Living-e has the solution to the live editing problem: MAMP. MAMP (stands for Macintosh, Apache, MySQL and PHP) is a self contained web server that allows developers to create their fully featured, dynamic web pages in a local, off-line environment. Basically, it saves your visitors from errors and instability while you work.

If you’ve ever tried to set up a server on a local machine you undoubtedly know how much work can go into it. You’ll need to download copies of Apache, PHP and MySQL plus the other little things that make your host’s machines run. You need to make advanced adjustments to configuration files, and if you’re very careful and a little lucky you’ll end up with a shaky environment that has altered the core of OS X.

MAMP attacks the beast in a different way. Installation of a fully featured server is as simple as dragging an icon to your Applications folder. After installation you can launch MAMP either from the Applications folder or from the included Dashboard widget. The entire development environment is contained within the Application Folder meaning that if you have taken the time to set-up an Apache server on your Mac it won’t be affected by the MAMP installation. And, if something goes horribly wrong, you can just delete the MAMP folder without affecting the rest of your system.

Once you’re up and running there are just a few preferences to consider before going off on a coding extravaganza. MAMP initially defaults to PHP5, but if your remote server is stuck in the past you may want to opt to work in PHP4 from either the main MAMP window or even from the widget.

MAMP ships with support for both MySQL and SQLite. Thankfully, living-e knows how much most people hate working in the command line. MAMP negates the need to play in the terminal to manage databases by bundling both phpMyAdmin and SQLiteManager to take care of nearly all your database needs (the only thing I’ve ever needed the terminal for was to change the root SQL user’s password). After you’ve gotten your development environment all set up you can go to work editing, displaying and moving files just as you would on a normal server but without the FTP client and all that waiting around for up/downloads. And, there’s the added benefit of not having to lose a second of uptime when you need to update, build or tweak your website. When you’re satisfied with your work, just FTP it up to your remote server and everything should be golden.

So save your visitors from the dreaded 404 and all the craziness that can ensue when you try to edit live websites. They’ll thank you, your host will thank you and you’ll thank yourself for eliminating so many potential headaches. MAMP is developed by living-e and is available for free under the GNU-GPL License at MAMP.info

In the past you would have needed specialized equipment or some mind-numbingly difficult to use software to accomplish such a feat. Now, we have Teleport – the simple, graphical way to share your cursor and keyboard.

This will be a short post simply because Teleport is so easy to install and use. Before you begin there are some requirements to effectively use Teleport on your Macs.

• You need at least two Macs. Obviously.
• The two (or more) Macs need to be operating on the same network (including wireless/wired networks).
• You need to possess the ability to double click.

Done.

After downloading, installing and activating Teleport on each Mac you’d like to control you should be off and running. To switch between monitors simply move your cursor off the side of your current monitor in the direction of your other monitor. Once the cursor reaches the edge it will be transferred to the next monitor over, while a bevel will be laid over the master’s monitor indicating which secondary screen is using the cursor/keyboard.

If you’re worried about accidentally moving your cursor over to the wrong screen, getting annoyed and then uninstalling Teleport, don’t worry it’s got you covered. Users can set additional controls regarding when the control of the cursor/keyboard can be transfered. You can set either a slight delay between when the cursor reaches the edge of the screen and the transfer; or set a key that must be held down in order for the transfer to take place.

Teleport also gives you the option of transferring clipboard contents between linked Macs. It also allows for a filter that will disable the clipboard transfer when the clipboard contains more than a certain amount of data. More than just clipboard sharing, Teleport lets you drag and drop files between linked Macs. Be careful with these settings as they can slow you down when transferring large files or a very large clipboard.

I can also tell what one of the first comments will be on this post: “But, Synergy does all that too, plus it works on Windows, Linux, OS X, my TI-86 and the neighbors dog! That’s true. My problem with Synergy was how difficult it was to install and maintain. Yes, there is a GUI available to install Synergy, but again, I never had any luck with it. Teleport is a simple, elegant solution that anyone can use.

Teleport is available as a preview release, and is available for free, but if you use it I would suggest a donation for the author.

I noticed Derek Punsalan has a detailed article up today covering all of the various multi-Mac solutions in depth.

Installation: 5/5
Installing sidenote is very simple. All you have to do is drag it to your Applications folder, double-click, and voila! Sidenote is installed.

Notes: 4/5
Note taking with sidenote is also very simple. Just move your mouse over to the left or right side of your screen, and the drawer pulls out. To change the side of the screen that the drawer pulls out of, just press the switch button: . From here, you can create a note with the add note button: . From there, just type in the name of your new note, choose the color, and press Ok. Editing notes is easy. Just choose, from the drop-down box at the top, which note you want to see/edit, and boom, you are at that note. Sometimes editing can be annoying, because if the stick feature (keeps the drawer out) is not on, your drawer will close once you move your mouse off of the drawer. To turn on stick, just press this button: . Images and text alike can be dragged into a note, from the Finder or the internet. Currently, sidenote cannot display videos.

Other Features
Sidenote also has features such as printing/exporting notes in the RTF format, and auto-saving your notes.

The Verdict: 5/5!
Sidenote is an awesome app for note-taking, and proves very useful in many situations. Go grab a free copy over at pierre chatel’s blog (the developer), here. Enjoy!