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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 - 12/07/2005 |
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Firefox
Update Version 1.50 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 industry
tech journals have estimated that Microsoft has already lost over 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 still have not upgraded to Service pack 2. Firefox
has just released this major update to its initial program, which you can now
download from Mozilla.org. The new
Firefox browser has built-in capability to update itself automatically - faster performance, and many
subtle new features like - like drag
and drop tabbed browsing, drag and
drop keyword searching – just highlight a word on a webpage and drag it
into the search window – improved
popup blocking and security a one
click clear personal data button, so you can remove cookies, visited sites
and browser cache all in one click and Live Bookmarks – so you can see the item titles of an RSS web
feed in your bookmarks. This way
you can stay in touch with sites without visiting them all the time. Technically
the biggest difference between Firefox and Internet Explorer is that Firefox
does not use Activex Controls and plugins, which are part of Windows
architecture,
and 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, whereas Internet
Explorer uses proprietary source code. You can
download and use The new Firefox browser Version 1.5 for free from http://www.mozilla.com. 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 Firefox
is actually a better browser than Internet Explorer, 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. 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. So the
reasons to switch to Firefox – faster performance, much better
features, much better security – and best of all – it’s
free !. For Raw Bytes This is Frank Delaney (C) 2005 MTA Micro
Technology Associates http://www.mtamicro.com/kpbx.html PO Box 31522 Spokane, Wa 99223-1522 (509)624-7230 |
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