Teleport For Mac
August 8, 2008 | Leave a Comment
For a log time I have been a reasonably happy Synergy user. However, I have also been working in a mixed Windows/OSX environment. Recently I replaced my Dell laptop with a new MacBook Pro. This opened up a new option for keyboard and mouse sharing in my environment.
I have recently learned that Teleport is a far superior product for a purely mac environment. Here are a few of my favorite features:
- The setup has a great GUI that makes setup trivial.
- You can establish a certificate on each host and have all the traffic nicely encrypted between them.
- There is an option that requires you to hold a key whenever switching screens, handy if rarely used.
- There are great indicators to what computer your keyboard and mouse are currently operating.
- You can drag and drop files between machines.
- Of course it also has the same kick ass shared clipboard that Synergy had.
There are probably a ton of other options that are useful, but these are my favorites. Synergy was great, but in a purely Mac based environment, I don’t see how teleport can be beat.
Tags: control panel, keyboard, kvm, mac, mouse, options, os x, osx, synergy, teleport, windows
Mac OS X Start Up Keys
November 28, 2007 | 97 Comments
I often search around trying to find the various ways to boot OSX in a special sort of way. I’ve especially needed these sort of things lately, as I had a brand new hard drive die on me.
You can hold any of the following to access any of these special boot modes:
C - Boot from the internal optical drive (CD or DVD)
D - Boot the diagnostic volume of the install DVD
N - Start from the Network (NetBoot)
R - Force PowerBook screen reset
T - Boot into Firewire target disk mode
X - Reset startup disk selection and boot into Mac OS X Server
Shift - Boot into “Safe Boot” mode, which runs Disk First Aid. A reboot will be required afterward.
Option - Boot into “Startup Manager”
Mouse Button - Eject (internal) removable media
Command-S - Boot into Single User Mode (command line)
Command-V - Boot using “Verbose” mode (shows all kernel and startup console messages)
Command-Option-Shift-Delete - Bypass internal hard drive on boot and seek a different startup volume (such as a CD or external disk)
Command-Option-P-R - Reset Parameter RAM (PRAM) and non-volatile RAM (NVRAM)
Command-Option-O-F - Boot into “Open Firmware”
Rumor has it, firmware password protection can be removed by intalling or removing a stick of RAM, then zapping the PRAM three times in a row.
These bootup options were compiled from Apple and this blog.
Tags: apple, boot, boot cd, bootup, command, diagnostic, firmware, mac, macos, net boot, open firmware, option, os x, osx, parameter ram, pram, ram, single user, startup, target disk, verbose
Uno - A Prettier, Unified OSX
August 20, 2006 | 1 Comment
Without a doubt I think Mac OS X is by far the most modern and attractive looking OS in existence. Seeing it side by side with Windows XP every day shows how far ahead it was. Imagine my surprise upon discovering Uno’s ability to make it even better.
Uno applies skins across many of the OSX applications, allowing you to replace the brushed metal look with more of the iTunes/iLife look. Matt has often complained about the brushed metal look, I have always been indifferent. Until now. Wow. Safari, iChat, Finder and more all have new life breathed into them by just simply replacing the brushed metal with gradients.
Install this application, you won’t be sorry.
Tags: apple, application, brushed metal, finder, gradient, ichat, iLife, itunes, macintosh, os x, osx, safari, skin, skinning, uno
MacBook Pro Arrives! and Departs…
March 6, 2006 | 6 Comments
My sister in-law Caitlyn bought an Apple MacBook Pro before she left for Australia. Since the delivery date was a bit uncertain on these brand new models, she decided to have it shipped to my house. That way I could take delivery of it, configure her software and whatnot, then ship it off. Of course I was more than happy to do this both because this makes her my first Mac convert and because I got to get my fingers on this brand new sweet hardware.
The new Macbook Pro is the first of the Apple computers to feature Intel processors, specifically it has a 1.83 Intel Core Duo processor. She also got it with 1GB of RAM, which I think is definitely the way to go. Some of the features I absolutely love on this include FrontRow, the Apple remote, the magnetic power cord plug, the backlit keyboard, the nighttime auto dimming screen, the built-in iSight, the multi-finger scroll capability of the touch pa, and more. I know a lot of these features are hold overs from the PowerBook, but that doesn’t make them any less awesome to me.
I’ve heard some complaints about the magnetic power cord. Apparently some felt it was not strong enough, but I disagree entirely. The magnetic seems strong enough to pull the cord in from around an inch or so, and it doesn’t matter which way you plug it in. Of course I didn’t try running around with it, but I usually don’t run with laptops, at least when they are plugged in…
So in the end, I was very sad to pack this amazing little device up and ship it off to Cait. As far as I can tell this is the most kick-ass laptop I’ve had the privilege of fondling.
Tags: "intel core duo", apple, frontrow, harware, intel, laptop, mac, macbook, macbook pro, os x