Posts Tagged
browser
It is difficult to imagine a world in which bookmarks did not exist. Without them we would have to resort to memorizing the URLs of countless websites or individual pages and type them out in full every time we wanted to visit the site in question.
Being able to save quick links to frequently visited sites is a great time saver, and it’s something that we take for granted. It would be easy to dismiss the humble bookmark, but they’re something we use on a daily basis. Listango has been designed to make them even more useful by offering a number of helpful additional features.
Do you remember the first time you ever used a web browser?
I’m going to make myself sound young (or old perhaps) to some of you, but I’ll never forget the first time I used internet at home. It must have been 1996, and my parents had a 133Mhz desktop running Windows 95 and perhaps IE 3. We attempted to watch a NASA shuttle launch online with an Aol. dialup trial that I believe came on a floppy. That’s when I got my first experience with how show video really could go.
Sometime shortly thereafter, I remember getting a book from the library about using Netscape Navigator. Imagine buying a printed book about using Chrome or Safari today! And yet, at that time, simple web browsing seemed new and confusing enough that you needed a book to figure it out. Of course, that was the same time period when you could buy books that listed interesting websites to check out…
Do you remember the first web browser you used? Do you have any interesting stories about when you got started using the internet? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
Around 3.5 years ago, the world started buzzing about a new web browser: Google Chrome. Google had sponsored Mozilla Firefox for years, and much of the world was still browsing on Microsoft Internet Explorer 6. Chrome came out first on Windows, and took its time coming to Linux and Mac. And rather than having more features than other browsers (like Flock tried), Chrome stripped browsing down to its essentials and had almost no features other than speed. Seemed like the prospects for the new browser were rather slim.
Then, we all tried it, got hooked, and can’t look back. As much as I’d like to love Safari or the latest versions of Firefox, it’s Chrome’s stability and speed that keeps me coming back. I can’t hardly imagine switching to a new browser … unless it significantly improved on Chrome’s performance.
That said, I try out new apps all the time. I’ve even run Opera for a bit, and keep giving Safari extended tries every so often. I believe I downloaded Chrome the first day it was available, and I’m running the beta versions of Chrome, Safari, and Firefox on my main computer right now. So, I’d likely try out a new browser as soon as one came out, even if just to see what it was like. That’s why it’s so surprising to me to see complaints from IE 6 users about sites not working for them; I feel anxious if I’m not on the very latest version of my favorite software.
So, how about you? If a brand new browser came out tomorrow that was faster, better, and would make you healthy, wealthy, and wise, would you download it immediately? Or would you wait to see if all the tech insiders quickly scrambled back to their old favorite browsers and left the new contender behind?
Tablets and smartphones have homescreens filled with apps, while more traditional computers have start menus or docs or search tools to find the apps you need. With web apps, though, it seems the best way for most of us to find apps is with random links in our bookmarks or just by googling the app every time we need it.
Users of Google’s excellent browser Chrome know how fundamental the new tab page is for keeping up with web apps, especially as Google’s focused more on the Chrome Web Store. However, while the standard new tab page is useable, it is lacking in terms of customization and is missing some pretty basic features. Speed Dial 2 is a free Chrome extension that not only fixes these problems, but makes the new tab page beautiful.
Computers are interesting devices. They’re easily one of the most influential inventions mankind has ever produced, and are crucial to almost everything we do today. From smartphones to tablets to Google’s massive servers around the globe, computers come in all shapes and sizes and are used for a mind-boggling array of tasks.
What sets apart computers from the wheel, hammer, engine, and other major inventions of humanity is the varied ways a computer can be put to use. They can calculate the amount of fuel needed to get to the moon, animate characters and render picture-perfect landscapes, and let you talk with friends around the globe. Computers don’t do this on their own, though. The special thing is the software or apps that run on them. Without software, computers are simply black boxes.
So what makes one type of software different from another? Why would you choose web apps over native applications, and why does it really matter?
There’s no question that one of the premier features of the Firefox web browser is extensions. Since Firefox’s inception they’ve been a part of what differentiated it. And even now, when every major browser on the market offers some kind of plugin architecture, the depth and quality of Firefox’s add-on catalog still reigns supreme.
The best part of Firefox’s add-on community is its continued dedication to creating new and exciting things. We’ve rounded up 20 Firefox extensions you may not have heard of before. Perhaps a couple of perennial favorites made our list too, but for the most part we’ve culled together some of the latest and greatest that the add-on community has to offer.
In this cross platform, web app driven, fully integrated world, we are always looking for ways to get our information faster, get notified quicker, get up-to-the-second updates, and do more without having to bounce around to different websites. It’s why we use RSS, it’s why we use Twitter, and it’s why we have a ton of apps on our phones and a bunch of widgets on our desktops. In my search for better integration, I overlooked a fairly simple solution for accessing my web apps- the browser. Yes, I still go to facebook.com or groupon.com to get my updates, but I never thought of looking to the browser for a tool that integrates my webapps together.
ALOT offers exactly that- a simple, browser driven solution for easily checking your favorite web apps and bringing information to you.
Envato’s community and member base is made up of a diverse bunch of people: writers, designers, developers, video makers, editors, etc. The majority of us have projects which entail many jobs, normally organized by some sort of to-do list or checklist
Launchlist is a solution aimed at website designers and developers who have predetermined goals in a project. In Launchlist, you can create a project and set a list of tasks which can be checked off as time goes on. These tasks are mainly oriented around pre-launch (as the name suggests) website testing, although the app can be adapted to most needs.
Mozilla’s Paul Rouget made a splash on the web this week with the question, “Is IE9 a modern browser?” and a most definitive answer, “NO”. The post makes a great argument as to why IE9 is “more modern, but not really modern.”
And of course the post’s accompanying infographic is well worth checking out for a more visual perspective on the subject. Microsoft responded with several valid points of their own on the subject, adding more heat to the continual browser wars.
Many of us are biased for one reason or another, while it’s difficult for others to really say what a “modern browser” is since it isn’t clearly defined. Personally, I’m biased and don’t believe IE9 will be a “modern”, competitive browser for any other reason than it’s what has been used for so long, by so many, but IE — I can only hope — will continue it’s market share decline.
What do you think? Is IE9 a modern browser? Once fully released, do you think it will compete with Chrome, Safari or Firefox?
