AdventuresInMacOS

Firefox 3 Released Today!

admin — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:00:24 +0000

If you prefer the Firefox browser to Safari or Opera, you might be interested to know that the Mozilla Foundation has today released the final build of Firefox 3 for Windows, MacOS X and Linux.

Apparently, they are trying to break the record for a number of downloads in a 24hr period, so you may want to go download it and contribute to the record attempt.

There’s also an official FF3 launch party in New York, which you may wish to attend. More details courtesy of A VC.

What are you waiting for? Download Firefox 3 now!

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Control other machines with JollyFastVNC

admin — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:32:21 +0000

I wanted to setup VNC on my server, and a client on my Mac. The idea is to enable easy control of my server from my main desk, rather than having to move to use the server.

So, I’ve been looking for a VNC client for OS X. After much trail and error, I’ve settled on JollyFastVNC by Patrick Stein. It’s a small, lightweight and VERY fast VNC client. Here’s the main screen…

And here is my Windows 2003 server, as seen from OS X…

Admittedly, there are a few issues, but I’d definitely recommend it if you need some kind of remote desktop functionality.

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Hotel WiFi Hacking with A VC

admin — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 22:39:51 +0000

Fred over at A VC posted a hack (well, more of a workaround really) for gaining cheap WiFi for multiple computers when staying in hotels.

As it’s all OS X based, I thought it might be of interest…

http://avc.blogs.com/a_vc/2008/03/a-hotel-wifi-ha.html

Cheers Fred!

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Utilities Galore

admin — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 01:08:08 +0000

I’m planning on writing a couple of major articles in the next few days about my experiences with Parallels and VMWare Fusion, but I just wanted to ask… have you looked in the Utilities folder?!

I was looking for a screen-grab tool to take a grab of IE8 (it’s running on Vista in a Fusion virtual machine…), so I wandered around and found Grab, along with a whole host of other stuff, hidden in the Applications/Utilities folder.

I’m not sure how many are unique to Leopard (I suspect not many), but there’s a fair few!�

Gonna have a play with those and report my findings. In the meantime, have you looked in your Utilities folder?

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It’s Arrived!

admin — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 23:34:47 +0000

Ok, I’m really gonna have to stop putting exclamation marks in my post titles..

But this time, I really couldn’t help it… the Mac Mini has arrived!! How excited am I? So excited, I haven’t done any work all day! Well, I did a bit this morning, but as soon as the Mac arrived, there was no chance.

I unpacked it immediately. There’s hardly anything in the box…

…the Mac Mini, the power transformer, a plug, a DVI/VGA adaptor, Apple Remote for using Front Row, a completely useless manual (seriously Apple, save the trees…), and the MacOS X CDs. I immediately reorganised my office, and got the thing setup on an old 17″ CRT monitor…

The setup process is so simple, I decided not to do any videos. Seriously, you don’t need them. Just plug things in the right holes, plug it in and turn it on. Easy peasy!When you switch a Mac on for the first time, it runs through a setup routine to select your country, language, etc and setup wireless networking if necessary. I didn’t want to use wireless (it’s right next to an 8port hub so I’d plugged a cable in) so I selected Ethernet, and everything was setup for me.Once everything was done, it automatically registered itself online, and was ready for playing!The first thing I noticed was that not only had it got me online, but it had already found all the other computers on the network. They were all there, ready to communicate and pull files to and from!

I did a quick check to make sure the extra gig of RAM I’d asked for was present. It was, so I was ready for Parallels (more on that later).

I’ve gotta say, the whole process is so simple. True ‘Plug n Play’. The damn thing even found my wireless network without asking, on first boot. Try getting a PC to do that….

So far I’m well impressed, let’s hope that continues…!

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Mac Mini Update!

admin — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 18:13:46 +0000

Well, it’s on order!! Due to arrive Wednesday or Thursday next week.

Once it arrives, I’ll post some setup videos and my initial thoughts on the whole “buying a mac” experience. This is the first one I’ve bought direct from Apple - let’s hope they don’t dissapoint.

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Welcome to AdventuresInMacOS!

admin — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 00:07:58 +0000

Hello everyone, and welcome to my new blog - AdventuresInMacOS.As you can probably guess, this blog will be all about Apple MacOS X operating system. From installation, upgrading and maintenance through to great add-ons, hints, tips and tricks - I hope this blog will become a valuable resource for anyone coming to OS X for the first time.

AiMOS (as it’s become affectionately known in our household) is the sister to blog to AdventuresInVista, my hints, tips and tricks blog for Microsoft’s flagship operating system. My brand new MacMini isn’t due to arrive for a couple of weeks, which gives me time to get this blog looking and functioning something like.

Until then… happy adventuring!

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