Subject: Wincent is mad at youHe's mad about the "Deja doom" image on your site:
Did you send those e-mails to him? I'm inclined to believe that it was some jerk pulling a prank in reaction to Wincent's original post. I hope so anyway. You sending those e-mails would *not* be cool.
Steve
Yeah, I had that passed on by 3 readers, two of which weren't as polite. Since their claims look a little silly when things are put into context, I'll do them the favor of using yours. It's a hysterical funny read by the time you get to the emails and see him building on wild assumption after wild assumption, yet kinda scary in its way. I've included a screenshot in case it goes away, as one of two things seems to be going on:
- Wincent Colaiuta is mental, and just making the emails up. People that delusional are pretty rare, so I consider this to be a very low probability.
- Someone is pranking him, and he doesn't know enough about how these things work to realize what's going on or what to look for, and is jumping to hysterical conclusions all across the board. I consider this to be a very high probability.
Now, to be extremely clear...
posted on April 06, 2006 at 10:42 AMHi drunken one,is the DRM software used by Sony/BMG (and provided by SunnComm) on the Mac platform a rootkit, like the Windows counterpart (XPC from First 4 Internet Ltd)?
engrish
No, as:
- You click through a EULA before you install it, in which you sign your computer away, like you do with most EULAs now. I found this out the hard way, and now someone in Pakistan gets my first born.
- You're told stuff is going to be installed, even if you're not told precisely what, and you type your password and stuffins, giving you two shiny kernel extensions.
However...
After waiting for the video calmly and patiently (I have not written any e-mails of the EAA download FAQ type), I've reached the bursting point. I'm pretty sure my constant reloading of drunkenblog.com just to see if the video is up is using enough bandwidth to noticeably slow down your distribution to the mirrors. Perhaps I would still be calm and patient if I hadn't read the two "almost there" posts this weekend. Doh.Oh yeah, if you don't have DTS audio then I'm not listening because Dolby Digital is so bad it hurts my ears.
Insanely yours,
Steve Hoelzer
*Grins*
It'll be up at 11pm EST this evening -- it was meant to be this morning, but something came up. There'll be over 25 HTTP mirrors, plus a well-seeded torrent thanks to a pal at distributed.net (Moo).
This is unbelievable...although I'm sure you know all about it. But now in OSX, when you save a file, you only have the Apple-approved 9 locations. So if you want to save to a folder that's sitting on your desktop...or any other specific location--well, you're SOL!! What an incredible leap backwards in usability!Just to be sure, I called Apple's tech support...the guy I talked to understood, and logged me for a callback. But really now, WTF?!!
<- snipped ->
Jedd
My inbox has been amusing lately. Right now it's full of bugs, but on the rare occasion it's something like the above, which isn't a bug, but still ends up confusing users for some reason. In Jed's case, he's saving a file, and sees something like this...
Don't know if you've seen this already, but you have a search item in Quicksilver's Web Search module all to yourself. You're in the Other category since you defy categorization.Because, you know, you don't get enough mail already... :)
Enjoy,
- jeff
This was so amusing I had to ping the developer of Quicksilver about it, who also had no real clue how it got in there. All that's known is it's been there since version one, and it's referencing the old drunkenbatman.com site URL, which still works but is forever in danger of going away.
Quicksilver dubs itself "An evolving framework for accessing and manipulating many forms of personal data," and it's really hard to describe QS to someone who hasn't experienced it. However, if you were going try, the words "interesting" and "innovative" would probably come up, even by those who don't take to it or just get confused by it.
It's worth noting that the author, Nicholas Jitkoff, redeemed a Golden Ticket yesterday from Pittsburgh and will be on the panel for Evening at Adler, and the original roster was updated a few minutes ago to reflect it.
So your request on your blog for an OS X Portable Firefox. Here you go.Sam Krupa
This is one of those messages that makes me feel slightly ill. I start talking about how much I'd like something, someone takes the initiative and creates it -- and then tells me about it -- and for all intents and purposes it looks to him as though it's been dropped into a black hole...
I know this can not be Thumbscrew, how are you doing these, don't tell me you spend more than a drag and a drop? :-)
This is another of those "If I had a nickel" questions I get via email. I'm sure a few of you are laughing at it, because it seems kinda obvious, but please keep the ham story in mind (especially because Honey Crisp apple's are starting to come into season again).
Hi db ~I was planning on coming but it sounds like it is turning into a
convention. Best wishes on your new found fame.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ben R.
*Rubs Temples* There are days when my inbox confounds me, and I wonder just what is going through people's heads when before they throw things my way...
Hi, I'm a Mail.app user, but the widescreen-pane aspect of Gyaz looks really neat,However I noticed scrolling through my messages is rather laggy. Is this something you've noticed as well?
Nicholas P.
I've gotten a ton of mail over the last while about GyazMail, and I've kind of avoided it because I wasn't really sure how to handle it. I use it on OS X, however I rarely recommend it anymore.
I'll get to that in a moment, but to get to your question, yeah, it's always been a little laggy when browsing large amounts of messages, but amusingly enough it still used to be faster than Mail.app...
i am fairly new to your site, but enjoy it very much. I am not a programmer (my wife was a C prgammer) but i am a sys-admin at the School of Visual Arts in NYC.It seems to me that you are running MOVABLE TYPE. Is this a MT install on OS X Server ? just curious. cause i am having trouble gettin it installed and workin i am decent with unix, but still... grrr..
anyhoo... just crious if this was runnin on OS X 'tiger' Server and if you know any sites with info.
//glenn
This is noted somewhere, but the site runs on Linux. Back in the 10.3 days, I tried to get Movable Type running on OS X without a lot of success. I remember having to go to find the DBI bundle, which wasn't playing well with OS X's perl install whatsoever. From what I could tell, or remember, Darwin in 10.3 seemed to ship with a multithreaded version by default and had a few bugs in its configuration files. This was tripping everything up when it was easy as pie to get going on Linux.
At the time I found some workarounds online, but none of them were doing anything for me... I was looking at blowing away OS X's Perl install with something a little more standard, and then realized since I was looking at moving to Word Press eventually, which I had up easily on OS X, I just didn't want to take the time to really mess with it and installed it on my local Linux box instead. I haven't looked at it since. However, I know it's possible to do it, and I'm sure someone can fill some good URLs in the comments to help you out.
You really seem obsessed with this guy! Though you pay him out, it comes across like you have a crush on him. :)Steve W.
This thing has gotten a little comical, and I guess its worth clearing up. The thing you have to realize about my Siracusa comments is that I sorta know him, or rather he found my IM awhile back and we talk from time to time. I knew I was in trouble when he demanded my last name, not because he was curious so much as he hated the idea of having an incomplete address book card on his system. Talk may also be a poor choice of words, because I'm not sure one can talk to Siracusa, rather one is subjected to Siracusa.
The other thing you have to realize: Oh my god is he fun to poke.
Hey DB, in light of your comments on the Mighty Mouse (and my own realization that I already do take my left finger off the button when right-clicking), I'd be interested in knowing what mouse you yourself recommend.I've never been one of those RAZR PINGSLADE 560000 mousers, but the notion of a mouse with a beefed up scrollwheel and a couple extra well-designed buttons for expose/dashboard (is that even possible without built-in support from Apple?) is kind of neat.
To answer your last question, yes it's possible to use the buttons on other mice without built-in support, although Apple actually does have built-in support providing you just want to use the buttons for Expose or Dashboard.
As far as the first question...
HelloDrunkenBatmandrunkenbatman, my name is Jordan, I help out on the Adium project and have been reading since your interview with Evan. I was looking around for MacTech for your interview today, but none of the book stores around here have it (ive tried multiple Barnes & Nobles) and all seem to have stopped carrying it. No dice on Borders either. Any idea if there are any other stores who supposedly sell it? Any help would be appreciated.Thanks,
-Jordan
A lot of people are trying to find the issue of MacTech with me in it since I mentioned it, and I know it set off an amusing flurry in the AdiumX group once the word spread they'd see their app mentioned in print where they were all running to different Barnes and Nobles trying to find it, reporting back to each other with no luck, and then repeating the whole thing again with different B&N's. Why none of them just called first is beyond me, but I'm guessing it was part of the fun.
Unfortunately, I can't really help you out here. Someone in the comments mentioned that 'Books 'a Million' may carry it if its around you, but I haven't confirmed that myself since they were nice enough to UPS me a bunch of issues.
You have to remember that while its a printed magazine, its a very targeted one and the content is geared towards Mac gear-heads. I.E., you won't see ways to optimize iPhoto, but rather ways to optimize your Python code or QuickTime movies. Barnes and Nobles are the new Starbucks, but not every store carries everything, and so you're much more likely to find a B&N carrying it in a larger metro area than a suburb in Kansas (in the same way that their website will have a larger selection of autobiographies than their brick and mortar store).
The safest way to get it while my issue is still around would be to subscribe to their magazine via their 'risk-free' offer. Right now it appears their store is down for the day, but I have a feeling if you email the editor [after removing the NOSPAM] saying you'd like to subscribe (and want to be sure to get my issue) he'll take care of you.
Hey Drunken Bat Dude,Is something going on with you? I was reading through your last post, and I recognize some of the behaviors you pointed out in myself, but the drunk I know would not have made me feel stupid while making his point. Just my opinion, take it for what it's worth.
Mark F.
I actually got two emails like this, and after a little sleep and some coffee, and now looking over that last post, there is probably some truth to them and I should take my lumps. I was certainly a little more acerbic in what I'm banging out than I often am. I meant everything I said, but given a second shot I'd probably word some of it quite differently, as if I'm making people feel stupid I'm letting people down, including myself. In deference, I proffer these excuses:
- I'm stretched more than a little thin lately.
- A few of the things I'm working on have me frustrated to a level I rarely reach, yet I have to sit on quite a bit of it, and it wouldn't surprise me if stuff eeks out around the edges.
Let's just say I've become somewhat obsessed with the current quality of Mac OS X, and Apple hardware in general, but for right now am keeping it to the quality of what is going out on discs. I've been devoting a lot of resources into digging into what's going on, enough that I'm already backed up on the chats again. Not full-on Deconstructing Maui X-Stream obsessed, but it's getting close.
I think most real users know, in our heart of hearts, that Mac OS X has been misfiring quite a bit lately, and that 10.4 was almost a total misfire in terms of actually using it. It doesn't mean we're going to switch, it doesn't mean we've given up, it just means we know something is wrong.
You can like the idea of XHTML/JavaScript/CSS apps and still know Dashboard was a complete misfire, even if your only clue is that they're bolting on major functionality in a .2 release. You can like the idea of building webkit into your apps while knowing the quality of what you are building your app around isn't at the level it should be.
Severe, extreme wonkiness like this doesn't happen by accident, whether it is going on at Apple or Microsoft or anywhere between.
Hi o Drunken-Caffeinated One, big fan of your site here. Got a burning question which I'd like to pose.I've been reading about the history of OS X on kernelthread.org, and the more I study the architecture, the less I understand why the former NeXTies at Apple didn't just use BSD as the kernel, instead of doing the Mach + BSD thing with the increased complexity, funneling and message passing overhead and performance hindrances. Cocoa API retro-compatibility? Ego? NeXT heritage over common sense? SMP issues in BSD?
Thanks,
FZ
This comes up more than you'd think, and you can probably find find a more thorough answer to your question, as much as it can be known without being a fly on the wall at Apple, at these two links...
I've seen your site linked on Macsurfer a bunch of times, but never clicked on it till the Matas/Delicious story broke... and proceeded to read that kickass interview of Wil for hours, and then re-read it and analyze why it kicked so much ass. And then I started methodically going over the rest of your site, clicking on links, reading back stories, watching screen grabs, digesting your knowledge with a subtle peppering of wit.I wonder if I'll ever leave my room again? Can the human body handle this much green tea? Do we really ever need to sleep?
And I suppose none of that really matters because you are an awesome writer and I'm now addicted to the Drunkenblog. Forever.
HOOYAAH!
thanx,
Scott
Well, yay for addictions. Structure in our lives is important, and addictions can be an easy, effective and efficient way of adding some. Every once in awhile I'll get a ping like this from someone where Macsurfer is mentioned, and it always makes me smile, as Macsurfer is on the "warm fuzzy" list.
Hey DB, Just wondering what the heck the deal is with Glenda on your Dock. Is there some kind of crazy Plan9 emulator for OSX? Is there a QuickTime skin for Ed Wood movies as Ankalon suggests? Does the Cow know about this? Is it jealous? Can I really reduce my cholesterol with a low-fat, high-fiber diet? Drunken minds want to know.
Lord, for something that's just shown up in screenshots from time to time, people have been obsessed about this little bunny in my dock, asking about it in the comments and a few emails. The guy above even hunted me down via IM, just because he had to know...
It's a bit of an odd question but I was just wondering about how you conduct your interviews; whilst interviews with regular media are conducted in person, was this the manner in which your one with Wil was held or did you conduct it via another means i.e. instant messenging, email, phone etc...Also, do you have any advice for a would-be interviewer?
Cheers,
ifelse
It's not that odd of a question, I get a few of these after every interview I birth out onto the web. Unfortunately, it's also one of those questions that is open ended, and is just a no-no to get me started on, yet fortunately its something I've talked about before in a few places.
You might have to hunt a bit through them, perhaps doing a type-ahead-find for the word interview, but the answers to your questions should be within these links:
That last one is an interview I gave awhile back on another site, and be warned I don't think a lot of people got the joke or correlation between the questions and the length, but I do thread through a lot about the interviews, or rather some advice and things I've picked up while doing them.
Aside from what is in those, where you are going to have to infer a bit in a few, and if you're really interested in what I have to say or how they're put together its all there, there are a few more I can chuck in that are good to keep in mind, or at least have helped me...
Timothy says:
Woz and your site was featured on the screen savers. They had a phone interview with Woz. FYI :) It plays again at midnight EST, and tomorrow at noon. I didn't tape it, I don't have that kind of technology. They had nice web zooms and crops of your site tho. Do you get G4/TechTV?
Inbox is going off the hook about this one -- honestly bear with me I am trying to keep up -- but yep, it's true. I haven't seen the episode (yet -- feel free to send snaps), and I only had a short ping with him earlier today when passing on some information from a reporter.
From what he said earlier today to the reporter, and what I've heard about his call on the show, Woz basically reiterates why he's saying what he's saying regarding the lawsuits (and the repercussions) against Sunny.
Oliver asks:
I'm an avid reader of the blog and i frequently post comments. This morning i posted 2 comments about your Opaque Apple article (one about Apple's behaviour being similar to 1984 and the other about my experiences with Panic and OmniGroup), and when I checked out the site tonight both comments had been removed. What's up? Did I say something offensive?Kind of ironic that when you are talking about Apple removing posts from their discussion forums that the same should happen to you readers...
Sven writes:
Hey Drunk,
As you were interested in the new trackpad feature by Apple, you might also be interested in this:
Two-Finger-Scrolling with pre-2005 PowerBooks and iBooks
Looks like some of the Al and i-Books already have the better hardware built in. So what's the meaning of all that 'patent' vs. 'open source' stuff here? Do they mean anything?
StarManta writes: I was looking at a friend's NeXTSTEP computer, and when I found interface builder, i laughed out loud - it hasn't changed a bit in 12 years! I thought you might be interested. (Note: If you decide to post this shot, please rehost - my poor DSL can only take so many hits) :-)
Screen caps are always fun, especially retro. It looks like he's taken a NeXT screenshot and superimposed a few screenshots of some correlating Mac OS 10.2 windows on top of it to give a better idea of how similar things are. I will say I've been a little surprised at some of the mail expressing surprise at the similarities between NeXT and OS X.
Regarding Funneled Performance, Clinton P writes:
What are the possibilities of 'porting' OS X to the linux kernel? Linux kernel has the real multi threading that is required and seems to be good enough for the IBM 710 multiprocessor server you just mentioned. It seems the BSD decision is holding back OS X. With IBM standardizing on Linux and Apple on the IBM processors it may be worth the effort to migrate.
Lots of questions in this one, so we're going to have to break them out individually in order to keep things coherent.
