Many users prefer updating their Mac computer with a combo installer instead of using Software Update within OS X. However, some users get confused when an update is not accompanied by a combo installer.

The command used to flush the DNS cache changed in OS X 10.5 Leopard and later versions. The new command is just as easy to run, if not to remember. This article has been updated for all current versions of Mac OS X.

This tech-recipe will explain how to fix the blank white screen on the non default Space.  Opening the Desktop and Screen saver preferences and setting the wallpaper will not set the blank space but the previous/default Space 1.  Lets fix that!

This recipe will explain how to make a USB Thumb Drive bootable with the OS X Lion Developer Preview installer on it and in turn allow you to install Lion on a Mac without an optical drive (ie Macbook Air line).  We will need a copy of the installer dmg (not provided) and a 4GB […]

Editing some files on an OS X system requires superuser or root permissions. Typically, this is accomplished using sudo (which lets authorized users assume superuser powers, cape and tights optional) and vi. To the uninitiated, vi can cause intestinal distress and hair loss. An alternative is the use of TextEdit, the graphical text editor application, […]

Mac OS X Leopard includes new Parental Controls to help protect your children from computers (or help protect your computer from your children). In Apple’s way, this process is simple, but there are some options to consider. This recipe describes adding a new user account that will be under Parental Control and discusses some related […]

When you run a command from a UNIX or UNIX-like shell, the shell looks for the executable file using the directories listed in your PATH variable as a map. For convenience, adding directories to this environment variable means you don’t have to go hunting for a file each time you run it. Following these directions […]

In OS X, hidden files (those starting with a period like .profile or .bashrc) can be a challenge to edit because they are, well, hidden and don’t show up in Finder windows. While there are tricks to make hidden files visible in Finder windows, I prefer to keep my hidden files hidden. I also prefer […]

Life is so much better when we all get along, especially when heterogeneous computer equipment can just work together. Integrating a Mac running OS X 10.4 to support printing to a shared printer on a Windows host is described in this Tech-Recipe.