Tag: Firefox

Firefox for Maemo Goes Final

January 31, 2010 by Jason

Mobile phone users that own a Maemo-based handset from Nokia have now yet another reason to rejoice, as the final version of Firefox for their handsets has just emerged on the web. Following a long line of beta and release candidate flavors, now Firefox for Maemo 1.0 is here for them, providing an experience similar in many respects to the one that the desktop iteration of Firefox can deliver.

One of the main feature of the web browser is that it comes around with support for add-ons, something that no other solution offers to users. The add-ons enable any Maemo-based device owner to customize the browser via the over 40 add-ons that are already available for download on Mozilla’s website. Among them, we can count popular solutions like AdBlock Plus, URL Fixer, TwitterBar, language translators, or geo guides. The Add-ons Manager allows for an easy installation of such solutions, and Mozilla recommends for the YouTube Enabler add-on be installed.

The features that Firefox for mobile comes with to Maemo-based phones should be already familiar in a way to those who use the browser on their desktop computers:

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Windows XP Clone Built on Ubuntu 9.10

December 28, 2009 by Jason

It might look and feel like Windows XP, it might sport a similar graphical user interface and even be able to run XP software, but fact is that an operating system developed by Rain Forest Wind Guangdong Computer Technology Co., Ltd. is anything else but Windows Vista’s predecessor. Ylmf OS is designed as a Windows XP clone based on version 9.10 of the Ubuntu distribution of the Linux open source operating system.

The makers of Ylmf OS revealed that the Windows XP’s GUI was adopted in an effort to allow users of Microsoft’s proprietary platform to immediately start running Ubuntu Linux without needing to adapt to a new operating system.

An obvious downside to Ylmf OS is the fact that the release is Chinese only, at least at this point in time. Available for download localized exclusively in Chinese, Ylmf OS is bound to serve only users living in China and speaking the local language. No indications were offered by the team behind the project of future releases or support for additional languages. According to third-party reports, the people building Ylmf OS are in fact a group of Chinese pirates that were previously distributing a pirated copy of Windows XP, and which were tackled by the local authorities and Microsoft. Read More»

Firefox 4.0 Major GUI Redesign Cooking for Windows 7

December 27, 2009 by Jason

Mid-2009 brought with it the first indications that Mozilla was planning a major overhaul of the graphical user interface for the next major iteration of Firefox, namely version 4.0, not 3.6 which is considered only a minor upgrade to v3.5, and not v3.7. It now appears that the efforts done for the Firefox 4.0 GUI redesign are starting to take contour and that the company has chosen a direction in which to take the end user experience in 2010. Included with this article are a range of sketches and mock-ups of the way designers envision the Firefox 4.0 revamping at this point in time. It is important to note that the screenshots provided here are nothing more but concepts, and certainly not the final implementation of the GUI for version 4.0 of Firefox, and that they apply only to the Windows flavor of the open source browser (especially to Windows 7).

To cut a long story short, Firefox 4.0 will feature style elements common to Microsoft’s Ribbon/Fluent GUI, but also design similarities from Google Chrome and Opera 10.5. As far as Firefox 4.0 is concerned, Mozilla is planning the “Introduction of “App” tabs. [But also to] combine location bar and search bar (separate location and search items can be customized). Tabs-on-top option (possibly left/right as well). In bar search “button” with drop down of other types of search. Ability to attach stop/reload/go to location bar (TBD). Expanded home tab functionality. Read More»

TOP 10 – November 2009 Popular Tips

December 01, 2009 by Jason

1. Firefox 3.6 Beta for Windows 7

2. Seven Things to Try after Installing Windows 7

3. Windows 7 RTM Drivers from Microsoft Hardware

4. Windows 7 RTM in Over 35 Languages

5. Windows 7 RTM Support

6. Vista SP2 and XP SP3 Patch Security Release ISO Image

7. Microsoft Reacts to Windows 7 0-Day DoS Vulnerability

8. Show A Hidden System Tray Icon In Windows 7

9. Firefox 3.6 Beta 3 Is Cooking

10. Windows 7 DirectX 11 Hardware Acceleration

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Windows 7 DirectX 11 Hardware Acceleration

November 24, 2009 by Jason

The race between Mozilla and Microsoft is on yet again to establish positions such as innovation leader and follower, when it comes down to Firefox and Internet Explorer. And it will most probably fall on the two company’s next generation browser releases to help label the two software makers as either leading the wave in innovation or bringing to the market features that are already sported by the rival product. In this regard, Firefox 3.7 and Internet Explorer 9 are currently neck-in-neck at the start line toward the adoption and implementation of hardware acceleration.

Last week, at the Professional Developer Conference 2009 in Los Angeles, Steven Sinofsky, president, Windows and Windows Live Division, demonstrated a very early, just three weeks old copy of Internet Explorer 9, touting hardware acceleration as one of the major enhancements coming to IE users. In the video embedded at the bottom of this article, you will be able to get an insight into IE9 hardware acceleration possible because of Windows 7’s DirectX 11 graphics technology.

“We’re changing IE to use the DirectX family of Windows APIs to enable many advances for web developers. The starting point is moving all graphics and text rendering from the CPU to the graphics card using Direct2D and DirectWrite. Graphics hardware acceleration means that rich, graphically intensive sites can render faster while using less CPU. Read More»

Firefox 3.6 Beta 3 Is Cooking

November 18, 2009 by Jason

Mozilla is cooking a new Beta Build of the next iteration of its open source browser. Early adopters will have a fresh revision, the third one since Firefox 3.6 debuted into Beta stage, available for download soon. Whether referred to as Firefox 3.6 Beta 3 or Firefox 3.6 Beta revision 3, the new release is just around the corner. In fact, Mozilla plans to release it either later today or tomorrow morning. At the start of this week, the company building the Firefox open source browser was undecided as to the specific deadline for the availability of Firefox 3.6 Beta 3/Revision 3.

Firefox 3.6 codenamed Namoroka “Beta 3 refresh should be coming Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning. Beta 3 includes a components directory lockdown feature,” Mozilla revealed. In this regard, Beta 3/revision 3 will be offered to Firefox 3.6 users at just a week after the introduction of Beta 2/revision 2.

With the introduction of the components directory lockdown feature, Mozilla is essentially closing the door to the browser’s “components” directory for third-party extension developers. Essentially, devs that work to extend Firefox 3.6 will no longer be able to have their code added to the “components” directory in Firefox 3.6, as they are able to do in version 3.5 and earlier. Instead, mobbing forward, the “components” are will be reserved exclusively for Firefox 3.6, and nothing more. Read More»

Firefox 3.6 Beta for Windows 7

November 01, 2009 by Jason

The first fully-fledged Beta development milestone of the next generation of Mozilla’s open source browser is currently available for download. Testers and early adopters that have been waiting for Firefox 3.6, codenamed Namoroka, to evolve from Alpha stage are now free to access, download, install and start test driving the Beta 1 build. In addition to being the first Beta for Firefox 3.6, the development milestone offered by Mozilla is also the first example of a third-party browser to embrace Microsoft’s latest iteration of the Windows client. Just like the native Internet Explorer 8, Firefox 3.6 Beta 1 is designed to play nice with Aero Peek and Thumbnail Previews via the new Windows Aero Taskbar (Superbar) in Windows 7.

As you can see from the screenshot included below, Firefox 3.6 Beta users can now take advantage of the some of the same graphical user interface enhancements in Windows 7 as those running IE8. While Google and Opera are lagging behind when it comes down to tailoring their browsers to Windows 7, the same is not valid for Mozilla. And as Windows 7 became available for purchase on October 22, 2009, customers running the OS in combination with Firefox 3.6 will certainly enjoy the bells and whistles of the new Windows Aero GUI. Read More»

Top10 – October 2009 Popular Tips

November 01, 2009 by Jason

1. Make Windows 7 faster – Part 1

2. Make Windows 7 faster – Part 3

3. Make Windows 7 faster – Part 2

4. Vista to Windows 7 Upgrades Kill Access to OEM Recovery Applications

5. UI Changes to Expect in Firefox 4.0

6. Recover Windows 7 from Driver Update

7. Patch Registration Cleanup Tool for Window 7

8. Apply a shade of Windows 7 to XP

9. Windows XP Mode RTMs

10. Windows 7 RTM Patches ISO Image
Read More»

UI Changes to Expect in Firefox 4.0

October 02, 2009 by Jason

Firefox 4.0 is the flavor of Mozilla’s web browser that is expected to come to the market sometimes in the second half of next year, while delivering to users a series of visual changes that will start to appear as soon as Firefox 3.7 is pushed out. We already had a glimpse at how the 3.7 version of Firefox might look like, and at the visual improvements it might bring to Windows-based computers, and we should also have a look at how 4.0 should continue the improvements.

According to Mozilla Wiki, the UI of Firefox 4.0 is mainly expected to deliver refinements to the changes that are to come with 3.7, and should include some major additions and changes. Among them, we can count the possibility that the LocationBar and SearchBar are to be merged, the Stop/Refresh/Go are to become One Button, a Tab-on-Top Option could appear, as well as App Tabs, the Home Tab functionality is to be enhanced, the Bookmarks Bar hidden and the Status Bar removed.

Here’s what Mozilla says when it comes to the merging of the LocationBar and SearchBar: “The AwesomeBar already has a lot of search functionality, even though it is currently only local. These fields have a convergent function: finding things. Merging these and including something like Taskfox will put search in a unified location with added utility. It will also reduce toolbar complexity/clutter by merging functionality.” Read More»

Top 10 – September 2009 Popular Tips

October 01, 2009 by Jason

1. Windows 7 RTM Enterprise 90-Day Evaluation

2. Make FireFox 3 Times Fast

3. DirectX 11 Resources for Windows 7 and Vista

4. Windows 7 Upgrade Performance

5. Windows 7 Windows XP Mode RC Hotfix for Shared Folder Performance

6. Automatic Windows 7 Installs

7. Office 2010 Build 14.0.4417.1000

8. Windows 7 HomeGroup

9. DirectX with Windows 7 Support

10. Firefox 3.6 Beta 1 Up Next

and other popular tips