Sunday, July 29, 2007 After resolving the Windows Server 2003 file share access problem I turned my attention to fixing the DNS issue I'm having. I'm able to ping the IP address of machines on my Local Area Network but I'm not able to resolve the machine names. I have a local DNS running on Windows Server 2003 but for some odd reason OS X is not using it to resolve names. So I decided to use a stop-gap approach for the time being.
I modified the /etc/hosts file to include the address of the machines with a static IP address. After all, these are the only machines I need access to from OS X. Here are the steps I followed:
- Sign in as an administrator (or an account belonging to the sudousers group)
- Launch a terminal shell (Applications > Utilities > Terminal if you are using Finder or type terminal in Spotlight)
- Run the command sudo vi /etc/hosts
- Scroll to the end of the file
- Type i to enter insert mode
- Press the enter key to start a new line (my vi skills are weak as it has been years since I have used it - there is probably a better way to append to the end of a file)
- Enter the IP address, press the tab key, then enter the name machine
- Press the esc key to get out of insert mode
- Press :wq to save the changes and quit vi
I love my MacBook Pro. It's an awesome machine and OS X is a great operating system. However, I have encountered 2 problems when dealing with my Windows-base network. First problem is accessing Windows 2003 file shares and the other problem is resolving machine names on the local network.
I still haven't solved the second problem but today I came across the solution for the first. This blog posting by Drew McLellan gives the step by step instructions for accessing Windows 2003 file shares from Mac OS X. Thanks Drew! posted by Kirby | July 29 09:32 AM | comments (1)
Thursday, July 26, 2007 I mentioned earlier today that I had to do a little tweaking to get iSync, running on my MacBook Pro, to work with my Motorola RAZR V3m from Sprint. Here are the steps I followed to get it working:
- Download and install latest software updates on the RAZR (Settings > Phone Info > Update Phone SW).
- Download latest Motorola RAZR V3m iSync Plug-in.
- Created the directory ~/Library/PhonePlugins.
- Extracted the iSync Plug-in to the ~/Library/PhonePlugins directory.
- Launched iSync.
- Followed the iSync instructions for adding the new device.
Those that know me well know I tend to hold on to and use older technologies (i.e., computers, mobile phones, iPod, etc) longer then I should. Once a piece of technology is working for me I don't see much reason to upgrade. But every few years I must go through a major technology upgrade, which is what I have done over the last week.
I replaced my aging mobile phone with a sleek Motorola RAZR V3m. I admit I'm addicted to this phone. While I was able to do Internet and text messaging on my old phone, my new phone makes it easier and allows me to do more such as check email and watch live TV. The built-in Bluetooth is awesome too. I'll talk more about that in a minute.
The new mobile phone required I get a new headset. I prefer hands-free talking especially on longer calls. My wired headset is incompatible with the RAZR so I bought a new Bluetooth enabled headset, the Motorola H700C. Of course I look like I have joined the collective when I wear the headset, but fashion aside this is a really nice headset. It works well with the RAZR phone. Calls are clear, and according to those I've called there is no problem hearing me talk.
A major technology upgrade is not complete without a new computer. I mentioned the other day that I bought a MacBook Pro. It arrived yesterday and after spending a few hours with it I can't image going back to a Windows only machine. I've tried various favors of Linux over the last couple of years but I always encountered some type of problem. This made me a bit concerned about switching to Mac OSX, but I now know I had no reasons for concern. Everything just works. Some tweaking was needed in certain cases but in general everything work.
One area that required a little tweak was adding iSync support for my RAZR phone. Apparently the latest OSX updates from Apple support the RAZR V3m but not the Sprint version, which is what I have. Luckily I learned about ClockSkew and his iSync plug-ins for the RAZR phones. Now, using Bluetooth - gotta love that technology, I'm able to sync my calendar and address book between my phone and MacBook Pro. Awesome stuff, I tell you.
Speaking of Bluetooth, I decided to go with the wireless Bluetooth keyboard for Macs. Once again it just works.
To continue working with Windows, which I must do, I installed VMware Fusion. This product is awesome too. I find my virtual machines run much better under OSX as the host operating system compared to Windows or even Linux. Of course having 4GB of RAM doesn't hurt either.
So new phone, new headset, new laptop...what else? That's it for the moment but I do plan to buy a new SLR digital camera within the next couple of weeks. I wonder if digital SLR camera come with Bluetooth to transfer pictures? posted by Kirby | July 26 10:05 AM | comments (1)
Monday, July 23, 2007 Things are really busy for me right now. I've just started two separate customer projects, sales of Killink CSV and SMTP Diagnostics are climbing, and I've been doing a lot of travel. But one thing has me really excited. I ordered a MacBook Pro and it's expected to arrive in a couple of days.
I need a beefy laptop for the work I'll be doing while on the road. I compared prices, specs, etc with different vendors (Dell, HP, Apple) and the MacBook Pro won.
But wait! Aren't you a Windows developer? Yes, I am and I will continue to write software for Windows. The only difference is I will be doing it from my shinny new MacBook Pro. Yep, another Delphi developer moves to the Mac.
Another reason for the switch is VMware's upcoming virtualization software called Fusion. It's still in beta but looks very promising. As a matter of fact check out this Fusion feature called Unity.
Now that's dang cool. posted by Kirby | July 23 04:27 PM | comments (2)
Saturday, July 14, 2007 The Association of Shareware Professionals is celebrating it's 20th anniversary. During its 20 year history ASP has brought together many of the best software vendors in the business.
As part of the 20th Anniversary Celebration, ASP has negotiated great deals on some quality software title including my favorite .csv editor and my favorite automated build tool.
Visit the ASP's 20th Anniversary page for the complete list of software titles and discounts. posted by Kirby | July 14 10:31 AM | comments (1)
Friday, July 06, 2007 The server hosting thecave.com and whitepeaksoftware.com is moving to a new data center on Saturday, July 7. Because of this move thecave.com and whitepeaksoftware.com will be down for approximately 3 to 4 hours starting at 11:00 p.m. MST (GMT -7). posted by Kirby | July 6 02:21 PM | comments (0)
The last 4 weeks have been crazy, which is why I have not blogged much over the last month. For starters, I put in a lot of time on Killink CSV, the new csv editor from White Peak Software, over the last 4 to 5 weeks. Last month I rushed out release 1.3 to address some capability problems with Windows Vista but it turned out to cause more problems. That will teach me to rush out a release without proper testing. Good news is a lot of additional enhancements have been made to Killink CSV and today version 1.4 is finally ready for download.
Now that version 1.4 has been released I should be able to focus time on new features such as search and replace. Another new feature I'm looking forward to is file extension association with Killink CSV. This has always been a trivial task under Windows but Windows Vista makes it a bit more difficult, hence the delay. Still, I'm looking forward to this new feature.
It hasn't been all work for me over the last 4 weeks. I did take time off for NASCAR weekend in Loudon NH. I knew I would have fun but I didn't know I would have as much fun as I did. It was a blast. Everyone should spend at least one weekend camping in an RV and watching NASCAR races, even if you are not a NASCAR fan. posted by Kirby | July 6 02:09 PM | comments (1)
Thursday, July 05, 2007 Today I discovered a new problem in Killink CSV, the .csv editor I have been working on. Killink CSV has 2 general options, "Remember column widths" and "First row is read-only". "Remember column widths" has a problem with hidden columns when the "First row is read-only" is turned on. Killink CSV will ignore the hidden columns when populating the first row causing column headers to appear under the wrong columns.
The second problem is more serious. The option "First row is read-only" causes the program to report an unhandled error under certain circumstances when more than one file is open at a time.
Fixes for these problems will be available in a few days. Meantime if you are editing .csv files with Killink CSV I suggest you turn off these options until version 1.4 is released. posted by Kirby | July 5 08:43 PM | comments (0)
