8/3/2015 Apple/Mac/OS X News, Tips and Tech Articles

Archive of August 3rd, 2015 News Go to Current News Page

Miss a Day? See the Archives
= Recent Articles/Updates =
( Your Tips, Upgrade Reports, Questions to news at xlr8yourmac.com)

2011 13in MacBook Pro with Mid-2012 Motherboard, Wifi/BT Upgrades:
Bill D. sent notes on his Early 2011 13" MacBook Pro Upgrade to a Mid-2012 via Motherboard and Wifi/BT card swap. He'd bought the used 2011 MBP with known problems and lists the 3 parts he bought for the swap/upgrade - Mid-2012 MBP 2.9GHz i7 motherboard, matching heat sink and WiFi-Bluetooth card, all from eBay. He also comments on upgrading to 16GB ram, 600GB SSD and Blu-ray (R/W) optical drive.
(This 13" MBP doesn't have a discrete GPU, so isn't included in Apple's MacBook Pro Repair Extension Program for Video problems.)

Researchers Create Firmware Worm that Can Infect Macs (owc blog)
(From the comments, not completely addressed by Apple's June 30th Mac EFI Security Update (also included in OS X 10.10.4) that has 2 EFI (firmware/bootrom) related patches (ref: security content of OS X v10.10.4 & about Mac EFI Security Update 2015-001) regarding a failure to properly set UEFI write protections after waking from sleep mode (which lists Apple, Dell, Intel, Lenovo, Phoenix & others). The Mac EFI security update was released for Early 2011 - Mid 2014 MacBook Pro, Mid 2011 - Mid 2014 MacBook Air, Mid 2011 - Mid 2014 iMac, Mid 2011 - Late 2014 Mac Mini & Late 2013 Mac Pro.)
DYLD_PRINT_TO_FILE exploit found in the wild (Thomas Reed at Malwarebytes)

(Topic-based page of Tips, Troubleshooting & How-To articles for Mac/OS X/iOS Users.)

Recent Updates, Tips, DIY Upgrades and Repairs:
List of Updates, DIY Repair, Upgrade articles, Tips and more you may have missed. (Topics range from OS/software updates and troubleshooting, to hardware upgrades and repairs.)

= From my Sponsor =
Thunderbay 4 High-Performance 4-Bay Solution Professional grade, 4-bay enclosure with dual Thunderbolt™ 2 ports and RAID-ready (including RAID5), perfect for meeting demanding workflows of users. Reliable, Versatile and Capable. Up to 32TB Capacity (RAID model). Or add your own Drives with a Thunderbay 4 Enclosure Kit.

Also ThunderBay 4 mini & mini RAID 5 edition for 2.5in HDDs/SSDs.

Nvidia Graphics Driver 346.02.02f03 for OS X 10.10.4 (fixing Safari quit problem)
2010 Mac Pro W3690 3.46GHz 6-core CPU Upgrade (and notes on RAM limits)
Safari Problems reported with Nvidia 346.02.02f02 driver for OS X 10.10.4
OWC Radio: Steve Eisen talks Power Mac G4, Documentaries, More
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor GOTY for Mac and Linux
Apple HomeKit Requires ID Chip in Devices
Apple How-To/Troubleshooting Article Updates:
- How to Refine your Apple Music suggestions
- Availability of Apple Music, Apple Music Radio, and iTunes Match
- If Apple Music appears with unusual text or doesn't open as expected

For links to older news pages, see the Archives.

OWC XYM SPECIALS!
(Ad/Sale Items)

= UPGRADES by Model =
Upgrades for YOUR Mac!

= Refurb Mac Pros =
(Click for Current List)

= SSDs up to 4TB =
SSDs for Most Macs!

= ThunderBolt =
Drives, Docks & More

= HARD DRIVES =
Up to 12 TB HDD
HGST, WD, Seagate, Toshiba

= 2.5" HDs & DIY Kits =
Notebook Hard Drives and DIY drive/case kit bundles

= MEMORY =
Lifetime warranty RAM Upgrades!

= OPTICAL DRIVES =
Internal and External Superdrives/Blu-Ray drives

= VIDEO / DISPLAY =
Graphics cards, Displays, Adapters, Cables & more

= AUDIO ITEMS =
Interfaces, Cables, Software, Speakers, Headphones & more

= SOFTWARE =
Apps, Utilities, OS, VM, Games and more

= WIRELESS =
WiFi and Bluetooth Devices/Adapters/More

= Repair Service =
for iPhone, iPad, Macs

= iPad/iPhone/iPod =
Accessories, Cases, Docks & More