VMware has released a tech preview of a Mac version of VMware View Client virtualization software that enables the client to display and control a Windows virtual machine that is running on a server on the network. VMware also released Tech Preview versions of the View client for Linux and Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet. VMware View uses the company's PCoIP protocol to communicate with a View Connection Server. VMWare said, "VMware View Clients with PCoIP provide end users with top performance regardless of network conditions."

The tech preview (the equivalent of a beta release) supports Lion's Full Screen mode, and supports copy and paste of formatted text and graphics between View 5.x virtual machines and Mac......Read entire story here

eWeek posted a story about 17 important computer-industry leaders who passed away this year. Here's a bit (or perhaps byte):

The computing industry came of age in the 1950s, and many of the individuals who laid the groundwork for modern computing, smart electronics and the Internet are now in their 80s. Many of the leaders who passed away in 2011 were founders and chief executives who transformed their companies to take advantage of emerging technology. Several worked on the theoretical foundations in the fields of optics, mathematics and cryptography.

Some of the notable names on the list......Read entire story (and view related video) here

Leon Lincoln responded to Tuesday's report "Another reader can't log in with local account with Lion 10.7.2":

We have also experienced the issue of not being able to login with any account on a Lion 10.7.2 system. So far it has only happened on two systems, both which are bound to Active Directory. The only way to correct this issue has been to reformat the system and install the OS once again. As this is not a wide spread issue, we are keeping an eye on it as it concerns me why the authentication system can be fubarred.

If you've seen this problem (fubar or not)

Related: Lion and Active Directory Tips and Reports

Danny Caccavo confirmed a problem in our previous report "Reader can't log in with local account with Lion 10.7.2":

At least four times I've not been able to log in to my local account - there was no AD account with the same name, for what it's worth. I believe it's AD 2003. This is with Mac OS X 10.7.2.

If you've seen this problem

Mark Lewis reports that Mac Lion clients bound to Active Directory can't connect to Snow Leopard Server via AFP. He also found a workaround:

We have had several reports from offices that their AD bound 10.7.2 clients fail to connect via AFP to bound Snow Leopard servers. Clients would receive the following error: "The version of the server you are trying to connect to is not supported. Please contact your system administrator to resolve the problem." The resolution we found is to use the FQDN of the server. We are currently working with Apple to determine why the short name no longer works. I posted full details on our KB site:

(This does not appear to be the same problem regarding Lion clients and AFP authentication.)

If you've seen this problem

A reader in our forum has a problem with Windows clients and Mac OS X Server on an Active Directory network. Here is a portion of the post:

...if a user copies a file to this new OS X server the permissions only show for that user so other users can't amend and sometimes can't access the files. I read using SMB only on the Macs might solve but hasn't. I read that Lion Server would be the answer so tried that but it's a nightmare to get connected to Active Directory but it was doing the same. I setup in the Server to Propagate the Permissions but as soon as any Windows user adds a file to the OS X Server the permissions revert to that user.

If you've seen this problem or have a suggestion, please post a reply in our forum.

Chris Blackstone's Macs running Lion have problems with Active Directory. His Macs all are running the same image of Lion and the same Ethernet controller. The only difference was firmware. He postulates that perhaps a firmware update would provide a fix:

My company has been having problems with certain Lion machines connecting successfully to our Active Directory domain. The challenge for us was some machines would work, some wouldn't. The ones that did work were newer iMacs and MacBook Pros, the ones that didn't were older iMacs, all running the exact same system image. When I started investigating what could be causing the problems I noticed that......Read entire story here

Stephen Ouellette followed up on his previous report about slow Outlook 2011 loading of contacts from Exchange Server. He created a new user on the Mac, and all is well:

Yesterday I noticed that on my wife's user account, Outlook 2011 ran superbly. I set up a new user account, tied it to my MS Exchange account and-it ran perfectly. Outlook opened within seconds and loaded 2,500 contacts instantly. I have been moving my other files to the new user account slowly, and think when setting up the original user account I may have prematurely stopped file copying from my PC......Read entire story here

Dominic Breen has a problem with his Macs and WINS restristation on a Windows network:

We configured WINS Server role on our Windows 2008R2 server (non-Active Directory). Also DHCP. We see Mac DHCP leases on DHCP Server, but do not see WINS registrations for Macs, even though WINS entry is in leases. Windows clients register OK. On the Mac clients, in System Preferences>Network>Advanced>WINS, the address of WINS server is there.

Are we heading for browser wars or some other issue? Any thoughts on how we can see registrations?

If you've seen this problem

Topher Kessler of CNET describes how to fix a problem where SMB file sharing can't be disabled. He describes how to use Directory Utility to fix it:

In addition to offering file sharing using the Mac-native Apple Filing Protocol (AFP), Apple also includes an option for the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol so you can share files with Windows machines.

Unlike the AFP option that is enabled for the whole system, the SMB service is enabled or disabled for individual users in the Sharing preferences pane. Unfortunately, in some instances after upgrading from OS X 10.6 to OS X 10.7 Lion, some people who have had the SMB service enabled are finding they cannot disable it for their accounts. When they enter their passwords at the prompt, instead of turning off SMB the system claims the incorrect password was given, and keeps SMB enabled......Read entire story at CNET

If you've seen this problem

Harm Dijkman found that on his Mac running Boot Camp, Windows 7's Eco mode in the Energy saving settings caused an audio "pop" sound:

I bought a second 24-inch Cinema Display, which I connected to my Mac. I also made a clean install of Windows 7 in Boot Camp, and discovered a annoying error, which I didn't have before. Whenever I loaded Windows 7, there was a single 'pop' sound that came from the Cinema Display's speakers every time Windows loaded up......Read entire story here

Giles Tanner fixed his problem installing Boot Camp drivers in Windows (on an older Mac) by following a previously reported tip:

I had trouble installing Boot Camp drivers on an iMac4,1 (2006) with Windows XP SP3. I removed the LogMeIn display adaptor and it worked like a charm!

We've not had this problem reported with Boot Camp 4, the current version that ships with Mac OS X 10.7 Lion.

Amazon broke it's long-held policy of secrecy and announced that it is selling over a million Kindle devices a week, for the past three weeks. This is the first time Amazon has released sales information about the devices. Amazon offers several models that range from simple book readers to near-tablet computers. The 1-million figure is the combined total of all models, which don't require a computer and which obtain content from Amazon over Wi Fi.

The most tablet-like is the Kindle Fire ($199) a full-color, 7-inch device that can display movies and TV shows, run games and apps, play MP3 music, and display color magazines and books. And yes, you can play Angry Birds on it. The Kindle Touch ($99) is a gray scale device for reading books and playing MP3 music, with a touch screen to navigate. The entry-level Kindle ($79), a basic book reader, does not have a touch screen, but uses buttons to navigate through books. The 6-inch device weighs 6 ounces.

Amazon has never disclosed how many of its Kindle devices it has sold all together. Last week's press release said that it had "sold millions of units" of the Kindle Fire in the 11 weeks since the company released it.

Stephen Ouellette has two Macs, but the Mac with the faster processor, faster network, and more RAM loads Outlook 2011 contacts slower than the other Mac:

I have the same problem on my new Quad Core iMac (with 12 GB RAM), but not on my duo-core MacBook Pro (with 4gb RAM). Every time I open contacts, it shows a blank panel and slowly loads my 2000 contacts. The iMac is on Ethernet; the MacBook is on Wi Fi. Not sure why iMac is slower when every factor in iMac's favor.

Several readers have previously reported slow Outlook 2011 contacts speeds. If you've seen this issue

Apple recently posted a tech note containing a workaround to a problem with Lion clients trying to bind to domain. Specifically, Lion can't bind to an Open Directory domain host on Snow Leopard Server (Mac OS X 10.6 Server) that is bound to Active Directory in the magic triangle configuration. Apple describes the problem......Read entire story here

Two readers responded to "Lion 10.7.2 doesn't give option to logon to AD domain" by describing how Mac OS X Lion does it differently than before. Jack Stoller offered this:

I had this problem, and discovered quite by accident that in Lion, under Users and Groups (formerly Accounts) > Login Items, there is now a check box: Allow network users to log in at login window. There is an Options button associated with this that lets you limit which network users can log in......Read entire story here

Brent Hendricks send in a workaround in response to readers who've reported "Network accounts are unavailable" errors (here and here) with Lion and Active Directory. He notes that if you Windows installed with Boot Camp, the fix gets undone:

If you are having an issue with the "Network accounts are unavailable" message at the login screen, verify the DNS settings are correct, try restarting. The message appears to go away on subsequent reboots. This works until booting into Boot Camp......Read entire story here

Several readers responded to "Reader says Lion slowed Parallels 6, and some help," but reporting that Parallels Desktop slowed, to varying degrees, after updating to Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. Will Mowat London reported:

I have Parallels 6 (with Windows 7) under Lion. I find there's now a delay, sometimes of 2 seconds, when switching between apps in Parallels......Read entire story here

Kleinheincz Gabor in Belgrad reports having a problem saving files with Word 2007 for Windows on his Mac using CodeWeavers CrossOver. The problem is one that we've previously reported with Leopard and with Snow Leopard:

I read your post here, and I have the same issue again, with Mac OS X 10.7.2, working with Office 2007 with CrossOver, when saving on a 128 GB SDXC card formatted exfat (by the factory). I try to save as under another name a docx file, and I get a thousand of zero-byte fsa...tmp files.

If you've seen this problem

Related: CrossOver Tips and Reports

Hussain shared us several fixes for problems with Mac OS X 10.6 printing to printers shared with Windows, including a tip we previously published:

I had the problem of not being able to print to a Windows printer from a MacBook Pro OS X 10.6.8. I have an Epson Stylus NX 125 printer set up as a shared printer on Win XP Pro SP3. These sites helped in getting it to work:

• Your MacWindows page here
• The Bentley PC blog
• Apple Discussion forums

Also did notice that when I went to System Preferences -> Printer & Fax......Read entire story here

Gerardo Michelli in Argentina reports a problem with Lion Server and Lion clients. The Managed Preferences settings (MCX) for Safari 5 clients don't stick, though making changes on the local machine do work:

We have a Magic Triangle with Lion Server OD and AD. We have an issue with the MCX Preferences proxy settings, which apply to Clients with Safari on Snow Leopard but not apply to Clients with Safari on Lion......Read entire story here

Centrify has released Centrify Express 2012, a new build of the free version of the company's solution for integrating Macs and Linux/Unix with Active Directory. The new version adds enhancements to the components, including the following:

• DirectManage Express 2012 is Centrify's central management administration tool that automates the discovery of systems and assesses their readiness to join Active Directory. The new version adds the ability to update and upgrade to the latest release of Centrify Express or full Centrify Suite. ......Read entire story here

Brian Wright responded to the report "Reader says Lion 10.7.2 doesn't give option to logon to AD domain:"

I am a systems administrator trying to incorporate our first Mac into an AD environment. I have the exact same issue as Premjith. The Mac is successfully added to the AD domain and I can verify that a computer account exists. However, I am not prompted for the AD username and password. I am only given the option for the local account that I first created or a guest account.

If you've seen this problem

Justin Kwasnik reported authentication problems with Lion clients on a multi-domain Active Directory network:

I have noticed a lot of issues containing auth issues when you have more then one domain in the forest. After fixing the search paths, it does help. Although if you're on a Windows domain that is using a .local it appears to have more timing out issues.

We have previously posted a workaround (TIP: Another workaround for Lion "unable to connect to server" error) that may address Kwasnik's issue.

If you've seen these kinds of problems

CodeWeavers released CrossOver 10.2.0 (US $40), an update to the software that enables Mac OS X to run Windows applications without the use of the Windows OS. The update is available both versions of the software, CrossOver (optimizing for running business applications) and CrossOver Games (optimized for running Windows games in Mac OS X). CrossOver 10.2.0 fixes a problem with running WinBiz and improves running Accuterm. CrossOver Games 10.2.0 includes the following improvements......Read entire story here

Steven Nagle had a problem with the previous version of Parallels Desktop, v6, and Lion. (Version 7 is the current release, optimized for Lion.) Parallels provided some help, which:

On my computer as soon as I installed Lion, my Parallels Desktop 6 slowed down the whole computer, drastically. I have Windows 7. I have 4 GB of Mac memory and right now I have 1536 MB for the virtual machine using two processors. I also have Performance set to "Faster Mac" (no Hypervisor and no Tune Windows for Speed) and Power set to "Better performance......Read entire story here

Arnaud is having a problem with Windows 7 Direct3D graphics in VirtualBox on a Mac:

I run VirtualBox to have Direct3D but I can't have virtual guest addition when I'm in safe mode. Why is that? My VirtualBox version is 4.1.3 my computer is MacBook Pro. I followed the directions at this web site.

If you've seen this problem or have a suggestion

Ben Williams commented on the report "Reader sees slow Outlook 2011 contacts:"

Just letting you know we have the same issue on Outlook 2011 for Mac. Switching to search our shared contacts, or typing in an address into a new email causes Outlook to fall unresponsive for about 15 seconds. Enraging, and getting worse.

If you've seen this problem

VMWare has issued the VMware Fusion 4.1.1 update to its virtualization software for Mac OS X, removing the ability to run the non-server versions of Leopard and Snow Leopard in a virtual machine. VMware also blocked the download of the previous version, 4.1, from its download page--clicking the Download button brings up an error message, Invalid Download Group.......Read entire story here

Apple posted an article about a problem with Windows and Boot Camp 4 on the 13-inch, early 2011 MacBook Pro. Ejecting a USB hard drive from the Safe Removal menu in Windows can cause the Trackpad to stop working. Apple says that is that the trackpad is also "ejected" from Windows. The problem occurs when a USB hard drive is plugged into USB port closest to the trackpad. To resolve the problem, Apple suggests using USB port closest to the MagSafe power connector. Boot Camp 4 is the version that ships with Mac OS X 10.7 Lion.

If you've seen this problem on this or another MacBook Pro model

Related: Boot Camp 4 Tips and Reports

A reader in our forums posted a fix for a problem with Mac clients bound to a schema-extended Windows-based Active Directory. While Snow Leopard clients can be managed using computer lists, Macs with Lion ignore these settings. The fix is this:

We have edited the Active Directory template, specifically removing the "Search Base" key and immediately our 10.7 machines are able to see/process computer lists without any issues.

Problem is each revision update restores the template. Thus, I had to create a daemon that checks for the existence of this key and if present, runs a script to fix it.

You can read the entire thread here. If you've tried this fix, please post a reply in the forum or .

Related: Lion and Active Directory Tips and Reports

Melker Humala reports that removing non-English characters from an SMB share path fixes a problem with Mac OS X 10.6 clients:

Snow Leopard SMB share reverts to root level randomly when localized characters (such as Swedish) are used in the path. I came across this as I found a thread discussing this the problem was on a French magazine/paper and they used some non-standard characters as well.

If you've seen this issue

Related: Snow Leopard File Sharing Tips and Reports

VMware has turned about face on the issue of running Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6 in a virtual machine on a Mac, an ability made possible in Fusion 4.1, released last week. Yesterday, the company issued a statement saying that it will issue an update to VMware Fusion to prevent it from running non-server versions of discontinued versions of Mac OS X.

Previous versions of the virtualization package, as well as competing product Parallels Desktop, check the operating system you are installing in a virtual machine. Previous to version 4.1, VMware Fusion would stop the installation process if it detected Mac OS X 10.5 or 10.6......Read entire story here

Lindsay Robertson in New Zealand sent us the solution to a problem she first reported this summer, a problem other users later confirmed having. The problem is that somehow, parental controls get applied to Macs in an Active Directory environment. Robertson found the problem in Mac OS X Server with managed preferences (MCX), which are configured with the Workgroup Manager application for Mac OS X Server:

I dunno if anyone else has run into this issue, but I've (finally) found a fix. Upgrading to Lion didn't fix it. I figured the problem must be in the MCX settings somehow.......Read entire story here

Late last week VMware released VMware Fusion 4.1, an update to its virtualization package for Mac OS X that aims to play catch up to Parallels Desktop 7 in some respects and surpass it in another. The free update brings performance increases and better Lion host compatibility, as well as the ability to run non-server versions of Mac OS X 10.5 and 10.6 in virtual machines-something Parallels can't do.

Graphics performance is one area where VMware Fusion has lagged behind Parallels Desktop. MacTech showed this a few weeks ago when it tested VMware Fusion 4.0 against Parallels Desktop 7.......Read entire story here

Catarina Marques verified a tip for fixing problems with wireless network connections in Windows 7 running in Boot Camp:

Hi, tried your tip ("Another fix for Win 7 wireless net problem in Boot Camp", January 14, 2011) and it worked. Thanks.

If this works for you (Also let us know what version of Mac OS X is installed.)

Last month, Microsoft released Lync for Mac 2011 14.0.1, an update to the software client for instant messaging, voice, conferencing and presence. The update fixes a problem connecting to Microsoft's Office 365, online office software hosted in the cloud. It also fixes a bug that caused Lync to unexpectedly quit.

The Lync Mac client, which works with Lync Server 2010 and Lync Online, requires some other software to be installed on the Mac in order to access Office 365. This is either Microsoft Office for Mac 2008 12.2.9 or later, or Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 Service Pack 1 or later, or Entourage 2008 for Mac, Web Services Edition.

Microsoft offers Lync for Mac 2011 as part of its Office for Mac 2011 volume licensing program. Lync for Mac 2011 is also available as separate product. The 14.0.1 update is available from the Check for Updates item in the Help menu of the Lync for Mac 2011 client application.

Thomas Brown followed up his report from Friday about Lion and Active Directory to say that his fix turned out to be a half-fix, and offered some further help:

[The fix] did solve the problem with the green dot/red dot, but after further testing, it went to a green dot/yellow dot problem instead. We could logon with mobile accounts 50 percent of the time in less than a minute but the other 50 percent of the time it took much longer (always showed the yellow dot when this happened).

We eventually had to try something else instead by removing the '.../ALL Domains' entry in the search path and putting in our specific domain; this solution we found on another forum, and then the IP address did not matter any more under the preferred entry.

If you've seen this issue

Njuguna Waitara confirmed a previous problem report with Lion and SMB scanners. He writes:

I am responding to the post "Lion problem with SMB network scanning" about Port 139 being closed." The only difference is that my Multi Function Printer is a Kyocera.

If you've seen this problem

Thomas Brown in Australia shared a workaround to a the problem where Lion can initially bind to Active Directory, but cannot login after having logged out:

We thought you might like to know that we are having the same problem as below, with 10.7.2 we get the green dot but as soon as we logout we get the red or amber circle. Our setup is a magic triangle with domain server as Windows 2008 r2, schema is only Windows 2003. I don't know what work arounds he tried so he might have done this one.

We "fixed" this problem by putting in an IP address of the closet domain controller in 'Prefer this domain server' instead of a hostname which works fine for 10.5 and 10.6 clients.

If you've tried this workaround

Lawrence Fung had luck with the procedure described in "TIP: Fix Lion 10.7.2 and .local AD domain by disabling DNS multicast":

The TIP that Louie Campagna provided works for our school. We have the so-called Magic Triangle with the .local domain. We used to have 10.6.7 working with the mdns_timeout value increased from 2 to 5 seconds as Apple suggested. After upgraded to 10.6.8, we started having problem logging in. It took more than 3 minutes to log into the computer. When I was working on the computer, anything required password such as network folder access or software update took about 2 minutes to get through. So now after trying Louie's tips, all these are gone and the login takes less than 20 seconds.

If you've tried this

Nick Vasilopoulos reported back that his success with the suggestion he shared for fixing Lion 10.7.2 Active Directory problems was short-lived:

Ian Willcock reports that a suggestion from this summer did not fix his problem with incoming mail messages not being visible in Outlook 2011 for Mac:

I'm having the same problem mentioned in the forums (OS X 10.6, Mac Outlook 14.1.3) - but it is not fixed by selecting the unread filter. The only way I've found is by clearing the cache. Or, by reinstalling Entourage, which is more reliable!

If you've seen this problem

Louie Campagna found a way to fix Lion 10.7.2 problems with .local Active Directory domains by tweaking an Apple solution for Snow Leopard. It involves turning of disable multicast advertisements from mDNSResponder. (Last year, we posted another, different Snow Leopard solution involving multicast. Note also, that we've previously reported a workaround involving multicast from Centrify for slow Lion SMB access in Active Directory in .local domains.) Here's what Campagna did to solve the problem......Read entire story here

Kyle Torkelson commented on Friday's report of Apple's suggestion to use IPv6 DNS records on the Windows server to fix Lion Active Directory problems in .local domains:

Even with Apple pointing everyone to add the IPv6 info to their DNS/AD, it shouldn't be a server-side fix. Mac OS X 10.6 didn't do this. Everyone needs to push back at Apple as this should be a client fix, not a server issue.

If you've tried this approach

Nick Vasilopoulos sent us a fix for problems with mobile Active Directory accounts for Lion clients. He had tried a number of fixes we've reported, including last week's Apple IPv6 fix, to no avail. Finally, what worked was "ditching WINS" and binding in a particular manner:

Thanks for the great site. I've been battling this issue for quite some time now, sometimes it works, and sometimes it does not. But reading one of your users posts (it didn't work) led me onto a solution that worked for me......Read entire story here

Mehdi Mafi updated his Friday report about Mac OS X 10.6 problems binding to Active Directory:

You may want to add this. If the Mac keeps unbinding from AD (people can't log in to a Mac), here is how to fix it:

1. Unbind it from Domain
2. Launch Keychain Access
3. Search for com.apple.kerberos.kdc and delete all 3 items......Read entire story here

Ben Cooper followed up his previous report, "Reader says magic triangle AD connection lost after rebooting Lion Server," with some advice from Apple, which suggests adding IPv6 records to the DNS server:

After calling Apple's support, they referred me to this in regard to Active Directory binding: Login and directory binding delays on systems joined to an Active Directory domain ending in ".local".

I have not tried Apple's recommendation yet. I am a little hesitant to dive into IPv6 at this point......Read entire story here

Guillaume Gete tried a tip we posted to try to get Lion to bind to Active Directory, but failed. Then he made a change that solved the issue:

I struggled these days to bind Macs with Lion client 10.7.2 to a Windows Server 2003 Active Directory. Authentication was almost impossible, networking was slow as hell, and it was impossible to login using an AD account, even when using local home directory. I tried to apply the solution from Centrify you published here. However, it was impossible to bind to the Active Directory domain (domain controller could not be found). Then I asked the Windows admin......Read entire story here

Mehdi Mafi forwarded a fix he found for problems with Leopard and Snow Leopard binding to Active Directory:

This was taken from Dane Riley's imaging building for DeployStudio.

With Mac OS X Leopard every Mac is now running a KDC (Kerberos Distribution Center). Basically each imaged machine is using the same security certificate and hash. Deploying a single image will deploy the same KDC to every system. This [Apple] article covers how to reset the local KDC so that each system is unique. Basically, do the following......Read entire story here

Kerio has released Kerio Connect 7.3, an update to the cross-platform groupware server that provides email, contacts, and calendaring for Mac OS X , Windows, Linux/Unix, and iOS and Android clients. The new version adds support for iOS 5, adds new configuration tools and profiles for Mac OS X and iOS, and includes administration enhancements.

When setting up using Exchange ActiveSync, the new iOS 5 support enables iOS 5 users to add, delete and rename calendars, read and send S/MIME signed or encrypted emails, and to use the Reminders app to synchronize tasks with the server. Configuration for Mac OS X clients is also easier......Read entire story here

Parallels Desktop 7 generally runs faster than VMware Fusion 4, particularly in graphics, according to a report by MacTech Magazine. The report also showed that Parallels Desktop 7 used less battery power than VMware Fusion 4 on MacBooks. It wasn't a runaway win for Parallels, however, as VMware Fusion 4 ran faster than Parallels Desktop 7 in a small number of the tests, and tied Parallels in some other others. MacTech did not, however, compare features or ease-of-use of the two products.MacTech ran a variety benchmark and real-world application tests of the two virtualization programs on five different Mac models with varying amounts of RAM. The Macs used Mac OS X 10.7.1 as the host OS and Windows 7 as the guest OS running in a virtual machine. The benchmark tests all ran in the Windows 7 virtual machine......Read entire story here

Before updating her organization's Macs to Lion Amy Theisen had no problem with Macs connecting to Active Directory. With Mac OS X 10.7.0, minor problems began to appear. But after updating to Lion 10.7.2, Active Directory connectivity is gone:

Actually, we were fairly successful at integrating our Mac's until 10.7.2. Up until 10.7 things were fine. Machine's joined AD easily. Then with 10.7 we immediately started seeing issues with intermittent network unavailability at the login screen (network accounts unavailable -- red dot). It would sometimes take a few tries to get the machine (that was already joined to the domain) to create the Mobile account. With fresh installs of 10.7.2 we have been unable to get the machine to log in......Read entire story here

Nathan Friedl combined two previously reported tips to fix slow SMB file share browsing in Snow Leopard.

I just wanted to let you know that we've just had success resolving our issues with some of our 10.6 Macs and slow samba speeds. By combining the nsmb.conf and sysctl.conf tweaks, we have dramatically improved browsing speeds on the Macs that were experiencing these problems.

If you've tried this approach

Related stories about slow Snow Leopard SMB filesharing: How nsmb.conf and other tips affects slow SMB file sharing and TIP: Fixing slow SMB file sharing by turning off NetBIOS queries.

Ben Cooper is having problems using Mac OS X to integrate Macs into Active Directory using Lion Server in Apple's "Magic Triangle" configuration, in which the Mac server is bound to both Active Directory and to Mac clients using Open Directory. He reports:

I have run into some real issues with implementing the Magic Triangle. Binding to Active Directory and using it is not a problem, setting up Open Directory on its own is not a problem. However, when I get it configured it works until I reboot the Mac server, when, voila, the Mac server only intermittently can recognize AD. For the majority of the time it won't recognize AD. I have argued (in a nice manner) with Apple's Enterprise support that I believe there is a bug with their OS software. I have the latest updates, I have made sure that the clocks are in-sync with the Mac server and AD, DNS resolves correctly (Apple's support even confirmed this), etc. I have also seen on our site that other users are having the same problem.

If you've seen this problem

Macworld Expo, the ultimate trade show and conference for all things Mac since 1985, has changed its name and focus. Macworld | iWorld 2012 will expand its focus to cover all Apple products. IDG World Expo, the company the puts on the event, is calling Macworld | iWorld 2012 "the ultimate iFan event."

The company said the event will cater to home users, "artistic hobbiest," and professionals, providing technical training sessions and an exhibit hall with Mac OS X, iOS, and iCloud software and hardware developers and vendors. IDG also plans to include performances of artists using Apple technology.......Read entire story here

David Rothschild offered some advice to prevent the problem of Outlook 2011 dropping connections to Exchange Server:

My clients frequently complain that Outlook 2011 for Mac "stalls," or drops the connection to their Exchange server in the middle of syncing. Often the dreaded color pinwheel appears, indicating a hung processor, a corrupt Outlook database, a spotty or slow network connection, or any number of pain points and potentially crash-inducing conditions......Read entire story here

Brian Bielanski is having the previously reported problems with Lion accessing printers and scanners over a network, which connected to a Windows XP PC. However, he also can't get Windows 7 to see the device. He reports:

I'm having the same problem with my networked HP 4215 and my new MacBook Pro with Lion. The 4215 works when I hard wire the 4215 to the Mac, but doesn't work when it's networked via Wi-Fi to a Windows XP computer. I also can't get a Windows 7 computer to Wi-Fi network to the 4215 through the MPB.

If you've seen this problem

David Scott has given up trying to fix a Lion's SMB file sharing with problems with Windows trying to access Lion. Instead, he uses FTP. Problem is, FTP is turned off and "invisible" in Lion. But, you can turn it on using Unix commands in Terminal. Here is Scott's report:

SMB seems to work from Windows XP to a folder on the Mac. But it seems some files refuse to be opened or copied -- like Word documents and Publisher files, for example. Even renaming the file doesn't help. Our workaround is to use FTP......Read entire story here

Parallels played catch-up with VMware with the release of Parallels Desktop 7 Build 7.0.15050, an update to the virtualization software for Mac OS X. The free update adds support for Windows 8 Developer Preview and enables installation of Lion as a guest OS without using the App Store. VMware Fusion 4 already has both of these features. The Parallels update also adds support for Ubuntu 11.10 Linux and includes several stability and performance enhancements. The Build 7.0.15050 update is available from within Parallels Desktop 7 in the Parallels Desktop menu......Read entire story here

John Ames responded to previous reports of Windows 7 crashing on a Mac running Boot Camp after waking from sleep. However, while other readers reported blue screens, his was black. It turns out that Windows had not crashed, but the screen brightness had been turned off:

I put Win 7 Ultimate to sleep a few days ago and it refused to wake the next morning. A Win restart results in a hard crash immediately after password login. I'm up to date with Snow Leopard, firmware and Boot Camp on MacBookPro i7, quad 2.2 gig model.

But it was not stuck sleeping as I had thought. In my case the problem was not Boot Camp but a Windows 7 Power control panel setting......Read entire story here

GroupLogic has released mobilEcho 3.0, a major new version of secure, enterprise file management software for iOS devices integrated with Active Directory. The new version adds support for iPhones (iOS 4.2 and later), in addition to iPads. It also adds new end-user features, including the ability to annotate and comment on PDF documents from the device. Users can now access their Active Directory-assigned home directory. Management has been simplified with new device enrollment features and other enhancements.

mobilEcho enables users to browse and access file servers from iPads and iPhones without the use of iTunes or cloud providers. The software consists of an iOS app and server-based software that is administered from a web-based management console. The devices can be authenticated by Active Directory, which can enforce file permissions for the devices......Read entire story here

Unlike some readers, Al Pawlowski can log into an Active Directory account with Mac OS X 10.7.2, but he can no longer log into the Mac's local account without restarting:

I am seeing something like a reverse of what most others are reporting. After the last big Mac OS X update, early last week, I think I am losing the ability to logon with my local account.

What happens is that my Mac will (apparently) try to authenticate my local password via AD first, leading to the invalid password shake. My local account is the same short name as one of my AD accounts.......Read entire story here

Premjith is another reader who found that the Lion 10.7.2 did not fix problems logging into an Active Directory domain:

I have an issue with login using the AD credentials. I use Mac OS X Lion 10.7.2 on a MacBook Pro. Explained below what I have done:

1. System Preferences - >Users & Groups -> Login options -> Network Account server.
2. Join, entered server name, admin user and password.
3. Open Directory Utility -> Active DirectoryIf you've seen this problem .......Read entire story here

Bobby Stewart forwarded a fix from Centrify regarding Lion in Active Directory networks. Specifically, it addresses a problem with Mac OS X 10.7 Lion connecting to server-based, SMB home directories, where it takes the Lion Mac a long time to log in. Not too long ago we reported an Apple fix for slow Active Directory access in .local domains, which provides for a similar solution. (See "TIP: DNS workaround for slow AD binding with Lion and 10.6.8.") The Centrify article describes the cause at this:

The problem exists on Mac OS 10.7, because 10.7 always uses Bonjour first to resolve any .local hostname. If Bonjour fails (timeout), it will then use standard DNS, thus causing the delay.

For Mac, the .local domain is reserved for Bonjour, and the Mac will only lookup these hostname using Bonjour (multicast). On Mac OS 10.7, a hostname that contains only one level under .local (i.e. xxx.local) is resolved using multicast......Read entire story here

Gabor Hollai in Budapest sent us a step-by-step on how he got Lion 10.7.1 and 10.7.2 to work with Active Directory:

In Hungary we also had fought to OS X 10.7 and AD network users. One site is working fine with the network user login from 10.7.1. Another site we needed the 10.7.2 upgrade. See below how we do it both locations.

1. Check the Name of computer in Sharing and in "System Preferences -> Network settings -> Advanced -> WINS" The Computer Name needs to be same.
2. Add manually in "System preferences - Network settings - Advanced - DNS" the Search-Domain even if it's greyed out. Also check the first DNS server is Windows 2008 server.
   Remember: we needed to upgrade the primary DC to Windows 2008 r2, the secondary is still Windows 2000......Read entire story here

Tom Auchter sent us another suggestion for getting around Lion problems with Active Directory:

The 10.7.2 update didn't fix Active Directory integration for us either (although perhaps it is slightly "improved"). The best workaround we have is to create a local account on each machine and have Fast User Switching enabled. When logging in using the AD account fails, we log in using the local account and then switch to the AD account. This seems to work most of the time. We sometimes have issues logging in again after the screen is locked, in which case we switch back to the local user and do the same steps. There are still other issues where connectivity to the domain seems to be lost occasionally, so hopefully the next patch will actually fix things.

If you've tried this approach .

For more suggestions, see Lion and Active Directory Tips and Reports.

We have a couple of more reports from readers who still can't get Active Directory binding to work, even with the Lion 10.7.2 update. Eric Zane reports:

It did not fix our issue either. A Snow Leopard machine with the same user credentials and AD Win 2008 server works, but that same user's credentials on 10.7.2 Lion new computer does not allow logins to complete so shares cannot be added.

Rajiv Lakhani in London has different symptoms:

We are experiencing the same issue, after updating to 10.7.2. from a fresh install of Lion, it will bind, eventually. It will let a user login once, but after a reboot the network accounts are unavailable.

Sometimes it says Sorry cannot login user X at this time. Even when it does work the delay to login is so great (at least 5 minutes) that its pretty much a no go anyway. We are also having binding issues to Lion Server and Snow Leopard Server and Lion Server.

John Klimeck explains the circumstances under which the Mac OS X 10.7.2 Lion update fixed Active Directory problems:

Active Directory is working for us, binding and login (creating user profile) and caching credentials.

• Lion 10.7.2
• Active Directory 2003
• Kerberos, are you being issued a Kerberos ticket (Ticket Viewer)
• Infoblox DHCP, DNS and NTP
• Brand new Foundry / Brocade Gig E Core network
• Have users pre-created the object in ADUC, OU=nameofouwheremacobjectssare, dc=x, dc=x, dc=x

I believe this has something to do with the organization's network architecture.

If you've you've seen something similar .

Kyle Torkelson is another reader seeing Active Directory problems with Lion after updating to version 10.7.2, despite Apple's statements that Active Directory integration was improved in this build:

I can confirm as well for our organization that 10.7.2 did not fix our AD logins. I can bind and I get the green dot telling me the server is available but once we logout, we get either a red "network users not available" or amber "some network accounts are available" on the login screen. I've tried the suggested workaround but none have worked, even tried not rebooting but still no luck.

Either way, we still cannot login using AD users/passwords with a domain running Windows Server 2008 R2 and the schema raised to Windows Server 2008 R2.

If you're using Lion 10.7.2 and Active Directory whether the update helps.

Mediafour has updated MacDrive with MacDrive 9 for Windows, and has released a new product called MacDrive 9 Pro for Windows. The standard edition adds support for writing to Lion Boot Camp partitions from within Windows. The new Pro edition supports Apple RAID from within Windows, as well as adding other new features. Both add performance improvements.

MacDrive enables Windows to read and write to Mac-formatted drives from Windows Explorer, as well as mount unencrypted Mac DMG disk images in Windows. MacDrive includes a Windows utility that can format, partition and repair Mac-formatted storage media. In addition to running on Windows on a PC, MacDrive can run on Mac booted with Windows with Boot Camp.....Read entire story here

Paragon Software has released NTFS for Mac OS X 9.5 (US $20), and update to the software that enables Mac OS X to write to, as well as read, NTFS-formatted (Windows) volumes. NTFS for Mac OS X also enables users to read and write to a Windows Boot Camp partition while booted from Mac OS X.

NTFS for Mac OS X 9.5 adds improved support for the latest build of Mac OS X Lion. The new version also support for external storage devices using the Thunderbolt interface found in more recent Mac models. Version 9.5 also adds native support for extended attributes.

If you've tried NTFS for Mac OS X 9.5 what you think of it.

A reader posted a problem in our forums about network-based home folders in Active Directory not showing up correctly in Mac OS X:

My problem is this, I have one particular Mac that regardless of which user logs in, that user gets a "?" in the Dock were their home folder should be. If the same user logs in on a different Mac, they get their network home folder to show up in the Dock correctly.

All the Macs in our environment are bound to both AD and OD and are running OS X 10.6.7. All Mac users are set to use mobile profiles and they have their network home folders' paths specified......Read entire post here

An Apple tech support article describes a workaround for slow Mac binding to Active Directory. The article, called "Login and directory binding delays on systems joined to an Active Directory domain ending in .local," describes a problem with Mac OS X 10.7.x Lion and with Mac OS X 10.6.8 (the last Snow Leopard build). The workaround is to adding some IPv6 records to the domain name service (DNS) server:

This behavior can be mitigated by creating forward (AAAA) and reverse (PTR) IPv6 records on each DNS nameserver for all Active Directory domain controllers. An IPv6 reverse zone will need to be created to hold the PTR records......Read entire story here

Although the recent Mac OS X 10.7.2 update was supposed to fix Active Directory issues, Glen Moon reports otherwise:

The Lion 10.7.2 update did not fix a "network unavailable" Active Directory issue for our team.

(Previously, a reader shared a workaround for a Lion Active Directory problem that showed that network login is unavailable.)

Please whether or not the 10.7.2 update fix your Active Directory problems.

Rich Rose has a problem with Mac OS X 10.6 and virtual private network connections that he is not seeing with Lion:

Just recently we started getting reports of users having issues connecting via OS X IPSec to our VPN (sadly, a Cisco 3000 series concentrator). After a variety of testing it seems that 10.7.2 users can connect via any Wi-Fi network, including a Mi-Fi.....Read entire story here

A reader reports that upgrading to Lion and to Parallels Desktop 7 has slowed down Windows 7 in a virtual machine:

I was running Windows 7 Ultimate in Parallels 6 and Snow Leopard (MacBook Pro i7, 8GB RAM), and it was great. Then I upgraded the Mac to Lion and Parallels to version 7, and Windows is running slower. Also, the network connection disappears after waking from sleep, and I have to reboot the Windows virtual machine.

If you've seen this problem .

Tim Wagner shared a workaround to the problem of Lion Server not being visible to Windows clients. Wagner's setup is with Active Directory:

I've been running into this problem from my Windows computers (Active Directory and other) in my Lion Magic Triangle setup. I believe that the Lion server is trying to serve the Windows clients in the Bonjour realm or something; if I add a new zone in DNS for (LionServerName).local and point it to the correct Lion server IP, Windows clients are able to browse the shares whereas before the FQDN [fully qualified domain name] did not work (and still does not work). However, I was always able to browse shares via the IP of the server (and even though the FQDN resolved to the correct IP of the Lion server, I still had to use the IP).

This isn't really a solution, but it is a workaround. The Apple techs I talked to said "Wait for 10.7.2.

We would point out that this issue was not on Apple's list of fixes for Mac OS X Server 10.7.2. If you've tried Wagner's workaround .

David Ripley sent a way to get around the problem of groups created in Outlook 2011 not appearing in the Contacts list:

A solution for Groups in Outlook 2011 until they have a real fix. I labeled each of my groups created with the first word "Group" Then they are all in one place, searchable. Also to see them easily I can deselect all boxes in "My Contacts" except the "On My Computer" box. This gives a very short list that contains all my groups easy to find together.

If you've tried this .

With the just-launched iCloud, Apple isn't rewarding long-time Mac users with backwards compatibility. You'll need the latest Mac OS X 10.7.2, released just last Wednesday in order to automatically share content with your other devices. Mac users also need the latest versions iPhoto'11 (version 9.2) or Aperture 3.2, also just release last week. Perhaps you believe that Apple software released before last Wednesday is quaint. Could be, but Windows users accessing iCloud can run anything back to the Windows Vista - which was released two years ago this week. iCloud supports Outlook 2007, released in January 2007.

So what gives? Wouldn't it be easier for Apple to at least support Snow Leopard and iCal 4 than it is for it to support Vista and 4-year-old Outlook.....Read entire story here

Apple's iOS 5, released last Wednesday, is an impressive new rev of the OS for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, but it's off to a rocky start technically. Reports in discussion forums around the web are full of reports with problems updating devices to iOS 5.

Nathan Olivarez-Giles of the LA Times summed it up in the headline, "Apple's iOS 5 is the best iOS so far, once you get it installed." He said:

In the video below, my colleague Michelle Maltais and I talk about what a buggy and cumbersome pain it was to install iOS 5 and even get iCloud up an running this week.

Not exactly the type of ringing endorsement that makes you want to run out and update your department's stock of iPhones.

CNET's Lance Whitney had a confidence-building headline iOS 5 update bricked my iPod Touch......Read entire story here

JAMF Software has released Casper Suite 8.3, which adds support for Apple's recent updates. JAMF's new version of the client management suite adds configuration profiles for Lion clients as well as support for iOS 5 and iPhone 4S as managed devices. There are also other new features for managing supported Mac OS X clients. The Casper Suite enables administrator to manage iOS 4, iOS 5, and Mac clients from a single console. Casper Suite 8.3 can now set computer-level and user-level Configuration Profiles for OS X Lion computers......Read entire story here

Yesterday, in what may be the company's largest update ever, Apple released coordinated, major updates for almost all of its operating system and application software. Apple also launched its iCloud service, for use with Mac OS X, Windows, and iOS devices. However, the updates are not just for iCloud compatibility, but add major features and important bug fixes as well as security updates.

The magnitude of the update is reflected in the fact that Apple yesterday also posted over 100 new and updated technical articles about Lion, Lion Server, iOS, iPhone, iPad, iCloud, and Apple applications. More were being posted on Thursday.

Yesterday's updates from Apple include the following, all of which are free......Read entire story here

Apple is promoting iCloud as the big news of yesterday's Mac OS X 10.7.2 release, but the update contains dozens of bug fixes for major problems-including a fix to the Active Directory problems that have plagued Lion since it's release. Lion 10.7.2 was part of a barrage of updates Apple released yesterday across its entire product line. Apple indicated that Active Directory integration is simply "improved," but MacWindows readers, as well as reports around the Internet, claim that the problems with binding, login, and other problems are fixed in Lion 10.7.2. ( if this update fixes your Lion AD or other problems.)......Read entire story here

Apple's release of Lion Server 10.7.2 contains dozens of important bug fixes, including issues with Open Directory and SMB file service. Some of the fixes are not mentioned in the Apple's technical article about the update, but are mentioned in other articles at Apple's support pages. There are also some new features for installing and some new features in the Server app. (It's not known yet whether the update address the problems reported on our Lion Server Tips and Reports page, but we hope you will .)

The update fixes an authentication problem with SMB file service when the server is bound to Active Directory......Read entire story here

Jesse Patterson wrote of yesterday's Mac OS X 10.7.2 update:

The fix for Lion AD issues is 10.7.2. Nothing else -- not adding search paths for directories etc.

Jason Bush reports that the Lion 10.7.2 update fixed a Lion bug with Active Directory and JAMF Casper:

10.7.1 didn't do the trick for us, but the 10.7.2 does with no adjustment to existing JAMF bind settings.

If you've seen this .

San Franciscan's paid tribute to their native son, Steve Jobs, at the iconic Apple store at Stockton and Market Streets near Union Square. Admirers covered the front windows with notes on stickies, and left candles, flowers, and apples. These photos were taken Friday night, the same day as the Jobs family's private services for the Apple cofounder. They were taken, appropriately (though primatively), with an iPod Touch 4G (without a flash)......Click here for photos

Manesh Sonah told us of a blog post he did on how to copy and paste between a Mac OS X 10.7 Lion to and remote Windows using Citrix. He uses the Citrix Online plug-in.

If you've tried this

Now for some shameless self promotion. Wiley Publishing has released my latest book, Mac OS X Lion Server for Dummies. The book describes everything from the installation of the software (which is quite different than earlier versions of Mac OS X Server), to setting up services such as web, email, and file sharing for Mac and Windows clients. Also included are instructions on setting up Lion Server to integrate Mac clients into Active Directory. Lion Sever Dummies describes how to remotely configure and control computers and iPad and iPhone devices using Managed Preferences and Lion's new Profile Manager. Network security is also described.

The official site at Wiley Publising for more info and some excerpts.

With Lion, Apple dropped the price of Mac OS X Server from $500 to $80, making it affordable to a wider user base. Lion Server for Dummies includes instructions for people who have never used a server before, as well as information for experienced IT managers who are not familiar with Apple's server software.

Mac OS X Lion Server For Dummies is available at Amazon for a discount.

Here are two different takes on the 1997 The Crazy Ones ads that Apple ran as part of the Think Different campaign. The first is a never-released version in which Steve Jobs does the narration. The second is a tribute to Jobs using the original Richard Dryfus soundtrack, created by former Apple creative director Ken Segall. Click here to view the clips.

Parallels released Parallels Desktop 7 build 7.0.14924, an update that adds the ability to run Windows 8 Developer Preview in a virtual machine in Mac OS X. The update also improves performance, optimizes CPU utilization when Parallels Desktop is idle, and improves compatibility with Quicken 2011and Autodesk 3DS Max 2012 3D. The new build is available from within Desktop 7 by selecting Check for Updates in the Parallels Desktop menu.

Parallels Desktop 7 was released early last month with 90 new features, according to the company, including using Lion's interface features to Windows VMs. This ability to run Windows 8, however, came first with VMware Fusion 4, which shipped a few weeks after Desktop 7. (See "Schizophrenic Windows 8 takes a different path than Lion.")

If you've tried Parallels Desktop 7, with Windows 8 or anything else, .

Bob Arene found another AFP server that is not compatible with Lion: an older Windows 2003 Server running Services for Macintosh. Arene said:

Mac OS X 10.7.1 can't connect via AFP to the shares on our Windows 2003 Server. I removed all authentication methods from the disabled list per the Apple procedure but still no luck. I can connect to the Windows shares only via SMB.

Some other readers previously report that the Apple procedure didn't work, but it did work for some readers with Novell's server.

If you've tried Apple's remedy with an older Windows Services for Mac file server .

Chris Cumpian responded to the report "Reader says Outlook Mac update broke server connection":

Same issue, since the latest update, Outlook will randomly drop connection from the server and only way to fix is closing outlook and reopening until it drops again.

If you've seen this problem .

A reader going by "LD D" tried the suggestion described in "TIP: Workaround to Lion bug in mounting DFS shares," but it didn't work:

When I tried the suggestion to open /Volumes/MyDFSMount/MyDFSVolume but I get an error: Authentication Error. That is all it says. But, when I view this from a Windows 7 box it works with out issue. So I do not think it could be a true authentication error. My Mac is configured to be in AD using Open Directory. Also, I checked the console.app for messages and this is what appears: 10/5/11 10:08:18.365 AM NetAuthSysAgent: smb_mount: mount failed to mydomain.com/dfs, syserr = Authentication error.

If you've seen this problem, or have an idea about it .

Rob Calhoun found success with the procedure in "Fixing slow SMB file sharing by turning off NetBIOS queries," but he recommends editing a different nsmb.conf file than the one suggested:

I just tried this hint.

Following the man page, I created and edited ~/Library/Preferences/nsmb.conf rather than /etc/nsmb.conf . This is safer than working in /etc and I'm the only user anyway. It works! But, with no notifications, it seemed like there is a bit of a delay......Read entire story here

Aaron Timmerman send a tip about enabling Windows Outlook 2010 users edit Mac users' calendars:

Please allow me to give an answer to the issue "Windows PC users being unable to edit Outlook Mac calendars." The solution is that in ADSI Edit under the Exchange account for the Mac users' settings there is a setting after drilling down to the nitty gritty. Look at a PC user's entry and then change their entry to the same value. It will be s setting for vintage server type.

If you've tried this approach

Aaron Timmerman reports that opening shared contacts on Outlook for Mac is slow. We have previous reports of slow behavior in Outlook ("Outlook 2011 slows with slower net connections" and "Reader sees slow Outlook for Mac syncing with Exchange"), but it's not known if these are related to Timmerman's problem. He said:

I have an office I just upgraded to Office 2011 and they are running Server 2003 x64 with Exchange 2007 SP1 Rollup 4 as required by Office 2011. They are also fully patched. When we upgraded from Entourage the CEO's shared contacts, and the contacts when he opens them, take about 5 seconds to be usable......Read entire story here

John Protopapas updated his previous report on speed comparisions between Parallels Desktop 7 and VMware Fusion 4. He also described how he uses a single monitor keyboard to run old and new Mac OS's together. He said:

Addendum: One thing that I have noticed is before you do a benchmark whether it be Mac or Windows is to wait until your CPU activity is at a minimum. If there are additional processes going on in the background it will skew the results (this is a"no-brainer")......Read entire story here

iXsystems updated firmware for its FreeNAS network attached storage devices, which are based on the Open Source FreeBSD. FreeNAS Version 8.0.1 updates AFP file sharing protocol so it is compatible with Time Machine under Lion. FreeNAS 8.0.1 also includes new front end user features in its web front end, as well as backend changes and bug fixes.

With Lion, Apple changed the AFP protocol, rendering NAS devices and other some AFP servers incompatible. Since Mac OS X 10.7 was released last summer, several NAS vendors have updated their software to be compatible......Read entire story here

John Protopapas ran a set of synthetic benchmark tests on Parallels Desktop 7 and VMware Fusion 4 running Windows XP SP3. He ran an older copy of SiSoftware's Sandra benchmarking tool in Windows. Parallels Desktop 7as faster in two out of the three tests, while VMware Fusion 4 edged out Parallels 4 in the third test. It is difficult to extrapolate how this translates into actual usage, but it is roughly consistent with real-world tests on previous versions of Parallels and VMware......Read entire story here

Some readers have found that turning on Internet Sharing fixes Snow Leopard problems with slow SMB file sharing. But not Kevin Stauffer, who sent us some numbers:

I did a quick test involving transferring a 700 MB file from a Windows 2008 server to a Snow Leopard Mac and back again. With Internet sharing off, transfer from the server to the Mac took 1:05, and transfer back (Mac to server) took 1:32. After turning on Internet sharing, transfer from was 1:09 (+ 4 seconds) and transfer to was 1:14 (minus 18 seconds). Not a big difference either way, and perhaps could be explained by network traffic (or wind direction).

Kevin Hill has a strange Active Directory problem with Mac OS X 10.6.8 using JAMF Software's Casper. Everything was fine until students in his school could no longer log on to their own Macs (using Active Directory credentials) -- but they can log into other Macs. Hill reports:

Infrastructure Details (All machines started at 10.6.7 and have been updated to 10.6.8)

1. Windows 2008 PDC running AD, DHCP, DNS.
2. Xserve _ 10.6.8 not running Open Directory, strictly passing AD credentials.
3. 150 - 13" Intel MacBooks running 10.6.8
4. 30 - 13" Intel MacBook Pros running 10.6.8
5. Students connect wireless via Cisco AP's....Read entire story here

Orbital Technologies has released a free add-in to Mac OS X that enables Time Machine to back up to Windows Home Server 2011, Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials, or Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials. Orbital Backup Configuration works with Mac OS X 10.6.x Snow Leopard only, and is not compatible with Leopard or Lion......Read entire story here

Renante Albelda sent in a workaround for problems with IMAP email in Outlook 2011 for Mac.

Using IMAP in Outlook 2011 indeed has issues with Mac. Contrary to the previously reported, Outlook 2011 does indeed download mail attachments with more than 10mb. However, at some point in time in the middle of its syncing process, receiving just stops for no reason. Some emails were also dropped. My workaround was to manually stop the syncing from the "Progress" window and then rerun "Send & Receive". Very annoying but somehow it works although I had to click "Send & Receive" a number of times until all my mails were successfully downloaded. I also recommend to turn off "Send multiple commands to server simultaneously" and enter the "[Gmail]" to the "IMAP Root Folder" text field.

If you've tried the workaround

Thursby Software Systems shipped PKard for Mac 1.1 (US$30, free update), and update to the software that enables U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Mac users with Common Access Cards (CACs) to access secure web sites and web-based VPNs. The new version adds support for Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and support for secure mail signing and encryption and decryption in Apple Mail.

Pkard supports all US Government CAC and PIV smart cards via Thursby TokenD drivers. Pkard 1.1 adds support for newer PIV II CAC smart cards (also known as Next Generation CAC, CAC-NG or CACNG), including the Gemalto TOP DL GX4 144K and......Read entire story here

Centrify Corp. has released Centrify Suite 2012, a new release of its software to centrally control, secure and audit Mac, UNIX, and Linux systems and applications using Active Directory. The new version adds additional enterprise-class capabilities to centralize privilege access management, and audit user session activity for increased security and compliance of cloud and on-premise systems. The suite enables secure authentication, single sign-on, privileged access management and user session auditing......Read entire story here

Daniel Murray reports that syncing Mac OS X 10.7's time with an Active Directory server did not solve problems. Neither did any of our other tips:

Tried the time syncing tip. No Joy. I've also gone through all of the suggestions at MacWindows. Using a spanking new MacBook Air. This simply should not be this hard.

Have a problem or workaround for Active Directory problems with Lion?

David Geric reports:

I also have problem with SMB scanning with Mac Lion. Has anyone found a solution?

We haven't found a fix. Have you?

Hot on the heals of the the release of Parallels Desktop 7, VMware has shipped VMware Fusion 4, a major update to the virtualization software for Mac OS X. The new version has 90 new features, including the ability to host virtual machines containing Lion and the new Windows 8 developer preview as guest OS's. VMware Fusion 4 is available for a discounted US $50 until end of year, with an $80 price tag after that.

VMware Fusion 4 can also run on Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, and provides new Lion features to Windows applications when running in Unity mode, which hides the Windows desktop. You can add Windows applications to the Launchpad, work with Windows documents in Mission Control, and use Windows apps in Lion's full-screen mode. Lion's track pad gestures also work with Windows apps......Read entire story here

Microsoft released the first developer preview of Windows 8, which contains the most sweeping changes to user interface design the operating system has ever seen. The beta OS, unveiled at the Microsoft Professional Developers' Conference in Anaheim last week, offers two different user interface modes, one that looks like Windows 7 and another that looks and acts like a mobile device user interface -- even more so than Apple's Lion.

Microsoft demo'd Windows 8 on a Samsung tablet with an Intel Core i5 processor, and said that it will eventually support ARM-powered tablets. The developer preview also runs on the same PC hardware as Windows 7 and Vista. You can also virtualize it......Read entire story here

Brian Davey in Australia says Outlook 2011 for Mac is slower to sync with Exchange than Outlook running in a Parallels Dekstop virtual machine. Although another reader previously reported that Outlook 2011 slows with slower net connections, Davey says the slow sync occurs regardless of connection speed:

At home over ADSL2 it takes forever for Outlook to be usable; presumably because it takes forever to sync with Exchange Server. Even at work with a super fast network it takes a long time. It's faster for me to run parallels, open Windows XP, open Windows Outlook 2007 and read my mail; while I've done this, Outlook 2011 on the Mac is still thinking.

I also hate the fact that there is no favourites bar and categories don't synchronise with the server and so are a waste of time. I'm so unimpressed with Outlook 2011 that I'm either going to stick with Entourage or use Outlook for windows via Parallels.

If you've seen this

Helios has released the Helios UB2 server, a new version of the bundle of modular file, print, and preprint services. Helios UB2 can run on Mac, Windows, and Unix server hosts for serving Mac, Windows, and Unix clients. The new version updated its AFP server module, called EtherShare, for compatibility with Lion clients. Mac users can now quickly search the server with Spotlight without creating a lot of traffic between server and client. Windows and Web and iOS clients can also search, by file name, text content, and meta data, when the server is running the SMB module (PCShare) and WebDAV module (WebShare)......Read entire story here

Peter Duniho sent a suggestion for yesterday's reader problem with Windows product activation after upgrading Parallels Desktop to version 7. Duniho has seen similar problems and has found a way to deal with it:

Is Mr. Carter absolutely positive that his current key isn't valid? I use Parallels 6 with Boot Camp (and have used previous versions as well), and Windows does on a semi-regular basis accuse me of running a "non-genuine" version of Windows. It usually happens after various configuration changes, such as running the same OS installation under Boot Camp versus Parallels versus Fusion, or a hardware change.......Read entire story here

Four more manufacturers of network attached storage (NAS) devices continue to release upgrades that enable Lion users to access them over AFP. The is the latest round of updates responding to Apple's changes to the Apple File Protocol in Lion, which left many NAS devices incompatible with Lion, and in particular, Time Machine backups, which require AFP.

LaCie shipped final versions of its Lion-compatible NAS firmware, NAS OS 2.0, which it first released as beta software. Also new is a new user interface and automated RAID modes......Read entire story here

A reader notes that after upgrading to Lion, CPU utilization was running amok, with fans blasting. It turned out it was the AGAdmin process of the Citrix Receiver application that had a problem with Lion. Citrix Receiver enables Mac users to run Windows applications as a service over a network or the Internet. The reader's report:

I'm fairly new to OSX but and been a Windows engineer for years. High CPU utilization on Lion due to AGAdmin process -- I experienced this myself. I had just updated my late 2010 MacBook Air to 10.7 and noticed it was loud, hot and draining about 2 percent battery a minute......Read entire story here

Andre posted a problem in our Forums in which Mac OS X 10.7 Lion seems to ignore Active Directory computer lists, a problem that older versions don't have:

In my lab I bound some Mac clients to a schema-extended Windows Server 2008 R2 based Active Directory.

The 10.6.8 clients can be managed using computer lists, while the 10.7.1 machines ignore these settings. I had a look at /etc/openldap/schema/apple.schema on both Mac OS X 10.6.x and 10.7.x machines, and the entries for computer lists haven't changed with 10.7.

Settings for computer accounts, though, will be applied on both 10.6 and 10.7.

If you've seen this problem please post a response in our forum.

An anonymous reader shared another fix for the "unable to connect to server" error for Lion in Active Directory:

I had a similar problem with Lion the first time I tried to connect to AD natively. What worked for me was to configure the AD plug-in in DS and UNCHECK the box labeled "Allow authentication from any domain in this forest". Then I specified the FQDN of the AD domain controller by name that I normally authenticate against, then bound the machine. Immediately after that completes successfully, use the DS tool to add the specific AD domain......Read entire story here

A reader shared a fix for the Active Directory problem of Mac mobile accounts on losing administrator rights and reverting to standard user privileges. His fix is similar to one posted in April for Snow Leopard. This reader (who wishes to remain anonymous) sees the problem with Lion:

Managed admins are just users when logging on offline - After joining 10.7 to my 2003 AD, SysPref/Accounts showed my ID as "Admin, Network, Managed". But if I logged on from home (no DC authentication), I lost admin rights. The following command fixed the problem......Read entire story here

Aaron Gilfillan send in another workaround to Lion problems with Active Directory binding:

AD binding in Lion 10.7.0 and 10.7.1 is broken. It's a search order and permissions issue. The only "fix" I found was this:

1. Unbind machine
2. Rename machine
3. Reboot
4. Login as local user
5. In Directory Utility, go to Services......Read entire story here

Mark Carter has a problem with Parallels 7 and Lion, where Windows 7 no longer recognizes the product key as valid:

I installed the Parallels 7 update I purchased on 2 September. Since then, Windows 7 believes it's a pirate copy. I'm not happy about it at all. Parallels 6 ran Windows 7 just fine! I certainly don't want to purchase a new key, but the original key is no longer valid. Windows 7 was installed when I upgraded Parallels in 10.7 Lion.

If you've seen this issue or have a suggestion .

Commentators who have been referring to Lion as Apple's Vista may be engaging in wishful thinking, but not how you might think. According to new August data on worldwide market share, more computer users still run Windows Vista than use every version of Mac OS X combined.

Not that there's good news for Microsoft. Despite the success of Windows 7, more than half of all computer users in the world still run Windows 7's main competitor: Windows XP.

The data comes from the latest monthly report by NetMarketShare, an organization that calculates market share by keeping track of the OS's of unique visits to 40,000 web sites. This means that the numbers it tracks are computers being actively used, not just sales numbers given by the developers. To get a good idea of the entire worldwide use, NetMarketShare analyzes 160 million unique web visitors per month. Statistically, this is a pretty good sampling, compared to the sample size of 1500 typically used in the polls that tell us who the next president of the United States will be......Read entire story here

Scott Stansbury shared the results of his research on the problem of slow Snow Leopard SMB browsing and file sharing. He looked at various edits to the /etc/nsmb.conf and /etc/smb.conf files, some that we've reported before on the Snow Leopard Tips and Reports page, and some that he figured out himself. The tips reported here helped with slow browsing (this previous report sums it up), but he fixed slow file connection times by editing /etc/nsmb.conf to stop NetBIOS queries, using the line port445=no_netbios. Stansbury's report......Read entire story here

John Lockwood responded to the last week's post "Another take on Apple Lion AFP problems," which provided an approach to working around Lion problems with network attached storage devices:

While the tips I am sure do indeed do what they claim, in Chris' own particular circumstance of using a Netgear ReadyNAS they are unnecessary. Their are two main branches of ReadyNAS models, the older ones powered by a Sparc CPU, and the newer ones powered by various Intel CPUs. *Both* branches already have beta firmware available which fully resolves Lion compatibility issues for both basic AFP access and for Time Machine......Read entire story here

Takayuki Matsumoto in Australia responded to last week's report "Lion 'Unable to connect to server' error for AD" with this suggestion:

Check whether or not the time on Lion is sync'ed with the Active Directory domain.

If you've tried this .

Chap Tomanek can't print from a Mac to a printer attached to Windows PC over Wi-Fi, and is looking for a suggestion:

I used to be able to Wi-Fi print from a Snow Leopard MacBook to my shared HP 4215 printer shared under Windows XP. It prints from Win XP command. I just did a reinstall of Win XP desktop. Printer HP 4215 is plugged into Win XP desktop. The Wi-Fi is provided by a Motorola router.

The MacBook picks up the Motorola Wi-Fi Internet signal and can see the Win XP desktop......Read entire story here

This rang a bell. In cross-platform file sharing with SMB extended attributes are usually mapped to NTSF streams. Which readers may remember, is something you can turn off in Lion and Snow Leopard get SMB file sharing working. We have a report on how do turn off streams with Lion here, and with Snow Leopard here. The result is the same for both: edit the /etc/nsmb.conf file (or create one) and add the line streams=no......Read entire story here

Peter Goldberg sent us his workaround for connection errors with Lion and Active Directory:

I have been working on the problem of joining a MacBook Pro 10.7.1 for the last week. I had similar problems as stated on the macwindows.com web site dated August 30, 2011, "unable to connect to server" error for AD

I finally solved the problem by creating a new user account on the MacBook that had the same logon name and password that I originally set up within Active Directory on the Domain Controller......Read entire story here

Richard Penninger discovered the Windows 7 installed with Boot Camp crashes intermittently with the built-in wireless adapter. (Our Boot Camp 3 Tips and Reports page has several reports of device-driver related blue-screen crashes with Windows 7.) Here's Penninger report:

I have Boot Camp 3.2 installed with Windows 7 32-bit on my MacBook Pro Core i5. Whenever I resume from sleep mode I have a 30 percent change of getting a blue-screen-of death (BSOD).

I figured out that it might be caused by the wireless adapter. I disabled it and now it seems to work better. If I turn the WiFi adapter back on, the problem returns. I have the 5.60.18.8 Broadcom driver installed from 21/8/09. There seems to be no update for this one.

If you've seen this issue .

Dan Allard reports a problem with Windows 7 the last update of Parallels Desktop 6. (He is not using Parallels 7, which was released yesterday.) Allard sees an error message if he tries to select multiple files:

I have been running Mac OS X version 10.6.8 and running Textpad in Windows 7 using Parallels 6 without any trouble. About a week ago there was a new update to Parallels 6. After updating Parallels, the file open box in Windows will not allow me to select more than one file at a time.....Read entire story here

Parallels today released a major update to its virtualization software for Mac, Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac. The upgrade from Version 6 is available today for US $50, but users will have to wait until September 6 to get the freestanding version ($80). When running in Lion, Parallels Desktop 7 enables Windows applications to take advantage of Lion's new features. And for the first time, Lion users get the ability to run Lion in a virtual machine.

The update also contains 90 improvements for Leopard, Snow Leopard, and Lion users, including......Read entire story here

Along with the Parallels Desktop 7 releases today, Parallels released Parallels Mobile 7, an update to the software that enables users to control a Windows virtual machine remotely from an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. New features include support of sound coming from the Windows virtual machine and the ability to copy and paste between iOS apps and Windows programs.

Another major feature is the ability to control the host Mac and operate Mac applications from the iOS device. Parallels said that Parallels Mobile 7 has better video performance......Read entire story here

VMware's new ESXi 5 hypervisor can run on Apple's discontinued Xserve hardware, and can virtualize Mac OS X Server 10.6.x as a guest OS. ESXi runs on the bare hardware, without a host OS. Parallels offers a Parallels Server for Mac Bare Metal Edition that is similar in concept. ESXi 5, however, is part of VMWare's vSphere 5 system, which enables enterprise organizations to virtualize IT services and host them in their own cloud for private use, or to offer services to other organizations. vSphere runs in data centers using ESXi hypervisor to support multiple virtual machines across multiple hardware servers......Read entire story here

Chris Norris sent an article about his attempts to get around Lion's problem accessing AFP servers. Norris has a Netgear network attached storage (NAS) device. The first part of his report is similar to Apple's workaround, which we've previously reported. This didn't work for him, so he goes on to describe what he tried. Here's Norris' report:

Control of some protocol elements are in the /Library/Preferences/com.apple.AppleShareClient.plist, which doesn't seem to be created in a default installation of OS X 10.7 Lion. I tried copying the file from a Snow Leopard system at first, but then the configuration is different than what you would create in this process. So I deleted the file, then rebooted, and started from scratch......Read entire story here

Philipp Jude in Germany agrees with previous posts that turning on Internet Sharing makes SMB browsing faster:

Yes, this helps a lot. I copied a 400 MB file without Internet sharing in 50 seconds. With it turned on, in 25 seconds!

If you've tried this with .

Carlos Osorio gets an error message when he tries to connect his Lion Mac to Active Directory:

I just installed Lion and am not table to connect to the Windows Active Directory. I am using the Directory Utility to bind to the AD and after much time I receive and error that states Unable to Connect to Server.

If you've seen this problem .

Note that that two weeks ago, another reader reported that using System Preferences instead of Directory Utility got around his problems.

A U.K. website called The H reports that Mac OS X 10.7 has a bug that doesn't check the password when authenticating to a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directory. The result, according to the report, is that in some circumstances, any password a user types in will be accepted. The H says the only way to get around the problem is to deactive LDAP authentication. The report says that Apple is aware of the problem. However, another report at the Register says......Read entire story here

A reader in our forums posted a fix to a problem with Snow Leopard and Active Directory. Although the Mac appears to bind, the use would see an error message when trying to log in. The fix was to create a text file called auto_master with several lines of text.

If you've used this fix post a reply in the forum.

Mark Miller confirmed a problem reported in "Lion problem with SMB network scanning":

I have the same problem. Since upgrading to OS Lion, my Ricoh printer will not fax or scan to folder.

If you've seen this issue .

Andi Kunar confirmed the tip "Lion SMB problem fixed with streams=no in nsmb.conf."

This works great for me as well. Thanks! I have a MacBook Pro (2011) OS X 10.7.1 (clean install) connecting to Windows Server 2003 (Windows Home Server 03 with all SPs/fixes installed). I got a lot of Error -51 (e.g. when starting a 2nd Finder copy-job while 1st one was still running). After streams=no fix, I don't get the Error -51 any more.

Jorgen Ivarssons confirmed the previous report "Lion issue with SMB Windows share in column view."

I can confirm that SMB folders show up when you switch from column view to list view in Lion 10.7.1.

If you've seen this problem .

Norm in Texas said simple "It worked!" regarding the article "GUI version of Snow Leopard/Net Extender VPN fix."

If you're tried this fix .

Michael McCully sent another workaround for Mac OS X 10.7 problems with mobile accounts in Active Directory:

In response to Dan Lee's workaround for mobile accounts in Lion, I didn't find the same inconsistency that Dan Lee did in his workaround. But I was able to "fix" the Mobile Account issue in Lion -for now:

1. - In Directory Utility -> Active Directory -> Advanced Options, I unchecked "Create mobile account at login" and left "Force local home directory on startup disk" checked
2. - Log out then back in as a networked user, -A local home directory will be created under /Users but will not be accessible if network is offline (non-mobile)......Read entire story here

Mark Napier reports a Mac OS X 10.7 problem with kerberized login to Active Directory:

What I'm seeing here is that our Lion test machine can get info from our Open LDAP server -- command line ID works as expected, for example. Command line kinit against our Active Directory kerberos works as well. But kerberized logins fail. Logs suggest it thinks user is typing a bad password.

If you've seen this problem .

Related: Lion and Active Directory Tips and Reports

Eric reports a problem with SMB printing in a Windows network after upgrading Macs to Lion:

A user who upgraded to Mac OS X Lion could no longer print to the Samba hosted printers in our corporate network. Printing in our corporate windows environment always worked via SAMBA printing. Typically, one configured the printer using the CUPS interface by entering smb://domain/username:password@ipaddress_of_the_printer/queue. With Lion, that seems to be broken. Printers now report each time: "Access Denied".......Read entire story here

Oracle has released VirtualBox 4.1.2, and updated to the virtualization software fro Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, and other operating systems. This maintenance release that fixes a number of bugs, including some problems with Windows running as a guest OS in virtual machine. VirtualBox is free for personal use.

If you've used this new version of VirtualBox what you think.

Softhing has released Outlook Exchange Accounts Optimizer 2.0, a new version of the software for Mac OS X for handling Exchange mail. The new version adds compatibility with Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. Outlook Exchange Accounts Optimizer automatically moves messages from one or more Outlook for Mac Exchange accounts to a replicated structure within local Outlook folders. This prevents the Exchange-based mailbox from getting full. The software can also filter mail by various criteria.

Dan Lee sent in a workaround to "Reader says mobile accounts on Lion don't work," where a user is able to login but the mobile home isn't created in the users folder. Lee reports:

I have seen this issue in our environment as well (Active Directory 2008 R2) and while this might be specific to my network, I figured I'd share. If you use the Directory Editor found in Directory Utility to view the LDAP info from AD, for a given account, check the attribute "dsAttrTypeNative:userPrincipleName" and make the user's user ID and domain are set correctly. In the instances where the user ID and domain are not set correctly, I've experienced the same behavior that Michael has been seeing......Read entire story here

Darren Purvis had an SMB file writing problem with Lion and large files. With Snow Leopard, he successfully used the tip of setting net.inet.tcp.delayed_ack=1. This didn't work when he upgraded to Lion, but another Snow Leopard trick, editing the nsmb.conf file to turn off streams, did work:

I've had problems in the past with my Mac (Snow Leopard) writing to samba/CIFS shares -- reading has been fine. When the shares were on a Unix server, the fix was to set "net.inet.tcp.delayed_ack=1" (1 worked best for me). Then two things happened: 1.) I changed my home NAS to Windows Home Server 2011, and 2.) I upgraded to Lion. The result was that I could not write large files (> 200MB) without the file copy hanging......Read entire story here

LaCie has released beta Lion-compatible software for three of its network attached storage devices, the d2 Network 2, 2big Network 2, and 5big Network 2. The updates enable Macs running Lion to access the devices using AFP file sharing and Time Machine. Mac OS X 10.7 isn't compatible with many NAS devices and AFP servers. Uses receive an error message when trying to connect: "The version of the server you are trying to connect to is not supported."

LaCie is recommending that customers with Macs running Lion install the beta software on the NAS device. LaCie recommends against installing the beta software for customers who are not running Lion.

Jay Budzik confirmed that the use of a backslash can clear up authentication problems with an Outlook for Mac account:

I resolved my connection issues with Outlook 2011 on my Mac by adding an extra backslash in front of my domain name like: \domain\username, instead of domain\username. Thanks for the tip! This was quite annoying.

If you've tried this .

Apple released Mac OS X 10.7.1 update yesterday for both the client and server versions. The Server update includes a "improved reliability of the Apple File Service," which we take to mean the AFP file server. Other than that, Lion Server 10.7.1 has the same set of bug fixes found in the client version. These include fixing a bug with video in Safari, a bug with HDMO or optical audio out, better Wi-Fi connections, and fixing a problem migrating settings, data, and applications to Lion.

The updates do not address problems with Active Directory authentication and binding, client file sharing issues, or issues with connecting to network attached storage (NAS) devices using the Apple File Protocol (AFP). If the 10.7.1 updates affect any of these things for you .

The updates are available from Software Update within Lion. There are different versions for the Mac mini and the MacBook Air, which fix problems specific to those models.

Laura Russo shared a workaround for Lion problems binding to Active Directory:

I had issues binding to Active Directory on Lion as well, on a whim I bound directly to a domain controller (rather than the domain itself) through System Preferences, rather than Directory Utility and so far the bind has held. Obviously this is not an ideal solution but may be a workaround for the time being for some people.

If you've tried this approach .

Michael McCully responded to Thursday's report of problems with creating mobile accounts. He's seeing error messages:

I've got big problems creating mobile profiles with Lion clients. All the settings stick when set but when a newly networked user logs in there's an error stating the home location has been moved and can't be located. Essentially the user is able to login but the mobile (home) isn't created in the users folder. So far I've got five Macs that are completely unusable because of this problem. I really hope there's a fix soon.

If you've seen this problem .

Thomas Myers is having the problem with IPSecuritas VPN through a tethered iPhone. Although the previous report was with Snow Leopard, Myers us using Lion:

I too am having iPhone tether to VPN issue, with Lion 10.7 Mac and iPhone 4 with version 4.3.5 firmware.

When I do a Wi-Fi connect it shows failed, but does actually connect.

IPSecuritas 3.4 shows as connected, but I can't ping the tunnel. If I have check connection on, it will keep retrying the connection.

If you've seen this issue .

Doug McIntyre agrees with last week's report that Outlook for Mac doesn't work well with IMAP mail accounts. McIntyre says this applies to all versions of Outlook:

I work at a long going ISP, and all versions of Outlook has always been much more stable retrieving email via POP than trying to use IMAP. Its been our long term suggestion to our customers to always use POP when doing Outlook, because the IMAP integration always has some issues. If our customers wanted to use IMAP and depend on its features, we'd strongly suggest to them not to use Outlook, but some other email client.

Outlook really wants to download email into its .PST files and manage email itself through manipulation through the filesystem PST archive rather than dealing with online access through IMAP.

Irv Beiman followed up his previous report about problems accessing Gmail with Outlook. Microsoft advised him not to use IMAP. Here's a quote from a Microsoft tech support message that Beiman sent us:

...so far as we know, IMAP accounts in Outlook 2011 will still have some unexpected issues, and these problems still cannot be solved in a short time...

Here's is Beiman's report......Read entire story here

Several more readers reported problems with Lion authenticating to Active Directory. Hugh Burt has a workaround:

We also experienced problems and this is what we have found. It is important that you bind the machine using the same computer name set in the Sharing system preference. Secondly, the "default" search path used after binding doesn't work. We had to change the paths using the search policy with the Open Directory utility. For example, after binding to our staff domain :- The default path - Active Directory/Staff doesn't allow logons Adding one of the custom ones - Active Directory/ Staff/forest also didn't work But adding Active Directory/Staff/staff.forest does allow logons.......Read entire story here

Jason Bush is has some complaints about configuring mobile Active Directory Accounts on Lion clients:

Setting up mobile accounts [on Lion clients] is a pain and confusing as what to check. I mean mobile accounts based in Active Directory and cached to the local drive. It's confusing as to what works to force those accounts down. The Directory Utility (DU) acts strange. By that I mean you have to delete all domains from your search path then add back the one you want.......Read entire story here

Douglas Ward has the problem of Windows clients not seeing Lion Server, and says the problem is limited to Open Directory (network-based user accounts), but does not have a solution:

I've been experiencing this issue, and testing it. Here's the rundown:

If you have a Lion Server, with both a local user, and an Open Directory user (aka sharing only, aka access user), create a share and set it to be shared for both Mac (AFP) and Windows (SMB), the following applies.......Read entire story here

Duane Armstrong can't use Lion to scan to network SMB scanners:

Ricoh copiers send scanned documents using SMB, which uses the port 139 (netbios-ssn), and this port will NOT open on the Lion Mac. These are ports that open on Mac OS X version 10.6.5. Settings:

File sharing :ON
Options: Share files and folders using SMB (Windows)
Ports 139 and 445 =open

If you have this problem .

Jaap Schokkenbroek reports a problem with a with a network scanner after upgrading from Snow Leopard Server to Lion Server:

I've got a simple HP Officejet Pro 7780 which could scan to a network volume 'scans' on the server. After the update to Lion Server the HP isn't able to log-in anymore, very anoying. I made a new user on the server, I made a new sharepoint etc etc but no go. Other Mac's (10.6 though) can log-in with the smb://ip-adres routine...

If you've seen this problem .

Matt Whiting responded to Friday's report "Lion SMB file sharing can't get past top-level of Windows share" with a workaround. He believes the problem is not related to another SMB problem was first reported, but is instead a bug in Lion's ability to mount DFS. Whiting report and workaround:

Just to follow up Will Wade's comments, I believe what he and I have experienced is a completely separate issue to the 'change Finder view' one; this is all about mounting DFS shares - a new feature introduced in Lion - and should probably be blogged as such......Read entire story here

Two readers responded to yesterday's report of Active Directory authentication problems with Lion. Kris Hagel shared this workaround:

I saw the posting you had today regarding Lion authentication with Active Directory. I have also been experiencing the same issues on Lion as well. I wanted to share what I had run into in my research. It appears in our organization at least that if you let Directory Utility go out and find any domain controller to bind, it will do that just fine, but when you come back and wish to login you then run into problems......Read entire story here

Jose Babilonia upgrade to Lion Server dropped Windows clients:

After upgrading from Snow Leopard Server to Lion Server, our Mac clients work fine but Windows client can no longer connect after the upgrade.

I've you've seen this problem .

Although Lion Server can run both IPsec and PPTP virtual private networks (VPN), Apple removed PPTP from the graphical user interface, now in the Server app. PPTP is still there, and can be accessed via the command line in Terminal. Apple's support document, Lion Server: Configuring and Enabling PPTP, describes how to access PPTP and configure it using text commands.

With the release of Lion, Apple provided software to migrate user data to Mac OS X 10.7. This is accomplished with Migration Assistant software for both Windows and Lion. The process can move the contents of a user's home folder and place them in the equivalent location in Lion. The migration process can also move Outlook mail, contacts and calendars. (These are moved to Mail, Address Book, and iCal, not to Outlook for Mac.) The Migration Assistant can even move the desktop picture (wallpaper). The Windows Migration Assistant for Lion runs on Windows XP SP3 or later. You can find directions and a link to Windows Migration Assistant for Lion in Apple support article HT4796.

QNAP announced yesterday that it would update the firmware for its Turbo NAS series of network attached storage devices (NAS). This includes full support of Time Machine backup and file access by Lion clients. Because of changes to AFP, Lion is not compatible with many NAS devices on the market, and may AFP servers as well. (See "Lion's broken connectivity to NAS and AFP servers.")

Version 3.5 of QNAP firmware will also include security improvements, virus scanning software, and the ability to join an LDAP domain (such as Open Directory and Active Directory) and allowing LDAP domain users to access the NAS. QNAP expects to ship the update later this month.

Apple has dropped support for Windows XP and Windows Vista in Boot Camp 4.0, the version that ships with Lion. Boot Camp 4.0 only supports Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate. Previous versions of Boot Camp also supported Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 and later, Windows Vista, as well as Windows 7. Boot Camp 4 adds some new installation features, including a way to do a clean install of Windows 7 in an existing Boot Camp partition from a Windows 7 installation disc, without using Boot Camp Assistant......Read entire story here

Macs booted with Windows 7 using Boot Camp cannot access PCI cards while a Thunderbolt device is plugged in, according to an Apple technical article that lists limitations of using Thunderbolt while booted from Windows 7. The article also states that Thunderbolt devices plugged into the Mac also prevent Windows 7 from going into sleep mode. Apple also warns not to disconnect a Thunderbolt device from the Taskbar tool......Read entire story here

Oracle has released VirtualBox 4.1, a major release of the virtualization software for Mac OS X and other platforms. The update adds "experimental" support of WDDM graphics for Windows as a guest OS. This adds support for Direct3D and the Windows 7 and Vista Aero theme features, such as Windows Flip 3D, Aero Peek, and translucent objects. Aero support is one feature that VirtualBox lacked that other virtualization software for Mac supported.

Other new features include the ability to clone virtual machines and an enhanced wizard for creating new virtual disks. VirtualBox 4.1 also fixes a number of bugs. VirtualBox is free for personal use.

If you've used VirtualBox 4.1

Greg Myers is having problems authenticating his Lion Macs to Active Directory:

I am in a school environment and we considering rolling out Lion prior to the start of school. Those plans are on hold right now due to authentication problems with Active Directory. Binding to the directory is not a problem except for an occasional failure to store the password error that requires a logout/login cycle to eliminate. But on the half-dozen test machines login with network credentials has ranged from no problem to impossible......Read entire story here

Lindsay Robertson responded to "TIP: suggestion for fixing AD-imposed parental controls on Macs" reporting this:

This idea won't work for us, we never use user-level Managed Preferences (MCX) settings, everything is set via computer lists.

If you've seen this problem

Related: Snow Leopard and Active Directory Tips and Reports, Lion and Active Directory Tips and Reports

Irv Beiman responded to a report "Outlook Mac slow Gmail downloads, big emails won't download." At first large files were slow downloads. After working with Microsoft tech support, trying some suggestions, and reinstalling Outlook, he can no longer download any Gmail messages with Outlook. Beiman's report:

I have a problem similar to your June 16th report. I somehow found a very specific file on the Internet that described precisely how to set up Outlook to download Gmail. Unfortunately I cannot find it to try that again, after it stopped downloading when I had some very large files greater than 5 MB and 10 MB in size. I managed the files inside Gmail, and then deleted them. After that Outlook would NOT download ANYTHING from Gmail......Read entire story here

It seems like any new release of Mac OS X breaks some aspect of file sharing with non-Apple devices. This was true for Leopard, and Snow Leopard had (and still has) problems with SMB file sharing. With Lion, Apple replaced the under-the-hood workings of both SMB (Samba) and the Apple Filing Protocol (AFP). Almost immediately, users discovered that Mac OS X 10.7.0 is incompatibility with many network attached storage (NAS) devices and other AFP file servers. For users, the Apple-provide workaround can prove tricky to work around than it first appeared. Readers have reported by success and failure with the procedure. Lion users who try to access some AFP devices get the error message....... Read entire story here

Two readers report success with Apple's workaround for Lion accessing AFP file servers. The readers reported success wit Novell servers, though the procedure is also supposed to work with NAS devices. Rick Zeman said that enabling the MS2.0 authentication did the trick:

Lion clients can't mount volumes on Netware 6.5 servers using the afptcp.nlm (or OES 2's AFP server) giving the error: "The version of the server you are trying to connect to is not supported. Please contact your administrator."

Apparently, Lion's AFP client only supports the DHX2 authentication mechanism which Novell evidently never rolled into either Netware or Open Enterprise Server. While Novell might fix the latter, I'm not holding out hope for the former......Read entire story here

There seems to be several bugs here in Lion. Regarding George Gunzelman's report, I'm finding it's partly right but not entirely. For me, I can mount and see all my Windows shares but I can't get past a top level folder using the Finder (either using list, icon or column view).

However using the Terminal and cd'ing then open does work. Then, in the Finder, stay in icon or list view.

If you've seen this problem .

Simon Deroles is seeing a problem with SMB file sharing where Finder window reverting to root level when displaying Windows folder directory. Other readers have reported a similar problems with Lion, but Deroles is running Snow Leopard:

I have an iMac running 10.6.8 connected to an active domain on a Windows 2008 server. I can login and open my Home$ folder just fine and drill down thru the directory. However the Finder window will always randomly revert to the root level of the folder. Sometimes this occurs after several minutes and sometimes in seconds......Read entire story here

Graziano Previato in Italy responded to our post "Lion Server Drops PDC functionality" to say that removing of the Primary Domain Controller is a problem for his network:

This is indeed a problem in our network, also if we have to face the most important one: the removal of the Mac OS X Server. From 1999 (yes, with Mac OS X 10.1.x...) we have a network with a Mac OS X Server running services to a group of iMac clients.

In 2004, to supply the request of Windows applications (and the Internet Explorer de-support by Microsoft), we have implemented a solution where Mac OS X act as a PDC for a terminal server cluster, mounting the same Windows home as the iMac.

Actually we are changing our configuration and is not really simple. Looking to the Mac OS X de-support policy done by Apple in 2010/2011, I don't know if our future clients will be iMac or other technologies.

Does the loss of PDC in Lion Server affect your plans for Mac servers or clients? If so .

Byron reports that after installing Lion with Boot Camp, Lion would not boot. He found the fix:

Was able to install Lion, but now it won't boot. Goes gray srceen. Windows will boot. After more testing it turns out the issue was the Hawking Technologies USB WiFi extender. Plug it in kernel panic. Not plugged in and ok.

If you've seen this .

George Gunzelman reports that Apple's procedure for enabling Mac OS X 10.7 Lion to access older AFP file sharing servers didn't work. He also reports problems with access SMB Windows shares:

I read your post on macwindows.com. I too am experiencing issues with mounting shares from a Windows 2003 server. It reports the server is too old for the AFP shares. I removed all of the disabled UAMs from the AppleShareClient.plist as described in Apple's article but it did not help. I get the same error. The Windows 2003 server is fully patched and up to date with MS updates. I also have difficulty mounting SMB shares.

Although I am still testing, so far as I am concerned, this upgrade has BROKE Apple networking so badly I may need to revert to 10.6. Apple better have a fix soon or I will steer my customers away.

If you've seen this .

Noe Gonzalez is happy with Lion accessing Windows shares, but found that shares don't appear Finder windows in column view in some circumstances, and reports one Active Directory issue:

Just some feedback per your article "Apple ships Lion with new Windows-compatibility features."

So far in my organization Lion has been working well. The only bug we noticed, and made me mad for a couple days was that when accessing some Windows shares (SMB) where the main folder is protected, but a user has access to a subfolder. In column view it appears that the sub-folder isn't available, it just shows the main folder with a restricted sign on it. However, change your view to icon or list view and you can see everything in the sub-folder and make any changed you want.

I hope that made sense. Only other problems I've run into is with Active Directory search policies not always working. But usually a reboot, or 'killall opendirectoryd' takes care of it.

If you've seen these issues

Earlier this week, CodeWeavers released updates to its two CrossOver products, which run Windows applications directly in Mac OS X without the use of the Windows operating system. The updates help with both Lion and Snow Leopard.

CrossOver 10.1.1 (for running business software) and CrossOver Games 10.1.2 (optimized for Windows games) add compatibility with Mac OS X 10.7. They also add a workaround to what CodeWeavers says is a bug in Lion that causes games to crash.

For Snow Leopard, the updates fixes a group permissions issue with Word (.docx) files on certain file systems, and fixes and issue in Mac OS X 10.6.8 that caused the Finder to crash. Various other issues are addressed in the maintenance updates.

If you've tried CrossOver in Lion (or Snow Leopard) what you think.

Ryan Weaver responded to our report "Fix for Glitch preventing Lion from installing with Boot Camp," which reported an Apple method for enabling Lion to install on a hard drive with Boot Camp already installed. Weaver used another method:

Regarding the issue where Lion installer reports "This disk cannot be used to start up your computer." My fix for this problem was to boot Lion from an external drive and use Disk Utility to repair the primary drive partition map (apparently there was a discrepancy in the EFI partition), then repair the primary MAC partition. After that it installed just fine.

If you've tried this method, or Apple's method, .

Apple reports that recent Mac models no longer support Windows XP or Windows Vista in Boot Camp. They do support the 32-bit or 64-bit editions of Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate. This limitation is not related to Mac OS X 10.7 Lion or other Mac OS version. The Macs affected:

• MacBook Pro (Early 2011)
• MacBook Air (Late 2010) and later
• iMac (Mid 2011)
• Mac mini (Mid 2011)

Web Help Desk announced that its cross platform help desk software, Web Help Desk, supports Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and Lion Server. This is true for all Web Help Desk editions, including the Professional Edition, Lite Edition, and the Free Help Desk Software Edition.

Web Help Desk offers a centralized approach to IT service management. The Web Help Desk software is deployed as a Java servlet with a web-based front end and a database back end. It is available to run on Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, and UInix, and supports the major database servers, including those running Oracle 8i, Microsoft SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and others. Web Help Desk can be integrated with Apple Remote Desktop.

A new Apple support article states that the Lion client comes with several AFP file sharing authentication methods turned off, preventing Lion from accessing certain AFP servers. This could include most network attached storage (NAS) devices, according to PC Magazine, and, a reader reports that NetWare servers are also one of the affected servers. Group Logic last week issued an update to its AFP server, ExtremeZ-IP, which is not affected. Lion is using Netatalk 2.2 for AFP, and is using a new authentication method called DHX2. Apple says......Read entire story here

On Thursday, GroupLogic released ExtremeZ-IP 7.2, an enterprise file and print server for Windows servers in support of Mac clients. The new version supports Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and bundles in ShadowConnect, formerly an optional add-on. ExtremeZ-IP uses the Mac-native Apple Filing Protocol (AFP) for file sharing and supports DFS in Active Directory environments. The new version does not have the Lion AFP incompatibility problem affecting network attached storage (NAS) devices and Novell servers.

ShadowConnect enables Mac users to access Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy service (VSS) snapshots to restore deleted files and folders and previous versions. Users can browse shadow copy files with Cover Flow and with Quick Look previews.

ExtremeZ-IP 7.2 is a free upgrade to existing customers.

On Wednesday, Centrify released an update to DirectControl for Mac that adds compatibility with Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. The update also supports the Filevault Full Disk Encryption feature included in Mac OS X 10.7. DirectControl for Mac is a server-based solution for integrating Macs with Active Directory, providing authentication, Group Policy support, and access control. Optional smart card support is available for an additional cost.

Centrify recommends updating the DirectControl agent on the Snow Leopard Mac before running the Lion installer.

Last Wednesday, Thursby Software Systems released Lion-ready updates to its cross platform software for Mac OS X, ADmitMac 6.0 and DAVE 9.0. ADmitMac installs on Mac OS X clients to give them native compatibility with Microsoft Active Directory authentication, management, and security, including support for Group Policies. It also includes ?commercial grade? file and printer sharing, Microsoft DFS and SMB/CIFS for Windows servers, NAS or Samba storage. DAVE consists of the file and print sharing portion of ADmitMac, with the Active Directory integration features.

A Thursby Software spokesperson said that the updates are not necessary for Macs running Snow Leopard because the changes are mostly related to Lion compatibility and optimization. The ADmitMac 6.0 and DAVE 9.0 can, however, can be run on Snow Leopard and are completely compatible. The upgrades are available for free to customers under a current support contract.

Apple's new Lion Server reduces support for Windows clients while increasing support for iOS devices. It also moves away from graphical administration and towards command-line administration of more advanced settings.

With Lion Server, Apple dropped the ability of the server to function as a Windows Primary Domain Controller (PDC) for Windows clients, which had been a feature of Mac OS X Server for many years. The PDC provided authentication services and domain login on Windows PC clients. Mac OS X Server 10.7, released last week, also lost the ability to act as a Windows Backup Domain Controller (BDC).

Lion Server still provides SMB file sharing support for Windows clients......Read entire story here

Apple has posted a workaround for a Lion Server problem logging into a domain when Lion Server is bound to Active Directory:

If Lion Server is bound to Active Directory or is configured for a different Microsoft Windows domain then the client, the authentication may not work with the correct username and password.

To resolve this, specify the domain of Lion Server with the username in the authentication dialog. For example, if Lion Server is a member of the ads.example.com Active Directory domain, prepend ADS\ to the username.

If you've seen this issue .

Parallels released new versions of its virtualization products for Mac that improve compatibility Mac OS X Lion. Parallels Desktop 6 Build 12094 and Parallels Server for Mac Update 1 improve compatibility of running on in a Lion host OS. Versions before Parallels Desktop 6 and Parallels Server 4 will not run at all on Lion. These updates do not enable Lion Server to run in a virtual machine, which is currently not supported.

Parallels describes the Parallels Desktop update:

Parallels Desktop (build 6.0.12094) improves compatibility with Mac OS X v10.7 Lion and includes fixes and improvements that:

• Resolve issues with shared Windows applications when running virtual machines in Crystal mode on Mac OS X Lion
• Improve compatibility with Launchpad (introduced in Mac OS X Lion)
• Resolves other compatibility issues revealed while testing Parallels Desktop on Mac OSX Lion
• Includes the version of Kasperky Anti-Virus which is compatible with Mac OS X Lion

If you've tried this update .

An Apple tech article reports a problem that prevents Lion from installing if there is an existing Boot Camp partition on the driver. The Lion installer reports "This disk cannot be used to start up your computer."

Apple's first recommendation is to backup and reformat the drive. If that can't be done, the article recommends using Disk Utility to slight shrink the size of the non-Boot Camp partition. You can then return the partition to its original size after you install Lion.

Harry Erwin reported this problem to us and essentially used this solution successfully. However, he booted from and another volume and erased the hard drive, which isn't necessary to resize a partition. Here's his report......Read entire story here

Having a non-standard Boot Camp partition will prevent the Lion installer from creating a Recovery HD hard disk partition, according to an Apple tech article. It will also prevent you from using the FileVault feature to encrypt the data on the drive. The fix that Apple suggests could take up a whole day or more.

When such a Boot Camp partition is detected, the Lion installer will display a message, "Some features of Mac OS X Lion are not supported for the disk." This occurs if the Boot Camp partition was created with manually modified Boot camp setting or if further partitioning was done after Boot Camp was set up ......Read entire story here

Yesterday, Parallels released Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac Enterprise Edition, a packaging of its virtualization software for Mac OS X that enables IT departments to centrally deploy and manage the software in a policy-compliant manner. The Enterprise Edition includes changes to licensing and is more configurable.

A parallels spokesperson said the Parallels Desktop Enterprise Edition can be distributed, along with virtual machines containing Windows, to users' Macs via third-party client deployment tools such as the JAMF Casper Suite and Quest. IT departments can use a "Parallels mass deployment package builder" to prepare deployments...Read entire story here

Thomas Johnson has a suggestion for the problem of Active Directory imposing parental controls on large numbers of Macs. His fix is to remove certain account-level managed preferences and issuing some commands on the Macs:

I've seen some similar issues triggered by account-level managed preferences. The Account Prefs UI considers them to be parental controls for some reason -- perhaps a snide developer-level commentary on the user-administrator relationship? :) In any case, it doesn't seem to actually hurt the user's administrator status, but it just prevents you from un-ticking the parental controls checkbox. The situation can be temporarily cleared out by removing the managed preferences and deleting the corresponding local cache as well......Read entire story here

Craig Chambers sent way to repair the problem of incoming mail messages not being visible. He also doesn't think the problem started with the Outlook 14.1.2 update. Also, another reports that his problem with it cleared up by itself. But first, here is Chambers' fix:

I can confirm that the selecting the "unread" filter does make the messages reappear. I would also like to add that I have encountered this issue before the Outlook 14.1.2 update. This same thing happened after I had a Mac crash. After rebooting (and running disk check) this same issue of new messages not appearing was present. This occurred around the end of May 2011. Rebuilding the database, repairing permissions and even restoring the Data Files folder from a known good backup did not fix the problem. The only way I was able to resolve the issue was to......Read entire story here

Likewise has announced that it has sold its Mac Active Directory integration product lines, Likewise Open and Likewise Enterprise, to BeyondTrust, for an undisclosed amount. Likewise said it will focus on its storage software business, to provide ?secure, cross-platform storage across physical, virtual and cloud environments

The Active Directory integration line had been core products for Likewise for the past few years. Likewise demonstrated these products at it Macworld Expo booth this past January, and at last year's event.

BeyondTrust has rebranded Likewise Enterprise as Powerbroker Identity Services Enterprise Edition. It is offering Likewise Open as PowerBroker Identity Services Open Edition.

Leon Lincoln has confirmed the problem of Macs on Active Directory getting parental control mysteriously applied:

I manage over 800 Macs that are bound to AD and they all show Parental Controls being applied to admin accounts. From what I can see, it is not hurting anything but it is an annoyance that I want to get fixed also. Our environment is 800-plus Macs bound to Active Directory and Jamf Casper used to manage MCX preferences and policies.

Right now I am working on cleaning up OS 10.6.8 for our next Casper Image release, and I am about to get on Apples case on this very issue as I want to clean up all potential problems before I start working on a Lion image.

If you've seen anything like this .

Matt Edwards confirmed a tip for logging on to a Windows share with Snow Leopard:

I was having a problem connecting to my Windows Server 2003 share. I tried a lot of stuff, but turned out I just needed the server name before user name. Here is the tip I used. Thanks for the help!

If this is useful to you .

Eric Stevance responded to the report "Outlook 14.1.2 update sync problems, incoming email not visible, email can't be deleted":

I have all the problems you mentioned regarding the update Outlook 14.1.2. When you read an email, the unread mark can disappeared but can also stay on. Moreover, unread emails on a same folder can appear later as mark unread where it was not visible few minutes earlier. Usually after a restart, it works. But this update is nightmare!

If you've seen these problems .

Philippe Caquelin has another problem with the recent Outlook 14.1.2 update:

With the new version Outlook 2011 Mac 14.1.2 it is impossible to get the synchronization between contacts and Mac Address Book.

If you've seen this problem .

Equinux has released VPN Tracker 6.3, an update to the universal IPsec-based VPN client for Mac OS X. The update adds support for 64-bit operation and for running in Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, which is rumored to be released by Apple next week. This announcement is a change to several previous releases of Mac OS X, which broke many third-party VPN clients, causing developers to play catch-up. VPN Tracker can connect to hundreds of VPN gateways and appliances, including Cisco's.

Geordie Korper shared a workaround for the problem of incoming email not being visible after the Outlook 14.1.2 update:

A number of people have reported that Outlook 14.1.2 is not showing new emails until they restart Outlook. I have seen this occasionally but have found that selecting the filter "Unread" causes the messages to appear without having to restart Outlook.

If you've tried this .

Steve Perry followed up his previous report "Another case of Macs not seeing Finder color labels on Windows shares" with some suggestions and wo Apple articles. One is called "Mac OS X v10.5, 10.6: Finder label changes to files/folders mounted via SMB may not appear to other clients." The other article is about named streams on SMB servers and the -36 error, something we reported on before. Perry wrote:

I've been sent these "fixes" (here and here) by our Microsoft technician. They're not very practical, though, as we would have to make sure all Macs using this network would have to update to OS 10.5 at least and we're just not in a position to do that at the moment. Also you need a pretty advanced knowledge of Terminal and networking systems should you need to undo what you've done. I'm not brave enough although they may be useful for someone else!

If either of these Apple procedures fix this problem for you .

Parallels has released Parallels Desktop 6.0.12092, a maintenance update for the virtualization software for Mac OS X. The update improves overall performance, improves compatibility with Mac OS X 10.6.8, and fixes bugs. It improves the sharing of clipboards between Mac OS X and Windows running in virtual machines. The update also fixes a problem with the Finder and Dock becoming unresponsive when working with Parallels-created icons larger than 128x128 pixels. The company recommends the update for all users of Parallels Desktop 6. The free Build 6.0.12092 update is available via the Check for Update commend in the Parallels Desktop menu.

If you've tried this update if it fixed (or caused) any problems.

Related: Parallels Tips and Reports

A reader suggested using Thursby Software's DAVE SMB file sharing software to avoid the problem of multiple large files not getting copied to Windows SMB shares from a Mac:

They should also be able to resolve this using DAVE. [Thursby] still has free evaluations available so that they can confirm this as a solution.

If you've tried DAVE for this problem .

Lindsay Robertson in New Zealand has a problem with Macs in an Active Directory where local administrators get restricted access, with parental controls applied to their accounts:

I'm having a very similar problem to "More reports of losing Admin privileges with mobile accounts." I have 5 separate Macs with 10.6.6 or later bound to Active Directory (only for print and file sharing) where a local administrator account gets parental controls applied to it each time the user logs in.

If I disable the parental control, it is fine until the next login. Deleting and recreating the account does not fix the problem. I've no idea how to work out what's going on here. The odd thing about it is that according to the accounts pane the user is an admin _and_ managed by parental controls. That's not supposed to be possible.

If you've seen this .

Leslie Alexander responded to last week's report about a trick of copying large files in a folder from a Mac to Windows workstation to get around a problem where the files just don't copy. Alexander offers another two workarounds, including using a Mac-formatted drive in Windows with Mediafour's MacDrive 8, which enables Windows to read and write to Mac-formatted (HFS+) drives:

I had the same problem that is being described by Daniel Kimbro, as far as I know there are two solutions:

Copy only 1 or 2 files at a time, wait for the first 2 to complete then transfer your next two; or

Get MacDrive for Windows, assuming the Windows hard drive you're copying to is a secondary or external drive -- format it to HFS+ and you can transfer any files you want and as many as you want worry free.

If you seen this issue

(Note: MacDrive also available at Amazon.)

Steve Perry confirmed a previously reported problem regarding Macs that can't see file and folder color labels on files on Windows network shares:

I just installed 10.6.7 on my Mac and am having exactly the same issue as below. I can't see other Mac users labels and they can't see mine on the server. We use a similar system where the Finder Colour Labels are essential for letting us know what stage the job is at. Causing me some major problems. Anyone any got ideas? We're using a Windows Server 2008.

If you've seen this problem

Christopher Valenti confirmed two previous reports that the Kaspersky virus projection software is slowing down Windows 7 running in a Parallels Desktop virtual machine, and also slowing the Mac side:

I have been using Parallels Desktop for a few months, installed the free Kaspersky Internet Security on the Windows 7 Boot Camp partition and it is painfully slow. In fact, I got to your website trting to find out why my computer has become a MacBook Slow. I am going to uninstall Kaspersky and use the Windows anti-virus. I will let you know if that will help me to and if I can turn my MacBook Slow back to McBook Pro!

I did remove Kasperski and had a substantial and immediate improvement in speed both on the Mac side and the Windows side. I turned on Windows Defender to take care of security. Simple and free!

If you've seen this issue with Parallels or other virtualization software for Mac OS X

Several more readers wrote about problems with Outlook for Mac 2011 since the 14.1.2 update. Two readers found that incoming mail doesn't appear unless Outlook is quit and relaunched. Two readers also report syncing problems. Another said email can't be deleted. Jane Shearer had problems syncing and problems with incoming email not showing up:

The 14.1.2 update seems like a disaster on wheels for Outlook _ it created two problems:

Sync services deleted all my contacts from iCal and thus MobileMe. I found a lengthy fix for this on the web and, luckily, had not lost all my contacts because of backups before I fixed it.

Emails stop coming into Outlook after some number of minutes. The sound indicates that I have an email and the number shows emails should be there but they aren't loaded. I have to continually shut down Outlook and reopen _ every time I open it emails come in for a short while, then stop again. Same problem with outgoing emails. There does not seem to be a published fix for this and it is very inconvenient.

Christoph Waibel said that since the upgrade, incoming message doen't always appear, and some mail can't be deleted......Read entire story here

Daniel Kimbro that when copying multiple (large) files to a Windows PC, some simply don't copy. His workaround is to put them in a folder and copy whole folder:

I came across your site while looking for a solution to this problem. I have a Windows 7 machine with a 1.5 Tb drive that I use for a video file server. Occasionally I copy files from my Mac laptop across the network via SMB to the drive. If I tried to copy more than 2 or 3 files, some of the files don't appear on the other side. This has been going on since my move to 10.6. For instance, earlier I tried to copy a bunch of episodes......Read entire story here

Thomas Andersen from Oslo, Norway, found that upgrading Outlook 2011 to version 14.1.2 prevents it from connect to Exchange:

I work in a large enterprise (Windows based) and my design team uses Macs. The latest update makes Outlook not able to connect to the server. Everything was fine before, but not after the recent update. I'm no tech guy, so I can't offer much insight, but my life is now tough without (new) mail and calendar events.

If you've seen this problem

Danny Lievens in Belgium says that the tip "Win 7 settings for accessing Mac OS X Server" is not working for him with the error message "domain does not exist":

I am working in a school in Belgium with a mixed network, OS X server with Apple and Windows machines. My colleague is the network manager; I am responsible for the Windows machines. I tried the approach proposed by Christophe Van Huffel in TIP: Win 7 settings for accessing Mac OS X Server with Windows 7 Professional. This did not work for me. Still the error message "The specified domain either does not exist or could not be contacted" shows up. Is it possible that this only works with the Ultimate version?

If you've seen this or used the suggested Windows settings

Hector Correa updated his previous report with another way to turn off streams to eliminate the -36 error in file sharing in Snow Leopard. Like some other readers Correa could not copy files to a network attached storage (NAS) device. The previously reported fix involved editing the nsmb.conf file to set "streams-no". The easier method involves using "touch" in Terminal. Correa said:

For what is worth, I found more information about this problem and another (easier) way to turn off streams on an article at the Apple site......Read entire story here

Two readers confirmed a previous report that the recent VMware Fusion 3.1.3 has networking problems with Windows in virtual machines. Ray Beyer reinstalled a previous version and VMware to get it working:

Same here with all of my Windows images (XP and Windows 7). I noticed that I can sometimes connect to a remote host via VPN, but the connection was not stable. I uninstalled 3.1.3 and installed 3.1.1 from a saved image - everything is fine now. Good to know that others have that problem as well. Looks like the upgrade is buggy.

Traian Teodorescu can connect to his local network but not the Interne......Read entire story here

Austin McCollum responded to our post about a possible security issue with Outlook 2011 Mac. He has seen the symptoms, but doesn't believe it's a real security issues and tells us why, describing the issue in detail. McCollum also describes how to verify that it is a security problem using Active Directory, and offers a precautionary change to make on Exchange Server. Here's his report......Read entire story here

Andreas is have the problem of slow email downloads with Outlook 2011 for Mac. He also finds that Outlook won't download larger mail messages. Andreas is not using Exchange Server:

I have tremendous issues when using the Outlook to download emails from the Google account to an iMac. It is very slow and any emails over 2MB do not download at all. I have to use Safari to download the info or delete to get any another email with a smaller size. Anyone any idea on how I can fix it?

We don't. But if you have a fix

Microsoft has released Office 2011 for Mac 14.1.2, an update to the Office suite for Mac that affects all of the applications. The improvements for Outlook includes a fix to a problem caused by the 14.1 update (Service Pack 1) that prevented some users from logging in. It also fixes a problem that caused delegate information to be lost under certain conditions. It also fixes a problem with Exchange servers located in the Perth time zone, where Outlook 2011 would show incorrect free/busy information. There are also fixes for Word and Excel, and security enhancements for all of the Office apps.

For previous Office Mac versions, Microsoft also issued update 12.3.0 for Office 2008, and update 11.6.4 for Office 2004, which include the security improvements of the 14.1.2 update.

If the Office 14.1.2 update fixes (or breaks) anything in Outlook for Mac

VMware has released VMware Fusion 3.1.3, a fairly major maintenance update to the virtualization software for Mac OS X. The update fixes over 40 bugs and improves support for virtual machines running Windows 7 Service Pack 1 32-bit and 64-bit. It also improves the reliability of accessing shared files on the Mac host, and updates the Windows WDDM video driver for improved stability. Version 3.1.3 also improves handling of smartphones in Windows and adds support for Ubuntu 10.10 and 11.04 32-bit and 64-bit Linux.

The update fixes a number of bugs fixed in Windows guest OS's, including slow page loading in Internet Explorer 8, problems opening Outlook 2010 attachments, and problems waking from Windows 7.....Read entire story here

Since updating to the new VMware Fusion 3.1.3 update, Jimmy Hung can't connect to the Internet from a Windows 7 guest OS:

I can't connect on Windows 7 through VMware Fusion 3.1.3. The Mac connection is fine, but nothing I do can connect to the Internet through VMware and Windows 7. It was working after installation and the first few days, then one day it just wouldn't connect and has been like that since (over a week now).

If you've seen this problem with the VMware Fusion 3.1.3 update

Jesse Barrick confirmed a previous report "Windows Live Mesh drivers can prevent installation of Boot Camp drivers:"

Boot Camp fails to install: I have the same issue with Live Mesh. Just wanted to confirm.

If you've seen this

Hollai Gábor believes that Snow Leopard's access to SMB file servers slows down when DFS is used on the network:

We have removed the DFS feature from one server and the SMB is better now. Both DFS caused the issue, Standalone and the domain DFS too. Unfortunately, we must use DFS on the second server, so the issue is still exist when we use that one.

If you've seen this issue

Open source software called DAVmail Gateway allows CalDAV clients to work with Exchange Server. This includes Thunderbird for Windows and Mac, Evolution for Linux, or Apple iCal and Apple Address Book for Macs. DavMail is actually a POP/IMAP/SMTP/CalDAV/CardDAV/LDAP gateway for Exchange Server. The LDAP gateway-to-Exchange global address book and user personal contacts works in mail clients. The global address book also provides full calendar support with attendees displaying free and busy. DAVmail Gateway works across the Internet and behind a firewall through Outlook Web Access.

If you've tried DAVmail Gateway

Softhing has released Outlook Exchange Accounts Optimizer 1.3.0, an update to the Mac OS X software that prevents a user's Exchange mailbox from getting full. It automatically moves old mail from an Exchange account to a replicated structure within Outlook 2011. The new version now works with the latest versions of Outlook 2011 for Mac on Mac OS X 10.5.x or 10.6.x. Previous versions (called Entourage Exchange Accounts Optimizer) worked with Entourage for Mac OS X.

For current users of Outlook Exchange Accounts Optimizer, the version 1.3.0 update requires that Microsoft Outlook 2011 Service Pack 1 (version 14.1.0) is installed on the Mac.

Seems like Outlook for Mac users can't a break. Windows can use Apple's MobileMe online service to wireless sync Outlook calendars with iPhones and iPads. But Mac users can't--unless they run Windows on their Mac. There are two different approaches, one using MobileMe, and another without it.

Just when Microsoft added support for Apple's syncing technology to Outlook 2011 for Mac, Apple removed it from MobileMe's calendar-depriving Outlook for Mac users from a way to wireless sync calendars with iOS devices. A few years ago, Apple enabled Windows users to sync Outlook calendars with MobileMe. Outlook for Mac users have to use iTunes and a USB cable......Read entire story here

Amos Deane in London confirmed the tip "Fix for 'invalid username' when creating Mac AD account:"

Joe Garfoot's fix worked for me with a problem we've had rebinding an iMac 2007 that had dropped off AD.

If this works for you

Eric Yeo in Singapore responded to the article about Macs not being able to log in to Active Directory after going into sleep mode with the general steps for logging a Mac into Active Directory and then the Windows Server:

If your objective is to logon to the Windows server:

1. Go to System Preferences
2. Go to User account
3. Click login Options
4. Look for Network Account Server -- Click Join
5. Prompt you for the AD server
6. Click the amend directory utility
7. Click Bind If this helps you (or not) .......Read entire story here

Jim responded to the post called "Suggestion for Snow Leopard/ Win Server unmodifiable folders: files that become read-only," which did not help him with a similar problem:

We are running an XServe where we host our store/file shares. We use posix and ACL lists. The ACL list is set across the board as"

User Admin : Read Write
Group Admin : Read
Others : No Access

We run a mixed environment. XP Clients and Snow Leopard Macs.......Read entire story here

Jimmy de la Rosa has seen the problem of Macs not being able to log in to Active Directory after going into sleep mode. We've previously reported suggestions to fix this, but de la Rosa offered another approach:

I just came across this post from a year ago. Yes, I've seen this issue and it appears to be related to duplicate entries in the AD domains listed under Search Policy for both Authentication and Contacts. Once the duplicates were removed, the systems were able to authenticate without issue.

If you've seen this issue or tried the suggestions .

Cesar Guimaraes in Brazil responded to our report of Parallels Transporter Mac app for moving Windows files to a Mac:

I used the new $0.99 Parallels Transporter (PT) from the Mac App Store to move a Windows XP instance running in Boot Camp from my old iMac Core 2 Duo to a Parallels VM running on my shining new iMac Core i5. Everything works as advertised.

PT moves data from your old Windows machine to your Mac AND from your old Windows machine to a new Parallels VM it creates on a single pass. The VM is created in case you want to run your old Windows programs virtualized under Parallels Desktop on the Mac......Read entire story here

Parallels has released Parallels Server for Mac 4.0, Mac Mini Edition (US$299), a scaled-down version of the virtualization server software that supports two virtual machines of up to two CPUs and four GB RAM for each virtual machine. (The standard, $2000 version of Parallels Server for Mac 4.0 supports up to 12 CPUs and 64 GB RAM for each virtual machine.)

Parallels Server can run 32-bit and 64-bit Windows and Linux servers, as well as Mac OS X Server, in virtual machines. As with the full version, Parallels Server 4.0 Mac mini Edition comes with a management console that can control multiple servers......Read entire story here

Windows IT Pro Magazine has posted an in-depth review of solutions for integrating Macs into Active Directory. The review covers Centrify DirectControl, Likewise Software's Likewise Enterprise, and Quest Software's Authentication Services, and Thursby Software's ADmitMac. The reviewer test a number of features, including adding and removing the Mac client from the domain, migrating a user, changing settings using a Group Policy Object, and using cached credentials to log on when not connected to the domain.

Hector Correa confirmed a procedure for editing a configuration file to stop -36 errors with file sharing:

I can confirm that your tip 'Another take on smb.config fix for -36 file sharing error: edit nsmb.conf for "streams=no"' took care of the nasty "error -36" on my Mac OS X 10.6.7. This is awesome, I've been dealing with this freaking issue for months and it will be great been able to use my NAS device properly from my Mac from now on. Thanks a lot!

If this worked for you .

Today, Group Logic launched mobilEcho, which is server software and an iPad app that gives iPads access to an organization's existing file servers, without the use of iTunes or cloud providers.

iPads connect directly to an enterprise's server through a firewall via virtual private network (VPN) or secure https. iPad users can then browse a file server, preview, download, and upload files, and create new files and folders on the server. iPad users can also search the server for files.

File access can be managed by existing Active Directory permissions, and administrators can use policy enforcement......Read entire story here

Parallels as made Parallels Transporter available at the Mac App store for .99 cents for a limited time. The software automates the transfer of documents and bookmarks from a Windows PC to Mac OS X. Parallels said the software will eventually have a $40 retail price.

The company had software called Parallels Transporter bundled with Parallels Desktop, to copy documents from Windows PCs to Window running in a virtual machine. However, Parallels says that this Parallels Transporter can be used to move data to Mac OS X itself......Read entire story here

Julien Schulz verified the tip about using MuCommander to get around problems accessing a network attached storage (NAS) device with Snow Leopard:

My D-Link DNS-323 NAS was working perfectly on my 2 previous laptop on Mac OS X 10.4.11 and 10.5.8. I just bought a new MacBook Pro on Mac OS X 10.6.7; and although I can see my NAS and the volumes, I could not access to it: wrong password or username. Oddly enough, I could access to the webpage volume that open the config page of the NAS.

The freeware MuCommander found on one of the tips from your website made my NAS accessible again, not a real fix, but at least a temporarely solution.

If you've tried MuCommander as a workaround for this problem .

Simon Block said updating to Mac OS X 10.6.7 broke file sharing in two directions:

Saw the post "Since 10.6.7, reader's Mac can't open NAS, Win can't access Mac." I'm in the same boat since going OS X 10.6.7. I can see shared folder on NTFS disk on my Windows Vista machine, but can't access the folders on my FAT32 NAS.

Craig Miller commented on the article "DNS/kerberos setting workaround for slow SMB browsing" with some ideas:

It might not be that the DNS server doesn't respond to the mDNS, but that the network is not forwarding the multicast, you can verify this by also running a packet capture on the DNS server and see if it ever receives the mDNS request. Most networks are not configured to forward multicast past their default gateway (layer 3 boundary), but if your computer is on the same subnet as the DNS server, the switched network (layer 2) will typically forward the mDNS to all devices.

If you've seen this on your network

John Protopapas confirmed last week's report that replacing Kaspersky Internet Security with another Windows anti-virus speeds up Parallels desktop:

I ran across this problem also. Fixed it by using McAfee. I am using Windows XP Pro.

Wil Nelson avoids anti-virus software in Windows with some other tools:

I use Opera and its built-in mail client or Thunderbird for mail and MS Security Essentials in Windows and in Windows on Parallels to avoid the drag caused by various anti-virus software. I read an article some time ago where a Windows user had used Opera and Thunderbird exclusively for 7 years and only had one malware infection in that time.

Kai Guse is another reader reporting success with using an all-numeric password to solve problems accessing network attached storage device. Other tips that readers have reported did not work for Guse:

Thanks for the numeric password hint. Changing the password to all-numeric helped to mount my wd-netcenter under 10.6.7. I had changed the smb.conf file, and created a sysctl.conf file as described here, with no effects.

Pedro Neto verified that turning on Internet Sharing speeds up slow SMB file sharing in Snow Leopard:

Try turning on Internet Sharing for any port; it can be Bluetooth. You can unmark the port after. This really worked for me My SMB shares are being read much faster.

Some readers have reported that this didn't work. If it works for you

Biff Stephens adds to our reports of slow downloads with Outlook 2011. The difference is he is using Exchange as a cloud-hosted service:

I have Office 2011 on a few installations and have slowness issues. This with downloading email using RCP or http. We are using Exchange Server with Sherweb as a host.

If you know of a workaround

Jon Gardner has posted a new build of Chubby Bunny, a bundle of software for running pre-Mac OS X software on Intel Macs. He's also reported using another open source virtualization package to run System 7.5.5-on an iPhone.

I just updated my custom "Chubby Bunny" Classic-on-Intel package (download here) with the latest SheepShaver binaries mentioned at Emaculation.com. Initial testing on a MacBook Pro 2.33GHz Core2Duo, running Mac OS X 10.6.7, suggests that the new build runs just fine, but any feedback is appreciated...especially from folks running late-model Mac hardware......Read entire story here

François La Roche solved a problem with slow performance of Windows in Parallels Desktop by replacing Kaspersky Internet Security with Norton:

Quick note of great relief that I want to share with you guys and that you could decide to share somehow with many whom may have been caught with the same issue: a super slow virtual machine......Read entire story here

Chris Ellis added a step to the tip "Fix for invalid username when creating Mac AD account:"

This works for me. Only detail missing is that you need to enable the root account and login as root user.

If you've tried this suggestion

Ernesto Kerkhof added his own wish list to previous readers' reports about missing features in Outlook 2011. He also offered a workaround for syncing with Google Calendar:

Probably nothing new but just like to mention the lack of:

Week numbers in calendar

Being able to select a standard calendar. I'd also like to be able to select the calendar at the right (as in iCal) and then make an appointment with the corresponding category. NO, it makes the appointment without any category. So you need to add the right category in each appointment.

Not being able to sync with gCal. I could make iCal sync with Outlook and iCal with Google/gCal but not on the standard "no category" folder. Hence the issue of point 2 came on. Fixed this with BusySync. Works like charm.

If you've used BusySync with Outlook 2011

Previously, another reader recommended using the Sync'Em utility for syncing Outlook Mac with Google Calendar.

Eltima Software has added syncing with Android tablets to the list of devices supported in SyncMate 3 ($US 40). SyncMate is Mac OS X software that can sync folders, music, images, videos sync, bookmarks text messages, contacts, and other data between Macs, Windows PCs, Windows Mobile, Nokia S40, and now Android phones, Google accounts, and Sony PSPs, and USB flash devices. There's also a free version with a restricted feature set.

Paragon Software Group has released NTFS for Mac OS X 9.0 (US $20) and and HFS+ for Windows 9.0 (US $20). NTFS enables Macs to write (as well as read) to NTFS formatted media, as well as partition NTFS drives. Pargaon said the new version adds support for the beta Mac OS X 10.7 Lion (Developer Preview version) and improves stability and reliability of data management.

Paragon HFS+ for Windows 9.0 is an application that enables Windows to access HFS-formatted storage. Version 9.0 adds support for journaling and correctly hides files and folders that begin with a dot (".").Paragon HFS+ for Windows 9.0 is also USB 3.0 ready and has improved stability.

While most enterprise policy management tools focus on policies related to software configuration or security, Verdiem's Surveyor 5.5 enables PCs, and now Macs, to go green with reduced electricity consumption.

"We've seen energy savings for Mac users from 36% to 50% in the beta users," said Verdiem's CEO John Scumniotales. The release versions can save even more.

"We can save 30 to 60 percent with respect to a PC's power usage," said Scumniotales, who said that the savings in electricity bills for current customers is on average $20 to $60 per PC per year. "The ROI [return on investment] is 4-to-6 months," he said.

Surveyor, which was previously available only for Windows, implements power management policies that enable IT administrators to centrally measure and control the energy usage of client computers on the network. Scumniotales said that this makes Surveyor an IT management solution rather than a PC power management solution......Read entire story here

Group Logic has released MassTransit 7.2, an update to the software for automating and managing large file transfers between Macs, Windows PCs, and Linux. The new version adds features to restore interrupted file transfers and to customize web interface. There is also a new option for a plug-in for Outlook for Windows for initiating file transfers directly from Outlook.

If the network connection drops during a file transfer, the new CheckPoint Restore feature can resume the transfer from the point of interruption rather than from the beginning--feature useful for multi-gigabyte sized files, particularly in international file transfers.......Read entire story here

CodeWeavers released CrossOver Mac 10.0.3, an update to the software that runs Windows applications directly in Mac OS X without Windows. Version 10.0.3 fixes several bugs, including a problem related to installing Microsoft Project 2007 in Mac OS X. The update also address issues related to CrossTies, a feature that enables the installation of Windows applications on a Mac with a single click. CrossOver Mac 10.0.3 also adds support for RAR archives when installing with CrossTies.

CrossOver is optimized for running Windows business software on Mac OS X. CodeWeavers also offers CrossOver Games, which is optimized for running Windows games on Macs. The most recent version of CrossOver Games is 10.1. CrossOver is available for US $40. CodeWeavers also offers the Professional edition (US $70), a bundle of both CrossOver and CrossOver Games, and which also includes multi-user support.

If you've tried CrossOver 10.0.3

Apple has issued "Boot Camp 3.2 Update for iMac (early 2011)," which the company says "addresses issues with Japanese and Korean keyboards on early 2011 iMac."

Apple has released several other updates called "Boot Camp 3.2." Most recently, there was the "Boot Camp 3.2 Update for MacBook Pro (early 2011)," which was also aimed at Japanese and Korean keyboards. Apple also issued a general "Boot Camp 3.2" release in November of last year.

If you've tried this recent release

Apple may allow VMware to support virtualized Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard Server running in the cloud using the upcoming VMware vSphere 5, according to AppleInsider and other reports on the webs. The move could be a replacement strategy for Xserve, Apple's enterprise server hardware that the company discontinued at the end of January. This left the company without an enterprise hardware platform for Mac OS X Server, which Apple says it is continuing to develop. Mac OS X Servers can run on Apple desktop Macs, but there is no longer a rack-mountable platform for the software......Read entire story here

Thursby ADmitMac 5.2, DAVE 8.2

Today, Thursby Software released ADmitMac 5.2 and DAVE 8.2, updates to the software for integrating Macs into Active Directory and Windows file sharing environments and providing security. The company said that the updates "refine networked workflows around popular Mac applications such as Apple Final Cut Pro, Adobe Creative Suite, Avid and Microsoft Office."

The company also said that these updates would be the last before it releases new versions for Mac OS X 7 Lion this summer. The version 5.2 and 8.2 updates are available for free to all customers under a current support contract.

Jessica McFarland confirmed that turning off the display of connected servers in the Finder can fix Snow Leopard problems with SMB file sharing?

It works! It Works! It Works! Not only With Windows Server 2003, but Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Storage Server 2008! Thank you!

If you've tried this fix

Since upgrading Mac OS X to 10.6.7, Ted Leeuwesteijn cannot open shares on a network attached storage (NAS) device. Additionally, his Windows PCs can no longer access Mac shares:

Since the 10.6.7 update I still can see and connect to my SMB NAS on the network, even see the shares -- but I cannot open them. I tried the older known tricks, Win XP machines, HTTP, FTP access al works well accessing the NAS. Tried to reconnect as anonymous, and as user. But there is no access to the shared folders from the Finder whatsoever. They are visible, just nothing to read. And when I try to open them it nags me about the right IP address or name. Well I can ensure that it is the right address even when I type it manually.

Also, other Windows machines cannot access my shared files anymore since that same update, which was never a problem in 10.6.6. I checked the shared and network settings but can't find anything out of the ordinary.

If you've seen this problem

Tom Francais found the reason why readers are reporting problems moving Outlook 2011 groups to the Exchange hosted folder:

The problem of Outlook 2011 address groups not appearing on an Exchange Server is a limitation in Outlook 2011. Page 47 in the Office for Mac 2011 administrator guide states: "Personal and Microsoft Exchange distribution lists are not supported in Outlook for Mac. All Outlook for Mac groups are local and are not synchronized."

If you've seen this issue

Sophal Tea confirmed that updating both iOS and Exchange 2010 fixes the problem of iPhone/Exchange status icons not syncing:

I did not realize this, but this is working now. I never bothered to check since it's always been a problem. Just checked and it is working. Bad for those who have Exchange 2007 or older.

If you've seen this issue

Jeff Owens responded to the report "Reader sees slow Outlook for Mac syncing with Exchange." Unlike the previous reader, Owens believes it's Outlook, and not a VPN issue:

I found a post made recently from "Thomas Moy" regarding an exact scenario I've been experiencing with a client experiencing varying degrees of slowness using Mac Outlook 2011 while connected to hosted Exchange over a T1. Unlike his situation we also managed the client's IT infrastructure and managed to eliminate any problem sources there. It seems to be an application-centric issue.

If you've seen this issue

Oracle has release VirtualBox 4.06, a maintenance release to the virtualization software for Mac, Windows, Linux, and Unix hosts. The update fixes a number of minor bugs, some specific to each host OS, and some common to all versions. VirtualBox is free for personal use.

If you've used VirtualBox 4.06

Related: VirtualBox Reports

A reader in our forums had a problem accessing a Samba SMB share from Mac OS X 10.6.7, and posted a Terminal command that fixed it:

sudo chmod 0755 load_smbfs

For more details, see the Forum post, where you can post a reply.

Although Apple doesn't mention Windows speaker problems as an issue solved by Boot Camp 3.2, Mirob in Slovakia said the update did the trick. Mirob describes what happens for non-English systems:

I had similar problem with external speakers on my new iMac 27" early 2011. I sorted out my issue when I upgraded Boot Camp version 3.1 (included first DVD with OS) to version 3.2. Now everything works fine. If you use another language than English, you must install Boot Camp with parameter like here: BootCamp_3.2.2792.exe /EL). If everything is fine in your device manager, there will be change in audio driver from High Definition audio Device to Cirrus logic CS4206 A (AB24).

If you've used this approach

Related: Boot Camp 3 Tips and Reports

Carlos Leitao reported a Snow Leopard problem with IPSecuritas VPN when with an Internet connection through a tether iPhone:

I'm running IPSecuritas for my VPN and I have the same symptoms reported by John McCutcheon with the 10.5.4 update. When connected in my home network (Apple TC router) the VPN works flawlessly. However, when connecting through my tethered iPhone, I am unable to ping anything on my remote network, and like John's report, I cannot connect via RDC.

In contrast, I can use a different VPN client running Windows 7 in Parallels and have no issue connecting even when tethered through my iPhone.

If you've seen this problem

Related: Snow Leopard and VPN Tips and Reports

Bobby Stewart reports having problems that two other readers reported regarding creating groups with Outlook 2011 and Exchange Server:

I am having the problem as stated by John Kahn. Distribution lists (Groups) created in Outlook for PC or on the Exchange Server through Outlook Web Access do not appear in the contacts list in Outlook 2011. Groups created in Outlook 2011 appear in the 'On My Computer' contacts as stated by Rudi Bekkers and may not be moved to the Exchange hosted folder.......Read entire story here

Jarler Martinez reported success with the procedure described in the article " TIP: Apple workaround for Snow Leopard AD login, mobile problems," but finds it tedious:

I followed your this Tip date September 30, 2009 and it worked great. My question is, has Apple resolve this issue yet? We have a large number of Mac users we are having to do this for everyone of them.

If you've tried this approach, or know of another fix

Luis Antezana updated his previous note "MS could distribute Outlook Mac with Exchange Server" to report on Rackspace, a cloud provider that offers Exchange as a service:

Rackspace now includes Outlook 2011 as a separately downloadable application as part of their Exchange hosting program. I have downloaded it and am using it now.

Recently, another company, Hostway Corporation, announced that it was also offering Exchange 2010 as a cloud service. Pricing begins at $7.50 per mailbox, with 25GB in free storage.

CodeWeavers has enabled Mac OS X and Linux users to run the Windows game Rift directly on their computers. CrossOver Games Impersonator Edition 10.1 is an update to the software that enables Windows applications to run on Macs and Linux without the use of the Windows operating system. Rift is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) introduced on March 1.

The CrossOver Games 10.1 update also fixes some issues with Star Trek Online and World of Warcraft, and has improved the Lord of the Rings Online installation process, and resolved a bug launching some games in Steam, according to the company.

CrossOver Games is optimized for running Windows games on Mac OS X and Linux. For running Windows business software, CodeWeavers offers CrossOver.

If you've tried CrossOver or CrossOver Games Related: CrossOver Reports

Steven Wells sent a fix and an explanation of problems with Macs losing their binding to Active Diretory:

Unchecking "Allow authentication from any domain in the forest" is working at our college. We have been beating our heads on this for about 2 terms, with no understanding of why it works in some places and not in others. When we found this working, our IT guy said that the Security SID is being duplicated, when it looks in other domain forest, and that is what is causing the problem. This is the first time I have found an explanation for the problem.

If you've tried this approach

Alexander Henket tried out four of our popular tips for speeding up SMB file sharing in Snow Leopard. Although many readers have reported success with some of these, Henket found none of them worked:

I've tried setting the FQDN, the port 139, the delayed_ack, the notify_off with reboots in between. The net result is unchanged in that making initial contact to any SMB share takes 22.5 seconds. After making initial contact browsing and copying works just fine, but if I happen to close the last Finder window on that share, it takes yet again 22.5 seconds to connect. Mac OS X 10.6.7 connect to a Windows Server 2010.

If any of these work (or don't work for you)

Ericom Software has issued a beta (prerelease) version of HTML5 Client for VMware View, software that allows you to access VMware View virtual machines from any HTML5-compatible web browser, including Safari, Firefox, and Google Chrome. Although VMware View is for Windows only, Ericom Software's beta enables Mac users to access the virtualization software from a Mac.

The HTML5 Client for VMware View beta is publically available. A video about the product is available at Ericom's web site.

If you've tried the HTML5 Client for VMware View beta

Joe Garfoot in England sent us a workaround for the problem of getting an "Invalid username and password combination" error with Macs and Active Directory:

I've seen the problem where some machines will not bind to AD with the "invalid username" error message. Nothing done in the GUI can make it work. These machines had previously been bound to AD. The workaround I found was to delete:

/private/var/db/dslocal/nodes/Default/config/Kerberos:REALM.NAME.plist
(REALM.NAME will be different)

Restart Directory Service:
sudo killall DirectoryService

The Mac will then rebind with no problem.

If you've tried this fix

Centrify has released Centrify Suite 2011, a new version of the cross-platform Active Directory integration and management tool set. The new version enables IT administrators to disable or control the behavior of the Mac App Store on Mac clients using group policies. It also enhances DNS handling and adds centralized local account management with Deployment Manager 1.2.

The new version enables administrators to use group policies to disable the Mac App Store so that it doesn't launch. Centrify also enhanced the Login Items group policy to support the mounting of network shares at login...Read entire story here

Two readers commented on the Snow Leopard problem where some shared SMB folders don't appear in the Finder or in Terminal. One reader (name not given) provide a workaround for using the rsync Terminal command for syncing:

I have the same problem described on your site here. I'm using Mac OS X 10.6.7. I want to rsync some documents from a Win 7 x86 PC. Some folders just don't show up and cannot be rsynced. I try to access it with command line, I can cd the lost folders.

The workaround for this problem is installing a RsyncServer on my PC. It works perfectly with my Chinese-character-name subfolders. Though I have to sync the whole folder every time.

If you've tried this

Meanwhile, another reader posted a note in our Forums saying he has a similar problem, but he can see the shares from Windows running in Parallels Desktop on the Mac.

Rich Rodecker confirmed the suggestion that a Finder tweak speeds up SMB file sharing in Mac OS X:

Just wanted to let you know that the tip "New Finder-based workaround for slow SMB file sharing: turn off display of server in sidebar" worked perfectly for me. Finder browsing of SMB shares is dramatically faster.

If you've tried this

As developers evaluate Apple's Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Developer Preview, Microsoft has a beta of a new OS referred to as "Windows 8" and will unveil it this September and ship it in 2012, according to rumors. Conjecture about features and purportedly leaked screenshots abound, including shots of a Windows App Store, at a Chinese site called cnBeta. Microsoft has not commented on the rumors. Analysts expect Windows 8 to either run on tablet hardware and PCs, or be available in two versions. CNN Money quoted an analyst......Read entire story here

Apple released Boot Camp 3.2 Update for MacBook Pro (early 2011), a minor update to fix problems "with shutdown, Japanese and Korean keyboards on early 2011 MacBook Pro." It was not clear whether the "shutdown" issue was with the Asian keyboards or if it was an issue separate from keyboard issues.

If you've installed this update

Kevin Worden sent us his solution to the Active Directory problem of Mac mobile accounts on losing administrator rights and reverting to standard user privileges:

I was having the mobile account losing admin rights for a long time since 10.5. All my Macs are bound to an unmodified 2003 AD domain. Here is what I use to work around the issue. I add the current user to the Local admin group.

To give/remove the current user's Local Admin Rights you can run these applescripts. You only need to run them once. The user will keep the Local Admin Rights until you remove the rights. Save each as run-only app......Read entire story here

A MacWindows Forum reader has posted a description of how to extend the Active Directory schema to enable setting up synchronization rules for Mac home directories for mobile accounts. This is for a situation where there is no Mac OS X Server.

If you've tried this approach, please post a reply in the forum.

Will Bailey reports having the problem in which an "Invalid username and password combination" error follows an attempt to create and Active Directory account for Macs:

I've just been researching an error we've been having with our AD integration and I saw that you wanted to hear from people who_ve had similar woes. I'm referring to this post More on Snow Leopard Active Directory woes: Invalid username. We potentially have the issue but it occurs randomly on machines that work fine for months then spontaneously lose authentication. Unbinding/Rebinding is impossible. Deleting directory plists doesn't fix it but reimaging machines does.

If you've seen this problem

Gabor Hollai reports that the latest Mac OS X 10.6.7 update from Apple does not fix his problem with slow SMB file sharing. He also notes that the tip Finder preferences modification, notify_off=yes, also does not work for him. (This procedure has worked for several readers.) Hollai reports:

We have Win2008R2 Standard server and we would like to connect from Mac (10.6.7) via SMB. I have read your article and I have do what you have suggested (Finder preferences modification, notify_off=yes), but unfortunately the SMB is still slow. It is need about 4-5 minutes to just browse into the share. This server is virtual and I also have tried to connect a physical server and same problem.

Has Mac OS X 10.6.7 fixed any filesharing or other problems for you? Also, the article 'Is FQDN and turning off Notify the "final answer" for SMB problem?' seems to help some readers. If it helps you

Softhing has released Entourage Exchange Accounts Optimizer (EEAO) 1.9.0, an update to the Mac utility. EEAO automatically moves old mail from an Exchange account to a replicated structure within Entourage so that the online mailbox never gets full. Users can decide how many days worth of email to keep on Exchange Server. Improvements in EEAO 1.9.0 include:

• A new feature that can move emails by date range
• When auto-run is set, the user has 20 seconds to stop the process before it runs.
• Internal improvements and minor changes to the interface.

The software works with Mac OS X 10.4.x and later and Microsoft Entourage 2004, 2008 or 2008 Web Services Edition. A free trial version is available.

For people who had problems with AFP URLs after updating to Snow Leopard, last week's Mac OS X 10.6.7 update returns AFP file sharing to the way it worked in Mac OS X 10.5.x and earlier. Apple said the reversion fixes a problem opening an AFP URL (apf://xxxx) that points to a file. The update also changes the AFP mount path to what it was before Snow Leopard. AFP URL's can be used in a web browser, the Mail application, the Finder's Go menu, and the mount_afp command in Terminal.

In Snow Leopard versions before 10.6.7, AFP URLs that include a filename would fail to open (afp://myserver.mydomain.com/Sharepoint/Folder/file.txt). Before Snow Leopard, and now with the 10.6.7 update, URLs ending in filenames will mount the sharepoint volume in the Finder. URLs ending in the folder will also mount the sharepoint. In addition......Read entire story here

This weekend we launched MacWindows Networking Solutions, which describes third-party products that help integrate Macs and Windows PCs in cross-platform network environments. Readers can compare different products ranging from enterprise systems to personal software, all in one place, to see what might meet their needs. The Network Solutions listings also contain links to the developers' web sites.

The Networking Solutions listings contain software descriptions in several different categories. These include:

• Active Directory/Mac integration solutions
• AFP file/print servers for Mac clients in Windows networks
• File sharing integration solutions that run on Macs
• Groupware: Products related to MS Exchange Server, Entourage Outlook, and alternatives
  ........Read entire story here

Alex Parker in Liverpool, UK, sent us a fix for authentication problems with Outlook for Mac accounts.

I have had this experience. Our resolution was, within the autodiscovery wizard in Outlook, enter \domain\username (with a backslash before the name), not just domain\username.

Looks like poor UNIX coding with escaped backslashes.

If you've tried this

Rick Sterner reports that he got over problems with Windows PC users being unable to edit Outlook Mac calendars. He upgraded the Windows PCs from Outlook 2007 to 2010 on Windows:

In response to the comments on Calendar Sharing problems between Office 2011 and Windows users, I found that the problem went away when I upgraded my PC from Outlook 2007 to Outlook 2010. Below are my notes from the case file:

I had user give me Editor Permissions to his Calendar from Outlook 2011. I opened his calendar from my Mac and created a Test Meeting...

........Read entire story here

Walter Koerber confirmed a Finder-based workaround to solve Snow Leopard's slow SMB file sharing problems. The tip is in Finder Preferences, to turn-off display of connected servers in the sidebar, and turn it on in the desktop. Koerber reports:

Just tried this tip and I can confirm this speeds up file browsing.

If you've tried this approach

Two readers commented on the tip to speed Mac OS X's SMB browsing by connecting manually by typing smb:\\share:139 in the Finder's Go menu>Connect to Server. Marnina Norys tried some of our other tips, unsuccessfully, then found that simply typing smb:\\share also worked for big files:

I recently updated my Mac to Snow Leopard and was horrified by the lags I suddenly faced when I tried to access large files on my external Western Digital network drive. After attempting to apply a few of the fixes such as the nsmb.conf tip, fiddling with ACK settings and turning on Internet sharing I was getting sort of frustrated. Eventually I tried to connect to Server using smb:\\share:139, and voila. Although files in large folders take a while to load, once they are up I can browse quickly and easily...

........Read entire story here

Although the tip "Workaround for Slow Snow Leopard SMB connections: sysctl, ack=0" doesn't work for everyone, it does work for Michael Smitasin for very large, multi-gigabyte files. He sent some test results:

We were seeing extremely slow download speeds over wireless when connecting to a fileserver via SMB (Windows Server 2008 R2) using newer Macs running 10.6.6. The estimated times were 7-8 hours for a 5.8 GB file, or about 20 kb/s. After performing this command:

> sudo sysctl -w net.inet.tcp.delayed_ack=0

We saw speeds improve considerably. Now estimated times are about 50 minutes, with speeds around 1.5 mb/s.

Sonja Kirsch in Bavaria reports that for file and folder color labels (assigned in the Finder's file menu) don't appear on some Macs when the files reside on Windows workstations:

We have a problem with Mac 10.5.8 and 10.6.6 with files stored two PC workstations (Windows 7 64-bit and Win XP SP3). The two Mac users don't see each other's color labels: That is, Mac 10.5 users see color labels of themselves but not the labels of Mac 10.6 users (and the other way around).

On our third server, Windows 2008 server R2, color labels work fine and we can all see our each other's labels.

I'm referring to the labels that Mac users can use for files and folders. It's very convenient for organization (for example: red = to do, green = finished). So all Mac users that are on the server are informed about the status of the file.

If you've seen this problem

CodeWeavers has released CrossOver Games 10.1, adding the ability to run the Windows-only RIFT game in Mac OS X. CrossOver enables Mac OS X to natively run Windows applications, and the Games edition is optimized for running Windows games in Mac OS X. RIFT, from Trion Worlds, Inc., is an MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game).

The CrossOver Games 10.1 update also enables Lord of the Rings Online to install in Mac OS X, though some systems require the PyLotro program to launch the gam. Also new is the ability to install World of Warcraft via the download client.......Read entire story here

A couple of readers responded to Monday's report about problems with logging into email accounts with Outlook 2011 for Mac. Jim Cooper fixed the problem by changing autodiscover settings in Exchange Server:

I'm going out on a limb and guessing your ISP is using Exchange. We just resolved this problem internally - just upgraded our internal server to Exchange 2010. The problem was in the autodiscover settings of the Exchange Server.

Outlook 2011 uses EWS (not OWA) to connect to Exchange. Unfortunately, there are no 'configuration settings' for Outlook 2011 - it uses autodiscover.xml on the Exchange server to set itself up. This is a case of making something too simple to the point that it will not work. Ironically, you will not have this problem with Mac Mail.......Read entire story here

Citrix has released a GoToMyPC app that enables iPad users to control a Mac or Windows PC over a WiFi or a 3G connection. iPad users can run Mac and Windows applications, edit files, and access a network connected to the computer. The iPad app supports touch gestures and enables zoom up to 300 percent, and supports on-screen or external keyboards. The software works without requiring firewall reconfiguration and includes encryption and authentication.

The GoToMyPC service also enables Mac and Windows computers to control each other. The iPad app is free for users of the monthly GoToMyPC subscription service. A free 30-day trail account is available.

If you've tried GoToMyPC for iPad

Canadian reader Brad Anderson responded positively to last week's article "Is FQDN and turning off Notify the 'final answer' for SMB problem?" for Mac Snow Leopard clients. FQDN is the fully qualified domain name, which he describes:

I made the same change (turn notify off) and started using the FQDN to connect to all my SMB shares (smb://server.mydomain.local) and the speed has drastically increased. Everything from connecting to a share to navigating the folders within is almost instant compared to what it used to be on my Snow Leopard machine.

For Sonja Kirsch in Germany, turning off Notify was enough:

I tried the "tip" at your Web site (TIP: details on turning notify off in nsmb.conf for slow SMB browsing, dated Monday, December 13, 2010) and now it works! SMB browsing is now faster.

If this finally fixes the slow SMB file sharing problem for you

Mike Taylor can't connect to his ISP-based email account accounts using Outlook for Mac, even though the same account information works in Outlook for Windows:

I installed Office 2011 with Outlook on my new MacBook Pro and right now I am not happy. I have all the settings from my Windows based unit in Outlook 2010 and all works fine. However, when I enter the settings into Mac Outlook, I cannot send or receive anything except my gmail address. I know the passwords are correct and the incoming and outgoing mail servers are named correctly as well. Mac Outlook keeps asking for a password every 5 minutes or so.

In both cases I am trying to connect to an ISP. The error message I am getting is "invalid user name or password. Your username/password or security settings may be incorrect." I know that is not true as I have verified and reverified that they are correct. With these accounts I have never had a VPN authentication issue, so I do not think that is an issue. I know in Outlook 2010 you can get the program to automatically search and set up the accounts. With the Mac Outlook 2011 I was never asked to let it search after entering the email address and password.

If you've seen this problem or have a suggestion

VMware has released VMware View for iPad, a free iOS client for controlling a server-based Windows desktop. Similar to Citrix Receiver for iPad, released a year ago, VMware View controls a virtual machine running on VMware View enterprise server software. The new free iPad connects uses the PCoIP protocol, a thin client that provides full resolution, full frame rate graphics, but is also optimized to provide acceptable graphics over slow connections. Because of the use of PCoIP, VMware View for iPad requires VMware View 4.6 or later......Read entire story here

Jeff Latimer is seeing the problem of email messages from Exchange Server that are garbled when viewed from an iPhone or iPod Touch, except he sees the problem only with iPad-generated mail. He tried an AppleScript we mentioned, but he found another that works better:

I see this issue for any messages sent from my iPad. All other messages sent from either Entourage or my iPhone seem to be OK. It is when I look in my sent folder that I see the messages. They appear to look like they were encrypted, but from what I am reading they seem to be missing some information in the header and that's causing the messages to look strange. I did try some of the AppleScript workarounds........Read entire story here

Is FQDN and turning off Notify the "final answer" for SMB problem?

Save As may get around read-only CS4 file server problem; also seen on NAS

Reader says Parallels Mobile "Win-on-iPad" has kinks

February 21

Mokafive hits the cloud, licenses unique VM technology to service providers

Group Logic and Quantum Corp. have teamed up to announce a solution that enables Mac clients to access Quantum's StorNext shared file storage system using Mac OS X native file sharing system. The new product, called Group Logic LAN Client for StorNext, which will ship later this month. StorNext is installed on hosts connected to a storage area network (SAN) disk array, including Apple's Xsan. StorNext provides high-performance storage and archiving over a local area network......Read entire story here

Jonathan Sward discovered that disabling sleep and hibernate in Windows 7 running with VirtualBox fixed a problem of VirtualBox crashing in Mac OS X:

In the last week I have been busy setting myself up on my new 27" iMac with Windows 7 running on VirtualBox 4.02. I had been experiencing frequent crashes (3 or 4+ a day). I just made a discovery thanks to this posting at virtualbox.org. I have not had a problem since.

If you've seen this problem and tried this fix

Dave Bishops confirmed a fix for Boot Camp problems with PowerPoint for Windows:

The Boot Camp 3.2-PowerPoint 2010 fix--That is just incredible! You have saved me from a great deal of unproductive time, let alone loss of time with my family.

If you've tried this

Mark Dodd confirmed a previously reported problem:

Regarding "Boot Camp 3.2 breaks reader's Volume, Brightness controls," I've also seen this problem, as well as Boot Camp no longer showing up in the task bar under Windows 7.

If you've seen this

Apple tech article TS3389 says that iOS 4 devices are unable to resolve DNS names that end with a .local suffix. The article recommends upgrading to iOS 4.1 or later to fix this issue. Peter Gort alerted us to the Apple article, in response to our reader reports:

On the front of your web page this morning I found a question about iOS DNS issue with CNAME point to .local. This article might be relevant.

The Apple article also recommends not using .local:

Bonjour's Multicast Domain Name Service (mDNS) uses the ".local" suffix to identify Bonjour-accessible devices. When planning for internal corporate network naming, to avoid conflicts with Bonjour, consider using a different domain suffix, such as one of the following: .private, .intranet, .internal, .lan

If upgrading to iOS 4.1 fixes this issue

Søren Theilgaard got around the iOS/CNAME DNS problem by pointing directly to the host with an A record instead of a CNAME, a suggestion first made last June:

I have implemented Kerio Mail server on a Mac OS X Server in a small Windows environment, where the Mac server was named with a .local domain. The Mail server name was mail.domain.dk and pointed (CNAME) to macserver.domain.local.

The Exchange account on their iPhones worked perfectly when outside of the office, as the mail server name was an A record to their public IP address. Inside in their local office it failed. After I changed the DNS so that it pointed directly to the host, everything worked fine.

If you've tried something similar to this

John Haynes said that upgrading clients to Mac OS X 10.6.6 fixed a problem where the Macs drop Active Directory binding after the client reboots:

I am a very new Win/Mac administrator with many years as a purely Windows net admin. I have been an Apple user at a stand-alone level for a while. Recently we decided to put together a Mac lab on our network and quickly ran into the bug outlined on your site where OS X 10.6 client drops the binding to the AD server after a reboot. In our case it worked fine for different users until the Mac was restarted, then they would fail to authenticate until we logged on as local admin and rebound to the AD server.

We found lots of discussion about this but nobody had a solution that seemed to work for us. However there is a solution and in our case it was simple: it seems this bug has been corrected in 10.6.6 for as soon as we applied this combo update to our client systems they were happily authenticating regardless of the number of restarts.

If you've seen the 10.6.6 update have any effect on this problem

Jeffrey Kerber confirmed a previously reported tip that rebuilding a .OST file in Outlook for Windows fixed a problem with messages deleted in Outlook remain on an iPad. However, Kerber uses an iPhone: I tried the tip and it worked! I have an iPhone, but same difference!

If you've tried this

Clive Southwood in the United Kingdom sent us a fix problems with getting the Cisco VPN virtual private network client to work in Snow Leopard. Part of the fix involves installing the Shimo VPN client for Mac OS X, though he still uses the Cisco software:

Connecting to a PIX 520 running Version 6.3(4), the usual scenario, Cisco client 4.9.01.0180 running fine on Leopard then finally upgraded to Snow Leopard and Cisco client stopped working. No matter what I tried following all the hints I cannot get the OS X native IPSec client to work. Authorization fails and there's no way to enter a username/password...........Read entire story here

Tim Fryer responded to previous reports of problems with iOS 4 and DNS CNAME lookups. Unlike some readers, Fryer is not seeing the problems with his Macs:

I am doing some research regarding the possibilities of bringing Mac's and iPads into our Windows domain. The Macs work just fine. Joined to the domain, we loaded MS Office 2011 and Firefox and we are working pretty much the same way as a PC. The iPad's (and iPod's too) however could not resolve DNS correctly. It took some troubleshooting, but we found that any CNAME in our external .org domain that pointed to our internal domain name that ends in .local failed. Everything except iPad's and iPod's work just fine. So there appears to be a bug as you mention in the iOS regarding CNAME and DNS lookups.

If you've seen this problem

Mark Sones responded to the report "Reader says AD causes slow Snow Leopard SMB," saying that file sharing is faster when Windows Server is not a domain controller:

As per the above, I can confirm I've found Mac SMB file copy performance to be slowed significantly after promoting a Windows 2008 R2 server to a domain controller / active directory host. Rebuilding the server and not making it a domain controller has made a big difference to the speed!

If you've seen this

Terrell Jamison is having the problem with Software Update not working on Snow Leopard Macs with Active Directory. Like other readers, logging in as a local user gets around it. He mentions that he tried a fix, but we don't know which one of the two (here and here) he tried. Jamison's report:

I too am experiencing the same symptoms with performing updates, with a network user login with admin rights performing updates. If I log on local to the workstation, the updates work. After reading the fix, I logged in locally and was able to download the latest OS download (10.6.6). Network users logging in via Active Directory are now able to perform their own updates with success.

If you've seen this

Christopher Nugent is another reader who is sees Windows 7 crashing in Boot Camp when the Mac wakes from sleep:

Just wanted to let you know that I'm also experiencing this problem with Boot Camp 3.2. I'm running Windows 7 on a new MacBook Pro and it consistently gets as BSOD after waking up from sleep. That, however, is the only time.

If you've seen this problem, has updating to 3.2 helped?

(Note: Mr. Nugent recently wrote back to correct his origninal report, saying that he's running version 3.2, not 3.1. This report reflects that update.)

Like some other readers, Richard Jackson found that installing Realtek drivers fixed a problem with external speakers with Windows 7 and Boot Camp:

I read the posts concerning no external speaker sound after installing Boot Camp 3.2. I downloaded and installed Realtek driver version 6.0.1.6299 and all is well. I have an early 2008 20" iMac, Windows 7 Pro, Boot Camp 3.2.

If you've tried this

Last week I tweeted reports from Macworld Expo in San Francisco: software executives in drag, an electronic cello concert, enterprise developers touting iPad integration into Windows networks, and the upstart Microsoft taking on Google. What's it all about? Since the 140-character Twitter posts didn't tell the whole story, I'll expand my report here.

First, something about this year's show, the second since Apple pulled out. Information about integrating Macs and Windows was plentiful, but much more was to be found in the workshops and sessions than on the show floor. There were several all-day tracks on Macs in the enterprise, Mac OS X Server, and Active Directory ("DNS Demystified" offered some interesting fixes), as well as sessions on running Windows on Macs through virtualization.

The show floor, which was the smallest anyone could remember, included fewer of the companies that we cover here at MacWindows. But I did see CodeWeavers and Group Logic, Active-Directory integrators Centrify and Likewise, and Mac enterprise integrators JAMF and Absolute Software. CodeWeavers was the only one with a major product announcement: CrossOver 10........Read entire story here

We'll be roaming the aisles and rooms of Macworld Expo at Moscone Center in San Francisco this week. When we see anything of interest in the area of cross-platform, Mac-and-Windows integration, we'll first report it on twitter as we see it. Click here for the MacWindows Twitter feeed.

Tomorrow at Macworld Expo, CodeWeavers will announce the release of CrossOver and CrossOver Games10, which are now also called CrossOver Impersonator. The new version provides 1-click installation of thousands of Windows files in Mac OS X using a feature called CrossTie. CrossOver enables Windows applications to run natively in Mac OS X and Linux, without the use of Windows itself.

Version 10 also supports hundreds of additional Windows applications. CodeWeavers generally tweaks new versions of CrossOver to enable specific Windows applications to run. With this 10.0 release, "more and more applications are simply starting to run out of the box," said a CodeWeavers spokesperson.

If you're at Macworld Expo San Francisco, you can visit CodeWeavers at Booth 422 through Saturday.

Christopher Roehl shared his workaround for the problem of slow SMB file sharing in Snow Leopard. We've had many suggestions for working around this problem, including this one. Here's Roehl's report:

I've been following the issue of slow server browsing in Mac OS X 10.6.x and can continue to say that in 10.6.6 it is still a problem, I'm connecting to a fileserver running Windows Server 2003 R2, and upon initial login, it is fast, but as soon as you go to another volume and come back, it takes sometimes up to a minute for the folders to appear again. I've also found that after initial login to the server, if I disconnect and try to reconnect it will take a long time. In contrast to 10.5.8 where it may take a while to make initial login, it continues to be very fast in the Finder no matter how many times you come back to it. I have different Windows Server environments in different locations I support and this behavior is consistent in all locations.

I think I have come up with a workaround for my situation. In the Finder Preferences I go to the "Sidebar", and uncheck "Connected servers" under the "Shared" heading. Still within Finder Preferences under "General" I check "Connected servers"

This shows only the volume I have mounted instead of the whole server, these settings also carry into the open dialog boxes within applications. I can browse away from the connection and connect to the share and it displays everything quickly. (Personally, this is how I prefer to see the servers anyhow.)

If you've tried this approach

Dick Sampson verified Monday's suggestion for fixing the Caps Lock key in VMware Fusion when it's working the opposite of what it is supposed to:

Regarding fixing VMware caps lock sticking -- I have experienced this exact same thing while working in AutoCad in VMware Fusion. Thanks for this tip.

Q: Gene Deal had a problem with his Caps Lock. We sent him a suggestion, and it worked. Deal asked:

I am running VMware Fusion with Windows XP installed. I have several programs I run within that environment where for reasons unknown to me the Caps Lock key becomes "swapped" and I must lock the caps to get lowercase and unlock for caps. The only way I have found to reset this issue is to log off VMWare and reboot the Mac.......Read entire story here

Oracle has released VitualBox 4.02, a maintenance update to the virtualization package for Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, and Solaris. The update fixes several dozen bugs and issues, including crashes during various scenarios, as well as some minor usability issues. VirtualBox is free for personal and starts at US $50 per users for enterprise use. (See also our VirtualBox Tips and Reports page.)

If you've tried this new version of VirtualBox

Brandon Gleason confirmed a fix for a Boot Camp problem where Windows 7 could not access a wireless network. He also clarified the original a bit:

I just wanted to thank you tons for posting this MacWindows Win 7 Boot Camp wireless Internet driver fix. It worked and if you can update the post, where Steve Ballard says there were two options but he can't remember which one he picked, it is the Broadcom option that works.

Note that we also have another fix for the problem posted. If either of these works for you

Jim Ferr alerted us to a bug in Apache, Mac OS X's web server, after upgrading to 10.6.5 or 10.6.6. Fortunately, he also provided the solution, which is to edit the apachectl script by editing this line:

ULIMIT_MAX_FILES="ulimit -S -n `ulimit -H -n`"
and replacing it with this line:
ULIMIT_MAX_FILES=""

Here is Ferr's report:

There's an error in Apache after 10.6.5 upgrade:

/usr/sbin/apachectl: line 82: ulimit: open files: cannot modify limit: Invalid argument

Here and here are two articles with the solution.

If you've tried this new version of VirtualBox

Doctor Osos commented on the post "Reader says iOS update fixed iPhone/Exchange status icon sync issue," saying that Exchange is also key to the fix:

Hello, it's a combination of two things for Reply & Forward flags (status icons) to work: Device with iOS 4, and Exchange Server 2010 on the backend.

If you agree (or not)

Tony Pellegrini told us how to automate the manual loading of VMware kernel extensions. Ordinarily, they load automatically when the Mac starts up, which can slow start up, whether you're using VMware or not. Last week we described how to load them and unload them manually, only when you use VMward. Pellegrini makes this easier:

A follow-up to "Tip of the day: Manually load VMware kernel extensions, speed boot time." I saw this post and found it helpful but wanted to offer you a change I implemented. Instead of creating two separate scripts to start and stop Fusion, I used Automator as described to create just one workflow with the following code in one shell script:

sudo /Library/Application\ Support/VMware\ Fusion/boot.sh --start
open -W /Applications/VMware\ Fusion.app
sudo /Library/Application\ Support/VMware\ Fusion/boot.sh --stop

In this way the service is started, then Fusion is run and Automator waits for it to close. Once Fusion is closed the services are stopped automatically.

If you're tried this

Two readers sent us a fix for the problem report "Reader's iPad Safari disappears when Exchange email set up." It involves making sure web browsing is not disabled on the server. "Doctor Osos" describes it:

Check the Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) policy. "Enable web browser" is unchecked, causing Safari to disappear from Springboard. (Same can be done with camera from EAS.) I'd stake a chili cheese dog on that. The setting is on the Exchange ActiveSync server (Exchange 2003 - front end or exchange CAS in 2007/2010).

Michael Perbix describes this way......Read entire story here

Robert Olguin suggested an alternative fix for problems with wireless network connections in Windows 7 running on a Boot Camp Mac:

I had the same problem of not being able to get wireless Internet to work in the Boot Camp partition. After being unsuccessful with any of the suggestions I found on the web (including the MacWindows site), I tried this with success......Read entire story here

Dan Parker followed up on his previous report that Mac OS X 10.6.5 problem with breaking DNS CNAME to .local address look ups:

Just a follow up. This appears to be fixed in 10.6.6.

Other readers have reported this problem as well. If the Mac OS X 10.6.6 update fixes the problem for you

Maryann Whitley reports that the Mac OS X 10.6.6 update created a problem with Entourage:

I'm running Office: Mac 2008 on a MacBook Pro. Since I updated to 10.6.6 Entourage has had problems. It boots up and loads emails but then hangs and becomes unresponsive. I have to force quit. I hope this gets fixed quickly. Here's a bit of the error log:

Command: Entourage
Path: /Applications/Microsoft Office 2008/Microsoft Entourage.app/Contents/MacOS/Microsoft Entourage
Version: 12.2.8 (12.2.8)
Build Version: 0
Project Name: (null)
Source Version: 101117
Parent: launchd [541]

PID: 4763
Event: hang
Duration: 5.02s (sampling started after 2 seconds)
Steps: 10 (100ms sampling interval)

If you've seen this problem

Q: Richard Lee asked why VMware was showing up in his Mac's Console utility even when he doesn't use it:

Dear MacWindows,

The console log on my MacBook, and also iMac, both Snow Leopard 10.6.4, lists numerous apparent attempts to launch VMware Fusion (I have version 1.1.1) -- which I have not launched, copy below:
1/5/11 8:39:37 PM com.apple.launchd[1] *** launchd[1] has started up. ***
1/5/11 8:39:57 PM com.vmware.launchd.vmware[46] VMware Fusion
72241: Starting VMware Fusion: 1/5/11 8:39:59 PM
1/5/11 8:39:59 PM com.vmware.launchd.vmware[46]
1/5/11 8:39:59 PM com.vmware.launchd.vmware[46]
...

A: What you see in Console are VMware launch daemons loading kernel extensions when the Mac boots up......Read entire story here

Benjie Kang updated his previous report about MacBook Air Windows 7 crashing, but also reports another problem:

After I updated to Boot Camp 3.2, it seems BSOD has gone. But there is annoying issue that scan disk when boot Windows 7 every time after I operated Mac a while. The same issue encountered with Boot Camp 3.1 too.

If you've seen either of these issues

Eddie Lee found several buttons no longer functional after updating Boot Camp:

I updated to Boot Camp 3.2 and I noticed my Eject ,Volume, and Brightness buttons are no longer working. Is there anyway can fix this problem?

If you've seen this problem

Mike Page updated his previous report about iPhone/Exchange status icons not syncing:

We have status icons! Looks like the last iOS upgrade took care of it.

If the last update helped you with this issue

A reader sent in this clarifying comment on the article "How nsmb.conf, ack=0, and other tips affect slow SMB file sharing:"

Small technical correction for you. You made the statement "SMB (also known as Samba)". SMB, SMB-2, CIFS are protocol names and Samba, like Thursby's DAVE, are product implementation names. Apple currently uses Samba technology only for the server side while the client, which is the most commonly customer used code, is actually based on FreeBSD client code by Boris Popov.

Yesterday Apple released Mac OS X 10.6.6 Update and Mac OS X Server 10.6.6 Update. Both updates install a new App Store application into the Dock, which enables users to buy Mac software on the Apple's new online App Store. The updates also include security patches. Missing from the descriptions of the updates are mention of bug fixes, which are typically included in maintenance updates. Readers continue to report problems after upgrading to Snow Leopard regarding file sharing, Active Directory, and, to a lessor degree, with Boot Camp.

Another departure from traditional updates is the fact that Mac OS X Server 10.6.6 Update does not include a Server Admin Tools 10.6.6 update. Apple said that users need to continue with Server Admin Tools 10.6.5.

Update January 9: Another Apple tech article, HT4459 lists two minor bug fixes with printing and with the mouse pointer on some Macs.

If you've found that these updates fix or create any issues

Jonathan Agosta answered our call for an explanation of the nsmb.conf file and how it can fix slow SMB (also known as Samba) file browsing in Macs. He explained the tip about using the file to turn "notify" off, and why it might not work for all users. He also describes several other configuration tips that we've reported and thinks making these changes on a Windows Server instead of the Mac could be productive:

The nsmb.conf file contains settings (If it doesn't exist defaults are used) to configure the Network Protocol for Samba. The notify_off=yes setting will disable the Samba Notify-Change feature which is used to dynamically update the client's listing of files/folders as they are changed. (I have attached references.)

This can have a very noticeable impact on SMB file shares containing a large number of files and/or for those who have an environment where there is a lot of activity and changes made to the files. This is also why it does not affect certain users, especially those with more static content or few files. The interesting part is that searching for problems on the Microsoft site leads us to......Read entire story here

Michael Hughes responded to the article "TIP: Apple workaround for Snow Leopard AD login, mobile problems." He had a different problem with creating a mobile account, which he thinks was caused by using the same name for the local user and AD accounts:

I've been unable to get a mobile account to log in when the laptop is off the network. I had intentionally not checked the require confirmation when creating mobile account checkbox, and expected the mobile account would be created for me automatically. It was not. So I went back and enabled.......Read entire story here

Michael Hughes used an all-uppercase domain to clear up binding problems with Snow Leopard and Active Directory, as other uses have reported doing. However, a discovered some other factors:

It is possible that I made repeated typos when attempting to bind it, but my observation was that the domain name appeared to need to be entered in upper case: OURDOMAIN.EDU. Curiously enough, after it was successfully bound and I examined the Directory Utilities properties window, it displays as lower case: ourdomain.edu. It never did accept my prefix of 'stat', but it found the machine object nonetheless and is now joined to it. I attempted it with the stat prefix.......Read entire story here

Sebastian Pein had success with last week's variant of the tip to fix slow SMB file share browsing with Snow Leopard, regarding turning off notify in nsmb.conf. He also wants to know why it works:

Finally it seems there is a workaround for the slow SMB browsing issue! I want to confirm the anonymous tip that suggests creating the /etc/nsmb.conf file does the trick. Although not heavily tested, on my snow leopard testing machine (10.6.5, 32 bit mac mini 1,1) the nsmb.conf prevents me from being delayed for 15s while browsing smb shares on a 2003 machine. all the other tips did not change a thing. I have inspected everything one could imagine, from dns/mdns issues all the way to kerberos related stuff.

So this might be it, that leaves only one question open: what is the nsmb.conf all about? The MAN page is not too clear. Perhaps you can post that question in order for some guru guys to tell something about it.

Any gurus want to take a shot? If so,

Howard Levin verified suggestions for fixing PowerPoint problems with Windows 7 in Boot Camp by changing a keyboard setting in Windows. It was described for PowerPoint 2007, but it worked for Levin with PowerPoint 2010:

I ran into the same problem. MacBook Pro, Boot Camp latest version, Windows 7 x64 and PowerPoint 2010. Changing the keyboard works. Hope it doesn't cause problems with other programs.

If you've tried this suggestion

Two readers confirmed problems of Windows 7 blue-screening on MacBook Air in Boot Camp. Benjie Kang gets the same error message as previously reported:

Regarding Windows 7 blue-screening on MacBook Air in Boot Camp, I also encountered the same issue, DRIVER_UNLOADED_WITHOUT_CANCELLING_PENDING_OPERATIONS.

For Lesieur Lessard it occurs only at one time:

BSOD on MacBook Air using Boot Camp: It happens after I try to turn off Windows automatic update.

If you've seen this problem

Steve Ragas reports a strange problem with Exchange mail on an iPad:

When I set up the Exchange email, Safari disappears. I go to Settings and I can see it there, but it can't be selected. As soon as I delete the Exchange account, Safari returns.

If you've seen this problem

Two more readers report problems with Exchange appointments not appearing in iPhone calendars. Edward Gonzalez sees this throughout his company:

In the company I work for, we're experiencing the same issue. The Outlook profile update doesn't seem to work most of the time (although seems to work at first, but quits working after a couple of days). I've worked with MS support on this, and they can't pinpoint the issue either. It's only affecting my iPhone user base though.

Like another reader P.J. Farmer sees the problem randomly. Our posted suggestion didn't help......Read entire story here

Oracle has released VirtualBox 4.0, a major new version of the virtualization software for Mac OS X, Windows, Linux, and Solaris hosts. The new version sports a revamped VirtualBox Manager, the window that displays a list of installed virtual machines, and makes improvements to networking and other virtual hardware, and usability enhancements, among other changes.VirtualBox 4.0 is free for personal use, and starts at US $50 per user for enterprise use.

VirtualBox Manager adds some of the features of the virtual machine lists in Parallels Desktop and VMWare Fusion. It now provides preview images of the current state of virtual machines. Users can sort the list and edit virtual machine settings from this window. VirtualBox 4 also makes it easier to create shortcuts to launch virtual machines from the Desktop, without having to open VirtualBox Manager......Read entire story here

Parallels has released Parallels Desktop 6.0.11992, a maintenance update of the virtualization software for Mac OS X. Parallels said the update improves general performance and fixes some bugs, including disk access errors with virtual machines that use Windows on Boot Camp partitions. The update is free for owners of version 6.x; for owners previous versions, the upgrade is US $40.

The update also fixes a problem with SATA virtual CD/DVD drives in a virtual machine with more than 2 GB of memory, and problems with incorrect handling of HTML links and files. Graphical problems with the Need for Speed Hot Pursuit game are also fixes in this update. The previous build, 6.0.11990, also fixed a number of issues, including networking problems, which some readers had reported when first updating Parallels Desktop 6.

Related at MacWindows: Parallels Desktop Tips and Reports, Parallels Desktop Forum

A reader in our discussion forum posted a solution to the problem with Boot Camp 3.2 in which Windows 7 keeps reverting to a lower video resolution. He was also seeing an error message "Hibernate & Sleep Unavailable due to legacy driver vgasave." This was the gyst of his fix:

The original Nvidia driver had been flagged by Windows 7 (reason unknown). I manually disabled the driver. After disabling the Nvidia driver, I reenabled the driver and rebooted.

You can read his full post here. If you've tried this fix, , or post a note in our discussion forum.

Temujin Kuechle responded to last week's report "Windows booting problems with Boot Camp 3.2 update," reporting how he gets around the problem:

I have experienced a similar issue. I haven't been recording the boot issue with Windows (XP pro sp3 x86). I noticed that if I tried a restart from within Mac OS 10.6.4 then Windows often won't boot up. I tried a shutdown and then start up with option key depressed. This seems to work for me mostly. I have had the start in safe mode issue a few times but can't remember specifics right now.

If you've seen this problem

Felix Aumaitre writes that the tip "Details on turning notify off in nsmb.conf for slow SMB browsing" solved the file sharing problem for him in Snow Leopard. He also added a step:

This trick works and fixes this issue for me in two iMacs with Mac OS X 10.6.5. Also, I modify the /etc/hosts file as root user and add a line with the IP and filename of my SMB server. After a reboot the iMac mounts a SMB share with as a normal way and showing the folder contents is fast as other machines in the same LAN. Thanks a lot to Macwindows.com.

If you've tried this

Nico Bos in the Netherlands reported a workaround for the apparent Cisco VPN client incompatibility with Snow Leopard. He says the problem is the racoon deamon, a Unix process that Mac OS X uses for VPN connections. His workaround is to temporarily stop raccoon:

After updating to MacOS 10.6.5 (I think it started then) my Cisco VPN client 4.9.01.180 stopped working. I did some searching and found that the reason for this is racoon. As it happens, I have several L2TP configurations. When initiating A L2TP connection, racoon starts up. But is not terminated after closing down the connection. As a result UDP port 500 is occupied so Cisco VPN client cannot use it. Workaround is the Terminal command sudo killall racoon before initiating a Cisco connection.

If you've tried this

Leon Gelbak in Austrailia responded to the report "Boot Camp 3.2 creates graphics problem for reader:"

I have the same issue. Initial install was fine, the resolution was ok, after some software installation -- MS Office, Eset Antivirus, VLC player, Windows updates -- the machine was restarted in Mac OS, then when it returned to Windows 7 Pro, the display driver was changed to a standard VGA. I have tried to remove and re-install the driver, downloaded drivers from the NVidia site, no luck. I have loaded the latest version of Boot Camp and this occurred about one week ago.

If you've seen this problem

Kevin Parker responded to two reports about DNS problems with CNAME lookups with iPhones ("TIP: DNS fix for iPhone iOS4 error in Exchange inbox") and with Snow Leopard ("Mac OS X 10.6.5 breaks DNS CNAME lookups"). They may be related:

We are experiencing this, but it appears to be a bigger DNS issue with CNAMEs, and in our case, affects Mac OS X 10.6.x, iPhones, and iPads. I added comments to this Apple thread, but also copied them here below:

I am experiencing the same issues re: unable to connect to a server via its CNAME record pointing, a FQDN (server1.ourdomainname.NET), internally to an A record. I can look up the information and see the A record and IP to which this ".net" zone CNAME points, but I can't ping it.....Read entire story here

Rudi Bekkers in the Netherlands responded to a previous report about created groups in Outlook 2011 not appearing in the Contacts list:

I also noticed this problem about not seeing Outlook 2011 for Mac contact groups in the regular window. However, if you do "contact search" and type a few letters of your group, it appears and it indeed can be edited.

These groups are only stored in the 'On My Computer' folder, not in the contact lists of any of the synchronized accounts. In the regular contacts view, you might need to activate the view of 'on my computer' before you see these groups.

If you've tried this

Peter Schott confirmed last week's fix for problems running PowerPoint 2007 in Windows 7 on a Mac with Boot Camp: I tried this on MacBook Air 13" running latest Boot Camp v3.2 upgrade. It works fine.

Patrick Fox is having problems booting Windows since updating Boot Camp to version 3.2:

I recently updated to 3.2 and the following has been my experience:

• About 90% of power-ups start in Windows recovery mode. Once recovery mode has run (usually 5 minutes or so) and the MacBook restarts, or if I power it off and back on by holding the button down, it will proceed to boot normally.
• Windows will sometimes not boot all the way into Windows, requiring a hard restart (holding the power button down...).
• Windows Aero sometimes does not work after booting.....Read entire story here

Thomas Zwack reports that on new Macs, Adobe Creative Suite 4 files that are saved from within the application to a server become read-only to other users. This is the same problem that Office and Adobe users once had with Snow Leopard, but which was reported to have been fixed with the 10.6.3 update. One reader last week suggested doing a Get Info on the mounted share on the Mac, which he said seemed to refresh permissions, but this didn't work for Zwack. He did have some workarounds that:

We recently purchased and installed 8 new Mac's. Our users are able to connect to our Microsoft file server and create a file and work on it. When they go back to the file or someone else tries to open it, everyone now gets Read Only permissions. When we check the file permissions on the server, the users are set to have read write access......Read entire story here

Citrix has released Citrix Receiver for iPad and iPhone 4.2.1, and update to the device app that connects to a XenApp server to control a virtualized Windows 7 desktop. The new version supports Apple iOS multi-tasking, enhanced scrolling gestures, and an on-screen track pad that makes the entire screen useable as a track pad.

Along these lines, last month Splashtop released released Splashtop Remote Desktop, which enables iPhones and iPads to control a Windows PC remotely.

Doug McIntyre responded to our report "iPhone/iPad updates don't work for Windows non-admins," where updates for the devices forced an administrator to give PC users administrator privileges: McIntyre talks about Windows permissions and how to use Windows tools to get around this:

I don't have specific experience with these specific programs, but do have quite a bit of experience for other Windows programs. I too am an IT admin that doesn't permit windows users to have any admin privileges on their workstations. Generally, there are two areas of permissions that need to be relaxed for these classes of applications that are developed with the silly assumption that every user is an admin user. (A problem with letting developers be the admins in a software company I think, but that's besides the issue). Those are the file system privileges, and the registry tree privileges......Read entire story here

If you tried this approach

Gareth Weston has the same problem as decribed in "Exchange appointments not appearing in the iPhone calendar:"

Having the same problem as described by others on an iPhone 4 also on my old iPhone 3G. I have Entourage with Exchange Server. About 20 percent of calendar entries do not sync. WebMail and Entourage show correctly. No pattern on the missing items.

Microsoft released Office for Mac 2011 14.0.2, a maintenance update that fixes an Outlook for Mac problem that caused it to close unexpectedly when importing a .pst file that contains categories that don't have category names assigned to them.

Robert Liebsch found a security loophole in Outlook 2011 for Mac:

I found a security problem with Outlook today. Initially I thought it was because my role as an Exchange Administrator. After testing other users accounts on their computers, I have verified the bug. In calendar view, under File, select Open then choose Other Users Folder. Pick someone's calendar to view. Wait for the Autoconfigure to complete and begin downloading their calendar.

Next, create a new email message. In the From: field change the username......Read entire story here

Two readers report that the Outlook 2011 for Mac user interface appears to become less response with slower Internet connection. We've previously reported that network syncing (or email downloads) is slower in Outlook than in Entourage. Arnold Shapiro says that this is a problem on slower networks:

Yes, slow sync with Outlook 2011 is definitely a problem. It isn't very noticeable when syncing via Gigabit Ethernet (I guess "slow" is relative so you don't really notice it unless you are syncing a lot of data). However when you are at a remote location (in my case at my home via fast DSL) it is definitely a problem. I don't buy Microsoft's explanation because......Read entire story here

"Outlook to Entourage" utility moves data from PC to Mac

A reader (name withheld by request) updated his previous tip on fixing slow SMB file sharing by turning off notify in the nsmb.conf file. Here, he provides the steps needed to do this:

To clear some things up here are step-by-step commands to run to disable notify_off in nsmb.conf file, doesn't sound like the people who responded turned the notify off:

Enable "root" user and set password (In 10.6.x go under System Preferences, then under Accounts, then under Login Options to get to Open Directory Utility)

Open "Terminal" and type "su root" and then type in the root credentials. Should notice command prompt change to something like "sh-3.2#".

After you are logged in..........Read entire story here

We have more readers reports regarding the tip "Login with port 139 to access SMB shares with Snow Leopard." Most report success with one form or another. Michael Katchen found that form originally reported didn't work, but another did:

smb://share:139 did not work, but smb://servername:139 worked great! I'm using Windows Server 2003 with a Snow Leopard Mac. Thanks for the info.

It did not fix slow file transfer times for Aaron Muñoz..........Read entire story here

Dave Robbins suggested we search the Apple forums for a solution to problems running PowerPoint 2007 in Windows 7 on a Mac with Boot Camp. We did, and found this workaround:

1. In Windows 7, open Control Panel
2. Press "Change keyboards or other input methods" from "Clock, Language, and Region"
3. Press "Change keyboards..."
4. Press "Add..."
5. Roll down "English (United States)" (if it's not already expanded)
6. Select "US"
7. Press "OK"
8. Press "OK"
9. Press "OK"
10. Close the Control Panel

If you've tried this

Two readers in our discussion forums (here and here) are reporting that new MacBook Air (late 2010) crashes when they try to boot with Windows 7 using Boot Camp. Both report a blue screen displaying "applemtp.sys." One reader also reports the message DRIVER_UNLOADED_WITHOUT_CANCELLING_PENDING_OPERATIONS.

If you've seen this problem or post a reply in the forum.

Heather Wortz reports that after VMward Fusion updated itself to version 3.1.2, Windows 7 started crashing:

My Windows 7 is crashing after it attempts to repair but fails. Is there any way to roll back to previous version of VMware Fusion? I'm really new to the Mac and am completely stumped as to how to stop this crashing. I have been using VMware Fusion on my Mac successfully for 5 months. After Fusion updated suddenly the glitches started. They seem to just worsen with every attempt to right them to the point where it no longer runs Windows 7 at all. But it runs Windows XP no problem. I can't get into Windows 7 anymore so installing any driver is unlikely.

If you've seen this problem

MokaFive has released MokaFive Suite 3.0, a new version of the virtual machine management solution for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. The new version adds complete support for running Windows 7 in a "LivePC" layered virtual machine package, enabling Windows 7 to be deployed remotely, without going to the PC or Mac. Version 3.0 also includes anti-malware scanning from AGV, built-in as a layer. If malware is detected, the virtual machine is shut down. A reboot restores it to its pre-virus state, but with user data intact. Version 3.0 also adds a new Service Provider Edition......Read entire story here

Chris Denesha has an idea about what to do about the issue where iPhone/iPad updates only work where Windows users have admin privileges:

I do not have the solution but can perhaps point the way to one here. The idea is to use FileMon and RegMon to determine what is being accessed by the update process, and selectively applying permissions accordingly.

If you've tried this approach

Graham Patterson sent us a simple suggestion for Snow Leopard problems of not being able to make changes to SMB shares on Windows servers:

It is often possible to sort out the permissions on new folders created on Windows shares by 10.6 Macs by doing a Get Info (Command I) on the offending item. That seems to re-sync the permissions from Finder's perspective.

It is not a universal fix, but it does help with some otherwise inaccessible folders/files on Active Directory systems. A lot depends on the Windows permission settings, and whether the Mac is joined to AD.

If you've tried this

This approach was suggested once before, for a similar problem with Office files and Adobe files. However, the Mac OS X 10.6.3 was supposed to have fixed it, according to Apple.

Jeff West has a problem with the new Boot Camp 3.2 and PowerPoint. He found a fix for PowerPoint 2010 but not for 2007:

I cane across your website when I was looking for solutions to a problem I am having with PowerPoint 2007 running on a MBP 15" i5 in Boot Camp. It is referenced in a thread here and there is a workaround for 2010 but not 2007. It has something to do with a keyboard layout change that was made in 3.2. It's really annoying. It took hours for me to find an answer for 2010 and I still don't have one for 2007.

If you've seen this issue or know of a solution for PowerPoint 2007

Softhing has released Entourage Email Archive X 5.2 (US $30), a new version of the Mac OS X utility that archives email and attachments received or sent using Microsoft Entourage 2008 and Web Services Edition (WSE). Version 5.2 adds improved compatibility with Snow Leopard. It also adds a new feature to generate MBOX files starting from .eml files (the native Entourage file format) that have been archived with any previous version of Entourage Email Archive X.

Temujin Kuechle responded to last week's report by a reader who can't upgrade from Boot Camp 3.1 to 3.2. Kuechle found a fix:

Boot Camp 3.2 wouldn't install. I tried a few things that didn't work at first, like installing Boot Camp 3 from the install DVD. Didn't work. I was about to erase BC entirely through the control panel to remove software until I noticed the option to repair. After repairing the installer in for BC 3.1 all of the following upgrades have worked correctly.

If you've tried this approach

Dec 12 Update: Kuechle sent this clarification:

I repaired the installer software in Windows for the BC 2.1, then upgraded to 2.2, then installed 3.0 from DVD, then updated to BC 3.2. if SoliWorks was Mac OS X native, I wouldn't be doing any of this.

Barney Smith in Austrailia has a problem since upgrading Boot Camp to version 3.2:

I find that I keep losing the graphic driver, as when booting in Windows 7 32 bit, it keeps reverting back to 1280 resolution, versus 1440, which it originally displays when you load the drivers.Very frustrating.

If you've seen this problem

VMware has issues VMware Fusion 3.1.2, a maintenance update to the virtualization software for Mac OS X. The update fixes 14 bugs and glitches, including a problem with Outlook 2007 in Unity mode, a problem switching from full screen mode to single window mode, and an issue with hand-held USB devices in Windows XP. It also fixes a problem booting Mac OS X Server running in a virtual machine, and plugs some security issues.

If VMware Fusion 3.1.2 fixes any issues for you

Responding to last week's report "Mac OS X 10.6.5 breaks DNS CNAME lookups," Michael Watts reported a different DNS problem with the update:

My previously reliable wireless connection at work came to an end with the update. I know just enough about networks to go to Prefs, and discovered that the DNS settings for the company's wireless network had vanished. Looking forward to another update.

If you've seen this problem

Outlook 2011 doesn't yet have the ability to sync with iCal, but George Watson found a way to get it to sync with Google Calendar:

I found a way to sync Outlook 2011 with my Mac and Google Calendar. No problem! I love this program! I used Sync'Em along with mailstreet.com's Exchange Hosting service. It's only $4/month. For the cost of a coffee I thought it was worth it! Sync'Em is $50 one-time fee.

If you've seen used this approach

We asked Microsoft to comment on reports that accessing email was significantly slower in Outlook 2011 than in Entourage. A Microsoft spokesperson provided this explaination:

In response to your inquiry regarding Outlook for Mac 2011 running slower when accessing mail than Entourage - In Outlook 2011 launch time is actually faster and interactions like sorting, searching the address book, and searching mail is significantly faster as well. While yes POP and IMAP downloads are slower, this was a tradeoff the MacBU had to make to improve the overall customer experience. It's a balancing act - network performance competes with UI performance and we pulled back the network a bit to make the UI more responsive for the user.

Meanwhile, another reader wrote to say that slow downloading in Outlook is a problem. His report is here.

Ruaraidh Petre is having problems with slow performance with Outlook 2011, both with Exchange and without it:

I have a slow connection (I live in Botswana). First I tried migrating everything to Outlook from Entourage. That worked, but then the application started trying to download my whole Gmail account anyway. I deleted that account and started again, this time just starting with Gmail as a new IMAP account. It has managed to retrieve all the headers, but now forever says that it is receiving 9 / 10998 mail messages. The 9 never changes.

I also set up an Exchange account for work. That seems to function but is also desperately slow. To give a measure of how slow, I find it quicker to access both Gmail and Exchange through Safari! This is quite disappointing given that I had actually got used to Entourage 2004 and had it working pretty smoothly.

If you've seen these kinds of issues

Related: Outlook 2011 Tips and Reports; Outlook 2010 First Look; Outlook for Mac Discussion forum

John Cotton reports adds to our list of missing features in Outlook 2011 with three more:

Just thought I would add a few quirks to your list.

Outlook 2011 is not compatible with the Blackberry Enterprise Server for syncing calendar to your Blackberry phone. Once you install Outlook 2011, your Blackberry calendar goes blank. Blackberry tech support does not know how to fix the problem and claims they cannot get Microsoft to do anything about it. Microsoft says they never knew it did not work and has promised to look into it.

Calendar permissions do not seem to work in a mixed Windows Outlook environment. ......Read entire story here

Vincent Battesti reports some problems with mail imported into Outlook 2011 for Mac:

I'm sending this message with Entourage as I gave up Outlook 2011. Yes, no Project Center, it is a shame as I manage all my Research projects (publications, works with colleagues). But also, the feature when displaying a message to show the answer I wrote or the original message does not work for the 10 years of messages I imported in Outlook. All the rules I made to redirect ingoing or outgoing messages to different folders and other rules are badly not imported at all in Outlook 2011.

If you've seen these issues

Related: Outlook 2011 Tips and Reports; Outlook 2010 First Look; Outlook for Mac Discussion forum

By John Rizzo

Most Xserve owners won't replace Apple's discontinued server hardware any time soon, according to a new survey of 1200 IT administrators released today by the Enterprise Desktop Alliance (EDA). When they do migrate, more will continue using Mac OS X Server than will move to Windows Server or Linux, though a large number of respondents were undecided on this point.

Sixty five percent of the respondents said that they would keep their Xserves for two or more years, or until the hardware stops functioning. When they do move to new hardware, by a large margin said they would prefer Mac OS X Server for client management......Read entire story here

Jerry Garcia may be gone, but Deadheads can now listen to the Grateful Dead 24/7 on their own iPhones, with today's release of a streaming app by GDRadio.net. The organization currently broadcasts entire Grateful Dead concerts, which can last almost three hours, over the Internet and iTunes, and now the iPhone. GDRadio also streams shows from the current tour of Further, a band made up of some of the Dead's surviving members, as well as other Grateful Dead-related content. The app also enables users to browse the set lists of every Grateful Dead show, and those of the band members, from the past 45 years. A long strange trip, indeed.

Splashtop Inc. has released Splashtop Remote Desktop for iPhone and iPod Touch, an app that enables device users to view and operate Windows 7, Vista, or XP running remotely on a PC. The company said that iPhone users can operate any Windows application, including reading and composing email in Outlook, editing Office documents, and accessing any file on the PC or on a network the PC has access to. Documents and files remain on the PC, so there is no need to sync files with the iPhone. Support for controlling a Mac from an iPhone is now in beta......Read entire story here

Eric thinks the Boot Camp 3.2 update makes Windows XP run better on his Mac:

I upgraded to Boot Camp 3.2 running Windows XP. No problems upgrading. Seems that the system runs faster. Graphics and colors seem smoother and more refined.

On the other hand, Luca Capanna gets nothing but crashes:

I've tried to update Boot Camp drivers from 3.1 to 3.2 but it always shows me an error that it cannot continue. It then crashes and closes the installation process. I've tried using Apple Update but also downloading the 32-bit version. Nothing works, I have the same issue.

If you've seen this problem

Pete Fuller commented on the reported incompatibility between Novell's AFP file server and Snow Leopard. He says that a newer version of the server released a few months ago works:

This is an old issue, there are Open Enterprise Server updates that fixes this issue. AFP support was awful in the first release for OES2-SP2, but has been very stable in our environment since the mid-summer patches were released. I'm typing this on a 10.6.4 Mac with AFP connections to several of my servers that have been active since before the weekend.

If you've tried these new patches