I derived the following from the method Michel Fortin uses to create standalone copies of older Safari versions. Right click the .pkg file for Safari 3 and ‘show package contents’, and unpack Archive.pax.gz. navigate into the new Archive folder. Take Safari.app out of Archive/Applications and place it somewhere. Grab all frameworks from Archive/System/Library/Frameworks/ and place them inside Safari.app itself (via show package contents) - create a folder here called ‘Frameworks’ (http://www.

It’s common knowledge that Mac users promote their OS of choice with particular fervence, but this is easily dwarfed by the zeal shown by Linux users. This is particularly evident when Linux and Mac people end up coming into some kind of contact. One of the key differences between the two types of users is that Mac users tend to appreciate the value-add that comes from a brand name product with a history of great craftsmanship and support.

This is documented in other places, but some of the information is distributed across two or more sites, including information explaining why things have to be done this way. This article strives to consolidate the information in a way that creates enhanced understanding of Intel’s EFI and its role in the boot process of Apple’s computers. Much of this information is portable to other EFI platforms as well. Overview: Boot Camp and Intel EFI To better see how booting an arbitrary number of operating systems on a Mac is done, a quick review of what Apple’s Boot Camp product does is useful.

The other day I read a commentary from Linus Torvalds boldly claiming that Linux was the do-it-all desktop OS everyone is dreaming of. It went something like this: Nope, I don’t use either [Windows or Mac OS X]. OS X is kind of pointless (pretty much anything it has, Linux can do better) and Windows offers stuff that I don’t much care about (mainly games – and I’ve got games machines for those).

Note: This information is geared toward advanced users. Don’t try this at home. This weekend it was time to perform some maintenance on my main server. Its single IDE hard drive had developed the metallic whine indicative of bearing failure, and the power supply began the constant whistling telling the world that it was doomed. Original storage/power config: Western Digital 200GB 8MB cache ATA-133 Onboard AMD-75xx IDE controller 250W ATX PSU (Yikes.

Another great article from Fortune magazine - it outlines issues people are experiencing with the Apple TV. Apple TV could have been much more than it is, but it has glaring problems and omissions which just make it unusable as part of an entertainment system. This article went so far as to point out some things I wasn’t aware of. Why Apple TV is a dud And there are other issues which the article doesn’t mention, but which would break the hearts of home theatre lovers everywhere.

Got a Windows Mobile device recently, the HTC P4000 “Titan”. Nice little device that lets me do a lot of Internet related activity (oh and also it’s a phone). I was going to do a writeup on this but someone went ahead and did it for me already - with the added bonus that they’re using a free service through which to sync, rather than running their own Exchange server. Good find!

This is a guide designed to help you convert video to the new H.264 codec. Special attention is paid to keep the video stream compatible with QuickTime, which is something I find sorely lacking in other HOWTO’s. This HOWTO has been updated! The quality of the result is now far superior. Check it out. The following tools are required: faac gpac mpeg4ip x264-svn libdvdread libdvdcss mplayer Audio rm audiodump.pcm && mkfifo audiodump.

Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creature through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, and greatly err. For the animal shall not be measured by man. In a world older and more complete than ours they move finished and complete, gifted with extensions of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear.

Most of the Apple TV mods I’m seeing out there are designed to fill a need, but some of them seem quite misplaced. I think those involved in the modding frenzy should step back a bit and evaluate what they want from a modded Apple TV unit. Support for formats like XViD and DiVX, and higher disk capacity are by far the most popular two. Unfortunately most people want to make the mod as radical as possible simply for coolness factor.