bioneural.net » osx

Add a geo field to iPhone and Address Book

Bruce — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:24:13 +0000

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

Both the Mac OSX Address Book and Contacts/ Phone apps on the Apple iPhone support a custom "geo" field. You can use this field to store GPS coordinates that will open a Google Map when right-clicked on Mac or tapped on iPhone. The reverse geocoding in Google Maps isn't always perfect; this gives you the option to store a more accurate location alongside a human-readable address. Creating a geo field in iPhone Contacts If you have an existing contact with address details in the iPhone Contacts app, tap on the address to launch Maps: Maps will place a pin at the approximate location of the address for that contact: Tap the blue and white arrow on the tag to see the Info screen, then tap the Share Location button at the bottom left: In the mail message body note the GPS coordinate values and jot these down: Go back into Contacts and edit the address to which you want to add the coordinates. Tap the plus icon to add a new address: Tap the address type button at the bottom right of the next screen: Now select geo as the address type: Enter the coordinates you jotted down earlier into the first field: After editing the coordinates should display underneath the existing address: Tapping these coordinates on the iPhone will launch Maps (although you may notice odd pin labels—not sure why that is). After sync you should see the corresponding geo field in Address Book under Mac OSX: If you don't have an existing Contact address you can of course start with ...

Tooling up to read, write and cite

Bruce — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:56:28 +0000

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

It's not taken me long to rediscover that a major facet of the student experience is the reading of lecture notes, journal articles, reports, book chapters, and other material. When much of this material is available in electronic form (notably Office documents and PDF) you need software that lets you work with and manage those formats effectively and efficiently. Sometimes this necessitates ditching your preferred tools in favour of de facto standards for the sake of compatibility: function must take precedence over form. And don't forget to shop around. The de facto Office standard I happen to like Pages and Keynote, part of Apple's iWork suite. But every time you need to open a Microsoft Office document you have to convert it, then re-save as .doc or .ppt for outside compatibility. I decided it would be easiest to obtain Office 2008 for Mac, since most downloadable teaching materials on my course are in Office formats. Just because a university promotes a certain supplier, however, doesn't mean you'll get the best deal. For example the Microsoft HE/FE Student Select Agreement offered by Viglen makes Office 2008 available for £36.00, but they add £10.00 for media plus VAT plus £3.53 delivery—total £57.58. Software4Students offer the same product for £30.15 plus VAT with free delivery and a £1.95 transaction charge—total £37.35. Reference and citation management EndNote is the de facto reference manager used at University of Sheffield, and they sell the Windows version directly to students for £80. For the Mac version you have to go to ...

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 ...

Address Book to Google Maps to RouteBuddy

Bruce — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:37:16 +0000

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

A while back it was necessary to use an Address Book plugin to look up contacts using Google Maps, but Apple changed to make plotting addresses using Google Maps the default behaviour. It turns out with a bit of JavaScript you can grab the coordinates via the Google Maps API and include these in a special URL that will create a waypoint in RouteBuddy. No Address Book plugins or custom AppleScripts required. Credits: Aburt gave me the idea to challenge myself to do it, having discovered this starting point with a strong hint from here. Tested and compatible with Safari 3.1.2 and Firefox 3.0.1 using RouteBuddy 2.1.1. Installation Just select and drag the JavaScript below into Safari's Bookmarks Bar (or your browser's equivalent) for easy access, creating a so-called "bookmarklet", and give it a short name (I used LL2RB but anything will do): javascript:void(prompt('Drag%20the%20selection%20below%20onto%20RouteBuddy\'s%20Dock%20icon:',['rbud://view?&lat='+gApplication.getMap().getCenter().lat()+'&lon='+gApplication.getMap().getCenter().lng()+'&zoom=4'])); Usage Select a contact in Address Book and control or right-click on the address label to reveal the Map of option: This should open a Google Map centred on the address for that contact, with an open info window. If that location looks correct just click on the bookmarklet and you should see something like the following: All you need do now is follow the instruction to drag the selected URL onto RouteBuddy's icon in the Dock. Example URL: rbud://view?&lat=53.371075&lon=-1.477572&zoom=4 This will launch RouteBuddy and create a new waypoint at these same coordinates, which you can then edit as appropriate: But what happens if Google Maps botches the address look-up, or you want to add a location from ...

Home-made DVDs won't mount or copy on Mac

Bruce — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 10:39:07 +0000

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

Home-made DVDs of our travels and family events were backed up as disk images (.dmg) onto an external hard drive as they were made. When these were inadvertently deleted I attempted to re-create the backup using Disk Utility to create new disk images. I was very concerned to find that about a third of my collection would either fail to mount on the OS X desktop or, if so, caused Disk Utility to report an input/ output error resulting in failure to copy. So what gives Apple? Why can my Mac not mount, copy, or play back Mac-made DVDs—when my consumer player handles them fine? All the DVDs in question were made using iDVD (various versions), using several brands of media (mainly Apple and Imation), between 2001 and 2007. Here's what I found: Some disks mounted under OS X 10.5.4 via a slot-loading drive (Intel MacBook) and Disk Utility was able to create .dmg files; Of the remainder some mounted under OS X 10.5.4 via a slot-loading drive (Intel MacBook) and Disk Utility failed to create .dmg files, citing in input/ output error; Of the remainder some mounted under OS X 10.5.4 via a slot-loading drive (Intel MacBook) and Carbon Copy Cloner was able to create .dmg files; Of the remainder some mounted under OS X 10.5.4 via a tray-loading drive (G4 iMac) and Disk Utility was able to create .dmg files; Of the remainder some mounted under OS X 10.5.4 via a tray-loading drive (G4 iMac) and Disk Utility failed to create .dmg files, citing ...

Access Bluetooth devices in Windows on Mac

Bruce — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 18:57:53 +0000

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

Users of Parallels Desktop for Mac find a number of advantages apply to booting Windows in a virtualized environment that is integrated with OS X. The shared access to hard drives, keyboards, networking, displays etc. does not unfortunately extend to your Mac's built-in Bluetooth. When I reviewed a Bluetooth-based GPS data logger recently I wanted to compare the Mac tools to their Windows equivalents. A small investment in a Bluetooth USB adapter was all that was required to make this possible. You could, of course, use Apple's Boot Camp and start your Mac up in Windows which—with Apple-supplied Bluetooth drivers for XP—makes your built-in hardware available. I would have done this, but my Boot Camp partition is unavailable as a boot drive in FireWire Target Disk Mode (it's a long story). After a bit of searching I discovered a solution hidden away in the Parallels Forum: Turn off built-in Bluetooth on the Mac; Start Parallels and insert the CD to install drivers for a Bluetooth USB adapter you purchased earlier (mine cost £12); Plug in the adapter when prompted, and wait for it to be recognized; When the installation is complete, turn on your external Bluetooth device and pair it; After pairing you should be able to access any Bluetooth services supported by the device. If you forget to turn off built-in Bluetooth on the Mac you'll encounter this message as OS X tries to appropriate the adapter:

Restore itinerary planning to TomTom ONE v6

Bruce — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 09:02:46 +0000

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

Hot on the heels of the "latest" map debacle, I've another bone to pick with TomTom. My TomTom ONE 3rd Edition (v6) came with customizable menus which permitted use of the itinerary planning functions. Did you know RouteBuddy could upload, download, modify, and re-upload TomTom Itineraries (routes)? Great—except that TomTom HOME didn't tell me it would remove the itinerary code when "updating" the ONE's software. I was, however, able to roll back from NavCore 8.010 to 7.166 and regain that lost itinerary planning functionality. Lost in translation If you had read this you'll know that TomTom aren't too proficient at communicating ("a free download" to TomTom means one time only, whereas "AVG is a free download" means what we all think it means). I guess that's why "update" means "removal of pre-existing functions" in TomTomese. Consider the following sequence: Sequence Event One TomTom's NavCore 7.x software for the ONE (v6) includes itinerary planning code, but no menu option Two A procedure for activating itineraries using SDK custom menus is documented by users Three TomTom "update" NavCore to 8.x on the ONE v6, covertly the removing itinerary planning code Four TomTom release a new ONE with the same version of 8.x software, which does include itinerary planning You may draw your own conclusions as to their motivation and level of commitment to existing customers. Not all change is good With a custom menu the "old" NavCore software afforded easy access to point-of-interest (POI) management and Itinerary planning: Custom main menus using NavCore 7.166 software After "updating" to NavCore 8.010 such customization no longer works, and the ONE's Main ...

Geotagging with the Mac-friendly GlobalSat BT-335

Bruce — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 20:37:06 +0000

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

GlobalSat's BT-335 functions as both a Bluetooth-equiped GPS receiver (compatible with most NMEA-compliant mapping/ navigation software on Bluetooth SPP-compliant PDAs, smartphones, and computers) and as a stand-alone data logger. It can perform both functions simultaneously, saving coordinates, time stamps, altitude, and speed to a log which can be wirelessly downloaded for use in geotagging photos or in other location-related applications. This review compares the BT-335 to my previously purchased and evaluated Holux M-241, focussing on Mac compatibility and geotagging utility. Disclosure: A sample BT-335 unit was provided by USGlobalSat, Inc. for the purposes of this review. Those unfamiliar with the basic concepts of geotagging may wish to read this introduction first. What's in the box? BT-335 packaging and accessories BT-335 unit; CD-ROM (with PDF manual, Windows-only software); Set-up/ quick start card; 12V DC car charger; US-style 110/ 240V AC wall charger; US-to-Euro wall adapter. The BT-335 ($US120) is a compact 75g matchbox-style unit in silver plastic that includes anti-slip strips for horizontal placement (e.g. on a dashboard). Unlike the cylindrical M-241 (which has to be kept vertical) the BT-335 doesn't come with a lanyard, although use of one was obviously a consideration—the unit has a lanyard attachment. I do find myself using the lanyard with the M-241 around my neck, mainly so I can keep a close check on battery status. One of the LEDs on the BT-335 lights red when the battery needs charging, but with a claimed 25 hour capacity the unit could easily be turned on and "forgotten" in a pocket (e.g. jacket, camera bag). As well as ...

More Mac tools for geotaggers

Bruce — Tue, 27 May 2008 12:24:43 +0000

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

The developer of CDFinder has released GPS-Info CMM, a free contextual menu plug-in for the OS X Finder. Images with coordinates in EXIF can be plotted directly using several online mapping services or in Google Earth. Meanwhile the iCab browser b49 delivers extended geotagging support, such as recognition of EXIF-GPS data within images displayed inline on a web page: auto-detection activates the geotag icon.

Resolving router issues with Be Unlimited

Bruce — Tue, 27 May 2008 07:02:48 +0000

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

Be Unlimited provide ADSL2+ services in the UK, supplying a Be-branded Thompson SpeedTouch wireless router called the BeBox. The Member Forum is full of complaints about router instability and errant behaviour. My 780WL had been doing well for around 6 months, then started resetting itself sometimes several times within a short period, but at least daily. Sometimes after a reset I was left with no Internet connectivity. Eventually Be sent me a replacement router, which came with replacement problems. So how do you turn a flaky BeBox into a rock-solid Internet router? Just take the "Be" out of your BeBox. Be deny any blame Be offered me a variety of explanations and solutions for the frequent disconnection/ resets I was experiencing: The router firmware was corrupt (this was suggested by each of the 4 support staff I contacted—perhaps a stock response. I explained I couldn't replace it using a Mac—see below); Local errors my router reported were indicative of a problem between the router and my computer; Local errors my router reported were likely due to line noise (despite very good data rates it seems, and a clear Quiet Line Test—17070 option 2); The replacement router was disconnecting because I was using the wrong DNS server IP addresses (I was; Be's instructions for configuring the replacement router for a static IP were completely wrong; I got no connection at all until I was given the correct gateway IP address over the phone); Ongoing issues with the replacement router indicated that the problem was "something on my network", ...