Our head tech, James, found this post a while back and I’ve been meaning to share it.  iHelp Blog found an interesting workaround to get Calendar and Address Book with iCloud on OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.8.  As you all know by now, iCloud is only meant to work on a Mac with OS X Lion 10.7.2 or later, or on an iPhone, iPad, or iPad touch with iOS 5 or later.

**WARNING! NOTICE! DISCLAIMER! This workaround is not for the inexperienced NOR do we make any claims that it works seamlessly.**

Actually, Apple released Migration Assistant Update for Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6 yesterday.  From Apple’s site:

About Migration Assistant Update for Mac OS X Snow Leopard

This update addresses an issue with the Migration Assistant application in Mac OS X Snow Leopard that prevents transfer of your personal data, settings, and compatible applications from a Mac running Mac OS X Snow Leopard to a new Mac running Mac OS X Lion.

So!  Be sure to update before you install Lion 10.7! Either update via Software Update under the Apple Menu on your machine, or download from Apple’s site.

Some of our clients began reporting font printing issues after updating to 10.6.7.  Our industrious tech James found the fix earlier this week in Apple’s 10.6.7 Font Update.

As James noted, it’s rare for Apple to release one-bug-specific OS fix, and since the symptoms exactly match the problems and the 10.6.7 update timing matches the start of the problem that our clients were experiencing, he’s pretty darned confident that the problems will be resolved with the fix.

It appears as thought Apple got immediate reports of the problem, were able to replicate it and had an easy fix to push out right away, so they didn’t find a need to document it in their Knowledge Base.

The update includes the following fixes:

• Address an issue in which some OpenType fonts don’t display correctly in certain applications
• Resolve issues printing from Preview
• Address an issue with PDF files not opening in third-party PDF viewing applications
• Resolve invalid font errors when printing to PostScript printers

To download the update, visit the Apple website here.

Snow Leopard update number 7 arrived this week and can be downloaded via Software Update.  As always, please please please make sure you are backed up before installing!

According to Apple’s security notes, among the many bug fixes and security updates to be had are those that:

• Improve the reliability of Back to My Mac.
• Resolve an issue when transferring files to certain SMB servers.
• Address various minor Mac App Store issues.

More information on the 10.6.7 update can be found on Apple’s site here.

An interesting post released today by MacRumors.com reveals that the 10.6.7 update for the 2011 MacBook Pro (a separate update from the general 10.6.7 update for the Thunderbolt-equipped MacBook Pros) has support for several AMD graphics cards that are not presently found in any Mac.  As MacRumors notes, this could be a glimpse of the kinds of graphics cards that will be found in future Macs.

Apple released the Snow Leopard Graphics Update this past Monday. According to the support notes on Apple’s site, the update provides stability and performance fixes for graphics applications and games in Snow Leopard version 10.6.4.

More info can be found in Apple’s support document here.

Over the past few years, we have deployed the Mac mini as a server for several of our small business clients, all of whom have been happy with its performance.  Since Apple released the new Mac mini with Snow Leopard Server back in October, some of our clients have been considering upgrading.

Our tech Gene sent me this very thorough review of the Mac mini Server that was published by MacInTouch last week.  The review runs through the history of the Mac mini and OS X Server and gives a very good overview of the features.

Many fixes are included in the Snow Leopard 10.6.2 update, among them a fix for the “Guest Account” bug that was deleting user files.  Users can find the full list and update information on Apple’s website.

Be sure to back up your system before you install the 10.6.2 update.  Tips on backing up your Mac to an external hard drive can be found here.

And bad news for the hackintosh fans: 10.6.2 breaks Intel Atom-based netbooks that have been hacked to run Mac OS X.

The Safari 4.0.4 update addresses “performance, stability, and security.”  Click here to get Apple’s full list of security flaws addressed in this update.

For our users who just purchased the latest iMac, which comes with the super sleek Magic Mouse, and for those of you who may have just purchased the Magic Mouse alone, there are software updates available.  The only information that Apple has provided about the updates is that you should install the software to “take advantage of your Magic Mouse special features.”

Magic Mouse Update – Leopard

Magic Mouse Update – Snow Leopard

If your printer drivers were not included with the Snow Leopard OS installer, you probably need to install Rosetta.

Apple has a straightforward support document in its Mac OS X 10.6 Help section here.