New owners of the latest Air and Mac mini will find fixes for issues related to flickering screens, booting problems when the power cord is attached, and slow running SD cards. Specifically, Apple says the update will:

• Address an issue that may cause the system to become unresponsive when playing a video in Safari
• Resolve an issue that may cause system audio to stop working when using HDMI or optical audio out
• Improve the reliability of Wi-Fi connections
• Resolve an issue that prevents transfer of your data, settings, and compatible applications to a new Mac running OS X Lion
• Resolve an issue where MacBook Air may boot up when MagSafe Adapter is attached
• Resolve an issue causing intermittent display flickering on MacBook Air
• Resolve an issue that causes the SD card slot in Mac mini to run at reduced speed with SD and SDHC media

If you have Lion, but not on one either the Mac mini or the Air, you’ll get a separate update that only pertains to the first four issues listed above.

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The tiny flash drive carries a full copy of OS X Lion so that you can install and reinstall OS X and access disk utility without an Internet connection. This could come in handy for customers who feel left out of Apple’s bold new future of digital-only distribution.

Still, $69 is a lot to pay for a product that Apple is selling for $29.99 on the Mac App Store. But Apple likely has at least a couple of very good reasons for charging more: First, the cost of a wide-distribution physical format probably wasn’t factored into Lion’s pricing prior to launch, and second, Apple would much rather customers shop through the Mac App Store, since it clearly has a lot invested in the idea that digital distribution is the future (that’s the whole point behind the Mac App Store, after all).

At least users can take comfort in the fact that the thumb drive version of Lion carries the same far-reaching licensing conditions as does the digital version, meaning you can install OS X on any “Macs you own or control running Mac OS X Snow Leopard or Snow Leopard Server.” Just note that if you install Lion using the USB drive, you won’t be able to use Lion Recovery to reinstall your system.

What do you think of the Lion USB drive and its price tag?

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Lion’s system information

Right in your computer’s Apple menu (under ), the first item in fact, is the “About This Mac” utility. Clicking on it will bring up a small window that prominently says which version of Mac OS X you’re running, which processor your system has, how much RAM, and the name of the startup disk (the drive the computer boots from). There are two clickable buttons in this window: one takes you to Software Update, and the other, which we’ll be using, is labelled “More Info…” and takes you to the System Information app.

The System Information app provides you with the type of Mac you’re using (iMac, MacBook Pro, etc.) and also the specific size and original release timeframe of the computer. In the screenshot below, you can see that I’m using a 27-inch iMac from mid-2011 here.

Other information provided on the “Overview” tab of the System Information app includes your processor speed and type, the amount of memory or RAM installed on your system, the graphics card your computer has, and the machine’s serial number and operating system version.

Listed along the top of the System Information window are different tabs where you can find out more. “Displays” shows you the number and type of screens currently being used by your Mac, including the built-in display and any external monitors you have connected.

“Storage” provides a breakdown of any drives either connected to or built-in to your Mac, including a visual breakdown of what type of content and how much of it can be found on each drive.

“Memory” tells you how much RAM you have installed, and lets you know if you have any free slots available for more. You can also access Memory Upgrade Instructions from this tab for your specific model of Mac, if the memory is user-upgradeable.

Also available from the System Information app are Mac OS X and Mac hardware support resources, under the “Support” tab listed in the far right upper corner of the window. These provide useful links to Apple’s online help database, support contact information, and user manuals and specifications.

You can also check whether your Mac is still eligible for service, and check your authorized repair options under the “Service” tab.

Back under the Overview tab, you can click “System Report…” to get a more detailed look at your system and the hardware installed, but for most users, what you need to find should be listed in one of the tabs mentioned above.

Mactracker and EveryMac.com

If you’re still curious about your Mac or any other Mac out there, then there are a couple useful resources you can check out. Mactracker is an app on the Mac App Store that’s available as a free download. You can use it to browse or search for any Mac model ever built, as well as Apple-made peripherals, iOS devices, servers and even discontinued product like the Newton. It’s like a virtual Apple museum that’s both searchable and customizable.

EveryMac.com offers similar information, but in a website instead of in an app. It’s a little bit harder to navigate, but once you find what you’re looking for, it provides much more detailed information, including lengthy contextual descriptions of the Macs themselves, as well as Geekbench performance comparisons, and links to helpful articles about specific components and their uses.

Knowledge is power

For a lot of people, the motivation for moving to Mac can be that users simply don’t want to think too much about the system they’re using — hence Steve Jobs’ affinity for the phrase, “it just works.” But knowing at least the basics about the system you’re using means you’re that much likely to be able to handle problems well when they do occur. For most people, all that means is opening System Information once in a while to refresh your memory. For others, though, the deeper dive provided by Mactracker and EveryMac.com will be a rewarding experience.

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Note that for Screen Sharing to work, you either need to be on the same network as the Mac you’re trying to access, use Back to My Mac with MobileMe, or use a VPN client like Hamachi.

Per-user and Apple ID login

You can now log into other Macs on your network not only with an authorized user account on that machine, but also with an Apple ID. Plus, you can also specify individuals manually, or add them from your Address Book, who are also allowed to login remotely on a per-user basis, and provide each with a unique password of your choosing. That eliminates the need to create a separate user account just for remote access, since you can just add your son or daughter from your Address Book and send them a password, allowing them to gain remote access if you need tech support, for example.

To add users, go to the Sharing pane in System Preferences, make sure Screen Sharing is turned on, and hit the “+” button to select people from your Address Book contacts. Hit the “New Person” button to authorize people manually.

Observe mode

In previous incarnations of Screen Sharing, you could take over control of another computer, but if you wanted to step back and watch what was happening on said computer, it was fairly tricky. Basically, you had to make another window active and just not touch anything. Now, you can switch to Observe mode, which is perfect for those times when you want to watch what a user is doing in order to provide them with accurate tech support help.

To switch to Observe mode, you can add an icon to the toolbar (pictures, via View > Customize Toolbar…), or go to View > Switch to Observe Mode in the menu bar.

Virtual Display mode

If you want to just change a setting or start a download without interrupting someone else currently using the computer you’re accessing via Screen Sharing, there’s a new Virtual Display mode designed to do just that. It will provide you with your own desktop that doesn’t interfere with what’s currently being shown on the Mac’s actual connected display. This is perfect for running application updates on your parents’ computer while they browse uninterrupted, for instance.

Virtual Display option greyed out here because Screen Sharing is in Observe mode.

If you’re logging into another Mac with per-user permissions, as described above, you’ll be asked whether you want to view the hardware or a virtual display. You can also access Virtual Display mode by going to View > Switch to Virtual Display in the menu bar, and change back to the hardware display by going to View > Switch to Hardware Display.

I find I’m already using these new features quite a bit. How are you finding Screen Sharing in OS X Lion?

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1. Full-screen apps. Especially on a notebook, the ability to quickly switch to full-screen mode and navigate between apps that are using it has absolutely changed how I use Macs for the better. It definitely helps you focus on one thing at a time, and it makes great use of Macs with limited screen real estate. It just feels like something we should have been doing all along.
2. Launchpad. Despite my complaints about aspects of it in my last post, Launchpad itself is a welcome addition to the Mac. I’m using it most on my iMac, where the large icons and full-screen navigation make it much easier to find that one seldom-used app I’m looking for. I also think Launchpad is the first stage of an evolutionary tale that will only see it improve dramatically with future iterations of Mac OS, with feature additions like greater control over app arrangement, and maybe even live icons that display dynamic info at-a-glance.
3. AirDrop. Before AirDrop, copying files from my Mac to a visiting friend’s machine was sometimes so much of a chore that we wouldn’t even bother. Now I never have to have that “Hey, you still haven’t given me that file” conversation again, at least so long as everyone involved is packing the right equipment.
4. Hold key for special characters. I’ve never been able to remember the character codes for Macs, and using the special character palette from the Menu bar still requires more steps than the classic Google, copy, paste method. Holding keys down to produce special characters, as you can do on iOS devices, actually makes my life a lot easier, even though I don’t use them all that often.
5. The price. I recently had to install Windows 7 on a Boot Camp partition for my sister’s Mac. Price of the OS (even after it’s been on the market for nearly two years)? $220. The price of OS X Lion (which I was able to install on all four of my Lion-compatible Macs)? $30. Pricing may be Lion’s most appealing asset.

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1. Dashboard as a Space. Dashboard is one of the most useless additions ever made to OS X in my opinion, and Apple didn’t make it any better by now making it a mandatory Space all its own. Swiping left from your primary desktop could do so many useful things (activate a better full-screen Spotlight search interface, for instance), but instead it presents you with a bunch of widgets that do things Menu bar apps can handle, but with far less efficiency.
2. No simple clean install option. Every six months or so, I like to completely wipe and reinstall OS X on my Macs. It’s great that Apple is doing away with physical media in many ways, but it’s also aggravating that there really isn’t an easy way to do a complete erase and reinstall of OS X. At least there are workaround options, like reinstalling from Apple’s servers or formatting a bootable Lion flash drive, but both require extra steps.
3. Managing Launchpad. Launchpad in Lion suffers from some of the same usability issues that home screens in iOS used to have. Specifically, it’s quite a chore to reorganize apps and folders in Launchpad. Just give us a utility that lets users make the same kind of macro-level changes you can make in iTunes and this problem goes away.
4. Multi-touch quirks. Apple introduced new multi-touch gestures in OS X Lion, which means a lot of the gestures third-party apps were using for basic navigation are now broken, like back and forward in Chrome. Also, I’ve had more trouble using gestures like two-finger back and forward in Safari than I ever had in Snow Leopard, because the gestures appear to be more sensitive.  I love swiping between full-screen apps, but why isn’t that a four-finger action by default, leaving three-finger gestures to manage back/forward actions system-wide (especially in Finder)?
5. App window restore everywhere. Restore and Resume features are useful in OS X — in some applications. In others, like Preview, they tend to be more annoying than helpful. I would have liked to see some more judicious decision-making about which native apps got window restore features and which didn’t, or at least a central Preference pane where you can manually pick and choose which apps make use of the behavior.

These are my gripes so far with Lion, but in another article to come shortly, I’ll talk about the things that keep me using Apple’s latest OS, despite these problems. What are your top five (or any number, really) problems with the king of the operating system jungle?

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Specs and stats

The Mac mini I’m reviewing here is the $799 model, which comes with 4 GB of RAM, a 500 GB hard drive, a 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 processor and a dedicated AMD Radeon HD 6630M graphics card with 256 MB of RAM. Connection options include 4 USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 800, a Thunderbolt connector, HDMI, Ethernet, digital/analog line in and line out ports and an SDXC card slot. It also has 802.11n Wi-Fi networking, and the new low-power Bluetooth 4.0 specification.

The new Core i5 series processor pushes a lot of weight compared to previous generations. Running it through Geekbench revealed scores of 6902 on average in my tests, compared to 3627 for the Mac mini released in 2010 (higher is better). Geekbench measures the maximum theoretical performance, but those higher scores should translate to noticeable speed improvements in overall performance.

While all the new Mac minis are much better at CPU-intensive tasks, the $799 model should really excel when it comes to graphics. Thanks to the dedicated AMD Radeon HD 6630M card, which marks the first time the Mac mini has had a dedicated card (maybe made possibly by dropping the optical disk), tasks like video editing and gaming go more smoothly on this mini than on any before it.

Performance

For me, the new Mac mini is replacing a much older model (2007, the first Intel Core 2 Duo version) that acted as the nerve center of my home theater setup. Compared to that machine, the new Mac mini offers many advantages: The larger stock 500 GB drive means I can depend less on external storage; HDMI out provides a single cable connection option that doesn’t require any adapters when used with an HDTV; SDXC support means I should have no problem viewing home movies or vacation slideshows from the cameras of visitors; and Thunderbolt promises to eventually make it possible to use huge, fast external storage media libraries a possibility, thanks to devices like the Pegasus RAID array.

On the other hand, the new Mac mini does away with the built-in optical disc drive, so users looking to play back their DVD movies either have to pony up an additional $79 for the MacBook Air SuperDrive, or set about converting their existing media library. Personally, the DVD drive removal is a welcome change; I long ago abandoned physical media for the convenience and reduced clutter of digital purchases and rentals. But if you have an extensive DVD movie collection you aren’t eager to part with, look at Apple’s deals on previous-generation refurbished Macs for a media center PC that will better suit your needs.

If you’re looking to use the new Mac mini as a workstation or traditional PC, this update has a lot to recommend it. I found that — like the MacBook Air I reviewed last week — it deals well with the load caused by using multiple open apps simultaneously, including demanding apps like Photoshop CS5 and iMovie. What it doesn’t do as well as the MacBook Air is load apps quite as fast, or handle shutdown and startup with the same lightning speed. That’s due mostly to the spinning disk drive which the Mac ships with by default, but Apple does offer a (fairly expensive) SSD customization option.

There’s one area where the new Mac mini has quite a bit of unique niche appeal: it’s road-readiness. With just a couple of input devices and the Mac mini itself, which has just a power cord with no heavy and unsightly brick, it actually gives Mac notebooks a run for their money in terms of physical footprint. Frequent travellers could easily pack one for use with the HDTVs now common in most business hotel rooms. And if they want a device that’s a desktop at home and offers more screen real estate than a laptop on the road, it’s quite a bit cheaper than a MacBook.

Verdict

Apple’s newest Mac mini is the best yet, thanks to a lower price tag and processor updates that deliver big CPU performance boosts with even lower power consumption. If you’re looking for a fairly future-proof home theater PC, or a low-cost, moderately powered workstation that can follow you wherever you need to go, this is the Mac for you.

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Not every Lion is part of the AirDrop pride

Unfortunately, just because you have OS X Lion installed doesn’t necessarily mean you can use AirDrop. While AirDrop doesn’t require any Mac to be actively connected to a Wi-Fi network, it does require that each Mac have a wireless card turned on — and not just any wireless card –only certain models of Macs are equipped with the sort of hardware necessary to participate. You could check your hardware version and see if you have what it takes, or just look for AirDrop in your favorites list in the Finder. If it’s listed, then you have what it takes.

Identifying other AirDrop users

At first you’ll think AirDrop isn’t working, or that it’s really, really slow.  Even though you may be in the middle of a slew of Macs running OS X Lion that are all AirDrop-capable, your screen will still be blank. That’s because in order to use AirDrop, you must opt-in by selecting AirDrop from your favorites list in the Finder. Once another Mac does the same, you will see the user show up in the Finder. As soon as either of you navigate away from AirDrop in that Finder window, it will be turned off.

If you happen to be a MobileMe user, and you’re logged in to your MobileMe account on your Mac, and all of the AirDrop Macs near you have all done the same, AND you all happen to be in each other’s MobileMe contact list, then you’ll see each other’s real names instead of just the computer nicknames of your Macs.  That makes it sort of like sharing files peer-to-peer over IM networks. The major differences are that you don’t have to be friends, you don’t have to be using the same service, and you don’t have to be connected to a Wi-Fi network. You don’t even need to have Wi-Fi turned on. All you need is the right Mac with Wi-Fi powered on, and someone to share with.

AirDrop a file from one Mac to another

It’s very easy to share a file once you can see someone to share with in AirDrop. Simply drag your file and drop it on the AirDrop recipient in the Finder, confirm when asked “Do you want to send…” to the recipient, and wait for the user to accept the file.  Once the file transfer process has begun, you don’t have to keep AirDrop open in the Finder. AirDrop will continue the file transfer in the background, and notify you when the process is complete. To be clear, no one using AirDrop can see any files you have on your Mac via AirDrop. Only files you drag and drop on specific recipients will be transferred. There’s no setup, no configuration; it just works.

Alternatives to AirDrop for your Snow Leopard friends

The ability to transfer files in much the same way actually existed before AirDrop. Granted, it wasn’t as slick or polished, and there was some initial setup and configuration involved, but the ability to transfer files from one Mac to another in an almost identical peer-to-peer fashion has been in place for quite some time. In fact, if your Mac can’t participate in AirDrop, it’s all you’ve got.

Send file in iChat via Bonjour. Enabling the Bonjour account in iChat is one of the slickest features on the Mac many don’t realize they have. It’s like a private instant messaging service for all Macs on the same network. You can use this ad-hoc network of IM buddies to transfer files back and forth quickly. You don’t need an IM account, just the user account you use to log on to your Mac. Transferring files is about the same as with AirDrop. You must all be participating in iChat, and you must choose so transfer a specific file to a designated recipient. It’s not quite as easy as AirDrop, but it’s close. The one advantage here is that the range is greater.  You aren’t dependent on the Wi-Fi radio signal reaching directly between Macs; you just need to be on the same network.

Bluetooth file transfer. In theory, transferring files from Mac to Mac over Bluetooth is exactly the same as AirDrop.  The big difference is in the setup. You must first enable Bluetooth Sharing in the System Preferences; make sure that Bluetooth is turned on and that all Macs involved are discoverable. You even have to pair your Macs before the file transfer can begin. Once everything is set up and ready to go, you can use the Bluetooth File Transfer agent to send and receive files. I’ve used this technique in the past, but have found it to be unreliable and a pain to set up and configure, so I’d use this as a last resort.

AirDrop’s only flaw is its hardware dependency. Most households will have a mix of old and new Macs that are actively being used. That being said, when you do have the right hardware in place, nothing beats the simplicity of transferring a file from one Mac to another that comes with AirDrop.

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Specs and stats

The 11.6-inch MacBook Air I’m reviewing has all the customization options available for the machine. That means a 1.8 GHz Core i7 Intel processor, 4 GB of RAM, a 256 GB SSD, and an Intel HD Graphics 3000 integrated card with 384 MB of shared memory. The price before tax for this computer as reviewed is $1,649.

With those specs, I ran the Air through the Geekbench tests to determine how fast it was relative to my existing machine and previous Air models. On average after three tests, my Air scored 6308 on the tests. Higher scores on Geekbench are better, and that number is in line with (and slightly exceeds) the Geekbench scores for the 15- and 17-inch MacBook Pros from early 2010. The highest-scoring MacBook Air before this latest release was the top-of-the-line 2010 13-inch model, which rated just 3292 on Geekbench. The bottom line? Thanks to the new Core-series chips, these new Airs can handle quite the CPU load.

Real-world performance

The tale of the tape is promising, but how does the new Air respond to real-world challenges? Quite well. My typical workflow involves fairly heavy use of a browser (which is becoming Safari more and more often with OS X Lion), Twitter for OS X, Reeder for Mac, Mail, Sparrow and Photoshop. It can be a demanding mix, but the Air held up well. I was particularly impressed with Photoshop CS5′s performance on the Air; the program launches quickly, and photo editing doesn’t feel like a chore on this ultra-portable, as it can on some notebooks.

But how it behaves when running apps is only half the story. The Air has remarkable startup and shutdown times, thanks to its solid-state storage and Lion’s new emphasis of that as a feature. From the time I press the power button to full desktop takes only 16-18 seconds on average, and shutting down is even faster: around 2-5 seconds. But if you’d rather save yourself even more time, closing and opening the lid to enter and resume from sleep mode shaves off precious seconds.

Tradeoffs

Apple has reduced the sacrifices you have to make in exchange for the Air’s gains in portability and drive speed, but a few still exist, and they may be deal-breakers for some. For example, I found battery life on my Air to be just shy of that on my 2009 13-inch MacBook Pro, even though one has clearly been through far more cycles than the others. You can probably squeeze out the five hours Apple promises, but to do so, you’d have to go with keyboard illumination off (a shame because it’s such a welcome addition to the Air), a fairly low screen brightness and not very much multitasking or video viewing. With average use, I can probably get about three hours out of the Air, compared to about four on my MacBook Pro. The 13-inch Air, with its larger battery, should provide more usage for those looking for it.

Two other sacrifices are the lack of optical disc drive and relatively few ports. You don’t get an SD card slot on the 11.6-inch Air (though you do on the 13-inch), for example, and only two USB ports, with no FireWire and no Ethernet. Apple has brought Thunderbolt to the Air, however, which could more than make up for the lack of other on-device ports when hubs and other Thunderbolt accessories start hitting the market. It’s also worth noting that the Thunderbolt spec used in the new Airs is different from that used in Apple’s Pro notebooks and desktops, so you won’t be able to power more than one external display using it.

Like the Thunderbolt tech, the Air’s FaceTime camera isn’t exactly the same as those that ship with new iMacs and MacBook Pros, since it lacks the “HD” designation. Unless you do a lot of video calling and care deeply about resolution during said calls, however, this shouldn’t prove a major buying consideration.

The lack of an optical disc drive and the presence of only a few ports honestly don’t affect my opinion of the Air, but that’s because I use my notebooks almost exclusively while on the road. For those who want a laptop that can be both a docked desktop workstation and a road warrior, a Pro might be a better option.

Form factor and design

Arguably, the MacBook Air’s greatest asset is its unique hardware design. At just 0.68 inches at its thickest point, and only 2.38 pounds for the 11.6-inch model, it’s a portable computer that truly redefines the meaning of the term. The aluminum unibody construction, and the LED-backlit 1366×768 screen also make it very easy on the eyes, as does the new backlit keyboard. I also found that the screen, while glossy, was less prone to glare than the glass screen on my older MacBook Pro — a definite plus if you’re thinking about using the computer outside at all.

Of all the benefits of its design, it’s the weight that many will most appreciate. When held in hand with the unibody MacBook Pro, the difference is startling. And in a backpack or shoulder bag, the weight it adds is virtually unnoticeable. The only downside to its design that I can see is the inability to easily upgrade system components like RAM or storage, something which DIY aficionados might want to consider before making a purchase.

Verdict

The new MacBook Air is the best Air yet, which is saying a lot after the impressive update it received last year. If you’re currently working with an older Pro notebook and wonder if the Air is a suitable replacement, the answer is probably yes. If you bought the Air last year and are wondering if this Air is worth an upgrade, consider that the processor powering these latest models is two generations newer, and it shows. Like the iPad and the iPhone, the MacBook Air sets the standard for its entire device category, and the latest upgrade is a worthwhile raising of that bar.

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Switch spaces using the keyboard

It’s easy to switch spaces using a swipe or Mission Control, but that involves moving away from the keyboard. There is a shortcut you can turn on in System Preferences to enable switching spaces using the keyboard.

1. Open up System Preferences, either from the  menu or the Applications folder, and open the Keyboard pane by clicking its icon.
2. In the Keyboard pane, switch to the Keyboard Shortcuts tab to manage keyboard shortcuts.
3. Find Mission Control in the list on the left and click it to show the shortcuts available for Mission Control.
4. In the list on the right should be two entries, one labeled “Move left a space” and one labeled “Move right a space.” In order to enable these shortcuts, check the checkbox to the left of their names if it isn’t already checked. The default keyboard shortcuts are Control–left arrow and Control–right arrow, respectively. You can change these by double-clicking the symbol on the right of the row and typing a new shortcut.

You can now use the shortcut you selected to navigate between spaces and full-screen apps.

Switch back to a regular desktop from a full-screen app

If you want to switch between a full-screen app and a regular desktop space, you can switch left and right using a gesture or the above shortcut. But what about if you have seven or eight full-screen apps open and you don’t want to swipe through all of them?

In the same section of System Preferences as before, you should see more shortcuts labeled “Switch to Desktop 1,” “Switch to Desktop 2″ and so on, depending on the number of spaces you have enabled. You can use these shortcuts to jump straight to a normal space from any application, full-screen or otherwise. Just set them up however you would like (the default is Control and a number key), and then you’ll be able to avoid swiping across a bunch of screens.

Remap the Dashboard key to Launchpad

In Lion, Dashboard is given its own space, which is easily opened with a swipe. That means that the Dashboard key on the keyboard (F4) is not really necessary. Why not remap the Dashboard key to open Launchpad instead? That’s how new shipping keyboards and Macs work anyway. You’ll need to download a copy of FunctionFlip (free), which allows you to disable the special functions of the function keys (F1, F2, etc.) individually.

1. Once you have FunctionFlip installed, open its settings in System Preferences, which will be listed at the bottom, under Other.
2. In the drop-down list on the right, select the keyboard you’d like to change the setting for. You can always do this for every keyboard in turn.
3. Find the entry for Dashboard in the left-hand panel. It should be the fourth item from the top. Check the box to the left of it to disable the Dashboard function of the F4 key.
4. Now go back to the Keyboard Shortcuts tab of the Keyboard pane and find Launchpad & Dock in the list on the left.
5. In the list on the right, select Show Launchpad on the right-hand side. Double-click to the right of the selected row to edit the shortcut, then press F4 on your keyboard to set the shortcut to F4.

You should now be able to launch Launchpad using the Dashboard key, rather than a gesture or the mouse.

Do you have any other time-saving Lion tips? Share them in the comments.

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It turns out that Mac Intel chips have a built-in feature called THERMTRIP that will temporarily suspend the CPU when things get hot, and shut down the CPU altogether when things get too hot. Speculation is that this temperature is somewhere in the neighborhood of 120-130ºC. While my Macs did not reach three digit temperatures, the increase did alarm me. Luckily, as you can see, the temperatures settled down to a normal range after a few days. This is likely due to the machines running a lot of initial tasks like Spotlight indexing of your entire drive just after the Lion upgrade.

Still, if you, like me, are concerned and want to do something a little more proactive than just waiting, here are a few precautionary measures you can take:

iStat Pro Dashboard Widget. One of the first (and lately the only dashboard widgets) I installed is iSlayer’s iStat Pro. This widget will allow you to monitor several of your Mac’s vital statistics, and with the optional companion iOS app, you can monitor your Mac from your iPhone when you’re attached to the same Wi-Fi network. Information reported includes systems various temperatures, and the speed of your Mac’s internal fans. The problem is that as your Mac keeps getting hotter, your fans aren’t spinning faster, something for which we turn to the next tool.

smcFanControl Menu utility for Mac. To manually modify the speed of your internal fans, you can install Hendrik Holtmann’s smcFanControl. For some of the older Macs that are still technically capable of running OS X 10.7 Lion, you may find that they are having some difficulty keeping up at times, and the default fan speed just will not provide the relief required. This menu bar item will allow you to change the minimum fan speed and effectively take control of just how fast your fan will blow. I created two custom settings: a midrange setting at 4000 RPM, and a high setting at 6000 RPM and will turn them on when I see things get a little too hot. I then set things back to Apple’s default levels once things cool down.

Purchase a laptop stand. Proper ventilation is key to allowing your Mac to cool down under normal conditions. Placing your laptop on a pillow or blanket because it is running hot may do more harm than good, especially if you end up blocking the vents that are trying to expel all that hot air. My personal favorite is the Cooling Bar from Just Mobile for $39.95US.  I find it convenient to carry with me and easy to set up.  Just Mobile has other stands for your MacBook as well. And if you tend to keep your Macbook closed when at a desk, consider Twelve South’s BookArc Pro for $49.99 U.S.

Let us know if you have other tips for keeping your Mac cool under pressure, or if you’re seeing temperature spikes under Lion that last beyond the first few days.

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• How to Market Your iPhone App: A Developer’s Guide

While this article uses iWork as an example, any app that supports Versions, like OmniGraffle, should work the same way.

What is Versions?

Every hour — if the program supports it — a Version will be created. If you’re at all familiar with Time Machine, the concept is the same: a version of a document you can revert back to is created within the “sandbox” of that app and data file. It’s like doing a save-as every hour, but all the versions are contained within a single data file. However, if you send the file to another person, that person won’t see the previous versions.

This is completely separate from the new Auto Save feature. Logic would dictate an auto-save would create a new version, but it doesn’t.

How do I view my Versions?

First, a bit of warning: If you open a document created before you upgraded your app, you are likely to see it say “Locked” in the title bar. Don’t fret. Just click on the arrow next to the title and choose Unlock. A document unedited for two weeks will automatically become locked. You can change this timer in the Time Machine preferences. You can also force a lock if you don’t want to version a document.

To access your past history, from that same pop-down, choose “Browse All Versions.” This will bring you to a Time Machine-inspired view. On the left you’ll see the current document. On the right, you’ll see all the old versions.

The great thing is, you can go back in time and restore pieces of your document; not just the whole thing. If you’re working on a presentation and delete a section, then decide you did want to include that, you can just go pull those slides from a previous version. Same holds true for sections of text.

The “Save As…” command is gone from iWork now as well. You can duplicate the document from the File menu which does pretty much the same thing. It’ll be treated a virgin document until you save it, however, so you won’t be able to see past versions of the duplicate’s original source.

Recommendations

I think Auto Save is a fantastic, long-needed addition. Even documents with no save history at all still get restored. Relying on the one-hour versioning is a fool’s game, though. My recommendation is to manually save early, and save often. The reason for this is because I found it very easy to have a Version not be created. If I opened a Pages document, added some text, quit the app, re-opened it, added more text and then quit the app, the next time I opened the only version I saw was from a while ago. I’d like to see a version get created every time I quit a document, too. So, if you think you’ll be going back to previous versions a lot, save on your own.

In my limited testing, sending Pages documents to another user stripped the version history. That’s how it should work. You don’t want the sordid history of a project to follow it along. That said, if the document contains some sensitive material you’ve redacted, it’s worth duplicating or exporting the document to create a fresh copy just to ensure all the info is scrubbed.

So that’s Versions in a nutshell. Even if you aren’t using it yet, you likely will be soon as more apps add the feature. Feel free to let us know in the comments which ones you think will benefit most from the addition.

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Accordingly, I discovered a series of techniques to roll back the clock and get an older version of my apps back on my iOS device. It isn’t a foolproof plan, but it’s worked more than once. These techniques do come with some risks; for starters, you may lose all local data associated with the app, or even all data on the device since your last backup.

Delete From Device, Re-Install From iTunes

If you’ve updated an app directly on your device, the solution is easy. In this case, the version of the app in question on the iOS device is more current than the version stored in your Mac’s iTunes library. Before you do anything at all, convince yourself that you no longer need any of the data or files associated with the app that may be located on the device itself. Do not sync if you have Sync All Apps checked. Now simply delete the app and install it again the next time you sync in iTunes.

1. Always update all apps using the App Store on the device first
2. Delete the current version of any ‘bad’ apps from the device
3. Plug in your device
4. Install the prior version of the ‘bad’ apps via syncing

This method isn’t without its downside. If it’s been a very long time since you synced, you may find that the version of the app in your Mac’s iTunes library is either really old, or not there at all.

Recover Your App From a Time Machine Backup

For this method, you’ll need an iOS 4 device, a Mac running OS X Snow Leopard, the latest iTunes, and Time Machine enabled. Now I think you know where this is going, but there is a little sleight of mouse you need to master in order to pull this trick off. Before you do anything at all, convince yourself not only that you do not need your most current iOS backup in iTunes, but also do not need the most recent back up of your apps’ on-device data.

The assumption here is that the first technique isn’t applicable. First, sync your iOS device with iTunes. Then have Time Machine back up your iTunes library. It should go without saying that if you’ve configured Time Machine to ignore your iTunes Library, this technique won’t work. If you have any other means of backing up your iTunes Library, like saving it to a data CD/DVD, you may want to do that at this time as well.

1. Delete the App from your device
2. In iTunes on your Mac, option click on the app and choose Show In Finder
3. Open Time Machine and navigate to the folder where the app is stored
4. Go back in time and locate the older version of the file
5. Restore the older version from Time Machine (NOTE: keep Finder open, displaying the restored file)
6. Delete the app from your iTunes library on your Mac (NOTE: be sure to move the file to the Trash)
7. Quit iTunes on your Mac
8. From Finder, option click on the restored file and select Open With => iTunes (default)
9. Reinstall the app to your device via an iTunes sync

Note that the name of the file will most likely be different as the version number of the App is also part of the file name. This technique, like the prior technique, is dependent upon frequent syncing to work. Time Machine won’t have a copy if you haven’t added an app to your iTunes library from your device.

What to Do Following the Restoration

Moving forward, in all of the above cases, the annoying reality is that you will be constantly nagged by the App Store on your device, as well as in iTunes to update the app to the most current version. Do not update the software until the developer has had a chance to resolve any issues. Check the developer’s support page and make note of which version of the app was defective. In order for me to go through all of this trouble, the app must be something I use a lot, and something which I feel I can’t live without. In all other situations, a “bad” update is treated as an invitation to shop around for a better app.

Related GigaOM Pro Research: The App Store Police Need More Muscle — Not Less

Apple announced the winners of the 2009 Apple Design Awards last night at a special ceremony hosted by John Geleynse, director of Software Technology Evangelism, and Shann Pruden, senior director for Developer Relations. These awards are an annual affair to recognize “technical excellence, innovation, and outstanding achievement in iPhone and Mac software development.”

The depth and breadth of submissions has been accelerating, as interest in the Mac and iPhone has picked up over the last few years. As a point of comparison, the iPhone awards last year were handed out to early pre-release apps because the App Store had not even launched yet. There were about 1,700 web apps in Apple’s online directory, and this year there are over 4,000 web apps and more than 50,000 native apps available in the iTunes App Store.

Rather than being split out into categories for best game, best user experience, best application, and so on as has been the practice in past years, this year’s awards were simply organized into Mac and iPhone showcases. Here are the 2009 winners.

iPhone Developer Showcase

MLB.com At Bat 2009 from MLB.com

Postage from Rogue Sheep

Topple 2 from ngmoco:)

Tweetie from atebits

Mac OS X Leopard Developer Showcase

Billings from Marketcircle Inc.

BoinxTV from Boinx Software

Things from Cultured Code

Versions from Sofa

Student Awards

Wooden Labyrinth 3D from Elias Pietil

Fontcase from Pieter Omvlee

iPhone OS 3.0

AccuTerra Beta from AccuTerra

This last entry is pretty interesting. We saw lots of exciting and innovative apps in the WWDC Keynote on Monday that take advantage of the new features of iPhone OS 3.0, but AccuTerra was not presented there. The technologies utilized in this new hike tracking app are pretty extensive, though. I’m definitely looking forward to checking this out when it becomes available.

For more information about this year’s winners, here are some articles from TheAppleBlog that mention a few of them…

Weekly App Store Picks: March 14, 2009 (Topple 2)

Tweetie for Mac Update: Now With Video Tweeting

Billings 3 Brings Welcome Updates, Fresh Design

BoinxTV: Broadcasting for the rest of us

BoinxTV Now Shipping

Task Management With Things

12 Subversion Apps for OS X

Keep Your Fonts Together With Fontcase

Fonts 201: Font Management Apps for the Mac

Task Management With Things

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Subversion (also known as SVN) is a popular version control system. Accessing SVN repositories with OS X is easy – and there are numerous options to do so. In this article we’ll cover 12 different applications that let you access and use Subversion in OS X.

Version 1.4 of the command-line SVN client ships with OS X Leopard and is the quickest way to get started (for OS X Tiger, or if you need SVN 1.5 an easy installer can be found here). All you need to do is fire up the Terminal application and type svn with the required parameters. A great resource to learning how to use the command-line client (and all the functionality of Subversion) can be found at Version Control with Subversion – a free online book. From the command line you can do everything required. In fact, some people will swear against doing anything SVN-related without dealing directly with the command line.

However there are reasons most of us love OS X, and a large number of those reasons relate to the great user interface experience. So what tools are there that can expose SVN functionality via a user interface?

Mac-Only SVN Clients

XCode

If you have a need to access a subversion repository with OS X, you are likely to already be familiar with XCode, Apple’s development IDE. Like most good IDEs, XCode has built-in support for version control, including SVN (as well as CVS and Perforce). This works well for basic functionality and if the scope of your needs falls within OS X and/or iPhone development, this will do the job.

svnX

svnX is an open source SVN client that uses the SVN command-line client to do the actual work and for a long time it was the best fully-featured native OS X client. The UI, however, is not what we have all come to expect from a great OS X application and it hurts the user experience. Nonetheless, for a free UI solution, one can’t complain.

Versions

Versions is a relatively recent commercial subversion client, made specifically for OS X, and looks like it belongs. It costs €39 ($50), but that’s a reasonable price to pay for such functionality with polish. A 21-day trial can be downloaded for free. Along with Cornerstone described below, it is the cream of the OS X Subversion clients.

Cornerstone

Like Versions, Cornerstone is a commercial subversion client made specially for OS X that leverages its UI. At $69 (a free 14-day trial can be downloaded) it has feature parity with Versions and can also be considered a premium solution for accessing Subversion on OS X.

SCPlugin

SCPlugin is an open-source client that integrates with Finder and enables you to work with your source without loading a separate application. Using icon overlays, it enables you to see at a glance the state of your files, letting you perform SVN actions via the standard Finder popup menu. This was inspired by TortoiseSVN, a popular Windows SVN tool that integrates with Explorer.

SCPlugin is still in development and while it’s mostly functional, there are still issues with reliably badging the icons (you also need to turn off Finder’s Icon Preview feature). Nonetheless, the crucial SVN functionality (checkout, update, commit) work well. When its issues get ironed out this will be a killer solution.

Of note, this can be installed and used along with another option (ie. Versions or Cornerstone) and will simply reflect the SVN status of a local working directory by reading SVN’s hidden control files.

iSVN

iSVN is currently still in development and available for free (license for the final release is still to be determined by the author), however it is quite functional in its pre-release form and requires the command-line SVN client.

Subversion Scripts for Finder

These are a collection of Apple Scripts that enable you to work with SVN directly from within Finder via Finder Scripts. Unlike SCPlugin, these are less intrusive and do not modify the look of Finder in any way. They offer a good middle ground for power users who are used to using SVN on the command line and want a quicker way to perform actions. They also allow for productive use with QuickSilver. It requires the standard SVN command-line client.

Cross Platform SVN Clients

In addition to the above native OS X applications, there are numerous cross-platform clients that will run on OS X. While the big disadvantage to these is the lack of an OS X-friendly user interface, if you need to access Subversion across different platforms, and would like to use the same client everywhere, these will give you a standard and consistence interface. The following clients ran without issue on my OS X 10.5.6 system.

RapidSVN

RapidSVN is an open-source client for Windows, Linux, OS X and other *nixes. It’s simple and functional but requires third-party tools for functionality such as visual Diffs. Its written in C++ and executes native code, so it’s the fastest cross-platform client.

SmartSVN

SmartSVN is a powerful Java-based client that is offered in a basic open-source variety and an advanced commercial variety ($79). While it is Java-based, there are specific versions for Windows, OS X and Linux, each supporting their native environments (the OS X version will add custom popup menus into Finder as an example).

Syncro SVN Client

SyncroSVN is another fully featured, commercial Java-based client available for windows, OS X and Linux, tailored to each platform. It retails for $99 and a free 30-day trial is available. This suffers more than the other cross-platform clients with regards to the user interface (I have never seen MDI child windows with OS X style window management buttons in any other application before).

JSVN

JSVN is a very no-frills, open-source option and is quite functional. It is by far the fastest Java-based client.

Subclipse

Subclipse is an add-on to the cross-platform Eclipse IDE (which is Java-based, but language independent) . This requires you to upgrade the command-line SVN client that comes with Leopard from 1.4 to 1.5, however, and is best suited to those who already use Eclipse regularly.

What do you think?

What’s your favorite Subversion client for OS X? Are there any other clients I don’t know about? Let us know with a comment.

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Fast-forward to this summer when the first public-beta of Versions became available for download. You should have seen Twitter. Web and softare developers were giddy. Since then we’ve seen several updates to an already very nice beta, culminating with the 1.0 version, available today.

Versions offers the ability to visually browse repositories, see changes in your working copies, and easily set up new projects. There’s also a nice timeline view, letting you go back and see all the old edits on files and folers. Versions even gives you an easy way to set up a free remote repository using Beanstalk.

The GUI-based Subversion client idea isn’t new. There are a few applications, like svnX, that have been around for quite awhile. However, if you compare the screenshots and features between Versions and svnX, you can see why Versions is getting the buzz that it is.

Another application to keep an eye on is Cornerstone, which is looking very good. Cornerstone just debuted this summer and seems to be giving Versions a run for its money. This is a fantastic situation, much like VMWare Fusion and Parallels, where we get to see two excellent applications in competition against each other to make the best program.

Versions is a joint venture by Pico and Sofa. It requires Mac OS X 10.4.9 or higher (10.5.2 is recommended). You can download and try Versions for free for 21 days. After that it will set you back around $50.

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