For some reason this post has been nuked by my blog :(

I have not had a chance to fix it so, for now, here is the link to the latest version of iPlayer Grabber v2.

download iPlayer Grabber (OS X, Windows and Linux)

Please note that you will need Ruby installed (and to be on the safe side I would stick with 1.8.x for now). Ruby comes with OS X, so Mac users should be fine, on Linux you can grab it via your package manager. For windows I would suggest http://rubyinstaller.org/ 

Here is how to create a PKCS12 format file using open ssl, you will need your developer private key (which can be exported from the keychain) and the CertificateSigningRequest.certSigningRequest

The resulting file can then be used to create an encrypted connection to the Apple Push Notification servers

# convert apn_developer_identity.cer (der format) to pem
openssl x509 -in apn_developer_identity.cer -inform DER 
  -out apn_developer_identity.pem -outform PEM

# convert p12 private key to pem (requires the input of a minimum 4 char password)
openssl pkcs12 -nocerts -out private_dev_key.pem -in private_dev_key.p12

# if you want remove password from the private key
openssl rsa -out private_key_noenc.pem -in private_key.pem

# take the certificate and the key (with or without password) 
# and create a PKCS#12 format file.
openssl pkcs12 -export -in apn_developer_identity.pem -inkey private_key_noenc.pem 
  -certfile CertificateSigningRequest.certSigningRequest 
  -name "apn_developer_identity" -out apn_developer_identity.p12

A project I have been working on for a while has now gone live, albeit in a slightly rough round the edges beta form.

KickNews.co.uk is football (soccer not American Football) aggregation site with some social aspects in a similar way to digg or reddit. In KickNews' case it is not stories that are submitted but news sources (RSS or Atom feeds basically). The feeds are moderated before we add them and once they are added the stories will then be pulled from the blog or news site. Stories can be "kicked", basically a voting system designed to help the good stories get more of an audience. Currently we are pulling mostly stories about the Barclays Premiere League and associated teams, but we are planning to add all 4 leagues and also european leagues once we have everything working nice.

As well as the web site we have also made really cool iPhone App that is now available on the iTunes app store (there is also a feature reduced "lite" version if you want to try before you buy).

It has been really fun working on this project and there is lots more to do, some of the things on the list are to integrate Facebook Connect and openID so it is quick and easy for people login to kick stories and comment on them. We also want to get some live scores and fixtures in there too, in particular for the iPhone App.

If you have any ideas or features you might like to see hit me up in the comments and I will see what can be done :)

I use Windows via Parallels a lot. I like to have the all the keys in windows mapped the same keys as the Mac (shift+2 should get me an @ sign etc.). When I set up my XP vm sometime ago I did find a Keyboard map that mostly worked and that was OK, but after hunting around I couldn't find it any more (or a different one that was decent and mapped all the keys I want to use), so I decided to make my own.

This actually turned out to be pretty easy using the The Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator from within windows and Full Key Codes on the Mac.

The only slightly anoying thing is the hash key (#). In OS X alt+3 gets you there (on a UK Keyboard at least), in Windows I can't map the alt key so I have to use ctrl+alt+3. I can live with that. I have also tested this layout with a USB Apple Keyboad and it works 99% (the = key on the numeric keypad is not mapped, I honestly don't think I have ever used it, so again, I will live with that...).

Anyway this works in XP and Vista for sure, I would expect it to work in Windows Server 2003 and 2008 also. Windows 2000? MS say it will, suck it and see I guess.

If you think you might find it useful help yourself...

Download

MacBook Pro UK Keyboard layout for windows.zip (252.62 kb)

This post is a little Howto guide to allow you to download serveral programs at once and also allow you to us a different proxy for each download therefore hopefully allowing you to better utilise your internet connection.

I have reader Peter Register to thank for giving me the inspiration to dream up this hack after reading his helpful comments on the main post for iPlayer Grabber. Peter then went and proved this method actually works (from a non UK country using proxies) and then was kind enough to give me the screen grabs and other info to do this post. So a big thank you to Peter!

Firstly, I am assuming you have 'Grabber if you not head over here and download it and come back.

Right lets get started.

1) Extract the iPlayer Grabber zip archive on to your desktop (or where ever)

2) Make a copy of the iPlayer Grabber application bundle that you just extracted (cmd+c then cmd+v)

3) Rename the copy you just made, to do this single click on the iPlayer Grabber icon and then press the return key and type a new name, lets use 'iPlayer Grabber 1'

NOTE: If you just want to download multiple programs at once using the same preferences for each copy of iPlayer Grabber you can stop here (Probably the case if you are in the UK). If you want to use different preferences (i.e. proxies) for each copy then read on...

4) ctrl+click on the iPlayer Grabber 1 icon, you should see a menu similar to the image below (click on the image to enlage), select 'Show Package Contents' 

5) A finder window will open, click the folder called 'Contents' (see image below)

6) In the Contents folder locate Info.plist and double click it (see image below)

7) your Info..plist file should look like the one on the left in the image below. Replace any occurance of 'iPlayer_Grabber' with 'iPlayer_Grabber_1' (without quotes) so the file looks like the one on the right.

8) Save Info.plist

9) Repeat this as many times as you like replacing 'iPlayer_Grabber_1' with 2,3,4 etc. (you can use whatever you like as long as each one is unique)

You can now run each copy you have made individually and each will store their own preferences. All you need now are some working proxies... Good luck and thanks once more to Peter for the help in creating this post!