Hi Ben, Alexandre,

I think Alex is worried about his file system. The answer is simple:

1. Mount all drives read-only in /etc/fstab
2. Put a startup script so that whenever the machine is booted, it

starts your patch (check PD archives for this, there was lots of discussion. My solution is pasted below***) 3) Museum/gallery people can *never* be bothered to learn how to start/stop things safely, so if you do the above they can hit the power button/turn off the circuitbreaker/pull the plug/do whatever to it every night and you shouldn't have any problems. I've run several installations in this way before.

best, d.

*** I used .xinitrc to start everything:

#~/.xinitrc # make sure your system is set up so that X starts when the machine boots, and it autologs you as this user! # first set LADSPA_PATH for [plugin~] # open alsamixer to set soundcard levels # make sure jackd isn't running already by killing it # start jackd [if PD uses it in your case] # start pd [optional: use -open /path/to/installation.patch.pd if it's not in your ~/.pdrc or ~/.pdsettings]

export LADSPA_PATH=/usr/lib/ladspa fluxbox & xterm -exec alsamixer & killall jackd & jackd -d alsa r 44100 & pd

# end ~/.xinitrc

B. Bogart wrote:

Are you worried about wearing out the HW? (mechanical parts?)

...

The whole idea behind this is to avoid to suddenly turn off the computer, which would probably corrupt the file system at some point. Of course I use GNU/Linux : probably Ubuntu Server or Debian.

On 23 Jun 2007, at 7:20 AM, Kyle Klipowicz wrote:

Does anyone have a similar workflow for OS X? I am struggling with this problem right now for an installation I've helped with.(

OSX seems very tolerant of just turning the power off, at least my
laptop has a faulty connector to the battery and has lost power and
crashed many times without problems rebooting, and a few
installations I've got running do get turned off from time to time
accidentally without problems rebooting. Settings are:

1/ make sure your file system is journalled (it is by default) - use
Disk Utility 2/ set 'Restart automatically after power failure' in
SystemPreferences:EnergySaver:Options 3/ set a schedule for automatic sleeps etc in
SystemPreferences:EnergySaver:Schedule 4/ set system to login to YourUser automatically in
SystemPreferences:Accounts:LoginOptions 5/ set Pd to start or a script to run on login in
SystemPreferences:Accounts:YourUser:LoginItems

I guess that the file system journalling is helping to prevent
corruption, but I still don't rely on that and either leave it
running or use the schedule to sleep and startup as required,

Note that if you shutdown manually (or by the schedule) then later
turn the power off then on again it is not a 'power failure' and the
system won't reboot automatically, it only does so when it lost power
while running. Also you have to make sure Pd quits before any
automatic shutdown because it does not quit when the system asks it
to during normal shutdowns.

You could also try mounting drives read only etc - but I haven't
tested that and would like to know more possibilities in this area!

simon

On 6/23/07, Kyle Klipowicz kyleklip@gmail.com wrote:

These are all simple enough, but what about this next one?

...

5/ set Pd to start or a script to run on login in SystemPreferences:Accounts:YourUser:LoginItems

Kyle you are overdoing it!

Just drag Pd.app into the Login Items in the Accounts pref pane and then add -open /path/to/my/patch.pd to the Pd startup. Easy.

I looked into /LIbrary/StartupItems/iScroll2 for a startup example. Would I just modify the following shell script and create a /Library/StartupItems/Pd to get things working?

---

#!/bin/sh

daemonpath="/Library/StartupItems/iScroll2" daemonname="iScroll2Daemon" daemonpidfile="/var/run/${daemonname}.pid"

. /etc/rc.common

StartService () { ConsoleMessage "Starting iScroll2" "${daemonpath}/${daemonname}" ConsoleMessage -S }

StopService () { ConsoleMessage "Stopping iScroll2" kill $(cat "${daemonpidfile}") ConsoleMessage -S }

RestartService () { StopService; StartService; }

---

How well would this work with a bundled *.app file, say Pd-extended.app? How do I choose the proper patch to launch?

Thanks a lot for any answers you can provide, I've never had to deal with this before so I am learning a ton from the advice on this list.

~Kyle

...

I guess that the file system journalling is helping to prevent corruption, but I still don't rely on that and either leave it running or use the schedule to sleep and startup as required,

Note that if you shutdown manually (or by the schedule) then later turn the power off then on again it is not a 'power failure' and the system won't reboot automatically, it only does so when it lost power while running. Also you have to make sure Pd quits before any automatic shutdown because it does not quit when the system asks it to during normal shutdowns.

You could also try mounting drives read only etc - but I haven't tested that and would like to know more possibilities in this area!

simon

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On 24 Jun 2007, at 7:31 AM, Max Neupert wrote:

here an example how to switch the computer off/to sleep from pd

the sleep script works nicely, but the logoff one fails - "shut
down" and "sleep" are valid for Finder in an Applescript, but "log
out" isn't.

Another problem I have is that with [shell] I get an error dialogue
saying "pd quit unexpectedly" when I use the examples in shell- help.pd - I guess it refers to the process triggered by [shell]
ending, since pd continues on happily.

When I try your patch the system sleeps before pd can quit, it quits
just after the system wakes up.

Adding "delay 5" to the start of the applescript doesn't help - it
just adds a delay after wake up before pd quits, followed by the
error dialogue.

Trying to split off the shell process by;

[& /Users/simon/sleep.app( | [ggee/shell]

does not work, Console says the & isn't recognised (it's ok in
Terminal) - pd quits, but sleep.app isn't run.

I guess [shell] isn't using the same shell as Terminal, it probably
needs a bash script or a .command file or something similar to get a
process split off so that it can keep going and let pd quit first.

I'm using autobuild: Pd-0.40.2-extended-2007-05-01 on OSX 10.4.8 and
a G4 Powerbook

simon

On 26 Jun 2007, at 4:40 AM, Max Neupert wrote:

...

the sleep script works nicely, but the logoff one fails - "shut
down" and "sleep" are valid for Finder in an Applescript, but "log
out" isn't.

first i think you need to activate UI-Scripting. http://www.apple.com/applescript/uiscripting/01.html

you'll have in your “System events” applescript library a “power
suite” folder with log out

found them - they are under "System Events" but not "Finder"

• so the proper Applescript syntax is:

tell application "System Events" log out end tell

now the script works properly, plus using

[open /Users/simon/sleep.app( | [ggee/shell]

works - Pd quits first, then the system sleeps or logs out or
whatever next.

The "pd quit unexpectedly" error message still gets displayed, it
seems to be a [shell] problem - I seem to remember a thread about that a year or so ago - I'll search
for it, but it doesn't matter if I just want to log out or shut down

- thanks for that, my next installations will be cleaner!

Do you know a way (in OSX) to create Logout Items similar to Login
Items in the Accounts Preferences?

to set up timed events I've used CronniX from http:// www.abstracture.de/cronnix (easy + free GUI to create crontabs =>
schedule events eg the Applescripts above)

simon

On 26 Jun 2007, at 4:12 PM, Max Neupert wrote:

http://developer.apple.com/macosx/launchd.html

and you can actualy use iCal to set up any automatisation at any
time calling scripts or etc. works great. otherwhise use http://lingon.sourceforge.net/

Lingon and the docs above are very useful

• I'm just about to try to cut back on background system processes

on some MiniMacs I've got playing QT video files using GEM - they
seem to intermittently miss frames, there are 5 intel machines
running and usually 3 or 4 are playing cleanly and 1 or 2 dropping
frames for a while. I'm hoping that cutting out some background stuff
will help. I think that it is a problem that was not there with G4
MiniMacs, but will check - any hints as to what I should be looking
for that can be safely turned off? or is the new architecture with
the intel grahpics chipsets etc just not up to the job?

simon

On 27 Jun 2007, at 1:27 AM, chris clepper wrote:

What type of video files and at what size? How many clips are
playing on one machine at the same time? What is the display
resolution? The Intel graphics have some problems above usual
desktop sizes and shader performance is really horrible too.

I'm using pix_movie to play .dv movies by asking for each frame in
turn, so that I can scrub, pause etc with all machines in sync. It
works well, except for the intermittent series of hesitations I
assume are either dropped or late frames.

To debug this I switched to using a single machine, no network
connections and tested using [auto 1( instead of frame-by-frame -
only 1 clip playing in this simple setup. Then tried different codecs

• H264, PhotoJPEG each 576x720 and 1024x768. The MacMini is connected

to the 1024x768 projector via a short DVI cable. The GEM window is
set to fullscreen, frame rate 25.

There was a slight improvement with the H264@576x720 but the problem
was still there. Quicktime could play all the movies at fullscreen
smoothly.

I have some other MacMinis - PPC and intel - coming soon so I'll test
these and try higher framerates for GEM. The Intel ones have just
been used with Isadora in a similar way and apparently had the same
issue. The hesitation is only very noticeable on video with fast
moving, high contrast scenes - but it is obvious then.

Pity about the shader performance - I was planning to use Minis for a
more complex setup with masks and some colour correction but I guess
I'll need to go with bigger boxes and better graphics cards (probably
similar $$), or try to find some old G4 Minis.

Simon

On 28 Jun 2007, at 12:20 AM, chris clepper wrote:

Does it stutter at the end of the clip while going back to the start?

no, it is during the clip - for periods of a minute or so then
playing smoothly for several minutes

Do you have any audio in the clips?

some yes, some no - it doesn't seem to make a difference (one of the
machines is playing audio and acting as the master, it is no worse
than the others) but will check more carefully when I get hold of the
other machines

What is the GEM compile date?

I'll need to check the date tomorrow, I've only got linux and PPC
versions with me here, but it should be from an extended-autobuild in
May.

simon

HI all ! Nice thread, no doubt. Will read more later... My concern is about creating a simple way so that anyone that is allowed can easily turn on and off and installation. I mean the whole power, not just the sound or video. Of course, I am more into lasting installations too. ;)

For a window manager. I benchmarked a bit, and I found that Icewm is faster than Fluxbox and some other similar (blackbox and madwm, I think). It looks like Win98, though... For this time, I want no X11 at all, though.

a

2007/6/26, simon wise simonxwise@hotmail.com:

On 26 Jun 2007, at 4:40 AM, Max Neupert wrote:

...

...

the sleep script works nicely, but the logoff one fails - "shut down" and "sleep" are valid for Finder in an Applescript, but "log out" isn't.

first i think you need to activate UI-Scripting. http://www.apple.com/applescript/uiscripting/01.html

you'll have in your "System events" applescript library a "power suite" folder with log out

found them - they are under "System Events" but not "Finder"

• so the proper Applescript syntax is:

tell application "System Events" log out end tell

now the script works properly, plus using

[open /Users/simon/sleep.app( | [ggee/shell]

works - Pd quits first, then the system sleeps or logs out or whatever next.

The "pd quit unexpectedly" error message still gets displayed, it seems to be a [shell] problem - I seem to remember a thread about that a year or so ago - I'll search for it, but it doesn't matter if I just want to log out or shut down

- thanks for that, my next installations will be cleaner!

Do you know a way (in OSX) to create Logout Items similar to Login Items in the Accounts Preferences?

to set up timed events I've used CronniX from http:// www.abstracture.de/cronnix (easy + free GUI to create crontabs => schedule events eg the Applescripts above)

simon

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On shutdown sync is also your friend sync; sleep 3; halt;

if you don't want the patch running as root (if on network) then sudo the shutdown script.

On Fri, 22 Jun 2007 21:03:02 +0200 Derek Holzer derek@umatic.nl wrote:

Hi Ben, Alexandre,

I think Alex is worried about his file system. The answer is simple:

1. Mount all drives read-only in /etc/fstab
2. Put a startup script so that whenever the machine is booted, it

starts your patch (check PD archives for this, there was lots of discussion. My solution is pasted below***) 3) Museum/gallery people can *never* be bothered to learn how to start/stop things safely, so if you do the above they can hit the power button/turn off the circuitbreaker/pull the plug/do whatever to it every night and you shouldn't have any problems. I've run several installations in this way before.

best, d.

*** I used .xinitrc to start everything:

#~/.xinitrc # make sure your system is set up so that X starts when the machine boots, and it autologs you as this user! # first set LADSPA_PATH for [plugin~] # open alsamixer to set soundcard levels # make sure jackd isn't running already by killing it # start jackd [if PD uses it in your case] # start pd [optional: use -open /path/to/installation.patch.pd if it's not in your ~/.pdrc or ~/.pdsettings]

export LADSPA_PATH=/usr/lib/ladspa fluxbox & xterm -exec alsamixer & killall jackd & jackd -d alsa r 44100 & pd

# end ~/.xinitrc

B. Bogart wrote:

...

Are you worried about wearing out the HW? (mechanical parts?)

...

...

The whole idea behind this is to avoid to suddenly turn off the computer, which would probably corrupt the file system at some point. Of course I use GNU/Linux : probably Ubuntu Server or Debian.

-- derek holzer ::: http://www.umatic.nl ::: http://blog.myspace.com/macumbista ---Oblique Strategy # 169: "Use filters"

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Thanks for this! Interesting thread. I kind of came to the same conclusions via the method of trial and error. I'm currently compiling a tutorial on building 'curatorial friendly' boxes for art students...so this discussion helps a lot...

Question: Is fluxbox necessary? X alone has been working fine for me although troubleshooting can be a pain...

Question #2: On PPC/linux how does one turn OFF 'hibernate/sleep'. Suggestions?

Thanks again! mark

--- Derek Holzer derek@umatic.nl wrote:

Hi Ben, Alexandre,

I think Alex is worried about his file system. The answer is simple:

1. Mount all drives read-only in /etc/fstab
2. Put a startup script so that whenever the machine

is booted, it starts your patch (check PD archives for this, there was lots of discussion. My solution is pasted below***) 3) Museum/gallery people can *never* be bothered to learn how to start/stop things safely, so if you do the above they can hit the power button/turn off the circuitbreaker/pull the plug/do whatever to it every night and you shouldn't have any problems. I've run several installations in this way before.

best, d.

*** I used .xinitrc to start everything:

#~/.xinitrc # make sure your system is set up so that X starts when the machine boots, and it autologs you as this user! # first set LADSPA_PATH for [plugin~] # open alsamixer to set soundcard levels # make sure jackd isn't running already by killing it # start jackd [if PD uses it in your case] # start pd [optional: use -open /path/to/installation.patch.pd if it's not in your ~/.pdrc or ~/.pdsettings]

export LADSPA_PATH=/usr/lib/ladspa fluxbox & xterm -exec alsamixer & killall jackd & jackd -d alsa r 44100 & pd

# end ~/.xinitrc

B. Bogart wrote:

...

Are you worried about wearing out the HW?

(mechanical parts?)

...

...

The whole idea behind this is to avoid to

suddenly turn off

...

...

the computer, which would probably corrupt the

file system at some

...

...

point. Of course I use GNU/Linux : probably

Ubuntu Server or Debian.

-- derek holzer ::: http://www.umatic.nl ::: http://blog.myspace.com/macumbista ---Oblique Strategy # 169: "Use filters"

---

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mark edward grimm | m.f.a | ed.m
megrimm.net | socialmediagroup.org & .com
meg156@columbia.edu | 585.509.8703 ______________________________