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2003
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2002
- December - November - TidBITS - Apple - Macintouch laptop battery report - Apple - Tinderbox Community Forum (not official) - WhatIsMyIP - Wherever you are, there you are... - TinyURL - Turn big ugly URLs into cute little ones... - rob at whiterabbits.com - rmchuff - Eudora - Fire - BBEdit - Mozilla - Internet Explorer - Transmit - iTunes - VNCthing - Terminal
MNJ RSS
MNJ Politics RSS Here is a collection of link to sites maintained by people who have mentioned that they read MNJ:
- Dan Hon - An imaginary place in a reactionary time - dws
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Scientists issue stronger warnings at Mt. St. Helens News outlets in the Pacific Northwest are abuzz with reports from Mt. St. Helens today, after scientists warned that the lava dome at the center of the volcano's crater is growing at a rate of roughly 1.5 inches over the last day and that earthquake activity is growing from two small quakes per minute yesterday to roughly four quakes per minute today. Maybe I need to dig out some of the photos I have taken inside the crater in past years, when I used to venture into the crater with a group of geologists. One thing is for sure. If the lava dome heats up quickly due to this apparent dome building event or due to a collapse of the current lava dome then there will be a lot of mud, rocks and water pouring out of the crater. I just wish I could get away for a trip down to get a closer look at the volcano that has fascinated me since my childhood...
How to save your city hundreds of dollars with a Mac Last week I was able to put my PowerBook to work in my city job by taking some simple digital video and using iMovie for my first time ever to edit a series of clips together into a video presentation. I ended up doing the project, which would have cost a few hundred dollars for someone outside the city to complete, because my colleagues in the environmental services section of public works had to put together a presentation in a short time span and they couldn't line up quick help from the TV production team the city has at TV Tacoma. PowerBook to the rescue. The only cost, other than a little of my time, was a $19 FireWire cable to get the video out of the Sony digital video camera into my 12-inch PowerBook G4. And I had fun doing the project. Is that legal? One shortcoming we encountered in the project was trying to get the video to play from within a PowerPoint presentation. PowerPoint says it will work with QuickTime videos, but no matter what settings I would choose for exporting the movie, it wouldn't run in a presentation. We ended up Alt-tabbing between PowerPoint and the video to run through the presentation. It was more low-tech, but it worked. |
Mt. St. Helens shifts to harmonic tremors, eruption coming As I was working throughout the day today I kept checking the seismic reports from Mt. St. Helens. The quakes continue to rumble and actually seem to be increasing in magnitude, but even more important is the fact that the gap between quakes has dropped completely, with the mountain shifting to harmonic tremors. I haven't seen the report from the geologists yet, but these two real-time webicorder graphics show the progression from earlier today when there were gaps between quakes to the present situation where quakes are happening non-stop. Harmonic tremors signal the movement of magma underneath the volcano. In other words, things could get interesting down at Mt. St. Helens again very soon. My hope is that whatever kind of eruption is coming will not include slides large enough to breach the debris dam that helps hold back Spirit Lake on the northern side of the volcano. If the lake were to suddenly drain then the rivers and people downstream to the Columbia River could be in for major problems. |
A whole lotta shakin' going on at Mt. St. Helens It looks like the friendly volcano in our back yard - or at least visible from my childhood front yard - is threatening to rumble back to life after sitting dormant since the last lava dome building eruptions in 1991. Mt. St. Helens has had at least eight earthquakes over 2.0 magnitude so far today, and the rumbling continues. The USGS has issued a press release warning that a hazardous event could happen soon. The next step: Will gas measurements show an increase in sulfur emissions? And will instruments inside the crater start to register deformation of the lava dome? Mt. St. Helens holds a special interest for me, since I watched the eruptions in 1980 from my front yard and I made a series of trips into the crater of the volcano in the 1990s while working on newspaper articles. We wrote about bird watching around Mt. St. Helens in our soon-to-be-released Birding Washington book. We'll soon see how long the site is birdable... Related links: CNN notes Scientists: Small eruption possible for St. Helens
Winer on Apple entering the RSS game Weblog guru Dave Winer is following an e-mail list discussion about NetNewsWire and how it will work in a new RSS landscape when Apple releases its next major release of Mac OS X with an RSS reader in the Safari Web browser. Winer's answer: It's up to the users to support third party programs if they want to see more than the basics... On a related note: Brent Simmons on search engines that support RSS.
Apple releases Java update Apple send Java revisions over Software Update - Java 1.4.2 Update 2, available via Software Update, provides improved behavior for applets in Safari and increased stability for desktop Java applications. Java 1.4.2 Update 2 also includes all the improvements from Java 1.4.2 Update 1. [MacMerc]
Watson's life coming to an end soon Karelia Software: Watson's life coming to an end, soon...
Microsoft to secure IE for XP Microsoft To Secure IE For XP Only - If you're one of about 200 million people using older versions of Windows and you want the latest security enhancements to Internet Explorer, get your credit card ready. By Paul Festa, CNET News.com (via MyAppleMenu) [myapplemenu]
GraphicConverter 5.2.3 released GraphicConverter 5.2.3 now available - Lemke Software today released GraphicConverter 5.2.3, the latest version of its popular image editing application, as noted by MacUpdate... [MacMinute.com]
Canon's EOS-1Ds Mark II digital camera First look at Canon's 16 megapixel EOS-1DS Mark II - DPNow has a first look at Canon's recently announced professional-series 16.7 megapixel Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II (the name is a wee bit long, but what can you do?), which is an upgrade of the EOS-1Ds, just with double the resolution, 802.11b/g support via an add-on, and new image processing software. If you just have to own the latest, highest resolution digital camera, and have ten large to drop on a digital camera, this would be it. Then again, DPNow does point out that Nikon's 12 megapixel D2X is cheaper, faster, and lighter, so comparisons are bound to happen when both cameras are officially released. Gotta love the rivalry. [Via Photography Blog] [engadget.com]
Mac OS X for the traveler, Part 4 Mac OS X for the Traveler, Part 4 - As with so many things in life, preparation is the key to success. In this week's installment, you'll read about how to pack just the right amount of equipment, and how to make sure the data on it is fit for travel. [O'Reilly MacDevCenter.com]
Microsoft, we have a problem Microsoft Windows crash nearly causes 800-plane disaster - "A major breakdown in Southern California's air traffic control system last week was partly due to a 'design anomaly' in the way Microsoft Windows servers were integrated into the system, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times," Matthew Broersma reports for Techworld. "The failure was ultimately down to a combination of human error and a design glitch in the Windows servers brought in over the past three years to replace the radio system's original Unix... [MacDailyNews]
On Ranchero's MarsEdit Ranchero Software branches out with the MarsEdit Weblog editor - Having already taken over Earth's communication systems with NetNewsWire, Ranchero Software branches out with the MarsEdit Weblog editor. Mwahahaaa. [Hack the Planet] I haven't had the chance to check out MarsEdit yet, since I write Mac Net Journal and my other blogs using Tinderbox... Meanwhile, the creator of MarsEdit speaks about Weblog editors and why he built the new program.
Eastgate releases Tinderbox 2.3 Mark Bernstein writes about the release of Tinderbox 2.3. I read about this new release last night, while I was putting off packing for my flight to a conference for government webmasters in the suburbs of Kansas City - Overland Park to be exact. It's too bad I didn't have the time to download the new version before I got on the plane. I'm sitting in an MD-80 flying en route from Seattle to Chicago on the first leg of the trip to Kansas City as I write this. Who knows when this will post, however, since I need to get from Chicago to Kansas City to Overland Park and then to my hotel room before I will likely have a Net connection...
Stuffit Deluxe 9.0 released StuffIt Deluxe 9.0 boosts speed, adds backup options - Allume Systems today announced StuffIt Deluxe 9.0, a new version of its file compression, access, and organization software for Mac OS X... [MacMinute.com]
SpamSieve updated to 2.2.1 SpamSieve update provides many bug fixes - Shareware developer Michael Tsai updated SpamSieve on Monday providing minor bug fixes and enhancements to the application. Among the changes in SpamSieve 2.2.1, Tsai added the ability for SpamSieve to show the count of new good messages in DragThing 5.3 and later, if you install an integration script. Tsai notes that this script will be built into future versions of DragThing. SpamSieve requires Mac OS X 10.2 or later and costs US$25 to purchase. A demo version is available from the Web site. [MacCentral]
iPhoto and Portraits & Prints combined? Alex Kayhill argues on Mac360 that iPhoto needs Econ's Portraits & Prints program. I couldn't disagree more. I vouch for the power of Portraits & Prints, and I urge others to try it out, but there is no need for Apple to botch up the already useful tool.
Apple releases security update, revises iChat Apple released another security update yesterday, and this update rolls in a revised version of iChat. I won't be able to test this update from work, but expect more to come. How is it working for you? |
Four shareware apps everyone should try Low End Mac: Four shareware applications every Mac designer should try I agree with much of this list - especially GraphicConverter...
Adam Engst praises CopyPaste I have written a number of times in the past about the indespensible clipboard tool CopyPaste, which I use every day on my PowerBook. It's good and interesting to read a post tonight from Adam Engst of TidBITS fame, as he writes about how he uses CopyPaste in his current workflow: CopyPaste saves your work, one clipboard at a time. If only some of these tools existed on Windows XP. And if they do exist, if only I could install them on my workstation without jumping through hoops with the IT department that doesn't encourage regular users like me to install our own software...
Photoshop Elements 3.0 adds features MacMinute has a brief report on Photoshop Elements 3.0, which adds some more powerful features such as the Healing Brush tool that is well known to Photoshop users.
On finding the perfect wireless mouse for designers CreativeBits writes about the search for the perfect wireless mouse for designers, if such a thing exists today...
Security update updated again by Apple Apple issues revised security update - Apple has released a revised version of last week's Security Update 2004-09-07, which fixes problems with Safari & FTP server in the original security update. The new update is now available via the Software Update panel and can be installed over the previous update. [MacMegasite]
Airport bound again I will leave here in an hour to drive to SeaTac Airport. I am picking up Natalie as she returns from a trip to Washington, D.C. and when we come home we will have our first week where both of us are home at the same time so far this month. Sounds good to me! I will visit the airport again on Sept. 22 when I fly out to a Web conference for government webmasters in Overland Park, Kansas. I will enjoy being at my home base until then. Natalie didn't take her PowerBook on her cross-country jaunt. She managed to get by with a Windows laptop, which was made easier since all she really needed to do while on the road was to stay in touch with her work e-mail... |
Mac OS X for travelers, Part III Mac OS X For The Traveler, Part 3 - Now that we have seen various aspects of physical security, it is time to delve into the issue of software security. By Francois Joseph de Kermadec, O'Reilly Network (via MyAppleMenu) [myapplemenu]
Glenn urges people to give the iMac G5 a chance Apple's New iMac G5 Deserves A Second Look - Instead of simply building a box of circuits and ports, it has designed a piece of art that you want to use and keep near you. By Glenn Fleishman, Seattle Times (via MyAppleMenu) [myapplemenu]
Working around problems caused by security update Notes and Tips: Safari Workaround - Here's how to hack around a Safari problem triggered by Security Update 2004-09-07 and poor programming on big websites. [MacInTouch]
On my must check out list: Nisus Writer Express 2.0 Nisus Software releases Nisus Writer Express 2.0 - Nisus Software today announced the release of Nisus Writer Express 2.0, an affordable, easy to use Microsoft Word alternative... [MacMinute.com] I will try to check out this new release and the 30 new features that it touts over the weekend.
.Mac users get discount on Contribute MacCentral: .Mac users get $50 discount on Contribute
Using AppleScript to change monitor resolutions Set monitor resolution via AppleScript - Prepare for the skinny on how to build a AppleScript to allow for quick resolution changes. This is quite useful if you like to use different resolutions for applications, or if you have TV-out, like I do (which works in only certain resolutions). [Studio Log]
Warnings about yesterday's security update I just installed yesterday's security update tonight. I may have acted too soon, as I am reading trouble reports from other Mac users and this warning from TidBITS...
An easy iPod battery swap iPod Battery Swap Surprising Easy - If you're as fumbled fingered as I am and have been afraid to open your iPod, I hope this gives you the courage to take action. By Mark Frauenfelder, Boing Boing (via MyAppleMenu) [myapplemenu]
What I have been up to - an online newsroom Updates to MNJ have been few and far between here at the start of September. Between my trip to Denver, a weekend jaunt down the Oregon coast, and then a return to work to launch a new Web site, the last week has been a whirlwind of activity. There is a tangible result, soon to have RSS added - the City of Tacoma's new online newsroom. The newsroom is a starting point for offering frequently updated news, interactive surveys and weblog-like features on the city's Web site. I hope to add more features in the coming days and weeks. |
iView MediaPro 2.6 released New Release: iView MediaPro 2.6 (Windows, Mac) - iView Multimedia today released iView MediaPro 2.6, an update that provides scripting support and color profile management on Windows, new editing tools, upgrades to HTML export and support for new RAW file formats. [iView MediaPro Weblog]
Mac OS X for the traveler Mac OS X for the Traveler, Part 2 - This is the second part of a series that will run over the next few weeks discussing how to travel safely with your Mac OS X laptop. Now that you've made your travel preparations as described in part one, you can now think about getting all of your equipment on the plane safely. [O'Reilly MacDevCenter.com] I just flew home yesterday with my 12-inch PowerBook G4. I had no problems with the machine on the road, but I did have an oddity when I got home last night and found that my machine had stopped sleeping and shut itself down between the time I left Denver and the time I arrived home in Tacoma, Washington. No problems at all with the PowerBook today, though. I am writing this from a living room in Gold Beach, Oregon. We made the 7-hour, 450 or so mile drive south from Tacoma today...
Using encrypted disk images Password protected disk image- Ever had to password protect some files and folders on your computer but didn't feel like switching on FileVault? You can create a disk image that's protected with the same level of 128bit security. Open Applications/Disk Utility and click New Image. Name your disk image, select where you want it to be saved, choose the desired size and select Encryption: AES-128. [CreativeBits]
It's Apple vs. Microsoft all over again iTMS vs. MSN Music: Round One - Fresh from their spat with RealNetworks, Apple has now taken to sparring with Microsoft over MSN Music, Redmond's new competitor to the iTunes Music Store. The best part is how Apple VP of applications Eddie Cue says that the biggest problem with the MSN Music store may be that "its downloaded songs can not play on the iPod." Totally fair criticism, except that the reason MSN Music downloads won't play on the iPod is because Apple has so far resisted Microsoft's entreaties to work together on compatibility. This is going to get ugly. [engadget.com]
Newton keeps on ticking Fans Keep Newton in Motion- The first gathering of the Worldwide Newton Association this weekend in Paris promises a surprise that may extend the life of the aging but much-loved Apple handheld platform. By Leander Kahney. [Wired News]
On Adam Curry and iPodder Ipodder Good Fodder For MP3 Heads - Leave it to ex-MTV VJ and techno-prophet Adam Curry to come up with what might be The Next Big Thing for Apple's iPod. Mr Curry has done some quick and dirty hacking in AppleScript to create an application to automatically download new MP3 files from any of five different RSS feeds and copy them to playlists in the Mac iTunes application based upon the channel name. Connect an iPod, and the song/files load onto the device automatically. By Doug Mohney, The Inqurier (via MyAppleMenu) [myapplemenu]
AirPort card software update AirPort card update released - Apple has released AirPort Card Update 2004-08-31, available for download from the Software Update system preferences pane. The new release improves reliability in mixed 802.11b and 802.11g environments and is recommended for all customers with AirPort-capable computers running AirPort 3.4 and later, including AirPort 4.0, according to Apple. The update upgrades the AirPort Driver and AirPort Extreme Driver to version 3.4.3. [MacCentral] (forgive the lateness of the post, since this software was released earlier today and I am posting this from a hotel in Denver - a hotel that doesn't have the WiFi access that it is promoted to have, by the way...) |
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