We all search the web for answers, sometimes we find em, sometimes we don’t. Whichever the case, the search takes time and can be frustration. The worst thing is finding the answer, only to eventually forget and have the same question months later :)

So, I’m going to keep this page as a daily log with problems and solutions. Hopefully it will help others who might have similar questions (my future self included:) When I get some time I’ll create a WP plugin.

5/7/08: Q: How to enable root on mac Leopard
A: Utility in Applications->Utilities->Directory Utility, unlock, then Edit->Enable Root UserRef: http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20071025100950309

6/6/08: Q: How do I pass a pre-downloaded archive to Macports? I wanted to do this for mysql5 after noticing macports trying to download it from a url that was crazy slow!
A: download it from somewhere else and put it in the macports download directory before doing the port install, for me this was /opt/local/var/macports/distfiles/
6/9/09: Q: On a mac, how do I set a default application preference for files of a certain type. I want to change the default “open with” application.
A:
1) click once on the file in Finder
2) choose File -> Get Info (or apple+I)
3) select the application you want to open that file under “Open with”
4) click on [change All...] to apply this globally
Q:Why can I not install a gem with sudo?
A:I have a custom GEM_HOME and other environment variables set. Turns out that once you sudo, you lose your configured environment. So when I do something like sudo gem install [some_gem] I get an error. To persist your environment, you’ll need to edit your sudoers file via visudo. Once there, comment out the first line which reads: Defaults env_reset with a # at the beginning of the line.
Q:Why can’t Eclipse fine my installed GEMS’s and/or how do I set GEM_HOME in eclipse?
A:Eclipse doesn’t look at env variables, the only thing you can configure is the Ruby home directory, once that has been set, look for where gems are normally installed under that directory and create a sym link to where you actually have it. For example, my ruby home is in .packages and gems are in .gems. To make it work I went through the tree under .packages looking for where the gems directory was and in that directory ran: sudo ln -s ~/.gems 1.8 after renaming the current 1.8 directory to 1.8.bak :) Now eclipse gem manager works fine;)
8/2/08 Q: How to install apache2 with ports on Leopard
A: Totally a pain in the _ss. Ok, first it failed on sqlite3, so run: sudo port install sqlite3 if that fails, first clean with sudo port clean sqlite3 then try to install it again. Clean apache, and try again: sudo port clean apache2. Next I needed sudo port install apr-util, but of course that fails, so I first try sudo port install apr, turns out that I already had an older version installed so I have to uninstall it, sudo port uninstall apr @1.2.12_1+darwin_9 then activate the newer one I’ve already installed sudo port activate apr. Once done, I am able to sudo port install apr-util and finally, sudo port install apache2.9/17/08 Q: Error running Ubuntu in VirtualBox on Leopard.   I get this error message:The kernel requires the following features not present on the CPU
0:6
Unable to boot – please use a kernel appropriate for your CPUA: In the Virtual box Setting -> General -> Advanced screen, check the option for “PAE/NX”

9/17/08 Q: How can I easily manage startup scripts in Ubuntu?

run: sudo rcconf

remove ‘*’ for items you don’t want to run at startup.

9/17/08 Q: How do I install Virtual Box Guest Addons?

A: From the Toolbar click Devices, then Install Guest Additions.  This will mount a CD with the program.  Browse to the cdrom and run the proper file for your distribution, in my case:/cdrom$ sudo ./VBoxLinuxAdditions-x86.run

if you get the error saying: “Please install the buildand header files for yoru current Linux kernel” and you are using ubuntu, use: sudo aptitude install build-essential linux-headers-`uname -r`  then rerun the earlier command.  This should give your extra host controls like resolution updates and better mouse transitions between the host and the VM :)