T11M

Many pundits have stated that Apple is a game changer. Just look at many of it’s products – iPod, iPhone, unibody Mac, etc. No matter what they do they make sure their products are stable and user friendly (I’d even say user easy). But I didn’t truly believe Apple could change the way I used a computer until this morning when I realized I haven’t used a mouse to interact with my laptop in weeks. It’s not for lack of a mouse either. I have one sitting on my desk at all times. I tried to use it this morning and I was much slower getting around than when I use the trackpad. The new glass trackpad is incredibly swift, smooth, closer to the keyboard, and contains many built in shortcuts. I’ve used other trackpads and even the predecessor to this one couldn’t compete with a mouse. But now the functionality of the trackpad and the ease of use have soundly beaten the mouse in my mind.

I didn’t realize it until today, but Apple is slowly mastering the Holy Grail of computing – user/technology interraction – and by defining how the user interacts they will remain one or two steps ahead of the competition.

OS X, Personal

Great post on easily limiting access to websites.

HTAccess Privacy for Specific IPs: “

Running a private site is all about preventing unwanted visitors. Here is a quick and easy way to allow access to multiple IP addresses while redirecting everyone else to a custom message page.

To do this, all you need is an HTAccess file and a list of IPs for which you would like to allow access.

Edit the following code according to the proceeding instructions and place into the root HTAccess file of your domain:

# ALLOW ONLY MULTIPLE IPs
<Limit GET POST PUT>
 Order Deny,Allow
 Deny from all
 Allow from 123.456.789
 Allow from 456.789.123
 Allow from 789.123.456
</Limit>
ErrorDocument 403 path/custom-message.html
<Files path/custom-message.html>
 Order Allow,Deny
 Allow from all
</Files>

To prepare this code for use on your site, do these three things:

1. Edit the three IP addresses to suit your needs. Feel free to add more IPs or remove any that aren’t needed.
2. Edit both instances of ‘path/custom-message.html’ to match the path and file name of the file that will contain your custom message. This may be anything, anywhere, with any functionality you desire.
3. That’s it. Copy/paste into your site’s root htaccess file, upload, test, and get out!

(Via Perishable Press.)

Web

I have been asked by many people on many occasions, “Why are you becoming Catholic?” Unable to give them a definite answer at the time, I have set out to put into words the reasons why I am making this choice and going through the long process of becoming Catholic.

1. The Sacraments – “Efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us by the work of the Holy Spirit.” (CCC) – I have often heard
   Catholics speak of the blessed sacraments and how wonderful they are, but it wasn’t until I actually learned of their meaning that they began to make sense to me. In short they are an outward sign of God’s grace. It’s not that God needs to show this outward sign in order to give us grace, but rather I need this outward sign to comfort and encourage me. These outward signs, or sacraments, have become very important to me the closer I get to confirmation.
2. The Structure – The Catholic Church teaches that the Holy Spirit reveals God’s truth through Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium (the teaching office of the Church made up of the Pope and the Bishops in communion with him). In most Protestant churches there is a heavy focus on
   Sacred Scripture while Tradition is left by the wayside (not to mention that Protestant churches generally have no equivalent to the Magisterium, leaving scriptural interpretation to individuals). I have always thought this was very imbalanced By following these traditions I am able to reflect on Christ’s actions on earth. Finally, the Magisterium (I’ve noticed that word bothers people), is responsible for studying the Scriptures, Tradition, and all of the works of the Saints to make decisions on theology. Call me overly trusting, but I would rather statements of theology be considered, crafted, and handed down by people called to God’s work and who have spent a lifetime studying the mysteries of faith rather than myself. While every aspect of faith must, at some point, be considered by every individual, leaning on the guidance of the Magisterium is like using sources to write a history paper. Why would that be considered unthinkable or inappropriate when making decisions about faith?
3. The Apostolic Tradition – Every bishop in the Catholic Church can trace their ordination back to the Apostles; never has the line of ordination been broken. That is powerful to me.
4. The Unity amongst Diversity – There is a unity in the Catholic Church that I have not found anywhere else. On Sunday, Mass happens around the world and all are identical in purpose and tradition. I
   love that the Catholic Church is universal and readily available to all.
5. The Open Door Policy – I have found no other church that I can go to at anytime of the day or night and walk in to meditate, pray, or worship. The doors to the Catholic Church are always open.

In the end, these are just a few of the multitude of reasons, some inexplicable, for why I am joining the Catholic Church. However, I must say that the most important reason, the one that unequivocally motivates me to become Catholic is that I feel at home. I feel as though I meet God there. He and I haven’t gotten on much since I went to college, but my renewed interest, my homecoming if you will, has brought us closer. To be frank, I have found the Trinity to exist in the Catholic Church and to come alive to me there unlike anywhere else I have ever been. And that is all that need be said.

Personal Catholic

RSS feeds are one of the greatest inventions of the web. Rather than having to go from page to page on the web an RSS feed allows you to sit back and aggregate all of the news you want into one place. This one place being your RSS reader of choice. I am a long time Google Reader user and advocate. I love it. All of my news, blogs, and other syndicated internet content in one handy location that is viewable from anywhere I connect to the web. Until recently there have been no desktop RSS readers I was willing to even consider, but then NetNewsWire released its latest version (3.2) which touts full Google Reader synchronization. I had to give it a try, and let me tell you, I’m pleasantly surprised.

First the desktop app is a well designed, sleek looking Mac app. It has the standard easy to use buttons, straightforward configuration that every Mac user looks for and loves. Set up is a breeze and synchronization with Google Reader was simple. It even brings down the folder arrangement I have in Google Reader and allows me to browse by feed, by folder, or by the last 24 hours of news (which by the way is a feature Google Reader should add). I often fall behind in keeping up with my RSS feeds and the 24 hour view allows me to get up to speed on that days news quickly. Then I can go back at my convenience to read up on what I have missed.

Second NetNewsWire has built in tabbed browsing functionality or it easily sends links to your default browser. I prefer to open all of the news stories in NetNewsWire and thereby never leave the app. In fact, after using NetNewsWire for some time, I don’t even realize at that I have been surfing the web from within it. I can click links and browse just like a web browser.

Third is built in functionality to post directly to a blog (via my choice of blogging software) or post to Delicious with just the push of a button. This functionality makes it incredibly easy for me to read a story and immediately blog about it.

Lastly it provides me with reports about the feeds I am subscribed to – how often they update, the bandwidth they take, etc. The stats aren’t that important to me, but it is extremely interesting to see what feeds provide me the most content and which ones I read the most. Absolutely perfect for a guy like me who enjoys the numbers.

Overall, I don’t think I will ever go back to using the Google Reader web interface except when viewing my feeds from a computer other than my Mac. Especially since NetNewsWire also is available as an iPhone app with a much easier interface to use than Google Reader on the phone via Safari. Best part is it’s all free as long as you are willing to put up with a few tastefully displayed adds. If not the desktop app is only $9.99 and the iPhone app is just $1.99.

Download NetNewsWire Mac App

Download NetNewsWire iPhone App

OS X, Personal, Software

BlackBerry Desktop Software Syncs Your BlackBerry with Macs and PCs [Downloads]: “Windows/Mac OS X: BlackBerry Desktop Software effortlessly syncs your BlackBerry with your Mac or PC, including music, contacts, and appointments. The Windows version isn’t new, but the app just hit…”

(Via Lifehacker.)

OS X, Software

Personal, Web