For the past 12 years or so I work for a company providing IT support for Macs. For 11 and a half years the Mac world of our customer base this: Mac users bought more Macs and in some unfortunate cases switched to PC's (mostly because of corporate decisions high up in the company's hierarchy).
Lately something strange is happening.
Firstly for the first time in these 12 years I have to help customers switch over from PC's to Macs.
Secondly I've had PC customers buy Macs for their looks and running Windows XP natively as if they were PC's.
The first is happening mostly with small companies and home users, the latter also in bigger companies.
So, Apple in the latter case does seem to gain on the desktop but not necessarily taking on Microsoft.
"Why perms get mangled is beyond me, I don't seem to have that problem on my Linux systems..."
Not entirely true. The difference is that when some braindead installer chmods some of your files/folders incorrectly you're not gonna know about it. The Mac knows (by using Receipts of installed programs) how the permissions should be set. They get messed up? Fix them with one click...
I've had software installers that made root-running apps world writable, so I'm quite happy this "Repair permissions" button is there.
Contrary to what people believe however this button ONLY fixes system files and apple-installed applications. You mess up your home dir's mod bits? fix them yourself.
When I read " I spend most of my time writing documents and surfing the web" I concluded that this article is actually flamebait, what RDM issues would you run into exactly doing that?
What I don't like about the OS X Finder are interface annoyances, some of which were already corrected a LONG TIME ago in Mac OS 9. For instance:
- Rename a File in a list view. Click on the next file to rename, whoa everything resorts and the selected file is not the one I clicked on. - When the Finder tries to create a preview of a document that's incoming (from another computer for instance) it draws its icon black or halfway. The file is now "open" and can't be edited by another application until the Finder is forefully restarted. - Moving large numbers of files is quite troublesome. - (This one really bugged me) Copy a couple of files from a CD or so. Edit the copied file. Then go back to the Finder and (accidentally) press Undo. The copy is undo and your edited file is gone gone gone. - I always use List view, but when I drag comething over a folder to open it up, the Finder switches to Icon view instead. Why? - The Finder can't print a list of the contents of a Folder. - When I rename my homedirectory no questions are asked (next reboot the machine will of course create a new empty homedir with the old name). This should be so easy to fix... - Same goes for renaming the "Library" folder in a home folder. Please warn the user, Apple... - And so on (I've kept a list)
Well. My iPod has a song on it, called "Herfst en Nieuwegein". Nieuwegein is a small city near Urecht. It already happened to me twice that that particular song played exactly during my passing of the small city in question.
First you think "somebody's playing with me, that's sooo unlikely to happen!".
But when you do the calculations it's not so unlikely to happen as you think. 4GB iPod, aout 500 songs (with my encoding of choice). Say 5 minutes per song. Passing Nieuwegein takes me about 7 to 10 minutes, and when the song will play during that time it will be OK. So on average that's about 3 "pickings" (is that the right word) out of 500 songs. A chance on average of about 3 in 500, or a chance of 0,6%.
As we all know chances like that pop up 9 times of of 10.;-)
The default font the new design uses is a) extremely small on my system, looks like 9-pints or so and b) the default font is Sans Serif for the normal version and Serif for the low bandwidth version of slashdot. I have no idea why they should be different, nor do I have any idea why I'm not allowed to choose my own preferred fonts anymore. I really hate that, and no, FireFox is not my default browser.
Why is Simple Design suddenly forcing me to use Serif fonts? I've set my browser to use Sans Seif fonts all the time. I don't want to be forced to Serif fonts, they're hard to read on my little laptop.
Can anyone please tell me how to switch back to Serif fonts in Simple Design?
Other faults might not be easily cured even when you do have a root account, a "sudo chmod 000/bin" by accident wrecked an old unix system I once worked on, I never made _that_ mistake again...
On the Mac, with physical access of course, most things like these are easily fixed by putting the Mac in Target Disk Mode (start up pressing the T) and attaching it as a disk to any other Mac with full access to all files on the disk regardless of their privileges. Physical access is required tough.
Re:MUCH MUCH Much better solution
on
Sudo vs. Root
·
· Score: 1
One problem is that most people I know use the SAME password for their systems as their POP e-mail and in fact most other things. So, the password protecting their systems (never going over a line unencrypted by means of ssh) might go over a line or even through the air because they also use the same password for other things, like telnetting, ftp-ing, checking mail using insecure connections, remote control applications, on-line registrations (!) and whatsnot.
I even have seen people using the same login/password for PayPal for the services they pay to....
YES, The Finder shows you when you rename an application (package) to, say, ".jpg". The Finder then shows you it's actually an application ".jpg.app". This is no solution, and why?
1) The average user will double click the.jpg.app anyway 2) There are nice UNICODE characters that have periods in them. There is for instance a unicode character that displays "1.", so it's very easy to fabricate an application that has the name "Steve's naughy hobby 1.jpg" that is actually an application with its ".app" extension missing. Give it a.jpg icon and people will double click it when found in the mail or sent over iChat... I've created a proof-of-concept for this if anyone is interested.
We need a better way to tell what are applicatiojns and what are not.
Even a warning every FIIRST time one starts any (non-Apple) application would be nice.
I've sent this to Apple's suggestion box but would actually like to send it as a security bug but can't find out where to send it.
The good/bad (cross out as appropriate depending on your point of view) thing about this new name is that PowerBook suddenly sounds immensely old fashioned...
Slashdot Mirror
For the past 12 years or so I work for a company providing IT support for Macs. For 11 and a half years the Mac world of our customer base this: Mac users bought more Macs and in some unfortunate cases switched to PC's (mostly because of corporate decisions high up in the company's hierarchy).
Lately something strange is happening.
Firstly for the first time in these 12 years I have to help customers switch over from PC's to Macs.
Secondly I've had PC customers buy Macs for their looks and running Windows XP natively as if they were PC's.
The first is happening mostly with small companies and home users, the latter also in bigger companies.
So, Apple in the latter case does seem to gain on the desktop but not necessarily taking on Microsoft.
Very strange.
"If Windows sucks soooo much, how come more people are familiar with it than Mac OS X?"
But then, if there are soooo many OS X fanboys, they must be on to something!
Sorry, couldn't resist.
"Why perms get mangled is beyond me, I don't seem to have that problem on my Linux systems..."
Not entirely true. The difference is that when some braindead installer chmods some of your files/folders incorrectly you're not gonna know about it. The Mac knows (by using Receipts of installed programs) how the permissions should be set. They get messed up? Fix them with one click...
I've had software installers that made root-running apps world writable, so I'm quite happy this "Repair permissions" button is there.
Contrary to what people believe however this button ONLY fixes system files and apple-installed applications. You mess up your home dir's mod bits? fix them yourself.
When I read " I spend most of my time writing documents and surfing the web" I concluded that this article is actually flamebait, what RDM issues would you run into exactly doing that?
Hell, never noticed that! Argh, thanks :-(
What I don't like about the OS X Finder are interface annoyances, some of which were already corrected a LONG TIME ago in Mac OS 9. For instance:
- Rename a File in a list view. Click on the next file to rename, whoa everything resorts and the selected file is not the one I clicked on.
- When the Finder tries to create a preview of a document that's incoming (from another computer for instance) it draws its icon black or halfway. The file is now "open" and can't be edited by another application until the Finder is forefully restarted.
- Moving large numbers of files is quite troublesome.
- (This one really bugged me) Copy a couple of files from a CD or so. Edit the copied file. Then go back to the Finder and (accidentally) press Undo. The copy is undo and your edited file is gone gone gone.
- I always use List view, but when I drag comething over a folder to open it up, the Finder switches to Icon view instead. Why?
- The Finder can't print a list of the contents of a Folder.
- When I rename my homedirectory no questions are asked (next reboot the machine will of course create a new empty homedir with the old name). This should be so easy to fix...
- Same goes for renaming the "Library" folder in a home folder. Please warn the user, Apple...
- And so on (I've kept a list)
> Not all our energy is nuclear: Tidal power plants don't use nuclear power.
Not strictly true though, tidal power (and most of everything else here on earth) is indirect sun-power, and the sun is a nuclear powered device.
Sorry, couldn't resist.
Well. My iPod has a song on it, called "Herfst en Nieuwegein". Nieuwegein is a small city near Urecht. It already happened to me twice that that particular song played exactly during my passing of the small city in question.
;-)
First you think "somebody's playing with me, that's sooo unlikely to happen!".
But when you do the calculations it's not so unlikely to happen as you think. 4GB iPod, aout 500 songs (with my encoding of choice). Say 5 minutes per song. Passing Nieuwegein takes me about 7 to 10 minutes, and when the song will play during that time it will be OK. So on average that's about 3 "pickings" (is that the right word) out of 500 songs.
A chance on average of about 3 in 500, or a chance of 0,6%.
As we all know chances like that pop up 9 times of of 10.
Air Force base? Shouldn't that be AirPort Base Station?
The default font the new design uses is a) extremely small on my system, looks like 9-pints or so and b) the default font is Sans Serif for the normal version and Serif for the low bandwidth version of slashdot. I have no idea why they should be different, nor do I have any idea why I'm not allowed to choose my own preferred fonts anymore. I really hate that, and no, FireFox is not my default browser.
> Can anyone please tell me how to switch back to Serif fonts in Simple Design?
Switch back to SANS SERIF FONTS was obviouslty what I meant... Argh! So that's where the Preview button is for...
Why is Simple Design suddenly forcing me to use Serif fonts? I've set my browser to use Sans Seif fonts all the time. I don't want to be forced to Serif fonts, they're hard to read on my little laptop.
Can anyone please tell me how to switch back to Serif fonts in Simple Design?
Well, my guess is that you're all thinging in the wrong dirtection.
... iTunes.
My guess is that Apple wants to bring out iTunes for other platforms, such as the PSP. Apple is entering the gaming industry with
My guesses: MacTower Pro or Mac Pro
Which gives an entirely new meaning to the phrase "being monitored"...
Oh my oh my...
;-)
And nobody knows Apple has been using these screens for the past couple of years already!
Suddenly an explanation for all that strange network traffic....
How the _fill in as appropriate_ did you find THAT??? :-)
This is just one example.
/bin" by accident wrecked an old unix system I once worked on, I never made _that_ mistake again...
Other faults might not be easily cured even when you do have a root account, a "sudo chmod 000
On the Mac, with physical access of course, most things like these are easily fixed by putting the Mac in Target Disk Mode (start up pressing the T) and attaching it as a disk to any other Mac with full access to all files on the disk regardless of their privileges. Physical access is required tough.
One problem is that most people I know use the SAME password for their systems as their POP e-mail and in fact most other things. So, the password protecting their systems (never going over a line unencrypted by means of ssh) might go over a line or even through the air because they also use the same password for other things, like telnetting, ftp-ing, checking mail using insecure connections, remote control applications, on-line registrations (!) and whatsnot.
I even have seen people using the same login/password for PayPal for the services they pay to....
Please use multiple passwords people...
It's worse than that.
.jpg.app anyway .jpg icon and people will double click it when found in the mail or sent over iChat... I've created a proof-of-concept for this if anyone is interested.
THE BUG IS STILL THERE IN 10.4.5.
YES, The Finder shows you when you rename an application (package) to, say, ".jpg". The Finder then shows you it's actually an application ".jpg.app". This is no solution, and why?
1) The average user will double click the
2) There are nice UNICODE characters that have periods in them. There is for instance a unicode character that displays "1.", so it's very easy to fabricate an application that has the name "Steve's naughy hobby 1.jpg" that is actually an application with its ".app" extension missing. Give it a
We need a better way to tell what are applicatiojns and what are not.
Even a warning every FIIRST time one starts any (non-Apple) application would be nice.
I've sent this to Apple's suggestion box but would actually like to send it as a security bug but can't find out where to send it.
Maybe it's just my paranoia...
But it doesn't support any AAC, DRMmed or not.
[All my self-encoded music is in AAC 224kbps (chosen after many listening tests).]
The good/bad (cross out as appropriate depending on your point of view) thing about this new name is that PowerBook suddenly sounds immensely old fashioned...
Why is there no PayPall donate button on her site?
Hmm, my first thought was
"Slashdot's editors thinks it's bad, Apple must have a winner here!"...
But I'm afraid this will be modded "redundant", time now to read the rest of the comments...
> The rest is history.
And probably a lot of future as well...