A workaround for unexpected quits in InDesign CS3 running on Mac OS X Leopard

The scenario: You need to send a PDF of the project so you select Export from the File menu—or use the keyboard shortcut ⌘+E—and InDesign CS3 unexpectedly quits.

The reason: It most likely is an issue with Leopard’s Navigation Services (NavSvcs) as noted at Tim Cole’s InDesign BackChannel.

The workaround: Before attempting the export, select Print from the File menu (⌘+P) and click on the Printer… button at the bottom of InDesign’s print dialog box to invoke the OS’s printer dialog box (example 1).

example 1

Select Save as PostScript from the PDF drop-down button (example 2), enter a name in the following dialog box, navigate to a desired location, and hit Save. I usually save the PostScript file to my Desktop and name it blah.ps. This will return you to InDesign’s print dialog box where you can then select Print to complete the Save as PostScript process.

 example 2

Now you should be able to Export without getting an unexpected quit.

The caveat: This workaround is only good for the session. You will have to do a Save as PostScript every time you start ID CS3.

The credit: It must go to Dennis Quant who posted the workaround at indesignsecrets.com

iMatrix: 2D bar code reader application for iPhone

QR Code generated at qrcode.kaywa.com

iMatrix is a 2D bar code reader application for your jailbroken iPhone that enables it to decode QR Code, Datamatrix and ShotCode. As noted at the iMatrix blog, the next version should be “compatible with iPhone’s 1.1.3 firmware and prepared for official SDK.”

Although it can presumably be used to exploit the user’s iPhone, a nifty feature of the app is that it can recognize iPhone API’s encoded within the codes and open web links via Safari, add contacts to your Address Book, add events to Calendar, add new notes to Notes, and initiate new e-mail or phone calls.

Private sector may use lethal force when Marshall Law is declared

“Then they said when—not if—martial law is declared, it was our responsibility to protect our portion of the infrastructure, and if we had to use deadly force to protect it, we couldn’t be prosecuted.” – anonymous InfraGard member

This quote is from The FBI deputizes business, the disturbing article from The Progressive that brings to light the not-so-secret cooperative between the F.B.I., Homeland Security, and more than 23,000 representatives of private industry. Called InfraGard, this cabal of critical infrastructure members is to surveil over society and report aberrant events in return for “a heads-up… about any threatening information related to infrastructure disruption or terrorism.”

No Polaroid instant film after 2009

Photo by dusdin

One aspect of Polaroid’s instant films that simply can not be replaced by any digital medium is its completely self-contained mechanics. No external batteries, no transfer cables, no medium readers; Polaroid’s instant film requires none of these. All that is needed are three steps: exposure to light, exposure to chemistry & about a minute of your time. Yet with everything needing to be digital now-a-days, I suppose it was inevitable. Polaroid plans to discontinue manufacturing its instant film.

Fortunately they are willing to license the technology to other manufacturers.

Passage is beautiful

Image by Jason Rohrer

While the main characters are only eight pixels high by eight pixels wide and game play lasts just five minutes, Jason Rohrer’s Passage is quite possibly the finest video game I have had the fortune of playing to date.

As he so eloquently notes on the download page, “If you don’t get the point at first, please keep playing.”

I “got it” about three minutes in. It is simply touching.

MacBook Air: Trading in the All-In-One concept for One-In-All

Having been able to sleep on it—the idea, not the actual device—I realized that the MacBook Air is the antithesis of Apple Inc’s three big products: iMac, iPhone & iPod touch. And that’s what makes it a fine product.

Where the aim of the iXxx products is to have all the desired features wrapped tightly into a small convenient package, the MacBook Air does the exact opposite by shedding nearly everything and persuading you to access whatever features you need wirelessly. It seems users have been keen on sharing just about everything else, now it’s time for them to share hardware.

There are two things that I don’t care for about the MacBook Air:

First is its price; compared to the base-model MacBook, you’ll have to pay more to get less on many levels. Then, and perhaps most importantly, there is the problem with it not having a user replaceable battery.

Like it did with its original iPod, it appears Apple would prefer that you trash the Air when the battery dies and simply buy another. While it makes financial sense for them, it makes very little sense for the consumer. Especially at that price point.

MacBook Air: New fashion accessory for hotspot junkies

Relying almost completely on 802.11n for connectivity, along with its small screen, sparse collection of ports and no optical drive, it appears as if the MacBook Air was made specifically to be used as a blogging tool.

Reset .Mac Sync to fix bookmark syncing

It has been months since the last time my Safari bookmarks synced properly
with .Mac. While parusing Apple Discussions forum, I came across a post that offered a fix that garnered positive replies. After completing the perscribed actions, I am quite pleased to say that my bookmarks are properly synchronized.

The following steps did the trick (note that these steps worked with Mac OS X 10.4; presumably they should also work in 10.5):

Quit all applications that use .Mac syncing (Address Book, iCal, Safari, &c.)

Launch System Preferences and click on .Mac. Uncheck all items in the sync window, then turn off syncing in the .Mac panel of System Preferences, and quit the System Preferences application.

Re-launch System Preferences and click on .Mac. Unregister the computer under the Advanced tab & quit System Preferences again.

Launch the Terminal application—typically found in the Utilities folder (/Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app)—and issue the following three commands to halt synchronization and delete local sync data:

killall SyncServer syncuid

mv ~/Library/Application\ Support/SyncServices/Local/ ~/Desktop/

killall SystemUIServer

(A folder named Local will appear on the desktop, which can be deleted afterwards. Also a System dialog box may request to login in to iDisk; this can be cancelled with no harm apparently done.)

Quit Terminal.

Launch a web browser and log into .Mac (www.mac.com). Click Bookmarks to open a bookmarks window. Click on the preference panel icon at the bottom of the bookmarks window. In the following page uncheck the option to Turn on .Mac Bookmarks Synchronization and click Save. Log out completely from .Mac.

Re-open the .Mac panel in System Preferences & check the Synchronize with .Mac option. Set its pop-up menu to Every Hour. Check all the items whose info you want to synchronize then click Sync Now. Select the option to replace .Mac data with the computers data and quit System Preferences when the sync has completed.

With the web browser log back into .Mac (www.mac.com).

Click Bookmarks to open a bookmarks window. Click on the preference panel icon at the bottom of the bookmarks window. Check the option to Turn on .Mac Bookmarks Synchronization and click Save. In the following page select the option to replace .Mac bookmarks with the computer’s bookmarks.

Finally the bookmarks should be properly synchronized. Also since the above process completely resets .Mac syncing, when you click on Address Book in .Mac’s navigation menu, you should be presented with the option to replace .Mac Address Book enteries with those from your computer.

Legs in the bus: What do you do? What do you do?

I came across the following puzzle at God Plays Dice, who came across it at Fark:

FACTS:
There is a bus with 7 children inside of it
Each child has 7 rucksacks
In each rucksack there are 7 big cats
Every big cat has 7 small cats
Everything listed above is entirely in the bus
All objects are unique
There is no driver
Every child has 2 legs
Every cat has 4 legs

QUESTION:
How many legs are in the bus?

Although it did take me four attempts to solve it, I’m happy to be part of the 20% who got it right. As of this posting that percentage has dropped to 17%.

addendum February 27, 2008

As noted at God Plays Dice, the key to solving this problem is to fully grasp the facts.

Leopard releases today; so I bought Tiger

I’m the kind of guy who’ll continue to use something that works regardless that there is a newer version available. That’s not say I’m cheap, if it’s beneficial for me to upgrade or replace it then I will. That said I still sport a 2G iPod, play an occasional Sega Dreamcast game, and work with the original Adobe Creative Suite. I’m also still using Mac OS X 10.3.9 on a Power Mac G4 Cube. Both continue to work quite well, but as Mac technology marches forward, I’m falling a bit behind the times.

Of coarse, Apple Inc. will release Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard today, and as noted in my previous post, my Cube does not meet the system specs to run it. To stay, at the least, within the realm of the supported—software-wise—it behooves me to install 10.4. So this morning, on the way to work, I visited the Apple Store in the Garden State Plaza and asked if they still sold Tiger (they’re supposed to until they close at 4, but their shelves only had the family pack).

The reaction was great, with a look of surprise the specialists I asked responded, “Why?” I answered that I have a Cube. Their follow-up reaction was: “Cool!” One of the specialists instant messaged to the back that she needed a copy of Tiger brought up front. She tells me that inventory’s reply was, “Why?”

So now that you know my little anecdote about finally purchasing Tiger, you should go and read all the new posts from those who bought Leopard.