Freecasts

When students are bored in class, they do many things. Some sleep, some text, some play video games on their laptops, some read, and some do homework. I, like every other student, get bored in class. However, when I got bored in class, I did none of these things. Instead, I write programs. Or at least, I used to.
Since 9th grade, I have always brought at least one laptop to school. Why more than one laptop you ask? That is a topic for a future blog post, but if you really want to know, you can leave a comment. Anyway, I always bring my laptop to school where I am part of the ever expanding number of students who bring their personal computers to class. However, while many of the students who choose to bring laptops bring them just to check their Facebook, check their email (if they aren’t all ready doing that on their phones), instant message, and play video games in school, I use my laptop (for lack of a better phrase) for good. That is to say that I use my laptop in school for schoolwork. This is because I have two problems that basically kills any hope of me taking notes by hand: I have some of the worst handwriting that has ever been seen (this does not include writing seen on prescription pads), and I am a very disorganized person. However, with a computer, I am able to take notes quickly (I can type a lot faster than I can write), legibly, and once I was done taking notes, I could put them in a place where I could find them again. While I am not so bold as to say that my laptop, once in school, stayed doing schoolwork, usually it did.
Last year was an excellent year for my programming. Because I was quite advanced for a couple of my classes, I learned how to make amazing Quartz Composer compositions, I wrote amazing AppleScript programs, and I started to learn PHP. Programming allowed me to take a break from the boredom of portions of some of my classes while still allowing me to expand my mind. Thus, while I still felt bad that I wasn’t paying attention, at least I was learning something. Things were looking bright for next year. However, I would soon come face to face the hell that programming on Windows was.
I never knew that I had it so easy when I programmed the Mac (up until my Asus, which I will review later, all my laptops had been Macs). On the Mac, you can get your programming feet wet with Automator, move up to AppleScript, and then if you want, a host of more advanced languages including but not limited to Cocoa and Carbon. On the Mac, you can program in open source languages such as Perl, Python, and Java. On the Mac, you get amazing tools like Quartz Composer. On the Mac, you get a ton of sample projects and code for each language. And most importantly, on the Mac, all of these things are free.
Lets compare that to Windows. After shelling out a ton of money for Visual Studio, you get no sample code (that I could find), you get no starter language (for me a starter language is a programming language that requires you to write code, but the syntax is just as easy, if not easier, to understand than AppleScript), you get no open source languages, and you get nothing that compares to Quartz Composer.
I find this quite depressing. It almost seems that Microsoft, realizing that more programs run on their platform than on Apple’s platform, seems to want to keep their number from growing greatly. It probably would not cost them much to throw in a copy of Visual Studio in the box with every copy of Windows sold. I think that by setting the price as high as it is, including no sample code, including no starter language, and alienating open source languages, Microsoft is shooting itself in the foot while Apple is embracing the many new programmers that are created by a bit of boredom in Chemistry class.

Think of this post as an extension of Fredric’s Fantastic Freeware except that instead of me doing the reading/ad-libbing, you will have to supply your own internal voice. These are the top free or cheap Mac Apps that every Mac user should have.
Network Apps:
Cyberduck- I have used most ftp programs for the Mac including; Transmit, Fetch, and the command line, and I still prefer Cyberduck. Free
MacFusion- This amazing program lets you mount a remote drive with read/write access through ftp or ssh on you desktop. This is compared to the Finder which only lets you mount a ftp drive with read only. Requires MacFuse which is free as well as MacFusion.
SpamSive- This program is considered by many (including me) to be the best spam blocker on the Mac. Setting it up isn’t difficult, but be sure to read the readme. $30
iFreete- This application is a freeware directory for the Mac. In other words it finds Mac freeware and lets you see screenshots, reviews, and downloads for a particular piece of software. It is kinda hard to explain, but think iTunes for freeware. Free.
JollysFastVNC- There are many VNC programs for the Mac, but my favorite is this one due to it’s speed. Free.
Colloquy- The definitive Mac IRC program. Free.
Media
Perian- It may be a bit vain, but I think I was one of the first people to discover Perian and get it well known. I say that because over a year ago, I submitted it to digg. Anyway, Perian is the ultimate Quicktime plugin, allowing QuickTime to play almost any file. Free.
VLC- I use this app when Perian just doesn’t work. I have yet to find a file format it won’t play. Free.
VisualHub- This app can take most video formats and transform it into either: iPod, H.264, Mpeg4, Mpeg, DVD, Divx (with many types), WMV, Flash, PSP, DV, and Tivo. Not only that but it is quick and the developer has a good sense of humor (read the readme). $23.32
iSquint- The little brother of Visual Hub. It can convert almost any format into a format readable by the iPod. Free.
Handbrake- Converts DVDs into video files on your computer. Works on most if not all DVDs including the protected ones. But we all know that you won’t use it for illegal uses, right. Good. Free.
Pixelmator- Much has been said of this little Photoshop competitor, but I will tell you what you need to know. Fast as hell, has most of the functionality of Photoshop, $59, ’nuff said.
Productivity
NeoOffice- In my tests, this app has all the functionality of M$ Office (which I hate with a burning passion) for free. It can open and write to any office doc. The one problem is that it is a bit ugly, but it recently got a facelift. Free.
Schoolhouse- This app is a Swiss Army Knife app. Not only can you manage your homework in it, but you can calculate grades, you can email teachers, and take notes. All from this one app! A must have for any student.
TextMate- There is so much that can be done with this app it is staggering. It can be used to write code, to make websites and to write text. $59.
iWork- Includes Pages (word processor and page layout tool), Numbers (spreadsheet maker), and the best presentation software that I know of; Keynote. I use this app all the time. It can open and save to office formats. It is also better looking and faster than office and has all the features that most office users use. $79.99
Utilities
Growl- It is impossible to describe this app, but I will do my best. This pops up a little notification window when another process has something to tell you. Very useful. Free.
Onyx- The ultimate Mac Maintenance utility. I use it once a week to keep my Macs running fast. Free.
SuperDuper- My favorite Mac backup program. The reason why it has won my heart is that it can do incremental, bootable backups. $27.95
Quicksilver- The best launcher out there. 100x quicker than Spotlight and more expandable. With all the plugins that are available for it, it can be used for many things. Free.
AppFresh- Think software update for all of your programs. It also has intergration with iUsethis. Free.

Good friends of mine will probably remember that I got an iPhone shortly after it came out (July 7th to be precise). Provided that those people are also readers of this blog, they might also wonder why there was no review of the iPhone after I got it and the reason is such: I hate doing reviews right after I get something. It is too easy to be overcome by the “shineyness” of a new gadget and overlook other faults. Not to mention that (in my humble opinion) you can not do a review of a product without having a bit of time to use the damn thing and find out it’s faults and hidden greatness. Several things are left out of this review most notably all the hacking and bricking. That stuff is up to you. I hacked my iPhone, but in this review, I will pretend that the iPhone was unhackable and I never hacked mine. In this review I will list the pros and cons each of the features by their order in the SpringBoard. The exceptions will be the clock application (I don’t use it), the calender application (since I don’t use it), the stocks application (what is there to review), and the settings application.
1: SMS
Pros:
The SMS program is the smoothest SMS app I have ever seen on a phone.
I love the fact that you can click on links for phone numbers and web sites.
Cons:
No MMS; either sending or receiving.
The chat interface can be a bit confusing when you are not having a regular conversation on sms.
The message limit in the iPhone’s software.
2: Photos
Pros:
This application has an amazing interface. This is the first app I show off when flaunting my iPhone. People just go crazy for the flicking and the flipping.
I love how it responds to the motion sensor.
Cons:
None really
3: Camera
Pros:
In bright light the quality is quite good.
The fact that the little camera icon turns with the iPhone shows off that attention to detail that Apple is known for.
The shutter visual is quite cute.
No shutter sound. Those are just so annoying.
Cons:
You have no control over the advanced features of the camera such as exposure, white balance, shutter time, and resolution.
There is no zoom.
In low light, the pictures don’t look as good.
4: Youtube
Pros:
The H.264 videos look great.
Depending on if you are on wi-fi or Edge, it changes the resolution.
The videos load relatively quickly.
Cons:
This application is a huge battery sucker.
The navigation is a bit weird in the fact that I cant search by uploader.
Sometimes when I click on a link to Youtube (either in Safari or Mail) it takes me to the web page.
Not all the videos are converted to H.264.
5: Maps
Pros:
Good integration with the iPhone.
Live traffic updates.
The directions feature.
Cons:
No street view.
Sometimes the pin isn’t where the address is.
It doesn’t cache maps.
6: Weather
Pros:
It is accurate.
Cons:
I wish the icon would reflect the actual weather.
7: Calculator
Pros:
Simple to use.
Cons:
I wish it had more advanced functions and graphing.
8: Notes
Pros:
Until February, the closest we have to a to do list on the iPhone.
Perfect for jotting down quick things.
The animations.
Cons:
They don’t sync with anything.
They can’t be exported.
9: Mobile iTunes Store
Pros:
Very quick.
You can buy iTunes Plus content.
Perfect for impulse buying.
Cons:
Perfect for impulse buying that will later be regretted.
Doesn’t work on Edge.
No podcasts or videos.
10: Phone
Pros:
Unlike my dad’s Treo, it is usable.
Calls come in clear.
Thanks to the infrared sensors near the top, face dialing is a thing of the past.
It has a great microphone.
Cons:
No contact searching.
The weakest speaker that I have ever seen on a phone.
11: Mail
Pros:
The best mail client I have seen on a phone.
Cons:
That isn’t saying much.
No spam filter.
No “Mark all read” button.
Sometimes emails don’t get downloaded immediately.
12: Safari
Pros:
Motion sensor aware.
Fast (on wifi).
The zooming is very very smart.
I like how it handles tabs.
Cons:
No flash plugin.
Limited to 8 tabs.
Doesn’t cache pages to be open.
No downloading.
When I stream a song, I should be able to surf the web at the same time.
13: iPod
Pros:
The best iPod ever.
External volume control.
The included headphones are better quality than the normal iPod headphones.
The iPhone headphones have that pause/next track button built in.
Cons:
Weak speaker.
Sometimes I get into coverflow mode when I don’t want to.
The damn recessed headphone port.

The application and source code.This guide is for Tiger and possibly Leopard, but I do not know. It will show you how to create a program that will move a Finder window around without user intervention. The best part is you don’t have to write a line of code.
1: Open Script Editor.app (you can find that in your /Applications/AppleScript folder).
2: Press the button on the top of the window that says “Record.”
3: Navigate back to the Finder.
4: Open up a new window.
5: Move that window around, letting go of the mouse after every few seconds of moving (I find that lots of smaller movements create great looking animation.)
6: Once you are done, navigate back to Script Editor and click stop.
7: Save it to either a script or an application bundle. It is very important to not save it as an application because if you do, it will only compile for what architecture you are on. An application bundle is universal.
8: Click play and watch a Finder window go around the screen like magic!
(The source code for my version will be uploaded tomorrow or later.)