How to Reset Mac OS X Lion to Factory Default State
Getting ready to sell your Mac and want to do a full factory restore to default settings? Just follow this procedure — it works on Mac OS X Lion only.
1. Launch the Terminal application on you Mac. Then run the following sequence of commands (one at a time):
sudo su
dscl . -delete /Groups/admin GroupMembership yourAccountNameHere
dscl . -delete /Users/yourAccountNameHere
2. Now reboot your Mac into single-user mode by holding Command-S at startup.
3. Once booted into single-user mode, run the following sequence of commands (one at a time):
/sbin/fsck -fy
/sbin/mount -uw /
rm -R /Users/yourAccountNameHere
cd /var/db/
mv .AppleSetupDone .RunLanguageChooserToo
rm -R /Library/Caches/*
rm -R /System/Library/Caches/*
rm -R /var/vm/swapfile*
reboot
Your Mac will reboot to the start of the initial Apple Setup program just like when you first powered it on after purchase. All clean and ready to sell or give to a new user.
The Great Steve Jobs Vending Machine
For all of the inventive genius demonstrated by the late Steve Jobs, the one that invariably saved Apple from bankruptcy most quickly and then catapulted it to the most valuable company in the world was the Great Steve Jobs Vending Machine. What am I talking about? Well, the iPod, the iPhone, Mac and PC of course– any device connected to the iTunes ecosystem which let’s one buy all manner of music, videos, and apps at touch of a finger.
Apple wasn’t saved by landing dozens of multiple-million dollar enterprise clients. No, it built it’s empire one micro-payment at a time. And then did it billions of times.
In doing so not only did Steve Jobs create a tidal wave of continuous revenue (don’t forget, sales and cash-flow are the grease every company needs to get unstuck and accelerate forward), he eviscerated the music and movie vertical industries and their outdated pricing stranglehold on the worldwide consumer. He was able to do this by making buying simple.
While Microsoft and others still fumble towards getting device adoption, their entertainment and app store ecosystems will ultimately undermine any device success unless they somehow make the experience better and simpler than iTunes.
Bill Gates had the vision of putting a computer on every desk and in every home, but Steve knew that he had to put a vending machine in every hand.
The Nexus of Oct 5, Steve Jobs, and my Grandmother
I was telling my girlfriend more than a week ago, while it was still warm and sunny here in Seattle and I was still coming off of feeling good from the summer, that I was starting to get anxious.
“Why?”, she asked.
“Because October is never a good month”, I replied. “A majority of the crises, failures, and deaths of my family and friends all seem to happen in October.” I won’t go into the list, but October has more than its dis-proportionate share of tragedies in my life.
Yesterday afternoon after stepping off my flight from Long Beach, California in a driving rain I got a text about Steve Jobs’ passing. October was here.
On October 5 sixteen years ago I had to say goodbye to, arguably, the most influential person in my life, my grandmother (on my mom’s side). To many she was a hard, old woman from Italy, having survived World War II raising two children alone, losing her home when it was demolished by the Nazis as they retreated, shell-shocked by the months-long non-stop Allied carpet bombing of the Abruzzo region of Italy where she lived, losing many of her friends, and, probably worst, losing any optimism for the future. By the time I was born in 1973 she had already raised three children, lost her husband to a heart attack nine years earlier, and was a very tired 66 years old. But she lived with my parents and me for the next 22 years, principally raising me in our suburban house outside of Washington DC while my parents worked. I know there’s an American stereotype that grandmonthers are sweet talking, smiling, and dote on their grandchildren. No. My grandmother was tough — like the German grandmother from Neil Simon’s “Lost in Yonkers.”
That afternoon of October 5, 1995 I got a call that my grandmother was in the ICU, she was slipping in and out of a diabetic coma. Our entire family had gathered at the hospital and were informed she wasn’t expected to live through the next day. So, one by one, we went in to say our goodbyes. I went in with my mother. Standing by her bedside, my grandmother’s eyes were open slightly, she seemed to be in that place halfway between sleep and awakedness. I held her hand and we spoke in Italian, just a few sentences. Tearfully, I said, “Thank you — thank you for everything. I’m so sorry. Thank you.” She acknowledged what I said and said “We’ll see each other in another world.” That was the last time we spoke.
Fast forward to 2011 and I’ve had the wind knocked out of me again on the same day with the loss of Steve Jobs. Undoubtedly, he changed hundreds of millions of lives over his lifetime, my story is probably representative of many. He was the “influencer” and I was the “influenced.” When the Macintosh was released in 1984, I lived in New Carrollton, Maryland. At the public library just a mile up my street a computer lab was opened; patrons could book two hour blocks of time on a personal computer. There were three machines: an IBM PC, an Apple ][e, and a Macintosh. I rode my Sear's Ten Speed up there every single day for two consecutive summers. See, I had gotten chummy with the library volunteers who ran the lab. When a patron was more than 10 minutes late for their appointment, I got their slot instead -- the computer lab version of flying standby. I was at the library from opening to close for most of those summers, primarily spending all my time on the Apple ][ and the Mac (only the adults would book the IBM PC), discovering new things, mastering the GUI, immersing myself, creating. It changed my life. Steve Jobs changed my life. As he once said, some companies just don't "put a lot of culture into their products." He did and it carried through all the way to the user. I can palpably remember the excitement of waking up during summer vacation knowing that I was going to be playing on the Mac all day -- and the anticipation of what new things I'd learn or discover that day.
When I went off to high school, their newly stocked computer labs were full of Apple ][GS, Macs, and LaserWriters. For four years I worked daily on a Mac. In 1991, my senior year History final paper was to write a biography about someone important in my life -- I wrote about my grandmother and her experience surviving WWII in Italy. I wrote it on a Mac in Aldus PageMaker, complete with embedded photos, captions, and wrapping text. It was beautiful. At her wake four years later I pulled out that beautiful copy of her biography I had printed on the Apple LaserWriter and left it out for family and friends to see -- to perhaps learn some things they hadn't known about my grandmother. It touched them all. Steve Jobs' creation let me express myself and bring something meaningful to their lives.
Sixteen years later I look back and see how very fortunate I was to have my grandmother in my life. We’ve all been immensely fortunate to have Steve.
The Real Housewives of Seattle?
My good friend (and previous guest blogger here) Carly Chillmon, Sociologist and adjunct professor at Seattle University, recently weighed in on the question of whether Seattle could support a “Real Housewives” television series. Check out the fascinating Seattle Met magazine article here: http://www.seattlemet.com/arts-and-entertainment/articles/real-housewives-of-seattle-august-2011/
From the Seattle area? Leave a comment, I’m curious on your thoughts about it.
Pay It Forward: Give Me Your Wi-Fi
Guest Blogger: Carly Chillmon
While it pains me to make a Haley-Joel Osment reference, I feel the need to reach out to the tech community and ask you to pay it forward. Not all of us are tech savvy or willing to spend over $100 a month on a data plan. But, I am thankful for those who choose to share their Wi-Fi in public locations. No, I do not own an iPhone or Android smartphone. No,I do not want to spend money so I can be Internet ready at all times. Yes, I do need to use the Internet at times while writing. As a graduate student, my laptop is my friend. It is my almost constant companion at a local coffee shop or bar. While many fine establishments share the love of Wi-Fi, many still choose to secure their networks like Fort Knox. Let’s think rationally for a moment: I do not go to food and/or drink establishments to hack their accounts or steal identities. I want to check my e-mail, browse the Net, and even check my Facebook account. So, why are we still so weary of sharing Wi-Fi? Have we become so possessive that the mere thought of sharing becomes unthinkable? What happened to sharing means caring?
So, for all of you tech-capable (both in usage and financial means) people, please extend a guest network to your fellow human beings. Wear a button that says “I Share Wi-Fi” and I will give you a hug and then go back to my laptop cave and socially network via the web. Or put a little tent card on your table that says ” iCare. iShare.” You can even name your network “Guy/ Girl in the Blue Shirt” and I will give you a smile and wave of approval. Perhaps it can work as an icebreaker and you can meet the future woman/man of your dreams. Think of the possibilities and social opportunities. Can’t we all just get along? Let’s promote a real shared connection. Give me your Wi-Fi. Pay it forward. Thanks.
Carly Chillmon is a doctoral candidate in Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She currently resides in Seattle, Washington. Besides enjoying free Wi-Fi, she enjoys sarcasm, the White Sox, and her dog Ryely.
For Apple It Could Be 1993 All Over Again
The announcements today by the NPD group and Engadget that the Google Android OS has now taken the top-spot in the US smartphone market got me thinking about 1993. In 1993 Apple was still a domineering force in the personal computer market, with over a 13% share, but the motley crew of clone makers really didn’t have their acts together yet, although PCs had begun outpacing Apple’s sales. The IBM PC and its clones had been out for over 10 years and been consistently gaining traction. But once Microsoft Windows 3.0 was released in 1990, finally a worthy competitor to the beloved Macintosh UI (blaspheme to Mac-philes), it was soon, a mere few years, before it was game over for Apple as top dog — they sat with a sliver of market share for the next decade.
See this headline from a 1993 Orlando Sentinel article – “IBM OUTPACES APPLE TO REGAIN TOP PC SPOT”.
I sense the same story is playing out with Android and the iPhone (iOS), where the latter sprinted out to an early and big lead, but now in the long run very likely won’t be the leader, even though there’s no doubt the iPhone will enjoy a very loyal following for many, many years to come.
The larger question is “why does it have to be this way?” Some have answered it already.
Download Android 2.2 Froyo EVO 4G OTA
HTC noted that this Android 2.2 Froyo OTA build for the EVO 4G isn’t final, but reports from the wild are that it’s “full fat Froyo.” :) So here it is, enjoy.
Here’s how to install it:
NOTE: at this point if selecting Recovery seems unresponsive and reboots to the red triangle screen, start pressing/mashing the Power and vol up/down buttons for several seconds, that should kick you into the Recovery screen where there is blue text with the “Apply SD card: update.zip” option.
iPhone 4 Free Bumber Case App Phoning Home?
It was just announced today that the iPhone 4 free Bumper Case program to address the much publicized antenna issue is live. iPhone 4 users who want to participate in the program simply need to download an iPhone app Apple has conveniently made available for this purpose.
I haven’t seen it mentioned elsewhere yet, but I’m suspicious of this app simply being a vehicle for registering to receive a free Bumper Case. It would seem logical that, after Steve Jobs’ incessant ranting at his “Antenna-gate” press conference about it not being a unique issue to Apple and the blogosphere/media “blowing it out of proportion”, that Apple would like to track antenna performance across the entire population of iPhone 4 devices after bumpers have been applied (something they could do easily if this iPhone 4 app registers itself as a service on the phone via Apple’s proprietary and undocumented hooks which is very likely). Then do some statistical sampling pre and post Bumber order and, wha-la, Steve again has a chance to prove he’s right 6 or 12 months from now.
Don’t put it past Apple… I’d love to see a network trace from an iPhone running this app to prove my suspicions are wrong.
[Update 12:42 PDT] The fact this app is required should make folks suspicious. We’ll see…
Steve Jobs and his iApology
A while ago I dusted off Robert Cringely’s fabulous documentary from 1995, “Triumph of the Nerds”, and some things struck me while watching it, so I decided to juxtapose an interview with Steve Jobs then and his recent iPhone 4 “Antennagate” defense…
