I like to listen to Pandora while in my car, at work, even while playing video games. One thing I really dislike about Pandora is the flash player interface. You can use an HTML5 version but that is still dependent on a browser window to be open. What I wanted to do is run Pandora from a terminal command, that way I could detach and literally have no user interface. With Pianobar this is possible.

Requirements

I'm going to cover OS X Lion and Snow Leopard since these are the two operating systems I use at work and at home. If you're running Linux or Windows I can't really help you. To get started you're going to need some development tools.

Snow Leopard: Xcode

Lion: Command Line Tools for Xcode

If you're running Lion you can get away with the Command Line Tools. This is nice because it installs the minimum requirements to install Pianobar. Because it isn't a full blown install of Xcode the file size is much smaller (163MB). For Snow Leopard you need to install Xcode which is around 1.7GB. You can download these here: https://developer.apple.com/downloads/index.action

Homebrew

Pianobar is cross platform and runs on just about anything. You can install it the hard way by getting all of the dependencies, or you can use something like MacPorts or Homebrew to install it in a single command. I like Homebrew so my guide is going to cover it over MacPorts. To install Homebrew enter the following command (only after installing Xcode or the Command Line Tools):

/usr/bin/ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.github.com/gist/323731)"

That was easy.

Installing Pianobar

Once you have Homebrew installed installing Pianobar is a breeze. The command couldn't be easier:

brew install pianobar

Instalation took about 10 minutes on my MacBook Air. Not exactly speedy but much faster than building Pianobar from source and making sure I have all the dependencies installed. Next we need to configure your login information. By default Pianobar is installed in "/usr/local/Cellar/pianobar". Inside of that folder will be the build version. Inside that is a contrib folder which has the sample config file. Uncomment the username and password portion and enter your username and password. Save the file as "config". Pianobar looks for this file in ~/.config/pianobar/ so you'll need to create those folders. Place the config folder in ~/.config/pianobar/ and you won't have to enter your username and password on startup.

Using Pianobar

I like to launch Pianobar in a screen session. This way I can easily detach and return to change settings, like or dislike songs, or stop playback. Pianobar is very intuitive. Simply select a station by typing in the corresponding number and hitting enter. It will immediately start playing that station. Then you can type a question mark to get all of the available commands. The shortcuts are very simple. These are the commands I use the most:

+ love song

- ban song

n next song

b bookmark song

p pause

q quit

( increase volume

) decrease volume

This is a lot of work

You're right, this took about 20 minutes of my time to setup but in the end it saves me a bunch of hassle worrying about that browser window as well as the advertisements flashing to get my attention. Plus, what's life without whimsy?

I love small laptops. The first time I saw the EeePC I knew I had to have one. A small and portable computer which suites 90% of my work is what I've always wanted and the new 11" MacBook Air has filled the void completely.

Cost

The 11" Macbook Air is currently the most affordable portable sold by Apple. At $999 you get a very capable machine with a 64GB SSD and 2GB of ram. Add $200 and you bump up the SSD to twice the size, 128GB and twice the memory, 4GB. It's a no brainer to upgrade and you should keep in mind the ram is soldered onto the motherboard making it impossible to upgrade in the future.

Both models share a 1.6Ghz dual-core i5 processor and Intel Graphics. This processor is very fast and don't let the low clock speed fool you. Under heavy load the processor has a turbo boost function that ramps up the clock speed to around 2Ghz. There is also a pricey option to order the MacBook Air in a 1.8Ghz dual-core i7 which will sting your wallet at $150. If you really have cash to burn you can bump up your SSD to 256GB for $300. A fully upgraded 11" Macbook Air can cost almost $1,700. This price may sound astronomical however similar sized laptops from Sony can start at that price. Apples and oranges I know but it's just something to think about.

The Display

The second thing you notice about this computer, after the tiny size, is the display. At 11.6" the display is quite small. Don't let the small size fool you, compared to the 13" and 15" MacBook Pro I have to say this LCD is just as good if not higher quality than its larger brothers. The viewing angles are superb, and the overall brightness can be overbearing at times. There is one drawback I found. The LCD is glossy which can emphasize glare. Unfortunately you cannot (at this time) order the MacBook Air in a matte finish like the 15" Macbook Pro. The display is also not behind a layer of glass. This, I assume, is to keep weight down.

The native resolution of the display is 1366x768. This is 86 pixels wider and just 32 pixels shorter than the native resolution of the 13" MacBook Pro. What this equates to is almost the same viewing experience on the smaller 11.6" screen as the 13.3". You really don't sacrifice any screen real-estate with this smaller display, and that is the killer feature of the smaller MacBook Air. The 13.3" MacBook Air has a native resolution of 1440x900, which is even larger than the 13.3" MacBook Pro. Apple went above and beyond with these displays.

With the larger resolution and smaller LCD size UI elements become smaller. If you don't have very good vision you maybe have trouble reading smaller text or seeing small UI elements. This is a very conservative guess. My vision is pretty good and I haven't had to squint, pull the screen closer to my eyes, or zoom in. If in doubt whether the screen elements are too small check out the display at the store.

The Keyboard

The chicklet style keyboard has improved over time. I started typing on this style of keyboard in 2006 with a white MacBook and then upgraded to the MacBook Pro is 2010. There was a definite improvement felt. The throw was improved, keys responded better, and the squishiness was gone. This continued with my iMac and the external bluetooth keyboards. The MacBook Air seems to have improved on the design once again.

First of all the keyboard on the 11" MacBook Air is a full sized keyboard. That's a bit of a catch 22. The keys are the exact same size as all chicklet style keyboards Apple makes (with the exception of the function keys on the top row). Full sized keyboard, in Apple's mind, is the size of the bluetooth keyboard. I wouldn't say it's full sized, but no sacrifice in typing has been made to accommodate the smaller size.

The keyboard has to be the best I've ever used in any laptop Mac or PC. The throw is perfect, it's insanely quiet, and I forgot to mention that it is backlit. The keys appear to be seated lower than that of the MacBook Pros. I've always felt that the MacBook Pro keys seemed to wobble a bit, this keyboard feels much more stable and solid. I can only hope Apple transitions this style of keyboard to the rest of the line, including the bluetooth and wired external keyboards.

The Battery

The 11" MacBook Air is rated for 5 hours and surprisingly it's not that hard to achieve. With my usage I was able to squeeze out about 5 hours and 25 minutes off of a full charge. This was done with the display at half brightness, WiFi on, and moderate web browsing with some flash video being played. I could probably squeeze another 30 minutes out of that time by allowing the display to dim or turn off sooner from non-usage.

Five hours is a respectable time for how thin this laptop really is. However, I'd like to see 7 hours even if it sacrificed some millimeters in thickness. I'm stretching at this point though, when I really need to stay powered on the go my HyperJuice battery is able to keep me going for around 15 hours, and once the battery is flat I still have a full charge on the MacBook Air.

Usability

The most important features of a small laptop is battery life, display quality, and keyboard. Raw power is something you can sacrifice to be more mobile. Luckily this small laptop doesn't sacrifice anything. I could whine about the 5 hours of battery life but that is really reaching to find a flaw. Ultraportable laptops in this category tend to run for longer than 5 hours, but they also weigh 2 to 3 times as much to make up for it.

This laptop is not made to replace your main computer. I don't think I could get by with just an 11" MacBook Air and nothing else. The iMac is my powerhouse for video encoding, syncing my iOS devices, and storing my media. That being said the lack of ports on the MacBook Air are not a problem. Two USB ports, a headphone jack, and Thunderbolt for super fast I/O and video out fit all of my needs. I would have loved an SD card reader but an external USB reader will do just fine.

The Bottom Line

The 11" MacBook Air has replaced my 13" MacBook Pro without sacrificing usability. It's faster, lighter, smaller, and to be honest, has an improved keyboard. If you're in the market for a smaller laptop, the MacBook Air is the perfect companion to a traditional desktop. Some people could get by with only the MacBook Air but as a power user who likes to play games on my Mac I could not. I couldn't be happier with this laptop and I hope to keep it going for longer than 5 years like my MacBook.

Ever since I purchased my first iPod Touch on September 5th, 2007 I’ve been jailbreaking my iOS devices. It first started as a way to get third party applications, long before the AppStore. Colorful and sharp themes were made available, along with legitimate uses such as allowing the iPod Touch to run the Stocks and Maps applications only found on the iPhone at the time. Jailbreaking these days fills the gap between what Apple thinks is best v.s. how you’d like to use your device.

Get things done faster

One of the first jailbreak utilities I fell in love with was SBsettings. SBsettings is much like the Notification Center found on current iOS devices. Swiping down from the status bar brought up the overlay window. From this window you could toggle Wifi, 3G, Bluetooth, and a number of other settings. This method of activating and deactivating things on your iOS device saved countless taps in the Settings application.

With the release of iOS 5 and subsequent jailbreak you are able to mold SBsettings right into the Notification Center as seen below. It takes three taps to get to the Bluetooth settings, with SBsettings within Notification Center it takes a single swipe and tap to toggle this very setting.

That useless lock screen

The lock screen has always been one of my least favored designs by Apple. iOS 5 helped give the lock screen some features but it is still heavily underutilized. Jailbreaking allows you to really get the most out of it. My example is very tame, my only widget is the weather widget that is stock from Apple. With this widget on the lock screen I get the current time and date, as well as the current temperature. Swiping the widget right lets me see my weekly forecast right on my lock screen. Tapping the widget unlocks my phone and takes me right to the weather application. Brilliant!

I’ve barely scratched the surface on UI tweaks with jailbreaking but my point remains; you can fundamentally change the way you use your iOS device by jailbreaking and tweaking to your desire. I wish Apple allowed you to tweak to this level however that could become a double edged sword.

YubiKey Review

When my friend handed me a pair of YubiKeys (made by Yubico) I didn't really know what they were. These little USB sticks emulate a keyboard and have a dual purpose button. Depending on how long you hold your finger on the button you will get either a one time use password, or a static password that is repeated. Essentially, when these keys are coupled with a service that supports them, you will have two factor authentication that can be very difficult to crack.

Black and White Yubikeys

Two factor authentication is simple. In order for you to log in to your service you first must insert your username and password. The second part involves a token of some sort. This token is generated on the fly and can only be used once. For the sake of the Yubikey a new token is generated every time you press the button. 

Dual Functionality

The Yubikey also has the ability to be reprogrammed. One great feature is the dual identity mode. A single press on the button generates a one time password. Holding the button down for about four seconds enters a repeatable password. The same password is submitted every time. This can be handy for a lot of reasons. You can use this password in conjuncture with a remembered password. 

For instance: Your banking login can consist of your normal username, your normal password, and then you can apply your long password stored on your Yubikey.

Username: bankusername

Password: bankpassword

Yubikey:  C4j3eicIueha83k

When used in combination your banking password becomes "bankpasswordC4j3eicIueha83k". Something much harder to decipher. This would be better used for a website or password that is more prone to brute-force techniques but again, a stronger password is always better than a weaker one.

Compatible with everything

Since the Yubikey emulates a USB keyboard it can essentially be used on any device that supports USB keyboards. From what I understand it even works on the iPad with the camera connection adapter. Yubico is also working on an iOS/Android application for mobile use. This application wouldn't be as strong as a hardware Yubikey but it would allow for you to access logins that are two-factor authentication only. For instance, if you used your Yubikey on your banking website you would need to authenticate with it every time. Should you try to do so on your phone without the Yubikey you'd be locked out. 

For me the Yubikey is a no-brainer. At $25 a Yubikey it's a very affordable way to enable two-way authentication on logins that normally only allow for single authentication. Durability is not a concern either. The Yubikey is almost indestructible. Yubico states it will survive going through the wash cycle and being run over by a car. 

I didn't understand the appeal of the Yubikey when I was handed a pair. Now I can say I use it daily. It keeps all of my login information secure when paired with LastPass, which that feature alone is worth $25.