Olivier's Blog - Mac

1.0.3 on AppStore

nospam@example.com (Olivier Hill) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 21:16:26 -0500

Following this last entry on 1.0.3, I've just received news from Apple that the new version of AMT Mobile should hit the App Store within a couple of minutes.

I hope you all enjoy the complete train schedule on you iPhone or iPod touch :)

AMT Mobile in the medias

nospam@example.com (Olivier Hill) — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:22:07 -0500

AMT Mobile is part of an article about mobile apps in this month's Jobboom magazine.

You can see the full article on their website. Magazine is also available in Quebec for free.

News on 1.0.3

nospam@example.com (Olivier Hill) — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:41:42 -0500

Nous vous remercions pour vos commentaires et nous en tiendrons compte pour améliorer nos processus à l'avenir. Nous procéderons à une nouvelle révision de votre application dans les plus brefs délais.

Let's hope it will be quick.

No 1.0.3 I guess...

nospam@example.com (Olivier Hill) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:13:20 -0500

Monsieur,

Nous regrettons de ne pas pouvoir ajouter l'application AMT Mobile à l'App Store en raison d'une erreur qui produit un arrêt de lapplication sur iPhone 3GS OS 3.1.2

Pour reproduire le plantage de l'application :

Lancez l'application
Sélectionnez Trains
Sélectionnez Montréal/Deux-Montagnes
Sélectionnez Deux-Montagnes
Ajoutez Vers Montréal comme favori
Sélectionnez Stations
Sélectionnez Grand-Moulin
Ajoutez Vers Montréal et Vers Deux-Montagnes comme favoris
Sélectionnez Stations
Sélectionnez Favoris
Sélectionnez Modifier
Sélectionnez l'option de suppression pour Grand-Moulin vers Deux-Montagnes
Sélectionnez Supprimer
Sélectionnez l'option de suppression pour Grand-Moulin vers Montréal
Sélectionnez Supprimer
Sélectionnez l'option de suppression pour Deux-Montagnes vers Montréal
Sélectionnez Supprimer

L'application se plante.

Vous trouverez ci-joint des fichiers «crash log» aux fins d'examen. Vous trouverez de l'information sur le contenu des crash log à l'adresse suivante :
developer.apple.com/iphone/library/technotes/tn2008/tn2151.html

Nous vous prions de résoudre ce problème et de télécharger la version corrigée sur iTunes Connect pour que nous puissions terminer lévaluation de votre application.

Si vous avez besoin d'aide supplémentaire pour résoudre ce problème, le service de soutien technique aux développeurs est à votre disposition. Nos techniciens offrent un service personnalisé et sont en mesure de répondre à toute question portant sur le codage et la programmation. Nous vous prions d'inclure dans toute demande une description détaillée des étapes pour reproduire le problème, des instantanés d'écran, ainsi que tout fichier pertinent.

I have corrected the bug, which was present since the first release of the application! Too bad this never showed up in the crash logs Apple provides (they are always empty...) Oh well.

Submitted the corrected binary. Worst case scenario: going to take 2 weeks for an answer.

1.0.3 new features

nospam@example.com (Olivier Hill) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:18:32 -0400

Version 1.0.3 of AMT Mobile has been submitted to Apple, it should hit the App Store within a couple of days (hopefully).

In this version, the most requested feature has been added in the station view. You can now consult the full schedule of every line in both directions. After selecting a departure time (which selects a specific train number), you can see all the stops across the line and their associated time at every station. Schedules are available for weekdays, as well as Sundays and Saturdays for lines that operate on weekends.

Of course, you can still see the next departures first, so you can catch a train right away. However, to prepare your trip in advance, click on "Complete schedule" (or "Horaire complet") at the bottom of a station view. You can of course reach that view from clicking one of your favorites, or going through the list of all the stations by lines.

You can click on the left image to zoom in and observe the feature.

AMT Mobile 1.0.2

nospam@example.com (Olivier Hill) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 09:04:39 -0400

Good news of the week, AMT Mobile 1.0.2 is now available on the App Store.

This minor release fixes the Info-Train panel to use the new shiny (and less functionnal) AMT website.

New version AMT Mobile

nospam@example.com (Olivier Hill) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 20:31:11 -0400

Well, a new version of AMT Mobile will soon be finished. Once submitted, it should hit the App Store in a couple of weeks. The next version will bring even more features and ease of use.

In the meantime, a new domain is now available, the whole project will be available through www.amtmobile.ca

AMT Mobile Launched

nospam@example.com (Olivier Hill) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 06:18:00 -0400

Didn't take long, AMT Mobile is available on the App Store.

I have created a small landing page with the application details. I will add support and FAQ soon to that page, as well as the French version of course.

AMT Mobile

nospam@example.com (Olivier Hill) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 19:38:59 -0400

After a lenghty process, AMT Mobile will hit the Apple Store in the next hours.

If you take the train in the Montreal region and you want something to track the schedules, or even know when the train is out of service (believe me.. this happens quite frequently), go grab a copy, it's just 99¢

Am I working for the AMT? No.. Do they know about this iPhone App? No.. Why did I do this? Because I was bored back in March and some people were insisting on me putting this on the App Store.

By the way, between the time I submitted the App and the actual launch date, someone has released a global public transportation mobile app. I think it's something like YUL Mobile or something (not to name it!). Of course, my app is better, faster, more efficient and saves the environment, but feel free to try both, I'll read the comments and improve as necessary.

iPhone apps

nospam@example.com (Olivier Hill) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:05:45 -0500

Stay tuned, I should release my shiny iPhone app on the App Store shortly. Just have to go through that program enrollment thing with Apple, spending $100US at the same time. Oh well...

I'm really puzzled to see if there really is a business model behind building those apps. At 99¢, ROI takes a long time. Worst when you consider development time and costs (more on that in another post).

Getting the automount back

nospam@example.com (Olivier Hill) — Fri, 29 Jul 2005 12:27:00 -0400

It seems that disk images (or .dmg) seldomly loose their bindings to the DiskImageMounter.app. This kind of mess can happen when upgrading from Panther to Tiger.

Getting the bindings back is as simple as Option-i on an image and change the Open with setting. But what if you cannot see the DiskImageMounter application and is not in the list anymore?

I just ran a quick search, and the path is:

/System/Library/CoreServices/DiskImageMounter

If you are bored, you should take a look in this folder. It seems to contain a bunch of useful things

UPDATED: If the Finder does not allow the Change All option, you might try to fix the disk permissions using the Disk Utility.

OS X 10.4.2 and Active Directory

nospam@example.com (Olivier Hill) — Wed, 20 Jul 2005 19:12:00 -0400

While installing a Mac today, I ran a System Update to fetch version 10.4.2. Being curious about what has changed in this version, I consulted Apple's release notes on the patch. Except from certain boring video updates and more firewire support, I came across this important improvement: "Active Directory Users can be given a local administrator rights."

Thank you Apple for making my life easier!!!

This is not even sarcastic. Have you ever administered a network of computer geeks? They do want full access to their machines, while I do want to keep my network secure. Well, this is the perfect solution for me.

Before 10.4.2, I could give them local admin rights via Active Directory by creating a special group with no power except on the local machine (when binding it to AD). But I felt this was a hack and did not like it.

The new solution is much simpler and much more intuitive in Apple's terms. The only thing you have to do while using a network user is to go in System Preferences -> Accounts and give the user admin rights.

New iPods are here!

nospam@example.com (Olivier Hill) — Tue, 28 Jun 2005 21:24:12 -0400

If you visit the Apple Store daily, you should have notice that the new iPods have arrived.

The first big difference is the notable colour display available on all models.

But the fancyness of the screen is not the only change. The battery life has also extended from 12 hours on 4G iPods (mine) to 15 hours on the new model.

As for the capacity, the 30GB and 40GB models have been replaced by the 60GB one, while the 20GB model is still available. This will allow bigger capacity while keeping an affordable model around.

It also seems like Apple is cutting the cost by not shipping the Firewire cable and only providing the USB2 cable.

Nevertherless, the U2 iPod is still around, now using a gorgeous (quoting Steve Job's terms on the first presentation of the U2 iPod) colour display.

Now, I do feel like I have 400 bucks to burn... ;)

TeXShop, LaTeX and fink

nospam@example.com (Olivier Hill) — Sat, 11 Jun 2005 20:42:00 -0400

Since I had to compose some documentation for my job earlier today, I decided to finish my LaTeX installation on my Mac Mini.

Since I did start the installation process a while back, I had to see what was missing. I already had installed the LaTex Package (tetex) from fink so the only thing missing was a graphical frontend. I must admit that GNU nano is great, but it has its limitations. And since I am a big fan of syntax coloring, I had to leave my Terminal.app behind.

Continue reading "TeXShop, LaTeX and fink"