Create a new network location (I called mine “Wired Reset”). Switch location to “Wired Reset.” Hit Apply. Switch back to “Automatic.” Good news is that this can be accomplished via AppleScript. I know there are more elegant ways to script system preferences, but I tried another and it didn’t reliably work.

The script

tell application "System Events"

end tell


I updated to OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard the day it came out. For the record, I take full responsibility for the pains of being an early adopter and normally am quite patient with quirks of early releases. I don’t want to complain (maybe I do a little bit), but I want to share a workaround (it’s not a fix) for the issue I (and 10.6 using colleagues) been experiencing.

It would be charitable to call the wireless connection in my building flaky, so I rely on my ethernet connection to be productive. After updating to 10.6, I found that though getting an IP address, I cannot access the internet. Wired at home (Airport Basestation) and  elsewhere on campus, are no issue. It is just in my office; it is just with Snow Leopard. My officemate also on 10.6 has the same issue; Tiger and Leopard machines have no such difficulty. Simple things like renewing the DHCP lease doesn’t work nor does turning off IPv6 (an original suspect) .

After a morning of beating my head against the wall… the workaround, the “DHCP Two-step”:

1. In Network system preference pane, select the Ethernet connection.
2. Copy the IP address that is displayed.
3. Switch to “Using DHCP with manual address” under Configure IPv4. Hit Apply.
4. Switch back to “Using DHCP.” Hit Apply again.

The internet should work now. However, when restarting or waking from sleep, be prepared to go back to Step 1. That is why this is not a fix (I see that as permanent), just a workaround. One that I hope will be remedied with a point update. It has not as of 10.6.1.

I have no idea why this happens, but I’m guessing there is a change in how Snow Leopard receives IP addresses that is somehow incompatible with older router hardware used in this part of the building. If any one reading this has a more permanent workaround than the the “DHCP Two-step” I’ve outlined above or has better understanding of why we are experiencing this problem in the first place, please drop a line in the comments. Here’s hoping that Apple fixes this soon!

Folder hierarchies seem to be a less and less relevant concept in modern computing, but they persist. Advanced searching and tagging obviate the need for deep folder hierarchies. Even rigorous files naming can help this when used with something like Spotlight. Though file browsers (Finder, Windows Explorer), still reinforce the folder paradigm AND duplicates for files. A better design would be a behind the scenes database design, like iTunes or iPhoto. Most people don’t think about where their iTunes music is living in the File system, but it does keep it organized for transparency. I can imagine a Finder that more prominently brings in tags and “playlists” (smart or otherwise) that allow dynamic sorting of files without creating duplicates. I would only need one copy of articles that are used in a class, for the comp exam, and in my research. Hard drives are huge, but this would be more more efficient in space and organizing. A master database would manage this, as iTunes does, all behind the scenes. Tags, searching, and smart folders will create as needed organization without forcing the user to have to enforce and remember an organization. Everything will be searchable. The organization can be changed as often as needed. Finish the comp? Just remove the smart folder, but the files (and tags) are still there for later reference. Leopard’s Finder does have smart folders based on Spotlight, but it’s very limited and doesn’t allow the kind of folder free organization I crave.

UPDATE: I guess this topic is in the air as the excellent UI blog, ignore the code, just posted on this topic. By the way, I love the recent redesign to his blog.