As the old saying goes, you learn something new everyday. But sometimes you learn something and forget something. Yesterday was one of those days. While writing up VoodooPad 4, I thought I’d open up some of my VoodooPad files to check out the new features.
I mostly use VP files to keep track of notes and ideas for fiction writing that I do in my spare time; it’s great for building connections between different concepts and characters. And as I used to maintain multiple computers, I’d gotten into the habit of using my iDisk for file storage so I could access said files no matter where I was. As an added benefit, I figured that would give me multiple synchronized copies of files in different locations to help safeguard against data loss.
I’d also assumed that Apple itself backed up the iDisk files, as most large server installations do. This wasn’t blind assumption either; back in 2005, Apple recovered files that had disappeared from my iDisk:
We isolated an issue with your iDisk, which is now fixed and we recovered the missing items for your iDisk Documents folder. To access the recovered data, please connect to your iDisk and navigate to the Recovered Items folder that is now present in your iDisk Documents folder. Please note there may be duplicate copies of some of the files.
Fast-forward to yesterday. I open up the VoodooPad files on my iDisk only to find they won’t open. And when I check them out in the Finder, I discover that’s because they register as 0KB in size.
Continue reading "The perfect storm of data loss: a cautionary tale"
Fire up your Apple TV, kids, there be an update awaitin'! Apple released Apple TV Software Update 2.3 today, which includes four noteworthy features (discovered via this Knowledge Base article):
As our friends at TUAW point out, this update will most likely break any existing Apple TV hacks, so if your Apple TV is hacked six ways to Sunday you might want to hold off on the update.
Continue reading "Apple TV 2.3: now with more remotes, and remote music"
You probably don’t know Jordan Hubbard. Heck, before about an hour or two ago, we couldn’t have told you if he was a B-movie actor from the 1920s or the barista at our local coffee shop. Now, however, we can say with reasonable certainty that he’s the Director of the UNIX Technology Group at Apple.
Why, you’re wondering, is that so great?
Well, last Thursday, Hubbard spoke at LISA ‘08 (don’t get excited, it’s not a conference for aficionados of the Apple Lisa, but rather for Large Installation System Administration). Hubbard’s talk, Mac OS X: From the Server Room to Your Pocket (PDF link), discussed the evolution of Mac OS X technologies, such as security, over the lifetime of the OS, with special attention to—blah, blah, blah. That’s not why you’re here.
One table from Hubbard’s presentation slides grabbed some attention: a list of Mac OS X releases. Which, ordinarily would be pretty boring, except for the fact that he lists the release date for 10.6 Snow Leopard as Q1 2009. zOMG!!1!!! Somebody alert the media—wait, we are the media?
Ahem.
Okay, look. Apple’s press release for Snow Leopard was issued in June of last year, at which point they said 10.6 was “scheduled to ship in about a year.” Apple’s Q1 2009 runs from January to March 2009, which means a potential jump up of a couple months [I meant calendar Q1 2009, not Apple’s fiscal Q1 2009, so I’ve clarified -DM]. Good news, but nothing to get worked up about. And don’t come crying to us if it doesn’t surface until June. For all we know, this could be a clever disinformation plan by Steve Jobs to root out leaks, using a George Kaplanesque “Jordan Hubbard” who will mysteriously never be heard from again.
[via MacRumors]
Personally, we have been terrified of voodoo ever since we watched that scene with the snake in Live and Let Die. But that hasn’t prevented our undying love of personal wiki app VoodooPad. Our good friend Gus Mueller over at Flying Meat has just released the most recent major update to the application, bringing it to version 4.0.
What can you find in this quaternary version? Plenty. Tops among the list is the ability to synchronize your VoodooPad pages between multiple computers, through the use of either MobileMe or your own personal WebDAV server. You can even create an iPhone compatible web interface for browsing your pages on the go. That’s not all, either: VP4 sports a single-palette interface designed to reduce clutter, gives you more control over your typography, and the ability to encrypt pages with sensitive data (VoodooPad Pro lets you encrypt your whole document, if you prefer). I think my favorite new feature, however, is the “Bucket.” Hit a hotkey when Voodoo Pad is running (even if it’s in the background), and it’ll pop up a little window where you can paste in some text and add it to any open VoodooPad document.
You’ve got your choice of which version to try out too: the free VoodooPad Lite, the everyday VoodooPad ($30; upgrade $15), or the souped-up VoodooPad Pro ($50; upgrade $20). And if you purchased a version of VoodooPad 3 after August 1st, you can snag the 4.0 update gratis.
There are a surfeit of browsers on OS X, everything from the likes of Safari and Firefox to newer entries like Cruz and Stainless. Maybe you stick to a single browser all the time or maybe you, like me, find yourself switching back and forth a bit. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were an easier way?
That’s where Choosy comes in. Install this little preference pane and set it as your default browser. Then, when you click a hyperlink in your mail client or other application, Choosy will let you choose from a pop-up list of your installed browsers. Using Choosy’s preferences, you can have tweak a number of options, such as only showing you currently running browsers, or picking and choosing which browsers you want to appear in the list.
For those that often switch back and forth between multiple browsers (such as web developers), Choosy can be a godsend. Right now the program’s still in beta, so you’ll need to send in your email address to get a copy. The final version will be shareware, but if you grab a beta copy now, you’ll also snag a discount code.
[via Daring Fireball]
At some point, most of you have probably attempted to evade the Microsoft hegemony by rolling with some non-Redmond alternative, like OpenOffice, iWork, AbiWord or, if you're really hardcore, Nisus Writer. (Or if you're really really hardcore, emacs or vi.)
For the low low price of a Jackson, Hamilton and a Lincoln ($35), you can now get the native, full-fledged version of StarOffice 9 for the Mac. Earlier this year, the beta was available--and Derik told us that the price would be $70. Now that StarOffice is half that much, you'd be a fool not to try it.
StarOffice, of course, is based on the same source code as OpenOffice--which is free--but hey, if you still want it, go ahead and grab it here.
If you give it a spin, let us know how it goes.
Back in 2007, Software MacKiev bought HyperStudio. They’ve been working on it since with the original creator of the application, Roger Wagner. They’ve finally released the product of their hard work in Roger Wagner’s HyperStudio 5. It’s important that you remember the first part of that. I tried out Roger Moore’s HyperStudio 5, but the constant reminders to see Quantum of Solace were just too much.
Multimedia is a big part of this Hypercard competitor with support for podcasting, webcams, and imports from iTunes, Keynote, Youtube, and old HyperStudio stacks. There are tools for text and image manipulation. This latest version can be yours for a mere $89.95.
I admit it: I’m dual image-editor kind of guy. I run both Flying Meat’s excellent Acorn and Pixelmator because I often find that one is better than the other for different tasks. I’m a fan of both, though, so I’m psyched to see Pixelmator’s new 1.3 release, code-named Tempo.
The new version offers both new features and refinements on existing capabilities and there’s a lot of both. Among the biggest improvements are a new click-and-drag method of using the Magic Wand, Paint Bucket, and Magic eraser tools. Instead of just clicking and ending up with a selection, you can now “paint” the section you want to affect, seeing the changes in real time. In addition, the adjustment tools have been redesigned, giving a new wheel-based interface to the Hue and Saturation, Colorize, and Replace Color commands. And a Smart Palette Hide ability reduces clutter for when you’re using certain features like filters and adjustments, fading the other palettes out so you can give all your concentration to the image at hand.
They’ve also fixed one of my biggest gripes: a tool palette on which many of the icons were virtually impossible to distinguish because of the dark coloration; the icons are now bigger and higher contrast, making it far easier to use. Pixelmator 1.3 is a free update to owners of any version of Pixelmator 1.x; a full version will run you $60.
No, we’re not campaigning for an award for Mr. Floofle, our pedigree half-chihuahua, half-Rottweiler—though he deserves it, the poor fellow, passed over three times in a row. No, we’re talking about the prestigious Best of Show awards passed out by our big brothers and sisters over at Macworld, and awarded at Macworld Expo in January.
Well, if you’re a developer who’s exhibiting at Expo and you want your product considered for this highest honor, then you should know that you’ve got until December 13th to submit it to the Macworld team. This year, for the first time, iPhone software applications are eligible for consideration as well. If your product isn’t going to be released until the show itself, editors will honor confidentiality agreements.
The annual one-hour ceremony for the show’s best products takes place on January 7th at 3PM Pacific in Moscone, where Macworld’s editorial team will present the winners. As for Mr. Floofle, we’re afraid that he’ll have to wait until he manages to put the finishing touches on his new iPhone app: “Mr. Floofle’s Walkies for Big Dogs and Small Dogs.” It’s a surefire winner.
