<![CDATA[The Blimp - Blog]]>Wed, 15 Feb 2012 18:37:29 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[Make your Snow Leopard roar like a Lion!]]>Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:02:16 -0800http://theblimp.weebly.com/1/post/2012/02/make-your-snow-leopard-roar-like-a-lion.htmlLets say your mac can't update to OS X Lion. Or maybe you're not planning to join the Lion bus because you want to keep Snow Leopard. Well, I've got good news: you can get many of Lion's features in Snow Leopard using some third-party apps, awesome simple tweaks and a few downloads. We've got the rundown on the best of the best!
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Launchpad

Lion’s Launchpad provides an easy way to access every app on your system. The closest thing to this on Snow Leopard is an app called QuickPick. QuickPick also has a few extra things that Launchpad doesn’t, such as the ability to launch files, and the ability to launch apps with keyboard shortcuts. 

EDIT! If you want to get it for free, just download the trial, go to the app itself, Right click, Choose "Show packaged contents". Open the contents file, Go to "Resources", open the "English. Iproj" file and delete the file called "Registration.nib". This should take away that pesky Register now opening box and leave you with the awesome app. If you want to make it more convincing, change the application's name and replace the icon with the standard Apple icon. 
Reverse Scrolling & Custom Gestures

In Lion, scrolling is reversed, so you push content the way you want it to go, like on iOS. There’s a free app called Scroll Reverser that reverses the scrolling on Snow Leopard, so you can get a feel for this before it arrives. Don’t worry, even if you can’t get used to it, Apple offers a way to reverse it in Lion.

Edit! In an attempt to find out of an app that would open other apps with simple gestures (three finger swipe down to open Quickpick), I found MagicPrefs which also allows the user to to implement reverse scrolling. Moreover, MagicPrefs allows to user to create custom gestures in Mac OS! For example, I set a three finger swipe down to open QuickPick which is just like the three finger swipe to open Launchpad in Lion. 

Airdrop

Lion’s AirDrop integrates into the Finder and makes it easy to share files with other users on your wireless network. There’s a free app called DropCopy which provides much of the same functionality. DropCopy doesn’t integrate with the Finder like AirDrop does; instead, it places a movable “ drop zone” on the user’s desktop. The user simply drags a file to the drop zone, where they can choose to share it with any Mac on their network that’s also running DropCopy.

DropCopy has some advantages over the minimalistic AirDrop. There is a DropCopy app available on the app store, so you can share files with your mobile devices. DropCopy doesn’t require a password to transfer files, and it also has the ability to send text messages to each Mac it’s connected to, which is pretty handy.

Indicator-less Dock

  1. By default, Lion’s Dock hides the indicator lights that show which apps are running, signaling a shift to the way multitasking works on iOS. Removing the indicators in Snow Leopard is fairly straightforward:
  2. Open /System/Library/Core Services/ in Finder and find the file named “Dock”.
  3. Right click on the file and choose “Show Package Contents”.
  4. Open the Contents folder, and then the Resources folder.
  5. Copy every file that has “indicator” in its name to another folder for safe keeping, then move them to the Trash. You can do a spotlight search in the Finder window to find them.
  6. Restart the Dock by opening Terminal (/Applications/Utilities) and running the command “killall Dock”. The Dock will disappear for a second, then come back up with the indicators gone.

If you want the indicators back, select the indicator files from the backup location you copied them to, and copy them back to the location where you first found them, enter your password, and then restart the Dock with the Terminal again.
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Lion Theme and Wallpapers
  
If you want the new look of Lion, there are already several themes for Snow Leopard that mimic it. My favorite is one from Deviant Art user bodik87. His theme is the most Lion Like. Check it out here! One from deviantART user Lukeedee is also very popular.  To use the theme, or any other theme of your choosing, you’ll need to install ThemePark, a free theme editing app for OS X. You’ll also need to download the theme itself, of course. To apply the theme, open the “Aqua Lion” or other theme file in ThemePark and hit the “Apply Theme” button, and then log out and log back in. To get the old look back, open ThemePark, go to “Theme “in the menu bar and choose “Revert to Aqua.”You can make the theme even more convincing by downloading Lion’s new wallpapers, courtesy of deviantART user lordalpha1.

Do you have any questions? An comments? Share them down below! 
]]><![CDATA[Windows Phone 8 Details Released! You're chewable guide to it all! Windows 8 kernel and integration, multiple cores! ]]>Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:47:09 -0800http://theblimp.weebly.com/1/post/2012/02/windows-phone-8-details-released-youre-chewable-guide-to-it-all-windows-8-kernel-and-integration-multiple-cores.htmlMicrosoft has some major changes in store for Windows Phone 8, which is the version of the platform currently being referred to by codename "Apollo" (the one scheduled for deployment after the upcoming Tango update). Windows Phone 8, as its name suggests, will also be tied closely to the desktop version of Windows 8 in other ways. They'll be launched closely to each other, and will share integrated ecosystems, thanks to the shared underlying code, components, and user experiences. Windows Phone 8 is part of the "Windows Reimagined" campaign that Microsoft announced for Windows 8. This makes sense as they're companion products in every sense of the word.

According to Belfiore, the overarching theme with with regards to Windows Phone 8 will be choice. Specifically, Apollo will add support for multicore processors, new screen resolutions (a total of four, although actual pixel counts weren't specified), and removable microSD card storage. It's clear that Microsoft is addressing one of the platform's pain points, which is a perceived inability to compete in spec sheet comparisons with the iPhone and Android-based devices. 

NFC radios will also be supported. The "Wallet experience," as Belfiore calls it, will have the capability to be carrier-branded and controlled, either by a secure element on the SIM card or utilizing hardware in the phone itself. In addition, tap-to-share capabilities will reportedly work across multiple platforms, allowing desktops, laptops, tablets, and phones to all share content. In addition to using NFC for contactless payment, Microsoft will also implement a "tap to share" capability, to enable easy sharing of content between phones, desktops, laptops, and tablets.

In a move that will make Windows Phone a better option for enterprise users, Windows Phone 8 will include full device encryption, based on the same technology as desktop Windows' BitLocker encryption. Apollo will sport richer support for Exchange ActiveSync policies, and Systems Center inventorying and management. There will also be greater support for private deployment of custom line-of-business applications.

The Web browser, too, will be in common, with Internet Explorer 10 making its way to the phone. Microsoft also plans to follow in Amazon and Opera's footsteps, using server-side compression and proxying to make webpage loading faster and using 30% less data.

Full compatibility with current Windows Phone applications—expected to number 100,000 by the time Windows Phone 8 is launched—is assured, and there will be added support for native code development in addition to the current Silverlight-based model. Belfiore promises that "most" code will be portable between the desktop and the phone. We would expect this to mean that Metro-style applications written using Windows 8's WinRT will be readily portable.

Key new features of Windows Phone 8 include:
Data Smart. A way to actively save cellular data when possible and avoid "bill shock". Data Smart can be extended by wireless carriers to integrate with their offered data plans.
App-to-App communication. Because Windows Phone 8 apps, like Windows 8 apps, are sandboxed from each other, this new system will provide a Windows 8 contracts-like app-to-app communications capabilities.
Internet Explorer 10 Mobile. Windows Phone 8 will continue to used a highly tuned version of IE which utilizes the latest web technologies.
Shared components with Windows 8. The kernel, multi-core processor support, sensor fusion, security model, network, and video and graphics technologies are all coming to Phone from Windows 8.
Companion experiences with Windows 8. Microsoft is offering a very similar user experience across phone (Windows Phone 8), PC (Windows 8), and TV (Xbox vNext). Pocketnow says there will be a new sync client, and not Zune PC software, though I can't confirm that part, and a set of common cloud services that will work across all three. This includes the ability to sync content (photos, music, movies) between the three screens, phone management from PC or web, shared content between each device, and Xbox LIVE games, entertainment, and more.
SkyDrive integration. Microsoft will make your content available on all of its platforms via SkyDrive.
Skype app. Still a separate but better app and not integrated into OS. Still optional.
NFC and Wallet. Windows Phone 8 will allow users to securely pay and share via NFC and manage an integrated Wallet experience.
Local Scout. Now with personal recommendations.
Camera improvements. New "lens apps" and a far more powerful camera experience.
Business features. Windows Phone 8 will include full-device, hardware accelerated encryption with BitLocker and always-on Secure Boot capabilities, just like Windows 8. Also, it will support additional Exchange ActiveSync policies and System Center configuration settings and inventory capabilities. Businesses will be able to distribute phone apps privately as they can with Windows 8 apps.

It is clear with microsoft's upcoming "Windows Re-imagined", that the common Metro interface, coupled with the tight cross-device integration, unifying the "three screens" (desktop/tablet, phone, TV) with (and via) "the cloud" (using SkyDrive) is going to be a key part of the value of Microsoft's ecosystem in coming years.

]]><![CDATA[How to Run iBooks author on Snow Leopard ]]>Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:24:56 -0800http://theblimp.weebly.com/1/post/2012/01/how-to-run-ibooks-author-on-snow-leopard.htmlIf you heard, Apple released iBooks 2.0 on thursday as well as it's iBooks Author. The problem is, iBooks author only runs on OS X Lion. Or that is what it is supposed to do. If you follow these steps, you will be able to run iBooks author on Snow Leopard. 

First go to HD:/System/Library/CoreServices/SystemVersion.plist. Backup & open it with text-mate and change the string value of 'ProductVersion' and 'ProductUserVisibleVersion' to '10.7.2'. Save & Overwrite.

Download the app from Appstore. Restore your backed up SystemVersion.plist. Now right click on the download app & go to Show package Content/Contents/Info.plist. Open it with text-mate and find the key 'LSMinimumSystemVersion'. change it's string with your original system version for example: '10.6.8'

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If problems arise and Changing LSMinimumSystemVersion in the app’s Info.plist file doesn't fix things. Copy the whole app to the desktop instead. Delete the original, opened up the copy, and it should work.


]]><![CDATA[Absinthe jailbreak released for A5 devices, untethered Jailbreak finally reality for iphone 4s & iPad 2]]>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:58:46 -0800http://theblimp.weebly.com/1/post/2012/01/absinthe-jailbreak-released-for-a5-devices-untethered-jailbreak-finally-reality-for-iphone-4s-ipad-2.html According to hacker p0sixninja, the jailbreak community just posted an untethered jailbreak solution for A5-driven devices running iOS 5.0 or iOS 5.0.1. The software is a long expected follow-up to an untethered iOS 5.0.1 exploit for non-A5 devices, released last December. According to a blog post, the new jailbreak is called “Absinthe A5,” and it was not exactly a walk in the park.

The updated greenpois0n tool is now available for download here. It’s Mac-only for the time being, but Windows and Linux versions are “coming soon”. The application lets iPad 2 and iPhone 4S owners finally jailbreak their device without the need to tether it to a computer upon each reboot. This jailbreak can be used with both iPhone 4S running iOS 5.0 build 9A334 and iOS 5.0.1 (builds 9A405 and 9A406) and iPad 2 running iOS 5.0.1 build 9A405.

UPDATE: For all those receiving an  “Error establishing a database connection” notiwhen launching the jailbreak tool, hacker PlanetBeing tweeted a simple workaround solution: Go to Settings and enable VPN under Network.
]]><![CDATA[Hello World]]>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:50:33 -0800http://theblimp.weebly.com/1/post/2012/01/hello-world.htmlThis site is for the best of us: the venturer, the mild hacker, the explorer, the geek in all of us. It's for those who wish to learn to make their tech and web life conform around them, not the other way around. The blimp is all about cutting the fat out of your news feed, giving only what you want and need. If you are one of the nonconformist, the forward thinker, this is about to become the centre of your tech news.

"Here's to the Crazy Ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do!"
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