NSLog();

Sometimes we write stand-in code: code that does basically the same thing as what we want, but in a cheap, easy fashion. Have a look at this example from MailDrop 2. Instead of putting up a dialog box we'd have to create in Interface Builder, wire up, properly handle and dispose of, etc., we took the easy way out until we could get around to doing it properly.

NSAppleScript *as = [[NSAppleScript alloc] initWithSource:@"text returned of
    (display dialog \"Name It!\" default answer \"Custom Variable\" giving
    up after 10)"];
NSAppleEventDescriptor *aed = [as executeAndReturnError:NULL];
NSMenuItem *item = [[NSMenuItem alloc] initWithTitle:
    ([aed stringValue] ? [aed stringValue] : @"Custom Variable")
    action:nil keyEquivalent:@""];

Cheap and easy. And quite a bit of a hack. 😀

Question: Who do you think will win Survivor: Vanuatu?

My Answer: Regrettably, Ami.

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

Cabel's gotten a lot of virtual ink over The True Story of Audion, and it reminded me of the stories behind some of our software, in particular the names behind our applications.

FTPeel, PulpFiction, iChem, Rock Star, and iWipe all have their original names. We never seriously consider anything but the above. FTPeel fit far too perfectly with our company to necessitate competition, iChem, upon completion, was about the fifth "iApp" ever, iWipe was too funny given the eventual proliferation of "iApps" to ever change, and Rock Star is a great name. PulpFiction was our development name, but we came to realize that it was quite a good name given the actual history of pulp fiction (comic books), and the inclusion of the word "pulp."

Booklet used to be called Bookie until someone threatened to sue us. We changed that - not a big deal.

MailDrop, for the longest time, was called "MeMail." You know, "personalized email." Gag. MailDrop is a great name, and given our original logo (see below), also fit really well. Other names tossed about for MailDrop were MailBlast, MailBomb, and MassMail, none of which convey MailDrop's actual purpose and all of which seem to imply that MailDrop is great for sending spam (it ain't).

All of those products are of course available at Freshly Squeezed Software. For now, anyway: anyone want to buy iWipe and/or Booklet? We're looking to sell 'em.

I have determined that MSN Search, like many things from Microsoft, sucks. I conducted a scientific study which consisted of searching for the word "Erik" - my blog was not returned within the first three pages (after which I got sick of clicking "Next"), yet is within the top ten results returned from Google. Google is good, MSN sucks.

Also, their favicon absolutely sucks (in Safari, not so in Firefox).

Y'know, I'm not nearly as disappointed with last night's episode as Jeff. The biggest problem I had was the rapidity with which CJ adapted to her job: she's crying to Leo one second saying "I just don't think it's gonna work out," we go to commercial, and we come back to find her shutting up the Secretary of Defense.

I've already written several times about the quality of the show post-Sorkin, but the most recent episode was one of the better ones: it got back to the "team chemistry" while mixing in some new people. The rapid-fire repartée is still gone, but at least we got into the characters a little more.

In thinking about who should be the new Chief-of-Staff, CJ is actually the only valid choice. Toby is too easily rankled (and too good at crafting the message), Josh is good at what he does (and Jimmy Smits points this out in the episode), and Will Bailey is off doing his thing, is the most junior cast member, and looks like he's 29. CJ has been, by necessity, involved in every aspect of the presidency simply because she's had to announce it all.

So, I'm still down on West Wing a little bit, but not nearly as much as others might be.

Question: What song should I purchase?

My Answer: Apple gave me a free song, and I'm wondering what one song you think I should purchase? Something that will make me say "gee, those artists sound really good, I should check out the rest of their stuff."

Dear Erik,

We recently sent you an Artist Alerts email with broken links. We apologize and would like to give you a song for free.

Click on this link to redeem:

https://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/RestOfLink.woa/Omitted/Duh

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

The MailDrop 2 Icon Contest is still going on but ends in just one week. So far we've received a few submissions, but there is still plenty of room - and plenty of opportunity.

Let me reiterate our top two ideas. The first is far more difficult but, if pulled off, far cooler. The second is simpler but still requires some thought.

1. The FSS orange done up like a mail carrier, kinda like those 7-up dudes, carrying a sack of letters like this guy.
2. A package (or multiple packages) attached to a parachute(s) dropping from the sky.

There's a third choice listed on the contest entry, but it's not our favorite of course. Submissions are due by the 18th.

codepoet is looking for a little help: what don't you know?

Mac Geekery hit a standstill because I don't know what I know that you don't. That is, I have the time to write, and I know a good deal of topics, but to me they all seem trivial. Of course, most of what I wrote already seemed trivial and everyone ate it up (mostly). So, what areas of the Mac are unclear or need more information about them? What do you want to know about? What do you want to do? If it's on a piece of Mac hardware, it's game (ie. Mac OS X, BSD, Linux, older Mac OSes, etc.).

Drop by and lend a hand, eh?

Now it's just getting to be silly.

We sincerely apologize, but we accidentally left some expiration code from our beta program in the final version of the application you bought, so it stopped working today. We feel horrible about letting you down; we were working night and day the last few days before release and this just slipped through the cracks.

The only good news is that we've been working since our release to fix the biggest problems you've been experiencing, and this new version adds the ability to correctly look up items from other Amazon stores around the globe.

Again, we apologize for inconveniencing you, and we hope we can win back your trust.

Previous problems are here and here. This wouldn't be so much of an issue if I hadn't received the above email nine times. It's laughable at this point.

My review stands: 5.5/10. If you could call it a review…

Question: Do you give a shit about Firefox?

My Answer: No. And no. I have the latest version, but I rarely if ever use it.

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.

Since when does <blockquote> require <p> tags inside of it?

I wonder if by copying they mean ripping to high-quality AAC and then giving to my thousand closest friends for "personal use." Joking.

Regardless, such a blatant message - complete with a logo - on the front of a Shania Twain CD is rather… something. Annoying at best: the front of Shania Twain CDs should be reserved for pictures of Shania's midriff.

Get 'em while they're hot here. Though another feed aggregator or two are listed, you will naturally want to subscribe to these feeds in PulpFiction.

It's fun that mailing lists are now available as RSS feeds, and PulpFiction aims to make your RSS feeds more like a mailing list. 😀

P.S. It sure would be nice if Apple properly set the "creator" in these feeds… Perhaps to the portion of the sender's email address prior to the "@"? It'd also be nice if entries contained the full content, not just the first two lines.

Anyone want someone's panties? I can only assume it's a woman…

I'm a totally poor college student and need an ipod! I'm willing to trade some of my panties (washed or unwashed) for it even!..(i'll even give you a picture also if you want)
I'm willing to take other trades!

Get your panties here

Question: Will Yassar Arafat's death be a good or bad thing, overall, for peace in the world?

My Answer: I have no idea. I recognize the Palestinians are probably going to miss him, as he's done a great deal for them. Whether or not Israel sees this as some sort of opportunity may determine whether this becomes "good" or "bad." However, at least 10% of my knowledge of Israel-Palestinian issues is attributable to West Wing, so I'm far from being "up to date" on this one and look forward to intelligent responses.

You are encouraged to answer the Question of the Day for yourself in the comments or on your blog.