At the Intersection of Technology and Liberal Arts

I love this slide from Apple's Steve Jobs. I wish more people felt as passionately about striking that balance.

The iPhone SDK

I don't own an iPhone and since I'm in Canada I can't even buy an iPhone from Apple even if I wanted to, but that hasn't tempered my enthusiasm for the new iPhone SDK.  Like so many thousands of others I downloaded the SDK as soon it was available, installed it, and then started coding away.  I'm sure more experienced Cocoa developers were able to quickly bang out something cool, but not me.  It took me a bit longer to get the mandatory "Hello World" running, but nonetheless, my previous Objective-C/Cocoa investigations definitely came in handy.  I think one of my mistakes was thinking that the videos Apple put up would help me.  IMHO, don't bother.  Go right for the developer documentation in XCode instead.

Alas, I can't really say that much about the SDK.  I clicked through one of those license agreements and I'm sure that there's something in there that forbids me from revealing anything too juicy.  But I think it suffices to say that I'm still enthusiastic about where this is going.  I think the iPhone (even though I don't have one yet) is a great bit of technology and once in the hands of people in the enterprise who suffer at the other craptaculous mobile devices out there, they'll definitely start demanding stuff.  And that's where I fit in.  I'm excited to see how this all evolves and hope I'm ahead of the curve at least momentarily. ;-)

Ruby Cocoa

RubyCocoa and the Scripting Bridge are two software development technologies bundled with Leopard. The app presented here demonstrate how to create a native Mac interface written in Ruby that communicates with iTunes via Applescript. It does nothing more than display the iTunes version number.

1. Create a "Ruby-Cocoa Application" from the "New Project" dialog in XCode
2. Add a "Ruby NSObject subclass" to the project called "ITunesController"
3. Add an ib_outlet for a text field and an ib_action called "show_version" to the ITunesController ruby class.
4. Generate an Objective-C header file that scripting bridge can use to communicate with iTunes. Use the two terminal command, sdef and sdp, within your project folder like this: "sdef /Applications/iTunes.app | sdp -fh --basename iTunes"
5. Add the header file to your project.
6. Add "ScriptingBridge.framework" to your project.
7. Open "MainMenu.nib" in Interface Builder and add a button and a label to the Window. Also instantiate an NSObject subclass.
8. Set the NSObject's class to "ITunesController". (You may need to select the "Read Class Files..." menu item to get ITunesController to show up as a valid option)
9. Wire the button to your controller's "show_version" method and wire the controller's text_field outlet to the label.

Here's what my project looks like:


Here's what my Ruby "ITunesController" class looks like:

require 'osx/cocoa'

include OSX
class ITunesController < NSObject
    ib_outlet :text_field
    def show_version(sender)
        iTunes = SBApplication.applicationWithBundleIdentifier:'com.apple.iTunes'
        @text_field.setStringValue("iTunes version: #{iTunes.version}")
    end
    ib_action :show_version
end

Here's what the app looks like:


Now you should be able to run the project and get the iTunes version number displayed in your own application. Yeah, the end result is kind of lame but the journey was pretty cool. The interesting bits for me were:

1. My Ruby class extends Cocoa's NSObject class.
2. The class methods ib_outlet and ib_action are parts of the Ruby DSL for doing Cocoa development with Ruby.
3. The RubyCocoa framework makes it really simple to swap out Objective-C for Ruby when doing Cocoa development.
4. Everything else is the same. I still use XCode for my controllers and model and still use Interface Builder to graphically build my GUI and bind it to my code. The only difference is that I get to use Ruby and all of its beauty to get the job done.
5. The downside is that I don't get anything too useful in the way of code completion while in XCode. Still might be worth it if you really dig Ruby.

Yahoo Address Book & Leopard

Leopard's new address book allows you to sync with your Yahoo! contacts.  It's not intuitive so here goes:

1. Open the general tab of Leopard's Address Book preferences.
2. Check "Synchronize with Yahoo!"
3. Click on the Configure Button and enter your Yahoo! ID and Password
4. Open iSync's Preferences (here's where it gets weird)
5. Check "Show status in menu bar"
6. Select "Sync Now" from the new menu bar icon on the right
7. Enjoy!

Of course you should back up everything before you try this.  I've been using Yahoo! Mail for years so it's my most correct and complete contact list.  I'm glad I can now benefit from this in Leopard.  Now if Yahoo! would just be as good as Google and give me IMAP support for free or if Apple would give me a GMail Address Book Sync, I'd be able to use Apple's mail client most of the time.

Now that I think about it, it'd also be nice to have iCal sync up with either Yahoo's or Google's calendar too!

Leopard Installed

It's my second day running with Leopard and just about everything has gone smoothly.  I installed it without too much trouble on my MacBook and my PowerMac G5.  I say not too much trouble because not everything was perfect.  

Twice since installing Leopard on my G5 it's not gone to sleep on demand.  Instead it goes into a coma and starts snoring.  By that I mean all the USB devices shut off, the video signal goes away but the computer doesn't quite sleep.  Instead, all the fans start to spin up. For anyone that's never heard a G5's fans go nuts... it's like a small jet engine.  The only recourse is a hard restart.  I installed the first Leopard update and it hasn't repeated this stunt but I'm keeping an eye on it just in case.

The second thing is that MySQL won't start.  I've read a few things on the Internet and it just doesn't look the MySQL project is ready for Leopard. They had bug reports before 10.5 shipped but decided to just wait until it went gold. I guess I'll just have to patiently wait for an update.  No biggie.  I'll just use the built-in SQLite instead.

The third thing that I wasn't prepared for was the retirement of Classic OS 9 support.  I don't personally use any OS 9 apps  but my kids used to play the occasional game.  Sorry Rolly McFly.  Your days are over.

The last thing that isn't too big of a problem but a big disappointment is that the Java 6 SDK is MIA.  I guess I never really saw official mention of it, but I really expected Java 6 to ship with Leopard.  C'mon Apple!  I was there when Steve Jobs and Avie Tevanian stood up at JavaOne and said they'd have the best Java implementation on any platform.  You're definitely letting me down on this one.

Now onto the good news.  Everything else just works!  Mail is cool.  Safari is blazingly fast.  Dropped network connections don't mean a frozen finder anymore. Quick Look is sweet.  And Ruby is built-in.  I just deleted my old custom Ruby installation and everything (other than MySQL) continues to work.  My IDEs function properly (Eclipse & NetBeans) and despite the lack of Java 6, Java 5 on my Mac is still noticeably faster than Java 5 on Windows at work.  I don't mind the translucent menu bar and Cover Flow in the finder is nice but mostly unnecessary for me.  

The biggest shock to the system was the developer tools.  I've built the occasional Mac app, and while I'm no wizard at it, I got along just fine thanks.  So naturally I wanted to try the Ruby/Cocoa integration.  Then I opened Interface Builder.  Yikes!  That certainly  got a major overhaul!  Looks better, but now I see that I need to spend some time trying to figure out what's what.

So if someone asks whether they should upgrade or not.  I'd definitely give it the thumbs up.  Just make sure you don't need classic and if you're a geek like me, be prepared for a little bit of adjustment to the changes under that spiffy new exterior.

Leopard

I think it's fair to say that I could be characterized as a Mac "fanboy" from time to time.  I've been known to spout pro-Mac statements occasionally.  I take some unfounded pride in the fact that Apple's market cap is now bigger than IBM or Intel. And I love the fact that Apple just had yet another record quarter....

Perhaps it's just the validation of what I've felt in all the years that I've used a Mac, it's just plain better than Windows!  So now I sit here waiting for my pre-order of Mac OS X - Leopard to get to my house.  It's supposed to arrive tomorrow but the status already changed to "shipped".  To fill some of my waiting time I watched Apple's guided tour. I read some of the reviews (evolutionary not revolutionary) but I still can't help but be excited.  It's like a little bit of Christmas in October.

I'm sure I'll be underwhelmed a bit once the glow of a new OS has worn off but for awhile I'll revel in my fanboyism.  So if you too are a bit excited about the next Mac OS release, roll over to AppleInsider and feel free to take part in the unbridled Mac love fest and read some of the "Road to Mac OS X Leopard" series. Some of them are quite well written and will give you a good perspective of where Apple and NeXT have been and how the features in Leopard came to be.  Ignore the fact that some of the statements are a little too biased toward Apple and just enjoy the moment...

My MacBook

Over the past few weeks, the developers at work have been taking turns bringing in their laptops... It wasn't something we planned but just started happening spontaneously. One guy brought his Centrino laptop running Linux, another guy brought a 17" screen Dell that he uses for CAD, one guy brought his shiny new Vista laptop and a couple days ago it was my turn to take in my MacBook.

In general my little black MacBook received a fairly warm welcome. People were surprised at how thin it was and the usability of a relatively small 13.3" screen. They liked the built in webcam and although the single button touchpad attracted a bit of grief they quieted down when I showed them that a two finger tap brought up contextual menus. I gave them the flashy demo with Exposé, the magnifying dock and Dashboard and gave them the super abbreviated tour of the iLife and iWork applications.

But in the end the one thing that seemed to get the most attention was the MagSafe Power Adapter. From the magnetic connector to the little brick with "wings" for winding the cord and a removable AC adapter, people definitely liked the design. But having just checked the Apple Store comments on this little item I'm hoping that my little white brick lasts a little longer than everyone else's. Yikes!

But other than the black finish which picks up fingerprints like nothing else I've ever owned, I'm very happy with my laptop. And now my co-workers don't think I'm so crazy for owning a Mac.

The problem with Microsoft...

Steve Jobs said it best.

Airmiles with that?

The latest edition to my family of computers is slowly making it's way around the world. It started its life in China, then Anchorage, then flew straight overhead to Memphis, and is now getting acquainted with Canadian customs in Mississauga. Unfortunately, more than half the shipping time has been spent there waiting for some customs official to give it the green light to move on. If only I could get air miles for the trip perhaps I'd have a little more patience for this delay. C'mon you guys, get a move on!

P.S., Ain't Google Maps cool?!

Apple Listens to Customers

Well don't ever let it be said that Apple doesn't listen to its customers.  They released a new beta piece of software called "Boot Camp" that will allow people to dual boot Windows XP and Mac OS X on Intel based Macs.  I can't imagine that many self-respecting Mac owners would prefer to use Windows over Mac OS X, but there are undoubtedly occasions when it would be beneficial to do so.

Now Apple isn't being completely selfless here of course.  They make a lot of money selling hardware and if they can convince Windows users to buy a Mac instead of a Dell they'll be more than happy to accomodate them.  Maybe this is like a Trojan horse to get people to experience a good OS.

Next thing I'd like to see is the ability to run Windows in some kind of virtualization environment within Mac OS X...

Right & Wrong

Back in August I commented on Microsoft's aggressive moves against Adobe. I also mentioned that Apple could also make a move with it's new Core Image technology built into OS X. But at the time I didn't think it was all that likely. Well I was right that they could but I was wrong because they did.

Apparently Apple wants a piece of that image processing market. They just introduced Aperture. And although they're going to some pains to say it's complementary to Photoshop, I think it's definitely a competitor.

Apple really is becoming quite a software powerhouse... Fortunately for most software companies, they can feel secure that the only software they produce that isn't Macintosh-only is iTunes and Quicktime. But then again once somebody (like me for example) gets a taste of Mac, all that Microsoft stuff just feels like rubbish. With all the Apple stores around the U.S. with their little built in theaters, the brand new Quad PowerMacs will show this stuff off very well.

HD Movie Trailers

Check out the new Movie Trailers page at Apple. A fair number of them are in HD. Normally I have to scale a video several times to fit my entire screen. These trailers fill my screen without any scaling at all.

Open Surfin Safari

People seem to give Apple a lot of flak for being a proprietary software company and while it'd be ridiculous to argue the fact that Apple is to a large degree closed source, what most don't realize is that they are a very active user of and contributor to open source projects. The kernel of the OS is based on FreeBSD and the source code is available for download at Apple's OpenDarwin website. It's been like that since the first release of Mac OS X.

Secondly Apple's Webkit, their HTML engine used in the Safari web browser, is based on KHTML from KDE, the desktop environment for Linux. The source code for Webkit is also available for downloading from the OpenDarwin website. And as a matter of fact I followed the instructions in this article to get the source code from the CVS repository, compile it and run the latest code. Very cool. It's even the first (and currently the only) browser to pass the ACID2 test which tests a browser's support of web standards (try that with IE).

So yes Apple is proprietary in many respects but they understand when it makes sense to be part of the open source community.

Target: Adobe

Microsoft is making some moves that look quite threatening to Adobe. Microsoft is building applications to replace Photoshop (PSD) , Acrobat (PDF), and now Flash (SWF). Microsoft's calling it's Adobe-killers Acrylic, Metro, and Sparkle. A little more of that embrace, extend, and extinguish we all love? Maybe.

By the way, with the new Core Graphics, Core Image, and Core Video frameworks in Apple's Mac OS X, I suspect that Apple has laid the foundation for a similar move if they think it's necessary. But Adobe got its start with Apple, and Apple in turn uses PDF everywhere in Mac OS X so I think Apple contributing to Adobe's demise is a much less likely outcome.

Podcasting

Apple finally got onboard with podcasting by delivering a simple (and free) way to subscribe to podcasts via iTunes. Just go to the iTunes Music Store and select the podcasts that you're interested in, wait for the MP3 download, and start listening. The selection isn't huge at the moment but it does cover a wide variety. I subscribed to the "CBC Radio 3" podcast and the decidedly more adult "Dawn and Drew show". After you have the files, you can sync with your iPod and listen to them on the road and unlike radio you can skip, pause etc. Very cool. You can of course listen to podcasts with any MP3 player but Apple, in typical fashion, makes this really simple to use.

Quicktime 7, H.264 and HDTV

Although H.264 was originally going to be one of those gotta-have-it features offered in the latest version of Mac OS X Tiger, Apple decided to give it away with Quicktime 7. Currently it's only available for Macs and not Windows ("Quicktime 7 for Windows Coming Soon") so you need a Mac to see it but it's worth checking out.

I still have an antenna in my attic for viewing over-the-air broadcasts (a.k.a., peasant-vision) so I'll be the first to admit that I'm a bit quality-picture challenged. But expectations aside, when I downloaded a couple of samples from Apple's HD Gallery I was very very impressed! The 1080p version of the Batman Begins trailer is just huge! My crappy VGA monitor can't even display that resolution (1920 x 816)!

So what's next from Apple? Well it's difficult (if not impossible) to predict. Apple was late to the whole MP3 thing when they introduced iTunes. They weren't the first with a portable hard drive based MP3 player, the iPod, and they weren't the first with an online music store either but look where they are now. They dominate. Microsoft has a Windows XP Media Center and both they and Sony with their next generation game boxes are vying for a spot in the living room. But Apple has the technology, the ingenuity and the ability to make products that resonate with consumers so I'd expect to see something from them that not only embraces the Mac and iLife (as digital hub) but goes beyond to make digital video simple and approachable to the masses.

[Update: I found this blog where the author goes into quite abit more depth. He sounds way more upbeat than me!]

iPod Shuffle on Windows XP (at last)

During my C# course I tried plugging my iPod shuffle into the USB port of my Windows XP machine and voila! It mounted like a hard drive without any trouble at all. I could drag and drop files onto it and even see all my MP3s. Very nice. Now if I can only figure out why my Windows machine at work can't see it I would be very happy.

Cocoa Core Data

When Apple introduced the binding controllers in Panther (Mac OS 10.3) they eliminated a lot of the glue code people used to write to keep the model and view of their applications in sync. Now they're aiming to make the persistence of the model simple too with Core Data, a new framework in Tiger (Mac OS 10.4). This article on Apple's Developer Connection website explains it with a bit more detail. While it somewhat resembles Object Relational mapping it looks to be a file based persistence mechanism. The developers of Delicious Library had good things to say about Cocoa Bindings:

We rewrote everything in a day or two—I think we deleted over a thousand lines of code that just wasn’t needed any more.

...so I'm hoping that Core Data will be equally well received and productive.

iPod bling bling

I found an iPod shuffle at Best Buy last Friday. I guess their online inventory numbers are pretty accurate afterall. So I immediately cancelled my online order with the Apple store and set about trying to make it work with my Windows XP computer at work (during lunch naturally). Well I couldn't for the life of me make it work. And it wasn't just the iPod either because a friend of mine's USB flash drive didn't work either. I don't know if it was some conflict with another Windows service or if the machine was explicitly configured not to work with these devices but all I got was flashing amber lights.

After a disappointing first crack at it, I was delighted to see it work flawlessly with my PowerMac at home. Within a minute I was copying songs from iTunes to my iPod. Then I became Mr. Antisocial for the evening as I tried out my new toy. I've never messed around with any other MP3 player in the past. Perhaps if I'd used an iPod with the clickwheel and screen I'd be dissatisified with the simple interface of the shuffle, but I think Apple has a good design here. It's idiot proof. Turn it on, press play, mess with volume, skip songs and that's it. If you want to listen to music then it doesn't get much easier than this. I rather like the shuffle mode too. I have an eclectic music collection so going from Eminem to Guns 'N' Roses to the Beatles is actually pretty cool with me.

Now the only problem I have with this thing (other than connecting it to Windows XP) is how to carry it around. I tried the lanyard and although wearing it like this was no big deal (the shuffle is itty bitty and weighs next to nothing), I didn't like all the cords once I attached the headphones. It just felt messy. So then if I don't wear it around my neck where do I put it? Well I'm trying various pockets but I'm a bit afraid of snapping it in two. They need to come up some kind of clip or a combined lanyard/headphone. I dunno.. but something needs to be done.

Finally, the one-two punch of the iPod shuffle and iTunes shows just why Apple products fit people so well. I've used Macs for a number of years and I've heard Apple say that their ability to control hardware and software ("the entire widget") is one of their biggest competitive advantages. But I never really understood that statement until I bought the iPod shuffle. Apple's competitors in this space are hardware manufacturers that can only control half of the equation while Microsoft controls the other. So while MS and Bill Gates try to beat the drum of choice (choice of different hardware manufacturers using their proprietary software, Windows Media Player) I think consumers will continue to choose the vendor who gives them the best experience. Now that I've experienced a bit of this iPod phenonenon I'll hazard a guess and say that it will continue to be Apple.

iPod Shuffle RAID

This guy took 4 of these things, striped them and made a 3.9GB RAID Array out of them! Neat bit of hackery.

I ordered an iPod shuffle about a week ago but unfortunately Canada is a third world country to Apple and I won't see it for at least a month yet. Ugh... Still it's nice to see somebody doing something creative with them.

Update: I found an interesting article on Ars Technica that compares the performance of various flash drives on both Mac OS X and Windows. They even did the RAID trick on Mac OS X. This was in June last year. So while the above article might be the first to do it with iPod shuffles, it's been done before... In summary: reading is way faster than writing, big files are better than small files and not all drives are created equal. Be interesting to see where the iPod shuffle fits in.