GmailFS

I wonder how difficult it would be to port GmailFS to Mac OS X. It's Python, and from what I can tell, most of the libraries are portable. I don't have time to do it myself, but if someone does, please let me know about it!

How to Make a 10.3.5 Boot CD

Pretty cool info on Using BootCD (freeware) to make 10.3.5/Techtool Pro 4.0.3 Boot CD. Check it out.

Apple Zealots Hurt Apple

My article, Apple Zealots Hurt Apple, is up at AppleMatters. Check it out.

Jason reports on Airport Express...

I think this is the first time my good friend Jason has been ahead of me on the new technology curve, but in any case, he has a new Airport Express, which he won't stop praising. I need to get one of those...

PithHelmet 2.0

PithHelmet, the best ad-blocker for Safari, has been updated to version 2.0. Get it. Update: I just installed 2.0 and just to let you know, there's a new menu icon for PithHelmet. I don't really see the need for it, but I don't mind it much. If you do mind it, however, you can simply replace the image with one of your liking by the same name. It can be found: /Library/Application Support/SIMBL/Plugins/PithHelmet.bundle/Contents/Resources/PithHelmet-menu.png This little hack courtesy of  het kaasje on the Versiontracker page for PithHelmet.

Time to kill Word?

A Slashdot post asks if it is time to kill off Microsoft Word. The answer is yes. Kottke may have the answer to the "how" of killing off Word:

What we could see is the next generation of office suite. Not Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Outlook of Microsoft's Office or iPhoto, iDVD, iMovie, iTunes, and Garageband of Apple's iLife suite, but Google search, Gmail, Google Browser, Blogger, and perhaps even GIM. It'll be interesting to watch whether this happens or not.

It would be a good idea, beyond the regular blogging bit, for Google to come out with a web-based word processor and data repository where people could WYSIWYG create documents, save them to a password protected server space and access, edit, save, and print these files from anywhere there is an internet connection. That would be a definite Word killer and be the logical step forward towards virtual self-storage. As a writer and educator, I'd find such a program to be the great killer app for which I have been waiting. *cross-posted on Sample the Web.

How to Clean your 12-inch's Slot-load Drive...

Accelerate Your Macintosh has the 411 on how to clean out the slot-loading combo- / Super-drive on your 12-inch (although the instructions are for doing so on a 15-inch TiBook). Compressed air is the key. Just make sure when attempting this cleaning solution that you do not shake or tilt the can and use short quick blasts. Don't want to gum up the works with that cold condensation that can occur otherwise...

Tommy has a 3650

Tommy, the junior host on the Casino has a 3650! Who cares?!

Virex 7.5

If you have, .mac, then you can log in to your account and download the update to Virex 7.5 for free.

Help me get a Free iPod mini...

Hello, everyone, I've been trying the FreeiPods.com kick for a while now. I have over 15 people who have signed up under me, but only one has completed the offer. That means I need four more people to complete offers to get a free iPod mini for Kristin. Here's my referral link: http://www.freeiPods.com/default.aspx?referer=7147546 If you have a pet, there's a 50% off offer on $20 minimum purchases of supplies for your pet, which is the offer I completed. Thanks!

Ogg Vorbis for your 3650... reblog...

I just realized as I was typing the title to this entry and Safari "remembered" it that I have actually already blogged about this. However, I had forgotten about it, so maybe you have too, so here it is: OggPlay for Series 60 will let you play Ogg Vorbis files on your 3650. w0rd...

The Problem with the iTMS DRM...

I've written another article for AppleMatters, The Problem with the iTMS DRM. Check it out.

Prepping for a new 12-inch...

I told you that I wouldn't have this 12-inch for more than 6 months! In any case, there's an upgrade plan in the works to move up from my 1Ghz wonder to the new top-of-the-line 12-inch. Kristin will be inheriting my current machine, but at that point we will be selling the 12-inch that gave birth to this site: the 867MHz Combo-Drive model, so if you want to own a piece of internet history (HA!), stay tuned and I'll eventually post the specs and the ebay auction for that little honey. Any extremely rich fans of the site who wish to flat out buy it for an exorbitant fee and don't wish to be soiled by the banal commonality of ebay, craigslist, or any auction that isn't Sotheby's, please feel free to have your personal assistant email me (c k s 3 at mac dot com) directly with your offers. In the meantime, I have to start a comprehensive list of all the items I currently have installed on this 12-inch to help prepare for the upgrade and switcheroo. Making this list has been waiting in the queue on my to-do list for a while, but this will actually make me produce it and, once produced, the list should be easily maintained. I will even post an online version of my list of "must have" software. In any case, stay tuned...

Sample the Web is back...

I've relaunched Sample the Web, the weblog which I maintained before this one. Just to let you know, I realize a blog named 3650 and a 12-inch cannot last too long due to the technologies involved. Eventually, the content here will trickle away (probably when I upgrade my cellphone), and at that time, the majority of my posts will migrate over to Sample the Web . I'll give prior warning though, as well as a final post pointing to Sample the Web. In the meantime, many of my non-3650-and-a-12-inch specific posts which would normally creep in here will be emerging over there. It is hosted with cornerhost, maintained via GreyMatter, and I even have an RSS feed for the site. Check it out. Note: For the three or four of you who used to read the old Sample the Web (either the Radio Userland version or the home-rolled .mac iteration), I'll eventually move the archives over to the new space.

Share Internet over Bluetooth with your 6600!

Well, my Share2Blue2th scripts plain old never worked with the Nokia 6600, but someone has finally figured out a nice alternative. Check out SlamSlash for the how-to. Thanks to Speedy for pointing this out to me.

Use Cocktail to Scan for Corrupt Preferences...

File this little tidbit under I didn't know you could do THAT!:

Preferences Scan Tip for OS X Cocktail - I've used Cocktail for some time as a GUI utility for doing OS X maintenance tasks without using the terminal (cache cleaning, running maint. scripts, and more) but I didn't realize it also could scan preference files. (i.e. for corrupt prefs files).

"Cocktail 3.4.9 is fully compatible with Mac OS X 10.3.5.
To scan preferences:

• launch Cocktail
• choose Specifications from Window pulldown menu
• click the Advanced tab
• choose Preference Files from the popup button

Regards,
Kristofer Szymanski
http://www.macosxcocktail.com"

It still doesn't appear to be able to delete corrupted prefs from the app that i can tell, but posting this as a FYI to any other user that may not be aware of the feature.

The above is from Accelerate Your Mac News. Pretty useful tip.

Stream MPEG4 Apple Lossless over AirTunes

Streaming Apple Lossless over AirTunes is now possible thanks to Jon Lech Johansen:

Reversing AirTunes
I've released JustePort, a tool which lets you stream MPEG4 Apple Lossless files to your AirPort Express.

I really need to get an Airport Express. Maybe three of them...

SpamSieve

After testing it out for the last several weeks, I've purchased SpamSieve. It really works much better than Mail.app's default Spam-filtering. I've found it to be much more effective at catching the spam without any false catches than other spam filters I've used in the past (like JunkMatcher Central). If you are having a spam problem, and you haven't tried it yet, then go download the demo and give it a whirl.

Trager Courier Laptop Brief

The Powerpage has a review of the Trager Courier Laptop Brief, which looks promising for any of you who are currently shopping for a new bag for your 12-inch.

AppleMatters article on Chess...

I wrote an article on AppleMatters about the different options available for those of you who would like to play chess on your Mac. Go check it out.

We're drowning in updates: Java 1.4.2 Update 1...

Java 1.4.2 Update 1 (does this mean there is a second one lurking out there?) is available via Software Update now (26.4MB):

Java 1.4.2 Update 1 provides support for JDK 1.4.2_05, improved behavior for applets in Safari, and increased stability for desktop Java applications.

The system will be updated to Java 1.4.2 Update 1. If the system currently has Java 1.4.1, it will be removed.

For more details on this update, please visit: http://www.apple.com/java/

Lock and *yawn* load...

iSync 1.5 available via Software Update

Just ran Software Update and found that Apple has released iSync 1.5 (6.6MB):

iSync lets you manage your contacts, calendars, To Do lists, and Safari bookmarks across multiple Mac OS X computers and devices (such as an iSync-compatible mobile phone, Palm OS device, or iPod), so you always have your most current information with you. To sync a Palm OS device, you need to install the iSync Palm Conduit version 1.2 or later.

iSync 1.5 adds support for more devices such as the latest Sony Ericsson and Motorola phones. For more information about supported devices and connectivity requirements, visit www.apple.com/isync.

Before you install iSync 1.5, you must install iCal 1.5.2 or later. To download the latest version of iCal, visit www.apple.com/ical, or use Software Update (in System Preferences) to install the latest version.

If you are using Mac OS X version 10.3 and plan to synchronize a Bluetooth mobile phone, you need to have Bluetooth version 1.5 or later installed. To download the latest version, use Software Update (in System Preferences). If you have an earlier version of Mac OS X, visit www.apple.com/isync to download the appropriate Bluetooth version.

Lock and load (oh, I hope this doesn't break Share2Blue2th; I don't have the time to code right now...)!

Apple Production Suite...

Now that Motion is shipping, Apple has bundled all their high-end graphics and video editing apps into a Production Suite. I want this...

Talks for Series 60

If you happen to be blind or just happen to prefer having things read to you, you might want to check out Talks for Series 60. I saw mention of this on MobileWhack, and it should work with the 3650, as they have a picture of the 3660 on the Talks website.

BlueTooth HID support in 10.3.5...

Well, this is a tantalizing piece of news. The 10.3.5 update includes support for HID profiles, which basically allow you to control your Mac's mouse and certain Mac keys that are mapped to your phone's controls. It appears to work automatically with a few of the newer phones out there, although not yet with the 3650. Just need someone to hack us together an HID profile for the phone, though... Any takers?

10.3.5 Update and Security Update available via Software Update...

Here come the updates! Launch Software Update now to download 10.3.5 (22.9MB):

The 10.3.5 Update delivers enhanced functionality and improved reliability for Mac OS X v10.3 "Panther" and is recommended for all users. Key enhancements include:

• improved support for NTFS formatted volumes
• improves reliability for user logins and mounting of home directories in a networked environment
• updated ATI and NVIDIA graphics drivers
• improved Bluetooth compatibility for Apple Wireless Keyboard and Mouse and Bluetooth phones
• additional FireWire and USB device compatibility
• improved font management
• updated Mail and Image Capture applications
• improved compatibility for third party applications
• previous standalone security updates

For detailed information on this Update, please visit this website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n25791 For detailed information on Security Updates, please visit this website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n61798

and as an added bonus, there's Security Update 2004-08-09 (5.3MB):

Security Update 2004-08-09 delivers a number of security enhancements and is recommended for all Macintosh users. This update includes the following components: libpng (Portable Network Graphics) For detailed information on this Update, please visit this website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n61798

Throw caution to the wind and download now! Lock and load...

Newsflash: Cable Security for your 12-inch...

Newsflash: Cable locks only secure until someone with cable cutters walks up. Most of you probably already knew this. Lesson to be learned: don't waste your money on security gadgets; don't leave your 12-inch unattended.

Lifestyle services for your 3650...

If you happen to have your 3650 signed up on Cingular Wireless or Virgin Mobile USA (do either of these carriers work with the 3650?), then you can set up fake rescue calls to save you from social events where you do not really want to remain. I'm sure this service will trickle out to the other providers eventually, but I'm also sure that once it trickles out enough and becomes any sort of a prevalent phenomenon, people are going to start being able to spot these fake calls, and they will loathe you for using them.

Guard your 3650's Bluetooth

Check out this post over at Backup Brain:

We love using Bluetooth; with the help of iSync, it's extremely handy to sync our address books wirelessly between our Macs and mobile phones. But Security Cavities Ail Bluetooth discusses the problems you can have with your Bluetooth-enabled phone, if you're not smart about using it. Speakers at the recent Black Hat and DefCon security and hacker conferences in Las Vegas demonstrated how they can sneak into mobile phones and suck out phone books and other data. The key is that these phones, from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Motorola, are vulnerable if they are left in discoverable mode. So turn it off when you're not using it. Our Sony Ericsson phones have cute blue lights that flash while Bluetooth is active, which reminds us to turn Bluetooth off. We save battery life by turning it off, too. Posted by Tom Negrino at 04:19 PM Link

Something to keep in mind, although according to the chart on this page, the 3650 isn't one of the known vulnerable models.

Bye-bye, Livejournal...

File this under the perils of blogging: I made a local archive and then deleted my four-year-old LiveJournal today. Due mainly to the success of this site, and the inability to prevent the search engines from spidering the livejournal, I can no longer count on it as a pseudo-private space in the public that will only be read by the dozen or so friends that have known about it for quite some time. All of them (should) know about this site as well, so there won't be any lost contact. Just a more publicly-prepared version of me. In any case, I wish I didn't have to do it, but recent comments on the site made me realize that it was for the best. It's saddening though. I've had my livejournal since I moved to New York. It was a definite outlet for me, as well as a nice point of contact with my long distance friends who know me well and know how to take my ranting. Back to our regularly-scheduled tech news...

CyberDuck

Get CyberDuck. It's a good free OS X FTP client that I have been using on a new site that I am working on and which will soon be announced (nothing too fancy, mind you, so don't get overly excited). However, if you're just accessing your iDisk, Goliath is the way to go...

Airport Express Hotel Report...

Interesting write-up over at the Powerpage about the real world experiences of hooking an Airport Express into a hotel's ethernet connection.

Stand for Safari: Get it.

Check this post over at hicksdesign out:

I’ve recently discovered another plug-in for Safari, called Stand. I can't tell you a whole lot of detail about it, as the site is written in Japanese. What I can tell you is that its free, and it allows you to do the following slick actions:

• Allow syntax colouring in viewed source (no control over colours used though)
• Specify a font and size for viewed source (I like this – I have a thing about using Lucida Grande for source view).
• Search your bookmarks and history (very nice, although I tend to use Quicksilver to find bookmarks quickly, this is even faster).
• Specify that all links to a ’_blank’ target open in a new tab instead of a new window. This is nice.
• Save tab layouts as workspaces alá Omniweb.
• Assign categories, colour labels and comments to new bookmarks
• Create search shortcuts (as in Sogudi and Saft)
• ‘Site Alteration’. This allows you some basic preferences on a per site basis, such as what encoding to use, and whether images, pop-ups, plug-ins or javascript are to be allowed.
• Remove favicons.
• Set a time delay for auto-closing the downloads window after completion.
• It also seems to add ‘Copy Link HTML Tag’ command to the context menu when ctrl-clicking links. (I’ve only just noticed this though, so it could’ve been there all along!)

Don't let the Japanese scare you. Stand rules. Get it now. Install by dragging the Stand folder into ~/Library/InputManagers/ and closing then relaunching Safari. This makes Bloglines open links in tabs and the highlighted HTML in source mode is great for blogging. h00t!

.Mac stuff...

The Cult of Mac blog at Wired reports:

Apple's .Mac email now supports aliases:

"You can use email aliases instead of your .Mac email address to keep your .Mac account private (such as when purchasing online) or to easily recognize and organize incoming emails from various sources. Simply deactivate or delete an email alias to keep unwanted email from arriving in your Inbox.

Now, this is undoubtedly cool, however, when you take into account things like this, which are true, and all too common, then who cares? .Mac needs some serious bug killing before they go slapping on new features, imho.

I'm sure there's much to blog...

...however, I am pooped. Friday was flower girl dresses, tuxes, and then The Village (which I enjoyed) followed by sushi for dinner. Fun day, but busy. I spent all day Saturday finishing up painting the bedroom (looks nice), and yesterday was Kristin's surprise bridal shower, so it was go go go the entire weekend. Today is the most monday-like monday this year, and I am despising it and not feeling like (nor having the time to) blog much here. IceRocket looks interesting, but why does every single search engine besides Google totally ignore my livejournal's "DON'T INDEX ME" headers?

100GB Pocket-Rocket...

If you have $500 to spare, you might want to getthis 100GB rocket for your pocket with USB/Firewire 400/800 connectivity. And its brushed metal niceness matches your 12-inch!

This Warping Thing; A Rant: Why don't Apple Consumers Complain More?

Read MacFixIt's latest about the warping aluminum powerbooks. This is mind-boggling:

Not a show-stopper The good news is that despite all the reports we've received of "warping" with PowerBook G4 units, we have yet to receive a report of this "warping" being serious enough to adversely affect the functionality of the PowerBook (e.g., optical drives not accepting or ejecting discs, keyboards malfunctioning, etc.) In fact, some users even seem to be happy that this slight wobble on the desk is their only problem. Reader Aled B writes: "Doesn't bother me too much though, minor irritation - it's a great little machine otherwise! Used to suffer sleep of death issues with 1GHz TiBook until I decided to sell and get a G5 2GHz DP and this brilliant 12" PowerBook as a side-kick. It's the best PowerBook I've ever had. My brother has the 15" 1.5GHz PowerBook and that's just as good. Best range of PowerBooks ever! I'll settle for a little wobble over a random sleep of death any-day." That being said, a number of users have expressed dissatisfaction with such warping given the cost of these units.

Well, I for one think that the "number of users" remains too low and too quiet in their "expressed dissatisfaction." It is unconscionable to me that Apple continues to crank out defective machines (albeit very powerful and very nice in every other respect), which continue to exhibit these problems and continue to sell at their high prices and NO ONE is interrupting the entire process to say "Hang on a minute..." It seems to be a production flaw that affects a large percentage of the ALBooks. But, my current 12-inch doesn't wobble. It doesn't warp. It stays flat. When I had one that did wobble and warp, I walked into the Apple Store and complained and complained and complained as loudly and politely as possible until the manager replaced the machine (and then I made them open up the box and test the next one WHICH ALSO WOBBLED, so I demanded yet another). If everybody who suffered from this problem did what I did and complained and pushed Apple, then Apple would be forced to address this issue. Unfortunately, too many people out there are happy enough with their great new Powerbook and overlook this horrible problem, which means next time I update my machine, I may have to go through the several hours of complaining yet AGAIN to get my factory defective wobbling 'book, replaced with a nice, properly level model. //rant off...

AcidSearch

Jason points to a new Safari search tool, which would seem to trump Safari Keywords (my Safari search tool of choice) in the ease of use department: When you navigate to a new searchable site that you want to add to Safari's search bar, simply go to AcidSearch, Edit Search Channels, New Channel, and AcidSearch "automatically adds the correct search syntax to the URL field. Feel free to change the name of the Channel and its location on the list." Check it out...

Marathon!

Creative Bits is fast becoming one of my favorite new reads, as things like Marathon, one of my favorite pre-OS X Mac games, are constantly being mentioned, reminding me of free cool stuff that is out there that I can stuff in my Mac for a rainy day...

Bloglines...

So, in the spirit of less is more—or perhaps some other spirit of which I remain unawares—I've ditched my news reader, NetNewsWire Lite, in favor of Bloglines. This post made me think of it (although I arrived there from another link which I cannot remember... sorry, whoever!). In any case, now I'm all web-based, reading RSS feeds in Safari without bothering with Tiger, thanks to Bloglines. If I get sick of it and switch back, I'll let you know. As an added bonus, there's a nice long "Regular Reading" blogroll at the bottom of the sidebar now. Check it out to see the 96 blogs to which I am subscribed (it's identical to the OPML MySubscriptions file also linked in the sidebar). w0rd...

New Konfabulator with Konsposé Only Widget level...

Ripping back from Apple's Dashboard, Konfabulator 1.7.1 has these two little notable tweaks amidst a bunch of bug fixes:

Added Konsposé Only Widget level (see Release Notes), Added preference panel to gear menu with options for setting the Konsposé key and whether to use a simpler Konsposé for slower machines.

Coolness. Lock and load, everybody!

Make your iPod into a Universal Remote...

This is a very cool hack. Turns your iPod into a universal remote. Although, I must say, I really like the Phillips Universal Remote that I bought from Best Buy not that long ago. It actually controls EVERYTHING I have in my collection....

This Warping thing: The Return of the Warp...

MacFixIt is reporting on yet more warping 12-inchers coming out of the newest line of the machines. Class-action lawsuit anyone? How many production lines of the 12-inchers have been plagued with this problem now? My first ALbook was severely warped. I continue to see postings over at 12inchPowerbooks Yahoo!Groups about this issue. Apple, would you fix this already? I wouldn't mind a few ounces of a reinforced steel rod added to the design if it meant these machines would be guaranteed wobble-free, would you?

RadTek Cases for your 12-inch

Ted Leung mentioned these MacTruck cases from RadTech this morning, which look to be pretty cool. I mentioned them to Jason, and he said he had just bought one, along with one of these. Pretty cool...if you're into cases... Also, two side notes: one, sorry for the sparseness in my OCD posting as of late. We're painting the bedroom at the apartment and it is eating up much of my former blog time. Two: I misspelled Motorola on purpose in the below post.

Why Motorolla?

In case you hadn't heard:

We had no idea: Getting iTunes onto Motorola cellphones
They definitely pulled this rabbit out of the hat: yesterday, the news leaked of the V3, then Motorola  announced that their upcoming phones with USB and Bluetooth will be able to pull music off of iTunes. It’s a bit of a blow to the iPod’n’Tunes pundits defending Apple’s hardware-first business model, but hey, they’re going where the money is. And besides, a $700 cellphone is so their style.[Via Phone Scoop]

[engadget.com]

Ok. But why moto? What happened to the SE partnership of Macworld Keynote 2 years past? I bet they release an updated iSync later today...(actually, this was jason's observation, but I agree...)

Secure Email

I just wanted to note that my .mac email is secure. If the email comes from me, it will be signed with a THAWTE sig and include the HABEAS headers. I am only pointing this out, because I myself have been receiving both spam with my email as the masked sender address and bounced emails notifying me that spam and or viruses are being sent out from my worm infested PC (only thing is that I am only ever running a squeaky clean worm-free Mac). So, in any case, if you ever receive an email from my address without a sig / HABEAS headers, chances are it isn't from me...

FreeiPod.com Pyramid scheme...REPORT...

Well, it's been about a week and so far 13 people have signed up from my link, but none of them have completed any of the offers *cough HINT HINT cough*, so I still don't know if I this free iPod is a real deal or a gimmick...

PowerPage brainstorm: Powerbook Power over Firewire...

This is brilliant:

Power Your 'Book With FireWire
How about this for the next PowerBook: Apple replaces the traditional power port with a FireWire port and allows charging of the PowerBook over FireWire.

Then include an Airport Express with Firewire port for charging with every 12-inch sold. Great. Do it, Apple. Now!

I'm testing MacJournal (no relation to the magazine) as a possible means of posting to this site...

Gentoo Linux 12-inch...installed...

So I just installed Gentoo Mac OS X. Time to play...