Opera 11.5 Released

Opera keeps getting better, today it displaced Firefox on my computer…recent addition of extensions and now password sync were enough to push it over the edge.  Plus mobile Opera is kick ass on Android…if Firefox mobile ever gets as good, I’ll switch back as Mozilla is a great open source company.

Check out Opera 11.5  and download for your platform…get rid of that stank that you call a browser.   Fast, safe, secure, and smart…no reason not to get it today.

Think about it…common sense will show you that there are really only two options for internet browsers.   What is the goal of the Mozilla nonprofit?  Its goal is an open and usable web, what is not to like?  What is the goal of the Opera corporation?  Its goal is to provide you with the best possible  browser>  What is the goal of the Apple corporation?  To sell as many iphones as possible, Safari is an afterthought and a sorry excuse for one at that.  What is the purpose of the Google corporation?  Chrome is simply a platform for ads…nothing more, nothing less.  How about Microsoft?  They want to sell Windows and Office licenses…once again, browsing is an afterthought.  If you care even a little about the open web then you will avoid Safar, Chrome, and IE like the plague that they are…a plague of corporate control.

IE was evil when MS shipped it with Windows and Safari is no better now that it is integrated with the proprietary crapware that ships on Apple computers.

Follow the link above…upgrade your browsing experience today…you have nothing to lose…except your chains.

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Good Day to Be An Android User

Despite T-mobile being bought up by the shit hole AT&T, necessitating anyone who wants good service to find a new provider, despite that….

Amazon’s App Store is sure to be a hit (despite being currently blocked from AT&T phones).  With AT&T blocking them, and Apple suing them over the name, they are sure to be a hit–when 2 of the biggest creepiest companies in the USA line up against you, you can be sure that you are on the right path.  The free app daily is enough to make me go check it out on a regular basis.  Yesterday they offered Angry Birds, which is not my style of game, so I passed.  Today it is the World Series of Poker, a giant file but I am checking it out anyway.

I am sure that it is only a matter of time before Amazon puts out a budget tablet for the masses.  (At this point in time, only the wealthy can afford tablets…the fact that they are really good for very little, puts them out of most of our reaches.)

We all heard that Firefox finally got around to releasing version 4 of its best-of-class web browser.  What may have slipped under the radar was the release of Firefox 4 Mobile RC.  Holy cow, this browser has come a long ways and now rivals that built into Android.  Also of note was the release of Opera Mobile 11…choice is good.

In other news, Apple is suing an Android porn store.  No longer content with their own puritanical views, Apple attempts to force them onto other platforms.  You can’t make shit like this up.  Apple thinks they own the word “app”.

Every day I thank the goddess that MS beat the totalitarian fucks into the ground in round 1.  As bad as Gates and Co is, they don’t hold a candle to the pure evil wafting out of Cupertino.

But hey!  It is a good day to use Android.

Web Browser Speed Update

Just over 6 months ago I ran a series of tests on the 5 leading internet browsers.  For those just joining us, here are the results from February 2010.

And here is my summary from then:

These tests show IE failing miserably at every test, it came in dead last every time.  Meanwhile, Google’s Chrome browser led the pack every time.  Opera’s beta browser slightly edged out Safari although the difference as not that great.  Firefox was some distance behind these but still in the running.

Today I ran a subset of those tests on the up to date versions of the same browsers.  I used the same hardware and IE’s results should act as a control group.

These new results follow.

To me, the amazing thing is the overall improvement amongst all the browsers (IE has a new beta coming soon, it will be interesting to see if they get on the speed bandwagon.)  Chrome still leads the bunch with each version faster than the previous.  Opera furthers its edge over Safari (Safari was the only browser to suffer a regression.)  Firefox moves solidly into the pack, breaking even with Safari and leaving IE to continue lagging.

It will be interesting to see if these speed increases can continue over the next 6 months and if IE 9 is the one that can put the brakes on MS’s browser share slide.  This is far and away the healthiest I have ever seen the browser market.

Browser Test, Redux

With MS ready to give EU users a choice in internet browsers, I thought I would take a look at the world’s five most used browsers. I downloaded and installed versions of each and ran them through a series of tests.  (These tests can also be accessed from my portal page at the bottom of the “tech reference” section.)

The tests were run on a Dell Inspiron 1420 laptop with a 2 GHz core 2 duo with 2 GB of RAM running on 32 bit Windows 7.

Without further ado, here are the results:

These tests show IE failing miserably at every test, it came in dead last every time.  Meanwhile, Google’s Chrome browser led the pack every time.  Opera’s beta browser slightly edged out Safari although the difference as not that great.  Firefox was some distance behind these but still in the running.

If performance is your most important feature in a web browser, the choice is clear.  If performance is important to you, but not all encompassing, then you have some good choices in internet browsers.  These tests illustrate that the browser wars are alive and well and are good for consumers of web content.

Are there other tests that I could run?  Let me know in the comments.

Now, why doesn’t WordPress support tables?

Browsing the Web on Windows

I gotta say Wow! to Firefox 3.  I installed the most recent beta on my Windows box and it is really nice.  I don’t use that computer every day but in my short tests it is a truly superior browser.

I installed IE 8 beta, Opera 9.5 beta, Firefox 3 beta, and Safari 3.1 beta.  Thought I would get a taste of what the future of browsing on Windows is.  I find (and this is subjective, your milage may vary) that IE and Firefox offer the superiour experience over Opera and Safari.  I tested them all in Vista both in Aero mode and in classic mode.

Opera has done nothing to change the UI from previous versions which makes it seem out dated.  The navigation bar between the tabs bar and the  main window is a major distraction.  Opera’s UI is definitely more at home in classic mode.  I did not try out the new features.  Opera is still the far and away most feature complete out of the box web browser.

Safari looks the same in both windows modes and is basically the Leopard look.  It is out of place and fugly in both modes.  It is too dark when it has focus, Apple should have gone with the lighter non focus color.  Except for the much discussed sub par font rendering and the entire UI, Safari is a fine browser.  The main blocks to my getting used to Safari is its lack of opening with the previous tabs open feature and the lack of adherence to the keyboard shortcuts used by the other browsers.

IE takes the 7 edition UI and tweaks it in minor ways.  I think the UI of 7.0 is the beginning of the new UI for web browsers in general.  I don’t run IE, I hate malware and I just don’t get it in Firefox.  I run no aditional security software on Vista (or on XP sp2 and beyond.)  It has been years since I have had viri or malware.  IE is the best looking browser using Aero but its looks fade in classic mode.

Firefox remains my top pick.  It is solid and much more integrated with the OS in both Aero and classic modes.  The visual changes are all a step in the right direction, I give the mozilla monsters credit for advancing this browser to the next level.   I would like to see Thunderbird get this kind of love.  I am currently not running version 3 on my main desktop, too worried of borking my system with conflicts in the repos.  But I think I will get lots of use of running Prism as an extension–this feature will clearly be well worth the price of admission.

All four of these browsers show that the web is not standing still and neither is our way of using it.

Edit:  One thing is clear from this quick look, Apple will not gain significant market share by including Safari as an update to Quicktime.  I personally installed it as an update to iTunes, but I can’t imagine that I will ever use it.  Remember that when S Jobs released Safari for Windows he stated that his goal was to kill off Opera and Firefox and to take a small sliver of IE’s share…he was up front about the objectives, now the method has become clear too.