• apple,  mac os x,  mavericks,  networking,  yosemite

    Apple Swaps Yosemite’s discoveryd for Mavericks’ mDNSResponder DNS Service

    May 30, 2015 /

    Lately, the Mac nerd community has really become fed up with the networking shenanigans around the new Domain Name Service (DNS) networking protocol, discoveryd.

    discoveryd, plays a part in how your Mac can find other devices, like Apple TVs and Apple AirPort networking gear, on your home network, other Wi-Fi networks you might connect to and Internet websites among other things.  As to the trouble discoveryd has been causing, well, you should read Craig Hockenberry’s blog post on it [strong language warning].  He’s far more knowledgeable about what goes on inside your Mac than I am.

    Some of you may know that I’m a member of the OS X Public Beta program (and for iOS also).  In the most recent OS X 10.10.4 developer and public beta (build 14E26a) Apple replaced the discoveryd DNS service with the mDNSResponder DNS service that was used in OS X Mavericks and earlier.

    Here’s a screen shot of my MacBook Pro running the previous beta build of OS 10.10.4:

    As you can see, the discoveryd service is alive and talking to my home network.

    After I installed OS X 10.10.4 Public Beta build 14E26a, you can see that mDNSResponder is back on the beat making sure OS X networking is obeying all the posted traffic signs.

    Just for good measure, after installing the latest beta build, and as discussed in Hockenberry’s blog post, I powered down both of my third generation Apple TVs and my Apple AirPort Extreme and Express, rebooted my cable modem, and then, one-by-one, turned everything back on in the following order:

    Cable Modem, Apple AirPort Extreme, Apple AirPort Express, MacBook Pro, Apple TV 1 and then Apple TV 2.

    Since then, I’ve seen a marked improvement in my home network’s performance.  Hopefully, mDNSResponder will be sticking around on OS X for a while and makes it into the official general release version of OS X soon.

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  • apple,  ios 7,  ipad,  iphone,  ipod touch,  mac os x,  mavericks

    Apple Releases iOS 7.1.2, Mavericks 10.9.4, Apple TV 6.2

    July 2, 2014 /

    Yesterday, Apple let a trio (or “Treo” for my long time readers) of updates for iOS, Mavericks, and Apple TV.

    iOS 7.1.2

    iOS 7.1.2 is minor security update for current model iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch devices.  The 25MB delta update improves iBeacons connectivity, fixes issues related to some third-party accessory data transfers, and closes a hole in data protection for certain email attachments.

    The update is available now via the iOS Settings app > General > Software Updates.  The update should install on any device that is already running iOS 7.

    iOS 7.12 is expected to be the last iOS 7 maintenance update before the iOS 8 release that is coming this fall.

    Mavericks 10.9.4

    Similar to iOS, Mavericks 10.9.4 is a minor update that corrects some Wi-Fi connection issues, fixes relating to waking up a sleeping Mac, and a minor Safari update.

    The update is available now via the Mac App Store.  For more information about the OS X Mavericks 10.9.4 update, please review Apple’s 10.9.4 update KB article.

    Apple TV 6.2

    Along side of the iOS and OS X update, the Apple TV got a little boost to OS 6.2.  There does not appear to be any outward software changes, leaving us to assume that the update is strictly a bug fix maintenance release.

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  • mac,  mac os x,  mac os x server,  mavericks,  upgrade

    Apple Rolls Out OS X 10.9.2 Update, Includes SSL Fix

    February 26, 2014 /

    Earlier today, Apple released the Mavericks OS X 10.9.2 update that closes the SSL security bug that was patched last week on iOS devices.

    FaceTime & iMessage Learn New Tricks
    With the release of Mac OS X 10.9.2 Mavericks, Apple has taught FaceTime how to make audio only calls and call waiting for video and the aforementioned audio calls.  With the 10.9.2 update, iMessages finally received a nice little update that allows you to block messages from individual senders.
    General Fixes and Enhancements
    In addition to fixing the “goto fail” that everyone has been worried about over the last few days, Apple also included a number of fixes and enhancements across the board.
    Ever since the release of Mavericks, many customers have been unhappy with the bugs in the OS X Mail application, specifically when used with a Gmail account.  Apple continues to make those corrections in this release with six fixes directly related to Mail.
    This release also brings fixes to networking features, including improved support for SMB2 shares, VPN connections, and OS X Server NetBoot services.
    Lastly, there was a website compatibility update for the AutoFill feature of Safari.
    Apple also gets a Smartphone Fanatics “Wait, what?!” award for including a fix for a Windows XP shared printer problem. Huh?  Windows XP is Microsoft’s 13-year old desktop operating system which they have been trying to desperately trying to kill of since the release of Windows 7.  (Microsoft released Windows XP on Aug 24. 2001.  The last day for extended support for Windows XP is scheduled for Apr 8, 2014.  Windows 7 was released on Oct 22, 2009.  We won’t event talk about Windows Vista.  Seriously.)
    You can read the full release notes for Mac OS X 10.9.2 Mavericks and the related security fixes release notes on the Apple support website.
    Mavericks 10.9.2 is a free update for anyone who is already running a previous edition of Mac OS X 10.9.  The update can be installed from the Mac App Store > Updates tab.  You will need to reboot your Mac as part of the upgrade process.  I recommend that MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro owners plug-in their notebooks before attempting the upgrade.
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  • apple,  mac os x,  mavericks,  microsoft,  windows,  windows 8,  windows xp

    Net Applications: Windows XP Loses Ground, Windows 8 Gains, and Mavericks Levels Off

    January 2, 2014 /

    Earlier today web analytics firm Net Applications released PC operating system numbers.

    In a nutshell, today’s report keys on trends we would expect: Windows XP, first released back in 2001, is still hanging on at just below 30%.  Windows 8/8.1 are in a dead heat with Vista, with Windows 8 finally starting to gain ground and Windows 7 is still by far, the Windows desktop champ.

    On the Apple front, Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks saw a huge 21% market share jump in November.  Compared to December’s numbers, Mavericks looked to be standing still with a 5% increase.

    document.getElementById(“na635242998771120000”).src=”http://www.netmarketshare.com/report.aspx?qprid=10″+String.fromCharCode(38)+”qptimeframe=M”+String.fromCharCode(38)+”qpsp=179″+String.fromCharCode(38)+”qpch=350″+String.fromCharCode(38)+”qpdt=1″+String.fromCharCode(38)+”qpct=3″+String.fromCharCode(38)+”qpcustomd=0″+String.fromCharCode(38)+”qpcid=fw377708″+String.fromCharCode(38)+”qpf=16″+String.fromCharCode(38)+”qpwidth=550″+String.fromCharCode(38)+”qpdisplay=1111″+String.fromCharCode(38)+”qpmr=10″+String.fromCharCode(38)+”site=”+window.location.hostname

    [Via ComputerWorld.com…]

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  • apple,  mac,  mac mini,  mac os x,  macbook air,  macbook pro,  mavericks

    Apple Release Updates for Mavericks Mail, iBooks

    November 8, 2013 /

    Yesterday, Apple released an update for their OS X 10.9 Mavericks Mail and iBooks applications.

    The update to the Mail application is a welcomed relief to customers who use the Mail appellation with Google’s Gmail email service.  With the introduction of OS X 10.9 Mavericks on Oct. 22, customers have been reporting a number of usability bugs with the Mail application.

    iBooks received a minor update to squash a few bugs an to improve stability.

    Both updates are available in the Mac OS X App Store’s updates section.

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  • apple,  mac,  mac os x,  mavericks,  western digital

    WD Investigating Data Loss Issue with OS X 10.9: Mavericks

    November 6, 2013 /

    Over the weekend, hard drive manufacture Western Digital, sent out an email advisory to some customers alerting them to a data loss problem according to ZDNet.

    Western Digital is “urgently investigating” customer reports “and examining a possible connection with its own software, notably the WD Drive Manager, WD Raid Manager and WD SmartWare software applications.”

    Western Digital customers using these applications on their Macs running Mavericks are urged to uninstall the suspect applications to mitigate the risk of data loss.

    Read the full story on ZDNet.com.

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