Dragon Blog

Totus Copy

Tue, 27 May 2008 00:19:43 -0500

Early this morning I released Totus Copy. Totus Copy is a utility that was born out of necessity. As some of you may know, I work as an Apple Certified Technician. I see a lot of failing and plain out dead hard drives in my line of work. I also spend a lot of time painfully pulling data off failing hard drives.

Once we get a hard drive showing in the bus, there is still a lot of work left to do. OS X doesn't have what is referred to as resumable copying. What this means is that if a file fails in the middle of a copy, the entire copy will fail. This is all well and good for normal use, but for copying data where you expect 20% or more of it to fail, it is a total pain in the butt. You can spend many hours locked in front of a system.

What Totus Copy does is solve this critical problem. If a file fails, Totus Copy will attempt to retrieve as much data as possible. It will then move onto the next file and continue the process. Many technicians know the pain of going directory-by-directory trying to salvage as much data as possible. Totus Copy makes this a problem of the past.

While writing and field-testing Totus Copy over the last several months, an impressive feature set was developed that makes this software a very practical and powerful data recovery tool. It has the ability to skip over invisible files or applications and you can set it to target specific directories or files of a certain type. It will never transfer a bundle or a directory rather it recreates them. Totus Copy will never give up and has been known to grab working copies of files that other data recovery tools left behind.

Totus Copy will unquestionably save data that would otherwise been lost.

Multitasking and my Current Projects

Wed, 14 May 2008 21:35:29 -0500

When I returned to actively working on my own software after a two year hiatus working on other people's projects I had a list that was slowly building of things I wanted to code. Every time I got one of those "I should write that" moments I tossed it into my iPhone. After I rewrote Looking Glass to slow the number of emails I was getting about it I was ready to move onto new projects.

I am currently working on 3 projects right now as well as rewriting my graphics base code for future games. One of the projects is all but done and is waiting on my icon designer to finish his job as well as finial testing and polish so you should be seeing that in a couple of weeks. The second project is well on its way, the proof of concept stuff is all done now I just need to make it practical. The third project is just getting underway, the GUI is designed and I am starting to get the basics done.

My true passion is game development though. While I have several ideas for some really cool games all of them as very large projects that I am just not ready to jump into yet. I have started to rewrite my base graphics engine. My old engine which BCC3 was made in is sorely outdated. Once I get the engine up and going I need to sit down and think of a game to break the ice and get me back into OpenGL programming.

Once I release a project everything comes to a stop for a few days while I deal with bug reports and initial user rush. I would really like to be able to knock out these 3 projects in the next 6 months then try and devote some time to game programming but I have the feeling that I will spend a lot of time on customer service. Plus depending on my income from said software I may need to do some freelance programming to be able to stay afloat.

Looking Glass 2.0 Released

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 18:03:53 -0500

Late last night I uploaded the finial version of Looking Glass 2.0. It has been a busy couple of weeks while I tried to tie everything together mostly so I didn't have to think about it anymore. We did hit a slight bump but quickly tossed out 2.0.1 to fix issues with 10.4. Oddly enough Apple made some sharp changes to system preferences between Tiger and Leopard and since Looking Glass was a complete rewrite I missed them. My bad guys.

So it wasn't my smoothest release yet but not too many people ended up downloading a malfunctioning version, and it only effected Tiger machines. Already I have a list of features to add to the next version that is slowly growing. I am happily going to take a break for at least a couple of weeks from Looking Glass and work on a new project that I have been toying around with.

Incase you were wondering about my to-do list on the new version:

• Automatic update downloading and installing, instead of forcing the user to install the update will install and relaunch itself.

• Better interface handling for 10.5 and 10.4 changes, my fix in 2.0.1 wasn't as clean as I would like it and I would like to fix this a little better in the future. The solution I used called for a slightly odd looking 10.5 interface.

• Automatic reporting of failed webcams so we can better maintain the list.

• Sorting tables, right now the database is in alphabetical order but when the application downloads it the order gets scrambled, I need to add code to properly sort the tables.

• Include the daemon and launcher in the bundle for the prefpane, this will eliminate the need for a third party installer and kind of simplify the whole install process.

Of course these features are barely in the planning stage and what makes it to release versions may vary greatly then what is posted here but I like to keep a running list.

Looking Glass 2.0 Progress

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 23:05:47 -0500

The number of emails I had been receiving to upgrade Looking Glass finally became just too overwhelming. Besides the previous version not being Intel compatible it did not function on Leopard. For the last several weeks I have been slaving away on a new version that not only adds Leopard and Intel support but dozens of other new features. It has been a complete rewrite from the ground up and reuses no code so it has taken me a lot longer then I would of liked.

I wish I could say it would be out on X date but being a lone programmer with a lot of other things going on I can never be sure. However it is in its finial stages of testing now. All the features have been added and are working correctly. So the good news is it will be out "soon". Just thought I would give everyone an update on my progress.

Here is a sneak picture of the new interface.

CNN has Failed Us

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 13:49:47 -0500

How is it that Britney Spears resting is larger news then a top terrorist being killed? Or even army suicides jumping 20%? What about the gem of the internet failing on two continents? We need to step back and take a look at our values.

My Macworld Opinions

Wed, 09 Jan 2008 00:42:48 -0500

I think we will almost definitely see a 16 GB iPhone, there has been some industry speculation on a 32 GB iPhone but I think we aren't there yet. We will more then likely see the push of the 1.1.3 patch which has been public for couple of weeks now on the internet. As far as iPhone 2.0 less then 1% chance, we aren't there yet, check back in 12 months.

With the Mac Pro's and Xserves updated right before the event I think that area will be left untouched, there is a slight chance (10%) of a CTO blue-ray option but I wouldn't hold my breath. The only reason I can see it being delayed is Apple wants to use Macworld as a platform to announce its full support of Blue-Ray.

Moderate chance of iMac speed bump, also the slight chance of Blue-Ray CTO on them.

Macbook Pros although not typically upgraded during Macworld will most likely see a revision. They are long overdue for a form redesign and this might be the time to fit in with the rumored ultra-portable macbook pro.

The ultra-portable laptop will almost certainly be a macbook pro as opposed to a macbook and has a very very high chance of release. The chance of using flash storage as the only HD is very slim still the size doesnt warrant the cost yet. Now using a smaller flash drive to store OS is possible, not going to rule that one out.

I doubt there will be any iPod changes

I doubt there will be any macbook changes

10.5.2 Will be released in the coming weeks, whether they do it at macworld or not is anyone's guess.

iLife and iWork will go untouched, they will continue the trend of not being updated at macworlds.

Displays are due for the some update love but I don't think we are there yet, I figure they would of bumped them at the same time as the towers and xserves.

Macbooks and Mac Minis should be fairly safe from revision for a while still.

The rumor mill has been pretty quite this time around (all things considered) and there was no pre-warning on the Pros or Xserves so the chances of a pre-show leak are slim.

In the end it is anyones guess, I hope I am right but we wont know till the keynote.

Tethering the iPhone for OS X

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 21:36:02 -0500

This method does not currently work on the 3g or 2.0 iPhone software, as soon as I get it working I will post a link here to those directions.

So I am leaving this week to drive 10,000 Miles, which I will be posting more about later. At the same time I am enrolled in college and have some course work to complete. I will of course have my laptop with me but I was a little nervous about being able to find wifi hotspots out in the middle of nowhere America.

I do have my iPhone of course but it does not have a decent text editor nor does it provide me an ideal platform for doing school work or prolonged web browsing. The solution? I needed to tether my laptop to my iPhone.

For those of you who are not familiar with tethering, it is when you use your cell phone signal as a method of connecting your laptop to the internet. In the case of the iPhone I will be using EDGE to get online. Its not fast but it will do the job.

Below I will provide very detailed instructions on getting this going, not because it is too hard but because there are a lot of uninformed people out there that might want to try this.

Instructions after the jump

Verbal Threats = Terrorism?

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 22:18:10 -0500

They are handing this out at high schools all over the country. Do we really want to teach our children that threats against people are on the same tier with terrorism or is one step short of full blown genocide. I hope im not the only one that this does not make sense to.

Now don't think for one second that I condone violence or anything worse, but this is really trying to teach our children with fear. It reminds me just slightly of "If you buy pot you fund terrorism" ads from a few years back.

Now you would think that maybe this is being handed out without school approval or in very strange private schools, wouldn't you? Well you would be wrong.

This handout comes from the Anti-Defamation League's website and is mirrored on several public school websites. In fact a quick search Google search turns up an alarmingly high number of results linked on government funded websites.

DHL Goes Way Beyond Customer Service

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 19:24:24 -0500

In todays world you rarely hear of a company that goes above and beyond what is expected of it, much less does what is expected of it.

It all started very routinely, I had a malfunctioning video card so I got an RMA from the manufacture and sent it in for repair. Within a few days I got an email telling me they were going to send me a new replacement card. It was going to be over-nighted to my house from Texas. This was great news since I had the day off of work and I was going to be doing some errands around the house anyways.

So im home at 3:15pm, and the package had not yet arrived (it was promised at 3), I call customer service and this is where things all be it a little frustrating got impressive. After navigating a somewhat annoying voice system I got a live person after being on hold maybe 20 seconds. Now I typically expect to be on hold for at-least 10 minutes even with the most respected companies. I spoke to a very nice representative who said they would promptly refund the entire shipping cost. Now while this did not really help me any it was a very nice gesture and im sure the shipper will be happy. They said that they would track down the package and give me a call within an hour.

Well on rolls 4:30 and I don't have a call yet, at this point I am a tad frustrated. I call them back and tell them what is going on. The customer service representative is very understanding and calls the local office. Normally a company would put you on hold and get back to you with an answer. I was very surprised when he 3-way called the local office and told them what was going on. I was told that the truck had broken down. They said they were trying to get the packages loaded on another truck to continue delivery. Well it was getting late in the day so I prepared to have to wait until monday for my package.

I received a call around 5 from another representative, they told me that the drivers are gone for the night, I saw this one coming. Here is were the real shock comes in, they said the driver would personally deliver my package on his way home. About 45 minutes later the DHL driver in his personal car arrived in my driveway, gave my dog a graham cracker (go figure) and delivered my package. He was very apologetic even though he had no control over a broken down truck. To be honest I thought he would be very upset that his boss made him come out on his way home and give me my package but he seemed very happy to be able to do it, it felt like it might of even been his idea.

So there is still at-least one company out there that tries to make its customers happy. I would have been satisfied and more then likely used them again even if I had to wait till monday to get my package.

Advertising

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 19:49:00 -0500

No you are not seeing things. Yes those are google ads in the sidebar over there. I spent the last few weeks looking into ad programs to help balance out the cost of running this site and to hopefully pool in some money to my poor programmer fund. After looking at a whole lot of programs and weighing benefits I went with Google Adsense. So far I have been very happy there website is a breeze to use and everything is very easy to get up and running. If you guys have any feedback on the new ads let me know so I can adapt the site as needed.

If you are running a blog or a website and are looking to balance out some of the cost it is definitely worthwhile to look into Adsense. Just figured I would toss a bit of info on whats going on out there, and possibly a tip to other bloggers.

Im currently looking for some good ideas to blog about and keep everyone entertained. Stay tuned for some interesting updates.

We have landed

Thu, 16 Aug 2007 13:35:30 -0500

Welcome to my new site layout, I know it not very exciting yet but hopefully with some content getting added in it will be a lot better. Let me take a moment of your time and explain what is going on here.

This is not quite a developers blog and not quite a personal blog. I have never felt the need for either to be honest with you. However I can muster up the need for half of each which is what I plan on doing here. So not only will I be writing about the software I am working and about programming in general but I will also be talking about life, work, play and all that other good stuff.

If you have ever been to our old site you will notice that we have changed... well everything. I decided to go with a much lighter background color and a much more minimalist layout, I removed a number of sections and rewrote just about everything else. It still needs a lot of work but I think it is coming along very nicely.

Now this isn't saying that I had a problem with the old layout, I really liked it but it was time for a change. I still have to give my respects to the web designer that made it, but this one feels more personal since I took that giant leap from C++ to HTML. Unlike most programmers I feel more at home with application programming then I do with the "simpler" web programming. I know I will get a lot of emails about that comment but its a very blunt generalization.

Thanks for stopping by I look forward to seeing you again.