Aria Media - mac

Google Notifier

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:20:00 -0700

I just noticed that Google has released a small program called Google Notifier for the Mac, that lets you know whenever you receive a new Gmail message or have an upcoming event on Google Calendar. I just tried it and it also works for Google Account email addresses. You can download it here.

Installing MySQL on Leopard

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 15:20:00 -0700

I ran into a surprising amount of trouble installing MySQL on Leopard. It turned out that there are a few bugs in the downloadable installer. I tried a few workarounds I found, but couldn't get any of them to work. I found a great resource here that walks you step by step through compiling and installing MySQL on a Mac from the source code: http://hivelogic.com/articles/installing-mysql-on-mac-os-x/ And it just worked! The nice thing about this approach is that you can install any future version of MySQL this way very reliably, simply by changing a few references in the instructions.

Enabling Root Access

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 15:32:00 -0700

I wasn't aware of this until a few day ago, perhaps because I was too busy using my new MacBook to delve into the file structure, but there are a whole slew of files that are not accessible via the Finder. Apparently, you can only get at them if you "Enable Root Access". On Leopard:

Open the Directory Utility: In the Finder, navigate to the Utilities folder (tip: click on the desktop, hit Cmd+Shift+U).
Click on the padlock to allow edits.
Go Edit > Enable Root Password
Enter and re-enter your password.

I found this out here! The protected files on your system still won't be accessible via the Finder, and unless there is a setting I'm not aware of yet to enable that, the best way I've found so far to edit these files is by using TextWrangler, a free editor you can download here! Fire up TextWrangler and navigate to File > Open Hidden ... You can also access them via the Terminal, if you like using the command line. I'm almost sure there must be a way to manipulate these files with a UI of some sort, but I haven't found that yet.

Transmit FTP

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 02:03:00 -0700

I know I said I was going to write about enabling root access next, but I found a tip somewhere to try Transmit FTP, and I just tried it for the first time to do a quick edit on a contact form for a client. Logged into the site, found the file, right clicked on it to check the context menu and found a choice to edit the file in Dreamweaver (and others). It opened immediately in DW. I made my small change, saved it, and saw Transmit working behind the DW window. Sure enough, on save Transmit simply uploaded the file for me. Sweet. I like it already!

Journey to Mac-Based Development

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:24:00 -0700

I've been away from the ColdFusion scene for quite some time now, working on a major project to develop a solution to help mitigate global warming. In the process, I bought a MacBook because Keynote seemed so much easier to develop presentations on. I really enjoy using the iWork suite of tools, Pages, Numbers and Keynote, and the whole mac experience of using a computer. It really is much better. I cringe now every time I have to start the Windows machine sitting here next to me. It just doesn't ... work. I never realized what I had just grown to accept, like all the waiting for the damn thing to finally finish booting up, the maze of warnings, and the noise the thing makes. And I never thought the difference would be so stark. Anyway ... Now I'm working through the steps to get a development environment set up on the mac, and there are a few things you just have to know that I didn't know and it took some hunting around to discover. As I work my way through getting everything set up, I thought I'd take some notes, and might as well blog them! Coming up next ... Enabling Root Access!