Posted on 12/18/2004 6:19:26 AM PST by mathprof
FIREFOX is a classic overnight success, many years in the making.
Published by the Mozilla Foundation, a nonprofit group supporting open-source software that draws upon the skills of hundreds of volunteer programmers, Firefox is a Web browser that is fast and filled with features that Microsoft's stodgy Internet Explorer lacks. Firefox installs in a snap, and it's free.
Firefox 1.0 was released on Nov. 9. Just over a month later, the foundation celebrated a remarkable milestone: 10 million downloads. Donations from Firefox's appreciative fans paid for a two-page advertisement in The New York Times on Thursday.
Until now, the Linux operating system was the best-known success among the hundreds of open-source projects that challenge Microsoft with technically strong, free software that improves as the population of bug-reporting and bug-fixing users grows. But unless you oversee purchases for a corporate data center, it's unlikely that you've felt the need to try Linux yourself.
With Firefox, open-source software moves from back-office obscurity to your home, and to your parents', too. (Your children in college are already using it.) It is polished, as easy to use as Internet Explorer and, most compelling, much better defended against viruses, worms and snoops.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Where did I say I go unprotected? I buy the best protection I can get. I am certainly not going to rely on freeware submitted by some Joe working in his basement to protect myself.
Mozilla was installed on my computer the other day. What a great browswer.
FireFox ping.
Wow. I used a PDP8 in high school, 1969. We toggled programs into the thing.
Can you tell me about the Les Paul picture on your home page?
Gibson, Epi, 'other'?
I'm considering an Epi Les Paul or a Tele (I have a Strat).
Thanks.
Security is not my main reason for using Firefox, it the customizability. With the downloadable themes and extensions, I can make the browser look and act almost any way I want.
For example, my most-used extension is AdBlock. Instead of having to look at annoying animated advertising on my Yahoo mail, I just right-click and add the server to the AdBlock list. Advertising from that server will never display again, on any page.
Plus the toolbars are completely customizable, I can move, add, or remove buttons as my browsing style dictates.
Yeah, I started ranting on the world and didn't really direct that statement to you in particular:)
Thanks, y'all...and Merry Christmas, everyone.
Haven't had trouble with spyware as I am now... but I know other people have that trouble. If I was having trouble, I'd want to fix it, but something about my current habits is working well. I block popups through Google toolbar.
I don't know that browser loading time is an issue, it would seem to me that loading time depends on your bandwidth and I am on cable.
If you're using Outlook Express, take a look at Thunderbird as an alternative. Outlook earned its nickname: "Lookout!"
Right now I have to delete one junk cookie at a time to keep those for sites I visit regularly. The only other option I see is "remove all," which I don't want to do.
You're closest to correct. When IBM came to do a deal with Gary Kildare (of DR-DOS), both IBM and he didn't think much of IBM's personal computer project. He played golf instead. The desperate IBM guys went across the street and got Gates to sign on for "his" OS for their machine. He didn't have one and bought QDOS ("Quick and Dirty Operating System") based upon CP/M. Gates is living rich, Kildare died, well, not so well off, to put it mildly.
To minimize unnecessary start up items>
Start > run &type in msconfig, then
on startup tab, uncheck all items except A.V. or firewall related > apply
If you're not squeamish re: registry mods, above (unchecked) items can be deleted from HKLM & HKCU for even faster start
Once Netscape was purchased by AOL, their focus seemed to switch to bundling the browser with a lot of things some folks didn't want - ICQ, AIM, and a host of other add ons over the past few years. I never did find a way to install the latest browser only -- without all the add on stuff, but then again, a couple of days and several software crashes later seemed to cure that desire for experimentation with anything Netscape related.
Firefox is everything Netscape once was, and should be today. In my opinion, we got our browser back - and then some. Its stability, popup blocking, tabbed browsing, and fast access of bookmarks makes this one a winner for me.
A lot of the mainframe guys had to get shoved out the door before we made much progress in connectivity and usability. Things change so quickly that history is interesting, but it's still history.
It's a Guild Bluesbird.
It's a great guitar. Similar in looks to a Les Paul but about half the weight and price. I think Guild discontinued it last year. But they still can be had on eBay. It's a bit beefier sounding than a Les Paul. I like it because I try to go for my own sound.
I used to own a mid-seventies Tele Custom. Best playing guitar I ever owned. Plus it had the Les Paul style controls and a humbucker in the rhythm positon.
God bless.
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