Feed The Platypus Mac OS
Feed The Platypus Mac OS
-->- Fortunately I found an application called platypus that eases the task of creating Mac OS X applications out of scripts. Although I will not walk through the entire operation of platypus as I believe the application is more than self explanatory I will recommend that you take the time to properly set the preferences before digging in.
- Platypus is a Mac OS X development tool for creating application wrappers around scripts, i.e. Creating Mac OS X applications that execute a script they are bundled with.
- What you need is Platypus. Platypus is a developer tool for the Mac OS X operating system. It can be used to create native, flawlessly integrated Mac OS X applications from interpreted scripts such as shell scripts or Perl and Python programs.
- The platypus is a carnivore: it feeds on annelid worms and insect larvae, freshwater shrimps, and yabbies (freshwater crayfish) that it digs out of the riverbed with its snout or catches while swimming. It uses cheek-pouches to carry prey to the surface, where they are eaten.
Platypus is a developer tool that creates native Mac applications from command line scripts such as shell scripts or Python, Perl, Ruby, Tcl, JavaScript and PHP programs. This is done by wrapping the script in an application bundle along with a slim app binary that runs the script. Platypus makes it easy to share scripts and programs with people who are unfamiliar with the command.
Applies To: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016
You can use the Remote Desktop client for Mac to work with Windows apps, resources, and desktops from your Mac computer. Use the following information to get started - and check out the FAQ if you have questions.
Note
- Curious about the new releases for the macOS client? Check out What's new for Remote Desktop on Mac?
- The Mac client runs on computers running macOS 10.10 and newer.
- The information in this article applies primarily to the full version of the Mac client - the version available in the Mac AppStore. Test-drive new features by downloading our preview app here: beta client release notes.
Get the Remote Desktop client
Follow these steps to get started with Remote Desktop on your Mac:
- Download the Microsoft Remote Desktop client from the Mac App Store.
- Set up your PC to accept remote connections. (If you skip this step, you can't connect to your PC.)
- Add a Remote Desktop connection or a remote resource. You use a connection to connect directly to a Windows PC and a remote resource to use a RemoteApp program, session-based desktop, or a virtual desktop published on-premises using RemoteApp and Desktop Connections. This feature is typically available in corporate environments.
Feed The Platypus Mac Os Download
What about the Mac beta client?
We're testing new features on our preview channel on AppCenter. Want to check it out? Go to Microsoft Remote Desktop for Mac and select Download. You don't need to create an account or sign into AppCenter to download the beta client.
If you already have the client, you can check for updates to ensure you have the latest version. In the beta client, select Microsoft Remote Desktop Beta at the top, and then select Check for updates.
Add a workspace
Subscribe to the feed your admin gave you to get the list of managed resources available to you on your macOS device.
To subscribe to a feed:
- Select Add feed on the main page to connect to the service and retrieve your resources.
- Enter the feed URL. This can be a URL or email address:
- This URL is usually a Windows Virtual Desktop URL. Which one you use depends on which version of Windows Virtual Desktop you're using.
- For Windows Virtual Desktop (classic), use
https://rdweb.wvd.microsoft.com/api/feeddiscovery/webfeeddiscovery.aspx
. - For Windows Virtual Desktop, use
https://rdweb.wvd.microsoft.com/api/arm/feeddiscovery
.
- For Windows Virtual Desktop (classic), use
- To use email, enter your email address. This tells the client to search for a URL associated with your email address if your admin configured the server that way.
- This URL is usually a Windows Virtual Desktop URL. Which one you use depends on which version of Windows Virtual Desktop you're using.
- Select Subscribe.
- Sign in with your user account when prompted.
After you've signed in, you should see a list of available resources.
Once you've subscribed to a feed, the feed's content will update automatically on a regular basis. Resources may be added, changed, or removed based on changes made by your administrator.
Export and import connections
You can export a remote desktop connection definition and use it on a different device. Remote desktops are saved in separate RDP files.
To export an RDP file:
- In the Connection Center, right-click the remote desktop.
- Select Export.
- Browse to the location where you want to save the remote desktop RDP file.
- Select OK.
To import an RDP file:
- In the menu bar, select File > Import.
- Browse to the RDP file.
- Select Open.
Add a remote resource
Remote resources are RemoteApp programs, session-based desktops, and virtual desktops published using RemoteApp and Desktop Connections.
- The URL displays the link to the RD Web Access server that gives you access to RemoteApp and Desktop Connections.
- The configured RemoteApp and Desktop Connections are listed.
To add a remote resource:
- In the Connection Center select +, and then select Add Remote Resources.
- Enter information for the remote resource:
- Feed URL - The URL of the RD Web Access server. You can also enter your corporate email account in this field – this tells the client to search for the RD Web Access Server associated with your email address.
- User name - The user name to use for the RD Web Access server you are connecting to.
- Password - The password to use for the RD Web Access server you are connecting to.
- Select Save.
The remote resources will be displayed in the Connection Center.
Connect to an RD Gateway to access internal assets
A Remote Desktop Gateway (RD Gateway) lets you connect to a remote computer on a corporate network from anywhere on the Internet. You can create and manage your gateways in the preferences of the app or while setting up a new desktop connection.
To set up a new gateway in preferences:
- In the Connection Center, select Preferences > Gateways.
- Select the + button at the bottom of the table Enter the following information:
- Server name – The name of the computer you want to use as a gateway. This can be a Windows computer name, an Internet domain name, or an IP address. You can also add port information to the server name (for example: RDGateway:443 or 10.0.0.1:443).
- User name - The user name and password to be used for the Remote Desktop gateway you are connecting to. You can also select Use connection credentials to use the same user name and password as those used for the remote desktop connection.
Manage your user accounts
When you connect to a desktop or remote resources, you can save the user accounts to select from again. You can manage your user accounts by using the Remote Desktop client.
To create a new user account:
- In the Connection Center, select Settings > Accounts.
- Select Add User Account.
- Enter the following information:
- User Name - The name of the user to save for use with a remote connection. You can enter the user name in any of the following formats: user_name, domainuser_name, or user_name@domain.com.
- Password - The password for the user you specified. Every user account that you want to save to use for remote connections needs to have a password associated with it.
- Friendly Name - If you are using the same user account with different passwords, set a friendly name to distinguish those user accounts.
- Select Save, then select Settings.
Customize your display resolution
You can specify the display resolution for the remote desktop session.
- In the Connection Center, select Preferences.
- Select Resolution.
- Select +.
- Enter a resolution height and width, and then select OK.
To delete the resolution, select it, and then select -.
Displays have separate spaces
If you're running macOS X 10.9 and have disabled Displays have separate spaces in Mavericks (System Preferences > Mission Control), you need to configure this setting in the Remote Desktop client using the same option.
Drive redirection for remote resources
Drive redirection is supported for remote resources, so that you can save files created with a remote application locally to your Mac. The redirected folder is always your home directory displayed as a network drive in the remote session.
Note
In order to use this feature, the administrator needs to set the appropriate settings on the server.
Use a keyboard in a remote session
Mac keyboard layouts differ from the Windows keyboard layouts.
- The Command key on the Mac keyboard equals the Windows key.
- To perform actions that use the Command button on the Mac, you will need to use the control button in Windows (for example Copy = Ctrl+C).
- The function keys can be activated in the session by pressing additionally the FN key (for example, FN+F1).
- The Alt key to the right of the space bar on the Mac keyboard equals the Alt Gr/right Alt key in Windows.
By default, the remote session will use the same keyboard locale as the OS you're running the client on. (If your Mac is running an en-us OS, that will be used for the remote sessions as well.) If the OS keyboard locale is not used, check the keyboard setting on the remote PC and change it manually. See the Remote Desktop Client FAQ for more information about keyboards and locales.
Support for Remote Desktop gateway pluggable authentication and authorization
Windows Server 2012 R2 introduced support for a new authentication method, Remote Desktop Gateway pluggable authentication and authorization, which provides more flexibility for custom authentication routines. You can now try this authentication model with the Mac client.
Important
Custom authentication and authorization models before Windows 8.1 aren't supported, although the article above discusses them.
To learn more about this feature, check out https://aka.ms/paa-sample.
Tip
Questions and comments are always welcome. However, please do NOT post a request for troubleshooting help by using the comment feature at the end of this article. Instead, go to the Remote Desktop client forum and start a new thread. Have a feature suggestion? Tell us in the client user voice forum.
Wednesday 27th November 2019
PureDarwin is a community project to make Darwin, the open source operating system developed by Apple Inc. that macOS is built upon, more usable by providing bootable ISOs and documentation.
The puredarwin.org homepage, showing the Hexley the Platypus mascot.
The project was founded in 2007, and is seen as the informal successor to the OpenDarwin project (which closed down in 2006). PureDarwin is a downstream project of Darwinbuild, combining the open source Darwin base with other FOSS tools (such as X.org) to produce a usable system.
The Window Maker desktop environment running in the 'PureDarwin Xmas' release from December 2008.
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A Brief History of Darwin OS
Darwin itself was originally released by Apple in November 2000. It is a fork of Rhapsody, which was the codename used for Apple's next-generation operating system after the purchase of NeXT in 1998. Darwin utilises the XNU kernel, and currently runs on modern x86-64 processors, as well as 32-bit ARM processors in the case of older iOS devices (e.g. the iPhone 5C).
Many well-known elements of macOS such as the Cocoa framework and the famous Aqua graphical user interface are not included in Darwin, and unfortunately remain closed source.
A timeline of Unix-based operating systems, showing the common ancestors between different systems. Source (Public Domain)
The PureDarwin project was founded not to create a drop-in replacement for macOS. Instead it strives to be a usable implementation of Darwin which remains faithful to Apple's open source core, but without closed source components ('Pure'). Some example use cases of PureDarwin include an Apple-compatible build environment without using official Apple hardware, or to facilitate low-level testing of the Darwin kernel, without the limitations of macOS.
PureDarwin Xmas
The first developer preview release of PureDarwin is called 'PureDarwin Xmas', and was released in December 2008 (hence the name 'Xmas'). It is based on Darwin 9, which corresponds to Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.x).
PureDarwin Xmas is a 'complete' operating system featuring a desktop environment and various GUI applications. However, as it is just a developer preview, some features such as networking and hardware support are quite limited.
PureDarwin Xmas, showing the applications xcalc, xclock, xterm and xfontsel running in the Window Maker desktop window manager.
The menu controls in the top left control which workspace is currently on show. The menu on the right hand side is the application launcher, and the buttons at the bottom show the currently running applications. You can minimise, restore and resize windows using the available controls.
PureDarwin Xmas runs Bash 3.2.17, utilises the XFree86 4.7.0 display server and uses Window Maker 0.92.0 as the desktop window manager. uname -a
yields the following:
Many command-line and GUI applications come pre-installed in PureDarwin Xmas, including xedit, nano and vim. However, some applications such as Firefox and OpenOffice don't work out-of-the-box due to lack of driver support or missing files.
Each of the primary application menus, showing the various programs and tools that are available in PureDarwin Xmas.
For example, the basic word processing tool 'xedit' is available and can be used to write, save and load documents.
The 'xedit' tool with a new document being written.
The Window Maker environment can be heavily customised, and a magnification tool is included too.
The Window Maker configuration tool, with the magnifier showing a zoomed-in segment.
Networking support is very limited in PureDarwin Xmas, and unfortunately isn't supported at all when using VMware Workstation Player. This is because VMware uses an 'Intel e1000' device as the emulated ethernet controller, which requires the AppleIntel8245XEthernet.kext
driver. This driver is closed source and not available for redistribution in any form.
Booting PureDarwin Xmas in VMware
PureDarwin Xmas can be run as a virtual machine or on native Intel hardware, subject to relevant driver support. VirtualBox isn't supported as it isn't possible to fully emulate the required CPU type. However, VMware and QEMU can successfully boot PureDarwin Xmas when the correct configuration is used.
Modern versions of QEMU cannot boot the original PureDarwin Xmas image, due to incompatibilities with the Apple Partition Map file system used for the bootloader. Luckily, a fixed version has been released where the original bootloader has been 'transplanted' with an alternate one, where the file system is adequately supported in QEMU (x86 MBR).
In my case, I used VMware Workstation Player, as the PureDarwin Xmas image is distributed primarily in the VMware virtual machine format.
In order to boot PureDarwin Xmas in VMware Workstation Player, the following steps can be used:
- Download
puredarwinxmas.tar.xz
from the Google Code repository. Check the download against the SHA-256 checksum5dad4c534ec475a87e204361cd510fec511acb655484c00ff7ce8ca41cb55f86
. Extract the file to yield thepuredarwinxmas.vmwarevm
directory. - Download and install the appropriate version of VMware Workstation Player for your system from the downloads page. Verify your download against the checksums provided.
- Open VMware and import the
.vmx
file from thepuredarwinxmas.vmwarevm
directory. Keep the directory structure intact, as the configuration files in the directory are required in order to load the now-unsupported 'Mac OS Server' VM profile into VMware. - Boot the VM. PureDarwin Xmas will boot directly to the desktop. On modern hardware, the total boot time is around 10 seconds.
The PureDarwin Xmas VMware configuration assigns only 1 virtual CPU core and 128 MB of RAM, but this is comfortably enough to run the lightweight Window Maker desktop and multiple applications.
The PureDarwin Xmas virtual machine in the VMware library.
Interestingly, the VM profile used is 'Mac OS Server 10.5'. This isn't supported in modern versions of VMware, as full Apple operating systems can only be virtualised on official Apple hardware. However, as the VMware VM was created in a much older version of VMware (in 2008), the profile is saved in the exported configuration and can still be used for booting PureDarwin Xmas in the latest VMware releases (it will generate a warning though).
PureDarwin 17.4 Beta
At the time of writing, the latest release of PureDarwin is 17.4 Beta. This was released in 2018, and is based on Darwin 17, which corresponds to macOS High Sierra (10.13.x).
Unlike PureDarwin Xmas, the 17.4 Beta release is a more lightweight/stripped-down OS, which doesn't feature a full GUI or display server. However, it has much improved driver support for modern hardware and hypervisors, and allows for basic networking when used in specific environments.
The Bash 3.2 shell prompt in PureDarwin 17.4 Beta, showing the output of the commands hostinfo
, df -h
, ps aux
and ifconfig
.
The 17.4 Beta release runs Bash 3.2.57, and uname -a
yields the following:
Booting PureDarwin 17.4 Beta in VirtualBox
Unlike PureDarwin Xmas, the 17.4 Beta release of PureDarwin can be successfully booted in modern versions of VirtualBox and QEMU if the correct settings are used. VMware cannot be used, as it doesn't support modern macOS-esque guests unless you are running on official Apple hardware.
In my case, I used VirtualBox to allow for easy configuration of the relevant settings. The following steps can be used to boot PureDarwin 17.4 Beta in VirtualBox:
- Download
pd_17_4.vmdk.xz
from the PureDarwin Devs site. Check the download against the SHA-256 checksumf2bb10f2fdb309a9a4fc77083c17b5a145db132551449a01b115f470d86c317c
. Extract the file to yieldpd_17_4.vmdk
. - Download and install the appropriate version of VirtualBox for your system, either from your system package manager or from the downloads page. Verify your download against the checksums provided.
- Create a new virtual machine using type 'Mac OS X -> macOS 10.13 High Sierra (64-bit)', without an attached disk. Set the chipset mode to ICH9 and enable I/O APIC, then add an IDE controller in ICH6 mode. Attach the
.vmdk
virtual disk file to the IDE controller. - Boot the VM. PureDarwin 17.4 Beta will boot to a Bash 3.2 shell prompt. On modern hardware, the boot time is around 20 seconds.
There are some common errors that you may encounter if the virtual machine settings are not configured correctly. I have documented a couple of these below.
Still waiting for root device
:
This error occurs when the root file system cannot be recognised during the boot process. This seems to be related to the fact that the root file system is a virtual file system within the VMDK image, rather than one that was created using physical hardware.
This will occur around half way through the boot process, and the error will be printed repeatedly:
PureDarwin 17.4 Beta running in VirtualBox, showing the 'Still waiting for root device
' error.
In order to resolve this error, ensure that your virtual disk is using an IDE controller in ICH6 mode, and that the chipset mode is set to ICH9, as shown below:
The VirtualBox IDE disk controller settings.
The VirtualBox motherboard settings.
Once you have configured these options, PureDarwin should boot successfully.
Mach-O (i386) file has bad magic number
:
Videos For Feed The Platypus Mac OS
This error occurs if you try to boot PureDarwin 17.4 Beta in 32-bit mode, as currently only 64-bit is supported:
Programming Software
PureDarwin 17.4 Beta running in VirtualBox, showing the 'bad magic number
' error.
Ensure that the virtual machine type in VirtualBox is set to either 'Mac OS X -> macOS 10.13 High Sierra (64-bit)' or 'Other -> Other/Unknown (64-bit)', as shown below:
The VirtualBox general/basic settings.
Once you have done this, PureDarwin 17.4 Beta should be able to boot successfully.
Conclusion
Overall I am impressed with the PureDarwin project and have enjoyed conducting my research around it. They have achieved a lot, considering that the project is funded by community donations and run by volunteers. It definitely isn't a production-ready system, but for developers it has the potential to come in very useful.
The PureDarwin team have been able to successfully install MacPorts in PureDarwin, allowing many software packages such as Apache HTTPd, Git and even XFCE to be installed. Unfortunately this is non-trivial to achieve without strong networking support, but it shows the potential use cases of PureDarwin.
Please check out the project at www.puredarwin.org, and support their work by contributing if you are able to.
Feed The Platypus Mac OS