As primarily a unix developer who prefers running Windows and MacOS on the desktop, I’ve relied on powerful terminal clients for years to get my job done. On Windows, that client has always been SecureCRT. Ever since the day I installed it, it has been the most powerful, usable, and well-supported terminal client I have used on any platform.

Moving to Terminal in MacOS X was hard. Only recently have I dug into the nuts and bolts of Terminal configuration, including .term and .command files, to do things like ‘open 5 connections to 5 different servers and login’, which is something anyone who manages server farms needs to do frequently. In SecureCRT, there is no editing configuration files to do this – the interface is designed to make all of this very easily accessible and configurable.

Probably the worst thing about Terminal is that it is good enough that there doesn’t seem to be much interest in commercial-grade third-party remote terminal development for MacOS.

So, when I did switch to Mac, it wasn’t long before I begged VanDyke to port to MacOS via their support email – which is probably the most reliable, informed, and expedient support service of any software I have ever owned.

I didn’t know the status of any port until today, when I noticed it had already been launched into beta. It looks and works just like the Windows version, which is fine with me. In just minutes I had configurations for all my servers up and running which took me an afternoon in Terminal – and it works better to boot.

One thing I did notice as missing was a vt100 font which has always been included in the Windows version. It is my favorite terminal font, but doesn’t seem to be included in the MacOS version. Besides the default font that used to ship with Konsole (Linux), it is the only terminal font I like using.

There is no question in my mind that it will be a huge boost to my productivity under MacOS – if you ssh alot I recommend trying it out.

Originally appeared on: StationStops - Metro-North Train Schedules and NYC Commuting Blog See the original post here: SecureCRT for MacOS Beta Released!

[Update - looks like this is a known issue which may be limited to the 64-bit version]

The new Microsoft Office 2010 Beta is out, and is free to download from Microsoft’s web site.

Probably the biggest change is that Office finally comes in a 64-bit version. This is the version I tried out as I run Windows 7 64-bit. It also touts improved web, sharing, and mobile support and seems to have some interesting social networking features in Outlook.

So far the only issue I have had with it is that it breaks MobileMe<->Outlook syncing, which I almost saw coming. From peeking around the net, it seems that some people may have been able to get a manual sync to work, but not automatic. I was unable to do either.

The error, which is generated by Microsoft Office Outlook, reads:

“Either there is no default mail client or the current mail client cannot fulfill the messaging request. Please run Microsoft Outlook and set it as the default mail client”

I double-checked to make sure I had Outlook selected as my default mail client and rebooted the system to make sure it took, but still got this error message.

The question is – is this a beta bug or is Microsoft doing to Apple what Apple did to Palm Pre iTunes syncing?

I think the answer is a little of both. This is a bug either Microsoft or Apple will be able to fix in the future, as Outlook’s messaging interface is well-established. I think Microsoft enjoys this error in the beta however, to create some scare in Outlook customers (esp. Enterprise) that MobileMe syncing isn’t guaranteed, so don’t go there.

Originally appeared on: StationStops - Metro-North Train Schedules and NYC Commuting Blog See the original post here: Microsoft Office 2010 Beta Released, Breaks MobileMe Sync

I have been using Firefox 3 Release Candidates 2 and 3, and the performance is substantially better than Firefox 2 in terms of rendering and javascript execution. I also really like the new default theme – I actually prefer it over any of the third-party themes. Memory usage has also been significantly reduced.

As of today, add-on support is very good (although I cannot speak for your individual favorites). Add-ons are the primary reason I prefer Firefox. Internet Explorer is more compatible, while Opera is faster but less compatible. Both IE and Opera support add-ons to some extent, but the library of existing ones pale in comparison to Firefox.

I guess Firefox fans are trying to set some kind of one-day download record for Firefox today.

Originally appeared on: StationStops - Metro-North Train Schedules and NYC Commuting Blog See the original post here: Firefox 3 Being Released Today: Download at 1PM ET