Andy's Un-Official Unsolicited Mac Advice Thread

cabbey · December 27, 2005

patch29 wrote:

I have not witnessed what happens, but they told me the game is locking up after a few minutes and does it even after the system is rebooted.

That screams graphics card overheat to me. If they feel around on the top/bottom of the system is there a hot spot when it locks up? Do they have it sitting on a hard solid surface so that the feet on the bottom lift it up and allow proper airflow? I don't know how heavy "Zoo Tycoon 2" pushes the graphics card, but it might be just hard enough. A test for this might be to load up something that we know pushes the graphics card hard and see what it does.... The only idea of something that comes even remotely close, and ships on all systems is the "flurry" screen saver... set all the adjustments to the right and put it in test mode.

cabbey · December 27, 2005

Hmm... there are a couple more on that version tracker list than the last time I looked. The one from Bresink I've looked at before, but I'm not sure I trust it... Here's the current claim for my system, I can't buy those values on an IDLE box in a 65 degree room. Not when my thermometer in the output airflow says 68 degrees.

DavidTO · December 27, 2005

cabbey wrote:

Hmm... there are a couple more on that version tracker list than the last time I looked. The one from Bresink I've looked at before, but I'm not sure I trust it... Here's the current claim for my system, I can't buy those values on an IDLE box in a 65 degree room. Not when my thermometer in the output airflow says 68 degrees.

Apparently with no support from Apple on this front, the developers need to do a lot of reverse engineering to determine what the output of the sensors really means. Guess they need to work on it more!

cabbey · December 27, 2005

DavidTO wrote:

Apparently with no support from Apple on this front, the developers need to do a lot of reverse engineering to determine what the output of the sensors really means. Guess they need to work on it more!

Yep, that's always the downside to having to reverse engineer anything. :cry

DavidTO · January 1, 2006

Here's a tip you may not know...

On any finder window just cmd-click and hold on the title of the window, and a pull-down menu of the path shows up!

Pretty cool, huh? Well, I've known that one for a long time...

What I didn't know is that the same thing works in Photoshop!

Andy · January 3, 2006

DavidTO wrote:

I use Capture, a widget that allows you set filetype and size of your captures.

This Widget blows.
I'm a "Grab" guy, through and through. Any moron can make an application (like Capture) that is non-intuitive and more work than what came with the OS - Grab. And Patch

thank you for bringing SCIT to my attention, now my GRABs are native jpg and that's just, well, easier

Patch, you totally RAWK

DavidTO · January 4, 2006

Andy wrote:

This Widget blows.
I'm a "Grab" guy, through and through. Any moron can make an application (like Capture) that is non-intuitive and more work than what came with the OS - Grab. And Patch thank you for bringing SCIT to my attention, now my GRABs are native jpg and that's just, well, easier

Patch, you totally RAWK

Hey, buster. Patch didn't bring anything to your attention, because you're too lazy to read. I had to tell you about it. I had to find it for you. If I hadn't told you about Patch's find, and actually FOUND it for you (because you were incapable of finding it yourself!), you'd still have your head up your...butt trying to figure a way out of capturing jpg files instead of png!

Stop thanking Patch, when you know full well where your bread is buttered, mister!

Sheesh.

Oh, and Patch? Scit's cool.

Mike Lane · January 4, 2006

Hey how can you stay mad when you see cute doggies on a swing?!?!?!

Andy · January 4, 2006

DavidTO wrote:

because you're too lazy to read.

READING IS HARD

cabbey · January 5, 2006

DavidTO wrote:

What I didn't know is that the same thing works in Photoshop!

This actually works in all "Document Oriented Applications" unless the author has seriously screwed up.

For the non programmers out there, a "Document Oriented Application" is one that opens a seperate window for each "file" or "document" that it is manipulating, such as Photoshop, GraphicConverter, Preview or TextEdit. Sadly, TextEdit falls in that category of seriously screwed up. I suspect it's something to do with being a carbonized application, and not a "native" os/x cocoa application, since grab share's it's fate.

cabbey · January 5, 2006

Andy wrote:

This Widget blows.
I'm a "Grab" guy, through and through. Any moron can make an application (like Capture) that is non-intuitive and more work than what came with the OS - Grab.

...

now my GRABs are native jpg

uhm, so SCIT supposedly changes the format that /usr/sbin/screencapture records (this is the tool that is invoked when you hit shift-⌘-3 or 4), does it also affect the grab application (/Applications/Utilities/Grab.app) available from system services menu?

(I ask because the SCIT download apears to be broken still, so I've not been able to try it.)

DavidTO · January 5, 2006

cabbey wrote:

...

uhm, so SCIT supposedly changes the format that /usr/sbin/screencapture records (this is the tool that is invoked when you hit shift-?-3 or 4), does it also affect the grab application (/Applications/Utilities/Grab.app) available from system services menu? (I ask because the SCIT download apears to be broken still, so I've not been able to try it.)

No. Andy's confused. He thinks the keystrokes (cmd-shift-3, etc.) is Grab. I have SCIT installed, it captures jpeg with the key commands. Grab still grabs TIFF.

I just downloaded SCIT today...I'll check out the link....

DavidTO · January 5, 2006

Here you go. This link will download immediately!

cabbey · January 5, 2006

DavidTO wrote:

Here you go. This link will download immediately!

Yeah, same url I've been trying... both from a browser and from the command line with curl. When stuffit expander gets going on it I get:

Stuffit Expander wrote:

The file "SCIT 1.0" does not appear to be compressed or encoded. It is advised that you obtain further information about the contents of this file from the sender or provider of hte file.

It will help to know what program created the file and what operating system(s) the file can be used on.

(_OK_)

Attempting to figure it out from the command line hints that something didn't quite make it...

madhatter:~/Downloads cabbey$ md5 SCIT.sit 
 MD5 (SCIT.sit) = 5ca22e3969a0eee3dff504ec77314878
madhatter:~/Downloads cabbey$ ls -l SCIT*
-rwxr-xr-x   1 cabbey  cabbey   74832 Jul 10 06:38 SCIT 1.0
-rw-r--r--   1 cabbey  cabbey  970733 Jan  5 21:36 SCIT.sit
madhatter:~/Downloads cabbey$ file SCIT*
SCIT 1.0: header for PowerPC PEF executable
SCIT.sit: StuffIt Archive : SCIT 1.0
madhatter:~/Downloads cabbey$

I've mailed the author in case he can suggest something. It seems like a usefull tool, but I fear all it's doing is changing some plist somewhere that I could do by hand if I just knew where it was. In which case we're back to Andy's making things more difficult than they need to be.

Andy · January 5, 2006

cabbey wrote:
Yeah, same url I've been trying... both from a browser and from the command line with curl. When stuffit expander gets going on it I get:

Attempting to figure it out from the command line hints that something didn't quite make it...
madhatter:~/Downloads cabbey$ md5 SCIT.sit 
 MD5 (SCIT.sit) = 5ca22e3969a0eee3dff504ec77314878
madhatter:~/Downloads cabbey$ ls -l SCIT*
-rwxr-xr-x   1 cabbey  cabbey   74832 Jul 10 06:38 SCIT 1.0
-rw-r--r--   1 cabbey  cabbey  970733 Jan  5 21:36 SCIT.sit
madhatter:~/Downloads cabbey$ file SCIT*
SCIT 1.0: header for PowerPC PEF executable
SCIT.sit: StuffIt Archive : SCIT 1.0
madhatter:~/Downloads cabbey$ 
I've mailed the author in case he can suggest something. It seems like a usefull tool, but I fear all it's doing is changing some plist somewhere that I could do by hand if I just knew where it was. In which case we're back to Andy's making things more difficult than they need to be.

I got the same message, but it unstuffed just fine, and I dumped it in my apps folder. Works a treat!

I put it on my idisk for you, unstuffed. Help yourself

.

Let me know when you've got it!

cabbey · January 6, 2006

Andy wrote:

I got the same message, but it unstuffed just fine, and I dumped it in my apps folder. Works a treat!

I put it on my idisk for you, unstuffed. Help yourself .

Let me know when you've got it!

Got it, thanks Andy!

edit 1:
And this time it's a different version 1.1 instead of 1.0, and the output file is different, works like a charm now.

edit 2:
And a couple minutes of digging into the ap shows it's a fancy gui wrapper for:

defaults write com.apple.screencapture type XXX
killall SystemUIServer

But hey, he knew the value to write and where to write it, and put a nice gui around it for non-unix nerds... nice job Daniele (on the off chance you ever see this, since your mail server doesn't like mine.)

So, an open question to Andy and folks... are there other simple little tools like this that you think are missing? This is the kind of thing I could write, just need someone to say "hey, we need a tool to do _______." (feel free to pm or email me if you have any ideas like that and don't wanna put them here.)

Andy · January 6, 2006

cabbey wrote:

Got it, thanks Andy!

You are most welcome!

patch29 · January 10, 2006

and here it comes drumroll please...

the newest mac will be.......

patch29 · January 10, 2006

iLife 06 looks pretty good. I will have to check out the blogging software. I only wish Apple would not tie everything to dot mac.

patch29 · January 10, 2006

The first intel mac is the imac. I did not see the rumors for that one.

patch29 · January 10, 2006

If the speed is real, that is cool. Wow 2-3x faster.

Same sizes. 17", 20". Same design. Same features (isight, front row, apple remote), Same price. What's different.

Intel Processor. 2-3x faster than the iMac G5.

Two cores. each one faster than the G5

DavidTO · January 10, 2006

patch29 wrote:

If the speed is real, that is cool. Wow 2-3x faster.

It has to be to make up for Rosetta

patch29 · January 10, 2006

Cool.

10:31 am 4-5x faster.
10:31 am 2 processors in every Macbook pro.
10:31 am No more Powerbook. Intel duo Core.

DavidTO · January 10, 2006

patch29 wrote:

Cool.

Yeah, huh? The death of the Powerbook....

patch29 · January 10, 2006

DavidTO wrote:

Yeah, huh? The death of the Powerbook....

No more power PC, so out with the power, at least they did not put intel in the name.

patch29 · January 10, 2006

Macbook, no internal modem. That is awful handy if you are on the road and have to fax or use dial up???

Nice new power adapter connection, with a magnet, so it hopefully will release without pulling your macbook off the table, etc.

patch29 · January 10, 2006

http://www.apple.com/macbookpro/

StevenV · January 10, 2006

damn damn and double-damn, Steve. I'm stuck in this bloody cycle... months of being happy followed by MacWorld and several weeks of Mac-lust... then about the time I've gotten myself back to being happy with what I'm using... Macbook!

Grrrrrr!

DavidTO · January 10, 2006

Any news on how Photoshop will run with Rosetta? Or when it will be Intel ready?

patch29 · January 10, 2006

DavidTO wrote:

Any news on how Photoshop will run with Rosetta? Or when it will be Intel ready?

I am curious what it will take to boot into Windows, not that I want to, but Garmin GPS integration is virtually non-existant on the mac. It would be cool access that software and not need more hardware.

Andy's Un-Official Unsolicited Mac Advice Thread

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