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The cameras I’ve enjoyed

Big Huge Labs reminded me that my 10 year Flickr birthday is in just a few days. Tthat has me thinking about the cameras I've used over those years. Ten years is long enough that I had to go looking to remember some, and long enough that I found some I'd forgotten. » about 3300 words

Strange things running on my Mac

My iMac screen is dark and isn’t lighting up like I expect it to when I tap the keyboard. I can, however, SSH into it and see what it’s doing when not responding to me.

I found GoogleSoftwareUpdateAgent running, this FAQ item vaguely tells me it’s part of Chrome, and that if I try to uninstall it without also uninstalling Chrome it will simply “be reinstalled after a few hours.”

Two instances of PTPCamera are running. This may be related to Picture Transfer Protocol used in some cameras and has caused more than a few people to ask why it’s running.

com.apple.iCloudHelper is using a lot of CPU (100% of one of the cores). Googling for it reveals other people inspecting their systems while the screen refuses to awaken. I’m guessing it’s related to, um, iCloud and syncing, but the interwebs don’t say much more about it and killing it didn’t fix the problem.

Nostalgic Joy: Apple 2 Emulators

You can emulate an Apple ][ or Apple IIgs in your browser with a plugin and 32,000 disk images, including Oregon Trail. Don’t want to run an Apple //e in your browser? Download Virtual ][ for the job (you’ll need disk images and a ROM file). Sweet 16 can answer your Apple ][gs emulation fix, […] » about 100 words

What The Critics Are Missing About The Apple TV

It’s not just the critics, nobody seems to get the story on Apple’s new TV-connected device right. Darrell Etherington at The Apple Blog says it’s a non starter for him, and Ars Technica’s John Siracusa describes it as just the most recent entry in a product line that has been “a persistent loser” for the company. […] » about 800 words

What The Critics Are Missing About Apple’s iPad

It’s doubtful that anybody reading this blog missed the news that Apple finally took the wraps off their much rumored tablet: the iPad. Trouble is, a bunch of folks seem to be upset about the features and specs, or something that made the buzz machine go meh. It’s just a bigger iPhone, complain the privileged […] » about 400 words

Apple’s 1997 Netbook

A post on thomas fitzgerald.net serves to remind us that Apple released their first netbook in 1997: the Apple eMate 300: …next time you see people ranting about an Apple netbook, remember that Apple had something similar long before anyone even uttered the phrase “netbook.” The device ran Netwon OS 2 with a 20-30 hour […] » about 100 words

Make Yours A ModBook

I really don’t know what I’d do with a tablet, but it’s still plenty interesting to see this ModBook come together. On the other hand, if there’s anything to the earlier rumors of an Apple tablet, I hope it leads to some sort of large-screen iPhone-like device. » about 100 words

iPhone Dev Camp NYC

I’m at Apple’s iPhone Tech Talk in New York today. Info is flowing like water through a firehose, so I’m not going to attempt live blogging, but here are their suggested ingredients for a successful iPhone app: Delightful Innovative Designed Integrated Optimized Connected Localized The picture is of the main theater for the event. It’s […] » about 200 words

Video DRM Hammering Legal Consumers

Nobody but the studios seem happy about Apple’s implementation of HDCP on its recent laptops. The situation leaves people who legally purchased movies unable to play them on external displays (yeah, that means you can’t watch movies on the video projector you borrowed from the office). A related story may reveal the extent of the […] » about 300 words

2002 Honda Civic iPod/iPhone Install

Last weekend, while I was putting an iPod interface into my Scion I did the same thing for my 2002 Honda Civic. Using Ben Johnson’s story as a guide, I bought a PIE HON98-AUX interface and dove in. Aside from tools (screwdrivers and 8 and 10mm sockets), you’ll need: The interface adapter Audio wiring — […] » about 700 words

2004 Scion xB iPod/iPhone Install

Based on this story about an iPod interface install I purchased a PIE TOY03-AUX aux input adapter so I could finally listen to my iPhone without using the lousy FM transmitter. Sure, I coulda bought a new car, as the manufacturers seem to have finally come to their senses and started including such inputs, but […] » about 400 words

Forget Time Capsule, I want a Space Ship

Apple’s Time Capsule is great. Seriously. When has backup been easier? But I need more. The MacBook Air‘s small storage highlights a problem I’ve been suffering for some time: there’s never enough storage. The slower processor and limited RAM expansion are sufferable, but storage isn’t. The 120GB drive in my MacBook Pro now is stuffed […] » about 500 words

Getting Ready For The Stevenote

I can’t go to the parties Laughing Squid names, and World of Apple’s live video coverage seems about as likely as a Kucinich becoming president, but The Unofficial Apple Weblog‘s keynote predictions are out, Ars’ keynote bingo is set, and half the blogaverse will likely offer some updates about the action, some of them live. The Stevenote is coming, and at the end of the day, or at least later that day, it’s likely that Apple will broadcast the recorded event in QuickTime (judging from this URL, you might find it here).

Screencasting On Mac

I’m as annoyed as the next guy about how hard it is to find a decent screencast app for Mac. The forthcoming Mac OS 10.5’s new iChat Theater (and the built-in screen sharing/control features) should create some new opportunities for developers, but right now it’s hard to know what works or is worth trying.

Further, I narrowed the field with the following requirement: I need an app that records to QuickTime-compatible files, not Flash. Here’s what I’ve found so far:

Extra: this how-to pointed out OmniDazzle and Mouseposé as tools to help draw users’ focus during both live or recorded demos.

EMI and Apple/iTunes To Offer DRM-Free Music Downloads

Following Steve Jobs’ ant-DRM post, people began to wonder if Apple was just pointing fingers or really willing to distribute DRM-free music via their online store. Yesterday we learned the answer. Apple and EMI announced yesterday they would offer DRM-free 256bit AAC premium downloads, priced at $1.29 each. Apple, DRM, DRM-free, EMI, ITMS, digital restrictions […] » about 100 words

Steve Jobs’ Thoughts On Music, Music Stores, and DRM

Steve Jobs’ Thoughts On Music is surprisingly open and frank, almost blog-like, for the man and the company especially know for keeping secrets. Jobs is addressing complaints about Apple’s “proprietary” DRM used in the iTunes Music Store. There is no theory of protecting content other than keeping secrets. In other words, even if one uses […] » about 2400 words

Apple’s iTV — From 1995!

The original Apple press release is gone (and gone from the Wayback Machine too), but back in 1995 Apple announced a different set-top box, also called the iTV, for a six-state trial of interactive television services. Apple’s ITV system incorporates key technologies including a subset of the MacOS, QuickDraw and QuickTime. In addition, it includes […] » about 200 words