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Weblog • Archive • Cutedge

by: Bernard Teo

Thu 06 Nov 2003

Eating our own dog food

Category : Commentary/dogfood.txt

We've upgraded our server to run Panther. And it has its mail server turned on using Postfix Enabler. No matter what they say about Postfix being easier to set up than sendmail from the command line, nothing beats being able to do it with one click.

This is running on an old Graphite (G3) iMac. We swapped this in so that we can clean up and upgrade our G4 which we've been using as the server.

And I've just got Postfix Enabler listed on MacUpdate. So this little iMac is starting to take some pounding (30+ downloads in five minutes). If it holds up, it proves a point that there is life in those old iMacs. You can always use them as servers because all these server stuff work in the background without a GUI, and they don't need much in terms of processor speed, which is different from the convenional wisdom, XServes and all.

Posted at 4:37PM UTC | permalink

Wed 05 Nov 2003

Postfix Enabler Update

Category : Technology/PE_Update_103.txt

The system should now work for Macs that have been simply upgraded, rather than via a clean install. Also, while making the system work for people who are setting up a fully functioning mail server with POP capability, I introduced a bug which made the system stop working for people who are only using it to send mail out. This has been corrected. Hopefully it all works OK now. The latest version is numbered 1.0.3.

Posted at 5:09PM UTC | permalink

Mon 03 Nov 2003

Finding Nemo and AppleScript Studio

Category : Commentary/nemo.txt

AppleScript Studio is a great tool to use to study user-interface design. I love the way Cocoa makes the "sheets" come out of a window, when you need to throw up a dialog for the user to respond to.

It's not just the attention Apple paid into animating the way the sheet pushes out of the window and plops down in front of the user. It's also very functional because you don't get dialogue boxes popping up all over the place to add to the clutter. It sticks to its relevant window. And you get to do something else with the program, while you decide what to do with the dialogue box - unlike the pre-OS X days when everything screeches to a halt until you dismiss the dialogue box.

My kid was watching Finding Nemo on the VCD while I was adding a sheet to a window in Postfix Enabler. Pixar and Apple. They share a lot more in common than just the CEO. I wonder what drives people like Jim Carlton to write such a "hatchet job" of a book like his "Apple: The Inside Story of Intrigue, Egomania, and Business Blunders". Am I being a "cultist" when I see beauty out of all these things? I think it's possible to root for Apple without loving the company or even liking many of the people who work for the company. May the joy continue to flow.

Posted at 4:34PM UTC | permalink

WebserveMonitor

Category : Technology/WebServeMonitor.txt

I wrote something that will pull my web server log into a Cocoa front-end, that I call WebServeMonitor. I can see that I'm still getting the usual hits on the Sendmail Enabler page but it's already outnumbered by those hitting Postfix Enabler.

Besides letting those who paid for Sendmail Enabler know they can now download Postfix Enabler for free, I've only sent it out to the people who've been asking for it the last couple of months - a case of squeaky wheels getting the grease. I wasn't sure there was even a need for Postfix Enabler, in the first place.

It's interesting to study how information diffuses over the web. I like looking through the web server log to see where and in which context our stuff's been mentioned. It's been strange to see something I wrote here coming back at me in the midst of all that look to be Spanish.

Anyway, I've put in something that may allow Postfix Enabler to work also on Macs that had been simply upgraded from Jaguar, rather than having been clean installed, or archived and installed.

My friend Yezdi is aupposed to try this out but he's still incommunicado, and it's time to turn in. I've put this version on the web page because it should do no harm. If it works, it will be great.

Posted at 4:13PM UTC | permalink

Sun 02 Nov 2003

Postfix Enabler 1.0.1

Category : Technology/postfixenabler101.txt

Updated Postfix Enabler to include the POP server. It's now equivalent in features to Sendmail Enabler 1.1.3. I think it's now justifiable to price it back at $9.95.

I've added the ability to turn on and off the SMTP and POP server separately, and giving the application enough intelligence to indicate to the user whether either or both are active

A couple more things to work on - to see how I can patch things so that it will work on upgraded Panther machines, rather than just those that had been archived and installed, or clean installed. And to see if I can make SMTP-AUTH work by making the least amount of changes to the Apple-installed binaries.

Posted at 2:07AM UTC | permalink

Thu 30 Oct 2003

POP3 on Panther works again

Category : Technology/qpopperPanther.txt

I've got the POP server working again on Panther, using qpopper, thanks to this link - http://www.kung-foo.tv/blog/archives/000654.php - at "kung-foo.tv - chaotic intransient prose bursts". Thanks, man.

I'll work on including this in Postfix Enabler. I'd like to get UW-IMAP working again on Panther and I may now understand enough to give this another shot.

Posted at 2:47PM UTC | permalink

Mon 27 Oct 2003

Postfix Enabler - Soft Launch

Category : Commentary/postfixenablerannounce.txt

I've got the Postfix Enabler download page up. If you've been looking for it to be released, you can download it now.

This version 1.0 release does not include the pop server. It will only enable the smtp capability that is provided by Postfix on Panther. But enough people have said that they only need that, so here goes. Enjoy! as they used to say.

I'm just doing a soft launch in case there are any bugs. No announcements on versiontracker until I'm sure it does even the little that it's doing now very well.

I didn't feel that we could charge US$9.95 for it because it's not that difficult to turn on Postfix manually, using the command line. but it's still hard work and there's the inevitable deluge of support calls that is going to come. So it's going to be $5.95.

Come on. Pay the shareware fee, guys. (But Postfix Enabler is free for those who paid for Sendmail Enabler. You know who you are! Thanks.)

Posted at 8:42AM UTC | permalink

Sendmail Enabler Update

Category : Commentary/smupdateannounce.txt

I updated Sendmail Enabler to prevent it from running on Panther. I should have done this earlier but I really couldn't find the time. I didn't change the version number because there weren't any new features. Sorry, if you've run Sendmail Enabler on Panther. But it shouldn't cause any harm.

Posted at 8:15AM UTC | permalink

Wed 22 Oct 2003

Training

Category : Technology/trainingsystem.txt

I'm starting to get more people interested in doing the training than I have students. But, as in everything, you've always got to start with having a great product, and the guys I've talked to have the potential to do good stuff.

About the system I'm using to manage the course administration. Almost all of the companies we've built systems for have been PC-based companies. I've always looked for a business we can run which uses our own system and which could show-case the amazing stuff we know we could do only on a Mac. And I think this is it.

For a start, imagine the iCal integration. We're setting things up so that once we get agreement on the general outline of a course, how much it would cost, and when it would be done, we want to enter it just once into the database and have the system generate the course synopsis page, update the iCal-based training calendar, generate the course registration page, collect the registration, and send out e-mail updates to the trainer and attendees, all at one go and on the fly.

We're getting there with the system. But the point is, if you do IT this way, you start out with imagining how the information will be used (before you even talk about specific technologies). For example, we think it would be great if people subscribe to our iCal calendar, so they can overlay it with their's and the Singapore public holidays calendar, decide if it's a convenient date to attend a course, and book it with just one click.

I think a part of the reason why some IT managers hate the Mac is that they have an inkling (though they may not consciously understand it) that the dialogue is going to change concerning their work (with an increased emphasis on the business of helping people understand information), and it's a dialogue they're not comfortable with (coming from a training that focused on cables and connectors and bits and bytes).

I've been an arts-inclined student who studied engineering-based subjects all my life. Just how many of my engineering classmates married arts graduates and have a happy life? It's difficult to imagine how they could have a dialogue in the first place. (It's easy to get nostalgic when iTunes is playing music from that era.)

Posted at 6:41AM UTC | permalink

iTunes Windows

Category : Commentary/iTunesWindows.txt

Found a use for my Dell laptop playing my iTunes collection, streaming off my iBook. Since we're now doing all the Java and database development stuff on our PowerBooks, we've hardly ever used our PCs, reserving them for our courses to show Mac-PC connectivity.

Maybe I don't really need it to play iTunes but it was just sitting there. If that's the best thing I could do with a PC besides being a paperweight...

Posted at 5:47AM UTC | permalink

Mon 20 Oct 2003

Mac Training, for Mac People, the Mac Way

Category : Commentary/MacTrainingAnnounce.txt

I've wanted to organise Mac training for the longest time - so that Mac users can learn about getting the most out of their Macs, from other dedicated Mac users who could teach the Mac way of doing things.

It's only lately that I've got the resources to make this happen. I've got a large enough space, complete with AppleStore look-a-like beech wood flooring. It's in Shenton Way, within walking distance of the MRT, as well as all the design, media and advertising companies around Tanjong Pagar.

I've got the systems set up for course adminstration, making materials, paying the trainers, and for publishing course calendars. If you've got the latest iCal, you can see what I mean - subscribe to webcal://www.roadstead.com/dav/ical/RoadsteadTraining.ics, and you can reach the registration page for a course with just one click.

And I'm starting to find the right people who've got the passion to help other Mac users - both switchers and veteran Mac users - discover things they don't know they could do with their Macs.

I'm working with Yezdi (who's the President of the local Mac Users' Group MUGS) right now to organise a half-day "Panther/Mac Productivity WorkOut" course that can help people switch to Panther, as safely as possible. The idea is, you bring your own Mac, say your PowerBook, and you bring along your copy of Panther, and we'll help you choose a strategy for upgrading (believe me, there are a few), showing you how to take advantage of all the new features, as well as all the old stuff that you always wanted to know but didn't know who to ask. (We've arranged it so that you can also buy Panther here when you turn up for the course.)

We've got PCs, servers and laptops, on tap, so that you can really see how well the Mac fits into a PC environment, instead of just taking somebody's word for it.

Because I own the place (really) we can work towards keeping the costs down, say $80 for a course. And we'll keep things focused so people won't waste time. (If you just want to learn and don't have a Mac to bring, we'll provide you with one to use for just $19 more).

We've put up more details on http://roadstead.com/training/workout

There are currently two planned dates - 28th Oct (Tuesday) & 8th Nov (Saturday), 9.00 to 1.00 pm (just to see which timing is more popular) - which people can register for, if they're interested in joining other Mac users upgrade to Panther together.

I'd love to host courses for FileMakerPro, Final Cut Pro, movie making on the Mac, sound editing, business systems, setting up Internet servers, courses for kids, etc...

I'm contributing the space, the systems, the infrastructure, and doing the publicising, so that people who need the knowledge can get connected with the people who can best provide the training.

I don't know how far we can take this (though I've been dreaming about doing this for a long time). But I've always preferred the grass-roots movement rather than the top-down, hey-we're-with-Apple way. So I'm going to stick my neck out and do this.

I've just sent out a message to Mean, a local Mac users group. Maybe later to MUGS. And I would have learnt enough from doing real estate adverts to advertise on the local papers. I believe this idea could work. Even if we only get one interested attendee, we'll still do it.

Posted at 5:51AM UTC | permalink

Sat 18 Oct 2003

Random Musings on a Lazy Saturday Afternoon

Category : Commentary/musings.txt

I'm told I'm the ONLY Mac source on the subject of enabling Postfix on Panther. I've also just read James Duncan Davidson's thoughts about how people breaking Panther NDA is irking him.

While I have another take on this, I think it's better to keep quiet from now on. After all, it's only another seven days. Not that I have anything more to add. I've got a lot of things back to what I used to get with sendmail, but I still can't get the POP server part to work. I'd love to find out how to solve this. Maybe I can find it in his forthcoming Panther book when it comes out.

I'm reading Jim Carlton's book on the death of Apple. You could apply the same deprecating tone he used on Apple to the case of Microsoft. With all their dominance (you're absolutely required to use Windows in most corporations), one would have thought they could have used the opportunity to really improve their users' computing experience, in a way that gives Apple no room to find their way back. But no. You still don't get the same devotion to Microsoft among the average PC user that Apple routinely enjoys among the Mac faithful. In most business books, this is customer loyalty to die for. It should be the envy of any industry, no?

So who roots for Microsoft? Not mentioned in Jim Carlton's account is the role of corporate IT managers and CIOs, who saw Windows as something that could give the end-users what they think they're getting (the Mac computing experience), while holding on to the true reins of power because the PC was still, in reality, as technically-challenging as it had ever been - thus requiring continued (and massive) IT support. And they knew it. Part of Microsoft's genius is knowing how to sell to this audience.

I remember how the argument for Windows (in the 3.0 incarnation) against the Mac was that you can run Windows without replacing the current hardware platform. Who could argue against this? It's like motherhood and apple pie. But it was a lot more subtle than this. Six months after Windows was declared the winner (and the movement to base everything else on it - database software, applications, peripherals, the whole ecosystem - had gained irreversible momentum), the same guys would go to management and say how the users could be more productive if they had faster hardware to run all these stuff. They had known this all along. The thing is, this is the way the game was played. Have you ever seen truck-loads, piled high with PCs, coming to your work place? Mathematically, it was like how A(B+C) = AB + AC. You get the same result, but one thing looked huger than the other.

I was recounting this to someone the other day and he was, coming from the corporate world, maybe not surprisingly, admiring of this approach. He felt that it was a masterstroke in strategy.

Putting aside the possible waste of money, what about the deceit? It left the incumbents in power. You've got to understand this angle about technology. It's loaded with political ramifications. Perhaps Apple don't and never will.

Microsoft understands the power of momentum. You only have to read Jim Carlton's book to see it. Now, when Panther launches, how many third-party systems and software will launch with it? Do you see a connection?

Posted at 8:55AM UTC | permalink