If you plug your Kindle into your computer it will go into USB mode. From there you can view the files on your Kindle from the Mac’s Finder. Navigate to /Documents/My Clippings.txt and guess what? It’s a text file with all your highlights.

Fabulous. Just tried it on my Kindle 3 and they’re all there.

Previously, I was copying the books and the .mbp files to the Kindle Mac App documents folder, but irritaitingly the desktop app doesn’t allow you to copy passages either.

There was a hacky workaround using the search functionality, but this is so much better if you’re as prolific a highlighter as I am.

Thanks to Shawn Blanc for helping to preserve my sanity.

The old version was messy, incomplete and tried to do to much. This version is now just messy and incomplete.

Line In Typography is a jQuery plugin to help you improve your typesetting and win fame and glory across the internet. It’s designed for developers or designers who like to design in the browser. To get an idea of what it’s about, it’s probably just easier if you just check it out for yourself.

Since it’s previous incarnation, I’ve stripped out all of the bits that weren’t about vertical rhythm and landed on a very simple and easy to use baseline grid that can be edited and moved around easily.

Moving Things Around

Previously, I had buttons where I could hide the images in an attempt to have them not get in the way of lining up the type to a grid.

This way, madness lies.

I would find myself staying up late, candles burning on top of skulls on my desk, trying to get every last input element and pre tag to sit perfectly on the line, even though I was completely aware that browser rendering of type is massively variable.

Don’t even get me started on borders.

Typography on the web is still a little broken¹ and trying to get a website to conform to a baseline grid is crazy talk.

It should be the other way around. Grids should be guidelines, solid enough to enable some solid good design decisions but flexible enough to accommodate the nature of the web, in all of its rich media glory.

Enter, version 0.3. In order to stop enabling this madness, I revamped the plugin so I can be more focused on getting the grid to fit the website.

I Think Merlin Calls These Effs and Bees

• Moveable grid: your images shouldn’t have to fit to the baseline grid because they’re not type. However, they will throw the lines following the image off the baseline. Being able to move the grid allows you to get things back on track, as if the image never happened.
• Adjustable: The plugin will automatically calculate the line height from your base element, but you can easily override this. Makes it easier for developing responsive designs that change font-sizes over breakpoints.
• Easy: Attach it to your body or #wrap tag and you’re done. No settings, no configuration. One line to install and, when you’re heading to production, one line to delete.
• Pink: Because design matters.

Check out the demo page to see how it works and, if it’s something you might like to try, go get it from GitHub.

Not one to let any sort of electronic device defeat me, I donned a fedora and started doing me some investigatin’.

First, I unchecked Sync iTunes U and deleted all related files, but the yellow bar remained, mocking me with its yellowness.

Next, I unchecked Sync Music and Sync Podcasts.

Nothing (although I’m sure I heard a tiny, high pitched, slightly electronic snigger).

Finally, I used Phone View to snoop around the iPod Touch’s innards and found something veeeery interestin’—the `iTunes_Control/iTunes/Artwork folder was still full of jpegs, even though the music had been deleted.

“That’s odd,” I said to no one in particular.

Aside: In my first post, I mentioned using a demo of iExplorer. Turns out I already had a purchased version of Phone View that I got with a Bundle Hunt I bought a while back.

Yep. That bright¹.

I decided that the worst thing that would happen if I deleted the folder was that my device would become irreparably corrupted and totally unusable, which was fine because I’m going to buy an iPhone 5 anyway.

“Mock me would you, yellow bar?” I cried as I deleted the subfolders.

The Other category, howling in defeat, dropped right down to an acceptable 1 gig in size.

It’s All In The Steps

Usual disclaimers apply: the fedora is optional, do this at your own risk, your mileage may vary, and it’s not my fault if your iPod bursts in to flames².

1. Open iTunes and connect your device
2. Uncheck Sync Music and Sync Podcasts
3. Sync the device to delete all of the music content
4. Open up Phone View or iExplorer and browse to the iTunes_content/XXX folder
5. Open the Artwork folder and delete all of the subfolders
6. Check the Sync Music and Sync Podcasts options and sync your device

The internet agreed.

I downloaded the iExplorer app (it’s a paid app, but for my usage the demo seemed to work just fine) and went to work finding out where the space was being sucked up. A little annoyingly, you have to expand each of the folders to get the app to calculate the total size of the files in that folder.

After much clicking on folders, I found there was a Recordings folder on my iPod that was almost 3 GBs in size.

“That’s odd,” I thought. “I have no voice recordings on my iPod.”

The internet declined to comment.

Despite not having the internet’s support, removing this folder halved the Other category immediately.

Warnings and Caveats

I think the best idea is just to delete the entire Recordings folder and have iTunes recreate it. There are some other database files in there and iOS/iTunes might get confused if you just start trying to delete individual files within the folder.

If you think that your Recordings folder is too large, but you do have Voice Memos that you want to keep, sync them to iTunes first and then make sure they’re safely copied accross. It’s the right thing to do.

Also, what you do to your iPod/iPhone is on your head. This worked fine for me, but when messing around with the internals there’s always a risk that your iOS device might crash/brick/explode¹.

And The Steps

1. Sync the iPod/iPhone, create backup, and make sure all voice memos are in iTunes
2. Disable Voice Memo syncing (iPod Touch -> Music -> uncheck Sync Voice Memos)
3. Open up iExplorer and copy Recordings folder to desktop (just in case something goes wrong and you need to restore)
4. Delete entire Recordings folder using iExplorer (iTunes will recreate it on sync)
5. Sync iPod with iTunes again and watch the Other category magically drop in size

I’m still not convinced that I’ve got all of the junk off the iPod—my Other category is still around 3GB—but I’m happy to have removed a large chunk of it.

“The haves (the early adopters) overpay for crummy early editions of technology that barely work…isn’t that how it should be, that the rich fund the development of cheap technology for the poor?”

After reading some of the criticisms of App.net (including the idea that it’s some sort of white flight), I find Kelly’s argument compelling. Who knows if the developing world will only have to pay $1/month for App.net in future, but we should be cheering the early adopters who venture out and are willing to try new things that may or may not work for everyone.

We are at the point where we are no longer arguing over whether the poorer members of society should get access to the Internet: that debate has been and gone, just like cell phones. In both those cases, ubiquity is now inevitable but only because the early adopters—with their $2,000 suitcase phones and their expensive computer terminals—drove down prices and paved the way for everyone.

The goal was audacious and sexy and achieving it would have been a triumph.

Naturally, I failed explosively, managing a lowly 31.

But this really isn’t a failure at all. Instead, it’s 31 illustrations that I would not have done otherwise.

Throughout the year, I’ve gained a deeper understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of both Illustrator and Photoshop (and, recently, the iPad) and I’ve used the opportunity to experiment with a variety of styles and techniques.

More importantly I’ve created work that I’m actually pretty proud of, some of which has found its way into my portfolio.

I’m still not happy with my ability. I think my work lacks soul—it’s not really saying anything—but I am beginning to trust the process. I am no longer the awkward teenager in Illustrator, leaning against the wall, nodding his head to the music just a little bit too furiously.

I can open my sketchbook and not hurry past the filled pages, averting my eyes like they were dirty bearded men with trollies full of bottles, desperately looking for the safety of a clean page.

These days, the sketches are more like a street of burned out buildings and rusted cars—interesting in their ugliness, and at moments sometimes even verging on beautiful.

So I’m going to extend this project it by another year and get to the 156 because I it’s been good for me.

The goal is just a number; the deadline is just a date—it’s the journey that’s the thing.

This is an App Icon Template that, through Smart Objects in Photoshop, attempts to automate the process of rendering the various sizes that needs to be bundled with iOS Apps. The idea is to edit the largest size and have the smaller sizes automatically rendered enabling a much quicker workflow when designing icons. You’ll also find a selection of ready-made textures that you can build on and easy export actions that spit out the exact files you need to deliver to Apple.

I use this to quickly mock up and export icons so I’ve got something during testing that isn’t just the default white box.

However, when it comes to submission, you’ll want to ditch the smart objects and edit everything by hand to make sure it’s all looking crisp.

It was recently our 13th anniversary and so I created this card for Erin. The idea is a play on our travel website header.

We spent the weekend in London eating at amazing vegetarian restaurants and visiting friends down South. As a thank you for her tireless dedication to making our lives great, I was in charge of organising everything.

Despite me taking us to the first restaurant only to find that it was closed on Saturday lunchtimes, the general consensus was that I did a pretty decent job.

Playing around with Autodesk Sketchbook on the iPad and realized he looked a little like the Starfleet captain.

This was my first proper go with a stylus and iPad. I then wrote and uploaded this post on my iPod.

Amazing.

Playing with light and shadow and Photoshop.

There are basically 3 parts:

1. Adding your certificate
2. Adding App IDs
3. Generating your provisioning profile

Setting up Your Certificates

This one is relatively straightforward—Xcode will go get it for you.

First, you have to enrol in the iOS Developer Program. Once you’ve paid up and been sent your emails, you can get a certificate direct in Xcode:

1. Open up Xcode if it isn’t already open
2. Go to the `Organiser` and click `Library`
3. Click on Provisioning Profiles and then, in the bottom right, click `Refresh`
4. Enter your Apple ID and password
5. Xcode will then see that you haven’t got your certificate and ask you if you want to create one. Hit `Submit Request`.

Your App IDs

You can have as many app IDs as you want but be aware that you cannot delete them once created, so if, say you make a spelling mistake when you’re creating one then you can’t edit the name or delete it afterwards.

1. Log in to the Apple Developer portal
2. Go to the Member Center
3. Click on ‘iOS Provisioning Portal’
4. Click on App IDs
5. Click on New App ID
6. Give it a name. This name is for your reference.
7. Give it a bundle identifier. The common syntax is to use reverse domain name (e.g. `com.yourdomain.my-fancy-app`)

Once created, it cannot be deleted. You can create a new one, but not with the same bundle identifier.

When it’s created, you’ll see a long list of additional configuration options. If you click Configure, you can add support for iCloud and Push Notifications, should you need them.

Please note you will need to set this up even if you just want to test iCloud (which can only be tested on provisioned devices).

Provisioning

Now comes the slightly more complicated part: Provisioning

First, you need to decide what you want to do.

Just Test It on Your Own Device

1. Under `provisioning -> development` click `New Profile`
2. Give the profile a name
3. Select the certificate you want to use (there might just be one)
4. Select the App ID you created above (and now you can see why it’s important to give them all unique names)
5. Select the devices that you want to run it on (there might just be one)

You should note that this is not an Ad-Hoc profile. Even if you select more than one device, you can only test your app on that device if it is connected to Xcode and has been set up for development.

Send it Out For Testing

1. Under `provisioning`, click the `Distribution` tab
2. Select `New Profile`
3. Select `Ad Hoc` as the distribution method
4. Select the App ID you created for your app
5. Select the devices you want to run it on

Preparing it for the App Store

1. Under `provisioning`, click the `Distribution` tab
2. Select `New Profile`
3. Select `App Store` as the distribution method
4. Select the App ID you created for your app

Getting Your App On Devices

Now you’ve created all of your profiles, you can access them directly via Xcode. You can actually also create profiles via Xcode, instead of using the developer portal.

1. Open up Xcode if it isn’t already open
2. Go to the `Organiser` and click `Library`
3. Click on Provisioning Profiles and then, in the bottom right, click `Refresh`
4. Sign in to the Apple Developer Center using your developer credentials

Xcode will download a list of all of your current provisioning profiles, which you can drag directly into devices that are connected or, if you’re using Ad Hoc distribution, you can export them to be sent along with the app.

Signing Your App

Before you’re ready to distribute, you need to check that the correct profile is being used in your Build Settings.

Select your app target, then click Build Settings and make sure that, under Code Signing Identity, it has your developer certificate (and not Don't Code Sign).

For iCloud and Push Notifications, you’ll also need to make sure that it is referencing the correct Provisioning Profile. Click the double arrow next to Code Signing Identity and select the correct identity for your current app.

Application Failed Codesign Verification

If you get this error while building for Release (building for Debug won’t cause this error):

Application failed codesign verification. The signature was invalid, contains disallowed entitlements, or it was not signed with an iPhone Distribution Certificate. (-19011)

It’s likely that:

1. You’ve not signed your app (see signing your code, above); or
2. You’ve only added a Development Provisioning Profile. You need to create a separate provisioning profile for distribution (see “Preparing it for the app store”, above), download it and use this as your code signing profile

Also note that Xcode generates your Bundle identifier automatically and I believe (but I may be wrong here) that, if the generated identifier is different to the Provisioning Profile identifier in any way (including capitalisation), you might need to enter it manually. To do this:

1. Select your target
2. Under `iOS Application Target`, make sure that this is the same as your Profile identifier.
3. If you need to, you can go to the `info` tab and change the `Bundle identifier` property under `Custom iOS Target Properties` in the Plist directly. Make it match your Profile identifier.

When you’re first starting out, this can all seem like a bit overwhelming but if you go through things one step at a time, starting with the Certificate, then you’ll be fine.

The Apple Bug Reporter site is open for everybody with an Apple ID, but most of these “illegal” users will probably never be filing any Radars. The only thing these people ever do is complain about all that is wrong with iOS 6 but never actually help in ironing out the kinks.

That’s the point of the beta: to fix bugs. Getting early access is not about a secret Developer club having access to all the shiny new whizz-bang features before everyone else, it’s about those developers—people who have to work with this software for a living—helping Apple get it right not just for them, but for every user.

We went horse riding yesterday and I managed to canter without feeling like I was about to fall off, which was a new and not unpleasurable sensation.

Both my back and my butt are hurtin’ today, though.

Yesterday we went to visit the fortress up at Montecarlo, the village near where we are currently staying in Tuscany.

There are a lot of big, medieval-style doors both in the fort itself and throughout the surrounding village.

Turns out Scrivener has an Compile to MultiMarkdown option built right in.[^rtfm]

Just hit compile and select the MultiMarkdown -> HTML option in the Compile for... dropdown and you’re good to go. It’ll even straighten your quotes for you.

I keep discovering more and more great things about this app. I look forward to the iOS version and I’m pleased to see they’re working toward project syncing.

Last night we visited Pisa where they were having a light festival. They had hundreds of lanterns, both electric and candle, in these neat little holders all over the walls and floors.

The site logo/header for our new iOS app website, Voyage Travel Apps.

We’ve already released our first app and we’re hard at work on our second which we hope to have ready in a month or two.

Download my free Illustrator iOS template.

Since moving into iOS development, I try to do as much of my artwork in vector so that it’s easy to scale, usually moving in to Photoshop to add effects and pretty it up.

To speed up my workflow and to remind me not to forget any of the numerous icons you’re supposed to provide for apps, I’ve created an Illustrator template to help get me started, which works in conjunction with a Photoshop template that I’m still developing (but, thanks to Jon Hicks, now has very precise Vector masks with the correct corner radii).

Using the Illustrator iOS Template

All of the artboards in this illustrator iOS template have been sized and named according to Apple’s interface guidelines should you decide to go direct from Illustrator to Xcode (although Bjango’s Marc Edwards doesn’t recommend it).

However, by default, Illustrator exports the files as “documentName_artboardName.png”, which would usually mean having to tediously remove the “documentName_” bit from each of the exported files but, thankfully, Matthew Ericson has created a super useful script that solves this particular problem.

This script overrides the naming default and allows you to save everything out using just the artboard name, which means everything comes out ready to drop in to Xcode.

I would also recommend switching on Pixel Preview (Cmd + Alt + y on Mac) so that you can line up your vector shapes to the nearest pixel. This will make it easier to get pixel perfect pasting when moving between Illustrator and Photoshop.

See this excellent article, again by Marc Edwards of Bjango for more about this.

License

I’m releasing this illustrator iOS template as Freeware, so feel free to download it and use it however you like. You can use it for any of your projects without restriction and you don’t have to give me credit (though it’s always appreciated).

While motorbiking around the island of Koh Jum (pictured, featuring one of the stunning sunsets we witnessed), we visited a cafe that was part of a larger resort. The cafe was overlooking the pool, which was entirely empty as it is currently coming in to the low season in Thailand. We had our swimming stuff with us as we had planned to hit the beach but the pool was becoming more enticing.

Some hotels have a policy of charging outside guests for use of their pool and we were more than willing to pay for access.

After ordering a large lunch at their restaurant, we inquired whether we could use the pool.

“No,” came the gruff reply.

Please Let Me Give You Money

It reminded me of another situation that I recently had with my hosting provider. We had a fixed bandwidth allowance which had been more than adequate up until that point. That was until one of our posts on Never Ending Voyage was shared on Stumble Upon. The resulting traffic crushed our server and our users ended up facing Bandwidth Exceeded notices.

I had read their hosting terms and conditions and was under the mistaken impression that they would simply charge us extra for the overage but apparently it didn’t apply to their shared hosting packages.

A few frantic emails later and we had upgraded our plan with the promise that we just had to email them again if we needed to increase the limit in future. This was an improvement to the situation, but still less than ideal. I can’t think of a good technical reason why, since theyre already tracking usage, they couldn’t have a script that works out how much I went over at the end of the month then bills me for the difference:

1
2
3

float charge = ( totalBandwidthUsed - monthlyAllowance ) * overageFee;

if ( charge > 0 ) calculateAndSendBill( charge );

Missed Business Opportunities

In both these situations, I was a customer that would have been happier if I had been given the opportunity to give these providers money. Surely the ultimate win/win?

It did make me think: Are their opportunities for not only increased income, but more importantly increased customer satisfaction, that I’m missing because of an inflexible policy?

I recently finished and released my first iPhone app. It’s called Hotel Checklist and this is the icon that I designed for it.

It was designed to help backpackers decide between hotels when they land in a new place and are looking for a place to stay. It’s a simple app at the moment but if there’s enough interest, then I’ll add more advanced functionality in future.

Given it’s illustrated nature, I’m including it as part of my Illustration 156 project.