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Advanced SearchUser Name domo
Member Since 2000-06-25
Total number of Feedback Posts: 34
Total number of comments: 7
Last 10 Feedback Posts by domo [ Search for All ]
Apple Canon Print Driver 1.1 (Mac OS X)
Zaps Canon drivers it does not include
After installing, I found that the driver for my Canon MP970 had been zapped. I had to reinstall it.
Looking at what got installed (using lsbom from the command-line), it appears that this update addresses much more than just the Pro900/9500: it contains drivers for dozens of Canon bubble-jet printers and multi-function devices -- except not the MP970. Maybe it's too new. But it's possible that other devices' drivers are omitted and will be zapped too.
Further sniffing around in a Time Machine back-up shows that very many files have changed between the Leopard release and this update. So it really does look as though this is a general update for all bubble-jets. Except those it misses...
[alert admin]Friday, June 06 2008 @ 05:52 AM PDT
Oxford English 1.0 (Mac OS X)
This is all very nice -- and it's good to see the Oxford Text Archive getting a name-check. But why would I use this widget when it's only compatible with Mac OS 10.4 and, in that operating system, I can simply hover the cursor over a word, type command-control-d, and get an Oxford Dictionary pop-up containing at least the information offer by this widget? Possible answers: I want British English (Mac OS' Oxford Dictionary is American); command-control-d does not work in all apps (but then I could just fire up the Dictionary application). But anyway... The installation procedure is way too involved, especially for us pampered Mac users. (I initially fell at around the third fence, but did manage it eventually.) To find anything like a wide audience, the widget must be rewritten so that, on first use, it scripts Safari to open up the registration page, pops up instructions on what to do, and waits for the right file to appear in the Safari's download folder before proceeding with automatic installation. [alert admin]
Post a comment | More Info | 5 of 7 users found this helpful
Friday, June 08 2007 @ 09:38 AM PDT
Mathematica 6.0 (Mac OS X)
Prettier, but no longer 64-bit 
Upgraded my student edition at a reasonably attractive price. I had licence key trouble (again). Judging by the slowness of response to my email support request (they're normally commendably fast), I'm not the only one. But, one replacement key later, I'm in business. The product now looks much nicer, with anti-aliased fonts and graphics, and the last vestiges of Mac OS Classic-ishness gone. Except the single-level undo. Can that be so hard to fix? There are lots of nifty new features, some of which I can actually use, but I'm disappointed by one thing: in providing native Intel support, Wolfram has dropped explicit 64-bit PPC support: the fat binary for the kernel (which does the calculation work) is now ppc + i386; it used to be ppc + ppc64. Shame! Now my G5 is not using half its bits. [alert admin]
Post a comment | More Info | 2 of 2 users found this helpful
Wednesday, May 09 2007 @ 09:39 AM PDT
LaCie Update Tool 1.4.1 (Mac OS X)
LaCie renames old DVD update tool 1.4.1 for no apparent reason
Things are getting confusing. This is not a replacement for version 1.4.2, posted a few days ago and subsequently withdrawn: 1.4.2 addressed external hard disks; 1.4.1 targets external DVD writers. In fact, LaCie posted LaCie DVD update tool 1.4.1 on 14 February. VersionTracker logged it around 22 February. The current download, although renamed, and currently filed on LaCie's site under support and downloads for hard drives, is identical to the DVD updater posted in February.
So, if you want a DVD updater, 1.4.1 is what you need. If you're waiting for the hard drive updater to be reposted, sit on your hands while LaCie gets its act together.
For what it's worth, I used DVD update tool 1.4.1 to flash my DVD drive a couple of months back, and have had no problems, then or since. [alert admin]Post a comment | More Info | 1 of 1 users found this helpful
Sunday, May 06 2007 @ 06:02 AM PDT
Apple iTunes 7.0.2 (Mac OS X)
7.0.2 rebuilt my iTunes 7.0.1 database the first time I ran it. Nothing went wrong, but pessimists might like to back up both iTunes 7.0.1 (or whatever), Music/iTunes/iTunes Library and .../iTunes Music Library.xml before installing the update just in case they subsequently want to revert. [alert admin]
Post a comment | More Info | 1 of 2 users found this helpful
Wednesday, November 01 2006 @ 06:02 AM PST
DrScheme 350 (Mac OS X)
Highlights from the mailing list archive:
- Mac OS X installation is drag-and-drop
- Tools that create executables can produce self-contained packages
- ProfessorJ now supports a unit testing mechanism and a new wizard for generating class and union declarations
- The draw library now accommodates multiple worlds, and a new idraw library supports imperative drawing and animation.
- MzScheme includes a just-in-time compiler on x86, x86_64, and PowerPC platforms
- MzScheme's default exception handler now shows stack-trace information
- DrScheme now treats open square-bracket keyboard input specially for less wear and tear on your hands
Monday, June 19 2006 @ 06:07 AM PDT
Adobe Reader 7.0.9 (Mac OS X)
Hijack's Safari's handling of PDFs
Beware. Without asking, the installer puts in place /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/AdobePDFViewer.plugin, which overrides Safari's default behaviour of using WebKit to display PDFs. To restore the behaviour, trash the plugin and relaunch Safari.
Low marks for this reason. [alert admin]
Read Comments (6) | More Info | 9 of 10 users found this helpful
Sunday, June 04 2006 @ 12:20 PM PDT
Apple Mac OS X PPC 10.4.6 (Mac OS X)
I'd previously used Cagefighter 1.1 to return Mail's toolbar icons to a more standard format. Mail 2.0.7, part of the 10.4.6 update, reverts the icons to Apple's annoying format, and neither Cagefighter, nor the alternative Mail Fixer, can put things right. I eagerly await an update or replacement from some enterprising hacker. [alert admin]
Tuesday, April 04 2006 @ 10:57 AM PDT
Mail Fixer 1.0.1 (Mac OS X)
Broken by Mac OS 10.4.6 update
Mail 2.0.7, installed as part of the Mac OS 10.4.6 update, returns to the ugly, non-standard buttons, and sadly Mail Fixer cannot put things right. [alert admin]
Read Comments (2) | More Info | 1 of 1 users found this helpful
Tuesday, April 04 2006 @ 10:46 AM PDT
NeoOffice 1.2.1 (Mac OS X)
Start-up problem solved by trashing preferences
An upgrade from an older version failed to start on my iMac G5, complaining that it "cannot be started due to an error in accessing the [...] configuration data". I solved this by applying the good old Mac OS voodoo of trashing the preferences (stored below ~/Library/Preferences/NeoOffice-1.x). Lucky I didn't have any precious preferences... [alert admin]
Post a comment | More Info | 2 of 2 users found this helpful
Wednesday, March 22 2006 @ 10:32 AM PST
Last 10 Comments by domo [ Search for All ]
I have not tried the latest revision, but the lack of niceness is certainly still the case with 5.10.30. It seems to be Leopard's fault, not BOINC's. While nice still affects how much processor a process gets (nice processes get less processor if there are also runnable non-nice processes), it's no longer the case that the processor clock is slowed when performance is set to "automatic" and only nice processes are runnable. Consequently,…
Original feedback item : Read More(1 words)
Thursday, December 27 2007 @ 09:02 AM PST
Gold Standard, for the Price of Gold
How can a program so good be marketed so badly?
Umm, because its major competitor, Maple is marketed the exact same way, and neither party has blinked yet?
Original feedback item : Read More
Friday, May 04 2007 @ 08:54 AM PDT
I see the same thing. I wonder if it is because I have /Users on a separate mounted volume, rather than on the boot volume. Despite the installer at first claiming that it will put files under my home directory, it then offers to install them (only) on the boot volume. It should ask for authorisation at this point, but doesn't. Then it fails. Command-line hackers or those with a copy of Pacifist may be able…
Original feedback item : Read More(1 words)
Friday, June 16 2006 @ 06:49 AM PDT
Yup. I'm aware of this particular set of blinkers. I've never had a crash in Apple, third-party or my own software that, on examining the logs, I can attribute to Ape. But if I want to raise a bug report for a crash, I'll always reproduce the problem with Ape disabled and attach the new log to the crash report, so that the developer can't just say "It was Ape! It's not my problem." It's…
Original feedback item : Read More(1 words)
Thursday, June 01 2006 @ 10:45 AM PDT
Add Audio Hijack Pro to that list: after I'd slimmed it to PowerPC only with Monolingual (which has no blacklist), it no longer started automatically for scheduled recordings. Reinstallation of the application, and subsequent reinstallation from the application of its various extras, fixed the problem.
Original feedback item : Read More
Monday, May 15 2006 @ 12:30 PM PDT
Add Audio Hijack Pro to that list: after I'd slimmed it to PowerPC only with Monolingual (which has no blacklist), it no longer started automatically for scheduled recordings. Reinstallation of the application, and subsequent reinstallation from the application of its various extras, fixed the problem.
Original feedback item : Read More
Monday, May 15 2006 @ 12:24 PM PDT
Bing80, the 2GB limit has to do with AIFF: an AIFF file consists a series of "chunks" for audio and for other data -- metadata, cover art, whatever you (or rather, whatever the application you're using) like. Each chunk may be no more than 2GB long, and the by now rather ancient specification says that thare must be exactly one audio chunk. So you're stuck. I can only suggest that, if you can bear…
Original feedback item : Read More(1 words)
Monday, February 09 2004 @ 07:31 AM PST
