Firefox 9 gets a face lift, and more horsepower

December 21, 2011 Leave a comment

                                     

  Download Firefox 9                                                                                   As I type I am downloading the new Firefox 9 on my Meego Netbook. The claim to fame is the new look on Android and Java improvements. Notably Mozilla has renewed there search provider contract with Google. Mozilla will definitley be starting the new year off right in 2012.

The Java fixes and the new look were much needed, Mozilla 7 and 8 seemed a little on the clunky side and even internet explorer was looking like a better choice just for a second there. Just kidding.

Chrome or Epiphany, Opera, etc…  There are many to choose from, all have there strengths and weaknesses. I use most of them and honestly do not prefer one over the other. I just love the speed of it all. Things have come a long way since I was dialing up with my ultra-secure Earthlink, and browsing on my Netscape Navigator. Or hacking AOL for free service for months on end. All those colorful CDs were ridiculous. I am emensley happy with the browsing experience provided today, and I believe that it can only become more intuitive and blazingly fast.

Interesting enough the Google search contract provided 84% of Mozillas revenue in 2010. Without that contract there might not be a Firefox 9. Whew good thing they got that contract. Otherwise I might be stuck with Chrome, which isn’t bad, I am liking it on my net book.

Once I get some time with the the new Firefox I will post my experience.

 

Filed under How To, Software Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Apple goes for the throat taking down htc, or did they?

December 20, 2011 Leave a comment

wo corporate giants go head to head striking blows at one another Apple vs. htc. Ding, ding, ding. Apple comes in swinging claiming htc used proprietary source code from Apples coveted ios. The U S Trade Commission ruled in favor of apple, giving htc until April 2012 To pull its prized models from US distribution.

Taking sides!

                vs

There is still hope for htc, The President still has 60 days to veto the ruling. Will our commander in chief exercise his veto right and save htc?

More Importantly, now that Apple has the ball rolling will it roll over Google? I would assume that if given the opportunity, Apple may just try and knock out the competition all together. That will have profound impact on market prices and freedom of choice.

I will definitely take sides and say that I enjoy the experience of Android on an htc device. I have owned an iphone 4 and the htc incredible. I am much happier with the freedom I have using my Android device.

That seems to be a common thread for apple, closed, proprietary, greedy.  DOnt take me the wrong way I respect what Apple’s products are robust, refined and user friendly. They put out quality before quantity and stay on the edge of the their game.

I prefer a more open development, i.e. android+Google. I have to say I will be very disappointed to see htc devices taken off the shelves.

My theory is Apple will not stop and they will continue and try to take android out of the fight!

also see Redmond Pie

Filed under Phones, Software, Tech, Technology, web Tagged with , , , , ,

MeeGo v 1.2 Netbook Operating System Review

December 18, 2011 1 Comment

MeeGo?

So, been hunting for a great netbook OS for some time now for my NB205:

Specs from lspci command, no lshw to be found.

Make: Toshiba

Model Name nb205

vendor_id : Genuine Intel

model name : Intel(R) Atom(TM) CPU N280 @ 1.66GHz

cpu MHz : 1667.000

cache size : 512 KB

Memory: 2Gb

 

Did I find the netbook OS I have been looking for?

The answer is Im not sure yet. The only way to figure it out is lay out the Pros and cons and come to a conclusion. I can just tell you what I like and what I don’t like. This might aid you in making a decision. The content below is for my own research, I am in no way affiliated with the Linux Foundation or Tizen.org.

How to get MeeGo v. 1.2? Click here.

How to install? Click here for Windows install instructions, or here for Linux Instructions.

Pros:

  1. Clean look
  2. Easy to install
  3. intuitive navigation set up
  4. Good documentation and “How to”

Cons

  1. Surprisingly laggy
  2. Limited functionality.
  3. Clunky package management, doesn’t work! A bug fix has been implemented, unfortunately your first update will take a really long time.
  4. Slow Boot up time
  5. Easily bogged down interface during heavy usage
  6. No copy and paste between apps
  7. No right click for more options
Package Management
Zypper is the default package management application for this version of MeeGo. I prefer apt ot yum because I am more familiar with those applications. But I am excited to learn a new command line package management system. Luckily for everyone that may not be too excited there is an easy to use front end grapgical user interface that simplifies the whole process.
I was first impressed by the extremely clean and web based interface. There were a few usability issues such as not being able to copy and paste from Chrome to the Facebook app. Switching back and forth between apps and windows is a bit clunky using the zones tab, ALT+TAB works just as well. There is no right clicking for more options, Windows users beware.
Hardware support for my net book and a whole host of others is very good. If you are looking for a simple net book os with minimal clutter and cloud based functionality this MeeGo might  before, the rest is just my opinion.

New to Linux?

If you are coming from Ubuntu and are not too familiar with Linux, or if you are coming from Windows and not too familiar with Linux, You are in luck this is just point and click, if you never want to use or see a command line you can do that. I strongly recommend users familiarize them selves with the terminal and bash shell, it may come in handy one day.

Filed under Android, internet, Laptops, Linux, Netbooks, Operating System, Review, Software, Windows Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

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