Apple iPad

31 01 2010

So, I’m a little late to the blogsphere on this one, but then when am I not? I’ve read some pretty damning things about the iPad, it doesn’t have a SD card reader, it doesn’t have a camera, it has files and no file system, it doesn’t do Flash, and that the name suggests a type of adult nappy…
I thought that I’d look at these comments and generally give my views on the iPad and it’s hardware. Read the rest of this entry »



My new work area

13 11 2009

Well it’s been a while since I last posted here.  Though it’d be right that I come back with tales of new desks, screens and computers!

So what’s new?  I’ve left Camberley, worked for the MoD over the summer and am now back in Aber living with Faye (hopefully a film of the flat coming soon).  Since being in Aber I have bought a new desk, a new chair (which is annoyingly not here), a pair of new monitors and a new shiney computer.

Let’s talk about the monitors to start off with, two 22″ things from Samsung (SyncMaster T220 apparently), here they are: Read the rest of this entry »



Snow Leopard ships!

27 08 2009

I pre-ordered my copy on Monday at work, and this morning was greeted by this: Read the rest of this entry »



Apple updates Java!

15 06 2009

Well, we’ve been waiting, what, about two years for this now.  Today, Apple released Java 6 as part of it’s Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Update 4.

The support docs (found here) say that in this 158MB update we get:

  • Java SE 6 (x64 only)
  • J2SE 5.0 (PPC & x64)
  • J2SE 1.4.2(PPC & x64)
  • 64-bit Java for Intel Macs only

Upgrade today as I’m sure many developers will be wanting to update their code as part of a long awaited refactoring!



etc -> private/etc

30 07 2008

After delving into Solaris10 a couple of weeks ago, I thought I would explore the hidden regions of my Mac…It turns out that it has many of the same things as a typical UNIX/Linux system, but doesn’t seem to use them :?

For example, /etc, is not there! Its a symlink to /private/etc, which is most weird, and even weirder still, I had a look into fstab, but it’s not there! Well, it’s called fstab.hd, and here’s the contents:

IGNORE THIS FILE.
This file does nothing, contains no useful data, and might go away in
future releases. Do not depend on this file or its contents.

How weird!

I’ve noticed this about OS X, it still has a lot of UNIX files in, but doesn’t tend to use them…



Icon transparency in OS X

24 07 2008

I found out how you make icons transparent! Make them a tiff image! Simple as!

EDIT: I will update this with a walkthrough someday…



Application icons…

1 06 2008

Did you know that you can grab the icons for applications, and then save them as a GIF, a JPEG, PNG or even a PDF?

If you go to the Applications folder and select the application you want, right (ctrl)click and press “Show package contents Read the rest of this entry »



Fixing a Macbook power transformer

14 04 2008

Just over a week agao I found that my Macbook wasn’t charging, but the charger was plugged in and on. I inspected the cable and found that it had melted just outside of the transformer!

I temporarily fixed it with some blue insulation tape, but today, it failed all together :(

I have already ordered one off of eBay, ordered on Tuesday and dispatched the following day. Should hopefully be here anytime soon.

In the mean time, I have fixed the transformer :D A fair bodge job, but it seems to work now.
Prior to the work, I spent about an hour trawling the internet for a how-to, couldn’t find one, so here’s my own. Read the rest of this entry »



10.5.2 is out!

11 02 2008

Today, 11th February, Apple release the second system update to Leopard. So what did we get?

Read the rest of this entry »



iPod Touch

10 02 2008

Last Saturday (2nd February) I placed a bid on an iPod Touch on eBay, £199 plus £5 for p&p, bring the total to £204. This was a two month old Touch, 16GB capacity, along with charger (£20), protective film (£15) and four socks (~£20). The 16GB iPod Touch is £270 alone on the Apple Store (at time of buying).

Read the rest of this entry »