SearchAppleInsider has posted an excellent three page article detailing the path from 32bits to 64bits on PCs and Macs. It puts everything into perspective and outlines the reasons that the switch from PowerPC to Intel for Apple was important in the longrun and challenges that are faced with the x64 version of Windows as well as the complications that would arise if Snow Leopard is 64bit only. Overall a great read, although a bit technical.
Flickr user Balakov likes to take photos using Lego figures. And not just any photos, Balakov actually recreates famous paintings, photographs, and scenes in painstakingly detail. The attention to detail in his work is truly amazing and the result is wonderful. I especially love the recreations of Star Wars scenes and the way Balakov has even went past the series and created scenes such as one depicting a Storm Trooper with a brief case, after the fall of the Empire. Wonderful and truly unique work.
AOL has released a Flash version of the popular AIM client today. This is a web-based version of the desktop client, allowing users to use the AIM network by simply going to the application’s page, instead of downloading and installing software on the computer.
This service looks to directly compete with current market offerings such as Meebo, which allow users to login to multiple chat services through a web interface, without installing software. Sadly, because AOL has built the AIM application using Flash, it is not usable on the iPhone or iPod Touch. I recommend either Meebo for a web based application, or using MobileChat or AIM as an application for the 2.0 iPhone Software from the iTunes Application Store.
I just came across a new search provider that displays the results in a very nice format. Basically, CoverFlow is used to display huge page thumbnails. It’s quite impressive. And the video search even starts playing the videos right in the search results, like QuickLook.
Here is a quick fix I just thought of which worked for me.
I had put my camera in USB mode a few months ago and placed photos on there using the Finder, so I could take the SD card somewhere with me and have the photos with me. When I was finished, I used the camera’s built-in “Delete All Files” option and everything seemed fine. However, when importing subsequent pictures in iPhoto, there was empty boxes after all the pictures I had taken, when looking at the camera. And after iPhoto was done importing the pictures, it could not delete those empty blocks.
I had just lived with this, until today. I was looking online on how to format an SD card, and had a wonderful idea: I would try Apple’s own Image Capture utility already on my Mac. Sure enough, I launched the application, clicked the ‘Download Some’ button to actually see the photos (noticing that the filenames started with an underscore, probably the root of all this evil) and easily deleted them from within the application.
I’d imagine using the Terminal to view the hidden files and deleting them would have worked as well. Nothing showed up in the Finder, but that was probably related to the weird filenames as well.
Hope this quick tip helps someone!
Web 2.0 has a distinct look and feel. Part of that is a set of gradients and reflections. I’ve been doing reflections in Photoshop for quite awhile now, but I’m always looking for an easier way to accomplish that. I just ran across a site that has the most elegant way to create reflections. It’s a video tutorial, so I’ll try to wrap that up in text as best as possible.
Create a document with your text layer. Duplicate that layer and flip that vertically, pulling the duplicate layer down so it is a reflection under the first. To feather this second lower layer out to make this effect more impressive, use the Square Marquee utility, with a feathering setting of 10px, to select the bottom half of the second layer and then hit delete. This effectively removes most of the reflection, and you can now play with the opacity of that layer to fine tune the effect even more.
Overall, I’m very impressed with this approach and it makes it so much easier to accomplish this task.
Evidently there is another ‘new-generation’ Mac browser being developed currently, in addition to Latitude. Read my interview with the Latitude development team.
However, unlike Latitude, Mecca is being developed by the guys who make Fluid, the Mac app that lets you save web pages as individual ‘apps’ to click and run from your Dock. If you’ve been paying attention, Safari 4 will have this exact functionality built right in. Seems like the guys from Fluid have decided to take their product another direction to stay ahead of Apple.
Check out the Mecca teaser.
Check out the Latitude teaser.
The guys from 280 North have been hard at work completing a couple very impressive tasks. First, 280Slides.com is up and running in beta. It’s a simply amazing Keynote knockoff that takes web applications to an entirely new level. Seriously, if more web applications were this easy to use, more of us would be using them. The second feat accomplished by the guys is the pending release of a new framework called Cappuccino, based on the newly created Objective-J language. What does this mean for everyone?
I’ve already touched on the biggest impact for users: interface improvement. 280Slides looks and acts just like a real desktop application. All the standard keyboard shortcuts for copy/paste and undo/redo are supported right within the web app itself. Take a minute to tour the application and see how it compares to other online presentation applications. It feels more like Apple’s own Keynote, right?
Developers have even more reason to be excited. The whole Javascript/HTML/CSS design process to manipulate the DOM is abstracted to a higher layer with the introduction of Objective-J. The Objective-J language allows developers to write code in a style more like writing for traditional desktop applications. The developer doesn’t directly interact with the DOM or style the page with CSS. Instead, Objective-J itself manages all the views and drawing the objects to screen. More so, the Cappuccino framework provides functionality that is traditionally lacking from other Javascript frameworks, such as:
This is a tremendous advantage for developers, allowing focus to be placed on the unique aspects of the web application itself. Cappuccino will be open-source and available soon, so keep a lookout at the Objective-J website. I think that we will see some amazing applications begin to rise in the future and this might possibly fuel a new era of apps on the web.
Also be sure to check out a newer article about SproutCore, a similar Javascript framework already released and in use in Apple's MobileMe platform.
I’m a huge Twitter fan and absolutely love Twitterific on my Mac. Craig and the guys from IconFactory have taken great pain in making the iPhone version of Twitterific even better than the desktop version, from the looks of things.
[Pictures from MacWorld]
Cool features such as placing a link to a picture or easily inserting your current location with a single tap of your finger, will make the iPhone version very pleasant to use and I easily agree with Dan from MacWorld in predicting Twitterific for iPhone being the single most sought after app from the AppStore when it launches later this summer.
Read more at MacWorld
The WWDC 2008 keynote today saw the rebranding of the .Mac package, yet again. There are certainly some nice features being added, such as push email, contacts and calendars, revamped web interface, and storage upgrades. You can read more about the MobileMe features here.
However, we should take this time to mourn the loss of a very dear friend: iCards.
iCards was introduced with the introduction of iTools (the precursor to .Mac) back in 2000, in the OS 9 days. The service has remained practically the same, and has always been my favorite way of sending cards to all of my friends and family online. MobileMe will see the discontinuation of iCards. Everyone should take a moment of silence to commemorate the passing of an age.
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