Author: Mike Moffit

Director of IT

  • High Dynamic Range

    High Dynamic Range (or “HDR”) brings a little professional technique to your iOS 7 photos by taking three exposures with one snap: normal, over, and under. The software then combines these three captures into one optimized photo.

    In my experience, HDR-optimized photos in iOS 7 take up an average of .8 megabytes more than their normal counterparts. This doesn’t matter for most of us, though if you have a 16GB device and are trigger-happy with the camera, your space will diminish quicker.

    You may turn this feature on and off within the camera app by simply tapping “*HDD On/Off*” at the top of the screen. You may also choose (*in Settings > Photos & Camera*) to keep the “normal photo” for every HDR shot you take, effectively having a black sheep twin photo to all your pretty optimized ones.

    Some users have complained of their devices “defaulting” to HDR being off upon closing the app and re-opening it sometime later. I’ve discovered that making sure the aforementioned “*keep normal photo*” feature is off in your settings will keep the HDR setting exactly as you left it (either on or off) next time you open your app.

    Give it a shot sometime (sorry for the standard issue pun) and compare the enhanced photo to a normal one to see the difference yourself. Any little thing helps with phone cameras!

  • iOS Application Constants

    Like many things in iOS development (and all software development really), there’s the right way to do something, and then there are dozens of articles and forum posts describing various wrong ways to do it.

    One I ran into recently was application-wide constants. The top voted answers on stack overflow seemed to be a bit odd looking to me. They usually advocated using some kind of @#define@ to create constants. Further digging revealed what appears to be the safer, more robust and better way to do constants.

    To preface this, I’ll say that this is useful for application-wide constants only. If you have a single class with constants, this probably won’t help other than to demonstrate the syntax for constants. This method is definitely the easiest and fastest way to get your constants created and accessible everywhere in your app.

    First, you’ll need to create a *AppConstants.h* file and its corresponding *AppConstants.m* file. Next, in the interface, you should add an @extern const @. For example, I could say @extern NSString* const APP_IDENTIFIER@. Now I have a string constant allocated for use. The “extern” allows us to declare this constant here in the interface. Next, we need to initialize or define our constant with the constant value. This is done in the corresponding *AppConstants.m* file. For this example, it would look like @NSString* const APP_IDENTIFIER=@”HELLO_WORLD”@.

    Now if you try to start using this constant in your classes, you’ll quickly find it doesn’t work. We need to let the application know about our AppConstants class. The best way to do this is to import it in the prefix header. This file is automatically generated for you and should be found in the supporting files folder. It will have a suffix of *Prefix.pch*. In that file, inside the @#ifdef __OBJC__@, simply #import your *AppConstants.h* file.

    You may need to clean the build before Xcode notices the new constant, but after that, you are able to use that constant anywhere in your application.

    One of the advantages of this method over something like @#define@ and other methods is that you can actually compare your NSString constant to a string literal directly using == (good job compiler!). This will obviously be much faster than @:isEqualToString@. Xcode will warn about this, and I would personally try to avoid it, but it does work.

    As almost always, spending the time looking something up and understanding before using it helps to create a better and more robust product.

  • LED Cinema Display SMC Reset Fix

    A small amount of customers have been complaining about some strange behavior coming from their LED cinema displays recently. This issue coincided with upgrading the Mac being used with the display to OS X 10.9. When the display is connected, both the Mac and the display output flickering video, sometimes coupled with noisy images and graphic distortion.

    We recently had one of these problematic displays come into our shop, only to realize that the issue was quite a bit simpler of a fix than we had thought. Not knowing at this point that the issue coincided with upgrading to Mavericks, we immediately assumed hardware when the issue was easily replicated on an in-house test machine.

    We’ve learned over the years that with an odd issue like this, it’s always best to check around on some Apple blogs and forums for other user experiences and maybe even a solution. We were successful in finding a very simple solution for this issue, which was a SMC reset of the computer. This is a very user-friendly hardware reset performed by holding a group of keys down.

    An SMC reset can also resolve certain power issues (like no power at all). To perform an SMC reset on a *portable* Mac, observe the following steps:

    # Turn off the machine and unplug all peripherals except the power adapter
    # Hold down *Control + Option + Shift + the power button* simultaneously for a few seconds and release

    That’s it — you’re done! On a *desktop,* the reset is even easier:

    # Unplug your machine for 10 seconds
    # Plug it back in, wait five seconds, and power it back on

    “*Learn more about SMC resets.*”:http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964

  • As I write this, I find myself trying to work through what looks to be the flu. I’ve had a couple of days to recoup, and I’ve been drinking Emergen-C vitamin drink supplement, which seems to be helping (though a bit gross to me). It has been a rough couple of days, but I’m back to the point where I’m able to come to work and help our customers in the Service department without scaring too many…

    This made me think about the other kind of viruses…and the lack of them you find as a Mac user. Now, the myth that Macs “don’t get viruses” is far from true, but it is accurate to say that Apple devices and computers are at a far lesser risk.

    * Newer Macintosh operating systems, such as Mac OS X, are built on the Unix kernel, which is one of the oldest and most secure operating systems available.

    * Microsoft Windows is used by a lot more people still than the Apple Mac OS. Because of the fact that more people use Microsoft Windows, it is a much better and more common sense target and makes it easier for viruses to spread.

    * Most of the computer writers that make these viruses are much more familiar with the IBM platform and Microsoft Windows, which means it’s easier for them create a virus for that platform.

    * Many of the tools, scripts, and code used to create viruses or other malware are designed for Microsoft Windows.

    * Apple not only makes its own software and OS, but it carefully selects which hardware goes into the computer and that is universal throughout its model.

    So while we are still pretty far from worrying about viruses in our MacBooks and iMacs, more use means eventually, more risk. However, I am certainly not worried about it now; we’ll keep you posted, as always, if threats evolve!

    Thanks for reading, and enjoy Tech Tails!

    Barry
    “*barry@smalldog.com*”:mailto:barry@smalldog.com

  • HTML5 and the Future of the Web

    You don’t have to be a nerd to know that HTML is something to do with computers. Maybe you even know it’s an acronym that stands for “Hypertext Markup Language” but did you know the HTML standards we use today have been around since the early 1990s? That’s an eternity in computer years.

    Naturally, things have changed a bit since then, but remarkably, HTML (currently standardized on version 4 since 1997) has remained very much the same as it was back then. That is, until now.

    Starting in 2008, and hopefully wrapping up in the next year or two, HTML version 5 has been under development. This will mean many very cool things coming to the internet as well as how you experience the web, especially for users of mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad.

    While HTML5 isn’t the standard yet, most browsers (including Safari on iOS devices) already support many of its features. One of the biggest things HTML5 supports is multimedia. In the past, if you wanted to display audio, or video, you needed to use something like Adobe’s Flash. Support for this on most mobile devices, including Apple devices, has been poor or nonexistent.

    With multimedia features in HTML5, flash is a thing of the past. Audio and video can be embedded on pages in much the same way that images are now. This allows your device to be much smarter about what it does with the content, and this translates to a much better experience for you when you’re viewing that content. It won’t matter if you’re looking at something on your computer or your iPad, either. The experiences will be virtually identical.

    HTML5 also promises to provide for a much richer experience on the web with support for things like a canvas that allows amazingly high quality 2-D and 3-D graphics rendering right inside your browser! And again, this will all work on any device. It also supports embedded vector graphics, which can allow for a level of interactivity with graphics that just isn’t possible with previous versions HTML. There are already plenty of amazingly creative demos of these new features out there. It’s exciting to see all the things people come up with using these new features.

    The takeaway here is that with mobile devices becoming more ubiquitous and more powerful, web standards have had to keep up. With HTML5, the standards are actually starting to lead the devices a bit. As mobile computing power converges with these new standards, the web will be in for some big changes.

  • ADDENDUM: Streaming Sochi

    In response to my aforementioned article, reader Erik shared an additional way to follow the Games in February, should you be interested. I’ll post it here in its entirety. Thanks, Erik!

    __*Digital over-the-air broadcast television*__
    __”NBC (broadcast locally on WPTZ-TV 5.1) aired more than 5,500 hours of gorgeous 1080i HD Olympic coverage for the 2012 Summer Olympic games, up from 3,600 hours for the 2008 Beijing games.__

    __Naturally, the Winter Olympics are much shorter, but they broadcast 416 hours from Torino in 2006 and 835 from Vancouver in 2010.*__

    __Those of your readers in Canada (for whom your NBC links are irrelevant anyway) can usually watch the Olympics on CBC (English), Ici Radio-Canada Télé (French), and other networks as well — though I don’t know the exact arrangement for 2014. All this is digital over-the-air, too — most of it HD.__

    __Note that you do not need anything called a ‘digital antenna.’ The kind of antenna you do need depends on your local broadcaster and terrain, but an antenna is an antenna; there’s no ‘analog’ or ‘digital.’ In Vermont, WPTZ is a UHF station on the top of Mt. Mansfield; it can be difficult to get in some of the valleys, so an outdoor antenna might be required. You do, of course, need a digital television set or television receiver, or an old analog set with a converter box.__

    __*via__ “*Olympics on NBC Wiki*”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympics_on_NBC#%20Hours_of_coverage

  • FOLLOW UP: Streaming Sochi (& the Importance of Wording)

    “*Last week,*”:http://blog.smalldog.com/kibbles/kb862/ I wrote about the various ways to watch and engage in the 2014 Olympic coverage. However, after receiving a few emails from readers, I realized that “distraction” was perhaps a poor choice of words.

    The topic of the article was merely about how to follow the 2014 Olympics via the internet, and that reference was just to illustrate the athletes’ readiness for events they train for their whole lives. It was in no way meant to minimize the humans rights violations in Russia and I didn’t intend any offense or trivialization. I am acutely aware of how egregious these are.

    Here at Small Dog, we are huge advocates of LGBT rights — it’s a __human__ rights issue, after all — and we often write about these issues in other articles. As Kibbles & Bytes readers (especially long-term ones), I know you’re familiar with Don’s Soapboxes. Even though he gets flack for it from time to time, he isn’t shy about mixing pet causes and beliefs with business to bring awareness and authenticity. It’s at the core of our brand to speak about what we believe in, and human rights are at the top of the list.

    I sympathize with the athletes put in this position; they have a chance to participate in something that has likely been a lifelong dream (or at the very least, a rare opportunity), so I respect the decisions that they’ve made to continue on. As illustrated by an “*IOC member’s comments yesterday,*”:http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ioc-s-mario-pescante-slams-u-s-for-gay-athletes-in-sochi-1.2498901 support may feel in short supply, so the best thing that we can do as spectators is to support their efforts. I sincerely hope that the controversy surrounding these Games brings enough awareness that facilitates change.

  • Weekly Tech News Recap | 01.17.14

    *Mail Pilot Mail App Now Available*
    A few months ago, I had trouble using Apple Mail on my home computer with Mavericks (“*as did a lot of other people*”:http://www.macrumors.com/2013/10/31/apple-working-on-fix-for-os-x-mavericks-mail-app-issues/), so I researched some alternatives. Mail Pilot looked amazing, but it was still in beta mode and not yet released in the App Store. I signed up to get an email announcing its release, and it happened this week.

    “*Read more about Mail issues in Apple Support…*”:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT6030?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
    “*Read more about alternatives in this thread…*”:https://discussions.apple.com/message/24526938?ac_cid=tw123456#24526938
    “*Download Mail Pilot.*”:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mail-pilot/id681243952?mt=12&utm_medium=email&utm_source=kibbles&utm_campaign=kibbs ($9.99 for a limited time)

    *Net Neutrality is Dead*
    So, you may have heard…a federal judge ruled the end to net neutrality as we know it. Verizon had challenged the rules that the F.C.C. had implemented (namely that all information be transmitted equally), and ultimately, the ruling went in their favor.

    “*Read more…*”:http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/14/the-nuts-and-bolts-of-network-neutrality/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
    “*And more about the implications here…*”:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/art-brodsky/net-neutrality-is-dead_b_4597310.html

  • Google + Nest = Nest+?

    You may have heard that yesterday, Google acquired “*Nest,*”:https://nest.com the company most known for its smarter, simpler thermostat design. Reactions to the sale have been largely negative, at least according to “*fans of Nest on Facebook.*”:https://www.facebook.com/nest/posts/10152167824360681 What would this mean for your privacy? For device support (especially non-Google devices such as iPhone)? ARE WE ALL GOING TO BE WATCHED IN OUR HOMES?

    I’ve been intrigued by Nest’s thermostat design since it was developed by Nest Labs in 2011, and still believe that it has set a standard for innovation and what it means to have a “connected home” — a term that has proven to be highly sought after in the past few years. I mean, you can leave the over-the-top “smart” tech products at CES (except for the WeMo-enabled “*Belkin Crock-Pot*”:http://www.macrumors.com/2014/01/07/belkin-slow-cooker/ … I think I’d love that guy), but Nest makes a lot of sense for the average home.

    Recently, Nest Labs introduced a smarter “*smoke and carbon monoxide detector,*”:https://nest.com/smoke-co-alarm/life-with-nest-protect/ taking on another mundane household staple that they determined significant improvement (for the annoyance factor alone). That brings the total number of products to two. Two. For which Google paid 3.2 billion! Obviously, they were viewed as game-changers.

    So, what do you think Google plans to do with Nest? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

    More on the acquisition “*here.*”http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303595404579318952802236612

    More on the Facebook backlash “*here.*”:http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/most-nests-facebook-fans-dislike-google-deal-154974