Moom is a cool window management program that runs in the background on OS X. I first heard about it on the MacBreak Weekly podcast a few months ago. Since that time, Moom become a must-have application on my computer. Moom has many uses and features, but I mainly use it to expand the functionality of the green “plus” button on all open windows on my Mac. I love OS X, but I’ve never been completely satisfied with how it handles the resizing and maximizing of open windows. Moom completes the experience. I think its capabilities should be integrated directly into future versions of the OS. It’s that good!
Visit the Moom website for more information, demos, and a free trial. Moom is only $5 to buy, and is well worth it for something I use every day. You can download the program directly from the developer, but it is also available on the Mac App Store.
Last night, I went to the theater to see the classic campy horror movie Evil Dead 2, a film I’ve seen many times, and own on DVD. It was playing one night only at the Colony Theater here in town, which is a small Indy movie house. Only $5 admission! I can’t believe how many people showed up. The theater was awesome in a very retro way. So old school. Cash-only purchases all around, no pre-orders or debit cards were allowed throughout. You can buy beer and whatnot at the concession stand.
Evil Dead 2 came out in 1987, but it is so low-budget that looks even older than that. The previews that played before the movie were all for horror movies that came out in the late 70s or early 80s. In fact, Halloween 2 was one of the previews. So cheesy. All of the audio came from the front speakers; no surround sound to speak of. It was retro all the way. The film itself was so old and worn that it had countless artifacts, distortions, and reel changes. Awesome!
As soon as the movie began, the film broke. Everybody laughed and cheered. It was much like watching a public production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The crowd obviously knew this movie inside and out, and had probably had seen it countless times before. It is likely the craziest movie I can think of. Everyone in the theater truly ate it up. It was so awesome to see it with a large crowd of fans. Everyone present was there simply to have a good time, and we all did.
Every cheesy line that Bruce Campbell delivered and every god-awful special effect was met with cheers and applause from the crowd. It was a giant party. The audience loved every minute of the movie, which by any modern standard is truly a terrible production. But it is the overall bad production quality that lends Evil Dead 2 every ounce of its charm.
In a funny twist of contrast, I brought my friend Amanda, who is only 23 years old. It’s hard to imagine, but she was born after this movie came out. I wasn’t sure if she would dig the retro experience, but she certainly did.
It was all so retro last night, much like watching a movie back in the 70s. So awesome. I enjoyed it more than the blockbusters of today, by a mile. I want to go see more old movies in this kind of setting.
Yesterday, the servers at Apple were taxed with millions of mobile users downloading the new iOS5. My slow 7-hour download of the OS last night was well worth it. I woke up at 5:30 this morning and ran to my computer to find my phone upgrade had completed. It felt like Christmas Day! I ran back to bed with my phone and went about toying with iOS5 for well over an hour. Apple claims that it would make all phones faster, even my old 3GS. I had my doubts, but that indeed seems to be true. My phone feels quite snappy; not bogged down in any way. I really like the new OS. As far as iOS limitations on my hardare, I think my 3GS has every new feature except for Siri and AirPlay abilities.
The new notification system is my overall favorite feature. I was getting a little jealous of friends with Android phones that were able to see all of their notifications and local weather conditions on their lock screen. Now I can enjoy the same, without a jailbreak.
iMessage is a killer feature for me, as I don’t pay for unlimited texting from AT&T. It is really awesome! My dad, brother, and I had a 3-way iMessage chat going this morning for an hour. It was great and only added to my excitement. The camera app loads faster now, which is a welcomed enhancement for everyone. The new Mail app is great. I’d recently been using the Gmail mobile webpage in Safari, but now Mail supports flagging of important messages in the app and it has worked really well so far.
Some new iOS features are more hidden and subtle, but certainly a step forward. I’m also happy that iOS5 will now offer small over-the-air updates instead of one hulking download; something that Android users have had enjoyed for a long time.
I don’t really care about WiFi syncing or iCloud at this juncture. I chose to not enable any iCloud or WiFi sync features in my phone setup today. Some day in the future, I may flip that switch. For now, I mainly charge my phone on my computer, and I don’t need wireless syncing or cloud storage since I’m plugging it in already. My computer will continue to handle updates and backups for now.
The new iOS, combined with overhauled versions of Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, and Google Voice this week have made my phone feel like a brand new toy. I use Google Voice a lot, and the new version that Google finally released this week, while no more attractive, is noticeably more responsive now, and integrates fully with the new iOS5 notification system.
I’m happy with all the upgrades. So much so that I don’t feel in a hurry to upgrade my phone hardware. I am eligible for an upgrade to the iPhone 4S per my mobile contract, but I am rather content with the phone I already have. I may get a wild hair one day and buy a new phone at some point, but I am happy with what I have for now. All of the new goodies have made it feel brand new again.
R.I.P. Steve Jobs.
One of the greatest leaders of our time; a man who changed the world.
“Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me … Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.” – Jobs, 1993
I wanted to get a new album from a band that I like. I decided to break down and buy it. After searching iTunes and Amazon, it turned out that the physical CD was a dollar cheaper than the album download. What kind of sense does that make? You can see where I’m going with this. I ordered the CD from Amazon. I’m going retro again. I’ll take a disc over a download anytime the price is the same or less. Why not? The sound is better, I get a physical copy, I can rip it into whatever format I choose, plus I get the booklet. I look forward to popping it in my stereo and listening to it the old-fashioned way. Fun!
I’ve become hooked on a new iOS game called Jetpack Joyride. It is made by Halfbrick, the company who brought Fruit Ninja to the masses. Jetpack Joyride is an addictive side-scroller. Gameplay, graphics, and sounds are all top-notch. I love that there are gobs of achievements to unlock. It works with both GameCenter and OpenFeint. The game is a universal app that plays on both the iPhone and iPad. Jetpack Joyride is certainly worth the 99¢ price tag. Play it now!
Mosquitoes are a major nuisance where I live. Mosquitoes seem to be very attracted to me and they absolutely drive me crazy. It’s not uncommon to get bitten a half dozen times after only a few minutes of sitting still outside.
My usual solution for this is to sit in front of a roaring fan in an attempt to keep the little buggers off of me. That isn’t a perfect solution by any means. I suppose I could use a spray-on repellent, but I find them disgusting and I refuse!
Now you can turn down the fan and toss out the sprays and Citronella candles. Simply buy the OFF! Clip-On. It is all you need. I’ve used one for a couple of months and it works like a charm. The initial purchase for the unit is around $10, but it is reusable. The AAA batteries can be replaced and you can buy repellent refills.
This product is amazing! I haven’t had any mosquito bites this summer since I began wearing the clip-on. Buy one and prepare to be amazed. Just make sure to turn it off when you don’t need it, or risk killing the battery. I’ve had to replace the batteries in mine a few times after forgetting to switch it off.
This morning I was in an outlandish mood and posted to Twitter the following comments about the yogurt I was eating for breakfast:
If a homeless man defecated into a cup it would probably taste better than this Chobani non-fat yogurt. Just awful.
I laughed out loud as my finger tapped to tweet that remark. But after checking Twitter during my lunch break I saw that the Chobani company had written me a public message about what I’d said. Their response? “Ouch.” They went on to ask what I didn’t like about their yogurt. I immediately felt like an ass. A feeling of shame washed over me. I was only upset at having bought the non-fat version of their product.
Someone at Chobani had apparently searched Twitter for mentions of their brand and read what I said. What I had posted was truly over-the-top and absurd. I compared their food product not only to the taste of human feces, but I threw gasoline on the fire by adding that it tasted like a homeless man had shat in a cup. Instead of ignoring my searing remark, the company replied with a friendly “ouch” and asked why was I unhappy with my meal. It was completely unexpected. I was impressed.
Chobani went on to reply to me twice more in a friendly back-and-forth I’d had with them via Twitter today. They told me that they were not offended by my tweet. I apologized to them for what I’d said and thanked them for their sense of humor. In turn, they wrote me back and said they liked my sense of humor too. I was floored with how they handled my vile tweet. I’ll certainly buy more of their yogurt; even more so now, thanks to their delightful exchange. I have a new respect for them and their company. I’ll just have to make sure to not buy the non-fat variety next time. Hehe.
Well done, Chobani. I wholeheartedly take back what I said this morning. I offer my sincere apologies.
A new version of iOS for the Apple TV is out. iOS 4.3 has landed and I have updated my 2nd generation unit. (Vimeo support and some other small goodies were added.)
That aside, I have a complaint that the Apple TV doesn’t allow me to actually fully login to my Flickr account. The Flickr integration merely points to one’s public Flickr account, and displays the photos and slideshows accordingly. That is fine and dandy, and the display is quite beautiful, but it only works so long as the photos in one’s library are all “public” photos.
My cousin brought this to my attention. He wanted to look at a photo set on his TV that I’d recently posted, but he couldn’t because I’d set the photos to be private (friends/family only). He cannot view them on his TV because he cannot log in to Flickr directly from his Apple TV box. I tried this myself, and he is correct. Even I can’t see my private photos on my own TV. Crappy!
I have the Flickr iPhone app and it remains permanently logged in to my account, allowing me to browse all of my photos, private or not, as well as upload photos, and manage my account fully. The iOS TV software on the other hand, isn’t a collection of apps, but integrated operating system features. Flickr slideshows and photo browsing is a built-in OS feature, take it or leave it. It does not allow you to log in or tamper with your Flickr account in any way. Grumble.
I went to the Apple support site to write them a nastygram about the Flickr integration. I wasn’t able to find a direct email address to contact them, but a search of the Apple TV discussion board revealed over 27,000 posts about Flickr. Many people have complained about this very issue, some dating back years ago when the first generation Apple TV was introduced. Therefore, the company must be aware that some users want to be able to log in to Flickr directly and see their private content.
I don’t know if it is Apple or Yahoo that is limiting this, but I wish the situation would be remedied. Like now.
I have added a Google +1 button to all blog posts on my site. Feel free to click it on any blog post that you enjoy. For more information about the +1 program, read the reference from Google.
