A thread for boring computer questions.

try ad-aware for starters

http://www.lavasoftusa.com/

xpost

CJ - if you do a google search on "search-company.com" (maybe in conjunction with 'spyware') you'll find plenty of advice on getting rid of it.

I now have a total of 320 RAM. After I get OS X and broadband, will I need firewall, or does it come included? Can I download it free anywhere? (Is it fairly safe to go without virus protection for the Mac, like the computer dude told me today?)

OSX has a built in firewall, it is simple and easy to turn on.

If NYU doesn't offer you free or heavily discounted virus software, I'll eat your hat.

They said they would give it (virus software) to me for free, but that I didn't need it. Stingy bastards don't like to part with anything. Here is the Kangol.

macs are pretty virus free

aren't there NO known OSX viruses? (yet?)

that would be weird since there must be a fair number of UNIX viruses

Btw, you can 'stop' iTunes by hitting command - .

Hey, I have a question! I run Windows XP, and my harddrive space has been getting pretty low. I had like about 1.2 GB left the other day, and then a few hours later I checked and I had 3.5 GB left! Uh oh. I don't remember deleting anything; certainly not something over a Gig in size. I want to know if there might be any sort of cache or something in windows that could reach a very large size. I remember once I turned off some sort of hidden folders option and found this folder with tons of stuff in it that I thought I had long-since thrown away, but I forgot how to find that folder again. Does anyone know what I'm talking about? :)

OK I have 9 now -- I will have to get 10 from another benefactor. How do I install? Just insert and follow the directions?

Yes. Dialog boxes will walk you through everything.

I have tried and tried and tried, under Jaguar and now under Panther, to install Soulseek. I install fink, and then "fink selfupdate", and it craps out. Here's the end of the transcript:

main.c: At top level:
main.c:351: warning: `okpassshortopts' defined but not used
make[2]: *** [main.o] Error 1
make[1]: *** [all-main] Error 2
make: *** [all-recursive] Error 2
### execution of failed, exit code 2
Failed: compiling dpkg-1.10.9-200 failed

Any idea what is going wrong or how I can fix it? I have deleted and reinstalled /sw several times now. Or can I just copy /sw from someone else who has it working?

weird. you did all the other proper steps, right?

did you try poking around the slsk boards to see if anyone else had the same problem?

Dan, that's is swap files being deleted when no longer needed. Modern OSs like to keep a lot of HD space as 'virtual' memory.

Causistry, I'm working on yours.

Causistry,

Try running

sudo apt-get update

then sudo apt-get upgrade

then sudo fink selfupdate-rsync

I poked around the fink website, since it seemed like a problem with fink (I have tried to install nicotine after failing to update fink, but unsurprisingly it has failed).

Ed, thanks! I'll give it a whirl.

best place for help with fink is

http://forums.macosxhints.com/

OK, well, that didn't seem to help.

"sudo apt-get update" transcript ended with this:

Failed to fetch file:/sw/fink/dists/local/main/binary-darwin-powerpc/Packages File not found
Failed to fetch file:/sw/fink/dists/stable/main/binary-darwin-powerpc/Packages File not found
Failed to fetch file:/sw/fink/dists/stable/crypto/binary-darwin-powerpc/Packages File not found
Reading Package Lists... Done
Building Dependency Tree... Done
E: Some index files failed to download, they have been ignored, or old ones used instead.

I wasn't sure whether this was an error I should worry about or not, so I continued on with the other steps, but the fink selfupdate ended the same way it had before.

hmm

try sudo fink index

OK. Then what?

then the three commands I said above

% sudo apt-get update

Err file: local/main Packages
File not found
Ign file: local/main Release
Err file: stable/main Packages
File not found
Ign file: stable/main Release
Err file: stable/crypto Packages
File not found
Ign file: stable/crypto Release
Hit http://us.dl.sourceforge.net 10.3/release/main Packages
Hit http://us.dl.sourceforge.net 10.3/release/main Release
Hit http://us.dl.sourceforge.net 10.3/release/crypto Packages
Hit http://us.dl.sourceforge.net 10.3/release/crypto Release
Hit http://us.dl.sourceforge.net 10.3/current/main Packages
Hit http://us.dl.sourceforge.net 10.3/current/main Release
Hit http://us.dl.sourceforge.net 10.3/current/crypto Packages
Hit http://us.dl.sourceforge.net 10.3/current/crypto Release
Failed to fetch file:/sw/fink/dists/local/main/binary-darwin-powerpc/Packages File not found
Failed to fetch file:/sw/fink/dists/stable/main/binary-darwin-powerpc/Packages File not found
Failed to fetch file:/sw/fink/dists/stable/crypto/binary-darwin-powerpc/Packages File not found
Reading Package Lists... Done
Building Dependency Tree... Done
E: Some index files failed to download, they have been ignored, or old ones used instead.

(Same as before.)

Thanks for running a "reasons to avoid Macs" clinic for us, guys!

have you installed anything so far? or just fink?

if just fink try sudo apt-get upgrade

i'm having trouble inserting pix

reason's to avoid linux more like.

Perhaps. Ok, thanks for running a "reasons to avoid computers entirely" clinic, guys! Better? ;-)

Yeah, this is a fairly wonky thing I'm trying to do, and apparently I've having a fairly wonky problem.

ed, thanks for that, because that seems to have worked for me (the fink upgrade)!

best of luck, casuistry--I installed nicotine on my powerbook last week and man, oh man.

sudo apt-get upgrade
Password:
Reading Package Lists... Done
Building Dependency Tree... Done
0 packages upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.

now do fink selfupgrade-rsync

Yeah, it's still giving me the same problems.

In file included from /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreFoundation.framework/Headers/CFBase.h:14,
from /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreFoundation.framework/Headers/CoreFoundation.h:5,
from main.c:43:
/usr/include/AvailabilityMacros.h:101:6: #error MAC_OS_X_VERSION_MAX_ALLOWED must be >= MAC_OS_X_VERSION_MIN_REQUIRED
main.c:44: warning: function declaration isn't a prototype
main.c: In function `setforce':
main.c:335: warning: signed and unsigned type in conditional expression
main.c: At top level:
main.c:373: warning: cast discards qualifiers from pointer target type
main.c:374: warning: cast discards qualifiers from pointer target type
main.c:377: warning: cast discards qualifiers from pointer target type
main.c:384: warning: cast discards qualifiers from pointer target type
main.c:385: warning: cast discards qualifiers from pointer target type
main.c:424: warning: cast discards qualifiers from pointer target type
main.c:425: warning: cast discards qualifiers from pointer target type
main.c:426: warning: cast discards qualifiers from pointer target type
main.c:427: warning: cast discards qualifiers from pointer target type
main.c:428: warning: cast discards qualifiers from pointer target type
main.c:429: warning: cast discards qualifiers from pointer target type
main.c:430: warning: cast discards qualifiers from pointer target type
main.c:431: warning: cast discards qualifiers from pointer target type
main.c:432: warning: cast discards qualifiers from pointer target type
main.c:433: warning: cast discards qualifiers from pointer target type
main.c:561: warning: function declaration isn't a prototype
main.c: In function `finkinit':
main.c:583: warning: unsigned int format, long unsigned int arg (arg 4)
main.c:611: warning: passing arg 1 of `free' discards qualifiers from pointer target type
main.c:612: warning: passing arg 1 of `free' discards qualifiers from pointer target type
main.c: At top level:
main.c:351: warning: `okpassshortopts' defined but not used
make[2]: *** [main.o] Error 1
make[1]: *** [all-main] Error 2
make: *** [all-recursive] Error 2
### execution of failed, exit code 2
Failed: compiling dpkg-1.10.9-200 failed

which version of OS X are you using?

10.3.2.

did you install all the development tools from apple?

also, I don't know if you've seen this, but this page helps: www.captnswing.net/howto/nicotine

try running sudo gcc_select 3 then

fink selfupdate-rsync

then sudo gcc_select 3.3

AKM: That's the page I've been using as a guide.

Ed: OK, I will try that. Thank you greatly for your help, by the way!

The following package will be installed or updated:
dpkg
Failed:
This package must be compiled with GCC 3.3, but you currently have 3.1 selected.
To correct this problem, run the command:

sudo gcc_select 3.3

You may need to install a more recent version of the Developer Tools to be able
to do so.

arse, I'm stumped. Check with the macosxhints people.

You could try erasing your /sw directory (sudo rm -r /sw) and starting again.

Yes. I might. But I have done that a few times now... Well, thanks anyway.

(Bryan, it seems no-one has any probelms with Windows. I'd go for that)

Will do! smartass

i really really want to quit this Seti widget but it won"t go away!

My msn messenger has stopped working & I have no idea why. Even my sysadmin guy cant figure it out. I have re-installed it, but still it says that either my username or password is wrong & or that messenger is not working, when I know that both are correct & it's running fine! most annoying!

is it possible to customise the Find (Windows key+F) facility on Windows XP so the Browse does not appear right down the bottom under all of the network drives? Coz it strikes me as the daftest place for it to be - contrast it to its NT equivalent where there is actually a Browse button.

Casuistry I'm almost positive you're using the wrong developer tools for 10.3.2. Make sure you're using the Xcode CD that came with Panther as that has the latest version of GCC and the X11 SDK that you need.

I will try reinstalling the development tools off the Xcode disc. There might be things lingering on the computer from 10.2 screwing with things, I don't know. Is there any diagnostic I can do to see if something isn't installed properly?