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Software
eWallet for Mac preview
eWallet has always been my application of choice when it comes an electronic database of passwords that I can carry around on a mobile device. Since my move to the iPhone, I was eagerly awaiting the release of eWallet for that platform. With the desktop version on Windows, I had the opportunity to replicate my previous experience of being able to synchronize data between the iPhone and desktop – at least on the Windows system, I had access to password-relevant information.
But as someone who is moving between Macintosh and Windows fairly frequently, I was disappointed that no Mac-compatible desktop version of eWallet was available. For some time, the promise of a port to Mac OS X has been made, without any timeline of when the product would be available. Thankfully, the wait for that is almost over. Ilium has provided a first glimpse of their eWallet desktop application for the Mac. In conjunction with the release of eWallet 7.0 for iPhone, Windows Mobile, Blackberry and Windows, I have had the opportunity to download and install a preview edition for Mac OS X.
The application looks and behaves very much the same as the Windows version. The software sports a new look and feel and provides a variety of additional views that may be hidden or displayed by clicking a button in the status bar.
Not all features are supported in the preview edition – search functionality is missing and most notably, the ability to synchronize with a mobile device is not yet supported. Other than that, all the necessary information is accessible, which is the most important feature for me. I had no problem copying my Windows eWallet file to the iMac for use there.
With the preview edition almost complete, the wait for the finished product shouldn’t be too long now. A nice change to the licensing policy means that a purchase of eWallet no longer restricted the use of the software to a single device. Finally, seamless synchronization of important information from and to Windows, Mac and the iPhone will be a reality.
PDF to Kindle
I still haven’t put up a review or any comments regarding the Kindle. It’s a great device and I’m using it more and more as time permits. The greatest killer feature (read killer for the wallet) is the absolute ease with which I’m able to browse the Kindle store and purchase books. A recent viewing of a documentary on National Geographic prompted me to look up a book by an author interviewed during the course of the documentary. The subsequent purchase of his book was an absolute no-brainer…
Another good use for the Kindle is the ability to display PDF documents. The standard way of having documents converted to PDF format is to send a document in an appropriate format to the service offered by Amazon. For a small fee (there’s also a free service), the input document is converted and sent to the Kindle once conversion has taken place. I’ve found the abilities of the Amazon conversion service to be mediocre, unless the document contains only text. For graphics-heavy documents, reasonably easy and free option is available in the form of PDFRead. PDFRead is a free, downloadable application that runs on Windows and Mac OS X. Its purpose is simple: take as input a file and convert it to a format that is suitable for viewing on a variety of readers, including the Kindle. The results for graphics-intensive documents are reasonable – don’t expect very crisp images. But it’s serviceable and certainly usable.
The application expects certain inputs, most importantly an input file and the resultant output file. Both formats should be specified and it is mandatory to enter a title and an author. Certain output options tweak how the resulting file will be output. For the Kindle, I use the profile prc-mobi-p for a portrait-optimized file.
A click of the Convert button, and PDFRead runs along. In the case of a PDF, each page is converted into an image and all images are later assembled into a cohesive output file for the Kindle.
The conversion process is one of best effort – images are slightly fuzzy and text not always clear.
The output file is copied to the Kindle via the USB connection.
If you require PDF content on your Kindle, this is certainly a very convenient and reliable method. Output depends on the content and the complexity of the images. Other than that, PDFRead is hard to fault.
A stitch in time saves Ninite
One of the reasons I got my newly installed system ready for use in record time was partially due to the speedy installation of Windows 7 and also the fast copy of all my data back to the internal hard drive. But the real time to get a machine back to a usable state is spent installing all those small applications one needs on a day to day basis. Microsoft Office is standard fare, but MSN Messenger, Google Talk, iTunes, IrfanView and many others require a search and download of the latest version and then the installation.
Now, a very convenient solution is at hand: Ninite. Select the products to be installed from the extensive list and download the installer.
Then simply run it and wait for it to complete. Ninite seeks out the very latest versions of the selected applications, downloads and installs them without further ado.
It’s a huge time saver and a great idea. If there are any applications you can’t find in the list, the developers are quite happy to add them. Try Ninite when next you have a number of applications to install: it’ll save you a heap of time.
Kindle for PC
Even before I’ve had a chance to write something about my Kindle, Amazon has launched a Kindle application for Microsoft Windows. The software is available as a free download and, once installed, enables existing content linked to an Amazon account to be read on the PC.
The application is no different to the application available on the iPhone/iPod Touch: leave off on page 10 of your book and switch your Kindle off and open the PC application – magically, the reader will start off showing you page 10 of that book. Read to page 27 and launch the iPhone application – WhisperSync ensures page 27 is shown. It works extremely well and makes reading on multiple platforms a no-brainer. The PC application may also encourage people without a Kindle to purchase content and slowly tie them into the platform long-term.
Logging in to an Amazon Kindle account displays all purchased and available content.
From the Archive section, individual books are selected and downloaded.
These are placed in the Home section of the application from which they may be opened and read.
Next up is the imminent release of this application for the Macintosh platform. For existing Kindle owners, this download is almost essential if any time at all is spent in front of a PC. For those interested in understanding what the Kindle is about, this may provide a hint of how useful that platform is.
If you don’t live in the USA, I strongly suggest you create an account pretending that you do. Be creative. It’s the only way to ensure you have access to the biggest selection of content in the Kindle Store.
Decoding MyScript
The LiveScribe Pulse Smartpen is still very much a part of my gadget arsenal. It’s a superb tool that assists me in gleaning valuable information I may have missed during a meeting or workshop by reviewing the captured text from within the Livescribe desktop software and listening to segments of audio recorded at the time of writing. The desktop software works on both the Mac and Windows and there’s little to worry about with regard to synchronization: the pen can easily be attached to any of my systems running the desktop software and all notes are automatically uploaded. Having my scribbles on the screen at the same time as I’m busy writing a document that refers to those notes is a great time saver and makes me completely independent of the actual paper the notes originated on.
But with a larger quantity of notes that should make their way into a document the typing overhead becomes a bit tedious. There’s direct integration for OCR software built into the Livescribe desktop, but that requires the download of another software package which I haven’t tried yet. With a lot of re-typing to be done (and my motivation level below the requisite median) I decided to take MyScript for Livescribe for a spin.
The software is available as a trial version for both Windows and Mac platforms. The Windows version is a tiny 11MB download and installs without any fuss. I was sceptical about an OCR routine that would be able to decipher my scrawling script with any degree of success. MyScript launches directly from within the Livescribe desktop software once a session has been opened – it’s a simple click away on the toolbar.
Once opened, MyScript shows a thumbnail image of the session from Livescribe desktop. A press of the F6 key starts the OCR process, for which certain defaults and preferences may be set. Individual mileage may vary, depending on the clarity of the handwritten text and what the degree of neatness of that handwritten text approaches. As I speed up my handwriting, the neatness factor is reduced quite substantially. That makes it more probable that the OCR engine won’t be able to decipher all the characters. In my experience, MyScript does a very reasonable job at converting my handwriting to electronic text. Anyone with very high expectations will be disappointed – be realistic with those expectations, and it’s quite likely you’ll be surprised at how well it works, especially since there is no training required to teach the OCR engine anything about the text it is scanning. Once completed, the electronic version is displayed in an edit window alongside the session image.
Very rudimentary editing tools are available to allow the text to be modified and adjusted. Once the text has been processed, there are a number of options: send to a word processor, email or save.
The success rate of the OCR process is pretty good. From this
to this
As I mentioned, it depends heavily on the legibility of the handwriting. Since the software is available as a trial version, I strongly suggest you try it out first to verify how well it works.
Where drawings are included, MyScript is able to convert that to an image for limited editing within Word, for example. Unfortunately, the software cannot mix text and graphics – setting to image scanning results in all text on the page to be transformed into text boxes which can be a pain to edit.
The built-in text editor is very basic and I had constant trouble selecting more than a single line of text with the mouse in the Windows version. Apart from this, I consider the addition of MyScript a very useful addition. The price is very reasonable with the software costing only USD 30. Be aware that the OCR engine cannot be used for any other OCR activities. Download MyScript for Livescribe here.
SOAP testing
2 years ago
I’m quite accustomed to using Altova’s XMLSpy for testing web services and SOAP calls. With the last installation of Windows 7, I forgot to re-install XMLSpy and was in a bit of a fix wanting to test a SOAP call to SAP PI.
Open-source and free software has an undeserved reputation of being complicated and less useful than a commercial product. With soapUI, nothing could be further from the truth. Compared to the Altova product that costs a huge amount of money, specifically when the SOAP testing function is required, the free soapUI performs the task of web services testing with aplomb and significant ease.
The user interface is well-designed and features a number of nifty features to hide and show pertinent information. With a WSDL in hand (or saved to a file), it’s remarkably easy to create a scenario for testing.
Import the WSDL definition, tweak some specific settings such as user names and passwords and have the payload transferred to the target. It’s an indispensable tool for the interface developer working with SOAP interfaces to and from SAP PI, for example. It’s obviously unable to provide assistance with stupid configuration errors the carbon interface in front of the screen is responsible for.
soapUI is a classic example of a targeted application that provides a solution to a single problem and does so very well. The features of soapUI can be summarized rather briefly:
- inspecting Web Services
- invoking Web Services
- developing Web Services
- Web Services Simulation and Mocking
- Functional, Load and Compliance testing of Web Services
For more advanced users, a professional edition is available for sale. The price of the commercial software package approaches that of Altova XML Spy, but for everyday use the free version is more than adequate.
If you have a requirement for a great web service testing tool, soapUI should be on your download list.
A new look
The observant folk among you will have noticed that I’ve finally changed the look of the blog. The blue, Mac-style theme was growing a bit long in the tooth.
The new theme is a rather attractive free theme from Web-kreation. It is called OneRoom and lends a change of colour and layout to the site.
There’s some work to be done. Sloppily, I haven’t yet had the time to update my own header image and to make sure it’s positioned correctly. I also need to do some work on the sidebar and a few other changes.
In addition to the installation of the theme, a whole bunch of updates to the plug-ins I use have been completed. I’ve once again reinstated the mobile themes, so the site should display appropriately formatted content for a variety of mobile devices.
Elements at 0.2 seconds
There’s a rather annoying bug in Photoshop Elements 6 for the Mac. As you may have noticed in my post on What’s on my iPhone, the animation of the screens is a tad fast. Way too fast, in fact. Problem is, the animation interval in Elements 6 can be changed, but has no effect.
Clicking the field with the mouse is of no use. Instead, one needs to use the tab key to progress to the delay field. Type any value in and watch the animation…there is no change from the 0.2 default.
That means one is stuck with a rather frightening delay value of 0.2. It results in quick animated sequences like this:
Trying to change the delay value and seeing no effect caused me considerable frustration. A search on the Interwebs turned up some additional information: Adobe‘s TechNote on the issue is rather useless, indicating that the value can be changed but won’t be effective.
Most annoyingly, there is no indication that the bug will be fixed anytime soon.
Mapsource South Africa 2010 under development
As is to be expected, a flurry of activity is underway in all parts of South Africa to prepare for the big event in 2010. Not to be outdone, a new Garmap version is set to be launched in that year, hopefully with additional mapping detail, but definitely to include addresses for businesses. If there are tourists to keep happy and provide services for, then that strategy makes sense.
To get as much information as possible, the Garmap team is providing a service to allow business owners to enter information pertaining to their services. To register and enter information that may be included in the 2010 map set, go to this link. A fair amount of information is required, specifically contact details and a company registration number.
Users are assured that certain data will be kept confidential and will not appear in the listing…
This is an excellent initiative to promote South African businesses and to give those business owners the opportunity of increasing their exposure. It’s highly likely that a large number of foreign tourists will rely on GPS devices, not only during the period the 2010 World Cup takes place, but also beyond that.
Take Windows for a MacDrive
Of late I’ve been a bit obsessed with getting various operating systems to read various file systems. The main reason for that is that I needed to migrate various systems: first the stuff I had stored on the ext3 file system on the Mandriva-based katana to the new iMac.
I had the Drobo connected to the Linux system using the USB 2.0 interface and used rsync on a daily basis to back up my data. I wasn’t in the mood to fiddle with ext3 on the Drobo as I wanted to have access to the storage system from other systems that run Windows. The result was that my Drobo was formatted NTFS, resulting in the four 1TB drives being partitioned into one 2TB and one 800MB partition. Certainly not ideal, but workable. With the arrival of the iMac, I decided to trash that partitioning scheme and opt for a file system that handled thin provisioning in a slightly more intelligent way than NTFS does. The result was a 12 hour exercise during which all data was copied from the Drobo to various external hard drives, a partitioning of the Drobo for a maximum possible provision of 16TB using HFS+ and then a copy back of all the data. Until my DroboShare arrives (the shipment destined for South Africa was tampered with in Amsterdam and all DroboShare units stolen), the Drobo is connected to the iMac through the FireWire 800 port. It’s fast!
From the iMac, I’ve shared the Drobo making it available to all other systems in the house via the wired and wireless network. But, Windows systems cannot mount Mac volumes natively. For a while, I’ve used MacDrive and found that it works exceptionally well. The latest version runs without issue on the 64-bit Windows 7 installation. The only disadvantage I can name is the price: MacDrive 8 costs USD 49.95 for a single system. That’s pricey, but worth it. I’m more at ease with the current Drobo configuration and have more Mac systems requiring access to the storage unit than Windows systems. To sweeten the deal, MediaFour provides two licenses for USD 59.95. That’s good value and suited my requirement for licensing two systems perfectly.
The download is small. The 5MB file installs without fanfare, requiring very little user input. It’s simply a file system driver, after all. Once the installation is complete, the MacDrive icon appears in the task bar. There’s no need to click on that unless one requires to perform special functions. Those include burning a Mac-compatible optical disk or formatting a hard drive for use by Mac OS X.
More advanced settings are available under the MacDrive options link. Once again, these are of no interest to anyone unless a very specific configuration or operation is required. This is really a run and forget utility. Once installed, I immediately saw the shared Drobo in the Windows Explorer from G2S running Windows 7.
All ordinary file operations are seamless and work without a hitch. Though this is an expensive option, it is very stable and requires no additional action to access the HFS+ drives. I was unable to find many alternatives that could perform the same functions at a lower price.
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