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Amazon Kindle for the Mac (in a way)

Took me a while to figure this out, but looking at some posts around the web, I finally got Kindle for the PC to work on my mac, and until Amazon releases the long-anticipated Mac-compatible version, this is probably the best way. OK, grab yourself a copy of CrossOver for the mac, which is free for 30 days, but otherwise definitely worth buying. It essentially allows you to run Windows apps on your Mac, without needing to install Windows in a Virtualised way, which is great, and means you dont have to use your processing resources loading Windows, just to read a book, right? OK, so once you have it, install it and then install the PC version of the Kindle app. After finishing the installation, there is another trick you need to perform. If you run the Kindle for the PC straight after you will notice that the textboxes are blank/empty, so it's sort of half working but not completely. In order to remedy this, for the bottle you have installed it in, go to Control Panel and winecfg, and then find the app you installed, and opt for it to run under Windows 98. That's it!, you have a fully working Kindle for PC going!

 


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Filed under: Apple

iPad may kill Kindle with it's own software

 Everyone has been talking about the iPad and how it with it's iBook app store would destroy Amazon and it's Kindle but I dare say, we no need look further than the Kindle software to realise that Apple can use Amazon's own ordinance to kill it.

Kindle has late last year distributed on the iPhone it's Kindle app which works just like Amazon's device, purchasing and reading books from the Amazon store and using Whispersync to sync your account with the PC and any other Amazon account.

Now to presume that either Amazon would be foolish enough to design an iPad version or even if we use the iPhone optimised version on the iPad, we end up with a device that has a large screen, has colour and unlike the Kindle is capable of dazzling software and other apps, including reading open epub books. Who would therefore buy a Kindle at a comparable price to the iPad when you can get an iPad with the more features ?

As I have said all along, Amazon should have joined forced with Apple and get it's kindle bookstore on Apple rather than develop it's own device.

Filed under: Apple Mobile

Why Google Chrome should be your default browser

Amidst all the anti-Safari Firefox users on the mac making their headway in 2008 and 2009, I have been a steadfast Safari user, only because I was willing to sacrifice the power of extensions of Firefox in order to have a lighter browser that is faster, and therefore stayed with Apple's Safari.  But Google's Chrome had made a more stealthy entry into the browser wars on the mac, and from my playing around with it, has shown to be quite speedy, and in fact more speedy than Safari. I love it's simplistic interface, but up until now, I could not add extensions.

Well, although it's still very beta, you can get your hands on the latest dev build of Chrome or in fact download the open-source Chromium project, and you would be able to add extensions, like our Windows cousins could for the past few months... Now, what makes me wanna jump ship, is the fact that I can finally take 1Password with me onto the Chrome, which is my most essential browser plugin, so that I can auto-fill my website passwords and forms. If you are interested in the steps needed to install 1Password as an extension, visit the official blog of 1Password. I did not want to open up 1Password and then cut and paste and switch windows all the time, so this is perfect. Granted, it's not as smooth as Safari, but that's probably Google Chrome's fault because the plugins are javascript-based supposedly. But yes, the verdict is still out there, and for now, I am going to give Google a go as my default browser and see how things pan out. 


Chrome_extension.png

Filed under: Apple General

Things 1.2.92 is here

 One of my my favourite and most used app on the mac/iphone is Things  and their blog has announced 1.2.92 is released, filled with bug fixes and new goodies. According to the release notes, the changes include:

  • Fixed a regression related to the Today list sync conflict issue.
  • Fixed an issue where items completed between 12/27/2009 and 12/31/2009 were shown in the Logbook as completed in 2010.
  • Added support for emptying the Trash immediately. Hold down the option key while choosing the "Empty Trash..." menu command.
  • Fixed an issue where the title of a to-do could have multiple lines when entered via Quicksilver.
  • Additional fixes for the issue where Things sometimes started with an empty window and remained unresponsive for some time.
  • Fixed a bug that could result in missing search results when searching for tags that contain subtags.
  • Localization. Added missing translations for Tags window.
  • Localization. Japanese localization fixes.
  • Localization. French localization fixes

 

CulturedCode’s Things  app for the Mac and iPhone makes task management a breeze, and it comes down to the rapid ease of access to information and adding of information, as well as synchronisation of information between devices. For anything from development notes, to writing down your groceries, this app is fantastic, and once you get into the routine of micro-allocating your life into tasks, you loose the need to have a paper bag to hyper-ventilate.

 

Filed under: Apple General

Apple confirmation of tablet?
Apple have sent out invites to the big boys of the tech media sphere: The LA Times, USA Today, NY Times, PCWorld. The date of the Apple presentation at Cupertino... January 27. The title of the event is : "Come see our latest creation". Hmm... Interesting

Filed under: Apple

Macbook tip: Checking your battery life

 Hey guys,

A quick tip for those of you owning a Macbook or Macbook pro. If you have ever wondered what your battery life is at, a really nifty app called CoconutBattery (doesnt work with Snow Leopard) is your key to measuring the capacity of your laptop battery. Another app is BatteryHealth.

If you have your battery under warranty, or have AppleCare, you can go back to Apple if your capacity is severely damaged. According to Apple, a well-maintained battery should retain 80% capacity at 300 cycles. If its less than that you can ask Apple for a battery replacement.

Filed under: Apple

Jailbroken phones:How to Change your root password

 Hey fellow iPhone liberators, 

Just a quick note, there has recently been a story on the internet where a hacker in the Netherlands hacked into jailbroken phones on the network, and held the users to ransom, in order to remove the hack warning from the screen. The best thing you can do is reconsider whether you do in fact want a jailbroken phone. Failing that, and enticed by the prize of having more freedom, the next best thing is for you to change your root password. 

Changing your root password:
(1) Most jailbroken phones include some sort of a SSH pre-installed with Cynthia, otherwise you can go into Cynthia or Installer and find an SSH server app so you can emulate an SSH server exposed on your iphone. 
(2) Once you have that installed, you find the IP address of your phone when your device is connected on a Wifi hotspot, by going to Settings -> Network and click on the right arrow for the Wifi network you connected to, and there you will find the ip address. Remember that IP address. 
(3) Now, from your Mac, connect to the same network and go to Terminal. Inside terminal, type ssh root@xxx.xxx.xxx (with x being your phone ip address). It will ask you for a password, for which you enter the default password of alpine. 
(4) If all goes well, you are connected via SSH to your phone. Now you type : passwrd, and press enter. It will ask you for a new password. This is where you have to find some application or this website, that would generate a complicated password for you, and write it down somewhere safe, and keep it safe and secure (like in your safe or something). 
(5) Type it in the terminal and confirm it. Thats it ! Now you have a new safe password, that will be a lot harder to hack than the default alpine password
Filed under: Apple iPhone Dev

Essential Software for the Mac: #1 YEP! PDF Organiser
The first video Software Review will look at the useful YEP! for mac. 

Filed under: Apple

Alternative to iDisk for your file syncing and management: DropBox

I came across this nifty solution not too long ago and thought I'd share it with you all. Its called DropBox :

 

If you are looking for an alternative to paying for iDisk, with DropBox you get 2GB for free, which is a great way to gauge how much online disk space you need. So why jump ship? OK, here are some points to add to your pro column:
  • You can work from home and your office, using a really elegant plugin that will add to your MAC menu bar, a sync daemon, and a folder on your desktop. Anything you drag in there is synchronised on the spot (as opposed to iDisk which doesn't seem to be as responsive immediately). 
  • Whether you have a Mac or Windows, you get an installer that will add this feature, so wherever you are, you are always in sync. 
  • You can backup, or share your files and folders, share entire photo albums (will actually put them in a presentable album format). So you have a secure location for your files, in case there is a nuclear meltdown in your area (touch wood).
  • You get a free iphone application so you can view your files and manage your files on the go. How cool is this. And you still get your 2GB free, so try it out!

The Official Features div>

File Sync

Dropbox allows you to sync your files online and across your computers automatically.

  • 2GB of online storage for free, with up to 100GB available to paying customers.
  • Sync files of any size or type.
  • Sync Windows, Mac and Linux computers.
  • Automatically syncs when new files or changes are detected.
  • Work on files in your Dropbox even if you're offline. Your changes sync once your computer has an Internet connection again.
  • Dropbox transfers will correctly resume where they left off if the connection drops.
  • Efficient sync - only the pieces of a file that changed (not the whole file) are synced. This saves you time.
  • Doesn't hog your Internet connection. You can manually set bandwidth limits.

File Sharing

Sharing files is simple and can be done with only a few clicks.

  • Shared folders allow several people to collaborate on a set of files.
  • You can see other people's changes instantly.
  • A "Public" folder that lets you link directly to files in your Dropbox.
  • Control who is able to access shared folders (including ability to kick people out and remove the shared files from their computers).
  • Automatically create shareable online photo galleries from folders of photos in your Dropbox.

Online Backup

Dropbox backs up your files online without you having to think about it.

  • Automatic backup of your files.
  • Undelete files and folders.
  • Restore previous versions of your files.
  • 30 days of undo history, with unlimited undo available as a paid option.

Web Access

A copy of your files are stored on Dropbox's secure servers. This lets you access them from any computer or mobile device.

  • Manipulate files as you would on your desktop - add, edit, delete, rename etc.
  • Search your entire Dropbox for files.
  • A "Recent Events" feed that shows you a summary of activity in your Dropbox.
  • Create shared folders and invite people to them.
  • Recover previous versions of any file or undelete deleted files.
  • View photo galleries created automatically from photos in your Dropbox.

Security & Privacy

Dropbox takes the security and privacy of your files very seriously.

  • Shared folders are viewable only by people you invite.
  • All transmission of file data and metadata occurs over an encrypted channel (SSL).
  • All files stored on Dropbox servers are encrypted (AES-256) and are inaccessible without your account password.
  • Dropbox website and client software have been hardened against attacks from hackers.
  • Dropbox employees are not able to view any user's files.
  • Online access to your files requires your username and password.
  • Public files are only viewable by people who have a link to the file(s). Public folders are not browsable or searchable.

Mobile Device Access

The free Dropbox iPhone app lets you:

  • Access your Dropbox on the go.
  • View your files on your iPhone or iPod Touch.
  • Download files for offline viewing.
  • Take photos and videos and sync them to your Dropbox.
  • Share links to files in your Dropbox.
  • View interactive photo galleries.
  • Sync downloaded files so they're up-to-date.

A mobile-optimized version of the website is available for owners of Blackberry phones and other Internet-capable mobile devices.

A little tip:
I use Things, a task-management app for the Mac, and using Dropbox, I set up the Things library to point to the library I relocated within the DropBox folder alias, and do the same at my work desktop, pointing it to DropBox alias, and now you can synchronise your Things tasks between computers automatically! Check out this wiki note for instructions.

Filed under: Apple General

1Password 3 Beta out for you Mac heads
For all you Mac-heads out there, 1Password 3 beta is now out. I am still on version 2.x, and have to run Safari in 32-bit mode until the full version of this is out, but definitely feel excited. This is an excellent solution for you out there who want to remember one complicated password, that gives you access to all your numbers, logins, passwords, and integrates fantastically with Safari and FireFox amongst the other browsers. It pre-fills forms, login forms so you don't have to remember all the other complicated passwords, whilst ensuring you dont use the same password for bank sites, but rather generate complicated passwords so others won't be able to hack in. 

1Password 3’s new features include 1PasswordAnywhere, which allows you to open a 1Password Agile Keychain as a folder with a password-protected Web interface on any operating system. You can even add and edit existing items in your Agile Keychain from the browser, but only on Mac OS X computers that have 1Password 3 installed and the Agile Keychain selected. 

And if you have an iPhone, theres is an excellent app that syncs with your desktop app, so you can take your passwords securely with you on the go!
Filed under: Apple
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