[Edit 6/29/2006: GUI Scripting needs to be enabled for the AppleScript below to work. To do so, open up AppleScript Utility (in /Applications/AppleScript) and select the “Enable GUI Scripting” checkbox.]

Every so often, the AirPort connection on my Intel Mac mini would drop off for no apparent reason. Searching on the web reveals that I am not alone. This problem seems to affect the Intel Mac mini, MacBook and MacBook Pro. While I am optimistic Apple will fix this problem eventually, I couldn’t wait. So I wrote an AppleScript to test the network periodically and restart it when necessary.

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When my LaCie d2 FireWire hard drive died (it did so after less than 6 months of very light use, but that’s another story) recently, I started shopping for a new external drive for my Mac mini.

After some research, I settled on the NewerTech miniStack v2. Amazon doesn’t carry this item, so I ordered one from Other World Computer. The miniStack is a hard drive + USB/FireWire hub combo designed to sit directly under a Mac mini. Setting it up was easy and I was quite happy with it during the first few hours of use. But a problem soon developed. It started making a very loud high-pitched grinding noise.

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Parallels, Inc. today announced the release of Parallels Desktop and the conclusion of its Beta program.

I have been using Parallels Desktop since an early beta. The product has gone through several updates since and is now very stable and reasonably polished.

I use Desktop to run a virtual Linux box on my Mac mini with Core Duo. Since the virtual computer has its own IP address, it looks just like any headless Linux box over the network. And when I need to interact with it directly, I can do so without having to attach a monitor and keyboard like I would have to with a real headless PC.

When I finish migrating the functions of my two headless Linux boxes (cvs, J2EE, Oracle etc) to this virtual computer, they will be shut down for good.

Google released a new version of Google Earth yesterday.

If you haven’t played with Google Earth, this is the time to get it. To someone who hasn’t seen Google Earth, I think it is best described as Google Maps on steroid (and if you haven’t tried the latter, it’s like MapQuest on steroids).

There are two things worth noting about this release. The Mac OS X version of the app was released simultaneously with the Windows (and Linux) version. And secondly, Google Earth on Mac OS X is now a Universal Binary. To me this signifies Google’s commitment to the Mac platform.