Odds are they are too easy to decipher. http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/05/how-crackers-make-minced-meat-out-of-your-passwords/ Even a kiddie with a single computer can try 3 Billion guesses a second. (That’s the same as the number of seconds in the last 100 years.)  The really bad guys can try 350 Billion in a second. Want a secure password?  Here’s what it should […]

A friend asked about sleeping his drives “to extend their life.” Personally, my laptop uses SSDs, so drive energy is minimized. I have a tendency to leave it on all the time, popping the top when I need it, and closing it when I don’t. Therefore, sleep on that machine is in “manual mode.” My main […]

I’ve read many of the “botnet debunking” reports on the web, usually from the die-hard “Macs are totally secure” crowd. (I used to be a member, but am no longer.) The “debunk” always includes the line “the only place you can get this trojan is from illegal downloads of iWork ’09 or Photoshop CS4…[and] it’s […]

So: DiskWarrior (DW) won’t rebuild your disks because of your 2153,4903 errors. What that means is that DW can’t unmount your drive. Here’s what to do: (But first: you’re on your own!  If you follow the advice below, and totally trash your drive, I’m truly sorry, but I’m not responsible, since I’m just telling you what […]

I find  the W8 interface inconvenient. Like many, I long for the start menu.  (Wow! “longing” for _anything_ Windows !  What have I come to?  ) OK… it’s probably temporary, until I adjust, but at least the start menu was a one-stop-shop for launching software and getting some actual work done. Someone figured out that lots of […]

In case you’re the proud owner of a new iPod or iPhone, or have just bought a new set of “cans” (headphones) regardless of type (over the ear, in ear, buds, buckets… whatever) you might not know that you should break them in. That is, plug them in and let them run for about 4 […]

(This only works on 30-pin devices, and will not work with the new Lightning adapters.)   I thought some readers might be interested in how I got digital audio out of my iPad. The Apple 30-pin to USB (female) adapter, sold as part of the “photo kit” I think, was a wonderful bit of hardware […]

I sent this proposal off to Tim Cook a few minutes ago: Hi Tim If I correctly understand the Lodsys in-app purchase issue, how’s this for a simple solution: Lodsys says Apple can’t transfer its license to developers. Fine. Don’t. Apple should create an application (Apple Purchase Application or APA) that does the buying for […]

If you’re an old dinosaur like me, you may still use and enjoy Toast for burning CDs and DVDs.   Version 11.1 is out now, and deserves mention here because a) I’ve had the alpha of it for over a year and it’s finally OUT! and b) under the hood, it’s a significant update, having […]

This software is working fine for me so far: http://www.macbartender.com It moves your choice of (most) menubar icons (those along the extreme right edge of your main menubar) to its own sub-menu… but it’s harder to describe than it is to simply see, so visit the site. Right now, it’s in beta, and the price […]