FireFox 3 Features

User experience

• Easier password management. An information bar at the top of the browser window now appears to allow you to save passwords after a successful login.
• Simplified add-on installation. You can now install extensions from third-party download sites in fewer clicks, thanks to the removal of the add-on download site whitelist.
• New Download Manager. The download manager makes it easier to locate your downloaded files.
• Resumable downloads. You can now resume downloads after restarting the browser or resetting your network connection.
• Full page zoom. From the View menu and using keyboard shortcuts, you can now zoom in and out on the content of entire pages -- this scales not just the text but the layout and images as well.
• Tab scrolling and quickmenu. Tabs are easier to locate with the new tab scrolling and tab quickmenu features.
• Save what you were doing. Firefox 3 prompts you to see if you'd like to save your current tabs when you exit Firefox.
• Optimized Open in Tabs behavior. Opening a folder of bookmarks in tabs now appends the new tabs instead of replacing the existing ones.
• Easier to resize location and search bars. You can now easily resize the location and search bars using a simple resize handle between them.
• Text selection improvements. You can now select multiple ranges of text using the Control (Command on Macintosh) key. Double-clicking and dragging now selects in "word-by-word" mode. Triple-clicking selects an entire paragraph.
• Find toolbar. The Find toolbar now opens with the current selection.
• Plugin management. Users can now disable individual plugins in the Add-on Manager.
• Integration with Windows Vista. Firefox's menus now display using Vista's native theme.
• Integration with Mac OS X. Firefox now supports Growl for notifications of completed downloads and available updates.
• Star button. The new star button in the location bar lets you quickly add a new bookmark with a single click. A second click lets you file and tag your new bookmark.
• Tags. You can now associate keywords with your bookmarks to easily sort them by topic.
• Location bar and auto-complete. Type the title or tag of a page in the location bar to quickly find the site you were looking for in your history and bookmarks. Favicons, bookmark, and tag indicators help you see where the results are coming from.
• Smart Bookmarks folder. Firefox's new Smart Bookmarks folder offers quick access to your recently bookmarked and tagged places, as well as pages you visit frequently.
• Bookmarks and History Organizer. The new unified bookmarks and history organizer lets you easily search your history and bookmarks with multiple views and smart folders for saving your frequent searches.
• Web-based protocol handlers. Web applications, such as your favorite web mail provider, can now be used instead of desktop applications for handling mailto: links from other sites. Similar support is provided for other protocols as well. (Note that web applications do have to register themselves with Firefox before this will work.)
• Easy to use Download Actions. A new Applications preferences pane provides an improved user interface for configuring handlers for various file types and protocol schemes.
• Improved look and feel. Graphics and font handling have been improved to make web sites look better on your screen, including sharper text rendering and better support for fonts with ligatures and complex scripts. In addition, Mac and Linux (Gnome) users will find that Firefox feels more like a native application for their platform than ever, with a new, native, look and feel.
• Color management support. By setting the gfx.color_management.enabled preference in [about:config], you can ask Firefox to use the color profiles embedded in images to adjust the colors to match your computer's display.
• Offline support. Web applications can take advantage of new features to support being used even when you don't have an Internet connection.

Security and privacy

• One-click site information. Want to know more about the site you're visiting? Click the site's icon in the location bar to see who owns it. Identify information is prominently displayed and easier than ever to understand.
• Malware protection. Firefox 3 warns you if you arrive at a web site that is known to install viruses, spyware, trojans, or other dangerous software (known as malware). You can see what the warning looks like by clicking here.
• Web forgery protection enhanced. Now when you visit a page that's suspected of being a forgery, you're shown a special page instead of the contents of the page with a warning. Click here to see what it looks like.
• Easier to understand SSL errors. The errors presented when an invalid SSL certificate is encountered have been clarified to make it easier to understand what the problem is.
• Out-of-date add-on protection. Firefox 3 now automatically checks add-on and plugin versions and disables older, insecure versions.
• Secure add-on updates. Add-on update security has been improved by disallowing add-ons that use an insecure update mechanism.
• Anti-virus integration. Firefox 3 now informs anti-virus software when executable files are downloaded.
• Windows Vista parental controls support. Firefox 3 supports the Vista system-wide parental control setting for disabling file downloads.

Performance

• Reliability. Firefox 3 now stores bookmarks, history, cookies, and preferences in a transactionally secure database format. This means your data is protected against loss even if your system crashes.
• Speed. Firefox 3 has gotten a performance boost by completely replacing the part of the software that handles drawing to your screen, as well as to how page layout work is handled.
• Memory use reduced. Firefox 3 is more memory efficient than ever, with over 300 memory "leak" bugs fixed and new features to help automatically locate and dispose of leaked memory blocks.

I installed FF3 in my Vista machine and itz really cool. I can feel the improved performance, especially the memory taken by firefox process. Some of the addsons are updated automatically, but some of them need manual updation.

DOWNLOAD FF3

Apple iPhone 3G

Finally the iPhone 3G is officially released.

The main features are 3G, thinner edges, full plastic back, flush headphone jack, and the iPhone 2.0 firmware .They're also making sure it's available all over internationally, works with enterprises, runs 3rd party apps... and does it all for cheaper. Apple claims its 3G speeds trounce the competition, with pageloads 36% faster than the N95 and Treo 750 -- and of course it completely trounces the old EDGE data. Battery life isn't getting put out to pasture though, with 300 hours of standby, 8-10 hours of 2G talk, 5 hours of 3G talk, 7 hours of video and 24 hours of audio. GPS is also a go. Apple is using A-GPS, which supplements regular satellite GPS data with info from cellular towers. WiFi data is also worked into the mix, which should give users a pretty solid lock on where the heck they are on this planet. Apple hopes to launch in 70 countries this year. 8GB is available for $199, 16GB for $299 -- and the 16GB comes in white. Both pricepoints require a contract.

iPhone is relasing in 25 countries in this July 11. It will be available in India through Vodafone. But the releasing date not not yet fixed. Here is the iPhone India Site http://www.apple.co.in/iphone/

For more details visit http://www.apple.com/

Firefox Download Day: Set a Guinness World Record Enjoy a Better Web

What is Download Day?

Download Day is Mozilla's attempt to set a world record for the most software downloads in 24 hours and will occur on Firefox 3 launch day.

When is Download Day?

Download Day will coincide with the general availability of Firefox 3. The clock will start ticking when Firefox 3 goes out the door! They don’t have a definitive date for Firefox 3 yet, but it should be in June.

How do I take part in the record?

It's simple--just download Firefox 3 as soon as it is available, preferably from Download Day Headquarters. You'll get a customized certificate by downloading from Headquarters.

How will I know it’s time to download Firefox 3?

Please provide your email address when pledging to download Firefox 3 and they'll send you reminder emails and notify you of the exact date. Or, you can check back at Download Day Headquarters for an update or follow "mozillafirefox" on Twitter for status.

Yes, I pledged to get Firefox 3 during Download Day to set the Guinness World Record for Most Software Downloaded in 24 Hours. :-)

Run Linux applications on Windows or OS X with Lina

Lina is a Linux virtual machine that allows users to run applications with the native look of their host operating system. It also lets you install applications with a mouse-click, no need to compile software from source code.

The features are

Native look and feel With LINA, Open Source applications developed in a Linux environment can run on Windows, Mac OS X, and UNIX operating systems, as well as any flavor of Linux. Compiled and run on the LINA platform, these Linux applications adopt the appearance and interface characteristics of applications written for the underlying operating system. With LINA, users get the native look and feel of the operating system they are accustomed to. Fully portable LINA runs invisibly wherever installed, offering a fully integrated solution for development and deployment of cross-platform executables. Secure and stable With LINA installed, programs written for Linux will run securely, regardless of changes made to the underlying operating system. LINA insulates the underlying operating system from the applications running on LINA, and protects the user's other programs and data from unexpected modifications.

Visit Lina Website

Microsoft DreamSpark

DreamSpark is simple, it's all about giving students Microsoft professional-level developer and design tools at no charge so you can chase your dreams and create the next big breakthrough in technology - or just get a head start on your career.

Who can get this right now?

Currently t.hey are giving this to students from 11 countries.United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, China, Germany, France, Finland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Belgium. If you are not residing in one of the countries listed keep checking they will add more countries soon.

What do I have to do to get this software?

• just select a product
• Sign In with your Windows Live ID.
• Get verified as a student.
• Download your products.

The following products are availabele now

• Expression Studio
• Sql Server 2005 Express
• Sql Server Developer Edition
• Virtual PC 2007
• Visual Basic 2005
• Visual C++ 2005
• Visual C# 2005
• Visual J# 2005
• Visual Studio 2008
• Visual Web Developer 2005
• Visual Studio 2005 Professional
• Windows Server 2003
• XNA Game Studio

Goto: https://downloads.channel8.msdn.com/

Ubuntu Mobile

Introducing Ubuntu Mobile - full Internet, no compromise

Ubuntu Mobile is an Ubuntu edition that targets an exciting new class of computers called Mobile Internet Devices.
Ubuntu Mobile, based on the world's most popular Linux distribution, and MID hardware from OEMs and ODMs, are redefining what can be done in mobile computing.

Ubuntu Mobile, a fully open source project, gives full Internet, with no compromise. Custom options may include licensed codecs and popular third-party applications.

• Full Web 2.0/AJAX fidelity, with custom options of Adobe Flash®, Java, and more
• Outstanding media playback so you can enjoy videos, music and photos with superior quality and easy navigation
• A suite of applications that work seamlessly to meet every need of a digital parent, student or anyone who is on-the-go
• Facebook®, MySpace®, YouTube®, Dailymotion®, 3D games, GPS, maps, in short, the full Web 2.0 experience delivered into your hands as a compact and powerful device that's easy and fun to use

The product of Canonical collaboration with Intel® and the open source community, Ubuntu Mobile is the software that makes it all possible.

Clutter User Interface

Click here for more details

Ubuntu: Hardy Heron Alpha 5

The Ubuntu developers are moving very quickly to bring you the absolute latest and greatest software the Open Source Community has to offer. Hardy Heron Alpha 5 is the fifth alpha release of Ubuntu 8.04, and with this new alpha release comes a whole host of excellent new features.

The features are

1. Wubi 2. Xorg 7.3 3. Linux kernel 2.6.24 4. PulseAudio 5. PolicyKit 6. Firefox 3 Beta 3 7. Transmission 8. Vinagre 9. Brasero 10. World Clock Applet 11. GVFS 12. GNOME System Monitor 13. Virtualization 14. Firewall 15. umenu 16. Wubi

Checkout this official site for more details

Download Alpha 5

Get it while it's hot. ISOs and torrents are available at:

http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/releases/hardy/alpha-5/ (Ubuntu) http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu/releases/hardy/alpha-5/ (Kubuntu) http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/edubuntu/releases/hardy/alpha-5/ (Edubuntu) http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/jeos/releases/hardy/alpha-5/ (Ubuntu JeOS) http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/hardy/alpha-5/ (Xubuntu) http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/gobuntu/releases/hardy/alpha-5/ (Gobuntu) http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/ubuntustudio/releases/hardy/alpha-5/ (UbuntuStu

Wine 0.9.56 released

Wine is a translation layer (a program loader) capable of running Windows applications on Linux and other POSIX compatible operating systems. Windows programs running in Wine act as native programs would, running without the performance or memory usage penalties of an emulator, with a similar look and feel to other applications on your desktop.

The latest release is 0.9.56

What's new in this release:
- Proper handling of OpenGL/Direct3D windows with menu bars.
- Stubs for all the d3dx9_xx dlls.
- Several graphics optimizations.
- Many installer fixes.
- Improved MIME message support.
- Lots of bug fixes.

The sources will be available from the following locations:

http://ibiblio.org/pub/linux/system/emulators/wine/wine-0.9.56.tar.bz2
http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/wine/wine-0.9.56.tar.bz2

Binary packages for various distributions will be available from:

http://www.winehq.org/site/download

 

The history of 404 error message

In the 1980's a group of scientists at CERN (Switzerland) started working on what was to become the media revolution: the World Wide Web(WWW), or simply 'the Web'. Their aim was to create a database infrastructure that offered open access to data in various formats. They started developing their protocol called CERN's internal network.

In an office on the fourth floor (room 404), they placed the World Wide Web's central database.Any request for a file was routed to that office, where two or three people would manually locate the requested files and transfer them, over the network, to the person who made that request.When the database started to grow the number of requests grew and also the number of requests that could not be fulfilled, usually because the person who requested a file typed in the wrong name for that file.Soon these faulty requests were answered with a standard message: 'Room 404: file not found'.

Later, the manual processes were automated and people could directly query the database but the error message remained the same '404: file not found'. The room numbers remained in the error codes in the official release of HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) and are still displayed when a browser makes a faulty request to a Web server.