July 19, 2003
Why I'm not switching to Safari |
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In Mozilla, I can drag a URL onto an existing tab or even drag to a blank part of the tab bar to create a new tab. Since I’m using the mouse for the action, the cursor is already in position to bring the tab to the front, if that's what I want. I don’t need to close the tab again because I can re-use it for a different URL.
Another important factor is I use Windows at work but OS X at home and having the same browser on both is helpful.
In general, Safari is a nice browser. It's fast, seems to render pages well, and I like the Bookmarks interface. I like the "Block pop-up windows" option is right in the Safari menu and has a keyboard command. I always leave mine on but I can imagine people making use of that, possibly on a public computer. I also like being able to access the browser history from a menu in Safari. Mozilla makes you open a History window. Of course Mozilla lets you access your bookmarks from a menu while Safari make you open a window so they're reversed on that point. I've never used SnapBack so I guess it doesn't mean much to me. The Aqua styled web form elements are nice but you still can't use the keyboard to operate them.
July 16, 2003
Aaaaah! Webcam! |
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The picture quality isn't great at some resolutions but it's surprisingly good at 640x480 and the framerate is quite good. This picture of my eye is from the webcam but the blue cast to it was an effect I added. The framerate is better than it was using the official Vicam software under OS 9 (it was always good under Windows). Supporting this camera was quite a feat, considering it had to be completely reverse engineered. They even got the little snapshot button on the top to work!
The camera a too bulky to strap to the back of the cat and the USB cable would cramp his style but I hope to use some motion detection + video capture software to get some living room Mutual of Omaha footage while I'm at work.
