Novis Design Blog RSS

iPhone Litter

Well I had an iPhone for about 5 days after the release. I waited in like for 3 hours, put down the $500, and activated my iPhone right away. The iPhone is simply amazing, even with some of its shortcomings (I'll probably address this later). So why did I return it? It was the $60+ AT&T cell service for two years, I just can't afford it right now. Took back the phone and cancelled the service, I didn't even have to pay the returning fee most said I would. I think I'll wait for version two.

The real reason I'm posting is to link to ApplePhoneShow.com to enter their contest for an iPhone. Wish me luck.

Pownce

Pownce [sic] is a cool new "Web 2.0" way to stay up to date with friends or anybody over the internet. Pownce is a little like Twitter in that you can shoot some text updates out, but different in that you can send out special files and links. Friend me up, I'll be on it frequently. Name, gshapaz.

New Fresno Apple Store

About time.

I finally get an Apple Store near my home in the Central Valley of California. Meet me there for the grand opening!

The Proletarait

I recently started a web site for my small band. We played a show in front of my house (video on site) on Saturday, and it was a blast. Check out the site.

The Proletariat

The Day the Digging Died

Digg, today, erupted into total anarchy after posts containing the key to break the HD-DVD code.

RIP Digg, We hardly knew you.

Coda - Super Sick

Just bought our copy of Panic's new web development app Coda. It features a great interface and powerful features. I will do a more in depth review of the app later.

[interview]: Brian Amerige - Flow

We had a chance to talk to Brian Amerige, the developer of Flow. In case you haven't herd of it yet, Flow is a great looking FTP app still under development. Here's the interview:
1) How did you think of doing an FTP app?
It wasn't really a matter of "thinking" of an app to write. The best ideas come from real problems that need real solutions, so when they show up, it feels very obvious what the proper course of action is. To quote a previous interview with myself: "I decided to make Flow because one day I was developing a website and when I took a step back, I said to myself �this isn�t right.� OS X and the Mac platform are known for creating rich and beautiful user experiences, and using an existing FTP client with an external editor just wasn�t one. Prompted with this, the thought of how I could transform the problem into a solution began to embellish itself. Eventually, I had a whiteboard full of ideas that, when put together, made a truly beautiful app. I couldn�t wait it for it to be finished �and I think that�s really important when you�re writing software. I was (and still am) really really interested in what I�m doing, so there�s definitely a personal aspect to Flow. I think making a product because I enjoy and want it myself yields a better result than dragging myself to write something I really don�t care about � and that�s pretty much the root of my software philosophies. When you care so deeply about a product yourself, it wounds you to see it done poorly."
2) Do you think Flow can dethrone Transmit as the king of FTP on the Mac?
Whether it can or not really isn't up to me, but the reaction of you! My primary goal is certainly not to 'dethrone' Transmit (again, I do love the guys at Panic. I'm a regular reader of Cabel's blog --- it's one of my favorites), but much rather to make the best FTP client possible for the Mac platform. If that 'dethrones' Transmit, so be it --- but that isn't my only intention.
3) How did you get started into Mac programming?
Flow is technically created under the trade-name of "Extendmac." Extendmac (or EM for short) used be a Mac-oriented web-host, delivering a plethora of great services at extremely competitive prices. Often as a web-host, you get asked a ton of questions like "what application should I use for xyxy?" After a few weeks of this (yes, literally just a few weeks), I had decided that most of these questions could be answered with desktop-software, and it was worth a shot for us to try. While I did develop other software (mostly just for myself), I didn't know Cocoa at the time (or any mac-specific language), so I allocated some resources for a Mac developer to start working on this product (which was originally named "Edge"). Fast-forward 6 months, and after a bit of a (and by bit I mean a gigantically monstrously horrifically large) fight, I was left with an unfinished app and no developers. So, I bought Aaron Hillegass' book, Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X (which to this day I recommend for anyone interested in getting started with Cocoa), and in two weeks I was off and running. (I didn't even finish the book, actually, I got about half-way through and then took up on my own. I guess you could say I'm a fast learner.) Eventually, it all started to snowball. I was singlehandedly developing this software, managing the entire infrastructure for our hosting systems and customers (and web-systems, and customer support...), as well as going to school. Something was going to give, and hosting was it. I knew I loved Cocoa and had a true passion for OS X the first day I used it, so that was a quick decision, but nevertheless tough. Long story short, I've always had incredibly high standards, and when I knew enough about OS X development, I saw that Edge was not up to my these standards. I (literally) tossed the project in the trash, and coincidentally, a week or so later I put the pieces together in my mind about the state of FTP on the Mac. Time hasn't really been on my side for most of my life, but I have to say it worked out pretty damn nicely in this case.
4) How do you think coding Cocoa compares to coding in other languages?
Cocoa is great because in many ways it reflects Apple's attitude toward technology. With OS X, it's all about getting technology out of the way to allow you to do what you want (or need) to do. With Cocoa, it's all about making redundant things insanely simple so developers can focus on true innovation. Flow would take years to develop if, like other languages, I had to spend a day getting buttons to draw correctly.
5) The progress bars in Flow are really neat and innovative. How did you think of the idea?
The images which compose Flow's progress bars are from an open source project called Transmission. When I first saw them, I loved them just as much as everyone seems to love them in Flow. With that in mind, I read over Transmissions license scheme (since it's open source), and found the images could be used royalty free. So it was really a no-brainer to integrate them with Flow. In a way this reminds me of Apple's choice to base OS X on UNIX. A big part of being successful is being humble enough to recognize when someone else does something great. In Apple's case, UNIX was rock solid and would form a terrific base for OS X. In my case, these progress bars were beautiful and I was free to use them, so I'd be foolish not to.
6) When is the public beta going to be ready for us to try and how is it going?
wish I had an answer for the first part of that question, but I don't have definitive answer. As I've stated in the past, the best answer I can give is "when it's done." I'm finished with a good majority of the application, but I do have some work left to do. If you'd like to keep updated with the latest information in this respect, add your e-mail address to Flow's Get Notified list at flowapp.com
7) How much will the final version cost?
Flow is targeted to be around $25 USD, although the price is not solidified yet.
8) In general, how do you think Flow stacks up to the other FTP apps for the Mac?
Well, this is an odd question to ask. Obviously I think Flow is significantly better than the competition (in terms of UI, UE, and targeted functionality) --- if I didn't, I wouldn't continue developing it!
9) Any secret features you haven't told anyone about in Flow :)?
Yep. There are. ;-)
Thanks a lot to Brian for the interview. To get more info on Flow, hit up his site at flowapp.com.

Blog Update

Just an update on some things we've improved here since the launch:
- Added RSS Feed
- Ability to view single posts by post title
- New slick scrollbar
- Pages with old posts will be accessed by adding /?(#) to the end of the URL
- Added unifying border to images

Hope you like the new features!

Si, Se Puede!

To celebrate Cesar Chavez, one of my heros.

TextMate. - Post. 1

TextMate. Many people swear by it. They advertise it as the "missing editor for Mac OS X". It even was the prize for hitting $200,000 raised for charity at MacHeist (and subsequently how I acquired it). Over the course of several posts I will state my reasons on why TextMate is not my favorite.

Reason 1 - Multiple Files
The way TextMate handles multiple files absolutely sucks. It is no were near to the convenience of the way TextWrangler (my favorite editor) handles them. In TextWrangler, the side panel is always available, and turned on by default. You can drag files onto the panel to easily get to them, you can also drag files off the panel and into say, Safari, to open it. Open multiple files at the same time from the Finder, and they are automatically arranged in the side panel.
In TextMate you have to open multiple files from the Finder to even get the panel to come up, only then can you use TextWrangler-like functions. The second way you can use the files panel is in "projects". Projects are groups of files, like say an HTML, CSS, and JavaScript file for this site. Sounds good on paper. But in projects, you have to store a file for the arrangement of files. Stupid. Doesn't work for me. If you don't like these two methods, there is no good/convenient way to handle multiple files!
Update: Took out some harsh terms

Chi Pet 1.1

Need I say more?