Use Dropbox to Sync iCal

by Tom Nelson If you use iCal, and you have multiple Macs, this guide will help you get and keep all of your Macs in sync with a single iCal Calendars folder. You may wonder why you can’t just use Apple’s iCloud service, which also provides free iCal syncing. You can, but the Dropbox method [...]

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Disk Encryption With FileVault 2

by Tom Nelson Now that Apple has updated OS X Lion to version 10.7.4, you don’t have to worry about using FileVault 2 disk encryption. Apple fixed the bug that allowed login passwords to be stored in security log files that were easily viewable to anyone who had physical access to your Mac. Although this [...]

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How to Replace iCloud’s Missing Keychain Sync Service

by Tom Nelson With MobileMe going away soon, we are going to look at various ways to replace the services you’ve come to expect. Sure, you can move to iCloud; we highly recommend the service, in fact. But not all MobileMe services made the jump to iCloud. And of course some of you may not [...]

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Using Disk Utility to Create a RAID Array

by Tom Nelson Recently I received an inquiry about using RAID 0 (striped) or RAID 1 (mirrored) as the startup drive with OS X Lion Server. I’ve used a mirrored array for the startup drive with previous versions of OS X server, and have had mixed results. While the RAID array saved me from losing [...]

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Upgrading a Time Machine Drive

by Tom Nelson It’s going to happen at some point; that huge drive you’re using to store Time Machine backups is going to run out of room. Time Machine will do its best to manage the ever-shrinking free space on the drive by limiting the number of file versions it stores there. For instance, instead [...]

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What Are Your Tips and Tricks for Using OS X Lion?

by Tom Nelson OS X Lion has been available since mid-summer 2011. That means many of you have probably downloaded, installed, and gotten familiar with using Lion. You’ve probably also come up with a few productivity tricks, or found hidden features. We’re putting together a Lion Tips & Tricks list, and your tip could make [...]

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Switching to Mac – Migrating Your PC Data

by Tom Nelson A question that comes across my desk from time to time is, “How do I move my PC stuff to my new Mac?”. This is a question I love to hear, not only because it means more and more people are using Macs, but also because it’s an easy question to answer. [...]

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How Much Free Drive Space Do You Need for OS X?

by Tom Nelson One of the frequently asked questions here at About: Macs is just how much drive space is needed for OS X. This is fundamentally different from how much space is needed to install OS X. The install size varies from release to release; according to Apple, OS X Lion needs 8 GB [...]

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Guides to Installing and Using Lion Server

by Tom Nelson I’ve been experimenting with OS X Lion Server, an inexpensive, but full-featured server OS that you can run on just about any Intel Mac. I’ve used OS X Server for many years, but its cost, while quite competitive, kept it out of the hobbyist, home, and small business market, at least for [...]

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Set Up OS X Lion Server – Open Directory and Network Users

by Tom Nelson With the low cost of OS X Lion Server, many individuals are considering running their own home or small business server. And why not; Lion Server has a lot to offer. It’s not just low-cost; it’s also fairly easy to set up and administer. Network users, as indicated by the globe next [...]

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