Feature: AutoFSHow it works: AutoFS isn't sexy, but it does correct one of the longest standing issues with OS X: connecting to network volumes always brings the Finder to its knees. No longer, folks, thanks to AutoFS. Network shares are now mounted on separate threads which means they won't take down your Mac should you try and connect to a share that isn't available (this should negatively impact the Marble of Doom, but I think we'll all agree this is a good thing).
Who will use it: Anyone who accesses files across a network (including .Mac users, AirDisk users, and people connecting to Windows shares).
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-26-2007 @ 5:09PM
wes said...
OMG, its about time. This has been such a curse!
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10-26-2007 @ 5:10PM
Adriel Kloppenburg said...
YAY, at last.
I just had my finder freeze from that a few mins ago (still on Tiger :( )
Leopard should arrive on Monday for me.
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10-26-2007 @ 5:13PM
Eric said...
Is there any reason they have old G3 iMacs in the radar for the icon?
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10-26-2007 @ 5:20PM
Scott McNulty said...
Eric, that's the Network Utility icon in Tiger. It has been like that forever!
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10-26-2007 @ 5:21PM
Matt W said...
This is *huge* for me -- i've run into this a ton of times. Sometimes the smallest things are really the biggest.
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10-26-2007 @ 5:24PM
Ian said...
Thank goodness for this!
When I first got my Macbook Pro, I thought it was incredibly unstable because of the way it would hang when trying to find a missing mount. I'd connect to a network drive, close the machine, and reopen it later elsewhere only to find it hung for a minute or more.
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10-26-2007 @ 5:28PM
Stenar said...
HURRAH! That's always driven me nuts when network drives froze the computer.
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10-26-2007 @ 5:32PM
Mo said...
Yes! No more having to wait around for ten minutes when I forget to unmount an AFP share before taking my laptop home (why does it take ten minutes for it all to time out? who knows)
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10-26-2007 @ 5:45PM
Rob Olliges said...
Loaded Leopard this afternoon and saw my wife's Windows drive through a Vonage router via Airport! It's always been there but until now, and with no effort, I could never "see" it. Thanks Apple!
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10-26-2007 @ 6:03PM
PSM said...
Yay! That used to annoy me so much when I worked in an office and would forget to disconnect from the server before leaving for the night. Then I'd open the lid at home and wait forever while it figured out that the network wasn't there anymore. Finally!
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10-26-2007 @ 7:10PM
escargot said...
Thank God, finally! For me, this is the #1 reason to upgrade to Leopard. I can't believe they left it unfixed since OSX first appeared.
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10-26-2007 @ 8:04PM
Luigi193 said...
THANK YOU LORD!!!! It works GREAT!!! I remember before I knew why, whenever my other computer fell asleep, the finder spazed out, and nothing would quit, or open...just bounce...and that freaking beach ball...
SO ONCE AGAIN...WAHHOOOOO
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10-26-2007 @ 10:17PM
Marshal Paul said...
If this really works, the windows sys ad @ my work will be so happy. no more of my angry complaints
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10-27-2007 @ 3:28AM
Robert said...
Can we mount Read/Write FTP in the Finder yet?
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10-27-2007 @ 5:08AM
mike said...
Hooray! Just this week I had to wait 10 minutes for my MacBook to unfreeze from this. Every app was beachballed waiting for this one file access to time out.
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10-27-2007 @ 8:20AM
luclodder said...
@robert: yes you can... ftp from finder works like a charm.
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10-27-2007 @ 12:45PM
eric f. said...
thank god they finally fixed this. One of those "little things" that really makes a difference.
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10-28-2007 @ 1:40PM
rault said...
to robert and luclodder:
FTP mounts are still read-only. Waah. : ( At least the good guys at Panic will be happy that Transmit is still needed!
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12-08-2007 @ 4:58AM
kerimt said...
Of course it is good to hear they have finally fixed this bug.
Although I don't understand why this has not been fixed earlier and made available to Tiger users.
Perhaps "299 new features in Leopard" would not sound as good as 300
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12-08-2007 @ 8:31PM
Travis said...
To be fair, this has always been an issue with almost EVERY operating system - not just OS X. It's not a simple problem to solve. I've seen Linux brought to its knees many times when a network drive became unavailable. I'd love to see other OSes pick this up, but depending on how its licensed that may be an issue (not to mention that Linux already has an existing utility named autofs, which is a somewhat different beast).
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