SSH into the machine you want to enable VNC on.

First, we need to make sure that Remote Desktop is turned OFF. Issue the following command:

sudo /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/Resources/kickstart -deactivate -stop

Enter your administrator password if requested.

Then, navigate to /Library/Preferences/

cd /Library/Preferences

We’re going to create three text files there, which set up the preferences for Remote Management and VNC.

sudo tee com.apple.RemoteManagement.plist

Enter your administrator password. Then, copy and paste the following text:

<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd"><plist version="1.0">
<dict>
<key>ARD_AllLocalUsers</key>
<false/>
<key>LoadRemoteManagementMenuExtra</key>
<true/>
<key>ScreenSharingReqPermEnabled</key>
<true/>
<key>VNCLegacyConnectionsEnabled</key>
<true/>
</dict>

</plist>

Press return, then press CTRL-d to close the file.

sudo tee com.apple.ScreenSharing.launchd

Enter your administrator password if prompted. Then, copy and paste the following text:

enabled

Press return, then press CTRL-d to close the file.

Set the default VNC password to “pass” by creating this file:

sudo tee com.apple.VNCSettings.txt

and copying and pasting the following text:

6755221D8BA8C5E2FF1C39567390ADCA

Press return, then press CTRL-d to close the file.

Let’s change the ownership and permissions on these files to their correct values:

sudo chmod 644 com.apple.RemoteManagement.plist
sudo chown root:admin com.apple.RemoteManagement.plist
sudo chmod 644 com.apple.ScreenSharing.launchd
sudo chown root:admin com.apple.ScreenSharing.launchd
sudo chown root:wheel com.apple.VNCSettings.txt
sudo chmod 400 com.apple.VNCSettings.txt

Let’s set up launchd to automatically launch Screen Sharing on startup:

sudo echo enabled > /Library/Preferences/com.apple.ScreenSharing.launchd

Finally, let’s reboot the machine:

sudo reboot

You can now VNC into your Mac, using either Leopard’s built in screen sharing or a third party VNC utility. On Mac, I recommend Chicken of the VNC, available for free download at http://sourceforge.net/projects/cotvnc/. Point your app of choice to your machine’s IP address or hostname. When prompted for a password, use the default one from above (pass).

Once you’re in, you need to go to System Preferences -> Sharing -> Screen Sharing, and click the “Computer Settings” button. There, enter in a new password to replace the default used at the beginning steps of this article.

If you have the silver remote you can do it yourself. But, keep in mind that I don’t guarantee any results. YOU MIGHT JUST JACK UP YOUR REMOTE:

1. Press ‘CABLE’
2. Press and hold ‘SETUP’ until the light flashes twice
3. Enter ‘994′
4. Press ‘SETUP’ once again 
5. Enter ‘00173′ (or just 173 if that doesn’t work)
6. Press the unused button you want it mapped, such as the LOCK button just below the 10 second back button

If you jack up your remote, don’t blame me. You can restore the original function to your reassigned button by following these steps:

1. Press and hold the “Setup” key until the a device button blinks twice.
2. Type in the code 994. The light will blink twice.
3. Press the device key you are restoring twice.

Reportedly, this works on all 64xx series DVRs, as well as the 34XX series. 

What you might not know is that the Wiimote is one of the most powerful computer input devices ever created. It contains a Bluetooth transceiver, a 1024×768 infrared camera with the capability of tracking up to four light points, a 3-axis accelerometer, and an expansion port. Packed in amongst all this goodness is a speaker and a rumbler (a motor with an off-center weight attached).

When you consider that most of those 7+ million Wiis have multiple Wiimotes, it becomes apparent that this is the most common advanced interface device out there. And at $40 US, they’re inexpensive to boot.

The remote uses the same Bluetooth HID protocol as devices like wireless mice, which means it can be seen as a standard interface device by any computer with Bluetooth. If that doesn’t get you to thinking, you may want to check your mental connections.

The standard Wii set up includes a “sensor” bar, which is placed above or below your television. You then point your Wiimote at the sensor bar, and the game responds accordingly.

But, the “sensor” bar really isn’t a sensor. It’s simply a grouping of four infrared LEDs. What you’re holding in your hand, the Wiimote, is really doing all the sensing.

So, what would happen if you mounted the Wiimote on a tripod, and then moved the sensor bar around. Yep, you guessed it. The game would respond accordingly.

But that begs the questions, “what if I started pointing infrared light sources at a Wiimote? And what if I wrote a driver for Windows or Mac OS?”

Johnny Chung Lee has an answer, and it’s pretty intriguing:

Sources:
Wii sales figures: http://blogs.pcworld.com/gameon/archives/006324.html
Wiimote technical data: http://wiibrew.org/index.php?title=Wiimote
Johny Chung Lee’s website: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/projects/wii/

Traditional touch screens allow only one point of contact at a time. Apple’s iPhone utilizes a technique that allows for two. Han’s technology allows for multiple *people* to use all their fingers, simultaneously. Multi-touch computer screens may herald the end of the point-and-click mouse.
Demos of Han’s technology tends to result in spontaneous applause and audible gasps from the audience. His work hit the public eye in a YouTube video where he demonstrates the fluid simplicity of flat surface touch interface whereby you use your hands in intuitive fashion.

Then at TED 2006, in Monterey, CA, Han provided an interesting insight into the technology behind multi-touch, using a 26″ drafting table equipped with a multi-touch surface. Han begins with a simple lava lamp, then turns into a virtual photo-editing tabletop, where he flicks photos across the screen as if they were paper snapshots. While the video is mesmerizing, Han’s speech reveals his thoughts about physical versus virtual computing interfaces such as keyboards. Good stuff.

Han has spun off his NYU research into a company, Perceptive Pixel. In this demo video from the company, a very large surface reveals the obvious applications in education, communication, and visualization:

Here’s Han using an 8 foot display, where more details of the interface and gestures used to access menus are revealed:

I hear the throaty growl of an accelerating engine, and look up just in time to see the smear of a black car flying past. Simultaneously, I hear an enormous BOOM, and see pieces of my car showering all around.

The short story: guy passed out, hit the accelerator, and smashed into my car.

Cadillac STS 1, Toyota Corolla 0. Both cars non drivable. My car: probably totaled, since the rear quarter panel is crunched, the rim is destroyed, it and the tire are pushed up into the wheel well (bent axle), pieces of the bumper are in the road, and what’s left of the brake lights are somewhere up the street.

So I run outside (I’m working at home, barefoot…brrrrr), glancing at the mangled remains of my car. I ask a neighbor raking leaves across the street “Did you see that?”

“No, but it made a whale of a racket. I think that may be the guy who hit it,” he says, motioning up the street. There, three houses away, is a black Cadillac, angled into the front yard of an innocent neighbor.

I sprint (more like hop, skip, and a jump due to the frost-covered cement) up to the car. The driver’s an older guy, scared, but unhurt. I ask if he needs medical help, then chat with him a bit after he declines emergency service. Now thoroughly chilled, I excuse myself, then tippy-toe my way back home for shoes, a coat, a pen, paper and cell phone.

Armed with the requisite technology to get paid half what my car is worth and far less than what I’ve paid so far to the insurance racket, I return to his car and ask for his insurance paperwork.

He hands me his insurance card. The name printed thereon: J. Philip Sousa III.

Yes, my car was totaled by a man named after a 19th century marching band composer; My ride obliterated by a fellow named after the father of the instrument I played in marching band.

Assuming the obvious, I ask the guy if he’s related to the composer.

“No,” he says. He just happens to be the third in a line of guys named John Philip Sousa.

The cops have arrived. Well, driven past, actually. Seems that parking on one’s lawn doesn’t warrant the sufficient awareness of peace officers in this here neck of the woods. I turn to wave them back to the conductor of this mayhem, and glancing back at his Cadillac, I’m struck by his license plate. Seems our JP Sousa, like his namesake, is a marine. You know, that group of combatants who’s rousing anthem is “Semper Fidelis,” written by none other than John Philip Sousa.

Hold down the shift key while depressing the volume keys will silence the auditory feedback while raising and lowering the volume, but still show the visual cue.

Other cool tricks:

Hold down option while clicking one of the sound keys to access the Sound system preferences.

Get more granular volume control by holding down shift-option while clicking one of the sound keys to increase/decrease volume in 1/4 the normal increments. Normal, the Mac provides 16 volume levels. Holding down shift-option gives you 64 increments.

Mac OS X veterans Ambrosia Software produce SnapzProX. They’ve recently updated it to overcome a nasty bug that wreaked havoc with displaying the mouse cursor due to the x86 architecture. It’s slow and pricey. http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/snapzprox/.

Copernicus from Danicsoft provides a free capture utility that it claims will allow you to easily

If you turn on Web Sharing from the System Preferences panel, it works for the main computer (http://localhost) but not for user accounts (http://localhost/~username/). Most perplexing is that Apple’s graphical interface confirms that web sharing is turned on for your personal account, but it doesn’t work. This is *very* un-Apple.

Even if you turn on web sharing from the System Preferences panel, you’ll still receive the dreaded 403 Forbidden. You don't have permission to access /~username/ on this server.

Thankfully, it’s a simple oversight on Apple’s part. Your options are two-fold. You can either set it up to activate the Sites directory in all your user accounts, or just for individual ones. I’ll cover both.

Activate Single User Account

Get your short username by opening a terminal, and typing:

whoami

Navigate to the Apache2 user configuration directory:

cd /private/etc/apache2/users

Now, we’ll open a new document with tee. Make sure to replace ‘username’ below with your short username. You will be prompted for a password when using sudo. Use your root or administrator password:

sudo tee username.conf

Then, copy and paste the following into terminal (replacing username with your short username):

#
# Allow access to this user's Sites directory for web clients.
#
<Directory "/Users/username/Sites/">
Options Indexes MultiViews
AllowOverride None
Order allow,deny
Allow from all
</Directory>

Then press Control-D to close the tee session.

Restart the Apache daemon:

sudo apachectl restart

That’s it; your user account should now have web sharing enabled.

If you want to activate web sharing for all current and future accounts, use this method instead:

Activate All User Accounts

Navigate to the Apache2 user configuration directory:

cd /private/etc/apache2/users

Now, we’ll open a new document:

sudo tee local.conf

Then, copy and paste the following into terminal:

#
# Allow access to all users' Sites directory for web clients.
#
<Directory "/Users/*/Sites/">
Options Indexes MultiViews
AllowOverride None
Order allow,deny
Allow from all
</Directory>

Then press Control-D to close the tee session.

Restart the Apache daemon:

sudo apachectl restart

Enable PHP

If you want to enable PHP5 which is built into Leopard, simply edit a single file, save it, and restart the Apache daemon:

Open terminal, and issue the following command:

cd /private/etc/apache2/

Then edit the file:

sudo pico httpd.conf

Search for php5 by pressing Control-W, and typing in php5, then pressing return.

You will find a line that reads:

#LoadModule php5_module libexec/apache2/libphp5.so

Delete the ‘#’ character, and save (Control-X) the file.

Restart the Apache daemon:

sudo apachectl restart

This has wreaked havoc with communication in my workplace as well as social life.

The current workaround that is being proposed by, erm, helpful Mac addicts is to replace a kernel extension in 10.4.10 with the one from 10.4.10. Hardly a solution for production machines.

I, for one, expect a lot more from Apple. Apple’s left us stranded since June 20th! Perhaps this begs the question: Is Apple’s focus on becoming a consumer electronics firm causing it to overlook Mac OS X? If this is what we can expect from the new Apple Inc., I’d prefer to go back to Apple Computer, Inc.

Or maybe I should adjust my mindset and Think Different.

Even though the bug has been reported, I strongly encourage Mac users to file a bug report as it raises awareness within the company that this is an important issue.

Apple forum discussion on this bug.