===== MAC experience =====

==== Moving to Linux ====
I created a Linux partition on my mac. [[macuntu|Here]] you can find details on the procedure followed and of the problems solved. 

==== Multimedia lesson on the WEB ====
To make avaialable the lessons of my master course on the [[http://www.cli.di.unipi.it/doku/doku.php/magistraleinformaticanetworking/spm/sdpm09lessons|WEB]], I succesfully experimented the following hw/sw:
  * [[http://www.techsmith.com/camtasiamac/|Camtasia]], which allows to record what appears on the screen AND the audio signal from internal mic. I export the recordings as quicktime video .m4v. 45 minutes of lessons accounts for 60 to 70 Mbytes, more or less. Camtasia can be downloaded and used (trial) for 30 days, then you need a license. 
  * [[http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnidazzle/|OmniDazzle]], that allows to "handwrite" onto the screen. It is free. You can add also many other visual effects. Drawing on the screen allows to underline slide portions, draw small pictures and schemas, etc. and contribute to make more interactive the lesson. 
  * A graphic tablet from Wacom. This allows me (after a small training) to use OmniDazzle to write onto the screen. OmniDazzle works with plain mouse/trackpad but I definitely need some more sophisticated input device to write, underline, draw charts ... More recently, I bought a "[[http://www.pegatech.com/|Digital Pen]]" that allows a much more natural writing (you can actually write on paper while running the pen as a mouse or use it a the pen of the Wacom tablet, without refill). 
  * I also use the open source Java Mac [[http://www.dklevine.com/general/software/tc1000/jarnal.htm|Jarnal]] application. This application allows to handwrite notes on a notebook on the screen. Actually, the best usage of Mac Jarnal is when reviewing papers/notes/class tests. It allows to open any PDF file as a background, to make notes on it, and to save it again as a PDF. Great!
 
==== Keeping more MAC up to date ====

The PERL script [[http://backus.di.unipi.it/~marcod/Tools/dumpa.pl|here]] allows to keep some parts of the file system of more MAC synchronized. In particular, the Address Book, the iCal events, the Keychain items and the Safari bookmarks, in addition to distinct sub directories of you Documents folders. It works using **rsync**. This means that iCal events are merged, but Address Book and Keychain databases are overwritten, not merging multiple changes. I use it to keep office and home mac in a consistent state. As a side effect, the USB disk used becomes an up-to-date backup of the items in the synchronization list. 
Configuration parameters for the script may be saved in you $HOME/bin/dumpa.config file. Sample config file [[http://backus.di.unipi.it/~marcod/Tools/dumpa.config|here]].
The script is still experimental. So I don't guarantee its safety, although I'm currently using it to avoid moving my laptop to and from my office/home. 

==== Creating booklets ====
I found a nice "service" at [[http://web.mac.com/vogelbusch/Site/Programs/Einträge/2009/7/22_Create_Booklet_1.1_support_Snow_Leopard.html|this link]] that allows to create a booklet from any thing you can print on MAC OS X. 

Once installed, from the print window click on the "PDF" button and choose "Create booklet" from the menu. After a while, you'll see a Preview window with the booklet version of what you printed. 


==== Using wireless ====
My MacBookPro wireless is not so sensible. In different situations where collegues with other kind of laptops were able to use wireless pretty decently, my MacBookPro was not able to either connect to the wireless. 
To the purpose, I tried to use alternative solutions. I bought USB wireless adapters that demonstrated to work much better than the internal one. 
You need to install additional drivers, but then in emergency situations you can appreciate the effort! 

I used two adapters: ASUS WL-167g and D-Link DWL-g122 

The procedure is as follows: 
  * install the driver (the snow version can be found on [[http://www.ralinktech.com/support.php?s=3|this page]], this drive works with both USB devices) 
  * reboot the Mac
  * plug the USB Wireless adapter: after a while the Wireless utility by Ralink will automatically appear. In the "Site survey" tab, pick up one of the available networks and connect to ... 
==== Mac OS X with ALICE ==== 
I have an ALICE ADLS connection at home. Recently I experimented some problems with the connection (in particular using SSL-SCP) that disappeared disabling the Windows Scale Option in TCP. 
To temporary disable the option, use the following command (as root)
  sysctl -w net.inet.tcp.rfc1323=0
To re-enable it, same command with 1 instead of 0 as parameter.
To make permanent the change, edit the /etc/syslog.conf file and add the following line:
  net.inet.tcp.rfc1323=0