Why MAMP is Better Than XAMPP?

Just thought I would post a very quick little point for those working with a local server on a Mac. It's pretty easy to set up the built in server on the Mac and do it that way, but personally I prefer just using a pre-packaged solution.

For years I've been using XAMPP. Not sure why I thought it was better. On Windows it's definitely a great choice. But on OS X it's not. The trouble is XAMPP has not been updated in quite a while on the Mac side. So, you'll be using pretty old versions of PHP and MYSQL. Also, there are lots of glitches with it. For instance, it doesn't correctly set folder and file permissions. You have to set these manually, which is pretty ridiculous.

Anyhow, I just recently switched to MAMP and it's much smoother. Everything is up to date, xdebug worked pretty much out of the box. No trouble with file permissions, and stuff is a lot more current. So, for now, avoid XAMPP on the Mac until they start supporting it properly. MAMP is good. XAMPP not so much.

Cheapest, most minimal, and best iPad case

My tip is simple. Go to the hardware store and ask for the small felt pads that are used on the inside of cupboard doors. They are very tough, have great adhesion and they will allow you to put the iPad down on most surfaces without worrying about scratching your baby. The bonus is that you can still have a naked iPad. If you're like me, I just slide mine into a laptop compartment of my knapsack when I go out with it.

Mac OS X's Finder: The Most Important Tweak to Make Search Function

Apple has made some decisions with Finder that some users might find a bit annoying. So, for instance, if you just open Finder and you hit command + F you get this window by default:

This is a completely useless result. On my Mac the search in fact chokes because so many results are found. This is almost always not what you want in a search result. So, you have to follow these steps to solve the issue and bring some sanity to Finder.

First, you need to change "search the current folder" setting in the Finder advanced preferences.

Macbook Pro 2.26 Ghz 13 Inch: Brief Review

Thought I'd do a quick post on my impressions of the June 2009 release of the Macbook Pro 13" entry level configuration. I sold my 2.4 Ghz late 2008 Macbook Unibody in order to finance this purchase. I had updated the stock drive on the previous machine to a 500 GB Seagate. So the update was painless. I just moved the drive over and swapped out the RAM for the 4 GBS I had.

The 2009 Macbook Pro I find feels more solid without that flimsy battery hatch on the 2008 machine. The display is also light years ahead in terms of viewing angles, color and the general look of images, text and webpages. The battery is obviously superior. I found it charged much faster after running it down for the first calibration. Obviously the addition of the extra ports, like SD and Firewire are an added bonus.

How to speed up Apple's Magic Mouse: MouseZoom

I love the new Magic Mouse. Some people say that the clicking is a bit stiff, and so it is. But I can live with it. I like the way it feels. Coming from a PC, I like a fast mouse. But even with the Magic Mouse cranked to full speed I find it a bit slow for my liking. Enter MouseZoom. It hasn't been updated in a while, but it works great under Snow Leopard. It gives you the ability to get some more speed from the Magic Mouse. Sweet. Download the utility here.