Recently, Rael Dornfest and I were chatting on AIM when he mentioned that he liked my mac.com site. I told Rael that I had really become hooked on iTools, and that I was impressed with the improvements Apple had made with them. Rael responded, "We ought to discuss them on Writer's Talk." So here we are.
If, like Rael, you haven't looked at iTools for a while, then I think you're in for a pleasant surprise. As you know, iTools is Apple's suite of online goodies, available to all Mac users. Most people are familiar with iCards and the free email, but the entire HomePage suite has evolved to a terrific set of tools that enable you to build a full-blown Web site. In this Writer's Talk, we discuss our favorite aspects of iTools, and cover webDAV and a few other goodies.
raelitybytes: Howdy, O'ReillyMac
OReillyMac: Hi Rael!
raelitybytes: So I took several ganders at some of the great ways you've been using iTools (especially homepage.mac.com) ...
raelitybytes: the vast majority of mac users (myself included) utterly ignore (or don't ever notice) the iTools that come "in the box" with every mac
OReillyMac: Yes, I can't believe how they've become part of my life
OReillyMac: Started out using them just for fun
OReillyMac: but Apple has really been working on the project
OReillyMac: and adding lots of goodies
OReillyMac: Now I'm using them weekly
OReillyMac: even for business
raelitybytes: why is it you think that most people utterly ignore them
raelitybytes: even though they provide much more than most get out of their ISPs
OReillyMac: Funny thing
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OReillyMac: I think we've all seen really bad implementations
OReillyMac: of "home page" sites
OReillyMac: and I think folks thought that this was just another piece of online junk
OReillyMac: but that's not the case
raelitybytes: what is there besides "Welcome to my homepage, this is a pic of my cat?"
OReillyMac: Well, Apple has allowed you to build an entire site
OReillyMac: so you can start thinking bigger
OReillyMac: way beyond pictures of the pets
OReillyMac: you do have a pictures page
OReillyMac: but you also have
OReillyMac: a movie page, a downloads page, resume templates, invites, and a host of other tools
OReillyMac: plus you can link to your other sites
OReillyMac: so that this site becomes part of your personal network
OReillyMac: and I have to say, it's a pretty part to boot!
raelitybytes: indeed.
raelitybytes: what other components do you find yourself using?
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Also in Writers' Talk: A Chat with "The Joy of Tech" Creators Writers' Talk With Corey Marion of the Iconfactory |
OReillyMac: Well, first I have to say that I do tweak things in BBEdit, even though I don't really have to.
raelitybytes: I just have an @mac.com email account I use occasionally and iDisk every so often for making things available for download
raelitybytes: I guess I've only ever gone through the Web interface to homepage
OReillyMac: It's a good starting point, the interface ...
raelitybytes: You'd mentioned tweaks and DAV to me before... care to elaborate?
OReillyMac: but a while back Apple opened up the directories
OReillyMac: you can see them when you mount your iTools disk
OReillyMac: (hang on, let me launch)
OReillyMac: for one thing, if you look at the directory structure for iTools, it's very similar to that of Mac OS X
OReillyMac: you have Documents, Music, Pictures, Movies, Public, and Sites directories
OReillyMac: just like your favorite OS
raelitybytes: (let me launch too.... how do you mount your iTools disk?)
OReillyMac: The pages for your homepage are stored in the Sites directory
OReillyMac: Easy to launch ...
OReillyMac: Use the "Go" command
OReillyMac: at the top of Mac OS X
OReillyMac: takes you right there
raelitybytes: iDisk?
OReillyMac: yup
raelitybytes: ah, I've done that before. I thought iTools was some diff location
OReillyMac: They used to be harder to get to ... had to launch a Web browser and go to the iTools page and log in. Now in OS X, if you have your prefs set up right, just hit "Go" and you're there.
OReillyMac: and for Mac OS 9 users, I think you still have to go to the Web page, but I'm not sure 'cause it's been so long ;-)
raelitybytes: I'm with ya
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OReillyMac:iTools is integrated very tightly with Mac OS X
OReillyMac: Apple is serious about this
OReillyMac: and they are walking their talk here
raelitybytes: nice
raelitybytes: so your homepage docs are where?
OReillyMac: In the Sites directory
OReillyMac: and the images are stored in the Pictures directory
OReillyMac: movies in Movies
raelitybytes: I see nothing there... prolly because I've no site set up
OReillyMac: and downloads in the Public directory
OReillyMac: that's it
raelitybytes: v. nice
OReillyMac: Now, let's say you create a Web page from iPhoto
OReillyMac: You're in iPhoto while connected to the net
raelitybytes: And its support of WebDAV allows you to mount the same iDisk on your PC or anywhere that supports DAV, but I'm getting ahead of you here, I think
OReillyMac: You choose a batch of photos and hit the HomePage button
OReillyMac: yeah, we'll get to that too
raelitybytes: I've fiddled with that... although I must admit I just did the export to html and tweaked there, skipping iTools
raelitybytes: go on
OReillyMac: iPhoto will gather all your pictures and create the Web pages and place them in the proper directories
OReillyMac: it will even create the navigation links on the other homepage pages
OReillyMac: it you want to edit
OReillyMac: just go to your Sites folder and open the new page in a text editor, although I recommend that you copy the page to your hard disk, edit it, then upload back to iTools.
OReillyMac:once you have it on your drive, you can just edit away
raelitybytes: nifty!
OReillyMac: full integration
OReillyMac: yes, it's like nothing I've seen before
OReillyMac: between OS, application, and online
raelitybytes: any way to restrict access a la .htaccess?
raelitybytes: that's always been my concern with putting such things online rather than on a Web server I control
OReillyMac: as far as I know, you can restrict acess
OReillyMac: to the site
OReillyMac: but not individual pages
OReillyMac: you can password protect the site tho
OReillyMac: I'd like to protect only the downloads page
raelitybytes: indeed.
OReillyMac: but haven't figured out how yet
raelitybytes: I'd like to have a public and private photo album, the latter for family and friends.
raelitybytes: hmmm... I see a little hacking in my future (the good kind, that is)
OReillyMac: yes!
OReillyMac: I know some folks have more than one site
OReillyMac: one public and one private
OReillyMac: not sure about how Apple feels about that tho
raelitybytes: very nice how it actually puts the pix into Pictures and only the HTML pages into Sites
OReillyMac: yes, it's using the same logic as Mac OS X
raelitybytes: very nice.. I just gave it a whirl
OReillyMac: see, that fast
raelitybytes: indeed.
OReillyMac: I have stuff posted galleries for clients before they leave my studio
OReillyMac: iPhoto --> homepage ...
OReillyMac: Boom!
OReillyMac: The QuickTime is nice too
raelitybytes: I love the fact that browsing the page brings up a mac-specific control if you're on a mac to view the pictures
OReillyMac: yeah
raelitybytes: heh... actually it's just HTML, but damn good looking
raelitybytes: I was fooled for just a moment there
OReillyMac: the code isn't bad at all
raelitybytes: so what of the other tools? @mac.com email, ...
OReillyMac: better than I expected
OReillyMac: email of course
OReillyMac: which is good
OReillyMac: I want to mention iCards real fast
OReillyMac: you can make your own iCards from the images you have in your Pictures directory
OReillyMac: It's fast and easy
OReillyMac: and can really make someone's day
raelitybytes: fab! I have used iCards, but didn't delve from the make-your-own aspect
OReillyMac: yeah
OReillyMac: it's good
raelitybytes: see that's the interesting bit...
OReillyMac: so you can send grandma
OReillyMac: a picture of granddaughter
OReillyMac: boom, just like that
OReillyMac: but with a nice presentation
raelitybytes: I'm a HUGE Mac user and dig into every corner I can, yet iTools just didn't strike me as more than a throw-away...
raelitybytes: a real pity
OReillyMac: well, it's gotten better
OReillyMac: and what we see today is an evolution
OReillyMac: resulting from a big effort by Apple
raelitybytes: no, I mean that even today, while very very good, I didn't delve in until you mentioned it
OReillyMac: Ahhhh
raelitybytes: what's your impression of the uptake by new/old Mac users?
OReillyMac: I think it's overlooked by many, yet ...
OReillyMac: lot of guys posting scripts, plug-ins, and little Cocoa apps
OReillyMac: are posting them on their mac.com sites
OReillyMac: so in the Dev community I think the tools are being used
raelitybytes: indeed, I keep ending up there
OReillyMac: yeah, more and more when I go grab a cool new tool
raelitybytes: but interestingly enough (and this may just be me) I didn't think of putting blosxom, both download and homepage, there
OReillyMac: I'm at someone's download page
OReillyMac: you should!
OReillyMac: you've got 20 megs
raelitybytes: I guess I'm "blessed" with enough Web servers to not need anywhere else to maintain
OReillyMac: blosxom is only 51 lines!
OReillyMac: got me there
raelitybytes: but this is great for those who perhaps don't want to maintain a whole website and server and domain just to put a nifty hack
OReillyMac: I just mooch off other's servers
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raelitybytes: so what else -- perhaps you know more than some -- is in store for iTools?
OReillyMac: like the friend who always comes over at dinner time
OReillyMac: the WebDAV thing is cool too
raelitybytes: sorry... go on
OReillyMac: and we should mention that
OReillyMac: I work only in OS X, so ...
OReillyMac: I know there that my iDisk stays on my desktop
OReillyMac: whether I'm online or not
OReillyMac: and when I am, it opens right up
OReillyMac: WebDAV!
OReillyMac: huge improvement
OReillyMac: Apple has posted instructions to accessing it on Windows to
OReillyMac: modern Windows
OReillyMac: looked at it once, but haven't messed with much
OReillyMac: cause I'm not on Windows that much anymore
raelitybytes: WebDAV is highly overlooked...
raelitybytes: I've been meaning to fiddle with it on OS X's built-in Apache installation
OReillyMac: you know a little about it, right?
OReillyMac: might you explain it a bit?
raelitybytes: mounting directories, etc via HTTP
raelitybytes: basically you use HTTP's GET, POST, PUT, DELETE semantics for editing remote files/directories...
raelitybytes: So I can actually mount and edit a directory's contents as if it were, say, an iDisk, right from my desktop...
raelitybytes: when in fact the directory and files are on a Web server somewhere
OReillyMac: that's nice
raelitybytes: without need of FTP or other transport mechanism
OReillyMac: real nice!
raelitybytes: I'd love to see DAV used more for blogging
OReillyMac: indeed
OReillyMac: it's really made a difference for iTools
OReillyMac: much more convenient
raelitybytes: for instance, if you have a blogging system that just uses files as entries (I'm sure there must be one out there )...
OReillyMac: <g>
raelitybytes: you could blog from any DAV-enabled Mac, PC, *nix box,...
raelitybytes: just by dropping files into that directory
raelitybytes: all without fiddling with FTP and FTP clients...
raelitybytes: just mounting the directory as if it were local
raelitybytes: v. nice
OReillyMac: I couldn't agree more
raelitybytes: I believe I see more DAV hacking in my future (again, the good kind)
raelitybytes: on Mail...
OReillyMac: sure
raelitybytes: I really like the fact that @mac.com's email is simply an IMAP-based mail account...
raelitybytes: that can be used right from the mail client of your choice...
raelitybytes: whether as your only mailbox or alongside another
OReillyMac: yes
raelitybytes: iTools seems to provide all you need on the Net, save connectivity
OReillyMac: on the road it's wonderful
OReillyMac: I've been able to send via my mac.com address
OReillyMac: when others failed
OReillyMac: once again, I see Apple using smart technology for its everyday tools
OReillyMac: imap, WebDAV,
raelitybytes: again, this is quite an extension of the desktop... much more than MS does by simply building in these abilities, but not building it out as much and providing a nice friendly face
raelitybytes: yes, hotmail == @mac.com
raelitybytes: yes, you can mount DAV on Win32
raelitybytes: but what do you mount?
OReillyMac: your iDisk
raelitybytes: indeed... I guess I was talking about Apple's continued focus on providing all the bits you need...
raelitybytes: and, with iTools, for free!
OReillyMac: not to be the pitchman
raelitybytes: certainly not!
OReillyMac: but I've seen Mac OS X for less than $100
OReillyMac: and it includes a bunch of apps
OReillyMac: plus these online tools
OReillyMac: c'mon
OReillyMac: it's a no-brainer
raelitybytes: I have indeed found DAV on Win32 and thought... hey, this'd be nice if I actually had a DAV account
OReillyMac: LOL
raelitybytes: and with the prices of Macs becoming comparable to that of PCs these days...
raelitybytes: heck, my iBook was $1200 and it's the best machine (laptop or otherwise) I've ever owned
raelitybytes: my Thinkpad was almost twice that and XP runs slow as a dog on a hot day
raelitybytes: guess which screen is dustier!
OReillyMac: I hear ya ... Here's how to mount from a PC:
OReillyMac: In each case above, enter the following as the location to add: http://idisk.mac.com/membername (where membername is your iTools member name). Use your iTools member name and password for authentication.
OReillyMac: but beware!
OReillyMac: IMPORTANT: In addition to the standard iDisk folders, some versions of Windows reveal other files that are normally hidden on a Macintosh, with names that start with a period (.). Do not move, delete, rename, or otherwise tamper with these files. If you do, you might lose files on your iDisk.
OReillyMac: You've been warned
raelitybytes: um, not to be rude, but where does one "stick" that? not done it of late
OReillyMac: You mean?
OReillyMac: this? open My Computer, double-click the Web Folders icon, and double-click Add Web Folder.
raelitybytes: heh...forgot what it was called... ta
OReillyMac: If you're using Windows XP, open My Computer, then choose Map Network Drive from the Tools menu.
OReillyMac: I know, I forgot lots of Windows stuff too
raelitybytes: heh.
OReillyMac: anyway
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Also in Writers' Talk: A Chat with "The Joy of Tech" Creators Writers' Talk With Corey Marion of the Iconfactory |
raelitybytes: I remembered it under Win2k, but I've not spent as much time on WinXP
OReillyMac: shall we go play now?
raelitybytes: so what of iTools's future... anything coming up you're excited about?
OReillyMac: Ummm
OReillyMac: I don't know what's around the bend
OReillyMac: but Apple keeps posting improvements every few months
OReillyMac: Just make sure you have JavaScript turned on
raelitybytes: fair enough... now that you've tuned me into it, I'm sure to notice
OReillyMac: cause homepage uses a bunch of it
raelitybytes: well, thanks for you time, Derrick
raelitybytes: so where's your homepage so that our viewers can surf on over for a spot of inspiration?
OReillyMac: but of course!
OReillyMac: http://homepage.mac.com/dstory
raelitybytes: thanks again, derrick
OReillyMac: don't be a stranger
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