As Mozilla Firefox nears 10% market share, with well over 25 million downloads direct from the makers website, and goodness knows how many through other sources, Microsoft announces that it will be releasing IE 7 ahead of schedule. Originally scheduled for release with Microsoft’s new Longhorn operating system in 2006, it seems that Microsoft are reacting to the run away success that Firefox has had over the last few months. But is Microsoft’s announcement just a response to Firefox’s success, or is it truly a commitment by the software giant to improve the browsing experience of the masses?
I’m going to make no secret about it; I am a Firefox user first and foremost. Ever since I first looked at Firefox and saw the features such as power tabbing, proper support for Internet standards and the integrated search bar, I’ve been in love with this browser. To me Internet Explorer has not a patch on the competition, and without a major update soon will surely fall behind. When Microsoft announced their plans to bring forward Internet Explorer 7 I was very interested in what they had to offer. Competition is the life-blood of progress, and if Microsoft were to seriously invest in their browser it would be of great advantage to Internet users as a whole. Unfortunately, I was disappointed at what emerged. It seems that all Microsoft are doing is making some nebulous claims as to ‘increasing the security’ of their browser. No mention of tabbing, increased standards support or any of the other features of Firefox which IE are sorely lacking. To me it seems that all Microsoft’s latest release aims to do is distract people in an attempt to out-hype Firefox.I sincerely hope that I can be proved wrong and, for once, Microsoft can deliver on their promises. Early reports do, however, indicate that their new browser will only work with Windows XP, leaving many users out in the cold still. Even if Microsoft does get it’s act together there is one thing they’ll never have – cross-platform compatibility. While Firefox will run under Mac OS X, Linux, even old BeOS systems, as well as Windows, IE is limited to Windows only. So for now Firefox is far and away the best choice of browser for the web, and looks like it may stay this way for some time to come.Do you not want to believe what I am saying? Well, even the almighty Google agrees with me. Just try searching for ‘best browser’, or even ‘browser’ in Google, and just see what comes up. Even MSN seems to agree. If you haven’t yet tried Firefox and would like to give it a go, it can be downloaded here. If you would like to know more about why you should consider changing your browser I can also recommend you go visit This Page: Why you should dump Internet Explorer.
The Rise of Little Brother
In George Orwell's 1949 novel, "1984," a grim future dominated by surveillance and oppression is vividly depicted. While Orwell's dystopian vision warned of totalitarian regimes, today's reality reveals a subtler, yet pervasive, form of surveillance: the rise of "Little Brother." This phenomenon sees everyday technology and private entities engaging in the kind of monitoring once feared to be the sole province of oppressive governments.
The Essentials of Wireless Security
With wireless networks proliferating it is becoming more important than ever that sufficient security measures are put in place. And yet many people, especially those new to the technology or computers in general, are just not aware of the dangers of not properly securing a wireless network.
Content for Coders
The one thing that any new Webmaster hears when searching for tips on how to improve their site is this: Content is King. And its true; good, high quality content is what gets other people interested in your site, and makes other webmasters link to you. However to me at least there is always far to much focus on what could be termed ‘online’ content rather than the other sort, which can often yield as many, if not more, high quality one-way inbound links.
