Introduction Things is a personal task management software. Interface The interface for things is simple and elegant. In 2009, it won an Apple Design Award. Things has a vertical pane of icons, each grouped into four main categories. The first is Collect, which is where you start to place all your tasks. Then the second [...]
As a writer, I find myself frequently using em dashes and so far, I have found only a handful of programs that automatically turn two ordinary dashes into an em dash. These programs include: 1. Scrivener (Mac only) 2. WordPerfect (Windows only) 3. IBM Lotus Symphony 4. OpenOffice.org Writer 5. NeoOffice Writer Apple should add [...]
Today, the Sydney Morning Herald ran a story on the working conditions of Foxconn, the factory where many Apple, HP and Dell products are being made. The article is entitled “No talking, just working 12 hours a day in iFactory hell”. I think it is very brave of them to carry this timely report, considering [...]
Recently, I finally updated my Windows desktop to 3 Gb. I was advised by Lenovo technical support that Windows XP cannot handle any more than 3 Gb of RAM, so I simply added another 2 Gb of RAM.
Apple has updated Safari and has released with another fastest browser claim. The interface has been changed to look similar to the Chrome tab layout.
Yesterday, I was talking to a friend on Skype. He was using a PC with a very bad microphone that did not block out background noise and the conversation was somewhat difficult to follow because there was some echo from his speakers. This makes me realise how much more of a higher quality conversations I have with other Mac users on Skype.
Apple made some big mistakes with the new MacBook line. First there is no matte option. This is pure madness on Apple’s part. Second Firewire 400 has been taken away from the MacBook line. As a technology, Firewire 400 is much more superior to USB 2.0. Many people are used to the idea of using Firewire to edit to transfer their digital videos to Mac. Thirdly, there is no physical switch to turn off Bluetooth and Airport. Many laptops on the market have a physical switch to turn off Wi-Fi.
What It Is
Opera is a browser with integrated e-mail and IRC chat.
The Good
What I like about Opera is the ability to set universal zooming for every page. I use a 20-inch LCD with 1600 x 1200 resolution and setting Opera to 150% zoom is a godsend. Images are enlarged as well. Note Internet Explorer 7 on the PC platform has this feature as well, but Safari does not have it.
Opera also has tab-locking, which is very good for locking Web pages that you don’t want to accidentally close. So far I have found no other browser that has this feature.
Opera also has little thumbnails of each page when you hover your cursor over each tab.
Opera is the fatest browser on my Mac. I have not done any scientific testing, but I always feel that it renders most sites faster than other Web browsers.
Room for Improvement
I would like to see thumbnails for history.
Developer: www.opera.com
2008 will hopefully be year that Apple brings back a line of ergonomic iMacs and Mac Pro. The Sunflower iMac design was an ergonomic dream. The Mac Pro needs a redesign. At the least the handles should have ergonomic countoured rubber grips. The Mighty Mouse is an ergonomic disaster. Apple needs to really think different and get into the world of 21st century ergonomics with vertical mouses or at least a trackball mouse. Apple also needs to provide a non-wireless configuration of all Mac models, so that parents who do not want to expose their children to wireless radiation can configure a model that does not come with it. So far only the Mac Pro has this option. At least Windows laptops have a physical switch to turn off wireless radiation. This physical switch is non-existent on the Mac platform.
