Book Reviews


[Day Permalink] Friday, August 30, 2002

[Item Permalink] Blog time so far: 11 days -- Comment()
I've been writing to this blog for 11 days. So, I have 19 days of the Radio test period left. Maintaining a blog is certainly interesting, but also different from what I originally thought. I like that it is easy to post notes about interesting items here for myself (and maybe a few other readers also). However, I'm not completely convinced that Radio is the best system for maintaining a blog. Features are ok, but the speed and usability could be improved a lot.


[Item Permalink] Rendezvous will be Open Source -- Comment()
Rendezvous going Open Source: "Apple Computer Inc. has announced that it will release the source code for Rendezvous to the open source community in early September. Rendezvous is Apple's implementation of the ZeroConf standard documented by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the group responsible for defining Internet standards." [MacMegasite]


[Item Permalink] Oracle for Mac OS X -- Comment()
Oracle Developers Release for 10.2: "Oracle today announced the immediate availability of the Oracle9i Database Release 2 Developers Release on Mac OS X version 10.2 "Jaguar," Apple's UNIX-based operating system, as part of an early access program for the Oracle and Apple developer community." [MacMegasite]

Oracle on Macs? Who would have guessed this two years ago?


[Item Permalink] Linux to emulate Mac OS X? -- Comment()
How Linux Could Become the Next Killer Desktop: "Unfortunately, you can only run OS X on proprietary and relatively expensive hardware. Instead of emulating Windows, Linux desktops should become compatible with OS X, thus creating a great desktop, fueling the growth of both OS X and Linux, and bringing in more developers to both platforms." [osOpinion]

Of course, a lot of the Mac OS X usability stems from the tight integration of software and hardware. Also, may of the Linux application developers seem to target Windows users, making a lot of the same usability mistakes which Microsoft did.


[Item Permalink] Mail junk filter in Mac OS X 10.2 -- Comment()
"As innovative and as good as it is, Apple's Junk Mail feature built into Mail 1.2 is not perfect. The best example: This morning I found one of the noted "Nigerian" spam messages in my In box, despite having Junk Mail set up to filter and move spam automatically to the Junk Mail folder. I also offer a quick word of warning if you have set your Junk Mail to automatically go into the Junk Mail folder. Check that folder now and then as your Mail program learns better what is and what isn't junk. Yesterday I found a critical work email message in the Junk Mail folder. Of course, Mail was right on in moving 14 other spam messages to the Junk Mail folder. Progress!" [Mac Net Journal]

I have been using Jaguar for about a week, and little by little the junk mail filter seems to learn better and better. This same kind of wrong classifications happen every now and then.


[Item Permalink] Nikon Coolpix 4300 -- Comment()
Nikon Coolpix 4300 First Look [Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)]

I've kept eyes open on the new 3-4 megapixel cameras, waiting for the right combination of quality and price. Nikon 885, Canon S40... Perhaps this new Nikon is it.


[Item Permalink] Mac OS X networking makes news -- Comment()
It seems that the networking technologies of Jaguar (Mac OS X 10.2) offer great potential, especially the open Rendezvous (aka ZeroConf) standard.


[Item Permalink] Network printer administration -- Comment()
Pointer to a hint about CUPS on Mac OS X: Networked printer administration via the browser.

A tutorial on CUPS.