NVMUG eNews 3/15/2003
Last updated 3/18/2003
Stephen Farber Presented Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar
Steve Farber talked about and demonstrated Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar. He showed some of the advantages of Jaguar and how it differs from Mac OS 10.1 and from OS 9. He also talked about how Jaguar maintains itself, what you can do, and what to on the rare occasion when something goes wrong.
1. The Caledonian Report - Jaguar
2. Stephen's Jaguar Presentation not in the Caledonian
3. Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Second Edition
4. Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar Links to Web Sites
5. Burning Files and/or Pictures to a CD Using Mac OS X 10.2
1. The Caledonian Report - Jaguar
Stephen Farber explains the Mac OS 10.2 Jaguar Target Disk Mode to NVMUG President Midge Lubot.
Mac Users Compare Operating Systems
At the Northern Vermont Macintosh User Group Meeting in St. Johnsbury Saturday, Stephen Farber talked about the differences between Macintosh operating systems, the advantages of the Jaguar system (Mac OS X 10.2), and the extra fun programs that come with it. He said the design philosophy of Jaguar is very different from the OS 9 system it is replacing. Apple is progressing at such a great rate that it is difficult for the average tinkerer to keep up with the new technology.
In Mac OS 9 you could adjust the size of memory allocated to each program. Each program was given limited memory to save room to run more programs at the same time. In Mac OS X, the operating system automatically assigns memory as needed for most efficient operation. Stephen demonstrated the use of Mac OS X memory with a CPU Monitor program. The operating system gave Adobe Photoshop Elements all the memory that the operating system wasn't using. Then running AppleWorks at the same time, the two programs ran in the memory Elements was using before. The Mac OS X guards against conflicts between programs so the user notices fewer problems, and so the programs always use the existing memory to best advantage.
The Finder in Mac OS X shows files in the standard icon view, in list view, or in column view. In Jaguar, Mac OS X 10.2, the three views are much more customizable. Stephen showed views with labels at the right side of the icons, and with labels below the icons. You can make the icons any size you want. Stephen finds column view very handy.
The fun programs included with Jaguar have been improved. For example the calculator has a paper tape that you can print. You can edit the paper tape.
Jaguar handles input and output much better. One example is Target Disk Mode. With your desktop Macintosh running, start your portable Mac and immediately hold down T. Your portable Mac will display the Target Disk symbol on the screen, and will act just like a hard drive. Connect your portable to your desktop Macintosh with a special FireWire cable (like the one that comes with an iPod), for a most convenient, simple, and wicked fast way to transfer files between the machines.
These many little programs are sweet, but iLife is the icing on the cake. iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, and iDVD all integrate to provide a new digital lifestyle.
Stephen recommends Mac OS X: The Missing Manual and O'Reilly Publishing as an excellent source of the truth. He also recommends going to O'Reilly or to Apple when you need information because O'Reilly Publishing is a partner in the development of software for the Mac.
2. Stephen's Jaguar Presentation Not In the Caledonian
How serious can NVMUG be? Members discussing Jaguar.
The best way is to play apples game and stay with the latest update. The problem is that means downloads of 20 or more megabytes which is a lot for those of us using a modem connection. Apple used to segment the downloads so that you could get them in chunks, now they send them in one huge hunk
iMovie used to be 20 megs to download, now version 3.0.2 is an 80 meg download, and then you also need to update to Quicktime 6.1 which is another big download.
Stephen said the new Keynote recommends 512 mg RAM, but most software still runs with 256 meg. His demo machine has 384 megs and seems to be doing fine. Stephen throws everything into his Dock and can quickly use up 70 to 80 percent of the RAM. Jaguar handles memory allocations transparently. The CPU Monitor program shows CPU usage - red for the system, green for the applications. Memory management is very good, and it will take most of what you have in order to run more efficiently
When apple installs something whether with an upgrade or new application- leave it where Apple puts it. There are a large number of invisible files that you do not see, so when you are in OS 9. There is a reason - you may see many hidden files with strange names - don't play with them. There is a reason why they are hidden. Remember, if Apple installed it there leave it there.
Aqua, the Finder, is placed upon a Unix file system. folders called directories in Unix. Geof said column view is similar to the old DOS shell. Stephen demonstrated how to make columns narrower or wider by dragging at the bottom between columns. Hold Options down and drag to move just one column.
The magical keyboard shortcuts have changed from OS 9. Pogue explains some of the consistency in the new key combinations. But if you are an OS 9 users who switched to OS X you just have to learn them.
How does Unix organize your files on your hard drive? You, the user, are not on the root directly. Each user has their home, their own format and their own toolbars. You are on a home directory for one of the users. The trick is to go to your home first, then look for your documents. It is best if you save all your files in the documents folder (unless you prefer to put them on the desktop or in a desktop file and then move them later). Each user also has their own desktop.
Question - How to install program so others cannot use it? - Install it in Applications within your Home user area where others will not see it. Or, go to Get info and change the permissions. Get Info offers a lot of other access choices, like read only, and in Get Info you can change icons, change the name (not advised if it is a program that you may want to update), and change whether file extensions visible or not.
If Word documents do not have the .doc extension, visible or not, the System asks what application you want to open it with. Using Get Info, you can set what application will open that particular file, or what application will open all files of that same type (such as JPEG). Command click - Open With - select Change All to go to that application every time it sees that extension. (You can also record Comments in Get Info to see them later, and you can set List View to show these Comments.)
Most people are running single user machine, but it is still important to repair Permissions occasionally. Stephen says it is handy to think of it as being like rebuilding the desktop though that is not what it does.) Permissions are repaired using the Disk Utility on system 10.2. Stephen demonstrated how to repair Permissions. Please read the writing before you click the button. -When it says, "Erase the Disk," it will erase the disk. When it says, "Do you really want to do this," you probably don't. (Don't worry, if you are careful you will not get into trouble.) It is a good idea to run repair Permissions before and after you install new applications. Repair Permissions if anything strange happens.
Disk Utility is the equivalent of Disk First Aid and will repair 90% of your problems. To repair your startup drive (not to repair Permissions on that drive), Insert your Installer disk and restart holding down the "C" key. When the CD quits spinning, go to the Installer menu and choose Disk Utility. Highlight your startup drive, and click the First Aid tab. Choose Repair Disk. When repairs are done, quit the Disk Utility, quit the Installer, and Restart. In response to a question, Stephen said "I would not want to go to any of the other repair utilities. I do not recommend any one of the others. I use Apple's utilities." He said wait until Text Tool Pro 4 or one of the other major upgrades comes out.
Jaguar runs a Verify Disk and Repair when you start up after a shut down. Jaguar also runs night time maintenance programs daily, weekly, and monthly if you leave your computer on. If you shut down your computer at night, you might want to download one of the freeware or shareware programs that runs these utilities when you want them run.
You can also run these utilities from the Terminal, command line interface. Stephen said, I have consistently avoided using any command line, I download other programs which run the Unix commands for me.
In answer to a question, we learned that fsck -y, File System Check, scans to be sure the file System has everything it needs. It is a first line of defense, let Unix check itself. Is the drive physically correct? Is the system complete enough to start up with? Stephen demonstrated by going into the Terminal. When the computer stopped displaying text on the monitor. He typed fsck -y
that is fsck space minus y. The computer ran the the repair program. Run it until it no longer says modifications have been made. Then key in exit
or Apple recommends reboot
to go back into Jaguar.
If you think you fouled it up real bad, reinstall the system at once instead of using fsck -y.
One quote of the day:
Entourage quits at least one a week.
There is a reason for that.
Because it is made by Microsoft?
Yes.
Another quote of the day:
If I say that, it will change tomorrow.
Mac OS 10.2 has a stronger firewall with latest security update. Firewall is like a screen door to keep the bugs out.
When all else fails with a freeze - push and hold the power button on the machine (not the keyboard) - or as Phyllis does in OS 9, pull the plug.
But, to quit a program (or in OS 9 to quit), use command-option- escape (on system 9 use command-control-escape). Note the differences between 9 and X.
When would you quit the Finder? When you do a search and the beech-ball keeps spinning forever, force quit the finder. It doesn't force quit, it relaunches.
The information the internal battery is saving has changed, PRAM now NVRAM contains information like the date and time and your time zone, etc. System X uses this information to start up, NVRAM tells it which hard drive and which system to use at start up.
Classic is different than System than 9.2.2 - Classic doesn't do any input output in OS 9. The input and output goes to through X. Choose does not work in Classic. Print Center is used instead. If you reboot into OS 9 you get the full OS 9.2.2 features but lose X features. The reason Apple is dropping starting up with OS 9 is because Apple will not have the expense of maintaining and updating features that Classic does not need or use.
Stephen said there were a lot of improvements he had not mentioned in Jaguar. Mac OS X 10.2 handles input output much better with Rendezvous, improved networking. There are lots of little nice applications and 10.2 iLife is much more feature rich. OS X is very strong and stable. Quartz extreme has sub pixel enhancements and much better display on LCDs. Speech, text to speech and speech recognition are much improved.
Stephen turned on speech recognition and said, Computer, tell me a joke.
The software works, but the computer didn't. Speech recognition will run AppleScript in Mac OS 10.2.
iLife collection if you upgrade all the components - iMovie 3 has more features than iMovie 2 requires very latest quicktime 6.1.
Stephen had made slide shows from stills in iMovie. iMovie 3 has more features than iMovie 2. The new Ken Burns feature can make slide shows better, more active. You can also import QuickTime movies from web, and edit and make your own movie. Keynote can also export into iMovie.
Image Capture is the basic technology that iPhoto uses to import. Preferences can be set in Image Capture when a camera is connected. You can change to import into iPhoto, to Image Capture, or to a folder. Most of the features that are automatic in System X can be turned off when you do not want to use them.
Many applications use QuickTime features to do file translations. QuickTime has improved. Streaming video is touted to work much better but probably not on a modem in the Northeast Kingdom.
.3. Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Second Edition
I have a 1999 copy of Macworld Mac Secrets, 5th Edition
by David Pogue and Joseph Schorr. This interesting book was not intended for the beginner. Nor was it intended for the programmer or advanced technician. It was meant to help everyone in the middle who would like to learn the secrets of using their Macintosh computer. It was a big book, 1291 pages long, and covered Mac OS operating systems up through Mac OS 8.5, the basics of using the common applications on the Mac. Scott Pelok, an early NVMUG President and chief guru said it was the one reference every Mac user should have.
I have a 2000 edition of Mac OS 9: The Missing Manual
by David Pogue ($19.95) which was in its 5th printing. It was the manual that should have been in the book, with step by step instructions for using every Mac OS 9 feature. It was 459 pages devoted to using the operating system, and was one tool every Mac owner using OS 9 needed, but not the only tool. In the same year, AppleWorks 6: The Missing Manual
($19.95) did the same for the one program that most Mac users needed, and I believe one of the most useful programs in the world. It was 439 pages.
It is difficult to believe that the 2002 Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Second Jaguar Edition
($29.95) could be so different because the Macintosh world has become so different. Still this book by David Pogue and his creative team is one reference, one manual, that every owner of a recent Macintosh running Mac OS X should have. I resist saying the one manual that every owner needs because, even at 712 pages, it is not the only manual that you probably need. I mean there is iPhoto: The Missing Manual ($24.95) with 288 pages on getting the most from your digital camera and the iPhoto application. And, some true beginners may find they need something simpler at first, and some advanced technicians and programmers will obviously need additional references. Oh, and if you are running OS X but not yet up to OS X 10.2 your computer is being cheated.
Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Second Edition
is the book Stephen used the most in developing his presentation. I read the first edition, and I am glad I bought the second edition. It is readable. I have read most of the chapters in the second edition twice. I enjoy learning the magical things in The Missing Manual and trying them on my iBook. Oh yes, and I have wasted time on more than one occasion figuring out how to do something when I would have been better off remembering to look at The Missing Manual. As Stephen said, first read the words.
As you might guess, David Pogue is my favorite computer book author, and It is not surprising that the first edition of Mac OS X: The Missing Manual
was the #1 best selling computer book in 2002.
But did you know that O'Reilly is a leading publisher of technical books used by software developers, and that they support new software development for the Macintosh. They are sponsoring an Emerging Technology Conference in Santa Clara, CA. Some far out software developers and concept creators will be there.
O'Reilly and Pogue Press support the books they sell. Mac OS X: The Missing Manual
does not come with a CD full of software. Instead they provide the software referenced in the book on http://www.missingmanual.com, where they keep this software up to date.
4. Mac OS X 10.2 Jaguar Links to Web Sites
These links are out of date and no longer available.
5. Burning Files to a CD Using Mac OS X 10.2
Prepare
It is a good idea, but not necessary, to first get all the files and pictures together that you want to burn. I like to put a copy of them in a folder on the desktop. There they are easy to find and it is easy to use File -> Get Info to determine how much there is to put on the CD.
Insert a blank CD
In Mac OS X 10.2, when you insert a blank CD you get a dialog with an Action pull down menu, and a blank to enter a Name.
Choose an Action and Name
The Action pull-down menu offers three options:
Open Disk Copy
Open iTunes
or
Open Finder
Open Disk Copy is for creating a disk from a disk image file (.dmg).
Open iTunes is for creating a music CD.
Select Open Finder for putting regular Mac files (with applications, documents, pictures, etc.) onto the CD.
(Note, if all you want to do is to burn iPhoto pictures to a CD or DVD, you can do that from within iPhoto. See iPhoto help. iPhoto uses this same kind of CD format.
Put the name you want for the disk in the Name space. If you do not, and you get the icon of a CD named "Untitled" or there is any error in the name, you can edit it on your desktop before you burn it onto the disk.
Copy Files to the CD Folder
Click on the CD icon to open it. Copy files you want to burn (which you may have already stored in a folder on the desktop) to the newly opened CD folder. Any files will work, programs, documents, movies, pictures, or any combination up to the capacity of the CD.
Burn the CD
Use Finder: File -> Burn Disc, or if you will burn CDs often, you can install the Burn icon on your window toolbar or in the Dock and click on it there.
Relax and Wait
Wait until your computer says it is done or ejects the disk when it is finished.
This process was just tested and burned a Trailer of the movie Chicago, a QuickTime movie of the Small Dog grand opening, a picture taken from the Columbia space shuttle, one TextEdit file, and one AppleWorks file. Of course it worked, or why would I have written this!
If you have Mac OS X: The Missing Manual, Second Edition,
this and more is found under Burning CDs and DVDs in the Index (my text pages 307-310).
