Todd Ritter - Engadget

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Stories By Todd Ritter

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Apps

Apps By Todd Ritter

Better printing with Gutenprint

Gutenprint (formerly called Gimp-Print) is an open-source package of improved printer drivers and utilities that can be installed on Mac OS X to enhance printing functionality and add additional support for older printers. It has driver support for over 1300 printer models, and adds a GIMP plugin for better print customization and color adjustments. Since I do a lot of Mac system imaging and deployment, I don't like to install a bunch of separate print drivers on a seed image. I initially just used Leopard's built-in generic Postscript or PCL driver, but I had many issues with printing speed (the speed of spooling and job submission, not the speed of the physical printing process) and print quality. So I installed the Gutenprint package, switched all printers to the Generic Gutenprint PCL driver, and the printing issues subsided. To use Gutenprint, simply download the .dmg (5.2.3 is the latest version) and install the package. All of the necessary PPD's and drivers will be copied to your computer, and you will be able to select Gutenprint drivers when adding printers. If you have an Epson Stylus Inkjet printer, you will then also be able to use "escputil" from Terminal to do printer maintenance like head aligning and cleaning. Update: Thanks to Charley and Olligarski for commenting that Gutenprint drivers are now included in Leopard. I have used Gutenprint for a while but failed to check if it was installed before I started using the package. It's still worth the install if you're a Tiger user, but the latest version requires at least 10.3 Panther.
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Apps

Apps By Todd Ritter

My first iPhone application

Last month I wrote about some resources for learning Objective-C that I was using to learn how to write iPhone applications. Judging by the number of comments on that article, I thought that I should write a follow-up post about my progress and the status of my first iPhone application. Since I had a few programming classes in college (VB, C++), the logic of loops and decision statements was not a big hurdle. By using the learning resources like screencasts and books, I was able to get a better grasp of object-oriented programming (OOP) in general, and of course the syntax specific to Obj-C. I became familiar enough with Xcode just by using it for demo programs, and I used the wealth of iPhone developer resources from Apple to use the iPhone SDK. After paying $99 to Apple to enter into the iPhone Developer program, I was then able to access the forums; they were helpful in figuring out specific things (like how to preset a UIPickerView object).
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Apps

Apps By Todd Ritter

Crayon Physics Deluxe for iPhone

Crayon Physics Deluxe (App Store) is an iPod Touch/iPhone 2.0 game highly similar to Touch Physics (App Store) in that you must move a ball to the goal (represented by the star on the right) by drawing various things on the screen. For instance, to move a ball across a gap, you would simply draw a line with your finger over the gap.The game has 50 levels, and it includes a level editor so that you can make your own levels to increase replay value. You can play straight through the levels, or use the level chooser to jump around and play any levels (useful if you get stuck on a particular level). The music is calming and the graphics are good, but the levels initially draw very slowly.
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Computing

Computing By Todd Ritter

Starting out with Objective-C

I recently decided to embark on a personal challenge to learn Objective-C (the programming language behind Mac and iPhone applications) so that I could one day get applications into the App Store. I'm not looking to make millions with a fart machine app, but I do want to see some of my ideas come to fruition and end up on some iPhones. While we've previously mentioned how to delve into programming in Objective-C, there have been some recent releases of educational materials that can help those who want to learn the language:Programming in Objective-C 2.0 (book, $44.99)This is the latest release of Stephen Kochan's series which some consider to be the Objective-C bible. It has a wealth of information jammed into almost 600 pages, and it will take you from simple variable assignments to advanced class implementation. I'm over halfway through this book, and the text is easy to read (not too high level), and is broken up in a visually appealing style with sufficient whitespace to be gentle on your eyes. If you're only interested in programming for the iPhone, you may only want to rely on this book for its wealth of foundational Objective-C material as it only has one chapter devoted to the iPhone.
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Google

Google By Todd Ritter

Google releases Picasa 3 for Mac

iPhoto haters rejoice! Google recently released their popular photo management and editing program, Picasa, for Mac OS X. In my early testing, it didn't crash or seem sluggish, but like many Google offerings, this version still bears the "Beta" designation.Picasa integrates nicely with Google's online photo-hosting service, Picasa Web Albums, by allowing album syncing, uploading, and access control. Album syncing allows you to change a photo (by retouching, changing the caption, cropping, etc.) and have the changed photo appear in seconds on your web album. Your iPhoto library can be viewed in Picasa in "read-only" form. If you want to make edits to photos in your iPhoto library, you'll have to let Picasa make a copy of the photo and then edit it. Picasa also lets you upload photos to Blogger, create videos of your photos, and create a collage. It's nice to have a solid option aside from iPhoto to manage our photo collections locally and on the web. Picasa is a free 17MB download.
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Apps

Apps By Todd Ritter

Stocking Stuffer iPhone Apps

Looking for late gifts for iPhone owners? Here are some iPhone apps that are great for last-minute stocking stuffers or to show off your iPhone to your relatives during the holidays: Charades ($1.99 US) -- While you're gathered around friends and family with nothing to do after the presents have been opened, use this app to generate some of the over 1000 charades games provided. The app offers a difficulty setting and Wikipedia links to each charade (in case you get stuck trying to act it out).
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Smartphones

Smartphones By Todd Ritter

iPhone 101: Add mobile websites to home screen

Many websites and services offer great mobile versions without being packaged in an App Store application. If you want to be able to quickly access these sites from your home screen, follow these steps: Launch Safari on your iPhone Browse to a desired mobile site (most sites will automatically redirect you to the mobile version once they determine that you're using an iPhone) Click the Favorites (+) button at the bottom of Safari Click "Add to Home Screen" Type a name for the icon that will appear on your home screen Click the "Add" button You will now see an icon on your home screen that will launch directly to the mobile website. Since I'm headed to Washington D.C. next week, I found this handy for the Metro mobile site and the Allpoint ATM search site.
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Xbox

Xbox By Todd Ritter

Manage Xbox Live friends with iNXES

To accompany the recent Xbox 360 dashboard update, 1337pwn.com released a new version of their Xbox Live friends-management iPhone application. iNXES lets you view your friends list in the NXE form complete with avatars, gamer scores, and online status.In my testing (on 3G and WiFi), performance was pretty poor. Scrolling through categories or through my friends list was sluggish, and some of my friends' avatars have been updated on Xbox Live but are not showing on iNXES. I was, however, able to see profile data, achievements, and game history.
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News

News By Todd Ritter

Yet another introduction

Greetings, TUAW faithful! I'm Todd, and after writing for Download Squad for a year, I'm fortunate enough to be able to write for TUAW. A MacBook Pro is my primary machine and I'm rarely without my iPhone 3G (who isn't?).By day I'm a systems admin for a school district in central Pennsylvania where I manage a network of about 1400 PC's, 600 Macs, and 35 servers (a handful of which run Mac OS X). I handle all of the Mac client management, system imaging, and podcast-related functions. In addition to my day job, a few nights a month I teach at a local career institute covering topics like Apache administration, Active Directory management, and Cisco configuration. I get to work with small classes in hands-on environments which allow the students to get a taste of the real "IT" world.Drawing from these experiences, I hope to offer insightful articles ranging from the use of Apple products in the classroom to creating Mac system images for mass deployment. I look forward to interacting, sharing, and learning from you and the other great TUAW writers!
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