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Apple briefly released – and then unreleased – the iPad SDK the other day, and much to the surprise of those who got their hands on it, there was camera support. Needless to say it is impossible to know if this was for a once toyed-with feature that was taken out or for the possibility of inclusion in future models, but the software development kid includes support for a front facing camera, camera flash, zoom and even video conferencing.
For those of you who consider the glass half full, this could mean the potential future inclusion of a camera, but the realists out there probably realize that this was a once included feature that was cut for one reason or another.
Certain files within your operating system are hidden and although they exist, there’s no way to see them and no setting in your System Preferences to make them appear. For many web developers, like myself, the .htaccess is a common offender. It is something that you occasionally need to edit, especially when setting up a new website, but Mac OS X keeps it hidden making it extremely hard to edit.
To show all hidden files within your OS, here’s what you do.
- Open the Terminal.
- Enter the following command in to the terminal:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
killall Finder - Done! Your finder will take a second to reload and then you’ll notice all sorts of hidden files throughout your hard drive.
Done with whatever hidden file you needed to deal with and sick of seeing all the extra crap? Do the exact same thing as above but change “TRUE” to “FALSE”, then relaunch the finder (Hold down Ctrl+Option, click on the Finder in your Dock and select “Relaunch”) and everything will return to it’s original invisible state.
NOTE: Generally speaking, most hidden files are probably invisible to the average user for a very good reason. Be careful with what you’re editing, moving, or deleting and backup your system beforehand.
For those that use virtually any type of online chat service, Adium is there to serve all of your online chatting needs. There are plenty of Mac applications out there to allow you to chat with your friends, but Adium stand tall above the rest as the best chat client available for Mac OS X. Based on the multi-platform open-source library Libpurple, Adium is a user-friendly chat application designed exclusively for Mac users. Adium supports all of the most common chat protocols, including AIM, MSN, Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, and Facebook Chat, as well as at least a half dozen others.
Where the program really shines, however, is not the long list of protocols it can use but the visual interface; Just about everything about the way it works and looks can be customized. The look of the contact list can be tweaked to one’s liking in just about every way possible, making it easy to find your online buddies. Message windows can be individual or tabbed in a single window and they way they display the messages also has several options to suit ones needs from a very professional appearance to something more along the lines of iPhone text messages. Even the icon on the dock can be set to various different colors or you can easily import your own.
Did I mention it supports Growl notifications? For those unfamiliar with it, Growl integrates with many programs on your system to show you little pop-up notifications of what is happening in the background without making you Cmd-Tab back and forth. Adium integrates with Growl perfectly and allows you to see when your buddies come online or go offline, when you get a message, when a file transfer is completed, or just about anything else within the program that you might want a notification about.
Just about the only feature that I truly wish Adium had that it does not have integrated is video chat. Many of the chat protocols it has integrated can support this, but the program itself does not (yet?) support it.
Sounds like a great application, right? Well, I’ve got more good news. It’s free.
If you chat online via one of the various popular chat programs out there or even multiples, then this is the application for you. It blows just about any other chat program out of the water and will make your Windows-using friends jealous that they can’t get it.
The iPhone OS 3.1.3 update is now available via the iTunes store. This a firmware update does very little other than fix some small bugs experienced by users of the 3.1.2 firmware. You can update your phone to the latest firmware simply by connecting it to your computer and letting iTunes download and install it. Direct download links for the update are not yet available, but will be posted once they are. For those of you using jailbroken and/or unlocked phones, do NOT upgrade, as your phone will no longer be unlocked and may become temporarily bricked.
In case you’ve fallen off the face of the Earth and haven’t seen this all over the place already, Apple today introduced their newest product: The iPad. This is indeed, as you may have suspected, the long rumored tablet that has been getting so much hype over the last several months and from the looks of it so far, the hype was justified. Starting at $499, it offers web browsing, email, photos, video, functions as an iPod with iTunes, is already compatible with 140,000 Apps for the iPod Touch and iPhone, introduces a brand-new type of eReader from Apple called iBooks, has integrated maps, and much much more.
There’s really no way that I can do it justice, so head on over to Apple’s website to find out more.
For those of you who are eagerly awaiting the Apple event tomorrow, here’s a roundup of what you might possibly be able to expect, if the plethora of rumors end up to be based in truth.
- What do I call it?
There are plenty of names floating around for the rumored Tablet, but here are the likely possibilities: Apple Slate, iSlate, iPad, iTablet, MacTablet, or TabletMac. For some reason, MacSlate hasn’t been mentioned, although that seems to fit well with their laptop line. - What will it do?
If the hype is any indicator, this baby will be curing cancer and aids with a single use. In reality, however, it will likely have a multi-touch screen, offer high definition video for a better mobile movie and TV experience, be a fully-featured eReader, possibly allow iPhone/iPod Touch Apps, full web browsing, and likely much more. If the iPod Touch and MacBook were to mate, this would be their lovechild. - How will it look?
Rumor has it this tablet will be sporting a shiny new 10.1″ multi-touch screen, similar to that of the iPhone, but bigger. There have also been rumors of a smaller 7″ screened version, but that is about as likely as an iPhone Mini. Chances are, it will have the appearance of a large iPod Touch. - When can I get my hands on one?
Analyst Yair Reiner for Oppenheimer predicts that it will be ready to ship in late March or early April of this year, but other analysts have predicted as soon as February, although that seems less likely. - How much will this set me back?
Most guesstimates say the price will be somewhere around $1000, but different analysts have said as high as $1500 or even as low as $700. Thankfully, we don’t have much more to wait before we know.
That pretty much covers the important stuff, but by the end of the day tomorrow all will hopefully be clear.
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