Archive for: firefox
Like you read it, you can download files using the BitTorrent network without actually using .torrent files with a new Firefox add-on.
“Well, yeah, I know that” you might say “those are called magnet links”. Yes, it is true, magnet links exists already; and they don’t use the .torrent file to download, they use DHT protocol. But unfortunately, magnet links are not so easy to find; even though there are some popular clients (like Vuze and uTorrent) that already support magnetized links.
But now, you can find those very easy with the Firefox Add-on Magnetiser. You can install it, look for the Torrent that you want to download, click on magnetise, select the torrent client, and your download will start.
One small consideration though, the Add-On it is not officially out just yet (officially meaning that you can download it directly from Mozilla site); but you can download this add-on from here (just drag-n-drop the .xpi file intro Firefox.
Even though all the rumors said that we were going to have an official beta of Firefox 3.6, as we’ve discussed earlier, Mozilla will be releasing a 3.6 build, but as an early beta.
This “test build”, that should contain several bugs, will be a small preview of the real 3.6 beta that will be available to the public on October 21st (yes, one day before Windows 7 official release to the public). To take a nice preview of what’s coming in 3.6, you can access Mozilla FTP and download the build.
As we’ve said earlier, Firefox 3.6 (codename Namoroka) won’t bring us big changes, the features that you’ll find here:
- Lightweight themes with Vista-like interface.
- Improvements in TraceMonkey JavaScript engine
- Bookmark synchronization
- Optimized session restore feature.
- Enhanced page rendering.
- New additions for CSS.
- Previews of tabs
We’ll have to wait for 3.7 to expect major differences.
Mozilla team is working really hard on brainstorming the idea and design of Firefox 3.7 (currently in 3.5, 3.6 it’s just around the corner). What’s the main idea? Hide the Menu bar and use a very similar look-n-feel of Office 2007/Office 2010 Ribbon.
They are using their Wiki to give us some of the advances made so far, the ideas floating in the air and of course receive feedback from most of the Mozilla lovers (and non-lovers as well, why not?). And here are the ideas that they have so far:
- Embracing Glass: Toolbar and Tabs using Glass. Raised translucent buttons that are slightly glossy to meld with the toolbar. Raised 3D look to achieve tactile “feel”.
- Neutral Tones: Overall neutral color scheme that can transition among platforms. Can remain attractive and slick without fighting for focus from web content.
- Hiding the Menu Bar: Hiding the menubar by default (on Vista/7) allows us to use Glass, free up vertical space and retain platform consistency.
- Page and Tools Buttons: Condense and trim existing menu structure into two buttons “Page” and “Tools”. Similar to Safari and Chrome.
- Combine Stop/Reload: Combine Stop and Reload into one button. Reduces visual “clutter” and combines two buttons that have mutually exclusive functionality.
- Home Button/Tab: Remove “Home” Button from default toolbar. Move functionality to a “Home Tab” containing your homepage.
More info: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Firefox/Sprints/Windows_Theme_Revamp/Direction_and_Feedback
Personally I think those are very nice and significant changes. Office, Vista and 7 seems that they are setting the standards of any UI (no surprise there, Windows will still be the world’s main OS for a few years more). But the good news is that Mozilla it is also trying to establish browsers standards, like the “Page and Tools Buttons” that is a common feature in Safari and Chrome.
And also the “Combine Stop/Reload” feature it is something that I’ve been waiting to see in Firefox for a long time. I know, it’s a very tiny thing, but don’t you love having the same functionality in different browsers?
And what are the other changes that you would include?
It’s all about security this week in the tech world. Google are under the spotlight concerning security in their upcoming Google Chrome OS and Norton 2010 is turning heads. Now, Mozilla Firefox is to receive an update (3.0.12) which will close several major security loop holes in their popular browser.
“We strongly recommend that all Firefox 3.0.x users upgrade to this latest release,” Mozilla said on its developer blog. “If you already have Firefox 3, you will receive an automated update notification within 24 to 48 hours. This update can also be applied manually by selecting ‘Check for Updates…’ from the Help menu.”
It is recommended that users download the update so that they remain secure online. Using credit cards and even just keeping your browsing habits safe is a difficult task these days so the last thing you want is a browser that lets unsavoury programs or people peer into your bank account.
However, this will be one of the last, if not the last update for the browser. As of January 2010, no more updates will be made available to users of the 3.0.’X’ series as Mozilla try to pedal their newest browser, Firefox 3.5 to users.
Besides the Firefox Add-On official site, where anyone can download/upload the add-ons and share it with the community; you can also find Mozdev.org where there are over 250 projects related to Mozilla that are actively in motion by several developers in the mission to “establish Mozilla as a viable application development platform”.
Within the site, you will find several very interesting add-ons and plug-ins to use with Mozilla Firefox. Including the Top-50 most viewed and downloaded projects.
On this list you’ll find very, very useful tools that you can install to improve your browsing experience: Integration with Thunderbird, FTP client, autocopy highlighted text, proxy configurations, RSS reader, etc etc.
Again, another open source project that shows a lot of maturity, adding value and constant improvement. Cheers to that
We’ve announced earlier the release for Firefox 3.5 RC1, but the Mozilla development team already prepared a new build: Firefox 3.5 RC2. This new version has no bigger differences with the RC1, mostly fixing some bugs before making it the final version.
Company’s strategy it is quite interesting actually, releasing two RC versions in one week. They sure are very confident about the beta and RC stability, I can’t imagine Microsoft releasing release candidates versions of the same product in such short period of time.
That definitive version for Mozilla Firefox 3.5 it is expected in a few days more, ending June. You can check the release notes and improvements about the RC2 version here.
And you can download it from here.
The second most used browser has released the Release Candidate version for the upcoming Firefox 3.5. If you are wondering what kind of versions are the “release candidates”, those represents the first and most acceptable beta release that are very stable and with no big issues involved; but it doesn’t mean that this version will be the exact one used as a final version. This one is the seventh milestone (meaning build) that the development team prepared for Firefox 3.5.
Some of the improvements that Firefox 3.5 will include that appear in this RC1:
- Based in Gecko 1.9.1 rendering platform.
- Support for HTML 5, JavaScript query selectors, SVG transforms and others.
- Improved performance with TraceMonkey JavaScript engine.
- Private Browsing Mode for private data management.
- Support native JSON and web worker threads.
- Providing Location Aware Browsing to enhance web sites to display information according your geographical location.
You can download Firefox 3.5 RC1 from this link.
Consider that installing this version will overwrite your previous version of Firefox, your bookmarks and browsing history will be maintain, but do not expect that all your add-ons working properly.
Download it, enjoy it and give them your feedback!
Inside Google Code the company shares multiple applications and projects for all those interested. And for those webmasters also has very interesting tools, like Page Speed that I’m sure that you are going to find it quite useful.
Page Speed is an Firefox add-on that uses Firebug that runs several tests to measure performance on your site. Using several tests this particular scan gets the most important information from your front-end code and gives you all the hints necessary to improve the performance, having also different type of recommendations that can help you be more proactive on improving your site.
Resources for this tool, you’ll find plenty, “Using Page Speed” and even “Page Speed Community“. The Google Code it’s a great iniciative, Google shares a lot of code that is released completely as open source and you use it and modified it as you please. Cheers to that.
In less than a year, Zemanta has made a name for itself in the blogosphere. By becoming the premier add-on to the FireFox browser, bloggers now had access to an amazing set of tools to provide further depth to their posts. With hundreds of thousands of downloads, it seemed like a surefire winner, and there was little doubt that Zemanta has room to expand, but where and when?
Zemanta late last year supported another FireFox add-on called ScribeFire, a simple blogging tool that opened up in your browser without having to log into any other site or leave the page you are on. This allowed for amazingly quick posting to the blog of your choice, but also provided the same depth that you had available to you from within most popular blogging platforms like WordPress, Blogger, and TypePad.
Recently it was announced that Zemanta has made another move towards mass market exposure, it has integrated with Gmail and Yahoo Mail, offering users of those mail clients the ability to attached related articles, pictures, and keywords to their emails that the recipients might need to fully understand the topic. I personally can’t imagine a better mass exposure opportunity than attaching yourself to two of the largest mail clients on the internet today.
Zemanta is a key tool that I recommend all bloggers install, but now with mail enhancements, I’m happy to see them growing. I’ve always been a big supporter of their efforts as it’s nice to see innovative ways to breathe life into a long standing medium like blogging.
It’s apparent that Zemanta will continue to offer what it always has; by offering photo suggestions, article suggestions, and keyword suggestions, as you type, updating every 300 words, there is bound to be another leap into further integration.
Perhaps a jump into an office platform for document and presentation creation, like Microsoft Office or OpenOffice. Only time will tell!
It was reported over on Techcrunch and Crunchgear that there wa a virus that was running rampant across the YouTube network with the certain embedded videos. It was reported that Internet Explorer (IE) and Firefox were targeted, later reports said it was just IE.
The virus was reportedly named Actns/Swif.T and contains a phishing scam that directs uses to a website with an embedded .SWF and then installs a program called “Antivirus 2009.” Users were warned of this potentially damaging malware by avoiding weird pop-ups, requests for personal information, or re-direction to unknown sites.
The story was later recanted as it appeared to be a YouTube specific situation. On the back end the virus protection service being used was returning false positives identifying code within certain embedded videos as malware. The entire incident is harmless, and there is no security breach on the YouTube network. Spokesperons from YouTube are handling the situation and ensure us that YouTube is currently safe and free of any malware problems.
Like you read it, you can download files using the BitTorrent network without actually using .torrent files with a new Firefox add-on.
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