How to delete Time Machine Backups from ReadyNAS NV+ November 21, 2010
Posted by admin in Technology.Tags: backup, mac, time machine, tutorial
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As I attempted to backup my now 4th iMac in less than one year (the three previous have had numerous issues – string of bad luck or product flaw?), I encountered a problem: I could not backup to my ReadyNas because the Time Machine partition was full. No problem I thought, I’ll just go into FrontView and delete some backups…no luck there. How about I just launch Time Machine, goto the mounted Time Machine backup volume and delete there…nope. After search and reading various forum posts, I decided to write up what worked for me. Here she goes:
- Launch Finder, click Go | Connect to Server
- In the Server Address field, enter afp://<your readyNas ip address>
- When prompted for authentication, do not use the admin account, rather use the ReadyNAS account and password used for Time Machine. The account always the user "ReadyNAS", your password is whatever you defined when enabling this feature in FrontView
- Finder will mount /Volumes/ReadyNAS and you will now be able to view the Time Machine sparsebundle files
- From here, you can now delete whichever sparsebundle files you want. Prior to deleting, if you first want to view the content inside, hold down Control and click the sparsebundle you wish to view. This will allow you to view the contents of the backup prior to deleting.
Hope this helps. If you know an easier way, please leave a comment.
iPad App: Safari-to-Go November 4, 2010
Posted by admin in Technology.Tags: books, ipad, safari online
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For anybody with a Safari Books Online account, Safari released a must-have iPad application, Safari-to-Go. No more having to download books and use your tokens, no more having to import PDFs into iBooks. Now you can easily connect to and read books on Safari Books Online!
The Safari-to-Go app includes the following features:
- Use native iPad pinch to zoom and drag and drop functions to read easily, manage folders and navigate through the simple user interface
- Search technology to help users find exactly what they need by searching the vast collection of books and articles available
- Search within the content of a book to pinpoint specific information quickly
- Sign up for trials and subscriptions from the application
- Access the sample content of each book (for non subscribers)
- Gain access to folders and notes with tagging and bookmarking of book content synchronized between the app and the full product site
- Cache book content to the iPad for offline reading (AWESOME!)
- Navigate quickly and easily via a simplified, touch screen interface, optimized for iPad users and designed to allow users to quickly start where they left off and spend more time reading and less time searching
Very easily map a drive to 25GB Skydrive November 3, 2010
Posted by admin in Technology.Tags: cloud, dropbox, Microsoft, skydrive
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It is scary how easy it is to drop files in the cloud. Dropbox has a client which syncs on-demand, but the free version limits you to 2GB worth of data. Microsoft offers Skydrive, which gives you a freakish 25GB quote for whatever you want. Currently there is not a client (at least I could not find one..not sure if Mesh will connect), however you can easily map a drive to your cloud storage.
1. Launch Excel 2010 (Word or Powerpoint work as well)
2. Click File | Save & Send | Save to Web
3. Click Sign In
4. Login using your Live account. You now see the following screen:
5. Click Save As
6. You are now provide with a Save As dialog. Click in the address bar and select Edit address
7. Here you will not see a URL similar to this: https://jiylis.docs.live.net/laksjdflajsfdlkjdsaf/^.Documents
8. Copy this URL
9. Right-click My computer | Select Map a Network Drive
10. Choose your drive letter | Paste the URL in the text box replacing https:// with \\
11. Continue clicking next until completed
You can now copy data to your 25GB Skydrive via drag and drop in Windows Explorer. Pretty scary when you think about how easy it is to transfer data to the cloud.
FREE: Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac–Home Edition November 2, 2010
Posted by admin in Technology.Tags: anti-virus, mac
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You have a Mac, you may not have AV software. Why? Well many people think that “Mac cannot get viruses!” That’s not entirely true. As with anything in life, the more attention something (or someone) gets, the more people are likely going to want to exploit and see failures. Mac is heading into that space given their market share (and I would argue the say they treat their developer community). All that being said, you need some protection for that Mac.
Today Sophos has released a free version of their software for Mac dubbed Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition. I have yet to try this software, actually plan on installing it tonight since I just rebuilt my iMac over the weekend (had to use my Windows box to do it!?!?! That’s a story for a different post). Back to Sophos, you can download the free AV package here from Sophos website. Anyone have any others that they would recommend?
Synergy October 31, 2010
Posted by admin in Technology.Tags: mac, synergy, windows
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When you have more than one computer at home, the biggest pain is having multiple keyboards and mice to deal with. What are you options? Well if you are an old-schooler, you could setup a KVM switch, but why bother when you can use Synergy.
Synergy is an open-source client-server based application that allows you to configure your keyboard and mouse from on your main computer (server) and have all other boxes (clients) connect and use the shared components. In my case, I am using my iMac’s keyboard and mouse to connect to a Windows 7 computer that is right next to the Mac.
Configuration
I actually took the easy route on this one. For my Mac running as the server, I ended up using QSynergy. Why? It is easy. Rather than configuring a synergy.conf file and then running synergys -f –config filename and dealing with issues with my conf file, I just configured QSynergy as shown below:
As for the client config, that is easy as well. For Windows, I install Synergy+ and configured it to connect to the IP of my Mac.
See that, easy peasy! What you are seeing here is that my Mac is always on the right of my Windows 7 box. Doesn’t get much easier than that!
iPad + SketchPad Pro = Crazy Fun Time! April 23, 2010
Posted by admin in Technology.Tags: art
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I am really starting to love drawing on my iPad using SketchPad Pro. The feature set of this application is solid, however make sure you periodically save your work, because I have had a couple instances where I was working on a wicked piece and *BLAMMO* SketchPad crashes and everything is lost. Still pissed that I lost a few of them…but for those that were saved, enjoy!
iPad Keyboard + Dock April 5, 2010
Posted by admin in Technology.Tags: Apple, ipad
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Waiting for the Apple Keyboard + Dock? No need to, just pair it with a Logitech diNovo Edge Keyboard and use the charging base as a docking station.
iMac #2 on its way… December 29, 2009
Posted by admin in Technology.Tags: Apple
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For those of you that do not know, I had to ship my first iMac back the week that I received it due to issues with the unit. I did not have a flickering screen, or yellowish tint, or loud drive; rather my issue was that the unit did not ship with the wireless airport card installed. After troubleshooting and discussing the issue with Apple, they shipped out a brand new unit.
Crossing fingers on this one.
Book: VMware vSphere 4 Administration Instant Reference December 11, 2009
Posted by admin in Technology.Tags: books, VMware
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Amazon now has Virtualization Blogger Scott Lowe’s new book, VMware vSphere 4 Administration Instant Reference, in stock. I’ve been reading Scott’s blog for years now and would highly recommend anyone who deals with vSphere 4 to pickup this book. Here is a summary of what it covers:
All your VMware vSphere 4 questions answered—on the spot!
If you need quick answers and real-world solutions as you administer VMware
vSphere 4, keep this indispensable guide on hand. Designed for busy IT professionals, it’s the perfect go-to resource. You’ll find easy-to-read lists, quick-reference tables, helpful thumb tabs, and much more in a handy, compact format that puts what you need at your fingertips, fast.
Topics include:
- Understanding new as well as legacy features
- Installing and configuring ESX, ESXi, and vCenter Server
- Creating and managing virtual networks
- Handling licensing, storage, high availability, and business continuity
- Managing virtual machines, including security and performance
- Upgrading from VI3 to vSphere 4
- Mastering the command line
In addition to the book , Scott also has Mastering VMware vSphere 4 