It can rotate! (Thanks to Eugene)

iPhone’s test-drive

Works with cable connected!

It sounds like a great workflow. However, there is a glitch: the default way in which the Papers’s EndNote Exporter processes author names would output their first names as initials. That is, Jane Doe would be imported as “Doe, J.” instead of “Doe, Jane.” This would cause a disaster if you have multiple articles authored by people sharing the same last names and first name initials: EndNote would treat them as the same person and their works would be mixed up.

To solve the problem, I did a hack on the built-in EndNote Exporter in Papers. Using the Papers’s plugin SDK, it is fairly easy.

1. After mounting papers_sdk.dmg, you would see a couple of folders. Drag the folder Sample Exporters to your desktop or anywhere on your computer.

2. I assume you have had Xcode installed. If not, please install it from your Mac OS X install disc or download it from Apple. Double click on the mtEndnoteExporter.xcodeproj file and it should be opened in Xcode.

3. In the Xcode project window, you would see a list of files. Open the file named mtEndnoteExporter.m in the editor.

4. Search for the word authors and you will be directed to the code snippet we will work on.

5. on line 334, you would see the code

334

NSString *initials = [[[author objectForKey: @"initials"]spacedInitials]stringByAddingXMLEscapes];

The @”initials” is the cause of the problem. Now let’s change [[[author objectForKey: @"initials"]spacedInitials]stringByAddingXMLEscapes] to [[[author objectForKey: @"firstName"]stringByAddingXMLEscapes]

5. This should have fixed the problem. However, the variable name “initials” might be misleading and needs a new name. Now double click on initials and pause your cursor for a second till a blue triangle shows up. Click on the triangle and choose “Edit All in Scope” from the drop-down menu. Type firstName. Then save the file.

6. Now you need to build the plugin, then copy it to ~/Library/Application Support/Papers/PlugIns/Exporters to replace the original EndnoteExporter.exporter.

7. Export articles to EndNote and see the effect!

The //author code block should read like the following. You can simply copy and paste it into your own file.

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// authors
if([paper objectForKey: @"authors"]){
    [xmlstring appendString: (endnote7Format ? @"<AUTHORS>" : @"<contributors><authors>")];
 
    NSEnumerator *authors = [[paper objectForKey: @"authors"]objectEnumerator];
    NSDictionary *author;
    while (author = [authors nextObject]){
        NSString *lastName = [[author objectForKey: @"lastName"]stringByAddingXMLEscapes];
        NSString *firstName = [[author objectForKey: @"firstName"]stringByAddingXMLEscapes];
        if(firstName){
            if(endnote7Format)
                [xmlstring appendString: [NSString stringWithFormat: @"<AUTHOR>%@, %@</AUTHOR>", lastName, firstName]];
            else
                [xmlstring appendString: [NSString stringWithFormat: @"<author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%%">%@, %@</style></author>", lastName, firstName]];
        }
        else{
            if(endnote7Format)
                [xmlstring appendString: [NSString stringWithFormat: @"<AUTHOR>%@</AUTHOR>",lastName]];
            else
                [xmlstring appendString: [NSString stringWithFormat: @"<author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%%">%@</style></author>",lastName]];
        }
    }
    [xmlstring appendString: (endnote7Format ? @"</AUTHORS>" : @"</authors></contributors>")];
}

You can also download my hack file and place it into the folder in Step 6. However, I do encourage you to play with Xcode and explore the plug-ins yourself. Let me know if you have any questions.

Warning: You will be directed to a podcast, which will start playing immediately. Be sure to turn down the volume.

Almost everyone can’t help but see Britannica Webshare as a response to the ubiquity of Wikipedia. TechCrunch has a post on this, in which TechCrunch describes Britannica’s move as being half-pregnant: “they want the benefits of web linking but don’t want to give up the subscription fees from the fools who continue to pay them.” TechCrunch also suggests Britannica adopt a wiki-like format to allow users’ editing if they do not want to go out of business. Hmm… if so, is it still Britannica?

I think Britannica has made a positive move to give the public indirect access to one of the most authoritative encyclopedia. No free full-text access to everyone yet. Yes, I know. But it is still much better than the status quo: we know its existence, but most of us cannot afford to get to it, like the Moon.

Even if Britannica goes entirely free, I am not worried that Britannica will kick Wikipedia out of business. Britannica is eloquent and authoritative. Wikipedia is chaotic and energetic. Neither can replace the other. Admittedly, most Wikipedia articles are much less polished than Britannica articles. But Wikipedia is much more update-to-date and detail-oriented. Choosing one over the other is dependent on the subject topic. If I want to offer readers background information about Celeron, I will prefer Wikipedia. For a post concerning communication, Britannica definitely wins out.

Update: Last week I got the top case replaced at an Apple store. Everything works perfectly now (knock on wood). The new keyboard actually feels smoother than the old one. Also, according to a genius, defects like this should be covered even if the product is out of warranty.

When an adult suddenly collapses, trained or untrained bystanders - that means a person near the victim - should:

1) Call 911
2) Push hard and fast in the center of the chest.

People who have sudden cardiac arrest will die unless someone takes action immediately. Untrained bystanders might do something wrong or make it worse. But the more chances are they can save lives! In this case, doing something is better than doing nothing.

Hands-Only (Compression-Only) Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: A Call to Action for Bystander Response to Adults Who Experience Out-of-Hospital Sudden Cardiac Arrest published on the medical journal Circulation has more details.

The American Heart Association (AHA) Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC) Committee recommends the following.

When an adult suddenly collapses, trained or untrained bystanders should–at a minimum–activate their community emergency medical response system (eg, call 911) and provide high-quality chest compressions by pushing hard and fast in the center of the chest, minimizing interruptions (Class I).

● If a bystander is not trained in CPR, then the bystander should provide hands-only CPR (Class IIa). The rescuer should continue hands-only CPR until an automated external defibrillator arrives and is ready for use or EMS providers take over care of the victim.

● If a bystander was previously trained in CPR and is confident in his or her ability to provide rescue breaths with minimal interruptions in chest compressions, then the bystander should provide either conventional CPR using a 30:2 compression-to-ventilation ratio (Class IIa) or handsonly CPR (Class IIa). The rescuer should continue CPR until an automated external defibrillator arrives and is ready for use or EMS providers take over care of the victim.

● If the bystander was previously trained in CPR but is not confident in his or her ability to provide conventional CPR including high-quality chest compressions (ie, compressions of adequate rate and depth with minimal interruptions) with rescue breaths, then the bystander should give hands-only CPR (Class IIa). The rescuer should continue hands-only CPR until an automated external defibrillator arrives and is ready for use or EMS providers take over the care of the victim.

This REALLY sucks.