The Better Way To Add Naughty Words To Your iPhone
The iPhone, a draconian censor.
A while ago, iPhone users figured out a couple of little hacks to add words that would get you fined by the FCC to the iPhone's auto-correct dictionary.
Unhappy that she had to put in so much work to get their iPhone to speak like a Senator, Erica Sadun at ars technica did a little poking around and has discovered a much better training method for the little phucker.
Lifehacker summarizes thusly:
The iPhone's custom auto-correct dictionary (located at /private/var/mobile/Library/Keyboard/dynamic-text.dat) doesn't update itself when you're using, say, Notes. Using Mobile Safari's Google search box, however, seems to instantly refresh the file.
Erica explains...
Well, clearly, not every iPhone application can "learn" words. Notes seems to be brain-dead in that regard. At the same time, using Safari's Google text entry field worked every time, expanding the database and adding new items to my keyboard dictionary.
This isn't the way you'd expect the iPhone to work. You'd imagine that the keyboard learning algorithm would apply to all text no matter where you enter it, but apparently not. Hopefully this little trick will help you out when you want to add words that you don't want autocorrected.
I'm so relieved. Britney Spears can be more direct when texting ideas for future song titles, and Kevin Garnett can finally use the iPhone as he's always wanted. No more ABC censor -- the iPhone has upgraded to HBO!
For more discussion and even a video explanation, visit iPhone Hacks.
[Photo swiped from the ars technica article.]
Kottke Redesigns
Kottke's new look.
NYC-based blogger Jason Kottke has been one of the Internet's best for years, and he's been a daily read for me since sometime around 2000.
What's his blog about? Well, that's sorta tough to explain. Kottke acts as a filter for all of the vast information available on the Web, linking each day to the stories, tidbits and oddities he things are most interesting.
A keen eye, consumption of vast volumes of information, humility, and good taste seem to be Kottke's keys to success. He's also not afraid to take risks.
Today Kottke's trademark yellow-themed site was offline for a while. The placeholder posted on his site said he was making some changes to the site's backend.
The site has returned, and he did a whole lot more than change the backend. Gone is the yellow and the font he developed. Instead, the site has a graded-blue border, a subduded, Frontline-esque logo, a larger, consistent font, and posts that aren't clearly separated.
When reading any individual post, the larger font and framing blue gradient create a strong feeling that you're reading an individual page -- a piece of paper -- instead of a website or blog post. Scrolling through posts, however, feels more constrained and muddy -- the frame feels smaller, and there are no longer any clear separating elements between posts.
All told, the new look was a shock. In a couple months I'm sure I'll love the new look and think of the former design as passe. For now, I'll need to adjust. Bold change, nice move. Not that he's asking, but I'm impressed.