Review: Utilu Browser Collection

 

By Matthew Nawrocki

Takeaway: Testing websites with all the various browser versions is a hassle addressed by the Utilu Browser Collection –- at least that is the plan.

Any experienced web developer will tell you that despite the recent advances in web browser technology and the ever-improving conformance to W3C browser standards, no website can be tested in one web browser and then call it a day. In fact, if a developer doesn’t test his or her sites out on multiple versions of any given browser, they are bound to cause cries of pain and anguish from their clients whenever bugs that slipped off the radar rear their ugly heads later.
One way around this problem is to have each version of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, and other web browsers installed within countless virtual machines. However, this is an enormous task and can be a disk space hog and a time waster.

Multiple browsers

Utilu’s Browser Collections for both Internet Explorer and Firefox claims to rectify this problem to a degree, at least for the Windows users, by repackaging two popular browsers with all released versions within one installer package. Basically, you can download either an IE or Firefox collection, install it, and have every version of that particular browser on tap at your disposal. Such a setup is pretty much a web developer’s dream come true. With every version of IE and Firefox accessible at the same time without one browser overriding another, separate virtual-machine environments are no longer necessary.









However, caveat emptor: Aside from the Firefox browser collection, which seemed to work without a hitch on my PC, the Internet Explorer collection told a different story. Depending on the version of Windows used, sometimes browsers like IE 7 or IE 8 would refuse to load or act up and cause issues. Evidently, I’m not alone in my observations.
FileForum’s website has end-user reviews on Utilu’s IE kit, and the reviews are heavily mixed for the most part, with the average hovering around three out of five stars. This probably has something to do with the rather OS-dependent nature of Internet Explorer, such that it relies on various hooks within Windows to work properly, and in some versions of Windows, either these hooks are notably absent or significantly altered, preventing the browser from properly executing.

Bottom line

So does Utilu’s solution to the web developer nightmare of testing sites in many web browsers and the versions within each really work well? The Firefox collection seems solid enough, and it lets me test sites rapidly. However, with the IE platform having clearly gotten the short end of the stick, you’re probably going to need to keep your Windows XP VMs handy, at least until the classic IE 6, 7, and 8 versions are put out to pasture for good. Unfortunately, who knows how long we will have to wait for that to happen.

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Manage your Gmail inbox and calendar with Boomerang

By Kevin Purdy

Takeaway: Kevin Purdy uses two Google Apps plug-ins to help him manage his inbox and calendar. Perhaps they can help you too.

I am not a fan of add-ons, plug-ins, or other things that mess with my Gmail, and I don’t think I’m alone. In more than four years of writing about technology, I’ve found that Gmail changes quite a bit and quite often, and technologies built on top of it have a hard time catching up. You can’t really hold back on updating Gmail (though some Apps customers may hold back updates). In any case, when things go wrong, they go very wrong, and your brow gets quickly furrowed. For this reason, it’s almost never worth building habits around tools meant to improve Gmail.

Boomerang

Except for when it comes to Boomerang. Boomerang exists as two plug-ins: Boomerang Gmail and Boomerang Calendar. They both work entirely inside Gmail, but in different ways.
Boomerang for Gmail is where the tool gets its name, because it “boomerangs” email back to you - it returns it to your inbox, even after you’ve archived it. It allows you to have a clean inbox, and the peace of mind that comes with it, but to eventually get back to those matters if they remain unresolved.
The easiest example is when you’re emailing somebody about something, and you want to make sure they get back to you. There’s a check box between the subject and body of the email, which allows you to “Boomerang this message,” on the condition that you don’t hear back. You can also specify that you want to “boomerang” the message no matter what happens.
Choose a time frame, as loose or as specific (”Tomorrow 9am,” or “June 15 8:15pm”) as you want. When John doesn’t tell you what time works for him for that thing you are asking about, the email lands back in your inbox, and you remember to get on John’s case.

Snooze

Boomerang also works for messages that you can’t address right now, but you want to get back to at a specific time. If you’ll know more about your conference arrangements a bit closer to the conference date, “Boomerang” that message from the event coordinator to a later date using the “Boomerang” menu in the upper-right corner of the Gmail page. Clicking that menu also automatically archives the message, because that’s effectively what you’re doing. That Boomerang menu is where you can access a link to “Manage Scheduled Messages,” and set how those messages should return to you: starred or un-starred, read or unread, labeled as “Boomerang” or not.

Another little thing that Boomerang does is offer a “Send later” option on email, through a button placed right next to your standard “Send.” That’s one of those things I have occasionally wished for, especially when responding to email late at night or early in the morning, or when I feel like I’m bombarding somebody with messages.
Boomerang is a totally optional trigger you can add to any message in Gmail, and doesn’t interfere with your normal Gmail routines. It also doesn’t seem to drag down or delay Gmail to any degree that I could detect. Boomerang’s maker, Baydin, is grabbing copies of the emails you’re archiving to make the service work; their privacy policy states that they only use your email data “in ways for which you have specifically consented.” Their data usage is, at the least, enough in line with Google App standards as to warrant a spot in the Marketplace.

Calendar

Boomerang Calendar is perhaps a bit less essential, especially for those who already have an easily accessible calendar and schedule system. But Boomerang Calendar (currently in beta testing) doesn’t even require a click. Anything resembling a date (”Friday afternoon,” “May 19 04:00″) gets colored, and when you mouse over it, you’ll instantly see your Google Calendar schedule around that time, allowing you to quickly confirm or suggest another time.

When you’re writing an email or replying, Boomerang Calendar adds a “Suggest Meeting Times” tool, which has the same kind of instant Google Calendar integration. Click it, then click a few different empty slots in your calendar, and Boomerang generates an email template with those suggested times filled in.
Boomerang Gmail is free for up to 10 messages per month, on Gmail or Google Apps. After that, it’s $5 per month for unlimited messages with Gmail, or $15 per month for Google Apps (with group discounts available).

Boomerang Calendar is in beta, but you can request an invitation. I was given an early preview of Boomerang Calendar, but I only chose to write about them because their product has not broken Gmail, or been broken by Gmail, and made it seem like I have an amazingly long and efficient memory to my contacts. That is what I call added value.

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Bye bye MacBook, hello iPad: Why I’m taking the tablet

By Seb Janacek

Takeaway: Many people are still undecided about whether they could use Apple’s tablet instead of a notebook. There’s no doubt in Seb Janacek’s mind.

One big issue with replacing your laptop with an iPad is that Apple's tablet doesn't seem to age well. Photo: Apple

I tweeted the other day to no one in particular that I couldn’t see my iPad replacing my desktop machine but I could easily imagine not buying another laptop.
I’ve given it more thought and as much as I had assumed I’d update my MacBook Pro to a MacBook Air in a few years, now I’m not sure I need to. The iPad is now the computer I use most.
The world’s reaction to the iPad was muted at first. Like many others, I bought an iPad when it first went on sale in 2010 without a clear idea what I would use it for. Before buying it, I’d played with one for about 30 minutes, firing through 10 to 15 iPad apps in quick succession: the BBC app, Marvel comics, the Guardian photos app, and a graphically rich interactive book.
Steve Jobs mused about whether there was a space for a product between a smartphone and a laptop and decided the iPad was it. According to the Walter Isaacson biography, the polite applause and muted reception depressed Steve Jobs because the concept had been the culmination of several years of work.
Meanwhile, the tablet drew accusations that it was primarily a device for the passive consumption of content. Not anymore. The iPad is selling at pace far in excess of any previous Apple product.
There’s no doubt that the iPad is a fine device to watch stuff on. One of the best descriptions comes from the journalist and TV writer Charlie Brooker who described it as a device “ideal for idly browsing the web while watching telly”.
It performs this function very well, but two years after I first started to use it, I know it does a whole lot more. So much more that I suspect, based on my personal usage, that I can get by with a desktop Mac and an iPad and cut out Mr Laptop altogether.
Here is my home set-up: a mid-2007 24-inch iMac, a mid-2010 13-inch MacBook Pro and a third-generation 32GB wi-fi iPad. I would estimate my usage ratio as 20:10:70 for iMac:MacBook Pro:iPad.

Lack of a physical keyboard

Some people dismiss the iPad because they feel it’s uncomfortable to write on due to its lack of a physical keyboard. But I found you soon get used to it.
I admit that even now I probably make more mistakes on the soft iPad keyboard than I do on a real one, yet these errors do not represent enough of a problem to stop me using it for writing and certainly not when considering the device’s wider benefits.
On three occasions I’ve written full articles in the car - of course, not while driving. There’s more room to work on trains with the added bonus that I don’t need to worry about being within a couple of feet of a power cord.
For me, the iPad’s key work uses are writing and editing articles - sometimes long ones - producing simple presentations, and viewing often tedious papers in preparation for meetings.
I use it as my main email and browsing machine. It’s excellent for managing social media channels. There are endless Twitter clients and the WordPress app lets you post articles, review and publish comments and get headline traffic and usage data.
The Pages app is an excellent basic word processor, possibly my favourite since the Windows version of WordPerfect 5.2. Pages is used for making notes in meetings or at presentations, as well as writing longer articles. Note-taking on the iPad also means my jottings are legible, unlike my paper laptop filled with full of page after page of childlike scrawl.
A to-do app lets my manage priorities and a calendar app lets me manage time and appointments. Dropbox lets me access my files from anywhere with a wi-fi connection and presents documents and papers very well, although Excel spreadsheets less so.
Of all the common productivity applications, spreadsheets are the most problematic. I’m not a fan of either the Mac or iPad version of Numbers so still looking for a solution on this issue.
There will be many cases where a laptop is preferable to an iPad. But for someone who needs the basic functions of web, email, social media, productivity apps and other office-based applications, the iPad is starting to look like a worthy alternative.
It offers mobility and lightness, excellent user experience and a superior focus on tasks and work. Plus, in downtime, it’s an excellent machine to watch stuff on.

Issue with iPad as laptop replacement

The one big issue I have with the iPad as a laptop replacement is device longevity. My first-generation iPad is becoming slow and unresponsive and despite my new iPad’s quick performance I suspect that in two years it will succumb to a similar fate.
iPads don’t seem to age well the way Macs do. Given their lower price, I suspect Apple - and possibly other manufacturers - see them as devices that will have a shorter upgrade lifecycle than laptops or desktops.
Despite being a mid-2007 model, my iMac is still in fine shape and will last another couple of years before being upgraded. The MacBook Pro is new and will give many more years of service.
This may be the core issue. A Mac laptop has traditionally lasted me five to six years before being upgraded. If the iPad continues to creep towards obsolescence after two or three, then the maths takes over. Will it be a smaller outlay every two years for a new iPad or a larger investment every five to six years for a new laptop?
However, cost aside, increasingly there’s not really an argument for me over form and function. The iPad is winning the day.

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10 apps that are topping enterprise blacklists

by Gina Smith

Introduction

Zenprise, a mobile device management company that specializes in BYOD, recently released its Zenprise MDM Cloud Report. The report includes the top 10 apps that enterprises are blacklisting (or attempting to blacklist) in the United States and globally. The list is theirs. The snide commentary, mine. So here they are. The 10 most blacklisted apps this month, in descending order

Angry Birds

Would someone please muster up the courage to tell the CEO to stop with the slingshot already?

Facebook

Imagine an update like, "I am sitting here listening to our blowhard manager give a talk that could fell a tree."

Google Play

Buying apps on company time? And potentially with company money? Hard stop.

Dropbox

Worst case: Employee walks off with your company data and Dropbox is installed on four of her computers. Nuff said.

Skype

Now this is what you want. Folks texting and calling relatives all over the world. It puts a whole new spin on the idea of personal calls at work, doesn't it?

YouTube

Imagine a Google+ Live Hangout saved and shared on YouTube. It's a recording of your confidential board meeting. Yikes!

The App Store

Just ... too easy to get a game even more addictive than Angry Birds. If such a thing exists, it is in the App Store

Evernote

Social, shareable note-taking screams take our secure company information and share it with the world the next time you get angry at your boss. Or quit.

Cydia

An Apple iOS app that lets your users browse and download applications for a jailbroken Apple iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. Lovely.

Twitter

Sure, users, tweet all day. Gain more followers. Lose work time.

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Five tools to simplify Samba configuration

by Jack Wallen

Introduction
Samba makes life possible within a homogeneous environment. You want Windows, Mac, and Linux to talk to one another, you use Samba. But for some, configuring Samba can be a challenge.
Thankfully, tools are available that can help nearly every skill level with the task. Which apps are best suited for you? Let's take a look and find out.

system-config-samba

All new Samba admins should be using this GUI tool. System-config-samba can be installed onto practically any Linux distribution and is incredibly easy to use. With this tool, you can configure the shares to be handed out, as well as the Samba server settings.

system-config-samba

The GUI isn't cluttered with too many bells and whistles to confuse the user, so getting shares added is as simple as clicking the Add button and filling in a few bits of information.

Swat

Swat is the original GUI tool for Samba. It's a Web-based tool that allows you to get much deeper into the configuration of Samba than any other tool. Although newbies can use it, they may quickly become intimidated by the number of options available. Once Swat is installed, you reach it by going to:

http://IP_ADDRESS_OF_SERVER:901

GAdmin SAMBA

GAdmin SAMBA is part of the Gadmin Tools administration toolkit. This GUI tool can satisfy by any level of experience and will allow the newbie plenty of room to grow. Although there is a bit of a learning curve with this interface, once you've figured it out, you'll be rocking out Samba shares like crazy.

GAdmin SAMBA

GAdmin SAMBA also offers multiple local and remote user and group import and on-the-fly share creation and user handling.

Webmin Samba Module

Webmin, being one of the most powerful administration tools, naturally offers a Samba module: Webmin Samba Module.

Webmin Samba Module

Webmin Samba Module offers everything you want in a Samba administration package: share, printer, share mode configuration, and the ability to easily manage user access to different shares.

Command line

For those of you Samba masters, the command line is the thing. WIth the help of your favorite text editor (such as nano, vi, or emacs), you can configure and manage every aspect of your Samba server.

Command line

Of course, this isn't a tool for new users -- but they should begin to examine the configuration file found in /etc/samba/smb.conf. They can see how their GUI tool configures Samba by viewing this file and eventually become a Samba master as well.

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CCleaner 1.03.131 (Mac)

 

Format:	Software	Size:	1738.00
Version:	1.03.131	Date:	May 2012
Platform:	Mac	Price:	0.00

 Download

CCleaner is a freeware system optimization, privacy and cleaning tool. It removes unused files from your system - allowing Mac to run faster and freeing up valuable hard disk space. It also cleans traces of your online activities such as your Internet history. Additionally it contains a fully featured registry cleaner.

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