iQuest Studios

Nearly 2 months after I first played with Leopard Beta, I finally got the final version installed on my Macbook Pro. Much has changed since the beta build I played with, including, but not limited to a changed background image for the installer, a less transparent interface bar (is that what it’s called. I forgot) and many other bug fixes (that, I can tell).

The Leopard launch in Singapore was good. Free Apple shirts where given out (though to the first 50 customers only - I was number 24!). However, the installation of Leopard on quite a few demo machines were still not completed when I got there with my friends. I was rather tempted to eject the installation disk. (just kidding). There were also a few DJs from Power98 (my preferred radio station before I got my iPod) at the launch, and they made the atmosphere more lively, though they were asking VERY simple questions. 

Well, time to play with my new OS. And here’s me with the Apple T-Shirt:

Till next time,
cheers 
 

The final 24 hours (give or take an hour or 2) to the official release of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard! Featuring over 300 new featuers, some claim it to be one of the greatest upgrades in the Mac OS X series. You might remember my little experiment with Leopard Beta about a month back if you have been following my blog. (give this reader an award!), but then it was still in an very early Beta form. (the version I tested was 9A500n and while it was pretty stable except for a few display bugs, the installation would have wiped all my data had I not kept a backup. But I am sure that they have fixed the upgrade bug. (but I am keeping a bootable backup, just in case.)

Ever since I switched back to Tiger after my experiment with Leopard, I have been awaiting the final release. The final build (or the Golden Master Build, from which retail DVDs will be made from), 9A581, has been leaked to torrent sites for about a week already. As a law abiding world citizen, I have refrained myself from downloading the illegal build. (partly because I can not achieve high download speeds with torrents, even though I am sure that I correctly port forwarded my computer). Tomorrow, I am going to pop down to the Leopard event held at a local Apple reseller tomorrow. Unfortunately, I don’t think they are giving out free T-shirts unlike the events at the Apple Stores.

So, if you in Singapore too, maybe you can also head down to the Leopard demo event at epiCentre@Wheelock (though I may be heading for iShop later) if you got nothing to do. Maybe you might be able to catch a glimpse of your star blogger and web developer there!

Till next time,
cheers

Yesterday, I took the first plunge into Mac OS X Development. Maybe its not the best of times to start on Mac OS X development with the upcoming Leopard release, but I was really intrigued.

So I decided to start with Applescript, which seems simple enough and yet seems powerful enough. The other alternative would be Objective C and Cocoa, which from I gather is MUCH MUCH more powerful, but also A LOT more complex. Hence, in order to continue the development of my scripts (see, I love you guys), I have decided to not devote all my energy into Mac OS X Development and learn Applescript instead of Objective C. (Ok, I am getting long-winded)

After starting on my first small Applescript Application, something that is supposed to generate an random number, I decided to take a look at widget development (after a little push from my friend). You know, the gadgets-like thing that Windows Vista ripped off the Mac OS. Yep, surprisingly it is actually made up of HTML, CSS and JavaScript. (Ok, I know this may not sound new to you experienced Apple Developers, but hey, I am a newbie!).

I found out (from the example given together with Xcode - The Mac Development Software or whatever you call it) that widget files (with the extension wdgt) are actually just bundles (meaning folders with a file extension) just like most Mac OS X apps. (that’s why most Mac applications only require you to drag a single “file” to your Applications folder to install it.) But anyway, let’s get back to widgets. Pretty much, it is made up of the following (forgive me if I bore you, PC user :P)

• a html file that will be the main file of the widget
• a CSS and/or Javascript file that may contain the styling and interaction codes. Of course they may be integrated into the HTML file just like any webpage.
• A background image in the png format
• An icon image in the png format
• info.plist, the file that contains all the information about the widget that will be sent to Mac OS X. If the values in this file are wrong, pretty much you cannot run the widget. (as I found out)
• And a version.plist file, which I haven’t looked into yet,

And why am I telling you guys all these? I have no idea. But if you are interested in widget development for Mac OS X, you should be encouraged to know that widget creation does not involve any other programming languages besides HTML, CSS and maybe a touch of Javascript for a little interactivity.

So right now, I am trying out a little widget development. And this is where I got to so far:

I know it is not much, but hey, one have to start somewhere right? I am currently looking into the Apple Developer Reference Library (which contains about 1GB worth of documentation and example codes for Apple Developers - as of the Oct 2007 release) to see how to make more advanced widgets.

I am also going to try to pick up Applescript programming, for it looks simple and yet powerful enough to develop a few small utilities. But of course, I would not totally abandon web development, but it looks like it will proceed at a much slower pace. (considering what limited time I have).

Oh, by the way, Apple Xcode Tools got a really powerful set of tools. I would advise even non-developers to look into it. After all, it is on your Mac OS X installation disc.

Well, just a little sharing of what I have found out and a little update in my life.

Till next time,
cheers

Yes, that’s it.

I am really bored. Since the falling out with one of my best friends, I have gone out a lot less, stuck at home almost everyday. Somehow it has twisted from me being angry with him to him being angry with me. I even took the initative to talk to him, to explain myself, but no, he had to reject my invitation. Now some of my “friends” even decided to join in the fun and turn against me. Enough is enough. I am just gonna remove myself from their lives and their lives from mine. Simple trade off. I may have to pay a higher price, but who cares?

Stuck at home all day, with almost nothing to do except surf the web and play computer games. That’s the lifestyle I desire a few months back. But now, Command And Conquer 3 has become kinda boring, Need For Speed Carbon is pointless without a gaming wheel, Yuri’s Revenge is getting repetitive and I can’t be bothered to boot into my Bootcamp partition to play CS:Source. Life’s becoming a drag.

Not much push to develop scripts as well. No exam stress, no pressure of any kind nor any incentives have presented themselves to push me to continue ALS development. I am bored and I am wasting my life away in front of a computer. My new bike also got a busted inner tube in the front wheel (at least that’s what I suspect) after my recent “long” distance trip, and I am trying to find the time and energy to call up those guys to claim my warranty service. Until then, no more biking trips.

Yeah, I can sleep the whole day. But besides the fact that my parents wouldn’t allow me to do that, I can’t sleep the whole day. I simply can’t, unless I do something that is taxing, either mentally or physically. Strange that a few weeks back, I felt time was never enough, and now I felt that I had too much time in my hands.

Now the only thing I can look forward to is the Leopard Launch in 5 days and 19 hours. And of course the OSA namelist. Life sucks doesn’t it?

P.S: Thought I would end this post with something special: a song dedicated to those “friends” I have decided to leave. Yes, life’s been fun with you guys and all, but I don’t take to insults kindly. As my last message to you guys, I wish you good luck in your future, but from now on, I don’t know you and you don’t know me.

Here’s the song titled “Apologize” by Timbaland (from the album “Shock Value”).

Right now, I am really tired. I cycled almost 20 km yesterday, but slept for less than 6 hours yesterday night, thanks to batch dinner.

I really regretted going to batch dinner. Though the food was good, but I ended up seeing people that I do not wish to see. Very unfortunate.

Short post today, I need either more coffee or more rest.

EDIT: Haha, Advanced Login System finally made it to the first page of its category at Hotscripts.com. I am very proud.

Till next time,
cheers