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I should not answer this because you've posted as an "anonymous coward." It's my policy to not respond to ACs.

However, I do know of one Aussie chemistry student that was infected because, he says, he was following the article on McAfee's website that provides a link to the malware.

In that McAfee is providing a link, it seems to reinforce my notion that the companies that provide software to fix these problems may be involved in the creation of malware.

To force-eject a CD in OS X doesn't even require using a paper clip (good thing, too, as not all Macs have the paper clip eject). There's a terminal command here that I've found helpful.

How do I login to an xserve with ssh -C -Y or ssh -X and run gvim or an xterm or any X app, can't have to use vnc

chflags schg file

http://www.osxfaq.com/Tutorials/LearningCenter/Adv ancedUnix/ugp2/page2.ws

How nice that would be.

I was lazy... here's an article

That's because Apple really does flush to disk when you call fflush().

The man pages disagree: http://www.osxfaq.com/man/3/fflush.ws

You really should learn to use Google. It's this really awesome search engine. One of the top ten results on a quick Googling for your problem gave this:

http://forums.osxfaq.com/viewtopic.php?t=3564

Which then had this:

http://mac.pieters.cx/Software/LockTight-0.1.dmg.g z

Should do what you want.

If you want to just use the screensaver lock, you can use AppleScript to pop up the screensaver on a keystroke, or just set one of the display corners to launch the screensaver.

Bingo. Problems solved.

Apple has come a long way from the days of 'Things...must...be...only...Apple!', and I, as a recent laptop-switcher (from Linux, although my desktop still runs Debian), am reasonably happy with what Apple has done. Sure, there are some irritating nits about the way the OS works, but that's going to happen with every OS, because not one OS is going to fit with all people.

The nice thing about OS X is that you can get rid of a lot of that Apple stuff without any problems. My Tiger laptop doesn't have Dashboard, I've dumped a good chunk of the pre-installed stuff (GarageBand, etc.), and I've got my pile of Unix tools that do their jobs. What could be better? Apple does the GUI, BSD Unix does the command line, and the only piece of Microsoft software around is VPC (for running Debian, of course).

We'll never be modded up for these kinds of private conversations...

I honestly believe that, if you are either leaving your Mac running or are regularly running Brian Hil's MacJanitor, you can recover the extra room. I think that part of the reason why you are recovering so much is because you have not truly dragged in all of your old preferences and settings and are re-creating them on the fly after you have all ready done the upgrade. The result is a system where you really didn't save much space at all, once you have initially run all of your old applications under the new system.

The only reason why I can see the need for a new install like you describe is in the event of a serious failure, like a hard disk crash, lightning strike or some other issue (like Katrina or Rita).

I used to spend a lot of time on OSX FAQ and found it a very valuable resource, though not too many of the members know a lot about Palm gear.

I shall try to add you to my "Friends" list here.

On a FreeBSD system, you can set the "immutable flag" on a file. Given a high enough system securelevel, that file will be completely resistant to change (including unsetting that flag). This is extremely handy for locking down file signature databases, kernel files, and other likely targets for stealth modification. So long as that portion of the kernel stands intact, the system can never be completely clandestinely owned

Very interesting. This FAQ suggest that OS X retains BSD's immutable flag. In theory, the only way to change this flag in OS X is to reboot in single-user mode. I wonder if a rootkit could force a reboot into single user mode, change these flags, and reboot back to remotely own an OS X machine? I would assume that unless the rootkit can insert something into the single-user mode start-up sequence, the system immutable flag should be fairly safe. The big downside would be that System Update would cease to work (and probably create a corrupt partial update) if the wrong file were locked in this way (security vs. ease-of-use again!).

Exactly how do you have your preferences set up? Have you a bazillion fonts on your Mac? Have you tried trashing your preferences? Have you tried using the applications on another "user" on your machine? Have you tried asking about speedups on the OS X FAQ Forum? There is help out there if you need it.

It is not impossible to login as root. It's easy to do. Just don't blame me when you hose your system.

http://www.osxfaq.com/Tutorials/Root_User_Creation /index.ws

I was thinking that if you partitioned your hard drive so that you have a "Case Sensitive/Journaled" partition for your *nix files and a non-case sensitive/Journaled partition, ie. Mac OS Extended, for your Mac OS X Server Boot drive. Perhaps this would be the simplest way to keep the two file systems organized and working natively. I have used the application iPartition to slice up an existing working drive with no problems...

I understand that it is possible for OS X to actually work on a UFS file system although some things such as AirPort and Classic I beleive will not. (not an expert on this!).

Personally I keep all my applications on a seperate partition anyways. ( Currently 4 partions per HD for testing ).

I know very little about this subject but I am sure there must be a work around although I do agree with your logic that Apple should have gone the extra metre to rework a completely case sensitive boot system.

Hey, certainly there are peoples with social complexes about OS's not their own, too bad for they. Check out these sites which are OS X friendly and very geeky :)

http://forums.osxfaq.com/index.php
http://forums.macosxhints.com/
http://discussions.info.apple.com/

Good Luck, I hope some where down the line you will find a user that can help you!

cheers!

"Playing" does not acclimatize you to the workings of the system. If you are good at using windows and not good at using OS X, then you will be faster on windows. If you are good at using both, then you will be faster on OS X due to time saved through a more efficient and better designed user environment combined with fewer maintenance needs. Other applications will not steal focus, exposé allows you to access your needed applications more quickly. I still find it astonishing that microsoft has not streamlined the entering and selection of multiple network configuration through a simple interface. Most people don't know how or want to create scripted netsh commands. And you don't waste your time worrying about patching and rebooting for worm avoidance, keeping your lusers out of IE for spyware avoidance, maintaining firewall rules, and keeping your antivirus up to date. Windows is becoming more and more annoying because you have to manage all kinds of little things in order to keep it safe, secure and working smoothly. You don't have to worry about any of this on a mac and so your time is spent doing your work instead of maintaining the system.

As to just plugging in and working, I hope that you are behind a router or firewall or a mac/linux box sharing the connection, because just plugging an XP box into a broadband connection ill get you owned by a worm in under an hour, even if you do absolutely nothing. This is of much safer with a mac (but of course not perfectly safe with a mac or linux or anything else.) If you want to do that with XP, you'll have to get hundreds of MB of updates (I hope you download faster than the trojans find you), and turn off your network messenger to avoid the popups, shut off your uPnP to avoid vulnerabilities, and probably get a firewall set up because it's next to impossbile to close all ports on a windows box.

And when you are done with the mac, you can sell it of course. My iBook is 20 months old now and on eBay it's still going for 40-45% of what I purchased it for. Can you sell an x86 box for 40-45% of its original purchase price after 20 months of use?

Don't get me wrong, I have windows, linux and mac machines. I use each one for what it's good at. And the mac is good for getting work done. And I have found that when it comes down to doing work, if you are good at using all systems, the mac is by far the least intrusive and just gets out of the way so you can do what you're doing.

Of course, you can indeed patch up your XP box to make it almost as safe as a mac, requiring plenty of time installing the patches and installing/configuring third party software. And this takes a lot of time. How many $/h is your time worth? What's the difference in price between a mac and PC (even though it is totally an apples and oranges comparison to begin with?)

x86 is only cheaper than mac if your time has no value.

mdwh2 wrote: Same as in Windows.

Actually, part of the "same as" issue is a result of Microsoft borrowing from Apple's user interface but that gets into name-calling and schoolyard issues ("Is not" "Is too.....").

I am considered a "power user" by most Windows users I work with and I'm considered a "power user" by many Mac users around me and as the result of a Mac forum in which I participate. The reason why I am so consulted is due to the simple fact that I am computer literate and possibly more so than the average user (of either computer).

Where I find the Macintosh easier to use is when I am learning new applications and tools and finding that the user interface is pleasant and supportive of my right-brained way of thinking. It somehow seems more supportive of the user. It also offers some killer applications that are either a lot less costly than their Windows counterparts or run better than their Windows "equals." Those applications tend to trend around what I do for a living, which involves film and video applications, sound, music and imagery. I also know how to use a spreadsheet as well.

The last Windows computer I purchased with my own money was set up by Microsoft to eventually drown in its own self-created refuse. If Microsoft has found a way to automatically clean out all of the .TMP files their OS created, my hat's off to them. It also tended to create an ever-lengthening .INI file containing information about how programs were supposed to run, what they could open and how they used hardware. Eventually I found I could not open my .INI file in Microsoft's text editor because it grew so large.

I am lead to believe that they now have a "Registry" file that does some of the same things. I understand that viruses and malware now use that file as a "hidey hole" for self-replication even after you have cleaned up your computer. This comment is probably "not fair" as Microsoft does present a larger target to black-hat hackers than does Apple.

I find using my Mac more pleasant. Part of it is cultural. Mac departments don't breed the kind of person who will name a printer "\\1161NYNEWSGENBC360S EDITORS" Instead, they'll do riffs on Greek, Roman or Nordic gods, planets, stars, and so on. I regularly access a disk drive called "India" and print to "Geminii" and "Phobos." Mac users understand when someone has their earphones on, gently humming away at a song playing on iTunes while working productively away. PC users find that odd. Your mileage may vary, of course.

Advice for any computer purchase: Buy the most processor you can afford. Plan to increase RAM as time goes on; you can always replace a stock hard disk later with one that is bigger and faster. And always look at how you can expand the computer as you use it. Apple's iBooks and iMacs are designed for high school and college students who will be trading into something more powerful on graduating. They last about three or four years, tops. Apple's Powerbooks and desktop (currently dual G5) computers are designed to last longer and work harder. They are more expandable and more suited to professional use.

But for your points:

I don't care if Apple doesn't like virtual desktops, the seperation of context they provide pretty much makes them the best thing ever for a GUI as far as I'm concerned. I can keep multiple different portions of a project I'm working on open and seperate with ease. In a single mode of thought like writing a paper they may not be necessary, but I've found them useful time and time again.

The mouse comment is more to the point that the right click context menu which many love and cherish didn't come from Apple and they seem to maintain that a click-hold or option-click is good enough, despite adding multi-button support to the OS not all that long ago. Again, not really trying to say it's a problem now, but was in the past to go along with the point of not all good came from Apple.

And the cd or disk to trash still existed in OS X last I checked, and I googled up this which seems to be dated 8/02 and gives dragging things to the trash as a valid eject mechanism. So 2001 wasn't the abandonment of that bad idea. But at least it changes to an eject sign now, so if you have the idea to put something in the trash you'll know it'll eject. So you don't have to resort to 2001 era Gnome or KDE, not that current generations are without problems. The biggest gripe I have is the lack of consistant context menus, especially cut/copy/paste not showing up in some applications even when text is selected.

To get back to the real topic, the transparency, I've always found it difficult to either read the transparent window when the opacity is high or the underlying window when the opacity is low. It may be just my experience or preference, but switching back and forth or cutting and pasting has always yielded better results than transparent windows. This has been especially true for me when text collides. between the two windows. Regardless of whether it's found useful, I still have trouble thinking that it's patentable material.

Please feel free to use my handle. I am fairly well-known over at the OS X FAQ forums.

I found a way to map the zooming feature you describe to my mouse scroll wheel. When I press down and scroll it zooms in for more detail. So far its only worked for me with Microsoft optical mice, but others may discover a workaround.

As a side note about this story...Its funny that this guy is asking for a resolution independent operating system...when one already exists. OS X rocks!

http://osxfaq.com/tips/murphy/index.ws

Universal Access Zoom Scroll Wheel Trick in Jaguar.

OSXFAQ Reader Tip By Chris Murphy

I set my scroll wheel to automatically trigger the Universal Access zoom in and out feature.

I use a Microsoft Intellimouse. In the Microsoft Mouse panel I set the "Press and Roll Forward" to Keystroke Command-Option + and the "Press and Roll Backward" to keystroke Command-Option -

Then I turned on zooming in the Universal Access Panel.

When I press and roll forward on the scroll wheel, it zooms in on the part of the screen I want to study. It works so well, I use it every few minutes to study images on the web or get a closer look at small text.

For those that dont have a Microsoft Mouse, this will probably work in USB overdrive.

Also, I made one exception for Photoshop so that instead of using the Universal Access Zoom, it uses the Photoshop zoom. The shortcuts are Command + and Command - in that case.

Enjoy :-)

http://www.osxfaq.com/Editorial/open/
http://www.osxfaq.com/Editorial/open/index2.ws
http://www.osxfaq.com/Editorial/open/index3.ws
http://www.osxfaq.com/Editorial/open/index4.ws

Regards,
proclus
http://www.gnu-darwin.org/

http://www.osxfaq.com/Editorial/open/
http://www.osxfaq.com/Editorial/open/index2.ws
http://www.osxfaq.com/Editorial/open/index3.ws
http://www.osxfaq.com/Editorial/open/index4.ws

Regards,
proclus
http://www.gnu-darwin.org/

http://www.osxfaq.com/Editorial/open/
http://www.osxfaq.com/Editorial/open/index2.ws
http://www.osxfaq.com/Editorial/open/index3.ws
http://www.osxfaq.com/Editorial/open/index4.ws

Regards,
proclus
http://www.gnu-darwin.org/

http://www.osxfaq.com/Editorial/open/
http://www.osxfaq.com/Editorial/open/index2.ws
http://www.osxfaq.com/Editorial/open/index3.ws
http://www.osxfaq.com/Editorial/open/index4.ws

Regards,
proclus
http://www.gnu-darwin.org/

http://www.gnu-darwin.org/packages.shtml
http://www.gnu-darwin.org/x86.shtml

I've written an article which clarifies the relationship of GNU-Darwin to Apple.

http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/1/20/191655/929

Yves de Champlain has also written a very helpful article explaining Apple's relationship to open source and free software.

http://www.osxfaq.com/Editorial/open/index.ws

Regards,
proclus
http://www.gnu-darwin.org/

It can be compared to law clarifications. While good in some aspects, the more you add to a law, the more freedoms are stripped away.

clarifications anyone?
by proclus on Wednesday December 18, @07:05PM EST

Sorry, I just couldn't let the story to out this way, because truth is important to me.

All machines that are currently supported will continue to be supported in their current configurations, so we are not pulling out the rug as it were. The situation could be better than this, but the ball is now in Apple's court. I will say that Apple has been moving in the right direction with respect to these issues over the past few years. If projects like ours can stay engaged with them, there may be a chance. It is not easy, and may be overly optimistic, but there it is. I'd like to give some time for Apple to respond.

The main source for the Apple/DMCA story is at the following link, although it has been covered extensively on the web as an 'Apple DMCA' googlesearch will reveal.

http://news.com.com/2100-1023-955805.html

Based on my experience with the Adobe boycott and other anti-DMCA activism, I consider Declan as a trusted source. Here are some good stories about the impact of the DMCA in general and on Apple users.

http://www.tidbits.com/tb-issues/TidBITS-656.html# lnk3
http://db.tidbits.com/getbits.acgi?tbart=06901

As for the APSL, this has been a long standing issue with the Distribution, which dates back to the founding.

http://newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=00/12/01/20282 54&mode=thread

Darwin is not free software, because the APSL is not consistent with the free software definition. For more information, check GNU Project.

http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/apsl.html

You may know Yves@gnu-darwin.org, who is a OSXFaq.com editorial contributor. His most recent installment is highly germain.

http://www.osxfaq.com/Editorial/open/index4.ws

Until Darwin is freed, activists such as myself will be leading users away from it instead of toward it. This antagonism towards Apple in the free software community has been aggravated by the DMCA fiasco. For example, Slashdot coverage of Apple has soured considerably since that time. We added the caveat to our Darwin distribution CD's soon after that (see grey box).

http://www.gnu-darwin.org/order.shtml

Clearly it is in Apple's best interest to repudiate the DMCA, to remove the onerous anti-privacy clause from the APSL, and to meet the standards of GNU Project, so that users can have a truly free OS, and so that activists can support Darwin instead of undermining it.

The message for users is to educate yourself about software freedom. In this world of economic contraction, the DMCA, RIAA, and the patriot act, that might take some effort, but it will be worthwhile in the event that free software becomes more difficult to maintain. Here is the starting point.

http://www.gnu.org

Regards,
proclus
http://www.gnu-darwin.org/

2) Moshe is not smart enough to boot Mac OS X into command line, "Since for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to shut down the GUI environment of OS X" -- Moshe "I can't use Google" Bar. Here's a tip Moshi, when the log on screen pops up, type ">console" in the user line.

3) MacSlash has already dealt with this.

Here is a MacOS X UNIX tutorial I just found yesterday. If you're an old time Mac user or just want to learn some UNIX commands then this is something you might want to check out...

http://www.osxfaq.com/Tutorials/LearningCenter/

Reminds me of The World's Shortest Useful AppleScript.

"OS X has the first functional man pages I've seen in my life (that is, they aren't written in geek speak for coders)"

Um, aren't practically all of them more or less the same man pages we know and love from other Unices? The Perl one you mention definitely is.

In any case, you can read them all here: http://www.osxfaq.com/man/