Everything within Reason

and breaks the functionality @ Dutch Rabobank Internet Banking.

I got the Safari 4 update this morning, and with most Apple updates I just install them. After the update I launched it and was (at first) surprised at the Interface. It opened with ‘Top Sites’. An overview of Websites along with thumnails… Nice.

Since I had a web browser open, I launched the Rabobank Internet bankieren website. Since Apple boasts with the fact that Safari 4 passes like a gazillion Acid tests (and Microsoft like only 1)

Safari 4 ACIS tests results (according to Apple)

From another source:

On February 24 2009, Safari 4 was the first fully functional build browser to pass Acid3.[22]
On 08 June 2009, Safari 4 was the first official release version of a desktop browser to display a score of 100/100 and pass the Acid3 test.

The main page worked fine, but transferring funds leaves you with empty screens etc. There is no way of managing your money with Safari 4.
I haven’t search for workarounds, since I don’t want to search through knowledge bases, or sniffing through settings within Safari (or OSX). A browser should work.

So they might be perfect in a lab environment, but I’d rather have a less perfect browser which enables me to manage my money.

So, to summarize:

Safari 4: 100% ACID 3 proof, and a 100% failure rating in displaying websites
(since I only tried one website)

Anyway, back to FireFox for me.

B.t.w. I have tried the same with Internet Explorer 8 on a worklaptop (since it got pushed through my throat), and that one works fine. Even when it’s not in its compatibility view mode (for displaying non-standard websites). Must the one of the few times that Internet Explorer seems to work….

On Windows PC’s I use SnagIt from TechSmith for screencaptures etc. On OSX I use the built-in capabilities of OSX for capturing screens, windows, or areas, but there was something missing…

SnagIt can capture large windows within *cough*Internet Explorer*cough* or Firefox as one image. So no need for a capture, scroll down, capture again etc. This feature isn’t available in OSX, or any (commercial) capturing software I could get my hands on. Until I ran into Screengrab.

Screengrab is a FireFox extension which allows you to save an entire webpage as an image (jpg or png). Excellent extension if I may say so.

…. for me at this moment.

I’m still in the fase of migrating my Windows server to a more ‘reliable’ Operating System. The new server should cover the following basic functionalities:

• Filesharing (either via Samba or NFS)
• Webserver with PHP and Coldfusion
• SSH server
• RADIUS Server
• Central user database (e.g. an LDAP server)
• a NZB downloader of some sort
• etc.

Up till now I’ve tried several Linux distros (Ubuntu 7, Ubuntu 8, and CentOS 5), and none of them are that easy to configure. Read more…

My MacBook shipped with the standard 2GB of memory. I had the idea of adding the additional 2GB myself since Apple charges you more money than needed. Downside is that the new MacBooks are kinda sensitive about the memory you use. Regular Kingston / Sandisk memory could result in kernel panics (or other strange behaviour).

After some googling I read some forum posts on OCZ memory and the new aluminium MacBooks. Today I added 2 * 2GB of OCZ memory to my MacBook, and it runs fine (at the moment).

As long as there aren’t any updates on this post it probably means that I’m not having any problems with the new memory.

Memory details:

OCZ SO-Dimm 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-8500, 1066Mhz

A while back I wrote something about Path Finder as a probable Finder substitute. Well, it’s been a couple of months, and I must say that  I’m still using the crappy Apple Finder.

Why? Well, I guess that it kinda grows on you, eventhough Path Finder has ’some’ neat features. It just didn’t feel like a real substitute. It felt more like an add-on.

So, back to Finder with its little annoyances like;

• Not being able to move or delete files when the OS is busy creating the thumbnails.
• No Cut&Paste (⌘-x, ⌘-v) in the file system.
• ⌘-o to open files instead of hitting the Enter-key.
• Sort folders before files. Not mixing them.
• Clock/Date format (I want the date also to be visible).
• Manual refresh option for (share) folders.
• etc.
  

I have high hopes up for Snow Leopard. Hope that Finder gets a real good overhaul.

It’s been a while since I used the MTK software for getting GPS logs from my QStarz GPS BT Q1000 travel recorder. This weekend I was surprised to see that the developpers had updated the application interface (among other things). The new version is a JAVA applet, which can be installed in your Applications folder, or it can be run online (’no’ installation required).

No installation is not entirely correct, because you still need the USB drivers AND you need to create a directory and set certain filesystem rights.

In short:

• Install the required USB drivers for OSX
  
• Create the required directory by entering the following commands in the Terminal.app

sudo mkdir /var/lock
sudo chmod 777 /var/lock

It’s possible that there’s a prompt for an admin password.

• Run the Application (or install it).
  You need to trust the signed JAVA application. If you don’t, the application will not run.
• Launch the application and switch the GPS logger on (log-mode)
• Press connect, and you’re good to go.

I’m definitely looking forward to the maps integration (development version only at this moment).

Recently I bought a new MacBook (late 2008 edition). Since Apple charges the world for options I got the cheapest one available, and decided to upgrade the hard disk and/or memory when I saw the time fit. Well, that time has come.
Today I got a new Western Digital Scorpio Black 7.200rpm 320GB (WD3200BJKT) for €85.00 to replace the default 160GB 5400 rpm drive. Read more…

While in the mids of my Juniper exam preparation I ran into a problem with my Apple equipment. Managing the Juniper firewall (SSG5 in this case) with SSH was not possible from OSX. The connection itself would work, but after entering the password the connection was closed by the remote host (the firewall).
Trying this from a Windows laptop (with SecureCRT) everything worked as expected.

Some searching revealed that this is an OpenSSH bug. To manage your Juniper with SSH from OSX you need to add a parameter to the ssh command (or edit the SSH config file).

Parameter to add:

-o ControlMaster=auto
e.g. ssh willem@127.0.0.1 -o ControlMaster=auto

Or add the following line to the global SSH config (/etc/ssh_config) or the user config (~/.ssh/config).

ControlMaster auto

Juniper has a knowledgebase article (KB12409) on the issue.

The new aluminum MacBook arrived this week. This time no Pro verion but the cheaper (and smaller) MacBook. Initial impressions are good… really good.

The only drawbacks are directly related to the fact that I was too cheap to buy the more expensive version. The keyboard color is white letters on black keys (this was black letter on ’silver’ or white keys). This makes it harder to read them in low light conditions. So not having the backlit keyboard is a bit annoying.

Also, the lack of an USB port on the right-side of the MacBook is annoying. The cable of my mighty mouse is too short to get from the left-side USB port to the right-side where I use it.

MacBook for Lefties

Best (free) configuration option is the US keyboard. Finally a ‘normal’ keyboard on the MacBooks.

While the installation of the SafeSign software is relatively easy, the removal of the software is a bit harder. The installation package lacks an automated removal feature. So removing the driver/application must be done by hand.

The removal of the software (both the SafeSign as well as the TokenLounge software) can be reconstructed by analyzing the original packages/installation scripts. Read more…