For over a year, I’ve bemoaned the fact that Apple’s iWork suite doesn’t perform auto-saves considering that nearly every other office suite or stand-alone word processing program offers this feature. Maybe I was wrong and Steve Jobs was right. I’ve been working with Office 2007 at my temp job to put together reports that combine text and a significant number of images. And every so often, as I’m working, the program stops responding while it creates an automatic back-up and I wait for the back-up to finish. The wait isn’t long, mind you, but enough to stop my work flow and annoy the heck out of me. So I’m reconsidering my stance on the whole auto-save situation. In the end, I think I still wish iWork offered the option and, instead of timed back-ups, performed them whenever there was no activity happening in the document (I think that’s how Scrivener and some other programs handle the process). However, I can sort of see the logic of not including this feature in iWork. I still think its a flawed logic, but I will probably complain less about the lack of auto-save than before.
Category Archives: Mac
Miscellaneous NON-Political Odds And Ends
I’ve been an a political kick the last couple of weeks what with all the convention folderol and elephant dung-slinging that’s been going on. But there are other parts to my life . . . like being a geek. Here’s my current desktop arrangement:
(GeekTool is showing my current iTunes song, the background is “Surreal wallpaper 2″ by ltripley, and my dock customization came from Superdock site.)
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I’m doing a lot of reading on my iPhone these days, as it has replaced my old Toshiba e755 (which gave up the ghost about a month before leaving NYC. I’ve been using two programs for this. Stanza and eReader.
(Stanza)
(eReader)
Now, I know that some people can’t imagine reading books on a screen, much less a small screen like an iPhone, but I have gotten used to it and while I will probably buy the actual physical book of Anathem, for my “light” reading, the screen has become almost transparent to me and I can easily find myself engrossed in the book itself. eReader is a commercial site, although they will allow you to upload content to your bookshelf on their site and then sync that with your iPhone, while Stanza works with a desktop program to convert a large number of file types and then do a wireless sync over a wi-fi network. Stanza is the more flexible of the two, especially if you have a library of ebooks in different formats, but if you want to do right by authors and pay for your ebooks–although with the recognition that drm is involved–eReader has a large selection and their iPhone reader is top notch.
Both programs are free.
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500 Words for 50 Days Update:
I’m 20 days into this challenge and I have missed my 500 mark twice: once I didn’t quite make 500 words and the other time I didn’t write anything. That was a day after major insomnia and I hadn’t slept until after 6 am and the whole day moved like thick molasses for me. The good news is that I’m regularly exceeding my word count.
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This is my new homepage for my browser.
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The Clogs are one of my new, most favorite bands (along with the Rachel’s).
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Oh, and I’m moving back to Rhode Island in a couple of weeks.
Mac OS X Hints: Spring Load Your Dock
This is a great hint that can help make your workflow go a bit more smoothly. I especially like it when I’m uploading items via ftp. After you do the Terminal command, if you hover over a dock icon while dragging a file:
. . . the item will open and be shown. So if you hover over an app, it comes to the front and you can drop things onto its window. If you hover over a folder, you can drop into it. If you hover over a file, it will open the file and bring that window to the front. You could, for instance, drag an HTML page onto a web browser, and then to a previous tab to load that page in that particular tab. Or, you could drag an image file to drop into a rich text document at a particular location all in one fell swoop. [From macosxhints.com]
OS X Keyboard Trick of the Day
Ok, so this is probably not new to most of you, but I just found out that “Cmd + ~” will switch between windows of an application.
Now, I’ve been using “Cmd + Tab” forever, both on Window’s boxes and on the Mac. In fact, I use Proteron’s “LiteSwitch X” because it beefs up the “Cmd+Tab” capabilities. For some reason, I’d never gotten around to figuring out how to switch between windows of an app until today.
Now I know. And, if you didn’t, you do too. Ain’t knowin’ stuff cool?
Now’s the Time to Buy a Macbook Pro
While there are some slight bumps to the computing power of Macbook Pros, the biggest difference between the previous generation and the current is the addition of a multi-touch trackpad. If you are willing to forgo that, this is a kick-ass time to get a Macbook Pro for some really good prices. MacMall has the lowest end models selling for $1544 after rebate, which is over $400 less than I paid for the same model only 8 months ago. Even Apple has them priced down to $1699. Unfortunately, if there is an Apple store in your state, you’ll have to pay tax on the purchase so you might be better off with MacMall.
If you want an excellent, powerful and dependable laptop and don’t need a multi-touch trackpad, at these prices you can’t go wrong with the previous generation Macbook Pro.
My Favorite Things: Mac Attack
These are a few of my favorite Mac programs:
- Ecto — This is the program I use for blogging when on my own computer. For a long while, pretty much since it’s been available, I’ve been using the version 3 betas and while I’ve definitely had a few hiccups here and there (primarily with posts that contain photos), I love the new interface. I also appreciate the Amazon helper that lets me easily insert Amazon.com associate links in my posts and gives me some nice choices as to how those links show display (Image, Image & Text, Text only as well as the ability to form the html link code around text that I’ve selected from my entry instead of inserting the text from Amazon). Additionally, it has great keyboard command support with nearly every command having a keyboard shortcut. Highly recommend it if you want an offline blogging solution.
- Scrivener — My favorite environment for writing, combining the power of a research & notes organizer with one of the most elegant full-screen modes you’ll find on any Mac app, Scrivener allows you to collect materials, break up your work into sections which you can then re-arrange as you like, and create a space that allows you to focus on the storytelling without any distractions. However, Scrivener is not a Word Processing program and while it can handle some basic footnotes, and other WP stuff, you do have to export stories out as before doing serious WP processes. A recent update provided some basic scriptwriting support, but I wouldn’t recommend using it for long scripts of any kind. Primarily this is a tool that is designed for fiction and footnote-light essays. If that’s the kind of writing you do, check this one out.
- Quicksilver — I am, like every other fan of QS, just a tad besotted with this program and can’t imagine OS X without it. For those who don’t know, at the most basic level it is a quick and powerful app launcher. But so much more. With only a few keystrokes I can control iTunes, copy files that are nested several folders deep inside my documents folder, enter appointments into iCal, add to a text file, add a note to Yojimbo and so much more.
- Geektool — Call me lazy or forgetful, but I really like having my upcoming events and todo lists on my desktop so that I don’t have to be responsible for looking at my calendar every day. Geek tool is a Pref Pane that lets you put text or images right on your desktop. This means that I always have my iCal events for 7 days and my iCal todo lists in my face whenever I look at my desktop. Plus, I have it set up to show what is playing on iTunes and Pandoraboy, so no matter what Space I’m in, no matter how many windows are open, I can see what is currently playing. Not so much needed for listening to my own music, but great when listening to Radio Paradise or Soma FM or my Pandora stations.
- Dock Library — Maybe it’s a holdover from my Windows days, or maybe I’m just one of those annoying people who have to go out of their way to prove that they are different. Or maybe I have not given myself over completely to the Steve Jobs aesthetic, but I do like to tweak my desktop environment more than a lot of Mac users. Back in the Tiger days (ahh those nostalgic Tiger days they seem so long ago), I was using Shapeshifter to adjust my menu bar and the general look of my computer. I find that the new aesthetic of Leopard is much more pleasant and that I don’t really miss Shapeshifter (which is good because it doesn’t work under Leopard). However, with the new dock shelf I have a new item that just begs for some customization. Switching out the .png files that make up the dock is pretty simple when you know where they are and get some replacements from sites like LeopardDocks.com or LeopardDocks.net. Simple, but kind of a pain and Dock Library makes it so much easier. All you have to do is install the app and then import new themes that you can download or make, and the program will automatically copy those images to the proper folder (you do need to enter in an admin password) and automatically restart the dock and voila! a new dock look. I find that I like the darker looks better as they blend in more with most of my desktops.
- SafariStand — I like Safari. I tend to use it as my primary web browser. However, I wouldn’t be able to do so without the help of SafariStand. While Stand offers a number of additional abilities to Safari, it is the fact that I can use Stand to force Safari to open all links in new tabs instead of new windows that allows me to use Safari without going bonkers from the profusion of windows that would occur otherwise. The other thing I use it for is forcing the downloads window to close automatically after a download is finished. If I couldn’t do either of those I would be using another browser as my primary browser and, as a switcher, I enjoy the fact that I can enjoy using the default apps that come with a Mac. Even if they do need a few tweaks here and there.
That’s my list and I’m sticking to it! (Although I’ll probably add a few more apps in another post.)
Steampunk Porn
This is one of the more gorgeous examples of steampunk mods I’ve come across. I adore my Macbook Pro, but stuff like this is beautiful on a whole other level. If I were to go into graduate school, analytic, pretentious intellectual mode, I would write about how steampunk taps into people’s desire to have a more tactile experience with the world around them as we have become a culture so tightly bound within a visual screen culture (perhaps why the tactile swipe and hands on features of the iPhone appeal?), as well as being a reaction against the plastic, throw-away culture we’ve become. Craftsmanship on this level offers value beyond use value and steadfastly proves the value of the unique. Where most items, in the age of duplication, have lost their “aura,” Steampunk culture and mods like this insist on a singular and material nature this says, “Look at me, I am ART motherfucker!”
But maybe I should just say that these are beautiful and very cool and very, very dandy . . . jim-dandy even!
Links Today
An exciting development in the fight against HIV/AIDS:
Stephen Barr, a molecular virologist in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, says his team has identified a gene called TRIM22 that can block HIV infection in a cell culture by preventing the assembly of the virus.
“When we put this gene in cells, it prevents the assembly of the HIV virus,” said Barr, a postdoctoral fellow. “This means the virus cannot get out of the cells to infect other cells, thereby blocking the spread of the virus.”
Last week, EscapePod.org ran one of the best stories they’ve published so far. It’s called “Edward Bear and the Very Very Long Walk.” Even if you aren’t particularly into science fiction, I highly suggest you take 45 minutes, make a nice cup of tea (or coffee or a nice single malt scotch) and give it a listen. EscapePod is a great audio magazine and has run a number of wonderful stories, even though the quality of their readers is sometimes a bit spotty. (As much as I love the site and what they do for audio storytelling and science fiction, I’m not the biggest fan of Stephen Eley’s reading style – in particular, his voices for women always feel forced, breathy and stereotypical.) That said, however, please take the time to listen to “Edward Bear” . . . If you end up feeling like it’s a waste of your time, I’ll buy you a tea (or a coffee or a nice single malt scotch).
(Link)
I Am Fuel, You Are Friends is a really great music blog and Heather Browne’s tastes are eclectic and excellent. I don’t head over there nearly as much as I should, but I notices that she has the final night of Wilco’s five night residency at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago–where they played, over the five nights, their entire catalog! The set includes Andrew Bird playing violin on a number of songs. If you’ve never heard Wilco play live, you’re missing out on a truly great band! Give ‘em a listen.
(Link)
This one’s for the Mac users out there: I’m a huge fan of Quicksilver and, like all those other fans, feel like OS X without Quicksilver is sorta like a bicycle without wheels. The creator of QS has a new program that helps reveal a number of hidden preferences called “Secrets. I haven’t tried it out yet, but some of the things you can do with it include setting the login window picture, showing unsupported disks in Time Machine (read: Airport disks that should damn well be usable with Time Machine but still aren’t), and various dock preferences that are hidden from use non-unix, non-terminal hack people. Of course, messing around with some of these settings might be asking for trouble if you don’t know what you are doing, so be careful!
(Link)
Jim White has a new album coming out which deserves it’s own blog entry. In the meantime, a kick-ass song from his album No Such Place:
The Goldilocks of Volume Control on OS X Leopard
I came across this great hint on MacOSXHints.com that I thought I’d share with any of you fellow Leopard users:
When using the volume control function keys on an Apple laptop, there’s a limited amount of control over the volume — each key press moves the volume by one entire unit in the onscreen bezel. However, by pressing Shift and Option along with the volume key you want to use, you can break up each large step in the volume control bezel into four parts, instead of having to use the menu bar item or System Preferences for fine-grained control.
This is especially useful when using headphones on your laptop and the regular volume is either too loud or too quiet.
Safari & WordPress, Not Playing Well Together
So it seems that whenever I try to edit static pages with Safari, all the formatting gets messed up. I was at my wits end trying to figure out what was going on until I thought to myself, “Self,” I thought, “Maybe you should try another browser, just on the off-chance that somehow it’s a Safari issue and not a WordPress issue.”
Turns out that I was right, and when editing the Fiction page in Firefox, everything worked just as it should. Which is a bit of a pain simply because I tend to use Safari as my default browser, but I’m certainly glad I figured it out and can get my pages formatted correctly.