Firefox 3.5 is ready for you to download and improve your web browsing.
It’s been just a little over a year since Firefox 3 was released, but boy was 3.5 ever needed. As much as version 3 made some improvements over 2, it still had some bad memory management problems that needed addressing. I am happy to report that since downloading 3.5 this morning, it appears the amount of system recources Firefox used to hog from my system has been cut by half. Thank goodness! Things had gotten so bad that I was almost ready to stop using it, which would have been unthinkable for me in the past.
Some of the improvements you can look for in the new version are:
Improved Memory Management
Mozilla, the company behind Firefox, says that they have implemented a new memory engine that cleans out unused bits of memory on a regular basis. They also plugged several hundred “memory leaks” in an effort to cut the amount used.
Improved JavaScript Engine
Java powers a lot of the Web, but if the engine isn’t efficent, it can be a nightmare to load. From my limited usage today I can already see some drastic improvement in how fast some Web sites are loading.
Location Aware Browsing
Firefox can now determine where you are geographically by using your IP address or access to cellular towers. Should be a huge help with things like using map applications.
Recently Closed Tabs
Firefox has been able to re-open the last tab you closed for a while now, but now you can go further back in to your history.
These are just some of the highlights from the new and improved browser, so what are you waiting for? Head over to GetFirefox.com and get to downloading!
What is a web browser and what does it do for you exactly?
It’s been a while since we did a new entry in the “What is…” series, but it seems like it is definitely time for it. It’s easy to forget some days that terms you take for granted our ones that no one else seems to know. Google recently went out on the streets of Times Square and asked people what they thought a “browser” was, and shockingly only 8% of people knew the correct answer.
The basic concept is simple, and Wikipedia does a great job of summing it up in just one sentence.
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web.
The general answers in the video, which we posted below, seem to have most people confusing a search engine with a browser, but a search engine is a Web page and the browser is how you get to that page. So when you click on an icon on your desktop such as Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome, that is the browser.
I know this seems like such a small difference, but knowing your terms is the first step to knowing your way through a computer with as little confusion as possible.
The makers of the Opera Web browser have come up with a new feature called Opera Unite that may save you some time when you want to share files with friends and family.
Opera Unite will be a new feature in Opera 10 that is still in the testing stages, that will essentially turn your Web browser in to a file and media server. The concept is simple that you will open up this new feature, tell it which hard drive, files or folders you wish to share and from there you simply choose if you want to share these items publicly, with password protection or just for your own use. After you are all set up with your registered Opera account you will be issued a unique Web address that will allow people to get to your files easily.
While the majority of the tech bloggers are singing the praises of this feature and how they feel it will revolutionize the Internet, StarterTech is going to be a little bit more realistic about it. We have a few serious concerns about this new product.
Many Internet service providers (ISPs) have strict rules about setting up a server on their systems. While they may not catch on to you sharing a file here or there, if you start streaming media across their network on a regular basis, something Opera is saying this is perfect for, it may be a very good way for you to get a warning from your ISP.
If you should happen to leave this open publicly, you run the risk of your files being potentially indexed by a search engine, and if you have copyrighted material amongst your files, then it may be a good way to get yourself in trouble for copyright infringement.
If you plan on using this in any serious capacity, another thing Opera suggests by saying it’s a good product for Web designers, this means leaving your computer on full time and Opera running it at all times.
You could also see serious slow down in your Internet connection due to people accessing files on your “server”.
In short, yes, it could be a convenient tool for sharing things like photos instead of having to go upload them on sites like Flickr or Photobucket, but in general I find it a potentially dangerous product for the general user that isn’t familiar with security, how portions of the Internet work and what possible ill side effects there might be for your computer and Internet connection. Seeing as Opera is not a serious contender in the current round of the browser wars it is doubtful that it will ever become a widely used product, but it is still something people should give a lot of thought to before starting to use it.
It seems some people just can’t wait for Chrome to get their extension system up and running.
One thing that has stopped many people from switching to Google’s Chrome browser is the lack of support for extensions. Those handy little pieces of code that allow you to get your browser to do things it wasn’t built to do originally have been one of the staples for Firefox and its popularity. Amongst the most popular of the Firefox extensions is one named AdBlock Plus that allows you to browse Web sites without seeing their ads, so once the Chrome extension engine released, it was just assumed that an ad blocker would be one of the first extensions out there door.
Why wait?
AdSweep has come up with a way for you to run their extension in Chrome right now, athough it takes several steps and some work on your part. Even with all of that in consideration, it is an interesting commentary on how much some people really hate online ads that they would go through this much work to block them. Personally they’ve never bothered me, but it seems those that are bothered by them are REALLY bothered by them.
If you’ve got the guts, you can give AdSweep a try, but expect to put in some work.
The Skyfire mobile web browser has finally left Beta testing, and is available as an official 1.0 for you to download.
While most mobile phones come with a built-in web browser, the majority of them are not very friendly to your normal web browsing experience. This browser gives you the ability to use Flash animation and Ajax tools, something that has been lacking for a long time on cell phones. Not even the iPhone has yet to be able to use Flash. (and no, Apple does not allow other browsers to be added to their devices, so you’re stuck with mobile Safari for the time being.)
For now the new browser is only available for Windows Mobile 5 & 6 devices and Symbian Nokia N and E Series phones. BlackBerry devices are said to be getting their own version “shortly”, but no definite release date has been mentioned.
Chrome, the web browser by search engine giant Google, has finally left the Beta stage with its latest release.
Google Chrome has already found a small, but very loyal, following of fans for its stability and general rendering speed. Now it has come out of its Beta stage, and the new version 2.0 feels even faster with its page loading speeds.
If you are surprised to learn that version 2 is out, that is the one place we at StarterTech feel that Chrome falls a little short: No notifications of updates. To learn if there is a new version of the browser, you need to click on the wrench in the top right corner, and then click on “About Google Chrome” to see if there is a ner version for you to download. It’s a bit counter intuitive as opposed to Firefox giving you a pop-up notice everytime there is a new version. The Chrome system isn’t quite as user friendly, but it does work.
This is apparently one of the steps in Google moving all of their products out of Beta at long last so they can be accepted by corporate clients, and it’s about time.
URL shortening services all seem to do the same thing by just converting those lengthy URLs into something shorter, and more manageable. When we first covered BurnURL upon its launch last month, we noted how it was bringing a more social aspect to the URL shortening space, and they are improving on that even more with this release.
The first thing you notice is that the up and down voting arrows have been replaced with five emoticons. This is an effort to better reflect how you felt about the article, and you can choose from Boring, Sad, Useful, Funny and Exciting. While more interesting than the old system, I’m not sure why anyone would bother with a Boring rating, but we’ll see how much it gets used.
Next to the emoticons, you’ll see a button for “Tweets” which will show you how many people have Tweeted this particular URL on Twitter.
The sharing button is the next in the line, and while the sharing on services such as Twitter, Facebook, Digg, FriendFeed, Mixx, Reddit, Delicious or StumbleUpon was there in the previous release, they have now been moved to this pop out tab so that the bar is friendlier to those with smaller screen resolutions.
Also inside of the Share tab is now the ability to email the article to other people. As someone who has many “non-techie” friends who don’t spend much time surfing the Web, I am a big user of emailing links, so this is a very welcome inclusion for me.
The last thing is probably more interesting to site owners, but the stats area now shows you the number of unique views for the link as well as the total views.
All in all, some very nice upgrades to an already very useful service, and our favorite choice for URL shortening.
(Disclosure: BurnURL is partially owned by Adam Ostrow with whom I work with at Mashable. This post however was in no way influenced by our working relationship, it’s just a great service)
Finally coming out of its Beta status, Internet Explorer 8, the purportedly most secure version of the browser yet, has made its official debut today. While it has been available for some time in its Beta form, this is the “Gold” release of the Microsoft browser.
Some of the new features include:
Accelerators – Highlight text in a page, click on the Accelerator icon and choose from popular services such as maps, blogging, translating and more without ever leaving the page.
Web Slices – Choose frequently updated pages, such as an eBay auction, and get notifications when there has been an update to the page.
Suggested Sites – Get suggestions of other Web pages you might like that are similar to the one you are currently on.
There are many more new features, but that is a taste of what you can expect.
As with every release, Microsoft is claiming there is more security on this iteration of the browser, but only time will tell how it truly fares. Internet Explorer has always been a popular target for hackers due to the proliferation of the browser, and there is no reason to believe this one will be any different.
If you’re feeling the urge, go download the new version and let us know what you think of it in the comments!
BurnURL is a new URL shortening service that brings a very exciting and new aspect to the field int he form of easy social sharing.
There has been a glut of URL shortening services in the market for some time, but the vast majority of them just did the following where they turned something like this:
While it still may not roll off of your tongue, it’s still a lot simpler to share with someone else. The problem is that these services have all been a dime a dozen, doing the exact same thing, and adding nothing new to the space.
Well, last week BurnURL launched and it brings several new features with it that are welcome additions that add greatly to the utility of such a service. The first change you’ll notice is the addition of handy coding for pasting the new URL into both HTML coded pages and forums that use BBcode.
Once a person clicks on the link you make for them, not only will they be taken to the page you linked, they will also be presented with a toolbar at the top of the page that provides them with social sharing tools.
With this tool bar in place, you can share the page you are reading on Twitter, Facebook, Digg, FriendFeed, Mixx, Reddit, Delicious or StumbleUpon as well as rating with the BurnUrl site. The bar will also tell you how many pepople have liked the page, how many people have clicked on the link and also what the actual URL of the page is.
Go aheadand give one a try by visiting http://burnurl.com/JZ24lZ that will take you back to this very site.
(Disclosure: BurnURL is partially owned by Adam Ostrow with whom I work with at Mashable. This post however was in no way influenced by our working relationship, it’s just a great service)
Once you have installed the new version (older versions of Foxmarks will continue to work if you have no desire to upgrade), you will be able to see recommendations in search results on search engines such as Google based on the number of times Xmarks users have saved that particular site. You will also be presented with an information icon as you surf the web that will allow you to click on it and get more information from Xmarks about the site. If you find either of these new features obtrusive, but still want the latest version, you can turn them off in the Xmarks option settings.
The new version is ready to go for Firefox, but Internet Explorer and Safari users will have to wait a bit longer.
The name change is not surprising seeing as the extension is no longer just a Firefox tool, but it is nice to see they brought some new features along for the ride.
Firefox 3.5 is ready for you to download and improve your web browsing.
What is a web browser and what does it do for you exactly?
The makers of the 
It seems some people just can’t wait for Chrome to get their extension system up and running.
The 
Microsoft has released the final version of 
The popular Firefox add-on Foxmarks is getting a name change, a facelift and some new features.
