<blockquote>
As some of you may have already noticed the download link for the Tweetbot for Mac alpha no longer works. Twitter’s latest API Changes means now we have a large but finite limit on the number of user tokens we can get for Tweetbot for Mac. We’ve been working with Twitter over the last few days to try to work around this limit for the duration of the beta but have been unable to come up with a solution that was acceptable to them. Because of this we’ve decided its best for us to pull the alpha.
</blockquote>
It begins.
Also, unrelated, a look through the comments at the linked entry is a good exercise in understanding why I hate comments so much.

Tapbots

The Unhatched Egg Stays In Its Shell (for now)

<blockquote>
So while utilizing web technology has allowed us to support more than 500 million people using Facebook on more than 7000 supported devices, we realized that when it comes to platforms like iOS, people expect a fast, reliable experience and our iOS app was falling short. Now that our mobile services had breadth, we wanted depth. So, we rewrote Facebook for iOS from the ground up (I really did open up Xcode and click “New Project”) with a focus on quality and leveraging the advances that have been made in iOS development.
</blockquote>
The new Facebook for iOS app is certainly a vast improvement. I’m still a little irritated that core features, such as re-sharing someone’s link, are missing. Maybe they’ll add those things later.
This part concerns me though:
<blockquote>
To solve this, we came up with a different plan to let you use the newest features without requiring you to update the entire app: a “fallback” renderer. When the news feed team designs a new type of story, Facebook for iOS downloads something it doesn’t quite understand. When we detect this, we use a “fallback” renderer to show the pertinent information in the new story in a format the app already understands. In the meantime, we create a new custom renderer and have it ready for our next app update. For areas within the app where we anticipate making changes more often, we will continue to utilize HTML5 code, as we can push updates server side without requiring people to download a new version of the app.
</blockquote>
So the HTML5 renderer that made the old app so horrible is there and when Facebook decides to update something and push it out to the app, it will fall back to HTML5 rendering. This is really bad news if I understand this correctly. It would make much more sense to plan the feature roll out, put those features in the app in native code, submit it to the app store, and release everything simultaneously.
Well, we’ll see what happens and if the app slows down the first time Facebook decides to do this.

Facebook

Rebuilding Facebook for iOS

<blockquote>
Facebook has announced that it has finally rebuilt its iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch app for speed. Facebook’s previous iOS apps displayed and loaded all content view customized embedded mobile sites, but this new update is completely reengineered using native tools. Facebook says that the new update runs twice as fast as previous versions of Facebook for iOS.
</blockquote>
This is a huge update. Some things look different, in a good way. But mostly, everything is simply fast and responsive. Facebook for iOS went from being easily the worst app I use on my iPhone on a daily basis to being one of the best with this update. Highly recommended!

Mark Gurman writing on 9to5Mac

Facebook for iOS 5.0

<blockquote>
We’re excited to announce that Sparrow has been acquired by Google!
</blockquote>
Sigh. This is why we can’t have nice things.

Sparrow

Sparrow Acquired by Google

<blockquote>
Today we’re happy to announce that our upgrades are getting a huge upgrade! Dropbox Pro now comes in flavors of 100 and 200 GB, but at the price of the original 50 and 100 GB plans. For those of you who need even more space, a brand new 500 GB plan is also joining the posse! If you’re already a Dropbox Pro subscriber, just take a seat and enjoy the fireworks — your Dropbox will supersize itself automatically tonight.
</blockquote>
I didn’t think I could love Dropbox anymore, and then they get all crazy like this. Dropbox is cloud storage and sync done right. I never, ever pay any attention to drop box, I just put stuff in my Dropbox folder, or a Dropbox shared folder with someone I’m collaborating on a project with, and it just works. It’s too bad Apple can’t take some cues from a great service for iCloud.

Dropbox Blog

Dropbox Doubles Storage

I really love <a href="http://reederapp.com/iphone/">Reeder for iPhone</a>. Silvio Rizzi has done a great job and created 3 wonderful apps (iPhone, iPad, and Mac version. Developers who don’t make complimentary app counterparts on all three platforms, please take note!)
I really don’t know what I would do without Reeder, I use it every day, all day long on both my Mac and my iPhone (and I’m sure I would use it on my iPad if I had one). But there is one thing that bothers me with the recent update to 3.x. The method of navigation back out of a feed item has changed. In the 2.x versions, there was an ever present “back” navigation button up in the top left. This was fine, it always functioned well and never bothered me in the slightest. And getting back to the list from an item was easy and discoverable.
3.x has changed this behavior. There is a back button up in the top left. But it sticks to the top of the item so that when you scroll, it immediately scrolls up out of sight. This is ostensibly to make more screen real estate for reading. The problem is getting back to the list of items is harder and less discoverable.
However, despite the fact that this new method is far less discoverable, there is a new method for getting out of an item and back to the list of unread items. That is a swipe to the right with a single finger. In theory this is a great compliment (not replacement) for the back button. We can talk all day about how bad it is to replace a friendly and easily discoverable method of navigation with a less discoverable method, but that’s not even the problem. The problem I am having is that almost every single time I try to swipe out of an item I have finished reading to get back to the list, I have to try two or three times. The problem seems to be that Reeder has trouble distinguishing if I’m trying to scroll or swipe. On top of which it is the only app that functions this way. If I spend to much time in Reeder I get confused when I go to another app of similar “item list, item” construction and try to use the gesture to get back to the list (Mail, Instapaper etc.). If I haven’t been in Reeder for a while then it often takes me a few seconds to remember how to go back. It may seem like a minor annoyance, but believe me it’s adding up.
Speaking of Instapaper, it has a back gesture too, a two finger swipe to the right. But it is not the only way to get back and I rarely use it because it’s different from every other system app, and different again from Reeder. Where Instapaper is manageable, and why I have no problem with this feature is that Instapaper does not replace the back button navigation with this gesture. Instead, it’s an addition. And yes, Instapaper hits all navigation and goes full screen, but a tap anywhere will bring the navigation back up. And when you get to the end of an item, the navigation automatically comes back up.
So this is my complaint. And as much as I love Reeder, and even love pretty much everything else about the 3.x update, this one issue is so hurting my user experience that I’m quite frustrated.

A Reeder Complaint

<blockquote>
I still don’t understand why I, as a user, have to see folders called “deploy,” “packages,” and “payloads” in addition to the installer app icon, with all kinds of folders and subfolders inside them, but this is clearly something to which Adobe is very attached, and there is only so many times you can ask the same question before you start wondering whether anyone actually cares about such “details.”
</blockquote>
…
<blockquote>
One day, maybe, an Adobe engineer will understand that, when the user has to go through a lengthy installation process, the best approach is to let him enter all the required information (password, serial number, etc.) right away, and then — and only then — go through all the lengthy processes that are of no interest to him without asking for any user input, so that he can switch to something else and, you know, actually make valuable use of his time.
</blockquote>
I do not yet have CS6, but it looks like all the stupidness is still there for the install process at least. Every complaint in this article is the same as I have had with CS5.
Also, on the icons, is it just me or are Adobe’s icons and splash screens just getting stupider and stupider?

Pierre Igot

CS6 User Hostility

<blockquote>
NoMoreiTunes
Safari Extension
Preventing iTunes Preview and App Store pages in Safari from launching iTunes since 2010.
</blockquote>
I love this extension. Apple has great preview support in Safari. I want to preview it in Safari before I load iTunes. Sometimes I click on a link and don’t realize it’s going to launch in Safari, finish loading, then load in iTunes. This fixes that.

NoMore iTunes Safari Extension

Messages for Mac Beta debuted today. You can <a href="http://www.apple.com/macosx/mountain-lion/messages-beta/">download it here</a> in case you missed the link I posted earlier today.
I was <a href="/blog/2011/10/27/imessage-for-lion">definitely hopping for something like</a> this so I am relatively excited. I downloaded the beta first thing this morning and installed it.
Messages completely replaces iChat. All the functionality of iChat is still there, but de-emphasized. When you first start messages, you are asked to enter your Apple ID for for iMessages. If you have set up your iPhone (or iPad) properly <a href="#fn:messages1">1</a> as I have done, messages will now come to all your devices, now including your Mac. It’s a beautiful thing. No more irritating and frequent IM disconnects (I’m looking at you Google Talk), no more not being unable to reach my wife because her phone is tucked away somewhere and her Gtalk account has inexplicably disconnected, no more buddy list management. Just messaging, everywhere.
I should clarify, all the previously supported IM protocols are still supported, and you can still access those buddy lists. But the main window of the new Messages app looks a little something like this:
<img src="http://appleuserpro.com/assets/uploads/messages.jpg" alt="Messages" title="messages.jpg">
And while you can access the buddy list(s) for your IM accounts, it is not necessary. If you want to message someone, and they aren’t currently in your conversation list, you can click the little button up on the left to start a new conversation, start typing their name, press enter as soon as they show up and start messaging. This is clearly the way, in my opinion a messaging app should be designed.
This being a beta, the app is not without bugs, but I found that the bugs have not affected usability. Basically, it just seemed like things jumped around a little randomly once in a while.
This is pretty much exactly what I was hoping for — an integrated messaging app with one integrated window of conversations and conversation sync between devices — and I think Apple nailed it.
<hr>
<ol>
<li>I cannot for the life of me figure out why the default iMessage set up on an iPhone is this way, but it does not automatically associate itself with your Apple ID for iMessages. Instead, it associates itself with your iPhone’s phone number. You must go into ”iPhone Settings > Messages > Receive At“ and make sure your Apple ID is entered there. Then go into “Caller ID” and change it to your Apple ID. Only after doing this will you be able to receive your iMessages, via your Apple ID, at all your devices. It’s very un-Apple like and I hope they fix this in the future. <a href="#fnref:messages1">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Messages for Mac

<blockquote>
Download Messages Beta and get a taste of what’s coming in OS X Mountain Lion. When you install Messages, it replaces iChat. But iChat services will continue to work. And Messages brings iMessage to the Mac — just like on iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch running iOS 5.
</blockquote>
I’ve been using Messages since it came out this morning. It’s great. No, it’s awesome! Go download it! Now!

Download the Beta

Messages Beta

<blockquote>
The best iPhone Twitter app comes to the iPad. I sure wish they would make a Mac version…
</blockquote>
No kidding. Not having an iPad, I can’t comment on the iPad version. I’ll just assume it’s as good as the iPhone version. I consider Tweetbot for iPhone the best Twitter client of all time. Please, PLEASE Tapbots, bring this to Mac!
<a href="http://tapbots.com/software/tweetbot/">Tweetbot for iPhone →</a>
<a href="http://tapbots.com/software/tweetbot/ipad/">Tweetbot for iPad →</a>

Joey Valenti

Tweetbot

I have discovered something wonderful… at least if you are geeky like me and use a Mac of some sort as your media center. I have been using a <a href="http://www.apple-history.com/mac_mini_mid_07">Mac Mini</a> as my media center for some time. I use <a href="http://www.plexapp.com/">Plex</a> as the media center software. All in all it is a good solution for us. I’m techy enough to get it set up properly, and once the hard part of setting everything up is done, it’s easy to use and navigate so my wife has no problem using it.
But I’ve never been completely happy with Apple’s remote. I did like the aluminum version a little better than the white plastic version, it seemed to have less problems getting IR signal through to the Mac. But even so it is basically the same remote with the same controls and so at times woefully inadequate.
But I just discovered something really cool. With <a href="http://www.iospirit.com/products/remotebuddy/">Remote Buddy</a> — third party remote software — you can <a href="http://www.iospirit.com/products/remotebuddy/hardware/#nintendowiiremote">pair a Wiimote via Bluetooth to a Mac</a>. This is brilliant because there’s no more problems with IR and needing line of site. The Wiimote has more buttons that can be fully customized with Remote Buddy.
For instance, I have the Wiimote’s home button permanently mapped to bring up the Remote Buddy menu. The “1” button activates Plex, and the “2” button activates DVD player. And best of all, unlike the Apple IR remote, it will wake the computer from display sleep (previously my biggest frustration with Lion and remote control behavior). I highly recommend this to anyone who uses a Mac in such a way that requires a remote.

Posts tagged “Software I Use” from the blog