before I run several applications or browsers during my updates. I think that my calculations in those cases may not accurate. Some cache or files unrelated to the updates may be cleaned during the update. By doing the clean update, I think the disk space before and after should be more accurate.

The following is the summary of space difference between before and after the update:

Command: df -lakUsed(Kilobytes in 1024-blocks)
Before ...3,328
After...6,976
Difference (A-B)-3,648