How to install LibreOffice on macOS

Download new version at https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download-libreoffice/

Click the info link ( https://download.documentfoundation.org/libreoffice/stable/25.2.3/mac/aarch64/LibreOffice_25.2.3_MacOS_aarch64.dmg.mirrorlist ) for check sum and signature file

File information

    Filename: LibreOffice_25.2.3_MacOS_aarch64.dmg

    Path: /libreoffice/stable/25.2.3/mac/aarch64/LibreOffice_25.2.3_MacOS_aarch64.dmg

    Size: 279M (292500275 bytes)

    Last modified: Mon, 28 Apr 2025 20:14:40 GMT (Unix time: 1745871280)

    SHA-256 Hash: 309de4092e5e85882a77132a55e891a6eb5f7e1fd28dba2da04bc14bd878003a

    SHA-1 Hash: ee83a63d6e38a17d77a92eb6633a707a06d57aef

    MD5 Hash: 68dc297abed5c1c995464913658d4fa9

    BitTorrent Information Hash: 96fc5aecd8c7d435642f9061e88c68661d81f2de

    PGP signature available

check the file size:

ls -latr LibreOffice_25.2.3_MacOS_aarch64.dmg 

-rw-r--r--@ 1 user1  staff  292500275 May 26 10:38 LibreOffice_25.2.3_MacOS_aarch64.dmg

check the hashsum:

sha256 LibreOffice_25.2.3_MacOS_aarch64.dmg 

SHA256 (LibreOffice_25.2.3_MacOS_aarch64.dmg) = 309de4092e5e85882a77132a55e891a6eb5f7e1fd28dba2da04bc14bd878003a

Download the PGP signature ASC file and check.

$ gpg --verify LibreOffice_25.2.3_MacOS_aarch64.dmg.asc 

gpg: assuming signed data in 'LibreOffice_25.2.3_MacOS_aarch64.dmg'

gpg: Signature made Mon Apr 28 08:55:03 2025 PDT

gpg:                using RSA key C2839ECAD9408FBE9531C3E9F434A1EFAFEEAEA3

gpg: Can't check signature: No public key

$ gpg --keyserver-options auto-key-retrieve --verify LibreOffice_25.2.3_MacOS_aarch64.dmg.asc 

gpg: assuming signed data in 'LibreOffice_25.2.3_MacOS_aarch64.dmg'

gpg: Signature made Mon Apr 28 08:55:03 2025 PDT

gpg:                using RSA key C2839ECAD9408FBE9531C3E9F434A1EFAFEEAEA3

gpg: /Users/v123/.gnupg/trustdb.gpg: trustdb created

gpg: key F434A1EFAFEEAEA3: public key "LibreOffice Build Team (CODE SIGNING KEY) <build@documentfoundation.org>" imported

gpg: Total number processed: 1

gpg:               imported: 1

gpg: Good signature from "LibreOffice Build Team (CODE SIGNING KEY) <build@documentfoundation.org>" [unknown]

gpg: WARNING: This key is not certified with a trusted signature!

gpg:          There is no indication that the signature belongs to the owner.

Primary key fingerprint: C283 9ECA D940 8FBE 9531  C3E9 F434 A1EF AFEE AEA3

Validate integrity of VirtualBox downloaded files on Mac

$ openssl dgst -sha256 VirtualBox-6.1.14-140239-OSX.dmg 

SHA256(VirtualBox-6.1.14-140239-OSX.dmg)= 3abeee4822707db2f949431391dba27827840aa5390a9ec4e1bafdc5c8c3aaaa

$ openssl dgst -sha256 Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-6.1.14.vbox-extpack

SHA256(Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-6.1.14.vbox-extpack)= b224e796e886b19bce69f0aaedf6ca82bad0ca29c61fb0ed86166efb84356942

Compare with values from https://www.virtualbox.org/download/hashes/6.1.14/SHA256SUMS

3abeee4822707db2f949431391dba27827840aa5390a9ec4e1bafdc5c8c3aaaa *VirtualBox-6.1.14-140239-OSX.dmg

b224e796e886b19bce69f0aaedf6ca82bad0ca29c61fb0ed86166efb84356942 *Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-6.1.14.vbox-extpack

Reference:

https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

Should Microsoft Windows Free?

Few days ago, I read this article "Microsoft should get used to giving Windows away for free" written by  Tony Bradley on TechRepublic. I like that idea. If Microsoft can not make Windows free as Ubuntu Linux, at least it should be free upgrade or low cost like Mac OS/X 10.7

MAC – Easy to Use?

Refresh:

• Windows: F5
• Ubuntu: Ctrl-R
• Mac: ?

Create a new text file.

• Windows: Right click
• Ubuntu: Right click
• Mac: ?

Install Windows 8.1 Preview on VirtualBox

When I installed Windows 8.1 Preview on VirtualBox 4.2.14 hosted on Mac OS/X machine, I got this error:
“Your PC need to restart, Please hold down the power button Error Code : 0x000000C4”.

Here is a solution I found at https://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/10792:
Open terminal windows and execute this command:
VBoxManage setextradata [vmname] VBoxInternal/CPUM/CMPXCHG16B 1
where [vmname] is your Windows 8.1 virtual machine name.

Here is my screenshot: Install Visual Studio 2013 Preview on Windows 8.1 Preview

Update on July 10: You need to the Oracle VirtualBox 4.2.16 or later to install VirtualBox Addition in order to make the full screen, shared folder and other features.

Android Studio

On Google IO 2013, Google introduced Android Studio, based on IntelliJ IDEA, a new tool for Android developers. I liked it. Since it was a preview version, Google noted:

Caution: Android Studio is currently available as an early access preview. Several features are either incomplete or not yet implemented and you may encounter bugs. If you are not comfortable using an unfinished product, you may want to instead download (or continue to use) the ADT Bundle (Eclipse with the ADT Plugin).

As soon it posted on developer.android.com, I downloaded and installed on three platforms: Ubuntu 13.04, Mac OS/X Lion 10.7.5 and Windows Vista. On Ubuntu 13.04 with OpenJDK 1.7, I got this error message:

'tool.jar' is not in Android Studio class path. Please ensure JAVA_HOME points to JDK rather than JRE.

I have no problem using Eclipse Juno (4.2.2) for Android development on this machine. Ran android-studio/bin/studio.sh at a terminal, there was a warning:

WARNING: You are launching the IDE using OpenJDK Java runtime. ITS KNOWN TO HAVE PERFORMANCE AND GRAPHICS ISSUES! SWITCH TO THE ORACLE(SUN) JDK BEFORE REPORTING PROBLEMS!

Downloaded and switched to Oracle (Sun) JDK from OpenJDK on Ubuntu 13.04 according to Hendré's blog, problem solved.

On Mac OS/X with Java 1.6.0_45, I got Android Studio ran immediately without hicup. After I made a new simple project to test, I could not load any Android Virtual Device. To work around, I opened Android Virtual Device Manager from Eclipse Juno to load the Android Application launched from Android Studio.

On Windows Vista with JRE 7 installed only, Nothing running after executed Android Studio (c:\android-studio\studio,exe) application. Tried to replaced Oracle JRE 7 with Oracle JDK 7, no luck. Solution: Added environment variable JAVA_HOME with value "C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.7.0_21) to system variables. Further reading:

• Getting Started with Android Studio. Need to read this page thoroughly to save time.
• IntelliJ IDEA and Android Studio FAQ. This FAQ is good.

How to show hidden files in Mac OS X

To show hidden files in Mac OS X:
1. Open terminal
2. Type the following command turn show hidden files:
defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles true
3. Restart the Finder application by this command
killall Finder

To hide the hidden files, replace the 'true' value with 'false' in command at step 2 above

Quickly Lock Your Screen using Keyboard

To quickly lock your computer using keyboard shortcut:

1. On Ubuntu: Press <Ctrl><Alt>L at the same time 
2. On Apple OS/X: Press <Shift><Ctrl><Eject> keys at the same time 
3. On Microsoft Windows: Press <Windows> and L keys at the same time