Category Archives: Mac

Mac small business dinner January 10 in San Francisco

I am organizing a dinner for Mac small business owners and developers on Wednesday, January 10, at Chaat Cafe in San Francisco starting at 6:30 p.m. Next week’s dinner extends the tradition of MacSB meetings held during each year’s Macworld and WWDC conferences in San Francisco, bringing together small software businesses within the Mac developer ecosystem to meet face-to-face, reflect on Apple announcements, and share tips and war stories. Chaat Cafe is located at 320 3rd Street (corner of 3rd and Folsom) in downtown San Francisco, one block from Macworld and the Moscone conference center. The restaurant has free WiFi…

Apple Dashcode developer preview available for download

Apple released a developer beta version of Dashcode, a widget development environment included in its upcoming Leopard operating system. The preview software is available for Tiger until July. (via Brent Simmons) Dashcode lets anyone design a new widget through a drag and drop interface or by directly editing the underlying code. Bundled widget templates include a countdown timer, latest items from a web feed, web feed single item view, podcast, photocast, and an activity monitor. Dashcode will debug your Dashboard widget code placing all of your files within the appropriate package and generates additional nice touches such as a…

OS X Leopard Server

The next version of Apple’s server software, codenamed Leopard Server, includes a few new features for the early adopter web crowd and their organizations. Ruby on Rails, podcast production, wikis, blogs, and grid computing are just some of the features built-in to the new server OS. The new features redefine what’s possible away from a Microsoft-centered world of Exchange and Sharepoint, opening new possibilities through a combination of open-source software, industry-standard protocols, and Apple’s friendly interface and design. Small workgroups using Macs or Windows should be able to rack an Xserve and be happy. Web server Leopard server has…

OpenDarwin shutting down

Mac OS X open-source community site OpenDarwin announced it will shut down in the next couple months. The site was the center of discussion and development of WebKit (the code behind Apple’s Safari browser and Nokia’s Series 60 browser), DarwinPorts, and other projects. It’s too bad the projects will now all disperse, and I can’t help but wonder if the move was influenced by something to be announced at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in a few weeks….

Web 2.0 tag cloud laser etching

Mac geek Dan Lurie took his PowerBook to Squid Labs yesterday for a custom laser-etched cover. Dan designed a tag cloud full of Web 2.0 buzzwords for the world to see. He’ll definitely have fun at the next Web geek gathering. I have a feeling most of the buzzwords will end up a historical blip like so many of the companies in the Monopoly .com edition I have at home. If you’re coming to San Francisco for WWDC start designing your etched covers now! There are a few laser etching shops in the Bay area….

New Mac ads poke fun at Windows

I like the new Get a Mac ads Apple introduced tonight. The messages are simple and conversational with just one or two competitive points each. Less viruses, less restarting, better applications built-in for editing photos and websites, as easy as your iPod, simple connectivity, and a really good value are the themes communicated throughout. The Get a Mac campaign also promotes podcasting support as a good reason to switch….

PodSession: You’re being watched, and Macs now do Windows

Om and I received a variety of feedback last week as podcast listeners stood up against research reports about podcasts and their audiences. Some people thought a 20-minute discussion of hot tech news was just right and others wanted even shorter, more digestible chunks. This week Om and I recorded two 10-minute podcasts to try something new and introduce a little variety. It was also tough to pick just one topic this week since both Apple and Google had big announcements last Wednesday. You’re being watched Your cellular carrier knows where you are at all times. Pinpointing your location helps…

iMac developer transition kits

If you are a Mac developer and received a developer transition kit from Apple you can now exchange the old system for a new Intel-based iMac. Apple will send out the 17″ iMac first, allowing you to transition all your work off the old box, and Apple will even pick up all shipping costs. Sweet deal. The developer transition kit gives you a $1300 iMac for about $1000. Tags: imac…

Mac small business dinner January 11 in San Francisco

I am organizing a dinner for Mac small business owners and developers on Wednesday, January 11, at Chaat Cafe in San Francisco starting at 7 p.m. I want to bring together the small businesses attending the conference for face-to-face discussion and sharing of ideas among other people who have probably used your software and read your blog but might have never met face-to-face. I enjoyed the lunch meeting during this year’s WWDC and want to keep the conversation flowing. Chaat Cafe is located at 320 3rd Street (corner of 3rd and Folsom) in downtown San Francisco, one block from…