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Ran into a situation today where I needed a tftp server in order to serve files to a hardware device. Normally I would have fired up a Linux system to get the job done but it hit me (again) that I’m using a UNIX operating system and it’s bound to have a tftp server built in. Sure enough I found it hiding on the system but I couldn’t get it to run. After some searching around I found my answer and I thought I’d post it so hopefully someone else will find it.

If you want to run the tftp server issue the following command:

sudo launchctl load -F /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/tftp.plist

This will cause the tftp server to load and stay running until it either crashes or you restart your system. If you want to ensure that tftp is always running issue the following:

sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/tftp.plist

To stop the tftp server issue the following command:

sudo launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/tftp.plist

To permanently disable tftp issue the following command:

sudo launchctl unload -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/tftp.plist

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When asked how Microsoft plans to the extended battery life and instant on capabilities of the iPad Ballmer had this to say

“I think probably the things of tomorrow are best left for tomorrow and the things of today are best discussed today,” he said. “So today, I will focus on Windows Phone.”

Or in other words, “we have nothing.”

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Came across this article talking about progress being made with the new Apple TV in regards to jailbreaking and adding new functionality. Jailbreaking was recently ruled as legal. I think this is a big win for consumers who want to be able to use their hardware devices for whatever they want. For example, I think it’s ridiculous that Apple is allowed to force me to join their developer program if I want to write my own iOS application for a device I own. It’s perfectly reasonable that if I want to distribute my software using their App Store platform but beyond that I should be faced with such restrictions.

Also, just because jailbreaking has been deemed legal doesn’t mean pirating software is suddenly legal as well. There are still plenty of other existing laws protecting against that. In the next few months or years I think we’ll see additional clarifications with the DMCA and jailbreaking. For example, although the iPhone was specifically mentioned in the ruling, I actually don’t think it should be ok to jailbreak an iPhone for security reasons as it pertains to the cell phone network. The iPhone is part of a bigger infrastructure that is not owned and operated by the owner of the phone and in that case it’s a lot like a business PC being connected to a business network. At the same however, such a ruling will hopefully coerce Apple into providing a toggle on the phone allowing end users to install software outside of the App Store. This would satisfy what some end users want while still protecting the security of the cellular network.

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Xmarks has decided to close up shop because it can’t find a way to make any money. Sad to me because it’s a service I use everyday and is honestly something I’d probably pay for because it works across all browsers on all the systems I care about. Although it is possible to use your own server as an xmarks sync server this is really only a stop gap measure because the plugin is going to need to be continuously updated as new browsers are released. The only answer then is for someone (are you listening Google?) to buy it out or for the team to release it as an open source project.

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Apple’s new (2010) Apple TV unit have shipped and some have been delivered. Reviews are starting to pop-up in various places. So far reviews seem positive.

iFixit has done a tear down of the new device revealing 256MB of ram, 8GB of storage and an A4 processor. These specs show that the Apple TV is basically the 8GB iPod touch sans screen. They also find that the board has a spot that is basically ready to accept the 30 pin dock connector. I’m sure it won’t be long before some daring soul manages to get one soldered to it.

One of the bigger complaints, that is if you want to listen to most commenters on Engadget, is the lack of 1080p playback. That the Apple TV is only 720p is a complete non-argument because there simply isn’t a source of real 1080p content other than blu-ray. Stolen stuff doesn’t count. If you record over the air HDTV you’re either going to get 1080i or 720p content and there is basically no reason not to deinterlace the 1080i content into 720p since the vast majority of HDTV sets around today are going to be flat panel based. Netflix and Amazon HD streams are both 720p. In fact, the only 1080p streaming source I’m aware of is Zune marketplace on the Xbox 360 and I’m not aware of any other set top box that is allowed to stream Zune marketplace material and only costs $99.

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Ran into an issue while trying to get 64 bit Coldfusion running on Snow Leopard. Somehow Adobe’s installer can’t deal with the fact that the java binaries are symlinked in OS X so you have to manually remove the symlinks and then copy the binaries over. This page documents how to do it. The only thing I did differently is instead of simply deleting the symlinks I created a directory and moved them into that. This way I can restore the system back to normal.