installation

Apr 27 2009

X11– A Whole New Way to Free

Last week I made mention of Appleís new X11 beta. Well, to prove that you didnít download it in vain, this week weíll put it to use.
openoffice X11 A Whole New Way to Free

OpenOffice.org

First off this, like Appleís X11 support, is beta so donít be entirely surprised if it does something nasty to your system. Second, these are both public betas, which exist primarily for you to try them out and give feedback. By using these youíll be part of a testing community, so donít just cuss if it breaks, provide bug reports.

OpenOffice is a open-source product that will always be free. It interacts seamlessly with Microsoft Office files, including Power Point. Ready for free Office? Let’s get to it…

Be prepared for a beastly download. Use this page to select a mirror for download. The closest server to you is not necessarily the best. Try places where it is currently night and the local traffic is light.

Once you download the installer (it runs natively in OSX) it will take you through the installation process. Be sure that you have already installed Appleís X11. The installation isnít short, so be prepared.

Okay, now that everything is installed, you have to get it set up. Youíll notice that OpenOffice keeps looking for its buddy ìXFree86î. You donít need this, since you have Appleís X11. The Office launcher doesnít know this, though, so it wonít work. Instead you can download an AppleScript launcher that will take the place of this launcher.

Alternately, you can add OpenOffice to your X11 Applications menu. To do this go to ìCustomizeî and click ìAdd Itemî on X11ís Applications menu. Under Name put in ìOpenOffice.orgî and under Command put in ì/Applications/OpenOffice.org1.0.1/program/sofficeî.

Now you should be up and running.

OSXII

For those of you looking for a more retro experience, try out OSXII, an Apple II emulator for OS X. You could be back in action with Lode Runner on your Mac. Did anyone have Wings of Fury, or was that just me? Anyway, Have fun.

Join me again next week with some good old-fashioned freeware tweaks for Safari, iCal and more.

Brian

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Apr 27 2009

What to do before installing Panther

By: Jon Gales

Well this is it. The Monday before the Friday that Panther becomes mainstream. Since this is the last day to write a PowerUser Monday before Panther ships, I figured that I would let you in on some installation tips. It’s a big change, but hopefully these simple tips will help smooth the transition.

Back up
Seems obvious, but with OS X it’s pretty darn easy. Unless you’ve tried to massage OS X into OS 9 by tossing out the theory of a Home folder (yes, I’ve seen it done), you should be able to get by with only backing up the following:

  1. Home Folder – Again, this should be pretty obvious. The Desktop, Documents, Pictures, and Music folders are all stored here. Also, the user Library (~/Library) is kept here. You’ll soon find out that a lot of important stuff is kept here.
  2. Applications – Some people like to start fresh with their Application folder after intsalling a new OS. To each his own, but you’ll never say, “Oh crap, I backed up my Applications.” It’s not that hard. Do it. Depending on what kind of installation for Panther you do, your applications may or may not be copied over. However, anytime you do something major like install an OS, don’t risk it. Back up just in case.
  3. Main Library – Back up /Library to scoop up all the loose ends. This is easy to forget, but important stuff like the WebServer directory live in this folder. Other goodies include all access Fonts, printer drivers, some Application Support items and some application documentation. You may not need any of these things, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Take a quick look at / just to make sure there are no rogue files that you need that aren’t in any of the aforementioned directories. Remember that everything on the Desktop is really in the Home folder (even though it looks like it’s “on top”).

Installation

Once you pop in the disc and click through enough screens that you’re actually ready to install, look for the customize button. Click it and then look for stuff that is checked that you don’t need. A great example of this is all of the language files that Panther tries to install by default. I only know English, so I check off all the extra ones.

Another great example is the load of printer drivers. You know how when you plug in a printer it “just works”? Well that’s not a miracle. Standard installs put on over half a gigabyte of printer drivers. If hard drive space is limited, uncheck the drivers that you don’t need. Epson’s drivers are the biggest by far, so if you don’t have an Epson, you get a lot more disk space.

Register. As long as you bought a legitimate copy (there’s no excuse not to when you look at the family pack), go ahead and register. I know it’s annoying, but every once in a while Apple surprises you with a free gift (normally a year of Macworld). I’ve even heard reports of users getting gifts for registering iSync (a free product!).

Enjoy
Once everything is installed, just sit back and have fun. Panther is great. I’ll be back next week with some killer Panther tips, so stay tuned!

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Apr 27 2009

Revert to an Older Mac OS X Version

Brought to you by: James

Is the latest 10.3.9 update causing you some problems? More than likely, it’s because you haven’t been keeping up with your routine maintenance. Of course, it could just be a bad update too. Either way, reverting back to an older version of Mac OS X is easy, but time consuming.

1. Make a backup copy of your current system (IOW, everything). (Time: 1-3 hours)

2. Boot from your most recent Mac OS X Install CD by restarting while holding down the ‘C’ key. (Time: 10-20 minutes)

3. Proceed through the installation menus, but after the license agreement, click “Options,” select “Archive and Install,” and select “Preserve User and Network Settings.” Proceed with the installation. (Time: 1-3 hours)

4. Now, you’ll probably want to bring your system back to the version it was just before your failed update. To do this, proceed to Apple Support Downloads and grab the appropriate Combo Updater. (Time: 30-60 minutes)

5. You will now have to restore your system settings and any third-party system add-ons. Your old system files can be found in the “Previous Systems” folder on your hard drive.

Hopefully, this short article will help you get back on track. And, remember to keep up with your routine maintenance!

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