Getting Mac OS X Version Information
Cocoa For a human-readable string, use [[NSProcessInfo processInfo] operatingSystemVersionString]. It looks like “Version 10.5 (Build 9A581)”, but that format might change in the future....
View ArticleNSApplicationName Inconsistencies
The value stored under the NSApplicationName key of the result of [[NSWorkspace sharedWorkspace] activeApplication] is not the always the name the user knows the application by. Worse, it’s not always...
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Mac OS X Redesign: Feedback for “Hold Keys”
To prevent particularly bad slips (physical, not cognitive, mistakes), Apple makes certain keys hold keys. That means you have to hold them down for a while before they do their thing, unlike any other...
View ArticleNow Recognizing President Barrack Abeam
President “Barack Obama” is not recognized by my Mac’s spellchecker. Firefox, Microsoft Word1, Mac OS X — each of them has a built in spellchecker, and none of them know how to say our president’s...
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Resolution Independent Screenshots
Leopard includes technology that generates (mostly) resolution independent screenshots. That means when you enlarge the pictures, they won’t get pixelated, and more importantly, they will stay sharp...
View ArticleBlack on White, White on Black
Command-Option-Control-8 will invert your screen. It’s a cool looking effect (and quite a prank if you do it to someone else’s machine), but most importantly it makes tiny-white-text-on-black webpages...
View Article(Always) Showing a Window on Application Switch
Keith Lang said all Mac applications should show a window when you switch to them via command-tab or gestures. I agree. I do think it is best to show nothing when the last window is closed; otherwise...
View ArticleHow To Write Cocoa Object Setters
There are several ways to write setters for Objective-C/Cocoa objects that work. But here are the practices I follow; to the best of my knowledge they produce the safest code. Principle 0: Don’t Write...
View ArticleHow To Write Cocoa Object Getters
Setters are more straightforward than getters, because you don’t need to worry about memory management. The best practice is to let the compiler write getters for you, by using Declared Properties. But...
View ArticleInstalling Mac Apps
Today’s Daringfireball article on the shortcomings of the Mac application-install procedure is worth a skim. Gruber’s suggestion that Mac OS X automatically move 3rd-party applications into the...
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