MAC TREAT #197 [Follow-Up]: Stream Radio Through iTunes

I am taking a little break next week and heading to Jamaica for four days for some sun and relaxation. Kali and the Kibbles team will keep you informed while I am gone.

Thank you so much for reading this issue of Kibbles & Bytes!

Your Kibbles & Bytes team,
_Don, Kali, Stephanie & Mike_

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A couple of weeks ago, I wrote an “*article about Apple’s built-in color utility.*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/mac-treat-196-colors-utility-colorpicker-app/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=emailblast&utm_campaign=kibbles-eyedropme It’s certainly a great utility and with the few upgrades I did (such as adding a hex color picker), it has become a valuable asset to my daily work flow.

Continuing on that theme, I came across “*EyeDrop.me,*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=https%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Feyedrop.me%2Fid559933883%3Fmt%3D8%26uo%3D4%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30 which, in many ways, compliments that article because of its color picker features, and what makes this app really stand out in my mind is the way it works.

Let me paint a picture for you: imagine you are on your favorite iOS device browsing the internet for the latest and greatest website. You notice how much you really like the color palette on that website. Unfortunately, since you are on an iOS device, you can’t just Option-click and view the source of the page to see what colors they are using (not to mention how long it would take you to sift through all that code to collect each color).

“*EyeDrop.me*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=https%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Feyedrop.me%2Fid559933883%3Fmt%3D8%26uo%3D4%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30 to the rescue.

All you have to do is copy the web address into the app, click ‘Pull Colors’, and BAM — now you have every color that webpage uses in a nice and neat palette. From there, you can choose which colors you like best and add them to a saved list. With your favorite colors picked, you can now see their hex and RGB values for immediate implementation into your project. You can also tweak the RGB values from within the app incase you like the color but don’t love it.

Once you have the colors set the way you want them, you can export the palette by connecting to Photoshop (haven’t tried that one yet) or via email as an Adobe ASE file or an HTML email.

However, there are some features that I’d love to see added. Someone mentioned in the comments in the iTunes store that it would be great to save your palettes locally on the device. It makes perfect sense because you don’t always want to use them right away, and personally, I don’t want to sift through old emails to find that palette I liked last month. I’m also hoping to see Kuler integration at some point.

General edibility would be nice as well — I want to be able to delete swatches I’ve added.(Maybe this is already there, but I wasn’t able to figure out how to do it.) Finally, if I can modify the colors within the app, I would like to see some color theory introduced. For example, you like this one color and you want to know its accented analogic colors. Currently, you have to load up some other webpage or app and put in the color value to get the info you want. Adding in the ability to create color schemes based off the colors you are saving would make this app very complete.

If I had to put a star rating on the “*EyeDrop.me*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=https%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Feyedrop.me%2Fid559933883%3Fmt%3D8%26uo%3D4%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30 app, I would have to say it is a solid four stars. It functions great minus the ability to delete saved swatches and if they were to add those few extras features, I believe this would be a one-stop shop for generating color palettes on your iOS device.

Surprisingly, it is free and there isn’t a single ad on there to clutter your view. To me, that means the developers of this app are committed to the community since they aren’t making money on this thing (which warms my heart).

I highly suggest everyone that is into design work check out the “*EyeDrop.me*”:http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=19XpSnZWhPI&offerid=146261&type=3&subid=0&tmpid=1826&RD_PARM1=https%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fapp%2Feyedrop.me%2Fid559933883%3Fmt%3D8%26uo%3D4%2526uo%253D6%2526partnerId%253D30 app. I think you will be pleasantly surprised, and it won’t cost you a dime. Don’t forget to leave your feedback for the developers; hopefully they’ll listen.

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_Dear Friends,_

There are snow squalls today, bringing smiles to the skiers faces, but it’s on the heels of a January thaw that brought temps up near 50F. It was funny that it was colder in Las Vegas when I was there last week than it was in Vermont.

The Consumer Electronics Show was huge, as usual, with exhibits in the Convention Center, in the parking lot of the convention center, and at the Venetian Hotel. With over 3,000 exhibitors and 150,000 attendees, it was a huge show. I was somewhat disappointed with the show in terms of innovative new products, though. There were a lot of companies showing products to work with Apple products — so many that the iLounge section had to expand from the North Hall into the Hilton next door.

Without Apple and Microsoft in attendance, the big players were Samsung, Sharp, Sony and Intel. TVs were everywhere; TVs that connected to the internet, OLED TVs with paper-thin displays, Ultra High-Def TVs (such as the huge 110-inch — over 9 feet! — UHD TV), and various combinations of those technologies like the curved OLED TV. While the images from the 9 foot TV were spectacular, you really had to get close to the TV to actually see the impact of all those additional pixels.

While I expected more 3D printers to be shown, there were only a handful. I did sit through a demonstration from one Chinese company offering a 3D printer for $900 (far less than most 3D printers), and it did the job, but was very slow. There was one company, Sculpteo, that offered a cloud service for 3D printing; all you needed to do was upload the files to their server and they’d send you the finished 3D item.

Hapy and I talked on the plane about whether mega-shows like this are on their last legs. I think I agree with him that they have become less meaningful in terms of sourcing products, since much of the product information can be easily found on the internet. On the other hand, these shows provide an opportunity for those in the industry to network and get their hands on the products of tomorrow.

*Start Soapbox*

I know that this is a controversial topic, but I am in favor of the proposals that the President made for some additional gun control measures. While most people can agree that universal background checks and more attention to mental health issues are important, I think that it becomes emotional somehow when the discussion turns to assault rifles and extended ammunition clips.

I see absolutely no reason — constitutionally or morally — that justifies the sale and possession of weapons of mass destruction. I put this particular class of weapons in that category. I am a gun owner and hunter, and while I support the right to have guns for hunting and protection, I just don’t get the opposition to banning weapons whose only practical use is killing large numbers of people.

If you drill down and talk to those who feel that banning assault rifles and large clips is wrong, you really have to get out your tin-foil hats and suspend reality. The 2nd Amendment was never intended to cover all arms — I mean, you really do not have the constitutional right to possess surface-to-air missiles and nuclear bombs. When I talk to those who oppose any gun control legislation and spend some time and a few beers trying to get to the bottom of their opposition, it turns to talk of black helicopters, people coming to their home to take away their guns and the notion that they would have to use these weapons against US troops. These are really scary and totally unreasonable reasons to allow these guns to be sold in Walmart or anywhere.

I am under no illusion that banning these weapons will mean that there are no more berserker killings. However, we have had virtually no gun control, and we have more guns per capita than any other country — which has not seemed to work to lessen or eliminate these tragedies, but somehow has created the NRA’s berserker mentality that the solution to gun violence is simply more guns.

Sensible gun control makes sense and is consistent with our constitution and civilized society!

*End Soapbox*

Have a comment? “*Click here to tell me what you think.*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/article/soapbox-why-do-you-need-that-assault-rifle/