This is not a reliable test of any piece of software. Let me reiterate, this is not a condemnation of a piece of software as a whole, only as a piece of software used by me and by my computer. In this case my macbook.

Today Google announced the Beta availability of Chrome for the Mac (and Linux).Now, I’d already been using builds of Chromium for the Mac released by Google. I liked Chromium in Alpha, but let’s face it, it was Alpha. I’m not saying Chrome Beta is better, I haven’t given it a good run through.

However, this post isn’t really about Chrome (well, not really though it leads to it). It’s about Firefox on my macintosh. I have truly had it, given up, thrown in the towel, decided to call it quits. After watching Firefox chew threw my battery as it runs up cpu cycles and disk runs with 10+ tabs open for the last many months, I decided the Beta release of Chrome was good enough for me to switch default browsers.

Now, your mileage may vary, but so far, no Firefox crashing, no Firefox eating through my memory. For the record I have VMWare Linux VM running, 6 applications, 10 Chrome tabs, 3 Safari Tabs and memory hungry Komodo IDE that I code in and I still have 1.2 GB of memory freed and a good solid 3 hours of battery on my 3 year old macbook.

Yes, I championed the cause of Firefox, but I’m done for now, the peace of Chrome has settled around here for this Christmas at least.

I love technology and I embrace technology incredibly fast. However, I have issues with using technology in ways that it was not meant to be used or technology used in ways that aggravate the hell out of me. For example, using a shovel as garlic press is a bit ridiculous. Oh sure, I know that this post will make me sound like a curmudgeon, but so be it.

Let me give you a guide to texting on a cell phone to someone like me. I know I have broken some of these rules, but from now on I intend to stick to it like glue considering how much cellphone text misuse has recently annoyed me.

1. If you are within walking distance of me and can actually come talk to me, do not ever text me. Come talk to me. Especially if I have to pay to receive your text or I have to pay to send you a text. The only exception I have for this is that you are dying, cannot yell, one arm and one leg have been sliced off and therefore have lost the ability to do anything but to get your phone out and send me a text message.

2. The following conversation should not be by text:

A: Hi
B: Yes?
A: How are you?
B: Good what’s up
A: What time can I come up?

If your conversation with me will involve multiple texts, please phone me. I do not want, nor care to exchange pleasantries over text messages on a cell phone.

3. If I ask a question in a text, send me an answer. For example the following is not what I would call useful.

A: We are leaving in 10 mins. Where are u?
B: The weather is nice here

Please note the above will likely end with me screaming and you being gutted with a spoon… a very blunt spoon.

4. Complex plans and situations should *never* be done over text messages. For the love of all that is going to keep you alive. The following is likely to make me scream and throw my phone away or at the very least turn it off:

A: We’ll meet at X in 5 mins bringing three people
B: Front entrance or back?
A: Side entrance instead.
B: There’s a side entrance? Okay see u there?
A: Actually going to be late, 2 pple going to front entrance.
B: Which entrance should I go
A: Side entrance then front entrance in 5 mins
B: ok
A: Oh pick up tickets
B: where?

At this point, the vein on my head will start throbbing. Chances are, you will see smoke out of my ears and then a scream of pure undiluted frustration. The voice functions were invented to have conversations and for people to plan. Please use the appropriate technology.

5. If you are going to be indecisive, please do not do it over text messaging.

A: What time will you be there?
B: Not sure, when do you want to be there?
A: 6pm
B: Hmmm not sure…

At this point, if you do not phone me I will likely decide that sitting in a clown bar by myself and having a fake red nose pinched every 2 seconds for the next 12 hours will be a much better circle of hell.

6. Do not have conversations with multiple people over a cell phone text messaging system. It was not created for such use; I do not know who else you have texted and I cannot see their replies to you. This is not how to plan something. If you are going to plan something, use the phone and voice call people and take responsibility to lead.

A to BCD: Meet at 6pm?
B to A: Can’t, coming at 7pm
C to A: When is everyone else meeting
D to A: Sure
A to B: ok
A to C: 6pm or 7pm
A to D: ok
B to A: is C coming?
…

You get the picture and why I might suddenly get aggravated.

Now don’t get me wrong, text messaging is a fantastic technology. When travelling it is the best way to get a hold of people, or a quick message such as “We are here” or “am coming” or “address is xxxx”. Just not every text conversation should continue as a text conversation. Take it upon yourself to stop, think about what the other person might be feeling and go voice as appropriate.

I hope this guide is useful, your mileage may vary.

Okay, I admit it, I like Star Wars. Somewhere on my hard drive is the horrendously bad Star Wars Christmas Special (yes the one with the Wookies). Now I’m not a complete Star Wars geek. I’ve never dressed like Luke or Leia (shudder, a brown man dressed as Leia, now that would likely be someone’s fetish or someone’s nightmare… if it’s your fetish, please don’t let me know, I like blissful ignorance).

However, there is now a complete replica of R2D2 available and it is the gadget of gadgets. It is a projector, an iPod dock and a web camera… and it acts and controls like the R2 unit. Woah. I want one! If some kind millionaire is reading this, feel free to send me one for Christmas!

Well, I’ve finally succumbed to the might of the almighty Google. For years I’ve been using shared web hosting for dups.ca, duleepa.com and all my varied sites. Most recently this site has been hosted by site5. When it comes to my email, it too has been hosted by these shared hosting packages. That all ended today, at least when it comes to email.

Shared hosting is great, it’s cheap and it’s easy to maintain. Shared hosting is also crap. Over the past year site5’s servers have been bouncing around like a yoyo. The folks try hard, they mean well, but if one of the hundreds of people on my little corner of the site5 world decide to run a a script that brings the server to its knees, well that also brings my site crashing to the ground. Admittedly, not being able to access dups.ca isn’t exactly the end of the world. I’m thinking you all can read my blog when the gremlins have been banished from the server. However, losing access to my email, well, that’s much more annoying.

In comes Google Apps.  So for the low low price of free, you can change your MX entries over to the GoogleBorg and presto-chango, my email is now being hosted at Google. With this fantastic service and probably much better uptime than site5, I can create 100 accounts each with 6.5 GB of space. Really, I don’t know how much I can complain about that.

You want to do the same? Simply go sign up for Google Apps (you can choose from free to premium, I don’t need premium), once you sign up, you need to prove you own the domain. This can be done with a a html file on your site or a CNAME entry in your DNS. Once Google verifies your ownership, go and change all your MX entries over, create your accounts and over a couple of days all the name servers in the world should catch up. That’s it, easy as pie. One thing though, if you intend to use IMAP to read your email, check the documentation, Google uses non-standard IMAP ports and stuff which is not mentioned in the non-troubleshooting area of the IMAP documentation.

All hail Google.