Apple Releases Mac OS X 10.1.3

nbvb submitted what I'm pleased to say is our first apple.slashdot.org story. We'll be posting more news for our sizable Apple population there in the future. Anyway, He says "Apple today released Mac OS X 10.1.3. Be sure to click your "Software Update" and "Install" buttons! (Hey, if we can get an announcement every time a new point rev of a development kernel hits the FTP sites, can't we hear about Mac OS X?)" As usual, user reports of the new release have been both positive and negative.

Comments

Nice theme.

[PD]

Can we have this theme on the other pages?

Re:Nice theme.

[daniel_isaacs]

One more vote for a complete change to the Aquafied theme. It loks great.

Will there be a microsoft.slashdot.org as well? I mean, there are certainly enough stories to justify it.

Re:Nice theme.

[MindStalker]

Oh yea, of course.. Noone would ever accuse you of being partial to aqua based themes?? Yea right...

Re:Nice theme.

[WiggyWack]

Yeah, microsoft.die.die.die.slashdot.org.

Re:Nice theme.

[DarkEdgeX]

Agreed, some way to choose the theme via preferences would kick ass. (And having more themes would be even better.) Not that I don't like the original /. look, I just thing the Aqua-ish style of the apple.slashdot.org site kicks ass. ;) (And I don't even like Apple that much.)

DVD player

[Jeffrey Baker]

The new DVD player can show movies on the external monitor attached to my PowerBook G4. That was the only remaining regression OS X had versus OS 9 on my machine. I'm a happy sometimes-OSX user now :)

New Apple Icons?

[FortKnox]

Warning, Slashdot Conspiracy Theory:
I think someone just wanted to use the new apple icons...

Why?

[2starr]

Now, I'm a Mac user and do the rounds off all the Mac info and rumors sites each day as well as thoroughly reading evey article on /. having to do with Apple, so don't get me wrong. But, I guess I'm wondering why Apple stuff is being broken out? What's the reasoning? Will we have a windows.slashdot.org soon? Isn't this just going to make it possible to hide possibly interesting articles from people on the main page that don't visit apple.slashdot?

Re:Why?

[Nerds]

It's actually part of Rob's new plan to embrace and extend the entire Internet. Hopefully my /. account gets me access to the exclusive archive at pr0n.slashdot.org.

Re:Why?

[psocccer]

I thought the same thing at first, but after a second I realized maybe this is just a slashcode feature I didn't know about because I've never seen it written anywhere. After a quick experiment, I see I was right:

• bsd.slashdot.org
• apache.slashdot.org
• yro.slashdot.org

And so on. Pretty neat idea really, now it can offer niche news on special sites plus the big enchilada on the main site. Best of both worlds it seems.

Uhh..

[mESSDan]

submitted what I'm pleased to say is our first apple.slashdot.org story

Sizable Apple population? Where the hell is windows.slashdot.org? Sizable population there too! Linux.slashdot.org? I imagine that it could be construed that slashdot.org IS linux.slashdot.org. Go ahead, moderate me as a troll, but this begs the question!

Re:Uhh..

[tomblackwell]

Actually, it doesn't beg the question.

Re:Uhh..

[johnlenin1]

Maybe apple.slashdot.org is just an excuse to create Aquafied Slashdot graphics?

Re:Uhh..

[FortKnox]

I'd really like to know the statistics on slashdot.

Give me the stats of how many Unix vs Linux vs Mac vs Windows to tell me what a "Sizeable Apple Community" is versus the MS Community...

Re:Uhh..

[Perrin-GoldenEyes]

That might be a kinda funky poll. You'd have to allow people to pick more than one. I, for example, use all of the above. Though if I had to pick one, I'd probably pick Mac OS X.

Re:Uhh..

[Svencer]

According to your link it actually does "beg the question," even if it does not conform to its original use in the 16th century.

-------
Many people unaware of the technical meaning of "to beg the question" in logic use it in one of two looser senses.... The second, "to invite the obvious question, (with an inanimate subject) to raise the question", is now the most commonly heard use of the phrase, although we have found no mention of it prior to The Oxford Guide to English Usage, 1st edition (1983), and
it is not yet in most dictionaries.
-----

Re:Uhh..

[daeley]

That's what these guys are for. ;-)

Re:Uhh..

[smartin]

Sorry, real operating systems only.

Didn't work here

[ksheka]

I hit the update button in the tools menu, and it didn't mention anything about 10.1.3.

All it gave me was some "Welcome to Windows Update" page. :-(

Re:Didn't work here

[dclove]

All it gave me was some "Welcome to Windows Update" page. ;-(

I used to get that too. It's a hardware problem...

;-)

Re:Didn't work here

[sean23007]

I used to get that too. It's a hardware problem...

I know a guy who still has that problem. I'm convinced it's a software problem.

Oooh....pretty theme!

[Snootch]

Can we have this on the main page? This is just coool!

That said, i'm not sure why apple.slashdot.org exists. Unless bsd.slash, win.slash (ooh, flame target, bad example :-) ), or whatever are in the making, why the apple-centricity?

Re:Oooh....pretty theme!

[jamie]

"That said, i'm not sure why apple.slashdot.org exists. Unless bsd.slash...

http://bsd.slashdot.org

Re:Oooh....pretty theme!

[krow]

Did you try bsd.slashdot.org?

Re:apple.slashdot.org?

[PD]

Out of the loop? Hardly. You were one of the first 10 people to post in the brand new section about Apple on Slashdot. Apparently, you are in the middle of the loop.

Har!

[lblack]

A Mac-branded portion of Slashdot, complete with oogly googly prettiness in the form of gradients and rounding.

The message being broadcast to me on a quick hop around the .slashdot.orgs would have to be:

Apple = Pretty, ooh, ooh
Linux = Ugly, stinky, green
BSD = Red

Hm.

Anyway, this is far too hi-fi for me. Back to ugly, stinky, green.

-l

p.s. Why is Science ugly, stinky, green, too? Science and Linux don't look even nearly similar, I dual boot them!

Re:Har!

[Graff]

Actually, now that you bring up colors, shouldn't the Apple version of Slashdot be blue, not green? I mean Apple's Aqua is a nice blue color, not some greyish-green like the graphics on apple.slashdot.com.

Other than the color I definately like the new graphics. I'd vote to use the green one on the main site, use a blue one for the Apple site, use a red one for the BSD site and to make the Windows site be black text on a black background with completely black graphics! :)

Re:Har!

[Graff]

Is it Bondi blue? I thought that was that greenish-blue that the orginal iMacs were made with. The blue in Aqua seems to be more of a pure blue - very little green in it, if any. I'd love to say the color is Aqua blue, but the traditional color aqua is really a blue-green.

Oh well, whatever the name of the color used in Apple's Aqua, I think that the apple.slashdot.com site's colors should be as close to it as possible.

Re:Slippery slope...

[benedict]

That will happen right after the next time they\
release a unix. (Yes, I know about SCO.)

Re:Ooohhh... Aqua

[Snootch]

Maybe not XP solid, but much better than Linux, no doubt about it.

Troll alarm bells are ringing here, so I'll cut short my response, as I don't have any mod points at the moment to slap this one with.

Suffice to say, try printf()ing a few tabs and backslashes in quick succession under 200 or XP ad then tell me it's stable. After you've rebooted and reconnected to the internet that is...

Re:Not really

[red-tail-hawk]

hmm... Finally OS X achieves what a portion of the linux community was dreaming for, a stable, configurable unix-based OS with a user-friendly GUI. OS X will make my job a lot easier, users get access to MS Office and I get NIS, vi, ipfw, etc.

Never Gonna Happen

[Cheshire Cat]

As has been rehashed numerous times in the past, Apple will never release a version of OSX for the Intel platform. Basically, Apple makes almost all of its money from hardware sales. Obviously if they sold OSX for x86 systems, thats a sizeable chunk of cash that they'd lose.

You may remember when Apple permitted clones that Apple almost went under. This was because the clones were causing Apple's finances to hemorage like a hemophilliac.

I agree it would be nice to have OSX for my PC. I'd dump Windows in a heartbeat. Unfortunately, doing this would also mean the end of Apple, so its nothing but wishful thinking.

*sigh*

Re:Never Gonna Happen

[foobar104]

Basically, Apple makes almost all of its money from hardware sales. Obviously if they sold OSX for x86 systems, thats a sizeable chunk of cash that they'd lose.

I agree completely, but I just wanted to throw in a slightly different interpretation. Microsoft has become an amazing success based on their sales of the Windows operating systems. I can't think of another company that has been that successfull selling primarily operating systems.

They did it in two ways: diversification and licensing, licensing, licensing.

If Microsoft sold only Windows XP, they couldn't be as successful as they are. But because they also sell Office, and SQL Server, and all that other crap^H^H^H^H valuable stuff, they can make a bundle.

Also, Microsoft licenses the heck out of Windows, so for (almost) every computer sold, MS gets a few bucks. To do this, they've had to make some questionable business decisions.

So, given these two facts, Apple can produce OS X for Intel and be successful if one of two things happens:

1. Apple diversifies into an applications company and starts selling stuff like "Mac OS X SQL Server" or "Mac OS X Groupware Product" to keep the cash flowing. Probability: almost zero.

2. Apple gets somebody serious, like Dell, to license OS X for Intel to sell on their PCs. Probability: even less than zero. This actually has negative probability! The very existence of this option makes other things more probable!

So yeah, pretty much releasing OS X for Intel would be a death sentence, either for Apple as a whole, or at least for Apple as we know it.

Re:Never Gonna Happen

[zulux]

OS X for Intel would be a death sentence, either

Apple could do it though if the included an "Apple Only" bios, or made the system non-standard. They could get the cheap Intel comodity hardware, but still maintain their hardware lock in.

Re:Never Gonna Happen

[binarybits]

There will probably never be an x86 version of OS X, but it has nothing to do with the reasons you state.

If Apple is worried about losing money from clone competition, the solution is easy: raise liscencing fees. Apple could have easily done this and recouped any losses from cannibalized sales.

The problem was that Apple's hardware at the time sucked. When cloners started building boxes that blew Apple's offerings out of the water, this cannibalized their sales because people weren't going to pay unreasonable prices for inferior products.

What Apple should have done is improve their own offerings to match those of the clones. This should have been easy-- Apple has an enormous R & D budget, and the advantage of having the software team in-house.

The reason Apple killed the clones had little to do with the finances of the situation. Had they allowed cloning to continue, I'd guess the Mac market share would be much bigger than it was now. They could easily have eaten the short-term losses and come out the better for it.

The real reason the clones were killed was the same reason the Newtons were closed-- Steve's ego. Steve Jobs doesn't care about long-term strategic issues. He is perfectly fine having Apple be a niche computer maker. What he wants is creative control. He wants to be able to dictate how every Mac user's computer will look and feel, from the GUI to the case design. And if that means that Mac market share never goes above 5%, so be it.

It's really quite sad. Apple could easily spin off their software division, port to x86, and compete directly with Microsoft. Apple Computer would be a hardware company, Applesoft could be the software company. The hardware side would pay the software side royalties. And they could beg Motorolla and IBM to get into the PowerPC Mac cloning market, while simultaneously offering PC OEM's the option to install OS X on their machines. With a serious push into business applications and an open platform, Apple could pose a serious threat to the Windows hegemony.

But alas that won't happen because Steve isn't willing to give up control of the platform. He's content to be a big fish in a small pond. Meanwhile Bill Gates counts his billions and plots his next industry takeover...

Re:Never Gonna Happen

[Myxorg]

Apple could do it though if the included an "Apple Only" bios

Yea that worked so well for IBM, whoops.

Re:Never Gonna Happen

[foobar104]

Apple could do it though if the included an "Apple Only" bios, or made the system non-standard. They could get the cheap Intel comodity hardware, but still maintain their hardware lock in.

Which would change nothing. An iMac doesn't cost $1200 because of the CPU.

Re:Never Gonna Happen

[jcr]

So yeah, pretty much releasing OS X for Intel would be a death sentence, either for Apple as a whole, or at least for Apple as we know it.

Why does everyone discount the possibility of OS X for Intel (or SPARC, MIPS, Alpha, etc) selling for as much as Apple's gross margin on a typical G4 tower? Shoot, if we only moved a million units a quarter at @$750, that's still 3 billion bucks/yr, and I doubt very much that anyone making the choice between an $800 Dell + $750 for OS X or a new iMac would pick the Dell.

Offering OS X on Intel would let Apple sell to the people who don't get to pick their hardware. (Make no mistake, that's a *lot* of people..) There are a lot of people who can get their companies to cough up an Intel box which they then load up with Linux or BSD, who would just as soon load that box up with Mac OS X if they could.

Back when I was running OpenStep 4.2 on Intel hardware, I discovered that once you blow away the MS crap and install a decent OS on the box, it suddenly sucks far less than one would expect.

I think it would be a wonderful thing if Apple started selling OS X on Intel as the "higher priced spread" (if you will), and I simply don't agree with the contention that doing so would mean an end to Apple's hardware business.

I could also imagine a very brisk business in $500 PCI cards to finish up an Intel box with the things that the Mac has, like the firewire ports, maybe a DSP chip that had four or more Altivec cores on it, decent audio I/O hardware, etc.

I agree with you that the chances of any of this happening is really close to nil, but I'm quite convinced that colonizing the Intel desktops could be done without endangering Apple's existing business.

-jcr

Attn: CmdrTaco

[EricKrout.com]

Dear Mr. Robert Malda:

This law firm is the intellectual property and litigation counsel to Apple Computers (NASDAQ: APPL). It has come to our attention that you are the registrant and primary owner/operator of http://slashdot.org, a renowned site for open source and free software fanatics. Your new web site graphics scheme at http://apple.slashdot.org is in violation of Apple's copyright of any and all things computer-related and translucent in appearance.

Please be advised that Apple Computer is the holder of "combined translucency and sex appeal" which the United States Patent and Trademark office has accepted for registration on the Principal Register. Since the late 1970s, my client has created beautiful engineering miracles of this aesthetic design. Apple Computer, courtesy of their marvelous, refined, and sexy produts, have an outward appearance that has become famous worldwide. Consumers looking for lime, flamingo, tangerine, and/or neon-colored computing devices have come to find my company's products, and only their products and parallel websites for advertising and selling said products.

You are hereby warned and notified to CEASE AND DESIST your use of attractive shiny graphics, which you continue to use in bad faith. If you do not immediately remove them, we will take all action necessary to protect our mark. Your failure to comply will result in my client's full and forceful prosecution of all of its rights, and you could incur liability for damages in excess of $11,371,137 and responsibility for our attorneys' fees.

Sincerely,
The Law Firm of Geoffrey R. Morris,
Washington/Tokyo/London/San Francisco

(adapted from webtechniques.com's Bret A. Fausett)

EricKrout.com :: 5, Interesting

Re:Attn: CmdrTaco

[blowhole]

Luckily I downloaded EclipseOSX one day before it got taken down. It r0x0rs! I hate OSX but I love WinXP when it looks like OSX :)

Re:Attn: CmdrTaco

[Melantha_Bacchae]

Spencerian wrote:

> After getting a copyright, or an intellectual property, a company must
> defend it tooth and nail from ANY kind of predatory or even harmless
> knockoffs.

This applies only to trademarks. You can actually grant others non-exclusive rights to copy your work and still retain your copyright. You can license your patented technology to others. You can even share trade secrets with someone who has signed a non-disclosure agreement. But you better not let trademark infringements slide, or you loose them. (Which is why if Lindows really has hundreds of examples of Microsoft not defending the "Windows" trademark, they might actually be able to get it taken away from Microsoft.)

> If Apple doesn't and someone stole an appearance to make a commercial
> product, the courts may see Apple's inaction as abandonment of their
> IP obligation.

Look and feel follows its own rules, established by the look and feel case between Apple and Microsoft. I don't remember all of them off hand. Themes that use the Apple logo as part of the theme to make it look legit, and that exactly reproduce the look and feel of OS X are going to get cease-and-desist letters. Slashdot using glassy looking header bars that don't remotely look like OS X and no apple logo in the upper left corner are not likely to hear from Apple. (If you view the page using an OS X native browser, you can see just how unlike OS X it is.) IANAL, but I doubt even using the OS X trademark to denote a story about OS X is going to be a problem, since you are using the trademark to identify the company and product, which is what it is for.

It's a shame, but even a company that does a pretty good job of following Mothra's path of peace has to have a legal department.

"The path of peace is yours to discover for eternity." "Mosura", 1961

Apple Poll Possibility

[rogerl]

Apple Macintosh:

1. Nope
2. Work
3. Home
4. Work and Home
5. Cowboy Neal eating an apple. Yum.

whooo hoooo!

[nbvb]

I guess this counts as a First Story, not a First Post? :-)

--NBVB
(Whee, my first accepted submission, too!)

Re:apple.slashdot.org?

[KelsoLundeen]

Why does everyone assume it's a loop?

OSX finder issues

[linuxpng]

Anyone know if, by chance, they have fixed the annoying finder issue where folder views are not kept?

This is an issue with me that's actually addressed in the KB. They state it will be fixed in a future OS revision. Anyone else think that's kind of lame?

Re:OSX finder issues

[b1t r0t]

How about the one where in list view, when you move icons into and out of folders, the @#%#@$!! file name pane would shrink every time! It's about time they finally fixed that one. It was really driving me nuts.

Now if they would just bring back icon labels/colors. That's how I sort my pr0n, which is still kept on a 9.1 machine.

Re:OSX finder issues

[rjrjr]

Maybe you're not a troll, but you're ill-informed. That nasty finder is a ground up Carbon rewrite, which measures up to neither the Finder nor the old NeXTstep WorkSpace.

Re:OSX finder issues

[zephc]

most likely its because you dont have write permissions to said folder (directory) and your account cant write the .DS_Store file to said folder. Otherwise I have had no problem with folders keeping their views.

In Terminal.app, try `chown -R [yourusername]:staff ~/' and to any other folders you frequent (like on other drives, etc).

Apple Thinks it's 2001

[Schlemphfer]

I happened to be in the process of downloading 10.1.3 when I came across this discussion on Slashdot. The installation was effortless, and it's great to have system software that's less than 24 hours old. But when I rebooted and selected "About This Mac," the box came up saying 10.1.3 is installed, "Copyright 1983-2001 Apple Computer."

Oops! Fortunately, other than that little oversight, 10.1.3 seems amazing so far. Rock solid and gorgeous.

Re:Apple Thinks it's 2001

[RAVasquez]

Probably because the Finder's still at 10.1.2, according to Show Info. Probably not worth the effort to swap the string resource (or somebody forgot to).

Wow!

[thedbp]

Slashdot got Aquified!! i hope this isn't some sort of plot to keep us apple-ites separated from you "real" computer enthusiasts ;) J/K, I have noticed a lot more coverage of Apple stuff since OS X started gaining steam in the tech community, and I really appreciate it. Also i think its funny that you guys remade the UI elements in aqua fashion.

Mac users may have to fight for respect and fend off the "condolences" of our Windows counterparts a lot of the time, but its nice to know that we have Slashdot on our side, or at least not berating us. Thanks for the recognition guys!!!

Oh, and 10.1.3 RULES. easy flawless upgrade. System keeps getting snappier and more impressive. I'm dying to see 10.2: The Return of Sping-Loaded Folders! Excuse me while i trip out to my killer iTunes visuals on my 27" television :)

Re:Wow!

[version5]

I have noticed a lot more coverage of Apple stuff since OS X started gaining steam in the tech community, and I really appreciate it.

True. Apple has gained noticeably more respect since the release of OS X, unfortunately, I can't say the same about the Apple enthusiasts. They have a long way to go. Here's why: For the most part, the nerd contingent refered to in "News for nerds" believes in function before form. This is an engineering principle. I am a graphic designer, but I respect and understand the importance of this principle. Many Apple users are of the "Oooh, shiny!" variety, and some even go so far as to deride command line interfaces and less-than-perfect GUIs. It is commonly believed that such people have no place in a serious discussion of technology.

Re:Wow!

[SnarfQuest]

What's a sping, and why are you loading them in my folder?

Re:Wow!

[SmittyTheBold]

You may think that, but also look at such screenshots as the one below:

http://fluxbox.sourceforge.net/zoom.php?shots/yo ur nick_fluxbox.jpg

BlackBox (and by extension, FluxBox) rocks. (that's just fun to say =) but GNU/Linux and X apps in general lack a cohesive UI. In the aforementioned screen shot, I count no fewer than four window styles. That means no less than four separate ways of intereacting with the machine. That's the *windowing* level, for chrissakes. Get on down to the widgets, that's another four interfaces to get used to, and all of them can get mixed and matched.

On OS X, you have three sets of interface elements, but all of them are *very* similar. (Aqua for one, Classic for another, and the "Pro app" brushed metal of all the Apple media apps) it's much more cohesive - and the lessons learned from one UI apply almost directly to the others.

Now, one of the keys to OS X is simplicity. Yes, it's impossible to do some things in the stock GUI. But, the things you can do are very easy. Not only that, but the features that are missing from the GUI are almost certainly available in the Terminal.

Furthermore...many Mac users are of the Oooh! Shiny! approach...but just try denying that Luna doesn't attemt to pander to that taste. Not to mention the downright crappy-looking transparent terminals things liek eterm provide in X...

Re:Wow!

[Otter]

Many Apple users are of the "Oooh, shiny!" variety, and some even go so far as to deride command line interfaces and less-than-perfect GUIs. It is commonly believed that such people have no place in a serious discussion of technology.

Since when do the qualities of any users have a place in a serious discussion of technology?

Believe me, I wouldn't use Linux if I were concerned about what some Linux users go so far as to deride. ("Can we be sure Miguel isn't really a Micro$oft mole?")

Re:Cry me a river

[Anonymous Coward]

If you don't like apple.slashdot.org then go there.

Why would I go there if I didn't like it?

Put it on last night - some findings

[Dark Paladin]

At home, I run fetchmail, UW Imap/pop3, and postfix. (Some excellent instructions for installing it are here at Stepwise), Image Magick, Gimp, and some other Open Source programs on OS X. I also use BBedit and Microsoft Office X. (And I can say that Entourage is a far superior program to the one I have to use with Windows.)

The good news: Nothing broke. 10.1.3 didn't rewrite any mail settings, so all of my mail continued to come in/get sent out just fine.

The bad: Still no focus-follows-mouse, multiple desktops, or the ability to connect to my wife's printer on her Windows 98 box.

I did have a problem with Samba for a little bit (I have another computer running Win98 I use just for games playing). Once I turned off the SMB service and turned it back on, it worked fine.

Some of these things comes from a former KDE user (ie: focus-follows-mouse, etc), but overall, since it didn't break anything, I'm assuming all went well. As person who used Linux 90% of the time up until last week, OS X is still surprising me by all the little nice things they put in.

Re:Put it on last night - some findings

[Jobe_br]

You could do some fancy things on the Win98 box to use ghostscript to accept PS input and output to the native printer driver, then access the PS printer via lpr. I had to do that do use a Xerox inkjet that didn't have any MacOS drivers, from my primarily Mac network (why did I buy the Xerox? It *said* it had Mac drivers ... it didn't).

Good luck!

Re:Put it on last night - some findings

[MaxQuordlepleen]

no focus follows mouse?

glad I didn't go out and buy a mac then, that would have infuriated me...

Re:Put it on last night - some findings

[Rand Race]

Mouse focus was one of the things I missed the most when I finally ditched my old BeOS box and got my OS X G4. But, think about it for a minute; focus follows mouse wouldn't work on a Mac. Your toolbar is at the top of the screen not the top of the window. Mousing up to it would focus on the Finder before you got to the toolbar which would be the Finder's bar then.

A real multiple desktop would be sweet though.

Re:Put it on last night - some findings

[Dark Paladin]

I discovered the whole "command-click background screens" as I've read through OS X: The Missing Manual. It's an interesting idea, but for pure web browsing, I like the focus-follows-mouse (multiple windows), or, barring that, tab browsing. (I haven't installed Mozilla in OS X yet. Still debating if I'll byte the big one and go IE (blech), or install Mozilla and redo all of the Helper apps (blech, the return).

Re:Put it on last night - some findings

[PatJensen]

I'm in the same boat. I figured some cool shit out with my Xerox WorkCentre XK50CX. If you take a good look at the Windows drivers, it is really a new Lexmark printer [most of them are]. Lexmark has Mac OS X 10.1 print drivers for most of their printers, unfortunately their USB device drivers are keyed to the Xerox name - but they will usually work if you connect to a network printer using the PPDs (via LPR or whatever)

I really hate Xerox printers, my printer has not even 200 prints on it and 2 $50 cartridge swaps and regularly prints white lines on my shit, even after I swapped out cartridges. The only way I can get it to print anything decent is to set it to maximum quality. Then it takes 4 minutes to print a single picture.

I'm beginning to hate vendors that don't have multiplatform driver support. I would have been better off paying the money for a flimsier HP, at least I could find parts and cheap cartridges, AND it would work under OS X. See if I make that same mistake again. I thought about getting Adobe Acrobat for OS X and just doing Print to PDF and having that Acrobat distiller deal just auto-print PDFs when I drop them into a network directory. It'd be a little slow. Anyone doing this? Would it work?

-Pat

Re:Put it on last night - some findings

[PurpleBob]

I don't see how focus-follows-mouse would be possible when the menubar is at the top of the screen. If any window was behind the one you're in, you'd lose the focus before you got to the menubar.

Re:Put it on last night - some findings

[saintlupus]

Still debating if I'll byte the big one and go IE (blech), or install Mozilla and redo all of the Helper apps (blech, the return).

I'm posting this from OmniWeb, which is (in my humble opinion, of course) the best web browser for the platform. I've tried Opera, IE, Moz, and none of them could stack up to Omni. Give it a shot.

--saint

Re:Put it on last night - some findings

[TheAJofOZ]

Consider all those video editors that need to see their movies while surfing the web ? ( or consider us geeks that want to see our PearlHarbor divx over and over again while coding )

My housemate just minimizes the window into the dock and watches it in there. The dock can be resized to make the movie larger if required. Not the ideal option obviously but pretty cool.

I hope Apple sees that there are many Linux desktop users that switched to have MacosX that really want/need those things. I hope they just add some options for the WindowManager for us power-users. Hide it from the casual users, but let power-users do what they want ;-)

Go away and come back when you have read "The Humane Interface" by Raskin. :) The idea that a configurable interface is a good thing is completely false - you should just create the ideal interface in the first place and users generally fail to realise that their changes make them less productive (read the book, it argues this much better). Also, the idea that you need separate interfaces for beginners and power users is false because when you start using the program you are a beginner and when you first start using the power user interface you are also a beginner and have to relearn the entire interface again, wasting all the time you spent developing habits in the beginner interface.

Again, read the book, my arguments are not high quality but the book is far more detailed and convincing.

But After a month OSX still surprises me here and there and I've grown accustom to the OSX Desktop.

Precisely my point (or Raskin's actually) - you are becomming more accustomed to the interface and learning the habits that you require to be productive on that interface. Switching OS's (or interfaces) always makes you feel like the second interface is less productive in one way or the other and for a while it really is. Eventually though, you "unlearn" the habits you developed on the old interface and learn the new ones at which point the old interface feels less productive (and is for you). Telling which interface is actually more productive once learnt is really quite in depth but is covered in "The Humane Interface" quite well.

Pre-nup?

[toupsie]

So is the new apple.slashdot.org a pre-nuptial arrangement that Kathleen Fent required of CmdrTaco before marriage?

I think it is a cool idea since now, because of Apple, BSD has a 3 to 1 lead over Linux on the Desktop. Take that Tux!

Re:Pre-nup?

[MisterBlister]

I think it is a cool idea since now, because of Apple, BSD has a 3 to 1 lead [osopinion.com] over Linux on the Desktop. Take that Tux!

What? Dont you know that BSD is dying? I read all about it here on Slashdot.

Re:Pre-nup?

[toupsie]

What? Dont you know that BSD is dying? I read all about it here on Slashdot.

Yea, I read that all the time. But then again, Apple has been dying since they released the first Mac back in 1984. Every year, I hear "Apple can no longer survive with a 5% market share". They fail to understand that Apple has $4 billion cash in the bank.

Re:Pre-nup?

[asv108]

Yes but how many OSX users are there that actually know that BSD is there and/or take advantage of OSX's *NIX comapatibility?

Re:Pre-nup?

[toupsie]

Yes but how many OSX users are there that actually know that BSD is there and/or take advantage of OSX's *NIX comapatibility?

Does it matter as long as they are using BSD/UNIX? It shows UNIX or UNIX-like OSes can make it into grandma's CPU. I think its great they don't know. Its not Windows, so in the end, thats what counts.

Re:Apple.slashdot.org???

[JWW]

Yeah, but it'll be a while. They'll have to convert all the PERL stuff over to active server pages using IIS. ;-)

Re:apple.slashdot.org?

[sacherjj]

It is the beginning of a trend. Look for these fine subdomains, coming to a slashdot near you:

mssux.slashdot.org
katzrevues.slashdot.org
itr unslinux.slashdot.org
stuffthatactuallymatters.sl ashdot.org
antimpaa.slashdot.org
and
cowboyneal.slashdot.org

Good stuff! Right on, Slashdot!

[PatJensen]

First off, I really like the new apple.slashdot.org site, and the GUI is quite lickable. Talk about serious hickory! I'm going to have to wipe off my monitor! Kudos to the graphics designers at /. for this supreme Apple lovin'.

Now, because I'm at work I haven't had a chance to install the 10.1.3 update. Someone please tell me they did some Aqua or ATI 3D optimization on the Rage chipset in the new iBooks. That is -all- I want! Also, I haven't really seen much comments or reports on the update, since Apple doesn't publish a really big CHANGELOG. But Macintouch has a fairly huge reader reports section. If not, I guess I'll have to wait for the next 10.2 beta.

Anyone know how to make non-supported DVD drives play with OS X DVD player.app? I have an LG 12x burner 8x DVD that is supposed to work according to xlr8yourmac.com - it'll work fine in OS 9 but no love from 10.1.2. Cool. Have fun!

-Pat

mac ghettos

[plastik55]

It's because they're tired of Apple user's tireless honest answers to stupid flames:

CmdrTaco: Oh yeah, the new xMac is out. It can burn DVDs and run BSD software while preparing you a tasteful, healthy meal for you every day and never needs to be taken for a walk, and it actually looks halfway decent, but I won't ever use it because it ships with a one-button mouse.

Mac-using hordes: BUY A GODDAMN $10 3-BUTTON MOUSE ALREADY!

Taco: All right, I'm sectioning off a Mac ghetto and sending you there so I don't have to listen anymore.

BTW, I couldn't post to this article without going through apple.slashdot.org. That's annoying. And a shiny ugly green theme is still an ugly green theme.

Re:mac ghettos

[iso]

Mac-using hordes: BUY A GODDAMN $10 3-BUTTON MOUSE ALREADY!

I'm just as sick of the one-button mouse complaint as everybody else, but for the record, the vast majority of complaints are about the one-button trackpad that can't simply be replaced.

- j

Re:mac ghettos

[tempest303]

the 1 button trackpad is the only reason I don't own an iBook...

Re:mac ghettos

[TRACK-YOUR-POSITION]

Sensible Mac-and-Windows-and-Linux owning hordes: But application/OS support for right-clicks/option-clicks isn't as common as it is on the PC, where everyone is forced to have that second button, therefore developers spend the time to code it.

On the other hand, support for things like secondary-clicks and keyboard shortcuts seems to have improved a lot with 10.1, so maybe my objection is no longer valid...

Re:mac ghettos

[JabberWokky]

It's also possble that we have entered the realm of the post Sarcasta merger. Oooo...

--
Evan

Re:mac ghettos

[Lars T.]

Most of those who complain also claim they can "build their own computer". If they can build their own computer, why can't they build a three-button mousepad?

It's started already....

[Fubar]

Looks like Kathleen is 're-decorating'.

:)

Re:It's started already....

[austad]

Looks like Kathleen is 're-decorating'.

Dammit man, you let her get away with potpourri in the bathroom too didn't you?!?!

It's just a matter of time before slashdot smells all flowery, and has collectible plates and Precious Moments figurines on glass shelves with doilies on the front page.

Noooooooooooooooooooooo...........

Re:It's started already....

[revscat]

And fluffy toilet lid seat covers! My GOD you can't PISS with those things on the lid, because you have to hold the lid with one hand to keep it from falling down. Thank Socrates my wife thinks those are as annoying as I do.

No fluffy toilet lid seat covers on /., dammit!

- Rev.

what is this? separationistic feelings?

[sofar]

Ah geez people:

apple.slashdot.org
windows.slashdot.COM
micros oft.slashdot.NET
freebsd.slashdot.edu

what's the point in separating ourselves from the rest in what /. is all about? It's a multiculture (well, geek-culture of course) discussion and news forum. Maybe it has it's own mind, but at least every opinion is hosted.

First poll suggestion:

cease apple.slashdot.org?

O Yes, please post all mac news on the real /.
O Maybe, I dunno
O No, I don't care about the rest, Apple is my leader
O what's a poll?

Re:what is this? separationistic feelings?

[wizarddc]

I believe apple.slashdot.org and bsd.slashdot.org are just using filters that you could set in your user account. If you really wnated to, you could set your account up to only see Apple or BSD or MS stories. The cute URL is just for shuts and guggles.

No Poll?

[sacherjj]

Do apple.slashdot.org users not get a poll? That is the only reason to come to /.

apple.slashdot.org?

[Triv]

Question: What does this do to Macslash? I've always looked to them for info first (although the conversations were admittedly dead and moderation points were nonexistant) and they're apparently in a bit of a financial scrape. Personally, I'd rather an active discussion here than dead air there, but I'm still curious. Triv

Re:Why? Well, Why Not?

[freality]

It's probably a very strategic move into the space of mac info/rumors sites, ~because~ those sites have a dedicated following like /., but with a splintered offering of niche info. In other words, Can /. rule the mac weblog space?

Slashdot was probably asking themselves "Why not use our brand and slashcode to bring a superior geek news site to a community that has demonstrated their desire for this kind of content."

The problems you bring up are going to be issues /. will have to deal with or risk dissolving its brand.

P.S. I used to visit macosrumors everyday, then they posted a link to this new site "Slashdot"... 1997?

10.1.3 Upgrade Results - TiBook 667

[greygent]

Locked up during the "Optimizing OS X" portion of the install. Cursor moved, but no apps responded. I almost expected this, as I read about install lockups with tibook users. I was not immune.

Powered off, and rebooted. Ran 'sudo update_prebinding -root', which is what "Optimizing OS X" usually means. Seems to work like a champ, now. I notice a little speed increase.

% uname -a
Darwin neptune.sps.lane.edu 5.3 Darwin Kernel Version 5.3: Thu Jan 24 22:06:02 PST 2002; root:xnu/xnu-201.19.obj~1/RELEASE_PPC Power Macintosh powerpc

Re:10.1.3 Upgrade Results - TiBook 667

[megaduck]

I suffered the same fate with my G4 cube 450. The GUI just froze up (although I could still telnet in and gracefully shut it down). To tie up any loose ends I downloaded the 10.1.3 package from the Apple support site and ran the update again. Different fix, same end result.

I'm kind of disappointed that there are problems with this update. Software update has been nothing but solid in the past and it's a shame to see that reputation tarnished. Still, it's a testament to the stability of OS X that it could suffer such a crash and still be totally accessible via ssh or telnet. Much better than the old MacOS.

Re:10.1.3 Upgrade Results - TiBook 667

[greygent]

My entire lunch hour, 40 minutes of which was no disk activity.

If you didn't know, update_prebindings causes quite a bit of disk activity.

Re:apple.slashdot.org?

[erasmus_]

Would mssux.slashdot.org just map back to the normal Slashdot front page? Because, let's face it, it might as well.

Re:OSX finder - still wanting

[jpellino]

major
1. finder views not sticking - AMEN!
2. springloaded folders
3. windowshade (is a haxie, *should* be a feature)
***are these three so christlessly difficult?***
minor - could live with haxie but why?
4. detent in the icon zoom
5. where the *&^%@! is my os9 desktop in a std file dialog?

Re:Sigh

[thedbp]

Never ceases to amaze me how much people dismiss Apple out-of-hand simply because its not a free OS.

I love Linux and what it represents, but it is NOT a viable alternative for people who just want a computer to WORK out of the box when they bring it home.

It is NOT a viable alternative for graphics professionals, video professionals, and although can be suited for use as a desktop OS in a corporate "office" type environment, it lacks the easy-to-install-and-configure aspect that is holding it back from displacing Windows entirely in corporate America (who could save billions every year by switching to Linux if they were smart).

Apple, to be fair, is more pricey. But as has been noted MANY times, the total cost of ownership over time is dramatically lower. Linux and Apple should co-exist peacefully. If I want a box for internet surfing and mail checking and light office work and didn't want to spend much $, you're damn right I'd build a cheap linux box. But if I want a computer I can use for EVERYTHING, that works as advertised, with minimal effort in maintenance, where everything i do and need and use on a daily basis is provided immediately upon opening the box and plugging it in, I'll take a Mac, thank you.

Oh, and as a side note, i have never in over 2 years recieved a single bit of spam at my Mac.Com email address. Wanna know why? They don't sell out their customers.

And don't give me the upgradability thing..... I just took my B&W G3 350 purchased almost 3 years ago and once again made it a screamer with 1GB of RAM, a new G4 500 proc., an 80GB drive, and a new Radeon 7000. Plus a nice FireWire 16x10x40. It can still crush a P4 1GHz easy. yes, I know they're up to 2.2 Ghz, but Apple's got dual 1GHz ... heh.

check out:
http://www.apple.com/myths
http://www.apple .com/easier

Re:apple.slashdot.org?

[rapid prototype]

because the corporate headquarters for apple is located at the street address '1 infinite loop' ?

-rp

Re:Ooohhh... Aqua

[PhoenixK7]

its:

#include
int main(void)
{
printf("\t\b\b");
return 0;
}

I just BSOD'ed my machine with it... :)

enjoy

-jsnyder

Why not a minor versions-topic

[Aapje]

What I would really like is a topic where all these Linux 2.2.0.2.3.4.1.3 and MacOS X 10.1.3 updates are posted so I can skip them. I like to read about a substantially new version of an OS, but why should we be bothered with these minor bug-fixes. The people who use the respective OS's will learn about the update from their own sources (I learned about this update from 5 sites before Slashdot told me about it) and the others couldn't care less about minor fixes that don't affect them.

Besides, the most important reason to read slashdot is for the comments and these topics get the worst comments of all. It's mostly trolling (Mac/Linux/BSD rulez/sucks) and uninteresting trivia (did you know that this update fixes DVD on external monitors?). Get me some serious technology news that illicits comments about the problems of EPIC or an ethical story about censorship.

Re:Why not a minor versions-topic

[Elwood P Dowd]

To be fair, the story here was that apple.slashdot.org existed. So it was just fine.

Meta Comment

[donglekey]

1. Apple will never release OS X for Intel although it would be cool, they make most of their money from hardware!

2. Apple.slashdot.org should not a high priority. No equal representation.

3. Aqua/OS X theme is cool.

4. Don't complain about OS X, its Unix and its cool.

5. return this/self;

syndication?

[passion]

Are we going to see some syndication here? I mean - like the /. XML file found on the main site?

I like to browse the headlines, and not go back and revisit every stinking discussion site I watch every single day.

Re:syndication?

[pudge]

It's always worked that way for sections. Check it out.

SCSI CD-RW support

[nullard]

I'm just glad that my old SCSI Yamaha 8x4x24 actually works in OS X using the built in Disc Burner and iTunes. Burning CDs was just about the last thing justifying keeping OS 9 on my G4.

Re:SCSI CD-RW support

[pudge]

Whoa, cool, I didn't even notice that. I too have a SCSI Mac (PowerBook Bronze) and a Yamaha external. I gotta try it out!

Multiple desktops

[GeorgeH]

Check out Space for multiple desktops. Not quite true multiple desktops but I can't imagine OS X without it.

So has slashcode been

[ellem]

Carbonized or rewritten completely in Cocoa?

(I really tried, I just couldn't help myself)

Re:Oh God NOOO!!! The /. interface for this sectio

[Graff]

Do we REALLY have to put up with this ass end UGLY interface?

Alrighty then the Palm version of Slashdot should be perfect for you. Have fun!

Faster

[ruiner13]

It really seems much snappier. I updated a G4/450 and a G3/350 without problem, and all window functions and menu functions are really faster. It is most apparent on the G3. THe G4 has a gig of ram, and the g3 has 128, but without classic on the machine, it runs very well and can convert MP3's to an audio CD in iTunes at 8x speed. Not bad for old hardware.

Re:apple.slashdot.org?

[revans]

How is this different from the Apple topic?
http://slashdot.org/search.pl?topic=107

Re:DVD player also works on Pismo Powerbook G3 !

[tarkin]

I'm very pleased to say it also works great on the Powerbook G3 (Pismo/Firewire)
Just tested it on my TV and on an external monitor, all I can say is SWEEEEEET
Together with an Cordless Optical Mouse from Logitech it's the ideal makedue DVD platform ;-)

Now al we need is support for VCD and SVCD under OSX. And maybe mp3 audio support in quicktime so we can play Divx without all that conversion stuff.

Apple really dropped the proverbial ball on that one if you ask me. I thought it was THE multimedia OS ?

Oh, well I'm already happy I can play my copy "Hackers" when I'm in need of my regular fix of pure Bullshit.

Re:apple.slashdot.org?

[green pizza]

Windows isn't open source Neither is Apple.

Somewhat open Apple goodies:

Quicktime Streaming Server

Darwin, the base guts of Mac OS X

Apple/Genentech BLAST

OpenPlay (game sprockets)

Not to mention that SourceForge now has Mac OS X boxes on their compile farm...

also in german!

[skymester]

What impressed me, was that the update was instantly availible in the german language version also. I (Mac user since two weeks) expected to have to wait at least a few days.

Does apple always release all language versions at the same time?
Would be nice.

BTW: hasnt anybody sayed recently that Star Wars Episode II will premire in europe on the same day as in US. Do i see the trend here that US companies stop treating ther non US customers as second class people, or is it just apple.

Re:also in german!

[Dixie_Flatline]

I think the OS updates are independent of the language. Every once in a while, you'll see updates for increased localization support, so that's when they update the German and Chinese, etc. functionality. As far as I know, all of their OS updates are available to everyone all at once.

Re:Why? Well, Why Not?

[Don Negro]

P.S. I used to visit macosrumors everyday, then they posted a link to this new site "Slashdot"... 1997?

It was January 1998. BlackLightMedia - parent company of MOSR - used to do ad sales for /. That's how I ended up here.

Re:PERL 5.4

[pudge]

perl 5.4? You mean perl 5.004? Mac OS X ships with perl 5.6.0, not perl 5.004. It did from day one.

Karma Whoring For Apple?

[namespan]

Hmmmm. I'm wondering if, with the advent of apple.slashdot.org, I'll be able to come here, make pro-apple comments, and more easily get Karma.

Not that I don't have better things to do with my time... and most Apple fans I know really aren't drooling idiots.... but one has to wonder if segmenting the audience would lead to this kind of change in moderation.... kindof like talk radio shows don't tend to attract people whose views diverge wildly....

Just a thought...

Nothing new

[Anonymous Coward]

apple.slashdot.org has been around for over a year. It is called MacSlash and it is run by actual Mac users.

Re:Nothing new

[krow]

Actually pudge is a real Mac bigot :)

The last time I checked the computer sitting next to my Linux box is a G4 with OSX. Of course, I am a UNIX bigot, not a Linux bigot.

Also...

[Evro]

If you look to your left, you'll see that there's also ask.slashdot.org, features.slashdot.org, books.slashdot.org, interviews.slashdot.org, etc.

Re:Oh God NOOO!!! The /. interface for this sectio

[daeley]

this would be one good reason to disable images

This might also be a good reason to stand up, step slowly away from the computer, and walk outside for a deep breath. :)

Our own sandbox?

[sg3000]

First, I have to say, I've had no problems with 10.1.3, and it works fine on my PowerBook G4.

About the apple.slashdot.org site: does this mean that Apple stories won't be cross-posted to the regular slashdot site? If they are still cross posted, then that's cool.

If not, I see a problem: partitioning Apple-related stories away in a separate site from general science, technology, YRO, and other non-Linux stories seems counterproductive and silly. I mean, there's a reason why MacSlash doesn't get a tenth of the traffic as Slashdot. That is, as a Mac user (and Linux and Windows user), I don't care to visit another site that only covers Mac stuff; that's what Macintouch and MacCentral are for.

So if this site is going to be like the latter, you should have done a poll to see which topic had to get off the swingset and play by itself.

The Aqua-fied slash look is pretty cool, though.

Re:Nice

[SilentChris]

Ten bucks says Apple sends them a "cease-and-desist" letter in the next 24 hours.

Re:Quicktime

[tarkin]

For the record :

We do not have to convert Divx to cinepak or something !
Just install the Divx quicktime component, and then we have 2 choices :

use Avi2Mov that simply converts all the stuff for you and creates a working .mov

Extract the mp3 track from the avi , and merge it with Quicktime (Pro). It saves the same avi again but with playable audio.

Here's the link with all the info for those who need more info

I really don't see how a rant about proprietary software is in order, but hey - this is slashdot ;-)

It's Cool...

[WiseWeasel]

It provides an alternative to other Mac sites with a discussion-based theme. Macslash and the other / sites are cool, but it's a pain to have accounts at all those sites, whereas here, we can just use our /. accounts and post with the convenience of the /. cookie in your Browser's cookies. It makes it convenient for all these Mac users to join the discussion and comment on different stories. Due to this, I'm sure we will get rich discussions here, not available on other Mac sites, due to the volume of /. users. If the main stories keep getting posted to the main /. page, and if they get some additional Mac heads to post interesting Mac-related articles to this section exclusively, this could be a good alternative to other Mac news sites. I'm all for it, as long as they don't stop posting important Apple stories to the main page.

My favorite new feature...

[MidKnight]

... is in the Detect Displays button on the Displays System Preferences pane. Previously, to get my laptop to recognize an external display, you'd have to put it to sleep & wake it back up. This wasn't a big deal, since OS X can go to sleep & wake back up in about 4 seconds total. But, it's nice to have a button to detect other monitor(s) on the fly.

And on a random external-monitor point, it blows people away when you're doing an Powerpoint presentation, then you pull up a pretty translucent terminal for a Unix-y CLI demo, then you start up an X-served app, all from a little Mac laptop. It amazes me that so many *nix folk still don't appreciate the phenomenal job Apple has done w/ OS X.

--Mid

things you should know BEFORE installing.

[pinkpineapple]

You will need 300MB of free space on your macosx volume to download and because I partitioned my disk and there is no way in the updater to specify a different volume, well I am fscked. The installer will start filling up what ever free space you have before giving you the error message, so you lose all that time before finding out. Bug!

I've got two (2) ibooks here. And YES, if you have two or more machines, you will need to do the download n times because the file can't be opened after download.

apple.slashdot.org: I think it sucks. It just put people like me who use both Linux and OS X on the tip toe. Please do something about that and remove this alienated walls around mac stuff.

PPA, the girl next door.

Re:things you should know BEFORE installing.

[SaturnTim]

Actually, no, you don't have to download it twice. You have your choice of either 1) downloading the installer from apple using the link off of versiontracker.com, or 2) after the software uplate control panel downloads it, but before you reboot, use the control panel's "Save As" feature to save the installer.

Re:things you should know BEFORE installing.

[b1t r0t]

And YES, if you have two or more machines, you will need to do the download n times because the file can't be opened after download.

Download the installer through Apple's web page instead of using Software Update. You can even get a "combo" updater that updates from as far back as 10.1.

Karma Whoring For Apple and I'm all out o' mod pts

[mactari]

Sorry man, I don't have any mod points right now. How about a binhexed .mp3 of Take California instead? :^)

Drivers?

[karlm]

I confess I've looked at the Aple support sight, but haven't dug too deeply. Can the "Classic" emulation layer now wrap drivers and expose them as Darwin drivers?

When I was home for Christmas, I noticed that Mom had an unopened OSX box on her shelf. She didn't know she had it. She's the kind of person that still asks me about "memory" when she means to talk about HD space and it seems that OSX would protect her from herself much better than OS 9.1 does. The only problem is that HP doesn't have printer drivers for her printer under OS X. She would get extremely confused if some apps could use the printer but others gave her error messages.

I end up solving printer issues for her every few months. Last time, I had to talk her though downloading and reinstallilng the printer drivers over the phone. (Thank God she has a second line for the modem.) Over Christmas, it was a cable that had giggled itself loose, but almost everything else seems to have been either stability or protection issues with OS 9.

BTW, those Apple guys are masters of (relatively) seamless transitions off of legacy Hardware/Software/APIs. I wish things were so good for things I can afford on my student budget. Maybe CLR/Mono will do better than Java for this problem, although I think we're going to start seeing legacy VMs being a problem. Anyone working on coding up a good java JIT to run under Mono or a bytecode cross compiler from JVM to CLR?

What's really changed (Bullet points, hah!)

[ronabop]

If you're kind of person who really wants to know how much is in an "update" (Measly bullet points doesn't do it justice):
"lsbom /Library/Receipts/MacOSXUpdate10.1.3.pkg/Contents/ Resources/MacOSXUpdate10.1.3.bom"
Will produce a file listing... piped to WC, there's 1832 files/folders involved in this "litte" fix.

MacSlash

[kriebz]

What happened to MacSlash.org
If thsi si the same thing, why the "new" site?
If it isn't, why don't you leave this to them?

Re:MacSlash

[msouth]

Um, yeah, you're right. 1,000 apple-related sites is enough, but 1001 is too many!

But seriously, this is being put up as a favor to MacSlash--the idea is to have a place here for troll-gathering and keep MacSlash's sig/noise higher...

Install Froze, No SMTP+SSL

[dew]

I just installed 10.1.3: the install froze on my titanium g4 about 1/3 of the way through the "optimization" phase. I rebooted after the system became unresponsive and it looks like all the updates are in place, although 10.1.3 isn't listed as having been installed on my Software Update Log.

Getting IMAP+SSL support in Mail is huge for me since that's the only way into my mail server (short of pine over SSH!). Unfortunately, Mail doesn't seem to support SMTP+SSL, so I have to rely on local relays which change depending on my connection. What a simple feature to add and what a joy that would bring to me!

It's a good update, but some loose ends remain.

It's not like they set up seperate servers...

[moogla]

[root@loki /root]# nslookup www.slashdot.org
-snip-
Name: slashdot.org
Address: 64.28.67.150
Aliases: www.slashdot.org

[root@loki /root]# nslookup apple.slashdot.org
-snip-
Name: slashdot.org
Address: 64.28.67.150
Aliases: apple.slashdot.org

[root@loki /root]# nslookup bsd.slashdot.org
-snip-
Name: slashdot.org
Address: 64.28.67.150
Aliases: bsd.slashdot.org

They're just aliases, a neat way to filter out topics without doing any extra work.

Re:apple.slashdot.org?

[b1t r0t]

After all this time, I still only have 4 karma on MacSlash. Only about 1/4 of the time do my attempts at k-whoring work. The bad thing about apple.slashdot.org is that I already maxed my karma here long ago. Oh, and I don't get that l33t 4-digit UID #1919.

Law Suit

[BobLenon]

OK, so when is slashdot gonna get sued for using a transparent logo ala OSX, not to mention you used the word apple. OMG!

;-)

/. needs skins!

[Numeric]

I love the look and feel of this web site, it makes me feel all squishy inside! Maybe Slashdot should have skins for each user! What does everyone else think?

Theoretically, there might be a way around this...

[Ukab the Great]

It might be possible to work out a scheme using mouse acceleration to determine whether the user is shooting for the menubar at the top or a window. If there were certain characteristics of the mouse pointer accelerating towards the menubar that are different from those of a mouse pointer accelerating towards a window, it might be possible to use the differences in acceleration to make a distinction between the two situations and be able to apply the following focus to only when the pointer is meant to hit the window.

Of couse, this would probably require serious quantities of HCI experiments and a damn fine usability lab. Some AI work might also be necessary. But it is theoretically possible.

Re:Oh God NOOO!!! The /. interface for this sectio

[90XDoubleSide]

I stick with PCs because I -CANNOT STAND BLUE FRIGGIN CURVY EDGES INTERFACES-

This site is green and OS X is primarily white. I can think of one operating system that uses blue curvy edges pervasively, however...

"Oooh... shiny!" - Kiki, "Sluggy Freelance"

[Grail]

I am not Kiki. I am, however, a Mac OS X fan.

Here are some of the things I like about Mac OS X:

• I can run my Mac OS 9 applications (albeit a tad slower than native Mac OS 9)
• I can run GNU tools on the command line
• I can use SSH to remotely control my Macintosh
• I can run X Windows Applications locally or remotely
• I can do Java development using command line tools like "vim", "javac"

That's just the things that matter most to me right now, out of the box.

Oh... one final point I almost forgot - the Aqua interface looks pretty cool. For a while. Failing all else, you can pick up "themes" through MetamorphX from CharonSoft.

Mac OS X is very functional. It's as functional for my purposes than Linux on my PC running WindowMaker or Enlightenment.

As for your last statement - can you provide evidence to support this claim? I don't think Sony approaches the topic the same way you do. I don't think the Ubiquitous Computing folks approach this topic the same way you do either.

Re:OSX finder - still wanting

[Have Blue]

On your OS 9 volume, named Desktop Folder.

Re:PERL 5.4

[pudge]

nyway I seen what the person is talking about in learning perl book from oreily 2nd addition the perl examples work in linux but do not seem to work from OS X stand point

Which examples?

Re:The intel release

[dbrutus]

I'd rather have a Power 4 release than an Intel release. The porting costs would be minimal and IBM would have a kick ass unix that runs a huge numberof applications including Microsoft Office to sell to engineers.

Apple would get a new high end to the Mac OS X line that wouldn't flinch at a $900 OS license fee because their bottem end would start at 15K per machine.

Re:Ooohhh... Aqua

[Snootch]

Yes, I'm sorry, I mean backspace, yes I have tried it, I killed my machine again doing it right after I posted that comment, just to prove to myself that I wasn't talking bollocks.

Additions to Still wanting

[Cadre]

• Software Basestation
• Sloppy Cursor Focus!!!

simple explanation

[SethJohnson]

The other button you are looking for is just up and to the left of the trackpad. It is labelled ' ctrl' and is used in conjunction with the main button associated with the trackpad.

Re:simple explanation

[reed007]

I'm sure you've heard it before, but I'll say it again:

Try dealing with professors, other older folk, with a two-button mouse. Every single time you tell them to click they ask "left button or right button"! Sometimes you just want to scream "LEFT BUTTON!! ALWAYS THE STUPID LEFT BUTTON!! FORGET THE RIGHT ONE IS EVEN THERE!!!" and then 5 minutes later, just when you think they understand, they ask the same question...

So thank goodness Apple ships with default one button mice. And having a special BTO option for a two-button trackpad would be difficult for Apple to pull off...

MY SUGGESTION: A seemingly one-button trackpad, appears to have 1 button and by default functions like one button. But, for the "advanced users", you can turn it into a two-button mouse through a software config. ie, clicking on the left side left clicks, on the right side right clicks. Try it on your trackpad today -- it's not hard, especially if Apple weighted where the "presses" are so it tended to do left clicks unless you absolutely were on the right side. If pulled off correctly, it could be a very nice solution...

Re:Sigh

[Myxorg]

, it lacks the easy-to-install-and-configure aspect that is holding it back from displacing Windows entirely in corporate America

Just thought I'd preempt a religous war about the ease of installation of modern linux distros. It doesn't matter how easy linux gets to be to install, windows comes pre-installed on most computers. Linux doesn't. Pre-installed beats install it yourself everytime, no matter what.

that is all

The Update...

[nycdewd]

10.1.3 works flawlessly for my four Macs. All OS X updates have worked quite well for me, since 10.1... You say you used OS X before 10.1? You have my sympathy.

wanna tip? well, you're gonna get one though you may not particularly like it. come to think, you are NOT gonna like it. here's what i did to insure a glitch-free OS X experience: Reinitialize your HD using the "Zero all Data" option in Drive Setup, yes, Drive Setup... use the latest version of it that you have on a Mac OS installer CD. Now, partition the HD into two partitions. You will have to decide what sizes you want your partitions to be. I'd suggest making the OS X partition the largest of the two. Install OS X on the first (largest) partition, install Mac OS 9.2.2 on the other partition. Boot up to your OS X partition and download SwapCop. Use it to make your swapfile partition reside on the second partition (the partition that has OS 9.2.2 on it).

Bingo, you're set. Of course, this procedure assumes that 1) your Mac is brand-new, just out of the box it came in, or 2) you have an easy way to backup your existing data and don't mind doing it (but of course you backup your data frequently, right? right!?!?), or 3) you have several HD's in your tower, one of which you just installed for OS X, and 4) you want to do things right.

I have done this procedure to each and every Mac I provide support for, done it to those Macs first thing RIGHT out of the box. It saves headaches down the road. Been doing it for years. You should too. Stop whining. Thanks.

btw, see my email addy? don't bother flaming me. use that energy elsewhere. slam M$ or something, there's a good lad.

Re:The Update...

[Spencerian]

I've no problems with any of the updates used since the last Final Candidate to the present, but I have an idea why some users may have problems.

STOP treating Mac OS X like Mac OS 9.

In Mac OS 9 you have broad discretion in moving things around--the Applications folder, default locations of items, even renaming the System Folder (Apple doesn't recommend this, and as a tech, I don't either).

Mac OS X is UNIX. Ask any experienced Linux user here what happens when you start treating your OS like a designers showhouse. The updates expect that the Apple-supplied applications and system files are precisely where the installer expects them. This is particularly hard on old hands of OS 9 who love to change things, but know little of UNIX.

Unless you really like repairing things that Apple placed somewhere for a reason:

--DON'T move any Apple-supplied apps from their locations. Your installer updates may balk.
--DON'T use a lot of hacks, particularly ones that screw with the forbidden System folder of OS X (unlike the OS 9 System Folder, this is Apple's area--unless you really know what you are doing, stay out. The things you usually find in an OS 9 Sys Folder are found in your Home folder, in the Library folder.)
--DON'T expect super performance on small hard drives with slower systems or low RAM. No matter what G3 or G4 you have, the more drive space and RAM you have, the better. OS X has a swap file, so some users may find much better performance by installing OS X and OS 9 on separate partitions.
--DON'T give up on OS X. Good lord! It's not even ONE YEAR OLD. Linux had a much rougher childhood, but it has become of formidable OS as it grew up. OS X ia already doing great.

Think of what this kid will do as a toddler.

Re:The Update...

[sg3000]

>DON'T use a lot of hacks, particularly ones that screw
>with the forbidden System folder of OS X (unlike the OS 9
>System Folder, this is Apple's area--unless you really
>know what you are doing, stay out. The things you usually
>find in an OS 9 Sys Folder are found in your Home folder,
>in the Library folder.)

Here, here! I've been hearing a lot of complaints from people (particularly on Macintouch) that say that Mac OS X is giving them problems. After listing all the things that don't work for them, they let loose that they're using Tinkertool, messed around with moving their swap file, they ran the public beta initially and never did a low-level format of their hard drive, or they're running it on a old 9600 with a G4 upgrade and the required kernel hacks to get it working.

I have had no significant problems with updates on Mac OS X. I ran the Public Beta a while ago, but I took the time to do a low-level format before moving to the final version. You couldn't pay me to go back to Mac OS 9 (in fact, on my new PowerBook, I haven't allowed Classic to start even once).

In short, if you play with fire, don't be surprised if you get burned.

Re:Winblowz. How original.

[TheGreek]

I surf the web with OSX and OmniWeb.

Heh. You probably use OmniWeb only because it's Cocoa and renders text using CoreGraphics. You probably think that Cocoa applications are somehow more "native" on Mac OS X than Carbon ones*. Hell, don't let me just throw out suppositions. Tell me why.

do we really need people injecting a MS biase on every stinking story?

Comments that are favorable of Microsoft products do not necessarily indicate any sort of "Microsoft Bias" in any way, shape, or form.

I use Windows 2000, Windows XP, Mac OS X, and FreeBSD. I enjoy reading articles about all of the above operating systems--almost as much as I enjoy reading the comments of single-minded, short-sighted OS zealots about how their OS is the ONE TRUE OS.

C'mon, kids. Time to leave Middle School.

--
*Hint: You're wrong.

Rob should be scored Redundant

[Baloo Ursidae]

Anybody else the redundancy in Mac OS X 10.1.3? "Mac OS Ten Ten point one point three."

It's kinda up there with "ATM Machine"

Re:Rob should be scored Redundant

[sconest]

It's kinda up there with "ATM Machine"

Or with Windows 2000, based on NT technology :)

More than you guess.

[Big Sean O]

Yes but how many OSX users are there that actually know that BSD is there and/or take advantage of OSX's *NIX comapatibility?

The early adopters (those who used the beta or bought Mac OS X right when it came out) all started using it because it had BSD behind it. It certainly wasn't because of the apps. When I first got Mac OS X, IE Explorer was about the only one that was 'carbon-based', and half of the programs I kept started up with OS 9.

As time goes by, I expect more 'normal people' (ie, those who wouldn't know a daemon from a zombie) to be using OS X.

Apple was very bright to support both 9 and X this past year. My mother and wife are still using OS 9 and are very happy. By the time they're ready to upgrade, OS X will be at 10.2 or even 10.3 and there will be all sorts of native apps and performance will be good and bugs will be squashed.

They won't have to use the Terminal app, but they will probably learn how to do a few things. Learning how to use the command line isn't impossible, and open source software is a powerful motivator (for instance, if the choice is waiting for and buying Photoshop or learning how to download/install XDarwin and the Gimp, guess what I'm going to do?)

Re:Ooohhh... Aqua

[spectecjr]

Suffice to say, try printf()ing a few tabs and backslashes in quick succession under 200 or XP ad then tell me it's stable. After you've rebooted and reconnected to the internet that is...

This is fixed in Windows XP SP1 (according to my friends at the Borg). It basically kills the windows subsystem process; as a result, as there's no running subsystem on top of the kernel, the kernel shuts the machine down (it's useless keeping the machine around if the kernel's running happily, but no processes are running on top of it).

Si

Just another section

[doja]

This is not a forking of slashdot, it's merely a section just like apache.slashdot.org, ask.slashdot.org, or interviews.slashdot.org. I believe this is a new configuration for URLs of sections. So, all this is is a new section -- which is probably warranted, especially now that such a large segment of the current UNIX users are using OS X.

Re:Oh God NOOO!!! The /. interface for this sectio

[Com2Kid]

::bangs head on wall::

I am opposed to its very EXISTENCE at ALL within the OS.

The fact that there would BLOATED CODE on my HD SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO SUPPORT a pretty boy OS is what I am opposed to.

The fact that time spent CODING IN SUPPORT FOR 32BIT COLOR ICONS rather then fixing bugs or making additional optimizations to Windows XP, -THAT- is what I am opposed to.

The lack luser way that the OS is shoved together (does a default install really need to include EXEs to check for things like the Pentium Bug? Seriously now. . . . ), a 2GB default install is overkill, by about, oh, say, 1.5GB.

(if you do a 2gb install of any decent OS you will get a complete computer SYSTEM, you do a 2GB install of WindowsXP and you get to fork out another few hundred bucks for a Microsoft Approved Compiler, err, I mean development environment, and then have yet ANOTHER few hundred megs of your hard drive given away to it. Then don't forget the _5_ cds that their word processing 'suite' now comes in. Oh wow.)

It is a principles thing buddy. The interface is just the physical manifestation of that which I am opposed to.

Re:DVD player also works on Pismo Powerbook G3 !

[wampus]

Let me just tell you, cordless optical mice are the greatest, although it took some time for my ears to stop ringing after I got mine...

Quoth my wife, "YOU SPENT HOW MUCH ON A MOUSE?"

aqua = lawsuite

[!Xabbu]

I give ya a week before the legal lackies at apple send you a cease & decist on the slashdot aqua theme.. ;)

Re:Oh God NOOO!!! The /. interface for this sectio

[NonSequor]

Wow! You are completely, overwhelmingly, thoroughly fucked up.

y'know, karma is a real small circle with me

[thedbp]

every time i get my mod points up i have to go and say something that gets modded down like a red-headed stepchild.

like, today, i got a 4 for a post i made on this very thread and felt the warm satisfaction inside that comes from being a productive contributor to the Chronicle of our Times, Slashdot.

And later on, I'll make a post that will get me modded down, something like:

biZoTchEZ b up in MaH SHEEE-it 'bOuT sUm LiNuX juNK, man DeM fOOlZ dOnT kNoW Shiz-NiT n MaX bEEt yo' WinDoZe bOx FooLz!

... damn, i did it again, didn't I?

Where are the rest of the printers?

[mrFur]

It's nice to see things being cleaned up but...

I manage a number of servers with various flavours of Ultrix to Compaq Tru64Unix (ehhh I miss DEC). Every one of them can print to just about anything. How about some 'generic' printers?

Yes, I'm bitter and cheap. My Epson 600 works perfectly, why fork out for a new printer!

Re:In case the karma whore gets modded down....

[Wakko Warner]

wor.d