News
Wednesday Odds and Ends
Agency Spy - Wed, 2009-12-02 21:26-AT&T and Verizon have put down their weapons for now. link
-R/GA London hired Andy Cutbill as ACD, copy. link
-Stella Artois augmented reality demonstrated. link
-Sexually related billboards removed from school areas in UK. link
-Microsoft launched a Twitter-type service in China called MSN Juku. link
-Um, the REO Speedwagon game anyone? link
-US shoppers spent 5% more this Cyber Monday than last year. link
-Twitter named the top word in the English language for 2009. link
-W+K launched its new agency website. link
-Zappos is providing interactive video ads for Nike products on its site. link
-Gotham and Beam Interactive launched a toast-happy app for Waterford Crystal. link
More: "Tuesday Odds and Ends"
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Discover new running trails with the WalkJogRun app
TUAW - Wed, 2009-12-02 21:00Filed under: iPhone, iPod touch, App Review

There are many apps (like RunKeeper and RunMeter) that track where and how much you run, but not many to help you discover new places to run. Luckily, there's the WalkJogRun app [iTunes link] ($.99US), which gives you the ability to navigate through over 500,000 user-submitted map-based running trails.
The iPhone app shares much in common with its desktop browser counterpart. Like WalkJogRun.net, the WalkJogRun app allows you to view specific running trails that you've created, as well as those created by others specific to a certain address, city or landmark (i.e., Golden Gate Bridge, MGM Grand Hotel, etc.). But iPhone technologies provide new layers of functionality and interaction lacking on the site, such as geolocation for finding nearby running routes, which I find very useful in areas I'm not familiar with, and the niceties that come with navigating a map with the iPhone's multitouch display.
Nonetheless, the WalkJogRun app could use some improving. The most needed improvement is the ability to save or bookmark a running trail, which one can do via WalkJogRun.net but not on the iPhone app. My workaround for this is to take screenshots of running trails that I like in the event that I navigate away from the map and can't remember the name or location of the trail. Another improvement, though more of a "nice to have" than a "must have", is the ability to create a trail on the iPhone.
These things aside, at its USD $.99 price tag, the WalkJogRun app serves as an ideal complement to GPS-based iPhone running and biking apps, as well as the Nike+ kit.
TUAWDiscover new running trails with the WalkJogRun app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Hot Tips for the Coolest Applications
Layers Magazine - Wed, 2009-12-02 20:21BY PETER BAUER
PRINTING PANTONE
You want to use a specific Pantone color in your artwork, but you’ll be outputting to an inkjet printer, so you can’t actually print that spot color. What to do? Click on your Foreground color swatch to open the Color Picker, then click on the Color Libraries button, select your spot color, and click OK. Photoshop automatically selects the nearest RGB (or CMYK or Lab) equivalent of that Pantone color, and you can paint, fill, or stroke using the new Foreground color. Already have a spot channel? Click on it in the Channels panel and then select Merge Spot Channel from the Channels panel’s flyout menu.
CUSTOMIZED GRADIENT MAP
Image>Adjustments>Gradient Map is a great way to create interesting images. The color to the left is mapped to the image’s shadows and the one to the right is mapped to the highlights. But wait, there’s more! Click on the sample gradient to open the Gradient Editor and add additional color stops that will be mapped to tonal ranges between the shadows and highlights. You could even use a black-to-white gradient with a series of gray color stops to fine-tune a grayscale representation of your image.
BY DAVID CREAMER
ARTBOARD RULERS
If you show the standard rulers in a multiple artboard document, you’ll notice that the rulers extend over all the artboards, making them fairly useless on a per-artboard basis. Also, the standard rulers always measure from the lower-left corner of the first artboard. By selecting View>Show Artboard Rulers, each artboard can have its own ruler, starting in the upper-left corner of the artboard. Unfortunately, the X/Y coordinates reflect the global artboard ruler, not the individual artboard rulers.
WORKING WITH TEXT BOXES
If you have paragraph-based text, you can Place (rather than copy-and-paste) Microsoft Word files, which gives you the option of including the Word formatting and styles. After you place it, you can color the background of the text box by carefully selecting the text box path with the Direct Selection tool (the white arrow). Finally, you can use Type>Area Type Options to inset the text from the edges of the text box. Note: this doesn’t work with point type.
BY DAVID CREAMER
WRAP IT UP
If you use clipping paths to knock out backgrounds and then turn on text wrap in InDesign, the text automatically wraps around the image using the clipping path; however, sometimes the text wraps into areas of the image you don’t want. If you want more control over the text wrap, in Photoshop create a selection from the path in the Paths panel, save the selection (Select>Save Selection), deselect, make Alpha 1 channel visible then active in the Channels panel, use the Brush/Eraser tool to modify the channel, and save the file. When in InDesign, you can change the text wrap to use the Alpha Channel (your saved selection) in the Type drop-down menu in the Contour Options section of the Text Wrap panel.
BUTTON IT UP
If you’re creating an interactive PDF or SWF file, be sure to check out the Sample Buttons library, available from the Buttons panel menu (Window>Interactive>Buttons, then click on the menu icon at top right and choose Sample Buttons). If you have buttons that you want on every page, such as Next Page or Previous Page, put them on a master page. If you put them on the topmost layer, the buttons will remain on top of all other objects.
BY DAVID CREAMER
LARGER COMMENTS
If the comments are looking a little smaller since your last birthday, you can increase their size in Preferences (Acrobat [PC: Edit]>Preferences). Click on Commenting (the first Category in the list) and you’ll see the first drop-down menu: Font Size. The only choices in the menu are Small, Medium, and Large, and if Large doesn’t cut it, you might have to get a bigger monitor!
DELETE THE FIRST CHARACTER LAST
I recently had the “good fortune” to take a PDF form in English and create five PDFs in different languages. Now if you’ve ever had to edit an entire line of type, you might notice that the type will sometimes wrap up to the line above. This problem depends on how the PDF was created, but it’s a fairly frequent problem. The easiest solution is to select all of the text except for the first character, type your new text, then go back and delete the first character.
REPLACE PAGES
If you like to use the thumbnail-drag technique to replace old pages with new ones, you may have noticed in Acrobat 9 that clicking-and-draging from one document’s Pages navigation panel to the other document’s Pages navigation panel doesn’t work any more. Now, you’ll need to hold down the Command-Option (PC: Ctrl-Alt) keys to replace pages.
BY RAFAEL “RC” CONCEPCION
ELIMINATE “CLASSITIS”
When you start working with CSS on a website, your first impulse will be to create classes for every single element that needs to be styled on a page, creating a condition commonly known as “classitis.” Instead, use the Compound type under the Selector Type drop-down menu in the New CSS Rule dialog to create grouped selectors. By grouping selectors that will share the same styles, you’ll dramatically reduce the amount of CSS code you have to keep up with, making editing much simpler.
USE TAB INDEX
When creating a form with multiple fields, keep in mind that many people will fill out this form using the keyboard alone—filling in one of the fields and immediately hitting the Tab key to move to the following field. By giving the fields a specific Tab Index number, you can control which form fields you start with and where the Tab key will guide the user, creating a more efficient data-entry experience. When entering numbers, simply start with number 1, and assign numbers to the fields as you want them to appear in the list.
BY CYNDY CASHMAN, PH.D.
PREVIEW FRAME CONTENT
Have you ever wanted to see the content of several frames in the Timeline at the same time? Then simply choose Preview from the Timeline menu (click on the icon at the top right of the Timeline to open the menu). Now you can view thumbnail previews of each keyframe’s content.
SPRAY DOTS
Why not use the Spray Brush tool to spray patterns of dots? Select the Spray Brush tool (it’s under the Brush tool in the Toolbar). In the Property inspector, make sure that the Default Shape box is checked, and check Random Scaling if you want to spray different-sized dots. Click the arrow next to Brush to expand the panel (if it’s not already) and enter a pixel value in the Width and Height fields to set the diameter of the brush. Then, just click-and-drag the Brush on the Stage to spray a pattern of dots.
The Perfect Gift to House Pics of Your Ad Friends
Agency Spy - Wed, 2009-12-02 20:15
This holiday season, why not frame a friend in such a way that you'll never forget what you feel about him. Or her? No seriously, you should.
Via DouchebagFrames, h/t youknowhoyouare
More: "Lonely Girl 15's Rebirth Brought to You in Part by: Douchebags"
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Mac 101: Building a bootable diagnostic and repair flash drive
TUAW - Wed, 2009-12-02 20:00Filed under: Troubleshooting, Mac 101
More Mac 101, our tips and tricks for novice Mac users. Update: You cannot install Snow Leopard on an 8 GB flash drive. I was incorrect in writing that an install of Essential System Software would take 3.81 GB. As a few of our commenters pointed out, and as is the case, in testing I erroneously tried to install Snow Leopard on a flash drive that already had a version of OSX on it, making the installation much smaller than installing on an empty flash drive. According to readers, installing Snow Leopard on an empty flash drive will take 8.01 GB requiring a 16 GB flash drive. I'm very sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.
It's a good idea to have a strategy in place in case of emergencies. If your hard drive tosses you errors, behaves badly or doesn't even appear, what to do? If programs crash at random, you need to be ready. You can prepare for this by creating a bootable flash drive containing some diagnostic and repair utilities.
This is not meant to replace or in any way affect backing up your hard drive. Time Machine makes it so easy that not having a backup plan is just silly... but so much for the disclaimer.
To make a diagnostic and repair flash drive, I'd suggest buying an 8 GB flash drive, 16 GB flash drive which can be had for around US $20 US $35 these days. When you get it, it probably won't be formatted for your Macintosh, so plug it in and run Disk Utility (in /Applications/Utilities) to format the flash drive. In doing so, you have a number of choices. With your flash drive highlighted click on Erase and choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and give the flash drive a name. Then click on Erase on the bottom right side of the screen and in a few seconds your flash drive will be ready for an operating system.
I inadvertently omitted a step! Click the icon for the drive (not the disk partition -- the one that includes the size) and click the Partition tab. Choose "1 Partition" from the pop-up menu, Mac OS Extended on the right, then click Options at the bottom of the screen and make sure "GUID" is the selected partition type. Thanks to everyone who pointed this out.


At this point do the Erase as mentioned above which should look like the following screen shot.

Continue reading Mac 101: Building a bootable diagnostic and repair flash drive
TUAWMac 101: Building a bootable diagnostic and repair flash drive originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Google Placates Publishers, Spoils Unlimited News Reading Experience
Agency Spy - Wed, 2009-12-02 19:53
In an effort aimed at satisfying publishers who are griping about search engines jacking their content, Google has now updated its First Click Free indexing service to let content sites limit readers to five free stories a day before payment/registration kicks in.
From an ad standpoint, it appears that Google is basically letting news sites hurt their own sales with the option. According to CNet UK, the search giant and Google-hater Rupert Murdoch now share the same viewpoint with this latest move--though a blog post from the Mountain Valley, CA company shows them spinning this technology as a way to avoid "cloaking." Whatever the case, it seems our online reading experience isn't changing for the better.
Via Gizmodo
More: "Rupert Murdoch Wants to Boycott the Digital Newsstand"
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Apple looking to sell iPod touch-based EasyPay checkout system to others?
TUAW - Wed, 2009-12-02 19:30Filed under: Accessories, Retail, Rumors, Apple, iPod touch
Apple has recently moved away from the old Windows Mobile-based EasyPay point-of-sale systems formerly used at the Apple Stores to a new iPod touch-based system. Now, Apple may be looking to sell the new system to other retailers. ifoAppleStore is reporting that Apple has received many inquires from people interested in purchasing this new system for their own use. The system consists of an iPod touch outfitted with an accessory case that has a built-in barcode scanner, magnetic card reader, and battery. The device also uses a Pogo stylus for capturing customer signatures. The iPod touch runs a custom application that handles all the aspects of the sale.
Sales of the system outside of Apple retail outlets still remains only a possibility, but Apple is reported to be compiling a list of customers who might be interested in purchasing it. If demand grows, this Apple-developed tool could be sold to many other retailers.
TUAWApple looking to sell iPod touch-based EasyPay checkout system to others? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
RedEye gives you a universal iPhone remote for your home entertainment center
TUAW - Wed, 2009-12-02 19:00Filed under: Hardware, Reviews, App Review
ThinkFlood has released RedEye, their universal remote add-on for iPhone and iPod touch. The RedEye remote is a combination of hardware and software that turns your iPhone into a truly universal remote control for IR-based devices. I received an advance unit to take for a spin, and tested it out with my (modest) home theater setup and an iPhone 3GS.
The RedEye hardware is retailing at $188US. I mention this early because the price point affected my perception of the product quite a bit. From the packaging to the construction of the unit, it doesn't really feel like high-end hardware -- not the way my Harmony 1000 remote does. Granted, it's still almost half the cost of the Harmony 1000 and less than half of the 1100, but the lightweight, plastic unit just doesn't pull off the aesthetics or feel of a $200 piece of hardware.
The hardware portion of the RedEye is an IR-blaster with a built-in charging dock for the iPhone/iPod touch. It creates a bridge between Wi-Fi (from the iPhone/iPod) and IR devices. The base unit has a fairly good IR range, but no built-in options for extending it. A repeater may be required in some circumstances, especially if your equipment is behind closed cabinet doors. The device has built-in Wi-Fi broadcast, and can connect to your iPhone/iPod right out of the box. You get better performance (and easier configuration), however, by modifying the setup to use an existing Wi-Fi signal in your home. Multiple units can be used to cover additional rooms and control them all from a single iPhone/iPod, and multiple iPhones/iPods can connect to a single RedEye unit. Configurations are stored in the unit itself, so software modifications made on one iPhone/iPod are available to any other iPhone/iPod.
The RedEye software [iTunes link] is a free download on the App Store. It detects RedEye units on the current network, and allows you to add multiple rooms, IR devices, commands and activities. Devices are easy to add from an extensive list, and most devices have commands presets available. New commands can be learned at any time by capturing the control signal from an existing remote. Activities combine commands for multiple IR devices into a single control panel with assignable buttons. Activities also have optional startup and shutdown macros, so devices can be turned on or off, inputs can be set, volume controlled, etc. when starting or stopping an Activity. Control panels can be built by adding buttons, assigning commands and icons to them and dragging them around to create your own remote. Ready-to-go templates are included for many devices/activities.
Ignoring my concerns about hardware quality for a bit, the functionality of the hardware/software combination is quite impressive. The premise is simple -- turn commands sent over Wi-Fi into infrared signals -- but the possibilities are endless. The large touch screen of the iPhone/iPod touch rivals that of the Harmony 1000/1100 or Pronto remotes. It lacks any hardware buttons, of course, but provides custom configurations limited only by screen space. The software setup is not as simple as I'd like, but the app itself is stable and reliable at this point. I think it would be well-served by a desktop-based application that could upload directly to the base unit. That would allow the user to build a remote/activity much faster than is possible with the iPhone, and decrease frustration significantly.
I'm not saying the RedEye isn't worth $188. It's a great universal remote system, and as far as I can tell, it's the only device of its type available for the iPhone/iPod touch (UIRemote seems to be dead?). It just needs some construction refinement, and maybe some software usability tweaks. If you've got an iPhone or an iPod touch, a lot of remotes on your coffee table, and a little time to spend with the initial setup, RedEye is really a very cost-effective solution. For more information (and ordering info), take a look at the RedEye site.
TUAWRedEye gives you a universal iPhone remote for your home entertainment center originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
AT&T and Verizon mutually drop lawsuits, customers rejoice
TUAW - Wed, 2009-12-02 18:00Filed under: Odds and ends, iPhone
Both companies were looking pretty stupid, with half-baked attack ads and claims, counter claims and lawsuits that get lawyers rich and customers wondering if the money might be better spent.Anyway, the Wall Street Journal and others are reporting that:
AT&T Inc. (T) on Wednesday dismissed its lawsuit against Verizon Wireless and its recent "There's A Map For That" campaign.
AT&T had already suffered a legal setback when a judge rejected its request to pull the ads last month, which the Dallas carrier argued inaccurately suggested inferior network coverage. The court ruled that Verizon Wireless's ads, which showed maps comparing coverage, clearly talked about third-generation, or 3G, coverage.
Meanwhile, Digital Daily reports Verizon has dismissed a similar lawsuit against AT&T.
OK AT&T. How about using that found money to improve your network and customer service? Come on. You can do it.
TUAWAT&T and Verizon mutually drop lawsuits, customers rejoice originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Ogilvy Cuts 90 in North America
Agency Spy - Wed, 2009-12-02 17:43
After hearing from tipsters this week that Ogilvy was letting go of staffers in San Fran and possibly other offices, we're finally able to confirm that the agency is in fact making cuts. Via a staff memo sent by North American Chairman John Seifert, we've come to learn that today Ogilvy is cutting 90 staffers or 4% of its total NA workforce.
Sources familiar with the matter tell us that the New York, San Fran and Los Angeles offices are all affected, though specific numbers for each weren't available. You can read Seifert's full message after the jump.
More: "Carla Hendra to Lead Ogilvy's Global Strategy & Innovation Practice"
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Airport diversion: Adrenaline Golf Online
TUAW - Wed, 2009-12-02 17:30Filed under: Gaming, iPhone, iPod touch, App Review
I think the iPhone really solves the 'sitting at the airport with hours to kill' problem quite well. As iPhone owners, we know we can browse the web, catch up on email or the news, even check to see why your flight is late.I have another suggestion. Give Adrenaline Golf Online [iTunes link] a try. It is one of the few games that really harnesses the power of 3GS graphics, but look quite good if you are on older hardware, and it works fine on an iPod touch too.
The game is basically miniature golf, with a pretty accurate physics engine. There are 72 courses in 3 different game modes. You can play online with golfers all over the world, or just play by your lonesome.
There are 4 different playing environments for 18 courses, which is how you get a total of 72. There is beach, forest, lava, and night. The animation and rendering of water and reflections is really stunning. The game play is challenging, and I easily blew an hour working through a couple of the courses.
All the courses have 3 difficulty levels, and have interesting challenges in getting your ball in the hole past a series of animated obstacles.
I'm not really a big game person, but I was instantly hooked by Adrenaline Golf. If I have any criticism it is that it is hard to predict how a particular hole will play and how far the ball will roll. Eventually I got the hang of it.
It might seem a little pricey at U.S. $4.99, but I think the effort involved in making this game was substantial, and I didn't mind the higher tariff.
If you're stuck at an airport or have time on your hands I suggest giving this game a try. I think it is especially good for people who like pool and miniature golf.
Here's a gallery of some screen shots:
Gallery: Screen shots from Adrenaline Golf Online
TUAWAirport diversion: Adrenaline Golf Online originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Psystar's Mac clones all sold out
TUAW - Wed, 2009-12-02 17:00Filed under: Apple Corporate
It didn't take long, but it seems that sometime in the night, following their agreement with Apple, Psystar has mysteriously run out of stock on all of their Mac clones. Apparently their settlement with Apple on the order of $2,000,000USD has caused them to accept defeat. Given that they only sold 768 clones over the course of the past two years, I don't imagine the inability to sell their hardware will have much of an impact on their financial statements.Down but not out, however, Psystar is still selling its Rebel EFI product which is used to circumvent OS X's EFI requirements for installation. In other words, it aims to make it dead simple to install Snow Leopard on any PC. Psystar's basis for continuing to sell Rebel EFI is that it was not included as part of the original case in San Francisco.
Even though another major chapter in the Apple v. Psystar battle has come to a close, it looks like Apple has some more work to do in Florida in order to stamp out the Rebel fires and finally squash this little bug of a company. Remember that Psystar is suing Apple in its native state Florida and in this case the issue of Rebel's legality/legitimacy is likely to come up.
Psystar may be circling the drain, but they're not done kicking yet.
TUAWPsystar's Mac clones all sold out originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
R/GA Nabs Ameriprise
Agency Spy - Wed, 2009-12-02 16:46
Ameriprise Financial appointed R/GA as its AOR. The agency, which also picked up the Taco Bell and Walmart biz earlier this year, will handle all strategic/creative duties from traditional to digital for the financial services firm. Meanwhile, R/GA and fellow IPG agency Initiative will collaborate on the media aspects of the business, with the former handling digital media buying/planning and the latter taking on traditional media as well as the integrated investment mix.
R/GA takes the Ameriprise baton from Saatchi & Saatchi New York, which has handled the account for the last four years. According to the NYT, Ameriprise's annual spending is estimated at $30 million.
More: "R/GA and Nike Women's Relationship is Changing"
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Song Summoner and sequel coming to iPhone
TUAW - Wed, 2009-12-02 16:30Filed under: Gaming, Software, iPhone, App Store
I actually did buy Song Summoner, the strange, out-of-nowhere tactics RPG from Square Enix that was made for the iPod last year. Yes, that's right it was made for the iPod -- at a time when everyone was waiting to see pro apps on the iPhone and the iPod touch, Square released a game controlled with a click wheel that used your iPod's songs as characters in a tactical RPG. And now, we've heard that Song Summoner is returning -- this time as a touchscreen based iPhone app.I have to say -- especially if you like Square Enix RPGs in the style of Final Fantasy Tactics, and you're intrigued by the "song conversion" engine (you choose a song in your mp3 playlists to import into the game, and then it becomes a character with specific stats), it's definitely worth a look. And for Song Summoner completists, the game comes with a sequel as well, unreleased due to Apple's dropping support of clickwheel games (which makes sense, given the App Store's popularity). It'll be in the App Store on December 3rd. No price listed yet, but there will be a lite version to try as well.
TUAWSong Summoner and sequel coming to iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Post Secret: Probably the Most Important Social Experiment of Our Time
Agency Spy - Wed, 2009-12-02 16:18We've written about PostSecret in the past, and I think I'm personally drawn to tying it into our content because so much of what you see here tends to avoid the subject matter of a campaign and focuses on the nuts and bolts. But PostSecret is one of those black hole subjects, so nebulous it makes you want to pour yourself into something that matters. It matters, but I don't know why. At least that's how I feel about it.
I'm not supposed to do this kind of thing, by the way, so forgive me for breaking the rules. Being impersonal is cumbersome and hopefully this will lift the weight for those of you who see this blog as it probably should be seen — a place to find the bullshit.
Whenever I read a PostSecret entry, I'm reminded of the vastness of the human condition. You have a secret. It's deep, dark and scares you to your core because if you reveal it, you perceive that you will be thought of differently. You have many secrets, but this one is the most important. You'll spend your entire life hiding it, going about your business. An elephant in your head or heart may seem small, but what you forget is that these places are bigger than the entirety of the universe. Relatively speaking, the elephant is huge.
There's no point to this post other than to showcase the ad below in a way that's respective of its content. Is a short film a good method for selling a book? Who knows, but lately we've seen this kind of thing more and more (James Othmer's "Adland" is a good example).
PostSecret's creator, Frank Warren, has compiled his fifth book of secrets, the latest is entitled "PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death and God." The short film/spot for the book (posted below) was directed by Benjamin Reece, who is internet famous from this video.
PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death and God from Frank Warren on Vimeo.
More: "Big Love Gets All PostSecret"
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
New York Creative Says Don't Tag Me Bro
Agency Spy - Wed, 2009-12-02 15:47
For all you Facebook users out there who have been victims of unfortunate photo tagging (and we're assuming that's most of you), Tom Noonan is offering something that will probably end up drawing more attention to you anyways.
Noonan, a creative director at Amalgamated, is hawking "Don't Tag Me In This Photo" t-shirts on this site, which includes examples of those Facebook pics in which we'd rather stay anonymous. See above.
More: "Addie Uses Facebook to Bust Drunken Thief"
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Enable extensions in Chromium (or Chrome)
Mac OS X hints - Wed, 2009-12-02 15:30Rather than launch via the command line every time, I use the following script to patch the --enable-extensions command line arguments into the application bundle itself: #!/bin/sh # Patches the Chromium application installation with command line arguments to enable extensions. set -o errexit app=${1:-/Applications/Chromium.app} cat >$app/Contents/MacOS/Chromium.wrapper <<EOF #!/bin/sh exec $app/Contents/MacOS/Chromium --enable-extensions "\$@" EOF chmod 755 $app/Contents/MacOS/Chromium.wrapper defaults write $app/Contents/Info CFBundl...
Set iChat status based on iCal event alarms
Mac OS X hints - Wed, 2009-12-02 15:30First, save this as a script in AppleScript Editor. I have saved it as iCal Event to iChat: set theEventName to (do shell script "/usr/local/bin/icalbuddy -ic \"Some\ Calendar\" -eep \"*\" -nc -b \"\" -n -li 1 eventsToday") if (theEventName is not "") then tell application "iChat" set status to away set status message to "I am attending " & theEventName & "." end tell end if Then, in iCal, and create a new event (Planning Meeting or whatever) on a calendar. Set the Alarm Type to run your new AppleScript (iCal...
10.6: A Service to 'install and keep' software updates
Mac OS X hints - Wed, 2009-12-02 15:30
Do you miss the ability to download and keep software updates directly from the Software Update application? I sure do. So I wrote a Service (81KB download) for Snow Leopard that will download and keep a copy of all updates recommended by the Software Update app.
The service will download the updates, then copy them to a folder called Updates in your home folder. It will then launch Software Update and allow you to install the updates without re-downloading them. The Service itself is just two steps, and you can open it up and look at it yourself in Automator.
If you'd like to recreate this yourself instead of downloading, the two steps are:
Twitter 360 Augmented Reality app for Twitter
TUAW - Wed, 2009-12-02 15:30Filed under: iPhone, App Store
As far as AR (augmented reality) Twitter apps go, Twitter 360 [iTunes Link] looks like the best of the bunch... so far. In what will no doubt become the top term of 2010, this augmented reality app allows you to track your friends via geolocation of their tweets. If you're into that sort of thing (or have an iPhone 3GS, since AR apps use the compass to position their markers). If the thought of strangers tracking you while you tweet creeps you out (and frankly, it should), rest assured that tracking is opt-in in that you can turn off geotagging for your tweets.As Fast Company points out, a neat feature is setting your "limit" or range of detection for tracking tweets. You can set this to World and see just how far away everyone is from wherever you happen to be standing. So yeah, pretty soon we'll all be tracking each other all over the place. What could go wrong?
Twitter 360 is currently $2.99US and is from Presselite, the folks who snuck in the first AR app without Apple's detection. Thanks for opening the floodgates! Check out the video of the app in action, below.
TUAWTwitter 360 Augmented Reality app for Twitter originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.





