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.
Aug 6, 2009
Mouth Gag - (1880s-1910s)
This handy dandy, wooden, screw-shaped mouth gag would be inserted into an anesthetized patient's mouth to keep the airway open.
Top Ten Movies
Do you know the highest grossing movies of all time? The top four each grossed over a billion dollars - and probably another billion in popcorn.
Title, Gross Dollars (millions), Year Released
2 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King $1,119.1 2003
3 Pirates of the
4 The Dark Knight $1,001.9 2008
5 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone $974.7 2001
6 Pirates of the
7 Harry Potter and the Order of the
8 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers $925.3 2002
9 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace $924.3 1999
10 Shrek 2 $919.8 2004
Finders Keepers
According to the Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, the saying "Finders keepers (losers weepers)" dates as far back as the early 19th century, recorded as, "No halfers-findee keepee, lossee seekee."
Almost 150 years later, Elvis Presley put it to music in 1963 when he sang "Finders keepers, losers weepers. The loser has to pay the score."
Almost 150 years later, Elvis Presley put it to music in 1963 when he sang "Finders keepers, losers weepers. The loser has to pay the score."
What's the Matter
27 Jul 09 - Oxford scientists have created a transparent form of aluminum by bombarding the metal with the world’s most powerful soft X-ray laser. ‘Transparent aluminum’ previously only existed in science fiction, featuring in the movie Star Trek IV, but the real material is an exotic new state of matter with implications for planetary science and nuclear fusion.
An international team, led by Oxford University scientists, report that a short pulse from the FLASH laser ‘knocked out’ a core electron from every aluminum atom in a sample without disrupting the metal’s crystalline structure. This turned the aluminum nearly invisible to extreme ultraviolet radiation.
''What we have created is a completely new state of matter nobody has seen before. We have turned ordinary aluminum into this exotic new material in a single step by using this very powerful laser. For a brief period the sample looks and behaves in every way like a new form of matter." said Professor Justin Wark of Oxford University’s Department of Physics, one of the authors of the paper.
The discovery was made possible with the development of a new source of radiation that is ten billion times brighter than any synchrotron in the world. The FLASH laser, based in Hamburg, Germany, produces extremely brief pulses of soft X-ray light, each of which is more powerful than the output of a power plant that provides electricity to a whole city.
The Oxford team, along with their international colleagues, focused all this power down into a spot with a diameter less than a twentieth of the width of a human hair. At such high intensities the aluminum turned transparent.
Whilst the invisible effect lasted for only an extremely brief period – an estimated 40 femtoseconds (A femtosecond is one millionth of a nanosecond or 10 to the minus 15th of a second. For comparison, a millisecond is one thousandth of a second).
Professor Wark added: ‘What is particularly remarkable about our experiment is that A report of the research, ‘Turning solid aluminium transparent by intense soft X-ray photoionization’, is published in Nature Physics.
An international team, led by Oxford University scientists, report that a short pulse from the FLASH laser ‘knocked out’ a core electron from every aluminum atom in a sample without disrupting the metal’s crystalline structure. This turned the aluminum nearly invisible to extreme ultraviolet radiation.
''What we have created is a completely new state of matter nobody has seen before. We have turned ordinary aluminum into this exotic new material in a single step by using this very powerful laser. For a brief period the sample looks and behaves in every way like a new form of matter." said Professor Justin Wark of Oxford University’s Department of Physics, one of the authors of the paper.
The discovery was made possible with the development of a new source of radiation that is ten billion times brighter than any synchrotron in the world. The FLASH laser, based in Hamburg, Germany, produces extremely brief pulses of soft X-ray light, each of which is more powerful than the output of a power plant that provides electricity to a whole city.
The Oxford team, along with their international colleagues, focused all this power down into a spot with a diameter less than a twentieth of the width of a human hair. At such high intensities the aluminum turned transparent.
Whilst the invisible effect lasted for only an extremely brief period – an estimated 40 femtoseconds (A femtosecond is one millionth of a nanosecond or 10 to the minus 15th of a second. For comparison, a millisecond is one thousandth of a second).
Professor Wark added: ‘What is particularly remarkable about our experiment is that A report of the research, ‘Turning solid aluminium transparent by intense soft X-ray photoionization’, is published in Nature Physics.
Lance Armstrong
He was born Lance Edward Gunderson, 18 September 1971 in Plano, Texas, USA. His name was changed when he was adopted. His ancestors have been in the US since the 1600s. In 1992, Lance Armstrong finished last in the San Sebastian Classic, his first race as a professional. Then went on to win the Tour de France seven times, before taking a few years off.
Armstrong willingly took a backseat to Contador and put the team before his own needs assisting the 26-year-old Spaniard in winning the Tour de France this July. Armstrong put his aspirations for a eighth Tour victory on the backburner, but most certainly has his eyes on the prize in 2010.
Armstrong willingly took a backseat to Contador and put the team before his own needs assisting the 26-year-old Spaniard in winning the Tour de France this July. Armstrong put his aspirations for a eighth Tour victory on the backburner, but most certainly has his eyes on the prize in 2010.
Kaiser Permanente EHR
How much does it cost to implement the new EHR (Electronic Health Records) systems that are demanded by the government? One group, Kaiser Permanente took 7- years to switch to EHR system and it cost $4.2 billion so far to implement an electronic health records system at all facilities. It is not finished yet. Numbers for EHR implementations are not included in the CBO estimates of cost for the healthcare bill.
Quotable
Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it. A true patriot must always be ready to defend his country against its government.
Jul 30, 2009
Did You Know
Anson Williams, Potsie, of Happy Days is the nephew of Dr. Henry Heimlich, creator of the 'Heimlich maneuver'. He sure has aged well.
Respect
This is an example of a word that is not used enough today. When Nelson Mandela was in jail and his lawyer came to see him, he said to the lawyer, "I’m sorry, I have not introduced you to my guard of honor (eight guards).” Mandela identified each of the officers to his lawyer by name. The guards were so stunned that they actually behaved like a guard of honor, each respectfully shaking the lawyer's hand. To get respect, you must give respect.
San Andreas Fault
See the diagonal line that runs through the orchard in this photo? That's the San Andreas Fault - a point where the edges of two tectonic plates meet, producing a visible displacement amongst the rows of trees.
When they were planted years ago, the rows were straight, but as the two land masses moved in opposite directions and rubbed against each other over the years the orchard was split. The top half of the field sits on the pacific plate, the bottom half on the North American plate.
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