Macintosh

Great text utility

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Thanks to this tip at MacOSXHints, I discovered a great utility in OS X 10.4 that I didn’t know existed: textutil. It can easily convert files to plain text, html, rtf, doc, and other formats. To convert a .doc file to html, you can just do: textutil -convert html file.doc.

Say Bonjour to the LinkStation

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The one thing missing from my LinkStation was the ability to access it by name, so I needed to add Bonjour support. I couldn’t find anything already available, so I built Howl, an open source implementation of mDNSResponder.

For anyone interested, I uploaded the MIPS version here. Since I have a MIPS-based LinkStation, that’s the only one I built. Of course you need to install OpenLink firmware before you can use it.

Improving the LinkStation

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While looking for the documentation for MT-DAAPD, which I just installed on my Linux server for iTunes sharing, I discovered that it can also be installed on a LinkStation from this LinkStation Wiki and I also discovered that alternate firmware is available for the Linkstation.

I didn’t install MT-DAAPD on my LinkStation, but I did install the OpenLink firmware, which among other things adds telnet & ssh access and allows additional software to be installed. With the new software I added SMART disk monitoring and an NFS server.

The NFS server works beautifully and is a big improvement over SMB & AFP.

Yesterday's Announcements

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I’m really disappointed with Yesterday’s announcements from Apple. The iPod Hi-Fi is probably Apple’s lamest product. There are already third party products like it which are a lot less expensive. Apple didn’t add any innovative features that none of the other products have. There aren’t any special Apple touches to make it better than other products.

On the other hand, the Intel Mac Mini is very nice, although overpriced. Everyone thought Intel macs would be less expensive, but the Intel mini costs more than the old one.

John Dvorak is a total assclown

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I guess he needed more readers, so he fell back on his favorite trick: posting an outrageous lie about Apple. I won’t even dignify it with a link, but so far MacNN, MacSlash, and SlashDot have picked it up. Once a rumor like that picks up steam, it can do real damage to Apple as some people wavering towards switching to Macs may have second thoughts.

Butler

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I came across Butler when I was searching VersionTracker for something I could use to manage my bookmarks and synchronize them between my PowerBook and my iMac.

I was aware of it, but I never tried it before since I was satisfied with QuickSilver. Although it can’t synchronize my bookmarks, it turned out to be a great utility and in some ways nicer than QuickSilver. I like being able to access my bookmarks from all of my browsers anywhere, since I often switch between Camino, Firefox, and Safari. It also seems faster & less bloated than QuickSilver.

For a long time I used URL Manager Pro to manage my bookmarks, but I didn’t like having another full-blown application running all the time. I haven’t been keeping up with the latest versions, but I might give it another try.

New Multi-function device

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I needed a new fax machine, since I had the worst plain-paper fax ever. The cover latch broke, so it would never close properly and always displayed ‘check film’ even when I replaced the roll. I decided to replace it with a multi-function device, since I also used it as a copier even though it wasn’t very good. My Epson C82’s print quality was starting to deteriorate, so having a nice printer would also be a plus.

I was considering a Brother MFC-210C but ended up buying a Brother MFC-420CN, since it has a sheet feeder and network interface. It even has a built-in card reader that can print directly from SD or CF cards. It was very easy to set up – it just worked as soon as I connected it. I didn’t have to do any network setup, since it automatically configured itself from my router’s DHCP server. Since it supports RendezvousBonjour, it showed up right away in the printer list. The CUPS driver for it was already installed.

Surprisingly, Brother’s software doesn’t suck™. The only downside is the TWAIN drivers only work with a USB connection. Fortunately their Control Center software will scan over the network. The standard CUPS drivers can fax or print over the network. The print quality is excellent.