Sort your crashlogs with Hazel

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I’ve been on a bit of a Hazel kick lately. I wrote a short shell script that will sort my Crash Logs.

#!/bin/sh 

### Get the name of the app 
APP=`/bin/echo $1 | /usr/bin/sed 's#_.*##g'` 

### make a directory 
/bin/mkdir -p "$APP" 

### move the log into the directory 
/bin/mv -n "$1" "$APP" 

### done! 
exit 0

Add this rule to the folder ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports. The rules above tell Hazel to only run on crash logs older than today, in case you need to do anything with it such as send it to the developer.

UPDATE: Note that the developer of Hazel left a comment below showing how to do this without a script.

TUAWSort your crashlogs with Hazel originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 24 May 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sync Wars: Address Book vs. Google Contacts

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Steven Frank from Panic has outlined several important differences between the way that Address Book (on Snow Leopard) and Google Contacts manage data. This is on his personal website. He’s quick to point out that it is not meant to be a comprehensive list, but it reflects several things that I also noticed.

A few months ago, I had the notion to replace my MobileMe subscription with syncing to Google services, using BusyCal (whose icon is shown here) for calendars and either BusySync or Address Book’s own built-in support for syncing contacts to Google. The experiment was short-lived.

I’m not saying that it isn’t possible to do, but there are some limitations and incompatibilities. As one example, when you create an event on the iPhone calendar, you can create two alarms. I use this all of the time. The first alarm is a “Hey, don’t forget this is coming up” reminder, and the second alarm tells me “Hey! You need to deal with this now.” When syncing to a Google Calendar, you can only create one alarm. Is that a major difference? No, but it’s not insignificant.

Read on…

TUAWSync Wars: Address Book vs. Google Contacts originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 22 May 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Starting from zero on the iPhone home screen

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This is what my iPhone looks like right now. No, it’s not because iTunes went crazy and deleted all my apps. I’m trying to figure out which apps I actually use.

I’ve downloaded over 150 apps from the App Store. Of those 150, I have roughly 100 of them still in iTunes. I’ve tried grouping them using springboard pages, but I find it frustrating because I don’t usually have 12 related apps. (I’m really looking forward to Folders in iPhone OS 4.)

Here’s how I have been organizing my pages:

Page 1 and 2: anything app I use a lot or that may pop up a “badge” that I want to see.

Everything else: launch using search.

Here’s the thing: I’ve gotten used to putting some apps on page 1 or 2 because I think I’m going to use them. The Phone app? I finally moved it off my Dock, but I left it on Page 1, even though I bet it’s one of the apps that I actually use far less frequently than others.

Read on for more…

Update: A hat tip to Patrick Rhone’s MinimalMac, where a version of this experiment appeared in January.

TUAWStarting from zero on the iPhone home screen originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 21 May 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Look: Twitter for iPhone

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It took a little longer than expected, but Twitter for iPhone (née Tweetie) is now available. Mostly it looks exactly the same as Tweetie 2, with the exception of a new icon (shown here).

I was surprised to see that Twitter for iPhone doesn’t use OAuth, meaning that we’ll be seeing another version before the end of June. (Note: they may be using xAuth instead, which would not necessitate an update.) The “Services” menu still shows support for Favrd, which has been gone for months, but it also includes several other useful services like Tweet Blocker, Follow Cost, Favstar.fm, Overlapr, and Tweeteorites.

A few noticeable changes in your timeline include inline retweets and location information (where available). If you are not logged in you can see trending topics (although why you would want to see trending topics is another question entirely) and search. There is also support for “Top Tweets” and “Suggested Users,” two more features of little practical value.

Read on for more features and tips.

TUAWFirst Look: Twitter for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 19 May 2010 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Twitter for iPhone should be going live tonight

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Tweetie for iPhone was acquired by Twitter, and has been updated and released as Twitter for iPhone. The good news is that it is now free (Tweetie was US$2.99). It should be hitting the US App Store later tonight, although some folks are already seeing it.

Tweetie 2 was recently removed from the App Store to make way for Twitter for iPhone. You can continue to use Tweetie 2 (or Tweetie 1) but only until the end of June, due to changes in the way Twitter is handling logins. All Twitter applications are going to have to be updated before then, or else they will no longer be able to log in. Those of you who have been holding onto Birdfeed, this means you too.

You will have to “authorize” Twitter for iPhone. This authorization means that if you change your password, you can still use Twitter for iPhone. Authorizations can be managed in your Twitter account settings under “Connections.”

The acquisition of Tweetie caused quite a stir in the Twitter development community. A free, officially-branded application on the iPhone (and BlackBerry) is obviously a cause for concern for third-party developers. That said, Tweetie 2 has long been “the Twitter app to beat” on the iPhone.

We’ll have a more in-depth look at Twitter for iPhone later, but for now, download it and let us know what you think.

Update 9:40 am ET: It’s still not live in the US store, although apparently is is live in New Zealand.

Update: 12:45 pm ET: It is now available in the US store.

Update: 2:00 pm ET: see First look: Twitter for iPhone for our hands-on look.

TUAWTwitter for iPhone should be going live tonight originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 18 May 2010 23:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Post pictures to Tumblr Quickr

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Quickr is a $0.99US iPhone app to take pictures and quickly post them to your Tumblr account. Here’s the simplest explanation I can give for how Quickr lives up to its name:

Steps necessary to take a picture and post it through the Tumblr app:

  1. launch Tumblr app
  2. tap post (assuming you have the dashboard shown by default)
  3. tap photo
  4. tap “take new photo”
  5. take picture

Steps necessary to email a picture to Tumblr from the iPhone camera app:

  1. launch camera
  2. take picture
  3. tap button to see photo library
  4. tap arrow at bottom left
  5. tap “email photo” (wait for Mail to launch)
  6. tap ‘to’
  7. fill in email address for your Tumblr

Steps to post a picture using Quickr

  1. launch Quickr
  2. take picture

Quickr will let you decide if you want to store the picture in your iPhone’s library or not (you can set a default yes/no and then change very easily it for individual pictures from inside the app). As of v.1.0 posting to “sub-Tumblrs” is not supported, but I spoke with the developer and he is planning to include support for that in the future. He also mentioned that a bug exists in 1.0 which prevents the app from running on an iPad. A fix has already been submitted to the App Store. (Even though the iPad doesn’t have a camera, Quickr will eventually allow you to upload pictures from your photo library on the iPad.)

The bulk of the pictures that my wife and I take with our iPhones are intended to be posted to Tumblr, so Quickr is going to get a lot of use in our house.

TUAWPost pictures to Tumblr Quickr originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 17 May 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iNet Pro is a handy network utility for your iPhone

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iNet is incredibly handy. I needed a list of the MAC addresses of all of the devices on my network. It’s a fairly tedious process that requires a lot of copy and pasting and a lot of poking around in network settings. Then, I remembered I had iNet Pro on my iPhone. I fired it up, ran a scan, and then emailed myself a nicely-formatted report that listed all of the devices.

Later, my satellite Internet went down. Every couple of minutes, I launched iNet and had it run “ping” against www.google.com to see if the connection was back up. I’ve used it to see if my wife’s iPhone was on the network (a good way to see if she is awake) and to remember the static IP address of a network printer at my office.

iNet Pro can run port scans (offering a custom set of ports to check or letting you run your own) and show you a list of Bonjour services that are available for each computer. If you have any computers set to use Wake On Lan, iNet can send the necessary signal. I haven’t used that feature but Apple improved upon it in Snow Leopard and explains how to determine if your Mac supports Wake On Demand.

There are several versions of iNet available. The basic iNet Network Scanner is $0.99 (all prices USD) and iNet Pro is $4.99. The website includes a handy guide to the iNet and iNet Pro Feature List (PDF), which explains the differences. You can upgrade from iNet to iNet Pro as a $3.99 in-app purchase, so if you aren’t sure that you need everything the Pro version does, you can start small without worrying that you’re going to cost yourself more by not buying the Pro version right away.

The developer also offers iNet Wake On Lan (WOL) and iNet Portscan, each for $1.99. It’s important to note, though, that iNet Pro contains both WOL and Portscan capabilities. If you really only need those particular features, you can save a couple of dollars by purchasing only what you need. However, the Pro version is still only $5.

TUAWiNet Pro is a handy network utility for your iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 14 May 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Create keyboard shortcuts to jump to Safari 4 tabs directly

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My friend Steve (no, not that Steve) just solved a problem I’ve had for awhile now: how to jump to a specific tab in Safari using the keyboard. Turns out that it’s possible, and it’s free, and it works pretty well. What else could you ask for?

The solution comes from Paul Kretek’s website where he outlines how to use FastScripts to assign keyboard shortcuts to specific tabs. Paul and Steve both want to use Safari, but they like Firefox’s method of numbering tabs 1-9 used together with the command (⌘) key . By default, Safari uses ⌘+[1-9] to jump to bookmarks on your bookmark bar, which I use all of the time so I’m planning to make keyboard shortcuts for tabs control+1-9 instead. (⌘+0 [zero] is used to set the zoom back to original size.)

Who knows, I might change my mind. I had found myself trying to use ⌘+[1-9] for tab switching in Safari because I was already used to tab switching that way in iTerm. The only bookmark keyboard short I use with any frequency is ⌘+1 which I use to invoke Quix which I’ve written about previously and absolutely cannot work without.

Paul’s instructions are very thorough, and although they may look a little complicated, it’s something you only need to setup once. Also note that FastScripts is free for up to 10 shortcuts, after that it’s US$14.95 for unlimited use.

TUAWCreate keyboard shortcuts to jump to Safari 4 tabs directly originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 13 May 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What Is An iPad Spy App & Why Do People Use Them?

iPhone spy apps have  been available for almost 4 years now.  You can buy iPhone spy apps that will enable you to secretly track an iPhone, or go a step further and even enable you to listen to calls.  However, not many people are aware that you can now buy  the same type of “spy” software for an iPad.

Ipad spy software is real.  They are available online, and can give someone easy access to your iPad . What are iPad spy apps? What can they do? Why would someone want to buy  one? Continue reading to find out.

An iPad spy app is a small application that you install directly on an iPad using the iPad’s Safari web browswer  .  Once installed, it will secretly start to record various “events” that occur on an iPad.  These events are then secretly sent  to a remote account where you can access them via any internet connected device that has a web browser.

Here is a breakdown of what an iPad spy software  can do.

  • Secretly read emails  – This iPad spy app feature will enable you to read emails that are sent or received on an iPad.  This  iPad spy feature works  even if the emails are deleted as soon as they are read.
  • Secretly View Browser History  – With this iPad spy app feature, you’ll get to see all website addresses visited using the iPad’s browser .  This will work  even if the history is immediately deleted.
  • View Contacts  – This feature enables you to easily view  every contact on the iPad.

There are numerous reasons why someone would want to use an iPad spy app.  Here are the most common.

  • Catch Cheating Spouse :  If you are concerned that your spouse might be having an affair, an iPad spy app could help you catch your cheating spouse. With an iPad spy app, you’ll get  to secretly read emails sent on their iPad & find out what kind of websites they are visiting.  iPad spy apps are the pefect tool to catch a cheating spouse.
  • Monitor Your Children : Using iPad spy software , you will be able to see the various types of websites your children are frequently visiting  . This will ensure they are not visiting any pornographic or other prohibited sites.
  • Monitor Employee Issued iPads  : Installing an iPad spy app on company issued iPads, is a great way to maintain  quality control while your employees are communicating with customers. It’s become quite common for employers to install PC monitoring software on  company issued PCs. With iPad spy software , employers can now easily monitor  employee issued iPads, just as they would monitor their PCs.

Currently only ONE company sells iPad spy software.  The company is called MobiSteath (www.mobistealth.com).  Mobile Stealth’s iPad spy app retails for $145.97 and is available for immediate purchase and download .

Now that you know what an iPad spy software is, and what it can do, you can decide for yourself if this is something you want to get your hands on as well, or something you would rather stay  away from.

 

OneWay for fast S/FTP uploads

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OneWay is a free utility that does one thing: uploads to SFTP/FTP servers directly through a context menu in the Finder. This is very handy for those times when you just want to get a file to a server with the minimal amount of fuss possible.

This isn’t for doing a full sync or anything complicated — for that you want something more like Interarchy or Transmit. It’s not even for downloading; hence the name “OneWay.” Instead, it’s for fast and painless uploads.

There’s only one feature that I would really like to see added: the ability to copy a public URL for a file after uploading it to a web server. I suggested this to the author, who agreed and said to look for that feature in a future update.

OneWay requires 10.5 or above. Source code is available on GitHub, and you can find the download link at the Source URL below.
[via OneThingWell]

TUAWOneWay for fast S/FTP uploads originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 12 May 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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