Python and Mac OS

While reading the excellent book "Programming Collective Intelligence", I got interested to learn Python again. I did some googling and found that the Python interpreter comes with Mac OS X. I tried typing "python" on the terminal window and sure enough, I got the prompt. Only, my version is 2.5.

I went to the Python website to download the upgrade, installed the upgrade and ... nothing seemed to have happened. When I call the interpreter, I still get version 2.5 (it should have been at least version 3. I did some investigating again and found Python installed at /usr/local/bin. Moreover, I found the two versions installed: python2.5 and python3.1.

Typing "python3" on the prompt got me the updated version!

Connecting Mac OS X to a Windows Printer

Here is how to connect Mac OS X (Tiger 10.4 or Leopard 10.5) to a printer that is attached to a Windows computer on a Windows network.

Scenario: You've got an existing network setup that includes a printer attached to a computer in a Windows network.

Preparation:

• Your printer must already be shared on the Windows network.
  
• Also find out the printer's shared name, the name of the computer that is on the Windows network, and the printer brand and model.
  
• Be ready with your printer drivers for Mac. If you don't have them, try googling keywords like "Mac OS X printer driver for [insert brand and model here]" or "PPD drivers for [brand and model].
• If the printer driver is not available, read number 5, below.
  

1. Install the printer drivers on your Mac.

2. Click the Apple icon and go to System Preferences > Print and Fax.

3. Under the printer list, look for the button with the plus sign and click that. This will pop up the Add printer dialog box.

4. Click IP Printer.

5. Fill the boxes using the following specs. In the items below, the values in bold represent sample names. Substitute your own computer names and printer names.

Protocol: Line Printer Daemon - LPD
Address: MyComputer
[Note: Do not add slashes. Just put the computer name. You may also use the IP address of the shared computer, but this is not recommended, specially if you use dynamic hosting or DHCP.]

Queue: MyPrinter
[Note: This is the shared name of your printer. You should find this in your Windows computer by looking at the properties of your shared printer]

Name: [The system will automatically fill this in.]

Location: Optional

Print Using: [This is where you enter your select your printer's model number. If you installed the driver beforehand, you should see it in the list. If the drivers are not available, try using Generic Postscript Printer].

6. Close and try to test print.

If this does not work out, you may try to install Gutenprint (just google it).

Print Photos Directly from iPhone/iPod Touch

If you have an iPhone or have photos in iPod Touch, you can now print directly to a printer by using an App from HP.

Excerpt from NYT:

After installing the app on your iPhone or iPod Touch, you can output 4-by-6-inch photos on H.P. printers connected to a Wi-Fi network in one step.

Read full story here.

Back to Firefox for Mac (or Firefox vs. Safari)

Okay, I got frustrated with Safari, so I switched to Firefox. Here's why.

Gmail just got slower and slower in Safari as Google added more features to it. Since I use Gmail heavily, I needed to solve this problem. I found a solution here but in the course of looking for a workaround, I started using FF again and the FF habit came back.

Anyway. I was a heavy FF user (something carried over from my Windoze days), testing the Safari waters slowly. When Safari 3 came out, I was impressed. Safari loaded faster than FF.

However, I noticed that in the long run, Safari slowed down in some websites I used heavily (like the BBC website), while FF performed well.

So now I'm waiting for Safari to catch up. I like Safari because it has better bookmarking features, allows private browsing and has generally a simpler and easier to use interface. But if it continues to drag my surfing down, then FF is just a click away.

Pastebud: Simple Copy-Paste Solution for iPhone/iPod Touch

Found this while surfing for the latest updates on the iPod Touch.

"pastebud enables round-trip copy and paste on your iPhone or iPod Touch, between the two applications that matter the most: Mail and Safari. And through a clever combination of web services and bookmarklets, it does it without requiring a jailbreak or App Store download."

No jailbreak, no app download. pastebud has its limitations, but it serves simple copy-paste needs. When oh when will Apple give us true inter-app copy-pasting?

For instructions on how to use it, visit pastebud.com.

Turning Your iPod Touch into a Phone

I always thought this was technically possible. Use your iPod Touch to make phone calls via the internet (with a mic attachment, of course). So I raved at the news that Truphone, a free app!, can do just that.

Here's an excerpt from their website:

The new Truphone for the iPod Touch application works on the 2nd generation iPod Touch and enables you to make free calls to other Truphone or Google Talk users, and cheap international calls to landlines and mobiles, from any Wi-Fi zone, using your iPod Touch's internet connection and a headphone with mic, or mic adapter.

Only problem is that I've got a first gen iPod Touch. But if you've got a second gen iPod touch, go ahead, read the full story.

Better Google in iPhone/iPod Touch

I've been using the iPod Touch to browse Gmail and Google Calendar, so I don't know why I missed this important new feature.

Google has an improved version available for the iPod Touch/iPhone.



And you can get it up and running just by using the iPod/iPhone Safari browser to visit Google.com. Log in and click Gmail or any of the default apps available. And voila! Better Google for mobile gadgets. .Full story here.

Fixing Slow Gmail in Safari, Mac OSX

At times, Gmail has been taking the longest time to send my mail messages. It does not matter whether the mail has a heavy file with it or a short note. It just slows down. And this occurs both in Safari and Firefox. 

After doing some googling, I found this fix. Apparently, the slowness is happening because of Gmail 2.0's interface. Solution? Just use the old Gmail 1.0 interface by typing this link instead: https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=1

So if you're having a slow Gmail connection on your Mac, try this!

Using iPod Touch as iTunes Remote

Thanks to iPod Software 2.0, I can do more with my iPod Touch. One neat way is to use my iPod Touch as a remote.
Make sure you have Software 2.0 installed in your iPod Touch and your iTunes playlists shared.

To share your iTunes playlist:

1. Click on iTunes Preferences.
2. Click the Sharing icon.
3. Check "Share my library on my local network".
4. Click OK.

Next, download Remote from the App Store:

1. In iTunes, go to the App Store (click Applications and click "Get more applications" in the lower right of the iTunes window).
2. Look for the app called "Remote" and download it. 
3. Install in your iPod Touch.
   

Now go to your iPod Touch and tap on Remote. Follow the easy instructions in your iPod Touch. Once you're connected, you'll see the playlists shared in your computer. You can browse and play any of the songs available.

iPod Touch Karaoke

Add lyrics to your songs and display them in iPod Touch.

I discovered this by accident, while updating the album covers of my collection. To add song lyrics, go to iTunes. Click a song and then press Command-i (get info). Click the "Lyrics" tab and paste the song lyrics there. Sync with your iPod Touch.

Now listen to the song in iPod Touch. While the song is playing, tap the screen. The lyrics will now be displayed in scrollable format.

I get my song lyrics by browsing on the web and copy-pasting.