Safari + Gmail + .docx Attachments = .zip files!

Here's the scenario. You are accessing gmail on a Mac using Safari (2.x or 3.x BETA - 3.x on Leopard is fine), someone sends you a new Microsoft Office .docx format file, you download it, and it shows up as a .zip file. Or worse, that zip file automatically decompresses to a folder - Ugh.

The solution is actually easy, but it's an annoyance since Firefox on Mac will download the file correctly - so it appears to be a problem specific to Safari in these pre-Leopard versions:

Google Groups : "The new default file format is zipped xml, which can get interpreted as a zip file by some software. If this is the case, rename the file extension to .docx and then download the word2007 converter for the version of office you are currently using..."

NOTE: If you have Safari setup to automatically decompress files, you'll have the added hassle of finding that docx.zip file on your desktop as a folder. In this case, delete the folder and then retrieve the .zip version from your Trash and modify the extension on that.

Also, if you don't have Word for Mac, or the converter mentioned above, it's worth noting that NeoOffice for Mac supports the .docx file format - and it's free.

Senate passes Internet tax moratorium extension: 7 more years tax-free

"With the ban on taxing Internet connections set to expire at the end of October, both houses of Congress are taking action. Last night, the Senate passed a bill that would extend the 1998 Internet Tax Freedom Act yet again, this time for seven years. A version of the legislation passed by the House earlier this week would only extend it for another four years...

Once negotiators agree on a length for the extension and a revised version is passed, it is expected to be signed into law by President Bush."

Social Site Rankings (September, 2007)

Via techcrunch.com: "Did you know that Imeem is the fastest-growing social site in the U.S (up 1,590 percent in monthly uniques). And that AIM Pages is growing slightly faster than Digg (345 percent growth versus 323 percent)?"



Read the full techcrunch article and see more nifty data tables...

Marketing & Customer Service in the Pacific Northwest

brandchannel.com offers up an interesting article about marketing and customer services with an eco-friendly edge in the PacNW...

Perspective: Making the case for telework - CNET News.com

"Most companies still resist the idea but Internet attorney Eric J. Sinrod says technology advances make this a no-brainer...There are strong arguments in favor of telecommuting or what is also referred to as "telework." Commuters face significant increases in traffic congestion in all 437 metropolitan areas in the United States. Adding up all the associated costs, the Texas Transportation Institute earlier this year concluded that gridlock cost $78 billion annually in terms of 4.2 billion lost hours, not to mention 2.9 billion gallons of wasted fuel."

read more | digg story

Four Paths to Mobile Web Design and Deployment

Here's a handy article...

creativepro.com : "In this excerpt, well-known -- and better yet, well-respected -- Web designer Cameron Moll explains four ways to design and deliver standards-compliant content for mobile devices:Do nothing with your current Web siteReduce its images and stylingUse handheld style sheetsCreate mobile-optimized contentCameron lays out the pros and cons of each method and includes real-life examples of how content from sites following each of these methods displays."

Adobe's AIR: Niche or the future of desktop development?

CNET News.com: "AIR, or Adobe Integrated Runtime, is a download that lets Web applications run on a desktop. With AIR applications, people can work offline and drag and drop items like graphics or text between Web and desktop applications.

AIR is still in beta, but Adobe and many other software developers are already building applications on it. For Adobe's platform business, AIR gives the company a way to extend its investments in Web documents and Web development tools onto desktops across different operating systems."

Some of the new apps are very interesting, such as the eBay desktop. It will be interesting to see where AIR will go. It certainly seems more compelling than Java.