Getting Xerox XM3-19W monitor working on Mac Mini

This monitor isn't recognised properly, but after a lot of difficulty, I have used SwitchResX Control Panel to get some settings that work. You use SwitchResX to set up a monitor resolution profile (requires reboot to install the profile I think, then set it in SwitchResX), but after that you don't need it anymore and can just delete SwitchResX.

From the manufacturer's data (to put into monitor profile although I think this is optional):
Vertical 56-75 Hz
Horz 56-82 kHz
Clock 20-187 MHz
Resolution 1440 x 900 in 50Hz

Settings that work: Horizontal, Vertical
Pixel clock: 107.03 MHz
Active: 1440, 900
Front porch: 83, 3
Sync Width: 152, 6
Back Porch 235, 25
Blanking: 470, 34
Total 1910, 934
Scan rate 56.037, 59.996

Don't use SwitchResX's simplified settings option, they don't work!

Switching keyboard layouts using keyboard shortcut

One thing that's being annoying me is that I can't change keyboard layouts by a shortcut, like I can with Windows (Shift-Alt etc.). In System Preferences - Keyboard and Mouse it looks like you can set all key shortcuts for the system in once place - a much better idea than Windows where it's all in one place.

In the Keyboard Shortcuts panel the Input Menu category is off by default - I turned it on and assigned Alt-`, which is actually labelled / on my british keyboard being used as a US keyboard.

Excellent University of Edinburgh help file

This file is what their helpdesk support people get. It's very useful.

http://www.ucs.ed.ac.uk/usd/itlp/handbook1.doc

Google version: http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:AWMrFYUObxoJ:www.ucs.ed.ac.uk/usd/itlp/handbook1.doc+ssh+arran+site:ed.ac.uk&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=uk&client=firefox-a

Backup using SMB Windows sharing

I'm trying to back up all my photos from the Mac to Windows.

I enable a share in Windows and try to connect to it from OS X by using the Connect to Server option in Finder. Connecting to smb://limpet/Music brings something up, asking for the workgroup (DHG), username and password, but when I look at the folder contents there is nothing. I can't copy anything into it, and also I know there are files there on the Windows PC that I should be seeing. I tried this also for another share and the same result.

I tried browsing at the bottom of the Connect to Server dialog. It finds me the group Dhg and the computer Limpet (with a capital now). The next box over says Connect... To see the avialable shares for server "Limpet", click Connect. I do, and after a while it asks me to select from the shares available on Limpet. There are Authenticate Again, OK and Cancel options. I choose OK, but it just returns me to the dialog. Oh, there is a folder on the desktop.

All the folders I have opened correctly tell me how much free space I have on the Windows drive, but they are empty and I can't put anything into them.

Actually, the easiest way to connect is from the Network in Finder.

I tried fiddling with the Windows Firewall. File and Printer Sharing is only enabled for computers on the local network (this is XP, Windows Firewall -> Exceptions -> Edit -> Change Scope), so I enable it for all computers. No effect. I turn off Windows Firewall altogether and it doesn't work still.

If you drag a connected share to the trash, it doesn't eject. But if you hit the eject symbol in Finder, it does. That's pretty shoddy.

It turns out that I was using the wrong username!! Now it works fine (and really quick). And dragging to the eject/trash icon works too.

So now I can connect to my work laptop and backup everything onto it - relief!

I had a problem where copying files from Mac to Windows stopped, saying I did not have the correct permissions to perform the operation. Turned out that some of the files I was copying OVER were read only, so it couldn't complete.

Solving 0x80072EE2 error on windows update

This page suggested turning on Windows firewall and turning off all others. Turning off Kapersky seemed to do the trick - though I'm sure when I first had the problem, it wasn't on...

I have windows update added as a Trusted Site, as recommended in the Windows Update FAQ.

Odd, I found that I had to connect over the VPN to the University, or it won't work.

Connecting to Edinburgh University

This page explains how to do it well.

http://www.is.ed.ac.uk/itus/sce/scieng1/PCuserNotesNoSDPMapDrives.html

The server at the management school is arran.sms.ed.ac.uk.

Installing Parallels on Mac OS X to get Windows XP Pro going

When I first started up Parallels after installing it, it seemed to find the My Boot Camp virtual machine. I'm not really sure where it came from. I tried to run it and at hung up, trying to 'start from hard drive'. Anyway, I deleted it (seems to be just a 4kB file somewhere in my Documents folder).

I ran Parallels Desktop again, and this time it did what the Quick Start guide said it would - offer to make a new VM. Good. The 'more options' section has the very useful option to Share virtual machine with other Mac users, which forces you to put the VM in /Users/Shared/Parallels - this is good I think, means other people could use Word and Excel and so on.

I was also able to tell it to install from the XP Pro image I had made as a backup on my desktop - neat.

However, it seemed to try to boot from various devices then said non-system disk or disk error. Oh. I selected Devices->CD/DVD 1 and told it to use the hardware DVD drive and it worked after that. Hmm.

Unlike the last time I had this going, I haven't had to create a separate partition. There is a file called winxp.hdd in the Parallels folder for the VM, and it keeps getting bigger as the copy/install happens. That's great - it was awful having this unnecessary partition last time. Only I made such a partition already, thinking I would need it!

Coherence doesn't work like it used to - seems to say I have to install the Parallels Tools. I do this from Parallels menu Actions -> Install Parallels tools. That works much nicer now, and has, as promised, linked up my Desktop and other folders.

Also do Actions -> Install Kapersky Internet Security which I bought as part of the Premium edition of Parallels (since I was so impressed)

Installed my favourite Firefox addons:

Ad Blocker

Gmail Manager

Download Statusbar

CookieSafe

dragdropupload

Had problems with an update error in Windows Update.

Got Office 2007 Home and Student edition installed - now I'm up and running for the project that's kicking off very soon.

Most useful dashboard widgets

Better than keeping my normal constantly thrown out scrap of paper on my desk, I found

http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/business/lists.html

which is a dashboard widget for keeping lists. It's very basic, which is all I need! But how do you edit something once you've written it? Hmmm, well, it doesn't matter too much I suppose.

The other Mac OS X widgets I use are

http://www.liquidx.net/albumartwidget/ which downloads my iTunes album covers from amazon in the background, automatically

http://www.phantomgorilla.com/widgets/ to get BBC radio stations (heaps of them I didn't even know existed)

the excellent currency converter widget that updates without you pointlessly having to press 'convert' (that button doesn't exist in this lovely program)
http://www.palple.net/widgets/currencyconverter/index.html

plus the standard calendar and clock widgets and the truly superb scientific calculator widget with memory (in fact full Javascript expressions it seems)

http://www.brackeen.com/calculate/

Setting up University of Edinburgh VPN

This page has some good instructions for setting up University of Edinburgh's VPN.

http://www.ucs.ed.ac.uk/nsd/access/macpptp.html

More about Automator

Looking for more info on Automator and Folder Actions, I found this page which explains it.

http://www.simplehelp.net/2007/01/30/folder-actions-for-os-x-explained-with-real-world-examples/

I also found this folder sync action which uses rsync in the background to synchronise two folders. Maybe useful in the future.

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/automator/syncfoldersaction.html

I made an AppleScript that starts an Automator action and attached it to Proximity's In Range action - Proximity can't run an Automator action directly.

display dialog "In range"
tell application Automator

end tell

This apple page is a tutorial on how to create workflows using applescript.

http://developer.apple.com/documentation/AppleApplications/Conceptual/AutomatorTutorialAppleScript/WhatYouWillCreate/chapter_2_section_1.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40002010-CH202-BAJDHAEH

Proxi looks like it is the ideal tool for looking for hotkeys and triggers, such as tracks changing in iTunes and so on. It appears to be free as in beer.

http://proxi.griffintechnology.com/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

I found this page that helped provide advice about executing Automator actions from Applescript:

Basically you save the workflow as a plugin, and choose a Script menu plugin. Then it gets saved in /Users/xxxx/Library/Scripts/Bluetooth backup.app. I put that in, in quotes for a tell application line, and it asked me to browse to the application. Now it just appears like below (and runs okay):

tell application "Bluetooth backup"
open
end tell

Now I can have my phone automatically take a backup of my passwords when it comes in range. Unfortunately it does it all the time, I will have to set it up to only do it, say, once a week.

This article seems to say how to unmount TrueCrypt volumes using applescript - there isn't any proper applescript interface to it:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=7750841

However, the right click menu of the TrueCrypt icon (sitting on my Dock) has options to mount all the favourite volumes, so it's quite easy to open the password wallet.

Proximity detection of Bluetooth phone

The software is Proximity.

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/system_disk_utilities/proximity.html

Backup file to phone via Bluetooth Object Push Automater action

It's possible to make an Automator action that takes a file and sends it to a mobile using Bluetooth.

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20071010200518755

points to this file which can be loaded into Automator (open Automator and on the file mene, choose Import Action...)

http://geekmuse.googlepages.com/BlueActionMove.action.zip

Unfortunately the phone (Sony Ericsson W880i asks for confirmation.

However, it is possible to just run this automator action and back up files wirelessly. I'm using this with a TrueCrypt volume which holds passwords, so it can be easily backed up.

Somewhere I remember having a program that would detect a bluetooth device coming in range and would run a script.