By default OSX has a nice screen capture feature which is invoked by hitting Shift-Apple-4. Sure, it isn’t the most intuitive key set but now you know. The default is set to capture all images as PNGs which is fine in most cases but sometimes a hassle if you are capturing the image for quick posting to a blog, in which case GIF or JPG would be useful and the file conversion is just another step.

So here goes:
Open up Terminal ( under Applications / Utilities )
Enter the following command into the Terminal
defaults write com.apple.screencapture type *FILETYPE*

Where the command says *FILETYPE* replace it with JPG, PDF, TIF or PNG.

Hit enter and you’ll be good to go!

Recently I’ve been receiving a bunch of flack for my iPhone signature “Sent from my iPhone.” For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, the iPhone places this line on the bottom of all emails which are sent from the iPhone. BlackBerry does the same thing with “Sent from my BlackBerry” but for some reason the iPhone’s signature has really been looked down upon.

I really believe the price and hype around the iPhone has contributed to all the negative comments about the iPhone’s signature. For some people, receiving an iPhone message which follows with the signature “Sent from my iPhone” indicates the following about the sender:

• “They are a pompous ass showing off their iPhone
• “They have way to much disposable income”
• “Wow, this person drank from the Apple punch bowl”
• “They are too busy to send me a real email”
• “This person really has the need to tell me they are working hard”

OK, those are just a few of the negative spins on the signature. If you want to read more about the negative takes on the iPhone read Mitch Wagner’s article in Information Week. Mitch believes anyone who hasn’t removed the signature is a doofus. Nice use of doofus, Mitch!

However, I’m going to flip this argument around. I’m 100% behind the signatures because they tell me a different story. When I see someone has sent me a message from an iPhone or BlackBerry I make the following judgments:

• “OK, they have a mobile device so they have zero excuse for not getting back to me within 48 hours”
• “If their email is short and has typos I know why”
• “This person obviously likes to stay connected”
• “There is a good chance I’ll be able to reach this person during off-work hours”

Yesterday during lunch this discussion came up and Bruce had a great insight, why not just say “Sent from my mobile phone.” This signature leaves out the brand name and the negative associations that others my read into BlackBerry or iPhone. Bruce is totally correct; however being an Apple shareholder I’m also about marketing the products, so for now “Yeah, I sent it from my iPhone.”

I would say there was a three year period after I bought my first Apple product (17 inch Powerbook) in 2003 where Apple simply could do no wrong. Every decision they made, every course of action they took, and every product they released was the best option on the market. DRM? Simply a consequence of the music industry. Faulty laptop screens? Damn those Asian manufacturing plants. Unstable OS updates? It must be the 3rd party hardware, buy some new RAM.

Then sometime during my senior year of college it occurred to me that Apple, like all companies, makes mistakes from time to time. And sometimes, they flat out make bad decisions. Decisions that are bad for the customer, and consequently bad for their reputation. I learned that Apple may be: an innovator, a leader in design, and a class act at marketing, but they are not infallible.

To be honest, my feeling is that Apple gets it right about 70% of the time. This in-and-of-itself is not that great of a percentage. But the fact is that when Apple does get something right it’s usually pretty spot on (iPhone). And despite their smug cocky attitude, they do take user feedback into consideration.

For instance, the upcoming update for OS X (10.5.2) will fix two huge usability complaints from users. First, the ability to view docked folders in hierarchical view. And second, the ability to turn off menu bar transparency. While Apple would never tell you they screwed the pooch on both of these “enhancements” with Leopard, they have still given users the ability to choose if they want them or not.

This is why I can still love and appreciate Apple. Because the fact is, for the most part, Apple cares about their customers and their experience. I genuinely believe that.

So Apple, now that I’ve taken your back, buck up and give the $20 iPod Touch software update away for free. There’s no need to punish people for buying your products. It’s a sneaky and unjust thing to do.

Ars Technica recently posted an article which discussed a leaked memo from Time Warner Cable which suggests that the company may be looking to implement metered internet access. The memo; now removed; stated that 5% of their users account for over 50% of the bandwidth. Personally, I suspect this to be a bit exaggerated but I don’t discount the notion that a handful of users greatly exceed the typical bell-curve of bandwidth usage.

My reaction to this memo was “hell no” but after my initial gut feelings I began to think there might be some merit in this. For one, if their number is accurate then charging a premium to the top 5% should make services much better for the other 95% of the users. I think the sticking point on this is where do you cap broadband service? I, like many others just purchased an HD TV and I will surely be downloading my movies from iTunes and my XBOX 360. These HD movies suck up bandwidth but I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay a premium to download these movies because my provider has capped the service.

So assuming that capping will benefit the greater good, what is the level that you would cap usage? Personally, when factoring in HD movies I would set the limit at 50 GB / day but I HIGHLY suspect that a number that high would place me in the top 5%.

OK, I hate waiting which is why I had to find a way to upgrade to 1.1.3 sooner rather then later. So here is the direct download for the iPhone 1.1.3 Restore file

Here is how you do the restore after you download the file. These instructions are for the Mac. In iTunes go to preferences and turn off auto-check for updates. Then go to your iPhone in iTunes and hold the OPTION key and click RESTORE, then find the file you just downloads and you are in business.

These instructions should work for the PC as long as you use the SHIFT key rather then OPTION.
Let me know if this works for you!