Mac Apps: QuicKeys
Posted by: kmikeym
Have you ever tried using Automator? While it may win the Cutest Icon award I find it to be the most frustrating underdeveloped waste of space ever. When I was at WWDC in 2004 they showed it off and boasted about how anyone would now be able to create work-flows using the very clean looking visualization tool of stacking actions on each other. I was pumped! But in the end, unless you want to automate Mail and Safari you are out of luck. Few apps are supported, and of those, even fewer have any actions worth using. I've given up on Automator.
There is a company that makes a great application to automate work-flows that will actually save you time. Startly is the creator of QuicKeys, an "automation utility specifically designed for Mac OS X."
There is a free 30 day trial, so while steep, you have the chance to try it out for a while to see if you really need it. Unfortunately QuicKeys has a steep price of $79.95. YIKES! But that is the only downside I have found. I wanted to make a pretty easy process and created it without any help in about ten minutes. There was a little fumbling just figuring out which command I needed, but once I found the right one it made perfect sense.
Any action that you find yourself doing over and over seems like a candidate for QuicKeys, and if it's enough that it saves you some work, it might even be worth the $80 price tag. I'm very happy with this app, and I might even buy it, but the high price hurts this app as it makes it difficult to recommend to anyone but the most dedicated Mac user.
I like it.
(Click below for a breakdown of how I created my first shortcut, a hotkey to launch Bananachat.)
The Return of Netscape
Posted by: kmikeym
Remember Netscape? It's okay, me neither. It was gobbled up by AOL at one point during the hype-fueled days when we all made a lot of money and the Superbowl commercials were really fun. Then it just sort of sat there getting old and stagnant.
More recently, in a move that surprised no one, Jason Calacanis, founder of Weblogs, Inc., sold his blog empire to AOL and took a job there. I like Mr. Calacanis and I respect him (I have a Google News Alert to keep up on him), but his blog empire seemed from the start to be designed to be bought out. Because of that, it felt short-sighted. And it is a srategy in diect contrast to the orginal blog empire of Nick Denton. Denton seems to be building a sustained media business while Calacanis was capitalizing on the blogging trend in order to make a pile of money (which is, I suppose, what business does).
So AOL now has a bunch of blogs, which keep on blogging, and they have Jason Calacanis. Recently it was revealed that Jason is now heading up Netscape, which was a surprise only in that people didn't realize Netscape was around or meant anything, and they are going to emulate the success of Digg.com. This of course pisses off the web community of Digg, who feel like they are being ripped off. But it's looking like this is sort of Jason's MO. Emulate a successful web-based enterprise but make it more commercially viable. Less risk and more money.
More interesting to me than the politics of the situation is that they are using the Netscape name for this. Netscape made a web browser, and now will be a user-filtered news aggregator with editorial followup. I guess AOL thinks there is still value in the Netscape name (or least the domain). From browser software to web based news aggregator? Pretty rad.
So far Netscape Beta seems to be moving really slow. The stories on the front page have between 4 and votes. Over on Digg.com the stories have between 51 and 899 votes, suggesting a a whole lot more users. But I think Netscape is going to win, because Digg is "nerd news" and a niche site. Netscape is going to be like Google News, but filtered by humans instead of a robot. This means instead of stories on wikis, iTunes, and the other technology stories on Digg you get international, business, and other "real" news. Netscape is taking the Digg model and making it more mainstream. (plus adding an extra layer of actual reporting on top of it)
In the end, it hardly matters. People always get upset when big companies do something that a little company has been doing. It's like when that band you like gets really big and pretty soon you are hearing the music you loved in your bedroom on a VW ad. You feel like the new fans aren't as valid as you because you liked their earlier stuff, not just the new album that is getting all the airplay. You feel like someone stole your culture. People get continually upset about this, even though it happens over and over and over. It happens so often that it seems like an established part of the path of pop culture. Successful things grow, and the success isn't always done by the people who started it. In fact, it seems like that is rarely the case. Remember Netscape? Me neither.
Videogame Ratings In Action
Posted by: j_john
Recently, while ordering a glass of wine at dinner and later picking up a six-pack of beer before finishing up the great LOST viewing, I barely batted an eye when I was not asked to show ID. Let's face it, at almost 30 years old, I am an old man. However, the next day I strolled into my local GameStop to browse the racks, and realized that the long-awaited "JAWS UNLEASHED" game had been released. I asked the saleskid for a copy and was promptly asked to produce my ID--which I initially did without hesitation, and then it hit me. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"
I mentioned something to the kid about how I don't get carded for alcohol, but now I'm asked to show my ID for a game that REQUIRES ME TO BE 17 YEARS OLD. He said "blame Hilary Clinton for it", and I tried to laugh it off and got out of there. However, this experience inspired me to do a little research about the different policies and legislation that exist regarding selling videogames (especially those rated "M" for Mature, and "AO" for Adults Only). Here's a list of all the things the Entertainment Software Rating Board looks for in a game:
ESRB Content Descriptors
Alcohol Reference - Reference to and/or images of alcoholic beverages
Animated Blood - Discolored and/or unrealistic depictions of blood
Blood - Depictions of blood
Blood and Gore - Depictions of blood or the mutilation of body parts
Cartoon Violence - Violent actions involving cartoon-like situations and characters. May include violence where a character is unharmed after the action has been inflicted
Comic Mischief - Depictions or dialogue involving slapstick or suggestive humor
Crude Humor - Depictions or dialogue involving vulgar antics, including “bathroom” humor
Drug Reference - Reference to and/or images of illegal drugs
Edutainment - Content of product provides user with specific skills development or reinforcement learning within an entertainment setting. Skill development is an integral part of product
Fantasy Violence - Violent actions of a fantasy nature, involving human or non-human characters in situations easily distinguishable from real life
Informational - Overall content of product contains data, facts, resource information, reference materials or instructional text
Intense Violence - Graphic and realistic-looking depictions of physical conflict. May involve extreme and/or realistic blood, gore, weapons and depictions of human injury and death
Language - Mild to moderate use of profanity
Lyrics - Mild references to profanity, sexuality, violence, alcohol or drug use in music
Mature Humor - Depictions or dialogue involving "adult" humor, including sexual references
Mild Violence - Mild scenes depicting characters in unsafe and/or violent situations
Nudity - Graphic or prolonged depictions of nudity
Partial Nudity - Brief and/or mild depictions of nudity
Real Gambling - Player can gamble, including betting or wagering real cash or currency
Sexual Themes - Mild to moderate sexual references and/or depictions. May include partial nudity
Sexual Violence - Depictions of rape or other violent sexual acts
Simulated Gambling - Player can gamble without betting or wagering real cash or currency
Some Adult Assistance May Be Needed - Intended for very young ages
Strong Language - Explicit and/or frequent use of profanity
Strong Lyrics - Explicit and/or frequent references to profanity, sex, violence, alcohol or drug use in music
Strong Sexual Content - Graphic references to and/or depictions of sexual behavior, possibly including nudity
Suggestive Themes - Mild provocative references or materials
Tobacco Reference - Reference to and/or images of tobacco products
Use of Drugs - The consumption or use of illegal drugs
Use of Alcohol - The consumption of alcoholic beverages
Use of Tobacco - The consumption of tobacco products
Violence - Scenes involving aggressive conflict
Some of that is pretty standard, but most of it is hilarious. "Real Gambling"! "Scenes involving aggressive conflict." I love that "Edutainment" is on the same list as "Sexual Violence." Their site requires you to register before it will cough up the details on enforcement, so I don't know the specific details, not to mention how bored I got spending 5 minutes on their site.
Anyway, I refuse to believe that their policy will actually limit the availibility of questionable content reaching young kids. I have decided not to purchase anything at GameStop or EB Games (one and the same now), and will hope that Target doesn't follow a ridiculous trend that actually forces employees not to use their brains. Though I might act like one, I do not look like a 16 year old.
