Applefangirl

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This post from the Austin airport (major flight delays) courtesy of my fancy new iPhone. I love it. The screen is absolutely amazing and I’m getting used to the keyboard. Recommended, check it out.

Customizing the Editor in Fugu

When I changed hosts for my blog, it also meant that I could no longer just SMB the files around. I had to find an actual SFTP/SCP-client for my Macbook. A quick Google search turned up Cyberduck and Fugu. I arbitrarily chose Fugu. (Turns out this was the right decision. Dustin convinced me to try Cyberduck; version 2.6.1 crashed three times in a row while I was trying to type in the hostname. But I digress…)

Fugu is pretty slick, but it would only open files for editing using one of the preset editors, none of which I had. I decided to see if I could change the list of available editors to include TextEdit, since I was only editing basic CSS.

Turns out you can. Here’s how.

1. Right click on the Fugu application and choose “Show Package Contents”

picture_1.png

2. Navigate to Contents, Resources, ODBEditors.plist

picture_2.png

3. Open the ODBEditors.plist file in TextEdit. Scroll to the bottom of the file and either create a new entry or modify one of the existing entries. I modified the emacs entry, since I don’t plan on ever using it. You can copy and paste the following into the file:

Updated text version thanks to Rich:

<dict>
    <key>ODBEditorBundleID</key>
    <string>com.apple.TextEdit</string>
    <key>ODBEditorCreatorCode</key>
    <string>ttxt</string>
    <key>ODBEditorLaunchStyle</key>
    <integer>0</integer>
    <key>ODBEditorName</key>
    <string>TextEdit</string>
</dict>


Original post text version:

<dict>
    <key>ODBEditorBundleID</key>
    <string>-</string>
    <key>ODBEditorLaunchStyle</key>
    <integer>0</integer>
    <key>ODBEditorName</key>
    <string>TextEdit</string>
    <key>ODBEditorPath</key>
    <string>/Applications/TextEdit.app</string>
</dict>

Original post image version:
picture_3.png

4. Save the file and you’re good. Load up Fugu, click Fugu, Preferences. In the preference pane, click the Files icon. In the External Text Editor, choose the name of the editor you just created. In my case, TextEdit.

picture_4.png

Viola! You can now command-J to edit files with your chosen editor from Fugu.

The MacBook Pro – Let the Lusting Begin

Every time Steve Jobs takes the stage in his signature black turtleneck and jeans, I cringe. Not because I particularly dislike his wardrobe or even Steve J himself; I cringe because I know he is invariably going to inspire a nearly undeniable urge to decimate my budget. He has succeeded once again.

If you haven’t heard about the MacBook Pro, a quick Google search or a stop by the Apple website will get you up to speed. An Intel Core Duo processor, 15.4″ widescreen, built in iSight, a screen as bright as their cinema displays, Front Row and remote included, and their new “patent pending” MagSafe power connector are a few of the major bullet points.

But really, the most important factors are that it’s an Apple Intel notebook, it’s amazingly thin, and it’s wrapped in shiny aluminum (although I was hoping for carbon fiber… I guess there’s always next year…). I must have one. Now.

I’ve managed to hold off the temptation so far, plunking down $3k on a notebook wasn’t exactly in the plan, but damn if I don’t want one. Badly. I’ve even managed to get it in my shopping cart a couple of times, most notably after Steve J said “If you want one I suggest you get your order in early” during his keynote. That simple phrase must’ve set off the zombie obedience mode in my brain, because before I knew it, I was happily configuring away at the Apple store.

I have to keep reminding myself that I’m holding out for revision two. It’s basically a constant chant whenever I read anything about the MacBook: “revision two, revision two, must wait, revision one always sucks, revision two will be awesome, but look at it! <drool>, no! focus! revision two.”

We’ll see if I cave… :)

Drool Worthy

Well, as I’m sure you all know by now, Apple has announced a new “iPod Photo.” This handy little contraption comes in 40 and 60 gig versions with a color screen for viewing your photos. I’m not exactly sure who has 60 gigs of photos, considering that is bigger than the hard drive in my Powerbook, but I’m sure someone out there probably has 60 gigs of music. Crazy music freaks.

Besides featuring a “razor sharp LCD” screen, Apple has also managed to increase battery life to 15 hours for the new model. However, the downside of the new improvements are the slightly increased thickness and weight of the iPod. Not that I think you’re going to notice 0.06” or 0.2 ounces (compared to the previous 40 gig model), but hey, you might.

If you’re a big U2 fan or you just want to pay a premium for a black iPod, Apple is now offering the U2 Special Edition iPod, which sports a black case, red scroll wheel, and the band’s signatures on the back. It’s only available in a 20 gig model (guess you U2 fans don’t have much music?) and you’ll pay $349 instead of the normal $299. However, if are planning to buy “The Complete U2” from the iTunes music store anyway, then you’ll be happy to note the U2 Special Edition iPod comes with a $50 off coupon. Oh, and a special edition poster. Yippee.

Now for the most drool worthy news of the day. Tootsie Roll has finally, finally created an entire bag of Vanilla Tootsie Rolls. As everyone knows, vanilla was previously worth the extra effort of digging through a huge bag of mixed candy to find. Well, dig no more. Just run over to your favorite supermarket and pick up a bag of “limited edition” vanilla Tootsie Rolls. Mmmmm…

Ok, I seem to be having some difficulty typing this evening, so if you see typos, just ignore them. Must be the Project Management class; apparently if I go more than a few hours without using a computer I guess I forget how to type…

iTunes Update

For those of you who use iTunes, version 4.5 is now available. It has several new features and now you can download a free single from an “emerging artist” every week. It seems like this update is made up of a bunch of small things that ellict a “that’s kinda cool” response, instead of a few “WOW” features. For example it’s kinda cool that you can watch movie trailers straight from iTunes (and of course buy the soundtracks and audiobooks). It’s also kinda cool that you can watch music videos. I’m not really a music video fan but I watched a couple and it was sorta nice, but not something I would really miss if it wasn’t available.

One new feature that is pretty useful is the improved printing options. Now you can print a list of your songs, or a list of all the albums you have. You can also print cd covers with actual album art (or a mosiac of all the covers for a mixed cd). I don’t really ever burn discs, but if I did, I think this is a really cool feature. I’m thinking about making a mix cd just to test it out. :)

All of the audiophiles out there will probably be happy with the new Apple Lossless Encoder, which promises full CD quality audio in about half the size an uncompressed audio file would require. This would also probably be a good option to back up CDs onto your computer without a loss in quality.

If you go to the iTunes site you can read about all of the other features I didn’t cover like: Radio Charts, iMix, Wish List, and now your library has links back to the music store as well.