One-Eye Mac OS
- With the number of enhancements and refinements I can provide detailed summaries about with this new Mac OS X version, there is one service within Snow Leopard I found both potentially helpful and compelled to expound about, because it is a service not found in the previous, ground breaking version of Mac OS X, 10.5 Leopard.
- I have used the Eye-One without a single problem with Mac OS 9.x, Mac OS X, Windows 98, Windows 98SE, Windows Me, Windows 2000 and most recently Windows XP. If ever we needed a definition of 'Plug and Play' the Eye-One system is it. The next section provides a summary.
To conserve power and reduce your electrical bill, you should shut down your computer or put it to sleep when not in use. But that’s easier said than done if your Mac acts as a server for files, photos, music, or other resources.
Snow Leopard offers at least one solution to this problem: Wake on Demand. This is Apple’s name for a new networking feature that lets a Snow Leopard Mac go to sleep while a networked base station continues to broadcast Bonjour messages about the services the sleeping computer offers. The base station essentially acts as a proxy for the slumbering Mac. Advertised Bonjour services includes file sharing, screen sharing, iTunes library sharing, and printer sharing among others.
Justifying the Present with One Eye on the Future: Criteria for the Selection of Event Categories. The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window. Mac OS X Mountain Lion (10.8) is really a huge step forward and everyone is eager to get a copy of the final release. While waiting for the big day, you can do something else: check your current system, clean it, make a backup and be prepared for D-Day!
When another computer on the network wants to use one of those Bonjour services, the base station sends a special signal over Ethernet or Wi-Fi to wake the computer in question, which then rouses itself and responds. Snow Leopard’s improved speed in waking from sleep helps.
To other computers, the sleeping Mac’s shared services appear as regular Bonjour entries requiring no additional software. A Panther, Tiger, or Leopard system or Windows system with Bonjour installed can wake a Snow Leopard Mac. An awakened Mac goes back to sleep according to Energy Saver settings when it returns to an idle status.
What you’ll need
Wake on Demand is a useful feature for Mac users who share resources between multiple machines, but it comes with some notable provisos. The first is the type of equipment you’ll need.
Apple says you must have an AirPort Extreme Base Station (2007 or more recent model) or Time Capsule (2008 or more recent model) with the current 7.4.2 firmware installed.
Support for Wi-Fi comes with additional limitations. For starters, it appears only a relatively new Mac can be woken via a Wi-Fi connection. Older Mac models can be woken only when connected to the base station via Ethernet. (At this writing, Apple hasn’t released a list of models that work over Wi-Fi, but, in testing with colleagues, I found only 2009 models offered the option. After this article was originally published, a reader tested his 2008 MacBook Pro [2.6 GHz Core 2 Duo], and found it capable as well. You can report other pre-2009 models in the comments.)
You can check whether your system supports Wake on Demand via Wi-Fi by opening System Profiler (go to Apple menu -> About This Mac, and click on More Info). In the Contents list at left, select AirPort (in the Network section). In the area under Interfaces, look for the text “Wake on Wireless: Supported.” If it’s not there, the option isn’t available on that Mac.
Getting started
You enable Wake on Demand in the Energy Saver preference pane. On desktop machines, Snow Leopard shows a single pane; on laptops, the option is available in the Power Adapter tab. Laptops can’t use this feature when powered by a battery. Additionally, laptops must either be open (not latched) or have an external display attached to be woken through this method.
For computers that can connect over either Wi-Fi or Ethernet, the checkbox is labeled Wake For Network Access. In my tests, this option was turned on by default in updated and new Snow Leopard Macs. Apple notes in a support document that some machines may have this option turned off after upgrading to Snow Leopard, in which case you’ll need to turn it yourself.
Apple warns in its support note that your apparently somnolent computer may wake for just a moment to check in with the base station that’s proxying Bonjour without activating its display, and then quickly go back to sleep.
You can disable Wake on Demand by unchecking the box. With the option turned off, your sleeping Mac will have its beauty sleep undisturbed and your base station won’t advertise the Mac’s Bonjour services.
How it works
In Leopard and earlier releases of Mac OS X, Apple offered a similarly labeled wake-on-Ethernet option that relied on the Magic Packet, a specially formulated data transmission that Ethernet adapters can be set to listen for in order to wake a computer in a standby mode. The Magic Packet option is a common feature in Ethernet cards and operating systems.
The flaw with the Magic Packet approach is that you had to use a special piece of software to wake a computer over Ethernet, and it didn’t work over Wi-Fi. By switching to a Bonjour-triggered, base station-hosted method—which Apple calls Bonjour Sleep Proxy—Apple gives the feature broader reach. (Earlier this year, Macworld editor Dan Frakes reviewed a free program, WakeOnLan (), that handles the network voodoo for Magic Packets. In addition to Apple’s new Wake on Demand option, I’ve confirmed that WakeOnLan still works with Snow Leopard systems connected over Ethernet.)
The technology behind waking a computer over Wi-Fi is more complicated. Wi-Fi radios typically shut down when a computer isn’t active; however, some Wi-Fi-enabled devices employ a standby scanning mode that wakes a radio for extremely brief periods of time to scan for incoming traffic. This mode typically takes advantage of WMM Power Save, a standard designed to reduce power usage by Wi-fi-capable cellular handsets and portable devices while they’re not transmitting.
It’s possible that Apple using technology similar to WMM Power Save to give a Mac’s Wi-Fi adapter just enough power to monitor for the right kind of alert, and wake the system. (After this article was originally published, Apple said via e-mail that it is not using WMM Power Save, but provided no additional details.)
If Apple has taken an open approach to waking a Mac over Wi-Fi—that includes the use of Bonjour which Apple invented but doesn’t restrict the use of—it’s good news for Mac users. In the coming weeks we may see programs developed that allow other software, servers, or routers to wake the slumbering Snow Leopard.
[Glenn Fleishman is the author of Take Control of Your 802.11n AirPort Network (www.takecontrolbooks.com ), and a regular Macworld contributor.]
[Updated August 28th, 2009 at 2:36 PM to reflect newly released details about Wake on Demand and correspondence from Apple.]
What is a macular hole?
A macular hole is a small break in the macula, located in the center of the eye’s light-sensitive tissue called the retina. The macula provides the sharp, central vision we need for reading, driving, and seeing fine detail.
A macular hole can cause blurred and distorted central vision. Macular holes are related to aging and usually occur in people over age 60.
Is a macular hole the same as age-related macular degeneration?
No. Macular holes and age-related macular degeneration are two separate and distinct conditions, although the symptoms for each are similar. Both conditions are common in people 60 and over. An eye care professional will know the difference.
Are there different types of a macular hole?
Yes. There are three stages to a macular hole:
- Foveal detachments (Stage I). Without treatment, about half of Stage I macular holes will progress.
- Partial-thickness holes (Stage II). Without treatment, about 70 percent of Stage II macular holes will progress.
- Full-thickness holes (Stage III).
The size of the hole and its location on the retina determine how much it will affect a person’s vision. When a Stage III macular hole develops, most central and detailed vision can be lost. If left untreated, a macular hole can lead to a detached retina, a sight-threatening condition that should receive immediate medical attention.
What are the symptoms of a macular hole?
Macular holes often begin gradually. In the early stage of a macular hole, people may notice a slight distortion or blurriness in their straight-ahead vision. Straight lines or objects can begin to look bent or wavy. Reading and performing other routine tasks with the affected eye become difficult.
What causes a macular hole?
Most of the eye’s interior is filled with vitreous, a gel-like substance that fills about 80 percent of the eye and helps it maintain a round shape. The vitreous contains millions of fine fibers that are attached to the surface of the retina. As we age, the vitreous slowly shrinks and pulls away from the retinal surface. Natural fluids fill the area where the vitreous has contracted. This is normal. In most cases, there are no adverse effects. Some patients may experience a small increase in floaters, which are little “cobwebs” or specks that seem to float about in your field of vision.
However, if the vitreous is firmly attached to the retina when it pulls away, it can tear the retina and create a macular hole. Also, once the vitreous has pulled away from the surface of the retina, some of the fibers can remain on the retinal surface and can contract. This increases tension on the retina and can lead to a macular hole. In either case, the fluid that has replaced the shrunken vitreous can then seep through the hole onto the macula, blurring and distorting central vision.
Macular holes can also occur in other eye disorders, such as high myopia (nearsightedness), injury to the eye, retinal detachment, and, rarely, macular pucker.
Is my other eye at risk?
If a macular hole exists in one eye, there is a 10-15 percent chance that a macular hole will develop in your other eye over your lifetime. Your doctor can discuss this with you.
What's the treatment for a macular hole?
Although some macular holes can seal themselves and require no treatment, surgery is necessary in many cases to help improve vision. In this surgical procedure – called a vitrectomy – the vitreous gel is removed to prevent it from pulling on the retina and replaced with a bubble containing a mixture of air and gas. The bubble acts as an internal, temporary bandage that holds the edge of the macular hole in place as it heals. Surgery is performed under local anesthesia and often on an out-patient basis.
Mac Os Mojave
Following surgery, patients must remain in a face-down position, normally for a day or two but sometimes for as long as two-to-three weeks. This position allows the bubble to press against the macula and be gradually reabsorbed by the eye, sealing the hole. As the bubble is reabsorbed, the vitreous cavity refills with natural eye fluids.
Maintaining a face-down position is crucial to the success of the surgery. Because this position can be difficult for many people, it is important to discuss this with your doctor before surgery.
What are the risks of surgery?
The most common risk following macular hole surgery is an increase in the rate of cataract development. In most patients, a cataract can progress rapidly, and often becomes severe enough to require removal. Other less common complications include infection and retinal detachment either during surgery or afterward, both of which can be immediately treated.
For a few months after surgery, patients are not permitted to travel by air. Changes in air pressure may cause the bubble in the eye to expand, increasing pressure inside the eye.
How successful is this surgery?
Vision improvement varies from patient to patient. People that have had a macular hole for less than six months have a better chance of recovering vision than those who have had one for a longer period. Discuss vision recovery with your doctor before your surgery. Vision recovery can continue for as long as three months after surgery.
One Eye Masquerade Mask
What if I cannot remain in a face-down position after the surgery?
One-eye Mac Os Catalina
If you cannot remain in a face-down position for the required period after surgery, vision recovery may not be successful. People who are unable to remain in a face-down position for this length of time may not be good candidates for a vitrectomy. However, there are a number of devices that can make the “face-down” recovery period easier on you. There are also some approaches that can decrease the amount of “face-down” time. Discuss these with your doctor.