I got sick of staring at a couple of the standard dock icons. XAMPP and FileZilla were especially horrid. Less wasn’t as bad, but the weird balance of the logo was driving me crazy.

FileZilla Goodbye red stamp looking thing

Less App If you aren’t using Less yet, you’re really wasting time writing CSS.

XAMPP Much better, don’t you think?

Skype (I found this little gem somewhere)

Nimbuzz (another gem I found) SIP/AIM/gTalk

Terminal (perdy)

Ecto

Outlook. The program you love to hate.

Google Chrome. It was a long fought battle to get me to switch from Safari to Chrome. Now that they have my heart, I have a new icon.

Lastly FontPicker has the worst icon on the block. Adobe Air app to test different fonts.

If you want to use any of these icons on your mac in the dock bar you will need to convert them to icns files.

Here are the directions to do so.

1. Save whichever icon you want
2. Go to this website: http://iconverticons.com/
3. Upload your new saved icon and click convert.
4. For a mac save the .ICNS version

Now you need to replace your current app icons.

First find the application you want to change. Right click the app and select “Show Package Contents” (like shown below)

Next find the image you are trying to change. You will need to click into the “contents” folder then the “resources” folder. Once you find the image in the resources folder, make sure to rename your icon to exactly match what’s already in the folder. Example: Icon.icns, or SomeAwesomeApp.icns


Notes, Reminders, Hints, etcOnce you change your icon you can’t get it back. You could try renaming the original file to Icon-backup.icns before you copy in your new icon. Also I accept no liability if you destroy every working part of your machine, phone, and violate every policy you’ve ever signed by attempting anything mentioned herein.
Good luck!

Testing a blog post from Qumana. So far so good. I wonder if I can use custom meta data from wordpress?Blog Edit – Has snippets you can save and add in later.

Ecto does has custom fields though. hee haw!

Last week playing crying with HTML5 semantic markup elements in Internet Explorer I found a few issues I haven’t ran across yet. So I’m putting them here so I don’t pull my hair out next time I have to deal with Internet Exploder.

The first issue is related to calling the submit function within the live function in jQuery and the other is caused when dynamically loading HTML5 elements using .load(), also in jQuery.

If you are calling the submit() function inside the .live() function in jQuery, IE doesn’t like it.

It might look something like this but excuse any semantic mistakes because it’s late and I can’t sleep right now.

$('#id').live(submit, function() {
//submit my form foo 
alert('i got five on IE not showing this alert');
});

I read that using the liveQuery plugin fixes this, however, the fix was I used was more random…
I don’t know why, but if you run across this issue placing the above function as the first function in your document.ready() will fix the issue. If not try the liveQuery plugin.

So the fix looks something like this:

$(document).ready(function() {
     $('#id').live(submit, function() {
     //submit my form foo 
     alert('i got five on it!');
     });
    // rest of all your jQuery goodness goes here.
});

The second issue that dramatically lead to a receding hairline was dynamically loading HTML5 elements into the document after the page is initially loaded. For example, one might hypothetically have a catalog page of products and each product might hypothetically have a link, that when clicked, loads a JavaScript popup that injects HTML into a div, article, section, or some similar node using the .load() or append() function. Even if you go ahead and add html5shiv or get creative and add the elements to the dom using JavaScript yourself, IE still isn’t going to like your HTML5 elements, nor know what to do with them. So instead of going slightly insane and crying to your boss go to this link and give this guy what you would have charged for a 40 hour week.

The link to the plugin above dynamically re-adds the elements into the DOM when you call .append() to add HTML5 elements into a page after they have been loaded.

If you are using the .load() function to add new HTML5 content to your page you will also need this script.

And your final working code when you reclaim your sanity will look something like this:

//.append example
$('#append_me').append(innerShiv("<header>Lookin proper in IE now suckas</header>"));
 
// .load example
$('#inject_with_html').loadShiv('stuff_to_inject.html');

Hopefully you just saved time and sanity. As I couldn’t find the second solution very easily with Google.

Here is a list of my favorite 3rd party iPhone apps that I’ve accumulated among my iPhone history.

Best Streaming Media Application:

ZumoCast allows you to stream audio or video to a browser or to your iPhone app. So you can use it on your iPhone and your laptop browser. The reason ZumoCast came in ahead of other apps is because you can download and upload any files remotely as well as stream any type of media (including flac files). Coming in at a close second for streaming media was Stream2Me, which is also highly recommended but duplicates the functionality of ZumoCast. I also mention EyeTV below which is a fantastic service.

I have a Mac Mini hooked up to my TV with an external hard drive that contains all my music, movies, ebooks, and tv shows. When I want to access those the best application I’ve used is ZumoCast. If you also have a Mac Mini hooked up to your TV, you should definitely check out these other iPhone applications: Plexures (remote for Plex which is fantastic), iTV (tv guide for the iphone), TouchMouse (wifi mouse), Remote (control iTunes media player), VNC (control your whole computer remotely).

Best Mouse Application:

I’ve tried and purchased a few mouse applications for the iPhone and the best one is the FREE logitech touchmouse. The controls are fantastic. It allows two finger scrolling and when you’re sitting on the couch and want to control your Mac Mini on the tv it is the best option.

Best iPhone Game:

So yes I’ve played Angry Birds, Doodle Jump, Geared, Live Poker, and TouchGrind and every other game that’s came around. The only game that has lasted more than a month is Galcon. It’s the most amazing game in the world. It’s a game based on logic and technique. You can buy the free version to get the hang of it, then you can purchase the paid version to play online against other players. Try it and love it.

Best Sports App:

You would think ESPN would have won this battle hands down but surprisingly Yahoo wins best sports app with Sportacular. You can choose your favorite teams, set alerts, and even predict games to see who’s football IQ is the best. Highly recommended.

Best iPhone RSS Reader:

When I have spare time I like to read Google Reader. I subscribe to a lot of different design and tech feeds to stay up to speed with current trends. Although I wouldn’t recommend an iPhone as the best outlet to catch up on RSS, when you are bored and need something to read it can kill some time. I have a tie in this field. These two apps have a similar user experience so they are both pretty good. I think I’m going to lean towards GoReader over Feedler if I had to make a decision. GoReader splits up all your RSS groups, folders, and individual feeds and has a pretty clean interface.

Best Messaging App:

HeyTell wins this battle hands down. I’ve tried a couple different applications for messaging. IM+ is good for gChat, Yahoo, and AIM. Skype COULD be good if they would have the option to disable chat history. Since I use Skype for work once I log into the app, even on wifi, I have to wait 10-15 minutes for the chat history to catch up. HeyTell is like an audio text message. The other recipient needs the application also but it is available for iOS and Android. This app is great while you’re driving because it eliminates the need to type. You just hit record and it sends the message.

Best organization applications:

The iPhone has some applications that help keep you organized. The apps I find helpful are Evernote, Wunderlist, and Toggl. Evernote is a popular app to save notes. You can save text, image, or voice notes. There is also a desktop version of the application which syncs with the iPhone. I use it whenever I come up with random thoughts I want to remember. Wunderlist keeps me out of trouble with my girlfriend. Whenever I have something I need to do I put it right into Wunderlist. With Wunderlist you can create to-do lists and to-do tasks. So I have a to-do list for work, personal, bills, and I had one for Christmas presents. Since I’m a computer programmer sometimes I do freelance projects in which I get paid hourly. I use Toggl to track all my projects and how many hours I’ve been working on them. Toggle also has a desktop client and can tie into Jira as well. These 3 apps are extremely helpful in keeping me organized.

My personal favorite app:

EyeTV is my favorite application because it allows me to watch my home TV from my iPhone. So I never miss any college football or any other show I want to watch. I can also set EyeTV to record tv shows from my phone then they are saved to a folder that ZumoCast indexes so I can watch recorded TV shows on ZumoCast. This works when I’m sitting in my office and I want to watch a show or if I’m out of town and want to watch Dexter.

Every iPhone should have:

Google Voice is the most amazing application ever. It allows you to send text messages from a browser or your iphone application. It will take a voicemail and transcribe it into text so you can read your voicemail instead of listening to it. From a browser you can also send/receive text messages which is better than messing with your phone while you’re sitting at a computer. Everyone should have/use Google Voice.

Honorable Mention:

The only reason I’m mentioning this application is because it rated me as the sexiest person in the room. So I know the algorithms that scan facial structure are coded perfectly. The fact that my friends Jo and Ryan made it has nothing to do with my honorable mention. So go check out The Ugly Meter.

Let me know if you found any other applications that trump the applications I listed or have some additional you think I’d enjoy let me know!

I made this post with an iPhone WordPress application.

Vox Blog Website is closing on September 30th and a friend asked me to move his Vox blog to a different blogging platform. I chose Tumblr and found an easy way to solve this for anyone else who is making a switch from Vox.

1. Go to your Vox blog. Click the RSS button and choose “Full Atom Feed for Posts.” Copy that link
2. Go to this amazing site.
3. Paste that link in the input for “Blogger Feed” along with your new Tumblr credentials.

Boom!

• A second phone number
• Free SMS through Email and Web Browser
• Incoming/Outgoing calls through Gmail
• Transcribed Voicemails through Text Messages
• Custom Voicemail Messages for callers/groups
• Contact Management (Sync with iPhone)
• Fluid to run Google Voice & gMail as an application

A Second Phone Number

To setup a second line through Google Voice:

• Login to your Google Voice Account
• Click Settings then Voice Settings on the top right
• Click the "Phones" tab
• Select "Get a Google Number"
• Follow the wizard through completion

Now you have a Google Voice Number.

Here are some other settings you might find useful:

• To receive calls through Gmail: Voice Settings > Phone Tab > Select "Google Talk" with your Google ID/Gmail Address.
• Turn off Call Screening: Voice Settings > General Tab > Call Screening Off/On (Asks users record their name before connecting them to you)
• Caller ID Options. Incoming call showed as Google Voice or the Callers Number: Voice Settings > General Tab > Caller ID
• Forward Voicemail Notifications to Text or Email: Voice Settings > General Tab > Voicemail Notifications
• Forward SMS/Text Notifications to Email (good for iPad use): Voice Settings > General Tab > Text Forwarding

Setting up Gmail and Google Voice to run as an application:

Some Fluid Settings:

• To open Gmail in another tab: Go to the File Menu> Google Voice (or whatever you named it)> Preferences> Tabs> Enable Tabbed Browsing
• To change the icon: Go to Google Voice (or whatever you named it) > Preferences > General > Application Icon
• To browse within Fluid and not open a new window to your default browser: Google Voice > Preferences > Advanced > Click the + > Click the new gray line > Type "*google.com*"
• Also go to: Google Voice > Preferences > Behavior > and make sure "Open new tabs instead" is checked

Now you can right click (Command Click) the "Gmail" link in the top left of Fluid and have two windows open. One with Google Voice and one with Gmail. With Fluid you can leave them up and receive text messages, voicemails, incoming calls, and make outgoing calls all for free! You can also drag the Google Voice icon you created (probably in User/Applications) into your dock bar and with one click have Google Voice up on your computer.

EDIT: Mashable created a similar articlehere.

Recently my I had to reset all my network settings on my iPhone due to some dropped calls. This also deactivated Google Voice.
To reset Google Voice do this:
1) Login to Google Voice
2) Click “Deactivate Voicemail” under the phone line you want to fix.
3) Click Done
4) Click Active Voicemail and enter the number to dial.
Then it should work. w00t!

I ran across http://raphaeljs.com and it looked very appealing/impressive, so I thought I’d try it out. Raphaël is a JavaScript Vector Library that allows cross-browser drawing and animation of vector shapes dead simple. All you need to do to use it is to reference the raphael.js file in the head section of your HTML document (having the excanvas.js helps too).

Here is how I animated my header logo:

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 <script type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8">
	window.onload = function() {
                     //below sets the canvas area
               var paper = Raphael(document.getElementById('headerimg'), 450, 150);
                    //this pulls in a logo on to the canvas
               var jlogo = paper.image("/wp-content/themes/noise/images/logo.png", 10, 10, 150, 150);
                   // you can also draw svg paths which ill show in the future
               var jtag = paper.image("/wp-content/themes/noise/images/jessetag.png", 130, 95, 250, 23);
                  //set the initial tagline width to 0px
             jtag.attr({width:0});
                 //wait 200ms to call function
             setTimeout(comboPush, 200);
                 //animate width to 250px within 1000ms
             function comboPush() { jtag.animate({width: 250}, 1000) };
        }
</script>

Today I had to use some Ruby code to create an RSS Reader to import our Typepad blog into our Rails Template.
Check it out below. It’s crazy simple:

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<%
require 'rubygems'
require 'simple-rss'
require 'open-uri'
rss = SimpleRSS.parse open('http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/15248843.rss')
%>
 
<% rss.items.each do |i| %>
   <h3><%= i.title %></a></h3>
   <p><%= i.summary %></p>
   <a href="<%= i.link %>" target="_blank">Link to Post »</a>
<% end %>

Let me know if you’ve ran across any you like better.