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Weblog • Archive • Cutedge

by: Bernard Teo

Tue 14 Mar 2006

Comic Life

Category : Commentary/comiclife.txt

So, following on from the previous post, it's quite possible that you can get great music coming out of your PC, too. But what about this? Comic Life - I've been exploring the applications that came with the iMac Core Duo and I did this in about five minutes ...

I was showing my kid what we can do on our Macs, now that he's inherited my old iBook.

We've showed him e-mail and he's getting a kick out of sending messages to mum and dad.

I believe that being able to tell a good story is one of our most enduring traits as human beings - it goes all the way back to Homer and the Tao Te Ching.

More than even mastery over technology, our story-telling skill has been at the heart of how we came to be inspired, cajoled and organised to make progress through the ages.

That's what all the arguments about Macs vs PCs have missed out - the access to the tradition of design, story-telling, and aesthetics that one is exposed to when one is using a Mac.

Now, how could a techie possibly understand that? That's why we're always going to be arguing at cross-purposes.

But I don't care anymore. I don't care to give my kid a headstart in technology. I only hope that he'll be able to tell a good story. Because that will stand him in good stead for the rest of his life.

I'm reading The Kite Runner, where the protagonist first discovers that he has a gift for story-telling, for irony, when he made up this little story for his childhood friend :

"That same night, I wrote my first short story. It took me thirty minutes. It was a dark little tale about a man who found a magic cup and learned that if he wept into the cup, his tears turned into pearls. But even though he had always been poor, he was a happy man and rarely shed a tear. So he found ways to make himself sad so that his tears would make him rich. As the pearls piled up, so did his greed grow. The story ended with the man sitting on a mountain of pearls, knife in hand, weeping helplessly into the cup with his beloved wife's slain body in his arms."

Posted at 3:48PM UTC | permalink

If music be the food of love

Category : Commentary/soulofthenewmachine.txt

Probably the view point that is most diametrically opposed to mine, in terms of what one sees when one works on a Mac, is AnandTech's. While Anand Lal Shimpi sees the iMac in terms of capacitors and chassis and SATA drives, I don't even know what SATA means or where it is on the Mac.

What I see is a slot on the right hand edge of the screen where I feed in my wife's music CDs into it. She's so impressed with the sound coming out of the iMac Core Duo that she wants her music on it, too.

So I have Sandy Lam, David Tao, A-Do, Jeff Chang, Ukelele, and friends joining my 70s-era music while we work. That's one thing I owe my wife - my introduction to great Chinese music. That's why we love our Mac. That's our life we've loaded onto it.

Posted at 1:53PM UTC | permalink

MailServe 2.1

Category : Technology/MailServe2dot1.txt

I've implemented a split view in MailServe 2.1, to separate the Aliases and Access pair of fields from the Virtual and Custom Postfix Settings fields.

Also, in this release. the included POP and IMAP binaries are now all Universal Binaries.

If you are running MailServe on an Intel Mac, just use the Red Cross to re-enable the Enable buttons and you will be able to replace the current POP and IMAP executables with Universal Binaries.

You can download it now :

http://cutedgesystems.com/software/MailServe/

This is for all the people who're going to use an Intel-based Mac Mini as a mail server - run it all at native speed.

Posted at 3:14AM UTC | permalink

Mon 13 Mar 2006

More Universals

Category : Technology/popImapUniversals.txt

Hai Hwee has succeeded in building Universal Binaries of UW/POP and IMAP (based on their latest maintenance release, imap-2004g, updated on 15th September 2005), as well as of the saslpasswd2 tool for supporting SASLDB authentication on Tiger.

We've tested a new version of MailServe (ver 2.1), which includes these binaries, on both our PowerPC-based iBooks, as well as on our Intel iMac Core Duo, all running Tiger.

We're now testing these new binaries on Panther, which is still running on one of our Titanium PowerBooks.

We may include these new binaries in an update to Postfix Enabler later. We've got a new Spanish localisation contributed by Pablo Rodriguez, and an update to the German localisation by Stefan Hartmann. We've also attempted a Japanese localisation, which we're asking feedback on. So all these may go into a version 1.2 update of Postfix Enabler.

A Panther update : I can confirm that these new Universal Binaries continue to work on Panther (or at least on 10.3.9).

Posted at 4:21PM UTC | permalink

The Mail We Love to Get

Category : Commentary/feedbackPage.txt

I've created a page containing some of the mail that we've been very happy to be getting. It's getting feedback like these that makes doing this all so worthwhile.

It had started from an idea, or a dream. If there are over 10,000 more Macs being used as Internet servers today because people are using these "enablers" that we've built (assuming there are at least as many people using these software who hadn't paid as had paid), then this is the realisation of that dream.

I wish I had kept more of the feedback. I hadn't expected to be creating a page out of them. But, after all has been said and done, it is these comments that had meant the most to me, and I will put up any new ones that we may be fortunate to be getting, as a celebration of the effort that we've been putting in.

You can access that page here.

Posted at 3:12PM UTC | permalink

Fri 10 Mar 2006

Cocoa Split View in MailServe

Category : Technology/MailServeSplitView.txt

I figured out how to do a Cocoa split view for a MailServe panel. For the longest time, I've had a problem handling the interface for the four scrolling text views in this MailServe panel whenever the window is resized:

But a split view solves everything. The user can slide the divider between the two pairs of scrolling text fields to control their relative heights.

I'll pack all these enhancements into a 2.1 release for MailServe, including the POP and IMAP Universal Binaries, if we can get that done. It's 2.1 to signify that it's all been properly tested on an Intel Mac, on that very nice iMac Core Duo that we've just got.

Posted at 5:44PM UTC | permalink

UW/IMAP and POP Universal Binaries

Category : Technology/UB_UW_IMAP_POP.txt

I'm trying to get Universal Binary versions of UW/IMAP and POP built, or at least Hai Hwee is helping me get these built. She's already far ahead of me on the command line, having built Universal Binary versions of her SQLite and, now, MySQL data connectivity frameworks.

I think she's almost there. Wonder if it's going to make much of a difference in terms of the performance of the POP and IMAP function? The current PPC-compiled binaries already work pretty OK on the Intel iMac. So, we're doing it just to be complete. (We're masochists, aren't we?)

With Hai Hwee's MySQL framework, Luca can now connect to MySQL again. We used to be able to do this when Luca was written in Java, using JDBC connectors, but we lost the functionality when we moved to Objective-C. But, writing her own Obj-C framework for SQLite gave Hai Hwee the confidence to build one for MySQL. Now that this is done, Luca can store data in MySQL databases again. Maybe one day, we'll have the time to do one for Postgresql, too.

Posted at 5:37PM UTC | permalink

Sat 04 Mar 2006

On Intel and Loving It

Category : Technology/Intel.txt

I've moved my development work totally to Intel. This is DNS Enabler, WebMon, MailServe, Luca, and even Postfix Enabler, all tested working on my Intel iMac Core Duo.

The Intel iMac is fast and I'm loving it. Luca is a sizeable project and takes about three to four minutes to compile from a clean build on my iBook. It takes less than a minute on the new iMac.

I love how everything just works. It's easy to forget that the Mac's got a totally new processor underneath. It just works like a Mac should. Even the performance of the applications under emulation, like the Adobe apps and Microsoft Office, is at least as fast as on my iBook and may even be faster. They just feel zippier. Maybe it's because the Finder seems to be a lot more alive and responsive on the Intel iMac.

So back to the testing of my own applications. What can I say? They all work, as they should. Even Postfix Enabler, which surprised me because I did nothing to it. For all the others - including MailServe which is a rewrite/clean-up/enhancement of the Postfix Enabler code - I had written them with the idea of moving to Intel in mind. And I've compiled them as Universal Binaries. So I wasn't surprised that they work, though it's good to be able to say for sure.

But Postfix Enabler? Maybe I was hoping that there would be a glitch and people would have to upgrade to MailServe. But no such luck. It works on Intel, too.

But I need to move on - it's hard to maintain two separate but similar projects, so I can only provide support for Intel machines for MailServe - and that's where all my future enhancements and fixes are going to be targetted at.

Apple's got to be congratulated for having pulled this off. They've really commoditised the processor, exactly the opposite of what Intel intended with "Intel Inside". If they can do this, they can move back to PowePC, switch to AMD, or Sparc, or Itanium, and I wouldn't care - so long as their machines continue to get faster and cheaper and even more fun to use.

I've spent the whole day at the Unix level, and within Xcode, and with James Taylor playing on iTunes - this must be the best and most fun Mac that I ever had. I was holding out for a Mac Mini, but with a two-week waiting time, I decided I can't put it off any longer. So an IMac Core Duo it is and I don't regret it for a moment.

Posted at 3:18PM UTC | permalink

Tue 28 Feb 2006

MailServe 2.0.9 & DNS Enabler 2.0.7 Released

Category : Technology/MailServe209DNSEnabler207.txt

Okay, I've released MailServe 2.0.9 and DNS Enabler 2.0.7.

MailServe 2.0.9 includes support for Fetchmail over SSL, sports a new Fetchmail Log tab, and improves the Fetchmail options interface. It also fixes a bug while reading back a saved config file that has the luser-relay parameter left in an indeterminate state.

DNS Enabler 2.0.7 includes support for setting up multiple slave name servers.

With that done, it's time to sit back and enjoy what Steve Jobs is going to spring on us next - I'd love it if we're going to get an Intel Mac Mini.

Posted at 2:50PM UTC | permalink

Sun 26 Feb 2006

The Weekend Warrior? No, programmer.

Category : Commentary/weekend.txt

It turns out that Saturdays and Sundays are my most productive time of the week. That's when my wife brings out the kid and I'm left to concentrate on my work. I get a lot of programming done on weekends - often I'd tackle the hardest conceptual problems during that weekend slot.

So I've turned my world upside down. On weekdays, I often go with my wife to send the kid off to kindergarten. The other parents and teachers must be wondering why I don't have to go to work, like other dads do. Just the other day, one teacher couldn't help herself but had to ask - don't I have work to do?

Yes, but I enjoy having that long leisurely lunch with my wife. And to browse the library and Borders, before going back to pick up the kid again.

But I'm always thinking about my work - how to make it better and what I need to do next. It's just that I don't look like I'm working, even when I really am.

But this is the life. Life is too precious to be cooped up in an office, going through the motions. If I can just make this idea work - do good, make enough to feed the family, and make a little dent in the Universe...

I get most of my mail during the night, when the sun has moved over to the Western world. The quietest time of the day for me are the hours between one and six in the afternoon. If only there are more Mac users in China, India, and Africa. (You'd think, with billions of people in China and India, there should be a few more Mac users). Then I'd get business 24 hours a day.

Posted at 1:59PM UTC | permalink

Upcoming Releases/Updates for end February 2006

Category : Commentary/upcomingEndFebReleases.txt

I've an update coming to MailServe and DNS Enabler early next week.

For MailServe, I have added an SSL option to the Fetchmail settings, as requested. Also, I've taken the chance to simplify the Keep/Fetchall/UIDL set of options since the settings for Fetchall and UIDL can be implied from the setting chosen for Keep - e.g., keep implies no fetchall (and uidl, if protocol is POP3), whereas no keep implies fetchall (and no uidl).

So that's two popup menus eliminated and one added, resulting in a net simplification of the interface.

Over to DNS Enabler. I've added the ability to set up multiple secondary (slave) name servers, as requested by Paul Sloan of the Westwind School Division, Canada.

I'll release these early next week on Monday or Tuesday, after I've done another test and checked through the localisations.

I've a couple of new localisations coming for Postfix Enabler. One is a Spanish localisation contributed by Pablo Rodriguez. The other is an attempt by Hai Hwee to do a Japanese localisation. Thanks to Makoto Imai for being willing to take a look at it and sending over his comments. Sorry, if we've tortured your language. We really need to get better at this. We'd really like to do Japanese translations of all our software. If you'd like to help us, please write to me. I'd love to hear from you.

Posted at 9:58AM UTC | permalink

Thu 23 Feb 2006

DNS Enabler on Version Tracker

Category : Commentary/DNSEnablerOnVT.txt

I've put up DNS Enabler on Version Tracker, finally, because I thought it might help people who would need it but didn't know it exists.

But I've learnt not to expect much from the reviews. There'll evitably be the bad ones.

When I first announced Postfix Enabler on Version Tracker, I thought I'd be a hero. Little did I expect the reviews I did get, or at least the early ones. What was I smoking?

But I think DNS Enabler could be really useful. I've made it into the tool I wished I had when I was first learning to set up DNS.

I used MacDNS when I first needed to set up DNS. When that didn't work, I used QuickDNS Pro, which cost me $360, I think. I went through one feverish week figuring out how to make that work for my mail server - feverish because I was using a Mac server (AppleShare IP, then) in the midst of a Mac-hating IT organisation - another day more and the Mac would be thrown out. And I finally figured what I needed - reverse pointer records - but I had to create them manually. So, I've made DNS Enabler do it all.

Posted at 5:32AM UTC | permalink