Contour Design, Inc. - showcase
I've heard some good things about this one.
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
The Poor Man's Mathematica
Graphing Calculator Users Gallery
There's a long story here. My perspective is that when Apple moved from its 68K Motorola chip to their "hot" RISC PowerPC architecture, they introduced a new mini-app -- the graphing calculator. They made a fuss about it. At the time it reminded me of Mathematica, except even then Mathematica cost hundreds of dollars and this far simpler app was a freebie. It persisted through all of Classic, but vanished after OS X came out.
Now the story of how it came to be, and not be, has come out. And, amazingly, it's back. There's a free version for OS X (works fine in my limited testing) and a $60-$100 commercial version with more features. There's even a book.
I used Mathematica quite a bit 10 years ago, and this is no Mathematica, but I must say it's a very cool tool. I don't do enough math now to judge how useful it would be to an engineer, but it does look like it'd do the job for high school math -- and it's not at all expensive.
There's a long story here. My perspective is that when Apple moved from its 68K Motorola chip to their "hot" RISC PowerPC architecture, they introduced a new mini-app -- the graphing calculator. They made a fuss about it. At the time it reminded me of Mathematica, except even then Mathematica cost hundreds of dollars and this far simpler app was a freebie. It persisted through all of Classic, but vanished after OS X came out.
Now the story of how it came to be, and not be, has come out. And, amazingly, it's back. There's a free version for OS X (works fine in my limited testing) and a $60-$100 commercial version with more features. There's even a book.
I used Mathematica quite a bit 10 years ago, and this is no Mathematica, but I must say it's a very cool tool. I don't do enough math now to judge how useful it would be to an engineer, but it does look like it'd do the job for high school math -- and it's not at all expensive.
Monday, December 20, 2004
Mac OS X 10.3.7: problems with DNS and preferences?
Macintouch - Mac OS X 10.3.7
This feels credible. A problem with a .plist file is a typical OS X glitch. Deleting the pref file for network preferences might work as well.
Updated to 10.3.7 on my 15' alBook and suffered same slow Internet performance that is widely reported on the web. It was especially terrible with my AirPort at home.
The suggestion to make sure you load 'valid' DNS numbers was the only tip I needed. I loaded a different set of DNS numbers and ZOOM it took off. Then I put back the original DNS numbers and ZOOM it keeps on rocking... my previous speed had returned. It was not a new 'valid' number it needed, but simply a reload of the DNS addresses to correct some type of corruption. Even thought they are correct, try erasing, then reloading your DNS addresses and see if it works for you.
Something about 10.3.7 messes up the DNS server lookup process. But it is easily fixed in the Network Preferences panel.
This feels credible. A problem with a .plist file is a typical OS X glitch. Deleting the pref file for network preferences might work as well.
Maintenance tips for OS X: cache deletion on updates
Macintouch - Mac OS X 10.3.7
It's common to see recommendations to redo permissions after OS X updates. I've found deleting caches to be much more important, and occasionally deleting preference files. Neither is part of routine maintenance. OS X system updates ought to routinely delete all caches -- there's no reason not to start afresh.
I prefer ONYX to Cocktail. I think Cocktail's installation is too invasive, and it behaves oddly when one tries to install as a regular user (needs to be installed and run as a logged-in admin, not as a sudo'd admin, but it doesn't say that...).
Jim Wade
I have a suggestion for the readers who are seeing slow start ups after installing 10.3.7.
I recently got around to installing the 10.3.6 Combo update on my 15' TiPB. MUCH slower starting up, mostly after logging in. I remembered seeing a tip somewhere to clear the System and User caches. So I used my copy of Cocktail (but there are other utilities out there as well) to clear/delete the system and user caches. The user cache took several minutes to clear, BTW. Afterwards, the machine was even faster than before installing 10.3.6! So try it with the 10.3.7 update.
It's common to see recommendations to redo permissions after OS X updates. I've found deleting caches to be much more important, and occasionally deleting preference files. Neither is part of routine maintenance. OS X system updates ought to routinely delete all caches -- there's no reason not to start afresh.
I prefer ONYX to Cocktail. I think Cocktail's installation is too invasive, and it behaves oddly when one tries to install as a regular user (needs to be installed and run as a logged-in admin, not as a sudo'd admin, but it doesn't say that...).
Apple tips on selective restore of bundled software
Using Restore discs with computers that ship with Mac OS X 10.3.4 or later
This article is for 10.3.4 or later machines. Several ways to restore or install bundled software. Cite via macintouch.
This article is for 10.3.4 or later machines. Several ways to restore or install bundled software. Cite via macintouch.
From the ancient past, words of wisdom
Don Lancaster's Guru's Lair
Lancaster was a geek's geek in the 1980s and 1990s. Here he collects his words of wisdom. They are little dimmed by time, and each reference is a gateway to lost worlds at a time when the world was entering a time of change -- the 1990s.
In the world of tech, this is like opening a lost Egyptian grave. Visit with respect, and practice neo-archeology.
Lancaster was a geek's geek in the 1980s and 1990s. Here he collects his words of wisdom. They are little dimmed by time, and each reference is a gateway to lost worlds at a time when the world was entering a time of change -- the 1990s.
In the world of tech, this is like opening a lost Egyptian grave. Visit with respect, and practice neo-archeology.
Friday, December 17, 2004
The usual problem: multiple users, one computer, multiple devices (iPods)
How to use multiple iPods with one computer
A common problem with computers and users. OS X is a bit ahead of XP in this regard, but neither have really straightened out the device, data, user conundrum. A good series of workarounds are described here, but they are really workarounds to a problem that's yet to be solved. (Things are really ugly in the XP/PalmOS world.)
A common problem with computers and users. OS X is a bit ahead of XP in this regard, but neither have really straightened out the device, data, user conundrum. A good series of workarounds are described here, but they are really workarounds to a problem that's yet to be solved. (Things are really ugly in the XP/PalmOS world.)
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)