Saturday, October 28, 2006

Firefox 2.0 out in the open - Review time

Well Firefox 2.0 is out and its review time over a cuppa cofee

Its more robust looking and yet sleeker.. Its supposed to be more secure and enhanced.. Firefox calls it Phishing Protection where they compare their existing list of reported phishing sites (who lure you into giving sensitive personal information) which may be a great thing but since security is not “visible” so cant really comment on that. But the security console seems pretty neat with anti phishing sites option

The tabs are better looking and has got a close button right on the tab (like tab mix plus extension and of course Opera) Also for people who work with large number of tabs in the same window, there are arrows on the left and right side of the tab strip that let them scroll back and forth between their tabs... Also It has recently closed tab button in the history.. But why would anyone use history option... It would have made more sense if this was a button right on the tab bar

It has a inline spell checker in case you are filling some form which is a good feature

Right now the extensions are not compatible with the new version (and understandably so).. it was a little empty feeling for me.. I guess the extensions should also have been updated ...

One good feature is that the search boxes at top right are visually more appealing A new search engine manager makes it easier to add, remove and re-order search engines. It also comes with an awesome suggestion feature.. you type in a letter and its hows suggested words (ala Google suggest) along with you search history keywords which is a welsome step towards usability

Is it faster than the last version?... I don't think so... Opera is still much faster as far as page load time is concerned.. Firefox 1.5.0.7 was as fast as this one so no real additions here

Another thing that I noticed, As soon as I open Gmail or yahoo mail (any secure page) it me the authentication information like “authenticated by”. Well i don't know how useful that would be

Bottomline
It looks sleeker and a little enhanced in security but overall no striking change in usability or an outright enhancement. So a little bit of disappointment and kinda damp squib this release..

So looking forward to next version 3.0 code-named "Gran Paradiso”

PS: I'm still a firefox loyalist thought :-) thats why I'm more disappointed

Chai with Opera

Opera India is organizing an informal discussion session in Chandigarh. Its going to be discussing practical issues/ problems/ tips regarding web technologies. Its for everyone involved with the web whether you are a developer, designer or an avid Internet user or enthusiast, you can be a part of the meetup. You can find the details at - my.opera.com/operaindia

I think it'll be great for every Internet enthusiast around chandigarh to join in voice in your opinion.. I'm surely going to do just that..

Date: 29 October
Time: 11 AM (IST)
Venue: The Piccadily, Sector 22B Chandigarh

See ya there

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Hooked on to Opera

Well... my friend insisted that I use Opera after seeing my blog full of Firefox Extensions. I did just that.. though most of the stuff is heard of and is similar to the extensions... but hey its sleeker and all features like "session manager" CSS viewers and quick note come as a "Standard Fitment" in Opera. They started the Tabbed Browsing concept anyways..

All I'll say is I'm mighty impressed.. Its the most user friendly browsers of them all. The popularity is amazing as Opera became FREE just an year ago. I'm so hooked on to mouse gestures that it seems that I cant use browsers without it. I think opera has also done a "Usability Study" for browsers coz only then would some body take care of small details like a recycle bin for accidentally closed tabs or Email client configuration within browser (the cherry on the cake) and having prefilled values for all popular POP mail services.

These are the things that an everyday user would crave for while using any kind of service or softwares or applications... One does need to get used to the Keyboard Shortcuts.. since u are using different ones in Firefox.. But from features like the "real" mouse gestures (not a fad extension), inbuilt mail client to drag and drop features to Trash Can.. thumbnail view of tabs without opening them... all is great about the browser.


The only thing that I didnt quite like are the Widgets.. they are just so bugging.. opening new windows if I enable them.. they are almost like parallel applications.. so not "opera"like... a real pain in the @&*


Being a Firefox loyalist I miss some of the extensions and maybe I have got used to it.. But I think if Opera incorporate some kinda extensions in Opera.. that would pack a KILLER punch for all of em.... Currently I would call Opera the most user friendly browser..


Just download it and get going


Cheers!!