Random Rob #4

1st March 1999

Well here we are again, and the time has come for that traditional ramble around the dusty areas of my mind.

But you know the strange things about writing? I always wonder whether the scribblings here put people off. I suppose that if it wasn't a bit controversial it wouldn't be worth reading. I certainly cringe when Stu writes something or other in his area. But still. We can't all hear want we want to all the time, and hey, whay I say today might not be what I mean tomorrow. Still, they do say learn at least one new thing everyday.

And the other thing which is in my mind - it's 1999 already! Now obviously this is subjective appraisal, but what is wierd is I remember watching Space 1999 (as a kid, and it was a re-run) and wondering what it would be like. And the fact is - not all that much different!

I'm running MacOS 8.5 (actually 8.5.1) and I'm quite impressed with the speed of it.I actually just bought 8.5, and its worth every penny. I'm looking forward to MacOS 10, however, and even 8.6 and 8.7 (if anything on macrumours comes true).

Also, just for note, my 280c screen is broken (again), so I can only run it from the Dock, which is pretty pointless for a portable. Rather than spend another small fortune on a screen, I though I would look around for a better option, especially as it didn't allow me to do PowerPC development, and was getting a little slow and long in the tooth. The only problem is that I don't really want to spend as much as Apple is currently charging. The key points are cheaper than my desktop, but not too slow, as well as light and very portable.

Difficuly one. I don't really fancy a 603 based machine, and the G3 laptops are still quite expensive. I'm looking for something below US$1500 or 1000UKP, but ideally below US$1000 or 700UKP. This appears to be quite difficult. I don't really need an expensive laptop. The alternative is a PC laptop. Although those thin Sony laptops are very nice, the Toshiba Libretto is what catches my eye. Just about large enough to type on with an Active Matrix 6" screen, but a REAL computer (none of this WindowsCE rubbish) in the size of almost a personal organiser. A local store is selling the 70CT for 700UKP, not the fastest computer (120Mhz Pent), but still not bad.

Still, it is a PC... Now if I could only convince Apple to do something similar...

I've also been checking out the latest on what is newish in Mac languages. Although we are developers of such products ourselves, it pays to keep an eye out for anything useful. After all, we are programmers as well.

The first thing that really impressed me once I'd had a go was Real Basic. Ok, now this is a straight Visual Basic rip off, but it is really good. And as Microsoft can't be bothered at the moment, why not! Draw you dialog boxes, and write a bit of basic code to run it. Looks like a prime candidate for tools with nice user interfaces to me.

Second on the list has to be AppleScript. At last its PowerPC, and with some nice features. Its still not quite as easy as a script/batch file, but its not far off. I must agree with MacKido, however - they really do need to do something about non-scriptable control panels and applications. It would definately make it more usable. I know there are third party extensions to do this, but what I want is something that I can bundle with the Applescript, and not feel any guilt. I also like the fact that you can embedd Source and Code in one container.

Oh well, must get back to it...

Code On!

Rob Probin, on Monday 1st March 1999

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