Mac Web Developer

My making a few simple changes to FireFox you can maximize your display space.  An optimized display space means you can see more at any time, move more quickly between web pages and spaces, and will strain your eyesight less.  This is particularly useful for those of us who spend time developing on Macs with 12" or 13" displays, such as PowerBooks, iBooks, MacBooks and MacBook Airs.  This can also apply to those using 15" displays. 

For many of us FireFox is the browser of choice.  With the incredible array of plugins it is quite simple the most powerful browser available for any computer.  Many may stick to Safari, but most are drawn to FireFox at least for web development purposes.

By default Firefox displays a number of things that we may not need, and the OSX Desktop may not be in the best arrangment for you. 

In the image below you can see the standard Firefox layout on the left, with 3 visible toolbars, and the OSX Desktop Dock set to the bottom.  On the right you can see my layout of choice: No visible toolbars and the Desktop Dock to the right.

You can see that without the toolbars displayed there is a lot more room at the top.  How often do you really use your toolbars?  You can of course keep the bookmark toolbar visible if you use it frequently.  I rarely use bookmarks, but when I do a quick CMD-B shows the bookmark sidebar, and I can quickly select my bookmark, and then close the sidebar.

By moving the Dock to the right I get the maximum height in Firefox, and every other application that runs on my Mac.  I tend to use Spotlight to launch apps, so the Dock is more of a visual reference for me.  I like having it on the right of the display, but others like it on the left.

You can go one step further.  In the image below I have hidden the statusbar and the URL address bar (by clicking the lozenge in the top right hand corner). 

Whilst this arrangement gives the maximum available display of the browser, it's not what I choose to do.  Being a web developer, I am URL aware at all times.  Not only in the websites I develop, but in others that I visit.  I like to the URL of the page I am visiting in the address bar, and also the URL of any links I am hovering on in the status bar.

Finding the right layout for you will take a little trial and error.  But, by experimenting you can regain large amounts of lost browser, and desktop, space on your Mac. 

Just because you have a small display, doesn't mean you have to lose out.

Today Apple release the iPhone 3G S.  As always, everyone is talking about it.  But, how, as web developers, do we benefit, and is it worth us upgrading?

Speed

The iPhone 3G S is now up to 2 x faster than the previous model.  There is no direct benefit to web developers, but everyone loves things to be quicker.  Especially good if you're researching development ideas or solutions.

Video

Useful for recording presentations or ideas.  Also good for making video casts, but the quality is not quite good enough for the latter.

3 Megapixel Camera

The old 2 megapixel camera was a bit lacking for anything really.  The 3 megapixel version is hardly a big upgrade.  Maybe it'll be useful for taking snaps of inspiring scenes, pictures, designs or business cards.

Voice Control

No direct benefit to developers, but a nice time saver.

Compass

The compass will definitely help when using GPS navigation.  Great for when you're on your way to a client/meeting at a location you haven't been to before.

Cut, Copy & Paste

Finally, the basic features arrive to the phone.  I can't believe it took that long.  We can now copy information from emails and SMS' and paste to wherever we want.

Landscape Keyboard

The keyboard gets widescreen on more apps.  Better for writing long emails on the iPhone.

Messages

Video and picture enabled pictures.  Not much here for developers, given than email is much superior.

Search

Handy for finding lost emails or SMS from clients.

Internet Tethering

Now this is good.  Finally you can share your GPRS/Edge/3G connection with you Macbook or laptop.  This allows us to work on the train, in the airport, etc.

Some people with jailbroken phones have been tethering for a while, so it's good to see this feature in the official software.

Some carriers, such as AT&T don't allow tethering on their regular data plans.

Voice Memos

I quick and easy way to record notes and ideas without writing.

Nike & iPod Support

Most web developers need to get outside and get some exercise.  So this is only a good thing

So, a few good features for web developers, particularly the internet tetthering.

What do you think?  Tell us in the comments below.

Showing hidden files in OSX isn't as easy as we'd all like.  When you're trying to find .htaccess files or similar it's a real pain.  It normally involves executing a terminal command.  But, hiddenfiles, a great dashboard widget, hides and shows hidden files with a click of a button.

Panic.com today released Coda v1.6.  I knew this because whilst I was using Code to change elements of this blog a message popped up and told me it had just updated itself to v1.6.  Thanks very much!

Coda is my favorite tool for web developement.  It allows me to edit my html/php/css files, and esily upload them to the server when I am done.

New features are:

• Plug-ins. This is huge! Teach Coda new tricks, and extend its functionality, lickety-split. Download plug-ins that others have written, or write your own plug-ins using your favorite scripting language. This is just the beginning — learn more in the Coda Developer Zone. We look forward to seeing what you make! 
• Open quickly. Hit Control-Q to instantly access the Open Quickly window. Type a few letters of the local file you want to edit, anywhere in your site. Ka-jang! Instantly open it. It's Spotlight for your website files!
• Smart Spelling. Spell check your words — not your code. And in Mac OS X 10.5, do it as you type! 
• Subversion. Work with a team using the most popular source control system there is, baked right into the sidebar. Check out code, update, commit changes — yep, Coda just saved you even more time. 
• Find across files. You can now find and replace text across multiple local files — open files, files in a specific folder, or the files in your "site" — using the same sleek, inline search bar you know and love.

Did you know OS X has lots of Mac related icons ready for you to use?

Copy and paste the following path into Safari and you'll have access to a wealth of icons, including pictures of Apple cmputers.

/System/Library/CoreServices/CoreTypes.bundle/Contents/Resources

512x512 Pixel Icons

• Activity Monitor
• Address Book Leopard
• Apple iPhone
• Assistant
• Audio MIDI Setup
• Audio Preview
• Automator
• BluetoothAudioAgent
• Bluetooth File Exchange
• Boom-Archive-Helper
• Boot Camp
• Calculator
• Chess
• ColorSync Utility
• Console
• Dashcode
• Dashcode Document
• Desktop Leopard
• Dictionary
• DigitalColor Meter
• Directory Access
• Disk Utility
• DVD
• DVD Player
• Expose
• Finder Leopard
• Font Book
• Front Row
• Front Row Leopard
• FullTrashIcon
• Generic Document
• Grab
• Grapher
• Home
• iCal
• iChat Leopard
• IconComposer
• iMac white
• Image Capture
• iMovie
• Installer
• Instruments
• Interface Builder
• iPhoto
• iSync
• iTunes green
• iTunes Leopard blau
• JarLauncher
• Keychain Access Leopard
• Keynote
• Keynote 08
• Liaison
• Mac mini
• Mail Leopard
• Migration Assistant
• Network Utility
• Numbers 08
• ODBC Administrator
• Pages
• Pages 08
• Photo Booth
• PowerBook G4 12inch
• Preview Leopard
• Public Generic PC
• Quartz Composer
• Quicktime
• RAID Utility
• Safari Leopard
• ScriptEditor
• Setup Assistant
• Software-Update
• Spaces Leopard 1
• Spaces Leopard 2
• Spotlight Leopard
• Stickies
• SystemPreferences
• Terminal
• Time Machine
• TrashIcon
• VoiceOver Utility
• Xcode
• Xcode Document

Extra Icons

• 64bit
• Address Book
• Applications
• Bonjour
• CandyBar
• Core Audio
• Core Image
• Core Video
• Dashboard
• Dashboard 1200x1200
• dotMac
• FileVault
• Finder
• Firefox
• HD
• Home
• iChat
• iChat AIM
• Image Ready Ducky
• Keychain Access
• Leopard Disk
• Mac Sync
• Mail
• Papers
• Safari
• Spotlight
• Xcode

Mac OS X is great at installing and managing applications.  Uninstalling an app is as simple as dragging it to the trash.  But did you know that some preference and other files can be left behind?  I've compared and tested the best paid and free OS X uninstaller applications.

There are several key features of a uninstaller application. The applications on test here will be compared on

1. Ease of use
2. Features
3. Completeness of uninstall
4. Price

Spoiler: My pick is AppDelete.  Free, easy to use and does the job.

AppDelete

reggie.ashworth.googlepages.com/appdelete

Free.  Reggie Ashworth.

AppDelete has a simple interface.  You drag the app onto the window and it finds the associated files.  It was slow in operation when compared to the other apps on test here, but it does find 'hidden' files, which is a good thing.  Any it's free!

Ease of use:  Simple.  Drag the app on, and choose which files to delete.

Features:  Good.  Allows files to be left on the disk when uninstalling.  Has an 'undo' feature to restore apps from the trash.  Also deletes the installer dmg file.

Completeness of uninstall:  Excellent.  Got rid of evertyhing, including the installer dmg.

Price: Free.

Overall rating: 5 out of 5.

AppTrap

konstochvanligasaker.se/apptrap/

Free.  Marcus Magnuson.

AppTrap is more of a service than an application.  Once installed and running it waits for you to delete an app, whereby it asks you if you want to delete associated files.  Some might prefer this approach as it's more streamlined than running an application first.

Ease of use:  Good.  Setup requires installing the app, adding the preferences to the System Preferences and turing the service on, which is a bit fiddly.  However, once running if steps in whenever you delete an app to the trash.  So fiddly to install, transparent to use after.

Features: Limited.  Offers little in terms of options.  Doesn't show you the files it will delete along with the app.

Completness of uninstall:  Good.  All files were deleted in the test.

Price: Free.

Overall rating: 4 out of 5.

AppZapper

www.appzapper.com

$12.95 with free upgrades for life.  Austin Sarner & Brian Ball.

 The download version allows 5 apps to be zapped, before you have to purchase and register:

Ease of Use: Very simple.  Drag the app from the applications folder on to the main window, and AppZapper shows you the files it will uninstall. 

Features: Good.  You can choose to keep some of the files when uninstalling, such as settings files.  The paths of the removed files are shown, so handy for grabbing a copy before zapping.  Preferences has a list of apps you can choose to always keep safe, to avoid any accidents.  Default apps are protected by, well, default.

Completeness of uninstall:  Good. Rumour has it that AppZapper gets rid of every file, so you can re-install free trials and they will work again! 

Price:  Just $12.95 for lifetime updates. 

Overall rating: 4 out of 5.

Conclusion

AppZapper is the best app here, but its the only commercial app.  It's extra features are worth getting if you have the dollar.  If you want a free solution go with AppDelete.  If you want the easiest solution go with AppTrap.

Adobe has introduced Creative Suite 4 (CS4), the latest version of it's suite of creative tools. The emphasis in this edition is more open file formats, so the applications can share more data.

CS4 now includes
- Soundbooth
- Premiere Pro
- Photoshop
- InDesign
- Illustrator
- Flash
- Fireworks
- Dreamweaver
- Flash
- After Effects

GoLive has been dropped and replaced by Dreamweaver, which is no bad thing.

Photoshop Extended now enables users to paint and composite 3D models. Dreamweaver users get to see accurate rednerings of site designs,c complete with the ability to test interactions, and now able to create transparent gradients and draw more naturally with the blob tool that you'll find inside Illustrator.

You can now export InDesign documents in Flash. Flash itself has been beefed up with powerful new object-based animation modelling tools.

Buy Now

	$579.99
	£1,050.97

Apple Macs are set to become the best selling computers in the US claims ChangeWave research. 32% of US shoppers planning a computer purchase will go Mac. "Apple's reached a tipping point." researches said. "Buying a Mac is as normal as buying a Dell or HP PC these days." This is a market change that is likely to be permanent.

Apple's quest to be have computers in everyones homes races on as Apple make better and better products, whilst products such as Windows, seem to get worse.