JungleDisk is a Mac/Win backup app that uses Amazon's S3 storage. Cost for 15GB of images would be about $3 a month.
I'm not sure I'd put business plans online this way, but I'm going to give it a try for backup of photos.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
SuperDuper: a backup backup
My primary backup is still Retrospect, but it's creaky and buggy with a grim future. While I'm waiting for something better I think I'm going to start using SuperDuper to mirror some of my systems. Kind of a redundant backup to my backup that I'll do every few weeks. I use USB enclosure drives for my backups (two enclosures, one offsite), with the new cheap 320GB drives it's not hard to keep a couple of images as well as the Retrospect data.
PS. I am a bit of a nut about backups. In 19 years they've saved me from catastrophic data loss at least five times.
PS. I am a bit of a nut about backups. In 19 years they've saved me from catastrophic data loss at least five times.
Apple is serious about iPhoto: network effects
The value amplifier once known as 'network effects' and now called 'product ecosystem' has been a huge win with the Apple iPod. Apple is building an ecosystem for its iLife suite -- years after they promised it. Better late then never:
iWeb 1.1: Create a living, growing photo gallery:Wow. Enhanced value all around. I may even get a .Mac account since I think iWed supports sync with .Mac rather than mere upload. Between this and the MacBook's ambiguous support for Aperture I'm resigning myself to staying with iPhoto. Now if Apple would only add #$$!$%%@#$$ merge/import of Libraries to iPhoto ...
Imagine a webpage that's a gallery of family photos. Click on any one of those photos -- say, little Justin making that face where he looks exactly like Uncle Roy -- and you're taken to a page containing a whole album of Justin's baby pictures...
Here's how it works. First, pick any iWeb template (just make sure it's not a photo page template). Next, open the iWeb media browser and select an iPhoto album. Then drag the album onto the template....
iWeb takes over from there, automatically creating a separate photo page containing all the images in the album. At the same time, on the page where you dragged the album, iWeb will display the album's first image (or you can choose any other image from the album). That image will then link to the newly created photo page when you publish. Repeat the process as often as you like, dragging other albums to different locations on the page, creating new links and new photo pages each time you do. And you can keep your photo gallery alive and growing. Just come back later at any time, drag in another album, and republish."
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
iWeb 1.1 - now multiple web sites
I recently blogged on iWebSites 1.1, a utility that hacks iWeb to handle multiple sites.
Today TUAW noted iWeb 1.1 has covertly added multi-site support, as well as some other features. I definitely have to play with iWeb.
Update 5/17/06: I did a quick test. iWeb does have decent support for creating links to existing pages and related files. It does not support anchors. You can't highlight text and make it a target for a link, then create a link to it.
This is a shame, but I guess links are "out of scope" for what's very much a novice-friendly product. Alas, it's no "FrontPage 98", but then nothing is any more. Dreamweaver et al are in a different product niche, FrontPage died after 98 and the residual zombie was recently (mercifully) terminated by Microsoft, and several open source FP replacements have failed my tests so far. I've looked at the various Mac web publishing alternatives to iWeb and they weren't much better than iWeb 1.1, so I'm not enthused about them. I think most of the interesting work will be in Ajax web page authoring systems; alas the vendors of those (ex. Google) have "lock-in" front and center in their business plans. No moving web sites around!
Today TUAW noted iWeb 1.1 has covertly added multi-site support, as well as some other features. I definitely have to play with iWeb.
Update 5/17/06: I did a quick test. iWeb does have decent support for creating links to existing pages and related files. It does not support anchors. You can't highlight text and make it a target for a link, then create a link to it.
This is a shame, but I guess links are "out of scope" for what's very much a novice-friendly product. Alas, it's no "FrontPage 98", but then nothing is any more. Dreamweaver et al are in a different product niche, FrontPage died after 98 and the residual zombie was recently (mercifully) terminated by Microsoft, and several open source FP replacements have failed my tests so far. I've looked at the various Mac web publishing alternatives to iWeb and they weren't much better than iWeb 1.1, so I'm not enthused about them. I think most of the interesting work will be in Ajax web page authoring systems; alas the vendors of those (ex. Google) have "lock-in" front and center in their business plans. No moving web sites around!
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Weird IDE hard drive behavior
Last June I wrote about some puzzling experiences with some IDE drives. It was just plain weird. Every drive I tried worked fine when hooked up directly to the motheboard or PCI card IDE slots -- but behavior inside a Vantec enclosure or a Firewire enclosure was much less predictable. I ended up leaving the 200GB Maxtor Diamondmax in my IDE tower and putting the Seagate Barracuda (the best of the drives) in the firewire case.
Yesterday was phase II. I'd outgrown the Vantec removeable enclosures I used for backup and I'd bought two of the lovely Venus USB enclosures I so like. Imagine my surprise when the Maxtor failed during backup, making the same clunky sounds as it had in the Vantec! It then failed during a repartitioning and reformatting (NTFS).
I moved it to a Mac in the same enclosure and ran some intensive workouts there. It never had a problem, swallowing GBs of data. Then I moved it back to XP but plugged it into an old and reliable Orange Micro USB/Firewire card. It reformatted, did a backup, absorbed 100s of GB of data -- no problems.
Weird. I have to guess there's some stable defect in this drive that makes it very sensitive to timing issues of some sort. I'm using it for backup for now, but I'll probably replace it with something I trust more. (I'll update this post with the make of the drive I use at the office -- that one has performed flawlessly in the Venus enclosure.)
IDE drives can be weird when you put them in enclosures. Seagate's done better than Maxtor or WD in my limited trials.
Update 4/17: The Maxtor is definitely flaky. Retrospect Pro, an evil product, breaks it. It goes into some eternal seek mode where it's very busy, but accomplishing nothing. A good lesson in the costs and complexities of flaky hardware. Consumer drives are dirt cheap, but their odd failure modes may be very expensive. Unfortunately I don't think there's a "quality option" available for a consumer buyer at any reasonable price. Nonetheless, I've had better luck lately with Seagate and I'll try them again.
Update 4/17: Ouch. NewEgg's reviewers had very poor ratings for Seagate, and WD isn't so sweet either. I guess there really aren't any good options. I may go for a larger capacity drive on the theory that they might still be competing a bit on quality. Or just give up and figure it's just another example of living in the age where everything is disposable -- except time. (My theory is that we're actually experiencing a LOT of inflation in our economy, but it's hidden by shifting costs to consumers and buy shedding quality. In terms of value delivered per dollar spent, however, I think we're in 1970s style inflation -- only now it's occult.)
Update 5/27: I ended up going through Amazon's reviews. They gave the best sample of feedback, including longer use feedback. Based on that, and a guess that a newer drive would be quieter, cooler and more reliable, I opted for the Western Digital 320GB ATA IDE drive for about $150. So far, so good -- after one week of heavy use. The Seagate drives had awful rating, even though only Seagate seems to "sleep" properly in on of my external enclosures. Maxtor was pretty good, but of course I didn't want another Maxtor. The WD 320 did relatively well with a good number of comments. None did terrific. I notice Apple used Matsushita in my iMac.
Yesterday was phase II. I'd outgrown the Vantec removeable enclosures I used for backup and I'd bought two of the lovely Venus USB enclosures I so like. Imagine my surprise when the Maxtor failed during backup, making the same clunky sounds as it had in the Vantec! It then failed during a repartitioning and reformatting (NTFS).
I moved it to a Mac in the same enclosure and ran some intensive workouts there. It never had a problem, swallowing GBs of data. Then I moved it back to XP but plugged it into an old and reliable Orange Micro USB/Firewire card. It reformatted, did a backup, absorbed 100s of GB of data -- no problems.
Weird. I have to guess there's some stable defect in this drive that makes it very sensitive to timing issues of some sort. I'm using it for backup for now, but I'll probably replace it with something I trust more. (I'll update this post with the make of the drive I use at the office -- that one has performed flawlessly in the Venus enclosure.)
IDE drives can be weird when you put them in enclosures. Seagate's done better than Maxtor or WD in my limited trials.
Update 4/17: The Maxtor is definitely flaky. Retrospect Pro, an evil product, breaks it. It goes into some eternal seek mode where it's very busy, but accomplishing nothing. A good lesson in the costs and complexities of flaky hardware. Consumer drives are dirt cheap, but their odd failure modes may be very expensive. Unfortunately I don't think there's a "quality option" available for a consumer buyer at any reasonable price. Nonetheless, I've had better luck lately with Seagate and I'll try them again.
Update 4/17: Ouch. NewEgg's reviewers had very poor ratings for Seagate, and WD isn't so sweet either. I guess there really aren't any good options. I may go for a larger capacity drive on the theory that they might still be competing a bit on quality. Or just give up and figure it's just another example of living in the age where everything is disposable -- except time. (My theory is that we're actually experiencing a LOT of inflation in our economy, but it's hidden by shifting costs to consumers and buy shedding quality. In terms of value delivered per dollar spent, however, I think we're in 1970s style inflation -- only now it's occult.)
Update 5/27: I ended up going through Amazon's reviews. They gave the best sample of feedback, including longer use feedback. Based on that, and a guess that a newer drive would be quieter, cooler and more reliable, I opted for the Western Digital 320GB ATA IDE drive for about $150. So far, so good -- after one week of heavy use. The Seagate drives had awful rating, even though only Seagate seems to "sleep" properly in on of my external enclosures. Maxtor was pretty good, but of course I didn't want another Maxtor. The WD 320 did relatively well with a good number of comments. None did terrific. I notice Apple used Matsushita in my iMac.
Google Notebook: firefox and IE only
Google Notebook is up. Firefox and IE only. I haven't figured out a use for it yet. It looks like much of what it would do I do with Blogger.
What I want is shared workspace, not a notebook that's mine alone. I've installed it, but I'll wait and see if I can figure out a use.
What I want is shared workspace, not a notebook that's mine alone. I've installed it, but I'll wait and see if I can figure out a use.
MacBook Pro: An Aperture decider?
The MacBook sounds great, but will it run Aperture?
With extended desktop support, if this device will run XP via Boot Camp or virtualization, then it moves way up on my buy list. In that case, paradoxically, Aperture moves way down.
Update: 5/16. The senior product manager for Aperture responded to my inquiry:
MacInTouch: timely news and tips about the Apple Macintosh:The Intel GMA 950 is not on the list of Aperture supported cards. It makes sense to have my laptop run my image management software, but I can't justify spending $2800 for a device that can be dropped or stolen (MacBook Pro). Interesting that Apple kept the Firewire support, esp. since iPods won't sync with Firewire any more.
Apple today announced its iBook replacement, the plain (non-'Pro') MacBook in both black and white case designs, starting at $1099.
The MacBook is built around a glossy, 13.3-inch, 1280x800 screen, driven by Intel GMA 950 graphics (64MB of shared video memory). A mini-DVI port drives external DVI monitors, VGA, S-video and composite video via optional adapters, offering extended desktop, mirroring or lid-closed modes.
Like its pricier 'Pro' siblings, the MacBook uses Core Duo processors with 2MB Level 2 cache and a 667MHz system bus. Standard memory is 512MB of DDR2 SDRAM (PC2-5300) on two SO-DIMMs (with support for 2GB of memory total).
The new MacBooks also build in a video camera, and other features include FireWire 400, dual USB 2.0 ports, combined optical/analog digital line in/out, 10/100/1000BASE-T (Gigabit) Ethernet, 54 Mbps AirPort Extreme Wi-Fi (802.11g), and Bluetooth 2.0 EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), plus an Apple Remote and a 60-Watt MagSafe power adapter...
With extended desktop support, if this device will run XP via Boot Camp or virtualization, then it moves way up on my buy list. In that case, paradoxically, Aperture moves way down.
Update: 5/16. The senior product manager for Aperture responded to my inquiry:
Aperture does run on the new MacBooks, but it is NOT officially supported, due to limitations with the graphics card. This means if you call AppleCare, you'll simply be told that you're running Aperture on an unsupported configuration. It's an "at-your-own-risk" experience.An interesting twilight zone! I hope this gets clarified soon. "No Hacks" but "Not supported" suggests to me that a future version of Aperture may bring official support. Clearly Apple recognizes that the MacBook vs. MacBook Pro price gap creates an opening for an Aperture competitor.
That being said, Aperture will install and run on a MacBook...at least you're not disallowed from using it. No hacks needed!
And of course, Aperture is fully supported on all MacBook PRO models.
Joe Schorr
Sr. Product Manager, Aperture
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Palm software: Handmark
Handmark feels like a relic of a bygone era -- they market PalmOS software. It's well done and easy to use. Worth keeping track of. I use my old CLIE as a kid's toy; they've gone some good games here.
Advanced and secret iPhoto 6 tools
Very weird. I wonder how these obscure capabilities were discovered. Pretty much an easter egg.
Macworld: Mac OS X Hints: Use advanced iPhoto 6 edit tools
iPhoto 6 has some nice built-in editing tools, including red-eye correction and retouch. But you can make these tools even more useful by activating a super-secret advanced editing mode. In advanced mode, you’ll be able to control the size and intensity of the retouch brush, as well as the size and ‘brightness’ of the red-eye correction tool.
Loose coupling and services oriented architecture
About 8 years ago I tried to sell the development organization I worked for on the term "loose coupling" as a way to build systems. I wasn't the only one back then, the term was floating around. The concept is as old as time, certainly older than software. I wasn't aware it was being used as long ago as 2003 to describe services oriented software design, until an Aufflick pos sent me to an older O'Reily article:
webservices.xml.com: What Is Service-Oriented ArchitectureThose of us from the medical ontology (SNOMED) and messaging (HL-7 RIM) know deeply what this means. Saying "schema limits the vocabulary and structure of messages" is a bit akin to the famous processing step of "... and then a miracle occurs". Said schema, if implemented, will end up setting in stone the fundamental data model buried within the service. That lesson still lies ahead ...
... Now we are able to define a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). SOA is an architectural style whose goal is to achieve loose coupling among interacting software agents. A service is a unit of work done by a service provider to achieve desired end results for a service consumer. Both provider and consumer are roles played by software agents on behalf of their owners...
... How does SOA achieve loose coupling among interacting software agents? It does so by employing two architectural constraints:
1. A small set of simple and ubiquitous interfaces to all participating software agents. Only generic semantics are encoded at the interfaces. The interfaces should be universally available for all providers and consumers.
2. Descriptive messages constrained by an extensible schema delivered through the interfaces. No, or only minimal, system behavior is prescribed by messages. A schema limits the vocabulary and structure of messages. An extensible schema allows new versions of services to be introduced without breaking existing services...
XP on Mac: how do you backup?
The Apple (OS X) Boot Camp FAQ advises backing up prior to installing Boot Camp. Ok, but what about afterwords? How do I backup both my OS X work and my PC work? I don't have an Intel Mac yet, so the question is somewhat academic for me, but it bothers me that this FAQ doesn't mention it. If the XP partition is visible to OS X, and if it's FAT-32 formatted, then I'd guess that Mac backup software might work ...
The problem may be even greater for virtualization solutions. If XP is a disk image to the Mac, then a single changed byte in the XP world might mean doing a 200GB (for example) backup ...
The problem may be even greater for virtualization solutions. If XP is a disk image to the Mac, then a single changed byte in the XP world might mean doing a 200GB (for example) backup ...
There's no Apple in AAC - correcting the world
I knew AAC was not proprietary to Apple and that FairPlay is Apple's DRM technology -- but I thought the first letter in AAC was short for Apple. Wrong.
This MacWorld article is an excellent corrective.
This MacWorld article is an excellent corrective.
Macworld: Editors' Notes: As the tech world spins...
... AAC (a.k.a., Advanced Audio Coding, MPEG-2 Part 7, or MPEG-4 Part 3) is an industry-standard audio compression/encoding technology developed in cooperation by AT&T, Dolby, Fraunhofer, Nokia, and Sony. Notice who isn’t in that list: Apple. Also notice who is in that list: Sony.
... Sony has actually supported AAC for some time. Sony Ericsson mobile phones have supported AAC playback for at least a year or two, and Sony’s PlayStation Portable has supported AAC since a software update in July 2005.
... iTunes Music Store tracks aren’t standard AAC files; they include Apple’s FairPlay DRM technology to restrict playback to iPods and a limited number of computers running iTunes, and Apple hasn’t licensed FairPlay...
Excel tip: Show formulas with a keystroke - Download Squad
Ctrl-` shows all the formulas. Thanks Download Squad.
Gmail replacing Mail.app and other thick clients
The link for this post isn't completely relevant too the post, but it's the 3rd blog this morning that mentions abandoning thick email clients for Gmail. I figured I might as well mention what I do.
I read my personal email on a bunch of machines, some running XP, some OS X. Like the bloggers I read this morning I switched some months ago to using Gmail as my primary mail client.
The usual practice is to use Gmail's POP support to pull older email to a thick client periodically. That way one retains ownership of data, but I believe this also deletes the messages from Gmail. I like having my searchable archive there, where the NSA can read it most readily.
I fork my email streams instead. All my mail eventually redirects to a domain I control, it sends one stream to Gmail and one to my ISPs POP server. This does mean I need to see spam twice, but that's how I periodically discover that Gmail is sending valid email to their spam folder. (In contrast my ISP's spam filters are now excellent, I really don't get all that much spam through that route.)
Bottom line -- Gmail is really good. Other than search, it's Google's hit product.
I read my personal email on a bunch of machines, some running XP, some OS X. Like the bloggers I read this morning I switched some months ago to using Gmail as my primary mail client.
The usual practice is to use Gmail's POP support to pull older email to a thick client periodically. That way one retains ownership of data, but I believe this also deletes the messages from Gmail. I like having my searchable archive there, where the NSA can read it most readily.
I fork my email streams instead. All my mail eventually redirects to a domain I control, it sends one stream to Gmail and one to my ISPs POP server. This does mean I need to see spam twice, but that's how I periodically discover that Gmail is sending valid email to their spam folder. (In contrast my ISP's spam filters are now excellent, I really don't get all that much spam through that route.)
Bottom line -- Gmail is really good. Other than search, it's Google's hit product.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Merging iPhoto Libraries
Apple's iPhoto does not support merging iPhoto Libraries. Apple's solution is that you should buy Aperture 1.11 and import the iPhoto Libraries into Aperture. Fair enough, and I might do that -- after 6 versions of iPhoto Library management is obviously not a priority for Apple.
Over the years I've tried and documented several hacks. None are adequate. I tried a merge with iPhoto Library Manager a while back and got some bad results, but I'm giving it another go with the latet release. IPLM has to install an evil InputManager/iPhoto Plug-In to make this work, so it's a non-trivial task. (InputManagers are the TSR*s of OS X.)
I'm only in test mode. I've copied Libraries of a few thousand images to an external drive and I'm merging them and testing. It will be a while before I merge for real -- I might buy Aperture first. So far, when merging iPhoto 6.02 Libraries, it's working better than before. A few notes:
* Wow, I'm old. Wikipedia doesn't even define what a TSR is. "Terminate and Stay Resident" assembler programs were MS/PC-DOS hacks that allowed things like the original Sidekick (not a piece of hardware) to work. They were notorious for causing crashes.
Over the years I've tried and documented several hacks. None are adequate. I tried a merge with iPhoto Library Manager a while back and got some bad results, but I'm giving it another go with the latet release. IPLM has to install an evil InputManager/iPhoto Plug-In to make this work, so it's a non-trivial task. (InputManagers are the TSR*s of OS X.)
I'm only in test mode. I've copied Libraries of a few thousand images to an external drive and I'm merging them and testing. It will be a while before I merge for real -- I might buy Aperture first. So far, when merging iPhoto 6.02 Libraries, it's working better than before. A few notes:
1. It doesn't import Books, Calendars, Slideshows, etc. Those are lost. Same problem with Aperture. You can print Books and Calendars to PDF as an archival approach.More testing to come, I'll update this post.
2. It changes smart albums to regular albums on import. Not a bad idea.
3. It does handle keywords, it will merge those that match. Keywords are royally messed up using older techniques.
4. You can either merge Albums of the same name or create new ones. I create new ones.
5. If there's an Original and Edited non-RAW image it imports both. (Not sure about RAW though, that's handled differently.)
6. Folders aren't copied, you just get the albums.
7. Rolls are preserved and roll names and comments are imported on merge.
8. Albums are preserved as are titles and comments on images.
9. My iMac is really working to get this done, fans going full blast. Good workout! I let it run overnight.
10. I've set the option to quit and restart iPhoto every 20 rolls. I don't trust that thing.
* Wow, I'm old. Wikipedia doesn't even define what a TSR is. "Terminate and Stay Resident" assembler programs were MS/PC-DOS hacks that allowed things like the original Sidekick (not a piece of hardware) to work. They were notorious for causing crashes.
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