Hasta La Gadget!

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

Last week we wrote about how Apple was trying to push the Safari “update” on any computer with the Apple Software Update installed, regardless of whether Safari had ever been installed before on the machine. I don’t believe there was really anyone in our comments who thought that it was okay for Apple to do this, and now Mozilla has stepped forward with their thoughts on the topic.

Needless to say Mozilla isn’t too fond with how Apple is using the Software Update application to distribute Safari. Maybe they’re concerned with how this could affect their market share, but in the end it seems as though they are genuinely on the side of the consumer:

That’s a problem because of the dynamic I described above — by and large, all software makers are trying to get users to trust us on updates, and so the likely behavior here is for users to just click “Install 2 items,” which means that they’ve now installed a completely new piece of software, quite possibly completely unintentionally. Apple has made it incredibly easy — the default, even — for users to install ride along software that they didn’t ask for, and maybe didn’t want. This is wrong, and borders on malware distribution practices.

It’s wrong because it undermines the trust that we’re all trying to build with users. Because it means that an update isn’t just an update, but is maybe something more. Because it ultimately undermines the safety of users on the web by eroding that relationship. It’s a bad practice and should stop.

What I’m left wondering is how many people who install Safari for the first time this way will actually use it? Is Apple just looking for a number that they can boast as to how many computers have Safari installed, or will they actually be able to see a jump in market share as a result of their slightly deceitful practices? We’ll have to keep an eye on the browser stats next month and compare them to how they have performed in the past.

[parts of the image by flatrock]

Copyright © 2009 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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This article was written on August 27, 2007 by CyberNet.

My absolute favorite PDF reader just got an update! Foxit Reader 2.1 is one of those free programs that I always have on my computer. It beats Adobe Acrobat Reader hands down in terms of startup speed (without using a pre-launcher), and has many of the same features. As expected, Foxit 2.1 added a bunch of new things that make this free PDF reader even more lovable:

• Form Designer: With new form designer, you are able to add push buttons, text fields, check boxes, combo boxes, list boxes or radio buttons to an interactive PDF form and specify their properties.
• Measure Tools: This set of tools will help you measure distance, perimeter or area on a PDF page and automatically transform the results into real-world values.
• Image Tool: Now you can specify a rectangle on any part of a PDF page and then insert an image into that rectangle.
• Link Tools: You may now add rectangle or quadrilateral links to a PDF file and specify their destination, which can be a page view, a named destination, an external file, or a web page.
• Loupe Tool: This special magnifying glass enables you to take a closer look at any part of a PDF page that is beneath the mouse cursor.
• File Attachment Tool: Now you may attach any type of external files as attachments or comments to a PDF file.
• Annotation Selection Tool: This tool allows you to select multiple annotations and then move, resize or align them together.
• Reading History: Foxit remembers where you left off when reading a PDF.
• E-mail the PDF: Now when you read a PDF file, you can easily send it as an email attachment to someone else.

If you download the ZIP version of the Foxit PDF Reader there is no installation required to use it. That’s one of the best things with this free app…I can throw it on my USB drive and carry it with me wherever I go.

I thought I should let you know, however, that many of the new features were taken from the Foxit Reader Pro Pack. It normally costs $39 to purchase, but an evaluation copy of almost all the features are now included in Foxit. The only catch is that using some of the tools, such as measuring the distance, can result in an "evaluation" mark be placed on the PDF if you try to save the changes. Most of the tools are still useful despite this restriction.

Tip: You can remove the Foxit ad located in the upper-right corner of the program in a few simple steps.

Free Foxit Reader 2.1 for Windows Download

Copyright © 2009 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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This article was written on March 20, 2007 by CyberNet.

Mozilla has posted final versions of both Firefox 1.5.0.11 and 2.0.0.3 earlier today that fixes 6 bugs. These bugs (listed below) deal with varying issues, some of which are actually security related, so an update is strongly recommended.

Since the Firefox homepage has not been updated at this time, I have put together two downloaders for each of the new versions of Firefox:

Download Firefox 1.5.0.11:

Download Firefox 2.0.0.3:

There is also no official release notes page available at this time detailing the changes. When ready, the release notes page for 2.0.0.3 will be here and 1.5.0.11 will be here. However, these were the bugs that had to be fixed before Firefox 2.0.0.3 could be shipped:

• Backbase bug
• Subscribing to RSS feeds
• Rendering problems for tfoot
• Firefox 2.0.0.1 and later breaks automatic client certificate authentification
• Password Trouble with Multiple Accounts
• Handling responses to ftp pasv command

More information will probably be posted on the Security Advisory site after Mozilla officially announces the release of Firefox 2.0.0.3 and 1.5.0.11 a little later today or tomorrow. GetFirefox.com should be updated with this new release in about 6 to 12 hours (that’s what it typically takes) for those people who want to hold off until it is on the Firefox homepage.

If you decide that you’re just going to wait for Firefox to notify you of the update it will probably be 24 to 48 hours before they activate the automatic updates. After all, they don’t want everyone rushing to download it at the same time!

Copyright © 2009 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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This article was written on January 23, 2008 by CyberNet.

I’m still on a quest to find a great software update monitor so that I know when new versions of my favorite apps are released, and I just found a new one that looks promising. To recap we’ve showed you how to create your own software update monitor, reviewed UpdateStar, tried out AppSnap, played with File Hippo’s Update Checker, and gave Secunia PSI a whirl. That’s a lot of different ways to check for updated programs, and now we’ll add SUMo to the list.

This program is like any of the others in that it analyzes what applications you have installed, and checks to see if a newer version is available. I wanted to try it out, but using my primary computer wouldn’t put the program through its paces. Instead I decided to use it on my test machine which I knew was running a lot of outdated software, and the results were rather impressive.

To use SUMo you have to download and install it, let it scan for installed apps, and then hit the Check button to compare your versions with a remote database. My results looked something like this:

Out of the 81 programs that I had installed there were 36 of them that were out of date. No, I wasn’t surprised since I hardly ever update the software that is on this machine. But compared to the other applications available I would say that SUMo provided the best results. I did notice it telling me that Flock 1.0.5 was the latest version despite 1.0.6 being released today, but I wasn’t expecting the software to catch on to updates that fast.

One thing that makes me a little hesitant about this program is that it recommended an update to Opera 9.25 telling me that Opera 9.5.9745 was the latest version. It’s not wrong, but Opera 9.5 hasn’t officially been released yet. So it is essentially telling me to upgrade my stable software to a Beta copy. Knowledgeable users will be able to catch things like this, but other people may unknowingly upgrade to software that isn’t ready for prime time.

When you decide that it’s time to update a program you can click the Get Update button, but I’ll forewarn you that it’s not all that helpful. It will take you to a site, such as this one, that gives you links to search for the download on various other download sites. A link to the program’s homepage would be more helpful, but as long as your Google skills are good I think SUMo should work out well for you.

Get SUMo Software Update Monitor
Thanks Jeremy for the tip!

Copyright © 2009 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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