I forgot my modem (STN, non xDSL) PPP password. The connection was still running, but should a crash happen...

This password should have been recorded in my Keychain. Unfortunately, it wasn't (possibly because I installed Tiger as a Jaguar update). No matter. If the password wasn't in the Keychain, it was elsewhere! SO I looked in a lot of places, and tried tons of tricks, to find my password.

There are always things you never think of and places you never visit. Looking for something else, I opened System Profiler. I was browsing the window when I noticed the Network branch and the Configuration entry within it. I clicked on it, and all my configurations were there. When I clicked on my modem connection entry, I saw a magic word: password, followed by hex numbers.

After a short hex decode (each four hex digits match one character), my password was mine again. I was pleased. Now I do consider this a security concern, but I'm glad it was there.

[robg adds: I can't confirm this one, as I don't have a configured modem...]

I change locations (use the Apple Menu -> Location menu item) at minimum twice every workday. I wanted to add shortcuts to make it easier/faster, but after adding the name of my location in the Keyboard & Mouse Preferences panel, it still didn't work. The shortcut shows in the menu item, but it only works after you have hovered over the "Location" submenu, and let it display the menu (and you have to do this every time an app is launched).

So I thought, why not have a keystroke do the job via Butler (or another similar utility)?

Note: Control-F2 (by default) selects the Apple Menu and it will prevent you from creating a keystroke with that definition. Before you proceed, you have to disable the 'Move focus to the menu bar' feature in the Keyboard & Mouse System Preferences panel. Look on the Keyboard Shortcuts tab, in the Keyboard Navigation section. Just uncheck the box next to this feature.

The Brother MFC-420CN is a multifunction scan - fax - print - copy machine that can be networked. There's also a multi-card reader in the front of the machine, for CompactFlash, SmartMedia, xD-Picture card, Memory Stick and Secure Digital media cards.

If you find out the IP of the printer (using the DeviceSelector application in /Library -> Printers -> Brother -> Utilities), you can FTP to that address and copy files over from any supported card inserted in the printer. It's not as fast as a dedicated USB card reader, but it works!

The following is based on a comment by sparcleosx on June 25th to this hint that explains how to share an Internet connection to a Palm. This new hint will explain how to connect (network) a Mac to another Mac via bluetooth. I hope it's a step forward to allow internet sharing to another Mac in Tiger, and, as usual, use at your own discretion...

I have a printer connected to an AirPort Express in a central location in my home, so the entire family can print. However, we turn off the printer and the Airport Express at night (from a switched extension cord), so as to not waste electricity. So often, I try to print something, then find the printer isn't on. For some reason, after turning it on, I'm never able to send the print job, so I have to print again.

I figured out an easy way to find out if the printer is on (without going to physically check it). When setting up the AirPort Express, set it for music streaming as well. This way, all you need to do is check in iTunes to see if the Speakers menu is displayed at the bottom of the window. (If you have more than one AirPort Express, you'll have to click this menu to see if your printer's Airport Express is on.) If it's there, I can print right away; if not, I have to go turn it on.

I found a problem with Tiger not working with Internet Sharing to both a PowerBook and a Dell laptop. It was a brand new PowerMac G5 with dual Ethernet. The PowerMac G5 obtained an IP address from the internet provider, and would set its internet-shared Ethernet port address to 192.168.2.1. The problem was that the laptops did not receive an IP address, and kept failing over to the automatic IP address of 169.x.x.x.

It turns out that Tiger introduced a GUI firewall feature under the Advanced button on the firewall, and in my zeal to secure the PowerMac G5, I turned on Stealth Mode and Block UDP packets. Internet Sharing only worked once I turned these two options off. Then instantly, everything worked as it should.

It may be possible to configure the firewall and NAT features outside of the GUI, using the Terminal.app and some Unix black magic in the configuration files, so that the stealth mode and UDP blocking only occurs on the external ethernet interface, and not the internal one. However, it seems that the GUI applies these settings to both. I am not sure if the required Personal Web Sharing allows the Apache web server to be exposed to the external interface which would place it in the wild -- and that is something I really don't want to do. I will be recommending an external Linksys router to avoid having to worry about hack attempts. That would negate the entire need for Internet Sharing.

I suspect the problem really rests on Stealth mode, as dhcpd won't be seen and won't respond. This will most likely affect all internet sharing -- i.e. Ethernet, AirPort, FireWire, etc. I unfortunately didn't have time to fully test this out to see exactly what was going on, but I hope this information is useful to someone ... and that those in the know will respond in the discussion.

I've had to figure this out for myself quite some time ago, and I had to look this info up again today, so I figured I may as well share it with everyone else. This method works for me under 10.3 and 10.4 on a Mac, and XP Pro on the PC using an HP Deskjet 5100 connected to the XP Pro box. Here's how I print from the Mac to the PC via SAMBA:

1. Install your Printer drivers on both the PC and the Mac. Make sure it will print form both machines when directly connected.
2. Make sure printer sharing is turned on for the PC.
3. Open Printer Setup Utility (in /Applications/Utilities).
4. Click the Add Printer button.
5. Hold down the Option key while clicking on "more printers" (for the Advanced menu).
6. Select the Advanced menu at the top.
7. For Device, choose 'Windows Printer via SAMBA.'
8. Name the device whatever you want.
9. In the Device URL field, use this format:
   smb://userName:password@workgroup/computer/printer
10. Find your exact printer model. If it is not listed where it should be, look under "ESP." If ESP is not there, you will have to install your CUPS and GIMP printer drivers from your OS X install disk.)

That should do it.

[robg adds: We've run various tips on Mac/PC printing, but I couldn't find one just like this, so here it is...]

For those of you who are using SETI@home, you've probably heard about the ongoing transition from Classic SETI@home to BOINC, the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing. The transition will be complete as of December 15th, when Classic SETI@home will be cut off.

If you haven't converted yet, I've written a guide that will help make the transition in a much faster hopefully fairly safe manner. Note that this guide isn't for those who just want to install and have it work; it's for those of you who want to 'be a geek' about the transition.

[robg adds: I haven't tested this one.]

At work, we needed a solution to the .DS_store "problem," since 90% of our clients are Windows boxen. The previously posted solution to prevent .DS_store creation on networked drives only worked for one user account. However, it turns out its fairly easy to configure an OS X client to apply the setting for any user who logs in.

You just need to run this command...

defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteNetworkStores true

...under a single account, then copy the created plist to /Library/Prefrences. Here's an example of how to do it step by step. Open up Terminal and type the following (the $ is just the prompt; don't type that):

$ defaults write com.apple.desktopservices DSDontWriteNetworkStores true
$ cp Library/Prefrences/com.apple.desktopservices.plist \
/Library/Prefrences/.
$ sudo chmod 777 /Library/Prefrences/com.apple.desktopservices.plist

Then reboot, and you should be done.

Whenever I visit a cafe, library, or other public place with my laptop, I like to check my AirPort Status in my Mac's menu bar to see what wireless networks are available. But sometimes, if I find myself in a particularly busy place full of 'hotspots,' I would like to be able to view the list of networks sorted by signal strength.

Well, OS X allows you to do just that! First, though, you need to have the AirPort Status menu show up in your menu bar. This is done by going to the Network preferences in System Preferences. In the Network Status drop-down menu, select AirPort. Click on the AirPort tab, then at the bottom, click on the checkbox labeled 'Show AirPort status in menu bar' to enable it. A pie slice-looking icon will then show up in the menu bar.

When you want to see all the wireless networks available to you sorted by signal strength, simply hold down the Option key and click on the AirPort icon on the menu bar. The networks will then be sorted by signal strength, from strongest to weakest.

[robg adds: This definitely seems to work, and in both 10.3 and 10.4 (I tested both). I have two wireless networks visible from my home, and pressing the Option key puts the stronger signal at the top of the list.]