Astronomy

Recently I did a presentation for people in town on astronomy. This was during “the night of the stars”, which is organised yearly in France. Some 30 people came and it was highly entertaining. And very successfull.

This event got me interested in astronomy again. The first thing I did was to buy a book, so my knowledge is up to date. I noticed some errors in my older books and science did advance a bit since then. Now I am chugging daily through the book.

I want to do a bit more hoewever. SO I got my old telescope out and I will start some experimenting with astrophotography. Stay posted for my experiences in this.

And look at my delicous astronomy or astrophotography pages for interesting links.

 


Categories: Science
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Cha Ching again

And again I have to look at my personal finance software. Midnight Software, the maker of ChaChing, has been acquired by Intuit. And the latest version of ChaChing was still not workable enough for me. So time to abandon ship and look for something else again.

As I have a lot of trouble exporting from ChaChing, it seems that no other app can read their export-file, I decided to start over again with a clean slate at the beginning of the year. I started looking at the staff picks on the Apple website.

CheckBook Pro is way to simple for my needs. I especially need some reporting options.

Fortora Fresh Finance did look to simple, did not even download it.

MoneyDance does not appeal to me. It looks not very nice.

MoneyWell is very nice as well, it seems to offer a bit more than I need. But it has the advantage of being file based. I have to manage three totally separate finances.

Money works pretty well and offers a good export file. I think I could live with this app.

MyMoney is not an Apple-like app, so I do not bother.

Prospects looks very nice. Trying it out.

 


Categories: Computing
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Strong SRT 6420 fail

Last week I bought a new satellite receiver: the Strong SRT 6420. I chose this receiver as it has an integrated ViaAccess card reader, to that I could decode the french TNT channels that are broadcast by satellite. I found a good priced one at Transplanet. Ordering and delivery was swift.

Installation was pretty smooth. Took a while to find out that I had to put the smart card in upside-down, but then it found the TNT-channels pretty quickly. I had to do an extra step to find the other FTA channels, but that work as well.

But then I noticed that I missed the dutch radio channels on the same transponder as the dutch TV-channel BVN. So why?

I checked the list of found channels against what is listed on Lyngsat. I discovered that I miss some TV-channels as well. It seems that I miss the channels on transponder 103 (12460H). On this transponder one finds channels such as 123TV, Das Vierte and JambaTV. I have the impression that Strong just did sloppy work and forgot some channels. There is no other reason that I see.

I did ask the Strong email help-desk, but that did not offer any help, other than that it was designed for the free channels. So why does it support nearly all of them?


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CS193p spring versus winter

I am afraid that I mixed up the spring and winter courses of #cs193p. I expected the two courses to be very similar, unfortunately they turned out to be very different in their assignments. As I understand it, the spring courses were not recorded and will not be published on iTunes. So I guess I will revert to the winter course. Probably I will do however the assignments of both courses in order to gain some more experiences.


Categories: Computing
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CS193p assignment 2

Wll, I nearly finished my assignment 2. I still need to clean up and do the extra bonus stuff. This assignment was already much more difficult. I had trouble getting into the task, as I did not understand it at first. In hindsight I am not sure why. I guess the description is rather difficult. But in the end I got the app running and it seems to work.

My main trouble was the memory management. It turned out that I used allocation methods that implied autoreleased objects. So I lost my objects after an event loop. Once I discovered this, I had solved the assignment.

At the moment I do not find my code very clean, so I will go through it once more and see whether I can streamline it a bit more. I will change normal declarations to properties (as also required for the bonus). And I still have to set up the delegates methods for the bonus points. I also need to think a bit more about the resilience against entering faulty expressions.

But then it will be done. I learned a lot from this assignment. It is surely not for the beginning programmer though.

 


Categories: Computing
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CS193p assignment 1

I re-started learning Objective-C again. Last time was some 8 years back, so I really must restart. I am following the CS193p by Stanford as it is published in iTunes. I downloaded everything that I could find around this theme. So I also have some code examples available.

I finished the assignment 1A and 1B, the Calculator. Assignment 1A was pretty simple, as one only had to follow the text. Assignment 1B was already a bit more difficult, but I did not encounter any problems. I also did all the extras.

Now I only wonder whether my solution is any good. Unfortunately I was not able to find any code samples for comparison. Onto the next assignment.

 


Categories: Computing
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Learning iPhoneOS development

A week ago I started learning iPhoneOS development. For the moment I am just using the free development tools from Apple. So I can not yet load apps onto an iPhone itself. Before I apply for a developer code, I like to see how for I get.

I started a bit coding with the MacOSX development book by Garfinkel, but that book seems very outdated. So I might buy a new book. I think I wait for the book by Hillegass, when that comes out at the end of this month.

For the moment I am using the Stanford CS193P iTunes University podcast. I already watched the first two podcasts already.

Before I continue I want to finish the first assignment on the Calculator. I am on the last assigments. So now I am trying to figure out how UISwitch works.

I am still looking for a final code example, so that I can compare my implementation with other ones.

 


Categories: Computing
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iPad as laptop replacement

After seeing all the information on the iPad I started wondering whether the iPad could replace my laptop (which is slowly failing me). This is a functional, situational and practical question.

First the situational question. At the moment I use may laptop sitting in the kitchen. The laptop is on the table, I am behind the table in front of the fire place. I should use an iPad in the same location. This does not seem ideal, although I might put a reclining chair in my kitchen. I guess I would like to have a stand. In the evening I would love to use the iPad on my couch.

the iPad surely seems capable enough. The speed seems great. People start to complain already about some missing things, but these seem non-issues for me. The video camera would be a nice addition, but I can do without (as I do now). No multitasking might be an important point, but I am not sure it is a real issue. Notifications will be enough for me. No flash is OK, I hate flash. I installed ClickToFlash to get rid of it on many sites. It is amazing what people use flash for. GPS is an interesting point. I see GPS as something useful while on the street and in the wild. So the question is where would you use this thing? The no HD output seems an extremely silly remark. This is not a video server! All in all, it seems very useful for me from a hardware point of view. And I am very curious whether the Bluetooth can be used for all kinds of interesting peripherals. It seems that the iPad will be used to connect to projector, so that is covered.

I am worried about the screen size though. Ten inch is really small. I find my 14 inch laptop screen already to small. But I might be confusing usage situations here. The iPad is not really for working!

The most important thing are however the apps. So the question is: is there an app in my dock that can not be replaced with an iPad app? Well, in my dock I have: Finder, OmniWeb, Safari, NetNewsWire, Mail, AddressBook, MarsEdit, iCal, iTunes, iPhoto, SandVox, Vidalia, Nambu, Billings and EverNote. Occasionally I use Mellel, Pages, Keynote, Last.fm, Calculator, ChaChing, NoteTaker, Preview, MacGourmet and various other small stuff.

If I look at my dock apps, I seem to be well covered by iPad support. How can I manage my files however? It seems there is a solution as a wide variety of attachments possible in Mail on iPad. OmniWeb is not there, but I can do well with Safari. Sandvox not available on the iPad would be a big pain. I need this app. Vidalia is not on the iPad, but that does not matter. For my occasional apps there would be no problem either. Mellel would be a pity, but I can convert to Pages. NoteTaker (Aquaminds) will be on the iPad. So from an application point of view I seem to be covered.

Another problem is multiple users. On my laptop I have now multiple users defined, which are all used. I am afraid the iPad is a personal thing. This implies that I would need multiple iPad’s. Bit expensive, but will give an interesting household.

The question that remains is a practical one. Is the manipulation of the various files easy enough? Is the on screen keyboard good enough for inputting messages such as this one?

Unfortunately we still need Mac for docking the iPad for backup and synchronisation. So I still must have a Mac around the house.

I guess I have to get one in order to find out whether the iPad can be a replacement in practice.

 

 


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iLap day

Today Apple will reveal it’s long awaited and discussed tablet. I hope the product will live up to the incredible hype. I have no idea what will come, but let me ponder it a bit.

The first thought is situational. At what times and places do we need another product? The first place was behind a desk with the desktop. For that you had to sit down on a chair behind a table. Very useful if you needed also other stuff around you (papers, mouses, screens, etc.).

When moving around and being on the road we got the laptop, or better portable (desktop). The idea was that you put it on your lap to use the product. However I guess that most people still used in combination with a chair and table. Using it on our lap was a good possibility on an airport, in a train, etc, but it was not really optimal.

For walking about and accessing information we got the smart phones. These are also great for using while sitting in trains and busses. No longer a need for laptops in those environments. The smart phone, or handtop, is really for using while standing up.

But couldn’t we do better? Are we really happy with what we use when sitting on our couches and rocking chairs? We can use a portable here or use a handtop. But is still remains awkward. Here, on the couch, is where I see a new possibility for Apple. A real laptop. This should be very similar to a newspaper, magazine or book.

Such a product should have a very simple interface that can only be used by the hand, or maybe two hands from time to time. For me it is clear that this can not be MacOSX, but should be a variant of the iPhoneOS. It should have very view buttons (on/off, sound). A camera is not a real requirement, but a useful add on for videophone. A size of 10 inch is nice to have on your lap, but it might be larger as well. But not smaller as it would be closer to an iPod Touch/iPhone. Wireless and 3G is required in order to use it on your lap when not at home.

Software would be similar to the iPhone, but with special applications for magazines, newspapers, LP’s, etc. Games would be an interesting category as well. Those can be the same as on the iPhone, but should really use the screen estate. One can image many classic board games on such a system. And naturally there is the iLapAppStore to feed all this.

So no MS Word, no Excel, no office whatever app, no terminal, etc. That is just not the purpose of the iLap. Now hoping that the pricing is reasonable.

 


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App Store Control

And again the App Store evaluation process is under heavy attack. Fact and are really mixed and it is unclear what is real.

The first thing to know is how good or bad the situation is. There is no real analysis. And there is only anecdotal evidence of bad experiences. How many false negatives and false positives are there? And how bad/good does that look on 100.000 apps approved? How many apps do we miss that we really need? Or are all bases covered? Does the user really care or is it all just a philosophical discussion?

People are also watching at alternatives, but that road is quickly discounted.

The first question one has to answer is whether there needs to be an evaluation process at all. Why can’t it be as open as a standard computing platform, such as the Mac. Apple’s take on this is that a Telephone Platform is something different than a computing platform.

I have mixed feelings about this. I really want my phone to work in ALL circumstances. In fact I got rid of my Internet phone options as provided by several ISPs, to turn back to plain old telephony, in order to get better reliability. The same will hold for my phone, so no App should interfere with it. So not multiple apps running simultaneously either. Or make an exception for the phone app.

The same is true for the quality of the network. One wants that it works. And for the moment this might require restrictions on apps (think tethering) in order to reduce the load on the network. Most mobile operators have already enough trouble meeting this new demand.

The iPhone and iPod Touch seems to be used by any age group. I have seen kids walking around with an iPhone. Some would like to limit the access their kids have to some content. That is were rating systems can help. So if you have a rating for an app, then you can automaticly restrict access to those apps. Unfortunately someone has to rate the app then. And/or someone has to check the rates provided by the developers. This requires clear guidelines. Unfortunately this is a process which is subjective and will lead to false positives and false negatives. Another point where one can complain about.

And there is the trademark issue. Is Apple protecting itself here? Why do they need to check on this? Why is that differnet for this platform?

The false negative apps are the shaking baby app, the app that nicked phone numbers, etc.

And there are the false positives, where it is unclear why they are rejected. Airfoil Speakers is one of those.

And then there is the process itself. I see two subjects here.

Turn-around time - it seems that it can take a long time before a submitted app is approved. Although I have not seen any good statistics on this. And with 10.000 apps per week submitted, it is inevitable that some apps take longer time to be evaluated. Statistics at work here. You might complain and Apple might throw more people at the process, but your are still talking a Poisson process here. It would be nice however if Apple showed some statistics though. And developers just need to take these turn around times into account.

However Apple should create a separate process for handling bug fixes. This would guarantee some quality level of apps already in the store.

Communication - there seems to be a lack of good communication once an app is rejected. Why is an app rejected? What can a developer do? And again how bad or good is it in reality. Do we see only anecdotal evidence? Are some developers treated differently? One can image that Apple automates the work for cheap apps or less well known developers in order to reduce costs. Maybe they should create a paid program for developers who want better respons.

So for the time being only the road through the appstore is an option. And I discount the jailbroken road, as this has its own problems.

In the end it is all about quality for the end-user. And Apple does quarantee some extra level of guarantee in this way. And I highly appreciate this quality.

PS All links are just gathered from my morning fedd update.

 


Categories: Internet
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Apple worries

Jason Calcanis wrote an interesting piece on Apple, which summaries many complaints I read against Apple for a while. To some things I agree, but others I don’t.

He says that the iTunes ecoSystem destroys MP3 player innovation. Apple should allow other MP3-players to link up to iTunes. I do not agree that there is a lack of innovation. The iPod Touch is a huge innovation. He says that he saw a lot of innovation on MP3 players in Japan. We see the same here in France. Apple is not the only player. So what is the worry?

He wants to get into iTunes. So software is key? Or is it the iTunes store? There are other stores, such as Amazon, which is doing pretty well it seems. So is it iTunes? So iTunes is like the Windows monopoly? Any MP3-player ships it’s own player, so what is the monopoly? iPod’s to expensive? Buy an alternative. It is not as if you are forced to buy the iTunes ecosystem.

I call this a bullshit argument. However I love to see it opened up, I guess people will continue buying Apple’s products.

Monopolistic practices in telecommunications is an interesting argument. What’s new here? This exists already for ages with other phones. So why the complaint now? Just because you are not happy with the ATT/iPhone combo? What a nonsense. This linking between network and phones made GSM popular in Europe. And I know only of France that forbid this linkage. I see this just as an opportunistic argument.

Draconian appstore policies is also strange. How many apps are there? About how many apps are there complaints? Some apps had to be rejected over age limits (know your FCC stand on infringements). Now they can open up some more with the age settings for apps. This is one of the first (relatively) open mobile platforms. Never before a phone provider created this. So what are you complaining about? It will only get more open.

The argument about other browsers seems valid. However the iPhone is not a standard platform. You should not be running anything from a performance point of view. By the way remember this is still a niche product. There is no monopoly!

The same goes for Google Voice. My guess is that it is all about revenues. With Google Voice Apple does not get its share. What is new in the telco-business.

The problem is more that people want Apple to be different, open, like Unix. And see where that got us.

 


Categories: Internet
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Site: what do I want?

The first step is to decide what kind of content that I want to publish and whether it is dynamic or static content. Naturally I continue my previous things as much as possible.


  1. Blog - the first thing is this blog. This is naturally dynamic content, which implies a Weblog Collection in Sandvox;

  2. MicroContent - my blog specific to MicroContent. I do not post much lately, but will likely continue it. This is naturally dynamic content, which implies a Weblog Collection in Sandvox;

  3. Software - where I discuss things related to Software on my platform. This is naturally dynamic content, which implies a Weblog Collection in Sandvox;

  4. Sundials - this is a collection of items related to sundials that I saw. This is not a blog and there are more ways to sort this collection. As the image is an important part, I used the Sandvox Photo Album collection;

  5. Media - is a collection of reviews of books, movies, dvd's, games, etc. I will use the Sandvox weblog collection for this;

  6. Recipes - some recipes that we made;

  7. Walks - a description of some walks. For the moment a weblog collection is Ok. It is however a much more complex type of information;

  8. Français - a started this weblog in french;

  9. Links - a list of bookmarks. I use the static Link List page in Sandvox for this;

  10. About Me - this is a static page. The Sandvox Rich Text page will do here;


So you see there are many collections, which I can turn into 'weblogs' in Expression Engine.


Categories: Site
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Sandvox, Espresso and Expression Engine

Time for a redesign of this site. As I am not very good into creating nice sites, nor in CSS, I decided to use an existing design. However as I do want to twiddle around a bit with design, I do need a wysiwyg editor. And I must be able to integrate into my CMS, Expression Engine. So this implies three stages: visual layout selection, site structure design and logic design. In order to do this I will use Sandvox, Espresso and Expression Engine.

I will use this blog to report my experiences doing this.

 


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Application duds

There are several applications that I bought, but no longer use. Let’s go over them a bit.

Audiofile by Spinfree - this application could be used to create a library for your audio CD’s. It was a MacOS8-9 application. I did use it a bit at first, but with the advance of iTunes I forgot this app. It is no longer supported.

Ultimate Label Printer Pro by Digital RIver Commerce is an application to create labels for CD’s, etc. I think I used it only for a few times. It looks as if the application is taken over by Pay&Play Software. Unfortunately I do not see an upgrade path. And my old registration number no longer works.

Starry Night Backyard by Siennasoft - a very nice application to view the sky. I was a happy user, but with the demise of MacOS 9 I lost this application. It was a bit to expensive to upgrade, maybe later.

Quicktime 3 Pro by Apple. I hardly used this and never did by the new releases.

CDFinder was bought to keep track of the CD’s I burned for backups, etc. I practice however I stopped bothering to do this, it was just to much hassle. So really no need for this application anymore.

OmniOutliner by OmniGroup - an application to create todo-list, etc. Very nice. I used it some time, but nowadays I do not seem to need it anymore. Anyway, the version I have does not run under Leopard.

pmPost an application like MarsEdit to ulpad blog items to a pMachine weblog. This got obsolete with the demise of pMachine.

Enigmo 1 by Pangea - a nice game. I basically finished it.

Reckless Drivin by Jonas Echterhoff - we finished this game.

Snood - stopped playing this.

Transmit by Panic, I used this FTP application a lot. I got now ForkLift through MacHeist, so I stopped upgrading Transmit.

Retrospect - I never got this application really nicely working under MacOS9. A bit to complex for my needs. And now I no longer need it.

CopyPaste Lite by Script Software is no longer used. I moved to iClip.

SiteStudio for creating sites was no longer supported and discontinued. I moved to Sandvox.

SoundConverter - I forgot about this application. It does not seem to work anymore. Have to check it out. Anyway I do not need it very much.

 


Categories: Computing
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MacHeist 3 evaluation

Is it worthwhile to buy the MacHeist 3 bundle. This will only be worthwhile if there is at least one application I actually need.

So is this 39 dollar worth for me? It seems there is only one application that I will use: WireTap Studio. There is a chance I might use iSale. I will play World of Goo. Espresso might be interesting. But the rest?


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