November 21, 2007 at 13:40 · Filed under apps, news
Somefriends and I were discussing the benefits of using Open Source software which is low cost or free (as in beer) versus the equivalent Commercial and close source products. Examples of comparison were
Photoshop vs. Gimp
Apache HTTPD vs. IIS
Windows vs. Open Solaris/OpenBSD/Linux etc.
It seems like we are not the only ones thinking about this topic. Slashdot today posted that CNET has a feature promoting Open Source application alternatives for the average home user, if only to reduce software costs to the end user. It does not include Operating Systems in comparison, so this article appears to be aimed at Windows users.
November 19, 2007 at 13:56 · Filed under mac, webdev
Chris blogged on PhatBoyG about the Web Inspector included in Safari 3. Previously this tool was a simple content inspector, but now it looks to be so much more. If you are using Safari V3 and you are a web developer, have a look at this useful tool.
You can gain access to it by enabling the debug menu. Open Terminal and type this defaults write com.apple.Safari IncludeDebugMenu 1
then restart Safari. You will then see the debug menu and the Web Inspector option. As Chris pointed out, the network tool looks fantastic for diagnosing page loading speed issues.
November 19, 2007 at 13:09 · Filed under internet, webdev
For a long time I used google maps over the local provider, WhereiS (a Telstra/Sensis product). Even though google maps had less local content, WhereiS was so 1999 in its web design that it was unusable. Basic dragging of the maps which is now a staple of so manyonline map providers, was one of the basic missing pieces of functionality.
But recently they have updated their online maps, which can now be accessed as a Beta version.
While this is a good thing for local and businesses and content, in the time they took to bring this to market, google have already bought their Australian content “up to speed”. Is this too little too late from Sensis - or will the existing users who used the YellowPages and WhereiS content be happy for the improvement?
With the 10.4.11 upgrade came Safari V3. It looks neat, but I started having issues with closing Windows. It turns out the SIMBL input manager that I was using on Safari was conflicting with it. By deleting ~/Library/InputManagers/SIMBL it fixed the issue.
On the same theme, here has been a lot of talk lately about Input Managers and whether they will be completely removed in Leopard. Just recently David Watanabe blogged about the uncertain future of Inquisitor.
It would be a shame for such an awesome Safari extension to become extinct, but thankfully Input Managers are not the only way to skin this cat.
November 18, 2007 at 17:37 · Filed under google, internet
Recently Gmail activated IMAP for selected accounts, and I appeared to not be one of them. However was it really for selected accounts or was it for ’selected languages’?!
Reading about gmail on digg led me to an un-dug comment (I gave him a thumbs up!) saying that for IMAP to appear your language in gmail had to be set to ‘English (US)’. So I gave it a try, as I had mine on ‘English (UK)’ for the spelling. I logged into gmail, went to my ‘General’ settings and changed the language to ‘English (US)’, and saved the settings.
Lo - under settings, the IMAP option was now enabled!
As a test, I thought I would set my language settings back to ‘English (UK)’ and see what happens. Would you belive it turns it back off again. Re-activating IMAP is as simple as using the US variation of the English language again.
I’m not sure if this activates or deactivates the actual IMAP on your account, but it certainly makes the settings show or hide it. I wonder why Google thinks that only US speaking people should have access to IMAP. All the gmail users in the UK or Australia - take note if you want IMAP! With 5GB available now, it is even better.
