Author: Rick

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AppleJack for Mac

Macs generally don’t have startup problems, but it’s good to be prepared in case your Mac OS X computer won’t start.

The normal steps for trying to get a Mac to boot involve pressing keyboard shortcuts during the boot process. From Apple’s keyboard shortcuts page:

Startup keyboard shortcuts

Press the key or key combination until the expected function occurs/appears (for example, hold Option during startup until Startup Manager appears, or Shift until “Safe Boot” appears). Tip: If a startup function doesn’t work and you use a third-party keyboard, connect an Apple keyboard and try again.

Key or key combination What it does
Option Display all bootable volumes (Startup Manager)
Shift Perform Safe Boot (start up in Safe Mode)
C Start from a bootable disc (DVD, CD)
T Start in FireWire target disk mode
N Start from NetBoot server
X Force Mac OS X startup (if non-Mac OS X startup volumes are present)
Command-V Start in Verbose Mode
Command-S Start in Single User Mode

My first step to fixing a Mac that is stuck on the gray boot screen is to hold the Option key and attempt to chose the hard drive to boot. If that fails, I will try to either boot into Safe Mode or from an external firewire hard drive, allowing me to fix things.

Extra startup help from AppleJack

AppleJack is a free troubleshooting assistant that you need to install prior to your computer having problems. It gives you a DOS-like Menu of options that can fix common problems. You can repair the disk, repair permissions, remove cache files, validate preference files, and remove swap files.

Download AppleJack from the download page. Run the AppleJack installer. It only takes 74K of space for the current version as of this writing, 1.6.

To start AppleJack, first hold Command and S keys at startup. This starts Single User Mode as mentioned above. Then type one these commands.

Command What it does
applejack start the AppleJack menu (see image below)
applejack auto run through all the menu tasks automatically
applejack auto restart run through all the menu tasks automatically, then restart

Only use AppleJack when your computer will not start because changing these basic parts of the operating system can introduce other problems. Still, I install AppleJack on all my Macs for the extra help it can provide.

For more info, see the AppleJack SourceForge page, this CNET article which explains what each command is doing, or this page of user experiences.

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Visualize Your Hard Drive to Free Space

It’s sometimes difficult to find out what’s taking up all your computer hard drive space. That’s why I like these free programs which visually display the contents of your hard drive by file size. These programs make it easy to find and delete large files and directories that you no longer need.

For Windows – Disk Space Fan

Disk Space Fan shows you a beautiful fan of your hard drive space. Here’s a video of how it works. When you install the free version, it allows you to use the Pro version for free for 15 days, then it reverts to the free version automatically. All the basic tools are included in the free version though.

UPDATE: Daniel in the comments alerted me to the fact that Disk Space Fan is a ripoff of the Mac app DaisyDisk available at http://daisydiskapp.com.

For Mac – GrandPerspective

GrandPerspective for Mac OS X is similar to Disk Space Fan but chooses the box metaphor to visually display your files. The first segment of this video explains how it works.

For more ideas on saving hard disk space, look at the Lifehacker article How to Analyze, Clean Out, and Free Space on Your Hard Drive.

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Play Music at Retail Legally

Background Music at the Store

I recently helped install a stereo system for a retail store in Virginia. They wanted to play background music for their customers but weren’t sure what they could play. In the US, it’s illegal to play the radio or regular CDs because those songs aren’t licensed to be played for “public performance.” (UPDATE: Thanks to John Kaufeld who corrected me in the comments regarding radio play)

What happens if you play regular music CDs at your business? You might get a visit from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI), or the Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (SESAC). One retailer I know of was fined $7000 by ASCAP for playing music which was not properly licensed.

Legal Options

So how do you play music legally in the public? Here are some options.

  1. Purchase business-licensed music CDs. Many retailers buy muzak, the horrible elevator music, because it’s cheaper to license than the actual songs. Please don’t do this.
  2. Get XM Radio for Business, costing $40/month.
  3. Download free music from Jamendo which is under a Creative Commons license.  This music is uploaded by artists that are not represented by ASCAP/BMI/SEAC. I am amazed at the number of high quality albums listed on Jamendo. My Virginia client found lots of great jazz at Jamendo and will play that at their retail store.

ASCAP is Nuts

As a side note, I am all in favor of musicians getting their due. But hearing background music in a store falls under “fair use” to me. From a music business prospective, I don’t think that many people will chose to listen to music in a store as a replacement for buying music. “Hey honey, let’s go to the mall. I feel like listening to some Lady Gaga.” Hearing music at a store promotes music purchases just like hearing it on the radio.

ASCAP goes way too far. They’ve sued Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts for singing camp songs. They’ve sued cell phone users for playing ring tones. They want fees from YouTube for having background music in videos. They want fees from iTunes and Amazon for 30-second song previews. That’s not just silly. It hurts the musicians.

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Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0 Beta

My favorite free security software for Windows is Microsoft Security Essentials from Microsoft, the folks who should be protecting their operating system.

Microsoft just came out with a beta of their next version, Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0 featuring:

  • Windows Firewall integration– allows you to turn on or off the Windows Firewall during setup.
  • Enhanced protection from web-based threats – integrates with Internet Explorer to provide improved protection against web-based attacks.
  • New protection engine – offers enhanced detection and cleanup capabilities with better performance.
  • Network inspection system – protects against network-based exploits.

To get the new version, go to the Microsoft Connect site and fill out the beta registration information. Then you’ll see instructions for downloading and installing the beta.

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Microsoft Fix It Software

A quick fix to many common PC problems (non-functioning printers, drivers, web broswers, etc) is possible with the free Fix-it software from Microsoft at:
http://fixitcenter.support.microsoft.com/Portal/

Click Try it Now!, install the software, run Mircosoft Fix it and choose the category of your problem. Mircosoft Fix it then looks for and can automatically fix lots of issues.

Before calling on computer support, see if this free software can help you out.