What's it all about, Alfie?

Today I was checking on my WebDAV/SSL access to my home server and noticed that it wasn't working. I knew I had set it up once, and I couldn't imagine what had messed it up, but then I started looking at the error and access logs, and it was clear that the WebDAV lock database was not accessible to the plugin. Rats.

As I started digging, I noticed that the DAV config file: /etc/apache2/extra/httpd-dav.conf was not the same as I had originally had - specifically, the value for DavLockDB. What was there was pointing to some default Apple location, and even that wasn't really there. So I had to go in and set:

  DavLockDB "/Library/WebServer/WebDAV/DavLock"

and then a simple:

  $ sudo apachectl graceful

and my WebDAV/SSL was once again working.

It turns out that the DAV plugin makes several files with that root name, and there's no reason it has to be there, so if there's something in that location - wipe it out and then restart Apache.

Whew! I'll have to keep a closer eye on the Apple Mac OS X updates and make sure it's not breaking the configs.

This morning I noticed that Apple released iPhone OS 3.1.3 through iTunes, and it includes the nice feature that the battery monitor is supposed to be more accurate - which is good, even if the time I can use it is shorter. I need to plan what I can do with my phone, and this is just essential information to that planning. There were other security fixes, which is great, and I was always going to upgrade, it's just nice to know what it was about.

This morning I noticed that iTunes 9.0.3 was released to Software Updates, and this time it wasn't about a new device - it was about fixes to features. Imagine that! The changes aren't dramatic, but really annoying - like not respecting the "save password" for purchases, these are things that people complain about day after day.

I haven't really hit any of the listed issues, but I'm glad to see that they aren't treating iTunes like nothing more than a delivery vehicle for their content. Make it better, guys... we'll all love you for it.

Over the weekend, I stopped by the Apple Store in Naperville to pick up two of their small aluminum keyboards to use with two machines at work that used to share a keyboard/mouse with a switch-box, but last week were "split" so that I needed two keyboards in a pretty small desk.

For this desk, I need to get rid of the numeric keyboards to save the space. Just have to.

So the question is "How do I make it work with linux?"

Thankfully, xmodmap is going to do everything we need, and all I need to do is to get the keycodes from the keyboard and put them into the .Xmodmap file that I've already got to swap CapsLock and Ctrl.

Open up a terminal and type:

  $ xev

What you'll see is a new window with every X event getting printed to the standard out. Lots of information there, but in addition, you'll see every key press and release - and therein you can find the keycodes.

What I found was the following:

From this I was able to create the .Xmodmap that made the "Apple" keys act as "Alt" keys (their default appears to be to act as "Windows" keys) so it's easier to do what I need:

  !
  ! Swap Caps_Lock and Control_L
  !
  remove Lock = Caps_Lock
  remove Control = Control_L
  keysym Control_L = Caps_Lock
  keysym Caps_Lock = Control_L
  add Lock = Caps_Lock
  add Control = Control_L

  !
  ! Make the Apple keys Alt keys
  !
  keycode 115 = Alt_L Meta_L
  keycode 116 = Alt_R Meta_R
  add mod1 = Alt_L Meta_L Alt_R Meta_R

I may try to map some of the function keys to PgUp and PgDn keys, as those would be nice, but for now, it's enough this morning to get the Alt keys working on the new keyboards as that's how I switch between workspaces - which is essential.

I really like the additional desk space... that's a real plus. Just a little more fiddling with the location of things, and I should be settled in with the new hardware.

This morning Apple released a new Security Update for Snow Leopard on Software Updates. It's got about a half-dozen updates to the core components: CoreAudio, CUPS, ImageIO, etc. You have to stay up to date or risk getting hit by one of the script kiddies. Sad, but true.

This morning there were some updates for my MacBook Pro - specifically, the DVD Drive is supposed to be "making noise" coming out of sleep, or so they say. The EFI fix is necessary for the SuperDrive fix that is the second update in the cycle. There's also a fix for AirPort clients to get better connection stability and the ability to shut it down under all conditions.

Gotta get these, even if I don't see a real problem with the system.

Apple has released JDK 1.6.0_17 for Mac OS X. 'Nuff said. Have to get it.

I was really surprised this morning to see that Xcode 3.2.1 was out on Software Updates. The notes on the developer web site say:

Xcode 3.2.1 is an update release of the developer tools for Mac OS X. This release provides bug fixes in gdb, Interface Builder, Instruments, llvm-gcc and Clang optimizer, Shark, and Xcode and must be installed on Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard and higher.

so it appears to have updated components of the Xcode suite as opposed to actually updating the Xcode GUI app. Interesting.

Certainly had to get that.

This morning I noticed that iPhoto 8.1.1 was out on Software Updates. Not a major update, mostly effecting the facial recognition, but still, it's nice to see the update. I take a lot more pictures with my iPhone than I ever did in the past. iPhoto makes it very easy to organize and share them.

This morning I knew that I needed to get Safari 4.0.4 with a few security fixes and a few nice improvements - like faster JavaScript execution, which always helps. Safari is still my favorite browser on any platform, and on the Mac, it's just beautiful. I just wish they allowed me to have the "tabs in the title bar" that was a feature of the beta several months ago. I really liked that, but can see that there were a bunch of folks that didn't. Hence the option. In any case, it's the thing to do this morning, and then the reboot... ugh... but a necessity.