/dev/random

Here are my predictions for Macworld 2009:

• Snow Leopard If it isn’t released, Apple will at least announce a release date. Apple *may* add some user features to make it an attractive update.
• iLife and/or iWork updates I don’t believe that iMovie will be moved online, although it may be able to take advantage of other computers on the network for rendering using XGrid. I think there will be an online version of iWork similar to Google Docs. Applications like iMovie & iDVD will most likely take advantage of Snow Leopard features such as using the GPU to speed up rendering.
• Mac Mini There will most likely be a new Mac Mini, with a lot of the technology introduced in the new MacBook line. It will almost certainly use DisplayPort instead of DVI. It might provide easy access for hard drive & RAM upgrades like the new MacBook & MacBook Pro, although that may be just my wishful thinking.
• iMac Minor update, probably a speed bump or quad-core processor and adding DisplayPort instead of mini DVI. No design change.
• Mac Pro May also receive a speed bump, new processor (16-core maybe), DisplayPort.
• MacBook Line A Unibody 17″ MacBook Pro?
• AppleTV Possibly new software with official support for Hulu and/or Netflix streaming.
• iPhone New software. If there is an iPhone Nano, it will be a stripped down model which probably won’t allow you to install additional applications from the app store at a much lower price ($99?).

I’m getting ready to leave for San Francisco in a few hours. I’ll be spending much of the day traveling. I’m bringing my MacBook and my D90 with an 18-105mm VR and a 50mm f/1.8 lens. I decided not to bring the 55-200mm and my SB-600.

I’ll be covering Macworld Expo at MacMegasite and I will attempt to post live keynote updates at http://macmegasite.com/macworld, provided I can get internet access during the keynote. If that isn’t possible, I’ll attempt to post updates from my iPhone.

• Web Design WordPress function list
  Useful wordpress template tag reference
  (tags: wordpress)

I’ve decided to remove the annoying IntelliTXT popup ads from MacMegasite. It was one of our best sources of income, so I will be investigating less obtrusive advertising.

I’m setting up a photowalk for the Monday before Macworld, probably starting around 2PM. We’ll meet near Moscone center, probably in front of the registration area. There should be some great locations to photograph, including Yerba Buena Garden, Powell Street cable cars, and the Union Square area. If it goes late, we can probably start working our way towards 21st Amendment for the Macworld Monday Tweetup.

Steven Troughton-Smith pointed me to AppSales Mobile, an open source iPhone app that lets developers download & analyze their daily and weekly sales reports from iTunes Connect. It’s a great way to check your stats any time on the go.

Tip: When building an open source iPhone app (or any other app source code you didn’t create yourself), always make sure you set the code signing identity and app identifier, or you’ll get mysterious errors when you try to install it on your iPhone. I wasted a couple of minutes tracking that one down

Webomatica nails it:

Because Apple has managed other, daunting transitions expertly, I fully expect them to manage a “post-Jobs” transition with equal skill. Have a little faith, people. This is Steve Jobs we’re talking about, the stereotypical control-freak. There’s no way in heck he’d leave something like this up to chance.

I have no inside information, but just based on publicly available information, I don’t believe Steve Jobs is dying. Apple would be in big trouble with the SEC if they were holding back information or lying about his health.

I do believe Steve Jobs is planning to retire in the next year. He may make the announcement at Macworld Expo and pass the torch to Phil Schiller, Tim Cook, or someone else. I’m sure he has a transition plan in place, which he has most likely been planning for the last few years. If you watch any of his keynotes from the last two years, you’ll see that he has gradually started bringing other executives into the spotlight and giving them a chance to do parts of the presentation. This year’s Macworld is merely the final step in that transition.

Retiring doesn’t necessarily mean Steve Jobs is having health problems. It’s common for people who have had a health scare, like his pancreatic cancer surgery, to reevaluate their priorities and want to take time to pursue other interests.

Some people have suggested Steve Wozniak as Jobs’ replacement, which is a bad idea on several levels. Woz is a brilliant engineer who will always come up with amazing hardware & software solutions, but, like many engineers, he probably wouldn’t be happy in a management role. Woz also doesn’t share Jobs’ obsession over form & function - he’d rather work on nitty gritty implementation details than absolutely perfect usability. Woz is a left brain thinker vs. Jobs’ right brain. The leader of Apple needs to be a visionary like Jobs, not necessarily a brilliant engineer, although he does need brilliant engineers working for him to make his vision into reality.

• Coda Plugins
  Good collection of third party Coda plugins.
  (tags: coda web development)

I noticed a big surge in I Can Has Cheezburger sales on Dec. 24, as several other developers have noted.

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

On another note, I resubmitted version 1.1 today with the compose icon changed to a pencil (even though I think the compose icon was appropriate).

iDjembe 1.0.1 is now available in the app store. This is a very minor update primarily to allow it to run on old iPod Touches. I also processed some of the sound samples to make them sound better on an iPhone speaker.

Apple rejected I Can Has Cheezburger 1.1 because they objected to the compose icon being used for the LOL composer. It sounds like they never got past the photo selection before it opens the editor.

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

This is what they object to:

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

This is definitely a composition screen, which makes that icon appropriate for it.

Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!

If Apple doesn’t reconsider, I’ll probably use just a plain pencil icon for that button.

• Mayor of Macworld
  Whereas most technology conferences hearken back to the days of the school science fair, the Macworld Conference and Expo is more akin to the senior prom. Actually, it’s even bigger than that: Think your first U2 concert or the Super Bowl.
  (tags: macworld)
• Justin.tv - Mystery Science Theater 3000 - Live Streaming Video
  Channel plays MST3K episodes 24 hours a day
  (tags: tv video mst3k)

This afternoon the sky looked like it came straight from “The Simpsons”, so I was inspired to take a few shots of the clouds. I decided to do exposure bracketing and use HDR processing so I could enter them in Hydra’s HDR contest.

Article seen in Broward For Obama mailing list (read original):

Statement by Jeremy Ben-Ami, Executive Director, on Israeli Airstrikes in Gaza

While this morning’s air strikes by Israeli Defense Forces in Gaza can be understood and even justified in the wake of recent rocket attacks, we believe that real friends of Israel recognize that escalating the conflict will prove counterproductive, igniting further anger in the region and damaging long-term prospects for peace and stability.

Respecting Israel’s right to defend itself, we urge leaders there to recognize that there is no military solution to what is fundamentally a political conflict between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. Read the full statement here.

Today’s IDF strikes will deepen the cycle of violence in the region. Retaliation is inevitable, though we don’t know how far the violence will spread or how many more Israelis and Palestinians will die and suffer in the days and weeks to come.

We call for immediate, strong diplomatic intervention by the United States, the Quartet and allies in the region to negotiate a resumption of the ceasefire which dramatically reduced violence and preserved quiet for over five months.

The United States, the Quartet, and the world community must not wait - as they did in the Israel-Lebanon crisis of 2006 - for weeks to pass and hundreds or thousands more to die before intervening. There needs to be an urgent end to the new hostilities that brings a complete cessation to the rocket fire out of Gaza and that allows food, fuel and other civilian necessities into Gaza.

The need for diplomatic engagement goes beyond a short-term ceasefire. Eight years of American neglect and ineffective diplomacy have led us directly to a moment when the prospects of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict hang in the balance and with them the prospects for Israel’s long-term survival as a Jewish, democratic state.

We urge the incoming Obama administration to lead an early and serious effort to achieve a comprehensive diplomatic resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian and Arab-Israeli conflicts.

This is a fundamental American interest as we too stand to suffer as the situation spirals, rage in the region is directed at the United States, and our regional allies are further undermined. Our goals must be a Middle East that moves beyond bloody conflicts, an Israel that is secure and accepted in the region, and an America secured by reducing extremism and enhancing stability. None of these goals are achieved by further escalation.

Even in the heat of battle, as friends and supporters of Israel, we need to remember that only diplomacy and negotiations can end the rockets and terror and bring Israel long-term security and peace.

Despite my Jewish heritage, I’m a very strong supporter of Palestinian independence and self-determination. The way Israel treats their Arab citizens is horrific, maybe even worse than South Africa under Apartheid.

I know it’s silly, but my mother believed that you should tie a red ribbon in a new car for protection and good luck. The Prius was the first car with which I didn’t do it, and I had more trouble with it than I’ve ever had with any car I owned. Today I salvaged a red ribbon from a gift and tied it to the rearview mirror in my new car.

The top paid application in the App Store is iFart Mobile, one of more than a dozen apps that create flatulent sound effects. The developer posted his sales figures, which shows sales of over 5000 copies a day.

Maybe iDjembe would sell better if it made fart sounds.

• Kat Kam
  Weather & sunset cam from downtown Vancouver
  (tags: webcam vancouver)

Awesome cover version of Vampire Weekend’s “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” by Hot Chip & Peter Gabriel. One of my favorite songs of the year.

Listen

• Ultimate Exposure Computer
  (tags: photography)