i’m working on the portfolio and some new(ish) projects at the moment. can’t believe i wrote ’sheesh’ in that last post… take my silence as a sort of ’sorry’ for that one. RE. the new ‘projects’ – i’m having issues with flash, I once knew my way around the whole dreamweaver suite, back say 5 years ago it all seemed a sleek and professional- but right now i’m trying to merge video with web and actions, to be honest i’m quite lost in it and never had so much trouble ‘picking-up’ an app (Flash MX) it almost seems like their UI designers took inspiration from Windows XP… its really bad. might get my mitts on CS3 since Adobe own Macromedia now it should be all integrated. or might just stick to HTML. portfolio coming soon, i’ll stick a temporary one up asap. also, where’s the fun in video/effects composition? look at Apple’s pretty website for Shake- the reality of that app is that this is for the pro’s and my wannabe jiggery-pokery is not welcome.

also looking for a flat in Edinburgh or Leith. if you hear anything give me a buzz.

i.e. how to hack the iPod- there’s a great Mac app I’ve been using for a month or so to save my music collection (my backup is in Aberdeenshire while i’m down south) and I have a new iPod. the app is called ‘Music Rescue’, and it does exactly what it says on the tin: “Recovers” (Copies) your iPod’s contents to your iTunes library. It does this for free… nearly – if you don’t pay up a tenner you get a reminder every few minutes. Well worth downloading.

Music Rescue is on just that level of simplicity which will save your arse in a hurry and do just fine for more advanced ‘recoveries’ – the naming system is very CDex, circa ‘99. I love it.

This is a quick how-to that will explain – with lots of pretty, but vdark, photos – the most destructive way to hack a pair of ordinary running shoes or ‘trainers’ into Nike+ alternatives.

I recently bought an iPod Nano and the Nike+ Sports Kit, but decided against the £80 Nike+ Shoes; I already have a nice pair of running shoes! (and £80 is taking the mick). The Nike+ Sensor, however, (a glorified Pedometer – to be honest) is designed with Nike+ Shoes in mind… it pops into a little groove in a certain strand of Nike shoes- very limited in the UK. I’ve never seen a pair in person.

First thought was (had by many)- I could attach this thing to the top of any shoe. Velcro has been used, strap it between your laces, even purchase an attachment or knit your own cover. BUT, surely this thing is built into the sole of a shoe (in Nike+ Trainers) because it requires some sort of pressure to make it tick… I did a little reading, and as much as all the others have done… I’ve not yet read of a hacked Nike+ and the real deal being compared on the same stretch / measured distance in regards accuracy. So, I’m going to try to emulate the Nike+ Trainer’s with this hack. (See the Apple FAQ).

Step One: You’ll want to start with the Nike+ Kit and a pair of shoes, best to start with a pair that have a good thick out-sole. The goal is sole…

Read On »

I just wrote this post, but one thing Wordpress is missing is an auto-save and (Mail.app stylee) update funtion.

Basil Pao takes all the photos for Michael Palin’s travel books. He’s really, really great. One of my favorite discoveries of today (another being the 23″ iMac above) was a couple of folders on Palin’s Travels – Michael’s homepage – 300MB of Desktop Backgrounds. You can also get to these individually by browsing the site’s photo sections and clicking under “Wallpaper” in the right hand column, but its messy. I used SiteCrawler (free to demo).

Go Here for a starter, then follow the folders through to a big list of images. Try: sah for sahara, then click photos and 1024 (size of your screen).

The photo above of a pretty tibetan lady with a cigar is one of my favorites. See the original page here. Mhhh, a thousand words.

As I said I’ve already written this within a line or two finished… I was nearly finished! If your a Mac user you’ll notice how easy it is to close Safari even if you have 20 tabs open with two keystrokes. This is fixed in Leopard, with a little Firefox styled dialogue box, I’m happy to report.

ScummVM violates [Paypal's] Acceptable Usage Policy, as it allows games to be played on systems for which they were not originally sold. #

Paypal have written a letter to the creators of ScummVM (Wiki) telling them to cease using their services for collecting tips and donations… its in a gray area concerning the law, but bugger that. ScummVM is an emulator of the engine required to run classics such as “Indiana Jones and The Fate of Atlantis“, the SCUMM system was developed by two individuals; Aric Wilmunder and Ron Gilbert in 1987 later to be picked up by LucasArts and used in some of the first PC Games I owned and played. Today the source code is open but doesn’t appear to have progressed into the OS X(P) world.

This is where ScummVM comes in – it is the only (decent) way to play the games you owned or purchased back in ‘94 on your Dell, Mac or Mobile Phone. If you want to say ‘Thank You’ to the ScummVM team Paypal won’t help you do it.

How about you send them an e-mail with your thoughts on the matter: aup@paypal.com.