June 2006

iCab 3.0.2 Beta 416 - Universal

Since yesterday iCab 3.0 is universal! Um... wrong link... Let's try again: Since yesterday iCab 3.0 is available as a Universal Binary (UB) version (currently for registered users only) that runs natively on Intel-based Macs! Of course, there are still versions for PPC Macs running Mac OS X since 10.1.5 or Mac OS (Classic) 8.5 - 9.2.2.

If you're running the Intel version, be aware of some problems that Alexander mentions:

• Images with Alpha channel (affects PNG images and the FavIcons) will be drawn with a yellow shade. Other (Carbon) applications like GraphicsConverter show exactly the same problem. Apple knows about the problem and they're currently working on a bugfix.
  This problem doesn't exist on PPC Macs or when running in the "Rosetta" emulation on Intel Macs.
• Currently, Java doesn't work at all on Intel Macs [in Carbon applications] (regardless if running natively or under "Rosetta"). Under "Rosetta" it's generally impossible to call "native" Intel code or Java. But Apple abandoned the Java Embedding API in the Intel code, so currently there's no legal/documented way to embed Java Applets within Carbon applications.
  Please note that Java is not JavaScript. There's no problem at all with JavaScript. This is running fine on Intel Macs.
• Native Browser plug-ins for Intel are very rare at the moment. There're only the Quicktime plugin and a test version of the Flash Plugin. Both are installed by default on all Intel Macs. PPC plugins won't work in a browser when it is running natively on Intel Macs. They work fine when iCab is running under "Rosetta". Unfortunately the Flash plugin for Intel ist still very buggy and crashes in iCab. The native Quicktime plugin is running fine. So currently you should disable all Plugins with exception of the Quicktime plugin when using iCab natively on Intel Macs.
  In Rosetta or on PPC Macs, there should be no problem with plugins.

Apart from several necessary bugfixes and workarounds for the universal version, Alexander's release history lists some new features:

• iCab now supports the proprietary Attribute "allowtransparency" in the IFRAME tag which was introduced by Microsoft. This attribute can be used to make IFRAMEs transparent.
• In the Universal Binary version of iCab all saved forms (menu "View > Save/fill out Forms") will be now stored in the Keychain, if the kaychain is configured to be used for passwords in iCab. Though Forms are not passwords, they do sometimes contain passwords. The non-Universal Binary versions don't use the keychain, because the keychain doesn't support the required calls in all the system versions these iCab versions will run. iCab will automatically transfer the form data into the keychain when iCab saves its preferences. Depending of your keychain settings, you may be asked to unlock the keychain when iCab updates the formdata in the keychain. In general this will only happen once and also whenever iCab is updated (because the keychain has to know that the new version of iCab is also allowed to access the data).
• In the Classic version of iCab, form elements do now use a smaller font instead of the default system font. This solves some Layout issues where web pages assume a tiny font for form elements and where a bigger font would break down the layout.

Use the Right Tool to Upgrade Your MacBook RAM

As others have mentioned, access to a MacBook's RAM modules is easy, as is getting the old modules out. But getting the new modules into place can be a pain really. You'll need *lots* of pressure. Do yourself a favour and do not use your fingers or thumbs to push the new modules into place. Use a suitable tool. I found an old knife with a flat end on the hilt that worked perfectly. And btw, in contrast to what the manual says there is no "click" when a module is seated correctly.

Otherwise this is a really cool machine. Did I mention that it's fast? The screen is brilliant, the keyboard is a good one (especially for Apple), and the MacBook makes barely any noise. It doesn't get too hot (at least no more than I expected, though I think it's a portable computer rather than a laptop), and the fan comes in from time to time only (and blows constantly in this case). Let's hope the book makes a similarly good impression when used on my business trips *knock on wood*

Oh, and Parallels Desktop is so cool (and fast)! I can dump my PC notebook finally :-)

iCab 3.0.2 Beta 413 - Click the Unclickable

iCab beta 413 was released to registered users yesterday. While the beta version number was increased by one only, there are at least two new interesting features:

1. If you zoom into a large image, iCab centers the magnified image around the click location.
2. If you hold down Command while clicking on an URL in ordinary text (i.e. on an URL which is not a link) the URL is opened in a new window nonetheless. You can use Option (Alt) and Shift to open the URL in a new tab etc., as set up in the preferences. See an example for a now clickable URL here.

Additionally, the release history mentions the following fixes and workarounds:

• Password which were stored in iCab instead of the keychain of the MacOS where transfered to the keychain in Beta 412 by accident. This will no longer happen.
• Small correction when loading FavIcons.
• Small modification for text shadows with very large blur radius.
• Small modification for the "Quirks" mode when calculating the font sizes in tables.
• iCab now recognizes the proprietary Windows identifiers for the Flash and Quicktime ActiveX controls. Unfortuately some web authors build web pages which only contain the windows-only ActiveX identifiers for Flash and Quicktime content and therefore would only work under Windows Internet Explorer. iCab now knows the identifiers for the most important Plugin content (Flash and Quicktime), so these web pages should now also work in iCab.
• Drag&Drop withing form input fields was broken in Beta 412.
• If hidden elements in HTML code were made visible by manipulating the CSS property "display" via JavaScript but the new value for display was wrong in the context of the element (for example assigning "inline" where the context demands "block"), iCab could be "confused" because of this.
• Script blocks as part of HTML code which is set by "innerHTML" via JavaScript will no longer be executed.
• Retreiving HTML code via "innerHTML" could result in slightly "wrong" code if the original code was invalid and contained serious violations agains the web standards.
• The JavaScript property "scrollHeight" retreived the height of the element itself if the scrolling was explicitely forbidded. But some web pages require then the height was returned which would have been returned if scrolling was allowed.
• DIVs defined as "Floats" without providing any width could be larger than expected if placed in a table.
• Scaling images when only width and(!) min/max-width or height and(!) min/max-height was defined didn't work correct.
• The last workaround for empty "META-Refresh" tags broke another workaround for invalid formatted META-Refresh tags. Not this other workaround works again.
• The counter of OL lists didn't work anymore if the HTML code containd some additional Tags between the OL and LI tags which are forbidden here.