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iPhone SDK Beta 6
2008-05-29 20:11:00
The latest drop of the iPhone SDK has just been released and I must say that so far it rocks! I’ve had to make only minimal updates to get my iPhone apps running on this latest drop and best of all the builds seem to be blistering fast. Well, they’re pretty darn fast anyway on ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "iPhone SDK Beta 6", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2008/81/iphone- sdk-beta-6/" });
More About: Iphone , General , Development

Breakfast of Champions
2008-05-07 17:25:00
There used to be a senior exec in a company that I worked for who liked to say, “Feedback is the breakfast of champions”. Visuals from a literal translation of that Ken Blanchard quote aside, it has the power to transform anything. Feedback, in all of its forms, is often a tough serving to consume ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Breakfast of Champions ", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2008/79/breakfa st-of-champions/" });
More About: General , Opinion , Development

Peer reviews for the Solo coder
2008-04-17 16:05:00
Developing software in a solo environment has its pros and cons. On the upside you have complete reign over the code base (no problems with ownership here), freedom to follow specific designs and an ability to express your creativity. On the other hand, the very nature of the activity can be your down fall; tunnel ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Peer reviews for the Solo coder", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2008/78/peer-re views-for-the-solo-coder/" });
More About: Reviews , General , Opinion , Development

Virtual Accessors in CoreData
2008-04-09 23:41:00
In order to provide the best user experience it often occurs in a UI’s design that the underlying data model doesn’t quite mirror the mental model of the end user. Naturally, as a good UI designer you want to present to the end user what they expect to see and not force upon them your ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Virtual Accessors in CoreData", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2008/66/virtual -accessors-in-coredata/" });
More About: Mac , Development

Developer gets DZone?d, thinks it an April fools hoax.
2008-04-02 17:32:00
Most mornings I make it a habit to do a quick check of Google Analytics in order to view the stats on this blog. I’m usually greeted with somewhere between 25-35 visitors a day sometimes spiking to 50 or more. So you can imagine my surprise when I saw this: Yikes! No way. Did Google screw ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Developer gets DZone'd, thinks it an April fools hoax.", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2008/67/develop er-gets-dzoned-thinks-it-an-april-fools-h oax/" });
More About: General , Hoax

CoreData?s default date value
2008-04-01 04:17:00
CoreData is a powerful system available to Cocoa developers. Yet, with all of its inherent power somewhat mundane tasks still need a bit of customization love. Amoung these items are default values for managed object attributes. In particular, the default value for date type attributes usually need some customization. Within the core data modeler the default ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "CoreData's default date value", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2008/57/coredat as-default-date-value/" });
More About: Mac , Development

Java on the iPhone? Say it ain?t so?
2008-03-23 15:14:00
Almost as soon as the iPhone SDK was released Sun announced its plans to develop and release the JVM for the iPhone. As a long time Java developer I should be ecstatic about this news. However, rather than causing sleepless nights dreaming about the possibilities of a JVM on the iPhone it somewhat depresses me. ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Java on the iPhone? Say it ain't so...", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2008/56/java-on -the-iphone-say-it-aint-so/" });
More About: Mac , Iphone

iPhone SDK first impressions
2008-03-12 20:22:00
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past week you’ve probably heard about the new iPhone SDK beta release by Apple. The SDK opens the doors to what promises to be a groundbreaking platform for software development. In fact, legendary VC firm KPCB believes in the platforms possibilities so much that they ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "iPhone SDK first impressions", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2008/53/iphone- sdk-first-impressions/" });
More About: Mac , Iphone , First Impressions , Impressions

A Warning about your inverse relationships
2008-02-29 03:21:00
When working on a data model it is common to run into a situation where one data entity knows about another but not the other way around. Usually you can make the argument that both objects should know about each other. However, for one reason or another, which usually comes down to some underlying implementation ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "A Warning about your inverse relationships", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2008/49/a-warni ng-about-your-inverse-relationships/" });
More About: Relationships , Mac , Development

Creating an Action PopUp Button in Leopard
2008-02-20 19:04:00
It seems that everywhere you look in OS X you see applications with popup action buttons. You know, that button with a gear on it. Click it and a menu full of goodies pops up for you to play with. Apple itself uses it pretty extensively in its apps; Mail and Finder are ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Creating an Action PopUp Button in Leopard", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2008/41/creatin g-an-action-popup-button-in-leopard/" });
More About: Mac , Development

Point Reyes Bumblebee
2008-02-03 17:08:00
  Here’s a shot that I took of a bumblebee taking in a flower along a hiking trail at Point Reyes California. Point Reyes National Seashore is a wonderful place and if you’ve never been you should make a trip. It’s about 30 miles north of San Francisco along the fantastic Highway 1. Interestingly, if not ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Point Reyes Bumblebee ", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2008/39/point-r eyes-bumblebee/" });
More About: Photos

Sorting a CoreData backed NSArrayController
2008-01-30 04:02:00
NSArrayController is an incredible way to provide data to many of Cocoa’s UI controls. Typically, it manages an array of data objects which can be sorted, filtered, selected, and basically served up to the UI control for display. Pair this flexibility with the power of CoreData and you have a powerful dynamic. However, this flexibility ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Sorting a CoreData backed NSArrayController", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2008/37/sorting -a-coredata-backed-nsarraycontroller/" });
More About: Mac , Development

Poas Volcano Crater
2008-01-13 04:42:00
Here’s a shot I took in Costa Rica while looking down into the crater of Poas volcano. Believe it or not this crater is almost in the middle of a forest. The volcano is still somewhat active and in 1989 caused the park to close for a period of time. This photo sort of reminds ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Poas Volcano Crater", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2008/36/poas-vo lcano-crater/" });
More About: Photos

Generational Garbage
2008-01-10 16:57:00
One of the strategies used by modern garbage collectors (GC) to collect memory is the usage of generations. There are a couple of key observations about objects that are capitalized on in order to make the GC more efficient through this strategy. Exploiting Key Observations First, the life of most objects tends to be short ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Generational Garbage ", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2008/35/generat ional-garbage/" });
More About: Mac , Development

Half Dome from Sentinel Dome
2008-01-03 22:36:00
I’m currently working on another post for the Leopard garbage collection series (see Collecting Leopard?s Garbage and Patterns for garbage collection) but until then here’s a shot from a recent trip to Yosemite. The shot was taken from Sentinel Dome and looks out towards Half Dome which you see on the right hand side. ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Half Dome from Sentinel Dome", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2008/34/half-do me-from-sentinel-dome/" });
More About: Photos

It?s a Jelly, eh?
2007-12-29 19:52:00
Taken on a recent trip to Monterey, California. Sea Nettle, Chrysaora Fuscescens, is a type of jellyfish found in coastal waters from Alaska to California. If you haven’t been to the Monterey Bay Aquarium then you should plan a trip. Set right on the ocean and fed with real sea water it is one of ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "It's a Jelly , eh?", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2007/33/its-a-j elly-eh/" });
More About: Photos

Patterns for garbage collection
2007-12-27 18:10:00
Garbage collection in Leopard adds a new dimension to Mac development which allows developers to focus more on application functionality rather than on memory management. This nirvana, however, is not without some pitfalls. Knowledge of a few key concepts and traps to avoid should keep your application development humming along. Patterns to use Actively manage resources. Objects ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Patterns for garbage collection", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2007/26/pattern s-for-garbage-collection/" });
More About: Development , Garbage

Mac software that you wish you had but were afraid to ask
2007-12-21 15:24:00
Inspired by a recent article on Mac 360 I too wonder what Mac software do you wish that you had but does not yet exist? We’re not talking about new features of existing apps but rather something totally new. Missing features of existing applications can inspire helper apps so that is a possibility. Is there some ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Mac software that you wish you had but were afraid to ask", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2007/32/mac-sof tware-that-you-wish-you-had-but-were-afra id-to-ask/" });
More About: Software , General

Little known ?back door? in Mac OS X!
2007-12-20 01:20:00
I recently became the proud owner of a Netgear WGPS606 wireless print server. While I was quite excited to finally have a laser printer on the network the Netgear let me down in some ways by only being able to be configured via Windows. What a nasty bite that was. After dusting off the Windows ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Little known 'back door' in Mac OS X! ", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2007/27/cups-fo r-mac/" });
More About: General , Back , Door

Collecting Leopard?s Garbage
2007-12-15 19:07:00
Memory management is a delicate yet required skill of many who program. Those who program in C know the fine detail of managing each and every byte while those who have broadened out to Objective-C have enjoyed a slightly more relaxed thought process. Java developers on the other hand have lived ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Collecting Leopard 's Garbage ", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2007/23/collect ing-leopards-garbage/" });
More About: Mac , Development

Aspie Quiz
2007-12-13 21:24:00
Interesting study quiz on Autism to be found at rdos.net. Now exactly what all of these categories mean and how they relate I’m not sure since I couldn’t easily find an explanation on the site. It’s a pretty graph though SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Aspie Quiz ", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2007/9/aspie-qu iz/" });
More About: General

Leopard Spaces
2007-11-11 04:29:00
One thing that I have always loved about Unix is virtual desktops. For a developer screen real estate is paramount and in the absence of multiple monitors it is a life saver. In Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger there was Desktop Manager which I used extensively and loved. It worked great! Now with Leopard virtual ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Leopard Spaces ", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2007/10/leopard -spaces/" });
More About: Development

Ironcoder 7
2007-11-10 04:26:00
And they’re off… The seventh edition of Ironcoder has officially started. This go around the contest lasts a little over a week which is considerably longer than the usual weekend. The prize however, is absolutely grand: an 8GB iPod Touch! Judging is performed by the combined efforts of all participants in the contest which, in ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Ironcoder 7", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2007/8/ironcode r-7/" });
More About: Mac , Development , Coder , Ronco

Caldwell County Jail in Abstract
2007-11-04 15:03:00
We recently took a trip out to Lockhart Texas for some of the incredible BBQ at Kreuz’s and while we were in town we took a tour of the Caldwell County Jail . The jail is an interesting historic site that was in operation up until a few decades ago. It turns out that it was ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Caldwell County Jail in Abstract ", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2007/7/caldwell -county-jail-in-abstract/" });
More About: Photos

UPS Urgent Delivery! Yea, right?.
2007-11-02 22:53:00
I have to say that in this day and age I have come to rely on companies like FedEx and UPS to deliver items often purchased over the web. Occasionally, I use them in order to conduct business and it is with these deliveries that I most rely on them. Most of the time they ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "UPS Urgent Delivery ! Yea, right....", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2007/6/ups-urge nt-delivery-yea-right/" });
More About: Rants , General , Gent

Inaugural Post
2007-10-22 16:35:00
As the famous quote from Confucius goes, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” And here it is: ’step’ (left foot - queue fanfare music). As with most things in life starting out from a standstill takes not only effort but courage and tenacity. Once rolling, things become easier as you ... SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Inaugural Post ", url: "http://shanecrawford.org/2007/4/inaugura l-post/" });
More About: General