I recently made the switch to the newest version of the web development application Espresso . After having used Coda for all my previous web development needs, I’m naturally making some comparisons between the two. I’ll leave the blow by blow evaluation to others but thought it worth noting that the one feature I find myself really missing the most from Coda is the ability to quickly search through reference books. This surprised me a bit as I wouldn’t normally list this as a “killer feature” of Coda, but more than anything else I’ve found myself continuously cursing the lack of this option in Espresso. Thinking others might be feeling the same way I quickly threw together this Google Quick Search Box plug-in (ZIP, 742kb) that will let you send searches to reference sources for HTML, CSS, JQuery, PHP, MySQL, Python, and WordPress. You can start the query by entering text directly into QSB or by selecting text within Espresso itself, or any other application for that matter. It seems like a simple feature hardly worth mentioning but I’ve found that having the option to quickly check up on the details of a particular function, element, declaration, etc.

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Although I’ve been supporting Macs since they came out in 1984 (when I was in high school), I haven’t received any “formal” training. It has mostly been learning by doing, reading the occasional book and now of course, TheAppleBlog . Does formal certification really make a difference as a technician? You tell me. Recently I got into an argument with a vendor that somehow thought a technician who first started repairing Macs sixth months ago trumped my 25 years experience. Did certification make this person a better technician? Having done quite a bit of hiring myself, I’ve too often found that certification only verifies your ability to take a test and may not have bearing in the real world. Now that the market has changed and everyone seems to be competing for scarce resources, perhaps a certification would be an additional edge? What’s the business strategy for independent Mac technicians wanting more? The answer took a lot of research — even Apple wasn’t able to answer my questions — so learn from my journey

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I was playing around with Google Quick Search Box recently and was really surprised by all the functionality it provides. Once I got it fully set up with plugins and services, I realized it can give me just about everything I used to rely on Quicksilver for. Quicksilver has really become the default interface for my Mac, so I’ve been wary about losing options by switching to something more stable and future proofed, but after seeing what QSB has to offer, I’m sold. Plugins While QSB seems to be focused on searching for things locally and online, its plugin options give it the opportunity to extend its reach far beyond searching. Already there are plugins available for running Shell and AppleScripts , browsing your Delicious bookmarks , and accessing services , with lots more on the way. Demo Time I thought it might be fun to show you some of these features in action so I threw together a quick little screencast. While I’d like to see some better integration of custom services (I can’t seem to get my homemade services to show up as action items within QSB — perhaps I’m just doing it wrong), I remain really optimistic about where this is all going. With the future development of Quicksilver up in the air, and with a ton of functionality already available with QSB, I think now is the time to make the switch. If you have your own favorite plugin or service or additional tips for getting serious with QSB, please share them in the comments. In Q3, NewNet focus turns to business models and search. Read the, ” NewNet Q3 Wrap-up .”

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As I mentioned in the My Netbook: The iPhone article, my iPhone is central to my life. But one area that’s been a challenge is getting text to and from it. As I mentioned in the article, most of what I write on the iPhone is blog posts where any formatting is done after the fact. I find myself in situations where I need to be able to modify text from various computers and my iPhone. For instance, yesterday I was heading to the grocery store after work. I had a list going and my wife called and added her list which reminded me of something else, and then she called back and … well you get the idea. I’ve flipped around between QuickOffice, Documents to Go, and Notes to handle this, but I was never satisfied. Notes and Documents to Go go require me to be on my Mac and sync to it.

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This is the third installment of our Dig Into Unix series , an ongoing look into the deep, geeky insides of the core of OS X. In the first part , we got to fire up the Terminal and take a look around the filesystem as the OS sees it, which is slightly different from how the rest of us see it through the Finder. In the second installment , we took a look at vi, the ancient text editor fit for kings. Today, I’d like to cover a very basic, but very powerful, aspect of Unix, the three standard streams: standard in, standard out, and standard error. These three are normally abbreviated as stdin, stdout and stderr. When interacting with an application on the command line, it’s good to imagine that application with three pipes. One is a big funnel, right on top — this is stdin, accepting input from the keyboard. The second pipe is on the bottom, stdout, sending text to the Terminal. The third, stderr, sticks out the side, and normally also sends its output to the Terminal. I say “normally” because the standard streams can be redirected by certain key characters. For example, if you use “cat” to display a document, you are sending stdout to the Terminal

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One of the big, new features of the iPhone is its ability to tether . BlackBerrys have had this ability for a while, so below I have outlined how to tether your BlackBerry with your Mac to use your Internet connection to browse the web with your computer. Some Things to Note This tutorial is for Leopard. I have successfully tested this with a BlackBerry Bold and a BlackBerry Curve 8900 using the 8800 modem drivers, but it should also work with the BlackBerry 8100, 8700 and 8800. Some service providers have a special tethering plan that you may need to add to your cell phone. (It will work without the tethering packing, but you might get slammed with overage charges if they catch you.) Configure Your BlackBerry Open “Manage Connections.” Click the checkbox next to “Bluetooth” to turn Bluetooth on. Scroll down to “Set up Bluetooth.” A pop-up will come up to name your device; name it. An “Add Device” pop up will come up; click “Cancel.” Click the BlackBerry menu; select “Options.” Set Discoverable to “Yes.” Save changes. Configure Your Mac Download & Install BlackBerry modem scripts for OS X . Go to System Preferences → Bluetooth. Check “Show Bluetooth status in the menu bar.” Click on the menu bar item and select “Set up Bluetooth Device.” A pop-up will appear; click “Continue.” Select “Mobile phone” as the type of device. When the computer finds your phone, select it and click “Continue.” You’ll be given a passkey. Enter the passkey into your BlackBerry.

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App Quick Stats Presenter Pro $4.99 iTunes Link Presenter Pro is a learning resource for professionals and interns alike, coaching you in the ways of effective presenting. There are three heroes of presenting for me: Merlin Mann , with his deliciously witty and yet precise style; Lawrence Lessig , who takes a high-speed, word-by-word approach; and of course, Steve Jobs , who is alternately expressive, passionate and evangelistic, all of which contributes to his famed reality distortion field. While Rexi Media might not turn you into a Mann, Lessig or Jobs overnight, the company does specialize in enhancing your presentation skills. It organizes seminars across the U.S., designs bespoke presentation templates, and even has a virtual storefront in Second Life. Its app contains hundreds of tips, alongside an assortment of videos and even quizzes. Before jumping into the review, it’s worth pointing out that, prior to going freelance as a journalist and creative consultant, one of my specialist areas was presentations — designing them, coaching colleagues, and even delivering them. Over the years, I’ve helped CEOs prepare for presentations, guiding them through the process and helping give their ideas structure. Plus, I’ve presented to some big companies, including 20th Century Fox, Taito, BBC and Marvel Comics. With my previous experience in presentations, I was particularly keen to see if Rexi Media’s Presenter Pro would really distill all of the necessary strategies for effective presenting into a single iPhone app. The app itself is split into four different sections: Home, Notes, Video and Checklist. Presenter Pro is, unlike many other e-learning iPhone apps, well-designed. It features large, clearly labeled buttons and is easy to navigate. Learning At Home The main hub of the app, Home, breaks down into different subject categories, such as Structure, Visuals and Gestures.

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I previously wrote an article on how to stream your data from a Time Capsule and local computer over the Internet. After figuring out the basics of networking, I moved onto wanting to control my media center computer remotely. Below I’ve outlined the steps to set up remotely controlling your home computer over the Internet. Some Things to Note This tutorial assumes you’re using a Mac on your home network with screen-sharing turned on, that it’s powered on most of the time, and that it has a static IP address (the tutorial explains how to do each of these things). You must have an external static IP address (my broadband Internet came with that). Determine your External IP Address We’re going to be referring back to this number a lot. Make sure you write it down. Go to What is My IP Address? Write down the number next to “Your IP Address is” Set Your Computer to a Static IP Address Launch System Preferences: Applications → System Preferences Under the “Internet & Network” section, click on the “Network” icon In the left hand menu, select the “Ethernet” or “Airport” device. (Select whichever one you are using to connect to your network, it will have a green ball next to it and say “Connected.”) Click “Advanced” Click the “TCIP/IP” tab Write down the number next to “IPV4 Address” (from now on we’ll refer to this as your “Internal IP Address”) In the “Configure IPV4″ pull down menu, select “Using DHCP with Manual address” The box next to “IPV4 Address” will default to all zeros. Type in the number we wrote down in step 6 (your internal IP Address) Close System Preferences Set Up Screen-sharing on Your Computer Launch System Preferences: Applications → System Preferences Under the “Internet & Network” section, click on the “Sharing” icon Select the checkbox next to “Remote Management” A pop up will come up with a ton of checkboxes asking you what you would like to do when remotely managing. I checked everything and clicked “OK.” Select the “Computer Settings” button Check the box next to “VNC users may control screen with password” and enter a password in the text box next door. Click “OK” after you’ve entered a password. Close System Preferences Forward Port 5900 Port 5900 is the Apple VNC port. We need to forward from our external IP address to the computer that’s sharing files on our internal network.

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I recently switched from my iPhone to a BlackBerry. A few weeks after the transition, I have discovered my likes and dislikes between phones, and by far the most frustrating difference is the “syncing with computer” feature. An iPhone is literally plug and play, whereas a BlackBerry requires tons of configuration, even for the simplest tasks. Below I have roughly outlined how to send files between your BlackBerry and computer via Bluetooth. Pair BlackBerry to your computer On your BlackBerry, turn on Bluetooth. From your manage connections menu on your BlackBerry select “Set up Bluetooth.” Click the menu button and select “Options.” Next to discoverable, select “Yes.” On your Mac, launch System Preferences (Applications → System Preferences). Under the “Hardware” section click on the “Bluetooth” icon. Make sure Bluetooth is turned on. Click the “Set up New Device” icon in the middle of the Bluetooth window. (If you already have a device set up, click the plus arrow in the device column.) The setup wizard will pop up

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Would you like to be able to use the magic of Bluetooth to automatically pause iTunes, set your away message in Adium, and lock the screen simply by standing up and walking away from your desk? Of course you would — it’s future-tastic (jetpacks not included)! Let’s take a look at how to pull this off. What You’ll Need First you’ll need a copy of Proximity , a handy (and free) little application which monitors your Bluetooth-enabled device and fires off AppleScripts when it leaves and enters connection range. As an added touch, we’ll also use a copy of DeskShade to lock and unlock the computer with style, leaving a nice away message displayed on the screen and opening a “Hacker Log” to display what activity took place while you were away. DeskShade actually does a lot more than just allow AppleScript to lock and unlock your screen. I won’t go into a full review of it here, but essentially, it will also help keep your desktop clean, your wallpaper fresh, and your mind uncluttered. If, however, you want to forgo the use of DeskShade, you can instead lock and unlock the computer by having AppleScript launch your screensaver and adjust the security settings required for waking it up. AppleScript files for both approaches can be downloaded here (8kb, ZIP) . Getting Set Up Install Proximity, and from within the preferences pane select your Bluetooth device. I used my iPhone, but any “discoverable” device should work. In the AppleScript section link to OutofRange.scpt for when the device moves out of range and InRange.scpt for when it moves back in range. Make sure that monitoring is enabled and set a frequency for proximity checks — I used 60 seconds. If you decided not to go the DeskShade route, then just swap in the second set of scripts for that step above and skip ahead to the testing. Install DeskShade and on the DeskLock tab set a password, enable AppleScript to unlock, set the Hacker Log to open after unlocking and set the away message to something appropriate.

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