Software « Ever in Flux

4Jan/100

gem install mysql on Leopard and Snow Leopard Server

Brief: Instructions for installing the Ruby MySQL gem on Mac OS X 10.5 Server without using MacPorts or installing MySQL.

MySQL and Ruby ship with Leopard and Snow Leopard Server, so why waste the time reinstalling it? Like me, you probably never found this little gem of wisdom in Apple's knowledge base. Follow the steps listed there (using -45 [10.5.8] instead of -43 [10.5.5]) and you'll be able to perform the magic incantation:

sudo gem install mysql

The advantage to this is that you needn't resort to installing anything that didn't ship with it. Oh, and you don't need to pass any flags to gem.

There's also this additional documentation for Deploying Rails Applications on Mac OS X Leopard. I've not traveled that route, but will soon.

Filed under: MySQL, Rails, Ruby, Software, gem, leopard, server No Comments

14Oct/090

Gnome/Metacity is tweakable, y’all.

I hear/read it a lot. Gnome/Metacity is not as configurable as other Desktop Environments (DE). That's not entirely true. It's not as EASILY (read GUIfied) configured as other environments.

Wait! Which environments provide a GUI configuration for all of the tweakable desktop elements like title font, window border, button shape, size and/or placement?

I can think of 2 that allow such fine-grained control in a GUI:

KDE/Kwin
XFCE/XFWM4

I KNOW there are more than these two. Tell me about them. I may have already used it in the past.

When I read about someone's experience with a tiling window manager (WM), I think, "That's what I need. Insert Justfication 1, Justification X and Justification III here." I will then promptly install whatever DE/WM they've recommended, use it for 2 weeks and then go right back to Gnome. Why? Familiarity, for one. Secondly, I customize Gnome to my liking. I get keyboard shortcuts that I like, a look that I prefer and the overall experience is mine.

Each of us have discovered THE best configuration of their computer for their particular usage. Some like a minimalist UI (OpenBox, Fluxbox, ratpoison, awesome), others prefer a compromise between lightweight and stylized (LXDE, XFCE, IceWM, GNUStep and still others prefer a plain console with or without framebuffer enabled.

I prefer Gnome for all its "bloat" and "size." Again: Why is this? On a modest system (Intel Celeron 2,2GHz, GeForce 8400 GS, single 21" display via DVI and 2GBs of RAM running the latest Arch Linux 64-bit version), I can enable the built-in compositing in Metacity without noticeable impact to my desktop performance. 3D performance drops dramatically, but I turn off the compositing if I really need 3D performance, like when playing games or playing games.

Gnome is very configurable, however. Like with other DE/WM combinations, you'll have to get "under the hood" and "get your hands dirty." This means that a few config files have to be tweaked, you WILL need a command prompt and the changes may not be permanent. It's Linux, not OS X or Windows.

I've modified the default icon theme, changed the background of the panel and other tweaks that make my desktop:

Unique (Like every other alternative-OS-running-mofo's desktop. Is that ironic?)
Personal (That's what PC meant originally, right? No reason it should mean anything else now.)
Functional (By adding this myself, I can be more productive. Can be, but I'm not)

I like the customization freedom I have with Gnome. Is it as easy as in other DE/WM combinations? No, not really? Do I care? Nope. Not enough to remedy the situation.

Filed under: Computers, Desktop, Gnome, Linux, Opinion, Software No Comments

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