It’s easy to think that the relative-time style of “this comment was written 15 minutes ago” is incompatible with caching. How are you supposed to cache something if the text changes every minute? Static pages with JavaScripts, that’s how!

full post.

Update: Looks like this type of idea has been around for a while (I’d just never thought of it before)!

Microsoft has announced how it will package Windows Vista’s successor, Windows 7. And as ever, Microsoft has put segmentation ahead of clarity.

The one bright spot in Microsoft’s Windows 7 news is that - contrary to some reports - it won’t add a brand new edition solely for netbooks. Although even this is not that straight forward.

On Tuesday, the company Tuesday said Windows 7 would come in six editions: Windows 7 Starter Edition, Home Basic, Premium, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate.

Not that the news was presented like this. Microsoft led on the fact that “most” customers would be served by “two primary” editions - Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional that respectively target consumer and business users.

via The Register

I have a dream wherein future developers don’t even have to install Git for themselves in order to be able to use it. Apple has shown a very forward thinking attitude towards shipping OS X with various programming languages and version control systems. Right now is a critical time in which we can help push to have Git preinstalled on the next version of their operating system. The more people that use Git, the better the ecosystem becomes, and removing the installation barrier is a big step in that direction.

I’m told, on good authority, that the best way to make this happen is to let Apple know that it’s something we desire. So if you’d like to be able to fire up a fresh Mac and type git without ever installing it, open a ticket on Apple’s bug reporting site:

http://bugreporter.apple.com

Let them know that you’re using Git on your mac, and that you’d love to see it shipped with the next version of OS X so that even more developers can experience the joy of distributed version control!

via Github

The BBC has created a version of the iPlayer that works with both Mac and Linux computers.

The two systems, which have been able to stream BBC programmes via the iPlayer for a year, will now be able to handle downloads.

The BBC, working with Adobe, has developed the new version, known as BBC iPlayer Desktop.

Head on over to the labs to check it out.

via BBC News

Hello, you’ve reached Chad’s mailbox. Thanks for your email about the latest Labs feature: Canned Responses, or email for the truly lazy. I’m on paternity leave so I won’t be able to respond personally. Instead, I hope you’ll enjoy this automated message.

via CNET - Announcement

I really like the iPhone (it will be my next phone) - it’s the most complete device out there, but I would love to see a truly open platform like Android have a great handset underneath it and really take off - it’s the only thing I can see that stands a chance of really taking on the iPhone. (Future unreleased editions of Windows mobile etc. don’t count - we’re looking at the here and now, these platforms won’t stand still while others try to catch up…)

Today is a big day for Android, the Open Handset Alliance, and the open-source community. All of the work that we’ve poured into the mobile platform is now officially available, for free, as the Android Open Source Project.

You’ll be hearing a lot about Android devices. We’ve all put a lot of effort into the first Android device, and I’m really happy with the way it turned out. But one device is just the beginning.

Android is not a single piece of hardware; it’s a complete, end-to-end software platform that can be adapted to work on any number of hardware configurations. Everything is there, from the bootloader all the way up to the applications. And with an Android device already on the market, it has proven that it has what it takes to truly compete in the mobile arena.

Full Announcement The Code

Found this while trawling the feeds this morning - looks like quite a useful utility. It offers a nice alternative to Firebug (when testing in browsers other than Firefox).

Blackbird via

full story

“As recently as 2007, Linux users waited six months for Flash 9 to arrive. Now, with Microsoft pushing its Silverlight alternative, Adobe is touting the universality of its Flash format, which has penetrated ‘98 percent of Internet-enabled desktops,’ it claims. And, it today released Flash 10 for Linux concurrently with other platforms. Welcome to the future.”

via

…you’ll see us be much more vigorous about stating the case for the PC. The truth of the matter is, this is ironic. The PC outsells the Mac 33 to 1—32 to 1. And despite the fact that we don’t sell PCs, we only sell Windows to people who make PCs. And the attack is actually on the PCs, interestingly enough. You’ll see us defend the PC. We’re going to talk about why — look, PCs are better than Macs. That is not something that can be debated. [TMO emphasis] 32 out of every 33 times, somebody buys a PC instead of a Mac. I’m not saying that there are not some things that people like about Macs, apparently there are. But have you ever seen a cheap Mac? No.

This one’s a great one too - has this guy even seen a mac in the last 10 years…

I’m very sensitive to exactly what mouse I have on my laptop. Can you find a range of choices? [for the Mac] Of course you can’t find a range of choices.

full story