Feb
28
I hardly could believe my eyes when I saw this. Finally it seems that the Core Group is waking up and starting to make deals. That or Vodacom saw that there is a growing market for MacBooks. The latter seems more believable.
I got SPAMMED in my offline mailbox today with the latest cellphone specials flyer thingy. On the last page they advertised that you could get a MacBook with a 3G MyMeg 500 contract. There are two other laptops you could get with the deal too, but who cares?
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Apple stuff Stii
Feb
15
“…we want our applications to run at least as fast as an apple fanboy on the day of the iphone release…”
Got it from: Amateur Hour with Jordan Isip
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Apple stuff, Funnies Stii
Oct
11
After last night’s excursion celebrating exams written, I’m reminded by a bit of a pounding headache that I should inform all the Garden Route people that Stormhoek is finally available over here!
Soretha de Kock is the lady to get hold of to order some wines and to get it delivered to your doorstep! Thanks Soretha! I’ve got her details, so if you need it, let me know by leaving a comment.
I must say, I’m NOT a fan of Microsoft. How about an Apple labelled wine or a Linux one? C’mon Hugh, do us a nice one of Apple! PLEASE!
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Apple stuff, General and sometimes Rants Stii
Oct
09
I’m still a n00b as far as OSX is concerned. One thing I must thank Henk Kleynhans for is that he introduced me to Quicksilver. What an amazing little application!
Quicksilver is often seen as a Spotlight replacement. My first comment to Henk was “but its the same as Spotlight”. Ha, was I wrong! Yes, there is some striking similarities, but Quicksilver goes far beyond launching your applications or opening your documents.
Here is a perfect example of its usefulness. This is a function I use ALL the time. OSX have a great dictionary application. It is vast and powerful and pretty useful. Ever so often I get to a web site where there is an English word I simply don’t know. Now I first have to open the dictionary application and search for the word before I get to know what it is. Fortunately for me, Quicksilver integrates beautifully with the dictionary application. All you do is the following:
You enter the Quicksilver hotkey (in my case it is Command + Spacebar) to launch it:
You type a . to tell Quicksilver that it is text you are entering and it must not search for an application or something else. Right after the . you type or paste your word (if you copied it).
You press the tab key to move to the second block and type dictionary. Note that you would probably get to dic before the dictionary application icon appears. The more you use it, the more Quicksilver will “know” that you want dictionary. On my Mac, when I type d it already knows I want the dictionary. Once the dictionary icon shows you press enter.
And Viola! it opens up a small window with the dictionary explanation of the word you don’t know!
Initially I thought that it is slower than simply launching the dictionary or keeping it open and entering the word and search for it. Initially I was right 
BUT once you get into the keystrokes it simply cannot be beaten!
If you want this functionality though, you need to install the Dictionary Quicksilver plug-in. It is as easy as pi. Open your Quicksilver control panel, go to Plug-ins and tick the Dictionary tickbox. There. All. Is. Good!
As you can see there is quite a few plug-ins and I would probably do more of this soon!
PS: Dumbass me went and highlighted the Developer plug-in. 
Soz!
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Apple stuff, Kick-ass Tools Stii
Oct
05
My friend Gerry emailed me this article written by a Windows to Mac convert explaining why Windows users don’t/won’t switch to Mac. There is some pretty valid arguments and one of the main reasons is that Mac zealots themselves are the main cause as they bash Windows and in general piss off Windows users by their smug arguments. Now let me confess, Mac is not perfect. Damn close, but no cigar yet.
There are a couple of interesting facts that should be highlighted:
- Windows still dominate the OS market in a big way. Now we all know that the masses rule. Law of nature. Why then don’t you get more Mac bashing than there currently is? Well, for one, the Mac zealots that do the most bashing comes from a Windows background. They have worked on Windows before. Especially if they have done support and had to deal with irritating Windows users that do stupid shit. This right after you’ve told the buggers to NEVER EVER open email attachments that they are not expecting. In other words, we zealots have had unimaginable frustrating experiences with Windows and we can bash because we know what we’re bashing. Most Windows users never worked on a Mac before, so they realise that they will get ridiculed should they lash out. I seriously do not think Mac users that has always worked on Mac do a lot of bashing. I could be wrong.
- Interesting that there is not as much Linux vs. Mac bashing going on. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen a few, but it is less common. I think the same principle applies as to the first point. Most Mac users have never worked on Linux, therefore stand to be ridiculed should they lash out. Me, I’ve done it all. I have the greatest respect for Linux. It is solid and stable and extremely powerful and of course free. The main difference is the UI. Mac is prettier at the moment. I have a PC here in my office with Ubuntu Feisty and I can honestly say Linux is getting there FAST. If I had to choose between Mac or Linux, I would think about it carefully. Between Linux/Mac and Windows, well, there won’t be any thinking involved!
- A whole lot of Windows users are frustrated with Windows and therefore do secretly enjoy the Windows bashing. They are forced to work on Windows. I used to be like that when I was still bound to Windows by my job. Its hell on digital earth, man.
- In this article, Steven Leigh says that he reckons Vista is a good OS and the best ever shipped by Microsoft. Really? Maybe Vista is the best OS Microsoft has ever come out with, we just have not seen the best side of it. It is probably still under construction.
- We all have a sadistic streak in our personalities (Mac, Windows, Linux, etc… users. The whole lot of us.). Whether you like it or not, it is there. Mac and Linux folks have found the perfect alley to channel that sadistic flaw in their personalities. They irritate the living crap out of Windows users. They know it and therefore do it in order to relieve that itch. Come on, admit it. Its fun! If there was no reaction from the Windows stall, you would not do it. The more Windows zealots retaliate, the more satisfaction it gives the Windows bashers! Bring it on, I say!
- Then of course, there is the simple but most important fact that MAC IS ACTUALLY BETTER THAN WINDOWS!!!! Thats not arguable, it is a plain fact. What is arguable is whether Mac is better than Linux, but Windows? C’mon! No contest!
- Another fact is that Mac zealots actually don’t want you to switch from Windows. If everyone switched to Mac or Linux there will be a full scale war. Linux guys are not so easy to tease and normally much more aggressive and more savvy and for sure a lot stronger (technically speaking) than their Windows counterparts! It would be difficult to argue there, and there is a good chance that it will get nasty. No, stick to Windows so we can gloat and torture you. It is us Geek’s way to get to feel how the schoolyard bully’s feel. Please. We NEED that.
As I said in the beginning, Mac is not perfect. They have done the stupidest things in the past. For example, they allowed Internet Explorer to be the default browser between 1997 and 2003. Really, how dumb can you be?!
The other fact is as time goes by and Windows evolve, we’d probably have to stay “in touch” with it so we’ll know what we’re talking about… Brrr… not a pleasant thought.
Somehow, I think, this will not be the last thing said on this issue… and for the record:
Mac > Windows
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Apple stuff, Funnies Stii
Oct
04
If you work a lot on the command line and specially if you are used to Gnome on Linux, then you will find out very quickly that the default Terminal.app application for OS X does not cut it. It is okay for smallish and quick jobs, but if you are living on the command line and using ViM as your editor of choice, it becomes a mission.
All you have to do though is to download iTerm. iTerm is a GPL terminal emulator which is far better than the default terminal application. The biggest drawcard is the support of tabs. If you are used to Gnome on Unbuntu you are used to opening one terminal window with an array of terminal session windows. iTerm allows you to do the same. In the Terminal.app application (the default one) you have to open multiple windows and arrange them to make sense.
There was one quirk I found, but with a quick solution. When using ViM in iTerm, you are restricted to the hjkl keys to move the cursor. This is fine, but when you are in INSERT mode and forget to press escape and try to move the cursor, you’ll irritate yourself.
So how to fix to move your cursor with the arrow keys:
In iTerm, click on “Bookmarks” and “Manage Bookmarks”
You will see a list of bookmarks if you more than one set up so select the one labeled Default by clicking on it and highlighting it and click the edit icon (the button with the pencil in it or the third from the left).
All you then do is change the keyboard setting from xterm (OS X) to Global.
Once you are done, you need to quit iTerm and fire it up again and “Viola!” your arrow keys are hunky-dory in ViM.
I found this helpful help at : http://www.help2go.com/
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Apple stuff, Kick-ass Tools, Software Development Stii
Oct
03
Below is the latest attempt of Microsoft to blow Apple’s iPod out of the water. They tried, at least. What is very interesting is the round thingy under the screen. Apple called it the “clickwheel”. Microsoft, on the other hand, thought it would be witty to call theirs the “ZunePad“.
Gizmodo was on this like shit on a wool blanket. As they said on Gizmodo: “Here come your blog wedgies.”
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Apple stuff Stii
Sep
05
This is cool. Nic. Pretty. Almost like and iPhone, but without the ability to phone! Still it is WiFi enabled and looks fantastic! I know there is a big debate about “one device to rule them all”, but this one is sweet as candy! For more info: http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/
Blogged with Flock
Tags: ipod, iphone, gadgets
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Apple stuff Stii
Aug
30
It reminds me a little of a show way back when called “Agter elke man” (Behind every man). When Steve Hofmeyr was Bruce and Dulcie van der Berg was Auntie Stienie who always loved to gossip stories she’s heard through a network ten times adapted… Anyway! Wezzo twitted a link to Engadget this morning of Nokia’s latest “invention”. Yes folks, the Nokia iPhone!
Now, I’ve always been a great fan of Nokia. The first phone I ever had was a Nokia. Tried a bunch of others, but in the end always switched back the next upgrade to a Nokia. I guess I’m used to their way of doing and presenting things and it works best for me. Now with this iPhone like phone coming out next year (which means we’ll probably see it in two years time) I’m a bit flustered! I’m definitely going to invest in an iPhone when it hits our shores. I’m an Apple Zealot (beeg verry beeg fan!) and I spend most my life lately in front of it stress testing (unintentionally) the living crap out my Mac, so yeah, I would definitely get an iPhone. At least this will give me the option that if I in some bizzare way don’t find the iPhone working for me very well (can it even make calls?! just checking…) I can convert back to a Nokia offering the same intuitive user interface.
I’m a bit dissappointed that it looks soooo much like a knock-off. At least Nokia could have changed the casing of the phone! It looks like they have taken an iPhone, scraped off the iPhone logo and sticked a Nokia logo on there! Ouch! What a why to obtain a Dolly label…
Oh well… Wait and see we must…
Blogged with Flock
Tags: nokia, iphone, socialnews
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Apple stuff, Social Web, Web 2.0 Stii
Jul
05
Ok, I love Flock. Since I’m on a Mac, I’ve been cheating with Safari and Camino on my favorite browser, but with good reason!
When first I fired up the Mac, I thought, let me see what the fuss is about with Safari. I was less than impressed to say the least. Safari do not have any great built in features. It does not boast a big selection of add-ons and extensions. It looks fugly!!!
So I immediately downloaded and installed my favorite Flock after about 1 minute of Safari-ing around. As time progressed, so did my curiousity about Safari… So I gave it some more riding time. One thing that was evident to me, was the speed of the browser. It became more and more and more evident as I went along… Then after a good dose of Safari-ing, I was kind of AddiCTed to the speed! When I next fired up my favorite, I got kind of agitated at the second or two I had to wait for pages to load. Silly, I know!!
One thing that puzzles me is we’ve become more and more addicted to speed. Speed of the internet. Speed of communication. Response time to customers. We hardly use e.mail anymore (well, that IS debatable!) since we can actually talk to someone on an IM platform! Why, oh WHY do I have to wait longer for a page to open on such a great browser as Flock?! I’m really in two minds here…
As I Safari’d more and more, I thought I’d check out Camino. Rumors have it that it is even faster! WOW (no, not as in WOW, but as in Word Of Warning): I’m not at all convinced. Although Camino is Mozilla powered, I simply do not get the same sense of speed than I do from Safari… Admittedly, that made me think!
Why? My initial thoughts were: “Sure, Safari is fast. Maybe if Flock/Firefox did not have any extensions installed it would be just as fast!” Well, Camino is actually just that! A Flock/Firefox with no meat on its bones. Sadly I have to say, in a race it would come second!
All that being said, I still think Safari would slow down if it had to contend with external extensions parsing away at the DOM of the loading page. I still maintain that Flock is the greatest browser!
I guess the end would be a choice. Speed over features? I think not. Features rocks. What is a second or two to wait for loading time anyway. Feels like a lot… Oh well, there is always the good ol’ coin I can flip!
I’m now in a new home… Alive and kicking and can finally continue my “mindless drivel” as some astute blogger once mentioned!
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Apple stuff, browsers, flock Stii
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