When an optical CD/DVD drive begins to fail, it usually has trouble with recordable media first. A few simple tests can help verify whether the problem is with the drive or the media:
I have a macbook and recently I cannot put a cd in to record or have recorded. This happened before with toast. And I found I had something set wrong. What am I supposed to set this on so it will quit ejecting my cds?
Ernie
iCloud is Apple’s biggest new service to roll out in a long time, and with it comes a huge feature set. There’s quite a few settings and toggles, and it can be rather easy to get lost in. In this video, I’ll show you how to sort out backing up to iCloud, as well as iOS 5’s Wi-Fi sync feature.
Siri’s an amazing advancement in the way that we interact with out iPhones, but it doesn’t exactly do everything you want it to do out of the box. In fact, three conspicuous abilities absent from Siri’s feature set include the ability to make a Facebook status update, send a message to Google+ or even tweet… doubly absurd given iOS 5’s native Twitter integration.
Don’t worry, though. It’s easy enough to hack any iPhone 4S to Tweet, Facebook or Google+ through Siri. Here’s how.
Apple is all about the cutting edge, but in the real world people use older computers that may not have the latest and greatest software. Here’s how to use an old Mac with a new iPhone:
My mom is about to get an iPhone for the first time. She has an older iMac that only supports Leopard, no Snow Leopard or Lion, so she cannot sync with her pc at home. The new iOS 5 allows her to get an iPhone that does not need to sync to a pc. How can she get her photos off her new iPhone 4S onto her existing iMac to load into iPhoto? Will the iMac recognize the device as a camera source even if otherwise unsupported by her version of Leopard and iTunes?
Toby
One of the most obvious features Siri lacks on the iPhone 4S is social network integration. Although Twitter is integrated into iOS 5, you still can’t tweet or update your Facebook account from Siri.
There’s actually an easy workaround to update Twitter and Facebook with Siri on your iPhone 4S.
Many of us are convinced our computers have minds of their own. In this bizarre case of iTunes moving music files around, there may well be a ghost in the machine:
Ok. I got one for you that has stumped EVERYONE that I have proposed this problem to, including Mac Geniuses and numerous techie friends.
iTunes keeps all music organized inside the Music folder in the Home folder. For the last several months, periodically when I add a new song, or change something regarding songs already in the library (add artwork, adjust genre, etc) SOME songs will relocate themselves to Macintosh HD >Music >iTunes >iTunes Music [outside the Home folder].
iOS 5 includes a handy new feature that allows you to create your own custom multi-touch gestures. Although dubbed as an accessibility feature, it serves a larger function that that. In this video, I’ll show you how to create custom gestures, and use them to your benefit.
Siri is the intelligent assistant that comes with the iPhone 4S. You simply hold the iPhone’s Home button and speak your question or command — Siri does the rest.
While the obvious benefit of Siri is the handsfree aspect of voice technology, you can actually edit your Siri conversations the good old fashioned way with your keyboard.
Photo Stream is a feature in iCloud that allows Apple users to wirelessly sync photos and video between multiple devices. The service lets you take a picture on your iPhone or iPad 2 running iOS 5 and have it uploaded automatically in the background to your Photo Stream folder. That folder is then made available on all of your devices that are logged into iCloud, including iPhoto on your Mac.
There currently isn’t a way to individually delete photos from Photo Stream, but there is a way to completely reset Photo Stream and start over.
We’ve all had the experience of a computer being a lemon, one problem after another. Here’s one story of a MacBook Pro from hell that has a happy ending thanks to a sympathetic support rep at Apple:
I have a MBP 2.4ghz – the logic board failed 6 months ago and was replaced and worked fine. Last week the battery overheated and “swelled” ruining it. It was removed and run on AC adaptor only after that. The adaptor cable was tripped on and disconnected from the magsafe. The unit would not boot on after that point. After letting it cool completely down, it started up normally. I shut it down and it would not reboot.
Apple released Newsstand as one of the many new features in iOS 5 yesterday. Newsstand delivers subscription content from publications that have partnered with Apple in the App Store.
You can learn more about Newsstand here, but this time around we’re going to learn how to put Newsstand in a folder on iOS 5.
A number of Cult of Mac readers, and many more on Apple’s Discussion boards, have reported problems after trying to upgrade to iOS 5 on Wednesday. A good percentage of the time these updates go well, but they didn’t today. On Friday, we may see problems when people try to upgrade from an existing iPhone to a new iPhone 4S. Therefore, I’ll give you five troubleshooting tips that generally fix most, but not necessarily all iPhone, iPad, iPod touch (aka your iDevices) or iOS problems.
The Redsn0w software by DevTeam has always allowed you to jailbreak your iOS device, giving you complete control over your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch (see why you should jailbreak here). This morning, though, redsn0w version 0.9.9b5 was released with iOS 5 support, meaning you can now jailbreak devices and run Cydia apps on devices with iOS 5 installed. Here’s how to jailbreak iOS 5!
Obviously, the best way to make sure you got an iPhone 4S on launch day was to order one online, but that ship has sailed, and if you didn’t get your order in, braving launch day lines is your only option at this point. After four iPhone launches though, we’re now pros at the line-waiting game. Here are our killer tips and tricks for not just surviving the iPhone 4S line-waiting madness and walking away with the model you want.
One of the neatest features of iOS 5 and iTunes 10.5 is Wi-Fi Sync, which allows you to finally leave the Apple Connector Cable in your computer desk drawer where it belongs, at least most of the time. It can be a little hard to figure out at first how to make Wi-Fi Sync work for you. Here’s our handy guide to getting Wi-Fi Sync working.
We’re crazy about iOS 5’s Reminders, but unless you know how to tap into their power, Reminders just seem like a simple to-do list. Take it from us… Reminders is much, much more. Here’s how to use Reminders in iOS 5, the right way.
Got iOS 5 installed and puzzled about how to use this newfangled Twitter integration? Cult of Mac has you covered. Here’s a guide to using Twitter in iOS 5.
Are you getting antsy to get your shiny new toy but Apple is still showing your iPhone 4S as “Preparing for Shipment”? I’m not sure why the Apple system is not showing actual tracking for many, but trust me, your iPhone is likely already on the move. Follow the simple steps below to get your actual tracking information in realtime.
Upgrading your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch to a new version of iOS isn’t hard, but there’s still a few ways to optimize the process, not just to make the upgrade process as quick and painless as possible, but to make sure you leave all downgrading options available to you in a pinch. Here’s how to do it the right way.
Bringing your own equipment with you while on the road often requires some planning ahead. If you plan to use an AppleTV while traveling you might want to bring some ethernet cables or a WiFi router along with you:
Since I travel a great deal, I have been wondering if there is a way I can use AppleTV and the hotel’s WiFi network to stream video from my laptop to their television. In looking at the Apple Support Discussions, it appears that a similar question has been raised by those in college dorms.
I realize that this requires a HDMI cord and port on the television. But is there a way that the Mac can then “talk” to the AppleTV?
Thanks, Bill
Having an uncluttered and minimalistic desktop has several benefits. Not only does it remove visual distractions, it can also actually speed up your Mac. In this video, I’ll show you a few ways to clean up and un-clutter your desktop.
When you are running a Mac as a kiosk or to run a demo, it can be helpful to block out all elements of the user interface. This user from Norway can’t figure out how to force Safari in Lion to always open links in true fullscreen mode:
We are a group of mac users that can not figure out why or how to get our Safari to be a true fullscreen app when we click on a link to start safari. So here is what we struggle with: how to get safari on Lion to open links in true fullscreen without the toolbar in the top?
With any luck, you’ve managed to get through Apple’s technical difficulties and order yourself a new iPhone 4S this morning. But what to do with your old iPhone? If you’re looking to sell it, here’s a reminder of four tips that will help you sell your old iPhone like a pro.
At midnight tonight, Apple will kick off preorders for their latest and greatest iPhone, the iPhone 4S.
Here’s Cult of Mac’s guide to the best ways to make absolutely sure you get your iPhone 4S preordered right at the stroke of midnight and in your hands next Friday when it officially launches.
Wondering which iPhone 4S to order at midnight? Check out our own recommendation.
Many Mac users have multiple systems of varying ages, and often several different copies of their iTunes and iPhoto libraries. Here’s how to get them all in one place:
Your post today about sharing libraries made me wonder whether you have addressed importing/merging libraries across two Macs. My wife has a desktop PowerMac G4 Cube and a newer MacBook. She wants to import both her iPhoto and iTunes libraries to the MacBook, but I’m not sure how to accomplish this. Also, because the Cube has slow USB and the MacBook has no Firewire, I’m not even sure how to get the data over to the MacBook without it taking eons. Any thoughts would help.
Thanks! Rik