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Raw Bytes Computer News KPBX FM 91.1 Radio National Public Radio Network Frank Delaney Producer Broadcast on Thursday Morning 7:35 AM During Morning Edition Support Public Radio ! The Theater Of the Mind |
In computer news this week - April
21, 2005 |
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Firefox
Update Version 1.03 Since its
introduction in November 2004, The Firefox Web Browser has been the hottest
download on the internet; over 20 million downloads, and in this brief time
some industry analysts have said that Microsoft has already lost 13% of its
share of the browser marketplace. Firefox has become so incredibly popular
that its users donated money to place a full page ad for it in the New York
Times! The browser
most people have used is Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, which is built
into all versions of newer Windows. But Internet Explorer has been plagued
with security holes. Even with release of Explorer 6.0 and windows Xp service pack 2 there are still ongoing security
problems. Microsoft also has acknowledged the majority of users have not upgraded
to Service pack 2. Firefox
has just released a major update to its initial program, which you can now
download from Mozilla.org. The Firefox browser has built-in capability to check
for updates of itself and inform you with a Critical
Update icon onscreen. Rather than nickel and diming
you daily with minor updates like Internet Explorer, Mozilla
has chosen to go this major update route. Technically
the biggest difference between Firefox and Internet Explorer is that Firefox
does not use Activex Controls and plugins, which are part of Windows, which have lead to security
problems and drive by downloading of spyware and other bad programs to
user’s computers. Firefox does not use Activex,
and thus is a more secure browser. The other
major technical difference is that Firefox is an open source browser –
the source code is available for anyone to see and modify, and Internet
Explorer uses proprietary source code. You can
download and use The new Firefox browser Version 1.3 for free from http://www.mozilla.org/. The Mozilla
project is an offshoot of Netscape, the world’s first web browser back
in the early 90’s, but which was virtually wiped when Microsoft began
giving their browser away for free as part of windows. Since then no browser
had been a threat to Microsoft, and they lagged behind in improving internet
Explorer Now Firefox
is actually a better browser, with a new concept of internet surfing called tabbed windows
– instead of clicking on a link and opening new windows – you can
have multiple windows open and just click between them – a much faster
way of seeing and recalling information. It is also a faster browser, and
includes a popup blocker utility. Foxfire uses Google as its default
search engine, and incorporates the new concepts of Smarter Search and live
Bookmarks. When you
download and install Firefox, it will automatically read and convert all your
Internet Explorer favorites and settings, so you’re ready to go at once
and enjoy a new browser experience. The next
thing you can do is customize your Foxfire toolbar so you can have the icons
and choices on it that you want.
I‘m using it with Outlook, but it will work with any email and contact
management program. Mozilla also offers its own
free and very good email program – Thunderbird. As the
end user, you have the best of both worlds. You can use either or both, and
if one doesn’t work, just switch to the other. It has
been a long time since Microsoft has had any serious competition in any of
its primary products, and Firefox is providing more choices for computer
users. For Raw Bytes This is Frank Delaney (C) 2004 MTA Micro
Technology Associates http://www.mtamicro.com/kpbx.html (509)624-7230 |
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