You got all kinds of learnin' and you made me look the fool without tryin', and yet here I am with a gun to your head. That's 'cause I got people with me. People who trust each other, who do for each other, and ain't always lookin' for the advantage.

Mal ,'Our Mrs. Reynolds'


Buffistechnology 3: "Press Some Buttons, See What Happens."

Got a question about technology? Ask it here. Discussion of hardware, software, TiVos, multi-region DVDs, Windows, Macs, LINUX, hand-helds, iPods, anything tech related. Better than any helpdesk!


Volans - May 18, 2009 6:14:49 am PDT #10007 of 25501
move out and draw fire

Does it get as far as creating AFP files? I do see there are a number of AFP to PDF conversion programs out there.

I do end up with AFP files. But when I try to run a conversion program (I've tried three) the converter tells me that "filename.afp is not an AFP file."


Ginger - May 18, 2009 6:23:26 am PDT #10008 of 25501
"It didn't taste good. It tasted soooo horrible. It tasted like....a vodka martini." - Matilda

But when I try to run a conversion program (I've tried three) the converter tells me that "filename.afp is not an AFP file."

I hate that error message. Similar ones have left me pounding the desk and screaming "But it says it's a ____ file!"


Volans - May 18, 2009 6:59:37 am PDT #10009 of 25501
move out and draw fire

I even tried to rename it "filename.pdf" and open it with Reader.

In tech-success news, I added a second monitor, new speakers, and a new webcam to my PC at home. Then used them to skype my FiL, and ended up walking him through connecting his new Xbox to his home theater.


§ ita § - May 18, 2009 11:35:05 am PDT #10010 of 25501
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

I know that this list is a couple years old, but since I'm putting my Mac back together I wondered if there was anything else one "needs."

Other than what's on this list I had to have:

  • Bluephone Elite: integrates my phone with my Mac desktop. I can text from my computer and I get call notifications onscreen (in combination with Growl, methinks) that can even be read aloud in annoying voices. It's not free, but I like it enough to buy.
  • Skype. My family is overseas. 'Nuff said.
  • Opera. Browser of choice
  • Chicken of the VNC, so I can control my desktops in the other room.


Gris - May 19, 2009 6:50:14 am PDT #10011 of 25501
Hey. New board.

They got most of my big ones in there. I also love me some NetNewsWire, but if you're not an RSS Client kind of person there's no need. I also install LaTeXit about 20 minutes after installing because I require it for teaching, but that may not be a thing for you.

I use CyberDuck instead of Transmit because it's free and works fine. I like installing Gimp.app (and, by extenstion, X11) since I need image editing rarely but it's great when I do. iStumbler (wifi tool) is useful if it's a laptop. MacTheRipper and Handbrake if you do DVD encoding, ffmpegX for pretty much any other video encoding, PDFLab for editing, breaking up, and connecting PDF files. I don't use TextWrangler, preferring the look of Smultron, though it might not be as good for hardcore programming / editing (for which I tend to use vim in the terminal anyway). Transmission is my favorite bittorrent client. XSlimmer is cool if you have limited hard disk space (it strips the PPC code and useless languages from apps, making them much smaller). And last of all, audacity for audio editing.


Jessica - May 19, 2009 6:53:11 am PDT #10012 of 25501
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset

MacTheRipper and Handbrake if you do DVD encoding, ffmpegX for pretty much any other video encoding

MPEG Streamclip is better than all of these put together. All Hail MPEG Streamclip.


Theodosia - May 19, 2009 7:04:25 am PDT #10013 of 25501
'we all walk this earth feeling we are frauds. The trick is to be grateful and hope the caper doesn't end any time soon"

I'd only used TextWrangler for, um, text, but recently I was writing a little JavaScript on the iBook and it really worked so well!


§ ita § - May 19, 2009 7:14:18 am PDT #10014 of 25501
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.

Does Smultron save to FTP? That's why I love TextWrangler and UltraEdit on the PC.


Gris - May 19, 2009 8:32:42 am PDT #10015 of 25501
Hey. New board.

Does Smultron save to FTP?

Looks like, though it has to be done by choosing Smultron as the editor on the FTP program, I think. I quote the page:

Can I use it with my FTP-program?

Yes. You can usually decide which program should be an external editor in the FTP-programs and if you choose Smultron and then choose to open the file in the external editor it opens in Smultron, and then when you save the file in Smultron it is automatically uploaded to the FTP-site.


amych - May 19, 2009 8:43:43 am PDT #10016 of 25501
Now let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?

though it has to be done by choosing Smultron as the editor on the FTP program, I think.

Yes, that's how it is with whichever exernal editor you're using with FTP.