MacHeist: AWESOME!

Blogged on January 22, 2008 at 12:20

So I haven’t posted about this, but after reading Rui Moura’s post on this (I got the bundle on a “Pay 2, Get 3″ sale along with Rui and José Carlos) and looking online for some info about it, I had too say something! This was BY FAR the best deal I’ve ever had on software. This is one of the few bundles released once in a while of independent OSX apps, and it only comes to show the true power os OSX: even these small, independent apps look amazing, integrate well with the rest of the OS, etc… This is only possible because of the amazing platform OSX is and the tools Apple provides developers with!

Following a post I read on Prt.Sc about open source and its “freedom” and a discussion on the mailing list, I want to reaffirm my opinion on Open-Source Software (OSS) vs Commercial Software. I look at OSS as both “free speech” and “free beer”. Most of the times I recommend OSS (OpenOffice comes to mind quite often here) is to people using Windows or OSX and in need of a FREE (as in “beer”) alternative. I don’t even need/want to mention that “You can actually get to the source code and make it do*exactly* what you want it to do!”… Why?? Because it makes no difference for 99% of the people out there. Have you heard the business motto of “If somebody else has developed a solution, go ahead and buy it… Don’t waste time reinventing the wheel!”??? Well, I tend to agree… but not completely. I like following the developmental process of a solution that is supposed to fit my needs, but in some cases, it’s a LOT easier to adapt my needs to a commercial solution. The best reason why is CONFORMITY! (the word that scares all open source puritans) Conformity is a nice thing in a networked world. But it doesn’t mean I’ll opt for a worst/bad solution just for the sake of conformity. No, instead I’ll search for the best solution available, even if it’s not the most widespread. Of course, this is not always possible/desirable and thus exceptions are normal) (proving the rule).

These were just random thoughts… Probably not a very good line of thought there, but I felt I had to say this after talking about a great value bundle of COMMERCIAL software. I actually feel good about supporting these developers and helping some non-profit organizations on the way!

Just as a side note, I have spent more money on software since I’ve moved to OSX than ever before. And this does not include any major apps… just small, simple utilities than integrate with my daily work and enhance my user experience on the computer (isn’t this the objective of ANY app?).

I have spoken.

January 30th: International “Delete Your MySpace Account” Day

Blogged on January 22, 2008 at 10:29

Ok, so Simon Owens started the call, Mashable publicized it, Ariel linked… and I’m here to say I’ll join the “fight”!

Even though I’ve kept my profile up, I’ve completely changed it’s look to make it NOT look like your regular My$pace profile. But its dumb politics of replacing my external URLs with “msplinks” crap bugged me sooo much… And then the notification emails… Yes, the ones that contain no information at all trying to make you login!! I give major kudos to Facebook for sending me a complete email for any wall post or message I get! I don’t need to login and can even reply to sender through my email! In a world of “hits war”, My$pace is ahead but Facebook is sticking to its principles!

And the whole CIA/FB controversy is simply hilarious: don’t you think that if the CIA really wanted to check your info they’d get that info ANYWHERE and ANYWAY?? Why would they need to “partner” with FB or any other social network??? (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, ignore it… Those who do know hear me out!)

But controversy aside, I’m in love with Facebook for it has allowed me to get in touch with some old friends and help establish new friendships from real life by allowing a means of communicating more often!

So, back to the topic, JOIN THE FIGHT! On January, 30th 2008, delete your My$pace account…

… think of the kittens!

PS: Now that Pownce is open to the public (since 0:00 today), does anybody else around have an account there? I’d be interested in getting more contacts there! Add me!

Tip: Show all files and folders on OSX

Blogged on January 16, 2008 at 15:09

This is more of a “note to self” than a post, but it can come in handy to some of you too!

If you want to see all files and folders on your Finder (including /usr, /var, .DS_Store, etc…) run the following command in the terminal:

defaults write com.apple.Finder AppleShowAllFiles YES

Then restart the Finder (Option+Right-Click on the Finder in the dock > Relaunch) and you’re all set! To undo, simply run the same command changing the variable (YES) to NO.

The obvious downside of this is seeing… well, everything! Those annoying .DS_Store files in every folder, the multiple config files (like .bash_profile, etc…) but it can be useful especially when backing up or moving a lot of files/folders or accessing hidden files and folders on backups.

Hope it’s useful for anyone as it has been for me… at times!

2008: Welcome Me!

Blogged on January 8, 2008 at 19:35

So 2008 is here and I haven’t even posted! Oh boy…

Since I last posted, I have been aggregated to my favorite blog aggregator: Prt.Sc (Print Screen). I’ve been following this aggregator’s feed for a while now, and have made some friends through it! I’ve asked to join quite a bit ago but just now got aggregated (understandable!). Among other things, this will allow me to have a wider target audience. I hope that motivates me to post a bit more often!

I spent the end of 2007 and first days of 2008 with friends in a (actually 2) ski resort. I skiied for the first time in my life and something horrible took place: I now absolutely love it! Why is it horrible, you might ask… Well, lets be honest folks: it’s not an affordable activity! :p I got the clothing. I don’t even know the prices back home at Serra da Estrela or the ones in Spain/Andorra, but I doubt they’ll be any cheaper. I had a great time with some great friends, and met some new ones!

As to this blog, I’ve designed the new look & feel for it! It’s verrryyyy different from this one and I might even build a customized CMS for it, to make it the way I want it! I’ll, of course use snippets of code that are already available but I’ll customize them to meet my objectives. Oh, I can tell you already one thing about the new design: it’s… “Very niiceeee”! (and I don’t want to spoil the surprise because I don’t know yet when I’ll be able to finish it!)

All in all, I feel 2008 to be a very promising year. It’s going to be the first year I spend in its entirety living in the US. I’ll be home (Portugal) for just a few weeks in the summer, for vacation and my best friend’s wedding. I’ve been enjoying my time here so far. Of course I miss some things (that sounds sooo materialistic! lol) from Portugal, but overall I feel completely integrated with the lifestyle and life flow here in Iowa.

I’ll post again soon. I have some ideas about how I’ve been feeling about the current state of the interwebs and information media world.

To everyone, a great 2008! May it be full of of accomplishments and life achievements!