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News & Opinion
Reviews
Software
News & Opinion
The Best Browser: Chrome, Firefox, Internet
Explorer, Opera, or Safari?
Computerworld's Peter Wayner noted that the Web browser is becoming
the home for almost everything we do and observes that choosing a best
browser is an impossible job. [I don't even try; I usually have at
least three different browsers up and running at any given time -
cm]
Wayner notes that the similarities are for the most part greater
than the differences among browsers, but while some of the distinctions
are trivial, if you're going so spend all day with a piece of software,
it makes sense to be picky, although he adds that it may be impossible
to be rational about many of the cosmetic issues, like the placement of
buttons or the location of the tabs.
Then there's the issue of Adobe Flash, which you may or may not
like.
Choosing among Chrome,
Firefox, Internet
Explorer, Opera, and Safari is not simple, he observes,
since all are perfectly good choices, but one may be slightly better
for certain users than others. I did like his characterization of
Internet Explorer as "Best for people who don't care or don't want to
care."
For us Mac users, Internet Explorer mercifully isn't part of the
equation, but there are other alternatives to the big five, including
Camino (the favorite at Low End
Mac headquarters), SeaMonkey, Stainless, Shiira, OmniWeb, iCab, Flock,
Cruz, and Sunrise - and that's not an
exhaustive listing.
However, Wayner limits his seven-page shootout to the five most
prolific browsers, making "best for" and "worst for" evaluations rather
than declaring any overall winner.
Publisher's note: Browser stats for the past month show 38.1% of LEM
visitors using Safari, 30.5% Firefox, 16.2% Internet Explorer, and
1.34% Opera. These are indeed the top five, followed by Camino (0.84%),
an assortment of Mozilla/Netscape browsers (0.82%), Opera Mini (0.20%),
SeaMonkey (0.11%) , Konqueror (0.04%), and then things like
PlayStation, BlackBerry, etc. dk
Link: The Best Web
Browser: Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, or Safari?
Apple: Most Hated Brand on the Internet
Computerworld's Preston Gralla asks, "Where are Apple fanboys now
that Apple - according to Brandwatch - has become the most reviled
brand on the Internet?"
Gralla reports that Brandwatch, a social media analyst firm,
recently released research indicating that Apple is the brand most
commonly associated with the term #fail, a Twitter-originated
term denoting derision and criticism, but Apple negativity wasn't just
on Twitter; but was throughout blogs in general.
However, Apple has company. Facebook, Nokia, and the BBC (?!) were
second, third, and fourth most-reviled respectively.
Link: Apple Becomes
Most Hated Brand on the Internet
Back to School PC Sales Slow - Except for
Apple
Electronista reports:
"UBS analyst Maynard Um today reported in an investment note that
back to school sales were still slow but appeared to favor Apple.
Checks at stores and staff showed that most stores were only seeing a
'mild' bump in sales from students and that most of the heavy traffic
was at Apple retail stores. The iPhone 4 and iPad were responsible for lineups, but the
new iMac was also seeing strong
demand.
"The report notes that notebook sales may also be favoring Apple
according to Um, with more portable sales skewing to mid- or high-end
notebooks, and just 26 percent of notebook systems sold costing less
than than $450. Look's like the flower of the netbook's youth may be
past."
Link: Back to School
PC Sales Slow Except for Apple
Also see MacBooks Now Student
Laptop of Choice and Macs Big
on Campus, Displace Dell as Number One in this week's 'Book
Review.
Microsoft's Heavily Nuanced Mac Attack
"Deciding between a PC and a Mac?" says a new Microsoft Windows
promotional campaign site. "Here's what you need to know."
Microsoft's page comparing Macs and Windows PCs.
"PCs are designed for work and play, with features you need to get
things done on the job or at school and have fun at home or on the go.
From easily sharing Microsoft Office documents to watching HDTV and
Blu-ray movies, PCs help you do it all . . . Macs might spoil
your fun."
Now there's a novel spin. "Fun," and "Windows" are not an
association that springs readily to mind in my recollection.
"There are some things you simply can't do out of the box with a Mac
like watch, pause, rewind, and record TV like a DVR. You can't get a
Mac that ships with a Blu-ray player, TV tuner, Memory Stick reader, or
built-in 3G wireless. You can with PCs running Windows 7
. . . Most of the world's most popular computer games aren't
available for Macs. And Macs can't connect to an Xbox 360. PCs are
ready to play."
Okay, I can't gainsay that argument, and those are valid points. It
depends, I guess, on what you want to use a computer for. There also
are plenty of things Macs can do that Windows boxes can't, particularly
important (they are to me, at any rate) productivity features like
Spaces; QuickLook; built-in, no hassle PDF creation; Exposé; and
Stacks.
"Macs can take time to learn."
This is a much weaker argument. Windows 7 takes time to learn as
well, and the Mac is widely acclaimed as having a less-steep learning
curve.
"Things just don't work the same way on Macs if you're used to a PC.
For example, the mouse works differently. And many of the shortcuts
you're familiar with don't work the same way on a Mac."
That door swings both ways as well.
"Windows 7 was designed to make it simpler to do the tasks you do
every day, with features that the Mac doesn't have. For example, the
new Snap feature makes it easy to view two documents side by side."
That sounds cool. I hope Apple copies it for O XS 10.7. However, you
can add similar functionality to the Mac now with a third-party utility
called Divvy ($14 shareware,
more below).
Microsoft notes that the Mac OS doesn't support touch technology. I
expect that's coming, but in the meantime, there are the iPad and the
Axiotron Modbook, a MacBook
converted into a touchscreen tablet computer.
"Macs might not like your PC stuff."
Uh, not as much as PCs don't like Mac stuff. Most PC file types can
be opened on a Mac. Macs can read PC-formatted drives. You can even run
Windows itself on a Mac - a door that doesn't swing both ways
(Hackintosh doesn't count).
"Apple's productivity suite file formats won't open in Microsoft
Office on PCs. This can be a real hassle for Mac users sharing work
documents with PC users."
Not really. Apple's productivity apps can open and save documents in
PC formats. Or just use Microsoft's own Office for Mac productivity
software, which is seamlessly cross-platform compatible. To imply
otherwise (Office for Mac is conveniently not mentioned) is
disingenuous.
"PCs give you a lot more choice and capabilities for your money. You
can get the PC you want, in the size and color you want, with the
features you want. You just don't have as many options with a Mac."
True, but what you do get with a Mac is the cream of the crop.
Color? I wouldn't mind if Macs came in a selection of colors (been
there, done that with iMacs from 1999 through 2001), but real
anodized aluminum (especially unibody construction) has its charms.
There's more, but you get the drift. This advocacy tack is liberally
laced with FUD nuancing. It does contain some valid talking points and
may prove effective in dissuading the timid from trying the Mac, but I
doubt that Cupertino is terribly worried.
Link: PC
versus Mac
Also see Alan Zisman's column, Microsoft's New PC vs. Mac Pages
Don't Tell Us Anything New.
5 Places to Find Free Mac Software
AppStorm's Joshua Johnson says:
"Today we're going to take a look at five sites that are completely
dedicated to showcasing and reviewing free Mac software. They may not
be the biggest and best app sites out there, but they definitely make
it easy to find lots of quality software that you don't have to spend a
cent to use.
"Just to be thorough, we've also thrown in a few sites that don't
focus solely on free software but still have plenty of excellent free
apps on display."
Link: Five Fantastic
Places to Find Free Mac Software
New iMacs and Mac Pro Powered by ATI Radeon
Graphics Solutions
PR: AMD notes that Apple has selected the world renowned ATI
Radeon graphics solutions for the new line of iMacs and the new Mac Pro tower. Now featured in Apple
Stores as well as online retail, ATI says its Radeon graphics offer
outstanding power and performance as the standard configuration for the
new iMac and Mac Pro tower, which will hit store shelves soon.
"Apple buyers demand the best, and AMD's award-winning ATI Radeon
graphics enable exceptional visual experiences for iMac users," says
Matt Skynner, corporate vice- president and general manager, GPU
division, AMD. "AMD has conducted extensive testing and research to
create superior graphics products for the iMac. This research is
designed to dramatically enhance the Mac-user experience so that Apple
users can enjoy responsive performance and play the newest games."
The ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics card features 1 GB of GDDR5 memory
from AMD and enables Apple's fast Mac Pro graphics technology. Ideal
for motion graphics, 3D modeling, rendering, or animation, the card
comes standard, while for more demanding tasks purchasers can upgrade
to ATI Radeon HD 5870 graphics.
iMac Games on ATI Radeon HD Graphics
ATI Radeon graphics solutions offer feature rich graphics
performance enabling an immersive, lifelike gaming experience while
playing HD content with incredible visual fidelity
- ATI Radeon HD 5750 graphics are available in the new 27" iMac.
- ATI Radeon HD 5650 graphics are available in the new 22" and 27"
iMac.
- ATI Radeon HD 4670 graphics are available in the new 22" iMac
Link: ATI Radeon for
Mac
Reviews
'Mid 2010' 27" iMacs Compared: Core i3 vs. Core i5
vs. Core i7
Bare Feats' rob-ART Morgan says:
"'Do I really need a Core I7?' I get that a lot. The top 'mid 2010'
iMac is the 27" Core i7 2.93 GHz at $2199. The 27" Core i5 2.8 GHz is
$1999 ($200 less). The 27" Core i3 3.2 GHz is $1699 ($500 less than the
Core i7).
"The 'mid 2010' iMac Core i7 is as much as 45% faster the Core i5
for 10% more cost.
"The Core i7 is as much as 104% faster (twice as fast) as the Core
i3 for 29% more cost.
"The Core i5 is as much as 41% faster than the Core i3 for 18% more
cost....
"Going by those figures, I say the top iMac model is the best
buy...."
Link: 'Mid 2010' 27" iMacs Compared:
Core i3 vs. Core i5 vs. Core i7
Software
Divvy Window Management Utility for
Mac OS X
PR: Divvy is an entirely new way of managing your workspace.
It allows you to quickly and efficiently "divvy up" your screen into
exact portions using a simple drag interface in a dialog which can be
configured with user-specified shortcuts.
With Divvy, it is as simple as calling up the interface, clicking
and dragging. When you let go, your window will be resized and moved to
the relative position on the screen. If that seems like too much work,
go ahead and create as many different shortcuts as you'd like that
resize and move your windows in exactly the same way.
Divvy is designed to be quick, simple and elegant and to stay
out of your way as much as possible while providing the most powerful
window management available.
A video tutorial on the Divvy Website reveals the elegant simplicity
of the concept. A downloadable demo is available. Divvy sells for
$14.
Link: Divvy
Free Glims Adds Chrome-Like Features to Safari
PR: Glims adds a cocktail of features to Safari (Tabs,
Thumbnails, Full Screen, Search Engines, Search Suggestions, Forms
autocomplete on, Dated download folders, Type Ahead ...)
Glims lets you change the default search engine used by Safari's
toolbar search field. It comes with predefined sets of engines and, as
expected, you can define your own from the preferences.
Glims provides search and link
suggestions while you type in the search field. This is very similar in
concept to what Apple introduced with Safari 4. The cool thing about
Glims is that you can define which sources you would like to use for
the search suggestions. Among the obvious benefits, this will come in
handy if you are not located in the US. We plan on doing a lot of
improvements on this module for future versions.
Glims adds thumbnails to Yahoo and Google Search's. Again, all
configurable from the preferences.
Tab Management
The two main improvements are the favicons in the tab bar and the
restore of the tabs at launch. Since we are using Apple's session
manager, the tabs are currently stored without history, but we are
working on this. (Not sure exactly when it will be available.)
Other improvements include; force new window to open in tabs, select
the placement of the new tabs when created (right,left,...), undo close
tabs... (you get the idea).
Bookmark Bar Improvement
Bookmark separators, as well as 'Add folder here' and 'Add bookmark
here'. This helps when you want to manage your bookmarks directly from
the bar.
Other Improvements that are also configurable from the
preferences:
- Full Screen - Basic full screen functionality accessible from the
menu or shortcut. Again, we want to improve this.
- Max Window Size - Spread the window on the whole screen, accessible
from the menu.
- Form Autocomplete - Force the auto completion of forms in sites
that prevent it.
- Dated Download Folders - Organize your download folder.
Current features list:
- Adds thumbnails to Google.com search results
- Adds thumbnails to Yahoo.com search results
- Adds search engines to the default Google search tab
- Adds fullscreen browsing capability
- Adds Favicons to tab labels
- Adds keyword search from address bar
- Undo "Close Tab" (cmd-z)
- Reopens last session when Safari starts
- Auto-Closes download window
- Adds new tab position option (right/left/leftmost/rightmost)
- Adds tab closing using middle mouse button
- Focus last selected tab
- Always open links in a new tab
- Type-ahead support (auto cmd-f)
- Sets the focus on the search field when opening a new window
- Adds Amazon's information banner on Google.com search results
- Adds Amazon's information banner on Yahoo.com search results
- Adds a "Max Window Size" menu item to resize the Safari window
- Forms autocomplete always on
- Autocomplete search phrase
- Adds bookmark separator
- Adds bookmark actions
- Dated download folders
- Localized to Japanese, French, Polish, German, Spanish, Italian,
and Korean
Requirements:
- Safari 3.0.4 (4525.18) or later
- Mac OS X 10.5 or later
- Intel or PPC (universal)
Link: Glims
Desktop Mac Deals
For deals on current and discontinued 'Books, see our 13" MacBook and MacBook Pro,
MacBook Air, 13" MacBook Pro, 15" MacBook Pro, 17" MacBook Pro, 12" PowerBook G4, 15" PowerBook G4, 17" PowerBook G4, titanium PowerBook G4,
iBook G4, PowerBook G3, and iBook G3 deals.
We also track iPad,
iPhone, iPod touch, iPod classic, iPod nano, and iPod shuffle deals.
