Welcome
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I've recently bought an Apple iBook, not as a
long-time Mac fan, but as a Unix aficionado who wanted a
cheap, well-spec'd portable with good battery life. While by
no means unique, this is still a little unusual, and I thought
it might be fun to share my experiences as I learn more about
it.
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Links
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Here are some sites I've found useful (I'll add more as and
when I come across them):
- Apple: Obviously...
- Apple Developer
Connection (ADC): A good range of developer support, tools and
documentation. You have to join, but internet-only membership is
free.
- Mac OS X Hints: Does
exactly what it says on the tin.
- Fink: Unix software on
Mac OS X; it's based on the Debian packaging system, with a
ports system built on top of it.
- VersionTracker:
Shareware, freeware and similar software. I gather it's popular with
Mac people.
- 1984: Apple's
seminal Superbowl commercial, and one of the best TV ads in history
(better even than the Pixar-created Luxo
Junior ones, and an incredible contrast to their current
risible campaign).
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SilverService
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SilverService is a Mac OS X application that combines the power of the Unix
command line with the convenience of the Services menu. It has its
own page.
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Contact Me
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At some point, I might right some sort of forum script to
allow people to post comments. Until then, you can always mail
me at rob@rho.org.uk.
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ClickPod?
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The recent Register
article about
Clicker
(a piece of software I'd get in an instant
if it supported my workhorse-like 6310i) got me wondering why Apple hadn't
done something similar themselves (as they've done in the past with other
third party software such as Watson). One thing that did occur is that it
would involve writing software for other people's devices (i.e., the phones),
and that's something they've traditionally been happy to leave to others.
However, there is an alternative route that they could take - the
much-postulated
BluePod
(a iPod with Bluetooth). Think about it; a platform they control,
synchronization software that's already written, and an ideal user interface
for remote controlling things. Even if they don't enable the personal radio
station mode that everyone's focusing on, adding Bluetooth to the iPod would
make the syncing of contacts, calendars and other low-volume data easier, and
would further cement the iPod's place as an accessory to your Mac (a position
that's been diluted a little by the addition of Windows compatibility).
Now we just need to convince Apple to make the damn thing.
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RAM - Cureall or Panacea?
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I've just installed the 512MB SODIMM that I bought with my birthday money
(thanks, guys) into the iBook, and the difference is, well, even better than I
was expecting. Applications launch faster, waking from sleep is near
instantaneous, switching between applications is no longer accompanied by five
or ten seconds of the spinning beachball, the sun is shining a little
brighter, and the shooting pains in my wrists are gone. Is extra RAM the
solution to all of the world's ills? I think it just might be.
(I may be exaggerating a tiny bit, but the difference really is remarkable.
Not that the iBook was particularly bad to start off with, but now running
four or five applications at once is that bit smoother.)
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Yet Another Way To Waste Time
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John Gruber's Daring Fireball is one
of the few blogs that I read regularly. It's always worth a look, and this
morning was no exception; he provides a link
Folklore. It's run by Andy Hertzfeld, one
of the team who designed the original Mac, and is basically a repository of
anecdotes about, for want of a better word, “hacker culture”. At
the moment, it's filled with stories from the Mac project, which is a
particular treat given it's 20th aniversary (yesterday). It's like
the Jargon File, but without
the whole ultra
right wing neo-conservative gun nut angle.
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Spot The Difference
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To celebrate the 20 years of the Macintosh, Apple have released a very
slightly different version of everyone's favourite Superbowl
commercial.
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