The ZAZ Studios: Blog: Complete Archives

iPhone Upgrading by Thom McGrath

I decided to upgrade my launch-day iPhone to a new white 32GB 3GS. The upgrade went pretty smoothly, and the features are nice. This article is part review, part nightmare.

Come With Us by Thom McGrath

We've started a Battlefield 2142 clan server. It's a flexible infantry-only server, only few rules. Number one rule, no demo pak whoring!

Address 68.232.170.19:16567.

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Nintendo Almost Disappoints by Thom McGrath

I watched Nintendo's E3 conference live today. As expected, it was more gimmicks. A lot of them. I'm happy to see New Super Mario Brothers coming to the Wii, and I imagine the RPG titles coming to the Wii and DS will make their fans happy too. But most of the conference was about appealing to tweens and non-gamers. That's fine, but gamers need something too!

Until the end of time by Thom McGrath

My laptop is finally a laptop again! Since my hard drive went bad about 6 months ago, I've been running it from an external. Not a small, friendly one either. I looked around and determined it would cost about $350 to repair it. That's why I've been waiting.

Life Without Logic by Thom McGrath

Not too long ago, I noticed Microsoft's new windows tagline: "Life Without Walls". Right...

REALbasic's TrueWindow by Thom McGrath

Don't get too alarmed, but I'm writing for two blogs now. I just contributed my next tutorial to REAL Software's official blog rather than my own:

REALbasic's New TrueWindow Feature

As much as I love writing content on my own blog - and I'll continue to do so - it makes more sense for the company if I do the tutorials and such in a more official capacity.

REALbasic 2009r1 Released! by Thom McGrath

REALbasic 2009r1 is one of my favorite releases, and it should be yours too. This release adds a handful of useful new features, and it's also the first release I've directly contributed code to.

The Lab! by Thom McGrath

Kelly and I have been moving since Friday morning. Got a new place with lots more space. When I started with REAL and began working from home, it quickly became obvious that I needed my own space. The apartment complex we were in has some very nice townhouses, so we put our names on the waiting list for one of those. That was in June.

Tip: Fix Linux Button Sizes by Thom McGrath

This really bugs me about Linux, at least on Ubuntu. Button sizes are typically 30 pixels tall, as opposed to the 20 pixels on Mac and Windows. So when you're creating your UI and plan to deploy to Linux as well, be aware of this. If your button sizes are 20 pixels tall - the REALbasic default - your buttons will look terrible on Linux, only showing the top half of the caption.

My solution? A subclass of PushButton I call RespectfulPushButton. In it's Open event, I simply make the height 10 pixels taller and move it up by 5 pixels. The result won't harm the UI much, and the buttons look perfect on Linux. You'll then want to define a new Open event, and trigger it from the Open event of the subclass. Of course, use conditional compiles to only resize the buttons on Linux. I then just use this subclass instead. Minimal work to setup, but you'll then need to get into the habit of using the subclass instead when placing new buttons.

PopupMenus have this pain as well. I have not seen this on any other controls, but I most write my own anyway.

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My brain hurts... by Thom McGrath

I frequent GameFAQs about daily to check out their poll. Being a CBS-owned site now, they have links to other (mostly worthless) junk at the top of the page, just below the logo. Some of it gets my curiosity of course.

REAL Software Website Updates by Thom McGrath

We've had our new site online for a little over a month now and since then, we've been listening to user feedback and rolled out some new updates for the site. Some of which you'll notice, others are under the hood. (Those under-the-hood ones are very useful, but I won't speak of them here.)

Casualty by Thom McGrath

We just got back from the vet. One of our newborn rabbits got her paw tangled in the bedding. We were using the store-bought cotton nesting material, which I would certainly not recommend. Unfortunately, we did not catch it in time, and the paw was deprived of blood for too long. Much of the paw did recover, but the toes did not.

The odds of surviving the amputation were not good. Even in adult rabbits, the survival rate is low. In a week-old such as this, there was nearly no chance she would survive it. If left untreated, it would spread and eventually kill her.

She was euthanized about an hour ago.

The other four are doing exceptionally well, and we expect them to open their eyes by the end of the weekend. We're using a couple old t-shirts for a nest now, which they and the mother are satisfied with. We're hopeful they will make it through.

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Pet Multiplication! by Thom McGrath

My wife and I are not allowed to have dogs or cats in our apartment, so we have a couple rabbits (Mystik and Rayne) instead. Turns out, we have a male and a female. We keep them in separate cages for obvious reasons, but let them run around the apartment quite a bit.

By now, if you're paying any attention at all, you'll guess that Mystik just gave birth. And you'd be correct, we have five new bunnies!

New Website! by Thom McGrath

Finally, after a few months of work, the new REAL Software website is live. We've been working hard on this for a little while now, especially Dana and I, so here's a look at what we've done that may or may not be instantly noticeable.

Image Masking by Thom McGrath

Over the past few days I've seen this topic come up on the REAL Software Forums and the REALbasic NUG. There's quite a mix of information - some correct and misleading. Luckily, I've not seen information that is just flat out wrong.

Custom Controls: Finding your global screen bounds by Thom McGrath

I find myself writing a fair amount of custom controls. Frequently, I find myself wanting to find the position of the mouse relative to my control. The MouseDown, MouseDrag, etc. events have this info, but if you need this in the Paint event, you must either save it to a property or get it from the system. We're exploring the latter, as it's not as simple as you might think.

I hate Gmail by Thom McGrath

I hated Gmail before I ever used it. Now I've been using it for about 5 months now and I've learned to complete despise it.

What I've been up to by Thom McGrath

Just a general post, nothing special about it.

HIToolbar 1.1.3 Released by Thom McGrath

Even though I should be working on getting two other projects made public, I thought I would update HIToolbar first. Since it broke on REALbasic 2008r3, it made sense that this one should get more attention.

Determining if a window should be highlighted by Thom McGrath

I've been working on a window designed to look similar to Safari. This means a window with a "Unified" toolbar and tabs that blend into said toolbar.

Does a window have a sheet? by Thom McGrath

So Norman Palardy recently posted some code for detecting if a window has a sheet attached. Charles Yeomans took this code and modified it to work without subclassing window.

I take it one step further, and fix a bug...

The ZAZ's Open Source Roadmap by Thom McGrath

I've got a brand new open source project coming up. In fact, the code is already complete and in use, I'm just working on the documentation... and this one will have significant documentation. I imagine that nearly every REALbasic project will want this code included.

Best. Song. Ever. by Thom McGrath

I'm going to keep this short and simple. View the picture.

Relove for the iPhone by Thom McGrath

I used the leaked iPhone 2.0 firmware. It's like I when I first bought the iPhone over a year ago - I can't put it down.

But this time, I can keep adding features. Some will be better when push support comes in September, like AIM and NetNewsWire, but it's pretty damn cool.

My personal favorite new app is Shazam. That's one really cool thing Verizon customers could have over me - but this is here now and free!

OmniFocus is pretty great too, I'm keeping it synched with my desktop.

I'm sure you'll read about this everywhere else, but I felt like saying something here.

:: Sent from my iPhone, BTW ::

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Figures... by Thom McGrath

I've been working on an internal tool for REAL Software that is probably my best web app to date. It's a web 2.0 app, feels like a desktop app, on caliber with some of the .Mac stuff. Really sweet.

And yet, I'll never get to show the world.

Figures.

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Tropical Sillyness by Thom McGrath

So, I stumbled across a trailer I thought I might check out.

Tropic Thunder - don't bother. Just to view the trailer, the website asks for too much personal information.

Source-Controlled Website by Thom McGrath

This concept is so simple and easy, I'm amazed I had not yet thought of it. See, I keep a subdomain of this website which I use as a sandbox. I draft new designs or concepts with it. But it's always been a complete pain to bring the sandbox to the live site. I don't want to overwrite too many or the wrong files, and I made the mistake of keeping subdomain files inside my www directory. It's a mess, and I know better now.

Finally, a new day job by Thom McGrath

So after five and a half years with Subway, I have found a new job that's actually in the industry I have real talent in. Not to say hadn't done a good job managing over a hundred teenagers, it just isn't what I want to do. Not to mention it requires me to work about 50 hours a week over 6 days. If I were single and had no friends, it wouldn't be so bad, but considering neither of those are true it really gets to me sometimes.

But no more. I just signed and returned an offer letter.

AnimationKit 2.0 Released by Thom McGrath

I have finally found some free time, so I decided to release a brand new version of AnimationKit. This new version is significantly changed, and will break existing code. It does, however, include some great new features.

Hamachi Starter by Thom McGrath

After reading about some trouble on the Hamachi forums, I decided to whip together something more than the how-to I wrote a few weeks ago. I have here a Mac OS X installer package which will install the files necessary to auto-start tuncfg, and give you a "Start Hamachi" application which you can add to your login items to automatically start Hamachi. You can find it in the /Applications/Utilities folder.

This is not an installer. You must have a working install of Hamachi in order for this to work.

The package is only lightly tested, comes with absolutely no warranty, and is not an official or sanctioned product of LogMeIn.

Download the small file here

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Worst Headphones Ever by Thom McGrath

http://www.arriva.com/

I don't normally do stuff like this, but this thing dropped my jaw to the point I feel a rant is due.

Ham & Cheese Update by Thom McGrath

This is important information for anybody interested in Ham & Cheese. The product will not see the light of day due to a contract I have recently agreed to. As I'm now under an NDA, I cannot reveal any new information, so please keep the requests to yourself. I'm confident this move is the best for every party involved. Thank you for your support.

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Passwording, Favorites, and... Invitations and Profiles? by Thom McGrath

Tonight, I'm sharing two screenshots. Nothing fantastic on that front. But I'm also going to share an idea I just had that I think is very cool - and it's another unique feature!

Services Preview by Thom McGrath

Want more Hamachi? Who doesn't! These screenshots should hold us over for a few days... or make everybody want it more!

Hamachi for Mac OS X by Thom McGrath

After being supremely upset with the current options for using Hamachi on Mac OS X, and the difficultly of getting it installed in the first place, I set out to solve every issue I've ever had with Hamachi on the Mac. At least, as much as is possible.

It's important to note that I am NOT an official developer for LogMeIn, and this project may not see the light of day due to some issues I cannot yet speak about.

But if this does work out... damn... Hamachi on Mac worries are over.

Supremely Awesome by Thom McGrath

I consider myself a bit of a gamer. I have, until now, kept it mostly secret to the outside world that a) I have a PC, and b) I use it to play games. Let's face it - the Mac sucks for games. Completely and utterly terrible. Everything else, and you wouldn't hear me say enough good things about the Mac. But gaming? No way, at least not until Apple makes a truly customizable Mac.

But we won't get into that today.

What I've done here is one of those "Holy crap that was a good idea" moments we all like to have once in a while.

Leopard Compatibility Notice by Thom McGrath

I have waited the line for my copy of Leopard.

Mail.app RSS sucks.

But more importantly, I've tested my projects for compatibility for Leopard. I find no flaws. Everything, including HIToolbar and Mac OS X Search Field appear to work exactly as they should.

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Some insight about REALbasic toolbars by Thom McGrath

So upon looking into a new rewrite of HIToolbar, I've wanted to hit at least one of two incredible features: controls-in-toolbars and cross-platform toolbars.

Focusing on the latter in this post, I said to myself "If REAL Software can do it, then there is no reason why my class cannot do the same."

This statement, as it turns out, is incorrect.

Converting HTML Entities [Updated] by Thom McGrath

I've made another mini-release. This is simply a REALbasic module which allows quick conversion back and forth between HTML entities, and their actual character.

Blog Comments Back Online by Thom McGrath

Alright, the upgrade to Movable Type 4 is nearly complete - at least for now.

Signal: Don't Bother by Thom McGrath

I've given a shot to a relatively new program called Signal which allows mobile control of iTunes from an iPhone or Windows PocketPC.

While it's remote-side interface is beautiful, I was very disappointed by this app.

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Macros, Combo-Filtering, and 68k Scanning by Thom McGrath

Using only two small screenshots, today I'll show two very useful features and one "why the hell not" feature of ArchDetect 2.

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New feature (and official announcement) of ArchDetect 2 by Thom McGrath

Today, I'm publishing a very nice screenshot of ArchDetect 2 in action. I expect you'll be able to figure out what's going on.

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Bad Apple! No Biscuit! by Thom McGrath

In reference to my "OH GOD IT'S SHUFFLING" bug reported a couple days ago, I've found it not to be a bug, just horrible UI.

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iPhone is making life less fun by Thom McGrath

Yeah, you read that headline correctly. There's really two reason, one more obvious that the other.

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For cryin' out loud... STOP SHUFFLING!!! by Thom McGrath

Alright, I've officially found my most annoying bug of the iPhone - it's shuffling all of my music.

Apple added a very handy "Shuffle" item to the top of every playlist - something I have wanted for a very long time. Pressing it picks a song at random and plays it, and keeps shuffling through only songs in the playlist - excellent. But when I don't want to shuffle (I have one playlist which I intentionally list my newest stuff first and usually like to play it in that order) it'll shuffle anyway. It'll play the song I selected first, but then instead of going to song #2, it'll pick another at random.

Hey!!!!

The iTunes original playlist is not set to shuffle. There are no other shuffle settings anywhere. Don't do this to me... please! Best of iPod ever my ass - it can't even not shuffle right!

I have reported this bug to Apple. Bug #5306255.

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More iPhone Goodness by Thom McGrath

In case there wasn't enough on the internet about Apple's iPhone, here is some more.

As I said in my last entry, the device is fantastic. It automatically checks my e-mail every fifteen minutes, I've already used it to get directions, I'm typing two-handed pretty well - it's overall excellent. There are, of course, going to be things about the device that are less than perfect. Luckily, all of my complaints can be fixed via software. The hardware is so far, fabulous. This entry is not all complaints - just points.

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Yet Another iPhone Thread by Thom McGrath

I waited in line. I got one. Here's some things I've learned so far.

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Safari 3 seems a little... confused... by Thom McGrath

After playing around with the AT&T coverage map in anticipation for iPhone, I discovered something odd with the Safari 3 beta.

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ArchDetect 1.2.2 Released by Thom McGrath

I have released ArchDetect 1.2.2 to the public. This release fixes a couple minor bugs, as well as adds an End User License Agreement. Due to some preference changes, it will re-ask you to confirm update checking once launched.

Now accepting donations for ArchDetect by Thom McGrath

I've been working with Jordan Langille of OneToad Design on a new application icon and toolbar icons. Of course, this is going to cost money. On a freeware app, anything is too expensive. So if you would like to contribute some money to the ArchDetect project - either because you agree the icon is tacky, or just as a thank you, here is your venue. See the ArchDetect page at http://www.thezaz.com/products/archdetect/.

Also, anybody will to donate localization services, please get a hold of me. Use the address attached to the post above, or the one listed in the about box of ArchDetect.

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ArchDetect 1.2.1 by Thom McGrath

ArchDetect 1.2.1 is a maintenance release fixing a couple important bugs, and refining the user experience. Some users have reported crashes while scanning certain folders, particularly folders with long or non-ascii names. This bug appears to have been fixed.

ArchDetect 1.2 by Thom McGrath

In honor of our most popular creation to date, ArchDetect gets some real features. Users can now filter and search results and find updates online from any download site. ArchDetect 1.2 is also now localizable, and there is also a couple bug fixes and optimizations.

Brad Rhine releases the Toolbar Utilities module by Thom McGrath

Based on code provided by myself and Charles Yeomans, Brad Rhine has released the Toolbar Utilities module - a REALbasic module which adds most of the standard Mac OS X toolbar features to built-in REALbasic toolbars.

Smart Crash Reports is a godsend by Thom McGrath

Ok developers, if you haven't heard of this yet Unsanity has created an InputManager plugin called Smart Crash Reports. To sum up the entire story, this plugin allows the user to send the crash report to you as a developer, rather than only Apple.

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ArchDetect 1.1 Released by Thom McGrath

I have released an updated version of ArchDetect which fixes a couple bugs preventing scans from ever being completed. This release also uses Sparkle for automatic updates, and Smart Crash Reports for helping me fix bugs.

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ArchDetect 1.0 Released by Thom McGrath

Introducing my very first released Cocoa project, ArchDetect - an excessively simple program which provides an overview of the architectures of every application on your computer.

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HIToolbar 1.1.2 Released by Thom McGrath

This maintenance release to HIToolbar fixes a critical bug which prevented every toolbar's ItemClicked events from firing on Intel Macs. This update is strongly recommended for all users of HIToolbar.

Sorry this was not caught sooner. And thanks to the users which brought this to my attention.

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HIToolbar Crash Situation by Thom McGrath

One of my users of HIToolbar has brought a crash to my attention, forwarded from one of his users. I'm at a loss for the reason, and the developer himself has been unable to replicate the crash. However, we do have a crash log from the user. If anything, this article should be to make other users of HIToolbar aware of the situation, if not solve the problem.

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Status Update for REALSyndication by Thom McGrath

Hey anybody paying attention may have noticed a bit of inactivity over the last week. I've been working on a website for the company I actually work for, so my time is a little... spent. I'll get this done.

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Dropping support for Atom 0.1 by Thom McGrath

I've decided to drop support for Atom 0.1 formats - if they even exist. I can't seem to find any documentation or even mention that they really exist.

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Panic outdoes themselves... again. by Thom McGrath

Legendary Mac software company, Panic, Inc has recently released Coda, a new web development tool that's really, not that new.

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First Alpha of REALSyndication coming soon by Thom McGrath

I've just completed a good chunk of the work for this project. It's at the point now where the classes can create very nice RSS & ATOM feeds of any version. Although, why anybody would want to create anything other than ATOM 1.0 and/or RSS 2.0 is beyond me.

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Hey, what smells like blue? by Thom McGrath

Those that do not get this reference should remember to Futurama episode 3acv19: Roswell That Ends Well when Fry puts an "Iffy Pop" into the microwave: the impossible happens. Well this mini post is simply to inform my few readers that my impossible happened! REAL Software has not only verified my bug, but has also fixed it! I honestly expected to live with this forever! Thanks REAL Software!

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New feed icons available by Thom McGrath

In celebration of our upcoming Syndication Kit for REALbasic, we've created a set of wonderfully fun feed icons. The package includes the icons in 8 colors of 8 sizes each, all PNG - because PNG is awesome.

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Of Going Mad and Losing Work by Thom McGrath

While working on my new RSS class, I lost a couple classes that seemed to disappear. I started cursing and such, because my work was long gone - you know the drill - sonofa#*@*$iknewtherewasareasonnottouserb@*#!!.

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Creating Aqua effects in code by Thom McGrath

Using nothing but some gradient code and logic, you can creating Aqua effects using REALbasic code. We'll explain both.

New ping system ready by Thom McGrath

Anybody paying attention to the RSS feed - thank you for your patience. I've implemented a new ping system which will allow other blogs to notify us of an update, and will put a little star next to the link on the sidebar.

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New comment system live by Thom McGrath

Our new comment system seems to be working well. There's another improvement I plan to make, in order to make it totally invincible, but I have not found a plugin for MT that can do what I need, so I may need to write my own plugin.

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Mac OS X Search Field 1.1 Released by Thom McGrath

Our Mac OS X Search Field has been updated to support Universal Binaries. There are no other new features.

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HIToolbar 1.1.1 Released by Thom McGrath

As well as updating code to work with modern versions of REALbasic and bug fixes, HIToolbar has been update to work with Universal applications as well. This is a must-have upgrade for all users of HIToolbar.

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Disclaimer: I am currently an employee of REAL Software. My comments and opinions are mine alone and do not represent those of my employer. My posts are not official REAL Software communications, and may contain information that is incorrect or misleading.