Daniel Wiltshire

Apple MacBook Pro Screen Resolution for Creative Artists

Summary

So I was in the market for getting a portable Mac. I currently have a PC with a 27″ Dell u2711 (2560x1440px) monitor which is phenomenal for someone who has never used a screen that size. I find it extremely easy to work with, especially when I am A-Bing designs. I also have (though now use as a server) a 20″ iMac (1680x1050px). This was also great for graphic design and photography.

Now, onto the MacBook Pros. You can get a 13″ model which sports a 1280x800px resolution, a 15″ model which natively has a 1440x900px resolution which is also upgradeable for a higher resolution (1650x1050px) matte or glossy screen and a 17″ model which sports a massive 1920x1200px resolution screen.

What Did I Do?

I decided to buy the standard 15″ model with the standard screen (1440x900px) and I regret it, working with smaller graphics and photographs is okay though when I design my websites in Photoshop, I use a resolution of 1200px(w)x2000px~(h). I could just about fit the design for this website on the window in Photoshop with some tweaks to the toolbar layouts. However, it just feels way to cramped and you don’t want to be designing graphics at say 80%. You would end up with oversized fonts and ugh, just don’t do it. Now I am thinking about taking this MacBook back as I am still within my 14 day window for returning products and getting a full refund. I also hear that new MacBooks are on their way soon with rumors talking about a potential retina display. This would be a killer feature for me. If they didn’t have a retina display, I would actually be inclined to get the 17″ MacBook because I am so used to bigger resolutions and I like the space.

Un-hide the Library Folder in Mac OS X Lion

Where Did It Go?

In Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, Apple decided to hide the library folder in your home directory. This could be considered good for basic computer users but for system admins, it can be a pain. There are two ways you can un-hide it:

1. Temporarily: Click your desktop to activate Finder, hold the alt key at the same time of clicking Go in the menu bar and you will see Library. Click that and release the alt key.
2. Permanently: Open up Terminal, located in Applications → Utilities. Then type the following command followed by hitting enter:
   chflags nohidden ~/Library/
   You can now close Terminal and you should permanently see your Library folder in Finder.

WordPress Authentication Against Open Directory

What You Will Need

• Mac OS X Server 10.5+ running Open Directory (Or Any Other LDAP Server such as OpenLDAP)
• Some test users in Open Directory
• A Working WordPress Installation
• WordPress Plugin: Simple LDAP Login

Setting up Simple LDAP Login

You will have to be logged in as an administrator in WordPress in order to complete this guide.

1. Install Simple LDAP Login:

Once you have installed Simple LDAP Login, you will find the preferences in Settings → Simple LDAP Login You will a page similar to below:



Simple LDAP Login Config Page

In my setup, I have an iMac which runs AFP, DNS, Firewall, FTP, Mail, MySQL, NFS, Open Directory, SMB, Software Update, VPN and Web. This server serves my home with media, network home directories and other management services such as managed preferences. Of course, for this guide, you do not need any of these different services. What we need to know is your LDAP Search Base. In Mac OS X Server, you can find this in Server Admin → Open Directory → Overview → LDAP Search Base. In my case, my search base is: dc=server,dc=danielwiltshire,dc=co,dc=uk.

2. Configure Simple LDAP Login:

The settings listed below are for users running LDAP as well as web on the same server.

• LDAP Directory: OpenLDAP
• Account Suffix: @localhost
• LDAP Login Attribute: uid
• Base DN: CN=users,DC=server,DC=mydomainname,DC=co,DC=uk

Remember the CN=users part of the search base if you are running Open Directory on Mac!

• Domain Controller(s): localhost
• Login mode: Create WordPress account for anyone who successfully authenticates against LDAP.

This will create a new account in WordPress relative to their account in LDAP. Try and vet your LDAP directory and make sure every account has en email address as WordPress will complain about this.

3. Click Update Options and then enter one of your accounts user name and password in the Test Settings box and hit Test Settings »

Any problems?

You may be running into problems if you used the above settings and are not running a web and LDAP server on the same computer. You may want to use alternative settings such as those listed below:

• LDAP Directory: OpenLDAP
• Account Suffix: @mydomainname.co.uk
• LDAP Login Attribute: uid
• Base DN: CN=users,DC=server,DC=mydomainname,DC=co,DC=uk
• Domain Controller(s): server.mydomainname.co.uk
• Login mode: Create WordPress account for anyone who successfully authenticates against LDAP.

Also worth noting, if you are using a domain name such as I am (server.danielwiltshire.co.uk), you need to setup DNS records so the server part points to the IP address of your server.