Stuff ‘n Junk, 2011
Some cool things I discovered this year…
[Reblogged] 2010/2011 Wishlist
Re-posting this from the old blog, dated 25th May, 2010. It’s great to see so many items on the list becoming a reality. Still waiting for iTunes.com though…
Showing posts tagged apple
It has been almost a month since Steve Jobs officially stepped down as CEO of Apple. Today the stock is literally off-the-charts at a new all-time high.
Apple’s market cap is now nearly $25 billion larger than Exxon’s, the second most-valuable public company in the world. Apple’s market cap will soon surpass $400 billion.
The iPhone 5 hasn’t even been announced yet.
iOS: Debugging Web Services
Some useful tools & tips for debugging iOS apps which connect to web services:
Debugging in the iPhone Simulator
- Wireshark - free, open source app.
- Charles Web Debugging Proxy - paid app, with free trial. Supports SSL connections.
Debugging On-Device
- Paros Proxy - free, open source app. In Paros, go to Tools -> Options… select the Local Proxy option. Enter your Mac’s IP address and leave the port at 8080. On your iOS device, go to Settings -> Wi-Fi, select the same network as your Mac and tap the blue button. Set HTTP Proxy to Manual and enter your Mac’s IP address under Server and 8080 for the Port.
Apple TV (v2) Display Issues [Updated]
Update: It looks like this issue will be resolved in the iOS 4.3 update. Currently, beta 2 has an option to change the HDMI mode. Switching the mode to RGB High prevents the display issue from occurring.
Over the holidays, I was lucky enough to receive a Sony Bravia KDL-32EX401 TV as a gift. I’m finally able ditch my old Bush HDTV, with it’s wacky array of non-HDMI ports.
This has reduced clutter behind my set, as I can now use a single HDMI cable instead of all the cables I previously used to work around the Bush TV’s lack of HDMI.
The Sony TV is wonderful - the picture is great and the TV firmware is actually quite usable. It’s also upgradable via USB, which is a nice touch.
Unfortunately, I’ve encountered a serious display issue with the Apple TV when it’s hooked up to the Sony TV. The display randomly flickers and the colours become inverted (see image below). The only way to resolve the issue is to switch the HDMI input source and back again. This is infuriating when watching a movie or TV show.
Old Apple TV -> iTunes Media Server
Since purchasing the new Apple TV, my old grey Apple TV has been collecting dust on a shelf in my office. With the new model retailing for $99 / €119, there’s not much point in trying to sell it (especially with the lack of updates for it).
Currently, I’m streaming my media to the new ATV from iTunes on my MacBook Pro. All of the content is on a network drive, so the only reason for needing the MBP is for the iTunes library / Home Sharing features.
Seeing as the old ATV is a low-power, Intel-based Mac, I figured I’d have a go at installing Leopard on it and using it as a media server for the new ATV to stream from. That way, I can move all of the video-related tasks to a dedicated machine, which frees up my MBP for other tasks. It also means that the iTunes library will still be accessible when my MBP is offline or out of the house.
Ripping DVDs for Apple TV
As mentioned previously, I use an Elgato Turbo.264 HD stick to quickly encode movies for use with my Apple TV.
I’m now in the process of looking into ripping all of my DVD content into H.264, so that I can also watch it on the Apple TV. My current DVD player is an Xbox 360 and the fan noise on that thing is incredibly loud. Besides, it’s nice to have all of my content in the one place.
Bug Report #8692813
iTunes Store - Lack of Closed Captioned Titles
Summary:
Little to no movies / TV shows available on the iTunes Store offer subtitles or closed captioning for the hard of hearing.
Steps to Reproduce:
1. Enable subtitles and closed captioning on the Apple TV.
2. Rent / purchase a movie / TV show.
Expected Results:
Movie / TV show plays with closed captioning / subtitles.
Actual Results:
In the majority of cases, no captions/subtitles are displayed. This makes the device useless for those with hearing disabilities.
App Store Feedback
For those of you who are following me on Twitter, you’ve no doubt heard me bitching and moaning about the App Store’s “broken” reviews system.
I’m going to file a bug report on this and if you have a developer account, I would suggest that you do the same. I’ll post the radar number here once I’ve done so.
[UPDATE: radar numbers are listed next to the problem names below]
To sum up my Twitter rantings, I have two main gripes with how user-feedback is implemented on the store:
