Techno Speak

"When the client process sends a message to the NSDistantObject object, the proxy captures the Objective-C message in the form of an NSInvocation object and forwards it to its NSConnection object. The NSConnection object encodes the NSInvocation into an NSPortMessage object, using an NSPortCoder object, and passes it to an NSPort object connected to an NSPort object in the server process. The client’s port sends the encoded data to the server’s port which decodes the data back into an NSPortMessage object. The port message is then sent to the NSConnection object which converts it into an NSInvocation object, using an NSPortCoder object. The invocation is finally dispatched as an Objective-C message sent to the vended object. Any return value from the object is passed back through the connection and returned transparently to the client process."

Yikes, that's really something, isn't it?

http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/DistrObjects/index.html

Online Photo Backups

Common wisdom these days states that a file doesn't truly exist unless it exists in at least two places (one of which is off-site). Of all the files people back up, photographs may be the most important. For many people, they're high on the list of items they wouldn't want to lose in the event of an unforeseen disaster.

Several different online options exist which can be used for backing up photos; some are designed with photos in mind, and some are simply for generic file storage. I have chosen a few of the more common ones and written up a brief comparison of them below (in random order). Each option looks at the cost for backing up 30 GB of photos; this size was chosen to reveal price differences as your photo library grows.

Flickr

One of the most popular options, and also the cheapest. The Flickr Pro account starts at $2.08/month and provides you with unlimited storage, unlimited uploads, and unlimited bandwidth. The only serious drawback to Flickr is the lack of RAW file support (JPEG only). Additionally, the associated hassle and organizational issues that go along with having your backups stored in the same place as the photographs you'd like to share with everyone else. When backing up, remember to mark the photos as private, sort them into a different Set/Collection, etc.

Pro:

• Cheap ($2.08/month = infinite GB)
• Unlimited storage
• Aperture plugin
• iPhoto plugin
• Automator plugin
• Broadly supported due to popularity

Con:

• No RAW support
• 10 MB file size limit
• Organizational issues with other sharable photos
• Designed for sharing rather than backing up

Picasa

Google's Picasa service is a direct competitor to Flickr, but lacks an unlimited storage option and costs more money per month. For $1.67/month you get 10 GB; for $6.25/month, 40 GB, for $20.83/month, 150 GB, and for $41.67, 500 GB! I can't see any direct benefit of Picasa over Flickr for the task of backing up photos, although for sharing photos with friends, viewing on the iPhone, etc., it may have some benefits.

Pro:

• Large capacities available
• iPhoto plugin

Con:

• No RAW support
• Somewhat expensive ($6.25/month = 40GB)
• Organizational issues with other sharable photos
• Designed for sharing rather than backing up

Photo Shelter Personal Archive

Photo Shelter is actually designed for backing up photos in a permanent, redundant archive. For $9.99/month, you get 10 GB of storage, $29.99/month gets 35 GB, and $49.99/month 100 GB. Photo Shelter allows you to upload almost any format (including RAW), and the only real drawback I can see is that it's extremely expensive for the average user. This site is targeted more at professional photographers and those with money to burn - if you have the cash, this may well be the best option.

Pro:

• RAW support
• Aperture plugin
• Large capacities available
• Designed with backups in mind

Con:

• Expensive ($29.99/month = 35 GB)

.Mac iDisk

Apple's popular .Mac service comes with online file storage as well as e-mail, backups, and syncing between multiple computers. The cheapest plan starts at $8.33/month, and provides 10 GB of storage. For $12.49/month you get 20 GB of storage, and for $16.66/month, 30 GB. The iDisk has the benefit of always being a single click away in your Finder sidebar and hence is fairly easy to backup photos to - just drag and drop or export directly from Aperture or iPhoto. Any file format (including RAW) is acceptable since it's simply an online disk. The main drawbacks of .Mac are that you can't view the photos online, and the extremely high expense - this is the second most expensive option considered. Yes, it's true that you can create a Web Gallery or website with photos to share, but the first option uses lower quality files (not good for backups), and the second option makes them available to everyone by default.

Pro:

• RAW support
• Finder file copy
• Direct export to folder from iPhoto/Aperture
• Multipurpose generic storage space
• Designed with backups in mind

Con:

• Expensive ($16.66/month = 30 GB)
• Limited data storage capacity (30 GB)

Amazon S3

One advantage of Amazon's S3 service is that they charge you based on exactly how much data you store - if you only have 2 GB of data to store it will cost you significantly less than if you have 30. S3 provides 10 GB for $1.50 a month, 20 GB for $3 a month, and 30 GB for $4.50/month. As stated above, you can scale this to whatever storage size you need (a big advantage) although it becomes expensive when you get up to 70 or 80 GB. As with .Mac, absolutely any file format (including RAW) can be uploaded since it's simply online file storage. Amazon does charge a $.10 per GB upload fee unlike the other services, but since you're using this for backup, the one time fee shouldn't affect you too much. The main drawback of this service is the lack of convenience, and the price if you need a large capacity.

Pro:

• RAW support
• Multipurpose generic storage space
• Large capacities available
• Don't pay for capacity you're not using

Con:

• Somewhat expensive ($4.50/month + $3.00 upload = 30 GB)
• Have to use a third party tool to upload

Conclusion

Not surprisingly, Flickr offers the best value - for a whopping $2.08/month, you can have unlimited photo storage. The major drawback is the lack of RAW support, but for the price it's probably still the best choice. For someone like me with about 60 GB of photos to backup, Flickr is still $2.08/month, whereas Picasa would cost me $20.83/month, Photo Shelter would be $49.99/month, S3 would be $6 upload plus $9/month, and .Mac doesn't even appear to allow that much data storage, maxing out at 30 GB. If I had money to burn, I'd lean towards Photo Shelter since it's geared directly towards backup and archiving use. As it is, Flickr remains the best option for me, but your mileage may vary as they say.

Comments/corrections with your preferred online backup solution are encouraged.

iPod Touch Versus iPhone

Having recently acquired an iPod touch to use for software development work, a brief review comparing it with the iPhone seemed in order. First impressions? The Touch is much thinner than the iPhone. I knew this from brief encounters with it in the Apple Store, but actually having one around the thinness really becomes apparent; especially since my iPhone nearly always lives in a protective case whereas the Touch sits in its birthday suit on the desk.

• The touch is less comfortable to hold than the iPhone; the bevel around the front of the screen is actually kind of sharp! I don't consider this too much of a problem however since the lightness and thinness assuages my pain.
• The home button is smaller than on the iPhone.
• The headphone port is on the bottom next to the dock connector rather than on the top - so far, I prefer the iPhone's design.
• The iPhone earbuds don't appear to fit in the headphone jack which is kind of a hassle - I didn't want to push too hard, so maybe they actually do…
• The lock button is on the opposite side from the iPhone! This one is actually pretty annoying since I am so used to the iPhone and switch between the two devices. Why on Earth did Apple decide to do this?
• I don't miss the volume buttons on the side yet - the Touch always leaves its screen on unless you lock it (it auto dims) so the volume is accessible just by touching the screen. Of course, I'm using this as a development platform so I haven't actually tried taking the touch outside yet - if it was in my pocket this would probably be a bigger issue.
• I miss the built in speakers more than expected - no more quick trips to YouTube or listening to podcasts without headphones.
• It comes with a cute little plastic stand (iPhone has a dock instead) which lets the Touch sit at a nice viewing angle on your desk.
• No bundled AC power adapter or dock like the iPhone.
• Back is the same shiny iPod metallic material used on previous generation iPods so it finger prints like nobody's business. I prefer the brushed aluminum look of the iPhone.
• It's kind of nice not having the cellular radio in the Touch - I'm not afraid to leave it next to my head at night for the urgent need to google something which always seems to arise.

So there you have it: a brief comparison of the Touch and the iPhone. I don't really see any reason to own a Touch if you already have an iPhone except possibly as a bedside web browser or to keep docked in a set of iPod speakers.

Kissphrase

The Kissphrase release is going fairly well so far - positive reviews have been coming in. Check out this link for a nice little review.

Bugs reported so far: after installing, you must add at least one of your own keywords (or edit the existing "test" keyword) before Kissphrase will start auto-completing. Also, the first word word typed in a document won't auto-complete unless at least one space is typed preceding it. These will both be corrected in the next release.

Feel free to report any other problems you encounter either in the comments, or by the usual contact page.

Kissphrase Released

The first release of Kissphrase is now available! Version 0.5 is still considered a beta, so any feedback about how it works for you would be appreciated. Kissphrase requires Leopard or later to function and probably will work best for people with their computer's language set to English.

iPhone Takes Over the World

Exciting news in the iPhone world today from Apple: third party developers (e.g. Chimoosoft) will finally have a legal way to develop software for the iPhone. In addition, our software will be made available through iTunes and through an installer app on the iPhone itself called "App Store" which will let users install software on the go. Apple will let developers sell their apps (Apple takes a 30% cut) or distribute them freely. For all you iPhone owners out there, you're about to see a huge torrent of applications available for you! In this context, the word "about" means June, 2008 (but developers will have been working away on their software for three months by that point).

The other most important news is that the iPhone will fully support all the common enterprise needs such as Exchange, push email, remote disabling (and erasing) of stolen phones, etc. This is significant, and will go down in history as... the day the iPhone took over the world! Prepare to see as many people walking around with iPhones as you currently see people with iPods!

Kissphrase

A brand new program is nearly ready for its first release: Kissphrase. Developed partially to assist with answering support emails, Kissphrase will be a freeware auto-completion style program to assist with typing frequently used phrases. Look for it soon!