posts

Cari Nierenberg at Live Science, writing about my wife Merri:

“When faced with life and death of a little person you’ve just met, things pale in comparison,” Hackett explained. She’s also learned a lot about having hope, a word that has taken on new meaning for her.

“Hope means much more than just my child or just my family, " Hackett said. Hope means that as a result of all Josiah has been through, medical advances in cancer treatment might continue to help him and other kids facing the same diagnosis, she said.

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Got an Apple IIGS that’s got some bugs? Well, the Apple PugetSound Program library Exchange has some good news for you. Here’s Bill Martens:

After 22 years, 2 months, 2 days and 2 hours since System 6.0.1 was released, this is a summary of the visible changes. There have been many bugs fixed and many features added that are not immediately visible–they will enable developers to create better future products. Be sure to also read the Shortcuts file on the SystemTools3 disk for more information.

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Sachsen is the native OS X client for App Store reviews. Think of it as Mail.app for your app’s reviews. Organize, analyze, translate and share them.

For anyone who’s got an app on the App Store, reviews are the main feedback channel. Love ’em or hate ’em, but never ignore them.

There’s a one week trial and the full version is 20 USD. No account needed. It’s a 4.0 MB download.

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In my “Future Classics” series, I try to guess what current-era Apple products may become collectable in the future.

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Earlier this year, Apple resurrected the MacBook name for its new, single-port, ultra-thin, 12-inch Retina notebook.

I say resurrected because Apple’s used the name before, on several different machines over the years:

Top to bottom: the original MacBook, the MacBook (Late 2008) and the MacBook (late 2009). The middle one is today’s star.

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This week, we talk about me “going indie,” Apple Music, and Federico’s second Apple Watch.

My thanks to these sponsors:

• lynda.com: An easy and affordable way to help individuals and organizations learn. Free 10-day trial.
• Fracture: Photos printed in vivid color directly on glass. Use code ‘CONNECTED’ to get 15% off
• Hover: Simplified Domain Management. Use code ‘TELETEXT’ for 10% off your first purchase.

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Not a developer but want to get your hands on this fall’s OS releases from Apple? Now’s your chance.

As always, be sure to have good backups in place, expect some things to be broken and take it easy on third-party developers.

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Earlier today, Apple updated its “vintage and obsolete products” article:

Owners of iPad, iPhone, iPod or Mac products may obtain service and parts from Apple or Apple service providers for 5 years after the product is no longer manufactured (or longer where required by law). Apple has discontinued support for certain technologically obsolete and vintage products.

The company does this from time to time, but today’s update caught my idea because of the inclusion of several Early 2009 and Mid 2009 models.

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Apple:

If you own an iMac (Slot Loading) computer, you must install the iMac Firmware Update 4.1.9 before installing Mac OS X 10.2 or later.

The iMac Firmware Update 4.1.9 is available on the Mac OS X Install CD Disc 1. It also available online and can be downloaded if needed.

To install the iMac Firmware Update 4.1.9, your iMac (Slot Loading) computer must be started up from Mac OS 9.1, or 9.2, which must be installed on the hard disk. You cannot install the firmware update if the computer is started up from a CD-ROM, or a network disk. If you normally start up the computer with Mac OS X, you must start up from Mac OS 9.1 or 9.2.

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For nearly a decade, Ford has auctioned off custom cars in support of the Experimental Aircraft Association youth educational program. This year’s caught my eye:

“The Ford Apollo Edition Mustang salutes man’s greatest technological achievement, with the ingenuity, precision, and power that defined the spirit of American innovation,” said Edsel B. Ford II, a member of the Ford Board of Directors. “Inspired by the Apollo program, Ford Motor Company committed itself to including exhilarating power, cutting-edge technology, and extraordinary craftsmanship in this automobile, which will support the next generation of pilots in EAA’s aviation education programs for young people.”

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I last wrote about my backup strategy almost 5 years ago, and a lot has changed in my setup since then, so I though it’d be good to revisit the subject.

I shouldn’t have to preach the importance of a good backup system, but there are some key tenants that should be part of any approach:

1. Be redundant. Having a single backup is good, but what happens if it gets killed by the same power outage that cooks your computer?
2. Be easy to manage. Time Machine is popular because it’s easy to setup and doesn’t need on-going care. Anything past the built-in backup will take more work, but it’s good to minimize it.
3. Be testable. Every once in a while, restore data from a backup to make sure everything’s going well. This doesn’t have to be some big, drawn out thing. For me, a small recovery can put my mind at ease every quarter or so.

My current hardware setup is pretty simple. I have a 15-inch MacBook Pro as my main machine, and a Mac mini hooked up to the television and a Synology DS415+ with 6.3 TB of disk space sitting in the closet.

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Robery McGinley Myers for The Sweet Setup:

In the read-it-later space, the two dominant players have long been Instapaper and Pocket. Each app has its own strengths and weaknesses, and Pocket has some features that could make it the ideal app for some use cases, but Instapaper is our favorite app for actually reading the best writing on the web … later.

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Working Copy is a full-featured Git client for iPhone & iPad. With Working Copy you can clone repositories, view and edit files, commit changes, and push commits back to the server. Other applications can open files inside Working Copy, letting you edit images, text files or even SVGs in your favorite editor.

Download Working Copy now and discover the convenience of always having your Git repositories within reach.

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