Apple seems to have gotten a ton of issues about the stability of Safari 3.2 so this morning they had something fun for all of us on Software Update - Safari 3.2.1. While I'm sure there are reasons for this, it comes a week after 3.2, so they really must have been bad bugs. I didn't notice anything, but then again, I don't hit a ton of sites, but I hit enough. Well... anyway, it's out there and it's a reboot to get it.
Gotta do it.
After I updated iTunes this morning I synced all the updated iPod Touch apps, and then found that version 2.2 of the firmware for the Touch was out. I had to update. Safari is updated as is Mail, there are WiFi improvements, and the Home button is really home now, and the general stability and security fixes.
Nice to get, and I have to say I don't miss not having a phone in it. It's perfect just as it is.
This morning I noticed that Software Update had an update for iTunes to take it to 8.0.2. Seems the improvements were in the integration with VoiceOver, and a problem with third-party MP3 files (Amazon store?), as well as the standard stability and security fixes.
Nothing much changed, but it was nice to see they were moving forward with updates in light of Snow Leopard's release in a few months.
Friday evening we went to pick up my fixed iMac G5 from the OakBrook Apple Store and I've been setting it up, and updating it over the weekend. Yesterday, I went to Best Buy and got a nice My Book 1TB drive for Time Machine on this guy. The drive was in the $260 range, and had USB and Firewire 400 ports - nice drive.
So I got it hooking up and I wanted to reformat it as a Mac OS Extended (Journaled) filesystem for Time Machine (and anything else I wanted to throw on there), but when I tried to do that, I kept getting a formatting error, and it'd just stop.
Hmmm...
I finally open up the log for Disk Utility and say this error message:
newfs_hfs: /dev/rdisk1s1: partition size not a multiple of 4K.
That's very odd. I hadn't seen that before, and I've formatted a lot of this style of drives in the past. I wonder what it was. If I formatted is as FAT32, it worked fine. But I didn't want that. I wanted Mac OS Extended (Journaled). So I had to hit Google.
The solution was not obvious, and yet clear as day once you know what to look for. The trick was in the partitioning of the drive and the 'Options...' button at the bottom. The default from the factory had it with a DOS-based MBR selected, and I needed to select the GUID (for Intel Macs) or the APM (for PPC Macs). Once I did that, then the format was clean and quick, and it's working fine.
Interesting how the defaults play into these things. Glad to have hit it, and figured it out.
I got a nice little surprise today when I went to my machine and noticed that Software Update had Safari 3.2 on it! Sweet! I haven't read all the release notes, but I'm guessing this is the WebKit update that has SquirrelFish in it for JavaScript interpretation. I've been laid up with this back problem, but I'm hoping that as soon as I'm well enough to sit at a desk for a while, I'll be able to have a look at the release notes and see what's all there.
OK, I had a look... seems this release has the anti-phishing features some other browsers have had for a while, and that's nice to have, but they didn't release SquirrelFish, as the Acid3 test is only at 77, and I know SquirrelFish and WebKit have been up to 100 for a while now. So it's better, but it's not the best WebKit can do in this release.
That's OK, I'm sure Snow Leopard will have all the latest in that release at the first of the new year.
I've been using PHP and PostgreSQL for a long time. I'm talking like in excess of 7 years. I love the database and the language, I like the fact that they work well together, and apart. I've been using them for a very long time and very happy about it. Lately, however, I've gotten a little concerned about the continuation of PHP and PostgreSQL on Mac OS X. Specifically, Marc Liyanage has been providing wonderful packages for PHP and PostgreSQL that work wonderfully well together. But it seems he hasn't released an update in a very long time.
In fact, Apple's PHP version is more up to date, and that's saying something.
Apple's PHP has support for MySQL, but nothing for PostgreSQL, so I can't really use that. If I switch to MySQL I can use Apple's stuff and the packages from MySQL which reportedly are pretty decent, but again, I'm learning a new database and that's not a horrible thing, but it's not something I really want to do, either.
If I wanted to build these myself, then I'd have to build PostgreSQL... use that and the Apache2 on Mac OS X to build PHP, and then I'd be OK. But that puts me in the middle of the build process, and honestly, I'd rather have something that I can update and not have to mess with. Sure, it may sound like I'm lazy, but if I go to the hassle of doing this, I might as well put Marc out of business and start updating the builds myself.
Maintaining a build of PHP and another of PostgreSQL might be OK, but there's a lot of people already doing one of these - it's the combination that I'm looking for. With linux, I get it all for free, but that's because they expect you to want that as an option. It'd be nice to see Apple just throw in the PostgreSQL support into PHP and then point to an installer like they do with MySQL.
But I'm worried this is not going to happen. Maybe I need to just email him and ask him straight away if he's stopped doing the builds. At least then I can make a decision to go to MySQL or try to go the route of the builds. Certainly, if I do the latter, and Marc is out of the game, then I'll have his build scripts to work off of, which isn't horrible.
Lots to think about... unfortunately, nothing really looks all that appealing. Probably the path of least resistance is to get MySQL on my Macs and then use the Apple PHP and be done with it. This way, I don't have to worry about continued support - they seem to have made a choice, and will most likely stick with it.
UPDATE: while I was finishing this up I decided to see if PostgreSQL had a pre-built package for Mac OS X like MySQL does. Turns out, they do. With this, I can be up to date on PostgreSQL without having to depend on Marc. I only need to find a way to get PHP support based on this build. Nice to know.
I ended up sending him messages on his support BB... one for PostgreSQL and another for PHP. We'll see if he replies, or if someone else replies. I can see building PHP like Marc does, but how difficult that might be I do not know.
I've been cleaning up my office - OK, more than 'cleaning', I've been gutting it and dropping about five computers (Sun, SGI, NeXT, HP, and Canon) and reorganizing the entire office to simplify the office and clean all the wiring and power distribution I have. It's taken me several weekends, and it's required me to throw away computers that I've had longer than I've had kids. It's been an emotional journey.
Several months ago, my iMac G5 died and the cats at the Genius Bar in OakBrook said that it would be $900 to replace the mainboard. Yikes! That's nearly the cost of a new Intel iMac. So I got the Intel iMac and put it into service. I didn't get rid of the iMac G5 because I really wanted to get it working, I just didn't know what it'd take to get it going.
Well, in the cleanup, it was one machine that I just could not part with. I think it's the emotional attachment to the first iMac I bought myself. It was a G5, after all! That was a smoking processor! So I kept it. Well... this weekend, I decided to try and see if I could get to the bottom of the problem. All my Google searches said "Mainboard replacement", and my tests showed that I had to do the same. No way around it.
So I realized that it was worth $900 to me, and I went back to the OakBrook Genius Bar and said the story of my iMac. It boots, but then locks up. The gal took it and looked at it behind the bar (it was very crowded) and after a little bit came back to me and said "Yeah, it looks like the mainboard, and it's out of warranty." This, I knew. But I was ready. "But we're going to fix it for you for free."
What!?
Free?!
Yes, free. She took down a little more information from me and went to write up the ticket. It was going to take about 5 days to get the board and replace it. I told Liza about the news and she was blown away for about half a second. "Bob", she said, "You bought a MacBook Pro for your Mom here, my MacBook Air, the three Kids' MacBooks, your iMac... they're going to throw you a bone because it's good advertising."
OK, I had to agree, she's right. After all I've spent in that store, the cost of the mainboard is really nothing to them, but to me, it's incredible customer service. I'll be telling this story for a long time to come - and buying Apple computers for even longer.
So in about a week I'll be able to go back and get my new iMac G5 and put it in my new office and have it back up and running. That's just the most incredible news I've had in weeks. I'm so very glad I didn't ditch it in the clean-up. This is going to be great.
Today I got an email from the Pragmatic Programmers about two books: Core Data and Core Animation, and after thinking about it for a few minutes and looking at excerpts from the books, I decided to get them both. The Core Data is a "beta book" meaning it's not really done, but it will be, and the Core Animation book is finalized and in print.
I really like the books these guys put together - very easy to read as PDFs with Preview on my Mac, and with updates I don't have to worry about errata. Also, there's no way I can carry around the tonnage of books that I have for reference, etc. It's just not possible. But I can carry all that and more on my laptop.
While I haven't started reading these books, the one I read on Git is excellent, and I highly recommend it. I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do with Core Data or Animation, but I know that the few things I have been thinking about require both: simulations and market tools. So... we'll see how these pan out, but I'm betting on "great".
This morning I noticed on Software Update that Apple had released iPhoto 7.1.5 and an update to the AirPort Express for connectivity and stability reasons, as well as bug fixes, I'm guessing. It's nice to pick up the AirPort stuff, but honestly, I haven't had the least bit of trouble from the AirPort Express since getting it in my first Powerbook. It's been flawless, but I guess others might be putting more of a strain on their systems than I do.
Anyway, good to get it updated.
I found this little tidbit this morning in my RSS feeds... it's saying that the 17-inch MacBook Pro is only slightly delayed due to some problems with the display and optical drive. Fair enough. Looks like it's going to be an interesting January, as the MacWorld conference would be a perfect place to showcase this new release.
I'm still hoping that it's going to come in a quad-core version... but if not, then it'll be a tougher decision on if it's time to buy or not. The all-in-one case would be very nice for me, but the rest of the notebook is pretty much the same as I have. Yeah, a little faster, but not a world faster.
Looks like I've got to wait a few more months to see.