Tuesday, November 25, 2014

How to make an OS X Yosemite DVD installer

Credit goes to tywebb13 at MacRumors.com


After downloading the full Yosemite installer app from the Mac App Store, run these 14 commands in Terminal to create a Yosemite.iso file and then burn it to a dual layer DVD with Disk Utility. You may then boot up from it by holding the option key down and then install Yosemite.

hdiutil attach /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Yosemite.app/Contents/SharedSupport/InstallESD.dmg -noverify -nobrowse -mountpoint /Volumes/install_app

hdiutil convert /Volumes/install_app/BaseSystem.dmg -format UDSP -o /tmp/Yosemite

hdiutil resize -size 8g /tmp/Yosemite.sparseimage

hdiutil attach /tmp/Yosemite.sparseimage -noverify -nobrowse -mountpoint /Volumes/install_build

rm /Volumes/install_build/System/Installation/Packages

cp -rp /Volumes/install_app/Packages /Volumes/install_build/System/Installation/

cp -rp /Volumes/install_app/BaseSystem.chunklist /Volumes/install_build

cp -rp /Volumes/install_app/BaseSystem.dmg /Volumes/install_build

hdiutil detach /Volumes/install_app

hdiutil detach /Volumes/install_build

hdiutil resize -size `hdiutil resize -limits /tmp/Yosemite.sparseimage | tail -n 1 | awk '{ print $1 }'`b /tmp/Yosemite.sparseimage

hdiutil convert /tmp/Yosemite.sparseimage -format UDTO -o /tmp/Yosemite

rm /tmp/Yosemite.sparseimage

mv /tmp/Yosemite.cdr ~/Desktop/Yosemite.iso

 

Saturday, November 22, 2014

iPad Air 2

I finally replaced my aging iPad 3 with a new iPad Air 2. The iPad 3 64GB is a great device and it has served me well. I was very happy until iOS8 was installed. This caused many slowdowns and erratic Safari performance. The iPad 3 also doesn't have the proper hardware to support the new "Handoff" feature that my Mac Pro does.

I purchased an iPad Air 2 Wi-Fi 64 GB model. Wow, this thing is fast! I'm not impressed with modest performance enhancements but this is way beyond modest. The iPad Air 2 is fast, I mean nothing short of amazing. It runs circles around every computer I own except my Mac Pro, and honestly, it has a better internet browsing experience than the Mac due to the Safari browser in Yosemite. iOS Safari is much quicker on this iPad.

I have outfitted my new toy with a "FINTIE" aka: cheap BT keyboard/case until the new ClamCase Pro is available. I have to say, for a cheap case and BT keyboard, it really works well. I can type really fast with this setup. Thanks to B & H Photo in NYC I saved a bundle since they don't charge taxes on out of state orders and 2 day shipping was free to.

That's about it for this post, I highly recommend the upgrade.