Category Archives: Software

Mozilla Shares its Vision for Firefox 4

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Firefox is one of the most heartening of success stories of open source, up there with MySQL and Apache. It has managed to break Internet Explorer’s synonymy of Internet with Internet Explorer. So when Mozilla shares details of any new version, it is bound to be something exciting.

Of late, Firefox has fallen behind in speed with Google Chrome 6, Safari 4 and Opera 10.6 taking the lead. Being far ahead of IE8 is no consolation, and with IE9 posting slightly better scores in JavaScripts tests than Firefox 3.6, Mozilla has reason to worry. The good thing is that Mozilla is already working its way to the top.

firefox 4

Firefox 4

While one may argue that increasing the speed of the browser beyond a point doesn’t help, it is clearly what the future lies. Mozilla knows this and is already working on a new JavaScript Engine, JagerMonkey which takes the best features of Firefox’s TraceMonkey and WebKit’s Nitro Engine to create an uberfast JavaScript Engine.

Firefox 4 will also place an emphasis on reducing the chrome of the browser (The UI Elements) slimming down the browser to a more Google Chrome like look. Firefox 4 will have a completely new visual look, one which makes ample use of Windows Vista and 7′s Aero effects.

Firefox 4 will also have some amazing new features such as Application Tabs (which will work like Chrome pinned tabs), a new addon manager, integrated developer tools and better HTML5 support.

Those waiting for Firefox 3.7, there are both good news and bad. While Firefox 3.7 will be dropped in favor of Firefox 4 (Currently in Beta 1 stage), out-of-process plugins, one of the most awaited features of Firefox 3.7 will come with 3.6.8 due shortly. Out of Process plugins stabilize the browser, ensuring that it doesn’t crash even if a plugin crashes.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Microsoft Outlook Plays Friendly With Social Networks

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In partnership with MySpace and facebook, Microsoft has announced to get “more social” by including social networking information in their flagship business software – Microsoft Outlook 2010. Business Networking site LinkedIn is also offering a beta tool that will integrate the activity of a user into Micosoft Outlook 2010.

In November last year, Microsoft has announced the Outlook Social Connector for Outlook, a new Office 2010 feature that integrates the social networking feeds into Microsoft’s Outlook 2010 inbox.

Microsoft Outlook 2010 Social Connector

Microsoft Outlook 2010 Social Connector

Microsoft has recently released the social connector update that included the first third party feature from LinkedIn. This update will allow users to view status updates, photos and so on of their peers and collegues. Microsoft says that the same will be possible for Facebook and MySpace users. You’ll be able to directly update your status from Outlook 2010 and will also be able to perform other activities associated with social networking.

Although the Social Connector feature has been developed for Microsoft Outlook 2010, it will also work with Microsoft Outlook 2003 and Microsoft Outlook 2007. Expect this integration to be part of the package when Micosoft releases the Microsoft Office 2010 suite.

Popularity: 1% [?]

McAfee Internet Security 2009 : As Good The Many Others

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McAfee Internet Security 2009

McAfee Internet Security 2009

With security being such a big concern these days, there have been many new developers coming up with antivirus software and then evolving into complete security suites. Some of the older well-know security suites have been overshadowed by them. The installation is simple and you are first prompted to uninstall and disable any previous security suites or components that you have installed.

The interface is traditional as compared to Norton’s recent security suites. To keep the abundant features from confusing users, the suite lets you toggle between a basic and Advanced menu. Each of the features in the suite have very detailed customization windows that allow you to tweak each component.

McAcfee Internet Security 2009 comes with pretty much everything required to safeguard your system from everything from virus and worms to hacker attacks. Parental control is also part of the suite. keywords and wildcards can be used to block sites. The McAfee Data Backup feature is that lets you archive data from your drive to either a optical disc, a different location on your drive, or one on the network. Spams in mails are also taken care of, as well as files sent through instant messengers.

There are additional features like the password vault, which allows you to securely store your passwords. there are other interesting bits like the shredder feature that permanently deletes files or even an entire partition or drive. The system cleanup feature allows you to delete all unnecessary items such as temporary files from installers, cache from browsers, undeleted registry keys and so on. with all its features, it is a little bloated and slow at times.
McAfee Internet Security 2009 is at per with the security software we’ve seen. though not as poised or as simplistic. The price of $39.99 is fine as you can use this to protect up to three PCs. as a security solution, it’s not miles ahead of other suites.

Popularity: 23% [?]