Oct 03

Firefox 3 to Include Separate Vista & XP Themes

Posted in: Firefox 3, Mozilla, Release Date, Software, Today's Chili, Windows Vista, Windows XP

This article was written on October 18, 2007 by CyberNet.

Firefox 3 Places Mockup Mozilla has started to to post some more information regarding how Firefox 3 will adapt itself to the look of multiple operating systems. One of the big changes that Mike Beltzner, Mozilla’s User Experience Leader, mentioned in an article was the two different icon sets that will be created for Windows alone. There will be one for Vista and one for XP. Each set will contain 120 different icons, which means they have 240 icons that they need to make for the two different Windows Operating Systems.

An inventory of the necessary icons have already been posted, but none of them have been updated to reflect the changes that are yet to come. As of right now they are looking for a contributor or a contractor that is willing to produce the icons in the time frame that they have. Here’s what they would like to have done at each milestone:

  • 10 icons done in XP and Vista styles as an initial proof-of-concept by the end of the month
  • the most frequently viewed icons delivered as a first draft in time for Beta 2
  • the full set of icons delivered as a second draft in time for Beta 3
  • the ability to make small revisions before the release candidates

The icon inventory site says that the due date for the second milestone (Beta 2?) is in early December, and the third milestone (Beta 3?) isn’t until February 15th! I thought that Firefox 3 would be out by January of next year, but that doesn’t appear to be the case at all.

There are also some lower priority items for Vista that will probably not make it into Firefox 3, but I’ll keep my fingers crossed:

A Windows Vista theme which can be installed by Vista users to include Vista-like widgets and control layouts, tabstrip and other changes for Vista look and feel (to be shipped alongside, not with, Firefox 3)

That almost sounds like a theme utilizing the Aero effects available in Vista, much like what Internet Explorer 7 does. That would be truly awesome if that’s the case.

Beltzner has also begun discussions about the new theme for Linux which has got to be a tough cookie to crack. Think about all of the different Linux distributions available and how many of them look different. It’s probably going to be pretty strenuous to develop something that looks good on them all, and lets not forget that they are also working on a Mac-specific theme. There’s no doubt that they have their hands full.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Sep 27

CyberNotes: Safari 3 Style Inline Search in Firefox

Posted in: CyberNotes, Firefox 3, Firefox Extensions, Freeware, search, Software, Today's Chili, videos

This article was written on April 02, 2008 by CyberNet.

CyberNotes
Web Browser Wednesday

One of the things that I’ve always enjoyed in Safari 3 is the inline search interface, and just the other day I thought I would peruse around the Internet trying to find a way to do the same thing in Firefox. Why is searching special in Safari? Because it dims the background of the page that you’re on, and highlights the matching results as you type. The result that you currently have highlighted bounces up and down to catch your eye, and the whole experience is overall visually appealing.

When searching around for an extension I didn’t come up empty handed. I found one called XUL/Migemo that did exactly what I was looking for, but the problem was that the extension does a few other things that I don’t really need (nor wanted). After a little more searching I came across this post in the MozillaZine forums which talks about how you can set it up yourself. After testing it I can verify that it does work on both Firefox 2 and Firefox 3.

Note: There is a video demonstration at the end of the article that shows what the end result looks like.

–Setup–

The setup process consists of three pretty easy steps. You’ll have it done in just a minute or two:

  1. Download this package that I’ve assembled which includes the four files you’ll need.
  2. There are three JavaScript files (userChrome, SafariHighlight.uc, and ucjs_findbar.uc) that need to be placed in your profile’s chrome folder. Use this table to find your browser’s profile:
    Operating SystemProfile folder location(s)
    Windows 95/98/Me

    C:\Windows\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\

    C:\Windows\Profiles\<user name>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\

    Windows NT 4.xC:\Winnt\Profiles\<user name>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\
    Windows 2000 and XPC:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\
    Windows VistaC:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\
    Unix

    ~/.mozilla/Firefox/Profiles/

    Mac OS X

    ~/Library/Mozilla/Firefox/Profiles/

    ~/Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles/

    After you’ve found the profile folder just copy the three JavaScript files (userChrome, SafariHighlight.uc, and ucjs_findbar.uc) into the chrome folder located within your profile. If the UserChrome file already exists you may want to back it up before overwriting it.

  3. Now you’ll need to install the extension which I’ve included in the download from the first step (here’s its homepage in case you’re curious). I’ve cleverly named the extension DragMeIntoFirefox because that’s exactly what you need to do… drag the file into the Firefox window. Then proceed with installing it, and restart the browser when it’s done. If you don’t want to drag the extension into the Firefox window just go to File -> Open File and browse for the extension.

–Using the New Search Feature–

When you go to perform a search for the first time you may not think that it’s working, but I’m confident that you’ve followed the three steps accurately. The reason why you may not be seeing the dimmed background and nice highlighting is that you need to click the Highlight All button on the Find bar. Immediately after doing that you’ll see the effects go into play.

Alternatively you can just hit the Next button (or the keyboard shortcut Control+G) to go to the next result. After pressing that the Highlight All feature will automatically be enabled. Those of you with the automatic find-as-you-type enabled will want to use the Control+G keyboard shortcut to move on to the next result if you want to see the special effects.

–Demonstration–

Is it worth the work? I think it’s a really nice feature to have, but you be the judge:

–Overview–

So that’s how you can get a Safari-styled search interface in Firefox 2 or Firefox 3. After setting this up I have fallen in love with it, but it would be nice if this was bundled into its own extension.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Sep 22

CyberNotes: Create Your Own Smart Bookmarks in Firefox 3

Posted in: CyberNotes, Firefox 3, Screenshots, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on May 07, 2008 by CyberNet.

CyberNotes
Web Browser Wednesday

One of my favorite additions to the Firefox 3 browser (currently in Beta) are Smart Bookmarks. There’s a good chance that you’ve played with things in other applications that are similar to Smart Bookmarks. For example, iTunes (and many other media players) have what are referred to as Smart Playlists. These are playlists that automatically assemble themselves based on specific criteria, such as the “most played” and “recently added” media. Smart Bookmarks are very similar since they can show you things like your most visited bookmarks or your recently added bookmarks:

firefox smart bookmarks.png

Just a few weeks ago we showed you how to quickly restore the default Smart Bookmarks that come with the browser, but did you know that it’s also possible to make your own? Thanks to the new bookmarks backend that Mozilla has implemented it’s actually pretty easy for you to create your own Smart Bookmarks once you understand how they work. An extension will inevitably come along that makes this a no-brainer, but it will take you no time to catch on to manually creating them.

The first thing we’re going to do is show you the steps needed to create a new Smart Bookmark, and then we’re going to give you an overview of the query syntax you’ll want to use to take things up a notch.

–Creating a Smart Bookmark–

There are a few different ways that you can create a Smart Bookmark, but I’m going to show you the one that I believe is the easiest.

  1. Open up the Bookmarks Organizer by going to the Bookmarks Menu, and click the Organize Bookmarks option.
    firefox organize bookmarks.png
  2. Click the Organize Menu and choose the New Bookmark option:
    firefox new bookmark-1.png
  3. Now you need to type in whatever name you would like for the Smart Bookmark. In the location field, however, is where you will insert the specialized “URL” which we’ll cover in the next section. This screenshot shows an example location that will return the top 10 bookmarks you visit the most:
    firefox add smart bookmark.png
  4. The Smart Bookmark that you just created should now be visible in the Bookmark Organizer, and you can place it wherever you would like. The content will dynamically change based on the criteria that you specified in the previous step.
    firefox smart bookmark example.png

–Smart Bookmarks Queries–

In Step 3 above you were told to insert a specialized URL into the location field of the bookmark. This is really the thing that differentiates a Smart Bookmark from a regular bookmark. Each location field for a Smart Bookmark will start with “place:” followed by a few parameters that tell the bookmark what its contents should contain. You’ll also notice that each parameter is separated by an ampersand (&).

Want some examples? Here are a few to get your creative juices flowing:

  • 10 Most Visited Sites:
    place:queryType=0&sort=8&maxResults=10
  • 10 Most Recent Bookmarks:
    place:queryType=1&sort=12&maxResults=10
  • 15 Most Visited Bookmarks:
    place:queryType=1&sort=8&maxResults=15
  • 10 Most Visited Sites with “CyberNet” in them:
    place:queryType=0&sort=8&maxResults=10&terms=cybernet
  • 5 Most Visited Sites at the cybernetnews.com Domain:
    place:queryType=0&sort=8&maxResults=5&domain=cybernetnews.com

Looking at some of those examples there is a good chance that you picked up on how the queries work. Over at the Mozilla forum they have begun assembling a rather comprehensive list of parameters that you can use with the queries, but there are quite a few that most of you won’t use when creating these manually. Here are some of the more useful ones that I used in the examples above, along with a brief description of the values that go with them:

  • sort – This is used in all of the examples above, and this is what determines the order in which the bookmarks are sorted. A majority of the examples I gave use a sort value of “8″, which organizes the results according to the largest visit count first. Here are all the values that you can use with it:

    • 0 – Natural bookmark order
    • 1 – Sort by title, A-Z
    • 2 – Sort by title, Z-A
    • 3 – Sort by visit date, most recent last
    • 4 – Sort by visit date, most recent first
    • 5 – Sort by uri, A-Z
    • 6 – Sort by uri, Z-A
    • 7 – Sort by visit count, ascending
    • 8 – Sort by visit count, descending
    • 9 – Sort by keyword, A-Z
    • 10 – Sort by keyword, Z-A
    • 11 – Sort by date added, most recent last
    • 12 – Sort by date added, most recent first
    • 13 – Sort by last modified date, most recent last
    • 14 – Sort by last modified date, most recent first
    • 17 – Sort by tags, ascending
    • 18 – Sort by tags, descending
    • 19 – Sort by annotation, ascending
    • 20 – Sort by annotation, descending
  • queryType – This is also used in all of the examples above. It’s used to specify whether you want to search the History (a.k.a. sites you’ve visited), Bookmarks, or both.
    • 0 – Searches only your History
    • 1 – Searches only your Bookmarks
    • 2 – Searches both your History and Bookmarks
  • maxResults – Use this to specify how many results you want returned.
    • 0 – Return all results
    • 1 to ?? – Any number besides “0″ will indicate the number of results you want returned
  • domain – Specify the domain of a site, such as “cybernetnews.com” as seen in the example above.
  • terms – Word(s) that you want to search for. From what I gather it searches most areas of your sites/bookmarks including the title.

The different parameters that I just covered are only a small amount of what’s actually available, but they are the ones that have proven to be the most useful to me. If you get overly ambitious you can checkout the full selection.

–Overview–

It’s inevitable that there will be an extension that makes it easier to configure these Smart Bookmarks, but it’s actually not that hard to manually create them. Although it could get tedious if you wanted to make a bunch of them.

Now we would like to turn things over to you. Let us know in the comments what kind of concoctions you come up with so that more of us can benefit from your infinite wisdom!

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Aug 25

MyFive: Firefox 3 Chrome URL’s

Posted in: Firefox 3, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on June 24, 2008 by CyberNet.

Firefox’s interface is cleverly designed using JavaScript and XUL, and using what’s referred to as chrome URL’s you can actually open specific windows in a tab or the sidebar. This includes things like the management windows for bookmarks, saved passwords, downloads, extensions, and more. They can even be bookmarked for quick one-click access to them in the future.

Below we’ve got our top 5 chrome URL’s that can be used in Firefox 3, and all you have to do is copy the URL into the address bar to see what each of them do. Don’t forget to bookmark the ones that you’ll use frequently, and here are some instructions if you want them to open in the sidebar.

Note: The URL’s will obviously only work in Firefox.

1) Bookmarks Management

Used for: Managing bookmarks, tags, and history.
URL: chrome://browser/content/places/places.xul

firefox chrome bookmarks-2.png

2) Downloads

Used for: Managing past and active downloads.
URL: chrome://mozapps/content/downloads/downloads.xul

firefox chrome downloads.png

3) Extensions

Used for: Enabling, disabling, and uninstalling extensions, themes, and plugins.
URL: chrome://mozapps/content/extensions/extensions.xul

firefox chrome extensions.png

4) Saved Passwords

Used for: Managing passwords stored by Firefox.
URL: chrome://passwordmgr/content/passwordManager.xul

firefox chrome saved passwords-1.png

5) Preferences

Used for: Configuring different options in the browser.
URL: chrome://browser/content/preferences/preferences.xul

firefox chrome preferences.png

Runner Up: Browser inside a Browser

Used for: Displaying a browser inside a browser. This is more for fun than anything else.
URL: chrome://browser/content/browser.xul

firefox chrome browser.png

[via Firefox Facts]

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Aug 16

WrapUp: GIMP’s Single-Window Mode, New Phoenix BIOS Boots PC in Seconds, and More

Posted in: Features, Firefox 3, Tips and Tricks, Today's Chili, WrapUp

This article was written on September 28, 2009 by CyberNet.

Welcome to the WrapUp by CyberNet. This is a collection of news stories, downloads, and tips that we have collected over the last few days, but never got around to writing about. Don’t forget to send in your own tips, or just leave a comment on this page if you think you’ve got something we should include.

–News–

webkit epiphany.jpgAnother Browser Migrates to WebKit
The WebKit rendering engine is on a roll. Safari started the whole thing, and then Google Chrome thought it would be good to use, then just recently Maxthon followed up with support, and now Epiphany. Sure, Epiphany may not be the most popular browser since it’s Linux-only, but that’s besides the point. What this shows is a growing trend of browsers migrating over to WebKit, which could prove to be a positive thing for users. If WebKit is established as a common rendering engine we may start to see an increasing number of sites making sure they work well with it. We might finally be able to pick a browser based upon the features it offers instead of whether it can display sites properly.


phoenix windows.jpgPhoenix BIOS Boots PC in Seconds
Phoenix has developed a BIOS that can “POST” in a mere one second, which leads to an overall fast boot time. They used a Lenovo T400s with an SSD, and it was able to reach a useable Windows 7 desktop in just 10-seconds. It’s not quite as fast as resuming from standby, but this can make having to restart your PC much less painful. I look forward to seeing this available in the future.


dropbox.jpgDropbox Hits 2 Million Users; 1 Million Active
I have to admit that Dropbox is one of my favorite services. The main reason I like it so much is the fact that they offer 2GB of online storage that can be used to keep all the files I upload in sync across all my machines regardless of the OS. I was actually surprised to see that they only have 1 million active users… they definitely deserve more than that.


–News in Brief–

wii.jpgWii Price Cut Available on Amazon
Amazon is already showing the price cut on the Wii, bringing it down to $199. To top it off they are also throwing in a $25 Amazon gift card with it.


microsoft wall.jpgMicrosoft’s New Prototype “Wall”
Want a glimpse of the future? Here’s a new video put out by Microsoft demonstrating yet again what our offices may look like tomorrow. And by tomorrow I mean 50 years from now.


firefox support.jpgFirefox 3.6 Provides Tools for Better Support
Mozilla is adding an about:support to their browser that will give the users details about their Firefox setup that can be provided when they are in search of support.


directx.jpgDirectX 10.1 vs. DirectX 11
The difference between these two versions of DirectX doesn’t appear to be that great, but it might be more significant at higher resolutions.


gmail hide unread.jpgHide Read Labels in Gmail
A new Labs feature in Gmail will let you show only those labels that have unread items.


steve ballmer.jpgVideo Interview with Steve Ballmer
Steve Ballmer sits down with TechCrunch and talks about Yahoo, Zune, and more.


feeddemon.jpgFeedDemon 3.0 Released
The final version of FeedDemon has made it out the door, and is complete with Google Reader synchronization.


courier.jpgMicrosoft’s Tablet… the Courier?
 Rumors are that Microsoft is working on on a new kind of tablet PC that could be pretty amazing if the “leaked” image ends up being real.


chrome.jpgGoogle Taps into IE with Chrome Frame
A plugin for Internet Explorer 6, 7, and 8 offered by Google lets web pages render with Chrome.


picasa.jpgPicasa 3.5 Gets Name Tags and More
The new version of Picasa can identify the people in your photos, and will also let you geotag them.


gmail logo.jpgPush Gmail for the iPhone and Windows Mobile
Both iPhone and Windows Mobile users can receive push email notifications if they’re using Gmail thanks to the new Exchange/ActiveSync support.


netflix competition.jpgNetflix Makes Out Like a Bandit with their $1 Million Competition
We’ve covered the Netflix $1 million competition before, and we may see other companies following their lead. It’s said that if you look at everyone involved in the competition that Netflix was getting “Ph.D.’s for a dollar an hour.”


–Tips, Tutorials, and Reviews–

auto shutdown.jpgAuto Shutdown Firefox and More
I’ve seen extensions to shutdown Firefox after your downloads are done, but this one is rather unique. How so? First off it can integrate with the popular DownThemAll extension. Second, you can specify command line operations you want executed before your computer shuts down. Now that’s impressive.


gimp single window.jpgGIMP is Getting Single-Window Mode
If you follow me on Twitter you know how excited I was last week when it was announced that the next version of GIMP would include a single-window mode. That’s right. Should you choose to you’ll no longer have windows floating all over the place. Not only that but the new version will also have several other great improvements that actually make me excited for the next release.


xpize.jpgXPize Polishes Up XP
If you’re still holding off on upgrading your copy of XP then maybe you should consider giving it some new life with XPize. It updates a lot of the icons so that they are much more modern, and comes bundled with some themes that can even skin your login screen. It’s a completely free way to make your PC feel a bit more up-to-date.


evernote.jpgEvernote Beta for Windows Gets a Facelift
I use Evernote all the time to take notes when I’m on the go, at home, or at work. The great thing is that Evernote stays in sync no matter where I’m at, and now the refreshed Windows version has some of the features only the Mac version had. The most prominent example is probably the thumbnail previews that go along with the awesome three-pane view.


–Tips in Brief–

office web apps.jpgHow to Try Out Microsoft Office Web Apps
If you’re impatient and want to try out Microsoft Office Web Apps these are the instructions you need to follow.


cameraphone.jpgTop 10 Ways to Get More From a Cameraphone
Here’s a variety of different ways you can use your cameraphone to ensure that it’s put to good use.


livebrush.jpgCreate Beautiful Drawings with Livebrush
Got some artistic talent? This free app will transform that talent into a digital form.


ie chrome frame.jpgForce IE to Use Chrome Frame
If you really like Chrome Frame you can force IE to always use that to render websites. Or, you know, you could just use Chrome.


techtracker.jpgCNet Techtracker Checks for Software Updates
Yep, another app that will check for updates to the software you have installed on your computer.


chrome flash block.jpgSelectively Block Flash Animations in Chrome
This will block all Flash animation on websites until you explicitly approve them.


tux paint.jpgTux Paint: Great Image App for Kids
This is a pretty cool app for kids because it makes it simple for kids to find the various tools they need to draw.


digsby twitter-1.jpgDigsby Gets New Twitter Features
My love for Digsby has diminished a bit, but the new Twitter functionality is pretty cool.


johns background switcher.jpgJohn’s Background Switcher Updated
The new version includes a bunch of features including Google, Yahoo, and Bing image search results.


virtual drive.jpg3 Tools to Manage Virtual Drives
 Get some virtual drives hooked up to your PC with these free programs.


–Downloads–

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Aug 16

Firefox 3 Mac Theme for Windows

Posted in: Firefox 3, Freeware, Mac, Software, Today's Chili, Windows

This article was written on June 20, 2008 by CyberNet.

firefox 3 mac theme.jpg

The other day we showed how you could get the Firefox 3 Vista theme on XP, or vice versa. Well, there is a theme out there for those of you who want to grab the Firefox 3 theme for Mac as well, and it works pleasantly well on Windows. The checkboxes, scrollbars, and buttons all take on a native Mac appearance.

I’m not sure if many of you will want to use the Mac theme on Windows because it doesn’t exactly fit in very well. Although it’s possible that you’re using a theme or mod (like this one) to make Windows look like a Mac, and this Firefox theme would help complete the look you’re shooting for. I suspect that this theme will work on Linux as well, and I’m sure someone will confirm this in the comments. ;)

This theme is still experimental, which means you’ll need to login to the Mozilla site before being able to install it. If you don’t have a login you can use a generic one that I’ve created over at Mozilla:

  • Username: firefox@cybernetnews.com
  • Password: cybernetnews

Note: If someone decides to be funny and change the password just let us know. Since we have full control over the email address we can change the password back at anytime.

Get the Firefox 3 Mac theme for Windows

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Aug 08

Greasemonkey for Firefox 3

Posted in: Firefox 3, Firefox Extensions, Freeware, Pre-Release, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on June 05, 2008 by CyberNet.

greasemonkey firefox 3-1.png

Greasemonkey is one of the extensions that I know many of you are waiting to get upgraded before making the jump to Firefox 3. If that’s the only extension you’re holding out for then I’ve got good news for you… there’s a pre-release version of Greasemonkey that was assembled a few weeks ago (May 19, 2008), and it’s completely compatible with Firefox 3. You can install the latest Greasemonkey 0.8 RC here.

The new version includes some enhancements and, as you can see in the screenshot above, a hip new icon. The release of Greasemonkey 0.8 RC was originally announced in this forum, but after looking around a little bit I noticed that there was an even newer version available. So I recommend directly downloading this latest release if you’re using Firefox 3.

The main developer, Aaron, hasn’t been heard from in a little while. He’s the one that has control over what gets posted to the official Add-ons site, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that the new Greasemonkey will be stumbling on to there any day now. In the mean time you can use the Release Candidate.

Greasemonkey for Firefox 3 Download (Release Candidate)
Thanks Max for the tip!

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Aug 02

CyberSearch Supports Firefox 3.1 Beta

Posted in: Firefox 3, Firefox Extensions, Software, Today's Chili

This article was written on October 16, 2008 by CyberNet.

cybersearch.pngMozilla released Firefox 3.1 Beta 1 the other day, and users playing with version 3.1 for the first time will be able to enjoy some of the enhancements it brings to the table. Things like advanced address bar filtering, better tab switching, and drastically improved JavaScript performance are the main highlights for this release.

We want to do our part to try and support the testers, and that’s why we’ve been trying to keep the CyberSearch Firefox extension up-to-date with the latest changes in the browser. Our latest release, version 1.0.5, has full support for both Firefox 3.0 and pre-release versions of Firefox 3.1. We’ve had a few different things break in the nightly builds of Firefox 3.1, and our users have been good about notifying us when any problems occur. We then do our best to fix them as fast as possible.

In order to get CyberSearch updates out to you as quickly as possible we’ve posted a direct installation link to the newest release on the CyberSearch homepage. We’re doing this because it will probably take Mozilla awhile to get around to approving our new version, but we want this in the hands of Firefox 3.1 testers as soon as possible.

So now you can test out the new Firefox 3.1 Beta, and tinker around with our extension at the same time. I do have to say that the JavaScript speed improvements can be pretty noticeable in Firefox 3.1, and I can’t wait to see what the final release is like.

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Jul 25

Microsoft: Firefox/Chrome are Insecure, Difficult to Use, and Unreliable

Posted in: Firefox 3, Internet Explorer, Software, Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on June 25, 2009 by CyberNet.

ie8 comparison.jpgI’m sure you guys will get a kick out of this one. Microsoft has posted a “Get the Facts” page that has a chart comparing some general areas of IE8 versus Firefox and Chrome. Naturally IE8 comes out on top… way on top!

If you quickly just glance through the chart your initial impressions would be that Firefox and Chrome are insecure, can’t manage your privacy, difficult to use, unreliable, not compatible with websites, and not easy to manage. In fact there are only three areas that the three browsers “tie” in: web standards, customizability, and performance. Although they just couldn’t pass up commenting about Firefox’s extensibility:

Sure, Firefox may win in sheer number of add-ons, but many of the customizations you’d want to download for Firefox are already a part of Internet Explorer 8 – right out of the box.

Now I’m not trying to say that Internet Explorer 8 is an awful browser. In fact I use it several hours everyday at work because there are a lot of older internal sites I deal with that don’t play nice with other browsers. I just hate that they are trying to send a message like this. Take the “Security” section for example. This is their reasoning behind why Firefox and Chrome didn’t get a checkmark:

Internet Explorer 8 takes the cake with better phishing and malware protection, as well as protection from emerging threats.

Huh, both Firefox and Chrome have phishing/malware protection in them. So they are going off the fact that theirs is “better?” Oh well. Hopefully their aren’t too many people that will see this chart.

Still want some more of this good stuff? Jump over to their “mythbusting” page.

Microsoft’s “Get the Facts” Page [via Google Blogoscoped]

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Jul 15

What do You Think of the Firefox 3 Themes?

Posted in: Firefox 3, Freeware, Linux, Mac, Screenshots, Software, Today's Chili, Windows

This article was written on May 19, 2008 by CyberNet.

skitched-20080519-110406.jpgFirefox 3 is scheduled to be finished in the next month or two, and with it users will begin seeing a completely redesigned interface that is tailored to the operating system that they are using. This version of Firefox has already made significant advances in terms of performance, and it seems as though the only thing people have been criticizing in Firefox 3 are the new themes. When it comes down to it there is a different theme available for Vista, Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows XP.

Alex Faaborg, the user experience designer at Mozilla, put together a rather comprehensive review of how they visually tied Firefox 3 into the different operating systems. Personally the only thing that I really dislike in the themes is the “keyhole” design for the back/forward button. All of the themes, except for Linux, have this type of button. I find it to be gaudy and not flow well with the other aspects of the themes.

Luckily you can easily ditch the keyhole-styled button by enabling small icons. Just right-click on the navigation bar, choose Customize, and then check the Use Small Icons box. Notice how the oversized keyhole design is nowhere to be found?

I was really looking forward to Aero Glass integration in the Vista theme, but that won’t be happening this time around. For the time being we’ll have to rely on an extension to get that job done, that is until the next version of Firefox arrives:

On Vista we do a great job visually integrating with icons and with our set of secondary windows, although the main window is notably missing support for Aero glass. Users will hopefully be able to get this functionality using an extension during the life cycle of Firefox 3, and we will have glass support added to XUL for the next release of Firefox.

Faaborg even went as far as to say that “Safari 3.1 does a number of [visual] things wrong that we get right.” An example he gave was how the navigation buttons are not grayed out in Safari 3.1 when the window is not selected, which isn’t consistent with some other Apple applications. One commenter who goes by the name Superdotman called Faaborg out by saying:

Apple’s attention to detail is huge. If you see something that seems inconsistent, there’s usually a good reason.

Safari glyphs remain dark because when the window is deselected, they still accept click-through. Finder’s don’t.

Aqua controls are used for webclips because webclips are done with a modal dialog. Inline find uses the appropriate textured controls.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that you guys are trying to integrate more with OS X! Just tone down the ego a bit until you have some more knowledgeable Mac guys to back it up.

Mozilla definitely deserves some credit for being one of the first cross-platform browsers to developer OS-specific themes. I’m curious as to how many of you like the new themes, and how many of you will actually go hunting for a new one to use.

Thanks to “Change” for the tip!

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