SmartReporter

On my MBP, I am using SMARTReporter. It is a utility that periodically reads the S.M.A.R.T. status of your hard drive.

Notice: it only works for internal hard disks.

My last post using Leopard!

10.5.8 is out

Mac OS X 10.5.8 is out.

Please let me know if you have any problems with it.

10.5.7 update is here!

I am downloading the combo update – I always prefer the combo version as I find it a more reliable way to update Mac OS X.

I installed Safari 4 beta.

Although I do not like using beta software, I already installed Safari 4 beta on both my machines.

I also had to execute the following from Terminal.app (to get back the previous Safari tab behavior):

• defaults write com.apple.Safari DebugSafari4TabBarIsOnTop -bool NO

as well as the following (to get the loading progress indication in the weblink bar):

• defaults write com.apple.Safari DebugSafari4IncludeToolbarRedesign -bool NO
• defaults write com.apple.Safari DebugSafari4LoadProgressStyle -bool NO

Does the above image remind you of Opera Speed Dial?

What is your opinion about Safari 4 beta?

What is your opinion about using beta software?

Troubleshooting OS X start-ups

The latest Macworld has a very nice article about "Troubleshooting OS X start-ups".
Read it if you have problems.

Mac OS X Security Configuration Guides

You can find the Mac OS X Security Configuration Guides here.

For Leopard, Tiger and Panther!

Time-Machine related info

"A little-known fact about Time Machine is that it depends on the MAC address of a computer to tell one system from another. This means that if you have your Mac repaired with a new logic board, or replace your system with a new one, you can't resume backups where you left off. If you know of the problem, though, it's not very hard to fix. You need to re-pair the backup to the new logic board's MAC address. Further complicating matters is the ACL which prevents you from changing the system ID information."

Read the rest of the story here.

Safari 3.2.1 released

Hopefully, it won't crash as often as its previous version!
It is available in both Tiger and Leopard editions.

Mac OS X 10.5.6 Update is on its way!

According to those two posts (link and link), Mac OS X 10.5.6 is on its way.

Benefits from reading the "Programming Dashboard Widgets" book

• Learn how to create Dashboard Widgets
  
• Demystify Dashboard Widgets
  
• Debug Dashboard Widgets
  
• Learn useful tools
  

You will also learn:

• the basics of MySQL
  
• the basics of Shell programming
  
• some UNIX topics
  

Every chapter has a rich Bibliography based on the presented topic.

My opinion is that by reading the eBook you will become a better Mac OS X user and programmer.

The eBook describes how you can create Apple Dashboard Widgets using many programming languages including JavaScript, Perl, Objective-C, and PHP. You can buy it here.

My first Cocoa Application!

Following my previous post, this is the output of my first Cocoa application!

I have to tell you that after a long time I am enjoying GUI programming. In the past, I tried to learn Windows programming but I did not really find it delightful. Now, I am having a great time!

Core Animation for OS X

Book Publisher: Pragmatic Bookself | End of October 2008 | more information

IPython

I am reading the book "Python for UNIX and Linux Administration" and I thought that I should also install IPython that is mentioned inside the book.

Installing IPython on Mac OS X is actually quite easy with the following command:

• sudo easy_install ipython
  

You should also execute the command to load the right Readline library:

• sudo easy_install -f http://ipython.scipy.org/dist/ readline
  

DashboardStarter

"DashboardStarter is a small application that brings up Dashboard and closes it right away. Drag the app to your login items and have Dashboard load the widgets in the background."

This loads your Widgets and you do not have to wait them to load the first time your run Dashboard. Very handy.

Did you find the above information helpful? You will find a lot more information in my eBook "Programming Dashboard Widgets". The eBook describes how you can create Apple Dashboard Widgets using many programming languages including JavaScript, Perl, Objective-C, and PHP. You can buy it here.

Problems with printing

After installing the latest Mac OS X update (10.5.5) as well as the latest HP printer drivers (1.1.1) from Apple, I cannot print reliably any more!

Rarely, I can print some small print jobs but most of the time I cannot print!

Please, do not forget to read this.

Do you have a solution? Can you help me?

Read the comments. I think I found a solution...

DTrace

As you may already know, Leopard (a.k.a. Mac OS X 10.5) supports DTrace. DTrace was made by Sun and it is "a comprehensive dynamic tracing framework for the Solaris Operating Environment. DTrace provides a powerful infrastructure to permit administrators, developers, and service personnel to concisely answer arbitrary questions about the behavior of the operating system and user programs."

You can find many information about DTrace here.

Mac OS X Advanced System Administration v10.5 (Apple Training)

Edward Marczak, the editor of MacTech magazine, is the author of the book Apple Training Series: Mac OS X Advanced System Administration v10.5 (Apple Training).

Book Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Dashboard

Chapter 2: Existing Apple Widgets

Chapter 3: Existing Widgets

Chapter 4: Programming the Hello World! Widget

Chapter 5: Using JavaScript for creating Widgets

Chapter 6: Creating a Widget using Perl

Chapter 7: Programming Widgets using PHP

Chapter 8: Creating Widget plugins using Objective-C

Chapter 9: A Widget that uses UNIX Shell Commands

Chapter 10: Advanced Widget Techniques

Chapter 11: A Widget that processes RSS feed

Chapter 12: A Widget that Interacts with a MySQL Database

Chapter 13: Widget Hints and Tips

Appendix A: A Short Introduction to HTML

Appendix B: An Introduction to CSS

Appendix C: Reading and Understanding an Existing Apple Widget

Programming Dashboard Widgets eBook released!

This is the first post of the official blog site for my "Programming Dashboard Widgets" eBook.

You can buy the book here.

Number of Pages: 370

Number of Chapters: 13

Number of Appendices: 3

Based on standard HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, Dashboard Widgets are simple to build and easy to extend. The "Programming Dashboard Widgets" book contains all that your need to know in order to create and program your own Apple Dashboard Widgets. The book also shows you techniques that help you fine-tune, extend and explore existing Widgets.

You do not have to be an HTML, CSS or JavaScript expert to understand the book as it presents and explains all the necessary HTML, CSS and JavaScript knowledge. Each book chapter contains bibliographic references that will help you expand your knowledge.

You can find its detailed TOC in PDF format here.

Thank you!

Mihalis.