Finally got some photos posted

It's been a long time since I posted new photos at Pbase. I had a big backlog of photos, and I finally finished processing them all this weekend. So I uploaded Seattle and Northwest photos from 2007.

http://www.pbase.com/saalwaechter/cwb

http://www.pbase.com/saalwaechter/pnw07

X server problem with Debian etch in VMware

When I install Debian etch in VMware, the system comes up on first boot with:

"Failed to start the X server (your graphical user interface). It is likely that it is not set up correctly. Would you like to view the X server output to diagnose the problem."

The log contains: "(EE) No devices detected. Fatal server error: no screens found".

Fix this by editing /etc/X11/xorg.conf and change the ``Driver "apm"'' line to ``Driver "vesa"''. Here's the diff:

--- xorg.conf.orig 2008-12-05 15:10:43.000000000 -0800
+++ xorg.conf 2008-12-05 15:23:59.000000000 -0800
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@

Section "Device"
Identifier "VMware Inc [VMware SVGA II] PCI Display Adapter"
- Driver "apm"
+ Driver "vesa"
BusID "PCI:0:15:0"
EndSection

Permanently ignore packages in Apple Software Update

An annoyance of using iTunes is the Apple Software Update. At one point it forcibly pushed Safari on users. At least now Safari is an optional package. The problem is that Safari, and other packages, are "checked" for install by default. I was constantly having to pay attention to make sure I didn't accidentally trigger Apple's relentless quest to get Safari on to my machine.

Well, there is a solution. Under the Tools pull-down menu, there is an "Ignore Selected Updates" option. So one can simply check Safari and other packages, then use "Ignore Selected Updates". From then on, Apple Software Update will behave as though those packages don't exist.