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Check out the Google Code Project.

Available soon: WiiSaber source as well as several of my most popular PHP utilities.

I frequently use my wife’s Macbook because it always seems to be handy when my own laptop is in the other room. I gave myself a user account on the machine, but she started complaining that I’d often forget to switch back to her user account when I was done.

Being a lazy git, I sought out for a technical solution for this problem. The solution I came up with will automatically switch the active user to one of your choice each time the laptop is put to sleep (the lid is closed):

Step 1: Install SleepWatcher

SleepWatcher is a very simple daemon that adds new wakeup, sleep, and idle event triggers to your mac. At the time of this writing, SleepWatcher 2.0.4 can be downloaded here.

Open the .DMG file and install “sleepwatcher.pkg” then “SleepWatcher Startupitem.pkg”.

Step 2: Install SwitchUser

I have crafted a small command line application called SwitchUser to facilitate easily scriptable fast user switching.

Download and install SwitchUser 1.0.

Usage: switchuser

Step 3: Configure the Event

Open terminal and type the following line:

sudo nano /etc/rc.sleep

This will prompt you for your password. Once that is done, enter the following line at the end of the file:

switchuser 'target_user'

Remember to replace target_user with the short user name of the account you would like to switch to. If you don’t know that name, it can be found in /Users/.

To exit the editor, press CTRL + o then CTRL + x.

Step 4: Enjoy!

At this point, you should be able to close the lid of your laptop and the computer will automatically switch to the specified account.

You might recall an application I wrote earlier this year called MacSaber. If so, my new Cocoa application should be quite familiar.

Hiroaky just released a handy bit of code that adapts the Nintendo Wii’s “WiiMote” wireless controllers for use on the Mac. I have taken his idea and merged it with the magic that made MacSaber to bring you a new breed of audio Lightsaber simulator.

This application looks and works just like MacSaber, but the input device is the WiiMote instead of your Apple laptop. I plan on adding more features including more visual response and multi-controller capabilities soon, so check back again later.

Download WiiSaber 1.0 Beta 1 Here

I work in a large corner office with a beautiful view of Seattle’s Lake Union with frequent breathtaking views of Mount Rainier just to the side of downtown. The hitch is that I share it with three other developers.

On top of the general noise four people make while coding, there is a constant stream of visitors who come to make unceasing mouth noises. Of course, all this stray conversation makes productivity difficult, especially when your job relies heavily on mental focus.

In order to improve my concentration in the face of such adversity, I purchased a pair of AKG K271 circumaural headphones which promised to cut the noise in polyphonic style.

All of their claims are true. These new headphones are like magic genies singing ultraphonic renditions of all of my favorite songs right into my brain all while silencing the crazy world around me.

I typically work with a Windows XP machine as my primary machine and my personal MacBook Pro off to the side as a secondary tool. I had just burned some MP3s to CD on my Mac and was testing them on the PC when I noticed the audio had lost some of its vibrance.

I returned the CD to the Mac to verify and the music did indeed sound much better. Even after turning off EQs and matching volume levels, the audio quality was notably better when comparing the same song back to back.

I suspect that Apple is using some subtle 3D sound enhancements that my poor Dell workstation’s corporate class sound card simply can’t compete with. Many PC sound cards, even generic varieties, come with this feature, but I simply don’t have the hardware to make that comparison.

So, for now, I’ll just have to conclude that music just sounds better with Mac.