I upgraded my mac!

By Josh Highland in hacks, hardware, mac, tutorials

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A few months ago I bought a Mac mini so I could start to develop iPhone applications. I must say that I am growing to be more of a Mac user then I thought i would be. I purposly bought a cheap Mac to get started with, but I’m starting to regret it. One of the downsides of buying a low end computer is the lack of RAM. RAM is the area of the computer where th.e work gets done. Think of RAM as a work bench. The larger the work bench you have, the more things you can be working on at the same time. It boils down to this, more ram, more speed due to less reading and writing to the hard drive. My Mac had 1 Gig of RAM, no where near enough RAM for a power user/programmer.

Coming from a PC and Linux world, I have build all of my own computers since 1996. I’m comfortable working with computer hardware and the Mac mini is just another computer, except its wrapped up in a tiny package. I did some research and realized that it wouldn’t be hard to upgrade the RAM in my Mac. I found that MacSales.com had some great prices on RAM so I went for it and got 4 gigs worth.

I documented the whole upgrade process, and launched a new website, MacMiniRamUpgrade.com. It’s a Do-It-Yourself site to help inspire and walk people through the upgrade process.

Adding the RAM to my Mac mini is one of the best upgrades I have ever done. So much bang for buck. You should do it also! http://macminiramupgrade.com

Internet Explorer 6 must die!

By Josh Highland in internet, software, web 2.0, windows

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As a professional web developer I have the authority to say this, Internet Explorer is a pain in the ass to support. IE 6 is the browser that shipped with Windows XP, so it was pretty wide spread. Every year on the web is like 10 years in any other industry. This makes IE 6 about 80 years old in practical terms, a literal antique. Microsoft is now on version 8 of Internet Explorer. IE6 is not considered a “modern browser”. Modern browsers honor web site development standards and promote a consistent visual experience are users. The most notable of these modern browsers are FireFox, Chrome, Safari, and even Opera.

In a nut shell, a web browsers is an interpreter of code. Programmers write the code to power a website, but the displaying and presentation of the site is up to the web browser. Modern browsers will all react the programmers code in a similar manner, this gives users a consistent experience and lets programmers worry more about making cool stuff instead of worrying about how to make their pages look consistent on all browsers. IE 6 doesn’t play by the modern rules, it does its own thing, which is often unpredictable. This means that programmers have to write special code just for people who use IE 6 to look at their site.

Despite IE 6 being a horrible browser that is full of security holes, people continue to use it which is mind blowing to me. Upgrading to IE 7 or IE 8 is free, and mandatory if you have Windows XP service pack 2 or 3 installed. Better yet, IE 6 doesn’t come with  Windows Vista or Windows 7. Get with the time people and upgrade your computers!

Because IE 6 is still widely used but doesn’t play by today’s rules so to speak, and it is old, the decision has been made, IE 6 MUST DIE!

Major website announced this week that they would be displaying special messages to IE 6 users telling them to upgrade to a modern browser or lose the use of the site. Some of the big boys behind this effort include Twitter, Facebook, Digg and YouTube. In time these sites are going to stop worrying about IE 6 users all together.

I think this is an amazing step towards the future and would like to see some of the larger websites join together to solve some of the webs other problems.

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iPhone + AIM + push notification = Happy Josh Highland

By Josh Highland in interviews, iPhone, software

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I got my real start in programming making “progies”, back when MaGuS and fungii ruled the scene (only a fist full of people will know who I am talking about), circa 1995. I have and always will have a soft spot in my heart for AOL instant messaging. I don’t use the AOL service anymore, but I still have a bunch of friends that use AIM (AOL Instant Messenger). AIM is one of the biggest things that I missed when I got rid of my T-mobile Sidekick and went to an iPhone. Sure iPhone had an aim app, but it was garbage. It would sign you off line the second that you closed the screen or got a call or SMS message. Complete garbage.

Just moments ago, the iPhone AIM app with push notification launched. With the release of the iPhone 3.0 software it is now possible to stay connected to services like AIM and get notified when you have a new message with hout having to have the app always running. It works in a similar manner to SMS message. It’s called “push service” because the notifications get pushed to your device, instead of your device polling the server on a timed interval.

With that said, I have decided to retire my 15 year old AOL screen name and create a more fitting one. You can reach me on AIM at “xJOSHHIGHLANDx“. Let’s party like it’s 1995!