Warning: iPhoto won't know if you change a password in OS X
Q. I can't e-mail a photo or share it to Facebook from iPhoto. I would changed the passwords for those accounts, but the new ones are in OS X already. What did I miss?
A. Apple's operating system includes a handy Internet Accounts system-preferences pane to store logins to e-mail and social-media services for use by such OS X apps as Mail, Contacts and Calendar. But Apple's photo-album app appears to have only a faint, foggy awareness of that part of OS X.
An Apple tech-support note explains the basic situation: The first time you run iPhoto, it copies over whatever account information it sees in OS X's Mail app, and then it's your job to update the information and add non-mail accounts (for instance, Facebook). You do that by entering usernames and passwords in the Accounts category of iPhoto's Preferences window.
But testing these features in an up-to-date copy of OS X Yosemite uncovered two other complications.
First, iPhoto didn't fill in the outgoing-mail password for a Gmail account — what you'd need to send a photo via e-mail from the app. Second, although iPhoto ignored the Facebook login added to System Preferences, it was able to post a picture to Twitter using the login information saved there.
So if you've changed a password for your e-mail or a social network, it's not enough to change that in what's supposed to be OS X's catch-all collection of Internet accounts. You also need to update it in iPhoto.
In the case of two-step verification, this usually means copying or writing down the password a site will randomly generate and show only one time before hiding it from view. Then you can paste or type it into these separate places.
(Two-step security usually requires you to confirm a login by typing in a one-time code sent to your phone, but sites offering this security measure need a fallback option for apps that won't accept those codes. Managing these app-specific passwords is the least-pleasant aspect of two-step verification — and a reason why some major mail services don't offer it.)
Will Apple fix this issue? Apple PR couldn't say Wednesday, citing the company being closed for Thanksgiving week. But the slow pace of iPhoto updates and Apple's own product plans suggest it won't: iPhoto is due to be retired in only a few months in favor of a new, iCloud-centric Photos application that will also replace Apple's pro-level Aperture photo editor.
That will match the evolution that's already happened in iOS, where the iPhotos app has not only been abandoned, but won't even run in iOS 8.
This isn't a great situation for iPhoto users like me, seeing as how Apple has yet to announce a ship date for the upcoming OS X Photos app more specific than early 2015, or provide more than a vague description of its features. Unfortunately, the state of photo-management in Windows isn't so hot either.
• Tip: See what devices logged into your Google account
Last week, Google updated one of its more useful security features, the activity log of recent access to your account. This list now identifies the devices used to connect to your e-mail or other Google services with thumbnail images; click on any one listing to see more information about its activity and, if necessary, terminate its access with a click of a red "Remove" button.
This souped-up display is easier to scan than the old version, and reducing the number of steps required to kick a rogue phone or tablet out of your Gmail is a good move. But this page's device illustrations could be more specific: a Nexus 6 phone and a Nexus Player both showed up with the same generic smartphone icon Wednesday.
Rob Pegoraro is a tech writer based out of Washington, D.C. To submit a tech question, e-mail Rob at rob@robpegoraro.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/robpegoraro.