In response to Michael’s insightful post on how Fusion’s going, John Rust left an interesting tidbit for all the folks using Safari Adblock out there who want to The Deck and Fusion advertisements to stick around:
For Safari AdBlock users wanting to block everything but Fusion and The Deck, add two custom filters which allow content from anything with “deck” or “fusion” in the URL.
Three weeks, or so, ago I sent in my MacBook Air in for repair. The signs were very obvious that my hard drive was about to pack it in. And there was that sound… the sound every computer owner dreads: Click. Click. Click. So instead of waiting for it to die on me, I decided that is was the opportune moment to hand it in for repair. I was nearing the end of my school Easter holiday and had finished most of my computer based work that was required of me. I had never been keen on the idea of having my computer repaired in the school term – I rely on it far to much for some lessons. A week of not having a computer at hand would be a disaster.
I received my Mac back a little over a week after dropping it off with a new hard drive installed. The folks at John Lewis were kind enough to copy all my data over for me, so I had everything exactly as it used to be. However, I was not satisfied with the performance. Apps were crashing left right and centre, and I wanted a fresh start.
So, I decided that a clean reinstall was in order, at the time – it was all the rage – so after reading up on what to back-up and what not to. I began to process.
Backing up data was relatively easy. All of my documents are stored with DropBox, an incredibly easy file syncing app; that also happens to act as a back-up. I copied over my iTunes library, iPhoto library and some databases from Address Book, Bento and Littlesnapper into an external USB hard drive I had lying around.
All my software licenses and passwords were stored in the ever useful 1Password application, so no sweat there. I simply exported an encrypted file that would be opened by 1Password after the reinstall.
After the obvious elements of my system had been backed up, it was down to the nitty gritty that I wasn’t particularly sure about, such as preferences. Once I’d cut down on all of those extra apps I wasn’t using – I copied some of the preference files to make the transition a little easier. One aspect I was concerned about was Mail, which didn’t go according to plan, and to this day I don’t exactly know what went wrong.
I followed this guide here (obviously, not recommended!) to no avail. Luckily, being the cautious person I am, I stringed together important emails and forwarded them to a random web mail account for such a case as this.
Up until this point, I had never made use of Remote Disk. I was very much, pleasantly surprised when it worked without a hitch. I installed the Remote Disk software on my brother’s Mac. Inserted the Leopard Disk and ran the “Remote Install Mac OS X Utility”. I connected my MacBook Air to the MacBook Pro via ethernet, hoping to quicken up what I new was going to be a long process.
Believe me. It was.
After several cups of tea, a mowing of the lawn (my house has a very big lawn), and an episode of Tekzilla: the reinstall was complete and all I had to do was enter the necessary information and take the obligatory avatar snapshot.
The rest of the afternoon was spent downloading applications, reapplying operating system settings, and installing Adobe CS3 over Remote Disk, which worked perfectly. All in all, I was very satisfied with the results. My MacBook Air is now a lot faster on a day to day basis and I’m not suffering application crashes nearly so frequently.
What else did I gain from this? Confidence. I was always very worried that I would forget to back something up. Moreover, I was concerned that Remote Disk would stop in its tracts, leaving me in an impossible position. All of these worries proved to be unfounded, something I’m super happy about.
If you are finding your Mac (or PC for that matter) a little slow. Why not try a reinstall? After all, when was the last time you did?
I was poking around Shawn Blanc’s weblog, after his incredible redesign and found this on his contact page:
Moreover, if you have a response to something I’ve posted here then write about it on your own site. Putting your thoughts into words and putting those words in front of your own readers can be a gutsy move, and I highly recommend it.
Intentionally or not, this has to be one of the strongest arguments for removing comments from a weblog (which Shawn has done) I have come across. As good as an email is, if you feel strongly about a post that has been made – why not write something on your own terms about it? Interestingly, this point does not dispel the concept of comments; but instead offers a better alternative, in my opinion.
And yes, this is an aside, so you won’t be able to leave a comment. Email me or write a post telling me – and the rest of the world – your thoughts on what bloggers consider such a very sensitive matter.
I’ve got a new favourite iPhone game – FlightControl [App Store Link]. A gorgeous and very addictive app that requires you to take on the position as an air traffic controller.
Paul Thurrot on the iPod Shuffle –
This is a rare misstep for Apple, and, I hope, the end of the miniaturization silliness that currently grips the company. Smaller isn’t always better. Nowhere is that more true than with the iPod shuffle 3G.
I think this is another case in which Apple has sacrificed form over function.
Apple made no apologies for the lack of a screen in the Shuffle when it was first released. Now, it’s as if they’re trying to shoehorn the capabilities of an iPod with a screen into the Shuffle. This had led to an overcomplicated and frustrating method for controlling the music on the Shuffle.
