What makes us hard:
- Inbuilt URL shortening using many of the latest available services, including the new Digg short url service.
- Post updates to facebook.
- Filter tweets by Name, Text, Source and Time.
- View links to TwitPic’s from within TweetDeck.
- ‘Groups’ allows one to create a stream of tweets from specific users (so you can still follow/handshake people, and avoid their tweets about the awesome tomato sandwich they just made).

What makes us floppy:
- No mutliple accounts management, ala Twhirl and the Tweetie.
- To ‘untick’ a tweet as read, one has to dexterously click on a tiny circle (bottom left) whereas in Twhirl, one can click anywhere on the tweet to ‘untick’; much easier and therefore quicker.

In conclusion:
There are many other features the latest beta of TweetDeck has to offer that may come in handy – especially if you need to translate your tweets into another language. But if you have multiple twitter accounts you frequently use, you’re out of luck for the moment.

A popular app with the twitter community, Tweetdeck is a solid and good looking choice.

Download for free from tweetdeck.com

The developer of iPhone app, Wobble, gives an equally Australian demo of his app, using words such as “outstanding” to exclaim the hearty goodness this app creates.

And he’s not about to get sexist either, ’cause “Here’s one for the ladies”, and boy are they in for a lolly bag of treats!

I give the film below, 5 stars. Enjoy.

[via fforward]

As someone who is gearing up to head overseas, I’ve put my laptop into somewhat of a lock-down mode, password protecting everything to make sure that it can’t be molested if it falls into the wrong hands abroad.

However, the drawback of such tight security is that (with the omission of physical labelling), if my laptop falls into the right hands, there’s no way the finder can figure out who the laptop actually belongs to.

Enter this handy hint, sourced from Apple’s own Leopard Security Configuration Guide. The hack allows you to place a custom phrase in the OS X Leopard Login Screen, just above the user name and password.

Crank up the terminal, and enter the following:

su [your admin username]
sudo -s
sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow LoginwindowText “This laptop belongs to Jason Deacon, and you don’t.”

Of course, you may want to garnish your welcome message with maybe a contact phone number, email address or more impressive message than the example here.

The beauty of this hack is that as your contact details change when you travel, updating them is a simple as re-entering this into terminal. No more re-printing labels on the road, and you’re able to enter much more information here, too.

The Apple Security Guide is a good read, which I thoroughly recommend if you’ve got an eye for that sort of thing. We’ll explore more security tips in time!

I tried trashing the permissions business – didn’t help. So i literally just deleted only the Soundtrack Pro application file and re-installed it from the discs. Which took over 5 hours (and it estimated it would take over 12 hours! Had the installation lived up to it’s estimation, I would have screamed a little).

Installing the full Final Cut Studio takes at least a whole day of swapping between 6 or more DVD’s – craaaazy shit – and re-installing just one program really didn’t take a proportionally shorter amount of time! It still asked for each of the DVD’s to be loaded – even though only one is labeled Soundtrack something.

Soundtrack Pro has been such a stable audio editing solution that i edit fymo and bwym on, so this was rather dissappointing. It delayed me getting out ep 22 of fymo, and killed my cat.

Pro-Tools M-Powered i find easier to use as far as the actual editing goes, but you have to have an m-audio hardware interface plugged in, along with the Pro-Tools USB dongle… Then there’s the random crashes and problems with opening the bloody thing to begin with… And i can’t dedicate a machine to just Pro-Tools alone…

Soundtrack Pro means that i can truly have a portable, cable/dongle free editing solution on my laptop that gives me the option to export to an MP3 without having to fork out more money, ala Pro-Tools cockfag style.

So with Soundtrack Pro, if there’s a “next time” – which there better not be (’cause i’ve forked out good money on these programs) – i’ll just be trying a Time Machined version of the app… But hang on a sec… Mother f.. To save space on my smallish Time Machine HDD, i don’t back up applications.

Sounds like this could well be a good argument to spend more money.

When iTunes 7.5 came out i eagerly downloaded it, as i have so many times before with all other Mac software updates. But for the first time, this one bit me in the arse.

I probably shouldn’t have thrown caution to the wind and updated, simply ’cause i’m running an unlocked, jail-breaked 1.1.1 iPhone as my main phone and organiser.

It turnes out iTunes 7.5 didn’t like to play with my iPhone, as when i connected them together in marriage, i got an error message (pictured) and was not able to access my iPhone – it simply didn’t come up in the side bar of iTunes.

So i searched for a way to downgrade back to iTunes 7.4.2 (which i was able to download), but couldn’t find a definitive guide or an answer to other people asking the same thing in threads.

So i decided to venture into risky territory and fix this via trial and error, as it was getting really irritating not being able to sync up new podcasts or contacts etc..

Firstly i sync-ed my iPhone’s contacts and calendar to my old PowerBook which was thankfully still running 7.4.2, just in case anything went wrong (so i could retain all the new info i’d entered into my iPhone’s calendar!)

I then copied iTunes.app to my desktop, as well as my “iTunes Library” and “iTunes Music Library.xml” so i could stick them back, in case they got written over with new old/new installation.

I then installed the 7.4.2 version and it went totally smoothly and totally worked! Fantastic.

Now i’ve just gotta remember not to update iTunes, as could easily be done via the software update without really realising, if you’re a little absent minded at the time.

But now what for the future? No iTunes updates for me and my hacked iPhone, forever? Perhaps!

Does 7.5 accidentally/on purpose now deny syncing with hacked iPhones, just like 1.1.1 stopped some jail-broken iPhones running at all?

Is this problem i had widespread enough that hackers are working on an iTunes fix?

Something else i wonder is if i was to update to 1.1.2, would iTunes 7.5 play nice with my iPhone?

Let us know your experiences or comments below.

But i’ve installed Leopard, how could this be? What’s going on here? Why don’t i know the joys of bringing deleted files back from the dead and forgoing the dread of file loss? 

Because Time Machine is being real… a real fuck stick really! Twice it has almost backed up my HDD completely, but then come up with some error.

The last two times it’s started to backup, it says it can’t find the drive. Great.

Well i’m glad that in that wasted time my laptop’s hard drive hasn’t packed it in! Or i’d be rooted! (Well, i do have that other back up i made for when i installed Leopard, but not the point!) 

What a let down. I’d just been complaining to Jase a few days ago that every backup program i’d used had crashed on me, and so Time Machine was to be my saviour. But now i’m going to be the one to try and do the saving. To save me. 

In fairness, it could be that my ext hard drive is about to pack it in. Better now than a month down the road too! I ran ‘Repair Disk’ and i got this wonderful message from the OS X gods… 

Do ya see that? What i named my ext hdd?… Geddit? Clever hey! I bet there have been a number of geeks patting themselves on their backs for that one. Comment us if you’re another great mind that thought alike…

Geared up for the long waiting line at the Apple store, along with the patented Apple buzz and anticipation, Daniel and Jason were in for something rather different…

Time for some first person narration. Jason took to the wheel of his BMW, and money in hand, we took off into the sunset to get ourselves some sexy spots.

One of the first there! Excellent. That meant that we were the geekiest of the geeks around. Ready to line up to purchase a computer operating system, and prompt.

So we lined up next to the man in the red monkey suit, who had audio equipment there with him. Leopard Sir? No? Oh okay. Lemme guess… Busking? Failed Australian Idol contestant looking to make a comeback in front of a group of mac fans? Perhaps running some Karaoke to warm up the voices for when we cheered “Shit yeah! Six o’clock! Die Windows!”.

He told us he was there to help let people know, the action was here. Fair enough!

But hang on, where was the line of people leading a mile down the footpath from the store? Hmm. Something was up. Was it Friday today? Yep, definitely Friday.

Maybe everyone was jam packed inside? Inside we go to find out!

…

Chapter 2.

(Third person) Daniel timedly stepped over the threshold and took in his surroundings… Jason jumped through the doorway and shouted “Woohoo!”. And… And… More after the break.

(What’s with the break thingy? Back to first person.) Silence. There was practically silence. No one even looked around to see who the enthusiastic youth “wooting” was, let alone give him a huge cheer!

Sadly enough, we took the total number of patrons up to about four.

WTF?!? WTH!?! WTFWGOH? There’s a singing monkey out the front, big Leopard signs up in the window, but more macs in the room than people! Damn! What a let down!

And what else was a little disconcerting, perhaps more so than the lack of mac fans was that the other patrons in the store consisted of one teen geek, and middle aged men who’d stopped masturbating over images cut out of the Womans Weekly long enough to come and pick up a copy of Leopard to pull off over. Sorry guys. No lingerie models in that Leopard manual.

But i kid. We were no better than them, and they no better than us. We were all present for a common purpose. And so the countdown began, counting down (in our heads) and on the computer screens.

To fill in the time until we had to fight our way in front of four, no five now, pale Caucasians, we had a wander round the store. And what is this i saw! I thought Sennheiser was generally a pretty groovy outfit, with some really nice products… But what was this? A bad German translation? Or just a really bad attempt to get some teenage purchases?

And thanks to that stylish PC tool for modeling that package wonderfully.

At 5:55pm, the gang of mac fans were surprised with an early treat of Leopard savouries. One of the staff members booted up an iMac with Apple’s retail demo installation of Leopard – complete with John Appleseed and co. populating the Address Book.

The staff member gave a little bit of a demo of cover flow in the Finder and a few other token things like Stacks and that.

Then the geek contingent very diplomatically took a few mouse clicks in turn. I watched on as another enthusiastic youth got his jollies.

No porn was loaded on this computer, so Jason decided to entertain the crowd with some sexy dancing.

And as if that wasn’t entertaining enough, our red friend outside started up some fun of his own!

I wasn’t too far off when i joked to him about doing karaoke either. He busted out a saxa-ma-phone and got tootin’ alongside some backing tracks! Pure gold.

Surely the Mac fans would now come in droves!!…

Okay, so Leopard time was… 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, finally here!

Everyone politely lined up (Airport Extreme in Jason’s arm) and purchased their copy of Leopard. Non-event!

But what was super cool was the hologram on the box! You gotta see it in person. Really cool!

Oh yeah! And we each got a Leopard t-shirt. Rather shit actually! Bit of a let down, but free, so who cares. If it was one of those cool retro changes-colour-with-heat t-shirts, that would have made it just-pissed-higher-than-my-body-height! cool.

So into the car and off home to install the thing!

And so what did Jason and i learn from this whole experience?

I think it would be that if you are looking for a great OS X purchasing experience, don’t expect it in Australia. Go to America.

(Did anyone have a more exciting experience at one of the city stores in the land of Oz?)

We’ll get back to you on how Leopard panned out for us! Happy installing, all!

And thank the lord for the iPhone Elite team! This week they came up with a method to re-virginise sim-unlocked 1.0.2, and further more, rather than users having to screw ’round in the terminal they put together an automated process(es) which makes the whole ordeal rather damn simple!

And even better, i can attest to the fact that it works! So if you indulge in some re-virginising goodness, be sure to donate some moola to these fine folks, allowing international peoples like mwa to enjoy the benefits of 1.1.1, and use of the iPhone as just that, a phone.

After i’d revirginised, i then followed this guide where it details upgrading from a re-virginised 1.0.2 iPhone to 1.1.1, and further more unlocking your updated iPhone. Thanks so much to the iPhone Dev Team for that beautiful solution, anySIM.

For those interested, i’ve posted some photo’s from my re-virginising escapades…

I definitely decided to run with the auto install that also facilitates a backup of your seczone – good stuff in-case things go apple shaped. Oh, and don’t forget to install MobileTerminal via AppTapp before you start so you can have some terminal access to kick off the virginiser, if you want some cool green text action like i got (and in case things go wrong).

“Yes please”. Or just “Yes”, as i typed in. Manors aren’t required in terminal land.

And another “yes” to forge ahead with the risky business. At this stage i pretended i was calm and cool. All was going well. Just say yes and don’t ask question. No shit in the pants yet.

And all is done! My iPhone was ready to be upgraded, then laid horizontal again to make it function in the land Down Under. Awesome!

Virgin tastic.

I almost did shit myself when i saw that unread text message up the top there. I freaked that the re-lock had been unsuccessful and that i’d just received a new message. Buuuut i eventually realised that not only does iTunes backup your contacts etc, it also backs up your text messages, your clock alarms, ringtones etc and background picture! Very nice. Pants still dry.

Whilst upgrading to 1.1.1 via iTunes, i came across a fantastic error, which made the iPhone display… nothing. It was a blanket of grey. Oh oh… Is this what it’s like in bricked heaven? I’ve come to so far! I’m not ready to die yet!…

But thankfully re-trying the upgrade was successful.

God i love anySIM. That lock logo is the sorta sexy that makes me want to dress up like a woman and “pick myself up at a bar type-thing” in the mirror.

And just like that, BOOM! Yes Optus away! Like having a brand new phone. Double home key click and double space bar here i come! And iTunes store, too, i guess.

Now do i take ‘50 more steps’ to install apptapp now? Or wait ’till simpler GUI version is created…

He commented that it’s all good that it shows you when and where to make turns to get to your destination, but you’re still going to be fiddling around with your phone (no doubt whilst still driving) to check out the next turn you’ve got to make. Such a distraction whilst driving will likely render you and your car dead or at least really really awake, sooner or later (as happened to me the other day!!.. Another story for our next podcast).

So it makes a lot of sense to have your iPhone read your directions out aloud to you. The iPhone runs some form of OS X doesn’t it? And OS X on our computers contains the Speech function doesn’t it?

Select a bit of text, go to Services in the applications menu and hit Speech, Start Speaking Text, and a lovely man or woman reads your text for you, with an air of Stephen Hawking, but less intelligence. Just you ask the Speech application to cook you up an egg in a black hole for you! Only Stephen supplies the goods, whilst out on a camping trip. (Is that an inappropriate joke?)

So you’re driving along and, “Oh oh! Where to now?”. You hit a button on the iPhone, and a voice reads out your next direction… You one step ahead of me? Let’s run that scenario again.

So you’re driving along, with your 2nd gen iPhone sitting attentively on the passenger seat next to you and you think, “Oh oh, Where to now?”. You speak out loud “Next direction”. Voice recognition goes “Oh shit! Umm, Speech thingy! Read out next direction.” And Speech thingy does it’s work. You now know to turn left at the brothel, 500 metres on your left.

It’s old news i found out (speech recognition that is). In 2006 Apple had a U.S. patent approved for speech recognition technology. Read about it here.

In fact all this seems so obvious now that i’ll be disappointed if they don’t add speech recognition and talking into the next revision of the iPhone (along with video recording capabilities etc etc etc).

What else do you think they would be smart to add to the 2nd gen iPhone, that hasn’t already been banged on about?

It’s looks like a simple version of text edit, with a column on the left where you ‘tick off’ items you’ve listed. That’s it! Simple. But good simple.

I think i may just use Taskpaper instead of Text Edit from now on. Especially when copying text from a source for use in a html document, etc – as it doesn’t use Rich Text Formatting which seems to be the annoying default of Text Edit. There is of course the great BBedit for all those basic html things, but hey, whatever opens quicker is what i’ll use!

I think i’ve found a new friend.

Installed with no probs, but then I tried opening the new and cool looking iMovie (I’d watched the keynote presentation – so I was a pro operator already) and it opened… And then a spinny thing went spin spin, annnnnnnnnd then CRASH.

Cool. Very cool. And it wouldn’t (and still won’t) open at all. Maybe I’ll try restarting my computer and all that crap, but that was a bit of a doozy!

At least iPhoto worked flawlessly. I must say, with the new ’skimming’ feature and ‘Events’ management of the photo’s, they have made a worthy update (so far, so good). Check it out ’skimming’ of ‘Events’ in action here.

I opened iWeb – templates look really cool – but that’s as far as I went. Back to working on this wordpress installation!

And welcome! To the new mac website/blog/one-day-to-be-a-podcast.

And just so we get off on the right foot, I love you.

Update

Hoorah! The update to iMovie ‘08 fixed my crashing woes. But damn! When you import new footage into the new iMovie, you have to wait for what to me is too long, for the program to prepare the ability to ’skim’ the thumbnail of the footage. Sorta takes half the magic out of the whole process.

“Here! Let me turn your water and flour into a wonderful loaf of bread! Just gimme an hour or two.”

If Jesus had pulled a stunt like that when providing fishes and shit for the people (“Has anyone got a fishing rod?? Anyone!?”) he would have been eaten instead! Apple has a little way to go before I consider bowing to the east every half hour in honour of their products…