Just got a Google Alert through about a list of 50 Firefox Extensions (linked via addict3d) and one of them caught my eye. A FTP Client called FireFTP. So far it is awesome, and it will probably replace SmartFTP and CoreFTP as my software for updating my site. Maybe also as my backup tool…
Since I wrote this post I have changed hosts. And I now use the Smart FTP client much more than FireFTP. It is still a good program though.
Today Opera made a big decision. They’re going ad-free, for free. Previously a subscription was required to remove the otherwise unremovable ad-banner from the interface. This has all gone. It is now 100% freeware for the desktop.
The obvious question is how this is going to work out cash-wise for Opera, given that they are mainly only a desktop browser company. Where is their money going to come from? Apparently if going ad-free can seriously up their percentage share on the browser market then deals with companies (like Google & Amazon in the search box) will still provide profits.
I started to use Opera when it became free for a day on it’s 10th Birthday. I think they were a little startled by the number of people that went in for the offer, and this helped to cause to permanent waiving of the fee.
On the one free day Asa Doltzer from the Firefox team said on his blog:
“Opera Software should do what the mainstream browsers, Firefox and IE, have done, and give away an ad-free version of the application — for free, 365 days a year, not just one.”
And now his request has been fulfilled.
What follows is a text originally made for a browser page. But I think it is worthy of the blog. This is Part 1. Part 2 will update on the bits of the following that are out of date.
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At the time of writing most people use Microsoft Internet Explorer to surf the Internet, but I am not sure that this is going to remain the case for very long. There are some great (currently) “alternative” browsers available and all of them that I have tried give a much better browsing experience than Internet Explorer.
My first alternative was Mozilla Firefox. When I tried it the Internet just seemed to have been sped up. Within seconds I found myself making full use of the tabbed browsing feature and enjoying the time (and system resources) that it saved me. I also installed numerous extensions which made browsing even more enjoyable (if not slightly slower). However I heard a lot of people ranting about other browsers and given the upgrade that I had experienced moving from Internet Explorer to Firefox (that I hadn’t thought possible — when I used Internet Explorer I couldn’t imagine what could be better about it) I figured that there may be an even better browser out there.
I continued to browse with Firefox enjoying its streamline interface, and the personalisation achievable with the Extensions. Then I read this page which explained quickly and clearly why a browser called Opera was the one to use. I liked the sound of it so I downloaded Opera, getting both the 7.5 version and the version 8 beta 3 release. I installed it and ran it. It loaded up quickly enough and I looked at it and thought it was really rather ugly. It, like Safari, seemed bulky and the tabs were blue coloured and too 3D like. Anyway I switched skins (Tools > Appearance) to Windows Native (which is what I am) and that made it all look a little more like Internet Explorer / Firefox (with tabs nearly identical to Firefox). I then surfed around and was amazed to find it was faster than Firefox, infact it was way faster. I backtracked to the Opera homepage (for some tutorials) hitting the back button, and I found that the previous pages displayed instantly. Now this may not seem like much but when honestly it is quite amazing. Anyway, I learnt about mouse gestures (an extension in Firefox but a feature in Opera), the available skins, the ways to change the interface, the notes, the mail client and a whole load of other stuff. I really liked Opera, so I started to use it.
But that isn’t the end. No, there is a down side to Opera. Firstly there is a small (and it is small — about two lines of text on this page in height) advert displayed in the browser unless you are willing to buy a licence for the browser (for $39). Is it obtrusive? Not at all. It is a Google text advert and you still get more page display space than with Internet Explorer (but a bit less than in Firefox). So this Opera Browser is made by a company, unlike Firefox which is Open Source and made by the Mozilla Foundation. Also although Firefox now has about 5% of all Internet user using it, Opera has far fewer users (although due to masking it is not known how many exactly) which means less compatibility with websites. However it is not a widespread issue: the only website that I use that doesn’t render fine in Opera is Gmail in which the rich formatting of text isn’t possible. Everything else (that I use) works fine.
So I still use Firefox, I still like it alot and I am a member of Spread Firefox where I occasionally post, but I also use Opera mainly for its speed (and that instant back feature) so some of the time (like now) I have them both open and I work like that. Maybe not the most efficient way to run things but it is certainly painless browsing. So if you are using Internet Explorer, try an alternative for an afternoon, there are things that you don’t even know you are missing out on. Go on, I dare you.
This entry was posted using the new, and totally awesome Firefox extension from Performancing. Believe