Category Archives: networking

fixed : shared disks not visible in Finder

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Question :

When I’m at home, I usually am able to see my Time Capsule in the paragraph named “Shared” in the shortlist on the left side of each Finder window.

But today, I don’t even see the “Shared” paragraph… How can I connect to my Time Capsule to view the files I’ve stored on it ?

Answer :

There can be several causes for your problem, but these two are the most common :

#1. you have accidentally switched off viewing of shared volumes in the Finder preferences

to correct this :

– click on the Finder icon in the Dock (the half-blue-half-grey square-face icon)

– then, in the top menu bar, go to Finder –> Preferences

– in the window that opens, click on the “Sidebar” tab

– then, in the “Show these items in the sidebar:” list, make sure there’s a checkmark in front of “Connected servers” (in the “Shared” paragraph)

– then close the Finder Preferences and you’re done ; enjoy !

#2. OSX has automatically logged on to a different WiFi-network than your primary WiFi-network (getting logged on to your Guest-network can cause this problem for instance…)

to correct this :

– click on the AirPort/WiFi-icon in the top menu bar (the ‘piece of pie’-icon)

– in the list of available WiFi-networks that appears, click “Turn Wi-Fi off”

– then click on the AirPort/WiFi-icon in the top menu bar again, click “Turn Wi-Fi on”, wait for the available WiFi-networks to appear in the list, then select your primary WiFi-network to connect to

– this should resolve your problem, but to make sure your Mac won’t auto-connect to the wrong WiFi-network again, do this also :

– go to the Apple-icon (top-left in the top menu bar) –> System Preferences –> Network

– in the window that opens, select “Wi-Fi” in the shortlist on the left

– then click the “Advanced”-button

– in the window that opens, select the “Wi-Fi”-tab and scroll down though the list of “Preferred Networks:” until you come to the name of your Guest-network (or other WiFi-network you unwillingly connected to)

– then click on the ‘Minus-sign”-button to delete your Guest-network (or alike) from the list of preferred networks, then click the ‘OK’-button to save and exit

…that’s it !

enjoy 😉

Note : if situation #1. occurs, your Time Machine backup would still be operating, but if situation #2. is the case, Time Machine won’t be able to see your Time Capsule either, even if you have internet access…

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fixed : PowerPoint presentation too large for eMail

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Question :

I just made a beautiful PowerPoint presentation which I want to eMail to my friend. When I tried to eMail it, that seemed to work okay at first, but a few moments later I got an error message saying that the eMail could not be sent.

How can I fix this ?

 

Answer :

eMail providers have set a limit to the attachments’ file size per eMail to prevent cluttering the eMail traffic and flooding the recipient’s eMail inbox. For most providers this limit is set to about 5MB of attached files per eMail message. Some providers have expanded this limit to 10MB, and providers like Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo! even allow you to attach up to 25MB of files to each eMail.

But if your PowerPoint presentation is even larger than 25MB (which might easily occur if you have done your best to make it a beautiful presentation), you will probably do the recipient  a pleasure if you send a smaller file, especially if they are planning on viewing it on a mobile device. The easiest way to ‘shrink’ the size of a presentation is to convert it into a PDF-file. (a PDF-file is even more versatile than a PowerPoint-presentation, as it also can be viewed by people that don’t have PowerPoint software installed)

To convert your PowerPoint-presentation into a PDF-file, do this :

In MacOSX :

– open your presentation in PowerPoint

– then go to “File” in the upper menu bar and select “Print” from the pulldown menu that appears

– in the “Print” menu that appears, adjust everything as desired, then click on the “PDF” button (bottom left)

– in the pulldown menu that appears, choose “Mail PDF” and a new eMail message will be made for you including your Presentation as an attachment

…or you can choose “Save as PDF…” to first save the PDF-version of your presentation to your Mac so you can attach it to any eMail later on

Note : the above procedure also works in other OSX programs like Word, Excel, Pages, Numbers, Keynote, etc.

For Windows users, the general idea is similar but slightly different :

http://office.microsoft.com/en-001/powerpoint-help/save-as-pdf-HA010064992.aspx

If the standard conversion of your PowerPoint into a PDF still turns up with a PDF-file that is too large to eMail, you can adjust the conversion settings, as described here :

How to create even smaller PDFs in OSX

You might also want to try the “Reduce File Size” that is in the “File”-tab of each Office 2011 application (so in Word, PowerPoint and Excel). This option will only reduce the size of the pictures inside the document. The smallest this option can reduce to is 96ppi a.k.a. “Best for sending in e-mail”. This is an interesting option, but converting to PDF usually leads to even more file size reduction.

And if the recipient insists on getting the original PowerPoint-file, you could do as a lot of professionals do, and send your presentation trough the FREE WeTransfer service :

http://www.wetransfer.com

that’s it !

enjoy !

😉

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fixed : AirDrop from Mac to iPhone/iPad

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Question :

I’ve just installed iOS 7 on my iPhone 5, and since I was reading about AirDrop being one of the new features, I immediately thought of using AirDrop to get this picture I just made onto my iPhone…

But when I turn on AirDrop on both my Mac and my iPhone, they can’t seem to see each other…

Is there any way to get this to work ?

Answer :

No – at least : officially not.

So far, AirDrop is only available on Macs with supported AirPort-cards running MacOSX 10.7 “Lion” or newer and on the iPhone 5 and newer running iOS 7…

Furthermore, AirDrop is only supported Mac-to-Mac or iPhone/iPad-to-iPhone/iPad…

Maybe this situation will change with the introduction of OSX 10.9 “Mavericks”, but for now there is no (official) option to use AirDrop from Mac-to-iPhone/iPad and vice-versa…

But…

There is an alternative that works the same basically : AirDisk Pro

(note : seems like Phone Drive and Phone Drive FREE are exactly the same app as AirDisk Pro, but at a lower price, even free…)

With this AirDrop-alternative, file transfer is very quick …and it’s even more compatible than the official AirDrop : the app can be installed on any iPhone or iPad running iOS 4.3 and the WiFi-connection can be made from any Mac or PC using a web browser…

In short, the app works like this :

– install the app on your iPhone/iPad

get AirDisk Pro
get Phone Drive FREE [stores max. 10 files]
get Phone Drive

– make sure your iPhone/iPad and your Mac/PC are on the same WiFi-network

– run the app

– enter the IP-address (or network name) that the app gives you as a URL in your Mac/PC’s web browser

– drag the file you want to transfer onto the webpage

done !

enjoy 😉

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fixed : setup LogiLink WL0083 as WiFi-to-ethernet-bridge

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Question :

I have a Philips BluRay player which has the option to connect to the internet (for things like YouTube and Picasa), which I think would be interesting to every once in a while.  The BluRay player has two options to connect to the internet, either using an ethernet network cable or using the special Philips WiFi-to-USB-dongle that is very expensive.

Problem is the BluRay player is next to my TV (and my AppleTV), but I do not have an ethernet cable connection there, only WiFi… (and my AppleTV cannot share it’s WiFi connection through it’s ethernet port…)

My first thought was to use an Apple AirPort Express and connect it to the BluRay player’s ethernet-port to use it as a WiFi/AirPort-client… but since I do not have an AirPort Express (yet), buying one would even be a more expensive option than buying the official Philips WiFi-to-USB-dongle…

On the other hand… I do happen to have a mini/portable WiFi-router (a LogiLink WL0083) lying around, which should be able to act as a WiFi-to-ethernet-bridge also…

But… even after several tries, I did not succeed in setting the WL0083 up properly…

Any idea how that should be done ?

Answer :

Yes !

Actually it’s rather simple, you just have to setup the LogiLink WL0083 as “Client+AP” and use the setup-wizard of the web-interface, but there are 3 things to know :

-1- the default IP-address of the LogiLink WL0083 is 192.168.2.1 so you need to be sure that the network you want it to connect to does not use the 192.168.2.0 to 192.168.2.255 range of IP-adresses (so you might have to reconfigure your ‘entire’ network to use the 192.168.3.1 to 192.168.3.255 range…)

-2- to make it a “Client only” instead of a “Client+AP”, you should set SSID broadcast to “Hidden” and leave the additional (extender) SSID in default “Logilink” and “Disabled”

-3- and… when finishing up, do not forget to change the IP-address of your Mac’s WiFi and ethernet connection back to “DHCP”

in a step-by-step guide, that would be :

– make sure your WiFi network is not using the 192.168.2.0 to 192.168.2.255 range of IP-adresses (if it does, reconfigure your network router to use another range of IP addresses, and reconfigure all clients in your network that use Static IP addresses)

– then unplug your ethernet cable from your regular network

– disconnect from your regular WiFi/AirPort-network

– connect the LogiLink WL0083 to your Mac using an ethernet cable, and connect it’s USB-cable to a powered USB-port (e.g. on your Mac)

– then press the small “WPS/Reset”-button on the WL0083 for about 5 seconds (to reset it)

– then, on your Mac, go to Apple Menu (Apple icon top-left on the screen) –> System Preferences –> Network –> Ethernet and change it to “Using DHCP with manual address” and type the IP-address 192.168.2.100 in the input field

– then open Safari and type 192.168.2.1 into the URL-field ; for User Name and Password type “admin” (both the same)

– now the LogiLink web interface should open

– click on the “Client+AP” tab, then “Setup Wizard” on the left, followed by “Next” on the left

– on the next screen, start by clicking on the “Scan”-button, and wait for the list of SSIDs of local WiFi/AirPort-networks to appear

– then select your WiFi/AirPort-network from the list

– everything will then be automatically filled out, apart from “Pass Phrase:”, there you should type your WiFi/AirPort-password

– then click “Next”

– in the “Wireless Basic Settings”-screen that opens, set “Network Mode” to “11b/g/n mixed mode”, leave “SSID” as it is (probably “Logilink”), set “Broadcast SSID” to “Disable” and leave the rest as it is automatically set

– then click “Next”

– in the “Wireless Security Settings”-screen that opens, set “Security Mode” to “Disable”, and leave the rest as it is

– then click “Next”

– in the next screen click “Apply” and the WL0083 will reboot

– then, on your Mac, make sure that you are NOT connected to a WiFi/AirPort-network

– then go to Apple Menu –> System Preferences –> Network –> Ethernet and change it to “Using DHCP”

– then, in Safari, manually type the URL of any existing website that you do not often visit (e.g. the website of the city you live in) and see if it loads, to check if the WL0083 is properly configured as a WiFi-client on your network

– then disconnect the LogiLink WL0083’s ethernet and USB cable from your Mac

– so, go over to your BluRay player, and connect the LogiLink WL0083’s ethernet cable to it and connect the USB cable to a powered USB-port (or USB-poweradapter)

– now try and see if your BluRay player can use it’s internet services

– if your BluRay player needs any additional configuration, just set it to “ethernet” and “DHCP”

Enjoy !

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Note #1 : the LogiLink WL0083 supports WiFi-N only at 150Mbps speed, even though the normal maximum speed of WiFi-N is 300Mbps (just like Apple’s implementation of WiFi-N in AirPort), most of the time you will probably not notice any decline in quality, but you might if you’re a heavy user…

Note #2 : if you want to adjust something small on your LogiLink WL0083 after you’ve configured it, you just need to temporarily switch your ethernet-connection from “Using DHCP” to “Using DHCP with manual address” and 192.168.2.100 as the actual IP-address ; then you can login to the LogiLink web-interface at the 192.168.2.1 URL (and do not forget to change back to “Using DHCP” afterwards)

fixed : setting up WiFi-printing for the Samsung CLP-365W

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Question :

I just bought a Samsung CLP-365W color laser printer and I am very happy with it. Setting it up for use over USB and Ethernet was easy. But since it is a wireless network-printer, I would like to use is as such. Even with the enclosed “Wireless Network Quick Guide” I have still no success in setting it up after several tries…

Do you have any idea how to set the CLP-365W up for wireless networking from my Mac ?

Answer :

Yes !

…and you are completely right : all instructions provided by Samsung are incomplete…

…and the setup-process is not always smooth and hassle-free…

So… here’s how to do it :

1- download the Wireless Setting app for OSX from the Samsung website :

http://www.samsung.com/us/support/owners/product/CLP-365W/XAC#

on that page, go to “Manuals & Downloads”, then to “Software” and click on the “ZIP”-button of the Easy Wireless Setup (Software) for Mac OS

2- install the Wireless Setting app on your Mac (it’s a drag&drop-installation)

Note : since the app’s name is just very generically “Wireless Setting” and doesn’t include any reference to Samsung, I suggest you put it in a folder labelled “Samsung” (you might already have one, if so put it there) inside the Applications folder

3- now, first make sure there is no connection from your Mac to the CLP-365W, so pull out the ethernet-cable to disconnect from your network, choose “Turn Wi-Fi Off” from the AirPort-menu in the top Menu-bar of your Desktop (the pie-shaped radiation icon) and pull out the USB-cable that might connect your CLP-365W to your Mac

4- open the Wireless Setting app

5- click “Next >” in the window that opens

6- turn the printer on, and when the printer is ready, click “Next >”

7- select “Using a USB cable”, and click “Next >”

Note : even though there is an option named “Using a direct wireless connection”, that will NOT work… too bad… neither manually connecting to the “Portthru” WiFi-network, nor pressing the “WPS” button on the CLP-365W will help…

8- connect the CLP-365W to your Mac using a USB-printer cable

9- now turn on AirPort/WiFi on your Mac, and make sure your Mac is connected to the AirPort/WiFi-network that you want the CLP-365W to connect to also (to do so go to the pie-shaped icon in the top-Menu bar of your desktop)

10- then click “Next >” and you will first see a screen indicating the search for a connection between the Mac and the CLP-365W, and after that a new screen called “Wireless Network Search”

Note : if this doesn’t work, disconnect all cables from the CLP-365W, and also take out the power cable for at least 30 seconds, then put the power cable back in and redo from step 3

11- the name of your wireless AirPort/WiFi-network will now appear in the list of SSIDs, select it and click “Next >” (if it is not listed, try clicking “Refresh”, if that doesn’t help, redo from step 3)

12- in the next screen type your AiPort/WiFi-password and click “Next >” (if you get an error, just retry)

13- in the next screen you can enable Wi-Fi Direct, which enables your iPhones, iPads and Android-devices to easily connect to your CLP-365W

the iOS app needed can be downloaded from the iTunes App Store :

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/samsung-mobile-print/id429611283?mt=8

14- in the next screen click “Add printer” and the “Print & Scan” System Preferences panel will open ; in the “Add” window, select the one with the “Bonjour” indication (so NOT the “USB” one), adjust the “Name:” if you like and click “Add”

15- click “OK” in the pulldown window regarding additional settings, and your CLP-365W will now appear in your list of printers

Note : if you get an error that your System does not have the drivers needed installed, first do a “Repair Disk Permissions” of your OSX-partition in the “Disk Utilities”-app and make sure you have all updates of OSX installed and just try again… only if that doesn’t work you’ll need to reinstall the printer-driver

16- do not forget to close the Wireless Settings app by clicking “Finish” and disconnect your

…and that’s it !

you can now use your CLP-365W from your Mac wirelessly

Enjoy !

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fixed : setup a LaCie Wireless Space WiFi-drive as a TimeCapsule alternative

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Question :

I wanted to get wireless backup for my Mac using Time Machine, but since I’m on a rather tight budget, I searched for an alternative for the TimeCapsule…

I bought the LaCie Wireless Space, which is advertised as ‘wireless backup’ and ‘Time Machine compatible’ on the box, and the salesman even called it ‘a good Time Capsule alternative’…

…since it is advertised as such, I was hoping that the setup would be as ‘plug and play’ as the TimeCapsule, but even after a few tries, I’ve still not managed to get it working…

What should I do ?

Answer :

It’s true that the LaCie Wireless Space can be used as an alternative to the TimeCapsule (but for ease-of-use I would still prefer Apple’s own TimeCapsule, and the price difference is not that extreme as it used to be).

But setting it up can be quite a hassle, especially if you don’t get it right the first time.

The most straight-forward use would be to have the LaCie Wireless Space connected to your Internet-modem/WiFi-router using an Ethernet-cable. To get that setup (in the end), you need to first instruct the controller-software that’s on the LaCie to enable this. Here’s how to :

1- download the Wireless Space Setup software from the LaCie website :

http://www.lacie.com/us/support/drivers/driver.htm?id=10207

2- disconnect your Mac from the internet (both Ethernet and WiFi/AirPort) and quit all applications that use internet-connection (so quitting all other applications is a good thing to do)

3- plug the LaCie Wireless into the wall-power, and push the power-button to switch it on (the light at the front will turn on to indicate that the LaCie is on, during the setup-process the color may vary from blue to green to read (and back))

4- then copy the Wireless Space Setup software to your Applications folder and run it

5- in the screen that opens, select your Language, and click “Continue” in the next screen

6- on the following screen, select “Enable Wi-Fi” and click “Continue”

7- on the next screen, select “NAS Extender Wi-Fi” and click “Continue” (note that the naming and additional texts on this page are very confusing to most, but the pictures will shed some light on their meanings)

8- connect one of the LAN-ports (so NOT the internet-port) on the LaCie Wireless Space to your Mac using an Ethernet/UTP/LAN-cable (note that the orange light next to the ethernet connector will light up)

9- then click “Continue” in the Wireless Space Setup software, and wait for the LaCie Wireless Space to be found and listed

10- the click “Continue” again

11- on the next screen you will be asked for the info of your existing WiFi/AirPort-network, so type your Network’s Name, select WPA2 (the default Security Protocol for current WiFi/AirPort-networks ; if you have a very old WiFi/AirPort-network you might have to choose WEP or WPA, but those are not recommended), and type and re-typeyour WiFi/AirPort-password

12- then click “Commit” and wait for the LaCie Wireless Space to restart (the front-light will turn blue when ready)

13- now disconnect the Ethernet/UTP/LAN-cable from your Mac, and connect it to one of the regular LAN-ports on your internet-modem/WiFi-router (to do so, you will probably have to unplug the LaCie from power, move it toward your modem/router and reconnect and switch it on again there)

14- then reconnect your Mac to the internet (by reconnecting to the WiFi/AiPort-network, or by plugging the network-cable (an Ethernet/UTP/LAN-cable also) back into your Mac)

15- now, on your Mac, open a Finder-window and see if the LaCie Wireless Space is listed there (in the bottom right corner, under the “Devices” chapter) ; you will probably see it listed twice : once as “LaCie Wireless Space (My Space)” and once as “LaCie Wireless Space (Open Space)”

16- then, open the Time Machine application on your Mac

17- click the “Select Disk” button, and in the list select “LaCie Wireless Space (My Space)”

18- then switch the slider on the left to ON

…and go get yourself a drink, a meal, or a good night’s sleep until your first TimeMachine backup is being done

(note that the first TimeMachine backup might take hours to complete… that is normal…)

That’s it 😉

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FYI : the manual for the LaCie Wireless Space NAS / WiFi-drive can be found here :

http://www.manualowl.com/m/Lacie/Wireless-Space/Manual/