Netputing » Netbook

AirPrint Activator v1.1 now as pure Cocoa Objective-C

admin — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 20:30:32 +0000

A few people have reported issues running the AppleScript version of AirPrint Activator. I took upon myself to learn Objective-C and convert my AppleScript based application into a pure Objective-C. It was not easy but I think I made it!

Some suggested I should add a donation window to the application as some reported that it literally saved them from buying a new printer and wanted to donate a few $.

I have added an option to donate if one wish to the application.

Please let me know if you run into issues with it. I hope it will be more stable than the AppleScript based version 1.0.

As always, you can download it from the main application page.

NetBookInstaller 0.8.5 Preview Released

admin — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 15:18:54 +0000

NetbookInstaller 0.8.5pre is now officially released. There will not be a final release of NBI 0.8.4. This is a preview / prerelease of the changes in store for 0.8.5, there are bound to be numerous bugs. Once bugs reported to Meklort are worked out + features finalized, he will release a 0.8.5 RC and go from there.

This version is very experimental and will most likely break things that are working. There are a few major changes in this version that have not been very well tested, so there may be regressions issues. The main highlights include that NetbookInstaller and NetbookBootMaker have been merged into one application. As far as Meklort can tell, there shouldnt be any issues with this.

The next major change is that NetbookInstaller nolonger patches the graphics and wireless kexts, this is done in the bootloader instead. What this means is that NBI no longer has to run after a major update to patch the operating system. It still does for now due to a bug with the Apple hda driver. The kext patching feature is experimental in the bootloader and may fail if the struction of a kernel extension changes after an update. In the event that this happens, the worse case scenario is that you will no longer have either wifi, QE, or both. In either case, Meklort will make sure that there is an update to fix the problem if he haven’t already released one. Do note that this change will cause the boot up process to take a longer time until the spinner, however it should be slightly shorter after that.

Lastly, Meklort has been focusing on supporting the Dell mini 1012 in this release, and support should be on par with the Dell Mini 1011 with the exception of hardware acceleration. The GMA3150 frambuffer kernel extension is patched in the boot loader, however the hardware acceleration kext is not yet.

via Meklorts Blog.

AirPrint Hacktivator v1.7

admin — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 03:11:13 +0000

I rewrote most of the hack part of AirPrint Hacktivator so that only one line need to be added to the apple.types file.

This ensure that no Apple files need to be re-distributed in AirPrint Hacktivator. The end result should be the same as versions 1.0-1.6: printing from your 4.2.1+ iOS devices to an OSX 10.6.5 shared printer.

This application is free way to activate AirPrint on OSX 10.6.5. The application is easy to use and won’t require you to manually modify your system files.

I tested this new version and all seem to be fine on my end. Let me know if you have issues with it.

~~Visit the main AirPrint Hacktivator page to get the latest version.~~

Visit the main AirPrint Activator page to get the latest version.

AirPrint Hacktivator 1.5 now available

admin — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 03:04:16 +0000

While trying to find out what makes the printer sharing ticking during a remove and add operation I noticed that it was necessary to restart cupsd to make the remove/add/share action work. Rebooting the Mac will essentially restart cupsd and then removing/adding/sharing printers will result in them showing in iOS 4.2 GM devices. But rebooting is a pain and not necessary…

So the new version on AirPrintHacktivator will now “restart” the cupsd process after hacktivating or “de hacktivating” AirPrint.

This should help resolve the issues some people have seen when Printers would not show up after removing/adding/sharing them back in the System Preferences.

Grab the AirPrintHacktivator right here.

AirPrint Hacktivator 1.3

admin — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 01:55:50 +0000

I am on a roll. I wanted to learn a bit more about AppleScriptObjC and make the application smarter at the same time. I have modified the application code to only show the appropriate option to either Hacktivate or “De Hacktivate” AirPrint.

This should make things easier for the users.

You can grab a copy here.

Pwnage tool 4.1 released

admin — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 20:42:11 +0000

Pwnapple heads rejoice. The iPhone dev team has just released PwnageTool 4.1 for Mac OS X. Updated to use the recent geohot limera1n exploit, the new tool provides 4.1 jailbreaks for the Apple TV 2G, iPad 3.2.2, iPod touch 3G, 4G, and iPhone 4, 3GS, and 3G.

For download details, please hop over to the teams announcement post to grab a copy of the official torrent or to find an unofficial mirror.

via Pwnage tool 4.1 released.

Apple TV G2 has a fast restore time

admin — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 00:08:47 +0000

I just performed my 1st firmware restore on the Apple TV G2 and I was amazed at how fast the whole process was. I am betting on a fast data rate trough the micro usb interface and fast read/write to flash. The whole firmware process probably too no longer that 3 minutes, from start to finish… much faster that restoring my iPhone 4.

Total time to restore, including waiting 1 minute to verify eligibility with Apple: 2minutes and 50 seconds

Total time to write the 250mb to the flash: 45 sec… or 5.6 MB/sec transfer rate.

In comparison, restoring my iPhone 4 take 7minutes and 8 seconds…

Maybe Apple went for faster flash access so that the AppleTV G2 can quickly read/write content to flash based buffer?

Hell Just Froze: Apple allowing non XCode built Application in the App Store

admin — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 13:13:03 +0000

Image by mjdave via Flickr

Apple just published a press release in which they state that they are relaxing the rules on how to build applications for the App Store. Until proven otherwise this mean that Apple opened the door back to Adobe Flash built applications.

This is a serious win for Adobe and all small developers out there.

I, for one, don’t mind using Flash based applications as long as they perform well.

Let’s welcome back all those new applications!

Statement by Apple on App Store Review Guidelines.

Some more thoughts on the new Apple TV

admin — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:36:36 +0000

I have been thinking about the new Apple TV and the upcoming Google TV. One thing that strikes me is that many folks are saying things like:

“With Google TV you will be able to search the web for content to play on the TV… and the Apple TV won’t do that.”

The thing is, Apple does not need the Apple TV to search the web. In fact I believe the future of the Apple TV is in its connection with other Apple devices via AirPlay.

Let say you own an iPhone or, better, an iPad (or maybe possibly in the future a MacBook/iMac). You surf the web using the built-in browser and suddenly you stumble on a post that point to a youtube/html5 video. Since the iPhone/iPad will play this video using the local video player that does AirPlay you select to stream it to the large 52 screen that happen to hang on the wall in front of the couch you sit it.

Suddenly you are watching the video on your living room TV! It did not require a special remote to interface with the Google/Apple TV, it did not require you to squint at the TV 10 feet away to read what you typed on the awkward remote, it did not require you to speak out loud and wake up the baby sleeping beside you to do a search query. It all happened quietly on the iPhone/iPad touch screen.

This is one of the way Apple will win over Google TV, by leveraging its gadget ecosystem to empower the Apple TV users.

Granted, Apple TV would benefit from an App Store to add applications like Weather, RSS News, Games, etc. I bet this will come within a year when Apple release the SDK for the new AppleTV.

In the mean time one will simply use the iPhone/iPad as an evolved input device for the Apple TV.

Google want to integrate you DVR into the mix but why? Apple will instead deliver the content via a lease model where you can watch when you want. Sure the current pricing model is not optimal but it can change.

Apple to hold ‘special event’ September 1st…

admin — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:08:57 +0000

Just like they always do come fall time, Apple will be holding a “special event” on September 1st out in San Francisco, and we’ll be on the ground reporting live. Think we’ll see that new Apple TV we’ve been hearing about? Some iPods? One more things? Yes, probably.

via Apple to hold ‘special event’ September 1st… we’ll be there live! — Engadget.