nick's blog

I just put together a quick site for the new Journal app, you can find it here:

http://journal.tatonetti.com/

I'll keep adding more capabilities to the site and to Journal!

...Now I've got to go make a journal entry, and get to bed :-)

I have learned much over the past couple of weeks and am happy to report that I am in the alpha stage of programming version 1.0. I will be releasing this first version for testing and use to the public at large once I have finished implementing a few little features and constructed a site for the software.

This has been loads of fun, and as part of the project website, I will include a tutorial on what it took to create a functioning Journal application (at least through the alpha phase of development).

More to come.

Huzzah! I have found out that I have access to "Building Cocoa Applications: A Step-by-Step Guide" through ASU! This very illuminating O'Reilly book is going to tech me loads, I can just feel it.

With any luck, I'll be back on track to creating (and documenting that creation) a fabulous free piece of software.

Well, frustration has kicked in, and I'm calling it a days work. NIB files seem to be getting the better of me. I have been so used to having to build up the interface all on my own, that I am having difficultly working with a tool that should be making my life easier. Ah, the irony.

Here's where it's at:
http://tatonetti.com/img/journal/screenshot_3.tiff

Until my next free block of time....

I have moved forward slightly, as I have created a custom view and added some test text to it, so that I know it is working. I will continue to add to this view so that eventually it resembles the left menu column of iTunes.

http://tatonetti.com/img/journal/screenshot_2.tiff

I will post the source as it becomes interesting, at this point, however, it is not.

As I venture into the world of Mac OS X gui programming I find that there is a lack of advanced programming documentation and tutorials. Apple's developer docs are of course very helpful, but I need a little more hands on guidance.

My goal is to create an interface similar to the iTunes GUI and I have decided to document my travels toward this ultimate goal. I am writing a Scientific Journaling application that will manage journal entries. A major flaw in my current journaling paradigm is that I cannot easily go back and search through my entries, and they quickly become lost and/or forgotten. This is why I would like a better tool. I have done some quick searches and have not found such a simple os x applications as what I propose that is open source.

Hopefully this sequence of blog entries will result with a functional application that I (and perhaps others) will enjoy and contribute to. I will document as completely as I can the processes and hurdles and mistakes that I will face and make as I venture down this path.

To keep you up-to-date, here is a screenshot (sorry about the tiff, I don't feel like converting it):

http://tatonetti.com/img/journal/screenshot_1.tiff

Over at TheSpicyChicken.com I have releasing software for the iPhone. Not that slow and limited web site stuff, but true native applications for the phone. One such applications has now been downloaded over 250,000 times! That has motivated me to make it better and stronger for all of my users!

Thanks to all for making Customize a successful software project!

I have officially begun my final year as an undergraduate student at Arizona State University, and very glad of it. Of course, I am very dedicated to my schoolwork, as always :-), but I have also found a new distraction.

This distraction came in the form of an engagement present from my lovely fiance, an iPhone. The iPhone's incredible lack of decent stock applications drove me to become an iPhone hacker. I have since written three applications, which have become rather popular, and am recording my escapades at http://thespicychicken.com.

I have recently read and agree with the comments of a certain post to digg.com. Facebook has become the whorehouse that we all know MySpace is. I propose that we unite in the most elitist fashion and create a site where we can share photos and profiles with friends and only friends.

Stalkerbook ends here. Impossible you might say...I think not. This is not for the masses and only for tight nit groups of friends. That means any user simply cannot search for anyone else...if you want to find old friends you lost touch with, this is not for you. What this is, however, is complete control of your own content.

This is only an idea now, but honestly creating a clone of facebook would barely take a weekend, so it can be implemented at any time. If you would like to join to fight for privacy, send me an email ... we will make it happen.

-N

I just found, rather randomly, a beautiful new piece of software called Songbird. Songbird is the "firefox of media players" so to speak. You can browse the web and search for new music and videos with ease, as well as catalog all your favorites you have stored on your drives. I highly suggest checking out this vid:

http://www.songbirdnest.com/screencast

Enjoy this one.

Oh and at the end of the vid it says something like "if you like it, buy it" -- that is in reference to the music you have sampled and obtained through use of the search features, not the software itself. Songbird is free and open source.