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What I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving season
Since many of us at TUAW are celebrating Thanksgiving in America, I though this might be a good time to join many others in posting a few things I'm thankful for in the Mac web. Naturally, I'm thankful for the wonderful family I'm getting to spend time with, as well as an incredible wife and having a roof over my head. But in the context of TUAW, I figured I would spotlight some of the more Apple-related things for which I'm thankful. You know, the people, apps and other goodness that make my Mac experience that much more appreciable: The blogging team here at TUAW - No I'm not just sucking up; we have a great crew of people here that has recently expanded with the return of Laurie A. Duncan, and our newest blogger Erica Sadun. We're rocking some great content that makes me even more proud to be a TUAW blogger. MagSafe power adapters - kinda silly I know, but living in a house with a wife as busy as I am and a hyper-active Blue Heeler dog, this innovation has already saved my MacBook on a good number of occasions. I thank Apple's engineers for this surprise innovation on the new Intel portables. Daring Fireball - Yes, we pimp John Gruber's stellar musings on all things Apple, software and design quite a bit here on TUAW, but that's only because we all think he does some pretty nifty work, and his writing is a personal inspiration to me. I can't wait for Spring when I'm done with this internship and down to my final semester, with not much more than a senior thesis on my hands, which means more time to dedicate towards creating better posts and podcasts. Xtorrent - Aside from the mixed sentiments towards Mr. Watanabe in my last post about this rockin' BitTorrent client, I'm really digging it, and this is the first holiday trip away from home that I elected to leave the iMac running (on a battery backup, finally) with a long list of goodies to torrent for when I return. Keyword Manager for iPhoto - Sure, I found it just recently, but this app has quickly become a must-have for my iPhoto library. After recently acquiring a killer Canon Digital Rebel XT SLR camera, I'm getting my photography eye back and this app is proving vital for bringing some organization to my now-rapidly expanding library of 3700+ images. Backlit keyboards - I gave up my 1st gen MacBook Pro over the summer for a MacBook + iMac setup so I can leave the desktop machine running to render out big video and motion graphics projects. However, since my wife wants a notebook of her own soon, she promised to chip in to purchase a MacBook Pro for me in June of '07 as a graduation present, at which point she'll inherit the MacBook, and I will be reunited with one of the guiltiest of notebook luxuries that I miss so dearly: a backlit keyboard. Nevermind the recent bump to Core 2 Duo or the (finally!) re-introduction of FW800 and a DL DVD burner - I can't wait to fire up that sexy backlit keyboard. The Intel patch for Unreal Tournament 2004 - I spend way too much time online in this game, and I'm so thankful an Intel patch was released; so much so that it would have been at least a momentary deal-breaker if I couldn't find one when I was considering my original upgrade to Intel machines. I could obviously go on for pages, but I gotta wrap this up sooner or later. These are just a few of the unique things I'm thankful for (besides the obvious: "Macs") during this time of thanking. What Apple-related stuff are you thankful for right now? Whether or not you're celebrating, sound off in the comments.
Newsvine asks John Gruber 7 questions
Brian Ford at Newsvine has served Mr. Gruber with 7 questions, all inspired by various DF posts. Spanning topics such as John's guess on the Macalope's identity, weekly Jackasses and just how useful the rumor business is, it's a short but interesting read on one of the Mac web's most intriguing pundits.
ThisService 1.0
John Gruber wanted an app that would allow one to turn any command line script that accepts input into a service (you remember services, don't you? They live in the Apple menu and don't really do to much). ThisService was born to fill this need.What the heck would you do with this free app (though donations are encouraged)? Well, you could write a script that, for example, takes the ISBN of a book and based on that returns a bunch of information from Amazon's webservice. This way you could be surfing along on a publisher's website, see a book, highlight the ISBN, hit the shortcut, and know what Amazon is selling it for. This is the first example that came to me, but the uses are pretty limitless.
John Gruber releases BBColors 1.0
John Gruber has released a command line tool called BBColors which allows BBEdit and TextWrangler users to save, reload and even share customized color schemes. BBEdit, like many code-friendly text editors, has offered a coloring system for some time, but it still doesn't allow users to save and swap out schemes for, say, different languages or simply different days of the week. John's free utility not only brings color swapping to these app's tool belts, but he also posted a few examples to help get your feet wet. DeviantART, eat your heart out.Instructions for installation and usage can be found on Mr. Gruber's project page for BBColors.
My Dream App voting round 2
The second round of voting is under way over at My Dream App. Vote and let your voice be heard! Plus, when you vote you get a free copy of Mori, Hog Bay Software's document organizer.This round's judges are the cream of the crop of Mac bloggers including John Siracusa of Ars Technica, John Gruber of Daring Fireball, Merlin Mann of 43 Folders. Oh, and somehow yours truly got invited to be a judge. Go check out the apps and vote for your favorite. My favorite idea so far? Blossom, I've never seen an app like it and I sure hope it gets some votes.
Jim Thompson adds second MacBook to Gruber's Wi-Fi hack challenge
Maynor and Elich's rewards just doubled, though the odds remain the same: Jim Thompson, a blogger who has been doing a knock-out job of dissecting this MacBook Wi-Fi hack fiasco, has offered a second MacBook on top of John Gruber's challenge to the dynamic duo. After all, what are two guys going to do with one MacBook?In an update post, Mr. Gruber announced the doubled prize for the challenge (which hasn't been accepted yet, by the way), and apparently had to publicly explain why he believes the challenge is actually fair. Check out the post for some key snippets that lay the breadcrumbs for what could likely be one of the most significant security-related showdowns of Mac OS X's career - if the visiting team ever actually makes it to the field, that is.
John Gruber issues open challenge to MacBook Wi-Fi hackers
Oh it's on now: criticism of the MacBook Wi-Fi hack has been mounting against the original hackers (David Maynor and Jon Ellch) and SecureWorks, while they have remained mostly silent. At least one passionate blogger has been defending the hack and the original statements, but John Gruber has issued an open challenge for Maynor and Elich to prove this hack once and for all: "If you can hijack a brand-new MacBook out of the box, it's yours to keep."From my understanding of the hack as it was originally explained and pseudo-demonstrated, Gruber's criteria and the actual nature of the challenge sound reasonable: he will meet Maynor and/or Elich at an agreed-upon Apple Store or Mac reseller, and he will purchase a brand new MacBook (but the true question is: traditional white, or $150-premium black? Update: he's already laid down a $1099 price; the base configuration). After taking the machine through a default setup with one administrator account, he will enable Wi-Fi (if it isn't turned on out of the box), but will refuse to join any open networks (since Mac OS X is designed to deny this by default, and the attack - understandably - can't be based on a user blindly joining just any open networks, especially one that might be created specifically by an attacking machine). John will then create a basic file on the desktop, with the default permissions assigned by Mac OS X (read/write by user, read-only by Group and the World). Maynor and/or Elich are then free to attack, and if the file disappears from the desktop - they win a (very slightly used, recently attacked) MacBook. If the file stands its ground, the hackers owe John the price of the MacBook. If the dynamic duo manage to only crash the machine or the current login session, John will call the challenge a tie, whereas he will keep the MacBook, and the duo don't have to whip out their checkbooks.I am admittedly no security expert, nor am I a 1337 h4x0r, but the challenge seems sound. Any readers who have been following this saga spot any holes? Feel free to sound off - and stay tuned: the challenge must be accepted by Friday, September 8th, and as John already deduced: the most likely outcome is that they'll only take the challenge if the know they can win.
Hijacking the 'MacBook Wi-Fi hack' in one article or less
John Gruber is at it again, and this time he's taken the MacBook Wi-Fi hack drama to the cleaners with perhaps the most in-depth play-by-play analysis I've seen to date (would you expect anything less?). Mr. Fireball starts at the top, even including an explanation of the various components involved (card, driver and 'third party') to make sure everyone can follow along. He covers the sensationalizing "Hijacking a MacBook in 60 Seconds or Less" article blog post from Brian Krebs of the Washington Post that started all this, mixes in some he-said she-said from the likes of SecureWorks (the company who sponsored this supposed hack at the Black Hat hacker conference) and Apple's PR response, and even finds time to toss in some thoughts on George Ou, a ZDNet blogger who is valiantly determined to go down with the ship. It's yet another fantastic read from Daring Fireball, a site to which I'm glad to say I've purchased a membership. Check it out.
Tim Bray back on Mac
Remember all that hubbub about Mac geeks switching to Ubuntu? Well, Tim Bray (one of those geeks) is back on the Mac and he thinks that it beats Ubuntu, though just barely. He lists a number of interesting reasons for why one would choose OS X or some other Linux distro, all of which seem very reasonable. He has decided to keep his data in non-proprietary formats, which means that any OS can open up his stuff which, in turn, means that he can choose whatever OS he wants. We could all learn a little something from Tim's attitude towards computers.[via Daring Fireball]
Flickr Find: WWDC is a no blog zone
John Gruber, a man who knows his cheesesteaks as well as his Macs, is on the scene at WWDC and is armed with his camera. He took the picture above and posted it to Flickr. Notice it says, 'Please ensure that your communications with others outside WWDC 2006, including your blogs, do not contain any Apple Confidential Information.'We have made it people, Apple fears blogs. Or something.
PRESS RELEASE: TUAW writer bucks trend, sticks with Mac OS X
Conrad Quilty-Harper, a writer for Mac site TUAW.com, has decided to continue using his Macintosh computer, countering the recent trend for high profile Ubuntu switchesFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASECanterbury, Kent, United Kingdom (July 26th, 2006) - Conrad Quilty-Harper, a writer for the popular Macintosh blog, The Unofficial Apple Weblog, has announced a bold plan to continue using Mac OS X for the foreseeable future. According to Conrad, this move is partly in reaction to the recent trend for relatively high profile figures across the web to announce their plan to switch away from the Mac OS operating system to Linux-based operating systems, in particular Ubuntu.On the subject of Ubuntu switchers Cory Doctorow, Mark Pilgrim and now Bryan O'Bryan, the owner of Mac modding and hacking site ResExcellence, Conrad said, "I just don't care." He also poses the question, "Since when did a person's computing platform of choice become a matter that must be announced to the public?"As an example of his extraordinary resilience, Conrad says that he will continue to use the Mac until either his needs exceed the Mac operating system's capabilities, or he gets a life and decides that he didn't need a computer anyway. Conrad also states that he agrees with John Gruber's point of view regarding the Ubuntu switching trend. "I defend the right of others to switch to other operating systems, and even to point out the shortcomings of the OS they are switching away from, but please, can we stop the whole 'NEWSFLASH: random dude switches away from the Mac!' nonsense?"
Gruber's Magic 8 Ball on Zune
The Zune is coming, the Zune is coming! We all know that Microsoft has announced (but not shown off a working model) their iPod competitor (I noticed that most articles about the Zune aren't calling it an iPod killer, so I won't either) that will have WiFi, a social component, and quite possibly double as a cheese grater.What's a Mac pundit to do? Why, pull out your Magic 8 Ball and start answering some questions about Zune, at least that's what John 'My Fireball is more Daring than yours' Gruber did today. Head on over for an entertaining and informative read. You'll be glad you did.
Daring Fireball on why Apple won't open source apps
Thank God Gruber quit his day job to write Daring Fireball. Even when I disagree with him (which I admit is almost never), I always enjoy and respect what he has to say, and today is no different: In response to an article by Tim Bray questioning why Apple won't open-source its most popular apps (Mail, Safari, iChat, etc.), Gruber points out a fact that we often forget: Apple's in it for the money, and they use the popular apps included in OS X as an incentive to upgrade when the Mac-maker uncages a new cat. After all, most of the system's user-noticeable upgrades lie in improvements to the applications, not the OS itself, and if developers could manhandle the code and release a better version themselves more frequently, what's the point in buying a $130 piece of software?Gruber explains it much better than I can in his article, so give it a read.
Aperture isn't dead
The last few days have been a real roller coaster for Aperture. Has it been scrapped? Did Apple rush it out the door? Will we ever seen an update for it?Well, today we saw the release of Aperture 1.1.1, and that is a good sign. Continuing on that trend John Gruber, that Daring Fireball, pestered his sources at Apple until they finally told him that none of the engineers on the Aperture team were fired; they all left the project because of lousy management (the manager was fired though).Finally, Maccentral sat down with Kirk Paulsen (the Senior Director of Pro Applications Marketing at Apple) and he assured Maccentral that Aperture is alive and well.So, fear not prosumer/pro photogs, go forth and Aperture!
John Gruber releases new Daring Fireball t-shirts, quits day job
John Gruber has answered the call for more Daring Fireball t-shirts and released two new designs (pictured) in addition to his original (not pictured). As before, purchasing one shirt for $29 (shipping included) will also score you a one year membership to full RSS and Linked List feeds, but now you can purchase additional shirts for $19 each, again with free shipping (bonus points to anyone who can point out the Mac nerdery significance in the POS shirt without cheating and checking John's post). Already established members can purchase any of these shirts at the already lowered price of $19.Now before you pull that 'if only he wrote more often' complaint out of your back pocket, John has answered that call as well by launching an Initiative - he quit his day job last week to write Daring Fireball full time.Those membership perks of full RSS and Linked List feeds just got a whole lot more valuable. Yes, I've had a membership for almost a year now (and I'll definitely be renewing), but no - John didn't pay us for product placement.
Apple turning Windows into the new Classic?
John Gruber has posted an interesting analysis of Apple's treatment of Windows in light of Boot Camp and the rampant speculation as to the possibility of Windows virtualization built into Mac OS X 10.5, due out this fall.While many publications are cranking out guesses (regardless of their education) as to what Boot Camp means to Apple and the future of Mac OS X, Gruber's analysis brings some clarity to the noise as he delves into the various ways that Apple has marketed Boot Camp's abilities, including the interesting language they used on Boot Camp's site, which we briefly pointed out at the product's release.Check out John's analysis if you're interested in a thorough analysis from a respected Apple pundit on what all this Boot Camp business means.
Daring Fireball on "The iPod Juggernaut"
John Gruber has published a glaringly well-written piece that dissects the iPod's unstoppable success, why things are going so well and why analysts should simply remove the term "iPod-killer" from their vocabulary. While it might be a bit lengthier than your typical "iPods are great, Dell sucks" blog post, it is a wholly educational and darn solid argument worth every word. So head on over to Daring Fireball (click the Read link below) to find out why Apple can't make the same mistakes they made in the 80's, how Apple is out-innovating everyone despite their monopoly, and to hear an actually compelling case for why the iPod's competitors should just close shop - especially since one already has.
Daring Fireball's Macworld 2006 roundup
John Gruber, of Daring Fireball, or 'the Grubs,' as I like to call him, has posted a lengthy review of this year's Macworld. He goes over what he expected to be announced, what was announced, and what he thinks of the whole thing.It is nice to see that we weren't the only people surprised by the Intel iMac announcement. Oh, Apple, you are a cruel mistress.
Daring Fireball: brushed metal saga continues
"Brushed Metal: Can I borrow a hundred dollars?Safari puts his hand on the door to close it.Safari: I have to go.Brushed Metal: Fifty?Safari: Get out of here."After this week's release of a completely non-Brushed Metal iLife 06 suite, Daring Fireball's John Gruber is at it again with another hilarious episode of a doomed Anthropomorphized Brushed Metal Interface (note: colorful language warning). In case you didn't catch the first installment, in which iTunes 5 was the first official sign of Brushed Metal's numbered days, you should probably check that one out first as it might make more sense. Either way, they're a couple of darn funny posts from a great writer. Kudos John.
