Andy Wood

Think Firefox 3 is fast? Try Firefox Minefield

The same Mozilla that makes the Firefox browser is behind Minefield.  In fact, a way to glimpse into the future of Firefox, as it’s a pre-release/alpha version of the Firefox browser.

How fast? Some claim that it has the fastest javascript engine on the planet, which means it leaves Google’s Chrome browser in the dust. In my own unscientific tests, I’d say that this assertion is correct. Ars Technica pegs Minefield as 10 percent faster than Chrome.

You can download the latest nightly build for Mac OS X, Linux, or Windows, but be warned: it’s alpha code. While a quick scan of the Web shows few complaints as to stability, Minefield may not be for you. It doesn’t support some of my favorite Firefox extensions (like Adblock Plus), but it actually has surprisingly good support for extensions, given that it’s a fast-moving project.

Feeling brave? Or simply feeling like your browser is too slow? Give Minefield a try. It’s a separate install so it won’t affect an existing Firefox install. You have nothing to lose but your chains.

Overnight, Microsoft issued a rare out-of-cycle patch for Windows systems that should be installed immediately. The vulnerability affects all versions of Windows and could have an impact similar to the 2003 Blaster Worm attack. If you’re not set to auto-update, be sure to go out and grab the update.

All of my machines do updates automatically, and the alert was present on all six of my family’s desktop machines this morning, and also on my laptop, which is my skype server.

Anyway, get those updates today if you can.

I have been using the latest and greatest search tool for my XP PC, Windows Search 4.0, but somehow I had missed this: the Filter Pack for searching in Office documents. With the the Microsoft Filter Pack installed, Windows Search 4.0 is able to search within Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Office 2007 documents based on the text they contain.

I am talking about a free service called: OpenDNS

DNS servers are the devices on the internet that help direct you to the correct server when you enter gamerscircle.net in your browser.

Chances are, your ISP’s DNS servers are slow or out of date. Also, they may be all the way across the country, or even on the other side of an ocean. There are better DNS services out there. I recommend OpenDNS, a free service. OpenDNS speeds your internet connection by ensuring you hit a DNS server geographically closer (and more reliable) than your ISP’s. A bonus for parents: parental controls.

All it takes is to manually configure your router or internet connection to direct all DNS requests to OpenDNS instead of your ISP’s DNS servers. The service is free with registration, and OpenDNS has easy to follow instructions on its website. The trade off is that Google search results will show up (complete with ads) when you mistype a URL. It’s a small price to pay. And chances are, your browser already performs these typo searches anyway.

Well , not really.

For a while, I have had a little tech-no problem on how to keep my work calendar all sync and tidy.  I finally got the time to hit the Internet to find a solution.

Google Sync was the answer for me.

While at the shop, I can add/move/change items on my Outlook Calendar and get a mirror image of it at home by using Google Sync.

Sweet.

The project that I have been talking about has been pretty successful.   Basically:

It allows you to:

Take a movie -

Say:

and stream (either the entire DVD or just the ripped movie) over your home network.

You utilize an original xbox along with some software , you can either ftp the files to the Xbox or stream from a source through the Xbox to your TV.

People have been doing it for years, but I ran into a situation where my 3 DVD carousals were starting to get tight on space.

I will post more details as to what I did and how soon.

It would seem, that some how.  Some ‘bad’ HTML code was getting in to my entries.  The end result, was that this blog was being blocked if you were using FireFox 3.0.

Last night, I went through the site with a pretty fine toothed comb, removed all the entries I could find and then submitted my site for review back to google.

The end result, is that the site is not longer blocked.

Google has finally released to the public their Knol reference tool to the public after a 7 month development process. Intended to be a sort of internet encyclopedia, Knol will be filled with articles written by experts in every possible type of field.

Sounds like Wikipedia, doesn’t it?

The major difference between Knol and Wikipedia is that Knol will require submitters to identify themselves. This means that readers of the Knol can then assess the credibility of the information through independent verification, before using it as a reference. Google will not screen submissions, but rely on search rankings to determine if an article is credible or not.

I do not enjoy computers, okay; no biggie, I am A+ certified, MCP and almost got my MSCE , but that doesn’t mean really squat nowadays.

Because of this, it looks like I am going to have to do this again.

Ultimately, I think I am going to be using MS’s RMS at GamersCircle.

Firefox 3 is ready to jump out of Beta and onto our laptops starting Tuesday.  With improved features like being able to add keywords to bookmarks to more easily sort them, as well as a feature that allows you to add "places" and easily access websites they visit regularly but haven’t bookmarked. (sweet!)

Security features have also been improved, including outright blocking of phishing sites, rather than just warning about them to the user.

FF3 is also going to be a little speedier, eat up a bit less RAM when left running for long periods of time, and offer easier and more visible navigation.  I’ve been using Firefox since it first came out, but I am forced to still use Internet Explorer again on certain sites (Netflix) as it would seem that they have not seen the light.