bioneural.net » itunes

Desktop refits with GeekTool and friends

Bruce — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 09:53:12 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net doi:tSglPpAB7a8nfM :

Further to my previous post on how to get BBC weather feeds on your desktop, this article collects together other scripts for GeekTool I've come across and customized (hat tip to the original sources, which I neglected to record). Who says the command line doesn't have equal status alongside the Mac OS X eye candy? Suggestions for optimization/ improvement or additional useful scripts most welcome. Creating headings Create headings using an echo shell command, just as when using PHP. For example: echo " //UPTIME:" Within GeekTool you can specify a custom font face, colour and opacity, text alignment, accompanying icon, refresh time, and whether the output should be "on top" of other windows—as for any of the following shell commands: Reporting system uptime The following shell command will report system uptime: uptime | awk '{sub(":", "h ", $3); sub(",", "min", $3); print "Time since last system boot: " $3}' Monitoring memory usage Does you Photoshop work or toying in Parallels merit investment in additional RAM? The following shell command will allow you to monitor memory usage, showing the total RAM in use and top running processes (the window is sized so that the top 10 are visible): uptime | top -l 1 | awk '/PhysMem/ {print "RAM in use: " $8 " \n"}'; top -ocpu -FR -l2 -n20 | grep '^....[1234567890] ' | grep -v ' 0.0% ..:' | cut -c 1-24,33-42,64-77 Identifying CPU hogs Why is that non-essential utility app you just installed consuming 97% of your CPU cycles? The following shell command will allow you to monitor how much of ...

Dropbox and iPhone sitting in a tree

Bruce — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 00:00:40 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net doi:tSglPpAB7a8nfM :

It's amazing how easy it is to fill an 8GB iPhone. While apps like FileMagnet (using a proprietary protocol & desktop companion app) and Air Sharing (WebDAV via your desktop or web browser) provide "documents to go" functionality, this only works if your phone is on the same WiFi network as your desktop—and providing you've enough space left after syncing that episode of Battlestar Galactica! Since the iPhone does not offer expandable storage there are two alternatives. The first is to stream media content to the device (e.g. via BBC iPlayer, Internet radio, or DRM-free iTunes tracks). Alternatively, you could temporarily cache and view a limited range of file types via mobile Safari, or download and store various documents retrieved from your FTP server (e.g. via FTP On The Go, MobileStudio)—or make use of the cloud (e.g. via Dropbox or Box). Getting your files into the cloud Dropbox software is available for Mac, PC, and Linux. When installed it creates a local folder on your desktop machine that is automatically synced to an online filestore. You can connect multiple computers to your Dropbox account so that any edits made on one machine are automatically reflected in the local folder on all linked computers: In addition to using the client software, you can access the contents of your Dropbox from any computer or mobile device with a decent web browser. The web interface is very clean and supports uploading of any file type from your desktop: The web interface for uploaded files in a ...

Get your GPS fix with RouteBuddy 2.2

Bruce — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:11:27 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net doi:tSglPpAB7a8nfM :

RouteBuddy is an application for Mac marketed as "iTunes for your GPS" in reflection of some interface similarities. It works with most GPS receivers to plot your live position on high-quality street maps, but can also import and export saved data to/ from some devices, applications, and online services. With full-featured and highly portable personal navigation devices increasingly affordable (e.g. TomTom, Garmin) and free tools available for direction-finding and location-sharing (e.g. Google Maps, Google Earth), you may be forgiven for wondering what gap in the market RouteBuddy aims to fill. This question set the brief for my review as I determined to assess its strengths and weakness against the tools you may use already. Disclosure: A single user license for RouteBuddy 2.1.1–2.2 with UK & Ireland maps was provided by RouteBuddy Ltd. for the purposes of this review. Tested using a 1.83GHz Intel Core Duo MacBook with 2GB RAM. Skip to: Prelude The RouteBuddy interface in brief RouteBuddy and GPS device compatibility Have software, need map Tracking Planning Navigating Importing Exporting Sharing Analyzing Plotting Managing Finding Summary and conclusion Prelude I gave up on Route 66 (now defunct route-planning software) with the arrival of Google Maps, but still largely relied on a spiral-bound paper road atlas—until I hired a car with "sat nav". After a false start with Navman, I migrated to the more Mac-friendly TomTom platform, which led me to discover the sport of geocaching. Then it was back to Navman, and then TomTom again, by which time I had caught up with photo geotagging—and that has become something of a preoccupation. Why am I boring you with ...

Silent and grey iTunes movie rentals

Bruce — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:47:51 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net doi:tSglPpAB7a8nfM :

Well behind the American iTunes Store, earlier this month (June 2008) Apple gave iTunes Store customers in the UK the chance to rent (or purchase) movie downloads. Initially I wasn't sure I'd want to watch movies at my computer, even though I have a good screen and sound system. But I had to try it. With a 17Mbps downstream broadband connection getting the movie onto the computer posed no problem (a typical 1GB movie takes a few minutes). Trouble is all I see is a grey box with no audio. Now that I can't do it, of course I'm more inclined to want to. My iTunes Store account allows me to playback my DRM-protected iTunes music, a free TV episode, and a purchased short film with no problems. I'm running the latest version of OS X (10.5.3) with the latest version of iTunes (7.6.2) and QuickTime (7.5). I've now tried renting two films, hearing nothing and seeing only this during desktop playback: Hmmm.. if I wanted to look at nothing but dull grey I shouldn't have to pay for it—I can just look out the window at English skies. Oddly, when I moved the movie onto my iPhone I could watch it (and hear it) as expected. It seems I'm not alone having this issue, according to discussion in the Apple Support Forums. A number of suggestions have been made, most of which I have tried to no avail: Re-installed QuickTime 7.5 (on top of the previous: there is no "uninstaller"); Re-installed iTunes; Removed ...

New Zealand progressive on fair use laws

Bruce — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:12:48 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net doi:tSglPpAB7a8nfM :

As reported by Ars Technica, the New Zealand House of Representatives passed a bill on 8 April 2008 reforming copyright law for the "digital age". Most netizens even outside the US will have come across the American DMCA: any mention seems tainted by the taste of bile. The DMCA criminalises circumvention of digital rights management (DRM) technologies and access controls—many folk argue at the expense of "fair use". Do the NZ reforms provide workable compromise? Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand [© iStockPhoto] Ars cite a Canadian law professor as saying: The anti-circumvention provisions are arguably the best of any country, since they are compliant with WIPO, limited in scope, and seek to preserve fair dealing rights. Having looked at the new Copyright (New Technologies) Amendment Bill I find myself almost as confused as I was before; it raises at least as many questions as it answers. Time and format shifting I've always wondered exactly how recording a TV programme to VHS tape, DVD+RW, or PVR hard drives sat with current copyright laws. It must be pretty unusual to walk into a living room and not find the home owner's favourite TV series or movie archived on recordable media for repeated viewing at their leisure. Fortunately the bill specifies that anyone watching TV that isn't "live" is no longer engaged in a criminal act (recording of an on-demand broadcast isn't allowed). It does mean, however, that domestic recording libraries are still illegal: you must watch your recordings within a "reasonable" time frame and then delete them. No ...

iTunes freebies are worth checking out

Bruce — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 09:15:54 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net doi:tSglPpAB7a8nfM :

While generally in life you get what you pay for, there are rare instances when the reverse is true. Since their launch I've been fairly regularly checking out the free Single of the Week on the iTunes Music Store (UK and NZ editions). A 30 second preview is enough to decide if it's worth a download or not, and I have discovered some real gems from artists I hadn't previously heard of. Here are the "keepers" from my Freebies playlist; I hope you find something that tickles your fancy too. The following list is a bit eclectic, with a good proportion not sung in the English language. I'm no music critic—I either like it or I don't. I don't have the knowledge to describe the merits of each track or even what it is that appeals, so I won't try. Music doesn't have to justify itself. In no particular order: iTMS link Track and artist NZ Say You'll Stay by Luke Thompson NZ Be Bad by Low Rider NZ To the Light (Acoustic Version) by Newton Faulkner UK Hot Tears by Sarabeth Tucek UK Nobody's Fault But Mine by Beth Rowley UK More Rock 'n' Roll by Ruarri Joseph UK Cler Achel by Tinariwen UK Lalala by Julien Civange and Louis Haeri UK Thin Blue Flame by Josh Ritter UK Multiply by Jamie Lidell UK Mi Tierra by Guitarra De Pasión UK Congoleo by Angélique Kidjo UK Counting to Sleep by Wallis Bird UK Totally Underwater by Shelly Poole UK The Nomad by Niraj Chag UK Come & Get It by Lady Ragga NZ Mama by Kate Miller-Heidke Surely there's at least one track on that list you have to have? If I had to pick "favourites", they would ...

CDFinder in the Mac geotagging workflow

Bruce — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 23:22:38 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net doi:tSglPpAB7a8nfM :

Like many Mac users I archive my pictures in iPhoto, largely because I enjoy the tight integration this affords with Apple and third-party apps that might want to use them. Having entered the world of geotagging I was disappointed to discover that iPhoto can fail to show coordinates in EXIF (and when shown, oddly lists them under Exposure), does not recognise location data in IPTC headers, and does not provide any "show on map" facility (even Preview does this). Norbert Doerner of West-Forest-Systems then pointed out that I'd completely neglected archive and retrieval of geotagged images in my "ABC" article. This Mac software critique goes some way to redress that omission by considering the role of CDFinder in a Mac user's geotagging workflow. CDFinder is essentially an asset manager that catalogues any file on any volume (CD-ROM, DVD, USB drive, etc). But media metadata are its speciality, and this indexing powerhouse has recently been extended to handle geotags and provide related functionality. Disclosure: A single user license for CDFinder 5.1 was provided by West-Forest-Systems for the purposes of this review. I have a personal interest in the success of the Geotag Icon. Important update on geotagging functionality here. Critique context The review machine was an Intel Mac mini running Mac OS X 10.5.2 (Leopard) with iLife '08. I shoot in NEF format (Nikon raw) with a D70 and JPEG with an Olympus C-70Z. My current media organization is I expect fairly typical: Most of my music is in iTunes; Most of my photos are in iPhoto; ...

999 advice on your iPod

Bruce — Fri, 21 Apr 2006 03:14:51 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net doi:tSglPpAB7a8nfM :

As reported by the BBC, the Sussex Ambulance Service NHS Trust are providing MP3-based first aid advice on how to deal with common and potentially serious situations (such as fits, collapses and resuscitation). This joins first aid advice available as a podcast on the iTunes Music Store by St. John's Ambulance. The Trust's website provides further details: Did you know you can now download first aid advice in mp3 format to store on your iPod (or any mp3) player? They are copyright free and have been professionally recorded so they will always be crystal clear when ever you need them. They cover all the situations where giving the correct first aid may mean the difference between life and death. All the advice provided is up to date and complies with Resuscitation Council guidelines. Of course, we realise that everyone hopes that they are never confronted with these situations. But unfortunately, the facts are otherwise. What is more, the chances are the victim will be somebody close to you. At first the whole idea seems a bit bizarre. Imagine the scene: there's been a road traffic accident, and several people are injured. In the midst of the chaos stands the wo(man) in charge, identified by the tell-tale white earbuds that scream "I know first aid!". Gesticulating in one direction then the other, shouting instructions to passers-by with eyes and thumbs on the iPod controls to review that last instruction, our luckless hero is unable to hear the approaching ambulance and becomes the incidents only fatality... Worst aid ...

Blogging with ecto: big on features

Bruce — Sat, 31 Dec 2005 20:16:24 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net doi:tSglPpAB7a8nfM :

This blog is published using the iBlog client, an easy-to-use OS X application that makes uploading static pages to the .Mac server simple. iBlog version 1.x has been around for a few years now and despite a number of updates its basic feature set has remained relatively static. However, version 2.x is now in development and promises to add some of the features requested by users in the small but friendly community Forum. Mac fans can now choose from an increasing range of blogging software, and here I take a quick look at ecto, a seemingly popular and well-regarded client. This article refers to iBlog (version 1.x), a Mac blogging client that was formerly used to publish this site. It may refer to design elements and other features that have since been replaced. Ecto is described as: a feature-rich desktop blogging client for MacOSX and Windows, supporting a wide range of weblog systems, such as Blogger, Blojsom, Drupal, MovableType, Nucleus, TypePad, WordPress, and more. This software is far from a gooy mess (as in ectoplasm... sorry) but not perfect, and in some ways overly complex. I was unable to get iPhoto or iTunes integration working (I tried version 2.4.1 with a Blogger account). I want to highlight some of the things that work well from the point-of-view of an iBlog user with a "version 2.x wish list" in mind! Do you prefer plain or RTF? iBlog 1.x uses and RTF editor which is responsible for introducing spurious code that has thus far prevented this blog from ...

Visiting the other PDA platform (first 48 hrs)

Bruce — Fri, 14 Oct 2005 14:31:03 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net doi:tSglPpAB7a8nfM :

Palm or Windows Mobile? I've been firmly in the Palm camp to date, but have just acquired a Pocket PC together with Missing Sync for Windows Mobile. This is not a review of the Dell Axim X50v, but rather a functional comparison with my Palm T3 from the point-of-view of a Mac user. How did a Palm user making a trial transition to Pocket PC fair when pairing the device with Mac OS X? For given applications and functionality, does Palm or Pocket PC have the winning edge? Will he or won't he become a "switcher"? First impressions count, so I decided to document my experiences during the first 48 hours with a Pocket PC. There will be plenty to revisit in subsequent bloggings... The outgoing Dell Axim X50v Now superseded by the X51v, Dell were having a 20% off clear-out of the previous model, now 1 year old. The hardware is the same aside from double the ROM. Buying direct saved £77 over Expansys (shop around!) and avoided having to fight it out on eBay for a similar price. It cost me less than a Fujitsu Siemens Loox 720 "Grade B" stock which seemed like a similar spec alternative. I chose a "Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC Second Edition" device because Missing Sync (see below) doesn't yet support Windows Mobile 5.0 (free update pending); Dell has announced that there will be a WM5 upgrade for the X50v (not free), so I have options. The X50v doesn't match my recent wish-list, but then ...