The Take Control ebook series specializes in explaining, and explaining well, various technical subjects. In this book, Steve Sande describes in careful, clear writing how to utilize Apple’s iWeb ’09 to build and maintain a good looking Web site. That’s a more difficult task than one would expect, and Mr. Sande does a beautiful job.…
John Martellaro
John Martellaro was born at an early age and began writing about computers soon after that. With degrees in astrophysics (B.S.) and physics (M.S.), he has worked for NASA, White Sands Missile Range, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Apple. At Apple he worked as a Senior Marketing Manager, a Federal Account Executive and a High Performance Computing manager. His interests include chess, science fiction and astronomy. John is the host of the TMO podcast Background Mode.
Articles by John Martellaro
Using Older Apple ADC Displays with Mac Pro
Back in 2000, Apple thought it would be really cool to reduce cable clutter for displays, so the company conceived of a combination DVI, power and USB to come up with a 30 pin (3 x 10) connector called the Apple Display Connector. The end of the cable attached to the monitor looks like this:Apple…
Secrets of Internet Forensics, Part I
The first thing to know is that the domain names we use every day are just human friendly, memorable names for Internet addresses that use the Internet Protocol (IP). For example, we tell our Web browser to got to Filemaker.com because that’s easy to remember. However, the Mac has to convert that to an IP…
Apple has the Obligation to Approve iPhone Apps
Schools dictate that adults in a position of trust are held accountable for their interaction with children. Federal agencies set standards for effectiveness, safety, labeling and health claims of food and drugs. Also, the air we breathe and water we drink. Local health departments set standards for food handling in restaurants. Federal and state agencies…
What if Apple Travels a Different Path with iPad?
Based on what we know, Apple is reluctant to get into the Netbook market. These are cheap systems that use last generation parts to keep the price down. Much has been written about how Apple just doesn’t want to undercut the craftsmanship and power of its Aluminum MacBooks.Apple MacBook (unibody, late 2008)On the low end,…
CopyWrite for Writers has the Write Stuff
If the other major apps for writers previously reviewed are aircraft carriers, and Jer’s Novel Writer is a destroyer, then CopyWrite is a frigate. Lightweight, simple, focused, and devoid of anxiety inducing complexities that can stymie the creative writing process. There are apps for writers that try to do everything: manage time lines, enable rich…
How to Make Voice Calls from an iPod touch
Here’s what you’ll need: A Skype Account. (It’s free.) Purchase of Skype Credit. (Pay as you go. 2 cents/min) The Skype app from the Apple App Store. For iPod touch only: A compatible headset/ear bud set with microphone. A Wi-Fi connection. Note: this HOWTO also applies to iPhones, but because the iPhone has a built…
Atlona HDPiX Displays Internet Video on HDTV in 720p
For those who intend to connect a Mac to their HDTV and also preserve HDCP for protected content, the Atlona USB to HDMI converter provides a very simple solution. It’s about the size of a pack of cigarettes, accepts audio + USB from the Mac and outputs 720p via HDMI. The number of different ways…
Particle Debris (week ending 4/24) Trends, Tweets, Treks and TWoW
One of the new “Get a Mac” ads, “Legal Copy” throws up a lot of legal text on the screen that’s hard to read. Well, someone has captured it all and transcribed it. So if you want to know how all that (improvised) legal copy reads, here it is. I ran across this tidbit midweek…
On Apple and Java and Oracle
First, the Java community is very large. My wife attended Java One last year and reported that it dwarfs WWDC by a considerable amount. There are, I’m guessing, billions of lines of code of Java in place all over the planet, seriously eclipsing C#. That creates a community that can bring to bear considerable pressure…
The Captain is on the Bridge
Some functions are strongly coupled and some are not. A significant rise in unemployment, for example, has domino effects. Add a little bit of slant from the media to get our attention, and things look pretty bad. There is no doubt now. Apple’s brand and products have weathered the worst recession in memory. Tim Cook…
Jer's Novel Writer is a Memorable Writer's App
If the big and famous writing assistance apps, StoryMill and Scrivener, are like an aircraft carrier, a floating city with its own ZIP code and a flight deck, Jer’s Novel Writer is like a destroyer, fast, sleek and focused. A major feature is being a memory aid for the creative writer. Jer’s Novel Writer is…
Details of Intel's New Nehalem CPU in the Mac Pro
Nehalem die Credit: Chip Architect The Nehalem series, based on a 45 nanometer (nm) process, has several, notable technical improvements that will be of interest to Mac Pro users, namely: Turbo Boost Technology. The CPU can, during heavy computational loads, boost its speed in increments of 133 MHz until the thermal threshold is reached. Each individual…
Ulysses is a Heroic Writer's Application
Ulysses from The Blue Technologies Group is an ambitious, complex, capable writer’s tool that has emphasis on the free flow of the writer’s thoughts as opposed to the distracting task of deciding how the text should appear as it’s written. In some respects, it has the look and feel of Scrivener, but has additional tools…
Adventures in iTunes Sitting
The first app I found, on a suggestion, was Synergy from Wincent Software. (v.3.5a6) Wincent Colaiuta has written a very handy app that puts iTunes controls in the Menu bar, but you’ll actually have to click on the Menu bar item to force a popup window that displays the name of the song.Synergy PrefsA nice…
The Value of Twitter for the Technical Professional
I’ve had the same discussion over and over with highly technical colleagues who are not yet on Twitter. They say to me: “Isn’t Twitter for kids?” “I don’t do social networking.” “It’s a waste of time.” “I’m a boring person. I can’t think of anything to say.” A Technical TimelineAll these notions are derived from…
How to View What's Hot and What's Not at Apple
Apple sells millions of Macs each quarter. It’s their bread and butter. Apple conducts the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) every summer. Apple hired Jordan (Mr. BSD) Hubbard to work on Mac OS X. Mac OS X has full UNIX certification. Snow Leopard looks to be a major step forward in UNIX-based OS technology. So what’s…
Syrinx 2.0 is a Capable Twitter Client
Syrinx 2.0, now in beta, is a Mac-only, free Twitter client that is full featured, colorful and fun to use. It requires Leopard and is based on two goals: efficient workflow and customization. The 2.0 beta adds many welcome features such as search of Twitter, Retweets (RT) and auto URL shortening. Unlike Twitterrific, which supports…
Is the Mac Forensic Community Failing?
Should Steve Return? I noted with interest a column last week by Shawn King that discussed whether Steve Jobs should return to his regular duties at Apple, assuming he is healthy. The gist of the argument was that Mr. Jobs’ real or fabricated health issues will always remain a distraction — because he is a…
StoryMill Takes a Novel Approach
StoryMill is a writer’s tool that provides organization and composition support for writing a novel. It exploits the strengths of a computer, especially in the context of Mac OS X and a Cocoa application, to assist the novelist with scenes, timelines, characters, locations and some tactical assistance such as cliché detection. Story Mill is a…
Oh, Apple, That Thing You Do (Part II)
— Steve Jobs No company with more than one employee is perfect. Changing companies often simply replaces one set of problems with another set. So if you’re thinking about going to work for Apple, or even some other company, and you’re wondering what’s great about Apple, here’s my Top Ten list, in no particular order,…
Converting an IP Address to a Manufacturer
Recently, Little Snitch, a security tool, threw up a notice about something odd happening with one of my devices. (I’m still working on figuring that part out with the help of Cocoatech Support, maker of Path Finder. Note: 4/1/2009: turns out to be an aggressive Samba search by Path Finder — something that can be…
Sorting Out the TV Chaos - A TV Portal
Unfettered technology simply produces too many choices. When people are confronted with too many choices, they freeze up and select none. That’s not good for the TV studios. Apple, the master at reducing a myriad of choices to focused solutions, has the Apple TV. In fact, the studios are now worried that Apple TV and…
Particle Debris (week ending 3/27) Twitters, Shudders and Shivers
Also on Monday, Seth Weintraub delved into some of the things that Apple didn’t talk about at the iPhone 3.0 event, but which various developers have discovered. More disclosures like these are likely to emerge as developers dig into the new SDK.On Tuesday, I read about a new competitor to boxee called ZeeVee. For now,…