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Q: Is the upgrade to Mac OS X free? Do we have a site license for it.
A: Generally speaking, it's not free and we don't have a site license. However, it now comes preinstalled on new macs.
The Higher Ed price for the retail update package was $69.00 last I checked.
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Q: What is Darwin? Is it free?
A: Darwin is the open-source "core" of Mac OS X. It is free. It does not include the graphic user interface of Mac OS X. See
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Q: Where can I find a discussion of security issues on Mac OS X?
A: Try the following links
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Q: Where can I find user reports, hints, and troubleshooting information?
A: Try the following links:
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Q: Where do I get operating system updates?
A: The easiest way to get official software updates is through the Software Update control panel. Look in System Preferences, Show All.
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Q: How do I get Software Update to ignore updates that don't apply to me?
A: Select the updates that you want to ignore, then choose "Update, Make Inactive" from the menu bar.
See illustration
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Q: Where do I find application software for Mac OS X?
A: Apple has a listing of Mac OS X resources that includes compatible software. Also try VersionTracker.
Microsoft Office v. X works in Mac OS X. Brandeis faculty and staff are entitled to a copy by our site license.
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Q: What kinds of local or network volumes can be mounted?
A: I couldn't tell you exactly, but the list of mount_* programs in /sbin might give you an idea:
[raven:~] karelsf% ls -l /sbin/mount*
-r-xr-xr-x 1 root wheel 20056 Sep 4 22:47 /sbin/mount
-r-xr-xr-x 1 root wheel 13680 Sep 11 06:39 /sbin/mount_afp
-r-xr-xr-x 1 root wheel 15140 Sep 7 04:28 /sbin/mount_cd9660
-r-xr-xr-x 1 root wheel 15440 Sep 9 19:00 /sbin/mount_cddafs
-r-xr-xr-x 1 root wheel 14524 Sep 4 22:47 /sbin/mount_devfs
-r-xr-xr-x 1 root wheel 14524 Sep 4 22:47 /sbin/mount_fdesc
-r-xr-xr-x 1 root wheel 15564 Sep 4 22:47 /sbin/mount_hfs
-r-xr-xr-x 2 root wheel 51032 Sep 4 22:47 /sbin/mount_mfs
-r-xr-xr-x 1 root wheel 14288 Sep 9 18:47 /sbin/mount_msdos
-r-sr-xr-x 1 root wheel 20232 Sep 4 22:47 /sbin/mount_nfs
-r-sr-xr-x 1 root wheel 49688 Oct 30 04:49 /sbin/mount_smbfs
-r-xr-xr-x 1 root wheel 14452 Sep 4 22:49 /sbin/mount_synthfs
-r-xr-xr-x 1 root wheel 14524 Sep 4 22:47 /sbin/mount_udf
-r-xr-xr-x 1 root wheel 9808 Sep 3 00:02 /sbin/mount_volfs
-r-xr-xr-x 1 root wheel 97892 Oct 30 04:43 /sbin/mount_webdav
WebDAV, AFP, SMB, and NFS are dicussed below.
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Q: What is the command line syntax for mounting a volume using AppleShare over IP?
A: Thanks to a message to netatalk-admins from Leland Wallace:
mkdir /Volumes/volname
/sbin/mount -t afp afp://username:password@servername/volume
/Volumes/volname
For example, with my guest-accessible "Macstuff Public" volume,
mkdir /Volumes/macfiles
/sbin/mount -t afp afp://macstuff.bio.brandeis.edu/Public\ Files /Volumes/macfiles
Another example would be to mount your UNet home directory. For user 'karel', this would be:
mkdir /Volumes/unet
/sbin/mount -t afp afp://karel:PASSWORD@unethome.brandeis.edu/karel /Volumes/unet
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Q: Can I make a URL that will work in a web browser that will specify mounting an Appleshare volume?
A: Yes
Use the syntax afp://serveraddress/volumename
For example,
- afp://macstuff.bio.brandeis.edu/Public%20Files
- afp://unethome.brandeis.edu/karel
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Q: Networking: connect to Windows file server?
A: As of 10.1, you can connect to a Windows (Samba) file server with the Finder tools.
In the Finder, use apple-K (Go, Connect To Server). Type in the address of the server, using the syntax from one of the lines below
smb://servername.subdomain.brandeis.edu/sharename
smb://WINDOWSNAME/SHARENAME
smb://WINDOWSNAME/SHARENAME/$FOLDERNAME
Examples:
smb://SQUIRREL/PUBLIC
smb://UNETHOME/JOESCHMO
smb://129.64.81.16/PUBLIC
smb://www.bio.brandeis.edu/PUBLIC
The command line tool for mounting an SMB share is mount_smbfs. The other potentially useful command line tool installed by default is smbutil
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Q: Networking: connect to NFS file server
A: From the Finder, "Go, Connect to Server" (apple-K). In the dialog box for server address, Enter addresses in the form:
nfs://someserver.at.domain.tld/path/to/export
For example,
nfs://vera.unet.brandeis.edu/vol/vol0/mirrors
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Q: Printing: Where do I setup printers in OS X?
A: Look in Applications/Utilities/Print Center.
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Q: Server: How do I allow remote terminal access to my Mac using secure shell (SSH)?
A: Under "System Preferences", "Sharing", go under the "Application" tab and turn on "Allow Remote Login". This turns on sshd, which is installed by default. See illustration.
For those who like text configuration files, look at /etc/hostconfig -- there should be a line that reads
SSHSERVER=-YES-
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Q: Server: Should I allow other computers to send Remote Apple Events to my computer?
A: See illustration.
No, not unless you understand what it does and have a specific reason to do it. It's potentially a power remote programming tool, but also a big security hole.
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Q: Can I run X Windows on Mac OS X?
A: Yes.
Probably you'd want to run in rootless mode. I've done this both with XTools and with the xfree86-rootless package via fink. XTools is nicer-looking and easier to install, but more expensive ($99 for academic users, I think).
Most recently I've been using OroborOSX along with XDarwin. It works pretty well -- follow the install instructions.
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Q: What window manager should be used with X?
A: The default is twm, which isn't very nice. I've played around a bit with OroborOSX which does a nice job integrating with Aqua.
The window manager shipping with XTools also looks pretty nice.
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Q: Can I contribute to this FAQ?
A: Please do! E-mail me at karelsf@brandeis.edu and we'll work out a way to do it.
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