It was pretty quiet at the ole' Apple Store here in Tucson. I got there just at ten, and while there were stanchions to organize the crowd, they weren't needed and just sat off to the side looking lonely. There were plenty of people in the store, and about half were buying Snow Leopard. Supplies were plentiful, but I was there early.

Installing on both a MacBook Pro and a Mac Pro were two different stories. On the laptop, things were ducky. Everything worked, mail accounts were there, bookmarks, the usual.

On my desktop it was not so pretty. I kept getting messages that I needed to add a password for my MobileMe account, which I dutifully did. Problem was it kept asking. Then I saw some messages about the keychain. Whoops. Not a good message to see.

Well, the short version is that somehow my keychain was hosed. I tried to repair, but that didn't stop the problems. I finally threw away my keychain data and started again, re-entering my email passwords and a few other things. All is back to normal. I also saw a strange message about my iDisk, but I followed the directions and threw a rather large file away. It appeared to be a copy of my idisk for local use.

Other things pretty much work. My Sonos audio system is fine, Photoshop CS3 seems OK, and while it didn't get a heavy duty run through, it opens images, applies filters, runs actions, and saves properly.
Shut down is almost instantaneous, and I noticed I'd saved 14GB after the upgrade.

I'm seeing lots of little niceties. When I take a screen shot, it has a name that includes the date and time instead of 'picture 1'.

All in all, not too painful, but not completely trouble free. With keychain passwords gone I may wind up doing some extra typing for awhile on web sites where I have an account, but that's not too horrible.

Snow Leopard is clearly faster, trimmer, and a bit more fun to use. A good use of $30.00 and just a little bit more time than I planned in getting over a couple of glitches.

Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly Mac troubleshooting Q&A column. This week we've got questions about syncing notes, iLife '09, iTunes downloads, the importance of keychains and more.

As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. 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 (we'll assume you're running Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify). And now, on to the questions.

Scott asks

When I sync my iphone (3.0.1) with my Mac (10.5.8) and have "sync notes" checked in iTunes, I cannot find my notes synced anywhere in Mail.app - including under "Notes"...what am I missing?

To sync 'Notes' first make sure you have your iPhone connected to your Mac with iTunes open. Then, be sure to have "sync notes" checked in iTunes. Also, be sure to check "Sync Notes" in the MobleMe Sync options in System Preferences.

Then, sync your iPhone as normal. After that, check in Apple's Mail program under "Reminders" to see if the notes appear. You need to click on the little triangle to show the contents of Reminders. If they don't appear, close Mail and open it again. Also, restart your iPhone completely before trying another sync.

Also, keep in mind Notes sync works only via USB and not over the air. If you are not seeing notes appear, be sure you sync your iPhone via USB with your Mac or they won't appear at all. If the notes still don't appear in Apple Mail, it might be time to give a call to Apple tech support because at that point the problem may be something larger than the scope of what this column can answer.

Evan asks

I bought a new MacBook Pro last month, which came installed with Leopard and iLife '09. My purchase was within Apple's "Up-to-Date" program timeline, so I was able to order a copy of Snow Leopard for $9.95. I know Snow Leopard doesn't come with iLife '09 but considering my new computer already comes with iLife '09, I'm not going to have to re-buy iLife, am I?

Welcome back to Ask TUAW, our weekly Mac troubleshooting Q&A column! This time we've got more questions on migrating user data when upgrading to Snow Leopard, expanding Apple's built-in Dictionary application, accessing iPhone notes without Mail.app, and more.

As always, your suggestions and questions are welcome. 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 (we'll assume you're running Leopard on an Intel Mac if you don't specify). And now, on to the questions.

We may have mentioned it one or two (dozen) times, but 1Password is a great solution for securely managing passwords, credit cards and notes on a Mac (and recently the iPhone). If you're a 1Password fan, be sure to check out the 2.9 release from last weekend; it has a pretty huge new feature. For quite a while now there have been grumblings about the OS X Keychain being a bit of a beast, especially when handling large amounts of data. Rather than waiting out Apple for new improvements to the Keychain system, the stalwart coders at Agile Web Solutions decided to write their own.

If you dig into the Keychain section of the preferences in 1Password 2.9, you'll find an option to "Switch to Agile Keychain Format." What's the difference? First, it allows easy file-based synchronization, making possible non-MobileMe solutions for syncing up multiple Macs. Further, it maintains speedy access even when it contains gigs of data, as well as supporting much higher levels of encryption. Sounds good to me.

If you're ready to switch your keychain format, head over to the developer's blog for detailed instructions, and read up on the various options for automatic sync between Macs. 1Password 2.9 is a free upgrade for existing users, and new users can grab a free trial. A single license runs $39.95USD with a family pack available for $59.95USD. For the full changelog for this release, check the version history page.

Have you forgotten a password to a website, email account, or other password? If you use Mac OS X's Keychain, chances are that your password can be easily retrieved.

First off, open Keychain Access.app (located in /Applications/Utilities/). Once there, scroll through the list of keys until you find the one that you're looking for. Double click on it and check the box that says, "Show Password." Once you authenticate with your user credentials, your forgotten password will be displayed in the text box.


Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 section.

Agile Web Solutions has updated their 1Password product with support for 4 new browsers and better support for the newly released Firefox 3. 1Password now works on the following web-browsing applications: Safari 4 (Developer Preview), DEVONagent 2.3.1, latest OmniWeb, and Flock 2 beta.

In addition to updated browser support, 1Password also boasts a higher level of stability while running in Camino on PPC Macs. You can see the full list of updates (all 21 of them) by visiting the Agile Web Solutions' website. In addition, you can download the update by going to 1Password > Check for Updates in the 1Password application.

Everyone eventually forgets a password or two. It's OK, don't be ashamed. Even your friends at TUAW have committed this error. Honestly.

Ivan at CreativeBits offers a simple way to reveal a forgotten password with Mac OS X's Keychain Access application. You'll find it in your Utilities folder (which lives in the Applications folder). It lists all the passwords you've stored for different applications (wireless networks, FTP servers, etc.). Just select the one you're interested in and perform a "Get Info" by hitting Command-I. Good luck, and write it down this time, will you?

Leopard users, you have your first OS update waiting for you. The Login & Keychain Update 1.0 fixes a couple of issues with logging in and Keychain (shocking, yes?). According to the Apple documentation it corrects issues with the following, and I quote:

• Logging in with an account originally created in Mac OS X 10.1 or earlier that has a password of 8 or more characters.
• Connecting to some 802.11b/g wireless networks.
• Changing the password of a FileVault-protected account.

[via Daring Fireball]

TUAW has lately been trying to help you Secure Your Mac, and while a few options have been available, biometric security is one area in which the Mac has seemed to lag behind the Windows side. Now UPEK has released a preview of the Mac version of their Eikon Digital Privacy Manager. The software allows you to use the Eikon scanner to login to your account, control your Keychain, switch users, or lock down your Mac.

The Eikon scanner is a USB device which costs about $40 and only comes with Windows software. Once you have the scanner however, you can download the Mac Protector Suite Preview for free from UPEK. If security is a serious concern and passwords are getting tedious then a biometric solution like this one looks increasingly cost effective.

[via OhGizmo]

Victor's Mac 101 yesterday gave you the basics of the Keychain, so we all know what it's good for -- keeping your passwords and credentials in a convenient, automatic and protected file. Still, that's an awful lot of passwordy goodness to keep in one place, especially if some of those passwords are controlling access to your financial or professional information.

Y'know, what would be really cool -- if you could do it -- take that keychain, and put it on a portable drive, and then you'd have physical control of your passwords even when you aren't with your computer... nice.

Conveniently enough, there's a great walkthrough at nevali.net to accomplish this exact task. The basic steps: make a new keychain (with a secure, complex password) and save it to your removable media; once that's done, set your default keychain (where Mac OS X will put new password saves automatically) to the new, portable keychain. From that point on, you can take your passwords with you -- just don't forget to back up that USB drive somewhere safe.

Thanks, Mo.

The Keychain on your Mac is a little application buried in the Utilities folder in your Applications folder. I say buried because I think Keychain is sadly neglected by most users. Here are some things you can do with it:

• Save web page passwords
• Save login info (aside from websites, like your IM logins)
• Save protected notes (secret stuff)

This 101 will be a little longer than usual, so I can show you how to use Keychain to store passwords and other secret things. Later, in our Secure Your Mac series, we'll talk about making a good password so all these things stay private. Full details on how to easily use Keychain after the jump.

The Dashboard is fun and all, but few widgets offer much in the way of storing any kind of data in a secure way. If you would like to work with a scratchpad in the comforts of Dashboard but also want the notes you jot down to be secured from wandering eyes, Secret NotePad might be a good option. With support for multiple pages, locking itself and even clearing the clipboard, this is perhaps one of the most secure widgets you'll find this side of the Mac OS X Keychain. Oh, speaking of the Keychain: all the notes you create in Secret NotePad, and even the original password you create to secure these notes, are stored in the Keychain for easy backup and synching with .Mac and similar services.

Upon opening Secure NotePad, you are presented with a small dialog asking you to create a new password just for locking down the notes you store in this widget. This dialog doesn't allow you to verify or even see the password you're typing though, so make sure you're getting it right. After that you get a simple resizable box into which you can paste plain text. Clicking the lock icon in the upper left of course locks the widget, scaling it down to nothing but the title bar and the password entry box. No password, no dice. Flipping the widget over presents options for locking the widget after a certain amount of Dashboard inactivity time, clearing the clipboard, default font/size and even locking the Keychain when you lock the widget. Truly, this is one widget your nosey coworkers won't get very far with.

Secret NotePad can be found in Apple's Widgets directory.

For anyone who has ever wished that Firefox did this or that on Mac OS X - get ready to voice your requests and complaints. Jeff Smykil at Ars Technica is reporting that Colin Barrett of the Firefox team has left the door wide open for Mac users to submit requests for the browser, including a short list of things they already know are at the top of many users' lists (some of which are already planned). For example: Native Form Widgets (i.e. - web form buttons that look and feel more like Mac OS X a lá Safari / Camino / OmniWeb) are on the drawing board for Firefox 3, and a Unified toolbar is apparently "not completely hopeless." Performance is of course on the list (is it ever not?), but a big one that this blogger feels is fundamental to any Mac OS X app that deals with passwords also made the list: Keychain integration (Colin - does that count for my request submission?). We of course have 1Passwd, a password and identity manager that (among other things) integrates Firefox with the Mac OS X Keychain, but 1Passwd's $30 price tag understandably sets it outside of most user's budgets (though until Firefox builds this feature in, I definitely recommend 1Passwd as a happy customer).

But don't stop there - Colin and the Firefox team want to hear your thoughts on these features, as well as all the others missing from the browser that you simply can't live without. In fact, they want all the email they can get their hands on, so head on over to Colin's blog to get the email address with which you can help make Firefox a better browser for the Mac.

1Passwd from Agile Web Solutions is one of those browser addons that just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, as if its developers had an epiphany while laying in a field of not-too-prickly grass on a perfectly warm, sunny day, asking themselves: "how can we make the world a better place?"

Which browser does 1Passwd work with, you ask? Why, just about all of them. This password and identity manager integrates with nearly every major Mac OS X browser, including Safari, Firefox, Camino and OmniWeb, as well as DEVONagent and even NetNewsWire, to bring Keychain nirvana and multiple identity autofill to website forms (that's right: Firefox can use the Keychain, thanks to 1Passwd). In other words: it's an über-Keychain for your browsers, allowing you to stop caring about which one you're using, where you saved that forum's password or how you're going to fill out the umpteenth store registration. And as you might have guessed from my introduction: I kind of like 1Passwd, and a recent upgrade to v2.3 offers even more to rave about.

Most noticeably, the new version ushers in a fresh new UI, shedding the old 'n busted brushed metal for the unified look that's all the craze with 3rd party developers and lovers of good-looking software. Don't be fooled though; the new features are far more than skin deep. Folders and smart folders are now in full effect, allowing for more flexible organization of your unruly collection of logins. Another really slick new feature is 1Click Login Bookmarks, which allow you to save a bookmark with specific login credentials - perfect for sites at which you have multiple credentials. Goodbye, tedious logging in/out all day!

Plenty of other new and updated features are detailed in this blog post, and many of 1Passwd's major features, such as Firefox integration and Palm/Treo syncing, have screenshots or video demonstrations on its product page (scroll down for all the goods). A demo is available, while a single license costs a mere $30, with a 3-license family pack for $40.

My favorite password and form manager, 1Passwd from Agile Web Solutions, has been given a nice update from version 1.5 to version 2.0. As a registered user I appreciate that there's no charge for this update, even though it's a major update and not a minor tweak. The authors have even stated there won't be a charge for the Leopard-compatible update when the time comes, thanks in part to the support they've received from sites like MacUpdate, VersionTracker and iUseThis. The free major upgrades are their way of saying "Thanks" to the community that has helped them build and improve their app.

1Passwd is a password manager and form-filler for Mac OS X that allows multiple identities, generates strong passwords, integrates with the OS X Keychain and most browsers (Safari, Firefox, Camino, Shiira, Flock and now OmniWeb and DevonAgent), and also integrates with .Mac so you can sync your passwords and forms across multiple systems. It's like the OS X keychain on steroids and with an emphasis on web forms and better integration. I've been using it for a few months now and I've come to rely on it heavily.

Version 2's most notable feature addition is the new Secure Notes feature - which I don't have too much use for personally, but it's nice to know it's there! Additional features include:

• Added 1Passwd extension for DEVONagent 2.0.3.
• Added 1Passwd extension for OmniWeb 5.5.
• Added Import of RoboForm Safenotes.
• Updated About window to include code attribution and hide registration info by default.
• Fixed UTF8 encoding problems in Firefox extension.
• Fixed problem emptying the Trash with Identity records.

There are also several changes to the user interface, including a trash can for deleted entries in case you change your mind or delete the wrong entry by mistake. There are even more features coming in future 2.x updates, but the developers felt it was important to push these features out the door now so that OmniWeb and DevonAgent users could enjoy 1Passwd rather than make everyone wait a few more weeks for the kitchen sink. You can read more about the new features planned on their blog.

There's a free version which is fully functional but limits the number of saved forms and identities to saved forms and identities to 12 and 1, respectively. The registered version costs $29.99 or $39.99 for a family license (up to 3 users in the same household) and there's a 30-day, 100% refund guarantee. Go ahead and give it a try - you really have nothing to lose!