What have you done with an early Intel recently?

[rampancy]

But I’m excited! I’ll be sure to take pics and share here how it went!

Good luck! I forgot to mention earlier, according to folks on the iFixit forums, after applying the replacement adhesive strips and reattaching the display, leave the iMac on its back for at least 24 hours before using it again, to give the glue time to set.

Some folks recommend also using a heatgun on the adhered areas, followed up by pressing down with J-roller to maximize the adhesive potential of the tape.

 

[B S Magnet]

Good luck! I forgot to mention earlier, according to folks on the iFixit forums, after applying the replacement adhesive strips and reattaching the display, leave the iMac on its back for at least 24 hours before using it again, to give the glue time to set.

Some folks recommend also using a heatgun on the adhered areas, followed up by pressing down with J-roller to maximize the adhesive potential of the tape.

All very helpful advice! I lack a heat gun, but I have an effective hair dryer and an antique very much like a J-roller (and a rubber sheet intermediary to help prevent damaging the glass).

 

[TheShortTimer]

All very helpful advice! I lack a heat gun, but I have an effective hair dryer and an antique very much like a J-roller (and a rubber sheet intermediary to help prevent damaging the glass).

You can obtain a decent one fairly cheaply from that online shopping company owned by the shaven headed gentleman who has briefly been an astronaut. That's where I purchased mine for a couple of procrastinated projects.

 

[B S Magnet]

You can obtain a decent one fairly cheaply from that online shopping company owned by the shaven headed gentleman who has briefly been an astronaut. That's where I purchased mine for a couple of procrastinated projects.

Ah yah, that place — the place notorious for their greenwashing, their (mis-)treatment of non-office staff and thwarting of labour organizing, and also having made it impossible for many to continue living in Seattle, post-2010 (n.b., where I once lived). I have spent my last dollar with his little boutique gig, and that was a few years back. I might miss a sale here or here, and I am OK with this.

He’s never going to miss the missing subatomic particle on a mote of dust inside an abandoned warehouse which represents the amount of money I once spent at his properties. Also, his spaceship looks like junk (and no, I don’t mean like MacBook 2015-junk, either).

 

[TheShortTimer]

Ah yah, that place — the place notorious for their greenwashing, their (mis-)treatment of non-office staff and thwarting of labour organizing, and also having made it impossible for many to continue living in Seattle, post-2010 (n.b., where I once lived). I have spent my last dollar with his little boutique gig, and that was a few years back. I might miss a sale here or here, and I am OK with this.

He’s never going to miss the missing subatomic particle on a mote of dust inside an abandoned warehouse which represents the amount of money I once spent at his properties. Also, his spaceship looks like junk (and no, I don’t mean like MacBook 2015-junk, either).

Just to clarify, the Haha response is not directed at your opinion on that individual and their oft-problematic organisation but the depiction of his spaceship and in turn Apple's less than stellar products.

I completely understand your aversion and for years I've had a love-hate relationship with their business practices but at the same time I have to acknowledge that there have been situations (particularly with IT related purchases) where they're the best option available to me.

Anyway, if you lived closer you could just borrow my heat gun. At least that way it would get some use!

(Must attend to projects...)

 

[TheShortTimer]

What have I done with an early Intel Mac recently? Well, this morning I updated the OCLP software on my 2013 Mac Pro to 2.0.2 after the dialogue box appeared and presented me with the opportunity.

MBP 15" late 2011 running Sequoia: realised earlier today that I cannot change the wallpaper. Irritating. Can't find any obvious reason on the 'Unsupported Macs' thread for this OS. Might just blow it away and go back to something earlier.

If you're still running Sequoia then this update might fix the wallpaper bug. Note the highlighted text above.

Nice and easy! Once the updating and patching was completed, I rebooted with Option held down and selected Boot from EFI so that the update would be saved to the internal drive's EFI partition and Ventura booted up and I continued where I left off with my previous session.

I think I'll send the programmers a well earned donation!

 

[eyoungren]

Figured out how to force InDesign CC24 to autosave. This is not a native feature of InDesign, or at least it isn't anymore. It's available if you use Adobe's Cloud Save, but I don't want any of my documents in Adobe's Cloud. I already use Dropbox.

To do this, someone wrote a javascript. So, I dropped it in, put in the Mac filepath (it was written with a Windows filepath format in mind) and got it running. It's a bit quirky in the sense that I have to remember to run the script whenever I open InDesign, but after that it's good. Keeps sequential numbered autosaves to the path you specify.

This is one feature that QuarkXPress has over InDesign. But now, I've got it in ID as well.

This was all a result of misinterpreting some mis-pasted copy that I needed as well as mis-remembering how long that copy was. My transition from CC20 to CC22 and then CC24 was rocky and I mistakenly assumed I'd lost something. I did not. It was all there, just not how I remembered.

But, now I have autosave going to the same recovery folder that ID uses and I'm quite happy about it.

 

[eyoungren]

What have I done with an early Intel Mac recently? Well, this morning I updated the OCLP software on my 2013 Mac Pro to 2.0.2 after the dialogue box appeared and presented me with the opportunity.

If you're still running Sequoia then this update might fix the wallpaper bug. Note the highlighted text above.

Nice and easy! Once the updating and patching was completed, I rebooted with Option held down and selected Boot from EFI so that the update would be saved to the internal drive's EFI partition and Ventura booted up and I continued where I left off with my previous session.

I think I'll send the programmers a well earned donation!

I updated only the OCLP app today. I have not updated the patches and I won't do that until I need to change something. Everything is working and I don't want to (potentially) start a problem I'm going to have to fix.

I also decided about a week ago that my upgrades are now going to be like my iPhone. Next year this time when Apple releases the next MacOS, I will upgrade my MP to Sequoia. Everything that OCLP might run into this year will be hammered out by that point. And there isn't anything I need from Sequoia I can't get on Sonoma, heck even Monterey was fine. It wasn't Apple that prompted my recent upgrade to Sonoma.

Anyway, that's how I'm going to work this now - until OCLP no longer supports my Mac.

 

[ToniCH]

I am one of those who do not often update working versions, unless there is something really important in the new version. As they no longer develope the OCLP for the old OS-versions (its already done and it works fine) and I primarily run Monterey (if OCLP) I see no need to update. Ie. there will be nothing new for those who run Big Sur, Monterey or Ventura etc. They now concentrate on Sonoma and more and more Sequioa. I am still running the v. 1.5 and I have noticed no bugs which would make me want to update at this time.

Well, there is one bug that bugs me : ctrl+cmd+space opens the smiley window but the smilies cannot be used from it in the forums or email (Thunderbird). I wonder if I am alone with this or is this a common problem?

 

[eyoungren]

Well, there is one bug that bugs me : ctrl+cmd+space opens the smiley window but the smilies cannot be used from it in the forums or email (Thunderbird). I wonder if I am alone with this or is this a common problem?

I think so. I just tried it and dropped a smiley right in, no issues.

👍

 

[ToniCH]

Damn, I have this problem with my iMac 2011 and have had it since OCLP 1.0. I always thought it was a OCLP bug as I think it appeared after update. Ok, I need to investigate and try if it also happen with my other machines.

 

[Raging Dufus]

My wife needed a "listening station" for her classroom where special needs students can listen to audiobooks, audio accompaniments to actual books, or other audio elements suited to the curriculum. I had a perfectly good 2008 iMac lying around unused after my household's last round of hardware upgrades, so I repurposed it for her with a fresh install of Mavericks, a Belkin audio splitter to use multiple headsets simultaneously, and an Apple Remote so Mrs. Dufus can control what's going on from anywhere in her classroom.



With the addition of a nice forest-y desktop background and screensaver to match her decor, I'm happy to report it's all working wonderfully and is a big hit with the students!

 

[eyoungren]

Rollerball on my mouse finally died. It's been acting up lately. I use the Apple A1152, which is the wired Mighty Mouse. This particular mouse is work supplied (as is the keyboard). Normally, I put in a request and work ships a new mouse to my home. But, this time around I just plunked down $16 on Amazon to get another one.

I let my boss know and will see how he plans to get me reimbursed. Anyway, that's not so much news as is what I'm doing in the meantime.

I've used this type of mouse for several years now. For work, it's at least been since 2013 I'd think if not earlier. Anyway, I've been down this road several times and always just ordered a new mouse.

A couple years ago though I decided to try cleaning the rollerball. There are instructions on the internet. It's an entirely doable thing. Because what causes the rollerball to stop working is the junk that accumulates. But you can only truly fix that by taking it apart and taking it apart isn't what Apple intended.

There is a facia piece on the underside that is glued on. Getting it off means it can break. When I did this, mine broke in two pieces. But I succeeded in disassembling the mouse and cleaning the rollerball. I just never got around to gluing the fascia back. Aside from just covering up the edges on the bottom though, the fascia piece also holds in the wire that comes out of the front of the mouse.

But now, I need a mouse. So a small piece of tape under the wire and I'm fine. The mouse is fully functional (including the rollerball) and I'll use it until I get the new one. Probably at that time I'll glue the fascia back on.

I'm just glad I had it as a spare!

 

[rampancy]

All very helpful advice! I lack a heat gun, but I have an effective hair dryer and an antique very much like a J-roller (and a rubber sheet intermediary to help prevent damaging the glass).

Really excited to see what happens! I don't have access to heat gun/good hair dryer or a J-Roller, but I did lay the iMac flat after reapplying the display for 24 hours.

Also, really cool to see you putting an NVMe m.2 SSD in your Mac! If I'd known I could do that I *might* have been tempted to do the same, but at the time I wasn't 100% certain if the A1418 had the necessary socket for a blade SSD (everyone was talking about how the Mac didn't come with a screw for a blade SSD, but I figure that hardly matters if there's no socket for an additional SSD). That and I really wanted to get my Mac back up to working condition ASAP.

Edit: So I just read that CPU upgrades are possible on the A1418 because B S Magnet's 2.9 Ghz variant had a socketed CPU, whereas my 2.7 has a soldered CPU (maybe the 2.7 also lacks the necessary hardware to install a blade SSD). (!?) WTF, Apple.

 

[B S Magnet]

Really excited to see what happens! I don't have access to heat gun/good hair dryer or a J-Roller, but I did lay the iMac flat after reapplying the display for 24 hours.

Did you rest the iMac, face-down (on a towel or soft surface), or did you rest it face up, with the system resting on its back?

Also, really cool to see you putting an NVMe m.2 SSD in your Mac! If I'd known I could do that I *might* have been tempted to do the same, but at the time I wasn't 100% certain if the A1418 had the necessary socket for a blade SSD (everyone was talking about how the Mac didn't come with a screw for a blade SSD, but I figure that hardly matters if there's no socket for an additional SSD).

This is something iFixit sort of dropped the ball on clarity: it was only the late 2013 models which all had the NVMe blade socket; later models, such as the barebones models or models ordered only with an HDD, was left without one (though one could be soldered on were one a solder sensei like dosdude1). iFixit was also not clear about how it was only the 2.7GHz base model which came with a soldered CPU; all the other late 2013 models shipped with a socketed CPU.

That and I really wanted to get my Mac back up to working condition ASAP.

Indeed!

 

[rampancy]

Did you rest the iMac, face-down (on a towel or soft surface), or did you rest it face up, with the system resting on its back?

Hmm. Good question. I put the iMac on it's back display up (I used the iFixit service wedge to prop it up so that it wasn't on an angle), thought in retrospect, perhaps face-down on a towel might be a better position to ensure the glue setting evenly on all sides.

 

[TheShortTimer]

My unwanted companion insomnia, has returned to join me once again, so I put my restlessness to use with a bit of attempted early Intel gaming that involved trial and error across five machines.

I came across this game during random web browsing and the programmer hasn't provided much (any!) info on system requirements for the Mac version but I was intrigued by the premise and decided to have a play. Initially, I downloaded and tried to run it on my 13" 2012 MBP w/ Ventura but the game repeatedly crashed.

Next, I switched to the 2011 MBP and High Sierra but the outcome was the same. Third time's a charm? Not for me. Exactly the same thing happened on my i5 2011 MBA (see? @Amethyst1 it does get used!) but this time round I paid attention to the crash report:

Graphics kernel error? Seems like the game doesn't like the Intel Graphics HD 3K/4K GPU that all three Macs have in common. Maybe I'd have better luck with the 2010 C2D MBA which uses a NVIDIA GeForce 320M. Well, the game displayed the prohibited icon in Snow Leopard but started up in Mojave. However I didn't get very far because it crashed during the credits sequence and the graphics crawled along - I'd expected too much from its feeble hardware.

That's 4 Macs down. I looked at my gear and wondered what I should try next. What about my newest acquisition, the 2013 Mac Pro running Ventura?

That's more like it!

The graphics now operate at full speed. After all of that hassle, let's have a play.

This is definitely a David vs Goliath scenario…

...where the underdog loses.

It would've helped if I'd been able to control my fighter! The wired XBOX 360 controller is apparently supported under Ventura and the game apparently supports the controller but I couldn't get it to work. This is something that I'll have to return to on the keyboard or maybe another controller. Anyway, the graphics are rather rough (where's the astromech droid that accompanies every T-65 X-Wing?) but the rendition of John Williams' score is pretty decent and this is a free game so you can't complain too much.

 

[rampancy]

I love the use of the Nasalization font. It's like I'm watching a mashup of Star Wars meets For All Mankind.

But seriously, this makes me want to play Tie Fighter Total Conversion. Pity that X-Wing Alliance doesn't apparently work in WINE or Crossover. Sigh. Anyone know of a good DOSBox implementation on modern Macs? Or will I have to dig out my Performa 6320/120 CD and hit up eBay for an overpriced ADB CH Flightstick Pro?

 

[TheShortTimer]

I love the use of the Nasalization font. It's like I'm watching a mashup of Star Wars meets For All Mankind.

I wasn't familiar with For All Mankind. Interesting series!

But seriously, this makes me want to play Tie Fighter Total Conversion.

Oh wow! That, is amazing.

Pity that X-Wing Alliance doesn't apparently work in WINE or Crossover. Sigh. Anyone know of a good DOSBox implementation on modern Macs?

Would DOSBox help in this situation because XWA (as I lamented during its original release) has always been a Windows title, unless I'm missing something?

Or will I have to dig out my Performa 6320/120 CD and hit up eBay for an overpriced ADB CH Flightstick Pro?

Nah, you could just get one of these instead - much better and cheaper. I use one with my Mac SE and it saved me the expense of overpriced ADB keyboards and mice on eBay.

 

[ToniCH]

I love the use of the Nasalization font. It's like I'm watching a mashup of Star Wars meets For All Mankind.

But seriously, this makes me want to play Tie Fighter Total Conversion. Pity that X-Wing Alliance doesn't apparently work in WINE or Crossover. Sigh. Anyone know of a good DOSBox implementation on modern Macs? Or will I have to dig out my Performa 6320/120 CD and hit up eBay for an overpriced ADB CH Flightstick Pro?

I used to play X-Wing and Tie-Fighter when they were new. Remember it being fun. Recently I spotted the Total Conversion and got exited. The original graphics are so dated but the conversion looks superb. As I am putting together my iMac G5 for gaming, a space combat sim is what I need. But, no X-Wing or Tie-Fighter for PPC I hear...

And, sadly the conversion was made for the X-Wing Alliance only, which is a PC-version. Well, I do have a PC, which I acquired originally for flashing PC GPU's and other cards to Mac firmware. It can run games quite ok up to maybe 5+ year old ones. So, I am considering buying the Star Wars X-Wing series -pack (29€) which also includes the Alliance - and the original Tie-Fighter and X-wing which do run in Macs. I wonder if my joystick (CH F-16 combat stick USB) would work with an Mac? My daily iMac 2011 should make a good platform for older Inter compatible Mac-games.

BTW. was there ever a Wing Commander of some sort for Mac? I remember that being fun too.

PS. I just realized I have 2 better candidates for an Intel gaming Mac: 2014 MBP DG with i7 & 16GB RAM - headless so plug it into my TV and go. And a 2012 Mac Mini Server i7 & 16GB RAM & eGPU (RX560).

 

[TheShortTimer]

BTW. was there ever a Wing Commander of some sort for Mac? I remember that being fun too.

Yep - that was ported to almost everything. Even the Amiga which was approaching its commercial demise as a gaming platform by that point received a version.

Here's an Intel Mac re-release with the minimum system requirements of 2GB RAM and Lion or later.

On the subject of Star Wars and gaming, how I wish that this title was supported under MAME or at least had an emulator whose Mac version wasn't handled with such indifference... Ah well.

 

[rampancy]

I wasn't familiar with For All Mankind. Interesting series!

Not wanting to trigger another long OT tangent, but I really slept on FAM when I first got Apple TV+. It's overall fantastic alt-future/history sci-fi, and if you're a space nerd like me, it's a real treat to see so many fascinating concepts (Sea Dragon, the NERVA engine, the space shuttle not sucking, etc.) brought to life. Great BIPOC and queer rep too. The second season sagged a bit, but later seasons were great, especially with their take on Musk/Bezos and BO/SpaceX.

Oh, and it's kinda-sorta an unofficial prequel to The Expanse, too.

Would DOSBox help in this situation because XWA (as I lamented during its original release) has always been a Windows title, unless I'm missing something?

Yeah, my brain was addled, I was thinking of the original TiE Fighter. Still one of the best games I ever played. When I moved on from my Performa running 7.5.5 with my (lamented) ADB CH Flightstick Pro, I really missed it.

Nah, you could just get one of these instead - much better and cheaper. I use one with my Mac SE and it saved me the expense of overpriced ADB keyboards and mice on eBay.

This makes me think about how much I really missed my old joystick when my family upgraded from the Performa to a Sawtooth G4. Apple Game Sprockets in OS 9 and the general HID device driver just didn't cut it compared to the old manufacturer joystick drivers. It really felt like a downgrade.

BTW. was there ever a Wing Commander of some sort for Mac? I remember that being fun too.

PS. I just realized I have 2 better candidates for an Intel gaming Mac: 2014 MBP DG with i7 & 16GB RAM - headless so plug it into my TV and go. And a 2012 Mac Mini Server i7 & 16GB RAM & eGPU (RX560).

The original Wing Commander series was indeed available on the Mac; I missed out on WC3 but I got WC4 for Christmas, and I still have the massive 6 CD set in storage. It was really interesting to see WC3 and 4 marketed less as games and more as "interactive movies". But man, those FMV cut scenes with Mark Hamill and Malcolm McDowell were great, plus it was hilarious to see Robert Rusler chewing the scenery as the villain.

 

[rampancy]

Here's an Intel Mac re-release with the minimum system requirements of 2GB RAM and Lion or later.

The modern Mac re-releases of the classic Wing Commander games are just the original PC versions repackaged in a neat and tidy DOSBox wrapper (made for GOG by Alun Bestor, the mind behind Boxer). With a bit of digging you can extract the DOS game files and use them in whatever DOSBox environment you have. In my case, I used Boxer to play a bit of the Wing Commander GOG release on my old Core Duo MacBook with 10.6/1 GB of RAM. Or at least tried to, with the keyboard controls...

Speaking of which, is there a DOSBox environment for modern Macs out there? I loved Boxer, but sadly it seems like development ended in 2013.

 

[ToniCH]

Yep - that was ported to almost everything. Even the Amiga which was approaching its commercial demise as a gaming platform by that point received a version.

Thanks! I'll take a look. I think I actually had it first on Amiga and then on PC. Maybe, its getting hazy after all this time. I even have the movie somewhere on VHS. 😆 The movie was somewhat a disappointment after the games though.

And from planning to action. So, I plugged my Media Mac Mini into the TV with the eGPU. First didn't get it to work with the eGPU but after I ran out of ideas I thought....the (genuine Apple) TB cable cannot be directional, can it? Turned it around and the eGPU came to life?! 😳 🤨 Weird, I learn something new every day. Never before noticed that.

Then I installed Steam and now I am downloading some games. I did buy the Star Wars set I mentioned above, X-Wing and Tie-Fighter Special Editions are Mac-compatible. Additionally I bought the MXGP3 -motocross game which was in 90% sale so I took that too and finally found a WW1 air combat game (Skies above the Great War) and as it was cheap too I bought it as well. And I guess I need to go through my games library to see if there is any other Mac-compatible games already.

EDIT: Maybe I'll need to swap to Mojave. There seems to be better selection for that than for Catalina.

My shady livingroom with the Media Mac Mini and Metal score with the eGPU and loading games:

 

[TheShortTimer]

The modern Mac re-releases of the classic Wing Commander games are just the original PC versions repackaged in a neat and tidy DOSBox wrapper (made for GOG by Alun Bestor, the mind behind Boxer). With a bit of digging you can extract the DOS game files and use them in whatever DOSBox environment you have. In my case, I used Boxer to play a bit of the Wing Commander GOG release on my old Core Duo MacBook with 10.6/1 GB of RAM. Or at least tried to, with the keyboard controls...

Ah ha! Thanks for the heads up on that.

Speaking of which, is there a DOSBox environment for modern Macs out there? I loved Boxer, but sadly it seems like development ended in 2013.

Cue drumroll!

There is…

• DOSBox-X and its currently maintained with a recent release in July this year.
• DOSBox - last updated in August, apparently.
• macOS fork of DOSBox SVN 4484 (August 2024).
• DOSBox Staging.

I imagine there's more but these are all fairly recent/currently maintained and you should be able to find at least one that's to your liking from that selection.