Stuff and Nonsense

I’m now using Google Chrome as my browser of choice. It just works. It’s fast. If it dies only one tab dies. It does some things very differently and very nicely. Like downloads appearing at the bottom of the tab you just downloaded them in and staying there in case you need them. A stunning piece of common sense – why would you download something you don’t intend to use?

Unfortunately, I can’t use it at work yet because although its rendering is superb and as far as I can see every bit as good as FF3, IE7, IE8 and Safari and its built-in developer tools are better than all other browsers, it does not have the essential part of our development workflow – Firebug and html tidy. Until it has a plugin comparable to each, it must remain second fiddle at work. I’m using it of course for general purpose but not when I have any page development or testing to do and want the comfort of real-time validation and being able to monitor network requests

I will explore writing plugins myself of course. In reality I will never have the time or, more likely energy to actually implement anything of the sort. Someone though, WILL have the time and energy to create these plugins for Chrome and when they do my day will run just that bit faster and crash less often.

Well I mean it’s closer to being perfect than any phone, PDA or computing device I’ve ever owned. A little background is probably in order. I have never been an Apple fan. Of course I have used a mac in the last twenty years but only to test websites on mac safari and Internet explorer. In fact I’ve hated every exposure to mac I’d that I’ve ever had. Of course this is borne out of impatience, never having had the time or desire to learn the OS as I had learned all things windows.

Recently though, I read a few blogs about the app store for iPhone and iPod touch. This caught my attention because Apple have essentially gathered all users of this platform in one place which though criticized by many has the benefit for the developer of virtually eliminating marketing costs and at the same time with the iPhone they have created a platform so friendly and so powerful that it’s users want all their old simple apps games and utils on it. Since I’m in the business of writing software this is a new opportunity to be investigated at least.

So I obtain a 3G 16g iPhone. I was hooked in minutes. Setup of work and personal mail accounts, sync with exchange, wifi connections you name it, it works and with zero frustration. The software tools only work on a mac of course so I now have a mac mini and while the objective c language is a challenge for me, all else is easy and… dare I say it… I think I am starting to enjoy the environment.

I have had every slide out keyboard, stylus operated windows mobile or nokia phone of note and this beauty makes them all look like early prototypes of what a phone come PDA come laptop should be. What’s more, this phone is making a mac user and developer out of someone who thinks bill gates should be made king of the world. That is remarkable. The iPhone has filled me with an excitement and desire for programming that I haven’t felt since I school days spent programming 6502 assembler.

Don’t believe the reviews that say typing is difficult, it’s not, it’s the fastest editor on any small device, period. Don’t be fooled by reviews of other phones saying they are potential iPhone killers, they are not. This is, quite simply the best piece of technology I have ever used. It just works. It really does live up to Apple’s hype. Get one now and write space invaders for it, there is still a Market for all the retro stuff that we all know how to write these days but is saturated on other platforms.

If you can’t afford one, sell your granny to get one. If you have a phone, you need an iPhone. By the way, I typed this post on my iPhone and with the exception of a few erroneous conjunctions that had to be edited, what you see is what I typed and what’s more, I typed it using one hand, two fingers and a thumb, almost as quickly as I can type accurately on any keyboard. It is truly impressive.