os-x

If you use Terminal application on Mac OS-X to connect over SSH, you have most probably been annoyed by closed connections. Following is a quick recipe to prevent timeouts:

Open Terminal

Save file and restart Terminal. Your connections won't time-out nearly as frequently.

OS-X Leopard comes pre-installed with a Postfix version. No need to install it via darwin ports or other such mess (actually uninstall it if you have previously manually installed it via ports or something similar). Postfix just needs to be enabled and following sequence of several easy steps explains how to do it:

 sudo vi /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/org.postfix.master.plist

add following line before the closing </dict> tag:

<key>RunAtLoad</key> <true/> <key>KeepAlive</key> <true/>

Start service with

$ sudo launchctl
launchd% start org.postfix.master

You can also start simply with "sudo postfix start" but the above command will start via launch sequence and test the configuration you edited in the previous step.

Check that SMPT is running:

telnet localhost 25

For more information, see: Mac OS X Manual Page For launchd.plist

If you are on a Wifi and both your mac and iPhone can access it, you can get free ride with controlling Keynote from your iPhone by using: Keymote, which in part uses Telekinesis iPhoneRemote.

Telekinesis actually uses iPhone Safari and Ajax so you need to point iPhone Safari to a specific address (https://192.168.74.104:5010/ by default). You can bookmark it as iPhone shortcut on iPhone desktop though, for easy launching.

If you are a developer (just a nerd will do, too), you have definitely put a fake DNS entry or two in your /etc/hosts file, at one time or another. Few things are more frustrating than doing that and having to restart your computer for the change to pick up. If you are running a local dns server (e.g. BIND) a glitch like that can happen all the time.

No worries, though. The little command below, ran from the Terminal, will clear dns cache and let your changes be applied instantaneously:

> lookupd -flushcache

or on Mac OS-X 10.5.x (Leopard):

> dscacheutil -flushcache

P.S. I don't know how to do the same on Windows, but the same problem occurs on that platform as well, since it also uses local DNS cache. If you know a solution, feel free to leave a comment :).

The much awaited first software update of iPhone is out!

One of many novel things about iPhone, setting it aside from the CellPhones 1.0, is that it is supposed to be frequently and significantly improved through a series of software updates. This first update is not that exciting - just a collection of bug-fixes, but marks a point in the history. I installed the update - the phone still works, so - good news :)

I wonder if the update will shut down some of the breaches the community was able to make into the closed world of iPhone.