Despite the best efforts of authors and editors, errors always seem to find their way into books. In addition, things change so quickly in the world of computers and technology that sometimes information is "out of date" before a book even hits the street. On this page I'll list updates to the content of Mac OS X Power Tools, Second Edition, as well as any known errors. (Information is listed by chapter.) In addition, be sure to check out the "Superb Software" page (via the "Online Content" link to the left), which has updated URLs for all of the software mentioned in the book, and the "Bonus Tips" page for more tips that didn't fit in the book or that I've just recently added. If you find an error as you read Mac OS X Power Tools, please let me know by
me at errors @t MacOSXPowerTools.com.
Apple recently released iTunes 4.5, which -- even worse, in my opinion -- behaves in the opposite manner. If you switch to another user account when listening to music in iTunes 4.5, the music will continue playing. In addition, you can open iTunes in the second account and start playing music. The problem is that now you've got two copies of iTunes playing different music! Hopefully Apple will find a happy medium in a future update ;-)
CORRECTION: Pages 54-56: "Changing the Short Username without Logging In as Root". I've received a report that there is a typo in this set of instructions for changing the short username. I'm in the process of verifying this report. Until I've posted an update, I recommend not using these instructions. Instead, use the instructions on pages 56-58 ("Changing the Short Username by Logging In as Root") or, even easier, use the ChangeShortName utility, available by clicking the ChangeShortName link on the left.
Updates/Errata
Introduction:
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Chapter 1:
UPDATE: Page 34. In the discussion of Fast User Switching, I provided a few examples of applications that don't always "play nice" with this feature; one of those applications was iTunes:
If you're listening to iTunes and "switch out" of your account, iTunes will stop playing. However, unlike iChat, the other user won't be able to launch iTunes. Instead, they'll get an error that reads, "You cannot open the application 'iTunes' because another user has it open. Ask the other user to quit the application, then try again."
Chapter 2:
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Chapter 3:
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Chapter 4:
According to an Apple Knowledge Base article, the newest Macs -- those initially released in June 2004 or later -- do not ship with Mac OS 9 pre-installed, which means you can't use the Classic environment out of the box. To use Classic, you need to install Mac OS 9 from the DVD that comes with the computer. According to the article, here are the steps to install "Classic support":
Chapter 5:
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Online Supplement to Chapter 5:
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Chapter 6:
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Chapter 7:
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Chapter 8:
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Chapter 9:
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Chapter 10:
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Chapter 11:
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Chapter 12:
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Chapter 13:
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Chapter 14:
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Chapter 15:
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Appendix A:
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Appendix B:
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