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Properllerheads only need apply. Caveats apply. There are limitations. Caveat hacker. Be sure to read the whole post. I have tried this and can “see” Air Drop now, but I haven’t been able to test it yet.
Back in July, I explained how Lion’s new AirDrop feature lets you exchange files simply between two computers with up-to-date Wi-Fi hardware. As I wrote then, AirDrop is a breeze to use if you have the right Mac. You’re out of luck if your computer doesn’t have the right hardware—specifically, if it doesn’t have Wi-Fi chips capable of personal area networking (PAN) for peer-to-peer connections. Many Macs, even many of relatively recent vintage and many that can run Lion, don’t have those chips and so can’t use AirDrop. (Apple provides a list of AirDrop-capable Macs here.)
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But, it turns out, there’s a workaround. An anonymous Mac OS X Hints reader found that, if you have one of those older Macs, you can add a setting to AirDrop’s defaults that allows AirDrop to work over regular networks, not just PANs.
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Propellerheads only need apply.
Hints reader nathanator11 discovered that Lion includes a handy app that provides all sorts of diagnostic information surrounding your wireless network. Much of the information the software generates gets pretty technical, but even Wi-Fi novices may find some of the details that the utility aggregates useful.
However you find and launch it, Wi-Fi Diagnostics gives you four options: Monitor Performance (which shows you signal strength, noise level, transmit power, and data rate); Record Events (which can keep a log of network happenings); Capture Raw Frames (which records everything coming and going on your Mac’s wireless connection); and Turn on Debug Logs.Wi-Fi Diagnostics is tucked away in the /System/Library/CoreServices folder. To get there, I pressed Shift-Command-G in the Finder (the equivalent of going to the Go menu and choosing Go to Folder), and then typed in the/System/Library/CoreServices path and pressed Return. Once in the folder, I found Wi-Fi Diagnostics and double-clicked it. Alternatively, you could launch the Terminal and type open “/System/Library/CoreServices/Wi-Fi Diagnostics.app”, and then press Return.
If you’re at all interested in what’s going on with your Mac’s Wi-Fi connection or your wireless network, Wi-Fi Diagnostics is freely included with your copy of Lion, and you can’t break anything by poking around the app—so enjoy!
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Whew! I downloaded the Apple update the other day. I usually check the description of the update, but this time I didn’t happen to. I’m glad I’m protected.
Security Update 2011-003 adds protection from Mac Defender Trojan horse, daily definition updates
Mac Trojan horses, beware: There’s a new sheriff in town, and its name is Security Update 2011-003. Not a very catchy name, to be sure, but it gets the job done—and that job is protecting Mac users from the nefarious Mac Defender Trojan horse, as well as laying the groundwork to keep them safe from future malware as well.
Mac OS X will warn you if you inadvertently download malware such as the Mac Defender Trojan horse
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