Linux File Server update!

The Linux file server itself continues to remain online and work well.

What proved less successful was regular interaction with it from a different operating system, macOS.

In principle, macOS and Linux impose few restrictions on file names. However, macOS Finder is less accommodating. Finder won't tolerate file names that contain the colon character. Worse, it won't even acknowledge that they exist.

This proved to be a day-to-day hassle. I was constantly having to "recover" files that I either had given a forbidden name from Linux, or whose names had caused problems when when I migrated them over from HFS Plus (macOS) to begin with.

So, I partially migrated to APFS (macOS). When the warranty expired on my 2012 Mac Mini, I installed a big extra hard drive in it, removed colon characters from all my important files, and copied them back to macOS. Then, I turned on SMB ("Windows") file sharing on my Mac Mini. Problem mostly solved.

I still keep media without DRM, which I consume primary thru Plex, on my Linux box. I also still use my Linux file system for most software development. If I need to keep code in sync with other operating systems, I use git. But I'm careful to use boring file names.

You Can Install Adobe CS 3 Applications on a new Mac running High Sierra

Want to install Adobe Photoshop CS 3, Adobe Illustrator CS 3, or Adobe Flash CS 3 on a new Mac running macOS High Sierra? If you own a license, it's possible.

The copies you probably downloaded way back when required activation by a remote server that's no longer online. Luckily, Adobe will give you a new serial number and installation that doesn't require remote activation.

Visit https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite/kb/cs3-product-downloads.html and log in, creating an account if necessary. Then plug in your old product serial number.

Save-down your new serial number somewhere safe. Then, click the appropriate product download link. If you don't already have Akamai web installer installed (and you probably don't), then you'll get that — not your Adobe CS3 software. If necessary, complete the weird installation process for Akamai Web Installer. This should result in a new macOS control panel. If opened, this control panel will pronounce Akamai "started".

Now, go back and click that download link again in your web browser, this time with Akamai running. You should get your CS3 product download!

Open up the .dmg file, double-click the product folder, and run the Setup tool. Pick a volume to install your Adobe software on. Once installed, run the software. You'll be prompted for the new serial number. Afterwards, you may see a blank dialog box. Wait a few minutes and receive a message that your software can't be "registered". That's fine, elect never to register.

After that, you should be good-to-go!

You may want to uninstall the weird Akamai web installer at this point. Open the Akamai folder in your user account's Applications folder. Then run Akamai NetSession Uninstaller.

If you asked me, it's something of a minor miracle that these applications still work. I'm guessing it's somebody's job at Apple to keep macOS upgrades from breaking them.