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Download it now. For Malaysia, start downloading today(18th June 2008). Help the Firefox project set a World Record!!!! Malaysian time is set from 1am (18th of June 2008) to 1am (19th of June 2008).

You can test out Firefox 3.0 Beta 1 now.

Click here to download Firefox 3.0 Beta 1. (WARNING : BETA SOFTWARE ARE UNSTABLE. DO NOT DOWNLOAD IT IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING!)

For Mac user, click here. (yeah, you wong!)

Click on the articles below to know some interesting features you might get in Firefox 3.0. However, just be reminded that they are all beta features, they MIGHT be dropped or not.

• Firefox 3 : Redesigned download manager.
• Firefox 3 : Visual Separation?
• Firefox 3 : Security Larry

Due to ’so-called-leaks’ about Firefox 3 Beta 1, I also leaking Firefox-tan…oh wait, this isn’t leaking since this was done a few years ago by someone. Besides, anyone can just download the nightly builds from Mozilla.com ftp using a ftp client like Filezilla. So, where is the leak?

Filezilla - This is an Open Source ftp client. It’s very easy to use and has lots of features like site manager, message log, file and folder view, and the transfer queue. I only used Filezilla recently, and I feel it is a very good open source software to upload your files to your ftp, webhost..etc.

Click on Image to enlarge.

Features:

• Easy to use
• Supports FTP, FTP over SSL/TLS (FTPS) and SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)
• Cross-platform. Runs on Windows, Linux, *BSD, OSX and more
• Available in many languages
• Supports resume and transfer of large files >4GB
• Powerful Site Manager and transfer queue
• Drag & drop support
• Configurable Speed limits
• Filename filters
• Network configuration wizard

Changelog:

• Install some default filters if filters.xml missing in user’s settings directory
• OS X: Fix remote file viewing/editing
• Additional fixes for SFTP servers with nonstandard filename encodings

Download: FileZilla 3.0.3

Click here to go to Filezilla Home Page

The upcoming Firefox 3 which is planned to be release in the first quarter of 2008, will have newer “cutting-edge” features as compared to Firefox 2. You can find their planned feature list here.

Apart from the new redesigned download manager,  the upcoming Firefox 3 will probably have a better anti-phishing security system. Codenamed ‘Larry’, it incorporates better security features when accessing banking, financial, online stores and many others secured website where important information are transmitted. It will verify that the location you are accessing is a genuine website and not a phishing website!

And if you happened to land on a phishing site, you get this

Firefox 3 will protect you from phishing website, but at what percentage? At this development stage, it really works well, but what if a website that is well crafted by those crafty people? Is ‘Larry’ good enough to protect from them? Maybe as ‘Larry’ gets updated, it will get better, as Firefox 3 will only be out next year.

to be continue……

Firefox -  It is an alternative web browser to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Firefox is more secure, fully customizable and has lots of new features like spell checker, tab browsing, advanced bookmarking/history functionality (upcoming version of Firefox) and many more features that Internet Explorer lacks. Highly recommended and it’s FREE!

Bugs that are fixed in 2.0.0.9 :

• Bug 400406 - Firefox will ignore the “clear” CSS property when used beneath a box that is using the “float” property. There is a temporary workaround JS/CSS code available for web developers with affected layouts.
• Bug 400467 - Windows Vista users will get “Java not found” or “Java not working” errors when trying to load Java applets after updating. To fix this, users can right-click the Firefox icon and “Run as administrator”, then browse to a page with a Java applet — doing this once will fix the problem and permanently restore Java functionality.
• Bug 396695 - Add-ons are disabled after updating. Users can fix this problem by opening their profile folder and removing three files (extensions.rdf, extensions.ini and extensions.cache)
• Bug 400421 - Removing a single area element from an image map will cause the entire map to disappear. There is no workaround available at this time.
• Bug 400735 - Some Windows users may experience crashes at startup. There is no workaround available at this time.

And many more. Have you updated to the latest version yet? If not, startup auto-update or download it now!

Mozilla Labs (from the people behind Firefox) has come up with an application codename : Prism. Prism is an application that lets users split web applications out of their browser and run them directly on their desktop. According to them, Prism isn’t a new platform, it’s simply the web platform integrated into the desktop experience. For more, please read here.

I downloaded the prototype version of Prism version 0.8 and tried it out. Installed it to load Gmail account.

Setup up is one simple dialogue box.

You can add the shortcut icon anyone on your desktop, Start Menu or Quick Launch Bar.

Basically Prism just put Gmail as a stand-alone kind of browser.

It works on web applications like all Google web apps, Facebook..etc.

After trying out Prism, this application sounds promising. Because you basically can leave Gmail on without opening your web browser (Firefox, IE..etc). However, it will cluttered up your desktop if you leave a lot of Prism windows open. Like the situation below.

Google apps : Gmail, Calendar, Documents and Photos.

My opinion is that Prism can make the desktop very messy if you are loading a few web application all at once, unless they plan to add tabs to it. Which would basically make Prism redundant. It’s just basically like Firefox without lots of it’s functions like bookmarks..etc.  However, it provides a “one-click” for your favourite web apps without loading up your browser. Want to try Mozilla Prism out?

Due to the fact that Firefox version 2.0.0.8 introduced a few regression bugs in which in some Windows system, Firefox will crash. Another bug is that add-ons will be disabled. However, it seems these bugs doesn’t affect everyone and some might not even noticed it. Read more about it here.

Bugs that plagues version 2.0.0.8 :

• Bug 400406 - Firefox will ignore the “clear” CSS property when used beneath a box that is using the “float” property. There is a temporary workaround JS/CSS code available for web developers with affected layouts.
• Bug 400467 - Windows Vista users will get “Java not found” or “Java not working” errors when trying to load Java applets after updating. To fix this, users can right-click the Firefox icon and “Run as administrator”, then browse to a page with a Java applet — doing this once will fix the problem and permanently restore Java functionality.
• Bug 396695 - Add-ons are disabled after updating. Users can fix this problem by opening their profile folder and removing three files (extensions.rdf, extensions.ini and extensions.cache)
• Bug 400421 - Removing a single area element from an image map will cause the entire map to disappear. There is no workaround available at this time.
• Bug 400735 - Some Windows users may experience crashes at startup. There is no workaround available at this time.

So, if you are using Firefox, make sure automatic update is turn on to receive updates to these bugs when version 2.0.0.9 releases!

Photo by Flickr user nobihaya.

How EXTREME can IE fans get? I just want to see.

According to Alex Faaborg, Mozilla’s interface designer in his blog, he mentioned about divergent of themes for different platforms. So, Windows Xp, Windows Vista, OS X..etc will feature their own default themes when Firefox 3 is released (hopefully) sometime next year. He also gave a few screenshots on what to expect for Vista and OS X. Too bad he didn’t gave any Windows XP screenshot.

OS X

Vista

I know this isn’t much, but it’s what you might be expecting from the upcoming Firefox 3. What do you think? Should Firefox 3 have a unified or diversified skin?  Or will it turn into “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” along with those supporting the idea and those opposing the idea having a huge war over it?

Firefox -  It is an alternative web browser to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Firefox is more secure, fully customizable and has lots of new features like spell checker, tab browsing, advanced bookmarking/history functionality (upcoming version of Firefox) and many more features that Internet Explorer lacks. Highly recommended and it’s FREE!

Changelog (of some sort) :

Fixed in Firefox 2.0.0.8

• MFSA 2007-36 URIs with invalid %-encoding mishandled by Windows
• MFSA 2007-35 XPCNativeWrapper pollution using Script object
• MFSA 2007-34 Possible file stealing through sftp protocol
• MFSA 2007-33 XUL pages can hide the window titlebar
• MFSA 2007-32 File input focus stealing vulnerability
• MFSA 2007-31 Browser digest authentication request splitting
• MFSA 2007-30 onUnload Tailgating
• MFSA 2007-29 Crashes with evidence of memory corruption (rv:1.8.1.8)

Filezilla - This is an Open Source ftp client. It’s very easy to use and has lots of features like site manager, message log, file and folder view, and the transfer queue. I only used Filezilla recently, and I feel it is a very good open source software to upload your files to your ftp, webhost..etc. The interface is a bit dull, but the features aren’t. With Site Manager, I can connect to my ftp with just one click. Loading Filezilla is fast, even with lots of program loaded. Why not try it? It’s free!

Click on Image to enlarge.

Changelog (of some sort)  :

3.0.2.1 (2007-10-17)

- Fix issue with message log not working properly

3.0.2 (2007-10-17)

+ MSW: Added /user=all and /user=current options to installer
+ Experimental support for z/VM servers
- Fix typo in option handling code. Due to this, settings for date/time formatting have been reset.
- Fix performance problem if FileZilla gets started with message log hidden
- Work around possible race conditions in SFTP input thread leading to crashes
- MSW: Fix issue with installer where reboot after uninstalling previous version disrupted installation. Fix will only work if uninstalling 3.0.2 or greater.
- OSX: Use new icon

Download it now!

The upcoming Firefox 3 which is planned to be release in the first quarter of 2008, will have newer “cutting-edge” features as compared to Firefox 2. You can find their planned feature list here.

I am writing this since I am using their Trunk builds, which is term as the “cutting-edge” builds. (meaning it has all the alpha, beta, development, testing features.) Features in these builds are for TESTING PURPOSE ONLY. It might or might not be implemented into the final release.  However, some of these features are what you might expect from the upcoming Firefox 3. It’s very “cutting-edge”. Hopefully.

First up there is a newer download manager being tested on the Trunk build.

Firefox 3 “Planned” redesigned download manager.

This new download manager has been redesigned and has a build-in search feature.  is a one click run button.  is an one click info button about the file you download.

Firefox 2 Download Manager

From my opinion,  the new redesigned Download Manager looks much better and with the one-click buttons is simpler and more user-friendly.

However, as the new download manager is still in it’s development phase, there might be more features added to it. So, expect a “cutting-edge” designed download manager when Firefox 3 ships.

to be continue…..

Original software is very expensive for the “normal” people to afford. What some “normal” computer/internet user don’t know is that there are many “free” alternatives out there that is just a good or even better than the “Paid” Original Softwares.

My computer is full of these Freewares/Sharewares/Open Source software programs. They might be “free”, but their functionality is just a good as retailed software.

Here is a list of Freewares/Sharewares/Open Source software that I used.

Freewares/Open Source

• foobar2000 - It is a free audio player. It’s light, it’s compact and it’s simple(out of the box). And it also sounds better.  For advanced users, there is TONS of options to tweak and additional components to maximize listening value! Download foobar2000 v0.9.4.4 now!
• Firefox -  It is an alternative web browser to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Firefox is more secure, fully customizable and has lots of new features like spell checker, tab browsing, advanced bookmarking/history functionality (upcoming version of Firefox) and many more features that Internet Explorer lacks. Highly recommended and it’s FREE! Latest version is 2.0.0.7
• Thunderbird -  It is an alternative mail client to Microsoft’s Outlook. Thunderbird aims to be a simple mail,newsgroup and news feed client. It also has junk-mail filtering, multiple mail-box management, themes and many other features. Highly recommended and it’s FREE. Latest version is 2.0.0.6
• 7zip - It is a file archiver with a high compression ratio. It also supports unpacking all type of file archiver like RAR, CAB, ISO, ARJ, LZH, CHM, Z, CPIO, RPM, DEB and NSIS. My experiences of using 7zip is very pleasant, as it is hassle free and simple to use. It’s shell integration with windows is very neat and you don’t even have to open the main program to uncompress an archive file! Latest version is 4.42
• irfanview - It is a very compact and simple graphic viewer for windows! You can view, convert, optimize, scan&print, create slideshows, play movies and sound and many many more with this software. The installation file is small and it only takes up a few megabytes of space. It loads fast and has tons of options for image manipulations. And best of all, it is FREE. Latest version is 4.00
• Spybot Search and Destroy- Detects most spyware/adwares and removes them. It also can immunized your system from future spywares/adwares attacks. Latest version is 1.5.1.15
• Spywareblaster - Prevention program against browsing related spywares. (ActiveX based) Works with Spybot Search and Destroy. Latest version is 3.5.1
• Media Player Classic - It is a compact video/audio player. I like to use this software because of it’s user friendly interface and it can play almost any video filetypes you throw at it (mkv, avi, ogm..etc). Latest version is 6.4.9.0
• Filezilla - This is an Open Source ftp client. It’s very easy to use and has lots of features like site manager, message log, file and folder view, and the transfer queue. I only used Filezilla recently, and I feel it is a very good open source software to upload your files to your ftp, webhost..etc. Latest version is 3.0.1

Sharewares/Free Version

• Avg Free anti-virus - AVG Free is the free version of AVG Anti-virus software. Even though this free version has limited functionality compared with the paid version, but I feel it is good enough for the normal users. The free version has realtime protection, auto-update of virus definition and modules, auto-scanning. Which is more than enough for normal daily use. Latest version is 7.5.488

The above are some of the Freewares/Sharewares/Open Source software that I used daily. They might be free but from my experiences of using them on a daily basis, they are better than retailed softwares out there. I would say some of these freewares/sharewares/Open Source software are even better than retailed softwares. Why pay when you can get free alternatives?

Note : All versions are correct as of 12th October 2007.