• iPhone

    DFU and Restore Modes For Haptic iPhones

    After updating an iPhone, maybe it’s stuck. Doesn’t happen much, but it can happen. When it does, it’s great if you’ve got a backup of your phone. And those traditional means of restarting, resetting, and restoring don’t work any more. Or at least they do, but they’ve moved. If you need to DFU or restore your device, starts by plugging the phone into a computer running iTunes. Then press and hold the power button down for 3 seconds and press the volume down button while you’re holding that power button. Hold both down for about 10 seconds and let go of the power button, holding the volume down button for…

  • Mac OS X Server,  Ubuntu,  Unix,  WordPress

    WordPress Site Stuck In Maintenance Mode

    When doing updates in WordPress, upgrading the WordPress version or the Plug-Ins causes the site to enter into Maintenance Mode. While in Maintenance Mode, a message appears that says “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check back in a minute.” rather than the actual site. Sometimes, especially if you’re using the automatic updating functions, an update might fail and the site may be stuck in Maintenance Mode. WordPress looks at the root level of a directory for some hidden files that can tell a site to operate in a different manner. If there’s a file called “.maintenance” then the site will display the message above. When an update of a Plug-in fails,…

  • Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server,  Mac Security,  Uncategorized

    32-bit System Preferences

    Did you know that System Preferences is a 64-bit application? Stands to reason, but one thing I realized recently while working on some code for a System Preference pane is that 32-bit System Preferences cause System Preferences to react differently. You can use 32-bit preference panes but using them prompts you to quit System Preferences, which relaunches into a 32-bit mode. Going back to 64-bit mode also requires a relaunch. This is a great reason for developers to get their code upgraded sooner rather than later as I can’t imagine this compatibility mode will last forever…

  • Mac OS X Server

    "Simple" OS X Server

    When you install Mac OS X Server you have the option to use Standard, Workgroup or Advanced. I have installed Standard for writing articles/books/etc about it, but from the first day I saw it I knew it wasn’t for me. Workgroup has some augmented record reasons you might use it, but is otherwise similar. Advanced is pretty much, make my server look like it did in 10.4 Server. Here you have Server Admin, Workgroup Manager and the other tools that comprise a Mac OS X systems administrators toolkit. But Standard is synonymous with “Simple” in this case and should rarely be used. If you are fairly non-technical then it can…

  • Mac OS X Server

    Mac OS X Server 10.5: Advanced Mode

    I originally posted this at http://www.318.com/TechJournal So you selected Advanced Setup during the wizard while you were installing Mac OS X Server and now you’re looking at this new Server Admin screen that you’ve never seen before. You see the server name but there are no services in the list. This is because Apple has gone the extra step to make Server Admin less confusing and more user friendly than ever before. When you click on the Settings icon at the top of the Server Admin screen you will see the tab for Services. Here, you can enable or disable any service by checking its box and clicking on the…