Getting XCode from the AppStore ? Don’t forget to install.

Yes, really, I totally missed this one. I was sure that I had XCode, that I had installed it from the AppStore.

Several frustrating moments finally led (via StackOverflow!) to the realisation that XCode is only downloaded, and still needs to be installed afterwards. So just go to your application folder and find the “install xcode” app and double-click it.

Duh (slaps forehead) !

Oh well, onwards with the show of getting mysql-python to install on 10.7.

Installing Entropy PHP5 on your mac 10.6

For a PHP library with all the bells and whistles on it I usually install the php5 library from Marc at Entropy software. The php5 version that Apple supplies with Apache does not have everything that for example, Magento, needs.

Seems that the version currently available for download on his site does not work with Mac OS X 10.6.x.

However, another user has rebuilt the php library for 10.6 (using the instructions that Marc supplied to ‘roll your own’) and you can download the binary installer from his site.

Thanks Tarique !

I’ll be holding on to my iPad 1 thankyouverymuch

While I admit that I would like more memory and a faster CPU, I’m pretty sure that

  • I don’t have time to play more games than the ones already on there
  • most games for the foreseeable future will be compatible with the original iPad
  • watching movies and surfing the web is what I do most
  • the way things are going, end of this year or early next year we will have an iPad 3

So I’m waiting for iPad 3 or later. Depending on how strong my will is, actually.

Mac OS X 10.6.2 makes sluggishnes go away!

When I upgraded from Mac OS X 10.6.0 to 10.6.1, suddenly my 2006 iMac became a sluggish beast, trashing the disk for every little thing that it needed to do. Changing to another virtual desktop became 10 seconds of pure torture instead of a slick swish… At first I thought this had nothing to do with the upgrade, and thought my disk might be going bad.

Onyx, the all-in-one swiss knife of maintenance tools that I ran found out that I had a disk error. I fixed this by rebooting with the Leopard install disk and using disk utility there to correct the error. But my iMac kept being sluggish. Launching programs became an interminable wait (ok, ok, 10 seconds are not interminable, but they do add up in the long run when you want to get things done !)

Now that I upgraded to Mac Os X 10.6.2 things are suddenly running smoothly once again. I don’t know what happened, but they did something !

Unlocking the iphone (firmware 1.1.1)

Seems a whole lot of people have spent enormous time on jailbreaking and subsequently unlocking the iPhone. For those who want to know more about this, here are a few links to get you started (please note that these links are valid at the time of writing, and that I am not encouraging you to go and hack your iPhone) :

  • Hack the iPhone : step-by-step instructions on hacking the iphone without needing a computer (you do need a wireless network though)
  • Jailbreakme.com : the website you need to visit to crack your iPhone automatically !
  • Unlocking the iPhone : after getting the iPhone to accept new programs, you need to install a program to unlock your sim card
  • Installing Applications on your iPhone : you can use the handy Installer tool that jailbreak installs for you. Oooooooodles of applications…
  • iPhone Club (dutch) : this forum has a large number of flemish and dutch users who share their knowledge

Makes it very easy to get a real functional phone !

Ebay – laptop sold !

The aftermath of my Ebay Trubles.

After 8 days, I could file a complaint, and after a further 8 days without hearing anything from the buyer, I could annul the deal and put it up for resale. This time I put it up only for 5 days, ending a Sunday afternoon at 5pm, and it actually got sold for 30 euros more than before. So there is a silver lining to this cloud after all…

Still, it rankled, not hearing anything from the buyer. A simple, “No I’m not interested”, or “I made a mistake” would have helped me a lot.

The current buyer is picking it up this week. We’ll see if things work out, but I have good hopes.

Update : everything went fine.