Martin Crockett

IE5 Mac RIP

Microsoft has advised Mac users of Internet Explorer (IE) to switch to rival browsers such as Apple’s Safari.

The advice came as the software giant formally announced the end of IE for Apple Macs. Microsoft initially stopped work on the browser in June 2003.

No more security updates will be provided as from the New Year. The browser itself will be removed from Microsoft’s Mactopia site and no longer be available for download.

Alternatives to Mac IE5

The current version of IE for Macs is effectively three years old, making it an outdated browser compared to its Windows equivalent.

Microsoft stopped work on developing the browser in June 2003 and now announced that it will not provide any further security updates as from the end of the year. The browser itself will be removed from Microsoft Mactopia download site from 31 January.

On its website Microsoft recommended that Mac users switch to “more recent web browsing technologies such as Apple’s Safari”. Other alternative browsers include Firefox and Opera.

Microsoft

Safari

php.ini issues

extension_dir = "./"
Change to:
extension_dir = c:\php-5.1.1\ext

Uncomment extension=php_mysql.dll

The motherlode. Add c:\php-5.1.1 to the system variables.
(Control panel > System > Advanced > System variables > Path)

[Reboot]

Apache 2 service

No more nasty floating black boxes:
You can install Apache as a Windows NT/2K/XP service as follows from the command prompt at the Apache bin subdirectory:
apache -k install
Use the “Open Command Window here” powertoy for best effect.

“The directory name is invalid”

This fixes the “The directory name is invalid” error.

In IIS 5.1 on Windows XP Pro, Go into the Internet Information Services, and into the properties of the virtual directory where the problem occurs. On The ‘Virtual Directory‘ tab, click on the ‘Configuration…‘ button. Select the ‘.php’ extension, and press ‘Edit’. On the bottom, Check the ‘Check that file exists‘ checkbox.