I’m a firm believer that most of the innovation in browsers is coming from the open-source players. This week brings a number of interesting developments from the browser arena, especially if you use either of the two most popular open source browsers: Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. Firefox is slated to come out in a new version 3.6 next week, with several improvements, and I’m hoping it will iron out a few of the instabilities I’ve experienced in Firefox 3.5. Meanwhile, the Google Chrome team has announced a new collection of Artist Themes for enhancing your browser’s look. The themes come from a diverse list of well-known designers and artists, ranging from Dolce & Gabanna to pop star Mariah Carey. They’re very slick. And finally, the Arora browser, which is based on the open source WebKit rendering engine,is out in a new, cross-patform version that makes it especially easy to block ads.
Read the rest of this entry »
This week brings several pieces of significant news on the browser front, about Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) 8. As covered on the OStatic blog, Google has announced a new, stable version 3.0 of Chrome. It’s downloadable here, and if you’re already using it, you’ll get an automatic update. Meanwhile, Mozilla announced new tools, and Internet Explorer — which has been steadily losing market share, to Firefox in particular — bested all other browsers in an interesting set of tests.
Read the rest of this entry »
You’d be more than forgiven for thinking there must be something better out there than either Microsoft’s Outlook or than Apple’s Mail.app for desktop email management. You’d be right, too, especially if you’re looking for something that plays nicely with most major webmail service providers. I’m talking about Postbox, a Mozilla-based email client Aliza took a look at back in March.
When Aliza originally reviewed the software, it was free beta release software. Now that it’s reached version 1.0, it comes with a $39.95 price tag for registration. Users can still download a free trial, so you can take Postbox through its paces before deciding to make a purchase.
I tried Postbox back when it was still in beta, right around the time Aliza originally reviewed it, and there are some definite improvements in the 1.0 release. Read the rest of this entry »
Thunderbird, Mozilla’s email client, is a favorite of many web workers because it’s free, open source and feels faster, lighter and more efficient than Microsoft Outlook. But did you know that, like Firefox, Thunderbird has a wide range of free add-ons available that can enhance your email experience by customizing the app to your liking?
I recently moved to a new computer, which compelled me to revisit my Thunderbird add-ons. Here’s a list of my favorites. I’ve put them into a WebWorkerDaily Thunderbird Collection to make it easy for you to find them all. Read the rest of this entry »
Mozilla has just released the final version of Firefox 3.5. As I noted in my review of the release candidate, JavaScript performance — critical for many web apps — is massively improved thanks to the new TraceMonkey engine, making 3.5 feel very fast indeed. I tried running the final release through the Sunspider performance benchmarks, and it doesn’t look like there are any major differences between it and the release candidate.
In addition to improved performance and standards compliance, Firefox 3.5 also features new privacy controls, location-aware browsing, and the ability to play video and audio content without using plugins. A quick video tour of the new version is available here.
Firefox 3.5 is a free download for Windows, Mac and Linux from Mozilla.
Share your thoughts on Firefox 3.5 in the comments.
I’m in the middle of moving to new computers. Two of them. The laptop is easy. The desktop, well, that’s a story for another post. New and faster computers with a fresh install can compel a person to look up applications, plugins and other tools to boost web worker efficiency. Browser add-ons are a perfect example.
Quick overview for those new to Firefox: Add-ons are little free tools that make your application experience better and easier. Add-ons don’t stop at browsers, either. Email applications like Thunderbird have them, too. They’re very easy to install. Just go to Firefox add-ons, browse, click “Add to Firefox” and click “Install” in the popup window. Once installed, you’ll need to restart Firefox to complete the process.
Here’s my list of current favorites (note: if you like this list, be sure to check out the WebWorkerDaily Firefox Add-ons Collection): Read the rest of this entry »
Many of us have been using the Release Candidate of Mozilla’s Firefox 3.5 browser, which is a major upgrade to previous versions. Now, Mozilla has released a third Release Candidate, available for download for Windows, the Mac and Linux. Mozilla also has a post up about the release, although there aren’t a lot of clear details as to what, exactly, is new.
Mozilla’s post says only that the updates in Release Candidate 3 are in response to “user feedback.” The organization intends to move quickly toward a final release of Firefox Version 3.5. In all likelihood, the differences between this version and RC2 consist of bug and/or security fixes.
I’ve been steadily using both the betas and the Release Candidates of Firefox 3.5, and it’s both speedy and substantially more feature-rich. It’s stable, too. If you’re already running a Firefox 3.5 beta or Release Candidate version, you can obtain an update to RC3 by selecting “Check for Updates” from the “Help” menu. Here are the official Release Notes for more information.
Mozilla Labs today released a preview version of the next major version of its Ubiquity extension for Firefox: Ubiquity 0.5, downloadable here. I’ve been steadily using the beta releases of it, and Mozilla has ambitious plans to make Ubiquity a standard part of Firefox. It’s a command-line tool, and while that may cause some to roll their eyes at the idea of typing commands in the age of the graphical user interface, it’s actually very useful. The new preview version has many major additions, including localization features.
Read the rest of this entry »
Web Work 101: How To Escape The Cubicle
