Mac OS X 10.8 “Mountain Lion” available now!

Yesterday at Apple's quarterly earnings results, Apple dropped the bomb that its new OS, “Mountain Lion” would be releasing today, July 25^th. Priced at $19.99 ($10 less than its predecessor) and available through the Mac App Store, 10.8 brings features that continue to bridge the gap between mobile desktop operating systems. All the 200+ new features can be found on Apple's website, though unfortunately, those who found themselves unable to upgrade to Lion would be in the same boat here, as the download requires either Snow Leopard (10.6.8) or Lion (10.7). With Windows 8 releasing only three short months from now, the stakes are high for a battle royale in the digital world.

Which operating system are you more excited for: Mountain Lion or Windows 8? Let us know in the comments!

Source: Apple

Tech Tip of the Day: Getting started with iCloud: Part 1

Description: iCloud is a great feature that allows wireless syncing between all your devices. Have a picture on your iPad that you want to see on your iPhone? No problem. Have contacts from your iPhone you want on your iPod touch? No problem. This guide will explain the basics of iCloud, and how to set it up.

Section 1: What is iCloud?

iCloud is Apple's proprietary cloud storage solution. It allows for wireless sync to the cloud, or Apple's servers, that allow for access across multiple devices. It's built for iOS devices (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch), but it is also available on both Windows and Mac machines as well. This not only saves space on each device, but it also eliminates the risk for data loss. No matter what state the device is in, just sign in, and all personal information, as well as documents, settings, calendars, etc., will be automatically synced back to the device. This is quickly becoming the standard in storage options due to its failsafe methods.

There are alternatives as well: Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft Skydrive to name a few. These all have their benefits, though none are as tightly integrated into the OS as iCloud. Apple has created an ecosystem with iOS, and iCloud has been neatly tucked deep inside of it to make it incredibly easy to sync, back up and restore any personal information.

Section 2: Why do I want it?

It is common knowledge that backing up data frequently is a good idea. Until now, the only method of doing this is with an external storage device of some kind; more specifically, an external hard drive or flash drive. While there are generally no problems with external media, it comes with the risk of hardware errors, thus possibly causing data loss. Also, it's limited to one machine at a time, meaning, to get all the data back across multiple devices, it would require restarting the process for each device by itself.

With iCloud, it's all automatic. It requires little to no input from the user. Whatever is stored on one device is almost immediately accessible from another. Everything from music, movies and TV shows, to calendars, reminders and contacts. It's all there. No syncing. No cords. No hassle.

Section 3: Okay. What's the catch?

iCloud, like most consumer products, is not completely free unfortunately. At the start, it grants 5GB of free storage. On average, this is enough for most items, but the more content that is backed up (namely large files such as movies and TV shows), the quicker that space will disappear. This is when it becomes time to purchase additional space.

Apple offers three different yearly subscription options for additional storage. On top of the standard 5GB given for free, the options they offer are: $20 a year for 10GB of additional space, $40 a year for 20GB of additional space and $100 a year for 50GB of additional space.

Section 4: What are the requirements?

Not all iOS devices are compatible with iCloud. In order to run it, a device must be running iOS 5 or later. Devices that ship with iOS 5+ have iCloud built in. Older iOS devices such as the iPhone, iPhone 3G or iPod touch 1st and 2nd generation are not supported.

On Mac, it must be running OSX 10.7 (Lion) to work, and for Windows, it must be Windows Vista or Windows 7. XP is not supported unfortunately.

If you meet these requirements, watch for part two of this series later this week to learn how to configure iCloud on all your devices!

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

Tech Tip of the Day: How to network a Windows 7 PC to a Mac running OS X Part 3: Accessing the shared files

Description: This guide will walk through two different ways of accessing the files on your network: Accessing the files on your Mac from your Windows 7 PC and accessing the files on your PC from your Mac.

Accessing Mac files from the PC

1. Click Start and select Computer.
   
   
   
   
2. In the Address bar at the top, type two back slashes and the IP address of the Mac noted
   earlier and press Enter.
   
   
   
   
3. A box asking for user credentials will pop up. Type the user name of the Mac and enter the appropriate password then click OK.
   
   
   
   
4. Browse to any files you wish to view or transfer to the PC from the Mac.
   
   

Accessing PC files from the Mac

1. Click the Finder icon in the dock.
   
   
   
   
2. On the left side of the Finder window, click the name of your PC.
   
   
   
   
3. The connection will fail. This is due to invalid credentials. Once the connection fails click the
   Connect As... button.
   
   
   
   
4. Enter the User Name and Password for the user account on the PC and click Connect.
   
   
   
   
5. Browse the shared folders and transfer files as desired.
   
   

For more assistance contact Technical Support click here.

Tech Tip of the Day: How to network a Windows 7 PC to a Mac running OS X Part 2: OS X Setup

Description: Now that the Windows side of things is set, this guide will walk through how to set up OS X on the network.

1. Click the Apple button in the upper left then select System Preferences.
   
   
   
   
2. Within System Preferences select Sharing under the Internet & Wireless heading.
   
   
   
   
3. Click the Options button in the Sharing window.
   
   
   
   
4. Make sure both Share files and folders using AFP and Share files and folders using SMB (Windows) are checked along with the current account and click Done.
   
   
   
   
5. Select which items are to be shared on the left including File Sharing.
   
   
   
   
6. Make note of the IP address of the Mac listed for future reference listed in this window.
   
   
   
   
7. Click the + below Shared Folders to add any additional folders to be shared.
   
   

Now both the Windows 7 machine and the OS X machine are set to share files and folders on the network. Check out our third and final article in this series for a walkthrough on how to access files between the two computers.

For more assistance contact Technical Support click here.

Tech Tip of the Day: How to network a Windows 7 PC to a Mac running OS X Part 1: Windows Setup

Description: Windows 7 introduced users to the Homegroup for networking and file sharing. Homegroups make things much simpler when networking multiple Windows 7 machines, but what if you want to have a computer on the home network that isn't running Windows 7? Better yet, what if that computer isn't running Windows at all?

This series will walk through how to network a Windows 7 PC to a Mac running OS X for the purpose of file sharing. The series begins with Windows 7 network settings. Before you begin, make sure the Mac and the PC are both connected to the same network. You may also need to temporarily disable or create an exception in your firewall to allow sharing.

1. Click Start then select Control Panel.
   
   
   
   
2. Click Network and Internet.
   
   
   
   
3. Click Network and Sharing Center.
   
   
   
   
4. On the left side of the window, select Change advanced sharing settings.
   
   
   
   
5. Within the options window, select Turn on File and printer sharing and click the Save changes button. Close the options window.
   
   
   
   
6. Click Start, then select Computer.
   
   
   
   
7. Browse to the folder you wish to be shared, right click on the folder and select Properties.
   
   
   
   
8. Within the properties window select the Sharing tab and click the Advanced Sharing button.
   
   
   
   
9. Check the box for Share this folder and click OK
   
   

Repeat steps 6-9 for any additional folders you wish to be shared on the network. The next part in the series is setting up the Mac for file sharing in Part 2.

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

How to Upgrade to Lion

Description: This document provides step-by-step instructions on how to download and upgrade Mac OS X 10.6.6 (or later) to Mac OS Lion 10.7 from the App Store on the Mac Book Pro.

Benefits of Upgrading to Lion

1. Multi-touch gestures
2. Full-screen apps
3. Mission Control
4. Launchpad
5. Auto-Save and Versions
6. AirDrop
7. Updated Apps
8. Many more features
   • Auto-correction, Resume, Window resizing, Emoji support, Digital signatures, Restore partition, all my files, Search tokens, better file management, Low-power wake, Interactive iTunes screensavers, and FileVault 2.

All these Benefits can be viewed at: http://gadgetbox.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/07/12/7070647-mac-os-x-lion-yes-its-worth-the-upgrade

Minimum Requirements

• Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, or Xeon processor
• 2GB of memory
• OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)
• 7GB of available space
• Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.
• Some features require a compatible Internet service provider; fees may apply.

Step 1: Make sure your Mac can run Lion by meeting at least the minimum requirements. Click on the Apple icon at the top left of the screen, then choose About This Mac.






Step 2: If your Mac matches up with the requirements. Click the App Store Icon on the bottom of the screen.



Step 3: Next, type in "OS X Lion" in the search bar in the upper right hand side of the App Store.



Step 4: Next, click on the "OS X Lion" productivity software and select the "29.99" and "buy" app.



Step 5: Next, It is going to ask for an Apple ID and Password. If you don’t have one you can create one at this time by clicking the Create Apple ID Button.



Step 6: Once Logged In, advance to OS X Lion by clicking "Download".

Step 7: After that, click the "Purchased" icon on the App Store menu bar to access the Lion OS software download.



Step 8: Next, click the "Install" button to the right of the OS X Lion software to start downloading.



Step 9: OS X Lion will display in the downloads folder on the lower right hand corner of the screen showing the status of the download. The OS X Lion software is also seen in the App Store as "Installing".



Hint: You can "Pause" or "Cancel Download" by clicking the applet on the Apple



Step 10: Once downloaded from the App Store, click the OS X Lion Applet at the bottom of the page to employ the install.

Step 11: Next, The Mac OS X Lion install screen will pop-up. Read the License agreement and click "Agree".



Step 12: When "Agree" is clicked a window will pop-up to confirm, click "Agree".



Step 13: In order to process this install, Verify your Password and click the OK button.



Step 14: Click "Install" on the Mac OS X Menu to continue to install



Step 15: Connect the computer to a power source in order to complete download without the battery dying.



Step 16: Next Screen will show Mac OS X Lion downloading and computer will restart after download is complete.



Step 17: After Lion has completed and restarted, Lion Setup Assistant will be the first open window on the desktop. Scroll inside the middle text box and click "continue".



CONGRATULATIONS on successfully installing Mac OS X Lion!

iCloud is a breakthrough set of free new cloud services that work seamlessly with applications on your iPhone®, iPad®, iPod touch®, Mac® or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content in iCloud and automatically and wirelessly push it to all your devices. When anything changes on one of your devices, all of your devices are wirelessly updated almost instantly.



For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

How to change energy saver settings in Mac OS X

Description: This is a how-to article for Mac OS X on the topic of changing the energy saver/sleep mode settings. This is primarily useful if the settings have changed, or if there is a specific need.

1. Close any open programs on the Mac.
2. Click on the Apple Icon in the top left corner of the screen, then choose System Preferences.
   
   


3. On the new System Preferences window, choose Energy Saver
   
   


4. If this is a MacBook or MacBook Pro you can choose between changing settings for when it is running on Battery or when it is running from the Power Adapter
   
   


5. Change the slider bars to the appropriate times, and check the appropriate options below. If you want to set it to Defaults, use the Restore Defaults option in the bottom right.
   
   


6. Once completed you may click on the Lock icon in the bottom right to prevent any further changes without entering the password.
   
   

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.