Tag: browsers

Categories
Internet Open source

Running Bon Echo Alpha; uninstalling Google Browser Sync

I have been using Bon Echo Alpha, the test version of the upcoming Firefox 2 release, these past few days and Google Browser Sync for a couple of weeks. Yesterday, I decided to stick with Bon Echo Alpha, removing my Google Browser Sync extension, which doesn’t work with the program yet.

I’ve decided to stop using Google Browser Sync because I find Foxmarks more dependable in synchronizing bookmarks in the Firefox installations in the different computers I use: at home and in the office. At first, I found exciting the idea of synchronizing cookies, saved passwords and browsing sessions between different PCs.

I could just close my Firefox in the office without logging out of my mail or blog accounts and resume the browsing session at home, with all the tabs I left open when I closed Firefox in the office re-opened at home. But then I started encountering synching error and my bookmarks went awry, they were no longer synchronized. I’ve never encountered these problems when I used Foxmarks.

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Categories
Internet

Opera 9 released

Opera has released version 9 of its browser. I’ve been using the latest version for a few hours and I’m starting to really like it. Browsing web pages with Opera 9 feels faster but this may be because I use a lot of extensions for my Firefox installation.

What’s great about Opera 9 is that it now has similar keyboard shortcuts to Firefox when opening a new tab or closing the current one. I used to get crazy switching from Firefox to Opera because I use keyboard shortcuts to open and close tabs.

There’s a slight difference in using the mouse to open links as inactive tabs: in Firefox it’s ctrl + click, in Opera it’s ctrl + shift + click. All in all, I found myself comfortable using Opera in the few hours that I’ve been testing the new version. In fact, Opera seemed quicker to respond than my extension-laden Firefox. Opera 9

Another cool feature in Opera is that when you open multiple tabs, you can get a thumbnail preview of a tab by placing the mouse cursor over it. (click on photo to view larger image) This is a really great feature for someone like me who opens a lot of tabs in the browser window. You can also have this feature in Firefox by using the Tab Preview extension.

Here’s a list of Opera 9’s features.

Categories
Blogs Free services

Performancing.com releases visual editor for blogs

Performancing.com, which is turning out to be an excellent resource on blogging, released a Firefox extension that puts a what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) blog editor in the open source browser.

I tried it out for a few minutes (screenshots below) and even used it to publish the previous post and found that it worked flawlessly. The editor allows you to assign your blog’s categories to your posts. It doesn’t have a button, though, to allow you to split your posts the way the more link works in WordPress but since you can edit the code generated by the

You can just right-click on a web page you want to blog and launch the WYSIWYG editor. With the plugin plus the del.icio.us extension, Firefox now has the capabilities introduced by Flock.

The plugin visual editor works only in Firefox 1.5 and the following blogging services and platforms:

Blog services:
Blogger
WordPress.com
Typepad
LiveJournal

Blog scripts
WordPress
Movable Type

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Categories
Blogs Free services Open source

Instant visual editor for your blog, website

Putting a what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) editor for your blog or website content management system used to involve installing a software package in the web server. Not anymore. I found this link to a Firefox plugin that would allow you to use the Xinha editor on any HTML text entry area.

Xinha Here! (photo below) is a must-have Firefox plugin for anyone who publishes online-whether on blogs, news portals or even forums. What’s good about using Xinha Here! instead of a server-side WYSIWYG solution is that you can turn WYSIWYG editing on and off without having to change settings.

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Categories
Asides

In the capital, desperate to try out Flock

I just arrived in Manila and I’m desperate for an Internet connection — I want to download Flock and see what all the buzz is about. I got the email on the expanded beta downloads this morning and I had to fight the urge to immediately download the software and try it out. I knew that had I downloaded Flock, I risked missing my flight to the capital. From the screenshots released by developers, Flock promises to be a great tool for bloggers. Tomorrow, PCIJ is hosting a conference on blogging for mainstream journalists. (Darn, who designs keyboards with power off keys near the delete tab: I used to have this keyboard in the office but I took the power button out with a screwdriver. I can’t do it here: the Internet cafe owner will kill me.)

Categories
Asides

Flock coming very soon

The social browser Flock, which has been generating a lot of buzz recently, is coming very soon. One of its developers said in his blog: “Right now, 100% of our energy is being directed to get the browser and the source code available to the public. And we are looking at days not weeks.” I’ve long wanted to get my hands at a beta version of the software, created by Firefox hackers on top of the engine running the open source browser.

Categories
Internet

Firefox 1.5 beta 1 out

The first beta release of the next major Firefox update is now out. The beta release “is aimed at testers, extension/theme authors and Web developers.”

Mozilla says the final release of Firefox 1.5 is scheduled for later this year. Firefox 1.5 Beta 2 is scheduled for release on Oct. 5 and the first release candidate is expected on Oct. 28. If you want to try the new beta release and help provide developers user feedback, you can download the release at the Firefox project page.

Here are the browser’s new features as listed in the Mozilla site:

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Uncategorized

Darn Explorer, again

I changed themes early today – from the three-column version of Relaxation to the three-column TNO theme based on Kubrick. The theme is easy on the eyes. The only hitch is that the theme does not load properly in Internet Explorer. The sidebars are not properly rendered. I’ll stick with the theme for a week or so in the hope of finding a solution to the sidebar problem.

In the meantime, for site visitors using Internet Explorer, do consider downloading Firefox, not only does it render pages faster – it’s also a safer browser to use.