Posts from — October 2007

In the Leopard update, Apple has finally resolved one of the most frequent gripes of iCal users - the iCal dock icon was never updated unless the app was running. (Hence the tongue-in-cheek iCal Day celebration annually on Jul 17.)

With the Leopard upgrade, the iCal icon shows today's date… everyday.

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For those of you — like me — who experienced a blue screen upon booting an upgrade install of Mac OS X Leopard, here are a few tips to clear the errors that are preventing the system from rebooting.

COMMAND LINE METHOD
Reboot your Mac while holding Cmnd-S on your keyboard. Your computer will boot into the single user mode, no graphics, only the good old command line.

To modify files you need to type the following

/sbin/fsck -fy (then press return)
/sbin/mount -uw / (then press return again)

You can either go straight to their respective folders to delete these four files, or you can do it in one go by typing the following commands and pressing return on your keyboard after each line:

rm -rf /Library/Preference Panes/Application Enhancer.prefpane
rm -rf /Library/Frameworks/ApplicationEnhancer.framework
rm -rf /System/Library/SystemConfiguration/ApplicationEnhancer.bundle
rm -rf /Library/Preferences/com.unsanity.ape.plist

Reboot Leopard - blue screen may appear for several minutes during system check.
Suggested - reboot your Mac from the installation DVD, open Disk Utility and repair the permissions.

My preferred way to handle deleting files is to stay within the OS and avoid the command line altogether.

SECOND MAC FIREWIRE METHOD
Another alternative (which is easier - in my opinion - if you own a second Mac) is to boot the Leopard upgrade into Firewire mode.
Connect your Leopard install to second Mac via Firewire.
Reboot Leopard install holding down "T" at boot to initiate Firewire mode.
Using second Mac, launch finder and browse Leopard install to delete files.

/Library/Preference Panes/Application Enhancer.prefpane
/Library/Frameworks/ApplicationEnhancer.framework
/System/Library/SystemConfiguration/ApplicationEnhancer.bundle
/Library/Preferences/com.unsanity.ape.plist

Unmount Leopard upgrade in second Mac's Finder.
Disconnect Firewire
Reboot Leopard - blue screen may appear for several minutes during system check.
Suggested - reboot your Mac from the installation DVD, open Disk Utility and repair the permissions.

Many (most?) Mac users are not reporting any problems in upgrading from Tiger to Leopard. The root cause of the blue screen is the unsanity app enhancer, which is a common (yet unsupported) third-party resource app.

For those who have not yet installed Leopard, the Unsanity APE app provides an uninstaller that can be used first to remove the framework before the new operating system is installed. Alternatively, users can use the "archive and install" option, which places a new copy of Leopard on the user's computer while moving older operating system files to another folder. That would have the effect of moving the potentially offending APE software to a location where it can do little to interfere with the installation process

To uninstall Application Enhancer - open your System Preferences and in the “Other” section will be the icon for Application Enhancer (If you have it installed), click it and then click the “Troubleshooting” tab, next click the “Uninstall Applications Enhancer” tab.

Given the sheer number of "power users" who have this A.P.E. installed either with or without their knowledge, I find it *very* hard to believe that Apple didn't experience more than their fair share of blue screen boots during beta testing.

Long story short, while it's not Apple's fault, per se, they certainly had an opportunity to modify the Leopard upgrade installation and (apparently) chose not to.

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• Blabberize.com! - Blabberize Your Pictures
  Upload a picture, select the mouth, and record the sound. Conan O'Brien would be so proud.
  (tags: funny humor image online photos web2.0 fun animation Photo photography)

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• 11 Items You Don't Have to Buy Organic
  (tags: cooking diet food health organic shopping vegetables)
• Mac Tip: How To Back Up a Folder with Automator
  (tags: apple automator backup howto mac macosx osx tutorials tips)
• Florida State Seminoles 1963 to 1964 Riddell Mini Replica Throwback Helmet
  (tags: wishlist floridastate fsu seminoles football)

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• BitClamp Preview - Drag & Drop Mac Encryption
  (tags: Encryption mac osx tiger leopard macosx apps apple)

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Pretty good day in the office today - I got the opportunity to come through for my new team to resolve an old issue.

I'm feeling pretty good about it - and the smiles say that I earned some goodwill, too.

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Merrin thought the new house wouldn't have that certain something without new living room furniture and the leather man has delivered. Out with the green fabric set and in with the leather. Merrin's going to snap some pictures as the house comes together, but it's a… cigar colored (?) sofa & loveseat set.

Y'all stop by if you get a chance and see if it's comfy enough. (I vote YES!)

I gotta go out and take a dip in the pool.

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Here's the latest update from the Sunshine State:

That's about it for now - pretty boring, really. I'm about 26 days behind in my newsreader, so I apologize if I seem a little out of touch as of late. I'll try to get caught up, but if there's anything I've missed - y'all shoot me an email or chat me.

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The new Eagles album is set to be released on October 30th. (Seems weird to hear the words "new Eagles album", doesn't it?) I've been hearing the talk about it on Sirius and the new single is out. (Again, "new" seems weird, but there it is….)

I know people have varying opinions on bands getting back together, but — I gotta tell ya — the new stuff sounds pretty decent. I think I'm in.

Thanks for the heads up, Bullfrog!

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• Buffet & Chesney: A Flip-Flop Guide to Five O'Clock
  (tags: bufett chesney music beach itunes)

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I'll say this… Florida is really turning on the charm in advance of Merrin's arrival next week.

It was a beautiful morning (68 degrees went I went out to the truck) with low humidity. The high today will be in the low-80s. Should be a really pretty night for the flight back to Texas.

We've got the movers this weekend and then — come Sunday — that's it. I fly to Orlando on Sunday morning. Merrin & Camille are doing the Thelma & Louise road tour and will be here on Monday.

You know what that means…. a little Come Monday.

Come Monday It'll be all right,
Come Monday I'll be holding you tight.

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My Man Fridge
Originally uploaded by kevindonahue.

In my post about Maison Nouveau, I forgot to mention the motley crew of beverages and food-esque items occupying my fridge.

I have a large assortment of beverages, both adult and otherwise, as well as half of a thin-crust supreme pizza, half a bag of four-cheese blend shredded cheese, and a jar Claussen dill pickle halves.

I'm sure Merrin will want to put a few of her own things in there when she gets here next week but — seriously — what else is there?

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• Wiimote Lightsaber: Star Wars game unleashes The Force On The Wii
  (tags: wii games nintendo merrin starwars game geek)

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I keep telling myself every night, "Just # more days," until my wife gets here. "Just # more days." I need a Merrin advent calendar or something.

Meanwhile, things at Maison Nouveau are really taking shape. I have an air mattress, two pillows and a soccer mom chair. (You know the kind you fold into a bag? Yeah, that's my living room.) It's not as bad as it may sound, though. For example, I've yet to stub my toe on any furniture in the middle of the night.

Now the magic number is seven. FINALLY we're down to just one week, which is great - considering that I have to go back two calendar pages to get to the day I left Texas.

As you can probably tell, I miss my wife. I miss my dogs, too, of course, but I really miss my wife.

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Please secure your wireless internet connections. It's bad enough that there are at least a half dozen open wireless connections in my new neighborhood, but it really maes me question exactly why I'm wasting my time waiting for the guy to come hook up the high-speed.

Previously: Wifi Networking Security - How to secure your wireless internet connection

PS - And while your at it, change your router's admin password.

PSS - Thanks to my new neighbor, "Mr Linksys", for leaving everything nice & open.

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