This is one that comes up more and more lately. How do I run Windows on my Mac? Systm has an episode that is just for you.
I was following along with Tom as he played with bootcamp, Parallels and VMWare. Here he favors VMWare, but says they both pretty much run the same and he thinks Parallels is a little slicker, but also really likes the v2 of VMWare (still in beta).
In case you missed this over at TUAW this morning.
A zero-day vulnerability in Safari that could litter a user’s desktop (or downloads folder) with arbitrary files is a serious security flaw, argues ZDNet, and not a mere “annoyance” as Apple claims.
In theory, a user must click a link to visit a malicious website that can begin downloading arbitrary files (including applications) to the user’s computer without their permission. The problem affects both the Windows and Mac versions of Safari.
If you are using Safari (Mac or Windows), just be careful where you click. And be sure to pass this along to your other Safari using friends that you know don’t read any of ‘the blogs’.
Since reinstalling Leopard on the MacBook a few weeks ago, I’ve been ignoring you.
Yes, you. And you too.
Ok, not really ignoring so much as not reading your feed. It’s been crazy around here and opening Google reader to see that I have over 1K unread items is a bit daunting. I could have my browswer open to it, but I already have gmail set as my default start page, and since Camino won’t open multiple tabs at start-up (come on FireFox 3!), that’s that.
This last week I’ve finally had some time on my hands to give a few of these a try. Here is what I think. Don’t fret you windows users, there is something here for you too.
If nothing else, this is a great looking app. What they have done is attempt to make reading RSS like reading a news paper, complete with pages and even a handy shelf to put stories on for later. One of the other nice things it will attempt to download full articles, even those with a jump. I’d say it kinda works, which is better than nothing.
As nice and easy to use as this is, I’ve grown accustomed to reading news in an email-type format. And being able to mark feeds as read. That is probably the 2nd most annoying thing about this app, right behind the hourly nag screen to fork over $30 for the full version. Moving on.
Now were talking! This is a pretty slick app. Works like a news reader should. And it’s free.
Trying to organized my imported feeds took some doing, and when I was done, the way it organized them wasn’t that great. I might come back to this, because I’m sure if I played with it a bit I would think it’s the neatest thing since twisted pair cable. Bonus is it’s free. That’s my kind of pricing!
Who doesn’t like this. My problem with it right now is that I haven’t been able to make the off-line thing work, and I can’t view it on start up. I’ve tried with Fluid, but it’s a little on the wacky side using that. When Firefox 3 comes out of beta, there is a chance I might use it again, but for right now, I’m looking for a desktop app.
You windows users should really look at this if you always have a connection. Especially if you are running Firefox. Oh yea, it’s free.
So, it looks like I’m back to this. I’ve always been a fan, using NewsGator back when Windows was my OS of choice. I even paid for it which you no longer have to do since they started giving it away.
I stopped using it for a spell because it started acting weird, and it would seem (like every other computer issue I have) it was a problem only I had. I’ve got it installed again and it seems to be working as it should.
One of the nice features of NNW is it’s ability to sync your feeds, read and unread, with it’s server. Handy if you need a news fix and don’t have your computer. Also handy because you don’t have to keep backups of those silly OPML files around to get out of date in case you need to reinstall. NNW also has a fair amount of configuration that I enjoy, including having the ability to open videos in the window and download podcast (automatically importing them to iTunes too).
I also played with Shrook for about 5 minutes. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I didn’t like the way it looked. I was never a fan of the brushed metal in Tiger, and this app still uses it. And it looks like iTunes, which was confusing. Check it out if you like, but go back to NNW or NewsFire if you are serious.
But, if you are trying to get Mom on RSS reading, and you’ve been able to get her on a Mac, I’d look pretty hard at Times.
If you are running Windows and are looking for a program that runs on your computer, look at NewsGator (the Win version of NNW). Or, just as good, if you are looking to replace Outlook Express (as your should) or are just tired of the bloat of Outlook (at home it’s silly unless you have an Exchange server in the basement anyway), might I recommend Thunderbird. It’s very stable, does a great job with email (smart spam filters, tagging and saved searches) plus has a top notch RSS reader built in. Follow that big FireFox link over there for more info.
Besides all that, I finally found a use for Skitch! Sweet!
Updated this to 2.5.1 today. That was interesting.
Started to upload, but I got quota errors. Great. Had to create a new account and log a ticket. But it’s done.
Then, got about 1/2 way through tomorrows post, wanted to upload a photo but I couldn’t. The Viddler Plug-in kinda breaks it (I dropped them a line about it already too).
Everything done with transmit. I wasn’t feeling it before I discovered the duplicate command on the remote server. How cool is that? That’s as good as Windows copy-in-place feature. I was able to easily make a backup of the wp-content dir before starting the upload. Perhaps I will give this Transmit a few more days.
All of this happened after I spent the entire day on the phone and doing actually work. Odd since I’m not really supposed to be working either. Still, 1 8 hour day of billing has been logged on my sheet.
During this day, I spent way more time in Windows via VNC and dial-up connections than should be allowed by law. I worked very hard to get VPN working and prefer to use Remote Desktop wherever possible (that way, I don’t have to start VM). But there isn’t RD on Windows 2000 and I do not have, nor do I want, regular phone service at the house.
I think I’m going out to Arizona for a few days next week to do some work at a resort that is having problems with their reservation system. Trying to decide if I should drive the 600 miles (one way) or fly into Phoenix and rent a car. If flight+car is less than $200, I might go that way. The place is pretty remote, so the last place I want to take the MINI with bad suspension is on crappy dirt roads.
Trying to get back to going to the gym every other day. Actually, I would like to do Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, but I’ve been falling short. I’ve been using the ball at home, which is helping, but I’m not able to do the amount of cardio I want to do. The last week I’ve been back on track, I just hope it can continue.
Wondering about the video hour. Numbers are dropping off a bit (yes, I check). That means either you have gotten busy or lost interest. I only started doing them to get used to seeing myself on the screen. What say you? Keep going or stop? I don’t think I’ll stop doing video, maybe just that one (or stop posting it here).
I opened Google reader tonight and I have over 1K unread articles. I scanned through and read the ones I wanted to, but I think some trimming might be in order.
My trip to Florida is booked. I have to change planes, twice. One of them has propellors. I’m not pleased. I do, however, get to drive an R56 MC to Boston though with the Todd’s, so I’m a bit stoked about that. Be sure to check the route. If you are nearby one of the stops, I’d love to meet you (that includes you CJ, if you can manage a drive to Savannah).
I guess that’s it. Now, on to emails! W00t!
I was asked earlier this week why I switched from Windows to the Mac. And, as I was dealing with configuration issues on about a dozen computers all at once, it dawned on me.
I got tired of the futzing.
Sure, there is a fair amount of that to be done on the Mac, but once you do it, it’s done. You don’t have to keep going back to tweak this or reset that. It. Just. Works.
I thought it was because of Vista. Initially, it was. But as I’ve used the Mac, gotten used to it and ’settled in’, I didn’t even give it a second thought. Until I was asked.
Speaking of which, I finally reloaded Leopard today. The last straw was video uploads to Viddler were causing http traffic to stop. Seriously, how screwy is that. I’m hopeful that this fixes it. If not, I’m hopeful that all the other weird crap that was going on before will be fixed.
Older Articles »
