Hello. Welcome to the weblog of Sean Sperte. This is a collection of writings and links relevant to the topics of design and technology. Read more →
VirtualHostX has been updated to version 2.0, and somehow I missed it. This version brings control of service (Apache) status, Bonjour sharing of virtual hosts, “Flush DNS” and “Test Configuration” functions, a new licensing architecture, and subtle UI improvements – including a new icon! It also has a nice status indicator at the bottom of the window:
If you do local web development, I highly recommend VirtualHostX to simplify your virtual host configuration process.
Inspired by the Services overview on the Mac OS X Automation website (via John Gruber), I decided to take a crack at creating my own system-wide service for converting text to title case – utilizing, of course, John Gruber’s TitleCase script.
I’m not a programmer, and the little programming knowledge I do have is strictly front-end web development, so the thought of setting up a Service like this, where I can easily convert text to title case, was very appealing. Even more appealing was the fact that I could easily show how anyone could do this.
What you need
First, here’s what you need:
Creating the Service
The Mac OS X Automation website has a tutorial on how to create a Service in Snow Leopard, but you really only need to skim the photos to understand the process. Apple’s made it easier than saving 15% on your car insurance.
After downloading the TitleCase script, launch Automator. Choose ‘Service’ in the template manager, and you’ll be presented with an Automator workflow creator window.
Leave “text” and “any application” selected in the building pane, but check the “Replaces selected text” box.
Now search the actions library for “script”, and then drag the “Run Shell Script” action to the workflow pane. It should be the last item in the search results.
Now, open the TitleCase.pl script in a text editor (Text Edit works just fine), and copy the entire script.
Back in Automator, select “/usr/bin/perl” in the Run Shell Script action; in the ‘shell’ drop down menu. Select the entire sample print script that shows up, and delete it. Now paste the TitleCase.pl script.
Save (File > Save), title, and enjoy! Your new Service will be saved in the “Text” category of the Keyboard Shortcuts Preference Pane. From there you can assign a global keyboard shortcut.
Update: John points to a new version of his script by Aristotle Pagaltzis, which, he says, is ‘better in every way’. (Thanks to Jordan Yee for the tip in the comments below.)
I agree with, and live by, many of al3x’s ‘Rules for Computing Happiness’. I would add:
- Have a backup strategy and practice it.
- Have a ‘refresh’ strategy – a complete software reinstall, from OS to applications – and perform it at least once a year.
- Keep as few email ‘inboxes’ as possible – but as many email addresses as needed.
- Don’t over-complicate file organization. Use categorized ‘dump’ folders and Spotlight.
- When using the date for file naming or similar function, use 6 or 8 digits, and start with the year first (e.g. “09-08-27” or “20090827”) so that you can sort by date effectively.
- Don’t use Microsoft software unless it’s absolutely necessary – and only within a virtualized machine
Have any more?
The problem with Twitter is that when it goes down you lose the platform from which to complain about it being down.
Oh, unless you have a blog.
It’s no secret that Adobe’s CS4 is replete with strange design decisions and buggy behavior. I went looking for an answer to why Photoshop CS4 doesn’t work with Leopard’s ‘Spaces’ and found this Adobe Photoshop CS4 Read Me document, with a paragraph that reads:
We do not officially support the Apple OS X Leopard “Spaces” feature. If you are experiencing problems when using Photoshop CS4 and Spaces, please contact Apple Support.
How can they get away with this? If I wasn’t so experienced using Photoshop I’d switch to …
Oh. That’s how.
The Iconfactory guys are up to something, but be advised: it ‘will not dispense tickets from your device’.
Update: Ramp Champ [iTunes link] is out, and it’s addicting and beautiful.
In true-to-form style, Shawn Blanc has been thinking about the nature and anatomy of the “link post” way too much. He’s outlined the three primary type of link posts, and accurately categorized Geek & Mild as using “The Aside”.
My aside posts are just that: side-notes from the main blog content. The reason I post asides to my blog rather than to, say, Twitter, is threefold. The main reason is because I welcome and publish comments from my readers – and retain control over the discussion as the blog author/owner. Secondly, I like to, and can, post photos and video as asides. Finally, I’m not limited to a number of characters (or even content) on my blog, and so I can continue to ramble on about a subject – even in an aside post.
(Case in point.)
The Fusion Ads website has been updated, and looks great. As you may already know, I feature ads powered by Fusion on my blog. What you may not know is that I do so primarily because I think the team behind Fusion have done an excellent job of redefining web advertising. I’m a proud member of their network.
‘Doctype’ is one of those ‘where has this been?’ type of websites. The elevator-pitch description:
Doctype is a free question and answer site for web designers. You can ask questions about CSS, HTML, web design and email design.
Everything is editable, just like a wiki. This means answers are accurate, neat and up-to-date.
Awesome. (Via Daring Fireball.)
Update: Here’s a great example of a question with great answers. Again, where has this been all my life?