The open-source browser Firefox passed its billionth download on Friday, July 31 ahead of the release of its fourth iteration. The milestone includes downloads of all versions of the web software since its first release in 2004.
Figures suggest that Firefox now has nearly one third of the browser market worldwide, at 31%. Microsoft's Internet Explorer still dominates the field with around 60%, whilst Google's Chrome, Apple's Safari and Opera are all less than 5%.
Microsoft is currently in talks with the European competition regulators, which ruled in January that pre-bundling Internet Explorer with the company's Windows operating system hurt competition.
The browser, developed by the Mozilla Foundation, has quickly become a favorite with web surfers since its launch in 2004.
Last year, the foundation set a new Guinness world record for the most software downloaded in 24 hours when the third version of Firefox was downloaded more than eight million times.
Mozilla developers are currently working on the fourth iteration of the software, and earlier this week, it showed off screenshots of the next version of the browser, Firefox 4.0. I have been using it almost exclusively since it came out. It is great and offers many free add-ons.
Showing posts with label Internet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Internet. Show all posts
Aug 6, 2009
Jul 30, 2009
Jinni
If you like movies, especially free movies, this might be an interesting site to visit. It is in beta and has a free signup. The idea is to allow you to search for movies, compare your taste to others, and rank movies.
You can search according to plots, genre, actors, or even according to your mood. You can type in nearly any search phrase and something will come up. If you are confused about the connections between some of the movies that appear, you can click on a button that will tell why the movies are related. It has old movies and new movies. Interesting concept and moves another step closer to internet TV.
You can search according to plots, genre, actors, or even according to your mood. You can type in nearly any search phrase and something will come up. If you are confused about the connections between some of the movies that appear, you can click on a button that will tell why the movies are related. It has old movies and new movies. Interesting concept and moves another step closer to internet TV.
I Don't Believe It
There is a new site, on the order of Snopes that allows you to find out if the web page you are reading is disputed by other sources and what the alternative points of view are.
As you browse, Dispute Finder looks for disputed claims. If it finds any then it highlights them. Clicking on a disputed claim brings up evidence for and against that claim found by other users of Dispute Finder. It allows you to mark new disputed claims and see what disputed claims have been marked by other users.
It is from Berkeley and beta, and somewhat biased from what I have seen so far, (You know how those damn academics are) but still might be fun to try. One example about Global Warming being a scam - it offers government data that shows the Earth's average surface temperature has increased by about 1.2 to 1.4ºF in the last 100 years. Take off your clothes, another thousand years or so and this place will be about eleven degrees hotter. For those that use Firefox, there is a Dispute Finder extension. I use it and it seems stable.
As you browse, Dispute Finder looks for disputed claims. If it finds any then it highlights them. Clicking on a disputed claim brings up evidence for and against that claim found by other users of Dispute Finder. It allows you to mark new disputed claims and see what disputed claims have been marked by other users.
It is from Berkeley and beta, and somewhat biased from what I have seen so far, (You know how those damn academics are) but still might be fun to try. One example about Global Warming being a scam - it offers government data that shows the Earth's average surface temperature has increased by about 1.2 to 1.4ºF in the last 100 years. Take off your clothes, another thousand years or so and this place will be about eleven degrees hotter. For those that use Firefox, there is a Dispute Finder extension. I use it and it seems stable.
Jul 18, 2009
Go Ask Alice
Here is an interesting site. It is a storeless shopping site where manufacturers display their household items directly. Coupons, if available, are subtracted from purchases and always free shipping. The idea is big savings by factory direct with multiple manufactures, like Tide, etc.
Manufacturers set their own prices and receive all of that revenue. The site makes money by giving the companies spending data, advertising space, and distributing samples for them to targeted customers. It allows price comparisons and just opened in June, so might have a few bugs for a while, but an interesting concept to save money on the mundane items we use everyday. Sorry, not available in Alaska or Hawaii.
Manufacturers set their own prices and receive all of that revenue. The site makes money by giving the companies spending data, advertising space, and distributing samples for them to targeted customers. It allows price comparisons and just opened in June, so might have a few bugs for a while, but an interesting concept to save money on the mundane items we use everyday. Sorry, not available in Alaska or Hawaii.
Jun 8, 2009
Live Search
I'll bet you think Microsoft owns it. Wrong. LiveSearch.com domain name belongs to Tyler Tullock of Bothell, Wash., who says he has rejected several offers for the site. Tullock took control of the domain name about 13 years ago, when he was running an internet-marketing company, LocalSeek Advertising. He used Livesearch.com and other domains to advertise his services, which included a relocation business.
Microsoft introduced Live Search in 2006, hosting the search engine on Live.com, a domain that it does own .
Tullock runs a chain of seven music schools in the Seattle area, and parks Google (NSDQ: GOOG) ads on LiveSearch.com. “It makes me plenty of money sending all that Microsoft business to Google,” he says, but won’t disclose how much the site brings in. Maybe that's why Microsoft is thinking of changing the name and is set to launch an $80 million to $100 million campaign for Bing, the search engine it hopes will help it grab a bigger slice of the online ad market.
Microsoft introduced Live Search in 2006, hosting the search engine on Live.com, a domain that it does own .
Tullock runs a chain of seven music schools in the Seattle area, and parks Google (NSDQ: GOOG) ads on LiveSearch.com. “It makes me plenty of money sending all that Microsoft business to Google,” he says, but won’t disclose how much the site brings in. Maybe that's why Microsoft is thinking of changing the name and is set to launch an $80 million to $100 million campaign for Bing, the search engine it hopes will help it grab a bigger slice of the online ad market.
Bigger Ads on the Net
27 publishers with a reach of about 109 million unique visitors per month have agreed to try one of three new online ad formats sometime before July. The publishers are all members of the online publishers association.
* The Fixed Panel, which looks naturally embedded into the page layout and scrolls to the top and bottom of the page as a user scrolls.
* The XXL Box, which has page-turn functionality with video capability.
* The Pushdown, which opens to display the advertisement and then rolls up to the top of the page.
The formats they've agreed on all have one trait in common: they are much bigger and more attention-grabbing than the banner, which is despised by publishers, advertisers, and readers alike. The reason banner ads are despised is because they are too damn intrusive and, contrary to public opinion, bigger is not always better, especially when it comes to ads.
* The Fixed Panel, which looks naturally embedded into the page layout and scrolls to the top and bottom of the page as a user scrolls.
* The XXL Box, which has page-turn functionality with video capability.
* The Pushdown, which opens to display the advertisement and then rolls up to the top of the page.
The formats they've agreed on all have one trait in common: they are much bigger and more attention-grabbing than the banner, which is despised by publishers, advertisers, and readers alike. The reason banner ads are despised is because they are too damn intrusive and, contrary to public opinion, bigger is not always better, especially when it comes to ads.
May 27, 2009
New Kind of Search Engine
This one doesn't just provide links, like Google. Wolfram/Alpha gives you meaningful data back. Type in a company name and get the stock quote, type in a calculation and it gives you the answer, type in a date and it gives you information about sunrise, day of year, etc. It gives scientific answers, chemistry answers, culture - Oh just go there by clicking on the link above and have some fun.
Apr 17, 2009
Speaking of Internet and TV
The BBC has launched a new service that allows viewers to watch live TV programs from suitable Wi-Fi connected mobile phones.
BBC Live TV is available in a beta test form, offering a limited number of the broadcaster’s channels, plus its radio stations.
BBC Live TV is available in a beta test form, offering a limited number of the broadcaster’s channels, plus its radio stations.
welcomed its 200 millionth user on April 8. Mark Zuckerberg, 24-year-old CEO, who created Facebook with two Harvard University roommates five years ago, announced the milestone in a post on the official Facebook blog.
He said, "We are working hard to build a service that everyone, everywhere can use, whether they are a person, a company, a president, or an organization working for change."
He said, "We are working hard to build a service that everyone, everywhere can use, whether they are a person, a company, a president, or an organization working for change."
Apr 10, 2009
Internet Passes TV in Europe
(From the UK) Europeans will spend more time on the internet than watching television by June 2010, according to research by Microsoft.
The report, "Europe logs on: Internet trends of today and tomorrow", analyzes online behavior across Europe, and for 2010 predicts web consumption will average 14.2 hours per week, while TV program watching will average 11.5 hours per week.
Driving the rise of online media consumption is always-on broadband, with 48.5 per cent of Europeans now having an internet connection. The report says that for watching television programs, "three screens will dominate" - the traditional TV, desktop and laptop PCs, and mobile devices.
The report, "Europe logs on: Internet trends of today and tomorrow", analyzes online behavior across Europe, and for 2010 predicts web consumption will average 14.2 hours per week, while TV program watching will average 11.5 hours per week.
Driving the rise of online media consumption is always-on broadband, with 48.5 per cent of Europeans now having an internet connection. The report says that for watching television programs, "three screens will dominate" - the traditional TV, desktop and laptop PCs, and mobile devices.
Apr 9, 2009
Internet Browsers
It is finally official, Mozilla Firefox has more users than Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Firefox climbed to 46.4% in February, while the various versions of IE dropped by 1.2% to 43.6%. As of March 23, IE8's market share stood at 2%, an increase of 0.7 of a percentage point since the final code was released. IE7, meanwhile, accounted for 36.9%. Apple's Safari came in at 3.2%.
Wow, in just a few short years, the free Firefox has outdone Microsoft, which used to claim 97% of the market. I have been using Firefox for a few years, since it was beta and love the simplicity, and that it can be spiffed up with as many add-ons as you want (all free). I also use Mozilla Thunderbird as my email. It handles my eight email addresses all in one place.
Firefox climbed to 46.4% in February, while the various versions of IE dropped by 1.2% to 43.6%. As of March 23, IE8's market share stood at 2%, an increase of 0.7 of a percentage point since the final code was released. IE7, meanwhile, accounted for 36.9%. Apple's Safari came in at 3.2%.
Wow, in just a few short years, the free Firefox has outdone Microsoft, which used to claim 97% of the market. I have been using Firefox for a few years, since it was beta and love the simplicity, and that it can be spiffed up with as many add-ons as you want (all free). I also use Mozilla Thunderbird as my email. It handles my eight email addresses all in one place.
Library of Congress
The U.S. Library of Congress has begun uploading its audio archives to iTunes, and it will soon begin to post videos on YouTube, in an effort to make its materials easier for the public to access.
The decision to post audio and video on iTunes and YouTube follows a successful launch early last year of a library photo archive on Flickr. Since January 2008, the library's photos on Flickr have been viewed about 15.7 million times, and more than 20,000 Flickr users have added the Library of Congress as a contact.
Some items - 100-year-old films from Thomas Edison's studio, book talks with contemporary authors, early industrial films from Westinghouse factories, first-person audio accounts, a rough draft of the Declaration of Independence and the contents of President Abraham Lincoln's pockets on the night of his assassination.
The decision to post audio and video on iTunes and YouTube follows a successful launch early last year of a library photo archive on Flickr. Since January 2008, the library's photos on Flickr have been viewed about 15.7 million times, and more than 20,000 Flickr users have added the Library of Congress as a contact.
Some items - 100-year-old films from Thomas Edison's studio, book talks with contemporary authors, early industrial films from Westinghouse factories, first-person audio accounts, a rough draft of the Declaration of Independence and the contents of President Abraham Lincoln's pockets on the night of his assassination.
Google Voice
This new service is about to be launched. It has been in test for some time. Call it the "one number to rule them all" service. Users will be able to register, sign up for a phone number in a local area code, and add multiple land line and cell-phone numbers to an account. When someone calls a Google Voice phone number, all the registered phones ring at the same time.
The service takes several telephony technologies and connects them to the Web. It's the voice equivalent of an e-mail address. Once you register a number you never have to worry about which phone you are using, even if you switch offices, homes, or cell phones. You can even press 4 to record a current call.
No matter which phone you use, there is one portal for all voice-mail messages. You can play them on the Web, save them as MP3 files, and even post a voice-mail message on a website. Conference calls are also easy. Answer an incoming call to add it to the current one. Very cool technology, but that record feature is a bit too scary for me. I like to keep my rants current, and not have someone save them for posterity.
I have my beta invite, because I was signed up with GrandCentral, which is the foundation technology for Google Voice.
The service takes several telephony technologies and connects them to the Web. It's the voice equivalent of an e-mail address. Once you register a number you never have to worry about which phone you are using, even if you switch offices, homes, or cell phones. You can even press 4 to record a current call.
No matter which phone you use, there is one portal for all voice-mail messages. You can play them on the Web, save them as MP3 files, and even post a voice-mail message on a website. Conference calls are also easy. Answer an incoming call to add it to the current one. Very cool technology, but that record feature is a bit too scary for me. I like to keep my rants current, and not have someone save them for posterity.
I have my beta invite, because I was signed up with GrandCentral, which is the foundation technology for Google Voice.
Apr 2, 2009
Google Tip
Do you get as frustrated as I do when searching and Google comes back with sites and articles that are years old? Try typing inurl:2008 or whatever year you like, at the end of the words and it will come back with results for that year only, example: computers inurl:2008.
If you want to see the results for different years, you can type: computers view:timeline and it will come back with this on the top of the page.
You can then click on any of the years and only the results for those years will be displayed.
BTW use quotes if you want to find a particular phrase or string of words. If I used my name without the quotes it would find many extraneous things for tom and many other shubnells. By using the quotes around both names, I limit the search to only me.
If you want to see the results for different years, you can type: computers view:timeline and it will come back with this on the top of the page.
You can then click on any of the years and only the results for those years will be displayed.BTW use quotes if you want to find a particular phrase or string of words. If I used my name without the quotes it would find many extraneous things for tom and many other shubnells. By using the quotes around both names, I limit the search to only me.
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