Sunday, April 8, 2007

The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) (4 сообщения)

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  • Graphical software licenses: a good idea?

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    Over at the Switcher's Blog (which is actually the blog for browser form manger 1Passwd) they're crowing about their new innovation: software License Cards. These are basically just graphic files that contain the registration information embedded in them. These "cards" are emailed to customers, and the registration is achieved by dragging and dropping the card on the application. They claim these cards are much more Mac-like than the standard method of a hex code.

    While there's something to that, I don't like this idea as a complete replacement for registration codes for one simple reason: it requires me to keep these card files. With text registration codes it's very easy to keep a list of them in a plaintext file. For instance when I register software I immediately add the new code to my local registration text file, then I email it, as plain text, to myself for backup. I realize that I could email myself these cards as attachments, but it just adds an extra layer of complexity. If every developer used these things, I'd quickly end up with a ridiculous collection of these cards. Further, as some have pointed out, this also precludes printing out and keeping a hard copy of the codes. (All these points apply as well to the related practice of program specific binary keys such as used by Pukka and Overflow).

    So I have a simple suggestion. Why not use both? In fact, the hex code could be "printed" on the face card itself. That way old curmudgeons like me could keep doing it the old way, but whatever putative benefits these cards offer would still be there. So what do you think? Do you like the idea of License Cards?

    [Via Digg]

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  • HOWTO: Overlaying a video in QuickTime Pro

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    TUAW's earlier post showed you how to create an overlay using transparency and sized to match your QuickTime video. In this, the second of two how-to galleries, you'll learn how to open your overlay in QuickTime Pro and merge it with your video to create a translucent bug in the corner of your movie. Be aware: you do need to upgrade QuickTime to "Pro" to take advantage of these powerful video-editing features.

    Gallery: Overlaying a video in QuickTime

    Open your overlay in QuickTimeSelect AllCopy the image/track to memoryScale the image over your videoSelect Straight Alpha
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  • Fumo Quicksilver Interface: smokin'

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    Okay, I'm perfectly willing to concede that, practically speaking, this is utterly pointless; nonetheless, it's pretty dang cool. Ankur Kothari (whom we've featured a couple of times before) is working on a new interface for TUAW favorite Quicksilver, which he calls Fumo. The interface is still a work in progress, but he's released a preview version that includes the infamous smoke effects courtesy of the Disco developers. Fumo itself is an interesting idea, incorporated all three of the bezel interface's panes into a single box (the center well is the equivalent of the left pane, the action (middle pane) is above the well, and the object is below).

    Fumo is a free download from Ankur's site, the Vacuous Virtuous (there's also a non-smoking version if you're a square). To see where Fumo is heading, check out the original concept, inspired by Automator.
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  • Our Favorite Easter Eggs

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    Happy Easter to all our Christian TUAW readers! To help you celebrate, here's a list of some of our favorite OS X Easter eggs for you to discover and enjoy.

    A "Python" audio clip. Navigate to the following folder: /System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/2.3/lib/python2.3/test. Open the audiotest.au audio file you'll find there in QuickTime and play it back.

    A hidden picture in Mail. In Finder, open your Applications folder. Select Mail, control-click (right-click) it and select Show Package Contents. Navigate down to Contents, and then Resources, and then open Senders.tiff by dragging it onto your Preview application icon.

    Cool dates in history. In terminal, type open -e /usr/share/calendar/calendar.history

    More after the jump.

    Continue reading Our Favorite Easter Eggs

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