Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Getting PDF plugin to work in Camino

Apple Safari has PDF rendering built-in. But for users of Firefox and Camino, a PDF plugin needs to be installed. However, this plugin only works in PowerPC Macs. If you have a new Intel-based Mac, you are out of luck.

OK, not really. I have a "simple" workaround to get the PDF plugin to work in Camino, my default browser:

1. Force Camino to run in Rosetta by right-clicking the Camino app and select Get Info.
2. Check the Open using Rosetta in the General information section. This forces Camino to run in the PowerPC emulation.
3. Relaunch Camino. Now the PDF plugin should work.

Obviously, this workaround sacrifices the touted speed of Camino, a Universal Binary application which can run natively in the latest Intel-based Macs.

So it's your choice: fast rendering or PDF plugin.

posted by Jambo Consulting at 3:42 AM
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Friday, October 13, 2006

News: RED iPod Nano

Well, last time I was complaining about how ugly the colors of the iPod Nano were. Looks like somebody heard me, well at least somebody thought so too. Apple just released a new (PRODUCT) RED iPod Nano. You can do some good at the same time if you get it.

Article Link posted by Jambo Consulting at 1:58 PM
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Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Rumor: Apple to announce wireless video iPod?

Okay, let's speculate for a moment. Apple fans love to talk about, well, Apple products. Especially products which aren't even announced yet.

The other day Edward and I had a good discussion over lunch about MWSF '07 product announcements. A new video iPod was, of course, a "no brainer" -- the high-end iPod is in need of significant improvements, and not just adding a larger drive to the unit. Engadget thinks an announcement may be sooner for the revamped video iPod. Maybe to catch the Christmas shopping season? Or to counter Microsoft's Zune?

Whenever the announcement may be, both of us agree that the revision must include a larger screen, probably widescreen format. My take on the user interface is that Apple would never think of having the UI on the screen where finger grease would smudge the beautiful display. I think the new video iPod will have two pieces: the screen and the controller, connected wirelessly or wired (open to debate).

At first I thought of some sort of swivel or slider mechanism to reveal the UI of the unit, but Edward pointed out that Apple designers detest too many moving hardware parts. True, just look at the generations of iMacs and iBook/PowerBooks, and even the current iPods. That's how I arrived at my two-piece prediction.

It's really the simplistic of designs. Apple can even make it work with the Apple Remote that's being shipped with the new Macs. Existing Mac owners can use the remote with the new video iPod, while PC users would have to buy one seperately. Or Apple can make a controller similar to the new clip-on iPod Shuffle. Simple and elegant. And the engineers already know how to do it. Quick time-to-market schedule.

Apple is known to stay one step ahead of the competition. That's how iPod/iTunes has 75% of the portable music player market share. I'm sure a new video iPod prototype is already floating in Cupertino. The fans are anxiously waiting. Let the rumors begin.

Article Link posted by Jambo Consulting at 10:59 PM
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