simbl posts

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Cool tools, Internet Tools

From Firefox to Safari (and back again)

by Robert Palmer (RSS feed) on Jun 29th, 2009

I realize I may not be your average browser user. As a web developer, a browser to me is two parts daily use, two parts testing, and one part challenge. Since 2005, I've been using Firefox in some form or fashion as both my primary browser and as a testing vehicle.

I had recently started a JavaScript-intensive project, and I appreciated Safari 4's lightning-fast JavaScript execution speeds. In Firefox, I rely mostly on add-ons like Web Developer and Firebug to help me analyze and test for mistakes in websites I build in Firefox. They work great, but enabling them slows the browser down.

That's why I was excited for the updated Web Inspector that comes as part of Safari 4. (Yes, Safari 3 first came with Web Inspector, it couldn't hold a candle to Firebug's Swiss Army knife of an add-on for Firefox.) Testing was easy, and Safari 4's Web Inspector's many improvements made me think I could migrate to Safari full-time.

Read on to see how it went.

Continue reading “From Firefox to Safari (and back again)”

Tags: browser, development, firefox, javascript, plugin, safari, simbl, validate, web, webkit

Filed under: OS, Software Update

SIMBL plugin woes after 10.5.3?

by Cory Bohon (RSS feed) on May 28th, 2008

Did you get home only to find that Mac OS X 10.5.3 had been released today? Well, just as some users were unpacking and installing the shiny new update, issues with SIMBL plug-ins were discovered. If you have SIMBL plugins installed, then you may have an error show up when you try to launch an application. Past updates on systems with these plugins installed have been known to run into some issues.

If you are experiencing plugin predicaments, there is a way to fix the problem. SIMBL plugins (or other, non-SIMBL InputManager plugins, which may also be problematic) can be installed in any one of the following directories:

~/Library/Application Support/SIMBL/
/Library/InputManagers/
~/Library/Contextual Menu Items/
~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/
~/Library/InputManagers/

When you see the error in an application, just jot down the name of the plugin and look in those directories for it. When you find the plugin, just move it to a separate folder or toss it into the trash can. The application launch problem should cease.

Have you experienced plug-in issues since installing the 10.5.3 update? If so, tell us about it in the comments.

Tags: 10.5.3, fix, Input Managers, InputManagers, Mac OS X, MacOsX, plug-ins, plugin, SIMBL, tweet-this

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Software, Tips and tricks, Developer

Stumbi: StumbleUpon for Safari

by Mike Schramm (RSS feed) on May 27th, 2008

Being a Firefox user (I know, I know, and it crashes on me all the time, but still I run back to it ashamedly), I had no idea that there was a gap in the functionality of StumbleUpon (a handy little link-finding and sharing browser plugin) for Safari users -- it only works with IE and Firefox. But Eli K tipped us off that he's trying to bridge that gap with Stumbi, a StumbleUpon plugin for Safari.

It's the very definition of no-frills: it just creates a menu option for StumbleUpon that will let you access the most basic of functions from the Safari browser. And unfortunately, it's not exactly completely easy to get working -- you've got to make sure to install SIMBL (which, helpfully, comes with the binary download), and then the binary also requires a reasonable $2 purchase after 100 stumbles (or, for the more technically inclined, you can download the source and do it all by yourself for free).

But if you just can't live without StumbleUpon, and can't bring yourself to use Firefox to do it, this might be just what you're looking for.

Thanks, Eli!

Tags: browser, firefox, links, plugin, safari, sharing, simbl, stumbi, stumbleupon

Filed under: Productivity, Open Source, Leopard

Afloat 2.0 returns window floating to Leopard

by Mat Lu (RSS feed) on Apr 30th, 2008

Afloat from Infinite Labs was one of my favorite SIMBL plugins, until it was broken by Leopard. It adds some clever features to windows in Cocoa applications, including a mode where the window remains always visible, "floating" above all other windows, an overlay mode where the window floats but clicks fall through to the windows below, and adjustable transparency (including a very nifty mode in which a window will be translucent until you mouse over it and then it pops into an opaque mode).

Thankfully, Afloat 2.0 now works with Leopard. In fact, it works so well with Leopard that OS X 10.5 is now required to run Afloat. The free download includes the Infinite Labs PlugSuit SIMBL plugin manager, but it is not necessary to run Afloat if you already have SIMBL installed.

[via Infinite Loop]

Tags: afloat, plugins, PlugSuit, SIMBL

Filed under: Freeware

Liven up Address Book with Avatars

by Brett Terpstra (RSS feed) on Dec 29th, 2007

Is your Address Book full of web-savvy friends who know what a Gravatar (or a Pavatar) is? Avatars is a freeware plugin for Address Book that searches for, displays, and adds your contacts' avatars to their cards. It installs with a package installer as a SIMBL plugin, and it looks to me like SIMBL is in the package, too, just in case you need it.

It's simple, useful and has the right amount of eye candy to be visually interesting without being intrusive. Now I just need more friends with avatars.

Tags: Address Book, AddressBook, avatars, Gravatars, Pavatars, plugin, SIMBL

Filed under: Odds and ends, Freeware, Widget Watch

Widget Watch: Gift-It!

by Mat Lu (RSS feed) on May 29th, 2007

Tasty Apps says of their gift managing widget Gift-It! that it "pushes Apple's Dashboard to the limit!" It's a neat idea: You create entries for all the folks you might need to buy gifts for (including yourself of course!). Gift-It! then installs a new button in the Safari toolbar (thanks to the somewhat controversial SIMBL). Now when you're browsing a site and see something that would be good to get for somebody on your list, you need only click the package button and you'll get a dialog box that allows you to select the recipient. That page's URL will then be automatically added to the appropriate gift list, which you can access back in the Dashboard widget. Here you can see how I've generously allotted myself a new camera from B&H. You can also enter birthdays into the widget for future reminders.

I have to admit that the widget is a little bit confusing to use (I can't quite figure out how to move something from the Wish List to the Gift Box), but the Safari integration is seriously clever. I think Tasty Apps is right to suggest that this is one of the more advanced widgets out there, and certainly has the potential to be useful (though I already do something similar to track gift ideas with del.icio.us tags, though without the Dashboard eye candy and birthday reminders of course).

Gift-It! is presently in beta and is a free download.

Tags: Dashboard, Gift-It!, Safari, SIMBL, Widget

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, OS, Rumors

Leopard Axing Input Managers?

by Mat Lu (RSS feed) on Mar 24th, 2007

There's a disturbing rumor floating around the Mac web today. According to this article at Infinite Loop, Leopard will no longer support Input Manager hacks. Input Managers allow programmers to insert code into cocoa applications, thus allowing the addition of new functionality. etc. These are somewhat controversial as some claim this is a potential security hole. Nonetheless, Jon Hicks brings this up in connection to my absolute favorite input manager plugin, Saft for Safari, which will presumably be rendered non-functional in Leopard. As Hicks notes, its not clear yet whether this also affect the widely used SIMBL plugin architecture (whose author, Pith Helmet developer Mike Solomon, says he won't be sure until he can play with Leopard). If, like me, you're a big fan of Saft and SafariStand and Chax, etc. this is cause for concern.

It is to be hoped, of course, that the authors of the various plugins will find some other way of implementing their feature enhancements, even if Apple does close the Input Manager route. The best thing would be for Apple to implement an open plugin architecture for doing this sort of enhancement, but I won't be holding my breath on that one. In any case, this is a potential concern for those of us sure to upgrade to Leopard right after it launches.

Tags: chax, input managers, InputManagers, safaristand, saft, SIMBL

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