Nolan Hester: It's a Mac, Mac world

Date/Time Bug Fixed At Last

Fri, 11 Apr 2003 00:50:53 GMT

The Mac OS X 10.2.5 updater released today fixes a date/time bug introduced in 10.2.4. Thank goodness: While I tried to reset it every morning upon startup, I sometimes forgot—until someone would inevitably email me to ask why my messages were dated 1969.

The funny thing was, it only affected my Dual G4 desktop and not my ancient Wallstreet laptop. I just hope 10.2.5 doesn't start resetting my, I dunno, keyboard preferences or some such.

It's Official: NetNewsWire 1.0 Ships

Tue, 11 Feb 2003 23:04:29 GMT

Brent Simmons has just released NetNewsWire 1.0 and it's worth every penny of the $29.95 introductory price. Besides being a superb RSS feed/headline reader, it has a great Weblog Editor that makes it a snap to post to your blog. Download it and prepare to be very pleased.

BTW, while the program had been dubbed NetNewsWire "Pro" during the beta, it's just going to be called "NetNewsWire." The version without the Weblog Editor will now be called "NetNewsWire Lite."

This screen shot of the Weblog Editor should give you a sense of its main features:

Finding Where You Are With pwd

Tue, 11 Feb 2003 03:24:21 GMT

That headline doesn't make sense - unless you use Unix on your Mac. Get the bottom line on the command line over at TidBITS in A Mac User's Guide to the Unix Command Line, Part 2. It's by Kirk McElhearn, who has a book in the works on the topic.

As for me, I still come down on the same side as the guy in the infamous (and now pulled) Apple Switcher parody ad. When confronted by the guts of OSX, he wrinkles up his face and mutters, "What the..."

Dogcow Dead! (The Grim Truth Behind X's Metal Windows)

Mon, 10 Feb 2003 21:44:47 GMT

Developer Matt Gemmell of Studio Log offers a well considered list of Apple OSX interface "innovations." But the really shocking news, something many of us suspected but just couldn't face, is about Clarus the Dogcow:

"Alas, it seems that instead of simply being put out to pasture in Cupertino...Clarus may now be dead." Extra, Extra! Read all about it.

Big Changes in Newest NetNewsWire Pro (1.0b15)

Wed, 05 Feb 2003 19:11:25 GMT

Clearly Brent Simmons has been burning the midnight coding oil. His latest and greatest iteration of NNW Pro includes a bunch of welcome changes. Grab the download and see for yourself. Based on the changes so far, the final release is going be very polished indeed.

Digital Photogs Need an Apple 'eyePod'

Thu, 30 Jan 2003 04:14:41 GMT

Yet another firm, Taiwan's Vosonic Technology, has made a portable hard drive for downloading photo memory cards and IBM Microdrives. (Nixvue's Digital Album was the first and it has since released the Vista.) All three include a USB 1.1 or 2.0 port. While NixVue's models have a color LCD for reviewing images, Vosonic's does not. dpreview.com has the details.

Doesn't it seem like Apple's missing the boat on this part of its "digital hub?" It wouldn't take much to recast the iPod as an "eyePod." It'd be a compact blessing for travelers with digital cameras.

Why lug a laptop computer on your vacation when all you really need is a way to free up your cards or Microdrive for more photos? The iPod just needs a little color LCD, a transfer interface, and an USB socket to download a camera's images. Once travelers got home, or back to the hotel, they could use the iPod's FireWire port to move the pictures into iPhoto on their PowerBook or PowerMac. While larger memory cards grow cheaper every day, at some point the convenience and security of having all your images on one fast iPod wins out.

LCDs Make 16-Hour Days Easy, at Least on Eyes

Wed, 29 Jan 2003 04:06:15 GMT

After using a 17" Apple LCD for the past year of writing, I'd never go back to depending on a CRT, except for critical color correction work. My eyes don't get tired the way they used to after staring all day at Word on a CRT. My only regret: that I couldn't afford a 22" Cinema Display at the time.

OK, so I still can't afford it, but the new 20" Cinema Display at $1,299 sure is tempting. Why buy a new computer when you can just extend your desktop some more? [Apple]

Brent's Tips for Editing Radio Weblogs

Sun, 26 Jan 2003 03:55:13 GMT

Based on my erroneous ways, Brent's already posted a page on configuring NetNewsWire and Radio so you can use NetNewsWire to edit your Radio weblog. [ranchero.com]

Exceptional customer support is an understatement.

Success!

Sun, 26 Jan 2003 02:38:00 GMT

All my hats off to Brent Simmons for helping me make the switch over to using NetNewsWire Pro as my weblog editor. I find it easier to use than the editing features in Radio's non-WYSIWYG Mac version.

NetNewsWire Pro is still in beta but it's been very solid for me so far. With final release not far off, the improvements are coming fast and furious. The latest version (1.0b13) supports categories on sites running Radio, Manila, or Movable Type. Download it, give it a try--and send Brent some dough when the final's released.

Airport Weblog Reports on Extreme Shipments

Sun, 26 Jan 2003 02:10:19 GMT

Although AirPort Extreme units were supposed to ship this next week, according to original estimates, it seems more likely now that they are 1 to 3 weeks away. The 12-inch PowerBook was delayed, too, reports indicate. It's possible that a new release of Mac OS X 10.2 is being finalized... [Apple AirPort Weblog]

Stymied!

Thu, 23 Jan 2003 00:08:27 GMT

I'm trying to switch over to using NetNewsWire Pro to edit and post my logs, but can't get it to work. So it's back to posting via Radio's kinda-awkward Mac interface. Sigh.

Blogging's supposed to be simple, so I guess this is a good thing that I can't get it to work. Though it'd be simpler if I could use NNW.