[igglue]

I really like mac. So here is a list from a hard core pc user’s experience. (Well, sort of. I'm using my mac as both BSD and Aqua. x-11 will be coming shortly!)

Physical problems. (or answers)
1. PC keyboard. I guess when Jobs said use your existing keyboard for mini, what he meant was existing ‘Mac’ keyboard. I recently found out that my right ‘Windows key’ works with menu tabs, but my left one doesn't. I guess this is how mac keyboard works?
2. PC keyboard saga 2. I installed the latest ucontrol just fine, but it's grayed out! Is it because I'm using a kvm? Or does it not support panther?
3. Belkin KVM gets a bit flaky at times. I'm guessing this is due to the usb<->ps2 cable converter. Sometimes I have to repeatedly hit ‘scroll-lock scroll-lock 2’ to switch to my mac. (I swear my kvm is a pc lover!)
4. I realized that my monitor nor the setting was the problem. I am starting to vpn'ing into work using my mac mini. I launched 'chicken of the vnc' and noticed my remote pc’s screen is super sharp! I realized that the way mac displays is meant to be a bit blurry. (Sure, I'll call it soft. Just like California is golden, not brown in the summer.) Good thing is the monitor is super well calibrated!

Software:
1. Lack of 'standard' for uninstall process. The worst is Microsoft IE. It was absolutely useless so I uninstalled it within 24 hours. But I have no idea where the folders are and so forth. Is there something like cleansweep for the mac?
2. After installing, some software drops this drive like image onto desktop or where-ever it chooses to. If I throw it in the trash can, then it 'ejects' the software. Yet, I can not move it as dragging it to another folder just creates a soft link. How do people handle this? (For example, firefox leaves it’s drive thing on the desktop)
3. Safari works 95% of the time, but it chokes sometimes. Try signing up for hotpop service and check their page. The page doesn’t display properly. I am using firefox as a backup.
4. Sometimes 'finder' is a bit pain. It's weird that every time I accidentally click on the background, the tab changes. Somewhat annoying.
5. Itunes. I know they don't want people to grab files from the ipod. But why did they have to be an a55 and disable the ipdod download plugin? I think they could've just turned a blind eye. My latest plan to migrate data is to use ephpod on pc to copy all my ipod music down to my pc, zip it up, then ftp over to mac.

Networking/hard core stuff:
1. Sure, I can use the built-in apache but why? I got the x code and all and compiled my own apache 2.0. So why is something blocking it from talking to the outside pc's? I have disabled the firewall and tried everything without success. I'm completely lost here.
2. Why is Windows file sharing so slow? I noticed that ftp is much faster. On my PC, ftp/windows share file transfer performance is pretty close. On mac mini, it feels like 1 megabit. A 300 meg file took 15 minutes! I haven't tried copying files to a win2k advanced server though. (I am absolutely certain it’s not network bandwidth issue as they are on a 100mb switch on their own with a same subnet.).

Noob experiences.
1. I'm a geek. I was playing with the preference and I guess I accidentally changed my boot drive to network. A day later I rebooted, and I get the globe blinking followed by the box with ?. I solved the problem without calling support, but I was wondering, if mac allows me to have order of drive boot ups? More of a curiosity then need.

Summary:
This is fun! If I can get my networking issue with ports being blocked, then I am ready to do more fun stuff! (How about tomcat server with bunch of apps?). Even if I end up ditching the mac and going back to the pc, my mac mini will become my web server. Except for games and little bit of work related stuff, my pc hasn’t been turned on in a week!

Thanks!

[pimephalis]

Hi there. I can't answer all of your questions/problems, but I can help with some.

Originally posted by igglue:

Software:
1. Lack of 'standard' for uninstall process. The worst is Microsoft IE. It was absolutely useless so I uninstalled it within 24 hours. But I have no idea where the folders are and so forth. Is there something like cleansweep for the mac?

This is not as much of a problem as you might think. For all typical pieces of software, all you need to do is grab the application's icon from the application folder and trash it. All the programs, libraries and associated files are 'inside' that icon. If you look at these icons from the terminal, you'll notice they're actually directories containing many, many files.

When you delete a program in this way, the only 'cruft' that is left over are some personal preference files that can be located in either ~\Library or \Library. Luckily, they're all to be found in sub-directories named after the program in question, so if you're particularly maniacal about keeping your computer clean of .config files and the like, you can use the finder's search feature to find these files.

There are some programs which do not follow this rule, however. Specifically, those programs which either add themselves to the control panel or work as extensions to another program (like firefox extensions) have to be uninstalled in some other manner. In most cases, the program archive that you download to install them also have an uninstall script.

2. After installing, some software drops this drive like image onto desktop or where-ever it chooses to. If I throw it in the trash can, then it 'ejects' the software. Yet, I can not move it as dragging it to another folder just creates a soft link. How do people handle this? (For example, firefox leaves it’s drive thing on the desktop)

This is the product of something called a disk image. What happens is that the software is distributed in a format which, when opened, creates another virtual volume on your computer. What you need to do is find the application inside this disk image, drag it where you want it (like Applications) and then 'eject' the disk image by dragging it to the trash. Then, you also need to find the file you downloaded and trash that too.

I have to admit, coming from linux I found this a rather bizarre way of doing things. However, I can say I've come to appreciate it. For example, if I download a program I'd like to test, and mount the disk image, I can run the program from this virutal volume rather than installing it. It does become intuititve after a while.

3. Safari works 95% of the time, but it chokes sometimes. Try signing up for hotpop service and check their page. The page doesn’t display properly. I am using firefox as a backup.

This will happen as long as web site admins continue to code in ways that only supports internet exploder. You will also find some sites that don't work with Firefox, and some that won't work on the mac altogether (that is, even the apple version of IE won't fly). I make it a point of remembering these sites and never frequenting them or mentioning them again.

This problem also affects Linux, Unix and other operating system users.

4. Sometimes 'finder' is a bit pain. It's weird that every time I accidentally click on the background, the tab changes. Somewhat annoying.

I agree, that this does at first seem counterintuitive, but you'll get used to it. I can't emphasize strongly enough that what you need to start doing is stop using alt-tab and mouse clicks to change windows, and begin using expose. When I did, I found all my window focus issues disappeared.

5. Itunes. I know they don't want people to grab files from the ipod. But why did they have to be an a55 and disable the ipdod download plugin? I think they could've just turned a blind eye. My latest plan to migrate data is to use ephpod on pc to copy all my ipod music down to my pc, zip it up, then ftp over to mac.

Agreed, but check out a little application called senuti (google for it). It does the job wonderfully. Also, if you search around on http://www.macupdate.com for this sort of software, you'll find multiple different apps that can help with this.

Networking/hard core stuff:

2. Why is Windows file sharing so slow? I noticed that ftp is much faster. On my PC, ftp/windows share file transfer performance is pretty close. On mac mini, it feels like 1 megabit. A 300 meg file took 15 minutes! I haven't tried copying files to a win2k advanced server though. (I am absolutely certain it’s not network bandwidth issue as they are on a 100mb switch on their own with a same subnet.).

Agreed, this is highly frustrating, but you'll find that it's more finder related than networking sub-system related. For example, you'll find trying to ftp using the finder to be a painfully awful process. I mean hair-pullingly painful. My trick when trying to upload or download multiple files from an ftp server or using windows file sharing is to use the terminal. Specifically, I open the connection using the normal process through the finder, and then use the terminal to copy or move files. For example, I often have to dump hundreds of photos from my laptop to my wife's windows machine. I use the terminal to do so, as it seems to work far more quickly.

Noob experiences.
1. I'm a geek. I was playing with the preference and I guess I accidentally changed my boot drive to network. A day later I rebooted, and I get the globe blinking followed by the box with ?. I solved the problem without calling support, but I was wondering, if mac allows me to have order of drive boot ups? More of a curiosity then need.

Not really, you have to tell the operating system which drive you'd like to boot from. Really useful when running your machine from a fire wire drive for maintenance or backup purposes.

You can over-ride some of the defaults at boot time by holding down a series of keys. For example, as the machine boots if you hold down 'C' while booting, it will try to boot from the cd. Your install disks will allow you to boot from them in this way, making it easy to do maintenance and whatnot if you mess things up.

Summary:
This is fun! If I can get my networking issue with ports being blocked, then I am ready to do more fun stuff! (How about tomcat server with bunch of apps?). Even if I end up ditching the mac and going back to the pc, my mac mini will become my web server. Except for games and little bit of work related stuff, my pc hasn’t been turned on in a week!

Congratulations! I think your networking issues can be easily fixed by some of the gurus on this board in the Networking forum. If not, try to find a *NIX geek who can help you diagnose from the command line the problems.

If you need further help, aim/ichat me.

[Mithras]

Originally posted by igglue:
Physical problems. (or answers)
1. PC keyboard. I recently found out that my right ‘Windows key’ works with menu tabs, but my left one doesn't.

Huh, I've used PC keyboards on my Mac and had left Windows work fine. That does sound annoying. What brand is your keyboard?

2. PC keyboard saga 2. I installed the latest ucontrol just fine, but it's grayed out!

Looks like this is a bug that's been filed

3. Belkin KVM gets a bit flaky at times.

Yeah, KVMs suck.

4. I realized that the way mac displays is meant to be a bit blurry.

Have you played with System Preferences:Appearance:Font smoothing style?

Software:

1. Lack of 'standard' for uninstall process.

This is true, but the overwhelming majority of apps you can just trash the app itself, since all the supporting pieces are contained within the app bundle (the app is actually a folder, containing the application itself plus a bunch of other stuff). For most apps, that is all there is. A few will install some stuff in ~/Library/Application Support/Appname.

2. After installing, some software drops this drive like image onto desktop or where-ever it chooses to.

Hmm, let me spell out this proces, and tell me whether it makes sense:
a. You download software, e.g. Firefox. The default download location is the Desktop. With most Mac software, including Firefox, the actual file you download is a 'disk image' (file extension .dmg).

Most browsers, including Safari, will then open that file (same as when you double-click it). This makes the disk image 'mount' as though it were a disk. You can see that in the Finder sidebar -- the disk image has the little triangular 'eject' icon.


You can then copy Firefox out of this virtual 'disk' to wherever you want it (usually the Applications folder). When you're done with the virtual disk, you can 'eject' it as you mentioned. But note that the disk image file itself -- the .dmg -- is still on your desktop or wherever you downloaded it.


I hope that makes sense.

3. Safari works 95% of the time, but it chokes sometimes.

Agreed. In its defense, the vast majority of these compability issues require the Safari developers to emulate IE's "broken" behavior, rather than following the HTML spec. Anyway, many Mac users have a "quiver" of browsers; different ones for different purposes. Personally I use Camino most of the time.

4. Sometimes 'finder' is a bit pain. It's weird that every time I accidentally click on the background, the tab changes. Somewhat annoying.

Hmm, I think you mean that clicking on the Desktop makes Finder active, or that clicking on the Desktop makes the frontmost Finder window no longer active? This is the intended behavior, but I guess it takes getting used to. You do know how to use Exposé, right?

5. Itunes. I know they don't want people to grab files from the ipod. But why did they have to be an a55 and disable the ipdod download plugin?

There's a fix for that.

1. Sure, I can use the built-in apache but why? I got the x code and all and compiled my own apache 2.0. So why is something blocking it from talking to the outside pc's? I have disabled the firewall and tried everything without success. I'm completely lost here.

Is there any particular reason you need to use Apache 2.0? If you're having problems, then you might back off to the built-in 1.3 for the time being.

I assume you've confirmed that you can reach port 80 using the built-in Apache? So you've eliminated
* NAT / port-forwarding
* ISP port 80 blocking
* DNS

as issues?

And you've confirmed that you can start up your Apache 2.0 fine? What is displayed when you do 'apachectl start' (or equivalent under your installation)? Can you access it fine from localhost and your local network (if any)?

2. Why is Windows file sharing so slow? I noticed that ftp is much faster.

True, and annoying. Of course, one could ask how good XP's AFP sharing is, except that it doesn't have it...

A day later I rebooted, and I get the globe blinking followed by the box with ?. I solved the problem without calling support, but I was wondering, if mac allows me to have order of drive boot ups? More of a curiosity then need.

Hold down 'option' (Alt on your keyboard) when booting, and you get a list of all available boot drives, with a nice little mouse-driven interface to choose.

Glad you've enjoyed the experience. As you get used to the quirks and the benefits, Windows will begin to feel horribly klunky...

[igglue]

Thanks a lot guys. I really appreciate this forum.

Turned out that mac doesn't appreciate me using port 88. I recompiled my apache to run above 1000, configured the firewall and it works great. Now, it's time for me to compile and get tomcat running on this box!

[Mithras]

Originally posted by igglue:
Thanks a lot guys. I really appreciate this forum.

Turned out that mac doesn't appreciate me using port 88. I recompiled my apache to run above 1000, configured the firewall and it works great. Now, it's time for me to compile and get tomcat running on this box!

Were you launching it with sudo? Only euid 0 can use ports below 1024.
Have fun!

[Krusty]

Welcome. xCode is pretty fun .. but you can also install the latest versions of Apache 2.0, PHP, and Tomcat from friendly, clickable installers like Complete Apache, Complete PHP, and Complete Tomcat. Complete Apache even adds a preference pane in you system preferences for easy control.

X11. Check in your Applications/Utilities folder. Isn't Apple's version of X11 already there for you ?? (Can't remember now if that is an optional install). Like the Terminal, it operates simultaneously with Aqua.. not as a separate enviroment. http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/x11/