Greg In The Desert

Apple has released a Safari 4 beta for Mac and Windows. Although I am forced to use Internet Explorer 6 at work for internal sites, I almost use Safari exclusively for non-internal sites.

The biggest change is the user interface. Apple has abandoned the Mac OS like metal look on the Windows version. Hallelujah! I have no problem with a Mac applicaltion looking like a Mac application on the Mac, it’s just out of place on Windows.

The menu bar is missing and is replaced with two icons. One icon looks like a document and the other looks like a gear. Tabs are now on top. There is no progress indicator in the URL text field.

I don’t have the Flash plugin installed on my Windows version of Safari and Safari 4 no longer pesters me about it ever time I go to a page that needs Flash.

I have the absolutely slowest T42 on the planet and I used to most applications loading slowly. Safari has always loaded faster than Internet Explorer, but that’s not saying much. Safari 4 does seem to be considerably faster.

So far I am happy with what I am seeing but the UI changes are going to take some time to get used to using them.

News that Intel wants to rip off the Mac mini.

A new Wintel prototype that openly apes Apple Computer’s popular Mac mini is due out this week, sources told Wired News, giving Intel a showcase to prove its chips are a match for anyone when it comes to tiny PC designs.

Working prototypes of the Mac mini look-alike running Microsoft Windows and based on Intel’s Pentium M CPU have already been built by Taiwan PC maker AOpen at Intel’s request, according to two sources in Taiwan’s PC manufacturing industry who have seen them.

I’m very happy to announce a new O’Reilly book is coming out. “Smart Home Hacks” is a book on using Mac, Windows or Linux to automate your house. What’s exciting for me is that I got to contribute several of my Indigo scripts to the book!

You an pre order it now from Amazon (an in the process I get a kick back).

Read Gorden Meyers (the author) official announcement on his blog or go visit the the O’Reilly Home Automation blog.