All posts by Kevin

Leopard Complaints

Serial

I watched the guided tour and I have some complaints about Apple’s new OS already. Minor annoyances, to be sure, but I expect Apple to pay attention to such details.

  1. The look and feel is closer, but still not completely consistent: Preview and Mail don’t have the same kind of toolbar buttons as Address Book, Safari, and Finder.
  2. Some windows (the opening progress bar, time machine hard drive insert dialog box) don’t have a unified sunken interface. I guess I’ll be keeping UNO around after all.
  3. Some windows show toolbar names and icons, while others only show icons. That’s still an application preference, not a global one.
  4. Scroll bars look like candy and haven’t been updated to the iTunes 7, which would be more appropriate.
  5. Cover Flow scroll bars don’t conform to the system scroll bar preference.

Update: Walt has delivered his verdict: “Not revolutionary, but it beats Vista.” (via PC World)

Firefox Overworked my Processor

Serial,

Firefox ran at 102% of my CPU today, according to Activity Monitor. I’m not sure how that is possible, but the audible increase in fan activity was the first indicator. The same thing happened at work today too. Then, I thought it was because I had so many tabs open. And when it happened just now, I discovered I had opened a tab with a movie in it. But then, I clicked on Help to see if there was a Feature Request button, and I saw that Firefox was downloading an update. Still, it brought my processor to a halt with whatever it wanted. It makes me (once again) consider switching to something Mac-native. Oh, how I would miss my extensions.

iPhone Apps

Serial, ,

I was thinking recently that, when the iPhone was released, it was a closed system and the stated reason was that Apple wanted to ensure stability. Well, that didn’t stop people from hacking and making their own apps anyway (apps that go mostly in the way of customization). Well, none of those apps seem to have created instability in the device, so I was glad to see that Apple is working on an SDK for iPhone. Not that I have an iPhone to use. But still, if I were to get one… good to know.

For Sale: Samsung SGH-x105 Mobile Phone, T-Mobile network; includes phone, hands free headset, charging cable, Body Glove case, belt clip, user guide, accessory guide, extra yellow faceplate.

For Sale: Toshiba e310 Pocket PC, original packaging, all components included, good physical condition.

Enterprise and Shark

Serial

Over the past few months, I have been re-watching episodes from the first and second seasons of Star Trek Enterprise. I had forgotten how good of a show it was. But I remember the third and fourth seasons. They were not as enjoyable. This is unusual for a Star Trek series; usually the shows are a little shaky on their feet the first few years, then they grow stronger toward the end. But not Enterprise; I think it was excellent at the beginning and grew tiresome at the end.

The same is true for Shark, a new show on CBS that started last fall. It began as a courtroom drama. Now, it is more action-adventure with lawyers than drama. But I still watch it, hoping for some drama, because I like the main character’s wit.

iPhone

Serial, ,

In case you’ve been living under a rock (even my mom knows from a source other than me), Apple announced an iPhone on Monday. We talked about it at work today, and the two questions that popped up were about the keyboard and other apps.

Will it run Photoshop? If it does, my boss has claimed that he will divest himself of his fancy, but troubled MacBook Pro. And the keyboard? Even Steve Jobs himself encountered some problems using it. Just watch the keynote and pick out the smattering of “Oops” and mis-pressed keys.

I see there is some trouble brewing as well.