Category Archives: MacBook Pro

Installing Parallels Tools On Kubuntu 18.04 LTS Virtual Machine

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Another off-topic post from me. And this time, it is for a very interesting issue.

I was trying to install and configure a new virtual machine for Kubuntu 18.04 LTS on my Mac, using Parallels Desktop v13. The installation went on well. My new Kubuntu VM was ready for configuration. All done, except Parallels Tools.

Every time I tried to install Parallels Tools, I received a fatal error and the installation would abruptly stop. Searching this on the Parallels Forum lead me to this post: Fail to build kernel modules on Linux kernel v4.15+.

Trust me, I’m no good at Linux at all. I’m just beginning to explore. So whatever was discussed on this forum post was beyond my limited knowledge. However, on page 2 of this post, there was a link provided which took me to Rudolf Ratusinski‘s step-by-step guide on how to hack Parallels Tools installer and make it work.

Here’s the original link: Parallels Tools fix for Ubuntu 18.04 and other Linux distributions with Kernel version >= 4.15

I must admit. Even I was able to follow the steps and succeed in installing Parallels Tools on my Kubuntu 18.04 VM.

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It’s worth noting that Parallels is yet to release a fix for this issue. This hack shouldn’t even be required, had Parallels addressed it straightforwardly.

Till we receive one from them, you may want to read Rudolf’s hack first before trying to install Parallels Tools.

Thanks Rudolf. I really appreciate your time and effort to share this crucial hack with all of us.

Vaidy

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Connect SQL Operations Studio For Mac to a SQL Server in Parallels VM

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I’m slowly moving away from Windows. However, being a Microsoft Dynamics GP consultant, that’s not entirely possible. I’ve been working hard to overcome every single roadblock since the last couple of years.

One major gripe, among several others, was the inability to connect the SQL Server instance on my Windows 10 virtual machine, mounted using Parallels. Until now.

Microsoft released SQL Server Operations Studio, which is still under preview, for us to connect to a SQL Server from Windows, Mac OS or Linux. I now have the choice to work from either my Mac OS or my Windows 10 VM.

However, there are some steps we must follow to successfully connect to a SQL Server instance on a virtual machine. This post, from Anton Sizikov, is probably the easiest one to follow. Following the steps explained on this post, Connecting SQL Operations Studio to SQL Express Server in Parallels VM, I was able to successfully use my SQL Server Operations Studio to connect to my VM SQL Server. Below is the SQL Ops Studio in all its “dark theme” glory:

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I couldn’t use my Mac more than pretty much for just browsing, emailing and other daily digital chores. This is one huge step forward to start utilising it well.

Vaidy

 

Off-Topic: Mac OS High Sierra Push Notification Banners Issue

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I’m blogging after a painfully long time. And, I’d like to share something really interesting that happened on my MacBook Pro this week.

I reset my Mac with Mac OS High Sierra (10.13.4) and all of a sudden, all my notifications stopped working. The Dock labels would show, sound would be there, yet mysteriously, banners wouldn’t come. Upon checking the notification area, there wasn’t any recent notifications listed at all. Baffling, to say the least.

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Then I chanced upon this apple support forum discussion, Mail notifications | Official Apple Support Communities.

Despite the discussion being for Mail App, the solution given on this discussion worked for me for all apps’ notifications.

Solution is quite simple; change the alert notification from “Alerts” or “Banners” to “None” and change it back. Easy, isn’t it? Not exactly. I had to do this for all of my apps, using the notification centre.

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I can’t complain though. It’s working now, that’s all I need.

If someone’s having same issue and is looking for a solution, look no further. Check out the discussion on Apple Support Forum (link provided above).

Vaidy

 

OFF-TOPIC: MacBook, Mac OS & Wired Memory

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I got a new MacBook Pro couple of days back and needless to say, I am more than excited to use it.

I have been a Mac OS user for the past 1 year, as I had already replaced my personal computing machine from an old warrior named Lenovo N300 to an amazing MacBook Air. Been driven by that experience, I had always been yearning for my work computer to get changed to a MacBook too.

This topic is more about how Mac OS utilises the System Memory (RAM) to it’s fullest advantage and how it keeps any MacBook machine highly efficient. When we look at the Activity Monitor (equivalent to Task Manager on Windows OS), you would find something like below:

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I was so intrigued by the term Wired Memory as all other terms made some sense to my H/W & OS expertise. Checked with my friend (who else but Google), and he as usual returned several results. One post stood out from all other.

A post written by Alex on his blog Bits about Bytes shed some light on this. Read the post here: Is my Mac using too much memory???

It’s a very old post (posted precisely in the year 2007), but an amazing post about the topic which I was interested in. In case some people like me, who has shifted to Mac OS (or going to shift), I thought this post would be for them and would be useful to know about your Mac.

Happy “Mac”ing.

VAIDY