Aaron Adams’s Blowhard Blog

I found links to these articles on another site this afternoon. I wanted to post them here because I have discussions like this occasionally (as much as I hate them) and I feel it’s important to provide third-party verification of the premises of my positions on these subjects.

I’m not a regular reader of Linux Insider, but it seems like it would be a neutral source when it comes to Mac and PC comparisons. Mac OS X and Linux share a common Unix heritage, but Linux is an operating system that runs predominantly on X86 chips.

Macs Are More Expensive, Right?

But Macs Are Slower, Right?

These instructions are valid for Panther only. They do not work with Tiger.

UPDATE: July 25, 2005… Helpful reader Harald Wagener contributes this information for Tiger users:

today I faced a situation like You described in Your post from September, 2004: Using my trusty ibook and a keyspan USB/Serial adapter, I had to reconfigure a 3com switch.

In the first line of Your post, You state that the described procedure would not work with Tiger.

What works, though, is installing minicom using darwinports, and using the Keyspan serial adapter with a nullmodem cable. Since Your post comes up quite high when people search via google, You might add this bit of information to Your blog.

* * * * *

One of my duties as both a network admin and a consultant is to manage switches, routers and firewalls. Depending on the circumstances, establishing a telnet or SSH session to the device isn’t always possible and a console connection has to be used.

For such serial communications, Windows comes with an app named Hyperterminal. Mac OS X doesn’t come with an equivalent. A Shareware app named ZTerm ($20) is available and it certainly does the job, but an alternative named Minicom can do it for free.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ok, I stole this from someone else’s site. But it was so good I had to have my own copy.

Do you notice anything askew in this picture? I had to shrink it a bit from the original for it to fit on my page without throwing off the layout, so I’ll zoom in on it for you.

The plural of “anecdote” is not “data”.

-Anonymous

Why does Apple not make the AirPort 4.0 software available on their website? In case you’re unaware, the AirPort 4.0 software comes with the AirPort Express and contains additions that allow you to administer the device. The software is included on a CD with the AirPort Express, but is not posted anywhere on the Apple site. The 4.0.1 update is available, but it will only update an existing 4.0 install.

My friend Todd, a multiple AirPort Express owner, is in Florida right now and does not have the CD with him. For whatever reason, he needs to have the software and there’s no way he can get it. For the love of God I can’t think of a single reason why Apple shouldn’t have this available for download.

Grrr!