Review

Dec 29 2011

FireFox tip

Those of us in Canada are aware how our government keeps “shooting itself in the foot”. Those outside the country may not be aware just how silly and petty our government can get. For example they have this thing about promoting Canadian culture in the media. Not too bad on the surface of things right? Rather than encourage Canadians to produce our own material they de-regulate the media so they can purchase more American programming. Some of the stuff from South of the border is OK so it can rise and fall with the local ratings. However they take it a step further. If a Canadian station schedules a TV show at the same time as it is scheduled on an American station the cable companies are supposed to replace the American station with the Canadian station. This way the Canadian station can count local commercials as “Canadian content”. Of course this adds five minutes to the amount of commercials… The nasty part comes when we get to on-line content.

When viewing on-line content the government censors what we can see. I’m not talking about stuff like kiddie porn. I’m talking about over the air content. If a show is broadcast in Canada on a Canadian station, but is supplied by an American outfit Canadians have to go through the Canadian web site to view it. Part of the problem is some sites view on-line content as a preview rather than an archive or time-shift. So often not all of a show is available. Some times it is even missing. Yet on the American site it is all there. In this situation we have a message stating “This content is not available in your area”. Very frustrating…

There is a plugin for FireFox which seems to work with a few sites. It is called “Modify Headers”. True to the name it changes the header of what is sent out by FireFox to indicate a different geographic area. Essentially it persuades the computer to lie for you. This is different than going through a proxy server. The proxy server may actually be located in the same geographic area so essentially your computer wouldn’t by lying.

The directions for using this plugin are not inherently obvious. After some reading on the net I found out what to do.

  1. Surf to the site which has the blocked video.
  2. Under the tools menu access the Modify Headers plugin.
  3. In the first box enter “X-Forwarded-For” (it should auto-complete).
  4. Enter a numeric IP for the area in question (12.13.14.15 is suggested for the States,  no suggestion for Europe is given).
  5. Refresh the page.

At that point things should run properly. Apparently this doesn’t work on all sites. The reason I waited to post this was to see if I could find a site through every day surfing which wouldn’t work. So far I haven’t found one.

Followup: I tried this on a Mac running Snow Leopard. It didn’t work. Worst case… It should work in an emulator.

By BlankMike • Browsers, Cross Platform, Documentation, Review, Software, web browsers • 0 • Tags:

Oct 1 2011

aTunes – a cross-platform music player

A few minutes ago I downloaded and tried out a free music player called aTunes. They had a version update to 2.1.0. My impression is it is a good try. There are a couple of features which iTunes doesn’t have but (on the Mac at least) the interface is a little clunky. For the moment Apple doesn’t have much to worry about. However I can see where this project is going so it may be worth considering in the future.

The program itself can be downloaded from http://www.atunes.org/ but for the Mac there is a dependency. It also needs mplayerx to drive the sound. Mplayer needs to be installed first. This is fine for Linux users but Mac users will need to get it from the app store or go to their website and download it from Google apps. Since Apple doesn’t need to have my information I prefer to get the program elsewhere.

Once everything is downloaded and installed, aTunes will want to know the location of your “tunes”. I told it to select the user directory. It took so long looking for the files I told it to perform the search in the background. Since I only have a couple of tunes it seemed like a waste of time.

The way it plays the “tunes” is to call up mplayer and play it through that. Mplayer on Linux is a great program which everyone who isn’t running a server should install. Even on the Mac it is pretty good. On the Mac it likes to run everything. In order to stop a tune the user has to leave aTunes and tell mplayer to stop. This is the first of a couple of annoyances I find with aTunes.

When aTunes is running it presents the user with a multi-paned window similar to Banshee or RhythmBox on Linux. One of the panes shows the lyrics to the song which is currently playing.

I tried a couple of the features. They didn’t work out too well. The “Radio” section wouldn’t stream anything (could be my ISP) and nothing showed up in the podcast section.

As I said up front, it is a good effort. Keep working at it folks. I think they aren’t too far away from a very good product.

By BlankMike • Apps, Cross Platform, Freeware, iTunes, OS X, Review, Software • 0 • Tags: , , ,

Aug 15 2011

Three E-Book readers compared

The three readers are Adobe Digital Editions from Adobe, Stanza from http://www.lexcycle.com/, and Skim from http://skim-app.sourceforge.net.

Each of the three have their strong points and weak points. Adobe is fairly powerful and fast, but lack many of the whiz bang features of other readers.They concentrate mostly on PDF documents (which is no surprise). Apart from formatting, there really isn’t much there which can’t be found in Preview (built into OS X). It has the look of a Windows program ported to the Mac. Adobe would be better off releasing this program to the Linux or BSD platforms unless they plan on adding more features to it.

Stanza was quite a surprise. They claim it is the “standard” reader on the various “pad” devices. I can see why. There are two versions available. Naturally the commercial version has more features enabled than the free version. Stanza supports more file formats than the other two. It also supports “multi-column reading”. I wasn’t convinced about this until I tried reading an unformatted document. On a computer it is slightly better to go through this type of document than it is to read it page by page. On a pad I can see where this would be a great advantage. Bookmarks in particular are a good idea for readers. There is also limited support for themes in the free version. This area has some bugs but the work around is to select the theme then quit the program and restart it. Unlike the other two it can not deal with graphics. It is a text only program.

Skim has a slightly different focus. It can be used not only as a reader, but also as a way to take notes. I haven’t done much experimentation with this program but I can see immediately where it would be very useful for students and those who need to make notes in their manuals. Both times I made notes in a PDF file they appeared off to the side of the document. One left an icon on the main page and the other had a square I could double-click to open the note. In addition to the users notes, there is also the bookmark feature I mentioned  earlier.

Each of these programs are currently available for free.

By BlankMike • Freeware, Library Programs, OS X, Review, Software • 0 • Tags: , , ,

Jul 2 2011

Revew: Jomic

Jomic is another comic book reader. It is written for the PPC, so the Intel folks will need to install Rosetta (allows the Intel machines to run PPC code). The version I have appears to be a demo. Many of the items in the menu are greyed out. However, I found by a bit of experimentation some of these items do function.

Since the program was written for slower machines I’ve observed it is very fast on a faster machine. It is also quite stable and have observed no crashes. It also handles zip files very well. I would not be surprised to find it works with rar files just as well. For those worried about cbz and cbr files, those formats are wrappers around zip and rar files.

The down side is unless the authors release an Intel version of the program, it will not work with OS X 10.7 (Lion) because Apple has said they will not be supporting Rosetta beyond 10.6 (Snow Leopard). There are other requirements in addition to those I outlined. The home page for the project is located at…

http://jomic.sourceforge.net/

By BlankMike • Apps, Freeware, Macintosh, OS X, Review, Software • 0 • Tags: ,

Jun 15 2011

Add on – Dapplegrey

Dapplegrey is a front end to DOSBox. It is a way to maintain quick access to the features and programs stored within DOSBox. Minimum requirements are OS X 10.3 and a PPC Mac.

Access to programs is quite simple. It is a matter of  going to the “Games List” tab and double-clicking on the desired program. The assumption is people running DOSBox are running old DOS (PC) games. In my case this is true. I do everything else in OS X and Linux.

One claim is there is no need to go into DOSBox to install and run games. Reading the help file from DOSBox shows many of the details can be handled via parameters passed to the program when it is started. In reality, some games have a separate install and configuration program. I found for these games it is best to go into DOSBox directly and perform these tasks manually. This makes adding games to the list much easier since everything is already installed.

Adding programs is done through the “Add” button. The user simply sets up the environment they want to use and they are ready to go.

One problem I found is on the machine I use, DOSBox has trouble entering full screen mode. It has to be restarted several times before it takes.

Other than that, I find Dapplegrey to be worth a look. Their web page can be accessed from the DOSBox page or via the following link…

http://www.classics-for-x.info/csx/dapplegrey/index.htm

 

Update: June 27, 2011

After having some hardware problems I rearranged some of the computers. I put the Mac Mini where I was running DOSBox on a separate keyboard and monitor. It was previously connected to a KVM switch. All the problems about going into full screen mode disappeared. Apparently some machines handle KVM switches better than others…

It turns out Dapplegrey is a fairly good game launcher when things are working properly. I found there was more capability by launching DOSBox directly but it is an effort to set up the configuration file to meet my needs (eg. reporting a GB of free space and 512 MB of RAM). Dapplegrey will not allow large values in certain situations but will accommodate them in others. It is also a lot easier to set up “common” values.

By BlankMike • Freeware, Games, Macintosh, OS X, Review, Software • 0 • Tags:

May 3 2011

Fodder for Virtual Machine users: Ubuntu 11.04 is out

There are a good portion of our readers who know what I’m talking about. At the same time there are more than a few who don’t. I’ll explain what I mean in the title…

Modern Intel Macs can be used to run PC software. When I say PC, I do not necessarily refer only to Microsoft and Windows. In this case Ubuntu is an example of a non-Microsoft operating system. Typically this is done in three ways. The first is to use a dual-boot program such as “Bootcamp”. Second is to use a program such as “Macports” to recompile the software to run on a Mac. The third is to run a PC emulator such as “Parallels”, “Fusion”, or “VirtualBox”

Early reviews of Ubuntu 11.04 are split down the middle. The folks who put together the program have replaced the Gnome window manager with a new one called Unity. Some people love it and others hate it. Some people prefer a more traditional interface and download an Ubuntu varient called Kubuntu. Reviews of Kubuntu are mostly favourable.

Putting both ideas together I have installed Kubuntu in VirtualBox. It runs. For an emulated operating system it isn’t bad. The only thing to be aware of is VirtualBox requires the user to download the Extras Pack in addition to the main program. Why they didn’t just include it is beyond me…

Here are the links…

Ubuntu: http://www.ubuntu.com

Kubuntu: http://www.kubuntu.org

VirtualBox: http://www.virtualbox.org

By BlankMike • Emulation, Macintosh, OS X, Review • 0 • Tags:

Apr 10 2011

Live Game CD

By now folks realise I’m into free stuff. I was looking around some of the social networking sites I frequent when I found this little gem. It’s a live CD with old DOS games for the PC. So why am I writing about it here? Simple answer… It works better on Intel Macs than it does on PCs. Well, at least it does on the machines I use. ;-)

The CD contains a whopping 40MB of games. Back in the day, that was a lot. Since it’s a live CD any games saved will only be saved for that session.

The system is a Linux system and emulates DOS with DOSEmu. There are about 10 public domain and freeware games including Doom and Heretic.

To find out more about the CD surf over to http://4mlinux.com/news.html. The only thing is a blank CD and knowledge on how to burn an ISO image.

By BlankMike • Cross Platform, Emulation, Games, OS X, Review, Software • 0 • Tags: ,

Mar 17 2011

Review: Minitube Demo

This morning while performing my daily internet news gathering I came across an update to an interesting program. Minitube is a You Tube downloader/player. One of the major points the author makes is it doesn’t use the Flash player. In my opinion this makes it fairly fast.

This program is available in four forms, Mac, Windows, Linux (32bit binary), and source code. The Mac and Windows versions have demos. I would guess the Linux and source code versions are the full program. It is important to point out I am using the demo of the current version on the Mac. My Linux box is having more trouble so I can’t tell if the full version is available in Linux or not. The full Mac and Windows versions appear to be commercial software. Unfortunately I don’t seem to be able to find a price anywhere.

The difference between the demo and the full versions are naturally more features, a nag screen which appears after a few seconds, and downloading is limited to four or less minute videos. The program on the Mac downloads as a single dmg file. I dragged the program file to the desktop and ran it from there. So far after about 20 minutes of video play and a single download I have yet to detect any bugs.

One thing I found to be different from other You Tube players is the way it indexes the files. The search is very fast. It looks as though it is possible to build up a play list. The play list is useful if a video is split across multiple segments. I tried two different videos. The first was a high resolution anime called “Stellvia of the Universe” and the other was a 1957 radio show called “The Goon Show”, specifically the “What time is it Eccles” sketch. Mentioning the names is important because I found after the video I wanted finished, the player played the next in the list of suggestions (some are better than others). By mentioning the name the reader can duplicate my experiences.

The program may be downloaded from http://flavio.tordini.org/minitube.

By BlankMike • Apps, Cross Platform, Macintosh, Review, Software • 0 • Tags: ,

Jun 1 1978

Applesoft II – An A.P.P.L.E. Review

By Val J. Golding

APPLESOFT I I Extended Precision Floating Point Basic. $20 from Apple dealers or direct from Apple Computer, 10260 Bandley Drive, Cuptertino, CA 95014. Supplied free with new 16-48K Apples. A ROM version is expected to be released about July 1st for $99.

One’s first impression might be that charging for this updated version of Applesoft is unfair, which was our snap judgement. However, consideration must be given to other facts, the first being that Apple Computer has spent a small fortune in development costs and programlning expense, and through the sale of the cassette tapes is attempting to recoup only a small portion of that expense. Secondly, Applesoft II is so much modified from the original that it should properly be considered as a new Basic, rather than a modification. And on this basis, a search through magazine ads reveals that many computer owners, Altair, Imsai, etc., pay hundreds of dollars for a good extended Basic, still not a “rip-off” price, once again taking development costs into account.

Despite it’s superior string handling capabilities, we have avoided Applesoft I for a number of reasons, including the many format differences from the faster running Integer Basic, and the lack of immediate error messages, owing to the manner in which the two respective Basics are compiled. Many of these items, minor in themselves, such as the use of a hyphen instead of a comma in the LIST command, have been rectified. In contrast, the listing format has also been revised. with the consequence that, like Integer Basic, one must now utilize the POKE 33,33 routine to avoid tracing over the gaps in long print statements.

In addition, it is also necessary to backspace with escape “B” to copy a line number. Apple says this will not be changed. Mores the pity. Applesoft II contains over 35 new or modified commands, in addition to most of the originals. Whenever possible, command names have been changed to match th0se of Integer Basic, a much needed change. The renamed commands are: GR, PLOT, COLOR=, HLIN, VLIN, TEXT, CALL and HTAB. The new commands inc1ude FLASH, INVERSE and NORMAL; TRACE and NOTRACE; STORE and RECALL; ONERRGOTO and RESUME; HOME; POP; SPEED. The latter intrigues us as it provides a means for the first time to control the output speed to either printer or screen, and we have found it most useful in listing programs. We are happy to see the powerful TRACE debug command added, but regret that no room was left to include the handy DSP and AUTO. But then, there is room for only 128 such tokens. (See the Applesoft II token chart elsewhere in this issue. ) In addition to the foregoing, there are about a dozen commands committed to the handling of High Resolution graphics, available for the first time in Applesoft.

Apple has indicated that the random number generator has now been repaired, and that math accuracy has been improved. As is the case with earlier Apple documentation, the eight pages that come with the cassette as a supplement to the Applesoft manual leave something to be desired. A case in point. In our first attempt to use the Applesoft II HIRES routines, we struggled through the list of commands, noted one error and one omission and finally managed to draw some lines on the screen. The colors are still a mystery to us, behaving quite differently in vertical and horizontal modes.

Were this to be used with some of the earlier component-based microcomputer systems we would state that the documentation was adequate, since for the most part users are assumed to have some background in data processing. Such is not the case with Apple II, the forerunner of a new generation of “plug-in-and-run” microcomputers.  Hopefully by the time the ROM version is released, Apple will have completely revised the Applesoft Manual.

In all fairness, we must also offer our opinion that in the final analysis, Applesoft II will come to be known as one of the most versatile and powerful extended BASICs available, and we suspect that we will be making a great deal more use of “ASII” than we did of its’ predecessor.

By billm • An A.P.P.L.E. Review, Apple Inc., Apple ][, Applesoft, Review, Software • 0 • Tags: , , , ,

May 1 1978

A.P.P.L.E. Reviews

By Val J. Golding

At the top of the list is Apple Computer’s new Basic programming manual. This falls just short of being a masterpiece. It is well written and easy to understand, even for a novice like this writer and is printed in a small, easy to handle spiral binding. It starts by introducing simple Basic commands in program format and in each simple program, goes on to bring a new command into action. If you have not yet recieved your copy, ask your dealer.

The April-May issue of MICRO, the 6502 journal, reached our desk just in time to be included in this review. Here is a Magazine that is a must for the serious Apple II owner. Every issue to date has had material on Apple II, and this is no exception with an Applesoft Variables chart and an Apple II Programmers guide, an update on a prior article about interfacing a printer to Apple, and comments about the clocking system used by the HP. The guide contains many good hints and routines that are not to be found in the owners manual. Other art icles cover a morse code program for KIM-I, other KIM’-l and PET related stories, words on a standard 6502 ssembly Syntax, Micro’s software catalogue and Part III of a 6502 bibliography. It is published bimonthly by “the Computerist” at B Fourth Lane, S. Chelmsford, Ma. 01824 , $6.00 per year. Run, don’t walk!

Last, but certainly not least, is Dr. Dobbs Journal of Computer Calisthenics & Orthodontia, published 10 times per year by Peoples Computer Company, Box E, Menlo Park, Ca. 94025, at $12.00 per annum. Unlike Micro, Dr. Dobbs is not 6502 -oriented. However, it appears that the software section each issue has programs for the four popular chips, 6502, 6800, Z-80 and 8080. In addition, it would appear that about every other issue has material pertinent to Apple
II., this one being no exception, with a Renum / Append routine being featured. This journal does not accept paid commercial advertising, on the premise of “keeping us honest, while pursuing the role of consumer advocate. We agree.

By billm • Documentation, Magazines, Review • 0 • Tags: , , , , ,