ResExcellence Week of 6/1/01

LCD displays are expensive compared to CRT. Apple, a company that has a reputation for building a premium priced product, has stopped selling CRT displays. This week's Polling Place asks, "Is this a good idea?"

Because I boot into Linux, Mac Classic, and MacOS X on a daily basis, it's a constant battle to keep my bookmarks in sync. With the latest release of Mozilla for MacOS X, I have a solution. On a shared HFS partition I have placed my master Bookmarks file. I then link it to the bookmark file for Mozilla in all three operating systems. Now, no matter which OS I'm using, my bookmarks stay synced.

Mozilla for LinuxPPC is so stable (it even supports the Java VM) I have stopped using Netscape. The MacOS X version is the buggiest, but is still very functional.

Jay Carlson posted some benchmarks comparing Linux under PPC and Intel chips. Intel had a better showing. He readily admits there are some flaws in the testing methods and after thinking about it, here are some benchmarks I think may be more useful.

Tests such as these would provide a better sense of usability on the different platforms. If anyone has access to both platforms to try these benchmarks, I'd love to post the results regardless of who wins.

Updated: Using a Dedicated Swapfile Partition to Speed Up MacOS X

Andy's article on setting up another drive or partition for use with MacOS X generated a lot of email. Let me touch on some of the topics.

Matt Holmes was the first to point out this excellent Linux article on how to use a Mac HFS partition for swap, and then convert it back again. Written by Andrew Arthur from iMacLinix, the article outlines how to modify two scripts, one for startup that converts an HFS partition to swap, and the other to reformat it for HFS at shutdown. Since the HFS partition is obviously getting reformatted on every boot, you can't use it for much - but it's perfect for a shared swap partition!

The article's notes are based on the Debian PPC distribution. Below are my additions to make it work with LinuxPPC.

The startup script to modify is: /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit. Look for the following two sections:

# Start up swapping.
action "Activating swap partition" swapon -a

swapon -a >/dev/null 2>&1
action "Enabling swap space" /bin/true

and change them to:

# Start up swapping.

action "Creating Swap Disk..." mkswap -f /dev/hda16 2> /dev/null
action "Activating swap partition" swapon -a

action "Creating Swap Disk..." mkswap -f /dev/hda16 2> /dev/null
swapon -a >/dev/null 2>&1
action "Enabling swap space" /bin/true

Be sure to put in your partition numbers for the /dev.

The shutdown script is /etc/rc.d/init.d/halt. It reformats and renames the swap partition to HFS for use in MacOS X. Find the following:

# Unmount file systems, killing processes if we have to.
sig=
retry=3

And place just before it:

echo -n "Creating MacOS X Swap"
hformat /dev/hda16 2> /dev/null
hrename "Untitled:" "Swap:" 2> /dev/null

# Unmount file systems, killing processes if we have to.
sig=
retry=3

Again, be sure to put in your partition numbers for the /dev!

These script modifications worked great for me. You'll need to be sure the swap partition is at least 80M for the MacOS X swap file to be created.

After launching the above two dozen applications (plus the Classic Environment), MacOS X created 4 swapfiles using a total of 320M of disk space. I have 256M of real RAM. The system was very sluggish. Under LinuxPPC, I did the same, launching Mac-On-Linux and over two dozen applications. The system remained snappy and I only have a 64M swap partition. It appears Apple has a little more work to do in this area.

What is the correct size for swap files/partitions? Matt Wolanski, an IBM certified systems specialist, says IBM recommends the following formula for the calculation of swapfile space:

((RAM - 256MB) x 1.25) + 512MB

Readers have also asked about deleting the old swapfile to regain at least 80M of drive space. To do this, gain root access in a terminal and type:

rm -Rf /private/var/vm/

More information of swapfiles under MacOS X (based on NextStep) can be found in this article sent by Patpro (who also wrote this article on the topic).

Given all this (sometimes contradictory) information on swapfiles, it seems virtual memory may replace SCSI as the black magic of computers!

User Contributed Splash Screens: by Michael Coyle

Icons - Desktops: We've got (6) really excellent desktops to start your week off right. All on display for today's update! Look for a couple of new Icon sets on Wed.

Fresh off the pixel crunching machine at Rampant Mac are several new GUI Goodies, step on over and have a look!

The Headfactory has updated it's look and content to include all sorts of new stuff, including a new MacOS X hacking section! There is also another 2 new desktops this week.

Hansworks Design is having a Nepal Desktop Pictures relay! They will be releasing a new desktop picture on Nepal everyday from 4 June to 15 June! The desktop pictures are based on their Everest Base Camp Expedition 2000, as a lot of readers requested for, so here it is!

Mike Davidson's Mac File Library (your source for transparent desktops and other Mac Files) is now living at http://24.180.19.107

In the weeks ahead DV Graphics will be clearing out their desktop section to make room for more desktops. This means everything must go.

Mandolux wanted to let you know that he will soon issue the eleventh version of his site. For a small-tiny preview of the new version - please go to http://www.mandolux.com.

Remember that memo you wrote to yourself about entering the Writer PRO Giveaway? We will be accepting entries up until midnight Saturday, so there is plenty of time. ResExcellence will announce the winners on Monday. Do you want to see your name up in lights? As the saying goes- You can't win if you don't play!

Critical Matter is ready with version 1.1.0 FC1 of Calindock. Calindock is a nice little Calendar dockling. Try this dockling out and report back to the author with any problems.

SpeedApp 2.1b7 by Stefano Ghielmi will launch applications by typing in part of the apps. name. This beta version provides further bug fixes. Keep testing!

Cyril Godefroy has released a new program called DockAlarmTheClock 0.9. Notification is provided via an alert sound and a on screen message.

GMem! 1.0b2 by G-Utilities is the next beta release of this Mac OS X utility that will display memory in Mac OS X in a more recognizable way. In this version, you now have two new display preferences. "Besides the standard text display, you can also choose to display a color 'fill bar', that changes the amount of fill depending on your memory status. The color is user configurable. Also, you can choose to have both the fill along with the text display for a more customized look."

It is that time of the month again when you should update your virus definitions. NAV and Virex definitions are both available for download.

The Kaleidoscope Scheme Archive picks up a bit with 6 new and 7 updated schemes. The new schemes are: Apple Lisa Revisited, MacWM/Tk, I like this one, Mosque, InFusion, Eitri's Forge 2 and IZA Dark Tuned. Let's try them all this weekend, OK!

RAILhead Design is reporting the imminent release of their "RAILhead Design Scheme." Yes Maury— we are standing by! ;)

Driver 9.5°, 3 Wood 13.0°, both steel shaft- stiff flex, by Warrior Golf. 5 Fairway Wood 21.0°, graphite shaft by Warrior Golf. 4 thru Wedge- Titleist DCI Irons, steel shaft, regular flex. 56°, 60° and 64° wedges, steel shaft stiff flex by Warrior Golf. Ping putter. Ball: Top Flite XL2000: Exceptional Spin, Z-Balata.