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Using two versions of the same application

Many people asked me if it was possible to use Magic Launch to open certain files in a different version of the same application. For instance: open certain files with Word 2004 even if Word 2008 is installed. With Magic Launch 1.4, it’s quite easy.

I’d have more to say, but I have already written it all for a new page in the integrated help book for Magic Launch. So here’s an extract:

If you open an application selection menu, use “Choose Application…”, then select an application that is not the latest version, Magic Launch lets you choose between two behaviours:

• Use this version will remember this specific application from its on-disk location using the same mechanism as an alias.
• Use latest version will remember this application by its bundle identifier; this will always use the latest version available.

Where a specific version of an application is used, you will see the application’s icon and name as usual, followed by the full path to this specific application.

In some cases, an application will not have a bundle identifier. For instance, this is the case of an AppleScript file saved as an application. Magic Launch will automatically remember such an application with its on-disk location.

You can force Magic Launch to remember any application by its specific location by pressing the option key while the application selection menu is open. This will replace item “Choose Application…” with “Specific Application…”.

This is a new feature of Magic Launch 1.4, but it was not impossible to do with previous versions. Magic Launch 1.3 added a shell command feature, and you can use a command like this one to open a file in a specific application:

open ## -a <path to application>

But this is rather obscure for most users. It deserved to be made simpler, and hence Magic Launch 1.4. Try it out!

Public Debt

This is a a fictional dialogue where two people are arguing about why do governments borrow money. I’ve been running it in my head lately and it got suck at an unpleasant conclusion. Perhaps some of you can make the discussion go little further. Update: The initial version of this dialogue was missing a few replies in the middle due to a copy-paste error, I’ve fixed that.

Money Skeptic: Why do governments borrow money (and pay interests) when they can just print more money at no interest?

Finance Guru: Because printing more money devalues the money people already have in their hands, causing inflation.

Money Skeptic: But are you sure borrowing money doesn’t lead to inflation too?

Finance Guru: Why would it do so?

Money Skeptic: Well, think of the price for houses. Do you really think the prices for houses would be the same if banks were not lending money? If no one had access to credit, houses wouldn’t sell at these prices and sellers would make their prices lower. So if credit causes prices to go up, it’s inflation, right?

Finance Guru: Perhaps, but how does this apply to the government?

Money Skeptic: If the government borrows, it’ll be to buy products or services, to pay salaries or social programs to people who will then have more money to purchase things. Even if the money is borrowed, it’s still usable money injected in the economy, and so it causes inflation.

Finance Guru: But the money must come from somewhere, there’s no more money before than after.

Money Skeptic: If that was the case, the price for houses wouldn’t increase when credit becomes available. To be precise, borrowing increase the money in use by lending the money that would otherwise stay inactive in bank accounts or elsewhere; more money in use, more inflation.

Finance Guru: Ok then, let’s admit it causes inflation.

Money Skeptic: So why do governments borrow money (and pay interests) when they can just print more money at no interest?

Finance Guru: Not all governments are issuing their own money: most non-national governments, or countries in the Eurozone don’t have the control over the money they use.

Money Skeptic: Indeed.

Finance Guru: And governments can’t print foreign currency, they have to borrow it from somewhere if they need it.

Money Skeptic: Yes. Anything else?

Finance Guru: …

Money Skeptic: So why do governments who needs more of their own money borrow it (and pay interests) when they can just print more of it at no interest?

Finance Guru: You keep asking the same question!

Money Skeptic: Because you only answer side-questions.

Finance Guru: Are you trying to make me say they crave to the financial lobbies who then collects the interest money?

Money Skeptic: Is there any other explanation?

Finance Guru: Let me see…

Anyone wants to help Finance Guru find a another explanation? Right now it seems like Money Skeptic is winning the argument.

Multi-Updates

Just to keep my readers up-to-date, last week I released a new version of Black Light, and today came a small update to Magic Launch and the addition of Safari 4 to Multi-Safari. Here’s a small description of what changed in Black Light and Magic Launch…

Black Light 1.7.1 adds a single new feature: it let you choose to apply the effect on a single screen. While that might seem unnecessary, if you’re using Black Light to fix the luminance of the image sent to your HDTV, you’ll probably welcome the possibility of applying the effect only to your HDTV, leaving your main screen untouched.

Magic Launch 1.3.1 fixes a small issue when running on the 32-bit version of System Preferences that would cause a crash when using with the color label chooser.

Speaking of the color label chooser, since it’s published as open source, I’ve also released the label chooser control version 1.0.1 to “fix” that bug. (And if you’re an Apple developer, please look at bug 8084710)

The best feature of Safari 5

Safari 5 adds better HTML5 support, faster browsing, and a few other small things. Here’s one thing Apple didn’t announce however:

Its return of the combined address field and progress indicator! It’s nice when a company can recognize its mistakes. The “Loading” thing introduced in Safari 4 was so unhelpful by not showing progress and hiding some part of the address.

Also, now that Safari 5 is out, some of you will be looking for Safari 4 on the Multi-Safari page; it’s coming in a day or two. I plan to make a Leopard and a Snow Leopard version.