List of posts tagged "Apple"
- Using an iSight for Biometric Authentication in OS X 10.5 Leopard
So I have an idea: Apple Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard should have a feature that allows each MacBook and MacBook Pro to learn what its owner’s face looks like via the built-in iSight camera. After being trained what its owner looks like, the system should then allow a facial recognition scan to unlock the user's keychain instead of a password. Think of the possibilities! Simply arrive at the coffee shop, pop open your MacBook and have the screen flash at you while it takes several scans. Once it recognizes you, your desktop appears and off you go. No password required for a relatively secure experience.
... - The state of Lisp development on Intel-based Macs
The transition to an x86-based architecture from PowerPC has been quite a smooth one for me. I'm not a heavy Photoshop user, so it runs quite fast enough for my needs under Rosetta. Office too runs quite speedy under Rosetta. Other than these appli...
- The only Mac in the paddock
This summer I've been helping out a great racing team in the Ontario Formula Ford Championship - think open-wheel racing cars without the wings. I've always been a big racing fan, so it's been neat to see what it's like from somewhere other than th...
- Did I mention how awesome Parallels is?
A recent update to Parallels has a delivered a new feature called Coherence mode, and it rocks. I've been using Parallels since it was in beta, and with the exception of a Texas Instruments USB-based microcontroller-on-a-stick not working with it, the software has been rock solid. But this Coherence mode is just icing on the cake. Behold Visual Studio running like any other application on my Mac. No Windows desktop or task bar to get in the way.
... - iTunes Offers TV Shows to Canadians
Apple has finally managed to negotiate the rights to sell some television series to Canadians via iTunes Store. The only problem is that there are more episodes in one season of some of these shows than there are actual shows up for sale to Canadians today. The CBC, CTV, Comedy Central, and NHL are the only networks offering shows for download. By my count, there is a grand total of 12 shows available to Canadians. In fact, you can probably see all of them in this screenshot of the shows in Coverflow view. Now that is an anemic selection.
... - One Fix For Low iPhone Speaker Volume Levels
There is a lot of discussion on the internet about the iPhone’s speaker volume. Quite a few people complain that it is too low. Others say that it isn’t loud but it is satisfactory. And still others are getting along just fine. Recently, I had started to notice that my iPhone’s speaker was just plain quiet. It seemed to happen over time, but I really started to notice this after upgrading to firmware 1.1.2.
... - The Apple Human Interface Guidelines
It was created in 1992, has been continually updated the past 16 years and is now 402 pages in length. Apple's HIG, short for Human Interface Guidelines, is unique amongst technical documents in that it is seemingly referenced equally as often by application developers on the Mac OS platform as by regular users. Ask a Windows user if the application they're currently using, say FireFox, adheres to basic Windows application design guidelines and you'll be met with a blank stare. Ask a Mac user the same question, and a significant many will sound off about just how poorly (in the case of FireFox) the application adheres to the Mac HIG. But don't take my word for it. Googling for the terms "FireFox Mac look and feel" yields many articles discussing the issue. FireFox developers have even gone out of their way with the latest version of the application to address Mac user's look and feel concerns specifically.
... - Sweet MacBook Cases
Surfing the web today looking for a new credit card and business card case, I happened to stumble upon the website (and blog) of Calder Originals, a maker of high quality notebook (as well as guitar and violin) cases. Their designs are sophisticated and make the "design" of typical notebook case bags look downright kitschy. I'm sure these will be a hit among well-heeled executives. The prices are just a bit out of my budget right now. But hey, some things are totally worth saving up for. The case depicted below was purpose-built for the new MacBook Air. But as these are custom built-to-order, it appears they can accommodate all types of notebooks.
... - Bye Bye Battery
My MacBook Pro is now on its 3rd battery. I bought the computer in November 2006 and this past summer, I brought it into the Genius Bar at Eaton Centre because my battery was lasting barely 2 hours. It had gone past 150 charge cycles and was less than 2500 mAh. So the Genius gave me a new battery. Today, my computer is out of warranty, but I decided to bring it into the Genius Bar anyway. I kind of expect a laptop battery to last at least a year (preferably two). But my replacement was on its last legs. It was at 1800 mAh at full capacity and my computer could barely operate for 40 minutes on battery power.
... - Accepted Into The iPhone Developer Program
Finally! I have been working on an iPhone application with the company that one of my mentor's (I hope he'll let me call him that) started. We applied to the iPhone Developer Program a while back but were not accepted into the initial batch of developers. That could have been a blessing in disguise. We have learned a thing or two from watching some of the first application developers make mistakes with pricing, execution, and simply having to deal with Apple's SDK.
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