(26:30) Ira Glass interviews an Apple employee who's projec...

[MacBytes]

Category: Humor
Link: (26:30) Ira Glass interviews an Apple employee who's project is canceled, but sneeks into Apple for months to finish the software. (http://www.macbytes.com/link.php?sid=20050317140411)
Posted on MacBytes.com (http://www.macbytes.com)

Approved by Mudbug

[cc bcc]

Category: Humor
Link: (26:30) Ira Glass interviews an Apple employee who's project is canceled, but sneeks into Apple for months to finish the software. (http://www.macbytes.com/link.php?sid=20050317140411)
Posted on MacBytes.com (http://www.macbytes.com)

Approved by Mudbug

You need the Real Media player for this..

[Sunrunner]

You need the Real Media player for this..


Im sure its only a matter of time before someone converts and mirrors it....

/waits

[mainstreetmark]

This American Life is my favorite NPR show.

I've read the Graphing Calc story before (macbytten a few weeks ago). I'm listening to it now.

[msconvert]

http://www.pacifict.com/Story/

Here is the link mentioned in the program... I thought this was great. Hope you enjoy it too. :D

[Sunrunner]

http://www.pacifict.com/Story/

Here is the link mentioned in the program... I thought this was great. Hope you enjoy it too. :D


Its freakin' awsome man, freakin' awsome

[dloomer]

Actually it wasn't Ira Glass but Amy O'Leary who did that interview...

[cc bcc]

http://www.pacifict.com/Story/

Now that's an amazing story! So cool. :cool:

[Daveway]

That's a very inspirational story, but obviously this software no longer ships on the mac.

[coolfactor]

I want to meet that girl! What a sexy voice. Great story.

[AlmostThere]

I thought I read somewhere that the Graphing Calculator was coming with Tiger.

Or is this some hazy recollection of a rumour long deceased?

[Kagetenshi]

That's a very inspirational story, but obviously this software no longer ships on the mac.
May be obvious, but it isn't true. Check inside Applications (OS 9).

~J

[mduser63]

I found this story really interesting. Graphing Calculator does still ship with new Macs, as the previous poster said, it's in the Applications (OS 9) folder. I actually use it quite frequently. There's a current version for Mac OS X available here (http://www.pacifict.com/gc11.html). There's a version 3 on that site which costs money, but there's also a free update, which seems to basically just be a Carbon version of the OS 9 Application currently shipping on new Macs. Apparently Apple will be including a new app called Graphulator with Tiger. I wonder if it'll be based on the PacificT Graphing Calculator, or if it'll be an entirely new program.

[combatcolin]

I like the end of the article, one the guy's who wrote the software has a well paid job and never works late.

But i wonder if he's as happy now where h's working as he was then.

Good luck to him anyway.

[wrldwzrd89]

I found this story really interesting. Graphing Calculator does still ship with new Macs, as the previous poster said, it's in the Applications (OS 9) folder. I actually use it quite frequently. There's a current version for Mac OS X available here (http://www.pacifict.com/gc11.html). There's a version 3 on that site which costs money, but there's also a free update, which seems to basically just be a Carbon version of the OS 9 Application currently shipping on new Macs. Apparently Apple will be including a new app called Graphulator with Tiger. I wonder if it'll be based on the PacificT Graphing Calculator, or if it'll be an entirely new program.
My understanding is that the graphing calculator to debut in Tiger is based on the discontinued (presumably, because it was acquired by Apple) Curvus Pro X (http://www.arizona-software.ch/applications/curvusprox/en/).

[nagromme]

Interesting story.

And FYI, the standard OS X calculator BEFORE Tiger is ALREADY a graphing calculator :) The graphing functions are merely disabled and hidden by default. So are an Expression Editor and Hexadecimal mode. But a simple hack brings all those to life.

Just Show Package Contents and move the desired features from Resources into Plugins:

Graphing-2D.calcview
ExpressionSheet.calcview
Hexadecimal.calcview

(I notice that even the Calculator's normal mode is just a plugin too.)

[AlmostThere]

Is this actually working with current 10.3.8? I just get an empty window :(

A quick google suggests Apple cottoned on this in 10.3.6

[nagromme]

Well, it works in 10.3.7 for sure. I doubt Apple would have bothered to change it--it was already disabled unless you knew how to find it.

(You probably have to quit Calculator and relaunch, of course. And in my case, I used a copy to be safe! I named it "Graphing Calculator" and have been using it forever.)

[wrldwzrd89]

Well, it works in 10.3.7 for sure. I doubt Apple would have bothered to change it--it was already disabled unless you knew how to find it.

(You probably have to quit Calculator and relaunch, of course. And in my case, I used a copy to be safe! I named it "Graphing Calculator" and have been using it forever.)
I tried what was suggested, and all I get is a blank window when I attempt to select the other hidden options. I'm running 10.3.8 with all the updates, and I've never tried/heard of this hack before.

[grobbins]

I like the end of the article, one the guy's who wrote the software has a well paid job and never works late.

But i wonder if he's as happy now where h's working as he was then.

Good luck to him anyway.
Thanks. The Graphing Calculator project with Ron was amazing fun. The PowerPC was a huge leap forward, and we loved the opportunity to make an application to show off the new machines. Our only goal was to ship a million copies of a great math program.

Amy's story narration was wonderful, but she was speaking somewhat metaphorically there. I still write Mac software, enjoy doing so, and work late when necessary.

Greg Robbins

[nagromme]

Thanks for the tale, Greg :) And the app. The classic Graphing Calculator was certainly more capable than the one "hidden" in Panther :)

Here's a link to more on the hidden Panther graphing caclulator:

http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20031102095312970

Someone there posts that 10.3.6 broke the "hidden" modes... but I'm using them fine in 10.3.7. Maybe .6 and .8 have issues with that?

Anyway, there's also a note there about the syntax for the Expression Editor. There's a document inside the Calculator package, inside the plugin:

ExpressionSheet.calcview/Contents/Resources/English.lproj/ExpressionSyntax.rtf

[combatcolin]

Thanks. The Graphing Calculator project with Ron was amazing fun. The PowerPC was a huge leap forward, and we loved the opportunity to make an application to show off the new machines. Our only goal was to ship a million copies of a great math program.

Amy's story narration was wonderful, but she was speaking somewhat metaphorically there. I still write Mac software, enjoy doing so, and work late when necessary.

Greg Robbins

Hey Greg, as you have a bit of clout with Apple can you phone them up and tell Steve to get some more Games out?

Half life 2 would be nice!

[wrldwzrd89]

Hey Greg, as you have a bit of clout with Apple can you phone them up and tell Steve to get some more Games out?

Half life 2 would be nice!
That probably wouldn't do much good anyway. Apple doesn't even make Mac games - it's the game developers and port-to-Mac houses like Aspyr (http://www.aspyr.com/) that make Mac games. They're the ones you have to convince to release more games.

[grobbins]

If I had any clout there, I'd encourage them to distribute the free Mac OS X version of Graphing Calculator (http://pacifict.com/FreeStuff.html).

My last project at Apple was writing components of Mac OS 8 in 1997.

[Daveway]

If I had any clout there, I'd encourage them to distribute the free Mac OS X version of Graphing Calculator (http://pacifict.com/FreeStuff.html).

My last project at Apple was writing components of Mac OS 8 in 1997.

I use it all the time. Great app.

[~loserman~]

What a funny story....

[combatcolin]

That probably wouldn't do much good anyway. Apple doesn't even make Mac games - it's the game developers and port-to-Mac houses like Aspyr (http://www.aspyr.com/) that make Mac games. They're the ones you have to convince to release more games.

Apple could quite easily pay other people to make Mac versions and then recieve a % of the Mac versions sales.

Seems that Apple are more intrested getting a few more people tho use iLife than millions of Mac users gaming.

games sell computers.

[wrldwzrd89]

Apple could quite easily pay other people to make Mac versions and then recieve a % of the Mac versions sales.

Seems that Apple are more intrested getting a few more people tho use iLife than millions of Mac users gaming.

games sell computers.
The first two points I agree with, but I disagree with the last point. My philosophy is this: productivity sells me computers, not games. I hardly ever play games on any computer I use anyway, Mac OS/Windows/Linux/whatever...

[combatcolin]

Um, NO.

Then explain the Spectrum, C64, Amstrad, the Amiga's, Atari ST's and the current vibrant PC game scene?

Games sell computers and computers sell games.

If you came into computers as an adult then you may have missed all the fun i had growing up with the evolution of computer games, but make no mistake about it - people like their games.

[Kagetenshi]

I grew up with the evolution of the personal computer. There's a reason the IBM-compatible became the default computer. Hint: it's about as diametrically opposite from games as you can get.

~J

[wrldwzrd89]

Um, NO.

Then explain the Spectrum, C64, Amstrad, the Amiga's, Atari ST's and the current vibrant PC game scene?

Games sell computers and computers sell games.

If you came into computers as an adult then you may have missed all the fun i had growing up with the evolution of computer games, but make no mistake about it - people like their games.
Actually, I started using computers when I was 6 years old. I didn't really get into computer games until I got my PowerMac 7200/75. I played very few commercial games - the vast majority of my collection was shareware and freeware games. I still have some of them lying around on my current Mac's hard drive, but I don't play them anymore. Now, they have another purpose: I'm extracting the sounds from them. These days, my Mac gets used for music and productivity, not games.

[combatcolin]

I got into computing at the age of 11 when my dad bought me a Sincliar Spectrum +2 for my 11th birthday.

It was amazing!!

Al these varied intresting and cheap games kept me playing for hours on end on weekends.

If you didn't grow up with these rich tapestry of entertainment, that evolved year on year then i do think that you've missed out on the golden age of Computer and Video games; where imagination, programming skill and artistic flair took centerpoint over the accountants calculator.

And it also has to be said that the Mac was not then, nor now, the center of excellance for gaming :(

It could be be though!, If Steve pulled his finger out and stopped obsessing with software and applications that, although intresting, don't fire you up like a good game can. :)