Mac OS X 10.5 no longer includes lookupd. The following command is used instead to flush DNS cache:

dscacheutil -flushcache

Tags: Mac OS X, Leopard

Note Policy Banner does not work with Mac OS X 10.5 as yet!

Here's a great utility from PS Enable software. Policy Banner

It allows you to display an acceptable usage agreement before anyone logs in. It will cover the login window and won't disappear until they click the Accept button. Upon logout, after 60 seconds, it will reappear again.

There is a customisable "logo.gif" (128 x 128) and "Policy.rtf" included in the package. Here's my tip for implementing it in a DET school...
1. Install the package as standard with all computers at the login window (and maybe even locked!).
2. Create your own logo.gif (remember, 128 x 128). I used Photoshop to make a 128 x 128 canvas and resized the school's logo to fit inside.
3. Create your own Policy.rtf, you may need to do some testing so that the text will fit nicely inside the bounds of the dialogue box.
4. Copy logo.gif and Policy.rtf to the hard drive of every computer via ARD.
5. Assuming you have copied it to the top folder of the disk, send the following UNIX commands via ARD.

cp /logo.gif /System/Library/CoreServices/SecurityAgentPlugins/PolicyBanner.plugin/Content/Resources/
cp /Policy.rtf /System/Library/CoreServices/SecurityAgentPlugins/PolicyBanner.plugin/Content/Resources/

6. You can now restart or login/logout to make the Policy Banner appear.

If you are going to update your logo.gif and Policy.rtf in the future, the Policy Banner cannot be active while you do so!

For those of you who are more adventurous, the source code is provided. You would be able to edit the size of the dialogue box and any elements using XCode.

Tags: Mac OS X

REMEMBER it’s a good idea to never ever use Workgroup Manager under the following circumstances:-

A Mac OS X 10.3 client managing a Mac OS X 10.4 server
A Mac OS X 10.4 client managing a Mac OS X 10.5 server
A Mac OS X 10.4 client managing a Mac OS X 10.3 server
A Mac OS X 10.5 client managing a Mac OS X 10.4 server

You may just screw something up in the server's Open Directory database under these circumstances.

You can use the 10.4 Server Admin tools under Mac OS X 10.5...

Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger no longer allows printing to the SAMSUNG CLP-550N through Rendezvous/Bonjour. SAMSUNG'S stance is that it is Apple's fault and they are not providing a fix. Thankfully, printing can still be achieved through the use of HP JetDirect IP printing.

1. Open the Printer Setup Utility.
2. If it's there, delete the existing queue for the CLP-550N.
3. Click the Add button.
4. Choose the "IP Printer" tab.
5. In the Protocol: popup menu choose "HP Jet Direct - Socket".
6. Type the IP address of the printer in the Address: field.
7. Choose the appropriate SAMSUNG driver from the Print Using: popup menu, if you have it installed.
8. Click the Add button and quit the Printer Setup Utility.

Make sure you do a test print!

You may remember back in the good old days of Apple Network Assistant 3.5 and below you could change a lot of settings on client computers such as screen resolution or bit depth. Unfortunately, a lot of ANATs abilities disappeared with the introduction of OS X and Apple Remote Desktop. Thankfully, OS X lies on top of UNIX which has many command lines that alter system settings! Now I'll show you how to change a computers screen resolution.


1. Download the "cscreen" program here.

2. Place it somewhere on the hard drive of a client computer, e.g. / (the top folder of the disk).

3. Open Terminal.app and type the following:-
chmod u+x /path/to/file/cscreen
e.g.
chmod u+x /cscreen

4. Now you can run this command on client machines from ARD using "Send UNIX command". The syntax for the command is:-
cscreen -x -y
i.e.
/cscreen -x 1344 -y 840 NB (new resolution common to Alu iMacs)
/cscreen -x 1024 -y 768
/cscreen -x 800 -y 600
Check the Display System Preference on a computer for its available resolutions.

For information on what else can be changed and how to use it, simply open Terminal.app on a client computer and type:-
/cscreen

Here's any easy way to update multiple machines with a new version of Kid Pix Deluxe 3X. Thanks very much to Stan from MacKiev tech support for this great tip:

If you have Apple's Package Maker (available on the Admin Tools CD for Mac OS X Server OR included in the iPhone SDK), then you can use the following method…


STEP 1: Creating Kid Pix Deluxe 3X package

1. Install Kid Pix Deluxe 3X with CD contents on your computer.

2. Update Kid Pix Deluxe 3X to the latest version.

3. Switch to the Finder, create a folder named Kid Pix Deluxe 3X in the main Applications folder, and move Kid Pix Deluxe 3X application in it.

4. Launch PackageMaker, select the Single Package Project option, and click OK.

5. Go to the Contents tab, click the button to the right of the Root field, and click Choose.

6. Select the Kid Pix Deluxe 3X folder (that was created before in the main Application folder) in the dialog that appears and click Choose.

7. Select Discard Resource Forks option from the Advanced Options.

8. Go to the Configuration tab, click the button to the right of Default Location field, and click Choose.

9. Select the main Applications folder in the dialog that appears and click Choose.

10. Select Root Volume Only from the Flags group.

11. Go to the Package Version tab and type com.mackiev.kidpix the Identifier field.

12. Choose Build from the Project menu, type a name for your package, select location for your package and click Save.


STEP 2: Installing via Remote Desktop

1. Launch the Remote Desktop application.

2. Click the Master list and select all computers where you want to install updated Kid Pix Deluxe 3X.

3. Choose Install Packages from the Manage menu.

4. Click the "+" button in the window that appears, select the package created above and click Open.

5. Click the Install button.


NOTE: If an older version of Kid Pix (with the name "Kid Pix Deluxe 3") was installed previously on client Macs, it will need to be removed from the Applications folder first.

Tags: Kid Pix Deluxe 3X, Packages, Installers, Apple Remote Desktop