The Weekly Review

Now that all the discussion around Apple pushing Safari on Windows users is winding down, people are starting to focus on the improvements in the newest browser for Windows.

So far the biggest complaint seems to be still be centered on the font rendering. Ars posted a review today and reviewer Ken Fisher had this to say about the use of OS X font rendering in an app for Windows:

I know some readers are going to e-mail me and extol the ways in which Safari’s font rendering encapsulates the ephemeral origins of the written word or some other such nonsense, but it comes down to a basic point: all of the anti-aliased text on Windows is rendered using ClearType. When your app uses a different scheme, it looks broken because it looks different.

I thought this when Safari was originally released for Windows and I’m thinking it again - this has to be a personal preference rather than a default fact. Reading on Safari in Windows has never looked blurry to me, at any text size.

I feel confident saying this. A big part of the reason I prefer OS X over Windows is simply the look and feel. When doing comparisons between the two, a lot of focus is placed on features and compatibility. But I think that even if people cannot articulate it, OS X just feels more comfortable (I’m referring to people who have actually tried the platform). And to me, that comfort is largely imbued by the gorgeous way text is displayed. Using Safari in Windows feels the same to me as it does in OS X.

Now I’m not downplaying the fact that a ported application should behave as a native application (we certainly complain that Firefox is not Mac-ish often enough). Nor am I stating that some people do not find text blurry in Safari on Windows. I’m simply stating my belief that this is a preference rather than a hard fact and should be treated as such.

If people want to complain about this whole scenario, I say keep focusing on the sneaky addition of the browser in the software updater. But once the browser is actually on a Windows machine, I say kudos to Apple for giving all those poor folks a little taste of what they’re missing.

Further Update: It appears that Apple is listening to it’s followers these days. They have updated the Windows version of Software Update after all the furor the sneaky installs of Safari caused.

Update: Jesper also responded to Gruber’s comment of interesting. Bottom line - he really doesn’t like this move from Apple.

Interesting read today on microsoft-watch (via Gruber). In an article named ‘Apple’s Windows Invasion’, Joe Wilcox reports that Apple’s Software Updater offers Safari 3.1 even if Safari was not previously installed.

Curious move I’d say. I’m not sure what to think about this yet. I can see why Apple would do it - Joe lists a lot of good reasons.

But for a company that you would assume would like to start eating into Microsoft’s dominance of corporate America, this would seem like a good way to further alienate the IT departments of those very corporations. Joe well articulates the concern:

It’s one thing to let employees install iTunes and something else for Apple Software Update to offer another Web browser.

I know full well the anti-Apple sentiment. My employer is Windows only and I’ve had no luck changing anyone’s stance. And I’m in the IT department.

Joe also makes a great point about the risk unsupported browsers are to a company:

Enterprises should be concerned about rogue browser installations, for reasons I shouldn’t have to state. Safari is fairly new to Windows and has yet to really show that it has can muster the security to withstand the associated attacks. Mac OS X is a quaint neighborhood where little Safari was safe. By comparison, Windows is a gang-ridden ghetto: life is survival, and it’s tough going.

The main reason I find this so curious a move is that it looked like Apple was making a strong push to get the attention of corporations by making the iPhone completely compatible with Exchange. This seems to be an aggressive move as well, but in a different direction. Interesting indeed.

As a user of Windows and OS X, I’ve been looking for a good solution to sync my google calendar and iCal. As of yesterday it looks like the solution has arrived: BusySync. I’ve tried out a few other tools over the past couple of years but none have been as slick as this.

After a quick download and install, I’ve got multiple calendars published and synced. Two days of use and I’ve had zero issues (keeping my fingers crossed - syncing is a fickle business). If it keeps working I’ll be forking over another 25$ to a mac indie developer.

I’m constantly signing up for and trying out the latest web applications. Most of the time I stop using them after the first login. Occasionally I’ll play with one for a couple of weeks. And once in a while a new web app becomes a regular tool. Instapaper is starting to look like one of the latter.

Reading Routine

I purchased NetNewsWire (NNW) not long after purchasing my first Mac (a used PowerMac G4), mostly on the recommendation of chairman Gruber. Since then, nothing has made me want to leave NNW for another RSS reader. The only issue I’ve had is that my work machine is an HP so NNW is not an option when at work.

Keeping up with my feeds mostly happens at home. But there are days when I want to do some reading at work. I tried Google reader for a while (with the excellent greader theme from Jon Hicks). But having to keep up to date on all my feeds in two feed readers was a waste of my time.

I’ve also tried using NNW on my mac and using a synced list on NewsGator while at work. This did not last for long either - mostly due to poor performance. NewsGator is extremely slow for me and buggy to boot. I love NNW, but it seems a shame that Ranchero was bought out by a company that makes Windows software (I’ve done a comparison on this very thing before).

Suffice to say, I had a hard time finding a satisfactory solution keeping my reading in sync between work and home. That is where Instapaper has now filled in admirably.

How? First, it has allowed me to keep up with my reading when at work. I don’t always get a lot of time to read at work anyways, so going through my entire list of feeds was a waste. Now I simply have a list of items that I’m sure will be a good read. I simply choose one during my lunch that piques my interest at the time.

Secondly, it fits in with my weekend routine quite nicely as well.

The New Routine

So now with NNW and Instapaper, I can keep up with my reading wherever I am and whenever I have time. Here’s how I use them.

Most weekday evenings I get a chance to go through my feeds in NNW. But a lot of those evenings my time is limited so I really skim through the shorter content.

When I get to something longer that really interests me, if I have time, I read it. If not, I use Instapaper’s bookmarklet to save the item for later. Now when I have a free moment at work, I simply choose from my list of items on Instapaper.

I also mentioned above how it fits in on the weekends. It does so simply by giving me something to read. Most of my feeds have content published during the week, but slow to a trickle on Friday through Sunday. I used to get a bit stressed trying to keep on top of my feeds during the busyness of the week - then the weekend would come along and I’d have nothing left to read.

Now I have a list of the items that deserve a longer look available at the time when I can give them the attention they deserve. And I’m less stressed.

One last thing to mention is the feel of the application itself. It’s dead simple. It was clearly designed for use on the iPhone, but is comfortable on a regular browser. It does just what it needs and nothing more. It’s a clean tool and a joy to use.

It’s becoming an indispensable tool for this reader.

In an attempt to illustrate an overall summary of the differences between OS X and Windows, I offer the following comparison:

NetNewsWire on my Macbook:

Feeddemon on my HP:

Two applications with the same purpose and offered by the same company - Newsgator. One designed for the Mac, one designed for Windows.

Can you see the difference?

After yesterday’s post, I felt that I should mention a few things. The overall impression of that post may lead readers to think that I hate working in Windows. And while at times that is the case, there are a few rays of sunlight that allow me to experience some joy while working on my HP laptop. Here is a list of applications that I enjoying using on Windows:

• MS Excel
• Firefox
• iTunes
• Safari
• Snitter

Well. That list was shorter than I had pictured. And two of the apps I enjoy the most on my Windows machine are made by Apple. Hmm.

After a bit of thought, I included Excel. Why? It is the only Microsoft product I have ever felt was designed really well - it is stable, has a surprising amount of power (too much in many cases), and is an effective tool to collect and communicate information.

It Ain’t All Local

But it’s still a very short list. So I would be remiss to not mention that on my HP I look to the web for the ‘fun’ applications that I cannot seem to find for the OS. Here is a list of the web apps that I use regularly at work:

• GMail
• Highrise by 37 Signals
• NewsGator (syncs with NetNewsWire - sometimes)

Yeah - that list is pretty short too. Fortunately, aside from the in-house applications we use, this is the software that I use everyday to perform my job functions and that I actually enjoy.

I also spend a good chunk of time everyday in Outlook. I did not list it - not because it’s really that bad - but simply because I don’t really enjoy it.

So while I greatly prefer working on my Macbook, there are occasional moments of caffeine-aided joy while I work in Windows.

As a frequent user of two of the major computing platforms of the current day - Microsoft’s Windows XP and Apple’s OS X (10.5) - I feel I can speak with some authority on the differences between the two. Unlike some on either side of the fence who throw out their strong opinions without any actual experience using one of these operating systems, I can say I spend a good deal of my time on both.

And although I have a preference for one of these platforms over the other, I’ll do my best to be impartial here. Rather, I will rely on experience and the amount of pleasure I derive from using each.

It’s the People

For me, the biggest difference between the two is the community. It could be said that since Windows is the dominant platform in the industry, there is no community. Or rather, the community is so large and diversified that it is actually comprised of smaller, specialized communities. And perhaps I have not stumbled upon the good ones that are out there.

However, the Mac community flourishes. Especially in this decade as Apple has methodically returned to prominence. Apple has always had a passionate, dedicated core of users, but that core seems to being growing in recent times.

This community consists of different professional groups - bloggers, designers, educators and most importantly to me, software developers. This last group is where I personally see the big difference between the two platforms.

Indie Software

The enjoyment I get from when my Mac is in part due to the operating system - the ease of use, the intuitiveness and the look of OS X all add to the experience. But my enjoyment is enhanced greatly by the third party software that I use every day. At any time, one look at my dock shows that applications created by Apple are always outnumbered by those I have purchased from the Mac developer community. Applications such as NetNewsWire, Coda, Yojimbo and Things make the hours fly by.

Shawn Blanc recently expressed this enjoyment in one of his lengthy Mac software reviews:

“Furthermore, if an application can not only solve a problem, but help the user enjoy the process, it succeeds even more.”

I think Shawn nails it here - OS X can be described in this way, and the majority of the Mac developer community strives to ensure their applications extend that experience.

And there is an abundance of this type of software for OS X. This list I gave above is only a small representation of what is available to the end user.

My Problem

I work in IT in the healthcare industry and our organization is currently Windows only. If it were my preference, I would use OS X all day. But that choice is not yet mine and I must make the best of the situation.

So I use Windows and most days I can perform my job functions somewhat painlessly. But you know what - the pleasure, the enjoyment - it’s just not there. I don’t look forward to using my computer like I do at home.

And I know part of the problem is the lack of the ‘little applications’. All the one-purpose, $30 apps that I have on my Mac - I have not been able to find the equivalents for Windows. Monolithic, brooding, all-in-one applications? Yep, they’re here and they’re entrenched in corporate America (and they’ll take your lunch money too). But the fun applications are not to be found.

My problem started with GTD. I have spent the past year tweaking my system implementing GTD at work and at home. After trying out multiple setups for both, I can say I am very happy with my system at home. At work, not so much. I just cannot find a GTD based application for Windows that can match the ease-of-use and elegance of the options available for OS X.

Where art thou, Things for Windows? Omnifocus? Maybe I’m just not looking in the right places. Maybe Google is hiding things from me. If there is someone out there who can point me in the right direction, please drop me a line.

But I can say this - the Mac indie software community is alive and growing. From what I have seen, not so for Windows.