[gui-talk] An accesible terminal at long last

Fri Dec 7 12:59:38 CST 2007

Correct and see my message for part of the explanation as to why.

On 08/12/2007, at 5:43 AM, Lloyd Rasmussen wrote:

> My understanding is that it's much easier to run Windows on a modern  
> Mac
> than to run Leopard on non-Apple hardware.
>
> -- Lloyd, W3IUU
>
> At 01:38 PM 12/7/2007, you wrote:
>> Dane,
>>
>> Thank you very much for your reply.  It was very helpful.
>>
>> I find your posts extremely valuable.  Actually, I just want to  
>> play a bit
>> and keep the brain active trying to learn a new operating system.
>>
>> Jim
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Dane Trethowan" <grtdane at iprimus.com.au>
>> To: "NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Friday, December 07, 2007 12:51 PM
>> Subject: Re: [gui-talk] An accesible terminal at long last
>>
>>
>>> Yes it can but its certainly not recommended and you cannot install
>>> the standard edition of Leopard onto a PC, it has to be hacked and
>>> cracked but I have seen it done yes.
>>> The person I know who did it experienced a whole heap of problems,  
>>> one
>>> of the nice things about Mac systems is that all the hardware you  
>>> use
>>> just works straight out of the box, plug it in and there you go and
>>> that's because the Apple engineers know exactly what they're writing
>>> hardware drivers for but in the PC world things are drastically
>>> different as there are hundreds upon thousands of devices out there
>>> which have drivers of their own and this is where Leopard for the PC
>>> can stumble to a halt as it may not recognise many hardware  
>>> devices on
>>> a standard PC.
>>> The other problem encountered is that Leopard for the PC cannot be
>>> updated because of the hacks and cracks that were applied, this
>>> changes the software code significantly so updates cannot be  
>>> applied.
>>> Now just changing subject if I may and this would seem an  
>>> appropriate
>>> time to do so, some list members have written to me asking me what
>>> sort of Mac machines are available. Well they fall into 4  
>>> categories,
>>> the Mac Mini, the Imac, the Macbook and Macbook Pro and the Mac pro.
>>> The Mac Mini is the cheapest of the range, its about the size of a
>>> dual-CD case and is available in a variety of configurations, I'd
>>> probably recommend this one for people just starting out and who  
>>> don't
>>> want to put a lot of money into their new computer, its small but  
>>> yet
>>> powerful.
>>> The Imac is the "all-in-one" desktop machine, I have one in front of
>>> me here and it looks exactly like a flat panel LCD  display but  
>>> behind
>>> the display is a fully-fled computer and a whole heap of built-in
>>> features like Wi-Fi compatibility, blue tooth connectivity, infra  
>>> red
>>> connectivity etc., I won't list all the things this unit has because
>>> it will probably complicate the message a bit.
>>> The Macbook and Macbook Pro category are Notebook computers, I  
>>> have a
>>> Macbook, the second from the bottom and its the best notebook I've
>>> ever used both with Leopard and Fusion running a virtual Windows
>>> machine. The Macbook Pro has slightly higher performance specs but  
>>> for
>>> those using speech I don't think you're going to get much more out  
>>> of
>>> a Macbook Pro than you would a Macbook.
>>> The Mac Pro is (if you like) a "PC look-a-like" in that it comes  
>>> in a
>>> tower case and this machine is the most powerful in Apples range
>>> boasting 4 dual-processor chips (8 processors in all) and storage
>>> capacity of up to 12 terabytes so if you're planning to set up a TV
>>> station or you want to take a trip to Mars next year then this  
>>> device
>>> will help you accomplish all these tasks <smile> but I envy anyone  
>>> who
>>> has one of these machines very much so and may you enjoy it.
>>> As a final note, all the Mac line now feature Intel Cor Duo chips  
>>> and
>>> all will run Windows in a variety of ways from the Bootcamp method
>>> which Apple supply to using Windows as a virtual machine with third
>>> party applications such as Fusion, Parallels etc.
>>> For pricing details on the various Mac models available then go and
>>> visit http://www.apple.com or suffix this address with the  
>>> particular
>>> model you're interested in, for example http://www.apple.com/imac/
>>> will take you directly to the Imac computer pages.
>>>
>>> On 08/12/2007, at 4:30 AM, James Shaker wrote:
>>>
>>>> I understand that leopard can be installed on a PC..Have you done
>>>> that?  If
>>>> so, how did it work?
>>>>
>>>> Jim
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "Dane Trethowan" <grtdane at iprimus.com.au>
>>>> To: "NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List" <gui-talk at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Sent: Friday, December 07, 2007 1:00 AM
>>>> Subject: [gui-talk] An accesible terminal at long last
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Ok, well another thing which I'm extremely happy about under  
>>>>> Leopard
>>>>> is how accessible the terminal now seems to be. The terminal is  
>>>>> found
>>>>> in the Utilities folder under the Applications folder and this
>>>>> utility
>>>>> allows you access to the "BSD" curnal of Leopard.
>>>>> BSD is a form of LINUX, yes Leopard is based on LINUX but its
>>>>> cleverly
>>>>> hidden through the Leopard Graphical User Interface. Having the
>>>>> terminal accessible like this has made me more interested in "BSD"
>>>>> than I ever have been, just like the old DOS command-line days  
>>>>> when
>>>>> writing batch files was a bundle of joy <smile>. BSD doesn't call
>>>>> them
>>>>> batch files any more, they're called scripts and they're more
>>>>> powerful
>>>>> than the humble batch file under MS DOS ever was.
>>>>> So we have the best of two worlds with Leopard, an  intuitive  
>>>>> and yet
>>>>> powerful graphical user interface and the power and flexibility of
>>>>> the
>>>>> terminal and BSD.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>
> Lloyd Rasmussen, Acting Head, Engineering Section
> National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped
> Library of Congress    (202) 707-0535   <http://www.loc.gov/nls>
> HOME:  <http://lras.home.sprynet.com>
> The opinions expressed here are my own and do not necessarily  
> represent
> those of NLS.
>
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