Friday, April 19, 2002

If you are using the new Mozilla, try the new Java plugin In conjunction with the recent release of Mozilla 1.0rc1, the folks updating the Java plugin for Netscape and Mozilla have released Netscape MRJ plugin 1.0fc1. So far it works fine for me...except of course it doesn't let me use the Java chat client on the Lycos Communities, where I work. At present, no OS X Web browser will work with the Java chat on Lycos. Java chat stopped working when Apple updated the OS X Java libraries last month... 8:02:22 PM comment

Sweetwater Software caters to iPod toting musicians with software suite Sweetwater Software Labs: Musician's iPod Tools. - They say: "A suite of programs designed to help musicians store actual data in their iPods." Script Spy says: "Hey! These are AppleScript scripts!" [AppleScript Info] 5:15:13 PM comment

Klez virus can cause problems for Windows users Klez virus passes confidential info. An antivirus company reports that some victims have found that the latest Klez variant sometimes chooses to hitch a ride on sensitive documents. [CNET News.com] 5:11:01 PM comment

Writer digs further into AppleScript Studio Bill Cheesman: New AppleScript Studio article in MacTech Magazine. - Bill Cheeseman, AppleScript guru and caretaker of The AppleScript Sourcebook, authors another AppleScript Studio article for MacTech Magazine. [AppleScript Info] 4:51:41 PM comment

Hmm...Mac Home Journal sold recently John Farr noted on Applelinks yesterday that the magazine Mac Home Journal has sold, and while publication will continue, the purchase marks the end of the involvement of longtime Mac journalist and editor Jim Capparell. Farewell, Jim... This story makes me wonder: What Mac magazines to Mac Net Journal readers subscribe to or read? Send me a Comment to this story... 1:25:12 PM comment

URL Manager Pro 3.0fc14 brings support for OmniWeb An update to the universal bookmark management software for the Mac, URL Manager Pro 3.0fc14, adds support for OmniWeb (only if you upgrade to the newest beta version, OmniWeb 4.1b4) as well as antialiased text drawing in the bookmark window under OS X and a new Add Bookmark command to the Dock icon. Read the comments on Versiontracker's page today to see how this new version is being greeted. I am downloading this version now, with a big thumbs up to Alco Blom for bringing OmniWeb support to the bookmark manager that I have used since the OS 8.x days... 10:50:07 AM comment

One caveat regarding my Web browsing comments earlier today Dave Winer is sending tons of folks my way after my "Blame OS X" comment earlier about slow Web browsing, and I welcome everyone to the site (thanks, Dave). I do want to offer a couple of additional comments on the issue: I agree that the best way to get around OS X's relative slowness in Web browsing is to use another browser. IE 5.1.4 is a dog, OmniWeb 4.1b4 looks pretty but renders slowly - especially if a page has CSS elements, and Opera under OS X is so buggy that there is no use even trying it right now. So far the fastest browser on my system is Mozilla 1.0rc1 - the new version just released yesterday. Like a lot of other people, I have some frustrations with OS X, but by no means and I ready to throw in the towel. OS X needs work in some areas. Even Steve Jobs would admit as much. But you couldn't take me back to OS 9.x kicking and screaming... 10:19:34 AM comment

A look at Boswell 2.0 - a text storage tool Boswell 2.0 is a text storage program that can run under Classic in OS X, and I recieved a review copy of the program just two days ago. Although I have installed and run the program once so far, I have a lot to learn before I could really user it. Thankfully, Charles Moore writes a review of Boswell 2.0 today on the Applelinks site. This should help my learning curve and offera glimpse of the program for anyone else interested in such a program. While Boswell is not an OS X native application yet, it is supposed to be updated in the near future. Meanwhile, to learn more about Boswell's capabilities, check out a review of an earlier version of the program by Matt Neuburg in TidBITS: Boswell: A Text Motel (May 2001). 9:52:21 AM comment

Forbes looks at Bluetooth Forbes on the actual arrival of Bluetooth as a viable technology: lest this become a Bluetooth blog, I won't get too mired down. But this article is worth reading as it points out what's available now and why Bluetooth is finally a market contender. [80211b News] 9:34:33 AM comment

Blame OS X for slow Mac surfing Paul Boutin digs into users' compaints about slow Web browsing with the latest Macs in a Wired News article: Why do new iMacs surf so slow? I see this slow surfing every time I fire up the aging Windows laptop with just 64 megs of RAM that I need to use now and then to do some work with my Lycos job. This old machine can load pages faster than my newer PowerBook running OS X 10.1.4 on 192 megs of RAM (Yeah, I know my RAM is still too low to get the most out of OS X...). But with OS X's true multitasking capabilities and my work style - I flip between applications and tasks frequently - the slower browsing speed is not a deal breaker. My biggest remaining OS X concern is just how slow the system is when I try to flip from one application to another. It is especially notable if I switch from one browser program to another. For more writing from Paul Boutin, check out his Weblog. 9:09:23 AM comment

© Copyright 2002 Rob McNair-Huff.

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