PSA: PhotoBulk is 30% off!

in ,

Right now PhotoBulk but Eltima Software is on sale for $6.99 down from $9.99 on the Mac App Store and it's probably some of the best money that I've spent on any app on my Mac. If you like editing and adding watermarks to your photos, check this awesomeness out! Other features include: Resizing, bulk renaming, optimzing and renaming, it also supports JPGs, GIFs, PNGs, BMPs and TIFF. Of course this wonderful app is available on Windows too. There's also a free version available at the Eltima website. Cheers!

iOS 9 and Apple Maps →

in ,

I mapped my way to several familiar destinations to gauge whether the trains and routes Maps suggested were the quickest and most efficient ways to end up at my destination, and they were. Bonus time-saving feature: Apple Maps shows you where subway entrances are in flyover mode, which is incredibly useful. Grand Central Terminal has several entrances, but if you don’t know where the closest one is, you could end up walking several blocks out of the way. Now entrances are helpfully marked “Entrances” (so simple, so necessary) in Maps.

photo courtesy of Macworld

photo courtesy of Macworld

If there's one thing I'm excited about iOS 9 this year, it's the HUGE improvment to Apple Maps. Now how about you start unbundling all these app updates from their respective OS updates so we can see a steady upgrade / bug fix over the months instead of waiting a year? Or better yet, installing a operating system update just for app bug fixes. Thanks!

I'm Actually Excited About Windows 10 →

in ,

Happy and engaged" is one of those talking points you hear a lot from Microsoft. Myerson used it nine times in our hour together. But behind the PR-approved phrasing is a simple truth: it’s been a long time since Windows users have been either, and Microsoft needs to fix that. It’s as good a North Star as any, especially when your product development cycle is founded on taking user feedback seriously. If Microsoft can make people love Windows again, then the rest — developers and apps — is easy.

Head on over to The Verge's awesome piece on the story behind Microsoft's Windows 10 and tell me it doesn't get you a little excited.

It's been over a decade since I've used a Windows PC in an everyday setting, but I'm admitting here and now, I'll be looking up some Lenovo notebook options loaded with Windows 10 this fall. Maybe even an Alienware or Razer laptop as long as SkyLake gets into the mix already. Or even Intel's latest storage technology. That would be awesome! Now, about those bug fixes.

Launching the #OnReserve Team via Slack →

in , , , , , , ,

Slack syncs seamlessly across devices, features a powerful internal search engine, and is highly compatible with dozens of other programs that keep businesses running. But Slack’s truly innovative offering goes unlisted: It is a cool office culture, available for instant download.

I spent the last few days setting up onreserve.info and onreserve.slack.com. With the help of an awesome guy named henry from another slack team, I was able to find out that you can register domain names for free, have it hosted via a github page, and use an entire library of awesome images via unsplash.com.

I've been blazing away at lightening speeds setting it up and getting it going. Now, with many various channels ready to go up and running, I want to invite all various Pilots and Flight Attendants to come and join up in an online Live Chat / Bulletin Board / Forum. The end goal really is to become a productive and cool culture where everyone can talk, meet up maybe and or even plan things. No negativity just plane talk... and whatever else.

If you have any more ideas to add, email me or like I already mentioned, join in by navigating to onreserve.info and following the sign-up process. I'll also have a write up shortly on how I did the nitty gritty with more details. Thanks again!

Changing Your Teacher's Computer Wallpaper is Now Hacking

in , , ,

Sheriff Chris Nocco said Thursday that Green logged onto the school's network on March 31 using an administrative-level password without permission. He then changed the background image on a teacher's computer to one showing two men kissing.

I probably would have put something else more light hearted. But being arrested? A little overboard. What do you think? And shockingly enough, the administrative password that were used at the school were teacher's last names?! That's just being smart in my book on the kid and very unsecure on their part.

via Tampa Bay Times

Losing Bookmark Icons and Getting Them Back on iOS

in , ,

For those using iOS devices and find that their icons / bookmarks disappear or end up looking like targets on your home screen, the solution below works.

A more simple method is to swich to bold text and then back to normal text in - general - accessibility section of settings. Your phone will do a partial restart but only takes a few seconds. This causes the system to do a screen refresh similar to the language change method but a lot quicker.

by ctethompson via Apple Discussions

Another technique is to change out your language setting. I went from English to English (UK) and I got them back! Some other have used Japanese or Deutsch but getting back to English (US) could be difficult if you don't remember where the setting was or read that language. Good luck and happy swiping.

Internet Explorer for / on Mac: Test Bed Edition

in , ,

Sometimes you have companies that use and rely on dinosaur software archetypes. When you end up working for one, using a MacBook Air, iPhone or iPad just makes life that much more difficult. In this example, Microsoft's ASP and Sabre Corp's reliance on IE.

Good thing there's Google. Looking up testing platforms and easy to use one click solutions that enable you to run Internet Explorer resulted in OS X Daily's post. From the looks of it, it's been properly maintained a dis current. Along with the amazing people contributing on GitHub, we have the answer you've been waiting for.

I chose NOT to install every iteration of IE but instead went with IE 9. One of my classmates with a PC was still running into a compatibility problem with IE 11 but I guess that's not surprising. The over reliance on "Compatibility Mode" is out of proportion these days. What's the point? It just doesn't work.

If your interested in the full details, head over to OS X Daily or just follow these shortcut instructions.

  1. Download & Install VirtualBox. http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
  2. Launch the Terminal (located in /Applications/Utilities/)

  3. Since I decided that IE 9 works well, copy and past this into the Terminal Window and the download will begin.:

    curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/xdissent/ievms/master/ievms.sh | IEVMS_VERSIONS="9" bash


  4. Launch VirtualBox and boot the Windows & Internet Explorer partition.

There are lot of little details that are left out e.g. Admin Password = "Password1" [without the quotes] and the fact that the installation takes 11GB for a single instance / version of Internet Explorer. Have fun but I guess I wouldn't associate this process with "fun."

I wanted to call this article "ASP is the new Flash", but being that ASP will continue to be used in the foreseeable future, we'll have to endure. 1

  • The use of ASP pages with Internet Information Services (IIS) is currently supported on all supported versions of IIS. The use of ASP pages will be supported on Windows 8 for a minimum of 10 years from the Windows 8 release date.↩

    • Love Instagram? Frame it with Layout

    in , , ,

    Finally a true app from Instagram themselves to out do any other grid / layout app on the iOS App Store. And don't worry Android, you'll get yours too sometime soon.

    When you open Layout, we automatically show you previews of custom layouts as you choose photos from your camera roll. To make it easier to find the photos you want, we’ve also added a Faces option that shows you all the photos in your camera roll that feature people.

    New grid / layout features.  Layout

    New grid / layout features.  Layout

    Are you getting an Apple Watch?

    in , ,

    After Apple's ridiculous earnings call today, ahem $74.6 billion, Tim Cook released a small tidbit about their latest project: Apple Watch. He advised that it's on time for an April debut so get your wallets ready.

    [Tim] Cook, however, did make it clear that he loves the thing. “I can’t live without it,” he said. via Yahoo

    I don't know why that gets me excited but it does! Are you going to get one? And if you cared to know, I'm really drawn to the Milanese Loop. It's just so freaking beautiful! (that's the 3rd one pictured below)

    The "Without" [You] App

    in , , , , ,

    Being without my family or my wife stinks. Plain and simple. I love the job, but it's really bad when you have a crew of slam clickers (those who go to the hotel and don't do dinner or sightsee) and you find yourself at the hotel playing Clash of Clans for hours.

    Here comes a beautiful app appropriately named "Without" by Mr. Jeremy that brought the amount of buttons pushed from 17 down to two! Awesome idea, amazing app. Check it out and share it with your loved one.

    A Beautiful and Thorough Review of Yosemite

    in ,

    Just like clock work, every year Apple releases major updates to their operating system.  And accompanied by every release is John Siracusa's comprehensive review posted on Ars Technica. You can always read it for free on the website or do it like me and buy the complete ebook.

    yosemite_siracusa

    I've come to love his thoroughness and learn quite a bit when reading it on my Kindle or iPad.  Available now for only $4.99, sit back and enjoy the tour of Apple's latest Mac OS X 10.10 Yosemite. Make sure to grab a Field Notebook and your favorite pen to jot some notes.

    While you're at it, be sure to also check out Austin Mann's review of what Yosemite and iOS 8.1 offers photographers in his "Need To Know".

     

    Fragmentation and Instagram's Hyperlapse

    in , , ,

    There's a reason for the sanity developers posses in releasing an app on iOS first. Take Instagram's latest.

    Hyperlapse from Instagram features built-in stabilization technology that lets you create moving, handheld time lapses that result in a cinematic look, quality and feel—a feat that has previously only been possible with expensive equipment.

    If a developer were to design an app for iOS, they have a choice of supporting only a few select devices. In this case, Hyperlapse was created to be compatible with a 2-year old device (iPhone 5) and up running iOS 7. Simple as that. You can bet that with the adoption rate that 90%, that users with at least an iPhone 5 will be downloading or have the ability to try out this fantastic app. Wired has even compared the app to a "$15,000 video setup in your hand."

    From a developer standpoint, that's a huge audience! Think about it!

    Now comes in Android. There isn't an app yet and here's why... in bold: FRAGMENTATION.

    android fragmentation

    The article from Open Signal clearly highlights the flaws and the obstacles that developers have when creating apps for Android. From different flavors of Android, to various hardware and sensor kits, screen sizes and adoption rates / operating system update delays from manufacturers, it's not the ideal launch vehicle. Hell, it even took Instagram a two years before they released their Android app and only after more than 30 million people join via iOS.

    If you've been following me, I've been an Android 4.4 user since my Samsung Galaxy S5 trial and am still not satisfied with the experience. I've even lost precious moments due to the camera locking up or phone not responding. It's just a mess especially with all of Samsung's included bloatware on top of AT&T's mesh of products. I can't wait until November 15 for when I can go back to iOS. Of course, when September 9, comes around, you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm pre-ordering the iPhone 6 on T-Mobile.

    For now, enjoy the sample video of Instagram's Hyperlapse or better yet, go out there and make your own! You can also follow me on Instagram: elijahnicolas