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While working on my new blog theme I ran into some color rendering issues with Safari. The background color set with CSS did not match the color used in the background image.The background color was set in CSS as #333333, the color in the .gif was shown as #424242. The problem only occurs in Safari not in Firefox and not in Internet Explorer. The problem is also not .gif related it also occurs with .png or .jpg images.

At first I thought it was a bug in Safari but it actually turned out that Safari is one of the browsers that is somewhat ahead of its “competitors”. It reads and renders images according to the color profile stored in the image. How the color profiles are rendered is described with a ICC level indicator.

After reading several articles and being pointed in the direction of the color profile it was time to examine the images. It turned out that the image was saved with a "Generic RGB Profile".

There are several ways to solve this problem so far I found three:

• Use an image for the background instead of the CSS style
• Set the color profile to sRGB
• Remove the color profile

The first solution uses a background image instead of the background color in the CSS. It works but it feels more like a workaround than a solution. The color is defined in images, not really flexible. On top of that it looks different across browsers.

Setting the color profile to sRGB did solve my problem but it depends on the color profile of the local system. If the system uses a different color profile it could again cause color mismatches.

Removing the color profile seems to be the best out of the three options. No need to change the CSS and no system dependency. The only extra work you have is to save the images without the default color profile or strip it afterwards. Another advantage is that he size of the image is also reduced.Relevant links:
How to Avoid Background Color Matching Problems with Safari
Color Rendering Difference: Firefox vs. Safari
Fixing JPG And PNG Colour Matching In Safari
This is your Mac on drugs
Color Spaces
Why your Web content will look darker on Snow Leopard
Is your system ICC Version 4 ready?

Connecting to a Remote Desktop can be a rude awakening when you are confronted with jagged edges on the otherwise smooth icons. If you use it remote administration this is not a problem. On the other hand if you want to use it for developing software or as a regular desktop, you really want 32-bit color on your remote desktop.

Without the 32-bit color depth you do not have Clear Type fonts you do not see the icons as they were meant and Aero is also out of the question. What you do get is extra strain on the eyes while reading the screen.

When I first encountered the 16-bit limitation I was looking at the client-side to bypass the limitation. No luck there. Until I ran into an blog post that talked about enabling Aero in a remote Windows 2008 session. The solution was not on the client but was on the server.

The 16-bit limitation is set on the server side and can be changed in the Terminal Server Configuration:

• Open the Terminal Server Configuration on the remote host.
• Select the RDP-Tcp connection, right click on it and select “Properties”.
• Select the “Client Settings” tab.

The screen below shows the default 16-bit limitation.

• Select the “32 bits per pixel” option in the dropdown menu.
• Click on OK and close the Terminal Services Configuration.

The only thing left to do is to set the color depth in the Remote Desktop Connection. If you want to set this up for Windows 2008 R2 you first have to add the “Remote Desktop Services” role and enable option “Desktop composition”. Read the previously mentioned post “Aero Glass Remoting in Windows Server 2008 R2” for more detailed instructions.

Keeping track of your passwords can be a real pain. Passwords for your email, your account at work or for that website where you want to leave a comment. Unless you can use one password for all of these different accounts you have to keep a list of passwords. Some store them in their head resulting in the obvious password restore options after a long holiday other store them on paper.

I use KeePass for storing my passwords on my PC and KeePassX on my Mac (the X indicates it also works on Linux). Both applications are free and store their data in heavily encrypted local databases. I used to sync the databases with a USB stick for several years between my PC at work and at home. The solution was workable but not flawless. Busy, busy busy, forgetting to update the USB stick and then the trouble starts.

Until a few months ago when I signed up for a Dropbox account. Dropbox is an online storage service that syncs your data and even lets you share your data with others if you choose to. The Dropbox client is available for Windows, Mac and Linux.

My passwords are no longer saved on a USB stick but are now stored in the synchronized Dropbox folder. So on any of my workstations I just open KeePass(X) and automatically my password database is opened. After adding or changing a password entry the database is updated and synchronized with the version in the cloud. If any of the other workstations is running the database file is synced to the other workstations as well. 

KeePass(X) has an option to remember and open the last file used.You might want to check the option "Limit to single instance". This option makes sure you can not change the database at two locations at the same time. It creates a lock file so the other instance (local or other workstation) knows it is in use.

The combination of KeePass(X) and the online store and sync of dropbox works great for me. If you do no need to sync between different platforms there are other alternatives for the store and sync part:

• Microsoft LiveMesh (Mac client and Mobile client coming soon ....)
• Syncplicity (Mac client coming in October)

This solution works great for me, I stopped carrying my USB stick around and I know my passwords are available from any of my workstations. An extra backup of the files? Why? Stored in the "cloud" on my workstation at home and at my workstation at work. The risk is spread across multiple machines and it's even online available. I love it.

After using the Dropbox for a while I'm even considering to use it as my default "documents folder".

Update: Version 1.16 of KeePass has an option that is specific for Windows Vista and higher. Be sure to uncheck the CNG/BCrypt option.

Recently I read a post on slimming down your wallet (via Lifehacker). As many of you I had my wallet filed with membership and other reward cards from the local hardware store the grocery shop and the rest of it. Some cards used regularly some used only once a year.

As mentioned in the post from the unclutterer most of the companies only need the number from the card. The magnetic strips are hardly used and the barcode is just a store for the number. So instead of writing down the numbers I scanned in the cards -front and back side- and stored them as images on my iPhone.

To test it out I went to the local hardware store and asked the girl behind the counter if she could scan the barcode from my phone. The first look I got was pure amazement. To her the physical card was transformed into a picture on a shiny device. On top of that the barcode was scanned successfully. The result; a slightly confused girl and a happy me.

The cards are stored as images in an iPhoto album that is synced with my iPhone through iTunes. Newly scanned cards are stored in the album and are automatically synced. When asked for the card I pull out my phone and open the "card" in full screen mode.

For iPhone Touch the same routine should work and it probably also works for an iPod with photo capabilities.

In my case I used my Mac to sync but this should also work on a Windows situation.  

Now my wallet only contains three cards, credit card, debit card and the donor registration.

Slide.Show is an open source Silverlight 1.0 control. You can use it for publishing very customizable photo slideshows on the Web. It was initially created by Vertigo but it is now hosted as a project on CodePlex.

Although it is highly customizable it does not provide a way to add photos easily. Manually editing an XML file is not for everyone. There are tools available like the "Data & Image Generator for Slide.Show". But this still has the problem that it you have to add a collection of photos.

In the past I figured out how the whole templating stuff in Picasa works and worked on the Picasa templates for SimpleViewer and PostcardViewer. So I thought wouldn't it be nice to have an option "export as webpage" that would generate the "data.xml" file for Slide.Show.

The Picasa plugin generates not only the "data.xml" file but a full Slide.Show slideshow. It is only a sample slideshow and you can use it as it is or customize it however you want. The main goal of this plugin was to provide an easy way to generate the  "data.xml" file from the place where I manage my photos. You can donwload the plugin here.

RSS readers FeedDemon (Windows) and NetNewsWire (MacOSX) are now freeware! On my PC I have been using FeedDemon (the paid version) for several years now and recently bought NetNewsWire for my MacBook. Stupid me I should have waited a month ;-(

The feeds I read at home and at work are synchronized through the online Newsgator synchronization service. So I have the same feeds on my MacBook, my PC at work and my PC at home. You only have to create an account at Newsgator to get it working. A simple solution for those who use use multiple workstations and want more from an RSS reader then what the web based readers have to offer.

Since we moved to Haren a small village just south of Groningen my travel-by-bike-time increased from 10 to 30 minutes.

The route is completely without trafficlights I only have to cross the railroad tracks twice. So for a couple of attention-points it's almost to do in autopilot-mode. Great opportunity to listen to some podcasts.

Podcasts are a relatively new way of online media delivery. It's like a talkshow or radio program that is published via the internet. You can download individual podcasts or subscribe to an RSS feed to automatically receive new files.

My list of podcast subscriptions:

• ARCast with Ron Jacobs,
  trends in software architecture [feed].
• Conversations with John Udell,
  technical, cultural and social conversations with Microsoft employees [feed].
• The Micro ISV Show,
  latest podcast from Lou Carbone on Experience Engineering is highly recommended [feed].
• Technet Radio, Tune In , Geek Out,
  trends and technologies for IT Pros [feed]
• Hanselminutes,
  Scott Hanselman on tools, utillities and practical how-to advice [feed]  
• IT Conversations,
  IT related conversations from book reviews to talks with foreign correspondents, very broad scope [feed]
• OneMoreThing,
  MacOSX related topics in Dutch. [feed]
• In Our Time,
  From BBC4, an investigation of the history of ideas and debate their application in modern life. [currently unavailable].

I still have the feeling that very few of you are actually listening to podcasts. Please tell me I'm wrong !?

The Information Architects did it again. A successor to the Web Trend Map. This time they have more websites more lines and more inside jokes that I don't get. But also another great feature; a clickable version of the map.

To add some buzz a web generation number is added. For instance FaceBook is categorized as Web 2.5 while our  usabillity friend Jakob Nielsen scores a meager Web 0.5.

 Altough it's getting a bit commercial with the selling of sponsor spaces and A2 versions it's again a fascinating map.

Internet 2007 Predictions? Ok ok , I know it's almost halfway 2007 as I write this but I just recently stumbled upon this online article from iA. The presentation of these predictions is just great.

"The iA Trend Map shows all the big players, the current Internet trends and how they’re connected, using the Tokyo Metro map. It’s totally unscientific and almost useless, but definitely fun to look at." [Download iA’s 2007 Web Trend Map in postcard format, DIN A4 and DIN A3]

The map is the part that got the most attention on the web. Still the article itself is good reading. The topics covered are the battle between the big players, trends, online advertising and digital identity.

Two things definitely worth looking at are the "Trend Blend 2007+" map and Dick Hardt's presentation on Digital Identity.

Last Friday Microsoft announced a new mashup tool called Popfly. With this tool it's possible to create web mashups by dragging and clicking. This online tool is simply amazing (see the screencast). For programmers it's almost scary how easy mashup applications are being created. This way even my mother-in-law can build a mashup (just kidding mom).