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Mac DevCenter Articles
Understanding Exceptions and Handlers in Cocoa
by Jose Cruz
Learn how to use Cocoa to build an exception handling system. This article shows the classes and keywords needed, how to prepare and raise a Cocoa exception, as well as how to intercept and process the exception. 07/31/2007
The Good Easy on OS X
by Giles Turnbull
Giles Turnbull examines Mark Hurst's "Good Easy" productivity tools and methods for Macs. Giles spoke with the author of "Bit Literacy" about his philosophy and choices for simplifying computing. 07/25/2007
Discover the Power of Open Directory (Part 3)
by Noah Gift
In this final segment of our Open Directory series, Noah Gift introduces Manage Client for OS X (MCX) and shows how to use the OS X specific schema attributes for Mobility to synchronize laptops to a network profile and change Dock settings. Noah also demonstrates how Windows can use Open Directory for authentication and Home Directories. 07/18/2007
Smarter Ways to Work with PDFs
by Giles Turnbull
Giles Turnbull examines several methods and applications for managing your PDF collection. 07/11/2007
Four Ways to Compress to H.264 with Elgato's Turbo.264
by Erica Sadun
Erica Sadun examines Elgato's new Turbo.264 graphics co-processor in a USB dongle. In this article, you'll discover whether the Turbo.264 is right for you and, if so, how to use it for your video compression needs using four handy compression methods. 07/03/2007
Discover the Power of Open Directory (Part 2)
by Noah Gift
Noah Gift shows how to set up a Mac with an NFS home directory using Open Directory, integrate an existing Linux NFS file server for a cross-platform home directory, and authenticate a Linux client into Open Directory. 06/27/2007
Graphical Toolkits for Apple's OS X: GTK+
by Jeremiah Foster
In the latest installment in his series on windowing system options for Mac developers, Jeremiah Foster takes a look at using GTK+ on OS X. If you like living on the bleeding edge, this article will show you how to install and get up and running with GTK+ on OS X. 06/22/2007
WWDC Keynote: Oh Boy, Just What I Always Wanted
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Learn about the new features announced in Leopard, Safari for Windows, and the way iPhone development is going to work. Daniel Steinberg reports from this year's WWDC keynote. 06/12/2007
Hit-and-Run: Launching AppleScripts with Keyboard Shortcuts
by Jochen Wolters
AppleScript automation is one of OS X's most useful features, and it can be made even better with the use of keyboard shortcuts. Jochen Wolters examines three ways to assign a keyboard shortcut to an AppleScript, and digs in to FastScripts and Quicksilver in this detailed tutorial. 06/08/2007
Discover the Power of Open Directory
by Noah Gift
Open Directory is one of Apple's best-kept secrets. Get the real scoop on Open Directory, and learn how to configure a very basic Open Directory system and set up an OS X Open Directory client. 06/04/2007
Indie Mac Development in the UK
by Giles Turnbull
Giles Turnbull interviews a group of UK-based indie developers to ask them a little about their lives, how they stay in touch with Apple, and why international exchange rates make such a difference to them. 05/25/2007
Top Ten Mac OS X Tips for Unix Geeks
by Brian Jepson
From starting up to shutting down, there are big differences between Mac OS X and Unix machines. Brian Jepson, coauthor of Mac OS X for Unix Geeks offers 10 tips he gathered while working on the book. If you're a Unix geek moving to Mac OS X, these tips will help smooth the way. Brian has recently updated this "oldie but goodie." 05/15/2007
Using Python and AppleScript Together
by Noah Gift
In this hands-on article, Noah Gift introduces the major concepts behind using AppleScript with Python and provides some fun working examples. 05/10/2007
Building Custom iQuiz Data
by Erica Sadun
iQuiz is a brand new, flashy iPod game from Apple that allows users to create custom games and run them using the iQuiz interface. In this tutorial, Erica Sadun shows how to create custom iQuiz files and provides sample code and files. 04/30/2007
Graphical Toolkits for OS X: wxPython
by Jeremiah Foster
In this new MacDC series, Jeremiah Foster presents an overview of graphical toolkits for Apple's OS X. This first article looks at wxPython, including installation instructions and breaking down some sample code. If you've been wanting to use your Python programming skills to develop for OS X, you'll want to learn about wxPython. 04/24/2007
Customizing TextMate
by James Edward Gray II
TextMate is one of the most popular text editors among Mac developers, in part due to how much you can customize the powerful program. James Edward Gray II recently wrote TextMate: Power Editing for the Mac and presents this article on creating an RPN calculator in TextMate as an example of how to do complex TextMate customizations. 04/18/2007
Introducing Google Desktop for Mac
by Giles Turnbull
Giles Turnbull takes an in-depth look at Google Desktop for the Mac, putting the recently released OS X version of Google's desktop search product through its paces. Learn what Google Desktop can do for you, how it does it, and why it needs to install itself with high-level permissions on your system. 04/09/2007
Apple TV: State of the Hacks
by Erica Sadun
Erica Sadun has been hacking away on the new Apple TV and presents this "State of the Hacks" roundup of what people are doing with their Apple TV boxes. Discover what kinds of mods are out there and whether they're the right fit for your needs and abilities. 04/02/2007
A Chat with Nobi
Chris Stone interviews longtime Japanese Mac journalist Nobuyuki "Nobi" Hayashi. Nobi shares his thoughts on this year's MacWorld, gives hints for Mac developers wanting to cross the Pacific, and explains why Apple TV won't be the next big thing in Japan, but what might instead. 03/15/2007
MacFUSE: New Frontiers in File Systems
by Scott Knaster
MacFUSE takes something that was incredibly hard--adding new file systems to Mac OS X--and makes it much, much easier. In this article, Scott Knaster explains why file system support is generally hard, how MacFUSE makes it easier, and why you should care. Follow along in the code as Scott develops a simple FUSE-compatible file system. 03/06/2007
Replacing AppleScript with Ruby
by Matt Neuburg
Matt Neuberg describes how to use rb-appscript to manage Apple events without Applescript. Learn the basics of rb-appscript usage, with example scripts, including a rewrite of the Ruby-AppleScript example from Matt's book AppleScript: The Definitive Guide. 02/27/2007
Stream Live HDTV from Your Mac
by Erica Sadun
Erica Sadun shows how to stream HD EyeTV video from a Mac using VLC in five easy steps, even as it records. Learn how to build this remote video streaming solution by accessing EyeTV's raw MPEG transport streams and using VLC to stream that MPEG and watch the video on another computer. 02/20/2007
A mini Mac Solution
by Vicki Brown, Rich Morin
Rich Morin and Vicki Brown describe how they replaced their home FreeBSD server with a Mac mini. 02/13/2007
Building a Game Engine with Cocoa, Part 3
by Matthew Russell
In this third and final installment of Matthew Russell's series on building a game engine with Cocoa, we learn how to implement a game tree search called negamax--a variant of minimax that uses alpha-beta pruning to reduce the search space. 02/02/2007
Modding Apple Sample Code
by Erica Sadun
Erica Sadun dives into Apple's sample code archive and shows how to modify MovieVideoChart to create a comic-book-like video layout tool. Learn a structured approach to taking advantage of the wealth of sample code that Apple provides for developers. 01/23/2007
My Favorite Macworld Product: Indigo
by Adam Goldstein
Each year Adam Goldstein likes to search out the cool new products at Macworld. This year Adam takes a look at the powerful Indigo home automation system. 01/18/2007
Macworld Keynote Report 2007
by Daniel H. Steinberg
In this podcast we talk to MacDevCenter editors Bruce Stewart and Chris Stone about this year's Macworld Expo keynote by Apple CEO Steve Jobs. 01/16/2007
Macworld 2007: 1984 All Over Again
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Daniel Steinberg reports on the Macworld keynote. From the big iPhone announcement and demo to the startling lack of Mac and Leopard news, Daniel shares his impressions and provides detailed analysis of the year's largest Apple event. 01/12/2007
Building a Game Engine with Cocoa, Part 2
by Matthew Russell
In this second part of Matthew Russell's series on building a game engine with Cocoa, we learn how to program the logic for generating valid moves and improve the overall usability of our board game by highlighting squares on the board that correspond to valid move locations. 01/05/2007
Building a Game Engine with Cocoa
by Matthew Russell
Matthew Russell shows how to use Xcode and a little artificial intelligence to build a small game engine for playing board games like Checkers and Lines of Action. This first article describes how to build a generic, minimalist framework for setting up a board and moving pieces around using a standard Cocoa design. 12/19/2006
iPod Notes: Above and Beyond
by Erica Sadun
In this follow-up article to "Building Interactive iPod Experiences," Erica Sadun shows how to use iPod Notes to create a "notes-only" museum mode, reuse already existing HTML source material, create custom menu presentations, control navigation, and more. 12/12/2006
O'Reilly Happenings at Macworld SF 2007
by Bruce Stewart
Macworld SF 2007 is shaping up to be a busy show for O'Reilly Media. We have great specials, lots of books, a full speaker lineup, and a menu of activities. Here's a comprehensive overview. 12/11/2006
Building Interactive iPod Experiences
by Erica Sadun
The interactive multimedia presentation is one of the least-trumpeted features of the iPod. In this article, Erica Sadun introduces the basics of interactive iPod design by showing how to use the iPod Notes feature to create presentations that include text, links, images, music, and videos. 11/28/2006
Peter Green's Modded Macs
by Giles Turnbull
Giles Turnbull recently visited hardware hacker and composer Peter Green to check out his homemade Mac laptop and tablet computers. Learn what inspires Green and how he made these machines, along with images and video of these inventive Mac mods. 11/21/2006
How to Write a Cocoa Web Server
by Jürgen Schweizer
Learn how to use NSSocketPort, NSFileHandle, and Cocoa notifications to write a server application without having to create a multi-threaded application. Jürgen Schweizer also shows how to use Core Foundation APIs to deal with the low-level details of the HTTP protocol in this working example of building a Cocoa web server. 11/14/2006
Making a Smooth Move from .Mac to Google
by Matthew Russell
Matthew Russell presents a practical approach for a smooth move from .Mac to a Google-centric web experience. Getting your email, address book, calendar, online storage, online photos, and blog squared away are all covered in this detailed transition plan. 11/01/2006
What's The Big Deal About Making Music Players Social? Microsoft Zune and the Big Idea
by Erica Sadun
Why does Microsoft insist that a social music player, its upcoming Zune, is the wave of the future? Zune social networking manifests itself through its Wi-Fi-based music sharing and its PC-based (and presumably MySpace-inspired) Zune Marketplace. Microsoft gambles that these two spheres are sufficient to define a new and unique Zune space. Erica Sadun takes a good hard look at the Zune and tries to figure out if it is the wave of the future--or just a pipe dream. 10/17/2006
Text Tricks and More Text Tricks
by Giles Turnbull
We've covered text editors here before. We know, from various posts at the Mac DevCenter blog, that our readers are often as fanatical about using plain text as we are. Tips on using your editor of choice are easy to find, but we thought it would be fun to gather a whole bunch of them together for the first time; not only to spread the word, but to invite our readers to add their own tips and time-savers. We've also asked a handful of Mac users to contribute their own favorite text tricks. 10/10/2006
Burn Your New iTunes Movies to DVD (and Protect Your Other iTunes Purchases)
by Erica Sadun
How much money have you spent at the iTunes store? And what do you have to show for it? An iPod full of music? TV shows? Those new games and movies? Too many people forget how much cash they've put into their digital media. And when bad things happen--house fires, computer theft, iPod loss--they're not always prepared to be able to recover those digital assets. Erica Sadun shows you archiving techniques to preserve your (hefty) iTunes investment. 09/19/2006
Miglia TVMicro and EyeTV: Easy TV on Your Mac
by Matthew Russell
The Miglia TVMicro is a small USB device and comes bundled with a remote control and the renowned EyeTV app, which makes it trivial to pull up program listings, schedule recordings, and more. Costing roughly $100, this is a purchase that might just pay for itself sooner than you think. Matthew Russell reviews. 09/12/2006
A Briefing on Syncing
by Michael E. Cohen
The idea behind synchronizing, or syncing, is simple: take information you collect on one device, like the contact lists you keep on your laptop, and combine it with similar information on other devices so that the two sets of information match. Sounds easy enough, but there are a few tricks to understand. In this Take Control excerpt, Michael Cohen provides an informative overview for getting your info in sync. 09/05/2006
Email Protocols: Where Do We Go Now?
by Giles Turnbull
Having established that email has a complicated history, tends to drive people crazy, has had entire books written about keeping it under control, and is broken beyond all repair for some people, let's try to work out what we can do--practically speaking--to make using it less of a hassle. Giles Turnbull explores our state of email and provides a few glimmers of where we may be headed. 08/29/2006
Unify and Synchronize Your iTunes Libraries
by Matthew Russell
Last June, David Miller published an article that explained how to synchronize playlists on iTunes. Today, Matthew Russell extends this idea by investigating and presenting three different ways to synchronize the actual contents of your iTunes music libraries when they are scattered across multiple machines. Then in the second half of the article, Matthew lays the foundation for a custom Python script that you can extend across multiple platforms and in various other ways. 08/22/2006
The Three Faces of Steve: WWDC 2006
by Daniel H. Steinberg
After welcoming the audience of developers at WWDC, Steve Jobs let the audience know that others would help him on stage. This, in and of itself, was unusual. There are often supporting roles in the WWDC and MacWorld keynotes, but only one featured artist. Not only did Jobs share the stage with Bertrand Serlet, Phil Schiller, and Scott Forstall, but he allowed them to make many of the morning's announcements. In a way they represented the three faces of Steve. Daniel Steinberg reports. 08/15/2006
Understanding the NSTableView Class
by Jose Cruz
This article will provide you with an in-depth introduction on how to use the NSTableView Cocoa class to display tabular data. You will first learn how to add an instance of that class to your application project using Interface Builder. Then, you will learn how to properly implement the data-source process used to retrieve the data to be displayed by the instantiated table. Jose Cruz shows you how. 08/08/2006
How Does Open Source Software Stack Up on the Mac?
by Matthew Russell
Apple does a great job of providing elegant software for its platform. But there are plenty of good offerings beyond the fruits of Cupertino. In this amazing survey of proprietary and open source software, Matthew Russell attempts to organize what's available on both fronts and even dares to assign grades. Has he missed anything? 07/25/2006
So Del.icio.us! Intelligent Tagging for the Mac User
by Giles Turnbull
It's time to learn about del.icio.us, a glorious, minimalist, tag-tastic bookmarks database. It was designed to be a "large-scale outboard memory," with added sharing smarts. It works like this: you take all your digital stuff and throw it into your del.icio.us account. Thanks to tagging and searching, you can find your stuff easily later. And you can find other people's stuff, too. Giles Turnbull shows you how. 07/18/2006
What Is Vim (It's Easier than You Think)
by Matthew Russell
If you've had a less-than-agreeable experience with Vim in the past and are willing to give it another shot, please ponder these points: 1) there's generally a learning curve involved with any powerful tool, 2) Vim is much more than just your run-of-the-mill text editor, and 3) the effort required to become a proficient Vimmer isn't as much as you'd think: it's comparable to that of learning to touch type. Matthew Russell explains. 07/11/2006
Parallels Desktop for the Mac
by Todd Ogasawara
The short version of this discussion about Parallels can be summed up in a single word: amazing. Nothing is perfect, of course, and there is room for improvement as Parallels moves this product beyond version 1.0. However, if you have an Intel-based Mac and need or want to run Microsoft Windows, some version of Linux, or some other supported operating system, read on. Todd Ogasawara reports. 06/27/2006
Wireless Security on the Road Without a VPN
by FJ de Kermadec
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a secure way to connect to web sites and email while using wireless networks. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to a VPN, so what do you do? In this article you'll learn how to secure your online activities without a VPN. 06/20/2006
Apple vs. the Bloggers: How It Unfolded and Where It Stands Now
by Richard Koman
When AppleInsider and PowerPage published apparently purloined confidential documents from Cupertino, Apple sued their ISPs to find out who inside the company was leaking. This set into motion a series of court proceedings that helped define the rights of bloggers and privacy for those who use the Internet. Richard Koman reports. 06/13/2006
Aging PowerBook Upgrade by a Linux/OS X Geek
by Philip Hollenback
Many Mac users railed against chromatic's recent article, Switching Back to Desktop Linux. When Philip Hollenback, a Linux fan himself, needed to upgrade his aging PB 667 from Panther to Tiger, he used an approach that kept costs down and value high, while preserving his Linux/OS X frame of mind. Here's how he did it. 06/07/2006
Cloning Terminal to Ease Window Management
by Rich Morin
By using multiple copies of an app, you can hide and display each copy's windows separately. For example, you can have multiple copies of the Terminal available: one for generic tasks, a few for specific projects, and one reserved as idle. Rich Morin shows you how. 06/01/2006
MacBook Pro: The Thermal Paste Question
by James Duncan Davidson
The MacBook Pro is a hot machine--literally so hot that it becomes uncomfortable on your lap after extended periods of use. Some users blame the excessive use of thermal paste between the main chips on the logic board and the thermal pipes. Is this the problem? James Duncan Davidson cracks open his MacBook Pro to find out. 05/23/2006
Photoshop Elements 4 for the Mac: Worth the Wait?
by Giles Turnbull
There was a minor uproar in the Mac community when Photoshop Elements 4 was released for Windows with no Mac version in sight. But Adobe has rectified the situation with a stellar release of Elements for OS X. Giles Turnbull takes you on a tour of its highlights. 05/16/2006
Grabbing iTMS Preview Tracks the Geek Way
by Erica Sadun
Ever tried to copy a preview track from the iTMS onto your iPod? Hint: you can't. iTunes won't add those 30-second free previews. Why would you want to? Some great audio and video are waiting for you to enjoy. Plus, there's the sheer thrill of geek accomplishment--the "oh, so that's how to do it" satisfaction. 05/09/2006
Xcode for the Rest of Us, Part II
by Shelley Weiner
Apple's Developer Tools are not just for the propeller-head set. There are applications and utilities within that can make you more productive, solve tough problems faster, and--dare we say?--put a measure of control into your workday. Shelley Weiner shows you some very practical Xcode tools, with a focus on FileMerge. 05/02/2006
A Survey of Open Source Apps Available for Mac OS X
by John Littler
Mac OS X has certainly benefited from open source software--both inside the OS itself and running on top of the platform. In this article, John Littler surveys standalone apps and package systems to provide you with an overview of open source software for your Mac. 04/26/2006
Aperture 1.1--Apple Listens
by Scott Bourne
With Aperture's new features, bug fixes, and universal compatibility with PowerMacs and Intel Macs, it's now a serious contender for top digital photo software. Scott Bourne reviews Version 1.1. 04/18/2006
Mac FTP: A Guided Tour
by Giles Turnbull
(S)FTP has a valuable place in the hearts of web builders and developers, and is still one of the most practical methods of getting files from one place to another in a secure manner. In this article, Giles Turnbull surveys six FTP clients for the Mac platform and shows you the major characteristics of each. 04/13/2006
Macintosh Home Monitoring
by Gordon Meyer
Want to learn a few simple home automation techniques to have your Mac send you a message when your mail is delivered, your kids come home, or your dog uses the pet door to go into the backyard? Gordon Meyer shows you how. 04/04/2006
Bringing Ruby on Rails with FastCGI into Mac OS X Server
by Luke Burton
Most of the Ruby on Rails documentation on deployment for Mac OS X glosses over key parts of the plumbing. In this article, Luke Burton walks you through a Rails installation on Mac OS X Server. 03/29/2006
Getting Started with Quartz Composer
by Erica Sadun
Apple's free developer tool collection contains many overlooked gems. These aren't limited to programming-specific utilities. Take Quartz Composer, for example. It's a free utility that can bring new life and interest to your iMovie projects. In this article, you'll learn how to use your own pictures to create a simple but flashy animation. 03/23/2006
Digital Bookmark Mods
by Matthew Russell
Matthew Russell shows you how to add better bookmarks to your audio books, add slideshows to your music files, create enhanced podcasts, and share your favorite mods with others--even if they're on protected audio. 03/15/2006
Mac OS X Website Builder Face-Off
by Giles Turnbull
You may be a web expert, but surely everyone you know isn't. What tools do you recommend to others? And, what would you use for those quick sites that you don't want to code from scratch? Giles Turnbull compares three potent offerings: iWeb, Sandvox, and RapidWeaver. The results are surprising. 03/08/2006
Extending the Dashboard Virtual Earth Widget
by Luke Burton
After our first attempt at building a Dashboard Virtual Earth Widget, we revisit our code to improve its appearance. In this follow-up tutorial you'll learn how to redesign the look and feel of the widget to accommodate resizing, include a preference pane with some basic text, and change the CSS code to render the widget appropriately. 03/01/2006
What's New in iWork '06?
by Giles Turnbull
iWork's tandem offering of Pages and Keynote provides a useful collection of tools for presentations, word processing, and layout. But how much has changed since last year's debut? Giles Turnbull walks you through Pages 2 and Keynote 3 to help decide if this upgrade is for you. 02/22/2006
Digitizing VHS Tapes with EyeTV
by Joe McMahon
By digitizing your old VHS tapes, you can move them from taking up precious shelf space to more readily available disk space. In this article, Joe McMahon shows you a hack that lets you archive full-quality digital recordings from EyeTV to offline media, but still play them back easily in EyeTV. 02/14/2006
Xcode for the Rest of Us
by Shelley Weiner
Apple's Developer Tools are not just for the propeller-head set. There are applications and utilities within that can make you more productive, solve tough problems faster, and--dare we say?--put a measure of control into your workday. Shelley Weiner shows you some very practical Xcode tools with a focus on PackageMaker. 02/07/2006
Tweaking iTunes
by Giles Turnbull
Our favorite music app, iTunes is much more than a player. It's Apple's representative to the non-Mac world, a focal point for Apple's growing media empire, and a pioneering combination of desktop application and online service. With all that in mind, let's ask ourselves: how can we mess around with iTunes? Giles Turnbull shows you how. 01/31/2006
Adding a New Style Preferences Window to Your App, Part 2
by Martin Redington
In this second of two articles, Martin Redington shows you how to add a new style preferences window to your application that behaves in all respects exactly like the Apple preferences windows. 01/27/2006
Putting Google Video onto Your iPod
by Erica Sadun
There's some pretty interesting stuff on Google Video. In this article, Erica Sadun shows you how to download videos, convert them to an iPod-friendly format, and load them onto your new 5G video iPod. 01/24/2006
Adding a New Style Preferences Window to Your App, Part 1
by Martin Redington
In this first of two articles, Martin Redington shows you how to add a new style preferences window to your application that behaves in all respects exactly like the Apple preferences windows. 01/20/2006
Cool Macworld Product: SketchUp
by Adam Goldstein
Past the rows of video games and rainbow iPod cases at Macworld SF, Adam Goldstein found his pick of the show. The product that got his Coolness Vote this year is a neat design tool called SketchUp. Here's how it works. 01/17/2006
Macworld Podcast: Chuck Toporek on the New Macs and More
by Daniel H. Steinberg
We talk about the new Macs and what might be coming next with O'Reilly senior editor Chuck Toporek. 01/13/2006
Intel and More Inside
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Saving the best for last is the old saw Steve Jobs lives by when it comes to addressing his Macworld audiences. As Daniel Steinberg reports from Macworld SF 2006, Jobs spent the first 90 minutes of his keynote on Apple's sales revenues, additions to two of the iApps and the introduction of a new one, and more, before casually mentioning the PowerBook is being replaced by the Intel-powered MacBook Pro. As Daniel puts it, for Jobs, this is "pure theatre." Read Daniel's extensive report on all of Jobs' announcements. 01/12/2006
Macworld Podcast: Derrick Story on iPhoto
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Mac DevCenter editor Derrick Story says that the news from the Macworld keynote that interests him the most are all of the improvements to iPhoto. 01/12/2006
Shop Different: Accessorizing Your iPod ... for Cheap!
by Erica Sadun
Even though there are aisle after aisle of iPod add-ons on display at Macworld, Erica Sadun went a different direction to accessorize her player. She made a visit to the Dollar Store. Here's what she found. 01/11/2006
The Power of mdfind
by Andy Lester
In addition to the little blue magnifying glass in the upper-right corner of your desktop, Tiger provides the
mdfind and
mdls commands for searching. Andy Lester discovered them while working on his updates to Mac OS X Tiger In A Nutshell. Essentially, they provide the power of Spotlight in the Unix shell. Here's how it works.
Mac Users and the Macs They Use
by Giles Turnbull
When you read the articles and weblog posts by prominent Mac users and Mac pundits, do you ever find yourself wondering what kind of computer setup they're using? Giles Turnbull does. He recently contacted a spat of Mac professionals and asked them what they depend on. Here's what they had to say. 12/28/2005
O'Reilly Happenings at Macworld SF
by Derrick Story
Macworld SF 2006 is shaping up to be a busy show for O'Reilly Media. We have great specials, lots of books, a full speaker lineup, and a menu of activities. Here's a comprehensive overview. 12/20/2005
A Look at Keychain Access (and Why You Should Care)
by Giles Turnbull
Introduced in Mac OS 9, Keychain Access is an API and an application designed to provide secure storage for all your sensitive information. It has continued to evolve in Mac OS X, and Giles Turnbull helps you unlock its mysteries. 12/16/2005
Managing MySQL on Mac OS X
by Robert Daeley
There are myriad ways to control and manipulate information on a MySQL server -- some are stand-alone GUI apps, some are web-based, and of course the venerable (and powerful) command-line option is always available. Robert Daeley shows some of the most useful tools. 12/13/2005
New Palm TX Forced Me to Address Mac Sync Options
by Giles Turnbull
Palm devices were once the model of simplicity for Mac users. Giles Turnbull, late-'90s PDA geek, picked up a new Palm TX after a lengthy mobile device hiatus. But he soon discovered that syncing feeling that accompanies Palm/OS X connectivity these days. Here's his report. 12/09/2005
Dissecting a Dashboard Virtual Earth Widget
by Luke Burton
Dashboard is a great container for your Web 2.0 application. In this tutorial, Luke Burton walks you through a Dashboard implementation of Virtual Earth, highlighting the various components and showing you what they do. 12/06/2005
Five Fun Ways to Play with Audio Hijack Pro
by Erica Sadun
It's like a sound lab on your Mac -- with Audio Hijack Pro you can digitize legacy music, time-shift radio shows, and even repurpose your legally purchased music. Erica Sadun shows you five of her favorite AHP tips. 12/02/2005
Advanced Package Management with Fink
by Koen Vervloesem
In this follow-up to his first article on installing Fink, Koen Vervloesem tackles more advanced topics, such as building binary packages, running your own binary distribution server, and creating Fink packages for your own software. 11/29/2005
HTML Tools on the Mac Command Line
by Robert Daeley
It's time to dig around in your OS X Developer Tools and put some of those utilities to work. Robert Daeley takes you on a tour of handy CLI tools that, if you're not using them now, you will be after reading this article. 11/22/2005
Getting the Video out of Your New iPod--for Cheap!
by Erica Sadun
Yes, you can spend extra dollars for Apple's sleek white video cable for TV connectivity, or you can hack your own together for cheap. Erica Sadun shows you how. 11/18/2005
What Is Bluetooth
by Michael Juntao Yuan
Bluetooth--its name is cool, but what can you really do with it? If you're curious, let Michael Yuan take you on a tour through the myriad use cases for Bluetooth-enabled devices, from car kits to social networking. He also provides overviews on the technology behind Bluetooth, and how to use it. If you're considering Bluetooth, either for app development or to create your own cable-free personal area network, this is a good place to start. 11/18/2005
An Introduction to Tiger Terminal, Part 5
by Mary Norbury-Glaser
In Part 5, Mary Norbury-Glaser looks at how Tiger Mac OS X runs regularly scheduled commands and scripts to execute recurring jobs, like system maintenance and backups. She compares the "old" way, using the Unix tool called cron (for chronological), with the new Tiger method of using the launchd daemon. 11/15/2005
Web Apps with Tiger: Backups and Speed
by Kevin Hemenway
In this, the fourth installment of "Web Apps with Tiger," Morbus shows you how to maintain and optimize your databases. 11/11/2005
What Is TurboGears (Hint: Python-Based Framework for Rapid Web Development)
by Matthew Russell
TurboGears is a Python-based framework that enables you to quickly build database-driven, ready-to-extend web applications. In this article, Matthew Russell takes you inside this framework for a look at its internal mechanisms, then introduces you to its creator, Kevin Dangoor. 11/08/2005
Sync Services Framework (How It Works and What You Can Do)
by Mary Norbury-Glaser
With Tiger, Apple introduced a new extensible Sync Services framework embedded into the OS. And it's available to any application, not just Apple programs. Mary Norbury-Glaser explains this framework and shows you practical examples of its implementation. 11/04/2005
Tiger's Improved Firewall (and How to Use It)
by Peter Hickman
Among Tiger's many enhancements, Apple introduced a whole new firewall called
ipfw2. It works just the like the old firewall, but has new features that allow greater flexibility and more control. In this article, Peter Hickman shows you some of the new features and how you can use them to more easily manage your firewall.
An Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
by Matthew Russell
Have you ever thought about using an iSight to take and classify images, such as those of a user sitting at the iMac? (Face-sensing engines have been in the news lately.) We have. And while we're working on that tutorial, we thought it might be a good idea to first publish a background piece on artificial intelligence. Check it out. 10/21/2005
TextEdit's Default Format: RTF... Why?
by Giles Turnbull
Rich Text Format (.rtf) is the default choice for Mac OS X's TextEdit. Have you ever wondered why? Giles Turnbull takes a look at the RTF spec and discusses its strengths and shortcomings... and possibly uncovers why Apple chose it as the default for text processing. 10/18/2005
A Simple Mac OS X libpng Example with OpenGL
by Michael J. Norton
When playing with OpenGL, most folks quickly tire of simple line-drawn polygon examples and want to play with more challenging concepts--such as putting texture maps onto those shapes. In this tutorial, Michael Norton shows you how to use the PNG format to create those texture maps. 10/14/2005
What Is Quartz (or Why Can't Windows Do That)
by Matthew Russell
Quartz is the heart and soul of Mac OS X's graphics layer, which directly supports the defining features of the Aqua desktop experience. In this article, Matthew Russell gives you a short history lesson on Quartz, then shows you how it's implemented in Mac OS X. 10/11/2005
How to Record a Podcast Interview
by Glenn Fleishman
Podcasting interviews involve two distinct tasks. First you have to record the audio and prepare it for listening. Then you need to syndicate it via RSS so others can subscribe to your programs. In this tutorial, Glenn Fleishman shows you some nifty tricks for recording your audio, especially if you want to capture phone interviews for syndication. 10/11/2005
Mac Security: Identifying Changes to the File System
by Peter Hickman
Black-hat hackers often use a bundle of tools called a rootkit to secure access to your machine and cover their tracks. When working on your computer, they need to store files and be sure that you will not stumble across them and get suspicious. Peter Hickman explains how this works. 10/07/2005
What Is Activity Monitor (or How to Take Your Mac's Pulse)
by Giles Turnbull
This little utility is easy to overlook, but it comes pre-installed with every new Mac and can be a big help when you're running a lot of applications. In this article, Giles Turnbull takes you on a guided tour of Activity Monitor's features, and suggests circumstances in which you might want to make use of them. 10/04/2005
Results from the Third Mac DevCenter Survey
by Derrick Story
More than 1,300 Mac DevCenter readers responded to our third online survey. Here's who you are, what you like, and the directions in which you want us to go. 09/30/2005
Installing Fink on Mac OS X
by Koen Vervloesem
The Fink project aims to port Unix software to Mac OS X and make it easy to install. In this article, Koen Vervloesem shows you the ins and outs of Fink, with some info about how it compares to DarwinPorts, another package management system for Mac OS X. 09/30/2005
What Is Darwin (and How It Powers Mac OS X)
by Matthew Russell
Darwin provides the underlying foundation for Mac OS X. In this article, Matthew Russell takes you to the core of Apple's OS and explains how it powers your Mac. 09/27/2005
How to Set Up Backup 3 and Save Your Data
by Derrick Story
Combined with a hefty 1GB of online storage, Backup 3 provides .Mac subscribers with a robust, easy-to-use workflow for protecting their most valuable data. In this tutorial, Derrick Story shows you how to get the most out of version 3, using both your iDisk and DVDs for preserving your work. 09/23/2005
Web Apps with Tiger: MediaWiki
by Kevin Hemenway
In this, the third installment of "Web Apps with Tiger," Morbus shows you how to install a wiki, which is a web application that allows users to add content, but also allows anyone to edit it. He'll walk you through MediaWiki and have you (and it) up and running in no time. 09/20/2005
Tell Us What You Think: The 3rd Mac DevCenter Survey
by Derrick Story
We're asking Mac DevCenter readers to participate in our third online survey. We've sweetened the pot with a chance to win books and Make magazine subscriptions. Here's how it works. 09/16/2005
Sweetening Your Xgrid with Cocoa
by Drew McCormack
Last time, Drew McCormack took you through the changes that Xgrid has seen in Tiger, showed you how to setup a private Xgrid controller, and run simple jobs with the Xgrid command-line tool. This time he takes a look at XGridFoundation, a framework that allows you to integrate Xgrid into your Cocoa applications. 09/13/2005
An Introduction to Tiger Terminal, Part 4
by Mary Norbury-Glaser
In part four of our introduction to Tiger Terminal, you'll learn how to tap the power of shell scripting to automate repetitive tasks. Mary Norbury-Glaser walks you through the process, step by step. 09/09/2005
What Is Automator (and Can It Make Your Life Easier)
by Matthew Russell
Automator provides an intuitive drag-and-drop workbench for quickly streamlining repetitive tasks. Here's a look at creating workflows and working around Automator's inherent limitations. 09/06/2005
Top Ten Digital Photography Tips
by Derrick Story
You have a digital camera and have taken the typical shots of family and friends. Now what? Here are ten tips to make your next batch of digital images so impressive that people will ask: "Hey, what type of camera do you have?" Guess what? It's not the camera. 09/06/2005
Easy Access to the Applications Folder from a Disk Image
by Ben Artin
Disk images in Mac OS X provide developers with a powerful mechanism for packaging and delivering software over the internet. A well-crafted disk image reflects well on the developer and shows attention to detail. Ben Artin provides some useful tips. 09/02/2005
Web Apps with Tiger: Security and MySQL
by Kevin Hemenway
In this, the second part of "Web Apps with Tiger," Morbus focuses on protection. He'll replace the default PHP configuration with a more secure version, and explain some of the differences. Finally, he'll install MySQL and run through its own security tweaks. 08/30/2005
Tons of Good News
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for August 26, 2005. 08/26/2005
Delve into DEVONthink
by Giles Turnbull
DEVONthink Professional 1.0 has hit the streets, providing Mac users with a great opportunity to organize their thoughts. Giles Turnbull takes you on a insightful tour of what some people call a great snippet archiver, and others consider a full-blown reading and research tool. 08/26/2005
Distributed Tiger: Xgrid Comes of Age
by Drew McCormack
In this first of two articles, Drew McCormack shows you how to set up a small Xgrid for testing purposes, submit simple jobs to the grid with the command line interface (CLI), and query their progress. The second article will be a Cocoa Tour de Force, involving new Tiger technologies like Automator and Core Image, in addition to Xgrid. 08/23/2005
What Is ClamXav (and do Mac users really need antivirus)
by FJ de Kermadec
Do Mac users need virus protection? We believe yes. In this article F.J. introduces you to ClamXav, a free, open source antivirus application for Mac OS X. And as a bonus, we're including an interview with the developer who added the GUI to the excellent ClamAV engine to create ClamXav--Mark Allan. 08/19/2005
Web Apps with Tiger: Getting Started
by Kevin Hemenway
Morbus is back with more web serving tools and tricks, updated for Mac OS X Tiger. In this first article, he'll take you on a whirlwind through the basics: turning on the Apache web server, learning a teensy bit of its configuration, then enabling and testing PHP. 08/16/2005
Build a Simple 3D Pipeline in Tcl
by Michael J. Norton
Are you interested in playing with 3D graphics for games? In this article, Michael Norton shows you how to assemble a game console to experiment with using Tcl, which is a great tool for playing with graphics algorithms. 08/12/2005
Important Notice for Mac DevCenter Readers About O'Reilly RSS and Atom Feeds
O'Reilly Media, Inc. is rolling out a new syndication mechanism that provides greater control over the content we publish online. You'll notice some improvements immediately, such as better standards compliance, graphical tiles accompanying article descriptions, and enclosure support for podcatching applications. We've tested the new feeds using a variety of popular newsreaders and aggregators, but we realize that there may be a few bumps along the way. If you experience problems, please don't hesitate to send mail to email@example.com. Please include detail about your operating system and reader applications. We also welcome your suggestions. Thank you for your continued support of the Mac DevCenter.
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We will begin automatically redirecting the existing feeds to the new feeds above, but we recommend that you update your feedreader's subscription settings to ensure continuous and uninterrupted service.
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Automator Automation - David Pogue's Podcast #3
by David Pogue
Listen to David Pogue cover Automator workflows that can help save on computing time. Learn how to use Automator to automate backups, zip up applications, and set alarms for automatic processing. (4 minutes, 26 seconds) 08/09/2005
What Is NeoOffice/J (and Can It Replace MS Office)
by Matthew Russell
NeoOffice/J is the long-awaited Mac-friendly version of OpenOffice. This open source project provides Mac users with most of the functionality of Microsoft Office, but for free. Is NeoOffice robust enough to serve as your only office suite in a Microsoft-dominated world? Matthew Russell explores. Plus, an in-depth interview with its lead developer, Patrick Luby. 08/09/2005
Digital Photography Hack: A Hands-Free Shooting Rig
by Romain Guy
Here's how to build a hands-free photography rig using an iSight, a Bluetooth headset, a backpack, and a dash of AppleScript that enables you to capture images on the go by simply speaking, "Take shot." Romain Guy shows you how to build it. 08/05/2005
Dashboard Widgets - David Pogue's Podcast #2
by David Pogue
Listen to David Pogue cover Dashboard Widgets--what they are, how to use the Widget Bar, and what Widgets can do for you. He provides tips on some of the crazy and fun widgets available for free download. (6 minutes) 08/03/2005
Using Perl to Manage Plist Files, Part 2
by James Reynolds
Part 2 goes into much more detail on managing Plist files. You'll change some values and save the altered Plist file back to disk. Then you'll loop over entries in a Plist file, get a dump of the NetInfo database, and print all the users in the database using Perl foreach loops. To do that you'll convert the Cocoa dictionaries and arrays to Perl hashes and arrays. Finally, you'll create a Plist file from scratch, build the sample Xgrid cal job listed in the Xgrid man page by creating the structure using Perl hashes and arrays, and then convert them to Cocoa equivalents. 08/02/2005
What Is Flickr (and Hot Tips for Using It)
by Giles Turnbull
Flickr is an online photo management and sharing application. And it's also one of the most innovative photo services available today. In this article, Giles Turnbull shows you how Flickr works, then introduces you to some of the great tools you can use to interact with it. 08/02/2005
Using Perl to Manage Plist Files
by James Reynolds
A common question is how to manage complex Plist files with scripts. The
defaults command, which is often used to manage simple values in Plist files, does not easily manage the nested arrays or dictionaries that are present in most Plist files. In this first article of a two-part series, James Reynolds pulls together a little Perl and Cocoa to solve this problem.
What Is FireWire (and How Best to Use It)
by FJ de Kermadec
FireWire is a high-speed, data serial interface that has many practical uses. In this article, you'll learn the ins and outs of this powerful technology, plus some inside tips to take advantage of its unique features. 07/26/2005
All About Spotlight - David Pogue's Podcast #1
by David Pogue
Listen to David Pogue's secret Tiger tips for Spotlight super searches--how to use spotlight to help access your data faster, streamline searches, and even launch applications faster. (7 minutes, 6.6 MB) 07/22/2005
Automated Backups on Tiger Using rsync
by Richard Hough
Previously on Mac DevCenter, the
rsync command was discussed in Intro to Tiger Terminal, Part 2. One of the uses for this command is to compare the files on your internal drive to those on your backup drive,
and only archive the files that have changed. Richard Hough explains.
What Is Preview (and Why You Should Use It)
by Giles Turnbull
Apple's Preview app is best known as a PDF viewer and a Macintosh alternative to Adobe Reader. This software, however, is also a capable image viewer, and you can even edit your pictures with its tools. Giles Turnbull shows you that there's more to Preview than first meets the eye. 07/19/2005
My Favorite Macworld Product: The IRISPen
by Adam Goldstein
Have you ever said, "If I learn just one great thing, then the whole conference was worth attending"? At Macworld Boston Adam Goldstein discovered the IRISPen, and he shares the details of this handy text-scanning device with us. 07/19/2005
The Hitchhiker's Guide to ADHOC
by Brian Geiger
ADHOC is about giving yourself a challenge that's just for you. In this article, program chair Brian Geiger talks about his personal experiences with ADHOC and why he thinks Mac hackers and developers will enjoy the upcoming event. 07/15/2005
Creating Spotlight Plugins
by Matthew Russell
Last time, we used Spotlight to query and manipulate metadata for existing files. This is great, but what if you want Spotlight to index a custom file format? Don't fret. Spotlight was designed to be extensible and to accommodate any file format. In this piece, Matthew Russell shows you how. 07/15/2005
Programming with Spotlight
by Matthew Russell
The API for Spotlight offers highly advanced search capabilities. In fact, you can develop some of the very features of Tiger we've already grown to love using Spotlight's API. In this piece, Matthew Russell will ease you into Spotlight programming from a Cocoa dev perspective, showing you how to make your applications Spotlight enabled. 07/12/2005
How to End Wars Between Testers and Programmers
by Scott Berkun
There's a natural conflict between testers and programmers because of the difference in perspective each role has. The best way to end struggles is to redefine the goals of the work so that their roles can be collaborative, not adversarial. In this article, Scott Berkun draws upon his years of project-leading experience to provide some inside tips for managing your development team. Scott is the author of The Art of Project Management. 07/08/2005
An Introduction to Tiger Terminal, Part 3
by Mary Norbury-Glaser
In Part 3 of this Tiger Terminal introduction, you'll learn some helpful commands that you can use to view information about your network, including netstat, nslookup, traceroute, and more. 07/05/2005
Inside Odeo with Evan Williams
by Richard Koman
Now that iTunes 4.9 has cast an even brighter light on podcasting, you might be interested in learning more about Odeo, the podcasting service from Noah Glass and Evan Williams (creator of Blogger.com). Here's an inside look at Odeo, as described by Williams himself. 07/01/2005
What's New For Developers in QuickTime
by Chris Adamson
In Part 1 of this series, Chris Adamson covered the new features of QT7 that end users will see. Today, he shows you some of the most prominent changes from a developer point of view, including: the QTKit API for Cocoa, the new QuickTime MetaData API, support for frame reordering codecs, Core Audio-based sound enhancements, and QuickTime for Java. 06/28/2005
Music Gadgets
by Derrick Story
Every day, I seem to want to listen to music in a different way. Here are the gadgets I've been testing to "shuffle" my setup for music playback. A few of these are real keepers. 06/24/2005
Going to the Movies (and More) in iTunes 4.8
by J.D. Biersdorfer
Podcasting in iTunes 4.9 is just around the corner. Until then, have you played with the video functionality in 4.8? If not, here are a few things that Steve Jobs has mentioned--and a few he hasn't. By J.D. Biersdorfer, author of iPod and iTunes: The Missing Manual, 3rd Edition. 06/24/2005
Tweaking Tiger Mail
by Giles Turnbull
The release of Mail 2.0 was largely overlooked amid all the fuss about Tiger's system-level features, but a number of people have made public complaints about changes made to the user interface. Mail's performance has improved, but the apparent willingness of Apple's designers to create an entirely new kind of toolbar icon just for use in Mail has irritated some. Giles Turnbull shows you how to bring happiness back to Mail. 06/21/2005
Syncing iTunes
by David Miller
What happens if instead of sharing your iTunes libraries, you want to keep multiple libraries synchronized? This should sound familiar to anyone with a laptop computer on the go and a desktop sitting at home. Throughout the course of the day, you tweak some playlists and would like to have those changes automatically reflected in your library at home. David Miller shows you how to sync up your music. 06/17/2005
An Introduction to Tiger Terminal, Part 2
by Mary Norbury-Glaser
In this second tutorial on Tiger Terminal, you'll learn how to use the terminal app to look at external volumes, then enable
ssh to access files,
scp to securely copy them remotely,
sftp for secure ftp, and finally how to use
rsync to synchronize files between two computers.
Ten PowerPoint 2004 Tips to Beat Tight Deadlines
by Franklin Tessler
PowerPoint 2004 lets you turn text, graphics, sounds, and movies into dazzling presentations that get your message across in high style. But what if you're on a short deadline? Franklin Tessler, author of Office 2004 for Mac: The Missing Manual, shows you ten ways to use PowerPoint to put together slideshows in no time. 06/10/2005
It's True! Jobs Switches to Intel: A Review of the WWDC 05 Keynote
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Don't get too comfortable after making the transition to Mac OS X. Steve Jobs decides to keep things interesting by announcing during his WWDC 05 keynote that Apple will switch to Intel processors. Here's what he said and how he plans to make it happen. 06/07/2005
Let's Build Another Dashboard Widget
by Andrew Anderson
Even though no real development environment exists now, there are some tricks and techniques that can be used to make Dashboard widget development easier. Andrew Anderson explores some tricks and techniques and presents a widget that uses JavaScript's
XMLHttpRequest method to retrieve spelling suggestions from Google.
Everything You Wanted to Know About Safari RSS, Part 2
by FJ de Kermadec
In part one of this series, F.J. provided a solid overview of the Safari browser and the RSS specification. In this article, he shows you how to set up Safari RSS to serve as your newsreader, including lots of handy configuration tips. 06/03/2005
Everything You Wanted to Know About Safari RSS, Part 1
by FJ de Kermadec
Safari 2.0 stands tall among the Tiger highlights. In this three-part series, you'll learn everything you need to know to customize this browser for newsreading. Plus, you'll explore the technologies that power Safari RSS beneath that beautiful UI. 05/31/2005
Japan Primer for the Mac Techno-Tourist
by Todd Ogasawara
Many of us believe that Japan is the land of geek nirvana. If you're contemplating a visit to the gadget promise land, you'll enjoy Todd Ogasawara's report on everything from cell phone coverage to buying Mac accessories. 05/27/2005
A Closer Look at Spotlight
by Matthew Russell
Spotlight integration with Tiger and its apps tilts the scales back toward Safari, Address Book, iCal, and Mail for your core applications. Matthew Russell shows you how this intelligent technology enables you to find just about anything, anywhere, regardless of where you are at that moment. 05/24/2005
An Introduction to Tiger Terminal
by Mary Norbury-Glaser
Now that you've had a chance to enjoy all of the GUI goodies in Mac OS X 10.4, you might be ready to check out what's happening with the Terminal app. This article will introduces you to Tiger's Terminal app and CLI (command-line interface). 05/20/2005
Tiger's Powerful Migration Assistant
by FJ de Kermadec
Transferring data, prefs, and apps from old Macs to new ones can be painful when upgrading computers. Fortunately, Apple's Migration Assistant has the brains and brawn to save users and system administrators alike much time during this process. Here's everything you'd want to know about this great tool. 05/17/2005
20 Cool Tiger Features You Might Not Have Heard About
by Scott Knaster
Even though Tiger has been out for a while now, many of its major features have nuances that haven't received much press--and there a zillion minor tweaks to discuss. Scott Knaster takes you on a tour of clever, and sometimes even obscure, Tiger goodies. 05/13/2005
Magnificent Seven: What's New for Users in QuickTime 7
by Chris Adamson
Tiger is cool, but it's not the only new cat on the block. Apple has also released an updated version of QuickTime. Chris Adamson examines the user-visible features and changes in QT 7, including QT 7 Pro, renovations to the QuickTime Player application, and the implications of the powerful new H.264 video codec. 05/10/2005
Build a Dashboard Widget
by Andrew Anderson
A little HTML, a dash of JavaScript, and a sprinkle of CSS and you can create your own Dashboard widget. Andrew Anderson shows you how. 05/06/2005
Write Your Own Automator Actions
by Matt Neuburg
Tiger introduces Automator, which lets users string together preinstalled script steps--called Actions--into a workflow that can be run and saved. For developer types, these Actions are a convenient way to distribute scripts. And in this tutorial, Matt Neuburg shows you how to write your own. 05/03/2005
The Soul of WWDC 2005
by Derrick Story
A few years ago, Apple moved WWDC from San Jose to the brand new Moscone West building in San Francisco. The new location improved the face of its developer conference. This year, Apple wants to enhance its very soul. Here's how O'Reilly is going to help them do that. 05/03/2005
Everything You Need to Know to Install Tiger
by FJ de Kermadec
Installing Mac OS X Tiger can be as easy as inserting the OS disc and clicking a few buttons. But if you want to customize your install and take this opportunity to tidy up your Mac in the process, this exhaustive tutorial will show you everything you need to know. 04/29/2005
Housecleaning Tips for Tiger
by Derrick Story
Is your Mac ready for a smooth transition to Tiger? Maybe you're in need of a Spring housecleaning anyway. Check out these tidy tips from Derrick Story, then roll out the red carpet for Mac OS X 10.4. 04/26/2005
Building Cocoa-Java Apps with Eclipse
by Mike Butler
Eclipse is a gloriously powerful, open source IDE, which is a joy to use when working with Java. It makes sense, then, when writing Java-based Cocoa apps, to use Eclipse. But how? What does Eclipse know about the esoteric world of Cocoa-Java? Well, with a little help from Ant, the flexible build system, you can tell it everything it needs to know. Mike Butler shows you how. 04/22/2005
Mac Mini Eye for the Linux-Windows Guy
by Todd Ogasawara
Todd had no intention of giving up his Linux and Windows boxes to become a "Mac switcher." But he had heard good things about OS X, so the Mac mini presented the opportunity for him to become a Mac-tryer. He details his experiences here. 04/19/2005
LinkBack: Applications Working Together
by Charles Jolley
Have you ever carefully created a chart or graphic and then pasted it into a report only to discover you needed to change it later? Apps should work together so you can make this sort of change with just a few clicks. That's now possible thanks to a new open source technology called LinkBack. Even better, you can add this technology to your own applications. Charles Jolley, creator of LinkBack, shows you how. 04/15/2005
17 Things You Might Not Know You Could Do with iWork
by Giles Turnbull
If you've installed iWork on your hard drive but haven't had a chance to really dig into it yet, maybe this article will inspire you to do so. Giles Turnbull takes you on a romp through this production suite showing you lots of fun and useful things to do with it. 04/12/2005
O'Reilly Sessions at WWDC
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for April 8, 2005. 04/08/2005
Protect Your Source Code: Obfuscation 101
by Matthew Russell
You can protect your applications from attack by applying obfuscation techniques to convolute your source code. Matthew Russell shows you how. 04/08/2005
Xsan and You
by Scott Murphy
Yes, interns are still running around media production houses with FireWire drives in hand copying files to workstations. Storage Area Networks (SANs) can improve efficiency dramatically, and Apple's Xsan is at the top of that list. Here's a practical example. 04/05/2005
Developing in OpenGL Using Makefiles
by Michael J. Norton
Yes, you can work strictly in Xcode for developing OpenGL apps. But if you want to work with platform-independent source code that runs on multiple Unix platforms, you'll want to go "old school" and use makefiles. Michael Norton shows you how. 04/01/2005
HDTV on Your Mac
by Erica Sadun
Even though the Mac is a little late to the HDTV party, you can roll your own setup for not too much time or money. Erica Sadun shows you how. 03/29/2005
Targeting Windows (too) for Your REALbasic Apps
by Aaron Ballman
If you're using a multi-platform IDE such as REALbasic for your Mac applications, you might be interested in Aaron Ballman's tips for porting your software to Windows. My favorite reminder is, "Don't use terms like 'Windoze' or 'Wintel' in your product." 03/25/2005
Movies Made Easy in iPhoto 5
by Derrick Story
One of the best features in the current crop of consumer digital still cameras is their ability to capture high-quality video. iPhoto 5 is in step with this evolution and provides a great environment for taking those snippets and creating real movies. Derrick Story shows you how. 03/22/2005
Inside StYNCies, Part 2
by Matthew Russell
In the first part of this two-part series, Matthew Russell showed you how to develop a user interface that lives up in your menubar like the system clock. In this final installment, he covers how to reverse-engineer the storage format of the StickiesDatabase file to develop your own API to Stickies. 03/18/2005
Exploring the Mac OS X Firewall
by Peter Hickman
Like so many tools built in to Mac OS X, the firewall just works. But what is really going on inside it? Peter Hickman explains why the firewall works so well, and then takes you inside and shows you how to fiddle with things. In the end, he returns you safely to the default settings. 03/15/2005
Inside StYNCies
by Matthew Russell
Stickies is one of the handiest little apps out there. It's been bundled with Apple's operating systems for ages, but Apple hasn't yet taken advantage of the new possibilities for it. This first installment of a two-part series works through building a partial implementation of StYNCies, a neat little utility that synchronizes your Stickies to your iPod and/or iDisk. 03/11/2005
Getting Things Done with Your Mac
by Giles Turnbull
Even the most savvy Mac user can have problems staying organized. A number of tips for using a Mac to help organize your life are available from 43 Folders and other sources. This article takes a look at them with the help of Merlin Mann himself. 03/08/2005
Muscle Up Your Mac FTP
by Glenn Fleishman
Here's a much better and vastly safer way to FTP on the Mac than using the built-in FTP software in Jaguar or Panther, which is an Apple-modified version of FTP software that works fine with other Unix variants, but has its problems on the Mac. Glenn Fleishman explains. 03/04/2005
Podcasting with Your iPod Photo
by Wei-Meng Lee
With Apple's release of the iPod photo, podcasting just got more fun. Using iPodderX, a podcast client for the Mac, you can download audio, movies, images, documents, and any other kind of files from the internet onto your Mac. Cool, huh? Wei-Meng Lee explains how. For more fun tips for your iPod photo, check out Wei-Meng's All About Your iPod Photo. 03/04/2005
Build an iTunes Remote Control
by Matthew Russell
AirPort Express is great for streaming music from your Mac, except when you have to change tracks from another room. There are commercial solutions available, but here's a great evening project using your web-enabled cell phone and the power of Mac OS X. 03/01/2005
Applying "Digital Hub" Concepts to Enterprise Software Design, Part 6
by Adam Behringer
So far, Adam Behringer has covered an enterprise software architecture based on a flexible hub that stores and vends data to a number of cross-platform tools and apps using a standard XML spoke. In this final installment, he shows you how to use web services to pull weather information out of the database hub and chart the data using Perl and AppleScript. 02/25/2005
Display Your Favorite Album Artwork in iTunes
by Wei-Meng Lee
What good are a bazillion iTunes without the album art? Bring the two together again on your iPod photo. Wei-Meng Lee shows you how using two free programs: Clutter and art4iTunes.com. For more useful tips and tricks for using your iPod photo, check out Wei-Meng's latest eDoc, All About Your iPod Photo (PDF). 02/22/2005
Scripting Dot Mac
by Matthew Russell
Recently we compared .Mac to Spymac's Wheel, and in the process provided a good overview of .Mac services. One of the tools missing, especially for those who want to publish web pages on their .Mac account, was server-side scripting. Well, just because it isn't in the package doesn't mean you can't do it. Take a look at this tutorial and see how. 02/18/2005
iPod shuffle Tips and Tricks
by Scott Knaster
The iPod shuffle is the easiest-to-use iPod to date. But that doesn't mean you can't customize how you listen and upload music. Scott Knaster shows you some very handy tips and tricks for the shuffle and iTunes 4.7.1. 02/15/2005
Apache and AppleScript
by David Miller
AppleScript traditionally interacts with Mac applications and Apache is the web server that powers most of the Internet. David Miller shows you how AppleScript can invoke Unix utilities through its
do shell script command, thereby creating some interesting intersections with Apache.
Spymac's Wheel vs. Dot Mac for Easy Web Services
by Christopher Roach
For Mac users who like a convenient package of web services, two major players have emerged -- Apple's .Mac and Spymac's Wheel. Christopher Roach takes both services for a spin and reports on the strengths and weaknesses of each offering. 02/08/2005
Output Like a Pro with iPhoto 5
by Derrick Story
Earlier I discussed how iPhoto 5's RAW capability lets you input like a pro. But some of its new output features are quite sophisticated, too. Here's a look at how to create sophisticated slideshows and QuickTime downloads using only iPhoto 5. 02/01/2005
Top Ten AppleScript Tips
by Adam Goldstein
AppleScript lets you control Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop, FileMaker Pro, and hundreds of other Mac programs with just a few lines of code. But if you think of AppleScript as just a nerdy workflow-automation tool, you're missing out on a lot of power. Truth is, AppleScript has lots of hidden tricks and timesavers built in -- and they all come for free with your Mac. Adam Goldstein, author of AppleScript: The Missing Manual, has hand selected ten of the most useful tips for making AppleScript work for you. 02/01/2005
Scripting a Binary Tree Using Tcl
by Michael J. Norton
Here's a thought that will surely make the pragmatic C programmer's head spin. Michael Norton puts the Tcl language to work managing binary trees. 01/28/2005
How to Record a Podcast
by Glenn Fleishman
Podcasting involves two distinct tasks. First you have to record the audio and prepare it for listening. Then you need to syndicate it via RSS so others can subscribe to your programs. In this tutorial, Glenn Fleishman shows you some nifty tricks for recording your audio, especially if you want to capture phone interviews for syndication. 01/25/2005
Embedded Development with Xcode
by Jim Schimpf
Until OS X, there never was much interest in, or support for, embedded development on the Mac. Now, with the UNIX underpinnings of Mac OS X, we can benefit from the huge open source effort supporting small microprocessors. Jim Schimpf explores. 01/21/2005
A RAW Look at iPhoto 5
by Derrick Story
Apple overhauled much of iPhoto in version 5 and presented photographers with a more robust tool for managing their media files. Derrick Story looks at importing existing iPhoto libraries, using the new editing tools, and working with RAW and QuickTime files. Image samples of RAW comparisons are included. 01/19/2005
How to Use mutt, FastMail, and Mail.app Together on Your Mac
by Philip Hollenback
Many Linux users who are adding Mac OS X to their computing life look to combine the control of command line with the convenience of GUI. In this article, Philip Hollenback, a seasoned Linux user himself, shows how to bring these worlds together on Mac OS X using mutt, FastMail, and Mail.app. 01/18/2005
Little Things Are Big at Macworld SF 05
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Apple's Macworld announcements featured the Mac mini and the iPod shuffle. But the more you look at the breadth of Apple's new offerings, the more impressive Cupertino looks right now. Daniel Steinberg discusses his impressions accompanied with photos by Derrick Story. 01/14/2005
RSS and Tabbed Browsing in Safari, Firefox, and Camino
by Wei-Meng Lee
We know that RSS support is coming for Safari with the Tiger release, but you can enjoy this service now in Firefox. Wei-Meng Lee shows you the ropes plus some slick insights for tabbed browsing in Safari and Camino. 01/11/2005
Build an eDoc Reader for Your iPod, Part 3
by Matthew Russell
In this conclusion to the series on building your eDoc reader, Matthew Russell shows you how to extract text from PDF documents. You'll accomplish this task by using an open source Java package called PDFBox and the not-so-well documented Cocoa-Java bridge. 01/07/2005
Skype on Mac OS X: A Hands-On Approach, Part 2
by FJ de Kermadec
In Part 1, F.J. introduced you to Skype for the Mac. In today's conclusion he talks more about configuration and hands-on use. 01/04/2005
The Insanely Great Story of How the Mac was Made -- An Interview with Andy Hertzfeld
by Derrick Story
What really happened in Cupertino during the early '80s as the Mac was born? Andy Hertzfeld was there and talks with Derrick Story about the early days of the Macintosh, folklore.org, and his new book, Revolution in The Valley. 01/04/2005
Skype on Mac OS X: A Hands-On Approach
by FJ de Kermadec
In this article, you'll read about the wonders of Skype for Mac OS X and see how to integrate it in your routine. This chat/telephony software also has its limits, and those will be covered too. 12/28/2004
BBEdit 8.0 -- A Developer's Viewpoint
by brian d foy
BBEdit is a great all-around text editor. But how does the latest version--BBEdit 8.0--fare for the working developer? We asked brian d foy to put it through its paces, and here's what he found. 12/21/2004
Build an eDoc Reader for your iPod, Part 2
by Matthew Russell
This second part of a trilogy teaches you how to make reading electronic documents on your iPod easy. Matthew Russell delves into the engine of the application and adds some user interface conveniences through NSUserDefaults. 12/17/2004
O'Reilly Happenings at Macworld SF
by Derrick Story
Macworld SF 2005 is shaping up to be a busy show for O'Reilly Media. We have great specials, lots of books, a full speaker lineup, and a menu of activities. Plus, we're partnering with some of the Mac OS X Innovator Contest winners to provide discounts on award-winning software. Here's a comprehensive overview. 12/17/2004
Build an eDoc Reader for your iPod
by Matthew Russell
Wouldn't you like to read large text documents, PDF files, and other eDocs on your 3G iPod (or newer)? In this first part of a three-part series, Matthew Russell shows you how using Xcode. 12/14/2004
Hacking Radio on the Mac
by Wei-Meng Lee
Remember radio? You know, those public broadcasts on the airwaves that you've nearly forgotten since you nestled into the cozy world of your iPod? In case you miss it, Wei-Ming Lee is here to show you some snappy ways to get the radio on your Mac and then record and copy the sounds onto your iPod. 12/10/2004
Homemade Dot-Mac: Remote Control
by Alan Graham
Ever dreamed of having remote access to your Mac? This edition of Homemade Dot-Mac proves that having remote access, actually getting to see your screen and take control of your mouse, is a lot easier than you ever imagined. Alan Graham promises that it's quick and painless using VNC. 12/07/2004
PearPC: Mac-In-Box
by Howard Wen
Earlier in the week we looked at running Linux on the Mac. In this article Howard Wen interviews the developers who have enabled us to run Mac OS X on Linux or Windows computers. Here's the inside scoop on PearPC. 12/03/2004
Reclaiming Hacks
by Hadley Stern
The O'Reilly Hacks series has stirred a controversy that usually extends no further than the front cover of a book. The hacking spirit, not the promotion of illegal activities, is being reclaimed through each one of these books. The curious nature of the hacker ethic, whether prompted by a sheer spark of genius or the urge of an annoyance, celebrates rolling up the sleeves and taking action. Hadley Stern, author of iPod and iTunes Hacks, takes a stab at clarification and discusses the issues he faced while writing his book. 12/03/2004
Why Install Linux on Your Mac?
by Giles Turnbull
Since you already have Mac OS X on your computer, why would you want to install Linux instead? After all, isn't OS X Unix? Giles Turnbull talks to those who run Linux on Mac, then gives it a spin himself. 11/30/2004
Five Favorite Annoyances
by John Rizzo
As much as we love our Macs, we've got to admit that sometimes they annoy the patience out of us. John Rizzo, author of Mac Annoyances, picks five of his favorite Mac annoyances to share. Better yet, he offers a fix for every problem. Don't get mad, get clever. 11/30/2004
Modifying Stickies
by Erica Sadun
If you think that customizing an application interface involves nothing more than moving a button into a new position or resizing a screen, think again. In this article, Erica Sadun, author of Modding Mac OS X, teaches you how to update your Stickies application to give it abilities that its authors probably never considered. 11/23/2004
Gifts, Gadgets, and Software for Mac Geeks
by Derrick Story
This year's gift guide shows you the coolest gadgets and often includes clever software to accompany them. Suggestions start as cheap as $15 and most are less than $80. And the best part -- everything works beautifully with Mac OS X. 11/23/2004
Write a Webserver in 100 Lines of Code or Less
by Jonathan Johnson
REAL Software programmer and tester, Jonathan Johnson, shows you the power and simplicity of developing with REALbasic by walking you through the building of a working webserver. After this tutorial, you'll not only have a pratical knowledge or REALbasic, but you'll have a cool little server too. 11/19/2004
iPod photo: Breakthrough Device or Work in Progress?
by Hadley Stern
After spending three years as the most popular digital music player, the iPod has evolved. No longer just music to your ears, the new color iPod photo boasts plenty of eye candy with storage for as many as 25,000 photos. Is it really everything you ever wanted? Hadley Stern, author of iPod and iTunes Hacks, takes an in-depth look with his review. 11/16/2004
Tiger Presents New Opportunities for Developers
by Derrick Story
In the feline evolution of Mac OS X, Jaguar was the release we had to have, Panther is the version we wanted, and Tiger provides programmers with some of the most tantalizing application development tools we've seen to date. This article provides the latest information about Tiger from Chris Bourdon, the project's senior product line manager. 11/16/2004
Build Your Own Blogging Application, Part 2
by Matthew Russell
In part one, Matthew Russell showed you how to build a front end for your blogging app using Tcl/Tk and some XHTML fundamentals. Here in part two, he uses two parts Perl and a sprinkle of Bash to explain how to build the back end. 11/12/2004
Getting in Tune with AirPort Express
by Michael Brewer
Last month, we discussed how to extend your wireless network with AirPort Express. Now, Michael Brewer takes a look at streaming music using this technology. 11/12/2004
Fun iPod Tricks
by Wei-Meng Lee
Seems like everyday someone figures out new and cool things to do with the iPod. Wei-Meng Lee discusses five of his favorite discoveries, including podcasting and internet radio, in this survey of fun iPod tricks. 11/09/2004
Build Your Own Blogging Application, Part 1
by Matthew Russell
This article is the first in a two-part series that illustrates how to harness the power of Perl and Tcl/Tk along with your .Mac iDisk to build your own blogging application. You'll also learn about XHTML and bash scripting along the way. 11/09/2004
by Giles Turnbull
If you have a strange fascination with text editors for the Mac, join Giles Turnbull as he takes you on a tour, line by line, character by character, into his addiction to the wonderful plain text world. 11/05/2004
A Simple Drawing Sample in Quartz 2D
by Scott Thompson
In this tutorial for working in Quartz 2D, Scott Thompson provides you with some sample code and shows you how to use it in an application. Along the way you'll learn how Quartz 2D handles colors, and look an some examples of its coordinate system that can be manipulated to make drawing easier. 11/02/2004
The Copeland Operating System Rocks Mac OS X Con
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Although it's been twenty years since the band broke up, Stewart Copeland is still best known as the former drummer of the Police. David Battino, chairman of the Audio Track of the O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference audio track, hosted a keynote conversation with Copeland about the drummer's career as a film composer. 11/01/2004
Stewart Steals the Show
by Derrick Story
Stewart Copeland was Wednesday's star at the Mac OS X Conference. He mixed stories from his days with the Police with modern day insights about using the Mac for creating musical scores for motion pictures. You can see pictures of Stewart, plus lots of other good happenings, in this gallery. 10/28/2004
Ten Con Tuesday
by Derrick Story
The launch of the Mac OS X Conference featured dynamic speakers such as Andy Ihnatko, Wiley Hodges, and Chris Bourdon. Those who attended the afternoon digital audio sessions were treated to Dr. Gerhard Lengeling showing his musical prowess on the keyboard during a Garageband session. Here's a collection of photos from Tuesday's opening events. 10/27/2004
Mac Modding Shortcuts
by Erica Sadun
Make repetitive tasks simpler and maximize ergonomic efficiency with this excerpted chapter from Erica Sadun's Modding Mac OS X. Neat, concise, and easy-to-use, this excerpt helps you add, remove, and change keyboard shortcuts to meet your personal computing needs. Keep your hands on the keyboard and give that mouse a rest. 10/26/2004
Mac OS X Power Hound Helpful Hints, Part 2
by Rob Griffiths
Last week, in part one of this two-part series, Mac OS X Power Hound author Rob Griffiths shared eight of 16 hand-picked favorite OS X hints. This week, Rob shares his knowledge on creating a smart iPhoto album for general searching, using Internet shortcuts, creating a disk image from a directory in the terminal, and more. 10/22/2004
Making Cocoa-Java Apps Scriptable
by Mike Butler
In this article, Mike Butler provides tips and examples for implementing an AppleScript interface in a Cocoa-Java-based application. Believe it or not, after a few exercises, you'll see that it works just as you would expect it to. 10/22/2004
TenCon Fly-by
by Derrick Story
Over the past weeks I've been pointing out some of the new content we've added to the O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference. I've pulled together this collection of What's New blurbs and weblogs to create a convenient fly-by of event highlights. 10/19/2004
Mac OS X Power Hound Helpful Hints, Part 1
by Rob Griffiths
Mac OS X Power Hound author Rob Griffiths has hand-picked 16 of his favorite hints and organized them into this two-part series. This week, in part one, you'll discover eight tricks to help your Mac OS X system run smoother, and see new ways to personalize your working environment. Examples include activating Exposé with a multi-button mouse, saving iTunes Music Store videos and trailers, and customizing the Dock "poof." 10/15/2004
Extend your AirPort Network with AirPort Express
by Wei-Meng Lee
Sometimes one access point just isn't enough for our wireless networks, even at home. Wei Meng Lee shows you how to extend your network with AirPort Express, and explains what's going on under the hood. 10/12/2004
An Introduction to RubyCocoa, Part 2
by Christopher Roach
In Part 1 of this two-part series, Christopher Roach provided some background and helped you get started with RubyCocoa programming. In today's conclusion he gets into the actual code ... and if you're following along, you'll end up with a functioning application. 10/12/2004
An Introduction to RubyCocoa, Part 1
by Christopher Roach
RubyCocoa is a framework that provides a bridge between the Ruby programming language and the Cocoa framework. In this tutorial, Christopher Roach shows you how to use this tool by walking you through the steps for creating a simple GUI for the Unix tar program. 10/05/2004
Mac OS X for the Traveler, Part 5
by FJ de Kermadec
In this final installment of Mac OS X for the Traveler, François Joseph de Kermadec shares some of his most clever tips for surviving on the road. You might not follow every one of these precautions. But as his editor, I've noticed already that they are in the back of my mind as I prepare for a trip, and I've made some nice adjustments as a result. I hope this series has added a dose of preventive medicine to your travels, too. 10/01/2004
Introduction to Quartz 2D for QuickDraw Programmers
by Scott Thompson
Apple is moving from QuickDraw to Quartz for the handling of 2D graphics in Mac OS X. Scott Thompson introduces you to the concepts behind Quartz 2D, and explains how to make the transition from QuickDraw. 09/28/2004
Top Ten Tips for Mac OS X Con 2004
by Derrick Story
The upcoming O'Reilly Mac conference will be different than your typical tech gathering--requiring that you prepare differently, too. Program chair Derrick Story shares his top ten "getting ready" tips for this innovative event. 09/24/2004
Wireless Security and the Open1X Project
by Matthew Gast
Open1X is an open source project focusing on network security. The wireless adoption of this technology is referred to as 802.1X. In this interview, Matthew Gast travels to the University of Utah to talk to Chris Hessing and Terry Simmons, who are intent on bringing standards-based wireless security to Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows clients. 09/21/2004
Mac OS X for the Traveler, Part 4
by FJ de Kermadec
As with so many things in life, preparation is the key to success. In this week's installment, you'll read about how to pack just the right amount of equipment, and how to make sure the data on it is fit for travel. 09/21/2004
Applying "Digital Hub" Concepts to Enterprise Software Design, Part 5
by Adam Behringer
So far, Adam Behringer has covered an enterprise software architecture based on a flexible "hub" that stores and vends data to a number of cross-platform tools and apps using a standard XML "spoke." In this fifth installment, he shows you how to build (with Cocoa) a client module that will work with the XML data. 09/17/2004
More Inside News on O'Reilly's Mac OS X Conference
by Derrick Story
We've added top-level Apple-employed speakers to the conference faculty. And yes, some have been approved to talk about Tiger. Here's the latest inside scoop on the upcoming Mac OS X event. 09/16/2004
Acrobat to a Paperless Office
by Julie Starr
Adobe Acrobat is an excellent program for document distribution. Most users are familiar with the freely available Acrobat Reader, allowing anyone to view PDF documents. The full-blown version of Acrobat offers a range of tools to manage document distribution beyond just converting other formats to PDF. Julie Starr shows you how to use these tools to design the paperless office. 09/14/2004
Mac OS X for the Traveler, Part 3
by FJ de Kermadec
This is the third part of a series discussing how to travel safely with your Mac OS X laptop. Today's focus is software encryption and those pesky networks you have to deal with on the road. 09/10/2004
Browsers that Aren't Browsers
by Giles Turnbull
These days, we no longer simply browse the Web as much as we mine it. You have your favorite browser for viewing pages, but Giles Turnbull thought you might enjoy learning about a few new-generation web tools, too. He illustrates in this article. 09/07/2004
Flat Notes
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for September 3, 2004. 09/03/2004
Mac OS X for the Traveler, Part 2
by FJ de Kermadec
This is the second part of a series that will run over the next few weeks discussing how to travel safely with your Mac OS X laptop. Now that you've made your travel preparations as described in part one, you can now think about getting all of your equipment on the plane safely. 09/03/2004
Keeping Up Developer Relations Worldwide
by Julie Starr
Paris is bustling with Mac users from all over Europe. The big news, of course, is the iMac G5. Julie Starr reports from the show floor. 09/02/2004
Mac OS X for the Traveler, Part 1
by FJ de Kermadec
In this first part of an ongoing series about traveling safely with your PowerBook or iBook, you'll learn that preparation is one of the keys to peace of mind. F.J. helps you get your equipment in order. 08/31/2004
A Rendezvous with Java
by Michael Brewer
With Apple's release of the Java source code for Rendezvous, developers can create Rendezvous-enabled applications for other platforms, as well as Mac. Michael Brewer shows you how. 08/31/2004
Basics of Transparent Blitting, Part 2
by Michael J. Norton
In Part 1, Michael Norton explained pixel boundary rectangles. In Part 2 he shows how transparency pixel blitting is used in video-game animation. There's plenty of code in this one. 08/27/2004
Easy Code Documentation with Xcode
by Adam Behringer
As a developer, you must not only use documentation but also provide it for your own code if you want to make it usable to others. Providing up-to-date and easy-to-navigate API documentation is a big step toward making your code accessible and useful. If you are a Mac developer, you can leverage the power of Xcode so that it requires minimal effort to create good documentation. Adam Behringer shows you how. 08/27/2004
An Advanced Guide to Enterprise Application Distribution
by Philip Rinehart
Tracking package installers can be a fairly simple task. However, how do you track and deploy applications that use third-party installation mechanisms? In this article, Philip Rinehart provides an overview to some of the commonly overlooked issues that enterprise administrators must deal with when deploying non-package installers. 08/24/2004
Securing Key Chain Flash Drives
by Derrick Story
The current crop of key chain Flash drives have incredible storage capacity. They are perfect for keeping personal data with you at all times. But what if you lose your keys? Here are a couple of easy ways to protect yourself, and your data. 08/20/2004
Systems Biology
by Robert Jones
The grand vision of systems biology is to integrate information from all of the resources we have today to explore the ever more complex aspects of life sciences. In this article, Robert Jones provides a snapshot of systems biology as it now stands, and where biologists hope to take it in the future. 08/20/2004
Basics of Transparent Blitting, Part 1
by Michael J. Norton
In this follow-up tutorial to his article, Basic Offscreen Buffering, Michael J. Norton focuses on how to copy sprites to the buffer. He also covers the role of the transparency pixel when rendering sprites (blitting). 08/17/2004
Further Your CS Development with Mac OS X
by Julie Starr
As the new school year approaches, Julie Starr has some ideas about what type of computer CS students should be considering. We'll give you a hint: It isn't a Windows box. 08/13/2004
The Inside Scoop on the O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference
by Derrick Story
Sometimes, looking at a conference program grid is like looking at Edinburgh Castle. It's impressive, but you really don't know where all the bodies are buried unless you have a tour guide. Let me introduce myself: I'm the program chair, and I'd like to take you inside the upcoming Mac OS X Conference. 08/12/2004
Making the Jump to Subversion
by Adam Swift
Subversion can run standalone or on a network as a repository server with multiple clients. The preferred client/server configuration uses Apache and WebDAV for network communication. It's a powerful alternative to CVS, and Adam Swift shows you the ins and outs in this tutorial. 08/10/2004
Inside SSH, Part 4
by FJ de Kermadec
In Part 3, François Joseph de Kermadec investigated more advanced SSH techniques, including editing configuration files. Now in this final installment, he shows you how to administer computers remotely, including running software updates, disk utilities, and more. 08/06/2004
Mo' Betta Indexes
by David Miller
Apache has had the same skin since around 1995. And while it's true that visitors interact with the pages of your site more than the HTTP daemon, the only real snapshot they'll receive is through your site's auto-indexes. So why not take some time to put some spit polish into them? 08/03/2004
21.5 Things You Can Do with Office 2004
by Giles Turnbull
By now you've probably read about all the new features in Microsoft Office 2004. Good. Because we're not going to cover them here again. Instead, Giles Turnbull shows you 21-and-a-half things you can do in Office that you might not have previously realized. 08/03/2004
Applying "Digital Hub" Concepts to Enterprise Software Design, Part 4
by Adam Behringer
The "hub" of most enterprise software systems is a database. However, getting the information from the database to all of the applications that need it and then back again can be a challenge. Here in part four of his ongoing series, Adam Behringer shows you how. 07/30/2004
Ruby/Tk Primer, Part 3
by Christopher Roach
In Part 2 of this series, Chris Roach spent some time with the Tk library. Now in this final installment, he pulls together all of the pieces so you can finish your demo application. 07/27/2004
Creating DVD/VCD Photo Slide Shows for Your Mac
by Wei-Meng Lee
Let's face it: you still have friends and family who've yet to enter the computer age. And yet you'd like to send them copies of your vacation photos (or your newborn, or your cat) taken with your digital camera. What to do? Wei-Meng Lee offers an alternative to using iPhoto for creating slide-show CDs -- Ulead's DVD PictureShow for Mac. He walks us through how to burn digital photos onto disc so anyone with a DVD/VCD player can view them. 07/27/2004
OS 9, Mine, All Mine
by Giles Turnbull
What serious Mac fan in his or her right mind would consider booting anything other than OS X? Well, lots of them. Gile Turnbull interviews a handful of dedicated OS 9 users to find out why. 07/23/2004
Ruby/Tk Primer, Part 2
by Christopher Roach
In part one of this series, Chris Roach introduced you to programming basics in Ruby, and in the process, created the back end for the GUI we're working on. Here, he spends some time with the Tk library. 07/23/2004
Inside SSH, Part 3
by FJ de Kermadec
In Part 2 of this multipart series delving into the Secure Shell on Mac OS X, François Joseph de Kermadec showed you how to securely fire up the Secure Shell and start communicating. Now, in Part 3, he digs deeper, showing you more advanced techniques including editing configuration files. 07/20/2004
How to Fall in Love with Your iSight, Again
by Nitrozac and Snaggy
Snaggy and Nitrozac are back to show you how to fall in love with your iSight, again, and provide a few chuckles along the way. Consider them your personal tech-therapists, willing to help bring you and your gorgeous hardware back together, with advice on apps and add-ons that will enhance your iSight relationship. If you like the way S and N weave humor and tech talk, check out their book, The Best of The Joy of Tech. 07/20/2004
Higher-Order Messages in Cocoa
by Rob Rix
Higher-Order Messaging (HOM) refers to the treatment of a message as a data type, like an object, so that it can be used as the argument in another message. The grandest use of them by far is for fun uses of arrays; combining them, getting selections from them, and so forth. But they also have uses in exception handling. Rob Rix explains HOM in this tutorial. 07/16/2004
12 Steps to Improving Your Mac's Performance
by Joli Ballew
Keeping your Mac happy and performing as it did the day you brought it home takes a bit of degunking. Joli Ballew offers 12 steps to improving your Mac's performance that will have it humming along in no time. For more in-depth details on why the Mac slowdown occurs and what you can do about it, check out Joli's new book, Degunking Your Mac. 07/16/2004
Macworld Boston 2004: Brains Over Beauty
by Derrick Story
In the late 1700s, Boston culture facilitated debate by some of the greatest American minds. Now in 2004, it's once again the home for the Mac elite on the East Coast. Derrick Story photographs and comments on the character of this year's Macworld Boston. 07/14/2004
Inside SSH, Part 2
by FJ de Kermadec
Here in Part 2 of this multi-article series on tapping the power of the SSH server inside your Mac, François Joseph de Kermadec shows you how to securely fire up the Secure Shell and start communicating. 07/13/2004
Inside SSH, Part 1
by FJ de Kermadec
SSH is said "not to trust the network and to put minimal trust in the server or the domain name servers used by the network." In other words, SSH will consider the environment it is working in as a dangerous one and will try to rely as little on it as is possible. In this first article in a three-part series, you'll delve into SSH and learn how to master its power. 07/09/2004
Unix Gems for Mac OS X
by Kevin O'Malley
Mac OS X users benefit from the platform's Unix underpinnings every time they launch their system. But the Unix heritage brings more to the table than power and stability; it also includes dozens of time-tested, useful utilities. In this article Kevin O'Malley shows you three Unix gems he thinks you'll start using right away. 07/06/2004
Hacking Mac OS X Panther
Rael Dornfest, coauthor of Mac OS X Panther Hacks, has selected three hacks from the book for your sampling pleasure. The first two detail how to find anyone in your Address Book who has an Amazon Wish List, and how to build a GUI to your Unix scripts with some Perl or Python glue code; the third is just for fun. 07/02/2004
Steve Jobs Introduces Tiger at WWDC 2004
by Daniel H. Steinberg
So many things to talk about at WWDC. So many things that can't be said. Here's an overview of what can be disclosed, including hardware announcements and a preview of Tiger, Apple's next version of Mac OS X. 07/01/2004
Bioinformatics and Comparative Genomics
by Robert Jones
In this introduction to comparative genomics, Robert Jones explains why this is an important endeavor in life sciences, then shows you how to start exploring this treasure trove of data. 06/29/2004
O'Reilly at WWDC 2004
by Derrick Story
The Mac crew at O'Reilly has lots going on at this year's WWDC. If you're attending the ultimate Mac bash in San Francisco, then you might want to make a mental note about the following O'Reilly-related offerings, including book specials, O'Reilly-hosted BoFs, and our ongoing conference coverage. 06/25/2004
Ruby/Tk Primer: Creating a cron GUI Interface with Ruby/Tk
by Christopher Roach
In this first installment of a three-part series, Chris Roach shows you how to use Ruby and Tk on Mac OS X. This tutorial creates a program that will act as a GUI-based front end to the cron daemon. 06/25/2004
Voice Recording Magic with the iPod
by Derrick Story
Everyone knows that the iPod plays music unlike any other device, but many don't realize that it records clean audio, too. Here's a handy tutorial that shows you how to get started, then challenges your creativity with some nifty ideas about how to use these tools. 06/22/2004
Applying "Digital Hub" Concepts to Enterprise Software Design, Part 3
by Adam Behringer
In his previous two articles, Adam Behringer described how to build a flexible enterprise database. Here, in part three of this series, he shows how XML can provide great flexibility for database output applied to other applications. 06/18/2004
More LDAP in Mac OS X Server
by Tony Williams
Now that you have your OpenLDAP server running smoothly, how about some additional tricks to better incorporate Address Book and email clients such as SquirrelMail? Tony Williams shows you how. 06/18/2004
RSS: The Next Generation
by Giles Turnbull
Syndicated summaries of web content are more popular than ever before, and the recent explosion of users has prompted some dramatic changes in the world of RSS software. Giles Turnbull takes a look at some of the latest offerings, including PulpFiction, Shrook, and of course, NetNewsWire. 06/15/2004
A Brief Introduction to GPS Photo Linking
by David Goldwasser
Digital cameras record EXIF data that tells us "when" we took a picture, but what if we want to know "where" too? Contributor to O'Reilly's Digital Photography Hacks, David Goldwasser introduces us to using GPS positioning data with EXIF timestamps to build interactive maps showing pictures of markers. What a sweet convergence of technologies. 06/15/2004
Introduction to Bioinformatics
by Robert Jones
Bioinformatics is the intersection of molecular biology and computer science. For software developers, its a fascinating area in which to work. Mac OS X is gaining popularity in this arena, and this article introduces you to the concepts and opportunities related to bioinformatics. 06/11/2004
An Interview with Derrick Story (Digital Photo Hacker at Large)
by Kathryn Barrett
Over the years, photography and the technology behind it have provided plenty of material for creative thinkers, making it a natural fit for the hacker spirit. In this interview with Derrick Story, O'Reilly's resident photo hacker, he talks about the direction of digital imaging, what makes it cool, and new ways that you can push the limits of your photography. 06/08/2004
A Basic Guide to Enterprise Application Distribution
by Philip Rinehart
Keeping your software updated on your diverse Mac network requires attention to detail and perseverance. In this article, Philip Rinehart shows you options for tracking installations on your business or educational network. 06/08/2004
BYOB: Build Your Own Browser, Part 3
by Andrew Anderson
In part two of this series, Andrew Anderson showed you how to enhance your basic browser with multi-window capabilities. Here, he tackles adding a preferences window and a content eliminator. 06/04/2004
Inside Contextual Menu Items, Part 2
by Steven Disbrow
In his first article, Steven Disbrow described handy power user tips for two-button mousing on Mac OS X. Now he digs into programming and shows you how to create your own CMIs using Xcode. 06/04/2004
Integrating Ant with Xcode
by Derek Haidle
Building Java code on multiple platforms is a problem facing many Java developers. One effective answer is Ant, an open-source tool hosted by the Apache Group. Derek Haidle shows you how to incorporate this tool with Xcode. 06/01/2004
BYOB: Build Your Own Browser, Part 2
by Andrew Anderson
In part one Andrew Anderson showed you how to get your hands dirty with WebKit. Now in Part 2 he goes beyond the basics showing you how to enhance your basic browser with multi-window capabilities, a preference window, and a content eliminator. 05/28/2004
Inside Contextual Menu Items, Part 1
by Steven Disbrow
In this first article in a two-part series, Steven Disbrow describes handy power user tips for two-button mousing on Mac OS X. In part two this coming Tuesday, he'll show you how to create your own CMIs using Xcode. 05/28/2004
LDAP in Mac OS X Server
by Tony Williams
Typical network services problems, such as enabling all of your computers to use the same login information to authenticate users, can be solved with directory services. Panther has the built-in tools, but they're still less than elegant. Tony Williams shows you how to piece them together. 05/25/2004
Applying "Digital Hub" Concepts to Enterprise Software Design, Part 2
by Adam Behringer
In his second installment of Enterprise Software Design, Adam Behringer walks you through the design of a database that works today, and more importantly, down the road as business needs change. 05/21/2004
The Fight Against Spam, Part 3
by FJ de Kermadec
In part one, F.J. focused on laying the foundation for an anti-spam strategy and covered how to block most of your unwanted mail. Then in part two, he fine-tuned this strategy, plus he took a closer look at the technologies inside of Mail.app. Now in part three, the conclusion of this series, F.J. covers rules and additional tools and techniques you can use to avoid becoming buried in spam. 05/21/2004
Integrating Xgrid into Cocoa Applications, Part 2
by Drew McCormack
Last week in Part 1, Drew McCormack showed you how to install and start using Xgrid. Now in Part 2, he covers integration with Cocoa using a little program called Photo Industry. This will be an Xgrid-enabled app, and what's more, it will be a standalone app, not an Xgrid client plugin. 05/18/2004
The Fight Against Spam, Part 2
by FJ de Kermadec
In last week's Part 1 of this series, François Joseph de Kermadec showed you how to build the foundation for your spam-fighting strategy. Today, in Part 2, he fine-tunes this approach and digs deeper into Mail.app. 05/18/2004
Hacking Digital Photography
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for May 14, 2004. 05/14/2004
The Fight Against Spam, Part 1
by FJ de Kermadec
Fighting spam is a battle that all Internet users must fight. In part one of this series, François Joseph de Kermadec shows you practical techniques, many of which you might have overlooked, to take back control of your email. 05/14/2004
The Missing Digital Photography Hacks
by Derrick Story
The quest to compile compelling hacks is not something I can just turn off now that Digital Photography Hacks has hit the streets. It's an addictive process. And I admit it; I can't stop. So here are five brand-new tips for you to explore. 05/11/2004
Integrating Xgrid into Cocoa Applications, Part 1
by Drew McCormack
In this first of two articles exploring Xgrid, Drew McCormack provides you with a little background information, then moves to installation, and finishes off with a command-line script for distributing compilation using Xgrid. 05/11/2004
Automated Web Photo Galleries with iPhoto and Perl
by Mike Schienle
If iPhoto is working nicely as your digital shoebox, but you want to automate the process of creating web galleries for your own server, here's a nifty setup using Sendmail, MySQL, and Perl. Mike Schienle, who specializes in task automation for a living, shows you the system he designed for his wife, who is an avid photographer. 05/07/2004
Applying "Digital Hub" Concepts to Enterprise Software Design
by Adam Behringer
The essence of the digital hub is that there is one entity that stores data, and many modules connected to the hub and to each other through the hub. This hub-and-spoke architecture works well to solve many business problems, where you have many users doing many different tasks based around one set of data. Adam Behringer explains how to apply these concepts to effective enterprise software design. 05/04/2004
RAW, iPhoto, and Mac OS X
by Derrick Story
iPhoto does an excellent job of breaking digital photography's chain of pain, that is, as long as the files are JPEGs or TIFFs. That's because iPhoto does not support RAW files, at least not directly. If your current workflow depends on iPhoto, you might be feeling left out in the cold with all the current hub-bub about using RAW capture. Don't. Derrick Story shows you how to have your iPhoto and shoot RAWs, too. 05/04/2004
Speak at Mac OS X Con
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for April 30, 2004. 04/30/2004
BBEdit: Its Unix Support Doesn't Suck Either, Part 2
by Kevin O'Malley
In part one of this two-part series, Kevin O'Malley introduced you to BBEdit's Unix support features. Now, he shows you how to put BBEdit to work via filters, scripts, and more. 04/30/2004
Basics of Offscreen Buffering
by Michael J. Norton
In this second installment of Elementary Computer Graphics, Michael Norton shows you how to load an art file into your video game just like you'd see on a Game Boy. These tutorials are designed for parents and other adults to share with children who have an interest in computer programming. 04/30/2004
Mad Macs and the Unshredder
by Michael Swaine
Maybe Apple Computer should avoid all that nasty litigation with Apple Corps and simply change its name. How about Mad Macs? Michael Swaine thinks outside of the music box. 04/27/2004
BBEdit: Its Unix Support Doesn't Suck Either, Part 1
by Kevin O'Malley
In this first article of a two-part series, Kevin O'Malley introduces you to BBEdit's Unix support features. He also includes a nifty hack for listing the songs on your iPod, copying songs from your iPod to iTunes, and playing a song in iTunes -- all from within BBEdit. 04/27/2004
Unit Testing with OCUnit
by Jim Menard
Are you sure your code works -- all of it? If you make a change in one place, can you be sure you haven't broken something else? Testing frameworks can help you make sure. In this article, Jim Menard shows you how OCUnit can become part of the solution. 04/23/2004
GarageBand for the Musical Newbie
by Giles Turnbull
If you're a musician, GarageBand is a much different animal than it is for those who don't play an instrument. So, can a musical newbie with a good ear, G4 laptop, and a piece of software create an interesting song? Giles Turnbull explores. 04/20/2004
PBTOMAKE -- Xcode to Unix
by Jim Schimpf
Even in its early stages, Xcode shows lots of potential as the premier IDE for Mac OS X development. But what if you want to recompile that code for Unix? There's no export. Jim Schimpf shows you the utility he designed for this, called PBTOMAKE. 04/20/2004
Mac OS X Conference Tracks
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for April 16, 2004. 04/16/2004
Component Object Model (COM) Development on Mac OS X
by Christopher Hunt
COM allows software components with a high potential for reuse to be shared between programs, and has been implemented on Mac OS X as part of the Core Foundation framework. Because it's commonplace in Windows development, many programmers don't know that COM works just as well on Mac OS X. Christopher Hunt shows you the ins and outs of COM on the Mac platform. 04/16/2004
Building Applications with AppleScript and FaceSpan
by Matt Neuburg
How can you take advantage of AppleScript to write stand-alone Cocoa applications? Matt Neuburg, author of AppleScript: The Definitive Guide, introduces you to FaceSpan, a self-contained, program-building environment that leverages the power of AppleScript. 04/13/2004
Virtual Book Signings
by Nitrozac and Snaggy
Snaggy & Nitrozac are back this week offering their brand of humor and technical know-how to the use of video conferencing technology. They've used their virtual book signing events to demonstrate the power of iSight and iChat AV, but their aim is to stir your creative juices to find other ways to apply these technologies, perhaps to connect with friends and family around the world, or perhaps for use in your own business. Snaggy & Nitrozac are the authors of The Best of the Joy of Tech. 04/13/2004
Launchers for Mac OS X
by Giles Turnbull
LaunchBar is the best known Finder enhancer on the platform, but there are many noteworthy challengers, including Quicksilver. Giles Turnbull loads up an entire lot of launchers and reports. 04/09/2004
Managing Packages on Panther with DarwinPorts
by Ernest E. Rothman
Mac OS X is rich in packaging options. One popular choice is the Debian-based Fink package management system. But another excellent option is DarwinPorts, which is explained in this article, written by the coauthor of Mac OS X Panther for Unix Geeks. 04/09/2004
The Cocoa Controller Layer
by Michael Beam
The controller layer is the confluence of several new and existing Cocoa technologies, including key-value coding, key-value observing, and key-value binding. In this tutorial, Mike Beam returns for a guest appearance to discuss NSController. 04/06/2004
Survey Results
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for April 2, 2004. 04/02/2004
FileMaker-to-Oracle Migration with FmPro Migrator on Mac OS X , Part 2
by David Simpson
FileMaker Pro 6 is a terrific database, as long as you stay within the confines of its design. In part one of this series, David Simpson provided practical migration information using FmPro Migrator on Mac OS X to automate the move from FileMaker to Oracle. Here in part two, he goes through the steps of completing a FileMaker-to-Oracle transition. 04/02/2004
Results from the Second Mac DevCenter Survey
by Derrick Story
More than 1,200 Mac DevCenter readers responded to our second online survey. Here's who you are, what you like, and the directions in which you want us to go. 04/02/2004
Creating Online Help with Tinderbox
by Matt Neuburg
Apple's online help system, Apple Help, has a dubious reputation among some Mac users, mainly because of poky performance. But Panther has improved the situation. Matt Neuburg built an online help system for a Mac application using a note-taking hypertext outliner called Tinderbox. He outlines the process in this article. 03/30/2004
Setting Up Apple Remote Desktop
by Wei-Meng Lee
Whether you need to administer lots of computers in the workplace or the classroom, Apple Remote Desktop will make your job easier. Here's a walkthrough of its setup and basic operations. 03/26/2004
Unix on Panther: Accessing the Internet
by Dave Taylor
and Brian Jepson
This excerpt from Learning Unix for Mac OS X Panther introduces Unix networking: remotely accessing your Mac from other computers and copying files between computers. It also shows you how the Connect to Server capability of Terminal can make common connections a breeze once you've set them up the first time. 03/26/2004
Dev to Dev: James Duncan Davidson Interviews Panic
by James Duncan Davidson
The folks at Panic have been producing great software for the Mac since the System 7 days. James Duncan Davidson, author of "Running Mac OS X," interviews the Panic cofounders to discuss Cocoa, Xcode, surviving with Apple, and making it as an independent developer. 03/23/2004
New Developer Journal
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for March 19, 2004. 03/19/2004
Panther, Python, and CoreGraphics
by Mitch Chapman
Mac OS X Panther includes many updated developer tools. Among them is an enhanced version of Python 2.3 with its own SWIG-based bindings to the CoreGraphics library. Here's a look at the capabilities of the module and examples of how to use CoreGraphics to rescale and decorate images for publication on the Web. 03/19/2004
Are You Talking to Me? Speech on Mac OS X
by FJ de Kermadec
Apple's recent announcement of Spoken Interface has moved speech recognition to the forefront. However, Mac OS X has included speech recognition and synthesis technologies for quite some time. In this article we delve into the often misunderstood world of talking to your Mac. 03/17/2004
You Sexy Thing!
by Nitrozac and Snaggy
Just about everyone looks great behind a cursor, but the days of communicating online exclusively with text are numbered. So Snaggy and Nitrozac offer their brand of advice on how to look great on iChat AV, in spite of iSight. With tips on proper lighting, camera angles, and using the right foundation, Snaggy and Nitrozac offer more of the high-tech humor you've come to know and love in their comic and in their book, The Best of The Joy of Tech. 03/16/2004
Tapping RSS with Shell Scripts
by Dave Taylor
Here's how to write a shell script that watches the news from Slashdot.org. After applying the code in this article by Dave Taylor, coauthor of Learning Unix for Mac OS X Panther, all you'll have to do is launch the Terminal to see the latest Slash headlines. 03/12/2004
Tell Us What You Think: The 2nd Mac DevCenter Survey
by Derrick Story
We're asking Mac DevCenter readers to participate in our second online survey. We've sweetened the pot with a chance to win books. Here's how it works. 03/09/2004
End of Shutter Lag? The Contax SL300R T* Might Be the Sign of Good Things to Come
by Derrick Story
Kyocera's RTUNE technology provides amazing performance in a digital camera that fits easily in your shirt pocket. Is this the beginning of the end for shutter lag? Derrick Story examines the Contax SL300R T* and shows you how the bar has been raised for pocket digicams. 03/09/2004
Your Thoughts?
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for March 5, 2004. 03/05/2004
LaTeX: It's Not Just for Academia, Part 2
by Kevin O'Malley
In Part 1 of this two-article series, Kevin O'Malley introduced you to the popular installations of LaTeX for Mac OS X. Here in Part 2 he takes you inside document creation and shows you how to accomplish basic writing tasks. 03/05/2004
Scheduling Tasks in Panther
by James Duncan Davidson
Mac OS X gives you several tools to help execute tasks at certain times of day and on a regular basis. To manage this, the system uses a set of utilities called cron and periodic. In this book excerpt from Running Mac OS X Panther, James Duncan Davidson takes you inside the ticking brain of your Mac. 03/05/2004
Listening to Bluetooth (or at least trying to)
by Dori Smith
Using iChat AV with a Bluetooth-enabled headset has great potential and some immediate benefits. Dori Smith has wrestled with the configuration and shows you what works, what almost works, and what to look out for. Dori is the coauthor of Mac OS X Unwired. 03/02/2004
Cleaning iPhoto
by brian d foy
When you have thousands of images in iPhoto, and don't have time to cull them manually, scripting starts to look very appealing. brian d foy shows you some helpful AppleScripts and Perl scripts you can use to clean up your iPhoto libraries. 02/27/2004
bash on Mac OS X
by David Miller
In the migration from Jaguar to Panther, one of the lesser discussed changes has been the switch from tcsh to bash as the default shell (for new accounts). In this article, David Miller delves into affected areas, such as aliases and environment variables, to help you make the transition. 02/24/2004
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for February 20, 2004. 02/20/2004
A Security Primer for Mac OS X
by FJ de Kermadec
A hands-on overview of the security tools built into your Mac OS X computer, including recommendations for best practices to protect your data and identity in an otherwise dangerous world. 02/20/2004
Home Automation with Mac OS X, Part 2
by Alan Graham
In the first article in this series, Alan Graham provided you with an overview of a home automation system. In this installment, he digs deeper into the hardware and gives some tips based on his experiences. 02/20/2004
Home Automation with Mac OS X, Part 1
by Alan Graham
Having more control over how your home operates isn't just a geek fantasy. You can lower energy costs, improve security, and enhance the overall ambiance of your humble abode. Alan Graham shows you how to leverage your Mac OS X computer and get started. 02/13/2004
Automated Backups with Existing Tools
by Peter Hickman
Backing up your hard disc is the job nobody wants to do -- and even more so, no one wants to spend a lot of money doing it. Fortunately, Apple gives you everything you need in Mac OS X. You just have to pull it together. Peter Hickman shows you how. 02/10/2004
Mac DevCenter Content
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for February 6, 2004. 02/06/2004
Failing Miserably, If Not Inventively
by Kevin Hemenway
A tale by Morbus of how Panther broke his automation and how, with a few days of disjointed searching, experimentation, and dreaming, he didn't fix the problem. Instead, we simply follow one man's obsession as he makes steadily more desperate attempts to scratch a bothersome itch. 02/06/2004
First Look: OmniWeb 5 Beta
by Michael Brewer
Omni Group's browser was one of the first alternatives to Internet Explorer for Mac OS X. Always admired for its beautiful interface, OmniWeb has at times suffered from lackluster performance. Everything seems to be coming together for version 5--innovation, beauty, and speed. Michael Brewer shares his impressions. 02/03/2004
LaTeX: It's Not Just for Academia, Part 1
by Kevin O'Malley
LaTeX is not a word processor. It's a document preparation system that produces typeset-quality output. LaTeX has as much, if not more, utility as commercial word processors. It's rock solid, has a long history of use, a large user base, and best of all, it's free. Kevin O'Malley covers the versions of LaTeX available for Mac OS X. 02/03/2004
Smart File Sharing Between Macs and PCs
by Wei-Meng Lee
There are lots of ways to share files between Macs and PCs, and most of them are aggravating at best. Wei Meng Lee shows you a method that's much easier and cleaner than just about every other solution. 01/30/2004
Sanitizing Mail on Panther Server
by Jason Deraleau
With Mac OS X Server 10.3, Apple has replaced Apple Mail Server with Postfix, which allows you to use common UNIX and open source tools to perform various tasks with your mail. One of these tools, Procmail, lets mail messages be processed with special "recipes," such as the Anomy Sanitizer. Here's how to set it up. 01/27/2004
iLife Mini-Manual
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for January 23, 2004. 01/23/2004
BYOB: Build Your Own Browser
by Andrew Anderson
WebKit is a fully functional set of web browsing components that developers can integrate into their Cocoa/Carbon applications. Andrew Anderson shows you how to get your hands dirty with this easy-to-use API. 01/23/2004
How to Set Up Encrypted Mail on Mac OS X
by FJ de Kermadec
The latest version of Apple's Mail app, included with the Panther upgrade, supports S/MIME security and encryption. But how do you go about getting a certificate and taking advantage of this feature? Fran�ois Joseph de Kermadec shows you how, step by step. 01/20/2004
Using WebObjects: More Practical Tips and Tricks
by Josh Paul
In this third installment of Josh Paul's WebObjects series, he shows you more tips and techniques for configuring Direct to Web applications. 01/16/2004
Dreamweaver MX 2004 for Mac OS X
by Jackie Dove
Dreamweaver has always facilitated web design in the visual graphic art tradition. It's also famous for its accurate HTML code and organic way of letting users alternate between code and design view. Dreamweaver MX 2004 has some improvements that may tempt you to take another look at this application for your work. 01/13/2004
Learning Cocoa: Repurposing Variables
by Seth Roby
You can massage your variable string in many different ways: you can print it, change its contents, reconstruct it, and lots of other things to mutate it from one state into another. Seth Roby shows you some handy ways to get more from your variables when programming in Cocoa. 01/13/2004
Focus on the Rest of Your Life
by Daniel H. Steinberg
For a keynote that many reporters claimed "didn't include much," there are many things to discuss and review. Daniel Steinberg dissects Steve Jobs' keynote presentation at Macworld SF 2004 and shows there is more there than initially meets the eye. 01/08/2004
Confident Apple for 2004
by Derrick Story
You can have an entertaining, inspiring keynote without introducing the next big thing. Apple and Steve Jobs did just that at Macworld SF '04, and it bodes well for the year ahead. 01/07/2004
Control Your Mac with Your PDA
by Dori Smith
You bought a Bluetooth Mac, and now you have a Bluetooth PDA, so there must be something cool that the two can do together, right? There is, when you add Salling Software's Clicker to the mix. Clicker lets your Bluetooth devices (phones and PDAs) act as a remote control for your Mac. Dori Smith, coauthor of Mac OS X Unwired, walks you through the install and use of Clicker, then looks at some examples of Clicker in action, using PowerPoint and iPhoto. 01/06/2004
Expo Speculations
by Michael Swaine
Macworld SF has many of us thinking about how 2004 will unfold for Apple and its customers. Michael Swaine looks at the iPod, Disney, hardware manufacturing, a headless iMac, a Mac tablet, and more. 01/05/2004
O'Reilly at Macworld
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for January 2, 2004. 01/02/2004
Macworld Wish List for Steve
by David Miller
Macworld SF is like a second Christmas for many Mac users. And it all begins with Steve's keynote address. What new goodies are in store for this coming year? Here's a wish list from Mac DevCenter writers. 12/30/2003
USB Video Conferencing with Panther
by Wei-Meng Lee
iSights are great for video conferencing ... if you have one, that is. But is there a way to use that old USB webcam with iChat AV? Wei-Meng Lee figured it out and shows you how in this article. 12/23/2003
Best Mac Year Ever?
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for December 19, 2003. 12/19/2003
An Unencrypted Look at FileVault
by FJ de Kermadec
FileVault has generated as much discussion as any of Panther's new features. Is it right for you? Fran�ois Joseph de Kermadec unlocks this new feature and shows you around. 12/19/2003
Elementary Computer Graphics: Drawing with Pixels
by Michael J. Norton
If you have a promising young developer in the family, you might want to take advantage of the extra time together during the holidays to teach a little programming. Michael Norton wrote this tutorial for his fourth grade son, and offers it to Mac DevCenter readers and their children. 12/16/2003
Flexible OmniOutliner
by Giles Turnbull
By name alone, an application designed to create outlines doesn't stir the imagination. But OmniOutliner is more than its name implies. With it, you can organize and prepare information for your iPod, iCal, MS Word, and even Keynote. Giles Turnbull gives you the tour. 12/12/2003
Panther Delights
by David Miller
Here's a look at Panther from another point of view, not so much its high-flying features, but rather, the subtle refinements that we've come to expect from Apple products. Here are ten things that won't make you buy Panther, but you'll appreciate them once you have it. 12/09/2003
Panther and Active Directory
by Michael Bartosh
Unlike the LDAPv3-based Jaguar strategies we examined previously, Panther's capabilities have been specifically engineered by Apple to work in much the same way that a Windows client would when joining and participating in an Active Directory. In this updated article (April 2004), Michael Bartosh takes you inside this world and shows you what's new. 12/09/2003
New DevCenter Features
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for December 5, 2003. 12/05/2003
Collaborative Editing with Rendezvous
by Wei-Meng Lee
Apple's adoption of Zeroconf networking (branded as "Rendezvous") has opened the door to new ways of sharing information on local networks. In this article, Wei Meng Lee shows you how to use two collaborative editing tools: SubEthaEdit and iStorm. 12/02/2003
iPod as Digital Photographer's Best Friend
by Derrick Story
Yes, the iPod can store thousands of songs. But now you can use it to upload thousands of pictures too, directly from the memory card. And thanks to Panther, that's only the beginning of what is sure to become an indispensable tool for many digital photographers. 12/02/2003
Faxing in Panther
by Wei-Meng Lee
Are you neglecting your modem because you no longer use dialup for Internet connectivity? Thanks to Panther, you can breath new life into your modem by using it as a built-in fax machine. Wei Meng Lee shows you the ins and outs of this new Mac OS X 10.3 feature. 11/26/2003
Gifts and Gadgets for the Geek Minded
by Terrie Miller
Here's a great line up of goodies and gadgets to bestow upon technically-minded friends, family, (and maybe one for you). Terrie Miller has tested each of these entries in this year's holiday gift giving guide. 11/25/2003
Panther Maintenance Tips
by FJ de Kermadec
Yes, Mac OS X is incredibly stable, but here's a comprehensive list of tips to keep it that way for the duration of your OS install. What? You don't do any maintenance at all? Well, read on. That might change. 11/21/2003
Both Sides of the Firewall
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for November 21, 2003. 11/21/2003
Keynote's XML Connections
by David Miller
For its Keynote application, Apple had created an XML syntax, APXL (short for Apple Presentation XML), and made its schema publicly available. That means you can build presentations outside of Keynote using data stored in apps like FileMaker Pro and 4D. David Miller explains, and shows you how to leverage this functionality. 11/19/2003
Customize FileMaker Menus with Fast Tasks
by Alan Graham
As you know from designing your FileMaker templates, creating buttons to control new functions can get out of control fast. But there's an alternative called Fast Tasks that lets you streamline your designs by incorporating pop-up fields into your templates. Alan Graham shows you how. 11/18/2003
A Look at the Eclipse IDE
by Philippe Mougin
Eclipse is an open source integrated development environment that has gained considerable popularity in 2003. Philippe Mougin provides an introduction plus some expert opinions from the last ECOOP conference. 11/14/2003
Panther Internet Sharing
by Wei-Meng Lee
A quick look at sharing an Internet connection in Panther with IP over FireWire (which is now built into Mac OS X 10.3) and AirPort, including the pros and cons of each method. 11/11/2003
Rendezvous Picture Transfer with Panther
by Derrick Story
You can show others on a Rendezvous network pictures directly from your camera using the new Image Capture app in Panther. But that's only part of the good news. Derrick Story shows you the ins and outs of this handy new Mac OS X 10.3 trick. 11/10/2003
Scripting Mac OS X
by James Reynolds
As an administrator, when you think of automating tasks, you naturally think of scripting. James Reynolds shows you how to apply a variety of scripting languages to automate your workflow on Mac OS X. 11/07/2003
New Journal for Serious Mac Heads
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for November 7, 2003. 11/07/2003
Using WebObjects "Direct to Web" Technology
by Josh Paul
"Direct to Web" takes RAD and injects a shot of technology steroids to create RBRAD, or Rule-Based Rapid Application Development. Through the use of an EOModel file and a D2WModel file, you can create a full-blown web application in just a few simple steps. Josh Paul shows you how. 11/04/2003
Finishing Touches
by Derrick Story
The Mac OS X Conference was full of life to the very last breath of the event. Here are just a few highlights from Wednesday evening and Thursday. Hope to see you in these pictures next year! 10/31/2003
From Keynotes to Congregation: The Real Mac OS X Conference
by Derrick Story
and Daniel H. Steinberg
The sessions and the keynotes are what get us to the conferences. But once everyone is there, chemistry among the attendees and speakers create a new event different than anything that could be planned -- especially at a Mac gathering. Here's what happened at the second Mac OS X Conference in Santa Clara, CA. 10/31/2003
Fully Loaded and On Target
by Derrick Story
Dynamic speakers such as Dr. Srinidhi Varadarajan and Andy Ihnatko were big hits with the sophisticated Mac audience at the conference. This is a show by Mac geeks for Mac geeks. 10/29/2003
Confessions of the World's Largest Switcher
by Daniel H. Steinberg
After encountering roadblocks from Dell and IBM, Dr. Srinidhi Varadarajan went to Apple, and 24 hours later, had a commitment to deliver--within two months--the G5's he'd need to build a Supercomputer. At this week's O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference, Dr. Varadarajan reveals the details behind what it took to build Virginia Tech's G5 Supercomputer. Find out why he says you can expect to see a lot more G5 clusters in the future. 10/29/2003
Day Two: Rock 'n' Roll
by Derrick Story
Tim O'Reilly and David Pogue kicked off Tuesday's activities at the Mac OS X Conference. It was a day of many firsts, including the opening of the bookstore, Expo floor, and the sessions. Smart attendees got there early and grabbed a seat because many venues were standing room only. 10/28/2003
G5s, Panther, Let's Go!
by Derrick Story
The first day of the Mac OS X Conference focused on tutorials, such as introductions to Cocoa, Mac OS X Java, Rendezvous, and AppleScript, just to name a few. Apple Developer Connection provided the G5s in the Rendezvous Lounge, and O'Reilly supplied the expert speakers. A strong start to this much-anticipated event. 10/27/2003
Night of Panther
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for October 24, 2003. 10/24/2003
Ten Things I Dig About Xcode
by James Duncan Davidson
Following in the footsteps of "Ten Things I Dig About Panther," James Duncan Davidson further explores one of the facets near and dear to Mac developers--their application development environment. Apple is introducing Xcode, along with Panther, and Davidson takes it for a spin and reports on his initial findings. 10/24/2003
Creating Easy-to-Deploy Unix Applications for OS X
by Mark Roseman
With OS X's Unix foundations came the promise of access to thousands of Unix applications for Mac users. But if those applications are hard to install, configure and use, everyone loses. Mark Roseman describes some of the most common obstacles to deploying Unix software on Mac OS X -- and how to overcome them. 10/24/2003
Start Me Up: Writing and Understanding OS X StartupItems
by Andrew Anderson
StartupItems are easy to set up and extremely flexible in managing the startup process. Andrew Anders shows how StartupItems fit into the OS X startup process, what you need to do to create a StartupItem, and an example of a StartupItem that will run the Tomcat Java servlet engine. 10/21/2003
Programming REALbasic, Part 1: Syntax of the Language
by Wei-Meng Lee
Wei-Meng Lee helps you leverage existing skills to get started in Mac development using REALbasic. In part 1, he introduces the REALbasic syntax for experienced programmers who are new to Mac development. 10/17/2003
Apple Wireless Mouse and Keyboard Tips and Tricks
by FJ de Kermadec
The new Apple Wireless Mouse and Keyboard and two great peripherals that can spice up your computing life; here's how to make the most of them. 10/14/2003
Panther on Mac DevCenter
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for October 10, 2003. 10/10/2003
Ten Things I Dig About Panther
by James Duncan Davidson
Now that the release of Panther is officially announced, it's time to take a close look at its key features. O'Reilly author James Duncan Davidson shows you the aspects of Panther that he really digs. 10/10/2003
Glossary for "The Double Life of Variables"
by Seth Roby
Fast Picture Previews
by Derrick Story
Many photographers like to peek at their digital photos before uploading them into their digital shoebox. If that appeals to you, here's an easy to use procedure to preview and sort in the Mac Finder -- even while the pictures are still on the memory card! 10/07/2003
The Double Life of Variables
by Seth Roby
The most basic duality that exists with variables is how the programmer sees them in a totally different way than the computer. When you're typing away in Project Builder, your variables are normal words smashed together, like software titles from the 80s. But when the machine compiles your code, however, it does a little bit of translation. At run time , the computer sees nothing but 1s and 0s. Seth Roby introduces you to this double life of variables. 10/07/2003
Ant and AppleScript
by David Miller
Tools from the AppleScript and Java communities can help each other create new things. For example, programmers can use Ant to help develop AppleScripts, and AppleScript can help produce Java applications. David Miller shows you how to make it all stick together. 10/03/2003
What's on Your Dock?
by Giles Turnbull
A peek into the heads of writers, bloggers, designers, movers, and yes, even shakers, on a quest to find out something crucial about their personalities; their quirks and habits; to delve into their very souls. Yes, you guessed it. We are going to look at their Docks. 09/30/2003
iSight Magic
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for September 26, 2003. 09/26/2003
An Introduction to WebObjects
by Josh Paul
WebObjects is most often referred to as an application server; however, it's much more. WebObjects consists of a set of frameworks which allow you to write cross-platform, server-distributed applications, and a set of tools to help you write them. Josh Paul takes you inside WO and shows you how to get your feet wet with this introductory tutorial. 09/26/2003
More iSight Video Tricks
by Derrick Story
Lots of good things have happened since I wrote Making Movies with the iSight, in which I explained how to use QuickTime Broadcaster with Apple's new webcam. In this article I'll show you new iSight video tricks and easier ways to make movies than with Broadcaster. 09/23/2003
Control Your Mac from Afar
by Harold Martin
Do you want to control your Mac, or one that you're responsible for, from a remote location? If you're running Mac OS X, you can take advantage of a variety of built-in Unix and AppleScript tools to control your computer from afar. Harold Martin shows you how. 09/19/2003
Secrets of the Jedi Lunchbox and Other Andy Ihnatko Tales
by Derrick Story
Andy Ihnatko's started out as a volunteer for the Boston Computer Society's Mac Group, which led to becoming a columnist for MacUser mag. When MacUser and Macworld mags merged, Andy was right in the middle of it. Here's an interview with one of the truly unique minds in the Mac community who has been there during every step of Apple's highs and lows over the years. 09/18/2003
PackageMaker Pro Tips
by Andrew Anderson
One of the best and easiest to use of Apple's developer tools is PackageMaker, a utility that helps you create installer packages. Andrew Anderson walks you through the basic features, then shows you how easy it is to create custom installer packages for your software. 09/16/2003
Hit the Road Jack!
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for September 12, 2003. 09/12/2003
Keynote Plays Ball with PowerPoint
by Ian F. Darwin
Apple's Keynote is the first major-company presentation software in years to step up to bat against ruling giant Microsoft PowerPoint. Ian Darwin provides a detailed comparison of the two presentation heavyweights. 09/12/2003
Top Ten Tips for Mac Conference Goers
by Derrick Story
Here are ten tips to help you maximize your investment at the upcoming Mac OS X Conference, or just about any other Mac gathering. 09/09/2003
Loop the Loop
by Seth Roby
No longer will our Cocoa programs be forced to merely plow through line after line of code, skipping comments and blocks in conditionals, never looking back. In lesson #4, we'll teach our programs how to jump around a bit, to take their time and enjoy the code we've written, to evaluate those lines a few times over. In this lesson, we'll examine the loop. 09/09/2003
Glossary for "Loop the Loop"
by Seth Roby
The Penny-Pinching PowerBook 1400 Goes Wireless
by Michael J. Norton
Now that you have your penny-pinching PowerBook up and running, how about adding wireless connectivity? That's right, with just a bit more ingenunity, you can be surfing wirelessly for next to nothing. Michael Norton shows you how. 09/05/2003
Using Java to Expand iTunes Functionality
by David Miller
An in-depth look at MyTunes, which provides an easy-to-use and extensible framework that allows expanded control of your iTunes library via Java, even from a remote computer. 09/03/2003
Read iCal Data with Ruby
by Rod Schmidt
Apple doesn't provide any APIs to read iCal's data, but you can do it yourself. This article presents a Ruby module to read iCal data and use in your own Ruby applications, including complete Cocoa applications written with RubyCocoa. In addition you'll learn how to read iCal data in any programming language you desire. 09/03/2003
Seabiscuit and Technology
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for August 29, 2003. 08/29/2003
Version Control on Mac OS X, Part 3
by Kevin O'Malley
In his last article, Kevin O'Malley showed you the ins and outs of CVS. Now, in this final article of the series, he looks at creating software releases using the CVS tag and branch commands, as well as some Mac OS X GUIs for interacting with a CVS repository. 08/29/2003
Scanners and Mac OS X
by David Weiss
Seems like the drivers for legacy flatbed scanners were at the bottom of manufacturers' lists for Mac OS X conversion. The wait was so long that many users just gave up hope. But over recent months new drivers from Epson, Canon, HP, and others have quietly appeared. David Weiss provides a helpful update to the state of scanning on Mac OS X. 08/26/2003
Open Directory and Active Directory, Part 3
by Michael Bartosh
In this third and final part of Michael Bartosh's series on Mac OS X's Directory Services architecture, he looks at data. If you haven't read part one and two yet, you should take a look before reading this final installment. 08/26/2003
Using Your Bluetooth Phone as a Remote Control
by Wei-Meng Lee
The Salling Clicker transforms your Sony Ericsson Bluetooth phone into a remote control to communicate with just about any application on your Mac OS X computer. Whether it be running a PowerPoint presentation or adjusting the volume on iTunes, this $10 piece of shareware gives Bluetooth fans a reason to smile. 08/22/2003
Newsstand in Your Pocket: See and Hear Current Events on Your iPod
by J.D. Biersdorfer
Some people don't care what's going on around them, but some of us mainline headlines, becoming noticeably disoriented without regular infusions of CNN and Google News. J. D. Biersdorfer, author of iPod: The Missing Manual, explains different ways to use your iPod for your current events needs. 08/22/2003
Glossary for Seth Roby's Cocoa Series
by Seth Roby
Go with the Flow
by Seth Roby
In the last tutorial in Seth Roby's ongoing Cocoa series, you learned the ins and outs of the role of functions in programming. In this third installement he tackles the notion of "the flow of control." 08/19/2003
Inside Conference Track
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for August 15, 2003. 08/15/2003
Integrating QuickTime with Cocoa
by Douglas Welton
After providing a brief QuickTime overview, Doug Welton shows you how to integrate digital media with Cocoa, then finishes up with an example of building a QuickTime Movie Player that you can include in your own applications. 08/15/2003
Open Directory and Active Directory, Part 2
by Michael Bartosh
In this second part of Michael Bartosh's series of articles examining Mac OS X's Directory Services architecture, he looks at access. If you haven't read part one yet, you should probably take a look before moving on with this one. 08/12/2003
QuarkXPress Comes to OS X
by David Weiss
Quark has dominated Mac publishing for some time, but the slow transition to the Mac OS X platform has turned out to be a "lose/lose" situation for all concerned. But now Quark 6 is out and running on OS X. What's it like? David Weiss puts it through its paces and reports. 08/12/2003
Version Control on Mac OS X, Part 2
by Kevin O'Malley
In his first article of this series, Kevin O'Malley looked at what version control is, its terminology, and what systems are available under Mac OS X. Here in Part 2, he shows you one of the most popular version control systems, CVS, on a sample project under Project Builder. 08/08/2003
Outboard Brains for Mac OS X
by Giles Turnbull
Here's a brief look at some applications designed to be digital brain-dumps; electronic Pensieves into which you can throw any information you want, knowing that it will still be there when you need it later. Giles Turnbull looks at a variety of "outboard brains" utilites and highlights their particular strengths. 08/05/2003
Open Directory and Active Directory, Part 1
by Michael Bartosh
For the last number of months, Michael Bartosh has been working on this series of articles for Mac DevCenter readers that examines Mac OS X's Directory Services architecture in depth and explores how to integrate these services with Microsoft's Active Directory. This is the same topic that Michael will be discussing in person at the O'Reilly Mac OS X Conference. 08/05/2003
What's Your Function?
by Seth Roby
Basically, a function is a bit of code that you want to use over and over again. It does a little bit of work that you can change slightly by passing it different arguments. In this second tutorial in Seth Roby's ongoing Cocoa series, you'll learn the ins and outs of the role of functions in this type of programming. 08/01/2003
The Care and Feeding of Your iPod
by J.D. Biersdorfer
Battery life is a rather toasty topic among iPodders. People are not just comparing play time between charges, but battery behavior, and overall life span. J.D. Biersdorfer, author of iPod: The Missing Manual, shares ten basic battery tips to keep the tunes spinning. 07/29/2003
jRendezvous: Java and Rendezvous Working Together
by Seth Ladd
With Rendezvous making IP networking simple, and Java making cross platform network programming possible, a beautiful friendship emerges -- jRendezvous. It allows Java programs running anywhere (not just Mac OS X) to participate in Rendezvous networks. Java programs can listen for, and advertise, services on the network with ease. Seth Ladd shows you how this works. 07/29/2003
Open Database Connectivity in Jaguar, Part 2
by Andrew Anderson
In Part 1 of this series, Andrew Anderson explored the intricacies of setting up MySQL with ODBC under Jaguar. He now turns his attention to configuring PostgreSQL to work in this open database structure. Here's the step-by-step on how to get things running. 07/25/2003
Penny-Pinching PowerBook
by Michael J. Norton
Do you need portability for email and word processing, but don't want to plunk down a pile of cash for a new Apple laptop? Diehard Mac user Michael Norton describes his penny-pinching Odyssey that explored the PowerBook 280c and the 1400. 07/22/2003
C is for Cocoa
by Seth Roby
The debut of a new Cocoa series on Mac DevCenter. Unlike other articles you've worked with, this tutorial teaches you all the C you need to know to learn Cocoa, and ignores the rest. These lessons will leave out the parts of C that, while useful, are not necessary to know in everyday Cocoa programming. 07/22/2003
The Thin Blurred Line
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for July 18, 2003. 07/18/2003
Welcome to Swaine Manor
by Michael Swaine
Swaine Manor is a new column for Mac DevCenter written by technology veteran Michael Swaine. In this debut, Michael comments on dancing with Apple, Mac rumors, REALbasic, and more. 07/18/2003
Version Control on Mac OS X, Part 1
by Kevin O'Malley
At heart, CVS and other version control tools are vital for projects that involve multiple developers. As the Mac continues to gain favor in the developer community, we thought that a complete overview of version control would be an useful series residing on the Mac DevCenter. Kevin O'Malley begins this exploration today with a look at what version control is, its terminology, what systems are available under Mac OS X, and some basic examples. 07/18/2003
In Sync with CVS
by James Duncan Davidson
Apple's Backup and iSync applications are great for Dot-Mac subscribers, but some folks prefer to "roll their own" when synchronizing data among machines. The open source tool, CVS, is a good solution for "do it yourself" types. James Duncan Davidson shows you how to set it up. 07/15/2003
O'Reilly Happenings at the Macworld CreativePro Conference
The name might not be Macworld NY anymore, but for O'Reilly & Associates, it's still our favorite excuse to visit with customers on the East Coast. Our booth will be teaming with activity, and our authors are deeply involved in this conference. Here's everything you need to know. 07/09/2003
Dot Mac Reloaded
by Michael Brewer
Later this year, many Dot Mac subscriptions will be up for renewal, many of which were purchased at discounted prices. But now that full pricing will be in effect, are there enough features to entice Mac users to renew? Michael Brewer explores the changes Panther brings to Dot Mac. 07/08/2003
WWDC Behind; New York and Santa Clara Ahead
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for July 7, 2003. 07/07/2003
WWDC: Apple Reveals Its Path
by Daniel H. Steinberg
While the WWDC allows and encourages developers to give feedback to Apple engineers and management, that can't be covered here because of the NDA. But the path that Apple is blazing was clearly revealed in the keynote address (and confirmed in the sessions), and Daniel H. Steinberg is certainly going to talk about that. 07/03/2003
Embedded Rendezvous: A Developer's Journey
by Todd Wade
Rendezvous offers a number of attractive features for embedded systems. In this article, Todd Wade details some of his experiences and the potential pitfalls that can occur when attempting to make use of the Rendezvous mDNS core code. 07/03/2003
A Tale of Two Conferences: MacHack 2003
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Bittersweet news from this year's MacHack held at a Holiday Inn just outside of Detroit. On the upside, yet another stimulating gathering of hackers showing off their chops. But attendees also learned that MacHack, as they know it now, will be no more. Daniel Steinberg reports. 07/01/2003
Making Movies with the Apple iSight
by Derrick Story
Online conferencing is great, but what else can you do with your new iSight? Actually, quite a bit. In this first installment of an ongoing series, Derrick Story shows you how to make professional-looking QuickTime movies with just an iSight and some very inexpensive software. 07/01/2003
Playing with Keyed Lists on Mac OS X Tcl/Tk Aqua 8.4.2
by Michael J. Norton
Many Unix developers have been waiting for the Tclx and Expect extensions of Tcl to be ported natively to the Aqua environment. Tcl has been available for the Mac, but without the bells and whistles you see in Unix. Recently many developers got their wish when Apple posted it on their open source web site. Michael Norton gives it a spin. 06/27/2003
Audio/Video Conferencing with iChat AV
by Wei-Meng Lee
Just in case you missed the Steve Jobs demo of iChat AV and iSight, Wei Meng Lee can bring you up to speed with this introduction to both new conferencing tools. 06/27/2003
Developer Notes from WWDC 2003
by Derrick Story
After the keynote, press releases, and standing-room-only sessions, developers at WWDC process their impressions through conversation and note comparison. Here's what some of them have to say. 06/24/2003
WWDC: Apple's New Media Event
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for June 20, 2003. 06/20/2003
Open Database Connectivity in Jaguar
by Andrew Anderson
One of the features included in Jaguar is ODBC (Open Database Connectivity), which allows programs to connect to databases from different vendors using the same set of connectivity protocols. Andrew Anderson introduces you to this functionality and shows you how to put it to work. 06/20/2003
REALbasic Tricks: Shell and cURL
by Jacek Artymiak
Limiting yourself to one development environment isn't always the most efficient way to work. Jacek Artymiak shows you how to mix RealBasic code with shell tools on Mac OS X. 06/17/2003
How to Manage Large Image Libraries with iPhoto 2
by Derrick Story
You don't have hundreds, you have thousands of pictures that you want to move to iPhoto 2. How do you set up iPhoto to handle all of this data without bogging down? This tutorial by Derrick Story, coauthor of iPhoto 2: The Missing Manual , shows you how to import, organize, and archive vast image collections in iPhoto 2. 06/17/2003
Top Ten Digital Video Tips
by Derrick Story
Unless the guy next door happens to be Steven Soderbergh, you'll probably have a hard time getting good advice about how to master your DV camcorder. Yes, you can pore over each dryly composed paragraph in your multilanguage owner's manual, but chances are all that will improve is your French. Instead, check out these ten handy tips that will transform your ho-hum footage into compelling video. 06/13/2003
Knowing When to Let Go: Better Living Through Memory Management
by Rob Rix
The basic idea of memory management is to keep objects around exactly as long as they're needed. In this article Rob Rix helps you learn how to keep objects around for as long as they are needed, but no longer. 06/10/2003
It's Innovator Time!
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for June 6, 2003. 06/06/2003
Installing a Wiki on Your iBook
by Giles Turnbull
The documentation says that installing PHPwiki for Mac OS X is a snap, but Giles Turnbull discovered that things can get pretty sticky. He called upon the developer talents of Matt Hunt to walk him through an installation on his iBook. This step-by-step conversation with the two of them will get your Wiki up to speed quickly. 06/05/2003
Rob Griffiths' Top Mac OS X Hints, Part 2
by Rob Griffiths
Rob Griffiths has selected his favorite or most fun tips from his book, Mac OS X Hints, Jaguar Edition. In Part 2 this week, he offers tips on speeding up iPhoto, burning a multisession CD, and more. (And if you missed Part 1, check it out here.) 06/03/2003
Rob's Top Mac OS X Hints, Part 1
by Rob Griffiths
Rob Griffiths took 550 or so of the best tips from his web site to create Mac OS X Hints. He's pared that number down to 16 hints (one from each chapter) that he finds particularly useful or fun. This week we're publishing the first eight, followed by round two next week. 05/30/2003
Automating iPhoto 2 with AppleScript
by Derrick Story
It's easy enough to get your photos in iPhoto 2, but how do you process them en masse once they're there? The best combination is AppleScript and Photoshop. Here's a tutorial on how to automate iPhoto 2, complete with downloadable scripts. 05/28/2003
A DNS Primer
by Dan Benjamin
Lurking in your Utilities folder is the Network Utility application, which provides you with a variety of lookup services. Dan Benjamin introduces you to this utility in his DNS primer. 05/28/2003
Musician POV
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for May 23, 2003. 05/23/2003
Multiprocessor Work Sharing with Cocoa
by Drew McCormack
With many Apple systems sporting dual processors, and rumors rife that four-processor systems are not far away, it's becoming more important that Mac programmers consider how multiprocessing can be tapped in their own applications. Drew McCormack shows you how to restructure your code to take advantage of multiple processors. 05/23/2003
Transforming iCal Calendars with Java
by Daniel H. Steinberg
You can store your iCal calendars on your iPod and check your appointments while enjoying music. But todo items from iCal don't synch, unless you change them to events. Daniel Steinberg shows you how to get todos on your iPod using a little Java 1.4.1. 05/20/2003
Location, Location, Location: Tips for Storing Web Site Files
by Patrick Crowley
So where do you store your web site files on your Mac OS X development server? The Sites folder, aliases to other locations on your hard drive, virtual hosts? Patrick Crowley (of iCalShare.com) shows you what he's learned from his experiences. 05/16/2003
Networking in Cocoa
by Michael Beam
Now that he's returned from his book writing hiatus, Mike Beam shows you how to finish off the RCE chat program he started several columns ago. 05/13/2003
Fruits of Effort
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for May 9, 2003. 05/09/2003
Apache Web Serving with Jaguar, Part 4
by Kevin Hemenway
Now that many of the Apache basics have been covered in the first three installments of this series, Kevin Hemenway addresses a number of reader requests and shows you how to handle default index docs, custom error pages, password authentication, and a host of other goodies. 05/09/2003
More Cocoa, More Stuff: Results from the Mac DevCenter Survey
by Derrick Story
In less than a week, more than 1,300 Mac DevCenter readers responded to our first online survey for the site. Here's who they are, what they like, and directions they want us to go. 05/06/2003
Goodbye PDA, Hello iPod?
by Terrie Miller
Many casual PDA users dumped their old handhelds when Apple first introduced address and calendar synch to the iPod. But for more serious PDA enthusiasts, that just wasn't enough. Now with the new iPods running firmware 2.0, notes have been added to the mix (plus a few other goodies). Here's a look at how the iPod could become your next PDA... with a 10 GB hard drive or bigger! 05/05/2003
Personal Security on Jaguar: The Secure Shell, Part 1
by Chris Cochella
Many of us shred paper records of personal information to keep it from dumpster divers. Yet sometimes we forget to take those same precautions with our digital information. This first part of a two-part series brings you up to date on easy security measures you can take by tapping the tools built into Jaguar. 05/01/2003
Apple Brings Good Karma to Online Music
by Derrick Story
At a much anticipated media event in San Francisco, Steve Jobs announced Apple's new online music service, an updated version of iTunes and third-generation iPods. Here are the details complete with audio clips and photos from the presentation. 04/29/2003
Objective-C: Dynamite!
by Andrew M. Duncan
"Objective-C gives you the option of enforcing the law where you think corporate polluters will do the most harm, but looking the other way in coffeehouses where creative freedom is needed." So says Andrew Duncan, author of Objective-C Pocket Reference. In this article he succinctly explains why this is a compelling reason to use Objective-C. He also covers the particular advantages behind not having to specify object type--a feature distinctive to Objective-C that allows you to write simpler, more elegant program architectures. 04/28/2003
Three Things
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for April 25, 2003. 04/25/2003
Freeware Gems for Mac OS X
by Giles Turnbull
Here's a collection of lesser-known freeware gems available for Mac OS X. We're talking about neat little apps that you might not have heard of, but that can do the job just as well as better-known (and much more expensive) varieties without you having to pay a penny for them. 04/25/2003
Apache Web Serving with Jaguar, Part 3
by Kevin Hemenway
In the first part of this series, Kevin Hemenway showed you how to easily start serving web pages from your Mac OS X computer. In the second article, he explored the world of CGI access. Today, he moves forward with a look at PHP and simple access controls. 04/22/2003
Power Tunes Playback
by Derrick Story
Digital technology's impact on photography and video has changed the way we use these media. And thanks to MP3 and Ogg Vorbis encoding, we're seeing a similar revolution in the world of music. Through my work as a wedding photographer, I've noticed another evolution underway. The bulky DJ's music cart brimming with hundreds of CDs (and requiring a van to lug around) seems to be shrinking in size -- possibly as small as a 1" thick PowerBook. Here's what I've noticed and how it works. 04/18/2003
Implementing BIND on Mac OS X
by Jason Deraleau
The Berkeley Internet Name Domain (BIND) distribution is a suite of Unix utilities that works with the Domain Name System. The
nslookup and
dig utilities are a part of the BIND distribution, but the
named DNS server is what people most often refer to as BIND. The DNS server portion is what we will be focusing on in this article.
Upgrading O'Reilly's Mac
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for April 11, 2003. 04/11/2003
Apache Web Serving with Jaguar, Part 2
by Kevin Hemenway
Mac OS X Hacks coauthor Kevin Hemenway continues updating his original Apache Web Serving series of articles for Jaguar. In this installment, Part 2, he explores the world of CGI access. 04/11/2003
Tell Us What You Think: The First Survey of Mac DevCenter Readers
by Derrick Story
If you want to know, you've got to ask. We're asking Mac DevCenter readers to participate in an online survey. We've sweetened the pot with a chance to win books and T-shirts. Here's how it works. 04/11/2003
Virtual Hosts, mod_rendezvous_apple, and Apache on Mac OS X
by Joe Maller
In this article, Joe Maller shows you a three-step workaround for serving locally-named virtual hosts to Rendezvous clients. 04/08/2003
Apache Web Serving with Jaguar
by Kevin Hemenway
Mac OS X Hacks coauthor Kevin Hemenway updates his popular Apache Web Serving series of articles for Jaguar. If you missed the original series, or just need a little brush-up, then be sure to check out this first installment. 04/04/2003
A Photographer's Review of the Canon EOS 10D Digital SLR
by Derrick Story
The concept of digital photography is exciting. But in reality, shooting with a typical digicam elicits a raft of frustrations, from shutter lag to those miserable optical viewfinders. The Canon EOS 10D digital SLR changes all of that. It's a photographic tool that distinguishes itself as a capable camera first, then amazes you that it uses CompactFlash media instead of film. Here's a photographer's look at what might be your next digital camera. 04/01/2003
Start a Chain Reaction
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for March 28, 2003. 03/28/2003
A Developer's Perspective on Apple's 12-inch PowerBook
by Wei-Meng Lee
Many of our developers have been eyeing Apple's new 12-inch PowerBook as a possible upgrade for their iBooks. Yes, the PowerBook does have a G4 processor, but does it pass muster in other areas? Wei Meng Lee made the leap and reports on how he landed. 03/28/2003
Camino and Safari Compared
by Giles Turnbull
Chimera had won the hearts of many Mac developers and power users, but then along came Safari. Now Chimera is Camino, and Safari will soon be out of beta. What's a user to do? 03/25/2003
Developing Visualization Applications with Cocoa and VTK, Part 2
by Drew McCormack
In Part 1 you learned how to install VTK, create a project in Project Builder, and modify the VTK classes to integrate them into Cocoa. This time around you'll actually create an application which incorporates elements of Cocoa and VTK. 03/25/2003
Learning the Terminal in Jaguar, Part 3
by Chris Stone
Now that you have the regular maintenance
cron jobs running at more reasonable times and emailing you their reports, you would probably like to know what those jobs do, and what the reports tell you. Chris Stone tells you in Part 3 of this ongoing series.
Inside Samba: Windows Sharing for the Mac
by Jason Deraleau
Samba is one of the most successful open source projects around, and has been ported to Linux, various BSDs, and Darwin/Mac OS X. Currently it provides disk and print shares, acts as a WINS server, and performs NT4 primary domain controller duties. Jason Deraleau takes you inside Samba and shows you how to configure it on your Jaguar Macintosh. 03/18/2003
Hands on X11
by Dan Benjamin
The implementation of X11 for Mac OS X includes a window server, libraries, and basic utilities such as xterm. In this article, Dan Benjamin shows you how to install and use the latest beta offered by Apple. 03/14/2003
From Exile to X11: A Journey Through Time
by Dan Benjamin
How did the Mac evolve to a tool primarily for creative types and anti-geeks to a Unix-based platform with a complete X11 implementation? Dan Benjamin explains how we got from there to here. 03/14/2003
Apple Releases Java 1.4.1 for Mac OS X
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Apple takes Java to the next level with the latest release of the Java 2 Platform, Standard Edition, version 1.4.1 for Mac OS X. It includes 60 percent more features than 1.3.1. Daniel Steinberg brings you up to speed. 03/10/2003
Contest Update
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for March 7, 2003. 03/07/2003
FileMaker Pro Design Tips
by Alan Graham
When designing a FileMaker database for clients, co-workers, or friends, a clean, attractive user interface is important. Alan Graham shares some favorite tips gleaned from years of experience. 03/07/2003
The Subtleties of Mac OS X
by Jason McIntosh
Jason McIntosh, coauthor of Mac OS X in a Nutshell, provides a rundown of some of his favorite, lesser-known Mac OS X features, from developer tools to network services to Unix text-editing tools. 03/04/2003
Screenshot Hacks for Mac OS X
by Wei-Meng Lee
and Derrick Story
You can use a variety of built-in tools in Mac OS X to grab images from your screen and save them to your hard drive. But what if you want to capture drop shadows, or include the cursor, or even capture full-motion DVD video with sound? This article shows you how, using some nifty tools. 02/28/2003
Controlling Your Mac with AppleScript and Java
by Scott D.W. Rankin
AppleScript, while a fantastic language for running scripts locally, has minimal support for doing anything else, like sockets or serving Web pages. This is where AppleScript and Java form a powerful team. Scott D.W. Rankin shows you how to put this dynamic duo to work to control your Mac from remote locations. 02/25/2003
A Quick Guide to vi
by Wei-Meng Lee
Jaguar ships with a variety of text editors. Of these, many Unix users will prefer vi (Visual Editor), which is a powerful, feature-rich editor that is lean and mean. If you haven't had the vi experience yet, this article will help you get off to a great start. 02/21/2003
Securing Your TiBook (or Any Other Mac OS X Machine)
by Ian F. Darwin
Here's how to make your Mac OS X laptop just a bit more secure by enabling a BIOS password, and by plugging some of the local and network openings. Ian Darwin takes you deep into your Mac's firmware and shows you how. 02/18/2003
Developer Contest in the Works
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for February 14, 2003. 02/14/2003
Introduction to FileMaker Pro
by Alan Graham
In this first installment in our new FileMaker Pro series, we introduce you to this polished, powerful relational database. Alan Graham sets the table for things to come. 02/14/2003
A Bioinformatics Web Service with Mac OS X, Part 2
by Brian Gilman
Part two of Brian Gilman's article on using Objective-C and Mac OS X's Core Web Services shows you how to construct an OmniGene Analysis Engine client. 02/14/2003
Developing Visualization Applications with Cocoa and VTK
by Drew McCormack
You can turn your garden variety iBook into a powerful scientific ally by creating visualization apps using Cocoa and VTK. Drew McCormack shows you how to set this up and get started. 02/11/2003
Installing libapreq on Jaguar: An Update
by David Wheeler
As of version 1.1, libapreq formally supports Mac OS X 10.2. This means that those running Jaguar can now use libapreq without compiling support for it directly into Apache. David Wheeler explains how. 02/07/2003
X11 and OpenOffice on Mac OS X
by Wei-Meng Lee
X11 for OS X allows you to build graphical Unix-based applications on your Mac. While you may not be a programmer, knowing how to install X11 on your system allows you to run hundreds of programs under X11, including the focus of this article, OpenOffice. Here's how to do it. 02/07/2003
Six Great Tips for Homemade Dot Mac Servers
by Alan Graham
Now that you have your own Dot Mac server up and running, here are six new things you can do with it -- including "iTunes Central," "iPhoto online," and the "Safari Rendezvous mod." Alan Graham shows you how. 02/04/2003
A Bioinformatics Web Service with Mac OS X
by Brian Gilman
Brian Gilman demonstrates how to use Objective-C and Mac OS X's Core Web Services to construct an OmniGene Analysis Engine client. 02/04/2003
iPhoto 2.0 -- Mostly Good News
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for January 31, 2003. 01/31/2003
Introduction to PyObjC
by Bill Bumgarner
The PyObjC bridge between Python and Objective-C creates a powerful new environment. For Obj-C developers, access to Python provides efficient app development. For Python developers, transparent access to Obj-C allows the developer's scripts to leverage the full power and elegance of Mac OS X. In this article, Bill Bumgarner shows you how to bring these worlds together. 01/31/2003
Sundance Gets in the Digital Groove
by Susan Boyer
Digital Video is becoming more accepted among serious filmmakers, as witnessed at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. Susan Boyer reports on new DV tools and discusses some of the more popular digital video entries at the festival. 01/28/2003
The DigiCam Chronicles: Sound Is Half the Picture
by Derrick Story
You can add pro-quality voiceovers to your digital imagery with just a few simple tools and Mac OS X. Derrick Story shows you how to easily record and edit QuickTime audio. 01/28/2003
Learning the Terminal in Jaguar, Part 2
by Chris Stone
In Part 1, Chris Stone focused on rescheduling default system
cron jobs by modifying the system crontab file. Here in Part 2, he shows you how to configure
cron to email a report to you each time it runs one of these jobs.
Software Strategies for Emerging Developers
by Wai Liu
When considering what type of software you want to bring to the market, which appeals to you: proprietary, shareware, open source, or freeware? Ruffnex, the creator of StreamRipper X, puts some cards on the table for you to consider how to play your hand. 01/24/2003
PHP's PEAR on Mac OS X
by Jason Perkins
The PHP Extension and Application Repository (PEAR) is an online repository of high-quality, peer-reviewed PHP classes that conform to a rigorous coding standard. In this article, Jason Perkins shows you how to install, configure and use the PEAR Package Manager on Mac OS X 10.2 01/21/2003
Mac Spirit
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for January 17, 2003. 01/17/2003
Cleaning iTunes
by brian d foy
The Gracenote CD Database is a handy tool to help us classify music in our iTunes databases, but the CDDB is not perfect. brian d foy shows you how to easily tidy up your records by using iTunes' built-in tools and a little AppleScript. 01/17/2003
Solid Mac OS X Apps Highlight a New Year and a New Approach
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Now that Mac OS X presents us with a new OS from the kernel to the graphics stack, an app can differentiate itself by taking advantage of these features. In this article, you'll see some of the applications that distinguish themselves in some way that shows they "get it." 01/14/2003
The DigiCam Chronicles: Assignment Macworld
by Derrick Story
This is the first installment of a series dedicated to taking great digital images in a variety of settings. Today's stop: San Francisco for great architecture and interesting people shots from Macworld Expo. This photo essay includes 10 images with notes on how they were captured, plus a QuickTime movie. 01/14/2003
Apple on Top of Its Game: the Macworld SF 2003 Report
by Daniel H. Steinberg
From the moment the keynote began to when the final door was closed to the Expo show floor, Apple and its 350 vendors had the petal to the metal. Daniel Steinberg provides a comprehensive overview of new announcements from the mother ship. 01/10/2003
A First Look at the Safari Web Browser
by Wei-Meng Lee
It's lean, it's fast, but is it your browser of the future? Wei Meng Lee examines the beta version of Apple's Safari Web browser and explains some of its features. 01/10/2003
Scripting Rectangular Selections in BBEdit 7
by John Gruber
BBEdit 7 introduces rectangular text selections, but Bare Bones's documentation only explains how to create them in the GUI (by holding down the Option key while make a selection with the mouse). This article explains how to get and set rectangular selections via AppleScript, as well as the unsupported ability to create arbitrary non-contiguous text selections. 01/07/2003
Five Wishes for Macworld
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for January 3, 2003. 01/03/2003
Networking and the BSD Sockets API
by Michael Beam
Mac OS X is a wonderful platform for learning about networking, since it has such a rich set of APIs to offer -- in particular, the venerable BSD sockets API. In this article, you'll learn about this API, and in doing so, you'll write a tiny pair of C applications that demonstrate how clients and servers can be configured to talk to one another. 12/27/2002
Configuring Jaguar's Firewall
by Chris Cochella
There's more to Mac OS X's built-in firewall than what is initially observed in the System Preferences. Chris Cochella shows you how to unlock its protecting power with just a few command-line keystrokes. 12/27/2002
Macworld Events
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for December 20, 2002. 12/20/2002
VPN on Mac OS X
by Jason Deraleau
Virtual Private Networking is an excellent way to reduce the costs of multiple site and remote access networks, while simultaneously increasing the overall security of your network. Here's a detailed look at enabling VPN on Mac OS X. 12/20/2002
Build Your Own Apache Server with mod_perl and mod_ssl
by David Wheeler
In part one of this series, David E. Wheeler discussed some of the pitfalls associated with the default Apache install on Mac OS X. In this article he builds upon that approach and guides you through the process of including support for mod_ssl in your custom build. 12/18/2002
Homemade Dot Mac: Home Web Radio
by Alan Graham
If the idea of having your own radio webcast intrigues you, then this article shows you how to create private playlists you can stream 24/7 to almost any Web-enabled device, inside or outside the home. 12/13/2002
Getting Fit for the Holidays
by Daniel H. Steinberg
A look at interacting with your Java programs remotely by taking advantage of the Apache Web Server that ships with Mac OS X. Plus an intro to the Fit framework, which allows business people to specify what software should do or how it will behave in simple tables. 12/10/2002
Exchange of Ideas
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for December 6, 2002. 12/06/2002
Learning the Terminal in Jaguar, Part 1
by Chris Stone
O'Reilly Mac OS X command line guru Chris Stone is back with another series to help you get comfy with Jaguar's Terminal app. He begins by showing you what's where, and what to do with it once you're there. 12/06/2002
iApp Power Play
by Derrick Story
Don't be lulled by those seemingly simple GUI interfaces: the iApps are high performance publishing tools. Here's how to use them together to create a full-fledged media development environment. 12/03/2002
Geek Gadgets
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for November 26, 2002. 11/26/2002
Gifts for Geeks on the Cheap
by Terrie Miller
Looking for gift ideas that will delight your digitally minded friends? Terrie Miller has assembled a list of cool gadgets for under $50 that's bound to keep you on the "most favored" gift-giver list, or can serve as subtle hints to others shopping for you. 11/26/2002
Controlling iTunes with Perl
by brian d foy
Perl can interact with Aqua applications through AppleScript. Using Mac::iTunes as a back end, you can create multiple iTunes interfaces that can be used on the same computer or on other computers on the same network. brian d foy shows how anyone on the network, including AirPort networks, can control iTunes using this module. 11/22/2002
Connecting Mac OS X to Windows PCs
by Wei-Meng Lee
and Brian Jepson
A hands-on look at how you can share files between your Mac and your Windows machines, then explore how Windows applications can be run on your Mac 11/19/2002
Incorporating Rendezvous into Your Cocoa Applications, Part 2
by Michael Beam
In Part 1 of this series, Mike Beam explained how ZeroConf networking provides solutions to addressing, naming, and service discovery hurdles. Now in Part 2, you roll up your sleeves and build your own iChat-like client in Cocoa. 11/15/2002
Use Metadata to Improve Your Pictures
by Derrick Story
Every time you click the shutter on your digital camera, it records mountains of useful information that you can retrieve and analyze to improve your photography skills. Here's how to access that data and put it to use. 11/14/2002
Switching Isn't for Everyone
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for November 8, 2002. 11/08/2002
Incorporating Rendezvous into Your Cocoa Applications, Part 1
by Michael Beam
ZeroConf networking provides solutions to addressing, naming, and service discovery that conspire to make IP networking as easy to use as AppleTalk. In part 1 in this series, Mike Beam explains how Rendezvous works and shows you its hooks into Cocoa. 11/08/2002
Build Your Own Apache Server with mod_perl
by David Wheeler
The Apache server that ships with Mac OS X is the genuine article. We're not talking about a weak, proof-of-concept port of Apache that runs under Windows. But, if you plan to do some serious mod_perl-based Web development work on Mac OS X, you'll need to take a number of issues into consideration as you begin working with Apple's Apache install. 11/05/2002
Building Your Personal Anti-Spam Strategy
by Michael Herrick
We're all tired of spam. So we asked Michael Herrick, lead developer of Spamfire, for some tips on how to control this annoying aspect of online life. Michael shows you how to fight back with a little common sense and a dash of JavaScript. 11/01/2002
Breaking into the Business: An Interview with Michael Matas
by Derrick Story
How does Omni Group continue to pile up design awards for its applications? In part, it's because they hire great talent, such as Michael Matas, who had previously designed the Watson icon before joining OG's creative team. You might be surprised by Michael's background and some of his opinions about design. Read for yourself in this candid interview. 11/01/2002
Building Mac Applications Using REALbasic 4.5 for Mac OS X
by Wei-Meng Lee
"In my programming work I mostly use VB.NET on the .NET platform, so when I went searching for a VB equivalent in the Mac world, I was delighted to find REALbasic, which is a development environment on the Mac platform that uses the modern version of the Basic programming language," says author Wei-Meng Lee in his introduction to REALbasic. 10/29/2002
A Writer's Web Site
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for October 25, 2002. 10/25/2002
Memory Management in Cocoa
by James Duncan Davidson
and Apple Computer, Inc.
This excerpt from Learning Cocoa with Objective-C provides a concise description of how memory management in Cocoa works, as well as a set of rules to help you manage things correctly. 10/25/2002
The Do's and Don'ts of Shareware, Part 3
by Sanford Selznick
In the final installment in this series, Sanford Selznick describes how to handle payment processing, distribution, and marketing of your new application. Solid information helpful to beginning and experienced developers alike. 10/25/2002
Digital Killed the Video Star
by Alan Graham
Alan Graham shows how to create videos with just a scanner or digital camera, a $10 shareware app, and an OS X Mac. 10/18/2002
Using iSync and Bluetooth
by Wei-Meng Lee
Wei-Meng Lee looks at iSync, Apple's new software that synchronizes the contact and calendar information on your mobile devices with your Macintosh. 10/18/2002
Plug It In, Plug It In
by Michael Beam
Learn how to implement a plug-in architecture for ImageApp using Objective-C. 10/15/2002
Creativity on the Mac
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for October 11, 2002. 10/11/2002
An Introduction to iMovie
by N.D. Woods
iMovie makes editing digital video easier than ever. Here's a primer covering the basics of this powerful iApp. 10/11/2002
The Do's and Don'ts of Shareware, Part 2
by Sanford Selznick
In part two, Sanford Selznick discusses writing and testing maintainable code, assembling a deliverable package, and marketing and distributing your software. 10/08/2002
Thursday Photos from the Mac OS X Conference
by Derrick Story
Both the O'Reilly author signing event and David Mash's musical presentation highlighted Wednesday evening activities. Then, bright and early Thursday morning, everyone was back in the ballroom for Wilfredo Sánchez Vega's keynote on the origin of Darwin. 10/03/2002
Why Unix Matters to Mac OS X
by Daniel H. Steinberg
In their keynotes from the Mac OS X Conference Tim O'Reilly and Jordan Hubbard talk about the significance of Unix to Mac OS X. 10/03/2002
The Near Future of Digital Rights Management
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Daniel Steinberg looks at the ramifications of Hollywood's desire to turn the PC into a trusted digital appliance, in this report from the DRM panel at the Mac OS X Conference. 10/03/2002
Wednesday Photos from the Mac OS X Conference
by Derrick Story
Jordan Hubbard set the tone for Wednesday with his excellent presentation, "Unix Moves Out." The rest of the day just keep the momentum rolling with interesting presentations and lots of interaction among attendees. 10/02/2002
Tuesday Photos from the Mac OS X Conference
by Derrick Story
Tuesday morning at the Mac OS X Conference began with a potent one-two punch. First Tim O'Reilly talked about the future of computing and the Mac platform, then David Pogue provided a brief history lesson of the Mac platform. 10/01/2002
Monday Photos from the Mac OS X Conference
by Derrick Story
The Mac OS X Conference began with some serious foundation building with a series of tutorials covering Java, AppleScript, Terminal App, Objective C, Perl, and more. Here's a look at a few of Monday's stars. 09/30/2002
The Do's and Don'ts of Shareware, Part 1
by Sanford Selznick
In part one, Sanford Selznick pours the foundation upon which to build your emerging software enterprise. 09/30/2002
Helping the Mac Developer
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for September 27, 2002. 09/27/2002
Interview with Watson's Dan Wood
by Derrick Story
You'd think that after his tangle with Apple over Sherlock 3, Dan Wood would be telling developers to run for the hills, unless you know Dan Wood. In this interview he talks about Watson, Sherlock 3, and the direction of the Internet. 09/26/2002
Utilities for Switching on the Cheap
by Terrie Miller
Once you've migrated to Mac OS X, you'll probably find that you're missing a few of those handy utilities that make life so much easier. Here's a quick switcher's survival guide for Web producers and other online specialists. 09/24/2002
Serve Your iCal Calendars Using WebDAV
by Erik T. Ray
Apple is more than happy to host your iCal calendars via its Dot-Mac service. But you can serve your own calendars, and even have them automatically update subscriber versions, by using WebDAV. Erik Ray shows you how. 09/20/2002
Homemade Dot-Mac with OS X, Part 2
by Alan Graham
In part one of this series, Alan Graham showed you how to make your OS X Mac a functional Web server, and essentially create your own .Mac site. Now he digs even deeper into firewalls, domain names, and FTP. 09/20/2002
Switcher Stories Follow Up
by Tim O'Reilly
After Tim O'Reilly posted his article, "Mac OS X Switcher Stories," he discovered that many people wanted to keep the conversation going. This article does just that and includes some fascinating comments from those who reacted both positively and negatively to the notion of moving to Mac OS X from other platforms. 09/17/2002
Mac Events and Getaways
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for September 13, 2002. 09/13/2002
Using PC Peripherals on the Mac
by Wei-Meng Lee
Much of the "Switch" discussion has focused on computers and software. But what about those expensive peripherals Windows users have already invested in? Do they get tossed out the Window with XP? Wei Meng Lee says no. And he has the toys to back it up. 09/13/2002
Configuring sendmail on Jaguar
by James Duncan Davidson
Sendmail is powerful, but at times appears complicated too. James Duncan Davidson helps you unravel the sendmail knot so you can configure this awesome mail server on your Mac OS X system. 09/10/2002
Write Twice, Run Anywhere
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Swing applications on Mac OS X run great, and for the most part, look good too. But what about the small things? Daniel Steinberg shows you how to tune a Java application so it meets the expectations of Mac OS X users. 09/06/2002
802.11, .Mac, Backup--All Coming Together
by Derrick Story
Time is more valuable than ever, and my archiving system now includes "Backup," which is included with my .Mac membership. Combined with 802.11b Internet access, I can back up any project immediately from just about anywhere ... even Starbucks. 09/03/2002
100,000 Ain't Bad
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for August 30, 2002. 08/30/2002
Ease into the Switch
by Michael Brewer
When new users come to the Mac platform, they bring fresh eyes and sometimes keen observations, which are useful for all of us. Here, recent switcher Michael Brewer offers a bucket-full of useful Mac OS X tips that he put together the old-fashioned way. 08/30/2002
P2P Networking with Rendezvous and iChat
by Derrick Story
For many, iChat and Rendezvous will serve as the introduction to true peer-to-peer networking. Here's how to set it up in just a few minutes. 08/28/2002
A Look Inside Address Book
by Michael Beam
This week Mike Beam takes a break from exploring graphics in Cocoa and takes a look at the AddressBook framework in Jaguar. There's a wealth of functionality for programmers who want to tap this data for their applications. 08/27/2002
Setting up a Site Server with Jaguar
by James Duncan Davidson
Jaguar's debut adds many updates to Mac OS X's under-the-hood open source tools. In this article, James Duncan Davidson shows you how to tap Jaguar's ability to run your own site server, including an overview for setting up Sendmail. 08/24/2002
Mac OS X Switcher Stories
by Tim O'Reilly
After a visit to Microsoft, Tim O'Reilly began to wonder where the switchers to Mac OS X were really coming from. Were they migrating from Windows as portrayed in the ad campaigns, or was there something more curious under foot? Here's what he discovered. 08/21/2002
Integrating Tomcat with Apache Via the mod_jk Module
by Chad Thompson
While there are a few available methods for integrating Tomcat with Apache, the recommended (and currently maintained) approach is to integrate Tomcat with Apache via the mod_jk module. Chad Thompson shows you how. 08/20/2002
Leave the Past Behind?
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for August 16, 2002. 08/16/2002
Audible Books on Your iPod
by Erik T. Ray
More than music, more than contact information, more than addresses--yes the iPod can now be your personal, audible book library too. It's easier than you think. Erik Ray shows you how. 08/16/2002
Pocket DigiCam Shootout
by Derrick Story
If you want great photos, but don't want to lug around a great big camera, which is better: the Canon PowerShot S200 or the Nikon Coolpix 2500? Both cameras deliver 2-megapixel images, fit in your shirt pocket, and sell for around $300 U.S.D. 08/13/2002
Homemade Dot-Mac with OS X
by Alan Graham
So you don't want to pony up the $99 annual fee for .Mac? No problem if you've switched to Mac OS X, because everything is built-in for you to set up your own .Mac suite of services. Alan Graham shows you how. 08/09/2002
Bitmap Image Filters
by Michael Beam
This column reenters the realm of Cocoa graphics with a look at how to work with bitmap images on a pixel basis. Cocoa represents bitmap images using the
NSImageRep subclass called
NSBitmapImageRep. This subclass can work with data formats for many file types: TIFF, GIF, JPEG, PNG, BMP, and even raw, untagged data.
Jaguar in Santa Clara
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for August 2, 2002. 08/02/2002
Jaguar: Time to Stop Pussyfooting Around
by Derrick Story
Debates about Apple's marketing of Mac OS X, upgrade pricing for Jaguar, and the viability of the Switch campaign are distracting us from what's important: it's time to move forward with this operating system as quickly as possible. 08/01/2002
Dissecting .Mac
by Michael Brewer
Current iTools enrollees have felt conflicting emotions about Apple's announced move to .Mac, with its annual pricing structure. Here's a look at the services being offered, and their value, from an experienced user's point of view. 07/30/2002
The Mac OS X Open Source Tools Collection
by Derrick Story
This collection of articles and books will help you part the waters of the Aqua interface and delve into the open source depths of Mac OS X. 07/26/2002
Apple Tech at Macworld NY 2002
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Steve Jobs covered a lot of territory in his lengthy keynote introducing new Mac OS X technologies. Daniel Steinberg explains these new tools and helps you decide if Jaguar is indeed one cool cat or just an expensive fur ball. 07/24/2002
Mac in the Enterprise: An Odyssey
by Marley Graham
Apple's current "Switch" campaign focuses on individual users. But what about Mac OS X in the enterprise? Marley Graham, an IS manager, explains how his irrigation supply company in Southern California uses Apple technology to keep the orders flowing in. 07/23/2002
Fight the Good Fight
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for July 19, 2002. 07/19/2002
The Aisle Less Traveled: A Macworld Expo Floor Report
by Nan Barber
OK, so many of the big-name vendors failed to come to NYC for Macworld 2002. But the Expo floor was brimming with innovative ideas and great products. Here's a sampling of a few of our favorites. 07/19/2002
The Aqua Designer's Toolbox
by Alan Graham
Carpenters, engineers, baristas -- they all have their favorite tools. Graphic designers are no different. Whether you're new to the Mac platform, or interested in expanding your toolset, here's an overview of select design tools for Mac OS X. 07/16/2002
Embedding F-Script into Cocoa Applications
by Philippe Mougin
In previous articles Philippe Mougin showed how F-Script can be used as a stand-alone application that dynamically loads your Objective-C classes and enables you to access them interactively or by using scripts. In this article he explores the opposite possibility--including F-Script in your own applications. 07/12/2002
Top Ten iPhoto Tips
by Derrick Story
Yes, at first glance, iPhoto appears deceptively simple. But there's a Unix-compatible database lurking beneath that beautiful Aqua surface. This article gives you five "data in" and five "data out" tips that will help you get the most from this very cool iApp. 07/08/2002
Browser Numbers on the Rise
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for July 5, 2002. 07/05/2002
Learning the Mac OS X Terminal, Part 5
by Chris Stone
Learn how to have your own crontab run a script regularly and email your reports just like system cron jobs. This provides a free and easy way to ensure that your most important data exists on two drives. 07/02/2002
3-D Data Visualization on Mac OS X
by Michael J. Norton
Visualization is the process of transforming and mapping data into graphic primitives. In this tutorial Michael Norton shows you how to use VTK and Tcl to create 3-D data visualization on Mac OS X. 06/28/2002
Back to Mac
by Alan Graham
Like so many folks who had to leave their Macs behind as they moved into the business world, Alan Graham found himself with three desktop PCs and a Toshiba laptop. They have since passed through eBay, and now Alan is a columnist for the Mac DevCenter. Here's how a Mac user got trapped in Windows, and escaped. 06/25/2002
I've Switched from Windows, Now What?
by Terrie Miller
It's one thing to switch from Windows to Mac OS X in your spare time; it's another to do it on the job ... especially when you're a full-time Web producer. Here's the first installment by Terrie Miller who's documenting her switch to Mac OS X. No safety net required. 06/25/2002
The Switch Enabler
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for June 21, 2002. 06/21/2002
Pizza, HoHos, and MacHack 2002
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Here's what you don't go to MacHack 2002 for: 1) sleep, 2) lose weight, and 3) try out your new Dell laptop. But if you miss all-nighters from your college days and love a good geek fest, this is the place to be. 06/21/2002
Improving the Outlook for Entourage
by Dale Dougherty
Switching from the PC to the Mac is relatively painless for many users--that is unless they want to import their Windows Outlook data into Entourage X. Bottom line: it's ugly. Fortunately, an independent AppleScripter, Paul Berkowitz, has stepped forward with a solution. Dale Dougherty tells his story. 06/21/2002
Installing Tomcat on Mac OS X
by Dave Sag
The Tomcat server is ideal for deploying Web applications and Web services. It's also a snap to install on Mac OS X. Here's how. 06/18/2002
Adding Spit and Polish to Your Cocoa App
by Michael Beam
A look at two of NSApplication's delegate methods, plus a discussion about how to control the document window's title to display arbitrary information. And finally, how to endow ImageApp with a customized "about" panel. 06/14/2002
An Interview with Ivor St. John Clarke About Aquafying Office X
by Alan Graham
In this column Alan Graham interviews Ivor St. John Clarke of Simple Factors. Before starting his own UI design firm, Ivor was a Microsoft program manager in charge of guiding the transition to Aqua. He provides a behind-the-scenes peek at the transformation of Office X. 06/11/2002
The Mac Tradition
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for June 7, 2002. 06/07/2002
Update to Mac OS X Terminal, Part 3
by Chris Stone
When Apple updated Mac OS X from 10.1.4 to 10.1.5, Sendmail was part of that revision. The procedure that Chris Stone outlined in his Learning the Mac OS X Terminal, Part 3 tutorial no longer worked correctly after the update. Here are the fixes to get Sendmail up and running again in 10.1.5. 06/07/2002
PostgreSQL for Mac OS X
by Michael Brewer
Having just made the switch from Windows 2000 to Mac OS X, Michael Brewer decided to flex some of his database skills on his new iBook. In this tutorial he walks you through an installation of PostgreSQL. 06/07/2002
Wireless at Sea: A Report from the MacMania Alaska Cruise
by Glenn Fleishman
O'Reilly Network's wireless correspondent, Glenn Fleishman, reports from the waters off Alaska on the pains and pleasures of wireless service in a big, metal, floating box. 06/07/2002
Taming the Entourage Database
by Derrick Story
Lurking beneath Entourage X's Aqua interface is a complex database handling all of your mail and contact info. And like any other DB, you should back up and optimize on a regular schedule. Here's how to prevent email disaster on your Mac. 06/04/2002
Inside the Objective-C Runtime, Part Two
by Ezra Epstein
In his previous article, Ezra Epstein showed how to access the basic features of Objective-C runtime. Now he digs a little deeper and discusses how the runtime is implemented, then finishes with a look at RuntimeBrowser, a class-browsing tool like the JavaBrowser. 05/31/2002
Flying High with AirPort
by Derrick Story
This first-person account by airline pilot Jim Dearien details setting up an AirPort network and getting his legacy PCs to work on it. This adventure was motivated by one goal: he wanted to buy his first Mac. See how Jim pulled it off. 05/28/2002
Ultimate Mac OS X Experience
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for May 24, 2002. 05/24/2002
Inside the Objective-C Runtime
by Ezra Epstein
In this first part of a two-part series for advanced programmers, Ezra Epstein shows how to access the basic features of Objective-C runtime, and shows the benefits of working in this language, which retains the intelligence you put into designing your code. 05/24/2002
Using IMAP on Mac OS X
by Jason McIntosh
IMAP is a powerful alternative to POP3 for your personal mail handling. Mac OS X's Mail.app can handle both protocols. Which one is right for you? 05/21/2002
All About the Little Green Glob
by Michael Beam
Polish your Cocoa applications by implementing intelligent "zoom" buttons at the top of the windows. Mike Beam shows you how. 05/17/2002
Tim O'Reilly's WWDC Keynote Manuscript
by Tim O'Reilly
Here's the original manuscript Tim O'Reilly used for his keynote address at WWDC 2002. He talks about watching the alpha geeks, lessons from the past, and where we might be going in the future. 05/16/2002
iPhoto 1.1.1 Adds Needed Features
by Derrick Story
Only five months after its debut at Macworld SF, iPhoto adds substantial new features to further enhance this Mac OS X digital-imaging application. 05/14/2002
Jaguar on the Loose
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for May 10, 2002. 05/10/2002
Steve Jobs and the History of Cocoa, Part Two
by Simson Garfinkel
and Michael Mahoney
In this second part of a two-part series, Simson Garfinkel and Michael Mahoney take you inside the secret mission, dubbed Star Trek, to port the Macintosh operating system to Intel-based hardware. Then they cover the port of NeXTSTEP to the PowerPC, leading to the birth of Mac OS X. 05/10/2002
Jaguar Preview Is Stunning
by Daniel H. Steinberg
By now you may have heard some of the announcements at the 2002 WWDC conference in San Jose, Calif., but here's a detailed overview of just about everything Steve Jobs covered in his keynote address where he introduced Apple developers to Mac OS X 10.2, code named Jaguar. 05/09/2002
Photoshop 7 Arrives for Mac OS X
by David Weiss
Adobe wanted to do more than simply port Photoshop to Mac OS X; it wanted to create an improved image editor with new features. Was Photoshop 7 worth the wait? David Weiss reports. 05/07/2002
Steve Jobs and the History of Cocoa, Part One
by Simson Garfinkel
and Michael Mahoney
In this first part of a two-part series, Simson Garfinkel and Michael Mahoney explain why Cocoa and Mac OS X aren't nearly as revolutionary as they are evolutionary. They begin with Apple's genesis in the 1970s and take you through key events up through 1993, when NeXTSTEP began to flounder. 05/03/2002
The ThinkFree Alternative
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Mac OS X users now have a low-cost alternative to Microsoft Office. ThinkFree is a full-featured office suite that enables users to open and edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. Daniel Steinberg takes ThinkFree for a spin and files this report. 04/30/2002
WWDC Reporting
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for April 26, 2002. 04/26/2002
XP on the PowerPC
by Derrick Story
Trying to decide between Windows XP and Mac OS X for your next computer? Choose both. Here's a look at the pros and cons of running XP Home Ed via Connectix's Virtual PC on Mac OS X. 04/24/2002
Apache Web-Serving with Mac OS X, Part 6
by Kevin Hemenway
Ah, those wonderful, useful Apache modules -- Kevin Hemenway walks you through the various Apache modules that come installed on your Mac OS X system and explains what they do. 04/23/2002
Working With Bitmap Images; Document-Based Application Redux
by Michael Beam
Roll up your sleeves for this comprehensive tutorial that shows you an elegant way to build an image viewer from scratch in Cocoa. In subsequent columns, Mike Beam will add functionality to this app to make it an image editor. 04/19/2002
The IDEs of Mac
by Daniel H. Steinberg
In this month's Java Programming on the Mac, Daniel Steinberg takes you on a ramble through a handful of Java IDEs for Mac OS X. He looks at JBuilder, jEdit, NetBeans, Project Builder, and IDEA. 04/16/2002
DTP: We Feel Your Pain
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for April 12, 2002. 04/12/2002
Variables Inside Cocoa Objects
by Brad Dominy
AppleScript's integration with Mac OS X goes beyond the Finder. Brad Dominy continues his exploration of AppleScript and Cocoa by looking at access to instance variables inside Cocoa objects. In the process, he examines the Core Text Suite included with Cocoa. 04/12/2002
Total OS X Preview
by Derrick Story
Macworld magazine and O'Reilly team up to produce a special Mac OS X issue. The package includes a beefy edition of Macworld mag, a separate tips and tricks guide, and two full CDs. 04/09/2002
The AltiVec Difference
by Craig Hunter
AltiVec is a high performance vector processing expansion to the PowerPC architecture that Apple has incorporated into its G4 computers. Many applications dramatically improve performance by enabling AltiVec. Craig Hunter explains how. 04/05/2002
New Enthusiasm
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for March 29, 2002. 04/03/2002
Better Templates for iPhoto's BetterHTMLExport
by Dave Sag
BetterHTMLExport is a terrific plug-in for creating photo catalog Web pages directly from iPhoto. Even though the default settings are a major improvement over iPhoto's built-in HTML export, you can take your pages one step further by creating your own templates. Dave Sag shows you how to make your photo Web pages really shine in this step-by-step tutorial. 04/02/2002
iBooks Love Linux
by Edd Dumbill
An iBook turned out to be a great choice for running Debian GNU/Linux. Edd Dumbill explains why, and walks us through the installation process. 03/29/2002
Learning the Mac OS X Terminal, Part 4
by Chris Stone
Term files allow you to save individual window settings to a file, which when opened, create a new environment with all of your pre-configured settings. Chris Stone shows you how to make term files sing with Streamripper. 03/26/2002
Vertical Text in Java
by Lee Ann Rucker
Apple's Human Interface Guidelines specify vertical text in side tabs for Java applications, but Java only supports horizontal text -- that is until Lee Ann Rucker wrote the VTextIcon class. Here's how it works. 03/22/2002
Secure Mail Reading on Mac OS X
by Jason McIntosh
You can have secure email using the Mail application in Mac OS X. Jason McIntosh shows you how to shore up your security and gives you an introduction to SSH on Mac OS X. 03/19/2002
Digital Hub's Missing Spoke
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for March 15, 2002. 03/18/2002
Creating Toolbars for Mac OS X
by Michael Beam
Mac OS X toolbars are a great addition to Apple's GUI. Mike Beam takes you on an in-depth journey into their realm and explains how they work and how to create your own. 03/15/2002
Digital Photo Goodies for Mac OS X
by Derrick Story
Digital photography just keeps getting better on Mac OS X. Here's a look at some great companion tools for iPhoto, including an easy way to create digital photo albums on your Palm OS device. 03/12/2002
A Chat on the Wonders of iTools
by Rael Dornfest
and Derrick Story
Rael Dornfest chats with Derrick Story about the wonders of Apple's iTools -- a truly underrated benefit of Mac membership. Plus a nice side discussion on WebDAV. 03/12/2002
Apache Web-Serving With Mac OS X, Part 5
by Kevin Hemenway
Ah, it's one thing to have your Apache Web server fired up in Mac OS X; it's another to have it communicating with a MySQL database. Kevin Hemenway walks you through this process. Your life will never be the same! 03/08/2002
Photoshop Arrives
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for March 1, 2002. 03/05/2002
The Changing Mac Community
by Derrick Story
After more than 500 emails and lots of conversations, Derrick Story has completed his report on the effect that Mac OS X is having on the Apple community. 03/05/2002
Using AppleScript to Compile and Run Java Code
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Until recently, Daniel Steinberg did all of his coding in a text processor and used the Terminal to compile and run the code. In this month's column, he shows you how to use AppleScript to automate many of these tasks. 03/01/2002
Learning the Mac OS X Terminal, Part 3
by Chris Stone
In parts one and two, Chris Stone helped you get comfortable with Mac OS X's Terminal app. Now he provides a virtual cornucopia of cron-related goodies. 02/26/2002
Integrating AppleScript and Cocoa
by Brad Dominy
In this tutorial, Brad Dominy takes you behind the scenes in Mac OS X and describes the scripting system found in Cocoa, and then shows how it relates to OS X's overall built-in scripting. 02/22/2002
A Chat with "The Joy of Tech" Creators
by Derrick Story
and Alan Graham
There's no such thing as a dull conversation with Nitrozac and Snaggy, the co-creators of "The Joy of Tech." See for yourself in this unedited AIM chat. 02/19/2002
Apple's Core
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for Feb. 19, 2002. 02/18/2002
Cocoa Diversions; More on Views
by Michael Beam
This week Mike Beam looks at two Aqua enhancements�-one seemingly frivolous and the other not. What are they? Animated window resizing and drawers. 02/15/2002
Windows XP from a Mac Perspective
by Derrick Story
Mac OS X has created many side effects in my computing life. One of them was that I could no longer tolerate Windows 98 on my companion Windows computer. Would XP relieve my pain? 02/12/2002
Home on the Go with NetInfo
by Alan Graham
What if you wanted to take your Home directory with you, but leave your computer behind? Here's how. 02/08/2002
iPhoto Scripts and Plug-ins
by Derrick Story
Automate iPhoto with these nifty AppleScripts and plug-ins that are not only useful, they are free. 02/05/2002
AppleScript Primer for Mac OS X
by Bruce W. Perry
Curious about AppleScript for Mac OS X but don't know where to start? Get going here with a look at how AppleScript works with AppleScript Studio, Unix Shell, Terminal App, Web services, and more. Yes, AppleScript works with all those environments! 02/01/2002
Apache Web-Serving with Mac OS X, Part 4
by Kevin Hemenway
In part four of our Apache trilogy, we answer a few reader requests, including info about default index documents, custom error pages, and password authentication. 01/29/2002
Movies and Menus
and Michael Beam
A look at how to incorporate QuickTime media into Cocoa applications, plus a few words about menus, including dock menus. 01/25/2002
Learning the Mac OS X Terminal, Part 2
by Chris Stone
Earlier, Chris Stone showed you how to reschedule the default system
cron jobs by modifying the system
crontab. Now in Part 2 he explains how to configure
cron to email a report each time it runs one of these jobs.
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for Jan. 18, 2002. 01/18/2002
Adding Spell Checking to Your Swing Applications
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Here's a step-by-step tutorial on how to add spell checking to your Swing applications. It's so easy that the hardest part is downloading and installing the necessary files. 01/18/2002
Inside iPhoto: Image Management for Power Shooters
by Derrick Story
iPhoto may look simple when you first admire its gleaming UI, but it packs enough punch for serious shooters. Here's how to make iPhoto work for you. 01/17/2002
Pro User's Perspective on the New iMac (and Other Apple Revelations)
by Chris Stone
There was plenty to digest at Macworld San Francisco 2002 for the thousands of power users who attended. O'Reilly's Mac systems administrator evaluates the new iMac and other Macworld events in this review for pros. 01/15/2002
Macworld Vendors Show Off Mac OS X Apps
by Nan Barber
Take a quick tour around Macworld's exhibit floor, look at the demos, and check out the most intriguing new program with Nan Barber, coauthor of O'Reilly's Office 2001 for Macintosh: The Missing Manual. 01/10/2002
At MacWorld, Jobs Shows iPhoto & New iMac
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Some say it didn't live up to the hype, but the audience was not disappointed at Monday's keynote. iPhoto is a promising new online app for managing digital images, and the iMac's revolutionary design (again!) makes the cover of Time magazine. 01/08/2002
Macworld Wish List
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for Jan. 4, 2002. 01/04/2002
Animating Graphics in Cocoa, Part 1
by Michael Beam
In his latest column, Mike Beam shows you how to put your Cocoa graphics in motion and introduces you to several new classes, including NSAffineTransform, NSTimer, and NSThread, as well as a new method of an old class, NSBezierPath. 01/04/2002
Apache Web-Serving with Mac OS X: Part 3
by Kevin Hemenway
We've fired-up the Apache Web server in Mac OS X and enabled CGI -- what other goodies are waiting to be discovered? In this article Kevin Hemenway shows you how to enable PHP on your Mac Web server. 01/04/2002
Seven Mac OS X Tips
by Derrick Story
Here are a few OS X gems to add to your guru bag of tricks -- from hassle-free printing to quick and dirty PDFs. Check out these Mac OS X tips. 01/02/2002
Getting to the Source of Mac OS X
by Chris Coleman
Darwin is the engine powering Unix-based Mac OS X. And there's more to the Darwin story than many realize -- from its Public Source license to the ongoing effort to port it to the Intel platform. 12/21/2001
Browsing Cocoa with F-Script
by Philippe Mougin
In his first article, Scripting Cocoa with F-Script, Philippe Mougin introduced O'Reilly readers to the joys of scripting their Cocoa projects. In this follow-up piece, he shows you a new tool, the object browser. 12/20/2001
Apache Web-Serving with Mac OS X: Part 2
by Kevin Hemenway
In Apache Part 1, Kevin Hemenway showed you how to start serving web pages in Mac OS X. Now, he explores the CGI access that's built into your Mac OS X system. 12/14/2001
Learning the Mac OS X Terminal: Part 1
by Chris Stone
The Terminal application in Mac OS X is a new benefit to traditional Mac users, and it's a terrific one. Chris Stone shows you step by step how to get comfortable with the Terminal, and how to accomplish your first task via the command line. 12/14/2001
Bioinformatics Meets Mac OS X
by Bruce Stewart
Many important bioinformatics applications that previously existed only for Unix platforms are now being ported to Mac OS X. 12/14/2001
An Introduction to AppleScript on Mac OS X
by Brad Dominy
Many people don't realize that AppleScript has continued to mature along with the evolution of the Mac OS. James Dominy explains why scripting on the Mac is easier and more powerful than ever, and he shows you how to add the power of AppleScript to your Cocoa work. 12/11/2001
What To Do About Office
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for Dec. 7, 2001. 12/07/2001
Apache Web-Serving with Mac OS X: Part 1
by Kevin Hemenway
In this first part of a multi-part series, Kevin Hemenway shows you how to start serving web pages directly from your Mac using its built-in Apache server. 12/07/2001
Good Books, Smalltalk, and Squeak
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Java programmers looking for some interesting reading might enjoy a few selections from Daniel Steinberg's list, as well as a look at Smalltalk and Squeak. 12/04/2001
Building a Scratch Pad with Cocoa
by Michael Beam
As Mike Beam continues his journey into the world of Cocoa graphics, he takes a look at how NSView objects can respond to mouse and keyboard events, which is useful for letting users interact with objects onscreen. 11/30/2001
Scripting Cocoa with F-Script
by Philippe Mougin
F-Script by Philippe Mougin is an open-source project related to Mac OS X that has caught our eye. This lightweight object-oriented scripting layer provides interactive access to Cocoa frameworks and custom objects, and we present it here as part of our ongoing exploration into Cocoa-related tools. 11/30/2001
A Week with the iPod
by James Duncan Davidson
We hit the streets with one of today's hottest tech toys, the iPod. Is it the "must have" MP3 player for Mac music lovers, or just an expensive spoke in Apple's digital hub? James Duncan Davidson gives you the inside scoop. 11/28/2001
Cisco Router Management Using Tcl on Mac OS X
by Michael J. Norton
In his previous article, Network Test Automation with Mac OS X and Tcl, Michael Norton explained how to use Tcl and Expect to test and maintain networks. In this article he continues this thread by focusing on managing your Cisco Router using Tcl. 11/27/2001
The New Mac User
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for November 26, 2001. 11/26/2001
Road Testing the PowerBook Ti 667
by Derrick Story
Apple's professional Titanium PowerBook has plenty of sex appeal on the outside, but how does it perform on the road? See what we found after popping the hood and kicking the tires. 11/20/2001
Designing a Great UI the Aqua Way
by Alan Graham
Designing a clean, attractive user interface is the best way to show off your brilliant programming. Alan Graham shows you the dos and don'ts of UI design in Aqua. 11/16/2001
Peer-to-Peer Macs
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for November 9, 2001. 11/09/2001
Mac OS X 10.1: The Real Mac OS X
by David Pogue
O'Reilly book author David Pogue discusses how his latest Missing Manual on Mac OS X will help users better understand the operating system's Unix underpinings. 11/09/2001
Introduction to Cocoa Graphics, Part 2
by Michael Beam
In his previous column, Mike Beam explained the tools for drawing simple objects in Cocoa. This week, he explores more complicated shapes using Bezier curves, and shares some hands-on examples for you to experiment with. 11/06/2001
Digital Still Cameras for QuickTime Movies, Part Two
by Derrick Story
In part one of this two-part series, Derrick Story showed you how to capture QuickTime video with your digital still camera. Now, in part two, you learn how to set up your digital editing room for less than $30 and discover tricks for making great video. 10/30/2001
Making Movies with Mac OS X 10.1 (for cheap!)
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for October 27, 2001. 10/27/2001
Network Test Automation with Mac OS X and Tcl
by Michael J. Norton
Unix-based Mac OS X is receiving lots of attention from open-source developers. Michael Norton explains how to use Tcl and Expect on a Mac to set up a network testing workstation. 10/26/2001
Digital Still Cameras for QuickTime Movies, Part One
by Derrick Story
Many digital camera owners don't realize they have a powerful movie-making tool hidden in their consumer picture taker. In part one of this two-part series, Derrick Story shows you how to unlock and use this feature to make compelling QuickTime movies. 10/23/2001
Introduction to Cocoa Graphics
by Michael Beam
You can draw 2D shapes and even create animations directly in Cocoa. Mike Beam shows you how to implement NSRect, NSSize, and NSPoint in his latest column. 10/19/2001
Cocoa Sheets
by David Sims
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for October 13, 2001. 10/13/2001
Working with Sheets in Cocoa
by Michael Beam
A feature of Mac OS X is a new way to handle dialog boxes, called sheets. This is a special kind of window that is actually attached to another window. This article explores two different ways to implement sheets in Cocoa. 10/05/2001
Shell Scripts, Command Lines, and Classpaths
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Programming in Java on the Mac is a bit different than programming from within the Windows environment. This article examines issues involving classpaths and running applications from the command line and through shell scripts while working on a Mac. 10/02/2001
The Disaster-Free Upgrade to Mac OS 10.1
by Derrick Story
Is this the Mac system upgrade you've been waiting for, or is it still too early for you to make the leap? This article helps you decide, and if you choose to upgrade, how to do so painlessly. 09/28/2001
Apple and Adobe Shine at Seybold, plus a Disaster-Free Upgrade to OS 10.1
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for September 28, 2001. 09/28/2001
Mixing Java and Titanium: Part Three
by James Duncan Davidson
This is part three of a three-part series on Java and Mac OS X from a Java programmer's point of view. In this article, James Duncan Davidson takes a look at Cocoa from his side of the fence. He also shares his views on swing apps for Mac OS X. 09/25/2001
Sneak Peek at Canvas 8 for Mac OS X
by Derrick Story
Canvas 8 for Mac OS X could be considered an IDE for web artists. Here's a sneak peek at this new release. 09/21/2001
REALbasic for HyperCard Users
by Matt Neuburg
REALbasic, the integrated development environment and application framework from REAL Software, lets you draw an interface and assign code to its pieces just like Apple's now outdated HyperCard. Matt Neuburg shows HyperCard users the advantages and disadvantages of using REALbasic. 09/21/2001
Backing Up for a Moment
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for September 17, 2001. 09/17/2001
Adding a Preferences Window to Your Application
by Michael Beam
Up to this point, this column's Cocoa projects have been single window applications. This week we'll delve into the multi-window world by adding a Preferences window, which is a staple of any application. 09/17/2001
Mixing Java and Titanium, Part Two
by James Duncan Davidson
As we continue to explore Java on Mac OS X with James Duncan Davidson, we look at the easiest way to create a double-clickable Java program on Mac OS X, plus experiences with Project Builder, and fun with Quartz. 09/11/2001
Scripting for IE 5 Macintosh Edition
by Danny Goodman
and Apple Developer Connection
Windows-centric IE developers might assume that what they design works equally well on Mac and PC versions of the Microsoft browser. But that's not always true. Here's a look at how the Macintosh version of IE behaves with some popular Windows design techniques. 09/07/2001
Mixing Java and Titanium: Part 1
by James Duncan Davidson
Recently James Duncan Davidson published a series of weblogs on the subject of Java and Mac OS X for O'Reilly Network. These blogs contained lots of useful information that was too good to get buried deep within the network labyrinth, so we've updated them and are now presenting the content in a series of three articles. This is part one of the series. 09/04/2001
Think Different About Market Share
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter for August 31, 2001. 08/31/2001
Red, White, and ... Aqua
by Alan Graham
Good Aqua citizens follow the design guidelines set forth by Apple. But the results can deliver success for your Mac OS X application. Alan Graham shows you how to apply the rules to distinguish your work from the competition's. 08/31/2001
Latest Additions to Mac Directory
by Derrick Story
New titles are constantly added to the Mac Open Source Software Directory. Here's a listing of the current additions, plus a look at the new UI improvements we have planned. 08/28/2001
Mac OS X's Preferences System (and More!)
by Michael Beam
After tying up a few loose ends from the previous column on "Writing an Address Book Application" in Cocoa, this article will explore a couple ways to save the data for the address book program between launches, and then examine memory management issues and Mac OS X's preferences system. 08/24/2001
Font Management in Mac OS X -- Part 2
by Peter Fraterdeus
What's different about font management in Mac OS X? Well, for one thing, there aren't many tools right now. Here's a look at Mac OS X's font technology and some help for managing those libraries. 08/21/2001
Mac OS 10.1
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter. 08/17/2001
Danny Goodman Talks About HyperCard
by Derrick Story
Through a series of e-mails with Scott Widney, Danny Goodman reveals much about the history of HyperCard and possibly some insights to its future. 08/17/2001
Rootless X Server on Mac OS X
by Chris Coleman
Here's how to configure your Mac OS X computer to run a program with an X Windows interface directly over Aqua. 08/14/2001
Working with Tables: Writing an Address Book Application
by Michael Beam
Database tables are used to organize and display information. Mike Beam discusses how to use tables in Cocoa by showing you how to build an address book application. 08/10/2001
Virtual PC Brings Windows to Mac OS X
by Derrick Story
Connectix has made a daring move by releasing a beta version of Virtual PC for Mac OS X. They call it Test Drive. Will this become one of the first killer apps for Apple's new Unix-based OS or roadkill before it hits the streets? 08/08/2001
OS Directory Launch
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter. 08/06/2001
Introducing the Mac Open Source Software Directory
by Derrick Story
This directory of open-source software for the Mac has more than 100 entries and will continue to grow in the coming months as new titles are released. 08/03/2001
Building a Simple Java Application in Mac OS X
by Daniel H. Steinberg
The word is getting out that Mac OS X is a terrific development platform for Java. In this article, Daniel Steinberg shows you the basic steps needed to develop a simple GUI application. 08/03/2001
Amazing Media Player Brings PDA Video to Life
by Derrick Story
Generic Media's version 2 of its Palm OS player enables QuickTime video and audio playback on Visors, Palms, and Clies. And if you have have a color PDA, it's downright amazing. 07/31/2001
Memory Management in Objective-C
by Michael Beam
The goal of memory management is to keep your application running like a well-oiled machine. Mike Beam discusses how to reduce memory leaks and keep your application from becoming a sluggish mess. 07/27/2001
Font Management in Mac OS X
by Peter Fraterdeus
Until we see Carbon and Cocoa versions of font management tools for Mac OS X, we can rely on a few Unix tricks to keep from going "font crazy." 07/24/2001
Mac Newsletter: First Edition
by Derrick Story
Online version of the Mac Newsletter. 07/20/2001
PHP on Mac OS X
by Jay Greenspan
and Apple Developer Connection
The BSD underpinnings of Mac OS X allow PHP to run as an Apache module in its native Unix environment. Here's how to load and run PHP on your Mac OS X system. 07/20/2001
Jobs' Keynote Steady, But No Sizzle
by Daniel H. Steinberg
There wasn't much in the way of news at Steve Jobs' Wednesday morning Macworld NY keynote. Jobs previewed the Mac OS 10.1 update, which will be available as a free upgrade in September, and announced solid hardware improvements. 07/19/2001
Installing XFree86 on Mac OS X
by Michael J. Norton
XFree86 is an open-source implementation of the X Window System GUI for Unix. Even though XFree86 was originally intended for x86-based architectures, it runs great on Mac OS X. Here's how to install it. 07/17/2001
Steinberg Hosts Java on Mac Panel
by Derrick Story
MacWorld News Update: Daniel Steinberg will be host a Java on the Mac panel discussion Thurs., July 19. 07/16/2001
Strings in Cocoa, Part 2
by Michael Beam
A detailed look at NSString's path manipulation tools, and NSString's subclass, NSMutableString, which allows us to create strings with content that can be edited after their creation -- something not possible with NSString alone. Part 2 of a two-part series on strings in Cocoa. 07/13/2001
X on X
by Chris Coleman
Because Mac OS X is based on Darwin, it's possible to shut down Core Graphics and install XFree86 to access your X11-based programs. Here's one BSD user's experience. 07/10/2001
Running Java Applications on Mac OS X
by Daniel H. Steinberg
You can easily create double-clickable versions of Java applications for Mac OS X using MRJAppBuilder. Daniel Steinberg shows you how. 07/06/2001
How I BSDed My iBook
by Chris Coleman
It's true that Mac OS X has BSD under the hood. But what if you wanted to load pure BSD? Chris Coleman explains what happens when you take a Tangerine iBook, add a little NetBSD, and shake vigorously. 07/03/2001
Strings in Cocoa: Part I
by Michael Beam
Mike Beam takes a look at the two classes that make up the majority of Cocoa's string-handling ability -- NSString and NSMutableString -- and includes a peek at various ways to create strings. 06/29/2001
VisorVision at PC Expo
by Alan Graham
The VisorCentral crew is reporting from PC Expo with a PowerBook, digital camcorder, iMovie, and a little bit of bandwidth. Here's what they're up to. 06/27/2001
Disc Burning with Sony's Digital Relay
by Derrick Story
Apple's Disc Burner software has quietly rolled on to OS 9 desktops everywhere ... but what can it do? Here's a complete Disc Burner tutorial using Sony's cool Digital Relay. 06/27/2001
Introduction to 3D Rendering for Aqua Icons
by Alan Graham
Apple has specified camera angles and lighting techniques for its Mac OS X icons. This week, Alan Graham helps you understand those guidelines and shows you some of the tricks of the trade to create compelling Aqua icons that have 3D effects. 06/22/2001
BBEdit 6.1 for Mac OS X
by Derrick Story
Web authors and scripters know the value of a great text editor, and serious Mac Developers know that the tools found in Bare Bones Software's new BBEdit 6.1 for Mac OS X are the pliers and screwdrivers found in their publishing toolboxes. Derrick Story covers a few of his favorite features. 06/19/2001
Creating a Color Meter Using Cocoa
by Michael Beam
Here's how to create a simple Cocoa app that allows you to explore interfaces and obtain information from user controls. The color meter consists of four sliders, four text fields, and one color well. 06/15/2001
Writers' Talk With Corey Marion of the Iconfactory
by Derrick Story
and Alan Graham
Among the many transitions that developers are grappling with while learning how to create new applications for Mac OS X, designing compelling icons that show adequate branding while adhering to Apple guidelines has become a challenge for many. We chatted with Corey Marion of Iconfactory to sort out the details. 06/15/2001
A Stroll Through the Apple Store
by Alan Graham
Apple puts its money where its rant is and opens two retail stores to promote the sales and public awareness of its products. Here's a first-hand account of a shopping experience in the Tysons store and a brief discussion of its economic implications. 06/12/2001
Unix for the Rest of Us
by Peter Fraterdeus
Did you know that BSD is much older than its rival Linux and predates the personal computer? Learn more about the history of BSD and Mac OS X from Peter Fraterdeus. 06/08/2001
Can You Believe It? G4s at JavaOne
by Derrick Story
Not only is Apple participating at Sun's JavaOne show -- it's a Gold Sponsor! It's all part of Apple's plan to get the word out about Java development on Mac OS X. 06/05/2001
QT Authoring on Native Mac OS X
by Derrick Story
Here's how to create a terrific digital slide show, complete with effects and filters, using only native Mac OS X tools. 06/05/2001
Giving the Simple Text Editor 'Legs'
by Michael Beam
This week, in part two of a two-part series, Mike Beam shows you how to complete your text editor project in Cocoa. 06/01/2001
WWDC Fires Up Java on Mac OS X
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Apple and Sun have created a winner by making Mac OS X a premier platform for Java 2 development. Steve Jobs adds fuel to the fire during Apple's WWDC 2001 in San Jose, CA 06/01/2001
An Open Source File Updater
by Richard Hough
Mac network administrators will be happy to read about this open source project that enables them to set up their own client/server software update application. 05/30/2001
Help Yourself Help Others
by James Duncan Davidson
As we look at the various ways to help give your Mac OS X applications a professional look, don't forget the "help" function for users. Here are the basics of adding help to your Mac OS X app. 05/25/2001
Mac Technologies Enabled for Java
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Apple engineers have opened up a whole new range of Java/Mac possibilities by wrapping some of the Mac OS X APIs into JavaBeans. Here we look at two examples: speech synthesis and recognition, and spell-checking. 05/24/2001
Creating Photorealistic Icons for Mac OS X
by Alan Graham
A stunning icon will give your new Mac OS X application or dockling that professional look. Here's a step-by-step guide for creating photorealistic icons for Mac OS X. 05/24/2001
Java Plays Prominent Role at WWDC 2001
by Daniel H. Steinberg
Steve Jobs may want Mac OS X to be the best platform for running Java -- but Steve Naroff, Apple's senior director of Java technology, adds the goal of making Mac OS X the best desktop for developing Java too. 05/23/2001
Cocoa Vs. Carbon?
by James Duncan Davidson
When looking at Mac OS X frameworks to access the functionality of the system, many developers are debating Cocoa vs. Carbon. But they're not really competitors. 05/23/2001
Jobs to Developers: 'A Problem or an Opportunity?'
by Daniel H. Steinberg
and Derrick Story
Steve Jobs' message to developers at WWDC 2001 was clear: Those who aren't creating Carbon and Cocoa apps right now are missing the opportunity of a lifetime. 05/22/2001
MacAddict Tips for Mac OS X
by Alan Graham
Do you sometimes feel like you're stumbling around in a dark room while navigating Mac OS X? Here are 10 tips to help protect your tender toes. 05/22/2001
Build Your First Cocoa App
by Michael Beam
Now the fun begins. This week, Mike Beam shows you how to build your first Cocoa application -- and it's not just a "Hello, World" screen -- it's a real text editor. 05/18/2001
Mac OS X and Battery Life
by Derrick Story
Laptops running Mac OS X drain batteries faster because they actually "stay awake" during sleep, right? Well ... not exactly. We pop the hood on Mac OS X 10.0.3 and see what is really going on. 05/15/2001
Writers' Talk With Guest Wil Shipley
by Derrick Story
Have you tried the OmniWeb 4.0 browser on OS X? O'Reilly Network managing editor Derrick Story is impressed with its interface and performance. In this dialogue, he and Aqua columnist Alan Graham chat with Wil Shipley, who designed and coded the browser's interface. 05/11/2001
The Disaster-Free Upgrade to Mac OS X -- Part 2
by Derrick Story
In the second part of this two-part series, Derrick Story describes a safe migration to Mac OS X for laptop users. 05/08/2001
The Objective-C Language
by Michael Beam
In this third installment of Programming With Cocoa, Mike Beam explains how to send messages to objects, as well as other basics of Objective-C authoring. 05/04/2001
The Disaster-Free Upgrade to Mac OS X
by Derrick Story
You're tempted to upgrade to Mac OS X, but you need all the existing functionality of your laptop. Here's how to upgrade your laptop to OS X safely and still run your existing tools. 05/01/2001
Talking About Life With Mac OS X
by Derrick Story
and Michael Beam, Alan Graham
A pilot installment of a new series called "Writers' Talk" where O'Reilly Network editor Derrick Story chats with Network columnists on AIM about Mac OS X. 04/27/2001
Kiosk Mode in Internet Explorer 5
by Richard Hough
If you use IE 5 to display your wares at tradeshows, but don't want your Mac trashed by visitors, this hack is for you. 04/27/2001
Components of Object-Oriented Programming
by Michael Beam
Mike Beam describes the OOP components used in Mac OS X's Cocoa programming environment -- including classes, message passing, inheritance, encapsulation, and polymorphism. 04/20/2001
Getting Your Feet Wet With Aqua
by Alan Graham
Apple has broken every metaphor, graphical link, and limitation from OS 9 that they could get away with in Aqua. It is art on a desktop. The question is, will users accept it? 04/20/2001
Mac OS X: Another View
by Derrick Story
Scot Walker has put together a substantial list of things he likes about Mac OS X, which is much different than many of the less-detailed reviews of the new OS that I've read. 04/17/2001
PowerPoint vs iMovie for Creating Transitions
by Derrick Story
Transitions from image to image give your presentations that professional touch. But what's the best way to create them? PowerPoint 2001 and iMovie take two very different approaches to solving this problem. 04/13/2001
Scuttlebutt: Torvalds Thinks OS X Is Crap
by Derrick Story
In a report by Bill Knight of ZDNet U.K., Linus Torvalds rips Mac OS X saying, "Frankly, I think it's a piece of crap." But he really seems to be ripping Mac OS 9. 04/09/2001
Digging Deeper into Mac OS X
by Michael Beam
Cocoa is the native Mac OS X developer environment. The tools are solid, and with them you can begin writing OS X applications. This is the introduction to O'Reilly's Cocoa column that will run regularly on the Mac DevCenter. 04/06/2001
IE 5: Printing Framesets
One of the problems with IE 5 for the Mac is the Print command only prints the active frame. There's no way to print an entire frameset -- unless you know the hack. 04/04/2001
My SXSW Swag: A State of the Web Address
by Steve Champeon
SXSW is a legendary gathering of some of the finest creative minds, which in recent years has come to mean Webfolk. I attended, and I came back with much more than a hangover -- clarity on the future of the Web itself. 03/30/2001
The Death of HyperCard?
by Derrick Story
With the release of Mac OS X, the venerable HyperCard application is in danger of extinction unless it is carbonized. It is time to let go and say goodbye, or should it be saved? 03/29/2001
Shooting Digital Video PDA Style
by Derrick Story
With nothing more than a Visor PDA and the tiny EyeModule 2 insert, you can create a QuickTime movie with all the bells and whistles. Here's how. 03/23/2001
Mac Hacks: Wild Hard Drive
by Derrick Story
AppleScript is some powerful juju. Here's how to quickly create a self-launching script that causes the hard drive icon to dance about the screen after start up. 03/16/2001
Mac Dev News Roundup
by Derrick Story
Upcoming columns | Carbon tips and tricks | HTML-Optimizer | Intro to Mac OS programming | AirPort 1.3 driver | Developer Seminars | 03/15/2001
Mac Hacks: The Launch
by Derrick Story
Want to discover interesting and useful hacks for Mac OS? Have a hack of your own you'd like to share? Try O'Reilly's new Mac Hacks column with "Talk Back" functionality. 03/09/2001
G3 vs G3 | Maya Beta | iTunes | Conference
by Derrick Story
The launch of Mac Dev News Roundup, which brings you up to date in three minutes or less. 03/02/2001
Rolling Titles Made Easy
by Derrick Story
The AppleScript library for Mac users contains a wealth of handy tools. Here's a script that makes creating rolling titles as easy as typing. 02/23/2001
Digital Slide Shows
by Derrick Story
In this first installment of the "QuickTime Authoring" column, Derrick Story shows you how to create digital slide shows -- they're easier than you think. 01/30/2001
Tilting A Cube
by Dale Dougherty
O'Reilly Network Publisher Dale Dougherty shows us another side of the G4 cube, plus he discusses iDVD and his experiences at Macworld SF 2001. 01/19/2001
O'Reilly iMovie at Macworld
by Derrick Story
O'Reilly Mac guru, Chris Stone, posted this iMovie showing some of the activities around the O'Reilly booth at Macworld. 01/15/2001
Palm and Visor Vie for Macworld Audience
by Derrick Story
Both Palm and Handspring wave the Mac colors, but which one has the most to offer to this community? 01/12/2001
David Pogue Talks About Publishing, Steve Jobs, and Mac OS X
by Derrick Story
O'Reilly Network Managing Editor Derrick Story talks to David Pogue, author of the popular "Missing Manuals" series, and learns why, as of yesterday, he thinks Mac OS X will help elevate Apple. 01/11/2001
Titanium PowerBook Coveted by MacWorld Audience
by Derrick Story
We all heard the rumors that a G4 PowerBook might be introduced at MacWorld SF 2001. But we weren't prepared for this jewel. 01/10/2001
Mac OS X Opens Apple to a New Audience
by Derrick Story
Apple has been anything but open source in the past, but with Darwin, it's breaking new ground that may attract a whole new breed of developer. 01/09/2001
The Mac OS X Developer Tools
by Rael Dornfest
Mac OS X public beta Developer Tools put the "developer" back in OS X. Here's what's included and how to install them. 12/15/2000
WebDAV on OS X
by Rael Dornfest
WebDav support in Mac OS X (Public Beta 1) allows for simple remote management of web content. Here's how to start using it now. 11/10/2000
Mac OS X Terms and Definitions
by Michael J. Norton
and Derrick Story
What's the difference between Darwin and Cocoa? How does Carbon fit into the picture, and what the heck is Quartz? Our cheat sheet of OS X definitions will answer these questions and more. 07/13/2000
OS X Brings Unix Stability to the Mac
by Michael J. Norton
For years sophisticated Mac hardware has been hampered by its outdated operating system. OS X will change everything. 07/13/2000
Affordable Wireless LAN Using Airport
by Derrick Story
For $200 bucks and a couple of late model Macs, you can set up a wireless LAN that transmits data up to 11 Mbps and effortlessly connects to the Internet. 05/26/2000
Netscape 6 for Mac: Can It Compete With IE5?
by Derrick Story
The good news is Netscape 6 was released the week of the Microsoft ruling. The bad news is that it was released after Internet Explorer 5 for the Mac. 04/07/2000
IE5 Is Quantum Leap for Mac Browsers
by Eric A. Meyer
Internet Explorer 5 sports an Aqua-like interface, excellent CSS1 compliance, and a host of new user-friendly features. 04/07/2000

subset: commoncrawl