From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.system

In article <laugh-2CFA08.17400824072003@netnews.attbi.com>,
Ann Onymous <laugh@your.expense> wrote:

Hey, I love Mac as much as the next guy, but I'd like to eliminate the ".mac" item from the Systems Preferences' screen effects list so that I
can randomize the screensavers without having to look at the cool new
stuff I don't have.

Is there a more appropriate group than this for OSX functionality
questions? (Other than comp.sys.mac.rtfm?)

Cheers,
A

You could try deleting the file /System/Library/Screen
Savers/.Mac.slideSaver

It should work but I didn't try it, might just want to move or back-up
to check first.
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.system

In article <BigDogLinux-CB57F5.20164924072003@netnews.attbi.com>,
BigDaddy <BigDogLinux@comcast.net> wrote:

You could try deleting the file /System/Library/Screen Savers/.Mac.slideSaver

That's what I had guessed, but I've got no such file in that location. Furthermore, searching my entire hard drive for ".mac" and "slidesaver"
fails to reveal the item. My screensaver folder includes only Abstract,
Beach, Cosmos, Flurry, Forest, and Random, but not .mac

But it sure appears on the list!
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.system

Ann Onymous writes:

BigDaddy wrote:

You could try deleting the file /System/Library/Screen
Savers/.Mac.slideSaver

That's what I had guessed, but I've got no such file in that
location. Furthermore, searching my entire hard drive for ".mac"
and "slidesaver" fails to reveal the item. My screensaver folder
includes only Abstract, Beach, Cosmos, Flurry, Forest, and Random,
but not .mac

But it sure appears on the list!

It is there. The Finder doesn't display files where the first
character of the name is a dot. This is typical UNIX semantics for
so-called "dot-files" which Apple has chosen to extend into the
Finder.

If you open a terminal window and type:

cd "/System/Library/Screen Savers"
ls -a

you'll see it there.

I don't know a way to make the Finder show dot-files.

-- David
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.system

In article <laugh-656E23.20301224072003@netnews.attbi.com>,
Ann Onymous <laugh@your.expense> wrote:

In article <BigDogLinux-CB57F5.20164924072003@netnews.attbi.com>,
BigDaddy <BigDogLinux@comcast.net> wrote:

You could try deleting the file /System/Library/Screen Savers/.Mac.slideSaver

That's what I had guessed, but I've got no such file in that location. Furthermore, searching my entire hard drive for ".mac" and "slidesaver" fails to reveal the item. My screensaver folder includes only Abstract, Beach, Cosmos, Flurry, Forest, and Random, but not .mac

But it sure appears on the list!

Since the file name begins with a ".", the file is hidden from the OS X Finder. You will need to use terminal.app to see it. The file is owned
by root, so you have to sudo to get rid of it.

Or you could boot into OS 9 and go digging into /System/Library/Screen
Savers and you should find it. Unless of course Apple decided to mark
the file as invisible too.

Chris
--- Synchronet 3.18b-Win32 NewsLink 1.113

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.system

In article <laugh-2CFA08.17400824072003@netnews.attbi.com>,
Ann Onymous <laugh@your.expense> wrote:

Hey, I love Mac as much as the next guy, but I'd like to eliminate the ".mac" item from the Systems Preferences' screen effects list so that I
can randomize the screensavers without having to look at the cool new
stuff I don't have.

Me, too. I also hate Computer Name and Abstract. I use RandomExtra to
disable them.

<http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/16845>

It's also way more flexible than Apple's randomiser.

--
Cheers - Lauren
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.system

Ann Onymous <laugh@your.expense> wrote in comp.sys.mac.system:

In article <m2y8yn1hdk.fsf@qqqq.invalid>, shamino@techie.com (David C.) wrote:

It is there. The Finder doesn't display files where the first
character of the name is a dot. This is typical UNIX semantics for so-called "dot-files" which Apple has chosen to extend into the
Finder.

If you open a terminal window and type:

cd "/System/Library/Screen Savers"
ls -a

you'll see it there.

Wow! Indeed it is there. Something tells me I should now leave well
enough alone and not try to delete it (not that I could figure out how;
I only got this far because you told me exactly what to type into
Terminal).

Nah, don't delete it, change its name. If that has the desired effect
(and no undesired ones), you can delete the renamed file. Start a
terminal under an admin account.

cd "/System/Library/Screen Savers"
sudo mv .Mac.slideSaver .Mac.slideSaver_off

That renames the file. It is safest to reboot at this point. If
a process had opened .Mac.slideSaver before the renaming it will
continue using the original file. Only when it tries to open the file
again will it notice that it isn't there any more. Reboot is a coarse
but effective means to make sure this happens.

If everything works out, you can delete the file (or just leave it
around). If it doesn't,

cd "/System/Library/Screen Savers"
sudo mv .Mac.slideSaver_off .Mac.slideSaver

will take you back to where you are now.

Anno
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.system

Christopher Masi <cjmasi@*nogarbageplease*rcn.com> wrote in comp.sys.mac.system:

In article <laugh-656E23.20301224072003@netnews.attbi.com>,
Ann Onymous <laugh@your.expense> wrote:

In article <BigDogLinux-CB57F5.20164924072003@netnews.attbi.com>,
BigDaddy <BigDogLinux@comcast.net> wrote:

You could try deleting the file /System/Library/Screen Savers/.Mac.slideSaver

That's what I had guessed, but I've got no such file in that location. Furthermore, searching my entire hard drive for ".mac" and "slidesaver" fails to reveal the item. My screensaver folder includes only Abstract, Beach, Cosmos, Flurry, Forest, and Random, but not .mac

But it sure appears on the list!

Since the file name begins with a ".", the file is hidden from the OS X Finder. You will need to use terminal.app to see it. The file is owned
by root, so you have to sudo to get rid of it.

More importantly, the directory "/System/Library/Screen Savers" is
owned by root (I suppose, no Mac around to check). It is one of
the quirks of Unix that deletion (and renaming, and creation) of a file
doesn't depend on your permissions on the file, but those on the containing directory.

Considering that directories are just a particular kind of file, and
that those operations require write access only to the directories
involved, this behavior has its logic. Nevertheless it comes as a
surprise to first-time users of Unix.

Anno
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.system

In article <bfr36h$414$4@mamenchi.zrz.TU-Berlin.DE>,
anno4000@lublin.zrz.tu-berlin.de (Anno Siegel) wrote:

More importantly, the directory "/System/Library/Screen Savers" is
owned by root (I suppose, no Mac around to check).

It's owned by System OMM.

--
Never play strip tarot.
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.system

In article <laurenlouise-846F2B.21554525072003@lust.ihug.co.nz>,
Lauren <laurenlouise@fastmail.fm> wrote:

In article <laugh-2CFA08.17400824072003@netnews.attbi.com>,
Ann Onymous <laugh@your.expense> wrote:

Hey, I love Mac as much as the next guy, but I'd like to eliminate the ".mac" item from the Systems Preferences' screen effects list so that I can randomize the screensavers without having to look at the cool new stuff I don't have.

Me, too. I also hate Computer Name and Abstract. I use RandomExtra to disable them.

<http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/16845>

It's also way more flexible than Apple's randomiser.

Is it ever! Thanks for the tip, and for all the valuable feedback from
others. BTW, am I the only one who thinks that Tiggr's Clock is up there
with sliced bread?
--- Synchronet 3.18b-Win32 NewsLink 1.113

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.system

BreadWithSpam@fractious.net writes:

Note, however, that if you have the finder set to show you the
various .files, well, there are more of them than you might expect.

Well, more than others might expect.

I've been using various Unices since around 1989, so I'm familiar
with the scads of dot-files that start to accumulate in one's home
directory.

-- David
--- Synchronet 3.18b-Win32 NewsLink 1.113

From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.system

shamino@techie.com (David C.) writes:

BreadWithSpam@fractious.net writes:

Note, however, that if you have the finder set to show you the
various .files, well, there are more of them than you might expect.

Well, more than others might expect.

I've been using various Unices since around 1989, so I'm familiar

That wasn't a specific you, David C you. It was a generic
you for all the yous out in the studio audience and even the
yous at home.

--
Plain Bread alone for e-mail, thanks. The rest gets trashed.
No HTML in E-Mail! -- http://www.expita.com/nomime.html
Are you posting responses that are easy for others to follow?
http://www.greenend.org.uk/rjk/2000/06/14/quoting
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.mac.system

Michelle Steiner <michelle@michelle.org> wrote in comp.sys.mac.system:

In article <bfr36h$414$4@mamenchi.zrz.TU-Berlin.DE>,
anno4000@lublin.zrz.tu-berlin.de (Anno Siegel) wrote:

More importantly, the directory "/System/Library/Screen Savers" is
owned by root (I suppose, no Mac around to check).

It's owned by System OMM.

Apparently this varies. root/wheel ownership here.

Anno
--- Synchronet 3.18b-Win32 NewsLink 1.113