Jon Israelson: OSX

Wed, 21 Jan 2004 15:09:53 GMT

TIME: No talent required with GarageBand. "Music, as any teen in a garage band will tell you, should be as simple to make as it is to listen to... [MacMinute.com: Up-to-the-minute Mac news -- around the clock, around the world.]

I installed the new iLife '04 last night and spent just a few minutes playing with GarageBand. I haven't seriously played a musical instrument in about 25 years, but this app sparked my interest. The options available for selecting an instrument and customizing it with dozens of effects is really amazing. I should probably buy a cheap MIDI keyboard and get my kids started playing around with the program.

Thu, 20 Nov 2003 21:50:17 GMT

Stupid Hint 'o the Day

I use Microsoft Outlook Web Access to get to my company's e-mail server from home and remote locations. One thing that web mail lacks is a spell checker, which given my spelling and typing ability is a very important feature. When I'm using IE on my WinXP laptop, I use ieSpell. But when at home using Safari on the Mac, I didn't think that I had any options. So wrong I was. Just right-click (if you have a two-button mouse) or ctrl-click the text field that you want to spell check and select the appropriate command from the context menu.

Mon, 17 Nov 2003 04:30:08 GMT

Create your own spoken novels in iTunes. This is a cool hint that combines a text reader app, the audio voices built into Mac OS X, and free electronic versions of books from Project Gutenberg. I've been using my iPod to listen to audio books while in the car, so this should help cover me for the next several hundred thousand miles!

Thu, 30 Oct 2003 03:08:06 GMT

TenCon Keynote - Dr. Srinidhi Varadarajan [MacSlash]

More details on the Virginia Tech G5 supercomputer.

Thu, 30 Oct 2003 03:06:57 GMT

The O'Reilly Radar [MacSlash]

Thu, 30 Oct 2003 03:04:37 GMT

OS X 10.3 Has Built-in File Defragmentation [MacSlash]

Thu, 23 Oct 2003 03:03:37 GMT

Start Me Up: Writing and Understanding OS X StartupItems. StartupItems are easy to set up and extremely flexible in managing the startup process. Andrew Anders shows how StartupItems fit into the OS X startup process, what you need to do to create a StartupItem, and an example of a StartupItem that will run the Tomcat Java servlet engine. [O'Reilly Network Articles]

Tue, 21 Oct 2003 00:07:00 GMT

I just saw that Eric S. Raymond has release version 1.0 of The Art of Unix Programming (also available in print from Amazon). The last time I took a look at this document, it was fairly incomplete. I'm glad to see that it now exists in its entirety.

Wed, 08 Oct 2003 17:04:38 GMT

Mac OS X 'Panther' coming October 24th. Apple today announced that Mac OS X version 10.3 "Panther," the next major release of the company's operating system, will be available on Friday, October 24, beginning at 8:00 p.m... [MacMinute.com: Up-to-the-minute Mac news -- around the clock, around the world.]

It's nice to see Panther finally making it out the door. I'm really looking forward to using the fast user switching on my home machine. Apple has more details on their OS X site.

Mon, 22 Sep 2003 18:11:01 GMT

Java On The Desktop: An Idea Whose Time Has Come ... And Gone

I'm currently working with an application that uses Java Applets and is making my life painful. Strange bugs, poor performance, long download times, and incompatible Java plug-in versions are all making the project less than fun. I'll agree with the article's author: leave Java on the server and buy a Mac for the client.

Mon, 22 Sep 2003 18:03:38 GMT

Control Your Mac from Afar. Do you want to control your Mac, or one that you're responsible for, from a remote location? If you're running Mac OS X, you can take advantage of a variety of built-in Unix and AppleScript tools to control your computer from afar. Harold Martin shows you how. [O'Reilly Network Articles]

Thu, 31 Jul 2003 04:06:13 GMT

Think Factory 2.0 offers neural network APIs. 10191 Technologies announces the new release The Think Factory 2.0, a set of value added neural netw... [MacNN | The Macintosh News Network]

Hmm. I'll have to check this one out.

Wed, 23 Jul 2003 16:31:04 GMT

Konfabulator 1.5 brings host of new features. Arlo Rose and Perry Clarke have released Konfabulator 1.5, an update to their JavaScript runtime engine for Mac OS X that lets you run small files called Widgets... [MacMinute.com: Up-to-the-Minute Apple Mac News]

This is a cool app. Wish I had more time to try developing some small apps with it.

Wed, 23 Jul 2003 16:26:28 GMT

C Is For Cocoa : You will learn all the C you need to know to learn Cocoa, and ignore the rest. (O'Reilly Network via MyAppleMenu) [MyAppleMenu]

This provides a very basic overview of C for beginning Cocoa programmers.

Mon, 14 Jul 2003 23:00:14 GMT

Some interesting OS X management tips from Mike Bombich.

Tue, 24 Jun 2003 17:44:07 GMT

Looking for a free Mac OS X CVS client? Take a look at MacCVSClient.

Tue, 24 Jun 2003 17:33:23 GMT

There's a ton of great Apple news this week. Here's a round-up:

Business Objects to support Safari
June 23 - 19:26 EDT Business Objects, a leading provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions, today announced it is the first BI vendor to support Apple's Safari Web browser. "Mac users of Business Objects will have full access to the new generation of BusinessObjects Enterprise 6 WebIntelligence and InfoView portal capabilities. This includes powerful, integrated query, reporting, and analysis solutions in a thin-client environment. Enterprise Mac users will also enjoy superior performance, full Unicode support for multinational/multilingual deployments, and comprehensive support for LDAP-based security systems." Business Objects support for Safari is expected to be available in Q4 of 2003. [MacMinute]

Oracle bringing database software to Mac OS X
June 23 - 16:33 EDT Oracle today announced plans to issue a production release of its next generation database technology on Mac OS X, citing high demand for its Database Developer Release. "In the first half of 2003 alone, more than 5,000 copies of Oracle9i Database Developer Release for Mac OS X were downloaded from the Oracle Technology Network (OTN). The software download is free-of-charge to all registered OTN members. With the upcoming production release, not only will customers be able to deploy enterprise class applications that leverage Oracle's leading database technology, but can do so economically by adding additional Xserve servers, utilizing Oracle's database clustering technology as computing power demands increase." [MacMinute]

SQL Anywhere Studio 9 for Mac OS X beta released
June 23 - 16:20 EDT iAnywhere Solutions, a subsidiary of Sybase, today announced the beta release of SQL Anywhere Studio 9 for Mac OS X, a Macintosh version of its database for mobile, embedded and small to medium sized business environments. [MacMinute]

Apple shows off 'Panther' Server
June 23, 2003 - 16:19 EDT Apple today previewed Mac OS X 10.3 "Panther" Server, the next major release of Apple's UNIX-based server operating system. Panther Server includes "powerful open source solutions and innovative, easy to use server management capabilities." New features in Panther Server include Automatic Setup for easily setting up multiple servers; Open Directory 2 for hosting scalable LDAP directory and Kerberos authentication services; Samba 3 for providing login and home directory support for Windows clients; and the JBoss application server for running powerful J2EE applications. Mac OS X 10.3 Panther Server will be available by the end of this year for US$499 for a 10-client edition and $999 for an unlimited-client edition. [MacMinute]

Apple unveils Power Mac G5
June 23 - 15:17 EDT As expected, Apple today unveiled the new PowerMac G5, featuring the world's first 64-bit desktop processor (up to 2GHz) and the industry's first 1 GHz front-side bus. Powered by the PowerPC G5 processor designed by IBM and Apple, the Power Mac G5 is the first personal computer to utilize 64-bit processing technology for unprecedented memory expansion (up to 8GB). The new PowerMac is the world's fastest personal computer, according to Apple. It features a new anodized aluminum alloy enclosure built around four independently controlled thermal zones for advanced airflow management, with fans in each zone that are individually controlled based on a sophisticated combination of thermal and power monitoring, resulting in the Power Mac G5 running two times quieter than the previous Power Mac G4. Continued... [MacMinute]

Is The Power Mac G4 Dead? Not Yet; Apple Slashes Prices:

Faster
US$1,299
1.25GHz PowerPC G4
1MB L3 cache
256MB DDR333 SDRAM
80GB Ultra ATA drive
Combo Drive
ATI Radeon 9000 Pro
Mac OS 9 boot supported

Fastest
US$1,599.00
Dual 1.25GHz PowerPC G4
2MB L3 cache/processor
256MB DDR333 SDRAM
80GB Ultra ATA drive
Combo Drive
ATI Radeon 9000 Pro
Mac OS 9 boot supported

Ultimate
US$3,274.00
Dual 1.25GHz PowerPC G4
2MB L3 cache/processor
2GB DDR333 SDRAM
2x160GB Ultra ATA drive
SuperDrive
NVIDIA GeForce4 Titanium
Mac OS 9 boot supported

Fri, 20 Jun 2003 14:41:15 GMT

Apple reportedly posts G5 specs on Web site. For a brief time on Thursday night, Apple Computer Inc. reportedly posted information on its Web site detailing the company's next generation computer, known as the G5. While the information has since been removed, the company wasn't quick enough as Mac enthusiasts and Web sites across the Web captured images of the pages. [MacCentral]

Fri, 20 Jun 2003 14:38:12 GMT

breve: a 3d Simulation Environment Designed for the Simulation of Decentralized Systems and Artificial Life. Version 1.6 is now available for Mac OSX and Linux.

This is similar to Framsticks.

Tue, 03 Jun 2003 23:18:43 GMT

Missing Sync for Pocket PC supports iCal, Address Book. Mark/Space Inc. is preparing Missing Sync for Pocket PC, which will enable users of Pocket PC-based handheld devices to synchronize and exchange content with iCal, Address Book iTunes and iPhoto. The software is planned for an "Early Adopter" release to coincide with July's Macworld CreativePro Conference & Expo. Missing Sync for PocketPC will synchronize with calendar items, to do items and contacts via iSync conduits. From within iTunes, the Pocket PC-based handheld and its memory cards will show up as an MP3 player, allowing users to add and remove audio files. Missing Sync will allow iPhoto users to export and resize photos for optimal viewing on a Pocket PC-based handheld. [MacCentral]

Mon, 02 Jun 2003 18:04:21 GMT

Xserves power iTunes Music Store, 'America 24/7'. The Xserve and Xserve RAID power the iTunes Music Store. It comes as no great surprise that Apple would use its own technology to power the iTunes Music Store, but the fact you haven't heard about it already is a great sign for Apple. It was difficult to buy a song on the first day of business for the iTunes Music store, but since then it has been easy to connect, navigate, purchase and download songs and art from the store. If the store had crashed and burned in the first week, you would have heard long before now that Apple technology powered the company's ill-fated attempt at Music downloads. [MacCentral]

A good example for showing Xserves in a high volume environment.

Wed, 28 May 2003 02:35:15 GMT

Read it to Me reads RSS headlines via iTunes, iPod. Adam Tow and Alex King have released Read it to Me, a software application designed for iPod-toting news junkies. Read it to Me works hand-in-hand with Ranchero Software's NetNewsWire software. Using Apple's Text-to-Speech software, Read it to Me creates a playlist of MP3 files containing your unread news headlines; you can then sync the headline playlist in your iPod. [MacCentral]

Mon, 26 May 2003 23:14:06 GMT

Over in the O'Reilly Mac devcenter...Multiprocessor Work Sharing with Cocoa.

Wed, 21 May 2003 14:42:21 GMT

If you have a Mac and like the "Ken Burns Effect" that comes with iMovie 3, you should check out Still Life. It's really amazing and only costs $25.