Computer Science Canada

I HAVE A FUCKING IMAC!
Author:  Martin [ Tue Nov 22, 2005 5:12 am ]
Post subject:  I HAVE A FUCKING IMAC!
Sorry about the all caps title. And the French. But finally, I have my brand new iMac.

It's beautiful.

I'll post some pictures in a bit. No dead pixels as far as I can tell. Ahhh....

Japanese keyboard sucks though (apostrophe is shift+7)
Author:  Martin [ Tue Nov 22, 2005 8:49 am ]
Post subject: 
Front Row is cool (movie trailers!) but really nothing that special. Photobooth is fun though.

The UI is pretty slick, although the transitions are a little rough in some places.

The Japanese keyboard sucks. @ is beside the p (no shift required).
Author:  Tony [ Tue Nov 22, 2005 9:04 am ]
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you could always order yourself a QWERTY keyboard.. TigerDirect delivers to Japan Laughing
Author:  Martin [ Tue Nov 22, 2005 9:12 am ]
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But then I can't type in Japanese. I'm sure I'll get used to this strange layout.
Author:  Martin [ Tue Nov 22, 2005 10:02 am ]
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By the way, how do I see CPU/mem usage?
Author:  Tony [ Tue Nov 22, 2005 10:17 am ]
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I'll let you know after I get home...

for now, make sure to grab Adium and Growl Wink
Author:  Martin [ Tue Nov 22, 2005 10:35 am ]
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oh yeah. How do I install things from dmg? Just drag em to applications?
Author:  Tony [ Tue Nov 22, 2005 11:42 am ]
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installing from dmg has two ways. A common one is to just drag the executable into your applications. Though sometimes (if it's a more complicated app), you'd actually have to install it (execute from within dmg). It will be pretty obvious.
Author:  wtd [ Tue Nov 22, 2005 12:58 pm ]
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Generally when you open the dmg after mounting it, the Finder window's background will be an image with the installation instructions. Smile
Author:  Martin [ Tue Nov 22, 2005 1:05 pm ]
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Ah cool. Now what do I do with .sit files (trying to install XviD)?
Author:  wtd [ Tue Nov 22, 2005 1:17 pm ]
Post subject: 
Martin wrote:
Ah cool. Now what do I do with .sit files (trying to install XviD)?


Extract them. A .sit file is a StuffIt archive. Double-click it.
Author:  Martin [ Tue Nov 22, 2005 1:23 pm ]
Post subject: 
Ah, right. Gotta download that.
Author:  Martin [ Tue Nov 22, 2005 10:27 pm ]
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First crash. The dock froze its zoom thing, and I had to restart it. Couldn't do this with command alt esc, so I found the activity monitor and yeah. All good.

The dock still worked during the time, just was frozen mid zoom.
Author:  wtd [ Tue Nov 22, 2005 10:58 pm ]
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Odd. I never used Dock magnification, so if there were any bugs with it, I probably never encountered them.

If you run into more problems, don't rule out hardware issues. Apple, on the whole is at the top of the industry for reliability (at least when it comes to desktops and laptops). However, that doesn't mean they're foolproof. I've heard plenty of stories of bad RAM.
Author:  Martin [ Tue Nov 22, 2005 11:29 pm ]
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Ah, alright. Apparently the dock magnification thing happens every so often, it's not a big deal.

I do need to get another 512mb of ram for this though...kinda chunky from time to time.
Author:  Martin [ Wed Nov 23, 2005 1:24 am ]
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Can someone explain the little triangles under some applications in the dock? I'd guess this means they're open, but some of my open applications don't have a triangle.
Author:  wtd [ Wed Nov 23, 2005 3:16 am ]
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Yes, it does mean they're open. Can you provide a specific example?
Author:  Martin [ Wed Nov 23, 2005 4:56 am ]
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Running Acquisition. Clicked the red x to get rid of the window, it disappeared and the triangle disappeared, but my bandwidth was still being used. Clicked the Aquisition icon, it loaded back up no problem (downloads were still running) but no triangle.

This is the only time it happened - turned my computer back on and the dock's working how it should be.

Very strange. The dock seems to be kind of buggy.
Author:  rizzix [ Wed Nov 23, 2005 12:54 pm ]
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Odd i've never ever experienced that.

Either way i suggest you do a system update.
Author:  Martin [ Wed Nov 23, 2005 5:45 pm ]
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Yeah, the system was updated at the time.
Author:  Martin [ Wed Nov 23, 2005 11:04 pm ]
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Alright guys, I need some software.

A good IDE for C/C++. Java's way too slow on this box. And maybe some other programming language too. I've been wanting to play with Haskell.

A better terminal program. The one included is kind of lacking. I want my transparencies.

Anything else that's cool and worth checking out. I have Adium and Acquisition so far.
Author:  rizzix [ Wed Nov 23, 2005 11:06 pm ]
Post subject: 
Martin, the Terminal app supports transparencies.. (and it does it better than linux that too)...

You need to look deeper into the app..

hint: Terminal -> window settings..

oh and don;t forget to "apply settings as default"

[gosh dan has got to fix the upload thing... or maybe tony... well someone!!]
Author:  wtd [ Wed Nov 23, 2005 11:19 pm ]
Post subject: 
Martin wrote:
Alright guys, I need some software.

A good IDE for C/C++. Java's way too slow on this box. And maybe some other programming language too. I've been wanting to play with Haskell.


Xcode came for free with your iMac. There should be a Dev Tools CD.

It's a fine IDE for C and C++, since Apple has to code lots of stuff that has nothing to do with Cocoa and Objective-C. Like any IDE, there will be a period of adjustment to how it does things.

As for Haskell: http://haskell.org/ghc/download_ghc_641.html#macosx

You may also wish to check out Fink.

http://fink.sourceforge.net/
Author:  rizzix [ Wed Nov 23, 2005 11:21 pm ]
Post subject: 
i prefer darwinports (but fink was the original and the... well.. they have a large database of apps)

edit: actually i just don't like the fink setup... i mean.. "/sw" ?? can u even change that?
Author:  Martin [ Wed Nov 23, 2005 11:55 pm ]
Post subject: 
Cool, I'll check it out.
Author:  Martin [ Thu Nov 24, 2005 1:00 am ]
Post subject: 
Is there a 1 click way to maximize windows?
Author:  rizzix [ Thu Nov 24, 2005 1:08 am ]
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the green button... (well technically that's the "maximize to fit-screen" button) but it saves ur settings.. it kinda acts like a toggle between two different window sizes.. etc..
Author:  wtd [ Thu Nov 24, 2005 1:31 am ]
Post subject: 
Martin wrote:
Is there a 1 click way to maximize windows?


To expand on what rizzix has already said, the green button (assuming you aren't using Graphite or some other theme) acts as a "best fit for content" button. It is not generally "maximize", but instead resizes the window to what is felt to be an optimal size.

It doesn't always work great, but in many cases I find it makes more sense than maximize.
Author:  md [ Thu Nov 24, 2005 2:30 am ]
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Having no experience with OS X... I remember that in mac classic (I think... it was a long time ago) if you double clicked on the titlebar it would maximize the window, is this still the case? Also, since the new x86 dev release has been "liberated" I might give it a try, so this thread is giving me a good idea what to expect Razz
Author:  Martin [ Thu Nov 24, 2005 2:32 am ]
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The only thing I remember from mac classic is this bomb picture in the middle of the screen.

No, that doesn't do it.
Author:  Martin [ Fri Nov 25, 2005 12:39 pm ]
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So, I sat down and started playing around with xcode. Ten minutes in I came to a realisation - the Japanese Mac keyboard has no backslash key.

So is there a way I can set my keyboard to have a normal layout? I can't find anything in System Preferences.

EDIT: Aparently, alt+Â¥ gives me the backslash. Great...
Author:  wtd [ Fri Nov 25, 2005 1:12 pm ]
Post subject: 
Buy a cheap U.S. layout USB keyboard and use it for programming?
Author:  Martin [ Fri Nov 25, 2005 1:14 pm ]
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See, that's the problem with being in Japan.
Author:  wtd [ Fri Nov 25, 2005 1:29 pm ]
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Surely you can buy such a thing in Japan...
Author:  rizzix [ Fri Nov 25, 2005 1:48 pm ]
Post subject: 
Martin wrote:
So is there a way I can set my keyboard to have a normal layout? I can't find anything in System Preferences.
'

System Preferences -> International -> Input Menu
Author:  Martin [ Fri Nov 25, 2005 10:12 pm ]
Post subject: 
In Tokyo probably, not anywhere I've found in Matsumoto though.
Author:  Martin [ Fri Nov 25, 2005 10:29 pm ]
Post subject: 
Nah, that didn't work.

Is there a way to change default applications? The only way I found to change my web browser was in Safari (somewhat counterintuitive, it should be in Sys Prefs)
Author:  wtd [ Fri Nov 25, 2005 11:33 pm ]
Post subject: 
Martin wrote:
Nah, that didn't work.

Is there a way to change default applications? The only way I found to change my web browser was in Safari (somewhat counterintuitive, it should be in Sys Prefs)


In System Preferences:

Internet -> Web tab -> Default Web Browser

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20020918062256978
Author:  Martin [ Sat Nov 26, 2005 1:03 am ]
Post subject: 
There's no internet button in System Preferences Sad
Author:  wtd [ Sat Nov 26, 2005 1:11 am ]
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Under Network?

Try searching for "browser". That's what the field in the upper right hand corner of the window is for. Smile
Author:  Martin [ Sat Nov 26, 2005 9:24 am ]
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Only highlights the quicktime icon. Cool feature though (the search thing). OSX isn't as simple as I originally thought (a good thing)
Author:  Martin [ Sat Nov 26, 2005 9:34 am ]
Post subject: 
Whatever, I changed the browser through Safari, so yeah.

Next question - how can I play ogg files in iTunes? I downloaded a quicktime componant that claims to do this, but iTunes just crashes.

EDIT: Nevermind. This works: http://www.barelyfocused.net/_old/oggvorbis.html
Author:  goomba [ Sat Nov 26, 2005 12:58 pm ]
Post subject: 
Martin wrote:
Only highlights the quicktime icon. Cool feature though (the search thing). OSX isn't as simple as I originally thought (a good thing)


OSX has TONS of little features like that hidden all over the place. As an example, here are a bunch of neat ways to take screenshots:

Shift-Cmd-3: Takes a snapshot of everything and saves it as a file on your desktop.

Shift-Cmd-4: Turns the mouse cursor into a target icon. Click and drag any portion of the screen to have OS X snap it and save it as a file on the desktop.

Shift-Cmd-4, then spacebar: Turns the mouse cursor into a camera icon. Move the mouse over any 'object' (window, dock, icon, menu, desktop, etc...) and click to take a snap of just that object, again it will be an image file on your desktop.

Of course, you can also use the built-in 'screencapture' command as well as Apple's Grab.app to take screenies with more refined options.

That's just an example of how flexible the interface is, thanks to quartz and postscript and friends. Most people can get along fine with the interface on a basic level, but power users can dig a lot deeper if they want. Check out www.macbreak.com . Every day, they have a new "MacBreak Minute" video which demonstrates some cool app or OS X feature. Not all of the vids are that enlightening, but some of them have showed me things I never would have known about otherwise.

Also, the number one spot for OS X software is www.versiontracker.com!

(FWIW, you can set the default browser from Safari preferences, 'General' tab. Most 3rd party browsers will also give you the option on startup and allow you to configure this setting from their own pref panels. The actual setting is accessible using the 'defaults' command from terminal which you can learn about in one of the macbreak minutes.)

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