kdmurray.blog

The crossroads of life and tech

Tag Archives: MacBook

Leopard Prep

I’ve decided to take the plunge tomorrow and pick up a copy of Leopard.  Hopefully I’ll have it all installed and ready by the time we record this week’s episode of the GGP.

I was trying to figure out how I can streamline the process of getting myself back up to speed as quickly as possible.  Of course the obvious answer is to do an ‘upgrade’ installation of Leopard over top of my existing OS X 10.4.  But I’ve always been a bit anal when it comes to OS installations, I hate upgrades.  It means that all the crap you’ve got on your machine now will still be there, so I prefer to ‘wipe and reload’.

The Process

  1. A few days before, I’ve done a full backup of the data which won’t change between now and ‘upgrade day’.  This includes my 26GB iPhoto Library.
  2. Tonight I downloaded the installers for several of the applications I use most regularly.  These include:
  3. Tomorrow right before I head out to work, I’ll start the final data backup, making a second copy of my most critical data onto a network share (in case disaster strikes).
  4. When I get home tomorrow, double check the backups to ensure everything’s kosher.
  5. Insert the brand new Leopard disc and begin the install…
  6. Once Leopard is set up, I’ll install all the applications that I have on disc, and in my downloads folder
  7. Transfer the data back to the Macbook
  8. Enjoy the newest commercial operating system in the world!  (for the next week until some fancy new Linux distro comes out…  :mrgreen: )

Now all I have to do is put this plan into action…

MacPorts: Subversion setup

In trying to upload my first WordPress plugin to the subversion servers at wp-plugins.org, I found that I didn’t have Subversion installed on the Macbook yet. So I turned to my first source for all Mac tools which originated in the Linux/Unix realm and that’s MacPorts.

MacPorts (formerly DarwinPorts) is a package manager for Mac OS X which can handle the installation, removal and updating of many tools. The vast majority of these are command-line programs. They run the spectrum from development tool like Subversion or Ruby on Rails, to network tools like bind or arpwatch.

Typical syntax for installing a MacPort is:

sudo port install some-application

A quick note about the Subversion install: you may need to ensure that your MacPorts install is up-to-date. I needed to run a “self update” of MacPorts before my subversion install would complete. See the transcript below to see what I mean…


titanium:~/Projects/WP-Plugins kdmurray$ su root

titanium:/Users/kdmurray/Projects/WP-Plugins root# port install subversion +tools
Error: Unable to execute port: wrong # args: should be "proc name args body"

titanium:/Users/kdmurray/Projects/WP-Plugins root# port selfupdate
DarwinPorts base version 1.400 installed
Downloaded MacPorts base version 1.5
Configuring, Building and Installing new MacPorts base
selfupdate done!

titanium:/Users/kdmurray/Projects/WP-Plugins root# port install subversion +tools

If you’re working with command-line tools on your Mac, and trying to compile linux tools from scratch, give MacPorts a shot. It will quite literally save you hours of time and frustration.

Lets Get Virtual!

Several months ago I picked up a new machine, a MacBook, from which the bast majority of these blog posts have flowed. I absolutely love my MacBook and I can see myself becoming a regular Mac user with future computer purchases. That said, for about the past 15 years, I’ve been a devout Windows user. I do still on occasion develop Windows-based applications and it really is much easier to do that on a Windows machine. ;) So, what’s a geek to do? It sure wouldn’t look very technology savvy of me to carry around a second laptop when I have this sleek MacBook so… Virtualization to the rescue! Apple offers a Beta of its BootCamp product to work with OS X 10.4. It would allow me to install and boot Windows directly from my Mac. Not a bad option, but I had some issues:

  1. All the rebooting to switch OS’s would be annoying at best.
  2. The partitioning magic that ships with BootCamp wouldn’t work. To use it, I would have had to wipe and reload OS X and Windows.
  3. Couldn’t use BootCamp to boot from my brand spankin’ new external drive.

So the other options I was left with are Parallels and a new offering from VMWare called Fusion. Parallels has been around for a while and does a decent job of supporting Windows, and a few other OS’s as well (Linux, Solaris), but lacks 64-bit Windows support. Fusion also has similar support capabilities, but does come with some bugs as the product is still in a Beta cycle. What finally sold me on Fusion were three separate things:

  1. VMWare’s support for virtually any operating system I could throw at it (including 64-bit versions of Windows)
  2. VMWare’s website contains tons of pre-built “Virtual Appliances” which are self-contained operating system/application bundles which can be up and running within about a minute of the download completing.
  3. Portability. VMWare has an application called VMWare Player which is available for both Windows and Linux which will allow me to port my virtual machine instances to other computers. Geek factor? Yes.

OSX in V

Screenshot of me installing Visual Studio 2005 on Vista in Fusion on my MacBook with the blog post in the background. ;) For those of you interested, here’s the configuration I’ve got for this VMWare client:

  • Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Edition
  • Microsoft Office 2007 Enterprise Edition
  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition
  • 1GB dedicated system memory
  • 1 Virtual CPU (may switch to 2 for some operations (ie large compiles)

In getting everything setup there are already three unexpected features of VMWare Fusion that have impressed me. These are features that were either undocumented, or listed as missing in the last few reviews that I’ve read. Couple of Windows Vista caps in a Very small screen.The first thing that I noticed by accident is that the Command key opens the Start menu! For me, this is a major selling feature, I use keyboard shortcuts for literally everything. This feature is also missing from Microsoft’s own RDP client for OS X. The second is a bit more intriguing: when you resize the VMWare window, the resolution of the Windows Vista client is adjusted to match. No scrollbars. No distortion. Genius! Finally there is automatic drag-and-drop support for transferring files between my OS X installation and my Windows Vista installation. In fact, the two screenshots above were dropped into vista, stitched together, and then dropped back into OS X. Though it’s only been installed for a short time, I think that this VMWare environment will solve my mobile computing issues, allowing me to port a Windows installation with my Mac and live in both worlds.

MacBook Tip – Drag Files to the Dock

Mac OS XHere’s a quick tip that will be a bit un-intuitive at first for those of you converting to Windows, but makes life much easier once you get used to it.

If you have a file that isn’t automatically associated with a particular program, or you want to open it with a different app than usual, you can simply drag the file onto the app’s icon in the dock!

The reason I say this is unintuitive for Windows users is the infamous “You can’t drag an item onto a button on the task-bar” message. Well, I got over it and you will too!

Timezoneism

OK, I know the term is unlikely to catch on, but the fact remains that people in less populous time zones are often shafted by those who live in larger population centres. In North America, that typically means those on the east coast ignore us westerners (see Western Alienation).

Members of the media are notorious for this. Reporting than an event will be televised at 7:00. Of course when you tune in at 7:00 to catch the hockey game or whatever, you get there just in time to watch the post-game highlights. Why? The game started at 4:00 for us west-coasters.

The latest incidence of this came tonight when I tried to download and install Parallels Desktop for my MacBook. When I requested an activation key (at 9:30 pm) I was given a key which had a license date starting on Feb 18th (which is still about two and a half hours from now!!) Because the server that generated the license was somewhere east of here (where it is already Feb 18th) it generated a code that the software won’t let me use for another two hours and nineteen minutes.

I will be sending a note to the Parallels support people with a link to this entry. Hopefully someone will take notice and in the future the software will generate a key which will take into account the large variety of time zones in this world. Surely a company that can make it possible to run Windows on the Macintosh can figure a way around a simple time zone issue.

While this won’t change the world, perhaps pointing out incidences of timezoneism will help to remediate the discrimination that all those of us on the west coast face on a daily basis. :P

Here it comes to save the day!

Apple Bluetooth Mighty MouseMy latest pickup for the MacBook is the Bluetooth Mighty Mouse. I know there are other bluetooth mice (mouses?) out there to choose from which are easier on the pocketbook, but I really wanted to try this particular one out for a couple different reasons.

The 360 degree scroll ball is interesting. It provides almost fluid motion in any direction and makes scrolling around large images or large (poorly designed :P ) webpages easy and intuitive.

The pseudo-multi-button feel is also interesting. The entire top shell can “click” down over the bottom plate and that acts as a button click. if you press down on one side or the other it will behave as a two button mouse, and pressing down on the scroll ball behaves like the typical centre click.

Finally, the bluetooth version of the mouse uses a laser sensor instead of the optical sensor.  This allows for more reactive tracking on those pesky polished wood (or glass, or metal or….) surfaces which have plagued optical mice for years.

Once I opened it up, I was impressed by a couple of additional features.  the bottom of the mouse has a slide-shut cover which protects the optical sensor when it’s not in use.  What some folks don’t realize is that it also disconnects the connection to the batteries so the mouse doesn’t drain power when it’s not in use.  This means that the two included lithium batteries (yes INCLUDED!) will last even longer.

All in all, I love it so far.  The toughest part for me is going to be getting used to using a mouse again, as I’ve been using the trackpad on my Dell and now the MacBook for the better part of the last three years… Ah well, as Shrek [wav] is so fond of saying: Change is good Donkey!

MacSaber – Why? Just because.

MacSaberOK, admittedly this article isn’t much good if you don’t have a MacBook. But if you do you have to try this. The program is called MacSaber, and it turns your humble laptop into the devastatingly accurate weapon of the Jedi knights. How you ask? Simple.

Most modern laptops (including all MacBook and MacBook Pro models) are equipped with a sensor which can detect sudden movements (SMS), and protect components like hard drives from damage. Well, since there’s a sensor, there must be a way to tie into it; and Ian Anthony has done just that.

And for those of you who don’t have a MacBook yet, this is just one more reason to get one.

MacBook: Glossy vs. Matte

MacBookSomething to consider for those of you looking for a new laptop… There are two types of screens available with some models (like the MacBook). I decided to go with the ultra-cool “glossy” screen as opposed to the “matte” screen I’ve been used to with the Dell Latitude. Right away I was impressed with how sharp and clean the images were. It even seemed to improve the look of some of my digital photos.

Today I tried something new, I took it outside to work on the deck in the sunshine… All of a sudden I had glare everywhere! Admittedly LCD screens aren’t renowned for performing really well outdoors (remember the Palm m505 screen problems?) but the glare from the glossy screen doesn’t help. It’s not impossible, in fact I’m outside writing this post now. Just takes some getting used to with the glare distrac — oh sorry what was I writing? Oh yes… glare takes your eyes off what you’re working on.

All in all, with the amount of outdoor use the MacBook is likely to get, I think that the ultra-sharp glossy screen was still the right choice, just something to consider for anyone else looking into purchasing a laptop. Dustin’s review on notebookreview.com has some good screen information, particularly on the glossy vs. matte debate.

MacBook: Day 5

Well its been a few days now using the new MacBook, and this is the first Blog post using said MacBook. As I mentioned in the last post, the look and feel of OS X is unbelievably polished. The transitions between windows, screen savers and other views (like Front Row) are seamless and easy on the eyes. Even some of the in-OS animations like shrinking windows and bouncing icons are well done — translation: they’re understated and complimentary instead of in-your-face.

I look forward to exploring and experiencing new things in this strange new world that I’ve moved into. I would never have thought it would be so different… but it really is. This journey with me will undoubtedly bring me in contact with numerous members of the infamous Mac community. I have to say that among my macophile friends I was readily accepted and they seem to be enjoying the experience of one’s first Mac vicariously through me. Thanks guys! (you know who you are!!)