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The Firefox in Microsoft’s coop

andrew@piquenewsmagazine.com About 90 per cent of all PC users are on Windows, and almost 100 per cent of Windows users are using Microsoft’s Internet Explorer to surf the Web.

andrew@piquenewsmagazine.com

About 90 per cent of all PC users are on Windows, and almost 100 per cent of Windows users are using Microsoft’s Internet Explorer to surf the Web. And why not? It’s a good program, it’s familiar, and it works intuitively without a lot of extra plug-ins and downloads.

There have been a few security flaws, and you have to get extra software running to block pop-up windows and unwanted spyware downloads. It’s not the fastest either, with both Mozilla and Apple Safari browsers offering faster load speeds. Still, IE is the real standard against which all other browsers will always be judged, getting A’s in most categories and a few B’s here and there.

That’s why if you wanted to get the average user to switch from Explorer to one of the alternatives – downloading the software, reworking the toolbars and favourties, changing all of their preferences and shortcuts – you would have to give them an extremely compelling reason.

Enter Mozilla Firefox 1.0, the direct descendent of the once popular Netscape Navigator line of browsers that were all the rage about a decade ago. After two years of work the first non-beta of this program was released on Tuesday, to the praise of Internet geeks everywhere.

It’s faster than IE and easy to use, but also offers a wide range of powerful new tools and gadgets for the most hardcore Web surfers – examples include automatic updates to the browser and plug-ins, easy bookmarking, live bookmarks, programmable pop-up window blocking, control of your history pages, an easy way to find saved passwords, a permissions system that automatically allows pre-approved sites to install software on your system, the ability to turn Java on and off without restarting, and so on.

Firefox’s online fraud protection measures are also solid, letting you know whether you’re visiting a certified page, or when a Web site is secure enough to share personal information or credit card numbers.

You can also create a list of browser shortcuts using your Bookmarks section. For example if you want to pay bills at your bank, you can set up Firefox so that when you type the letter ‘b’ into the Location bar, it will take you to your bank account. That takes care of the space issue when you’re deciding which of your favourites you want in your toolbar. This is all just the tip of the iceberg. Serious users are going to want to download the instruction manual from the Web site to get a full idea of what this program is capable of.

On top of functionality, what Firefox does best is provide a degree of protection against viruses and spyware, and so far the program appears to be extremely secure. It has been recommended by tech savvy writers at a number of publications for a variety of reasons. The U.S. Computer Readiness Team, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, recommended Firefox on the basis of recent security holes in Internet Explorer. You can’t buy that kind of endorsement.

Firefox is available for the three main operating systems, Windows, Mac and Linux, and you can download it for free at www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/. If you’re not completely happy with your current browser then give it a shot. The set-up program will automatically move your bookmarks over for you as well as locate many of your plug-ins, although some set up will likely be necessary.

DVD successor wars heat up

While the motion picture industry hems and haws, it appears that the world is headed for another disaster on par with whole Betamax-VHS debacle of the 1980s. People don’t want two formats, but it looks like that’s what they’re getting.

The reason the entertainment industry can’t come to some kind of decision on whether to use Blu-ray disks or HD DVD disks to store data, games and next generation high-definition movies is the fact that the technology industry and entertainment industry are joined at the hip. Sony, the driving force behind Blu-Ray, has Playstation 3, Hewlett Packard and Dell in its corner, as well as Sony Pictures, Sony Music, and as of August, MGM.

On the HD DVD side there’s Toshiba, supported by Time Warner, and with a foot in the door at Paramount, Disney and Universal – all competitors of Sony.

This could all be sorted out by a meeting of governments and industry representatives in a little locked room, but instead the companies are determined to play a game of high-tech chicken. Sony already has Blu-ray players on the market in Japan, and announced plans to include the technology in the Playstation 3. Toshiba is going to put HD DVD players in its new line of laptops, which are generally the best selling laptops around.

The losers, as always, will be the consumers that chose the wrong technology. Our family actually had two Betamaxs, so I know how frustrating that can be.

As I wrote in a previous column, the best approach might be to sit and wait until there’s a winner, or something better comes along.

Halo 2 sales go ballistic

Sales of Microsoft’s Halo 2 for Xbox have gone through the roof with more than $125 million in sales; 2.4 million units sold on its first day in North America alone. That gives Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas an early run for its money, although the Grand Theft sequel is expected to be the best selling video game of all time with over $1 billion in sales this year.