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From the my first computing experiences with the Apple ][+ to my current MacBook Air, Steve Jobs has inspired me.  Both my wife and I “grew up Apple.”  Nearly everyone who matters to me both professionally and personally has been influenced by his work.  His personality, conviction and attention to detail has been imprinted upon us all.  In his passing, I feel as if someone close to me has died, although I never knew him personally.

As I learned of the news on via an AP alert on my iPhone, I kept quiet not wanting to ruin the mood at the tech meetup I was hosting.  Secretly, I noticed that everyone in the room was receiving the news (from their Apple devices).  Finally, someone verbally acknowledged the news and silence fell among our group.  Gradually, murmurs and hushed conversation began, and slowly, our world of tech reluctantly moved on.

An era has passed and a historic luminary is gone. 

Steve Jobs, 1955 - 2011

After upgrading to MacOS X Lion 10.7, you’ll find that the system conveniently hides the Library folder in your home directory.  If you’re wondering how to view the /Library folder after the upgrade, here’s how.

Of course you can still view it by using the Finder’s “Go to Folder” feature.  Just type command-shift-g in the finder and enter:

~/Library/

But if you’d like to keep it visible all the time, you can change the hidden flags on that directory with the following command:

chflags nohidden ~/Library/

update: I just noticed that Dan Frakes over at Macworld has posted a completely over the top 18 ways to view the ~/Library folder in Lion.  I think this hint is now complete.

This year’s Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) kicked off with a keynote by Steve Jobs.  With his team of execs, he revealed three major products- all software-based.  Thousands of new features, services and APIs were announced setting the stage for future products and services across Apple’s compete line of products.

1. Mac OS X Lion- Apple’s next desktop operating system- aka 10.7.

As previously demoed, multi-touch gestures and many details from iOS have been brought over to the desktop.  Security and OS refinement are central as well as the initial integration of iCloud for document, photo and data access.  Release date is “July.”

2. iOS 5.0- The next mobile operating system for iPhones, iPads, iPods & AppleTV. 

The early beta build shows that Apple has continued chipping away at the most-requested features list.  The most visible and obvious change is the introduction of a better notification system.  The OS is now a very capable desktop replacement on the iPad and even more feature-rich on the phone.  Other changes are much more subtle refinements.  Release date is “fall.”

3. iCloud- The long-awaited Apple cloud services offering.

iCloud replaces the earlier MobileMe service with free Contact, Cal, Docs, Photos, and Music sync for free.  The service becomes a wireless digital hub, replacing the requirement for USB to PC functionality with a broadband network connection.

In addition, three of the Apple online stores (Music, Books & Apps) get re-download capability. Furthermore, an option has been introduced to automatically download purchased content on all associated devices “from the Cloud.”  This feature is immediately available in beta release form.  There was no mention of TV or movies.

Most interesting was the announcement of iTunes Match.  This service matches all songs in a user’s iTunes library, including those ripped directly from CD and obtained from file sharing sites, and offers them in the Cloud with high-resolution audio.  At $24.99/year, this is the only paid component of iCloud (other than upgraded storage). Release date is “fall.”

iCloud does not include traditional music streaming or even “iTunes in the browser.”  Instead, it’s positioned more like iTunes-as-a-service.  The vision Apple articulated was that the Cloud exists to make native apps better, not to replace them as Google and Microsoft are pursuing by running software in the web browser.  To drive this point home, Apple’s did not even show web interfaces to the iCloud services (although I do expect to see them at some point).

If iCloud’s services do deliver as advertised, expect this robust service layer will likely grow into an expectation of functionality across both the mobile environment and the entire computing space. 

A few closing stats:

- Apple has sold 200 million iOS devices

- Apple claims 44 percent of the mobile operating system market. Android is #2 with 28%, RIM is #3 with 19% and Others at 9%

- 15 billion songs have been sold through the iTunes Music Store.

- 14 billion apps have been sold on the App Store

- 130 million eBooks have been purchased from the iBooks Store

It’s finally here!  I’m getting ready to head off to the Brompton US Championship bike race.  The race takes place at Fairmount Park in Philadelphia as part of the Philly Phlyer cycling day.  The grand prize is a trip to the Brompton World Championship in England.

The event requires that all participants ride a Brompton folding bicycle and british racing attire- a blazer, collared shirt and tie. Sports gear is strictly not permitted!

In preparation for the race, I’ve logged more than 1,000 miles on my Brompton M6L.  For a little speed boost, I’ve installed a new crank that gives me 8% higher gearing on my tiny wonder. 

I’ve mapped the route on Google Earth and inspected the course.  It doesn’t look all that different from a loop around New York City’s Central Park.

Download Google Earth KML File

With a little last minute advice from my friend Steven Huang, I’m taking Megabus and stowing my bike in the cargo bin under the bus.  It turns out that the Brompton and its nylon cover fits perfectly in $4 Dimpa bag by Ikea.  I removed the hinge clamps, added some extra padding in key areas and I’m good to go. Thanks, Steve!

Wish me luck!  More images coming soon from the actual event!

The Big Picture does it again-

Massive earthquake hits Japan

Japan: earthquake aftermath

Will others pick up on this amazing way of telling stories through massive pictures? Boston.com has been doing it since 2008.

The future is now-  According to the latest numbers released by IDC, smartphones have finally outsold PCs for the first time ever.

Q4 2010 worldwide units shipped:

Smartphones- 100.9 million
PCs- 92.1 million units

Of course these numbers are for a single quarter, but still.. the writing is on the wall.

37 Signals has posted a nifty tip for accessing your Basecamp account directly from the Mac menubar. 

Here’s a neat trick: You can use the new Basecamp Mobile UI as a Fluid menu bar app on your computer. That way you can get a quick view of your Basecamp projects straight from your menu bar.

The trick uses Fluid to create a new menu item.  Very cool!

Ever since Safari 4 introduced page zoom, rather than just font zoom, I’ve been using it to view webpages on my TV setup.  This evening I finally decided to do a bit research to see if if a default zoom level could be set so that I wouldn’t have to hit “Command +” several times with search new Safari window or tab.

It turns out that the solution is quite simple.  The zoom level can be set in an external stylesheet.


body {
zoom: 135%;
}


The zoom factor is set with values of more or less than 100%.  On my setup, 135% seems just about right.

Save the values above to a new .css file, then go into the Safari preferences and chose Advanced.  Select your new stylesheet and all new windows will be zoomed appropriately.

This hint will work on both Mac and Windows Safari.  I’ve uploaded my stylesheet for anyone who’d like to use it.

Download Stylesheet

The Future Checkin iOS app attempts to execute on an excellent idea- automatically checking in users to Foursquare locations based on where they physically are (after a slight delay).  Unfortunately, it is hampered by poor location sensitivity.  I loved the concept, but was less than thrilled to find that my iPhone had a magical night out via Future Checkin, visiting bars and restaurants all over my neighborhood, while I was sleeping.

Then while at the office, future checkin took me out for lunch and coffee multiple times during the workday while I was siting at my desk. I guess I must live in an area that’s just too densely populated with Foursquare locations.

It’d be great to checkin to all these favorites, but I think I’ll use the real Foursquare app and actually go visit them in person.

Hmm, simple Bluetooth pairing, does this “just work?” Yup, apparently so.

Let’s see how well the keyboard works.  Oh, yeah I’ve been typing all along.  Yes, the typing works great.  I wonder what this looks like on iPhone 4.0.  

Hmm, exactly the same… yes indeed… can anyone tell what I’m typing on?  Nope, I’m afraid not.  Sorry to be silly, but this just has to be done. 

Function keys on the Apple Bluetooth keyboard can control the brightness, iPod (very cool), toggle the onscreen keyboard, but not return to home.  Also, arrows don’t navigate very well.  The arrow controls seem to be pretty inconsistent.  Not a lot of UI elements know what do to with the arrow presses. 

PS: Ooh, command-a to select all and command-c to copy works great!  Too bad there’s no command-tab.. oh well, maybe in 4.0.

Update 1:

Keyboard commands that work:

Tab between fields (tab)
Select all (command-a)
Cut, copy and paste (comand-x, c, v)
Select letter (shift-arrow)
Select word (shift-option-arrow)
Select line (shift-command-arrow)
Select to end of document (shift-apple-up or down arrow)
Delete previous word (option-delete)

Wish list:

Shortcut for Home (available with Apple iPad hardware keyboard)
Shortcut for Search (available with Apple iPad hardware keyboard)
Switch app (command-tab)
Lock screen
Keyboard shortcuts for more apps
Safari controls (command-l for location bar in safari or command-t for new tab)
More consistent scrolling via arrow keys