Trust us. We really like the ability to search for files or the content of files on our computer. But Mac OS X Spotlight is a total memory hogging piece of crap (especially on older Apple machines). Every time OS X would slow down and the hard drive fan would turn up to full blast, we knew Spotlight was indexing again.
At first, we weren’t sure what was going on. But after we quit all of our applications and still had a slow Macintosh with a fan in total overdrive, we fired up the Activity Monitor app (Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities) and took a closer look. The culprit? A process called MDS was sucking up all of our RAM. MDS stands for “metadata server” and it’s what the Macintosh’s search app, called Spotlight, uses to generate your search results.
But is search worth a painfully slow computer? No thanks. You can use an app called Terminal to disable and re-enable Spotlight’s MDS agent. This MethodShop.com tutorial will show you how…
Disable: Prevent MDS From Loading
By typing in the code below, you will remove the Spotlight “mds” agent from launchd and prevent it from running or indexing any drives connected to your computer. Open up the Terminal app (Macintosh > Applications > Utilities) and enter the following command:
You can confirm the absence of MDS by opening the Activity Monitor app (Macintosh HD > Applications > Utilities) and making sure MDS is not listed under active processes.
Enable: Reload MDS
Probably the easiest way to reenable Spotlight is to undo what we did above and reload it into launchd using launchctl. Open up the Terminal app again (Macintosh > Applications > Utilities) and type in the following command:
The other day, Applereleased their latest desktop operating system, Macintosh OS X Lion (10.7). It was a long awaited upgrade to Snow Leopard and has many interesting features. I have installed and reviewed, here are my findings.
Installation through the Mac App Store and discs of Apple Lion
First of all, there are no discs to Lion. If you go to the Apple store, they will tell you to go home and download the software. It’s part of their new “Disc-less” revolution.
There will be a Thumb-drive version coming in a couple months. You can purchase that for $79.
To get the Mac Store, you will have to upgrade to Snow Leopard. There are a few that didn’t do that upgrade, so they might be stuck with paying another $29.
When you open up your Mac Store, you will see the Lion upgrade logo at the top. Choose that – you will be asked for your log-on credentials. It then begins to download 3.7 GB worth of data. Therefore, being on a good Internet connection and having he machine plugged in are two recommendations.
Once downloaded, you will be asked to reboot. After reboot, it takes at least 30 minutes to install (I am on an i7 Macbook Pro). A couple reboots and you are back in like nothing has changed.
But there are changes….
Features in OSX Lion
The first thing you get when opening back up is the notification you can use multi-touch on your trackpad. Simple gestures – like you are using the iPad or iPhone. I just wish I could do those from the screen, not the trackpad.
Tap to zoom, pinch to zoom and swipe to navigate. You can also view mission control by swiping up with 3 fingers and a two finger scroll. Finally, if you have multiple applications open, swipe to move between them!
Yesterday at the 2011 World Wide Developer Conference keynote in San Francisco, Steve Jobs made several new Apple software announcements including a new service called iCloud, and updates to both their mobile and desktop operating systems.
Apple’s new iCloud is an online storage solution that will allow consumers to store their files on “cloud” based servers on the Internet, instead of on their own hard drives or mobile devices. The iCloud will replace Apple’s current mobile syncing service called MobileMe (previously called iTools) with a new version that will remotely store data as well as sync it with Apple devices such as the iPhone, iPad and Mac computers. The iCloud will allow users to access to their apps, documents, pictures, appointments and email from any location regardless of the device they are using.
In addition to the iCLoud, Apple is alos updating their mobile operation system, iOS to version 5. The iOS 5 beta release, which was previewed to the developers at the WWDC in San Francisco, includes more than 200 new features that will be available to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users beginning this fall. New features on the system include: Notification Center; iMessage (a new messaging service that lets consumers send text messages, photos and videos between all iOS devices); as well as Newsstand, which organizes newspaper and magazine subscriptions. With the new PC Free feature, iOS 5 users will be able to activate, set up and update their iOS device at any time without the need of a computer.
One of the biggest design flaws of the Macintosh is the audio input/output jacks. These 1/8″ stereo mini-plugs where we connect our speakers, headphones and microphones for everything from iTunes and Safari to Garageband and Logic.
But what if you could find a relatively inexpensive interface that could easily convert that analog signal to a higher quality digital output for all your apps? Well, the sleek, portable aluminum-cased Apogee Duet may just be the thing you are looking for.
Are you a Gmail user? Want to integrate Gmail into your operating system and save yourself a trip to Gmail.com every time you want to check your email?
This tutorial will teach you how to install Google’s Gmail Notifier on the Mac OS X and add icons to your menu bar, dock and even auto launch the Google Notifier application when turning on your computer.
What would happen if an iPod Touch mated with a MacBook?
According to AppleInsider, Apple is releasing a touchscreen laptop or tablet in October. Of course it’s still just a rumor, but a lot of people are very excited about finally getting their hands on a Mac touchscreen tablet.
Can this Photoshopped mockup become a reality?
The “MacBook Touch” is rumored to have the following features:
AppleInsider also reports that at the most recent earnings talk, Apple promised a product transition by the end of September with “technologies and features that others can’t match.”
Is the MacBook Touch the “product transition” Apple was talking about? We can’t wait for more details to emerge that either confirm or negate this juicy rumor.
Have you walked past an Apple Store yet this month? If so, you might have noticed a 3D snowflake screensaver running in the display windows. The screensaver is called Snowfall and it was designed by Russell Warenboldt using the OS X Quartz Composer.
Snowfall is free, but it requires Macintosh OS X Tiger. To install Snowfall, just copy it into your Screen Savers folder ~/Library/Screen Savers/. Then open the System Preferences panel to modify the options. You can pick a solid background color and turn on the stripes to make your screen look like wrapping paper. Or pick one of your favorite photos and adjust the speed and amount of snow displayed on your screen. Here’s a screenshot of Snowfall with a picture of my dog, Brandy, in the background.
Snowfall is a beautiful screen saver. These pictures really don’t do it justice. You’ll just have to install Snowfall and see it for yourself.
You can download Snowfall here (Mac PPC, Mac Intel). Don’t like Snowfall? Here’s another winter screen saver called SnowSaver (Mac PPC). Both Snowfall and SnowSaver are Macintosh only. PC users should check out a screen saver called Let It Snow (PC).
![6705234739 8cc8a60829 HOW TO: Disable Spotlight in Mac OS X [tutorial]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7161/6705234739_8cc8a60829.jpg "HOW TO: Disable Spotlight in Mac OS X [tutorial]")
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Trust us. We really like the ability to search for files or the content of files on our computer. But Mac OS X Spotlight is a total memory hogging piece of crap (especially on older Apple machines). Every time OS X would slow down and the hard drive fan would turn up to full blast, we knew Spotlight was indexing again.![6705112317 0cb2c99f15 z HOW TO: Disable Spotlight in Mac OS X [tutorial]](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/6705112317_0cb2c99f15_z.jpg "HOW TO: Disable Spotlight in Mac OS X [tutorial]")
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Yesterday at the 2011 World Wide Developer Conference keynote in San Francisco, Steve Jobs made several new 
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One of the biggest design flaws of the Macintosh is the audio input/output jacks. These 1/8″ stereo mini-plugs where we connect our speakers, headphones and microphones for everything from iTunes and Safari to Garageband and Logic.
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What would happen if an iPod Touch mated with a MacBook?![2695589483 f124a79afc MacBook Touch Coming in October [rumor]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2251/2695589483_f124a79afc.jpg "MacBook Touch Coming in October [rumor]")
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