Geek / Apple Stuff

Melanie pitched in and helped me get a [Nintendo Wii](http://wii.nintendo.com/) as a late birthday / early xmas present. I pre-ordered from [Target](http://www.target.com.au/) in Rockhampton and after a bit of bungling on their behalf I was able to pick it up on release day.

It’s a lot of fun. The new controller makes the games really interactive. WiiSports is an awesome example of how gameplay > graphics, something SONY and Microsoft should really take notice of.

WiiSports is the most fun so far. It’s pretty amazing how well the controller responds. I find I’m better at tennis and bowling over golf, baseball and boxing.

Zelda seems like it should be pretty good as well.

What’s the deal with the default [MSN Messenger](http://www.microsoft.com/mac/default.aspx?pid=msnmessenger) client for the Mac? I could rave on and on about this, so I decided that I will just write it all down in point form.

• No tabbed chat interface.
• Clunky / large UI.
• No web-cam, game, extended compatibility with windows client (could be seen as a good thing).
• Lagging behind features of the windows client.
• The “One or more messages could not be sent” message that shows up 5-10 min’s after you have just typed a lot of stuff. Giving no real indication what was, and what wasn’t, sent properly.
• Preferences aren’t saved per messenger user-name. If I change the colour on my MSN user-name, someone else who logs in (using my OS X account) gets the same colour.
• Rarely updated, and when it is new features are very /yawn.

These are just a few things off the top of my head. I could add more if I sat and thought about it. In summary, why does the official MSN messenger client for Mac suck so much?

**Note: It handles multiple group conversations very well.

I really like [Adium](http://www.adiumx.com/). Its an awesome multi service chat client and looks a heck of a lot better than many of the ‘standard / default’ clients. I have it in my dock and I use it maybe once every few weeks, which really bugs me. The reason I can’t use it as my default client on OS X is because of [this](http://trac.adiumx.com/ticket/1583) little bug.

Basically, you cannot have multiple group conversations running in Adium. When i say ‘group conversation’, I’m talking about conversations with more than one person. ‘Multiple group conversations’ means having more than one group conversation. i.e. I want to have a group conversation with contact 1, 3 and 5 but at the same time I also want to be chatting to contact 2, 6 and 4 in another group chat.

Adium doesn’t like this, and ends up sending all messages from both group conversations to the same window. Sure, this may sound fine. I mean you can still see all the messages right? Well yes, but at the same time you don’t really have any idea where the messages you type are going and it’s really confusing.

I would have thought this would be a ‘basic’ feature of any instant message client. If you follow the link to the bug report, you will see that this bug is set to be looked at around version 1.5. Adium is currently in heavy development for a 1.0 release, who knows when the 1.5 release will come around. So in the meantime, I have to make do with the default mac MSN client, which is close to THE worst instant messaging client out there, but that’s a totally other post I need to type up.

I know, I know… Adium is open source, why don’t I get off my lazy butt and help out? Simple answer, I’m too busy trying to get my own apps working. I shouldn’t really complain. Adium (even with its bugs) is an awesome piece of free software and I’d be using it every single day if only it handled multiple group conversations.

As mentioned in the previous post, I use [Launchbar](http://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/) for all my app launching, web searching, etc needs. I really like the app and I’ve had no worries with it at all.

I am kind of concerned though at the lack of updates recently. Not just updates to the app itself, but actual updates to the webpage.

On October 31, I emailed support with the following email:

>*I am just curious if LaunchBar is still in development or has progress*
>*on it been halted? The last word about it seems to have been April*
>*2006 when version 4.1 was released and since then i have not seen or*
>*heard anything else about its development or likelihood for updates.*

>*Is there some kind of Launchbar development blog that indicates any*
>*progress that is happening to the application?*

>*As a registered user i am just curious whether i should be starting to*
>*look for a LaunchBar equivalent which is getting more development.*

The same day, I received the following reply:

>*No need to worry, LaunchBar development is very alive, and there are*
>*lots of new features in the queue. LaunchBar 4.2 is planned to be*
>*released shortly.*

It’s good to see that someone is still there and email’s get answered quickly, but since then there hasn’t been any further updates. I’d really like to see some kind of blog or something on the site to indicate that things are actually happening.

I guess I really shouldn’t complain, because it is an awesome app. I just wonder if i shouldn’t be looking elsewhere for a replacement which is getting more apparent development i.e. [Quicksilver](http://quicksilver.blacktree.com/)

EDIT: Typical, right after I post this I go and browse the Launchbar forums and find [this](http://forums.obdev.at/viewtopic.php?t=13) thread. Seems it is still in development as of 9th November, with plans for versions ‘very soon’ and also past the release of Leopard. Wait and see i guess.

It occurred to me today during lunch that i very rarely use [Spotlight](http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/spotlight/) in OS X. When I say rarely I mean pretty much never. I think the last thing I used it for was to find a phone number that I knew I had written down somewhere but couldn’t remember where (turns out it was in an email). I guess this is the kind of thing spotlight is meant to be used for, but I wonder if I’m not getting the full benefit out of it.

I use [Launchbar](http://www.obdev.at/products/launchbar/) for all my app launching, web searching, file browsing, etc needs since spotlight just seems too slow to be an app launcher.

I have no need to use it to search for documents, as I tend to file things away in correctly named folders and sub-folders and I can find pretty much find any document I could need using launchbar.

I guess the only real thing I use it for is for searching inside files for particular things (i.e. the phone number which i now know was in an email). I guess this is where spotlight really ‘shines’ for me, because its really good at that.

But yeah, my use of spotlight is very limited. Its good to know it’s there if/when I need it.

Just found this [Spotlight Tips](http://www.apple.com/macosx/tips/spotlight.html) page from apple. Has some interesting things. I guess I could start using Spotlight more by actually adding in keywords for photos / files / documents.

I’m working on a new cocoa app. It has the working title of “Bonsai” which will more then likely change if the app ever sees the light of day.

It’s still in early stages of development. I’ve fleshed out a requirements list for the 1.0 version and have got the basic app working. It’s a matter of fleshing it out now and making it cool. I’ve also got some pretty cool idea’s for it after 1.0, so I’m keen to actually get this app out in the wild.

I’ll post more as progress is made.

*Note: No, this isn’t the icon for the app, i didn’t even make this image. Its from an icon collection i downloaded. I just really like it and thought it would look cool with this post.

Edit: The author of the icon is actually [Jonas Rask](http://www.jonas.seph.ws/). He does some nice work.

Ive decided to make a conscious decision to start using the services menu in OS X. Its been sitting in the application menu since OS X came out yet ive never really utilised it to its full extent.

I figure this is mainly due to forgetting its there when i could use it and i end up just doing the task some other way.

I browsed through the whole list tonight to get some idea on what exactly is in there and i was quite surprised at what atcually lives in there. Heaps of shortcuts for common things i do.

So yeah, my goal is to start using the Services menu a lot more.

On a side note, there’s lots of little things in OS X that are there to make common things easier. I really need to start finding quicker ways to do common tasks. Launchbar is a good example… i own a license for it and use it for application launching but that’s it, yet its so much more powerful than that.

Finished reading iWoz, written by Steve Wozniak last night. I picked the book up a few days before i left Rocky to come home to Inverell.

The book starts out pretty slow but does come through with the goods. Ive always known Woz was involved with Apple from the start, but i never really realised what exactly he did do. Reading about how he created the Apple I, Apple II, the floppy drive, etc amazed me. The guy must be one smart cookie thats for sure.

The second part of the book is a lot more interesting then the first in my opinion and the last 2 chapters close the book off well.

Well worth the read for Apple fans. Non Apple fans might not be as interested, but i would encourage them to at least give it a try… Woz did pioneer the personal computer as we know it.

Went around to try to help a guy fix his adsl connection this arvo. Turns out i couldnt do much even after spending an hour or so fiddling with 2 different modems. In the end i went back to the default ‘bigpond provided’ modem *piece of shit*, put in the bigpond provided cd and then went through the setup. After stepping through the whole process, from plugging in the cables, plugging in the network card, turning on the modem, etc I got a wonderful message saying “the setup program could not connect your modem to bigpond”.

Bloody wonderful. In other words there was somthing wrong with the BigPond provided service *as usual*.

Mum and I left the place, having made no progress at all. No doubt the guy has a nice evening of sitting in the BigPond tech support queue to eventually get answered by someone with a strong accent who is going to tell him to reboot his modem and restart his PC.

I often wonder how much money BigPond make from ADSL connections that arent actually in use by the people who are paying for it because there is some kind of problem with the service. My guess is its a fair amount.

I also often wonder how many unsecured wireless internet connections there are around Australia from the dodgy piece of crap modems BigPond provide by default. None of the ones ive seen have any kind of firewall or wireless security enabled and from what ive seen the setup program doesnt mention anything about it either.

Keep up the good work Telstra /sigh

Well its all over, some cool stuff announced. Im sure theres much more cooler dev stuff that cant be talked about though. I didnt go this year even though it was included in my scholarship, i kind of fingured id stay in Australia and work on uni stuff, which i did.

As fun as it would have been to go, especially to catch up with the Apple guys i met while interning, im actually glad i didnt go. I worked on my uni stuff, so all is good… maybe one day ill actually finish…

Pretty nifty, Google now have a pretty cool web based calendar app that anyone with a gmail address can use.

Take a look at calendar.google.com

It’s very iCal looking, and seems to support RSS feed based calendars, calendar sharing, scheduling with other people, iCal sharing, etc etc.

Doesnt seem fully supported with Safari yet, not sure if thats a google issue or a safari issue, oh well, works fine in firefox.

Google make cool stuffs.

Last Friday was the last day of my internship at Apple. It was hard to believe it had been 3 months, time just flew and it still only felt like i had just arrived.

I met a lot of really great people which i hope to stay in contact with. My development skills have also been improved a great deal. I feel my project was suuccessful, even though i didnt get as many things included as i planned and it still had some small bugs at the end.

I really enjoyed working there, more then any other job ive ever had. Its strange but i feel like i could work there no problems at all and make a career out of it.

So yeah, my time in the US is quicky coming to an end. I have a week left in Cupertino, then im flying to Seattle on the 4th to Melanies parents then i fly back to San Jose on the 8th and pack for my departure back to Australia on the 10th March. I get into Sydney on Sunday 12th.

Overall the experience was awesome, far better then i could ever imagine and i feel like im taking away a lot of knowledge and experience that im sure to use in the years to come.

I sure ill miss working there, but ill be glad to get back to Australia to see Melanie and my family again and also my brand new baby nephew.

Friday 17th February 2006, 1:41pm BCT

What a cruddy day today is becoming. I left the unit this morning and it was sunny so i didnt bother bringing my rain coat. There was a bit of a chill in the air but now its turned into rain.

So i get to ride home in the chill / rain this afternoon with no rain coat… bleh

Monday 30th January 2006, 7:03pm BCT

Melanies Aunty Doris and Uncle Tim came and picked me up on the weekend and we went to the Winchester Mystery House

It was awesome!

In a nut shell its the mansion of the late Sarah L. Winchester, heiress of the Winchester Rifle company that she started building back in 1884. She was an eccentric lady who hired builders to live on site and build 24/7 until she died. Its a pretty amazing story, she received $1000 a day from the Winchester Rifle company back in the day when $1.50 was the standard days pay rate. She paid her employees and servants $3 which was very good.

The house has all sorts of cool and weird things. Stairs that lead to the roof and go nowhere, doors that open onto walls, doors that open to sheer steep drops, windows that look onto walls, a switchback staircase that has seven flights of stairs but only rise about nine feet and include 44 steps only 2″ high, $3000 front doors that were never used, a cabinet that is only 1/2″ deep, etc, etc, etc.

Its a very cool place, and a lot of fun to walk around. The guild took us though a lot of the story and was pretty good, even though she talked really fast

Mrs Winchester only stood some 4ft tall, and a lot of the doors were made for her size. Melanies aunty towers over this one

Most of the stuff in the house was imported from overseas. The wallpaper in some rooms was actually pretty rough but didnt look too bad.

One of the most expensive windows in the house, cost around $1500 i think.

She had an intercom system throughout the house, if at anytime she needed something she just had to press the button in the room and it would ring in the servants quarters. With the 160 odd rooms, the servants would have had a hard time finding her if they didnt have this little box that automatically popped up the room number that the button was pressed in.
You can see the box on the wall with a white number.

One of the most expensive rooms was the ballroom, it was all that big, but it has some awesome wood carved furniture and walls/floors.

The tour took us around 65mins, it went really fast and i can help but feel we didnt even see half of the place. Theres other tours that take you to the basement and stuff, theres even flashlight tours at night!

After finishing up there, we walked around the pricey shopping district and checked out the bookshop. Then went back to Doris and Tims house and had tea. We had chicken and it was great

It was a good day

Yep, im still alive, im still in the US, everything is still good.

I havnt posted much cause really there hasnt been much to post about. I get up every morning and get to Apple early and get to code all day. Its great fun.

Weekends i go for a ride, i tend to find something new each weekend which is cool. Lately ive spent a fair few hours on the weekend at the Barnes and Nobel bookshop. I love big bookshops! The ones that have charis around that you can actually sit in and read. Anothr good indicator is whether they have a coffee shop inside the bookshop.

Ive bought a few books, mainly for other people. I like the idea of books as gifts. Going to the store is good because i get to see the books and types, so far ive bought one or two from thea ctual store, the rest i just use amazon – its a lot cheaper. I havnt yet tried the online barnes and nobel store though, maybe i should.

So yeah, its like 50 days until i head back to Australia, time has flown.

Things are good.

Friday 13th Janurary 2006, 9:11am BCT

Ashley reminded me this morning that we are about halfway through our internships, which basically means we need to do the next questionairre for the Visa people. I couldnt help thinking though that time has flown. Seems like only last week that i arrived.

“Work” is awesome, i put it in quotes becuase as yet it doesnt feel like work to me. Its a lot of fun, yet i feel so productive everyday that i leave and head back to the unit. Im usually brain dead at night but thats ok.

The whole experience so far has been way better then i imagined. Ive told people i know that i thought it would be cool, but its cooler then the coolness i thought it would be.

The whole experience so far has been way better than i imagined. Ive told people i know that i thought it would be cool, but its cooler than the coolness i thought it would be. *

I like it here, except that im away from Melanie… only about 56 days** to go though till i see her again!

* Edited cause i spelt than / then wrong and got in trouble.

** Accurate day count provided by the countdown dashboard widget. Please note, the accurate day estimate may not be accurate.

Monday 9th January, 2006, 5:53pm BCT

Simon was nice enough to take us for a tour of Santa Cruz on sunday. He arrived around 10am in his flash red convertible and drive us the 40-50mins down there.

It was a great day for it, had the top down just cruisin around the coast. Saw a few beaches and walked along the boardwalk. There is a big entertainment complex thing on the boardwalk which is cool. We all went for a ride on the Big Dipper roller coaster. Its one of those old style wooden ones and it was great!

Ate some food around the place, and did some more sight seeing, sampled some hot chocolates from around the place and generally had a good time.

That night, we went to Simons house and he cooked up some pizza. A few of his friends came around and we all just sat and chatted and stuff.

Around 11/12 we headed back to Cupertino. Simon crashed at our place for the night. We were going to just stay at his place and come back early in the morning, but i didnt have my eye drops… bleh

It was a great day though. Cruisin down the Californian coast in a convertible with the sun shining down on you is a cool feeling

Wednesday 4th January 2006, 2:00pm BCP

Today is a perfect day, its kinda hard to believe its meant to be winter over here. I wish i had my firewire cable so i could snap some pictures with my iSight out the window near my desk.

The sky is totally blue, not a single cloud. Sun is shining in that ‘i want to lay down and sleep’ kind of way. I cant really believe it considering only a few days ago it was storming badass.

Im guessing it wont last long, although my totally 100% accurate dashboard widget says otherwise… indicating that its going to be like this for at least the next 5 days.

So like its totally beach weather here dude, like, i should be out catching some knarly waves and like scoping out the babes. *gag* Im so american

oh well, that was good, back to coding

Friday 23 December 2005, 8:06am BCT

I think ill try to take a squirrel back to Australia.

Every morning when i walk in to work, theres at least one squirrel in each tree. They scurry around with their bushy tails and look so cool

I wonder how they would adapt to Australian life…

Monday 19th December 2005, 11:05pm BCT

Went today to apply for a social security number. Its kind of like a tax file number in Australia and you need one to do any kind of work in the US.

We headed off early into down town San Jose to hopefully get it done quick. 4 hours after we left we got back… yep… 4 hours later. It was kind of nutto which really shouldnt have surprised me really since it was a govt department.
We got to the social security office to find a line up outisde the main foyer. One line was for people that had a meeting at 9:30, the other was for people who didnt have appointments (us). So we stand in the line waiting for our turn, only one person at a time is allowed in the foyer and each person is put through the usual security procedures.

Since we didnt have a meeting or appointment we were low priority, which means that anyone with an appointment or a meeting could rock up at anytime and get in before us. So we stood outside for sometime before finally getting in. Went though the usualy bag scan / body scan then headed to the social security office. Once there, yep, we joined another line and got given a form to fill out and told to take a seat and wait for our names to be called.

One at a time we were called up, handed over our documents and stood there while the lady typed numerous stuff into the keybord. After i dunno how long we each got given the piece of paper telling us to expect the social security in the mail in a few weeks.

After that long wait and time, we made our way back by bus then walked to work. We managed to get there by noon.

People at work were a bit worried, i didnt expect it to take that long so didnt think to email/call anyone to let them know. Its all good now though, i shouldnt have to go and do anymore stuff. Just got to fill in and fax off my 2 week AIPT survey thingo and its all good.

Work is great, lots of fun.

Thats all… for now