Speeding up ‘Taking out the trash’

If you are on Mac OS and have ever tried to empty out your time machine backup disk, you’ve no doubt run into this issue. Emptying the trash, when you have just deleted a 100,000+ files will take hours…literally. Fortunately, there are solutions.

1. Try the command line:
Open up Terminal.app and go to the trash folder that you want to empty:
cd /Volumes//.Trash/
rm -rf (usually its 501)

2. Delete backups from within Time Machine to empty out space:
Fire up Time Machine. By default, you should be in the current time (now). In the Finder window that open’s up, there’s a small gear icon. Click it and select the option “Delete old backup’s for xxxxxx”. Easiest way to free up space!

are SD cards that popular, apparently so…

Apple has spoken folks and generally when Apple speaks, everyone listens. Placing an SD card slot into the new MacBook Pro is a signal of things to come but the question is what are these “things”? Most people, including me, were left scratching our collective heads when we heard of the new SD slot. Could photography and that particular segment be so important for Apple to include a SD card slot?

Granted that SD card offer a lot more variety than just storage but I think that the real reason for the inclusion is to create differentiation in the laptop product line. Notice that the earlier Macbook got bumped up to a macbook pro category leaving w.i.d.e open spaces in the traditional macbook category for new entrants. Could these new entrants be a Apple Netbook or the ever so elusive Apple tablet? I certainly hope so!

Steve’s open letter about his health

Apple CEO Steve Jobs released an open letter detailing the reason for his perceived declining health. Good to hear that he’s on the path to recovery. Full text follows…

“Dear Apple Community,

For the first time in a decade, I’m getting to spend the holiday season with my family, rather than intensely preparing for a Macworld keynote.

Unfortunately, my decision to have Phil deliver the Macworld keynote set off another flurry of rumors about my health, with some even publishing stories of me on my deathbed.

I’ve decided to share something very personal with the Apple community so that we can all relax and enjoy the show tomorrow.

As many of you know, I have been losing weight throughout 2008. The reason has been a mystery to me and my doctors. A few weeks ago, I decided that getting to the root cause of this and reversing it needed to become my #1 priority.

Fortunately, after further testing, my doctors think they have found the cause—a hormone imbalance that has been “robbing” me of the proteins my body needs to be healthy. Sophisticated blood tests have confirmed this diagnosis.

The remedy for this nutritional problem is relatively simple and straightforward, and I’ve already begun treatment. But, just like I didn’t lose this much weight and body mass in a week or a month, my doctors expect it will take me until late this Spring to regain it. I will continue as Apple’s CEO during my recovery.

I have given more than my all to Apple for the past 11 years now. I will be the first one to step up and tell our Board of Directors if I can no longer continue to fulfill my duties as Apple’s CEO. I hope the Apple community will support me in my recovery and know that I will always put what is best for Apple first.

So now I’ve said more than I wanted to say, and all that I am going to say, about this.

Steve”

iPhone “mini me”?

Rumor mills are abuzz with the possibility of a mini version of the iPhone coming out. Concept picture here.

The one thing I do like a lot about the iPhone is the screen real estate so if the new version comes with a smaller screen, is it a step forward or a step backward?