Marble Paint

Friday 02/4/2011  –  Category: Uncategorized  –  1 Comment

Who remembers marble painting as a kid?

As a fun experiment with HTML5 Canvas and iOS 4.2's accelerometer API, I made mobile version:

Just tilt your iOS around (make sure orientation is locked) and the marble will paint on the canvas. Also, you can pinch anywhere to save the image.

Check it out at: http://jzlabs.com/stuff/marblepaint/v1.html

EDIT: Bonus feature - if you are on an Apple laptop, try the link out in Chrome...

More Flickr Original Updates

Sunday 01/23/2011  –  Category: Uncategorized  –  13 Comments

I've updated Flickr Original for Firefox 4.0.x and Safari:
- Now works with photostream images (Flickr recently added spaceball.gif images over all photostream images).
- Selecting "Download" no longer opens a new tab.

Download Flickr Original 1.2 for Safari 5
Download Flickr Original 1.0.7 for Firefox

Flickr Original updates

Saturday 08/7/2010  –  Category: Uncategorized  –  19 Comments

I've updated Flickr Original (both Firefox and Safari) to be compatible with Flickr's new photo page.

For Firefox users, you will have to go though an extra step to re-enable the context menu when right clicking on a photo on the because the new Flickr photo page has disabled the right-click context menu, you will need to adjust a setting in your Firefox preferences to restore it:

1. In Preferences, select the "Content" panel.
2. Click the "Advanced..." button next to the "Enable Javascript" box.
3. Deselect the "Disable or replace context menus" checkbox

(via http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Javascript)

For Safari users, you will have to right-click twice to bring up the context menu.

Download Flickr Original 1.1 for Safari 5
Download Flickr Original 1.0.6 for Firefox

LED Light for iPhone 4

Monday 06/28/2010  –  Category: Uncategorized  –  65 Comments

Introducing...LED Light for iPhone 4!

The iPhone 4 comes with a super bright LED for flash. Why not use it as a flashlight?

The app also includes an adjustable strobe light mode:

A video from a beta tester (thanks Michael!)

Update 7/7/10: The app has been approved!

Also, a free (iAd supported version) is available for download here.

Note: If the app stops working for some reason, try manually killing it from the multitasking menu or hard restarting your phone - I'm investigating why this happens for a future fix.

WWDC 2010: Worth Every Minute

Monday 06/14/2010  –  Category: Uncategorized  –  No Comments

Going to WWDC is a pilgrimage that every Apple developer should make, and as a first-timer it was quite a spiritual experience.

On keynote Monday, I arrived just before 6am at Moscone West and found the line already wrapped around three-quarters of the building. Anticipation and excitement increased as the hours slowly passed. Finally at around 9:30am they opened the keynote room, causing a small stampede of folks trying to try get a seat close to the stage.

In the keynote room, the atmosphere was electric. Press photographers were posted with their huge telephoto lenses poised at the main stage, and everyone in the crowd was trying to connect to the congested wifi network in efforts to communicate with the outside world. Throughout Steve's presentation my attention was split between furiously taking notes on Google Wave and trying to take in the whole experience.

The conference really does bring developers from around the world; throughout the week I met folks from France, Germany, Australia, and more. I also noticed that there was a good distribution of younger and more experienced older folks who have been around the block. However, you could tell by the bathroom lines that the gender split was much more uneven...probably about 97/3.

The catered lunch was not bad the first day, but after that variations on the sandwich/wrap got old very quickly. Thankfully, snacks throughout between sessions and my favorite--Odwalla drinks--kept me awake throughout the day.

Though I can't delve into details of the sessions, I can say that their quality was top notch. They started and ended on time, the presentations were well rehearsed and of high content quality, and the demos were fantastic. I'm glad that they will be available for download later, because they went by fast. I found the labs very helpful as well. It was really nice having an Apple engineer to ask questions and help you through specific issues in code.

During the conference I was a bit starstruck when I met the developers of some really popular apps: Angry Birds, Words With Friends, Bump, Things... I had to remind myself that behind every app there are developers, who are real people.

WWDC is a unique gathering of tons of smart people, bleeding-edge technology, and exciting new software, all in one place. I learned a ton, met lots of cool developers, and left saturated with new information and ideas.