30Mar2011
Create Simple Diagrams With Shapes for Mac
I occasionally need to draw diagrams or flow charts in my web-development business, and something like Omnigraffle or Visio for Windows, good as they are, can really be more than I need. Even the web-based drawing tools in Google Apps or Project Draw may be too much. So I was intrigued by Shapes, a simple diagramming app for Snow Leopard. Shapes has been created by prolific developer Todd Ditchendorf, who is perhaps best-known for Fluid, the system that lets users turn websites into
Read MoreLeave a Comment02Mar2011
How OS X Lion Leads to the Next Computing Revolution
The much-anticipated MacBook Pro refresh came today, to a somewhat mixed reception, but I suspect the real story today is the product being overshadowed by that shiny new unibody hardware. Mac OS X Lion, version 10.7 of Apple’s venerable operating system, has been released to developers. Like the MacBooks, Lion is, in many ways, an evolutionary step for the operating system. Cast your eyes down the list of new features on Apple’s dedicated Lion web pages and it’s easy — at
Read MoreLeave a Comment28Jan2011
Microsoft Now Offers 30-Day Free Trial of Office for Mac
Curious about Office for Mac but unwilling to drop at least $150 to find out if it’s any good? Microsoft seems to have finally realized that might be a common sentiment, and is now offering Office for Mac 2011 on a 30-day free trial download basis. In case you missed our coverage at launch, Office for Mac 2011 is a marked improvement over its predecessor, Office 2008, in almost every regard. It more close resembles recent Windows releases, thanks to the omnipresence of the ribbon
Read MoreLeave a Comment11Jan2011
Notificant: Your personal messaging service
First, a little bit of history. I was personally involved with this application during its inception. The CEO of the company that makes this app, Caramel Cloud, was co-founder of this blog, also former editor. The CTO is Preshit, who also manages iXyr, the company that powers this blog. And, we’re good friends. So you can see that I have every reason to be biased in writing this review. I won’t. You’ll see why. The app is called Notificant. So what is Notificant anyway? It’s an
Read MoreLeave a Comment06Jan2011
Apple finally launches Mac App Store
Mac App Store! well people Apple has finally launched ‘the much awaited’ Mac App Store and it has more than 1000 free and paid applications. Apple says, “With the Mac App Store, getting the apps you want on your Mac has never been easier. No more boxes, no more disks, no more time-consuming installation. Click once to download and install any app on your Mac. The Mac App Store is now available as a software update for any Mac running Mac OS X Snow Leopard.” Apple has made
Read MoreLeave a Comment05Jan2011
Imagining a Cloud-Based Future for Mac OS X
Apple has recently been awarded a patent for “administering and maintaining a network-booted operating system.” This could point to the development of a cloud-based Mac OS X. If it comes to pass, what would a cloud-based OS X actually look like and how will it work? I imagine that using a cloud-based Mac OS X would, on the face of it, be much like using Mac OS X today; a user would boot their device, log-in to their user account and work or play as normal. The great difference,
Read MoreLeave a Comment02Jan2010
Google Chrome OS Cr-48 netbook hacked, runs Mac OS X, Win 7
The Google Chrome OS testbed netbook the Cr-48 has been hacked by users to run Mac OS X, Windows 7, and Ubuntu. Users of the Cr-48 have posted instructions on how install Windows 7 and Ubuntu on the Something Awful forum. Instructions on how to hackintosh a Cr-48 will be posted soon, although a video (included below) of the device running Mac OS X has already been posted by Damian W. Although the Chrome OS itself is locked down, Google has encouraged users to hack the Intel Atom-based device
Read MoreLeave a Comment29Dec2010
Apple seeks iOS developers to expand cloud-hosted services
Apple is looking to expand its iOS development team with new employees who will enhance the company's cloud-based services for devices like the iPhone and iPad. Just before Christmas, Apple posted two new job listings (1, 2) for the title of "iOS Software Engineer." While the two full-time positions discovered by AppleInsider have different job descriptions, both describe an emphasis on remote storage for data access. "Apple is hiring outstanding operations engineers to deliver and manage the
Read MoreLeave a Comment25Dec2010
Mac OS X 10.6.6 update to include beginnings of Mac App Store integration
This could be interesting. Per MacGeneration, Apple plans to include some rudimentary integration between its upcoming Mac App Store and the next maintenance release of Mac OS X 10.6, according to discoveries made a MacGeneration forum member. Mac OS X 10.6.6, due for release in the next few weeks, will offer users the option of searching the Mac App Store for applications when it runs into an unsupported file type for which no application has previously been assigned. The Mac App Store —
Read MoreLeave a Comment24Dec2010
Web development on the Mac: The platform
I’ve been involved in web development activities for quite a while now. Since my Windows days back in 2001, when making web pages was way simpler and web 2.0 wasn’t even close to showing up, a lot of tools were already available to anyone who wanted to learn how to build web sites. Even back then, putting together a project was a complex task. Many knowledge fields were (and still are, of course) involved in the process. From the early reunions with the client, requirement notes and
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