Technical Support Knowledge Base

Macintosh Accelerator Client Questions

• iTunes and/or iDisk does not work after the installation of the Accelerator
• Does the Accelerator support Internet Explorer?
• Page cannot be displayed when the Accelerator is disabled
• I am unable to start the Accelerator
• Does the Macintosh client support email acceleration?
• Does the Macintosh client have a popup blocker?
• Macintosh FAQs

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The Accelerator for Mac has just been released due to popular demand.

The minimum requirements of the Mac version include: PowerPC G3 Process 333 MHz, 128 MB RAM and OS X10.2.

Some frequently-asked questions in regard to the Accelerator for Mac are listed as below:

1. iTunes and/or iDisk does not work after the installation of the Accelerator

Solution: The administrator of the Avalon Works Accelerator server will need to add the following values to the "ProxyExclusionList" entry in the sproxy.conf file:

• idisk.apple.com
• *.apple.com.edgesuite.net
• *.phobos.apple.com

Once this is done, have the user stop and re-start the Accelerator.

2. Does the Accelerator support Internet Explorer?

Cause: When the Accelerator changes the HTTP proxy settings on the local computer, Safari will be automatically notified. However, proxy settings of Internet Explorer will not be changed automatically. As a result, IE continues to use the old settings.

Solution: Please advise the user to exit Internet Explorer then restart it if any of the following situations occurs:

1. With the Accelerator enabled, the user can not observe any acceleration when using Internet Explorer.
2. The user can not browse with Internet Explorer after disabling the Accelerator.

By terminating IE and then restarting it, IE is forced to re-read the HTTP proxy settings from the system preferences.

3. Page cannot be displayed when the Accelerator is disabled

Cause: This problem occurs because Internet Explorer can not recognize the new change of the proxy settings. Please see the question "Does the Accelerator support Internet Explorer?"

Solution:

1. Disable the Accelerator.
2. Manually change the proxy settings;
   a. System Preferences > Network
   b. Choose the current location and Network interface device
   c. Choose "proxies"
   d. Uncheck "Web Proxy (HTTP)"

4. I am unable to start the Accelerator

Cause:

1. Acceleration server may be down.
2. Accelerator software may have become corrupted.
3. Another application is listening on the acceleration port (5400 or 5500).

Solution: Ensure that the acceleration server is up and running. This may be done by trying to launch the Accelerator using a different machine or by using telnet to connect to the acceleration server.

Alternatively, if the application has become corrupted, have the user quit the Accelerator software and then reinstall it.

Finally, if there is another application listening on the Accelerator port, have the user change the port that the Accelerator listens on:

1. Stop the Accelerator;
2. In the Accelerator application, choose "Connection" tab;
3. Choose "Advanced…"
4. Change "Local Port" to a different value (say, 5600);
5. Click "Ok";
6. Click "Apply";
7. Start the Accelerator;
8. Try to go to any website.

5. Does the Macintosh client support email acceleration?

At this time the Macintosh client only accelerates HTTP traffic.

6. Does the Macintosh client have a popup blocker?

Since popup blocking is built-in to the Safari web browser, the Accelerator client does not re-implement this functionality.

7. FAQs:

Q: Does the accelerator support Internet Explorer?

A: When the accelerator changes the HTTP proxy settings on the local computer, Safari will be automatically notified. However, proxy settings on Internet Explorer will not be changed automatically. As a result, IE continues to use the old settings.

You should exit Internet Explorer and then restart if any of the following situations occur.

1. With the accelerator enabled, you can not observe any acceleration when using Internet Explorer.
2. You can not browse with Internet Explorer after disabling the accelerator.

By terminating IE and then restarting it, IE is forced to re-read the HTTP proxy settings from the system preferences.

Q: Page cannot be displayed when the accelerator is disabled.

A: This problem occurs because Internet Explorer can not recognize the new change of the proxy settings. Please refer to the question "Does the accelerator support Internet Explorer?".

Q: I am unable to start the accelerator.

A: The accelerator server may be down or the accelerator software may have become corrupted or another application is listening on the accelerator port (5400 or 5500).

Ensure that the accelerator server is up and running, This may be done by trying to launch the accelerator using a different machine.

Alternately, if the application software may have become corrupted, re-install it.

Finally, if there is another application listening on the accelerator port, change the port that the accelerator listens on.

1. Stop the accelerator.
2. In the accelerator application choose the "Connection" tab.
3. Choose "Advanced...".
4. Change local port to a different value (say 5600);
5. Click "OK".
6. Click "Apply".
7. Start the accelerator.

Q: Does the accelerator support email acceleration?

A: No, at this time the Macintosh client only accelerates HTTP traffic.

Q: Does the accelerator have a pop-up blocker?

A: Since pop-up blocking is built into the Safari web browser, the accelerator client does not implement this functionality.

Q: Is my accelerator really accelerating?

A: There is a simple way to measure this and that's with the Diagnostics utility in SlipStream.

1. Start-up SlipStream.
2. From the menu bar select SlipStream/Diagnostics.
3. Click Get Diagnostic Info.

After a few seconds you will be presented with a test showing a download without acceleration and a download with acceleration showing the download times in milliseconds.

Although Safari is tailor made for SlipStream or visa-versa, the report still shows ***FAILED(4)*** for the "Safari Version" under "Retrieving Safari Information". I guess for right now just ignore this, it does not seem to impeed the operation of SlipStream with Safari in the least.

Q: When I exit SlipStream I can not view webpages in my browser

A: Normally when quitting SlipStream it alters your Network System Preferences accordingly so that you can connect to the internet and view webpages without having to run SlipStream. Sometimes SlipStream fails to uncheck this Preference when it closes down, causing the loss of webpage loading ability. Here are the instructions to restore webpage loading ability if it fails after stopping SlipStream

1. Click on your Apple Menu (The blue apple icon in the upper left hand corner)
2. Select System Preferences
3. Select Network
4. In the Show pull down menu select Internal Modem (select Airport if connecting via an Airport)
5. Select Proxies
6. Uncheck Web Proxy (HTTP)
7. Select Apply Now

Q: When I start SlipStream I am prompted for my username and password.

A: This situation will occur if you have your Network settings locked. To see if your settings are locked please follow these steps.

1. Click on your Apple Menu (The blue apple icon in the upper left hand corner)
2. Select System Preferences
3. Select Network

If the words "Click the lock to make changes" appear next to the Lock Icon in the lower left hand corner of the window then your settings are locked. Clicking on the Lock Icon and entering in your system administrator username and password will unlock your settings allowing SlipStream to launch without having to prompt for a password.