JamesX

Being a web developer, I always struggle with the arduous task of testing websites in different browsers. I’d already had a way to test multiple versions of Internet Explorer but now there’s a solution to check multiple versions of Safari.

The challenge with Safari is that Safari normally uses the Web Kit framework found inside Mac OS X to render web pages and execute javascript. This means that if you preserve an old version of Safari to run it on a newer version of Mac OS, it will use the newer Web Kit found in the system and you will get the same results as with the newer version. Thus, you would normally need a separate installation of Mac OS X for each version of Safari you want to test a website into.

These special versions of Safari use the original Web Kit framework that came with them, bundled inside the application. They will mimic original Safari rendering and javascript behaviours.

They even have funky icons to tell each version apart. Now I can test Safari 2, Safari 3, IE5.5, IE6, IE7 and Firefox 2 side by side, all on my Mac! Happy coding!

It’s been about a week in the making, but I think it’s pretty much ready to be unleashed upon the world. Ben Mulligan has finally decided to get a blog which makes his online self (Myspace + Facebook + Blog) complete. I helped him get it up and running on Wordpress, and after a crash course in cascading style sheets, Ben has taken it upon himself to style it up. I dare say that he’s done a pretty good job. You can find the flashy new thing at www.benmulligan.com - hard to remember, I know. Best add it to your favourites bookmarks before you forget!

You may recall just under two months ago, I set a goal of getting into the Technorati top 100,000 blogs list. I thought it would be interesting to see how I’m progressing and I’m pleased (and somewhat shocked) to report that I’m currently ranked 307,091. I think that’s quite a mean feat and it’s put me well on the way to the top! People have pointed out that it’s somewhat pointless and I agree… as I said when I started, I don’t know why I’m bothering. But I guess I’ve started now, so I have to finish - or at least try!

Obviously you have to keep in mind that the higher you go, the longer it takes to progress up each stage, but it just goes to show what a little teamwork can do. So keep linking to my site, and we’ll see just how far I can go!

…or is that taken off? Regardless, Alex has finally launched his new blog. I’ve lost count but I think this is like his seventh now. :) In the fast paced world we live in, and the fact we’re on opposite sides of the globe, it seems the blog is the only way we keep in touch most of the time.

This time he’s gone for the tumblelog style - basically like a normal blog, but for all kinds of content rather than just traditional text. I love the design in all it’s simplicity so you should go check it out - http://log.flightworkshop.com/.

UPDATE: Hehe maybe crashed and burned is more appropriate. Seems Alex is having a few issues with his host (see the comments).

Time for another spotlight on an open-source project. The diverse world of internet browsers, as any web developer will tell you, has opened the door to cross-compatibility issues. It’s all down to how different browsers interpret cascading style sheets (or CSS). The only way to ever be sure how your site looks in different browsers, is to physically test it. But as a Mac user, why would I want to look at Internet Explorer, let alone install it!

Well now you don’t have to. Browsershots is an open-source web project that allows you to submit a URL and it will get a number of distributed computers, running different browsers, on different platforms, to open your website and take a few screenshots. The images are then uploaded onto a central server for you to view. Pretty cool, eh?

There are so many interesting websites starting to pop up around the place nowadays that let you find your friends, and generally waste time talking to them. MySpace and Facebook are examples of such sites. The only problem with these sites is that they are virtual meeting places; you don’t actually get to meet people in person. Enter Plazes.

Plazes is a new site that allows you to track your friends wherever they are, anywhere in the world. It uses Google Maps and a whole lot of Flash to plot you, and your friends, and a whole heap of other stuff for that matter, on a map of the world. You can look globally or drill right down to street level if you like. It’s an interesting concept, and one that I’d probably be more skeptical of if it wasn’t so easy to keep your location up to date. You can easily change where you are using a number of methods - web browser, destkop application, instant message, SMS or mobile internet. It even lets you define a list of the places (called Plazes) you go to most often - like home and work - so that you can easily let the site know what you’re up to.

Once you have all that up to date, you can then share the information with your friends so they can find you, and ultimately, you can find them. You can view this on a map on the Plazes site, or you can include it on your website or blog as a nifty little Flash app. Who knows if it will take off, but it’s a novel concept and I recommend you check it out at www.plazes.com.