Mac on /usr

Enabling Postfix on OSX as a Relay: Revisited

Sun, 22 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Postfix on OSX: Revisited

A few years back, I had written a post on enabling the Postfix MTA as a relay server on OSX, which was quite well received. The article was originally written for OS X Lion, though it remained valid for OSX Mountain Lion, and more recently on OSX Mavericks as well.

However, things have changed on the OS since the last two versions, which warrants a revisit of the instructions, and a refresh of some of the steps. While the old set of instructions still work, there are changes needed that will keep the configuration future-proof.

OS X Mountain Lion: Need to reinstall Xcode command line tools

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

So I upgraded to OS X Mountain Lion yesterday. The install was pretty smooth (though had a tough time with the redeem code for the upgrade, worked on the third code that Apple sent across).

Most of the software is working fine. However, I found that my existing Xcode installation needed an upgrade (via a Xcode install from the App Store).

The problem is that any new Xcode install seems to nuke the command line development tools (think make, autoconf, etc.). The solution is pretty simple though. Once Xcode has been installed, run Xcode and then open the preferences. There is a section on downloads, which lists installing the command line tools as an option.

The Missing iSync in OS X Lion (and what to do about it)

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The short answer to someone looking for a solution: just copy over iSync from your Snow Leopard installation back to the /Applications folder in Lion, and also copy the phone plugin you need back into /Library/PhonePlugins folder. Everything will be as it was. Enjoy.

The longer story requires more explanation …

The Problem

I have been looking forward to upgrading to the latest version of OSX (Lion) ever since the announcements were made in the WWDC earlier this year.

Converting from TaskPaper to Emacs Org-Mode

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Why TaskPaper and Org-Mode?

TaskPaper is a simple and elegant task management software for the OSX platform. It combines the simplicity of a text micro-format to mark the tasks, and the elegance of a Mac UI. It also provides a quick launch time and a nice system-wide quick entry window that is accessible with a single shortcut key.

I have been a heavy user of Emacs’ Org-Mode for some years now, and love the power and flexibility it offers for tracking not just outlines and tasks, but any text based item, including notes and calendar entries. In fact Org-Mode has become one of the primary software that I use regularly, every day.

Firefox 3.6 finally allows true Fullscreen mode on Mac OSX

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Updated to Firefox 3.6 today. As usual, a very solid update, and was pleasantly surprised by the full-screen mode (finally!) that works exactly as you would want it. This was one of the few areas where Firefox on OSX was lagging behind as compared to other platforms.

There were a few plugins that claimed to enable this in prior versions, but never worked very well.

The option is available under the “View”menu and has a standard Apple-Shift-F shortcut as well.

Use the Capslock as a Control key on OSX for Emacs

Sat, 08 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +0000

This is an absolute must, unless you like contorting your fingers and risk RSI. It is also an easy thing to do on OS X.

You need to bring up the System preferences → Keyboard & Mouse

and then click the “Modifier Keys” to remap the Capslock to Control.

This is available on OS X 10.4 and later versions.

Hurray! NetNewsWire 3.2b13 has removed Advertisements

Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:00:00 +0000

The latest beta of NetNewsWire (3.2b13) has removed the annoying advertisements that were a major distraction. Also, they have brought back the clipping feature - which is really one of the most useful functions for storing interesting RSS articles for reading later.

However, the resurrected clippings do not sync with Google Reader, which cripples the function. In my usual use case scenario, I used to use the Newsgator online web interface to store long articles for reading later at leisure at home. Looks like this is not going to be possible.