Tag Archive: OSX

$ cd ~meri > OSX

Mac OS X Special Character Quick Reference

2013.07.18

I was chatting with someone today, and mentioned that the heat index was 106°. My correspondent immediately asked me how I managed to make the degree symbol. As I’m on a Mac, it’s dead simple: option-shift-8. This was something of a revelation to my friend (also a Mac user), and the next question was, “What other cool symbols can I type!?”

Instead of doing the right thing (telling my friend to open a TextEdit document and try the damned keyboard combinations), I made a cheat sheet. (Only about halfway through making it did it occur to me to Google for one. And by then, I was already invested in the damned thing.)

So, if any of you might find it handy, here it is: OS X Special Character Quick Reference

Enjoy. Or don’t. 🙂

Documentation, Technology

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Update: Windows on OS X & Using Type 1 Fonts on a Mac.

2013.05.28

Thanks to all who responded about running Windows under OS X. You all came back with the same answer: Parallels. This was handy, since I already had a Parallels license kicking around.

So, I installed Parallels, and installed Windows 7, and then went to Adobe InDesign CS6 from my Adobe Creative Cloud subscription. (For those who don’t know, Adobe has an “app manager” that you use to install the various Adobe Creative Cloud apps. So, first you install this Adobe Air app, and then, using the Adobe Application Manager, you’re able to install things like InDesign and Photoshop and Acrobat Pro.)

This is where the plan went off the rails.

It seems that, in their attempts to fight piracy, Adobe’s gone a wee bit over the edge, and has essentially broken the Adobe Application Manager when it is run (at the very least) on a Windows Parallels instance. After the installation failed for me (repeatedly), I searched the interwebs, and discovered that I wasn’t alone. Many others were reporting the same problem with the latest AAM.

Well, that sucked. I was on a tight deadline, and since the only reason I needed a Windows machine was to use some Type 1 fonts provided to me, I set off in another direction. With the help of G and a handy piece of software called FontForge, I ended up being able to use the Type 1 fonts natively under OS X, which solved all of my problems without requiring a virtual machine, or Adobe’s broken application manager.

So there.

Technology

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Ask OSX Geeks: Windows under OS X? (Or, converting Type 1 fonts to TTF / OTF.)

2013.05.10

Yeah, there was so much wrong with that sentence, but hey.

For typographical reasons (read: fonts), I have need to run Adobe Cloud under Windows on a Mac running Mountain Lion. (Well, I could run Adobe Cloud on an actual Windows box, but I don’t have one, hence the virtualization.)

The last Windows with which I am at all familiar is XP, which is … creaky, but will (I think) do what I need to do. What experiences have you all with running more modern Windows on a Mac? And via what mechanism? (I’m a fan of Parallels, but am willing to hear other options as well.)

Alternately, can anyone point at a reliable way to install Type 1 fonts on a Mac? 🙂

I know, I know, I don’t ask for much. But I have faith in my geeky friends.

Love, meri

Lazyweb, Technology

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Nifty command line tool of the day.

2013.04.02

I’m putting together a web site which needs to have a portfolio of images on it. I want to do the standard thing where you have a thumbnail, and then click for the full sized image. But creating thumbnails is a pain in the ass, so I was looking at ways to do it in bulk, or at least to script it.

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Technology

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OS X UNIX Geeks: Discuss: MacPorts vs Homebrew vs Fink

2012.12.20

So, I have shiny new toy to play with, but it’s lacking some of the UNIX bits that make me feel really at home in the terminal. Previously, I’ve always defaulted to Fink when I’ve wanted package management on OS X. However, this time around, I thought I’d ask what the rest of you are doing. Do you, too, use Fink? Or are you more of a MacPorts sort of person? Do any of you out there use Homebrew? What made you choose the system you’re using? Why didn’t you go with one of the others?

Help me, Interweb! The fate of… well, nothing really important, except maybe my curiosity… is at stake. But I have lots of curiosity!

Technology

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Ask the Interweb: Favorite RSS reader?

2012.07.21

Once again I turn to the wonders of the Interweb to ask for guidance, this time regarding RSS readers.

I’m playing around with the various readers out there, and am feeling both over- and underwhelmed by the options at my disposal. So, I figure I’ll provide my requirements, and see if any of you have any suggestions (or anti-suggestions) to throw my way.

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Technology

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