Why Safari 3 on PC? For the iPhone!
June 12, 2007 | 2 Comments
I love Safari on my Mac. It outperforms Firefox for me, the built in RSS support is wonderful, the tabs work better than any of the other browsers, and private browsing (better known as porn mode) can’t be beat. However… it’s really no competition for Firefox or Internet Explorer on the PC platform as an overall browser.
So.. why Safari on the PC? Does Apple truly believe they can compete with Mozilla and Microsoft? I’d say they are not that misguided…
Safari is now available on PC purely to test iPhone applications.
There are a lot of web developers who will be able to develop small applications to deliver through Safari on the iPhone starting on June 29th. Yet, a large majority of the developers will not have iPhones and don’t have Macs. This means Safari needs to be made available for testing on PC for those developers to add value to the iPhone. Although this would be made better if Apple cloned Firebug and rolled that in out of the box…
As far as actual browser usage, I would be shocked to see the web adoption pass 6% for Safari (Apple claims they currently get 4.9%). This may sell a couple more people on Macs, but Safari is not iTunes. It does not stand head and shoulders above competitor software. If they do expand market share in Safari and get a few more people onto a Mac, this is a bonus.
In conclusion… I’m glad to see Safari on PC. Hopefully more web applications will get tested with it… but don’t be fooled this is a move to bolster the iPhone, nothing more.
Tags: apple, browser, explorer, firebug, firefox, internet explorer, iphone, mac, macs, mozilla, osx, pc, safari, web, web application
Shared Clipboard and More With Synergy
June 28, 2006 | 9 Comments
OK, everyone is blogging about Synergy. Frankly Synergy is one of the coolest software utilities I’ve ever used.
Ever felt the desire to share a clipboard between two computers? On different operating systems? With the same keyboard and mouse? as simply as having multiple monitors on your desk? If you wanted any sub section of those things than Synergy is for you.
In about 15 minutes I managed to setup my Mac running OS X, my Windows XP laptop, and my Windows XP desktop to use Synergy. Suddenly my single keyboard and mouse could simply and seamlessly navigate between all three systems doing happy copy and paste across them. Words can’t express how freeing this setup can be.
The best part… Synergy is free, open source software and requires absolutely no additional hardware or gadgets to get running. It’s easy, you can go do it right now. If you are running multiple machines I highly recommend it.
Tags: keyboard, kvm, mac, macintosh, mouse, pc, shared clipboard, shared keyboard, shared mouse, synergy, virtual kvm, windows
Apple Ads Justifiably Harsh on PCs
May 22, 2006 | 6 Comments
Apple recently began running a fantastic ad campaign that seriously harshes on PCs. The series of ads shows two guys personifying the two platforms. The MacOS guy is clearly cooler and more interesting while the dorky guy plays up the all business angle of PCs. All 6 ads are really funny and touch on issues like networking, viruses, software availability, restarting, iLife, and good press. Basically the Mac is shown as coming out ahead on all of these things.
Sure it’s marketing, but I think they pretty much hit the nail on the head. How can PC-centric environments continue to be justified?
Tags: advertisement, advertising, apple, iLife, mac, macintosh, networking, pc, restarting, software availability, viruses, windows
ecto for Windows Blows
August 10, 2005 | 16 Comments
I’ve been using ecto on my Mac at home and at the office. Recently I got Ken setup with a WordPress site, and put ecto on his desktop for managing his content. I assumed it would be as simple as on the Mac and he’d really like it. A few days later he told me ecto was worthless and he didn’t like it. I thought he just didn’t get it.
I was wrong.
While out in Salt Lake I figured I’d use ecto on my PC laptop. The windows version of ecto is complete garbage. It crashes if you look at it funny, there is no technorati tag support, and the WYSIWYG editor is weak at best. ecto on the mac is not perfect, but the PC version is worthless.
My search begins for a Windows alternative.
Read some reviews from CMS Wire. Sadly they give ecto a 9/10 which is concerning for the others who all scored less…
Other PC desktop blogging options I’m going to try:
BlogJet
Thingamablog
WB Editor
w.bloggar
Update:
BlogJet, $39.95, doesn’t ping any services. Verdict: junky.
Thingamablog, crashes on open. Couldn’t even evaluate. Verdict: complete trash.
WB Editor: $19.99, doesn’t auto ping external sevices (technorati, etc.). Verdict: no good.
w.bloggar: Can’t edit previous posts. best potential. Verdict: sad.
There has to be something out there… Still searching…
Tags: blog, blogging, desktop blogging, ecto, mac, mac software, pc, software