MacDell Hackintosh OSX x86

This save me today - Great OSX tip straight from APPLE

2006-12-31T11:54:00.000-08:00

You can't empty the Trash or move a file to the Trash in Mac OS X

Advanced tip about deleting locked filesIf there are several locked files in the Trash, you can unlock them all at the same time at the command line. Follow these steps: 1. Open Terminal. It's located in /Applications/Utilities. Type: chflags -R nouchg Note: Type one space (not pictured) after nouchg in the line above, so that it ends in "nouchg ". Do not press Return yet. 2. Double-click the Trash icon in the Dock to reveal the contents of the Trash. If necessary, arrange the Finder window so that a portion of the Terminal window is still visible. 3. Press the Command-A key combination to select all files in the Trash. 4. Drag the files from the Trash to the Terminal window. Note: This automatically enters the pathname for each file. This eliminates the need to individually empty multiple Trash directories, particularly when multiple disks or volumes are present. 5. Press Return. No special text message will be shown indicating that the command was successful. 6. Empty the Trash.If the Trash does not empty or if you see a message in Terminal that says "usage: chflags [-R [-H | -L | -P]] flags file..." you most likely did not type the text in step 2 as indicated or did not leave a space. Repeat the steps if this happens.

Leopard Early Start Kit Wooo Whooo

2006-12-07T18:19:00.000-08:00

The Leopard Early Start Kit provides developers with advance access to an exclusive collection of digital resources and information—everything you need to deliver innovative applications to your customers when Leopard ships in 2007. So begin innovating now with the Leopard Early Start Kit.

Start developing for the future today.

The Leopard Early Start Kit includes:

Leopard Software Seeds
Fast track your Mac OS X Leopard development by downloading the latest pre-release versions of Mac OS X Leopard and Xcode 3.0 as soon as they become available.

Leopard Dev Center
Visit the Leopard Dev Center online to explore hundreds of Leopard Reference Library documents, including Guides, Reference, Release Notes, Sample Code, and more.

http://developer.apple.com/leopard/index.html

Apple Opens Up: Kernel, Mac OS Forge

2006-08-08T06:30:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

In conjunction with this week's Developer Conference, we have four great pieces of news for Open Source developers:

A. Intel Kernel Sources

As of today, we are posting buildable kernel sources for Intel-based Macs alongside the usual PowerPC (and other Intel) sources, starting with Mac OS X 10.4.7. We regret the delay in readying the new kernel for release, and thank you for your patience.

http://www.opensource.apple.com/darwinsource/tarballs/apsl/xnu-792.10.96.tar.gz

B. New "Mac OS Forge" for Community Projects

Mac OS Forge, a new community site hosted by Apple, is being created to support WebKit and other open source projects focused on Mac OS X, especially those looking to transition from OpenDarwin.org.

<http://www.macosforge.org/>

C. New Open Source Calendaring Server

In order to encourage community participation, source code to the new iCal Server in Leopard Server is now available on Mac OS Forge under the Apache License.*

<http://collaboration.macosforge.org/>

D. Apache-Licensed Bonjour and Launchd sources

To further enable and encourage cross-platform adoption, the APSL** sources for Bonjour service discovery and Launchd process management are being re-released under the Apache License and hosted on Mac OS Forge:

<http://bonjour.macosforge.org/>

<http://launchd.macosforge.org/>

Apple is more excited than ever about the power of Open Source development to create value for our (and your) products and customers. I'll be offline much of this week due to WWDC, but I look forward to working with all of you as we move forward to Leopard.

Sincerely,

Ernest Prabhakar

Open Source Product Manager, Apple

WWDC 2006, Aug 7-11, San Francisco

<http://developer.apple.com/wwdc>

* Apache License, Version 2.0

<http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0.html>

** Apple Public Source License 2.0

<http://www.opensource.apple.com/apsl/2.0.txt>

Apple Opens Up: Kernel, Mac OS Forge, iCal Server, Bonjour, Launchd

technorati tags:osx, apple, gnu, linux

Leopard Feature Set Leaked

2006-08-04T14:25:00.000-07:00

O'Grady's PowerPage - Your Mobile Technology Destination

n advance of Monday's keynote address by Steve Jobs at WWDC The PowerPage has received a alleged copy of the features (and some screenies) from Apple's next generation operating system - Mac OS 10.5 ("Leopard"). The details are unconfirmed and are being posted for informational purposes only.

Mac OS 10.5 will see updates to most of the included applications, among the major updates are:

• Spotlight 2.0
• Dashboard 2.0
• Safari 3.0
• iChat 4.0
• Automator 2.0
• QuickTime 7.2
• Mail 3.0
• iCal 3.0
• Address Book 5.0

The updates are as follows:

Spotlight 2.0:

- Spotlight's icon changes to suit the new apple menu logo
- Instead of words down the side i.e. applications, system preferences... there are icons of each at a user defined size (80 x 80 default). So for applications there is the global application icon, and next to the hits and so on.
- The icons of the hits will be larger and for documents, events, mail, images, PDF's movies, fonts and presentations. there will be little live icons. For documents, the icon of the app (word or pages), events; the iCal icon with the date of the event and the time on it.
- Image previews will be larger but there will also be a little text of the type of image i.e. jpg in a contrasting color in the bottom right of the preview. PDF's will just be larger, movies will have a little preview at about 8x the speed (or less fast depending on the length) that will be cached in the finder.
- Fonts will be in the font type.
- Presentations will preview just like movies.
- If any of the items are in an open window, on the desktop, or in an app (bookmarks in safari, or a library item in itunes etc.) and the app is open, the rest of the app will fade and the specific items will light up, and if more than one, in the examples given, the app will just give a standard search and safari will open the bookmark browser.

- There will be the standard presumed better metadata searching. So if the majority of results are images, the show all pane at the right will also allow to organize by camera, date taken, file type and app used. The most used app and file type at the top of its respective lists.
- Spotlight will also search widgets
- The slideshow feature will be enhanced for most filetypes. Documents can be previewed in a similar way to images are now and so on and so forth.
- Also spotlight will actually be almost instantanteous or as instant as they can hope.
- A new spotlight widget.

Dashboard 2.0:

- Dashboard will get a system preferences icon.
- Dashboard will appear in the application switcher.
- Widgets can now be placed on the desktop. If one drags an icon to the board and waits two seconds in one place the board will fade out and you can place it on the desktop. The icon will appear in the dock and will be treated as an app.
- You can also keep widgets in the dock, either by dragging them there from dashboard or keeping them there when they appear on the desktop.
- In the dock will be the x icon for closing the widget on top of the widget icon, not on the widget itself.
- There will be also a selection of different animations.
- You can isolate dashboard in a similar way to front row, you can push the desktop as an expose item to the side and isolate dashboard that way.
- You can isolate dashboard also via a cube effect. Also you can open dashboard in a similar way to f11, the widgets will hide at the side and come forward for use, in this one, the dashboard will not be isolated. Hot corners and f numbers can be configured to use one of them each. so you can have a different function key for each affect.
- In the isolated dashboard, the background will be black, but it will act as a pool of water, in a similar way as to now, so when you drag an widget around, you can create ripples.

- Also you can choose from water, air, space and metal as your chosen set of widget animations. Air and metal animations are not elaborated on, but space acts a bit like a black hole when you remove a widget and the widgets 'zoom' on.

Safari 3.0:

- Phishing filter
- Tighter RSS
- Integrated FTP
- Integrated mailto function, a mail plugin that lets you send emails without opening Mail.
- Isolation box. When this is activated, Safari grows a little black shield around it and everything to do with Safari takes place instead in an encrypted disk image of a special filesystem that nulls unix permissions, anything that is written goes there and can't execute out of the image. The image is deleted after the session.
- Tabs can now operate on more than one line, and be saved.
- A safari Exposé is available, allowing Web pages in tabs to be treated as separate windows for the time of the Exposé .
- Web pages can be "Widgetized." You can make a new separate widget of a Web page, there is also a mini Safari widget that just has back and forward buttons and a small address bar.
- Tighter integration with Web formats.

iChat 4.0:

- 7 way video conversations available.
- A new window with gives iSight feedback and also letting you optimize your video stream how you want to.
- Better Voice over IP integration.
- Folders for contacts.
- Different layout, quite hard to explain, but better.
- MSN and Yahoo integration
- Dedicated iChat widget

Automator 2.0:

- Loads faster
- Different layout
- AppleScript is updated and is more english, allowing automator to incorporate it without people feeling squeamish.
- More actions
- GUI scripting
- Dedicated widget

QuickTime 7.2:

- Full screen and audio recording available in non-Pro version
- New CODECs, including loose RealPlayer and DiVX.
- Movie slideshow feature
- Some other minor inclusions
- Dedicated widget

Mail 3.2:

- New server protocols
- Widescreen version
- Different views, drop down
- Gmail-like thread system
- Ability to send proper HTML email
- Able to import pages documents as email
- iChat integration and new collaboration integration
- iCal calendar integration

iCal 3.0:

- Brilliant new UI
- 25 different organization techniques
- 100's more options for each log
- Integration with more formats

Address Book 5.0:

- New UI
- Wider range of import abilities
- Collaborative abilities
- Tighter iChat and iCal integration.

technorati tags:macosx, mac, osx, leopard, apple

Games on a MAC without porting

2006-08-03T18:12:00.000-07:00

Gamer Scan has an article about "Cider," a portability engine just released by TransGaming. The software promises to relieve developers of the delay usually associated with porting Windows games to the Mac. Where such ports normally require total code conversion, Cider should eliminate that by using a shell that wraps around an existing Windows code base. It operates by first loading the app into memory (on an Intel-based Mac), and from there connecting to an optimized set of Win32 APIs. No further work is necessary. TransGaming says it expects titles using Cider to ship within the next few months.

MacNN | Windows games coming to Intel Macs

technorati tags:mac, intel, osx, games

Google Picasa Now for Mac

2006-08-03T06:10:00.000-07:00

Google released a web uploader for the Mac tonight. This is not a Mac version of Picasa desktop software, which is still only available only for Windows and Linux machines, but it does allow Web users to upload photos from either iPhoto or from the Desktop to Picasa Web Albums.
For most Mac users this will still not be enough to switch from Flickr or one of the other online photo options, but it is a sign that Google is taking the Mac more seriously and will hopefully release a full version of Picasa for the platform soon.

This was created as a side project by an engineer on the search team named Ted Bonkenburg, with assistance from Greg Robbins and Mike Morton on the Picasa team.

Techcrunch » Blog Archive » Google Picasa Now for Mac, Almost

technorati tags:picasa, mac, google, osx, apple

Tongus theme for Wordpress

2006-08-02T05:04:00.000-07:00

Kashou » tonus theme

Fantastic

Flock Usability

2006-07-30T16:20:00.000-07:00

Flock on the the MAC, is as easy as IE on Windows.

FoxNews video - worked right away - no fuss no mo muss.

CNN video worked right away - no fuss no mo muss.

Nicelodeon worked right away - no fuss no mo muss.

This is the FIRST time since moving to the MAC, I can say that.

I would usually have to tweak one plug in or aother, but no with FLOCK.

A solid two thumbs up!

Flock — The web browser for you and your friend

2006-07-29T16:11:00.000-07:00
This browser on first look seems to have done its homework!

It looks stunning on the OSX desktop, and blends seemlessly!

When you use Flock to do something cool, you're a Flockstar. It could be anything you want to share with your friends or the world: a photo of your new ride or a song your band just recorded. Let us know about yourself — we might even feature you on the Flock Blog.

I will keep you informed on the "usability" factor.

Xounds for Intel released!!!!

2006-07-29T13:44:00.000-07:00
It has been SOOOO painfully since moving from my G4 to the MacDell.

No worries now - and music to my ears to follow :)

Xounds is a haxie that brings back Appearance Sounds to Mac OS X. Tired of silence? Want audio feedback when you navigate through menus or drag your windows around? Xounds will convert your existing Mac OS 8 or 9 soundsets and make Mac OS X a better place to work in.

Flip4Mac 2.1 adds Intel Mac support - About time :o

2006-07-28T18:52:00.000-07:00
Flip4Mac, the QuickTime component that plays and exports Windows Media files, has been updated to version 2.1. The update brings with it Universal Binary support, meaning the application now supports Intel-based Macs. The new version also adds significant export optimizations for PowerPC Macs; multi language audio support in player; overlay when importing WMV content in trial mode; support for web authors to disable "save as" feature in the web browser; and support for MMS servers and live streams, among other changes. Flip4Mac is available as a free download from the company's Web site.

Intel launches Core 2 Duo processors

2006-07-27T06:56:00.000-07:00
ntel unveiled its new Core 2 Duo processor lineup on Thursday, increasing the pressure on rival Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). The 10 new dual-core chips promise markedly better performance and greater energy efficiency than Intel’s existing products.

The Core 2 Duo launch has been billed as Intel’s most significant since the introduction of the original Pentium processor in 1993. The introduction comes at a crucial moment. Intel executives have watched AMD expand its share of the processor market in recent quarters and they want to reclaim this lost ground.

“We’re really bullish on Core 2 Duo and we believe that it’s going to enable us to grow a significant amount of (market) share over the second half of the year. That’s our goal,” said Tim Bailey, director of platform marketing at Intel Asia-Pacific.

Among the chips announced by Intel are five processors designed for laptops and five desktop chips, including the high-end Core 2 Extreme processor for gamers. Pricing for the desktop chips ranges from US$183 for the 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo E6300 to $999 for the 2.93GHz Core 2 Extreme X6800. Pricing of the mobile chips was not available.

Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme are based on Intel’s Core microarchitecture, which replaces the NetBurst architecture used in the Pentium 4. The same microarchitecture is used in Woodcrest, the latest version of the Xeon server processor announced last month.

PC vendors say Core 2 Duo, formerly called Conroe and Merom, offers excellent performance for its price, allowing them to reach new markets.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) will use the Core 2 Duo chip in its new xw4400 workstation, replacing the Intel Pentium 4 and Pentium D chips used in the xw4300 model. HP sells that line primarily to users running compute-intensive applications like MCAD (mechanical computer-aided design) and digital content creation.

Core 2 Duo runs at slower clock speeds than Pentium-era chips, but is still more productive because it handles more calculations per clock cycle, said Sean Tucker, a product manager at HP. Thanks to that slower speed, Core 2 Duo chips need less electricity, drawing just 65 watts compared to the Pentium 4’s 95 watts and Pentium D’s 130 watts.

“That’s good news for customers because it draws less power from the wall, which helps to create a cooler working environment because it doesn’t dissipate so much heat, and a quieter environment because we can run the fan slower and generate less acoustical output,” Tucker said.

While Intel has begun shipping desktop Core 2 Duo chips to computer makers, most systems won’t reach consumers until next week. The first Core 2 Duo desktops will reach users in early August, with Core 2 Duo laptops arriving by the end of the month, Intel said, noting that Core 2 Extreme systems are already available.

The Core 2 Duo chips are made using a 65-nanometer production process, one of the reasons they consume 40 percent less power and offer a 40 percent or greater increase in performance, based on Intel’s estimates. The number used to describe the production process refers to the size of the smallest feature that can be created on a chip.

Intel began using the 65-nanometer process last year, starting the move away from the less-advanced 90-nanometer process. Shifting to a more advanced process generally permits the production of chips that are smaller, run faster and consume less power. The more advanced process also reduces the per-unit cost of chips, since more can fit on a single silicon wafer.

With the introduction of the Core 2 Duo, Intel now produces more 60-nanometer chips than 90-nanometer chips, the company said. That will help Intel put pressure on AMD, which still produces most of its chips using a 90-nanometer process.

Parallels Desktop official in Apple Stores with rebate offer

2006-07-26T17:28:00.000-07:00
I was in an Apple Store here in CO yesterday and noticed that retail boxes of Parallels Desktop have arrived on the shelves. In fact, I had a nice discussion with a customer who was switching because he could now run Windows on a new Mac (he never considered Virtual PC an option - I personally don't blame him). He even used the term 'safety net' to refer to how often he hoped to have to run Windows - if ever.

This great news for the MacDell as it cannot run virtual PC. :)

How to Use Vista Beta 2 Boot Manager to Dual Boot Vista and OS X on a MacBook

2006-07-24T15:04:00.000-07:00
Windows Vista comes with a new boot manager, that is very flexible. I thought it would be nice if I could use that to specify an entry for Mac OS X. However, the technology is new and I cannot find many documentations about it. The FAQ in Microsoft’s web site does not tell you how to create a boot loader for Mac OS X. It only tells you how to create a boot loader for legacy systems like Windows XP.

I then found out that people are using a chain0 file with Vista’s boot manager to dual boot OS X and Vista for the OSx86 project. I tried that, but it did not work. The problem is that the chain0 file is not for booting Mac OS X on MacBook. What I really need is already on my MacBook. It’s called boot.efi and it’s under /usr/standalone/i386/ . The file is hidden from Finder. You will need to use Terminal application to copy it. Here are the steps.

1. Boot to Mac OS X. Open Terminal application and type in the following to copy boot.efi to the Desktop.

cp /usr/standalone/i386/boot.efi ~/Desktop/

2. Copy the boot.efi file to a USB key.
3. Boot to Vista and copy the boot.efi file from the USB key to C: 4. Now open Command Prompt as administrator. If you don’t know how to do this, please follow the steps 1~3 in this post.
5. We need to determine if you have a legacy boot loader in your system. Type in the command in the Command Prompt window.

bcdedit /enum all | find "{ntldr}"

If this command returns

identifier {ntldr}

, that means you already have a legacy boot loader in your system. Follow step 6 and skip step 7. If the command didn’t return anything, skip step 6 and follow step 7.
6. Type in the following to copy the legacy boot loader.

bcdedit /copy {ntldr} /d "Mac OS X"
bcdedit /set {YOUR-GUID-HERE} device boot
bcdedit /set {YOUR-GUID-HERE} path \boot.efi
bcdedit /displayorder {YOUR-GUID-HERE} /addlast

Note that you need to replace YOUR-GUID-HERE with the actual GUID returned by the first command. To illustrate this, the following are the actual commands and responses.

C:>bcdedit /copy {ntldr} /d "Mac OS X"
The entry was successfully copied to {bcfa924e-07e0-11db-9d86-accf6fd346a1}.

C:>bcdedit /set {bcfa924e-07e0-11db-9d86-accf6fd346a1} device boot
The operation completed successfully.

C:>bcdedit /set {bcfa924e-07e0-11db-9d86-accf6fd346a1} path \boot.efi
The operation completed successfully.

C:>bcdedit /displayorder {bcfa924e-07e0-11db-9d86-accf6fd346a1} /addlast
The operation completed successfully.

7. Type in the following to create a new legacy boot loader.

bcdedit /create {ntldr} /d "Mac OS X"
bcdedit /set {ntldr} device boot
bcdedit /set {ntldr} path \boot.efi
bcdedit /displayorder {ntldr} /addlast

Now you can see there is an entry for “Mac OS X” whenever you boot to Vista, select that and you can boot to Mac OS X.

Why Microsoft should fear Intel Macs

2006-07-23T10:03:00.000-07:00
There has been much talk about the threat that Apple Macintosh computers now pose to Windows PCs - or should we say Windows only PCs. Make no mistake, the talk is well justified, as recent market research shows. However, what hasn't been talked about as much is the very real threat that Macs now pose to the Windows operating system itself.

I'd have to say if Apple licensed OSX to any intel based PC, Microsofts market share would shrink.

Here is my first MacDell :)

2006-07-20T17:21:00.000-07:00