• OSX 10.6.5 and the Dell Mini 10v Hackintosh

    Dell Mini 10v Hackintosh running OSX
    My Dell Mini 10v running OSX

    Apple today pushed the latest OSX update, 10.6.5. I can happily report that the update does not break a Hackintosh install on the Dell Mini 10v.

    If you’re currently running a previous edition of 10.6.x or earlier, here’s how to safely upgrade to 10.6.5:

    1. Run the latest version of Netbook Installer [direct link to file] set to defaults
    2. Restart your machine
    3. Install the update through Software Update
    4. Restart

    You’ll find it helpful to repair disk permissions through disk utility. I also ran a CleanMyMac session.

    the 10.6.5 update addresses a number of fixes, according to Apple, including:

    • Improves reliability with Microsoft Exchange servers.
    • Addresses performance of some image-processing operations in iPhoto and Aperture.
    • Addresses stability and performance of graphics applications and games.
    • Resolves a delay between print jobs.
    • Addresses a printing issue for some HP printers connected to an AirPort Extreme.
    • Resolves an issue when dragging contacts from Address Book to iCal.
    • Addresses an issue in which dragging an item from a stack causes the Dock to not automatically hide.
    • Resolves an issue in which Wikipedia information may not display correctly in Dictionary.
    • Improves performance of MainStage on certain Macs.
    • Resolves spacing issues with OpenType fonts.
    • Improves reliability with some Bluetooth braille displays.
    • Resolves a VoiceOver issue when browsing some websites with Safari 5.
    • Improves Bluetooth pairing with Magic Trackpad.
    • Resolves performance issues with third-party displays that use InstaPort technology.
    • Add SSL support for transferring files with iDisk.
    • Resolves an issue when opening 4-up Photo Booth pictures in Preview.
    • Addresses keyboard responsiveness issues in the Dock when Spaces is turned on.
    • Resolves an issue syncing Address Book with Google.
    • Fixes an issue when replying to a Mail message sent by a person whose name contains certain characters such as é or ü.
    • Improves performance for users bound to an Active Directory domain.
    • Improves reliability of Ethernet connections.
    • Systems with a Mac Pro RAID Card (Early 2009) installed can now be put to sleep. For more information, see Mac Pro RAID Card (Early 2009): Enabling system sleep.
    • Improves reliability of fibre channel connections, resolving a potential Xsan volume availability issue.
    • Adds RAW image compatibility for additional digital cameras.
    • Security improvements; for information about the security content of this update, please visit this article.
  • Magazine editor plagiarizes blogger, claims Internet is public domain

    Here’s how to further destroy your career as an editor of Cooks Source Magazine after you’ve been confronted for plagiarizing content.

    Judith Griggs, the editor of Cooks Source, sent the following e-mail to a blogger who confronted her for republishing a blog post in her magazine:

    “Yes Monica, I have been doing this for 3 decades, having been an editor at The Voice, Housitonic Home and Connecticut Woman Magazine. I do know about copyright laws. It was “my bad” indeed, and, as the magazine is put together in long sessions, tired eyes and minds somethings forget to do these things.

    But honestly Monica, the web is considered “public domain” and you should be happy we just didn’t “lift” your whole article and put someone else’s name on it! It happens a lot, clearly more than you are aware of, especially on college campuses, and the workplace.

    If you took offence and are unhappy, I am sorry, but you as a professional should know that the article we used written by you was in very bad need of editing, and is much better now than was originally. Now it will work well for your portfolio. For that reason, I have a bit of a difficult time with your requests for monetary gain, albeit for such a fine (and very wealthy!) institution. We put some time into rewrites, you should compensate me! I never charge young writers for advice or rewriting poorly written pieces, and have many who write for me… ALWAYS for free!”

    Check out more….

    Update: Both The Washington Post and BoingBoing have picked up the story.

  • Qrank set to launch movie and sports channels, currently serving 200K users

    Rodney Gibbs, CEO of Austin-based developer Ricochet Labs, today made some impressive revelations about the company’s highly addictive Qrank iPhone app.

    The biggest news of Gibbs’ brief presentation, made at the InnoTech Austin conference, is that Qrank is set to launch partnerships with several sports and movie channels. Gibbs mentioned ESPN Sports as an example of a media partner. These partnerships will allow for various channels by topic. In the example of ESPN, a sports channel will let fans focus solely on sports trivia.

    Ricochet is working to allow more playable rounds of trivia each day. Qrank currently limits users to one round of trivia per day.

    Some other quick facts about Qrank, according to Gibbs:

    • about 200,000 Qrank users to date
    • 200,000 total downloads on iTunes
    • 70 percent comeback rate, the rate that measures how “sticky” the app is with users
    • 3 million games played
    • there are currently about 36,000 active live-game venues

    Qrank is working on a system that will allow for the redemption for real-world prizes. The ultimate goal is to drive traffic to businesses.

    In addition, Gibbs predicted an Android release for Qrank as early as this fall.

  • Five-year old boy sells drawings on Etsy to help pay for Leukemia treatment

    Aidan's MonstersAidan’s Monsters is a storefront on the popular arts and crafts website Etsy. Aidan is selling drawings of monsters, clowns, and other drawings to help offset the costs of his medical treatment.

    Hello! Thanks for visiting Aidan’s Monsters! Aidan is a 5 year old boy who was recently diagnosed with leukemia. He loves to draw and he loves monsters. Here is where we sell some of his original drawings as well as prints to raise money for his medical bills.

    For more information on Aidan and his story visit AidforAidan.

    If you have $12 laying around, and hopefully more, you’ll swing by Aiden’s store and buy some original art from this up and comer.

  • Easy HTML coding and blogging with Markdown

    I’ve been experimenting with Markdown for a couple weeks. Markdown is a programming language for web writers that essentially allows you to write web copy while inserting html commands without cluttering your copy with XHTML/HTML markup.

    I’ve been using Markdown on my iPad, where it’s extremely tedious to write copy and HTML/xhtml code together within documents. The Markdown app lets me write copy then use a much simpler language for formatting text with ordered and unordered lists, links, italics, and other common html tags.

    This makes blogging on iPad much simpler. My current configuration is to write in Markdown. The app let’s me open the fully coded HTML output into an email, which from there i can send to Posterous, which syndicates to my WordPress blog. I can also copy the HTML markup directly into the WordPress app.

    Features

    • Compose HTML emails using Markdown syntax
    • Save drafts of your messages in progress
    • Preview your messages before posting them
    • Email raw markdown source to your Posterous blog or other service
    • Copy generated HTML to your clipboard
    • TextExpander touch support

  • Russia’s failed space program in pictures

    Wired Science has a fascinating gallery of the Soviet Union’s failed moon program. Wonder what this stuff would look like on the moon had the program been successful.

  • McDonald’s Happy Meal won’t decompose even after six months

    Sally Davies has been monitoring the same Happy Meal for six months, closely monitoring it for signs of decay and composition. 
  • Eric Stoltz as Marty McFly

    Eric Stoltz was originally cast as Marty McFly for Back to the Future, and actually filmed five weeks worth of material before director Robert Zemeckis canned him and hired Michael J. Fox. Check out the bizarro-world outtake video of Stoltz as McFly.