TannieSpace

I've tweaked and fiddled a bit, and now have a satisfying version of my website for mobile browsers. It all should just work, with a link to the full site on the top right should you prefer that.

I still want to tweak the layout, the pages list only shows up at the home-page, where it maybe should show up everywhere -- navigation matters. Also the search box shows up at the bottom, but maybe I should move it to the top.

I've added the little snowman to the home-page at least, to sync it with the main site's design.

I have also tried to keep it small. It currently loads at a 135kb for the main-page. Looking into making it less KB (the full version consists of 1MB of files, also trying to make it smaller). Just because a lot of us have fancy speedy connections doesn't mean I should aim for that. I aim for the average speed and hope it doesn't take too long to load either page.

I've not used my iPhone for a little over a week now, and I miss it somewhat. Every now and then I think %(quote)oh, I want to play 'Spider'% or something like that, and then realise I no longer have my iPhone. I've noticed I don't really want to use my current replacement phone. Pressing those buttons hurt my fingers too much. I love the touch-interface. I didn't know -- though I suspected as much -- how much easier that touch-interface works on my hands.

Currently, the repair status (which I can check online) says "Your phone is in repair.". The next step will tell me what they found, if anything, and what will happen next. I hope it'll update before the weekend, but suspect it might take a few more working days.

I like the online status check. Thank you, T-mobile.

I loved Shopper for quite some time. It was one of the first (paid) apps I bought for my iPhone, and I have stuck with it for over a year. Recently though, the business model the developers have chosen started to irk me. I started getting 'suggestions' and 'FDA alerts' (whatever that means).

With the latest update, they introduced ads. Ads in a paid app. I have not yet received my iPhone back, but I looked at the screenshots and read what other users wrote. Their screenshots don't show the real result, and in fact, the screencast on the website shows no sign of these annoying 'features'.

p(clear). They state on their website (in the forums):

bq.. As you might have noticed, we have introduced a messaging capability to Shopper with this release. We are using it to deliver a number of different types of alerts, hints (based on your feedback) and brand messages. We think there are a lot of innovative and useful things we can do with this capability. Over the past week, over 14,000 people have checked out an alert from the FDA or USDA and 30,000 people have checked out a Shopper usage hint. So while they don't please everyone, a great number of users find these features helpful.

p. So, not only do they introduce an annoying 'feature' they also track your clicking behaviour. First of all, you can't really avoid clicking on one of those stupid 'messages' because they clutter your screen and get in the way. Second, eh.. hello... wtf do you check what I click on? They may or may not have mentioned that in the t&c, accessible from inside the app, so no way to read before you buy.

They also write:

(...) just so you know, the costs associated with all of the recent upgrades are now much greater than the $0.99 download fee. So in order to keep the platform up and running, while continuing to build your suggestions into the most capable shopping app available (including this months addition), brand sponsorship is needed. We hope you understand and stick with us, but if not - we will be offering an opt-out subscription in the next release (...)

I can only imagine that this opt-out subscription will consist of a paid subscription. When I bought Shopper, it cost me around €3, a price I happily paid. Why on earth they didn't keep it there, or even now increase the price, still baffles me.

Instead, they have chosen a business model that forces ads onto loyal users, defending it with numbers and the current low price. When you as a company choose to take the more expensive route -- not necessarily a bad thing -- you of course have to get that money from somewhere. But with ads in an already-paid-for-app? Seriously?

Goodbye, Shopper, too bad our relationship had to end so horribly.

Over the years I've collected software (for my Mac) that I use on a daily basis and wouldn't want to live without. Sure I could find alternatives, but these programs suit me the most. I often pay for software, something some of my friends find ridiculous :) I'll happily pay a hardworking person for their work, especially if their work makes my live easier. Before I buy software I check it out thoroughly, which includes not only the software itself but also its help-function/support, the update policy (when to pay for the next update) and how much I'll get 'locked in'. I don't like getting locked in and choose applications that allow me to export to a sensible format. I also look for something that supports Applescript, because with Applescript I can do things more smoothly. I love it when I can script repetitive tasks, and I very much like using shortcut keys instead of a mouse.

First a neat little trick.

Which reminds me of this neat little trick I discovered for Snow Leopard -- I don't remember where I read it, otherwise I'd link it.

First, make sure you set up your keyboard preferences correctly: System preferences ⇒ Keyboard ⇒ Tab: Keyboard Shortcuts. Select 'Application Shortcuts' and then 'All Applications'. The top item should read 'Show Help Menu'. For me, by default the key was ⌘ - / but that caused issues because the default help-hot-key is ⌘ - ?. I changed mine to ⌘ - ⌃ - /.

Whenever I press this hotkey, I get the menu on the left. When you type a few letters it'll show you all the possible menu-items and you can simply select them here with your arrowkeys or by clicking on the item with your mouse. It saves me plenty of time not having to look for a certain item in the menus.

Programs

I have the following programs in use nearly daily (in random order):

iTerm

A tabbed terminal, alternative to the default terminal (free, supports applescript)

OmniWeb

An alternative browser by the lovely people of OmniGroup (free, supports applescript)

Tweetie

The desktop client (free with ads, excellent keyboard support)

OmniFocus

A task-manager, based on the GTD-system. (non-free, supports applescript)

GraphicConverter

A wonderful photo editing program that converts between many formats. After years of use I feels as if I still have only scraped the surface of what this program can do. I use it to organise my photos, edit them somewhat (change levels), crop them and rename / edit the IPTC data. (free-with-delay-until-you-pay, supports applescript)

MoneyWell

Personal finance program. Has excellent budgeting capabilities. (non-free, doesn't support applescript)

LaunchBar

Switched to LaunchBar from QuickSilver. It has an excellent page with a FAQ for QuickSilver switchers and does pretty much the same things. I haven't missed anything I used in QuickSilver. It lets you create you own actions with applescripts or shell scripts. (non-free, supports applescript)

TextMate

Very extensive text editor with plugins (non-free, don't think it supports applescript, has excellent self-scripting :) so I never needed it)

Scrivener

Writing app. (non-free, no applescript so far)

MarsEdit

Blog publishing software (non-free, supports applescript)

Plugins

The following plugins sit in my menubar or run invisibly in the background:

Mail plugins

Mail Tags and MailActOn

both excellent plugins to extend the default Mail.app's behaviour. MailActOn lets you sort mail into folders and do all sorts of things with your e-mail with the stroke of a few keys. (non-free)

Visor

A system-wide terminal accessible via a hotkey. (free)

Growl

System notifier. (free)

FastScripts

Applescript management utility, gives you access to your applescripts from anywhere through a menu and hotkeys. (non-free)

Hazel

A utility to automate actions with/on your files and folders. Most of it you could probably do with applescripts and automator and the folder-actions, I like the interface which makes it much easier to do. (non-free)

TextExpander

Sits in the background and replaces certain abbreviations with a pre-defined text. It also runs applescripts and shell-scripts with these abbreviations. Very useful for inserting snippets -- of code, standard e-mail replies etc. (non-free)

Today I went to the T-Mobile store to drop off my iPhone. The Customer Service didn't phone me yesterday and I didn't want to wait till after the weekend. Unfortunately, I have no way of informing them they don't need to phone me anymore, so I suspect they will still do it Monday.

The guy at the store looked at my -- complete -- copy of the receipt and asked what I brought last time. I pointed it out and he said I brought enough, the guy should have taken in my phone.

This time, the other guy filled in the forms, gave me a copy and told me they'll call me in about a week or two. Keeping my thumbs crossed. And fingers too.

Now that my iPhone has gone hysterical, I have put my SIM in my old SE K810i. As a phone, it works pretty well, and I like the camera in it more than the iPhone's. The buttons however need a harder push than I usually give them, which annoys me a little, and doesn't feel too nice on my fingers -- the reason I got the iPhone in the first place.

I went to the T-mobile store where the kind gentleman looked at my phone and said %(quote)Oh, that looks bad!%. He explained that I needed to bring a full copy of my receipt (silly me, I forgot to copy a certain part) or that I could fill in the online form and arrange it with Customer Service that way. He said I have a two year warranty by default, I've only had the phone for fourteen months, well within those two years, yay! I filled in the form online and the CS will phone me tomorrow to arrange everything.

I worry slightly that it will take a couple of weeks to get this resolved, with the holidays coming and all. On the other hand, I immediately noticed how much I rely on my iphone and I'll take this iphone-less time as a sort of experiment to see how I handle life without the iphone. It feels weird.

Funny how easy one get used to things.

Can you imagine not having an internet or mobile phone connection? Ten years ago I had my first mobile phone and used dialup, I think my first digital camera followed later. Now I have a mobile phone with internet and camera. And DSL. Not that I mind.