The Daily Whim
A Photo Gallery With An Attitude
Tue
Dec
18
2007
Random MacBook Observations
I got a new black MacBook last week. However, this will not be one of those photo tours of the first unboxing and ritual bowing before the new Apple product. Heck, I’ve owned it five days and have yet to take one photo of it.
I am not one of those MacPeople.
You know, the ones who believe Apple can do no wrong … until they slightly change the appearance of the Dock or Menubar in Leopard, and then, well, you’d think The End Is Near.
Tue
Nov
13
2007
An Open Email to Gmail
Dear Gmail,
I’m sorry to have to write you publicly like this, but you have left me little choice, and I have a couple of bones to pick with you.
1. Look in the bottom right corner of your logo. It says “BETA.” We won’t get into the argument that being in “BETA” since April of 2004 represents an underlying fear of commitment. We’ll just say that an app that presents itself as in “BETA,” even for 3.5 years, ought to have clear and simple ways for their “BETA” users to provide feedback about problems with the “BETA” application. You do not. I looked and looked, clicked and clicked. The closest thing I could find was a form for “Got a feature suggestion for Gmail?” So I suggested several things, including get out of “BETA” in less than one presidential term, or have an “easy to find” form for submitting problems.
Thu
Jul
12
2007
Textpattern Template: Web Writer v3
This is a remixing of a template set, Web Writer, that began quite some time ago. In September of 2004, there were very few templates available for Textpattern, which was on Release Candidate 1 back then. I made a few available, including Web Writer v1 and Web Writer v2. Later Alexandra used it as the basis for an updated Textpattern 4.0.x template named Coffee Bar [demo].
Sun
May
20
2007
New Hardware + New Software = Busy + Happy
I’ve had the new computer a little over a month, and I told you it’s Not Your Daddy’s Dell, as well as wrote about loading it up with My Essential Software, 2007. And since then, judging by this site, I went away for a while.
Wed
Apr
25
2007
My Essential Software, 2007
It’s been a month shy of three years since I wrote “My Essential Software.” Much has changed since then, both in my life and in the world of software. And the process of setting up a new computer seems a perfect time to update the list of software that matters most to me. In fact, let’s go through this in the actual order that I loaded them on the new computer, as that’s the true definition of what’s “essential.”
» Read the Full Article (3222 words) »
Mon
Apr
16
2007
Not Your Daddy's Dell, No Vista In View
At the very end of a long rant I’ll link below, Walter Mossberg says “The first day of owning an expensive new gadget should be a pleasure, not a hassle.” Indeed, Reid said with a satisfied smile. While I’ve had my new baby (see How Reid Buys a New PC) for over a week now, first I was out of town several days, and then otherwise too busy using it productively to blog. Yes, I said that. Blogging does not equal productive.
That’s also why I haven’t yet written my promised update to the three year old “My Essential Software,” since loading a new computer is a textbook run through of what’s essential, i.e., what gets loaded first. As opposed to what still isn’t loaded (“Printer drivers? Who needs’ em, we live in a paperless society now! With flying cars!”).
But my article about how to buy a Dell without Vista is already garnering hits from people searching that for just that phrase. That and my experience buying this PC sort of ties in to a recent article about what often comes loaded on them, as well as the reported slowness of Vista boot times. And my comparison has been fairly strikingly different.
» Read the Full Article (1236 words) »
Fri
Feb
10
2006
Merci Macromedia
I woke up today, walked into the living room, and proceeded to laugh non-stop for about five minutes. Quite literally.
On my desk was a box with a note on top from Susan that said: “Bitch and Ye Shall Receive.” The box was from Macromedia, delivered overnight and at my door at 8:30am, one would assume as a result of my little rant yesterday about the missing manual.
Thu
Feb
09
2006
Adobe Ate Macromedia's Manuals
Gosh, was it only 3 months ago that I wondered “if there’s any way software manufacturers could possibly give me less physical product for my hard earned dollars”? Yes, it was. And it has happened again, magnified by about a factor of four.
I finally got around to ordering the upgrade to Macromedia Studio 8. Download it? No thanks, I like to get the whole hard copy package, so I plopped down my $447.50 to have it brought to my door. Yeah, it’s a steep upgrade.
Sun
Nov
13
2005
Scrimping On Software
I know I’m fighting a trend here, and in some ways, a good one, but I’m wondering if there’s any way software manufacturers could possibly give me less physical product for my hard earned dollars. You know, real physical things I can wrap my fingers around or lay my eyes upon. Given recent experience, I don’t think they can, but they’ve surprised me before.
Mon
Aug
15
2005
Textpattern MX 2005 CS is Released
As Dean says, “What’s in a number?” For several months now, interest has been heightened and poking sticks have been wielded over the offical release of Textpattern. But it turns out there will be no Textpattern 1.0.
Thu
Jun
30
2005
Google Ooze
It sounds a bit clichéd to ask “what did we do before Google?” But recent events caused me to pause and wonder … how did they ooze into my life as much as they have?
Wed
May
04
2005
Firefox or Firehog?
Firefox has a problem. Well, more than one, but we’ll deal with this one first. If you are lucky enough to have a stable computer than will run for weeks without rebooting, and you try to keep Firefox open an equal amount of time, it will slowly but surely suck up every megabyte of RAM within a 500 yard radius. Your neighbors will knock on your door begging you to please close a few tabs so they can check their e-mail.
Mon
Apr
18
2005
Adobemedia
In case you haven’t heard, “Adobe Systems Incorporated has announced a definitive agreement to acquire Macromedia in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $3.4 billion.” I titled this “Adobemedia,” because it sure won’t be “Macro-dobe.” In fact, it will likely just stay Adobe.
Fri
Mar
04
2005
Firefuxed
You’ve surely heard by now that Firefox is the best thing since sliced bread. It whups Internet Explorer’s butt on many levels. I’ve been a wholehearted endorser.
But…
Wed
Jan
05
2005
Webbin' Up
I used to like Microsoft’s Outlook. I especially liked having one “page” that would show me my task list, my calendar, the amount of e-mail I had waiting, and a link to my contact list. It made me imagine I was efficient. And you have to imagine it before it can become real.
Thu
Dec
16
2004
MT Comment Spam, The Attack
...if you’re an MT user with comment spam troubles, help is on the way. If you get harassed by your web host in the meantime, you’ve got some ammo to say “it’s being worked on, hold on for the upgrade.”
Tue
Dec
14
2004
Typekey Blacklist Games
So, to summarize, you cannot easily find the instructions to use Typekey on the MT site, or the Typekey site, and if you try to leave a comment saying so, MT-Blacklist will stop you because it doesn’t like the last two letters in your domain name.
Sun
Dec
12
2004
MT Plus Comment Spam Equals Dead Site
Let’s start by explaining our terms (and thus likely narrowing our audience). If you don’t know that the “MT” in the title stands for “Movable Type” (a very popular program used in creating weblogs), this article likely won’t interest you. As for “comment spam,” Adam Kalsey explains: “Usenet news succumbed to spam long ago. Email was next. Now spammers have turned their attention to weblogs and comment forms. In order to increase search engine rankings you are posting advertisements to our Web pages.” Note, his “manifesto” was written over a year ago, and the problem has only gotten worse since then. Much, much worse.
In fact, it’s now stressing web servers so greatly that a number of hosts are shutting down comments in Movable Type, or shutting down Movable Type itself. So, if you run a weblog using Movable Type, and have comments enabled (even with MT Blacklist, as you’ll see below), you’ve got a problem. Or rather, you may be causing one at your web host, and you may get shut down with no notice.
» Read the Full Article (2416 words) »
Fri
Sep
24
2004
A Few Textpattern Styles
For now, you pretty much have to know CSS to change the look of a Textpattern site, as there are very few pre-fab options out there. So I thought I would offer a few simple copy-and-paste options to change the style and look of the default Textpattern installation: Textpattern Styles.
Sat
Jul
10
2004
Textpattern Resources and Tutorials
Below I’ve collected the Textpattern resources I’ve come across in the past three months, and I’ll try to keep it updated as new ones appear. So, go “Deanload Textpattern,� and then dive in to these links…
reidstott: Say what you want about Obama's politics, but no one has spoken about America with such sincere inspiration since, well, Ronald Reagan.
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Quotes & Links
Firefox 3 Proves The Existence Of The Colbert Bump — As previously twittered, “earlier today the demand knocked their servers on their rump, so bumping may not be welcome.” Tangentially: I rarely remember my dreams, but I had one the other night that Stephen announced he was retiring from the show. I awoke with a tiny tear in my eye, and less laughter in my heart. Or somewhere.
Jon Hicks on Expression Engine vs Textpattern — Obviously one big difference is the $199 license EE requires, versus the open source goodness of Textpattern. But for me, it comes down to the capability of having members and member groups. If you need it, EE is the way to go. If you don’t need those, there is very little Textpattern can’t do.
Article tags as containers, Tags as attributes, and Context sensitivity, Oh My! — Robert Wetzlmayr lays down the smack on new features in the upcoming Textpattern 4.0.7 that have all us TXP-Geeks giggling like little girls.
A Note to Internet Explorer — “When I’m working for a client you can push me around. When it’s for money and someone else’s image, I will bow to your absurd, insane, demands because I will have to. When I am at work, I will put up with your bullshit like the irrational boss you are. But this — here — is my home and I will accommodate you at my leisure. You don’t get to push me around here. Maybe when I feel a bit more masochistic I will try to figure out why you don’t want my columns to actually sit next to each other. Until then you can just suck it.”
IE8 Breaks Pages That Have A Doctype — Which is about like building a fire truck that melts when within 100 yards of flame.
Gmail: Report Bug — Just today, using the older version of the Gmail interface, I noticed a prominent new link at the top of the page, “report bug” (it does not seem to appear in the newer version). Perhaps my message got through.
12,500 sign ‘Save XP’ petition — Actually, it’s now up to 41,185 people. Ken Anderson: “XP has come to the point of being Coke Classic,” after the introduction of New Coke, aka Vista. I signed it: HELP SAVE XP Petition — “With your support, we can convince Microsoft to spare XP’s fate of being discontinued on June 30, 2008.” There’s even a Save Windows XP Blog.
Review: Upgrading to Vista’s Successor — “To be honest there is only one conclusion to be made; Microsoft have really outdone themselves in delivering a brand new operating system that really excels in all the areas where Vista was sub-optimal. From my testing, discussions with friends and colleagues, and a review of the material out there on the web there seems to be no doubt whatsoever that that upgrade to XP is well worth the money.”
“In my opinion, Norton products are worse than any virus I can think of.” Brian Milburn
Windows XP Speed Boost Coming with SP3; Vista sucks no less with SP1 — “In comparable tests of Office tasks, Vista and Vista plus SP1 took approximately 90 seconds to complete the suite, while XP took only about 40 seconds and XP plus SP3 ran about four seconds more quickly than that.” Microsoft took six years to make a new OS that makes simple tasks take two to three times longer. Might as well rename it “Microsoft New Coke,” and then do what Coca-Cola eventually did with that failed product … pull it from production.
This is the Future of the Internet — A Stupidity Filter for YouTube comment threads. Someday Bayesian/AI filters like this will be standard procedure, built in to browsers by default, and the only way to manage the corpus of idiocy that user-generated content can become at such popular sites.
“I’ve been using Vista on my home laptop since it shipped, and can say with some conviction that nobody should be using it as their primary operating system — it simply has no redeeming merits to overcome the compatibility headaches it causes.” Joel Spolsky
Scrybe gets venture funding from Adobe, LMKR — “I’ve been on the beta list for some time and have been very impressed with the application they’ve put together.” I have as well, but they’ve taken a pounding for not rolling out quicker. It’s a great app, and hopefully this funding and support from Adobe will allow them to move forward.
Textplates ’07 Results — The judges had a tough job choosing from a lot of lovely layouts, but the top ten templates have been determined. My personal favorites are Block Rocker, Fireplay (and I usually don’t like dark layouts), and my wishful thoughts. Web Writer seems rather plain by comparison, but I’ve seen it in use here and there.
WeLoveTXP.com — A sizable collection of links to a pretty wide variety of Textpattern-based sites.
Why Textpattern? — Textpattern v4.0.5 has just been released, as has the book, Textpattern Solutions. After being a CMS ‘ho from 2000-2004, for well over three years now Textpattern has been my sole solution.
When Does “Never” Mean “Weekly”? With Apple Software Update! — The link is a screenshot, showing my preference for checking for updates is set to “Never.” Yet every week or so, this damn thing pops up, always while I’m in the middle of something else. Now I’m not updating purely out of spite.
linux users are all crazy fundamentalists — “It’s an operating system, not a religious movement. I’m not looking to become a convert, I’m not going to give my 10%, sing your songs, fly your banner from my rooftop. I just want to setup my blog [...] The Linux community needs fewer fundamentalists. I can’t hear you talk above the noise of your shouting.”
Safari 3, Now On Windows — PC users can now run Safari for the Mac, and Mac users can run Boot Camp or Parallels to run Safari on Windows … on their Mac (just to be perverse). And web designers who have been clamoring, “please, give us yet another browser to test against,” get their masochistic thrills.
“Wordpress is the Windows XP of blogging tools. There. I said it.” N. Caldwell
