Tiger

You are currently browsing the archive for the Tiger category.

How do I install .kext files?

July 12, 2008 in Hackintosh, IOATA, IOATAFamily.kext, Kext, Leopard, OSX, Tiger, apple, driver, hack, mac, macintosh, os x, software | 2 comments

I hear this a lot, and I myself have also gone looking for it…

So without further ado, here is the script that will install kext files for you – be warned – you’ll need to know how to get the kext file in the first place, as well as the filename.

Easy right?

Let’s get started.

Open the Terminal application by going to Applications / Utilities / Terminal.app – you will see it in the Utilities folder – it looks like a command prompt.

Once terminal has launched, type in the following command:

sudo -s

Enter the root or first user password that you inputted during the setup process.

This tells it to run any other commands after this one as the root or superuser account, allowing you to edit files you normally would not have permission to edit.

Here’s an example using IOATAFamily.kext, a popular ATA driver. You’ll want to replace this by your own driver name. Also, you’ll want to make sure the file is unzipped, and sitting on your desktop. Oh one more thing, you’ll want to edit YOURUSERNAME with… your username


mv /Users/(YOUR USERNAME)/Desktop/IOATAFamily.kext /System/Library/Extensions

chmod -R 755 /System/Library/Extensions/IOATAFamily.kext

sudo chown -R root:wheel /System/Library/Extensions/IOATAFamily.kext

cd /System/Library/Extensions

rm -rf Extensions.mkext

rm -rf Extensions.kextcache

Hope that helps!

Disable the Dock in Apple OS X Tiger

February 7, 2007 in 10.4, Dock, Expose, Freeware, MacBook, Onyx, QuickSilver, Tiger, apple, hack, launchbar, mac, macintosh, os x, software | 2 comments

Many people find that they simply don’t have enough screen real estate on their MacBooks, and prefer to use application launchers such as Apple’s own Spotlight, or the third party applications QuickSilver and launchbar.

There are two ways to remove the Dock from OS X tiger – one easy, the other a more manual approach.

We’ll start with the hard one, since it’s better to understand what’s going on behind the scenes. If this simply doesn’t interest you and you’d rather move on – rest assured that scripting the hard part is just as safe, and works in a similar manner.

On to the hard part:

The first step is to move the dock from /System/Library/CoreServices so that it won’t be launched on startup as it is normally. This is a bit hackish, but I’ve yet to get anything else working properly.

Since the dock will no longer be called at startup as it is missing from the usual cave it hides out in, we’ll need to make the Dock start up from it’s new location when we log in. This can easily be accomplished by dragging Dock.app from its new hiding place to your startup items (found in the “accounts” system preference pane).

Since the idea here is to get rid of the Dock, we’ll need to close it after it is run on login. The easiest way to do this is to make an Applescript that terminates the dock for you, and have it run just after the Dock is launched on startup. This allows the Dock to start, get it’s act in gear, then disappear.

Now you can proceed with your normal modus operandi and utilize QuickSilver or whatever other application launcher that you prefer to use instead of the Dock.

The easier way to do all of this is to leverage a piece of software written by No Name Scriptware called Dock Death. Dock Death is an AppleScript that performs the same task we outlined above, and also gives you a back out strategy in case you really need to get the Dock back.

Both of these solutions will effectively disable Expose since it a Dock process. If you can’t live without Expose, you may want to try using the freeware Onyx, which allows you to move the Dock to the top of the screen and hide it, effectively eliminating it from view. Though this is a bit low-tech in that it doesn’t really disable the Dock, for some people it gets the job done.

Disco Disc Burner App Public Beta for Mac OS X

October 31, 2006 in 10.4.7, ADC, Apple Developper Connection, Audio CD, Backup CDs, CD, CD Backup, Disco, Edgy, Edgy Eft Beta, Eft, Gentoo, Jaguar, Leopard, OS X 10.5, OS X Server, Panther, PowerPC, Scratched CD, Screenshots, Tiger, WWDC, apple, backup, beta, burning, cd burning, disk image, dvd, dvd burning, edgy eft, image, mac, mac mini, macintosh, operating system, os, os x, shareware, software, ubuntu, ubuntu 6.10 | 10 comments

Why is it that I always find myself ponying up the small amounts of cash it takes to purchase Mac shareware applications? Black fire and a disco ball? I gotta have it.

Today I fell victim to MacZot’s current promotion (ends in 23 hours!) that saw me gobbling up the public beta of the Disco CD/DVD burning application for Mac OS X, and boy am I content with this lil 700KB number.

Firstly, the hype: when you purchase the beta at the silly-low price, you also get the opportunity to send a free license to someone else. So here goes – the first person to leave an intelligent comment gets the license! (I’ll need a real email address) This is a great marketing idea that see people not only using the beta of a terrifically designed piece of software, but also spreading the word to others so they can try it as well. Good show.

Next, the features: Disco copies discs in two clicks. Say that ten times fast. Disco can span CDs and DVDs automagically. They call it Spandex, I call it dead sexy. This is extremely handy when backing up iPhoto or iTunes, trust me. Disco can burn VIDEO_TS folders by just dragging them onto the application, which makes it great for burning your DVD backups. Disco has realtime 3D interactive smoke that actually wafts up from the application as you burn discs. If you blow into your microphone, the smoke will dissipate, and if you move your cursor around the smoke itself, it reportedly moves accordingly – but I didn’t get to see this on the low-end test box. Disco has an amazingly simplistic interface that is very easy to follow as it prompts you at every step. Last, but certainly not the least in terms of features, and should really be in caps: Disco remembers every single burn and keeps a catalog of the burn sessions using what it calls “discography” so that you can easily do things like print labels, disk jackets, or simply keep handy for when you need that dot release or the pre-altered code that you can never find. Let Disco be your personal sherpa.

Disco runs very well for a beta application. I have yet to see it crash under Panther, Tiger, or even Leopard (WWDC or the 9a ADC build). Oh, and it worked fine in Tiger server as well. Unfortunately the test box is a 1st generation Mac Mini (PPC), so there was no “smoke” to speak of (anyone have screenshots?), so that will need to be tested later. I burned some mix audio CDs, a backup copy of the disk image for Disco public beta itself, an ISO image of Ubuntu Edgy Eft Beta, and a bunch of Gentoo releases, for good measure. No hiccups. I erased a very old scratched CDRW. I even inserted a scratched blank CDR to see what would happen… Well it wouldn’t burn correctly but Disco kept on keepin’ on – like some sort of Disco inferno – no bouncing beachballs of death here. And you call this a beta? I expected flames, not smoke. No crash and burn here.

In these screenshots you see the Disco app in full swing, from installation to a test burn, and a view of all the windows it provides. I really like the design of this app, and it was well worth the 15$ pricetag. If you’re new to MacZot, and need a referrer, feel free to use “blandname”. Now go write some optical media and dance around like a schoolgirl.

Oh and on the topic of Disco, and in the name of Halloween here’s a joke:

“Why didn’t the skeleton dance at the disco?”

“He had no body to dance with”

Parallels 2.2 Workstation Features

October 11, 2006 in G4U, G5, Intel, Leopard, Mac Pro, MacBook, MacBook Pro, Microsoft, OS X 10.5, OSS, Open Source, OpenSource, Panther, Parallels, PowerBook, PowerPC, SP2, Tiger, USB, Windows XP, Windows XP SP2, XP, eMac, g4, iMac, ibm, laptop, linux, mac, mac mini, macintosh, operating system, os, os x, pc, software, virtual machines, virtualization, vista, vm, windows, workstation | No comments

Parallels announced today the updated features of the newest iteration of Parallels Workstation.

Big new all around for Windows, Mac and Linux users.

Here’s the breakdown (from the newsletter):

Parallels Desktop for Mac is the first solution for running Windows and OS X at the same time – without rebooting!

The Desktop for Mac Official Update includes a number of powerful new features, such as:

Works on ANY Intel-Mac with ANY memory configuration with no system modification. This includes Mac Pro towers with up to 16GB of RAM, and the full line of Core 2 Duo iMacs
Support for Windows Vista as a guest OS
Support for Mac OS X 10.5 “Leopard” as a Primary OS
Better USB support, including support for isochronous devices and Windows Mobile 5 devices

Parallels Workstation 2.2 for Windows & Linux is a powerful, cost effective virtualization solution which boosts productivity and lowers IT costs by letting users run multiple OSes simultaneously – without rebooting – on any Windows or Linux PC.

The new version includes a variety of new features and improvements:

Full support for AMD Secure Virtual Machine Technology, and stronger support for Intel Virtualization Technology
Support for Windows Vista as a Guest OS
A new shared folder utility lets users share files and folders between OSes
Better networking
Better USB support, including support for webcams and Windows Mobile 5 devices

Copy Files From a Mac to Windows Using SCP

September 25, 2006 in 10.4.7, Leopard, Microsoft, NFS, OS X 10.5, OS X Server, Open Source, Panther, Parallels, SCP, Samba, Tiger, Uncategorized, VMWare, VMWare Server, Virtual PC, Virtual Server, apple, blandname, file transfer, ftp, hosting, japanese, linux, mac, macintosh, operating system, os, os x, server, software, ssh, tip, tutorial, unix, virtual machines, virtualization, vm, web, web development, windows | No comments

Whenever you start adding funny-flavored operating systems to a network, you eventually run into filesharing problems. Even if you only have a few machines, coming to a consensus on how to get files from point A to B can be quite taxing – especially if there’s work to be done.

Over the years I’ve tried FTP, Samba, NFS and a host of others. When configured well they work like a charm. However, when a new node joins the network (that shiny new Mac Pro of yours), things need to be reconfigured and can generally be a royal pain.

That has changed, though. We now have an acceptable solution that is free, easy to use and above all, secure. Introducing… SCP.

SCP has been around for a while now, and is gaining quite a bit of traction in the hosting world where it is (albeit slowly) starting to replace FTP for upload and download tasks. SCP stand for Secure Copy (CP being Copy on *nix variants). SCP works a lot like FTP in that you require an address to connect to, a username (login) and a password (we won’t get into stored keys today).

Now that we’ve decided what to try in our ad hoc network, how do we set it up? If you’re blessed with any variant of Linux or Unix, the work has been done for you already – the tools come with the operating system, and are generally found under the network tools in your fancy menus.

It’s a different story on Apple Macs and PCs, though. For example, Tiger comes with an SCP server, but no client. Right, about the Mac server. In order to activate it in Panther, Tiger and even Leopard, head on over to the System Preferences pane, and choose the Sharing applet (the folder with the caution sign on it). Once it has opened, check the Remote Login checkbox. This will enable SSH, and in turn, SCP. We’re halfway there. You can connect to an SCP server by using the Terminal on a Mac, but from what I can tell most Mac users are frightfully scared of it. But that gives me the oppurtunity to tell you about one of my favorite applications – Fugu (japanese for blowfish – and sporting a suitably cute icon to boot). Fugu allows you to connect to an SCP server to both download and upload files. Fugu is quite easy to use, so we won’t get into that, but will save it for another time if need be (just like stored keys). Oh, and as the screenshot shows you, it works with Mac OS X Server 10.4.7 too! (as well as Leopard)

In the PC world, WinSCP is Fugu’s sibling. You get an extremly easy to use interface, complete with drag and drop. Installation is a breeze, and best of all it’s free as in both beer and speech. Just like those soapbox ramblers. Getting a Windows SCP server is a bit more difficult, but currently exists in the form of BitVise WinSSHD. WinSSHD is slightly complicated, but most of the configuration is done during the installation procedure. They supply you with the needed variables, and one you have finished you will have set up an account you can use to test from your other workstations. The screenshot above was taken with the wonderful WinSnap – it comes highly recommended.
Let the cross-platform filesharing begin!

If you have any questions, or would like to suggest a topic for a future article, head on over to the blandname contact page and we’ll see what we can do!

Oh, and by the way, since you’ve noticed I always talk about virtualization, this certainly applies to getting files to and fro from your virtual machines in VMWare Server, Virtual Server (Virtual PC if need be) and Parallels – I have even found it to be faster than any other technique!

« Older entries