Java, Flash, Mountain Lion and other bugs

Java Vulnerabilities

There are some updates to watch for. Even reaching the mainstream press, the Java bug can affect systems running Snow Leopard (10.6) or later, making the Mac vulnerable to malware that may be encountered on a dodgy web page. It does not affect systems running 10.5 or older. To protect yourself, open Software Update and run any Security Updates and any Java Updates it offers.

Then open Safari's Preferences, Security button, and uncheck the box for Enable Java. You probably won't even miss it as legitimate sites that use it are dwindling in number. Should you visit a trusted site and it wants to use Java, just go back to Preferences, enable Java, then reload the page. Disable it when you are done.

In Chrome, there is no option to enable or disable it. Java version 7 is not compatible with Chrome, so if you have not deliberately installed the older Version 6 there is no Java running in Chrome. To find out how to do this, and read why it isn't a good idea, visit Apple's KB article.

In Firefox, go to the Tools menu and choose Add-Ons. When the window opens click the tab on the left called Plug-Ins. Look for  Java Applet Plug-In in the list and click the Disable button. Reverse the process to enable it.

Flash, too

Another known weakness is in Adobe Flash. Safari disables older versions of it as soon as newer ones are released, so if your web page shows Disabled Plug-in instead of the video page you requested, click on those words to take you to Adobe and download and install the newest version. Systems older than 10.6 can't use the newest version so you may not be able to view some video pages. This is especially true in Tiger 10.4.11 or older. Adobe updates several times a year, so be sure to accept and install those updates. YouTube no longer requires Flash, but an awful lot of sites (such as FailBlog on the Cheezeburger Network) do use it so you can't give it up entirely.

Mountain Lion Crash Bug

There is a strange "Assertion bug" that will crash any app running under OSX 10.8.2. Mail, Safari, Messages, TextEdit, all of them. All you have to do is type File (with a capital F) followed by colon and 3 slashes - :///.

Don't do that. Goes boom every time. If you enjoy the gory details, they are at this CNet page. Some people have suggested it as a Mac Prank by sending the string from the Messages app on any smart phone to a Mac. Not only will it crash the Messages program upon receipt, it's archived so it will re-crash every time it's launched. To clear it out, follow these instructions.

The newest iMacs

I have now had some experience setting up both the 21.5" and the 27" models. As I reported previously, the smaller of the two is seriously constrained by the slow hard drive. However, Apple now offers the option of getting the Fusion drive in that model as well as the 27". If you are interested in that iMac, absolutely spring for the Fusion drive. The technology combines a 1-Tb or larger drive with a 128 Gb Solid State drive. The system software and your most-used applications are located on the SSD part of the system, and relocated to the mechanical part of the drive if you start using a different app more often.

To the user, it all looks like just one drive. You do not have to do anything to manage it. So all that remains as a problem with the new iMacs is the lack of an internal CD/DVD SuperDrive and the lack of a FireWire port. Both Macs have two Thunderbolt ports, so for $29 you can buy a T-Bolt to FireWire adapter and keep using your old external drives. The other port can be used as a video port for a 2nd monitor with a T-Bolt to DVI adapter, but very few Mac users need a second display with such a big screen as their primary.

iTunes 11; Mac Power Users

The newest iTunes is just short of a (needed) complete rewrite of the program. It has taken on so many non-music-related duties over the years that it has become a bloated mess. Unfortunately a few features have not made it into the new version, but overall it is easier to work with once you learn the new ways.

My favorite podcast and web site for all things Mac is called Mac Power Users. It's designed to help people become more proficient, rather than just focusing on the highly experienced. I subscribe to the show through iTunes in the Podcast section, then I put it on the iPod that lives in my car. If you do a lot of driving it's a great way to listen and learn, but there is no reason you can't just play it through your Mac.

The web page that supports the show is here (this episode that focuses on iTunes) and you can get the back catalog on iTunes and the web page for articles that support the information you hear. I highly recommend this show.

Mountain Lion Loses Your Notes

Notes Synchronization Mess

It took almost 90 minutes with Apple to get a final answer to the problem of updating Notes and syncing them with your iPhone and iPad. The short answer is, you can't, directly.

Preserving Your Notes from AppleMail

To be specific, if you have been using the Notes feature of Apple Mail.app, they do NOT automatically migrate to the new Notes application when you install Mountain Lion, but they do disappear entirely from Mail.

If you are still using Snow Leopard 10.6 or Lion 10.7, you have to prepare in advance to save your notes before running the Mountain Lion 10.8 upgrade. The process is:

Open TextEdit or your favorite word processor.
Open Mail and go to your Notes. Open the first note.
Select All (Command-A) and Copy.
Switch to your Word and create a new document, if you didn't already.
Paste. Then type a couple of returns at the end.
Go back to Mail and open your next note.
Repeat the process, above.
Repeat all until you have gone through all your Notes and pasted them into that Word document. Save as you go along!

(If you are still using AppleWorks, don't! It does not work in Lion or later.)

Notes on iPhone that Don't Sync

I had a bunch of notes on my phone that did not sync via iCloud, even though any new ones I created did sync. The process of rescuing those is even more convoluted, but it works and it's your only option, as I determined during my session with Apple.

On the phone, open Notes and go to the first one you want to rescue. Hold your finger down on a word until the magnifying glass icon appears under your finger. When you let go, you will have a choice between Delete, Select, and Select All. Choose Select All. Then a new popup will appear: Copy. Tap that.

At the top will be a button called Accounts. Tap that. You should see several categories:
All Notes
From My Mac
Notes
iCloud
All iCloud
Notes
Notes (Mobile Me) You may not have this one.

Tap All iCloud. Click the + at the top right of the screen. A new empty note will appear and the keyboard will pop up.

Press and hold in the typing area and you will get the magnifying icon again. Paste will appear. Tap that. The entire note you Copied should appear.

Tap Done. Then tap Notes. Then tap Accounts. Then tap From My Mac and that will take you back to the rest of your notes.

Go to the second note and repeat the process. Keep doing this, note by note, until you have finished the last one.

This seems like a daunting task, but since it takes the same amount of time for each note regardless of how big each one is, it should take you about a minute each; less when you develop a rhythm.

Yes, I agree, this is one of Apple's bigger screwups. The AppleCare techs also agreed.

Mountain Lion is Out

They've been threatening it, pundits have reviewed it, I just downloaded it. First I clone my current Lion drive so I can go back if there's a disaster, then I install it on my MacBook Air and give it a runthrough. As always, I advise waiting a little while and check the Mac blogs to see how others are doing. So far, people seem to be happy although a few random incompatibilities are appearing.

I'll run it and let you know this weekend.

Here is a great detailed what-to-do from one of the Apple discussion blogs. This is the kind of thing I should write but have not gone into this much detail. Read and follow this advice when you do your own upgrade. This especially includes waiting a week before you do it!