Ask TUAW: Mail.app problems, copying Time Machine backups, replacing an iPhone, GUI mockups and more
For this edition of Ask TUAW we'll have a look at problems with Mail.app, mocking-up GUIs, replacing a broken iPhone, visualizing disk space, copying Time Machine backups and much more.
As always, your suggestions are most welcome, and questions for next week should be left in the comments. When asking a question please include which machine you're running and which version of Mac OS X, as certain answers will vary between different Macs and Tiger vs. Leopard, etc. (we'll assume you're running Leopard if you don't specify). And now, on to the questions!
Glenn asks
I am having a problem with mail on my iBook G4. I created a email with a bunch of photos in it, about 20 mbs worth. In the middle of sending it out (through gmail IMAP) I killed it. Or at least tried to. I had to kill mail as my network was getting hosed. Since then, when I start mail it keeps trying to send it, which fails and then continues to try and send it. I do not believe there is an issue on gmail's end, as I can use the web interface with out much of an issue. I tried clearing the queue from some instructions on the web. I also completely removed the account from mail and rebooted. Then added it back in. It started sending the email immediately.
I've never run into this problem, but I found this hint at Mac OS X Hints which may have your solution. Basically, they suggest removing the Outbox.mbox file from ~/Library/Mail/Mailboxes/.
Stan-O asks
can anyone suggest a good app for Leopard/Tiger for drafting GUI (I'm writing alot of specs for HTML/App UI)? I'd hate to run Visio in VM just for that.
You might as well use the Interface Builder included with Apple's Developers Tools. This is of course the way that actual GUIs are built for OS X, but you can use it to create mockups as well.
Alternately, you could check out OmniGraffle ($99.95 standard, $199.95 pro) with one of the UI stencils from Graffletopia.
Frank asks
Yesterday, i dropped and shattered the screen on my 1st-gen iphone (8 gig). i've been thoroughly satisfied with my 1st gen, and had no intention of upgrading to the 3G model. my question is: what are my options? can i get a 1st-gen phone to replace my broken one? how? where? how much? or is it better to upgrade to the 3G, and if so, how do i do that, and how much?
No, you won't be able to get a first gen iPhone from Apple or AT&T anymore. So your best option is probably just to upgrade to the 3G, though that will cost you $199 for the phone plus about $10 more per month (without SMS). AT&T does allow you to activate original iPhones on the original plans, so if you could obtain a first gen iPhone off of something like eBay you will be able to use it. In fact, if you can get a first gen iPhone you can probably just switch your SIM card (see this Apple Discussion thread)
Update: You can no longer purchase a first gen iPhone (which is what I meant), but a reader claims that it is possible to get a warranty replacement for $249 from an Apple Store. It's probably worth checking out if you really want another first gen and don't want to pay the increased monthly cost for the 3G iPhone.
sita asks
An iPhone 2.0 question: The only thing that keeps my at my Jailbroken 1.1.x fw is that I have installed Hebrew fonts. Does the 2.0 fw come with Hebrew fonts out of the box (the simulator does, but I'm not sure it is an accurate simulation in that part...)?
Check out this page. It seems that iPhone 2.0 doesn't have Hebrew built-in, but if you've previously installed the fonts they apparently still work (with the exception of the keyboard).
Sam asks
I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of a mac application that can display the contents of my hard drive graphically, to indicate which files are taking up the most disk space, similar to what seqouia view does for windows. If a freeware or in fact, any app for this could be recommended, I'd greatly appreciate it
I'm not familiar with the Windows app, but I suggest that you have a look at Disk Inventory X (donations requested).
Allison asks
I have an iPod Touch, I'm running 10.5.4 and I can't access my WiFi from the iPod. I know that I have WiFi in my house because my laptop shows that I have a good connection, but when I try to access it from my iPod, it doesn't recognize that there's a network. Under "Choose a Network...", all it shows is the "Other..." option. I'll click on this and manually enter the name of the network and the securities (none), but it displays the message that it can't find the network. I've tried resetting the iPod, turning my WiFi on and off, etc., etc., but nothing seems to help. I've scoured the Internet looking for solutions to this problem, but everything suggested doesn't seem to yield any good results or the instructions for fixing it are more tailored for the iPhone and requires using options that I don't have. Help!
You might start by Restoring the Touch in iTunes which will take it back to the factory default settings. Does the iPod touch work with any other WAP? If it doesn't then you may have a hardware defect and you should take it to an Apple Store Genius Bar. If it does work elsewhere, I suspect your problem may be on the other end with the wifi network. Is SSID broadcasting turned on in your WAP?
eric asks
1.Why do certain apps not switch to their open window in Spaces? the most annoying example is Abobe Lightroom, an app that I really need to always be full-screen.
Spaces behavior recently changed. Do you have the checkbox on in the Spaces tab of the Exposé & Spaces Pref Pane?
I use Mail.app, and I always drag files to the icon in the dock to email a new message (PDF,Jpeg,PNG). But recently whenever I do that, I get the beachball of death and I have to force quit. I do have a large Mail database, but besides archiving old messages and not having access to them in Spotlight which would be very inconvenient, could this be a preference thing? but which one can I try to trash and rebuilt without messing up my extensive folder directory or accounts?
You might try rebuilding the Mail Envelope Index as described here. At least one person reported success with this approach.
Nathan asks
does anybody know of an easy way of moving time machine backups from one drive to another? I tried just dragging and dropping but it failed after a few hours of trying to move the files. Both drives are formatted to work with time machine. I'd like to re-purpose my original backup drive and still keep my time machine backups.
According to this hint you can do this with the Restore feature of the Disk Utility. Others have also reported accomplishing this with a disk cloning utility like SuperDuper!.