Back From Safari

I while back, I decided to start using Safari, Apple’s Web browser for the Mac and now for PCs. Safari takes less memory than Firefox and seems to run faster, plus it has a couple of neat features.

My experiment was short lived. I’m back to Firefox. There were simply too many “Web 2″ sites that either didn’t run at all or ran very poorly. I even tried the Safari 3 beta, which was better, but it had some bizarre renderings of sites I use frequently.

I might try Safari 3 again when it’s completed Beta, but for now, I’ll stick with Firefox.

On Safari with Windows

I’ve noted here that I’ve been using Safari to browse the Web because it seemed faster than Firefox. Now Apple is beta-testing Safari 3 and documenting how much faster it is - including the Windows version! I suspect that the Windows version exists to get more copies of Bonjour, Apple’s networking layer, on to Windows machines. If you have iTunes, you have Bonjour - it’s what provides the really powerful iTunes networking so beloved on college campuses. This will, of course, make it easier for Apple TV and whatever other consumer goodies are in the hopper. It just keeps getting better for Apple!

Here’s another review and another reason given for Apple’s release on Windoze.

UPDATE: There’s a much more compelling explanation.

Remote Backup

Mozy provides free remote file backup and restore for both Macs and Windows. I’m beta testing the Mac version and have put it through one complete backup and restore cycle. It seems to work. I only backup critical data, so I need a lot less than the 2GB they provide for free, and for my small quantity of data, it’s pretty speedy.

Coolest Mac Goodie?

If you’re a MacBook user, you must check this out. Who knew this was embedded in OS-X? The ability to zoom and scroll the screen could be very useful.

Microsoft Attachments

If you’ve fallen victim (as a Mac user) to goofy attachments from the Microsoft world, it’s because Mr. Softy uses a non-standard format (now there’s a surprise) for rich text attachments. Fortunately, there is a way to read these odd documents.

Mac Goodies

Somebody’s put together a great list of open source and freebie software for the Mac. I already use several of this programs, but I see more that I want to download and try. Note that there is also a companion list for Windoze users.

Mac+Google

If you’re a Mac user and a Google user, this looks interesting!

Quicksilver

Those guys at Lifehacker.com are doing a great job describing my favorite Mac productivity tool, Quicksilver. Here’s the latest in their series and here’s the earlier entry that also links back to the beginning.

NeoOffice 2.1

If you’re a Mac user, you definitely need NeoOffice. This is the Mac-adapted version of OpenOffice. Like OpenOffice, it supports almost all Microsoft Office capabilities, but with a more Mac friendly interface. It’s free! And now there is a new version that supports the new Word 2007 formats and Excel macros. Whoopee!

Get Organized!

Long time readers will know that I tend to obsess over organization tools. Well, I’ve found what may be the best one yet (Mac only).

When you buy a computer, the vendor usually includes a bunch of free software. I mostly ignore this stuff, having learned over the years that it’s usually worth what you paid for it. But Apple is currently including OmniOutliner on new Macs, and this is a great outlining program. It does all that you would expect, but also provides some interesting features like multi-column support and numerical capabilities. It’s also smart about Web links, other documents, graphics, and Applescript. This is worth checking out.

Shortly before I started this blog, I had a Web page devoted to all things Mac. It contains only my review of Quicksilver and WikityWidget, but you might want to take a peek.