I didn’t find anything about this online, so as a good netizen, I’m writing about my problem and the solutions.

iTunes Library has tracks that it puts warnings next to; can’t find the files even though they are in the right place(s).

I was noticing that a lot of the first tracks of albums would not play; iTunes would skip over them. When I double clicked a track, it told me I needed to tell it where the file was because it didn’t know.

Once I located the file through via iTunes by navigating to the media directory, it would play fine. Strangely, the rest of the album was fine.

I am not sure what corrupted my library. It seemed to get worse over time.

Looking at the master iTunes Library.xml file in a text editor, I noticed I had 245 (of 17K+) incorrect file references in my library. They were pointing to:

file://localhost/Network/Media/iTunes/xyz

instead of:

file://localhost/Volumes/Media/iTunes/xyz

I’ll see if the problem persists. I made a backup of the library file, then opened it in a text editor and did a search/replace. Because of the large library (35 MB), I found every text editor was slow. I used TextWrangler which did the job with aplomb.

N.B. Okay, that didn’t work. All the links went back to what they were previously. Hmm.. Taking the advice here to rebuild iTunes Library (LIB version, not .xml).

TV fails to sync

My AppleTV after a TimeCapsule replacement (version 3.0.1 and iTunes 9) had issues. My main computer, the one synced to the AppleTV, was not seeing the AppleTV as a device. I tried all sorts of things on both pieces of hardware before finally resetting the AppleTV to factory defaults.

After the restart, the AppleTV appeared in iTunes. Funny thing, the AppleTV was showing up fine on another computer in the devices area.

The two machines are now syncing over wireless.

Earlier this fall, Apple announced a new iMac model, a new Mac mini that comes with Mac OS X server installed (without a DVD drive), and a new mouse called Magic Mouse. Seeing I had a fairly new computer, and the mouse was something I could afford, I had to get one.

It’s feature set includes a touch-sensitive top surface that acts as a scrolling pad plus a left and right button. It’s cool looking, and it could replace my wired MightyMouse which I was pretty happy with.

I had some problems with the MagicMouse. It would frequently loose its connection to my MacPro, or get sluggish with either scrolling or movement of the cursor.

After returning it to Apple, the new MagicMouse seemed to work okay the first night. But the next day, I was noticing lag problems again.

It turns out that it was too new to find reports online about it being faulty. Now, however, I can find many reports of folks with the same symptoms, many with Mac Pros. It seems it’s not so much a mouse problem as a Bluetooth issue.

In earlier MacPros, many folks resigned themselves to “fixing” Bluetooth issues by exchanging wires inside that they claim Apple mis-labeled. Since I have the newest model of the Mac Pro, this particular fix wasn’t going to work.

I did, however, manage to find my Bluetooth connection inside, after removing the “processor and memory sled.” I un-did all of the connectors and then replaced them. Not sure what this would do, it was worth a try.

Upon re-start, the computer and MagicMouse has no more synergy than before. Sigh.

I then remembered I have a USB-key type Bluetooth adapter. Would that make a difference? If it did, I could likely (with more assurance) state that the MacPro was at fault, and not the mouse.

I am proud to say the MagicMouse now performs flawlessly with the external Bluetooth connector installed. This is satisfying on one level, and disappointing on another. Do I want to go through all the headache of taking in my MacPro for its Bluetooth issues?

Or just give up a USB port?

I’ve used almost every version of Adobe Illustrator, save for version 1 and version CS4.

I hate the departure from the Botticelli Venus.

My interest in programs to write in on the computer is a small hobby and interest.

Then I ran across this photo, a nice little Mac Color Classic, and then find out the guy is running it as a writing station.

When I used to write on my Mac Plus (first Mac), you didn’t run a lot of programs all at once, so yeah, I could understand his point: devote a machine that’s less likely to distract you.

On my computer at work, I may have 10-30 windows open or minimized at any one time, and sometimes finding the focus to write is difficult for reasons beyond so many windows (constant stream of e-mails, iChats, etc.).

At home, it’s almost worse: I have web surfing windows, work windows, windows for various projects I’m engaged in, and e-mails for all sorts of responsibilities I have. In addition, I use iTunes a lot, and yet it seems I’m not terribly efficient at anything.

I’m thinking of buying a bigger screen, but maybe what I need is more focus. I won’t be buying a vintage Mac to get that focus, but… there’s a variety of ways to find focus.

I found this guy’s Mac Color Classic via this website, that extols clean, and simple Mac living. There’s a recipe behind almost every photo or screenshot.

• a lack of visual clutter;
• the sense that your work becomes the focus;
• you don’t have to have 15 programs running at once to get work done,
• there’s an obsessive behavior to rid your menubar of its little icons.

The icons don’t bother me, but the resistance to multitask and wherewithal to focus are bothersome pursuits. For writing, I’ve tried a number of full-screen editors. I like Ulysses and I bought (and really used) Scrivener. But what about focus for other applications?

Does every program need to take full screen control just to write, or get an idea down?

I think the full-screen writing applications are good for hard-core writing. But most tasks (like writing this blog post in MarsEdit) don’t need a full-screen experience (for one, the screen is too big). What would be nice is a shuffling of all the windows (Spaces, or using the minimize widget) to only leave one for focus, and a clean, simple desktop.

That’ll be this week’s project.

This week I’ve thus far completed two of my major three days of training of our new teachers. By week’s end they will have received 12 hours of technology instruction during our “new teacher academy.” I’ve been doing this now for a number of years.

I’d like to say each year is the same, but of course I modify the instruction, while the 9 hours of Mac OS and 3 hours of student information system are pretty consistent.

This is our first year of rolling-out Leopard, and I finally get to show off some of the cool stuff in Mac OS X 10.5. One of the things I went over today were “Cocoa applications.” Why? They’re built on object-oriented code that allows programmers to share code, such as the font panel, the color inspector, the toolbar widgets, etc.

So we look at them in one application, then go to another, and another, and what we’ve already learned is very consistent across each one.

“Command-comma will pull up the Preferences in every Mac OS X application… it’s a good shortcut to remember!” I say.

Then I read this, and realized how unique the Mac really is.

It’s one thing to see consistency in Mac programs by Apple (whereby they put “Print” in the same place), but quite another to see such in-consistency in the apps by Microsoft in Windows. The idea of hiding Print functionality in different places is insane. Why would you do that??

I really had fun today sharing my enthusiasm for the platform. One teacher came up to me, having come from another Apple school, and thanked me for spending so much time showing her these things. “I had a Mac all last year and didn’t know any of this stuff…”

I’m convinced that teaching someone a system as opposed to individual examples is an excellent strategy. I find folks who learn the system are competent self-learners as the technology evolves and advances. Those who don’t are always needy for more help and more instruction at each new iteration of hardware or software. The investment up front is well-worth the time, it’s a virtual bargain.