Apple iPhone and Ajax? Is there something more?

So, I watched the Keynote that Steve Jobs gave at the Developer's Conference and I, as well as many others, was slightly disappointed with Apple's apparent solution to the 3rd party apps problem. Although I was excited to finally get AJAX support on a small device, this announcement isn't very nice to programmers. Programmers well versed in Objective-C would have to learn a whole new system of programming. And we still have the problem of what happens when the phone connection is offline, as it would be on an airplane. What if I wanted to play a game? It is not a good solution.

But.. What if Apple has something up its sleeves that is bigger then all of this? And what if that would require programmers to know about the web 2.0 standards?

Here are the facts:

• Just last week, Jobs mentions that Apple should have a solution to the 3rd party app problem by the end of the year.
• Safari now runs on windows. Does Apple really just care about market-share?
  
• The iphone runs Ajax... and at this point not much else. This will force many programmers to begin to learn the web 2.0 programming language (everything from HTML to Ruby on Rails and more).
  
• They mentioned at these AJAX apps will actually be able to interact with the other built in apps on the phone.
  

My theory:
I think Apple has something grand hidden in the future. This hidden gem is the ability to program web apps that are completely compatible (and work) with Mac OS X Programs, like Mail, iCal, Pages, and all of the other great Cocoa based apps.

Up to now, I have had to make some big decisions relating to Web 2.0 programs. Do I use a web program or a local-based computer program? What if I can use both? What if I can have all of my iCal information presented in the web 2.0 calendar app of my choice without having to go through the trouble of exporting/importing my calendar. What if it synced automatically? What if my address book was accessable by gmail or another webmail app? What if Mail and a non-.mac email account could stay in sync? And this includes gmail with its conversation message grouping. What if my online photo album could connect with iPhoto (without an annoying plug-in or seperate app). What if there were actually versions of these programs online?

See the power? What if Apple is taking the jump into cyberspace, bridging the gap between the desktop and the web? Web apps offline and desktop apps online. All managed through Safari.

It may be a learning curve for programmers though. They might have to know at least some of both desktop programming and web programming. What better way to get developers going but with iPhone apps built to the web 2.0 standard? And if these phone apps can interact with the phone. Why can't regular AJAX apps interact with the computer?

And once programmers get going on web apps, they will announce that the iPhone can run real 3rd party apps. But all that learning you've done? No that wasn't wasted time....

Mac Power Supply fails in puff of Smoke.

I am a proud owner of a Apple iBook PowerPC. Last nght I was sitting in my room working on my new website design when I began to smell smoke. This is always an alarming smells so I got up to see if some part of my house in on fire. I returned to my room when I couldn't find anything, and was distrubed that the smell was still there.

Then I noticed that my laptop was not being charged, dispite being plugged in. I made sure that both ends were securely plugged in (I use an extention) and then checked the part in the middle. It was smoking! I picked it up and it was extremely hot. So hot, in fact, that the smaller cord that goes to the computer was soft and if i had tried, it probably would have pulled right off in a gummy mess.

I unplugged it and let it cool off. Sadly, it now no longer charges. That was my fourth charger over the life of my two iBooks. (5 years). I love Apple, but that's not a very good record.

I found an article about similar things happening to other people.

Fried Power Cord
The only difference? That was one of the new magsafe powercords. Mine is one with the older connection. :-/

Best Mac Software for Students (and everyone!)

As a Junior at Rice and an avid Mac user, I thought that I would compile a list of software that I use all of the time. Most of it is free, some isn't, and some comes with your computer.
Here is my list of indespensible software:

~~~~ Freeware ~~~~

I think that most people will agree with me when I say the best software is free. It truely is.

• Journaler - Journaler is a blog program that can be used for much more then that. It allows you to create an entry and then drop it in a folder. It keeps your post nice and orderly and internal to the program. My use: I use this program to take notes in. I can keep all of the notes in seperate folders labeled for my classes. It gives you the option of attaching things to an entry as well, so if I have something related to a specific class day, I'll just attach it. After trying Pages, Notebook, and other note software, this one definately is the most organized.
  

• Schoolhouse - ok, this program has some faults for the college student because it seems to be written for High School Students and doesn't include such things as weighted grading scales. But the simplicity of this program, the mac feel, and the compatability with iCal and iPod lets this program win out. I tried Assignment X, but it was just too complex and still didn't have the features I wanted. I also tried Due Yesterday and had loading issues. It works great on my palm, but I couldn't get it to sync for the life of me. One cool trick that Schoolhouse has is the smart folders. You can create a folder that tracks exams, assignments, etc seperately. I put my whole sylabi into Schoolhouse so now it will track my assignments all semester without me having to refer to the paper. So with a little tweaking, this program works great for the college student!
  

• Smultron - Weird Name, Great Notepad. This little program is a replacement for Notepad. It can be used just to compose (it wraps text), or for programming with keyword coloring. I used to use Textwrangler, but this program works so much better. It does the same stuff and more. And oh yeah, it has Tabs like any good program should.
  

• Writeroom - True Full screen writing. You can set the color, font, size, screen widgth, and more to create the writeroom that works best for you. Mine is Black with Green writing. It look Matrixy. This is a feature that I used to only be able to find in programs like MacJournal, which I had to buy. This little program is great.
  

• Virtue - Because some mac users actually don't have this program... Virtual Desktops. You create desktops and have programs on seperate desktops to reduce clutter. And Virtue has an option that lets you auto jump to the desktop of the chosen app. This program is a MUST HAVE!! I can't imagine living without it.
  

• MegaZoomer - This is a program that lets you full-screen any cocoa based application (which is most Mac software). I have totally fallen in love with this program. Used in connection with Virtue with the Program Spotlighter turned on, this program does wonders to my computer's desktop organization.

• Fermata - I am not sure what the symbol means in music, but this program allows you to freeze and unfreeze programs manually so that you can keep them open but not using any CPU space. This is great if you have to run any CPU hogs like Photoshop, Matlab, or Firefox. I like to freeze my internet browser when I am not using it or if I switch to another one without closing the first.
  

• Active Timer - This Programs keeps track of what programs you are using on you computer. It is a great time tracker when you are on your computer. Beat that procrastination. Yeah, I know... You were only going to surf for 5 min. Right.
  

• Textpander - This program lets you type one thing and really type another. Like if I type 'RSDSi' my computer writes Rice Social Dance Society. I was able to put the logic symbols and the greek symbols and the phonetic symbols in there so that I can take notes in Logic and Ling with my laptop. This program is going to pay-ware, but it is still free here.
  

• Neo-office - I am a relatively new Neo-Office user, but from what I can tell, it is a complete replacement for Microsoft Office (And who would want Microsoft Office, it's huge!!!)
  

• Gimp - It is a replacement for Photoshop and works pretty well. The only trouble is that it needs X11, which is an optional install with your OS, so if you can't find your CD, you will have to find a way to get it. It has more features then Fireworks (below)

• Freemind - although I own and use MindManager, this is a VERY good free version of it. It has a lot of features that you can't find in many mind map programs out there. It can be a bit touchy at times, but it does the job.
  

• Orator - Got a webpage that you have to read for school, but would rather lie down and close your eyes, get this program. This programs takes any text and converts it to a .mp3 file so that you can listen to your webpage instead of read it. Sweet.
  

• Zulupad - This is a wiki based notepad program. It works as a good note-taking program, but my favorite use for it is a web-page text designer. You can have a page for every one of your webpages and link them together like you plan to have it work. Use with Curio (below) in which you can design the graphical layout, and you got yourself a well designed webpage.
  

• Todos - "all" in Spanish - this program shows you at a glance all of the programs on your computer. Works great as a launcher, and very cool to see.
  

• Adium - If you are still using IChat, here is a program for you. And there is a skin that gives you a floating Buddy LIst. and your chat windows are in tabs, so they don't take over your desktop.
  
  
  ~~~~Paid (but worth it) software~~~~~

Sometimes, there is a good one that they just insist on charging for. Here is a list. I am leaving out the big expensive chunky ones like photoshop and dreamweaver (Although I do include Fireworks). We all know those are powerful if you need them. These are programs that you may have never heard of or may have and just don't use. I love all of these and believe that they are well worth the money!

• Intaglio - This program is the best Vector based page-layout program I have ever seen. Even from when I was using Windows. I still amaze myself with what I can do in this program. You know the Second Cup Swing logo? Hank made that with Intaglio. The best feature that this program has, in my opinion, is the ease at which you can make larger then one page layouts. It just lays it right out for you.

• Curio - this is a thought collector. It has an internal internet browser that lets you research things and drag them into your workspace. You can scrapbook with it, you can reseach with it, you can design a website with it, you can do all kinds of things with this program. And there is a pen/pencil/highlighter tool that writes on anything!!
  

• Omniweb - This is the browser for researcher and students and anyone that likes to look up many different things and save everything even if the program quits on you or you have to restart. It lets you have multiple workspaces for collecting different topics of information and automatically saves everything.
  

• Notebook - It is, as the name suggests, like having a spiral notebook, but the pages are as long as you want them to be

• Pages - Most mac people will already have this program as a replacement for Word, but if you are still a word user, ditch it today. Pages has a great use of Styles and can save and read things in many formats, including .doc. Add Neo-office to this and you have an Office Free computer (yay!!!)

• Mind Manager - if the Java aspects of Freemind are driving you crazy or you need something a bit more, try MIndManager. It is a great little mind mapping program that doubles as a project manager. Sweet.
  

• Fireworks - this is my graphical program of choice for Mac. It doesn't have as many features as Gimp or Photoshop, but it does the basics really well. It works well if all you are doing is fixing up pictures for the Web.
  

And if you are a student, check out Academic Superstore before buying any sort of software!! I Cheaper software!!

Mac - Hey Folders!!

Hey all you Mac users, I found this cool little free utility that is cool and uber simple. It is called Hey Folders!! and allows you to change the folder color along with highlighting the words in Tiger.

Check it out:



Cool eh? And the best part is that it's free. So download now.

Discovered through: Freeware Mac