Handy Trick
Access a Finder folder’s contents from Safari
Simply add a new Bookmark entry (Bar or Menu, your choice), with the desired file:///-type folder path as described in the prior hint, but then append .DS_Store to the path like so:
file:///Users/your_username/Downloads/.DS_Store
via macosxhints.com
New Gear for My Ears
I had a great pair of Sony noise-canceling headphones Id gotten from my brother some years back that I really enjoyed. Last week I had to get rid of them, they were shocking me and the structural scotch tape lost it’s hold. So I decided to a new pair and decided on a pair of Bang and Olufsen Form 2 headphones. So far they’ve been great, a little light on the bass-end of the spectrum. Hopefully no more shocking.
What I Use
I saw Mark’s list and was inspired to do the same. We have a fair amount of items in common, just swap his 9mm for my .9mm (mechanical pencil).
TextMate – I use very little of it’s power, but what I use works perfectly. I’ve tried all the others, but none ‘just work’ like TM
Transmit – Have used Transmit forever, had a few versions that stunk and I lost a lot of work and a lot of hair, but lately no issues
Quicksilver – launcher of all launchers. Transparent interaction makes it a keeper.
SuperDuper! – perfect imaging has saved me once and made for a perfectly cloned portable when I was out of the office for 5 days.
Photoshop CS4 – The mother-app of my workday. I use a ton of brushes, actions, tricks but haven’t yet found value in switching to Fireworks.
FontExplorer X Pro – Fonts need to be managed, just the way it goes. Pro gets you a lot of nice enhancements as well as support and backup. App integration is intuitive and easy, just install and forget it.
NetNewsWire – RSS reader, applescript-able.
LittleSnapper – At one point in the past I spoke with a Cocoa developer about building this app, so many features I had in mind they nail. Has some growing-up to do but overall excellent application.
TaskPaper – Clean and simple to-do and task management app. Dead simple.
MAMP Pro – Local development made simple. I prefer the GUI in the Pro version for setting hosts.
Colors – Snatch colors from anywhere on the screen. Super helpful.
iStockPhoto – The per-credit system is fabulous, if the Veer Marketplace takes off I may jump ship, but if last year is any indication the iStock folks will be seeing a lot of money from me in 2009.
Word-to-the-Press – I’m a fan. This app and the great people who work on it have been amking my life better for 5 years now.
Last.fm Scrobble – It’s very important to me that people know what I’m listening to. I’m a jerk like that.
AppZapper – We all install mistakes. This is the bad app morning after pill.
xScope – Onscreen ruler, loupe and dimensioning. Period.
Xyle Scope – Not as vital as it used to be with the Safari 4 dev tools and FF Web Dev toolbar, but this app is handy inspecting css quickly. If you find yourself thinking “wow what is the paragraph line-height on simplebits.com” this is a great app to have.
Pantone Huey Pro – Color correction, even for web work, is important and this little device works well for the cost. The Pro versions supports dual monitor profiles.
Pattern Tap – Huge collection of design tidbits from across the web.
Delicious – Where my links live. They were recently in a catastrophic fire at Ma.gnolia and were rescued and relocated to Delicious where they’ve been pretty happy.
Flickr – Photos live here.
Macbook – 2.16GHZ Core Duo, slow and old needs updated
Macbook Air – would love to sell this thing…just not sure what its replacement will be
Canon Scanner – Cheap Pixma printer/scanner combo but works well. Also have an old Epson 1200U with slide attachment when needed, which hasn’t been for years.
Gefen USB-DVI Adapter – allows me to run lid-closed dual monitor (up to 1680×1050) via USB – up to 4
Apple Wired Keyboard – Like having the extra ports and number pad, and the wireless was just too small
Nikon d40 – Technically my wife’s but it’s my gateway drug into photography. Love how well it works and how rugged and family-friendly it is.
Pentel .9mm (the yellow) – My father’s pencil of choice is also my pencil of choice. Tough to find, but worth it.
Moleskines – I have dozens of them, usually forget what’s in which, it’s a big mess. But the notebooks are nice. Go well with my pencils.
House Industries Mousepad – Love my super orange ampersand mousepad. Limited edition and no longer available. So take that.
iPhone (1st Gen) – Haven’t really had a reason to upgrade yet (phone and monthly charge).
AppleTV – Love it, need more reasons to turn it on though.
MacBook Wheel
Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard
So much truth in this piece it hurts. How can you not love The Onion.
TechCrunch Tablet – OpenFail
Oh TechCrunch peoples – you so crazy. Community-sourced software has yet to give us a compelling and simple interface – don’t think there’s a chance in hell that community-sourced hardware+software will ever be simple, certainly not on the scale of anything Apple does. Democracy will always lose out to the crushing hand of intense investment+real vision+amazingly talented ID/software folks. Just the way it is, without the real pressure of investors and markets and customers these projects are never more than exercises, student projects at best. And the union of interface and hardware by committee yields bloat and baggage – hell they’ve already put so many requirements in the mix it’s becoming hard to see what it will be (must have a mic, must have video, etc.), especially paired with near-arbitrary software+hardware constraints.
Tidbit in the iTunes EULA You Must Read
The Apple Blog reminds us of a very important line in the iTunes license agreement:
[Don't use iTunes for illegal activity]……including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture, or production of nuclear missiles or chemical or biological weapons.
That’s right folks, don’t use iTunes for making bombs.
Bill Gates Usability Email
I was heartened to read the Bill Gates usability rant gleaned from the anti-trust documents. This email shows me that Windows usability issues were more institutionalized and were the result of an obese org, not because Gates didn’t ‘get it’.
via ethan
Dell Crystal Monitor
I love my Macs as much as anyone, and applaud their design and innovation. However there are others out there doing good work as well, case-in-point Dell’s new Crystal Display unveiled at CES. Really nice overall design, I haven’t dug into specs or any other info, but on the surface I like the anti-brushed aluminum approach. Curious to see how it’s received.
Attention Mac Developers & Content Peoples
It’s 2007 (nearly 2008) so stop with the damn .SIT files. Seriously just stop it. ZIP it if you have to compress, Stuff**it it a pain on Leopard/Tiger. So knock it off, thanks.
Taking One for the Mac-team
Sebastiaan de With has taken a hit for all of us. By releasing his great Orion icon set for Leopard (to replace the ass-tastic default folders Apple shipped with the big cat) on his own server and become a huge hit with Apple and their users he’s been stuck with one helluva hosting bill. You always hope people dig your stuff, but bandwith can break your heart. I didn’t link to Orion just out of respect, if you don’t have it wait and grab it once he has a new home for them.
So here’s the question, in an age of community where does freeware live? Do we find a way to help Sebastiaan offset the cost, or is this just the cost of ‘giving’ assets away? With 180,000+ uniques that pulled the icons is there enough business drummed up to not feel bad for the upfront cost? No idea what any of the answers are, but if he asks for help I’d happily chip in.
Previously