Official Predictions for MacWorld 2008
Ok, here is how it’s going to go down tomorrow! You’ve probably read a lot of ridiculous predictions for MacWorld, these are the most realistic predictions we could muster:
- Steve talks up the usual feel good numbers of iPhones, iPods, Leopard sold, highlights the iPod touch selling over 5 million units.
- Talks up the iPhone SDK possibly announces 16GB iPhone at $499
- Apple partners with Sling Media. (announces Slingbox Client for iPhone & Touch)
- iPhone, iTunes, Touch & Leopard Software updates.(iTunes 7.6, iPhone FW 1.1.3, Mac OS 10.5.2)
- Major update to Apple TV, called AppleTV HD (1080, rent from the Apple TV – firmware update)
- Announces iTunes Movie Rentals, Fox, Disney, Universal are first to get on board
And one more thing… he announces a new thin Macbook. It’s got a fantastic form factor and the design is amazing, but the specs leave more to be desired.
Enabling PHP in Leopard
If you’re like me and really hate that process of searching, downloading and compiling to install programs, you will definitely appreciate that PHP5 is included in Mac OS 10.5. Unfortunately, it is not enabled by default to work with the built-in web server. Fixing this can, however, be done in about five minutes.
Fire up a Terminal window (Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app).
Note: This will only work if Leopard was installed as a “fresh OS” (i.e. not an upgrade installation).
In your Terminal window, type:
cd /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/private/etc/apache2/
This command will put you in the Apace2 directory. In this directory, we will make changes to httpd.conf, the Apache2 configuration file. Before we start, it is good practice to make a backup copy of the original file, just in case you need to revert to it in the future.
Make a copy of original httpd.conf file:
sudo cp httpd.conf httpd.conf.default
The command sudo uses Administrator rights to make a copy of this configuration file. Provide the Administrator password when it is requested.
Next, edit the configuration file with the built-in text editor, Vi. Again, provide the Administrator password when requested:
sudo vi httpd.conf
Search the document for the following line.
Type: /
Search for: #LoadModule php5_module
With the cursor on the hash symbol (#), type “i” to enter Insert Mode. Move the cursor one character to the right and Delete the hash symbol.
Press Esc to exit Insert Mode.
Press Shift + ‘:’ to enter a command.
Type in wq! to save and exit the file.
You will be returned to the command line. The next step is to edit the PHP configuration file, php.ini.default.
Change your directory:
cd /private/etc/
Make a copy of the php.ini.default template:
sudo cp php.ini.default php.ini
Use Vi to edit the file:
sudo vi php.ini
Like before, use Vi’s search feature to find:
error_reporting = E_ALL & ~E_NOTICE
There are a few lines that contain the above string. Find the line that does NOT begin with a semi-colon (;).
Change this line to read:
error_reporting = E_ALL
Press Esc to exit Insert Mode.
Press Shift + ‘:’ to enter a command.
Type in wq! to save and exit the file.
Now, navigate to Sharing in System Preferences and start/restart Web Sharing.
Create a PHP file in your Site directory and verify it is displayed correctly.You are all done! Good luck and happy coding!
Mac OS X 10.5.2 is packing hefty fixes, due January
As much love as Apple’s Mac OS X Leopard has received in the press and from users, there are still plenty of bugs that need ironing out. Lucky for those users and those not-easily-embarrassed members of the press, Apple seems to be addressing most of those remaining bugs with its 10.5.2 update. 10.5.2 will also bring support for the new Penyrn based Xeon processesors slated to be used in an updated Mac Pro line up, as well as additional functionality for the currently limited Stacks feature.
Read Article via Engadget
Anxiety – Lightweight To-Do App
Anxiety is a lightweight to-do application which manifests as a one of those nifty grey colored overlays. Anxiety integrates with iCal and Mail so all your existing to-do items will automatically be available for checking off or ignoring. You can also add new to-do items directly in Anxiety. Anxiety is very inconspicuous and can be hidden when not in use, and recalled to the front via a menu-bar icon. Anxiety is available for free download at, http://anxietyapp.com/.
Quick Look Plugins
Quick Look is easily one of the most useful new features in Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Being able to gracefully view the contents of a file directly from the Finder is something that any user will find useful. However, some users began to notice that using the Quick Look feature on non content-based items, such a a folder provided little more than a giant sized icon, when it could be doing so much more.
Developers from http://d.hatena.ne.jp set out to address this issue by releasing two new plug-ins for Quick Look, one for folders, which displays the folder’s contents, and another for ZIP files with also displays that hidden contents of the zip, without actually unzipping it. Installing these plug-ins is as simple as downloading them from the developers website and putting them in your ~/Library/Quick Look folder. If you don’t have a ~/Library/Quick Look folder, just create one. Once you have installed the plug-ins, restart to ensure the changes take effect.
NOTE: It’s a little slow when the first time you Quick Look a Folder/ZIP but it doesn’t persist. Seems to be the initial load delay. It’s very snappy now.
Folder Quick Look Plug-in (Direct Download)
Zip Quick Look Plug-in (Direct Download)
also…
FLV Video Quick Look Plug-in (Direct Download) – Thanks to Bill for sending this in.
Leopard, What are You Thankful For?
Leopard thus far, has proven at least in my experience, to be one of the most refined OS X releases to date. It is a pleasure to use everyday and makes me proud to be a mac user. While eating turkey sandwich leftovers, I got to thinking what am I thankful for…. in Leopard. So I decided to do a poll, what are you most thankful for in Leopard?
