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Sunday, August 25, 2002 |
Tex-Edit Plus updated
Tex-Edit Plus for OS X v4.3. - Tex-Edit Plus is a scriptable, styled text editor that fills the gap between Apple's bare-bones SimpleText and a full-featured word processor. Among the changes in this version: Scriptable regular expression search and replace (grep). More prefs are scriptable. More FKey shortcut combinations available for Scripts menu. New "text only" parameter for "open" AppleScript command. Fixed script bugs involving the "close window saving yes" command, the "quit" command, and the Scripts menu involving Fkeys above F12. [AppleScript Info]
9:25:34 PM 
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A faster loading Mac Net Journal
If it seems like MNJ is loading faster today, it isn't because you just installed Jaguar. Since my initial attempt at running text ads on MNJ to help raise funds to keep the site alive and thriving have been a dismal failure, I removed the ads. I am still seeking sponsors for the site, and I definitely need help from those readers who can afford a small donation.
More on this later, but for now, MNJ is ad free once again...
7:54:30 PM
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My first kernel panic
This morning as I was installing the update to the Apple Developer Tools for Jaguar I saw my first kernel panic in ages and my first kernel panic under the new system. Rather than the screen going black with white text overwritten everywhere when the machine locked up, everything behind the reboot message that appeared in a number of different languages was dimmed.
Kernel panic may be bad, but at least it isn't so alarming to see on the screen now.
When I rebooted my machine from the kernel panic I booted into single-user mode and ran the fsck -y command I have mentioned previously on MNJ. I had to run the utility twice, but it fixed any problems and I have been working without a hitch since...
5:55:55 PM
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A must-see if you are interested in AppleScript
Apple has posted release notes detailing the changes in AppleScript 1.9, which is part of the update to Mac OS X 10.2. The first tip includes details on how to get the Script Menu running in your menu bar after upgrading...
5:31:24 PM
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I really tried...but Mail just doesn't fit
I had planned to give Apple's revised Mail client a week's chance on my G3 Pismo PowerBook with 1GB of RAM, but after nearly 24 hours and my first full day actually dealing with much email in the program today, I cannot put up with the slowdown any longer. If anyone can tell me why when I select a message in Mail that it takes 1-2 seconds before the message displays and offer a remedy that doesn't involve buying a new computer, I would give Mail another chance. But right now, Mail is not fast enough to suite someone using my machine with a large amount of RAM and who has to deal with large volumes of email on a daily basis.
I tried...
5:12:10 PM
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Bad news that...wasn't
Writing earlier today on Scripting News, Dave Winer noted: Aaron Swartz noticed that Mac OS X allows you to log on even if you don't enter the correct password? [Scripting News]
I haven't had a chance to test this for myself just yet, but it may be a good reason for a new and more complicated password in the short term and a patch from Apple in the longer term...
Update: I returned home from an afternoon driving around Western Washington and from visiting a Garlic Festival (lots of garlic to plant in the garden now!) to find the following note from Michael McCracken:
"I'm sure people who followed the link saw Aaron's update - this is due to password length limits. The first 8 characters of a password must be correct.
I use Sun Solaris at work, and it does this too. I don't really think it makes the machine less secure.
10:36:35 AM
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New screenshot options under Jaguar
Among the wealth of great new tips and hints about Mac OS X 10.2 that can be found over the last couple of days at Mac OS X Hints is this gem: Additional screenshot options available in 10.2. Find out which keyboard combinations can be used to copy a screen shot to your clipboard and other useful options...
9:04:20 AM
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Installing the Apple Developer Tools
Now that the user side of my Jaguar installation is set, I am upgrading the Apple Developer Tools that are found on the third disk in the Max OS X 10.2 package today. It is a pretty svelte install, at just over 100MB, and from what I have seen it is fine to simply insert the CD and click on the installer package to upgrade your former developer tools. Why bother to install the developer tools? It is more bells and whistles to play with and the power to create software of your own. If you have any curiousity about it at all, why not install? You may find yourself turning into a software developer...
8:40:10 AM
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Mail's Junk mail tools are a hit
It took a couple of hours to copy my current email archive from PowerMail 4 into Apple's latest incarnation of Mail under Mac OS X 10.2, but the move is complete and I can start my week-long trial using Mail now. Why bother? Because I want to see how this program really stacks up, and I want to take the new Junk mail feature for a spin. So far that is the main positive in looking at Mail, and I am not the only person who thinks so.
Writing on his Weblog, Adam Curry offers:
After 36 hours, I'm ready to change from 'Training' mode to 'Automatic' in the new OSX (Jaguar) mail program. Apple is making things real people want. [Adam Curry: Adam Curry's Weblog]
I am sure in another day or two I will be offering the same sort of statement, and if I decide I can live with Mail despite my previous reservations about the program, the Junk mail feature will be a major factor.
8:27:55 AM
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© Copyright 2002 Rob McNair-Huff.
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