Shaah.in

Run Viber on Mac OS 10.10 Yosemite Beta - Fix

Fri, 19 Sep 2014 13:26:00 +0200

Changing a plist file will fix Viber and make it work on Yosemite, as this version of Mac OS X is still a beta and there’s currently no working version of Viber available for it. Don’t forget to backup the plist file before editing.

Right click on the Viber application and Show Package Contents, then in the contents folder, edit info.plist with a code editor app like Sublime Text, and finally, in the following lines change 4 to 5:

<key>CFBundleShortVersionString</key> <string>5</string> <key>CFBundleVersion</key> <string>5.2.0</string>

Boot failure on Mac OS 10.10 after enabling trim? Here's the solution

Mon, 15 Sep 2014 16:11:00 +0200

These Terminal commands saved my day (and the MacBook Pro):

If you’re unable to boot your Mac after enabling Trim on (or even updating to) the latest beta release of Mac OS 10.10, or used Chameleon SSD optimizer and now all you get is a kernel panic, here’s a simple way to restore your OS using only Terminal. No need to worry. Follow these steps:

1) Boot your Mac in recovery mode: Hold the Option key (alt) as the system starts up. Choose the recovery drive and press enter, wait until the system boots under the recovery mode.

2) Run the Terminal application in the top menu bar and type the following commands under Terminal. Replace MacintoshHD with the name of your Macintosh hard disk drive name.

- Remove the patched kernel extension:
rm -rf /Volumes/MacintoshHD/System/Library/Extensions/IOAHCIFamily.kext

- Restore the untouched file:
cp -r /System/Library/Extensions/IOAHCIFamily.kext /Volumes/MacintoshHD/System/Library/Extensions/IOAHCIFamily.kext

- Update system extensions:
touch /Volumes/MacintoshHD/System/Library/Extensions

- Rebuild the Kernel Extensions cache:
kextcache -u /Volumes/MacintoshHD

Exit Terminal and restart your Macintosh. Yosemite is now saved from Kernel Panics. To enable Trim support on Yosemite again, try this method. Just be aware of the fact that Chameleon SSD optimizer does not currently work under OS 10.10 Beta.

The reason of this boot failure is, that Yosemite no longer recognizes the modified kernel extension file.

The Future of Interaction Design

Sun, 03 Feb 2013 23:49:09 +0100

What is the future of Interaction Design and User Experience? Mike King writes about the interesting video clip, “Connecting”:

Some argue that the increased use of technology is not necessarily a positive thing for mankind as a whole, and that while the documentary focused on changes in technology, interaction design isn’t really about technology but about the people using the technology. Others argued that documentary was spot on, and that interaction designs role in the technology industry as a whole will continue to grow and transform the way people think about digital products. I personally don’t feel the need to choose sides, as both sides have made valid points which I can agree and disagree with.

Connecting, made by Bassett & Partners, brand and design strategy specialists. Highly recommended.

Fundamentals of UX Design

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 02:27:00 +0100

Great online course for beginners, by Sarah Kahn, UX Engineer for Adzerk:

https://tutsplus.com/course/ux-design/

I specially liked the simple quote in the intro video: User experience is the way a person feels about using a product, system or service.. - and - UX Design is the art and science of making that experience effective and satisfying. By the other hand, UX designers are modern painters who give stuff a more friendly and usable Look & Feel.

As a side note - if Sarah ever reads this - I hope they consider a smoother design/theme for their current website, Adzerk (A responsive architecture would be good too).

9 Reasons Why Apple Isn't Apple Anymore

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 06:36:00 +0100

With no doubts each company’s image is designed to be appealing, so that they can spark interest, generate brand equity, and therefore facilitate sales. And now, Apple isn’t doing fine anymore. Reasons:

1. The green one-day Apple shopping banner on Apple’s homepage. Seriously, what is that green banner on the first page? Who’s the mastermind behind that brilliant idea and its linked webpage; a wide green image covering the entire page?

2. The never arriving iTunes 11. If you’re searching on google for it, stop doing it now. Instead, try watching Pitbull clips and remember the good ol’ days when icons were colorful as Apple’s GUI guidelines. iTunes was supposed to arrive at the end of October.

3. The iTunes monster. Not talking about bugs, but why iOS apps, books and PDFs are still kept under the Music folder. It is 2012 and the question still remains. How do you keep that so called Music folder organized?

4. No, not iOS 6 maps, but the bothering swipe lags on iOS; which are hard to ignore. Programming bug perhaps; existing since the Ice Age of iOS, proudly bothering loyal fans and souls. Let’s just title this part Ignoring the User Experience bugs, by Apple.

5. Scott Forstall. Yeah he couldn’t forestall being cored out of Apple but his dismissal did certainly degrade Apple’s image. Even more than IOS Map bugs. The executive changing war isn’t keeping Disciples together, damaging Apple’s image.

6. Discontinuing the new iPad following the announcement of a newer new iPad in a rather short time, causing discontentment amongst loyal owners of the new iPad. So get Apple’s message people: I discontent therefore I am.

7. Anti-Skeuomorphism pals coming to power. Really hope Jony Ive isn’t planning on killing all the fake leather skins covering apps approved by Steve Jobs. It’s more like a nightmare to imagine Calendar and Contacts apps, looking as pale as iTunes.

8. The bothering Two Steps Forward, One Step Back strategy. Mountain Lion comes, but Web Sharing disappears. You get a new dock, but the Save as.. command goes. Even the new dock doesn’t feel right. The new age of Tweak UI for Mac people?

9. The Swiss Clock idea. Cloned perhaps by the same guy behind the green banner on Apple’s homepage. He didn’t think differently, instead, raised funds for the Swiss Bahn. Don’t even try to google “Swiss Clock”.

Needless to say that I love Apple products.

Apple's design problems aren't skeuomorphic

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 00:29:00 +0100

A must read from CounterNotions:

The current meme of Ive coming on a white horse to rescue geeks in distress from Scott Forstallian skeuomorphism is wishfully hilarious. Like industrial design of physical devices, software is part form and part function: aesthetics and experience. Apple’s software problems aren’t dark linen, Corinthian leather or torn paper. In fact, Apple’s software problems aren’t much about aesthetics at all…they are mostly about experience.

What’s Wrong with Google’s New Search Page...

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 01:52:00 +0100

What’s Wrong with Google’s New Search Page Design?

Harrison Weber, thenextweb.com:

In simplifying an already simple design, Google has made its navigation more redundant than ever before. While there are many situations where navigational elements and features should repeat themselves, such as in workhorse apps like Photoshop, there’s really no excuse for what users (logged in and logged out) are seeing…

What Will Happen To iOS As A Result Of Jony Ive Taking Over...

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 22:17:00 +0100

What Will Happen To iOS As A Result Of Jony Ive Taking Over Interface Design At Apple?

By Oliver Emberton, founder of Silktide, forbes.com

They’re putting Ive on iOS because they believe the big battle is about to come, and software is key. I think Ive will relish the chance to rethink everything and unify it into something designed to dazzle us again. Of course, he’s done this countless times before with hardware, but software is new territory for him, and he could screw it up. But I’m guessing not. Disclaimer: I’m an unrepentant Apple fanboy and investor. Please leave your slanderous epithets after the beep.

Design: Dieter Rams on Apple

Sat, 27 Oct 2012 07:34:00 +0200

Design: Dieter Rams on Apple:

Dieter Rams argues that Apple are one of the very few brands who are not devaluing the word “designer”. That’s exactly true. Companies underestimate the power of simplifying products and services, in order to make them more popular.

Designer Dieter Rams is the man behind Braun when it made a host of classic gadgets from radios, home appliances to juicers:

“Apple has managed to achieve what I never achieved: using the power of their products to persuade people to queue to buy them. For me, I had to queue to receive food at the end of World War II. That’s quite a change.”

Why Brands Should Build Their Own Social Communities Adam...

Fri, 19 Oct 2012 02:51:00 +0200

Why Brands Should Build Their Own Social Communities

Adam Popescu, readwriteweb.com

When it comes to social media, lead generation is one of the trickiest yet most important metrics Truth be told, it’s not that easy for companies to turn fans and followers into dollars. And limited data supplied by the big social…[More]

Fake Leather Interface. Good or Bad?

Sun, 14 Oct 2012 22:19:00 +0200

Great article about the so called Skeuomorphism (Designing virtual Leather!):

A former iPhone UI designer defends Apple’s fake-leather design philosophy.

Some find the skeuomorphic designs in Apple’s software distasteful, such as the faux leather-stitching and wood veneers. What’s your take?

Again, it really depends on the environment you’re trying to create. A leather texture, for example, definitely creates a certain environment and state of mind when you’re using it. I don’t think there is right and wrong, or good and bad here.

What went wrong at Hipstamatic? What went wrong at...

Sun, 14 Oct 2012 07:45:00 +0200

What went wrong at Hipstamatic?

What went wrong at Hipstamatic?
By Jeff Blagdon, theverge.com

Long before Facebook’s billion-dollar acquisition of photo sharing service Instagram, Hipstamatic was the original killer app for creative smartphone photography. Fast Company takes an in-depth look at how its trendsetti…

Hipstamatic was indeed great. Just the lack of a proper UI and the slow process of generating the image, made it problematic. Just set the image size on Medium and see how long it takes to develop the photo, needless to mention Large photos and the heating issues.

Posterous is obviously not working properly. Modifications...

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 03:50:00 +0200

Posterous is obviously not working properly. Modifications hardly appear after changing the skin and posts appear hours after sending, with much delay. Not sure what is behind these issues but they’ve apparently experienced some database loss some time ago.

Searching through Mail.app rules

Fri, 12 Oct 2012 07:09:05 +0200

Have you ever tried searching through Mail.App rules, specially when the list is rather long? Seems almost impossible. There’s no solution even on 10.8.2.

enemies of america | My[confined]Space

Sun, 08 Jan 2012 07:45:46 +0100

enemies of america | My[confined]Space:

TIKI_DOG, myconfinedspace.com

Disclaimer: Unless specifically mentioned in the post, we have no clue where this picture came from. Know where it came from? Post the link in the comments, and reap the glory! All comments are the sole possesion of the commenters and …

Enemies of America

Chrome: This product is not available in your country

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0200

You’ll get this message if you try to download Google Chrome from Iran: “Thanks for your interest, but the product that you’re trying to download is not available in your country.”

http://dl.google.com/service/prod_unavailable.html

Speaking about law, it’s understandable that they are required to do so. But isn’t it in contrast to what the US Government is saying about the Iranian internet users and their freedom? I mean come on guys, it’s just a Web browser. So for now I’ll be using my good ole Safari and other browsers like Firefox, specially now that the latest beta seems pretty much fast on my Mac.

Update: Here’s the solution for those who want to bypass this problem: Email these guys, they provide a very affordable and private internet proxy system, very easy to use.

Dribbble Blog: New Feature: Buckets

Sun, 22 May 2011 16:06:00 +0200

Dribbble Blog: New Feature: Buckets:

Cool idea, but it would be great if Prospects could also talk (leave comments).

dribbble:

There’s an amazing variety of shots uploaded on Dribbble every day, and it’s our continual challenge to make it easier to discover new and interesting content. Today we’ve launched Buckets to help the community participate in curating Dribbble.

Buckets are simply collections of shots that any…

Wrong dates in Mail.app and its To-do list: Solution

Mon, 02 May 2011 00:00:00 +0200

If you’re having trouble entering the right due date for Mail.app’s to-do list, or if it’s simply not showing the right date label, this solution might help you. Simply check your “Language and Date” preferences under System Preferences, then choose Format tab, and then see if your region selection has a default value (Fixed country name). Custom formats with modified values can cause problems, so better change them carefully.

CNET killed VersionTracker

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Farewell VersionTracker, Rest in Peace.

Just noticed (via TUAW) that CNET bought the whole VersionTracker.com website and killed its simple interface. Now instead of a usable website where you could easily find a list of new apps, you are redirected to CNET’s download Bazaar; a huge mess. How easy is it to find the latest updates for your applications on a Journal-looking page?

Can you easily find something where a lot of options and boxes are surrounding the content?
And just in case, if you’re looking for it, try this Simple URL.

iTunes X User Interface

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 00:00:00 +0200

Regardless of what iTunes 10 is really doing as a piece of software, there have been a lot of mixed views and opinions about its recent interface change, right after its delayed release on Wednesday.

One obvious change is the new icon; a new shiny and round blue sphere, lacking the good ole colorful CD, which was used for over ten years. Obviously Apple is managing to give a new identity to iTunes; a gateway to its iDevice products line. Not anymore a “Rip, Mix, Burn” tool, since iTunes is the only official app for managing and synchronizing Apps, Games and all sorts of media for iPod, iPhone and iPad.

iTunes isn’t just a media player anymore, what it used to be. So Apple started the change right with the UI. What seems weird is the new grayish look which is far from the typical “Mail.app” OS X interface style. There are no more colorful icons, but a bunch of vector-looking emblems. Even the preferences menu looks extremely grayish and soulless.

Maybe Apple is presenting a quick demo of its future Mac OS. Ultimately the new simple icon appears to be fine enough for an Apple product, but the UI is obviously lacking color and soul. Needless to say that the new color theme gives iTunes a more utility-looking style, as portrayed in the latest Apple’s official GUI guideline.