Preventing Microsoft Office to open recent documents at startup in Mac OS X Lion

Posted by & filed under Mac OS X. 11,909 views

In a terminal, enter the following:

defaults write com.microsoft.Powerpoint NSQuitAlwaysKeepsWindows -bool false
defaults write com.microsoft.Word NSQuitAlwaysKeepsWindows -bool false
defaults write com.microsoft.Excel NSQuitAlwaysKeepsWindows -bool false

The same thing can be done for any application in Lion. In order to find the application preference name, look at the files names found here (minus .savedState): ~/Library/Saved Application State.

Et voila!

Adding a second (or third or fourth…) monitor to a laptop (Mac & Windows PC)

Posted by & filed under Electronics, Mac OS X, Video. 2,129 views

While large (24″+) monitors are certainly enticing, I find that my productivity improves with multiple monitors rather than bigger monitors. My desktop setup includes two 23″ monitors in Landscape orientation and a 22″ monitor in Portrait mode. While most laptop have a VGA, Display Port or DVI output, that only allows you to connect one monitor.

Wanting to have at least two external monitor, I found a great solution from Kensingon that will work on Mac and Windows PC to add an additional monitor (or two or three…) via a simple USB connection.

At under $60, the Kensington Universal Multi-display adapter works on most recent OS (including the Apple Lion and Snow Leopard, Microsoft Windows 7) is simple to use and just works. The adapter comes with a DVI output and a VGA adapter and support 1080p resolutions (1920×1080) in 16/9 format and 2048×1152 for other aspect ratios.

If you want to add additional monitors, just add more adapters, it’s that simple (up to 6 adapters, that’s 8 monitors total, including your laptop monitor).

Is it fast? It’s fast enough for most tasks. Would I use it for gaming or 3D design? Probably not but it works very well for everything else.

Showing Console console.log output and Javascript errors with PhoneGap on Android/Eclipse

Posted by & filed under Android, Mobile, Open-source, Web Development. 6,620 views


While one would expect console.log() messages to show up in the Eclipse console tab (which shows the Android emulator being launched), they actually show up in the LogCat tab, a mechanism for collecting and viewing system debug output on Android. However the LogCat tab/windows is not shown by default on Eclipse.

In order to show the tab in Eclipse, select Window -> Show View -> Other… in Eclipse. In the Android section, select the LogCat view which will show log messages for the emulator including your console.log messages under the “Web Console” topic. In order to isolate them click on the green cross to add a Filter, name the filter and assign “Web Console” to the Log Tag. By clicking OK, you’ll show only the Web Console messages including JS errors and your console.log output.

8 days with a Motorola Xoom

Posted by & filed under Android, Mobile, Open-source. 2,132 views

After reading my friend Steven O’Grady excellent Xoom review and selling my iPad (1) in anticipation of the iPad 2 announcement, I decided to pick up a Motorola Xoom to test it and possibly keep instead of buying the newer iPad. I was told at Best Buy that their new return policy was 14 days with no restocking fee so I thought it was a good opportunity to test Google/Motorola/Verizon’s last offering. I had similarly bought a Nexus One in early 2010 and abandoned the iPhone in favor of that Android (2.1, then) phone.

I will be returning the Xoom.

I won’t pontificate about it but the geist of it is that I don’t like the hardware. As Steven mentioned there are software issues:

  • Force close (Application crashes) – haven’t had any on my 2.3 Nexus One in 6 months but getting quite a few on Honeycomb
  • Application availability – in my opinion only Gmail & the Browser are great apps today, the rest is mediocre (including the Android Market tablet application offering)
  • Random reboots (though that could be hardware) which I had three of in 5 days, compared with 3 in a year of iPad use
  • UI annoyances – lots of good things but lots of bad choices. Typical in google products

But that’s the software and it can be fixed. My problem was with the hardware:

  • The aspect ratio is just wrong. When the iPad was initially announced I was annoyed at the 4:3 ratio but I am now convinced it’s the right aspect ratio for a tablet. It’s not ideal for movies but it works very well for everything else. The Xoom aspect ratio works great for movie watching but is cumbersome for anything else. It’s too wide in landscape mode and it’s too long for portrait mode. It also make the tablet awkward to hold
  • It’s too heavy. I realize it’s only a few ounces heavier than the Adversary but it really feels like a pound of lead strapped on the back of the iPad. That’s how it _feels_.
  • The edges are kinda sharp, it’s not comfortable to hold
  • The screen is nothing to write home about besides being of a higher resolution than the iPad

I said I wouldn’t pontificate so I am keeping it short. There are a lot of good things about the Xoom but the hardware mostly falls short for me and as Steven said, you can’t change the hardware. The Xoom won’t work for me, I will be picking up an iPad 2 next week.

I’ll revisit in a year.

a 3D back and forth story in the making

Posted by & filed under 3D, France, Personal. 1,289 views

Twenty years ago, I left home and moved to Paris for school. While I had been away to prep-school for a year prior, this was the farthest I had lived from my parents, a 6 hours train ride at the time. I devised a way to stay in touch with my dad by sending him the first chapter of a ‘novel’ that I had began to write telling him he was to write the second chapter then send it back to me. I would write the third chapter, send it to him and so on and so forth. It was an opportunity to work together in a creative framework that I thought we’d both enjoy (Disclosure: it worked for a while but we gave it up eventually).

Twenty years later, recently, I was talking to my godson’s father, Jean-Michel about his son’s enthusiasm for 3D design. I thought that I could attempt a similar experiment with Ulysse, who was one year old when I left France and is now almost twelve. As his godfather, over three thousand miles away, I had always looked for a way to stay close to him when I couldn’t visit him as often as I wanted.

And so it began. Late last year, I sent Ulysse my first 3D scene, done in Google Sketchup with an explanation of the ‘game’ and how it would work. What I sent him looked like this:

Ulysse-Erik-Etape-01 Sketchup file

What do you think? Want to see more? How would you call this process?

Post Nexus One: what my next Android phone will be

Posted by & filed under Android, Mobile, Open-source, Personal. 1,043 views

I’ve been very happy with the Nexus One. Since it’s the official Google Android developer phone, it usually gets the latest updates first, is easily rootable and comes with the bare Google Android experience untainted by the mobile phone companies proprietary bloatware and restrictions (wifi tethering, bluetooth keyboards, …). I’ve had it for a year now and I feel like a change but no phone has been released since then that is so much better that I could justify buying a new handset. Let’s look at what’s out there:

2010 choices: potential Nexus One replacements

  • Sprint EVO 4G: the first real contender to arrive on the market (4G, front facing camera) but arguably too big and suffers from Sprint vendor creep. Must be rooted for HTC Sense-less experience. Not GSM (not international travel with it).
  • Sprint EPIC 4G: another good contender (keyboard, 4G, front facing camera) which also suffers from vendor creep (Sprint and Samsung), doesn’t have 2.2 (yet) and additional charges for wi-fi tethering. Also, not GSM (not international travel with it)
  • T-mobile G2: another good option (keyboard, 4G, GSM) but no front camera. Also seems to be suffering of quality control and design issues (keyboard hinge)
  • T-mobile/Google/Best Buy Google Nexus S: could have been it but the lack of 4G (HPSA+) is just ridiculous on a new phone.
  • Sprint EVO Shift 4G (keyboard, 4G), smaller than the EVO 4G but no front facing camera. No GSM. No dice.

Criteria

So let’s think what are my criteria then?

Front Facing camera

Might seem futile right now but Smartphones are changing the way we relate to and use our phones and communicate with people. Being able to video Skype someone on the run is a great feature. Must-have

Well built

Not much to say about this but in general HTCs seem better built than Samsung though both seem good in general. The Nexus one is solid, thin and has good industrial design, hard to beat. Gotta be good

4G

It’s a 4G world now. Whether GSM (T-mobile/AT&T) or CDMA (Sprint, Verizon), my next phone has to be 4G and its CPU has to be able to handle the data speed. Gotta be fast

Has to run Android 2.2 at a minimum and be rooted

Android 2.2 at a minimum, clearly as 2.3 is now out. The phone must be root-able the day of purchase, I am not waiting on that, I want that right away. If it includes vendor bloatware, I have to be free of it and its restrictions. Gotta be current, gotta be “free”

Not on AT&T

Enough said. Probably not on Verizon either which is still more expensive monthly than Sprint & T-mobile. Can’t drop calls

Nice to have: Physical keyboard

Though the Gingerbread keyboard and Swype are nice, I think a physical keyboard might be nice though it makes the phone thicker. Gota tipe faaast

Nice to have: GSM

Because I travel internationally often, my new phone should use GSM as well. Which means it needs to be 4G on T-mobile. Which would require either a phone purchased from T-mobile or an unlocked Android phone bought in Europe/Asia/eBay. I could also keep my Nexus One for international travel, for sure. Can travel

Battery has to last a day, screen has to be nice, …

I won’t state the obvious like battery life, screen size & clarity, etc. It has to be a good phone. Can last a whol

So then?

What’s my new phone? I am not sure. For now, I am keeping the Nexus One since no other phone is better in all essential criteria and some optional, the Nexus One stays in my back pocket. I am sure some new great phone will come soon. Stay tuned.