PastryKit – Real Webapp development for OSX?

I recently ran across an article on a very interesting topic. The topic was about a javascript toolkit apple was using to make a website feel the closest to a native iphone application that we have seen yet. You can see an example of this (using your iphone of course) at http://help.apple.com/iphone/3/mobile/

The framework allows you to work around many of the common problems with iphone web application development: scrolling, bouncing menu bars, and the address bar. The site works great on my iphone 3GS.

Here is to hoping apple will release this framework for us to use as well. This could be a huge boon to iphone web applications.

In development: Twitnit a new twitter desktop client for OSX 10.6

Hello everyone,

I know it’s been a long time. I’m touching base to announce that I have finally got oAuth working properly with twitter and objective-c using the oAuthConsumer framework. I am now in the process of finalizing my code and beginning to build a GUI to allow you to read and create posts. If everything goes well, I should have a beta up to test in a few weeks.

The new application is called Twitnit. I hope to eventually port it to the iphone as well.

Here’s a screenshot proving I finally got oAuth working.

oAuth in action!

Enable tethering on your iPhone with AT&T

This is a repost of this wired article . Please note these instructions are for OS X only. I am still looking for windows instructions. Also please note that it is unclear at this time if AT&T will charge you for using tethering. Also note that by enabling tethering you may break the Visual Voicemail feature. Your voice mail will still work, but the visual interface may not.

AT&T has offically disallowed tethering of your iPhone on their network. However there is an unofficial way of enabling it. I’m not sure if apple is going to block this method or not. So get it while it’s hot.

To enable tethering, first download this file and extract the it. Next, quit iTunes and open the console (terminal.app) and type in the following command

defaults write com.apple.iTunes carrier-testing -bool TRUE

Finally, launch itunes and connect your iPhone. Now option click on the restore button and select the ipcc file from the dmg you downloaded from the link above.

One the update is finished you should now have tethering and see these options in your phone in the settings->network menu.

Tethering options in the iPhone

I hope this helps some of you who really wanted this functionality. Please note this only works on the iPhone 3G and not the original iPhone.

Installing iPhone 3.0 OS

Just thought I’d let everyone know that I am installing the iPhone 3.0 OS right now. If you are having problems with iTunes telling you that the server is down there is a simple fix.

Just unplug your network connection. Then when it tells you it is contacting the server simply click on abort. It will just skip the authorization process and install the new update.

I’ll be reviewing the update after it is complete.

Accessing remote computers via SSH with Finder

As a long time linux user, I have been familiar with FUSE or File Systems in Userspace as a way to access file systems that have traditionally been either unsupported on the platform or not file systems at all such as youtube or SSH. Recently I decided to attempt to do the same thing on OS X. What I found was a project called macFUSE. macFUSE lets you use FUSE file system drivers on the OS X operating system.

Installing macFUSE is very easy. Simply download the disk image provided here and install the package. It places a preference pane in your control panel and checks itself for updates. However macFUSE by itself is worthless. You need to have filesystem drivers that use macFUSE to do anything interesting with it. I should note that these drivers are not drivers in the Microsoft Windows sense, but simply just applications that use the macFUSE library. My main purpose for this was to be able to mount SSH connections as volumes in finder. So I will be explaining how to setup and use the SSH Filesystem for macFUSE. Please not there are tons of other filesystems out there for macFUSE such as ntfs (great for you windows users), youtube, or spotlight.
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My tools for web development on OSX

I am the first developer in my office to make a serious push to switch from windows. First I went to my good old ubuntu and all was well. Recently however I switched to OSX at the home and found it to be the perfect setup for me. The switch however was not without it’s trials. I had to find new tools to do the same tasks I had been doing on other operating systems.

I have been using OS X almost exclusively as my desktop and development environment for a little over 6 months now. I have reached a point where I have finally settled into a grove and I am now getting asked what tools I feel are the best to get the job done. I figured that now is as good of a time as any to list the tools I can’t live without on OSX.

Before I start. Let me tell you how I like my web development environment setup. It is a fairly simple setup. I like to have a web browser open in one screen for checking my progress, a ftp client and a text editor open in another screen. I typically do not do image creation, that is handled by other team members, but if it is required I like to do that work on a separate virtual desktop. I do not run any services on my development machine. Instead I have a test server setup exactly like my production server. I sFTP into that server and do all my work there directly. Once I have reached a point where I am ready to commit my code to our repository. I simply download the folder off my test server and commit the changes.

So without further ado, here is my list of must have applications and plugins for web development.
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Using Synergy software KVM with OSX and Linux

I finally convinced my wife to move to OSX. Because of this change I was able to take her old computer and put it to good use. I installed ubuntu 9.04 on it and set it up as a fileserver and a video server for my playstation 3. I am also using it for some other things. I quickly found it annoying that anytime I wanted to use it I needed to either SSH in (And forward X-windows if I wanted to run graphical apps), or pull out the bulky keyboard and mouse I have and place them on my already crowded desk. To help out with this visualization here is a quick picture of what my desk looks like:

My desk in my home office.

As you can there is little room for another keyboard. This is where Synergy comes in.

What is Synergy?

Synergy is a open source software KVM solution. This means it allows one computer’s keyboard and mouse to seamlessly move to another machine using software. It supports Linux/Unix, Apple’s OSX, Microsoft Windows 95, 98, NT, ME, 2000, and XP. They do not list Vista or Win7 as a supported system and I do not have a license to test with. The software functions by setting up one computer to act as a server (The computer with the keyboard and mouse) and then setting up your other computers as clients. With the rest of this article I will cover the setup and use of Synergy.
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Welcome to Tactical Coder

Hello and welcome,

I started this site to post the technical solutions for things I come across on my day to day job. I encounter many obstacles where finding the answer proves to be a very tough challenge. I also often get asked for advice on how to solve or approach a problem, so I figured I have enough inspiration to write a frequent blog.

Besides software development and web development, I want to talk about the other things I find interesting in life and the compute world such as using linux and Apples OSX, migrating from windows, software that makes day to day life easier, video games, and even martial arts.

The site design is in flux. I am currently using a nice template I found on the wordpress website. I plan to use it as a jumping point to come up with something more original. I hope to keep it clean and simple.

So anyway, keep an eye on this site and with some luck you will find something interesting.

See you around,

Don