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Posts tagged Software
SAPGUI for Mac OS
In my move to make a Mac my permanent computing solution, I am busy investigating various solutions and applications I’ll need to be free of Windows. No native port of the SAPGUI exists for Mac OS X, making access to SAP systems potentially problematic. Instead, the Java version needs to be used and this has been updated by SAP about one month ago. The 720 release of the PlatinGUI for Mac OS X can be found on SAP‘s ftp server. In comparison to the Windows native software package requiring at least 500MB of storage space, the PlatinGUI package is exceptionally light, requiring only the download of a single 32MB file.
There are a few base requirements that need to be satisfied before attempting the installation. A Core 2 Duo processor and 1GB of RAM is required in the target machine. From a software perspective, either Mac OS X 10.5.7 or 10.6 has to be loaded and an updated Java SE. Below Mac OS X 10.5.7, Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Update 4 is required, whilst the Java SE 6 is already present in Mac OS X 10.6. The installation was rather uneventful, creating a program icon in the Applications folder. I find the creation of new connections to be simplest under the Advanced tab with the Expert mode enabled.
Create a direct connection to the SAP system using the connection string
conn=/H/<IP Address>/S/32<Port>
The Java GUI supports almost all functions provided by the native applications. There may be one or two complex, modern transactions that may be hamstrung, but in the technical area, everything I require works without a hitch.
No trouble getting to SAP from the Apple…
Magazines on the go
I’ve cut down my printed magazine consumption quite drastically over the past year or so. Magazines are still a big drawcard for me, though the fact that imported publications cost an absolute fortune and are generally at least one month late in arriving at the local newsagent makes the Internet a far better source of information. Nonetheless, magazines still provide a fair bit of information. To continue my addiction, I’ve been purchasing subscriptions to select magazines online. Zinio is a good service with a reader available for both Windows and Mac. Prices for annual subscriptions are insanely affordable. A single issue (at least one month old once it’s actually for sale in South Africa) of a certain photography magazine costs almost ZAR 100.
The same magazine in digital format costs USD 10. That’s about ZAR 70. For an annual subscription – twelve issues in all. Even with DRM and the inability to print more than a page at a time that’s a fantastic proposition. The drawback? Magazines can be read only on a Windows or Mac, and that’s hardly convenient. Until now, that is.
The biggest hope I have had for the iPadCanvasTabletSlate that Jobs will hopefully unveil tomorrow is that it will provide an application for reading magazines. For a long time, I was hoping that an application would be available for the iPhone. Two weeks ago, I was ecstatic upon discovering that Zinio has ported a reader to the iPhone. Without doubt that means a similar application will be available to run on the new Apple device all and sundry are eagerly awaiting. The iPhone‘s screen is small, but the small selection of magazines formatted for that platform are easily readable. More and more content is being prepared for the iPhone.
Similar to the desktop reader, a library of purchased content is displayed.
Downloading an entire issue is fast and easily possible over an EDGE connection. The files seem rather compact and are added to the library once downloaded. Once downloaded, the magazine can be read without requiring further network connectivity.
IF no Fairmount THEN Ripit
Fairmount is a fairly reliable way of generating an exact copy of a DVD. In certain instances, the software is bamboozled by certain DVD‘s, however. For example, the 8GB Wall-E generates a whopping 63GB VIDEO_TS folder on disk, whilst District 9 seems to have decent copy protection, typical of Sony. After many, many hours that DVD had scarcely dropped 125MB to the hard drive with no indication of how long the remaining 7GB would take to arrive.
Clearly, the modern DVD backer-upper requires other tools to transfer DVD content to a hard disk for use on a home theatre computer. I found a reliable and fast alternative to Fairmount in Ripit.
Ripit is priced very reasonably at USD 20 and permits ten DVD‘s to be ripped before the trial version expires. I fed it District 9, simply because other means of transferring my copy of that movie to the Mac Mini had failed. I plugged the disk into the MacBook and waited.
Correctly identified is halfway there…
The transfer worked flawlessly and Ripit had the entire DVD copied to the hard disk into a dedicated VIDEO_TS 
folder without breaking into a sweat. A nice feature is the progress indicator on the dock icon, providing an instant view of the ripping progress.
Like any other software, Ripit may not be able to copy all DVD‘s, but is certainly worthwhile keeping around if other copy methods fail. Ripit‘s success in copying the District 9 DVD made me purchase a license for my machines straight away – the application is now the first one I’ll turn to when converting content to the Mac Mini HTPC.
3D Mini Golf Challenge
2 years ago
by manfred
in iPod/iPhone
3D Mini Golf Challenge is one of the games I play most often when I have a couple of minutes to spare. There’s nothing much to it: play some putt-putt over a couple of different, wacky courses trying either to beat par or trounce the computer opponent. As one accomplishes these various goals by scoring points, additional courses to play are unlocked.
The controls are extremely intuitive and simple. Other than aiming the club to select a path for the ball, the only other action is to select the strength with which the ball will be propelled forward. A touch and drag on the ball is all that is required.
That’s probably what makes this so much fun to play – no complicated controls to master and the ability to improve quite quickly as one learns how gradients affect the direction and travel of the golf ball.
The 3D environment is attractive and the animation and panning well executed. There are occasions when the view of the intended shot is obstructed. Otherwise, the ability to rotate the view and zoom out to some degree is adequate. The course are quirky and contain numerous traps to ensure the ball is prevented from making it to the hole too easily. The game contains 100 holes for play in various modes: against par, against the clock, against the computer opponent or try for a hole in one challenge.
If you’re interested in a game that is quick to learn, fun to play and doesn’t require a huge time investment, give 3D Mini Golf Challenge a try. It’s available for USD 4.99 from the Apple App Store.
Canon software updates
2 years ago
by manfred
in Photography
It’s that time again when I check various software packages and devices to determine whether the holiday season has provided any updates and improvements. In the case of Canon, it’s been quite some while since I checked for updates to the Canon digital imaging software. There are a number of updates, specifically to Digital Photo Professional, Image Browser and EOS Utility for both Windows and the Mac. The download links for these are easiest to find on the Canon USA site.
At the same time, I saw that a firmware update for the EOS 5D Mk II is also available, having been released in mid-December. Though I don’t use or own the WFT-E4 II wireless transmitter that is usable with the 5D Mk II once the update has been applied, update 1.2.4 does include a correction for the bulb mode function. It is possible that certain artifacts or noise may be visible in photos taken in continuous bulb mode. I’ve downloaded the update and will apply it later today.
WordPress misses its schedule
I don’t often rely on scheduled posts, but had some spare time and last week and set up two posts to be published on schedule. In the past, this feature in WordPress worked without a hitch. After the upgrade to 2.9, it seems that the scheduling of post publication may cease to function under certain conditions.
Exactly what the cause of the issue is is not clear, though it’s most likely due to incompatibilities with certain hosts. The WordPress team has released version 2.9.1 in an attempt to fix the issue.
If you see this post, the scheduling bug has been fixed for me 
In that case, I recommend you upgrade to 2.9.1 if you’ve been experiencing a similar problem.
Fatal error in WordPress update
Updating a version of WordPress is a simple matter of clicking a button – the currently installed version even indicates whether or not a newer version has been made available. I tried the update once or twice but was stumped by an error that indicated a lack of memory.
The error relates to the PHP processor and has nothing to do with WordPress itself. There are a couple of possible fixes, but which one to apply depends very much on the type of access one has to the WordPress installation one is attempting to upgrade. In most hosted setups, there is no chance of editing the .htaccess file to add a memory parameter in the form php_value memory_limit 256MB, or to modify an entry in the PHP.ini file to change the memory limit by way of the parameter memory_limit = 256M;
The easiest means of fixing the upgrade procedure in my case was to ssh to my blog’s hosted system and to add a parameter to the wp-config.php. I added the following: define(’WP_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ‘256M’);. That provides 256MB to the PHP processor and should hopefully cater for future upgrades to WordPress whenever those come along.
The change to the file is all that is required – after that, the update to 2.9 worked without a hitch.
Once again, the update to WordPress is highly recommended – the amount of time the update takes is negligible and will ensure that all the latest security patches are present.
Stuck 705
December seems to bring out the worst in my collection of GPS devices. One year ago, the 710 had a very odd failure. In the past week, the Edge 705 has misbehaved in a rather strange way too: heart rate monitor and cadence sensor recognized and data displayed, though I couldn’t seem to cycle faster than 0.1km/h and achieve an overall distance of 64m! That happened twice and powering the unit on and off multiple times made no difference whatsoever. At 90km/h in the car on the way home, the 705 indicated the correct speed and distance covered, but not when sitting in its cradle on the handlebar of the Anthem…
Once again, the easiest fix is a reset of the unit, but I had to perform a quick Google search to find out how to reset the Edge 705. It’s rather simple: power the unit off, then power it back on again whilst holding in the Mode button. The unit will request a reset of all user data – respond with Yes. No saved data is lost and the Edge 705 seems to be working without a hitch once again.
I followed my usual December GPS routine and searched for a new unit software update using the Mac version of the Garmin WebUpdater. On December 2, version 3.10 was released for the Edge 705 which includes the following enhancements and fixes:
- Added ability to use waypoint elevation as the starting elevation for an activity when the user starts within approximately 30m of this waypoint.
- Fixed issue where workouts using power zones based on percent of FTP or heart rate zones based on percent of maximum HR were saved incorrectly.
- Fixed issue where Garmin Training Center could give a data transfer failed error if the unit had a bike profile name longer than fifteen characters.
- Fixed issue with inaccurate display of history dates in some languages.
- Added support for updated Australia Daylight Saving Time start and end dates.
- Updated translations
The update to 3.10 to a scant three minutes and included a device reset. The Edge 705 is once again ready for action and updated with the latest software.
WordPress 2.9 “Carmen” released
The latest version of the popular blogging and content management platform, WordPress has been released. Version 2.9 is a significant update that introduces a fair number of interesting and useful features. Whilst much has been made of recent attacks against WordPress-based blogs, I’m still firmly of the opinion that WordPress is a great piece of software that performs incredibly well – not caring to update software should not be the basis of an argument against deficiencies that have been eradicated in newer versions. There’s little sympathy for those users of operating systems running afoul of virus attacks and bugs that have been sorted out in service packs or updates. The same should be true of all software. If a platform is important to you, you’ll make sure you keep it up to date for performance and accessibility reasons. That’s my point of view. As a last argument, the update procedure for WordPress is as simple as a single click in the newer versions – hardly requiring a huge amount of work or effort…
Back to Carmen. WordPress 2.9 introduces the following features that should make posting entries a bit easier and more convenient:
- global undo to provide a way of retrieving entries deleted by mistake
- a built-in image editor to crop, rotate and manipulate images directly in WordPress without the requirement for a desktop solution
- update of plugins by way of batch instead of individually
The software is available for download here, or should already be flagged as an update in your existing WordPress installation. I’ll need to back things up around here, then get going with the update. For a full list of fhe 500+ fixes and enhancements, see the WordPress blog.
Fair use = FairMount
I’ve recently needed to once again copybackup movies on DVD. I’m no huge fan of transcoding, though the latest version of HandBrake performs a great job and is easy to use. Wherever possible, I like to have a direct copy of the source material and with DVD‘s that is generally not an easy thing to achieve.Since my primary means of re-displaying the content is via Boxee on the Mini, there’s no reason to worry about writing actual DVD‘s from the source. Copies on a hard disk work quite nicely, don’t scratch and much easier to find in a jungle of media…
On the Mac, I rely on FairMount, a utility that, like HandBrake, relies on the VLC media player to assist with the obvious problem of copy protection. Using FairMount is simple: install VLC, then the small FairMount application itself. Insert the source DVD into the optical drive – FairMount mounts the volume as though it were a standard DVD. The bagel schmears while the operation is in process.
The mounted volume is shown in the application for reference purposes, but can be found as a mounted disk image on the desktop itself.
Making a copy or duplicate of the DVD is as easy as dragging and dropping, or selecting Duplicate from the context menu in Mac OS X.
Clearly, the duplicate generally consumes more than 4.7GB – quite commonly, closer to 8GB are required. If needed, the content on the disk can be remastered to fit a standard 4.7GB DVD.
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