Google Chrome Comic

Everybody's buzzing about the new open-source browser, Google Chrome, but the best part about the announcement is the comic!

J.A.W.

Alaska Highlights Video

We just got back from a great Alaska cruise. For our family and friends, here are some highlights in a short video:



More pictures will be uploaded to my Flickr account later.

Enjoy!
J.A.W.

I'm Not Alone!

For designing web pages, I have never liked any of the fancy WYSIWYG tools that generate HTML for you. When I've looked at the actual code these kinds of tools generate, it's just so ugly! This is one reason I've always written HTML by hand, using a simple text editor like TextPad (my old Windows favorite), Notepad (the subject of many a spoof), vi (when I'm feeling extra manly), or my current favorite, emacs (especially the Aquamacs version for the Mac). The other reason I do this is that I'm a perfectionist. Go check out the source HTML on my web site if you don't believe me. :-)

Now I find that I'm not the only one - the online version of the New York Times is done the same way! In an article dated 21 April 2008, Khoi Vinh, design director of NYTimes.com, answered questions from online readers. Here is the big one for me:

"Q: Regardless of platform or browser, NYTimes.com looks the same. This is not an easy feat to accomplish because of inconsistencies between browsers and how they handle HTML and CSS. How do you do it and with which tools?

A: It’s our preference to use a text editor, like HomeSite, TextPad or TextMate, to “hand code” everything, rather than to use a wysiwyg (what you see is what you get) HTML and CSS authoring program, like Dreamweaver. We just find it yields better and faster results."

Woo-hoo! Hand-coded HTML rocks!

J.A.W.

Mac and iPod Bible Study Software News

Well, I'm not sure if it's really news to anyone but me, but I've recently discovered two great Bible study programs for Macintosh and iPod devotees (of which, of course, I am one).

The first program I found is MacSword. It's a Mac version of the open source Sword project. Here's why I like it so much:
1. It's free, open source software.
2. It runs on the Mac, a platform for which there is such a dearth of good Bible study software.
3. It has downloadable Sword modules for the English Standard Version (endorsed by http://www.desiringgod.org/) and the NET Bible (both also free).
4. It has downloadable Sword modules for some Greek and Hebrew texts, as well as many other free Bible texts, commentaries, devotionals, and other books.

The second program that I found is podBible. It's the only iPod Bible I know of, and includes the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs, and it's in the English Standard Version! Oh, and one more thing... free!

Check 'em out!

J.A.W.

Latest "Switchers": The U.S. Army!

Apparently the U.S. Army's IT people have been taking Apple's "switch" (now called "Get a Mac") campaign seriously:

"Given Apple's marketing toward the young and the trendy, you wouldn't expect the U.S. Army to be much of a customer. Lieutenant Colonel C.J. Wallington is hoping hackers won't expect it either.

Wallington, a division chief in the Army's office of enterprise information systems, says the military is quietly working to integrate Macintosh computers into its systems to make them harder to hack. That's because fewer attacks have been designed to infiltrate Mac computers, and adding more Macs to the military's computer mix makes it tougher to destabilize a group of military computers with a single attack, Wallington says."

Check out the entire Forbes article.

J.A.W.