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Tag Archives: Global Geek Podcast

The Future of Short Order Code

The future of Short Order code is very much up in the air right now. With a baby on the way in the near future and what seems like no time to work on things for the podcast already There’s a good chance that there won’t be another episode of Short Order code for at least another few months.

I have been considering using the SOC blog as more of a blog and posting all of my programming related posts there and leaving this one as more of a general blog. I have some posts coming soon for programming related things and I’m trying to figure out what makes more sense: posting them here where they’ll get a few more eyeballs, or posting them on SOC where the site is all about programming — albeit a programming podcast that hasn’t seen an episode since late 2009.

In short, the future is muddy. Hopefully I’ll be able to shed some more light on things as the next month or two roll on.

Mac Lab Update Notes

For those of you who are regular readers, and listeners to the GGP have probably noticed that I’ve missed out on my show notes posting for the last three shows (GGP #85, #86 & #87).

What I’m wondering is if you folks find any value in me re-posting this stuff on the blog?  Shoot me a note in the comments. :)

Mac Lab Rat – GGP #084 :: We Have Chunks

This week’s episode of the GGP was so jam-packed with geeky goodness, Dave had to split the show into two chunks.  You can find both Chunk A and Chunk B on the GGP blog.

To help keep the show length reasonable, the Mac Lab report for this show is a quick one.  The inspiration comes from a post by Tim Cox over at MacApper.  This is a collection of Automator scripts which will help to keep your downloads directory clean.

These scripts provide methods for managing your Internet downloads for everything from music files (Tunes to Trash), disk images (Perfect Dismount) and zip archives (The Zipper).

Overall the tools do a decent job of keeping things tidy and are a great example of a practical use for Automator for the everyday user.

Mac Lab Rat – GGP #083 :: Be Verwi Verwi Quiet

It seems like forever since I’ve been behind the mic recording my very own segment for the podcast.  But sure enough, here I am.

fseventer
First off this week is a tool from FernLightning called fseventer.  This app gives you new visibility into just what files on your hard drive are modified by the tools you use every day.  It was quite remarkable to me to start fseventer and just allow it to run while I wasn’t using the computer.  In a matter of seconds my “idle” computer had performed dozens of operations and written to lots of files.

The tool presents the information in a variety of ways not the least of which is the uber-cool tree view.  This app seems to do a pretty good job of finding all of the changed files, but I haven’t tried doing ay specific research with the tool.

Warp
Warp is an application that uses mouse gestures to control switching between your OS X Spaces.  I realize that I’ve been on the anti-mouse bandwagon for some time now, but some things are so slow and unproductive that you can fix them with mouse gestures.

The application installs an OS X preference pane to control Warp which is tied to the existing Spaces panel.  When you activate warp it also verifies to ensure that Spaces is active.

Warp is a great shortcut for those who use the mouse alot and don’t want to memorize keyboard shortcut; or for those who simply prefer *shudder* to use the mouse.

Download Warp by Kent Sutherland.

Teleport
If you’ve ever wanted a great way to control multiple macs in your house from one keyboard & mouse the AbysSoft‘s Teleport just might be the solution you’ve been looking for.  This gives you much of the same functionality that you’d get from using a KVM switch, but without the unnecessary hardware.

Teleport provides a single interface for controlling other Macs that have teleport installed.  In some ways it behaves like Spaces, but with each space being a separate physical machine.  I really wish I’d had a chance to try this one, but with only the one Mac in the house, that makes things a bit difficult.

Teleport a great way to make use of existing network infrastructure to reduce your cable load and make your digital life that much easier.

Licensed
This next application is one that should be in everyone’s utility toolbox.  Licensed by Amar Sagoo is designed to one things, and one thing only: keep track of your software licesnses.  Licensed has a quick to learn and easy to use UI and takes no time to learn

Licensed falls into the category of tools that most good freeware and open-source applcations are famous for: simple applications that do what they say they will.

One thing I would suggest is a prompt on the delete button.  Not a big deal, but usually a good practise to avoid accidental loss of data.

Front Row “Remote Control”
Last up this week is Bert Ramakers’ software-based Front-Row remote.  This app allows you to control Front-Row over the network on other machines that are Front-Row enabled (Tiger and later).

It’s not clear whether this application will work with other applicances like the Apple TV, but its a creative remoting solution nonetheless.

Thats it for me this week.  Due to the trouble with the TPN servers there will be no show again this weekend, but we’ll have another one out as soon as life and fate permits.

http://bertramakers.com/?page_id=19

Mac Lab Rat – GGP #80 Encryption… like a House

The Geek Hits 80!

This week the Global Geek Podcast releases it’s 80th episode!  Wow!

I decided to take this opportunity to talk about the iPhone and iPod Touch SDK releases since I don’t plan on talking about them again in the near future, probably not until WWDC in June.  So let’s get down to it.

Some have hailed the iPhone SDK as “the second coming of the Jesus phone“, I see it more as a naturally evolutionary step for a mobile computing platform. What company in today’s world of user-contributed social networks would release a computing platform and limit the ability for developers to create “killer apps” for the device?  Nobody.  And so Apple released their SDK for the iPhone and the iPod touch last week.

However, Apple’s not giving up control of their devices to the open-source community.  They will control the ability for developers to launch new applications to the devices by way of the Apple App Store.  Yes, that’s right.  You can’t just download your favourite new iPhone gadget, you’ll have to download sanitized “Apple Approved” gadgets.  Great.  Thanks Steve.

Not all the news is bad, though.  Venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers has come forward with a $100 M fund to support the development of new and innovative applications for the next-generation media devices.  I’m glad to see some investment that will help non-professional developers get their ideas heard.  The firm has also pledged to provide support with business expertise and startup information.

Finally the SDK announcement came coupled with a few others.  The biggest among them is that Apple has inked a deal with OS rival Microsoft for the use of it’s ActiveSync technology finally allowing the iPhone to synchronize it’s mail, calendar and contacts applications with Microsoft Exchange.  This is a major coup for Apple because one of the major problems preventing the device from gaining widespread acceptance in enterprise environments was the lack of connectivity with the 800-pound gorilla of the office.  The next few months will be interesting indeed, particularly if the 3G iPhone drops in June as most expect.

I’ll be sure to have a raft of applications up for the next GGP.

Mac Lab Rat – GGP #79 :: Invaded by the UK

Hey everyone!  Once again another episode of the GGP has come out, and I’m bound and determined to get these notes up before I have to start prepping for the next show. :P

I only had a couple of resources to review this week partly because of content and partly because of time.  This week Cait’s away recovering from surgery so I’m back again to help Dave hold down the fort… hey, it’s almost like I’m a regular co-host!   :P :P   On that note, let’s get down to it.

Neon Tango
The first up this week is a really cool game I found called Neon Tango.  This is a top-down shoot ‘em up like so many classic games before it (dating all the way back to Asteroids if you wanna go back that far :razz: ).  The action is super fast and the soundtrack is amazing!  The graphics are all line/vector based, no fancy skins on the objects, but they’re still really really good line and vector-based graphics.

The catch: the $25 price tag for the full version.  A three-level playable demo is available from the website, give it a try and consider picking up Neon Tango.  ((Even if you don’t want to buy it, download the trial and listen to the soundtrack!))

Switcher Keyboard Shortcut Guide
The folks over at My First Mac have put together a keyboard shortcut guide for windows switchers.  This is a great resource to learn how to navigate OS X more effectively without having to take your hands off the keyboard.  This is an excellent resource for anyone who uses both Macs and PCs or has recently switched from one platform to the other.  I learned at least one new shortcut for each platform reading this tutorial.

Give the guide a try: Ultimate Switcher Guide: Windows PC to Mac Keyboard Shortcuts.

This week I tried out a solution to my audio problems with a new headset.  Give it a listen and let me know what you think.  I am still evaluating other options.

Mac Lab Rat – GGP #78: The Game

A pretty good show again this week on the Global Geek, despite some technical trouble on my end (which you’ll hear was starting to frustrate me), the Geeks got through the whole show but as usual ran over the one-hour mark.   :mrgreen:  I’m in a tad bit of a rush this week so the notes are a bit more succinct than normal.  Enjoy!

Handbrake
Solutions for <ahem> archiving your DVDs have been covered on occasion on the GGP, and this week I’ve got a great option for those of you running OS X.  Handbrake allows you to rip archive a DVD to a digital format that can be stored (and played back) on devices other than a DVD player.  Handbrake will allow conversion to more than a half-dozen different file formats.

Download Handbrake.

 

Houdini
Houdini is a simple application that allows you to simply manage hidden files and folders.  If you need to hide files or documents from someone else who is not overly technical Houdini can help (though I don’t recommend using hidden files as a security mechanism, but that’s a rant for another post).  Through a simple GUI you can manage your hidden files and folders and change the from hidden to visible on command.

Give Houdini a try for basic hidden folder management.

 

PTHVolume
Finally this week a menu-bar add-on for controlling the volume of your various audio outputs independently.  This application is restricted to OS X 10.5 (Leopard), but does work pretty well.  It provides an extra level of control over a system-level function which is something that Apple doesn’t often provide out of the box.

For a wee bit more control over volume, download PTHVolume.

Join Dave and I again this coming week for the next installment of the GGP.

Podcasters: What mic do you use?

Calling all Podcasters!

Regular listeners to the Global Geek Podcast will know that the microphone I use for my segments isn’t the greatest.  To be truthful, it’s a four-year old cheapie that I bought at London Drugs back when I used to actually play games.  :wink:

So I’m now on the lookout for a replacement… the question is what to get?  I’ve been using this headset-based version for some time now, but I’d really like to get something with decent quality.  I know Dave has a higher-end setup with a mixer and stuff because he needs to edit the show together.  While I don’t think I need to go quite to that level (yet), I haven’t ruled out the idea of a good, standalone USB mic.

I’d like to come to a decision in the next couple of days and try to pick up a newmic before we record this week’s show.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Mac Lab Rat: GGP #77 – Well Oiled

Dave’s choices in naming episodes not withstanding, we had a great show again this week.  I joined the geeks for the latest round of the Global Geek Podcast.

LiteIcon
First up this week is FreeMacSoft’s LiteIcon.  This is a great application for helping you manage the system icons on your Mac.  Apple has a tendency to dumb-down everything for their systems hiding the guts behind nicely designed UIs… most of the time.  Icon management is something that they’ve never gotten right.

LiteIcon will allow you to swap out your  icon set for OS X, and more importantly, swap them back to the originals.  The only thing this doesn’t include is icons for you to use.  You could always get some icons from a site like InterfaceLIFT to pimp out your mac.

LiteIcon is a freebie.

Flash Video Downloader 2
The second app for this week is Tesseract Software’s Flash Video Downloader.  This app will allow you to point any website URL to the tool, and it will scan the source code for the page and find any flash video links and it will automatically download the .flv files.

The app works fairly well and allows you to download batches of files at a time, and has some other “batchy” features like a notification beep, or the ability to shut down the computer afterward.

The only catch with this tool is that it won’t allow you to convert the files from the .flv format.  But for a freebie, not too shabby.

VisualHub
It’s been a long time since I did an app that wasn’t a freebie, but in my search for a really good conversion tool I came up empty in the freebie department.

Techspansion’s VisualHub is an app that will take any format in, and push any format out.  There’s support for pretty much every video format on the market including H.264, DV, PSP, AVI, and the ever ellusive FLV.

The only downside is that the app costs about $25… but like the Techspansion dev team says: “justify it by thinking of the cost per frame.”

And that wraps up this weeks Mac updates.  Join us again next time for more mac apps, and more GGP goodness.