2010-09-30

mac vmware fusion for fun and security

9.30: proj.addn/mac.vmware/vmtools needs update:

. I'm reminded I have ubuntu in mac.vmware;
because, trying to use blogger.com from the mac
is still too buggy;
and since I do love the mac and blogger.com,
I am so glad vmware is here !

. notice vmtools cut&paste doesn't work in ubuntu,
reminding me that only the upgrade does that;
and, that upgrade is only $10 now?
Tax $0.00 [for usa]
Total $9.99
snatch that up!
--. well, I was sort of right about
thinking it was $40 to upgrade,
the original price I paid was $30,
and now the upgrade is $10 .
Thank you for choosing VMware Fusion® 3.1.1 (build 282344).
VMware Fusion 3 is the best way to run Windows on your Mac.
Run Windows applications just like Mac applications,
with seamless copy-and-paste, drag-and-drop, and printing
that "just works" on the Mac you love
—no additional setup required.
--[. that may be true if vmware 3.x is new to you,
but during an upgrade from fusion 2.x
I found you do need to restart your vm
and maybe before that,
manually install the tools
with a terminal script (easy in ubuntu) .]
VMware Fusion's 64-bit native engine
is optimized for Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard
to offer the best Windows performance
without impacting the performance of your Mac.
Run Windows the Mac way with VMware Fusion.
For the most up-to-date information about VMware Fusion,
visit:
vmware.com/products/fusion
. during upgrades, it has a nice way of
filling in your owner's code for you
(where did I put that thing? oh);
but for this major upgrade from 2 to 3,
your unlock code is still
copyable within the dialog,
but is not in the box it should be .
. the dialog says it's there because
if this is an upgrade from 2.x,
then you should paste your old code into there .
. doing that sends you to
the [buy the upgrade].page .

. I'm sort of confused because
I just bought that upgrade,
and didn't notice a "(here's your unlock code);
so then I was expecting a link to paid version,
but they sent me to the usual download page;
I'm wondering how my payment
is supposed to make a difference .
. looking under the receipt's
product description
I do see a number that could pass for an
unlock code (I'm a long-time user,
I should parse unlabeled codes
by mapping them to expected labels!)

. now I'm into installation,
and joining the user experience improvement
program (sends info about your interactions) .

. the installation is nearly done
when the mac gave this error alert:
system ext' cannot be used:
. the system ext'
"(/system/library/extensions/CNQL2410_ClassicNotSeize.kext
) was installed improperly and cannot be used .
. please try reinstalling it,
or contact the product's vendor for an update .
--. I've had something like this appear
with nearly every upgrade!

. what's that .kext file for?
was-installed-imprope
the Canon site uploaded some new
Snow Leopard (10.6) compatible drivers
as at 9 September 2009.
Seems to fix the problem for me.
-- many with this problem
happened to have a Canon LiDe 500F scanner
(I owned this until 2007
and got a software upgrade 2008.10)
. one reports manually removing unneeded .kext's .

. like them on facebook,
and add wall-msg:
"(. now if vmware can just keep a tight sandbox;
this is the way to keep mac malware-free
even when it becomes popular
and a major target!
. I love running ubuntu on snow leapard;
it comes with firefox, and
ubuntu's software center easily downloads
seamonkey web editor, and chrome browser .)
[. actually, I forgot to mention
the need to reconfigure ubuntu
to allow downloads of anything in the
ubuntu software center:
open ubuntu`menu/app's/ubuntu software center;
open [ubuntu software center]`menu/edit/software sources;
select check boxes:
# [other software].tab/(all);
# updates.tab/unsupported updates(lucid-backports)
.]
Product Registration confirmation
Thank you for registering your product(s)
Serial Number(s) / License Key(s) Details
((my upgrade key))
Successfully Registered : 1 CPUs/instances/VMs of Fusion 3
purchased on order [...](curiously
not the order# I just made)

. I may need to install new vmtools;
(that's the whole reason I'm
getting the upgrade;
fusion 2.x doesn't have tools for
the latest ubuntu linux -- v10.04):
. start the tools install with:
vware`menu/virtual machines/instal vmware tools;
it says I have to do it manually
with the compressed package .

that's easy in ubuntu:
. on the vmtools package right-click/uncompress to ..
say, into the desktop;
then open the resulting folder,
so you can see the .pl file to be run .

. open a terminal:
ubuntu`menu/app's/acc's/terminal
. type into the terminal "(sudo )
then drag the .pl file into the terminal window;
that will create the full path name,
so the terminal window looks like:

sudo /home/[...]/vmware-install.pl

. sudo asks for your root acct pass
and when it's running the script,
you can use all the defaults (be ready to
hit the enter key a dozen times).

. after that, the cut&paste to mac
still doesn't work?
how about the shared folders? yes:
/mnt/hgfs/
. take a vmware-snapshot of ubuntu's current state,
and restart ubuntu (not the mac or vmware):
. that did work!

1 comment:

Philip Torrance (ADDN) said...

2.7: mis.addn/mac.vmware/lurking vm's easily overlooked:
. didn't get cmd-~ to work earlier
so I assumed xu#wild was shut down
but then notice a foggy-looking firefox icon
among mac's cmd-tab list of open icons;
and found that I had xu#wild running in unity mode .