Tech Rush: Browser Wars

I’ve used the pictured browsers for some time in either Mac or Win [ ] and here are my impressions:

  Microsoft IE [Win only]: It's installed with Windows. That should say it all. I haven't been bothered to use IE for quite a while. It takes up a lot of resources and feels slow. I know that there have been a lot of improvements on it but I don't really think it performs that well. The only reason I don't uninstall it is because there are some websites (usually local ones) that only display properly on IE.

Firefox [Win & Mac]: Firefox is the only browser (so far) that I use in both my PC and Mac. It seems to have the same performance on both OSes. It's faster than IE and it was the first browser I used with tabbed browsing (although all have followed suit). What really makes Firefox indispensable to me is its many addons. Stuff like downloads, saving websites, blocking  ads, weather reports, tweeting, blogging,  etc. etc. are made easier because of the addons. I think it's almost as fast as Safari (more on this later) but a bit slower than Chrome. What really bugs me about Firefox is that it seems to have poor memory management. After hours of use, it isn't unusual to see (via Task Manager [Win]; Activity Monitor [OSX]) it using up to 200+MB of memory even with just 1 tab open!

Safari [Mac only]: it's 64-bit although I really haven't noticed any performance difference. Its faster than Firefox BUT... it seems to load the whole webpage before displaying anything. Contrast that with Firefox which gradually displays parts of a page while it's loading. That alone makes a difference to me since I get to see stuff faster on Firefox even if the full loading of the page completes faster on Safari. It doesn't have addons either but there are work-arounds.

Chrome [Win only]: the newest and fastest of the browsers I've used. I also like its minimalistic interface - no distractions. This has taken the place of Firefox as my primary Windows' browser. Downside is, it doesn't have addons or extensions so there are quite a number of instances where I have to fire up Firefox. Chrome is the only browser I've used that runs tabs in its own memory space. Technically that means that if a webpage goes bad, only that tab should go down. Unlike Firefox and Safari where a badly programmed webpage could stall the whole browser. I haven't really been able to test this feature yet but of the 3 browsers, Chrome has the best memory management structure. I'm looking forward to test the Mac version of Chrome, which is still in alpha testing.

 

 

Technorati Tags: browsers,safari,chrome,explorer,firefox,review,internet,computer

The Shower Factor

Anyway while waiting for my turn to have a facial (“,) I picked up a magazine and started browsing. I came upon the article “How to determine if your boyfriend is gay”. One of the items in the list was how long a guy takes in taking a shower. According to the article, straight guys average 7 minutes in taking a shower. If a guy takes 20 – 30 minutes just showering than warning bells should go off!  

Well if that’s a fact, then I’m straight! haha. I don’t really know how I’ll take more than 15 minutes to shower. I mean pour water, shampoo then wash with soap from the face down and then pour water again. What else is there?

Although I have friends who take 30-minute showers (they’re the one’s always late for meetups) hehe. In any case if there’s any guy out there who doesn’t know how to take a shower, instructions can be found here.

After-shower rituals is a whole new story though :p

 

Technorati Tags: shower,bathe,trivia,gay,men

Standing Still

If you have been long time readers of my blog, I guess you know at least one reason why I don’t use my real name in my facebook account. I don’t even use it here. But the sad thing is this identity is actually who I really am.

However the recent fire that destroyed my highschool forced me to setup another Facebook account using my real name so that I could get in touch with my classmates and former”?” friends from elementary and highschool.

A lot has changed in the last 14 years since we graduated from highschool. My classmates have done something with their lives while I feel I have nothing to show. I still live in the same area, go to church in the same church while they have married, have different last names, had kids, started working abroad, earning a lot…

Sure I have some diplomas to show… but still, except for my age now, I’m almost exactly the same as I was back then. Somehow setting up that 2nd Facebook account doesn’t feel all that good.

Tech Rush: OSX vs Windows

I can say that I’m fairly comfortable using both Apple’s OSX (currently Snow Leopard) and Microsoft’s Windows (currently Vista). Each one has it’s own strengths and weaknesses.

Ease of Use - I’d give this one to Windows. Majority of computer users are familiar with the user interface, and the upcoming (just released) Windows 7 is said to offer some good refinements. But it’s not saying that OSX is hard to use. It’s just like using an iPhone after you’ve been through year with Nokia.

Stability - This one goes to the Mac. it just simply works. But it’s not as clear cut because most of the instability of windows is due to 3rd party software and poor quality hardware which is also from 3rd parties. Quality control is easier on the Mac side since they make the OS and the hardware.

Customization - hardware and software there are just a lot more options for Windows and its machines. I could argue that Mac, with its beautiful interface doesn’t need customization but I could say the same thing about Windows 7. It’s just that if you want to do more or design your own, you have more choices in the Window’s world for both the hardware and software.

Compatibility - this one is a tie. Major software like Microsoft Office, Photoshop, Net browsers are available for both Mac and Windows. Although gadgets like celphones (Nokia, SonyEricsson, Samsung, Blackberries, GPS devices, audio equipment may be delayed in coming up with Mac compatible software there’s always Bootcamp.

Price - a tie. you get what you pay for. Mac’s are really more expensive if you look at the hardware specifications which is hard not to do when Apple started using Intel processors in their machines. But from experience even if you have the same specs on paper, the actual performance is a lot difference and most of the time in favor of Macs. Maybe it’s the architecture or maybe the fact that only one company designs both hardware and software while Windows has to deal with 3rd party vendors. And looking at design & quality - well just actually touch and feel the MacBook Pros and iMacs.

If you have any questions about the specifics, just place a comment or email me and I’ll try to give an answer. Windows Vista has been good to me and I don’t really see what the complaints are about. Hopefully I get to try Windows 7 soon and post my experience with it.

My HIgh School Burned

October 21, 2009 between 3PM-4PM I was busy calibrating the PC monitor because the colors seemed off when our home phone rang. It was my mom bringing bad news - my high school (just a few blocks away), was on fire. I don’t really know if it was indifference or because I though that there was nothing I could do right then, but it didn’t make me leave what I was doing. I immediately sent a tweet to a fellow alumni and went on calibrating while the noise of fire engines’ sirens became louder

After a few minutes, I received text messages, twitter messages and a phone call from my cousin all telling me that the school was totally destroyed. It was just then that I decided (reluctantly) to have a look for myself.

The high school is inside a small compound which it shares with the elementary school and is adjacent to the church we go to. When I got there, the fire was already under control although there was still thick smoke coming from one portion of the compound. Fire engines and onlookers were in the street.

From the gate, I saw that the structure of the school was still standing but the walls of the rooms on the 2nd floor were blackened and the roof appeared to have partially collapsed.

It was only when I got a closer look that I saw that although you couldn’t say the school was burned to the ground, the fire had almost totally damaged it and it looks as if it has to be torn down instead of being repaired before it can be used again.




What was I supposed to feel in a moment like this? Of course I definitely didn’t feel good, but I wasn’t shocked or uneasy. I had been a student here for 4 years, 10 if you include elementary years. On a positive note, no one was harmed (as far as I know) and finally the long overdue plans to renovate the school structures could start, whether planned or not.