Please make sure you have everything backed up before performing any disk maintenance or file system checks. You have been warned so don’t come crying to me if you lose any files or things go bad.
I got an SSD drive for my MacBook Pro. The current drive is a 750GB. The new SSD drive is 500GB in size. I did not want to reload the system. I would rather image the drives so nothing changes. I booted to my USB Mountain Lion stick used the disk utility to perform the imaging (I am too cheap to buy CarbonCopy).
When I tried to do the initial image, I got the error “Not enough space on /dev/diskXsX to restore.” I ran a “repair disk” to make sure the disk is healthy and then I had to shrink the disk. I resized the 750GB drive down to 400GB. This took about an hour because files had to moved around. Once the resized was done I was able to image my current drive to the new drive.
I have been using my work issued MacBook Pro for about two years now. One of my geek friends recommended that I install MacPort or Fink on it when I first got my MacBook. I had no idea what those were. After using the Mac for a few months, I found myself needing a newer version of the ‘sort’ command, the version that comes with OS X is from 2005. I really wanted a current version of the GNU core utilities. To install, you will need root access (aka sudo access) do the following:
- The first thing you need to do is to install Xcode, which is now freely available from the Apple Store.
- In Xcode, go to Preferences and choose Downloads, click Install on Command Line Tools. After the install is complete, quit Xcode.

- Next, download MacPorts for your version of OS X.
- Install MacPorts like you would install any other software.
- In the Terminal window, type ‘sudo port install coreutils’ and wait for the install complete. Depending on your Mac and your internet connection, it might take a long time.
- Next, using your favorite text editor, you will need to edit your .profile file. I edited mine by typing ‘vi ~.profile’ and adding the highlighted text into the file and saving the changes.

- Log out or reboot your Mac to apply the changes. You will now have a modern version of core utilities.
LogMeIn introduced Cubby a while ago. Cubby is LogMeIn’s version of Dropbox. I use Cubby on my Mac but wanted to be able to access the files on my Ubuntu machine as well without having to use the web interface. It supports WebDAV so I was able to connect to Cubby simply by going clicking on my Ubuntu Home folder and clicking File, Connect to Server… (see screen shot for the rest).
Good Luck,
John
Fedora 18 was released a couple of days ago. I always like to test out new distros. I had problems loading the VMware tools on Fedora 18. Here is how I finally installed it.
Copy the VMWare tool VMwareTools-8.8.5-893888.tar.gz to your local home directory
In the terminal window go to the directory you
su
yum install gcc perl kernel-devel
yum update
reboot your system
Change the kernel version to the latest that you are using
cp /usr/src/kernels/3.x.x.fc18.x86_64/include/generated/uapi/linux/version.h /lib/modules/3.x.x.fc18.x86_64/build/include/linux/
tar xvf VMwareTools-8.8.5-893888.tar.gz
cd vmware-tools-distrib
./vmware-install.pl
Reboot and you are done
Suddenly, my girlfriends kids were getting a input stream error every time they tried to connect to the Minecraft server I made for them. It turns out that a Mindcraft had updated the game and I was unaware of this. Once I upgraded the server all was well again.
I setup a Windows Home Server 2011 for my girlfriend a few months ago. Her son got a nasty virus on his computer and although I removed the virus the several services were deleted by the virus. I decided to restore his computer using WHS restore. About 30 minutes into the restore it failed and the last line of the failure log had “wssg_src\whs_pp3\qhs\src\client\restorewizard\dialog_restore.cpp” error message. I tried a few different methods on the original PC that included formatting the disk, removing partitions and trying 32 or 64 bit modes. In the end, I put the drive I needed to restore to in another PC, after the restore completed I put the drive into the orginal PC and booted the computer and everything was fine. I never had this problem before so I thought I would share my experience.
I spent the better part of a day trying to get an Adaptec SAS card installed on Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 4. The RPM from Adaptec kept bombing when I tried to install it. It kept bombing because the kernel that we are running is not officially supported by Adaptec. I did some searching and found this general outline on how to work around the problem. We are using this SAS card to attach to an external tape drive. So far everything seems to be working great. Consider my experience a guideline but I think it contains the spirit of the install.
1. Install the RPM using ”rpm -ivh adpinv.rhel4qu6.x86_64.rpm”
The RPM reports that no modules were installed because no matching kernel version is found. Mine said something about line 2 is not happy.
2. “cd /usr/adaptec/adpinv”
3, “mkdir temp”
4. “cp adpinv_prebuilt.tgz temp/”
5. “cd temp” your path should be /usr/adaptec/adpinv/temp
6. gunzip adpinv_prebuilt.tgz
7. rm -f adpinv_prebuilt.tgz
8. Make a copy of the desired module to one that matches current kernel name eg.
“uname -r” = 2.6.9-101.ELsmp
“cp adpinv-2.6.9-67.ELsmp adpinv-2.6.9-101.ELsmp”
9. Create custom adpinv_prebuilt.tgz
tar * > ../out.tar
gzip ../out.tar
cp ../out.tar.gz ../adpinv_prebuilt.tgz
10. run install script ”
cd /usr/adaptec/adpinv/”
“./install_driver”
11. reboot (which worked fine) or
insmod module (this made my box kernel panic)
12. After the reboot/insmod you can run”lsmod” to make sure the scsi driver is loaded. You can also look in /lib/modules/your_kernel_version/kernel/drivers/scsi/your_driver/your_driver.ko and make sure it exists.
Good luck
How to set Safari to not Auto Open Safe Downloads for all usersOpen a Terminal Window.
This is in response to the MACDefender Trojan Variant. I could not find much on the web about how to do this. Hopefully it will help some folks out.
First open a terminal window and type the following:
sudo vi /Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Resources/Defaults.plist
Then go to the line that says:
<key>AutoOpenSafeDownloads</key>
<true/>
and change it to <false/>
Save changes and have users log off and back in and it should be disabled.
Cydia is the rouge app store for jailbroken iPhones. You still have the standard Apple Store but you also have the Cydia store as well. You get the best of both worlds.
1. PDANet – It is the easiest way to use your iPhone as a 3G hotspot.
2. LockInfo – You can customize your lock screen. Customizations include, showing emails, text messages, weather and much more.
3. My3G – This will allow you to use your apps on 3G network even though they were once restrited to WiFi networks only. This means you can FaceTime on 3G with this app.
4. WiFi Sync – You can sync your iPhone with iTunes on your wifi network. No cable needed.
It looks like my PS3 information may have been compromised. I received an email (see below).
Important information regarding PlayStation Network and Qriocity services
===================================
PlayStation(R)Network
===================================
Valued PlayStation(R)Network/Qriocity Customer:
We have discovered that between April 17 and April 19, 2011,
certain PlayStation Network and Qriocity service user account
information was compromised in connection with an illegal and
unauthorized intrusion into our network. In response to this
intrusion, we have:
1) Temporarily turned off PlayStation Network and Qriocity services;
2) Engaged an outside, recognized security firm to conduct a full
and complete investigation into what happened; and
3) Quickly taken steps to enhance security and strengthen our
network infrastructure by rebuilding our system to provide you
with greater protection of your personal information.
We greatly appreciate your patience, understanding and goodwill
as we do whatever it takes to resolve these issues as quickly and
efficiently as practicable.
Although we are still investigating the details of this incident,
we believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following
information that you provided: name, address (city, state, zip), country,
email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login,
and handle/PSN online ID. It is also possible that your profile data,
including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip),
and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may
have been obtained. If you have authorized a sub-account for your
dependent, the same data with respect to your dependent may have
been obtained. While there is no evidence at this time that credit
card data was taken, we cannot rule out the possibility. If you have
provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity,
out of an abundance of caution we are advising you that your credit
card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may have
been obtained.
For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of email,
telephone and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive
information. Sony will not contact you in any way, including by email,
asking for your credit card number, social security number or other
personally identifiable information. If you are asked for this information,
you can be confident Sony is not the entity asking. When the PlayStation
Network and Qriocity services are fully restored, we strongly recommend that
you log on and change your password. Additionally, if you use your PlayStation
Network or Qriocity user name or password for other unrelated services or
accounts, we strongly recommend that you change them as well.
To protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss, we
encourage you to remain vigilant, to review your account statements and
to monitor your credit reports. We are providing the following information
for those who wish to consider it:
- U.S. residents are entitled under U.S. law to one free credit report annually
from each of the three major credit bureaus. To order your free credit report,
visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll-free (877) 322-8228.
- We have also provided names and contact information for the three major U.S.
credit bureaus below. At no charge, U.S. residents can have these credit bureaus
place a “fraud alert” on your file that alerts creditors to take additional steps
to verify your identity prior to granting credit in your name. This service can
make it more difficult for someone to get credit in your name. Note, however,
that because it tells creditors to follow certain procedures to protect you,
it also may delay your ability to obtain credit while the agency verifies your
identity. As soon as one credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, the others
are notified to place fraud alerts on your file. Should you wish to place a
fraud alert, or should you have any questions regarding your credit report,
please contact any one of the agencies listed below:
Experian: 888-397-3742; www.experian.com; P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
Equifax: 800-525-6285; www.equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
TransUnion: 800-680-7289; www.transunion.com; Fraud Victim Assistance Division,
P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790
- You may wish to visit the website of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission at
www.consumer.gov/idtheft or reach the FTC at 1-877-382-4357 or 600 Pennsylvania
Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580 for further information about how to protect
yourself from identity theft. Your state Attorney General may also have advice
on preventing identity theft, and you should report instances of known or
suspected identity theft to law enforcement, your State Attorney General,
and the FTC. For North Carolina residents, the Attorney General can be
contacted at 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; telephone
(877) 566-7226; or www.ncdoj.gov. For Maryland residents, the Attorney
General can be contacted at 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202;
telephone: (888) 743-0023; or www.oag.state.md.us.
We thank you for your patience as we complete our investigation of this
incident, and we regret any inconvenience. Our teams are working around the
clock on this, and services will be restored as soon as possible. Sony takes
information protection very seriously and will continue to work to ensure that
additional measures are taken to protect personally identifiable information.
Providing quality and secure entertainment services to our customers is
our utmost priority. Please contact us at 1-800-345-7669 should you have any
additional questions.
Sincerely,
Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Network Entertainment



