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Blog Entries from June 2005
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Fedora Core 4 Released
June 13 - The Fedora Project quietly released Fedora Core 4 (Stentz), the latest release of the popular, robust Linux operating system. Fedora Core 4 includes GNOME 2.10, KDE 3.4.0, Firefox 1.0.4, OpenOffice.org 1.9.104, and a 2.6.11-based kernel.
The screenshots of the new software included in Fedora Core 4 are quite slick. You can read more, and view screenshots, on RedHat's website (external link).
I personally plan to install this release on my computer. It includes most applications that I'll use and has a nice selection of drivers and packages already installed.
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No Microsoft in Norway
Just yesterday the Norwegian government announced plans to move completely over to open source products in 2006. Instead of the typical Microsoft Office they'll be using open source file formats for all government activities.
Quotation by "Slashdot"
Been on TV writes 'The Norwegian Minister of Modernization today at a press conference in Oslo declared that proprietary formats will no longer be acceptable in communication with government. He also calls for all parts of government to have a plan ready by 2006 for use of open source solutions. Taking great care not to mention the name Microsoft directly, but rather referring to 'the spreadsheet almost everyone uses' or saying this is the last time I will present a plan for information technology being broadcast on the net in Windows Media, the Minister sent strong signals in the direction of Redmond to open up or become irrelevant to the Norwegian Government.
View the original Slashdot article (external link).
I'm glad to hear that a country's government is going to be using open source. From the perspective of a government leader I'd see how much money I could save if I didn't have to purchase tons of licenses for Microsoft Office. There are equivalent, free, open source products that will work fine and save you money.
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IE7 to Support RSS
Just today Microsoft announced that they would be including extended support for RSS in Windows Longhorn, the next version of Windows due next year. Not only will Microsoft be adding an RSS reader to Internet Explorer, but they'll make it easier for software developers to easily integrate RSS into their applications.
Currently all major web browsers contain a method for reading RSS. Opera and Firefox have both had RSS support for as long as most of us can remember. Safari recently received a stylish RSS reader in the latest version, included in Mac OS X Tiger. Now a-days RSS is so popular that it is hard to produce a product without it.
Microsoft is also talking about adding support for ordered list in RSS feeds too. This will make a much needed improvement to RSS. With RSS support going from the "techies" to the public, webmasters will have a reliable option of delivering content to their readers.
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Cross-Browser to the Extreme
As you browse around the web you come up on many interesting finds, which happens to me quite often. Last week I found Cross-Browser.com (external link), a website full of cross-browser CSS and JavaScript examples.
Every example that I've tried works in Opera, Firefox, and Safari. Generally it will probably work in Internet Explorer too. If you're looking for something interesting to spice up your website then you should look through the library on this website. I'll post more on some of the scripts on the website later this month.
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Browsers on Thumb Drives
Ever wished that you could take your browser of choice wherever you go? That way you don't have to use Internet Explorer? I've found methods to get both Opera and Firefox on a thumb drive. Both work fine and make a nice way to have a good browser with you at all times.
Opera
megamanXplosion at Sitepoint.com (external link) posted some great instructions on how to get Opera on your thumb drive. It also guides you through setting the cache to go on the current computer and for Opera to be offered to you on the drive's startup menu:
Quotation by "megamanXplosion"
Installing Opera on a jump-drive is pretty simple. Create a folder called "Opera" on your desktop and then launch the installer. Install Opera as a single-user to the "Opera" directory on your desktop. Then, copy the Opera folder over to your jump-drive. Open /Opera/profile/opera6.ini and add "Cache Directory4=C:" under [user preferences]. Once you have changed the cache directory, open Opera and go to: Tools -> Preferences -> Advanced -> History -> then check "empty on exit.
Now when you open Opera from your jump-drive it will store its cache on the computer you're using and when you close Opera it will delete the cache from the computer. Now, to add the finishing touch ("Run this program" in the options) can create an autorun.inf file, in the root directory of the jump drive, with this inside...
[autorun]
open=Opera/Opera.exe
icon=Opera/Opera.exe
label=Opera 8.02You can view the original post on the Sitepoint Forums (external link).
Firefox
To get a portable version of Firefox visit the project's home page (external link).
The installation is optimized for a thumb drive and runs quite smoothly. You may also want to look into Portable Thunderbird and Sunbird.
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Opera Press Release Wrong
Haavard, public relations of Opera had the following to tell (external link).
Quotation by "Haavard"
We've been on a winning streek lately, German magazine Chip concluding that Opera is better than Firefox and all. It seems that in the excitement over the positive press lately in combination with 8.01 release preparations, and with the summer heat finally arriving in Oslo, we've screwed up.
At closer inspection, it appears that Opera might not have won the best browser of 2005 award from PC World after all. Opera is listed as the only browser in the "Web" category, which I guess got us confused.
Now that we've installed fans to cool us down again, we've removed the "best browser" stuff from opera.com until PC World gets back to us to clarify things. We're posting a statement in the near future as well.
So no, we are not actually evil monsters. We are only human. :-)
There is more information (external link) on the matter, meanwhile, Firefox fans claim that Opera is just another evil company, like all non-open-source companies are. I just think Opera should have a good conversation with the responsible marketing man...
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Browser News on Macs
Macintosh browsers have been on the move lately, exceeding most other large players. Safari passed the Acid2 test not too long ago, being the first web browser to do so. In the past few days I've seen more activity on the Mac with Safari being made open source and iCab passing Acid2 (external link).
iCab, a Mac browser, now passes the Acid2 test, the third browser to do so. Hopefully this signals the events that Firefox and Opera will make moves toward passing the standard's test, leaving IE to be the only one left.
Apple has created Web Kit (external link) containing the system framework for Safari and other Mac OS X applications. You can now contribute to the code!
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IE 7 on Windows 2000
We all know that Microsoft was suppose to give full support for Windows 2000 users until 2010, but I'm starting to question that. In a recent post on the IE blog (external link) we find out that Microsoft will not be releasing IE7 for Windows 2000. This has led to huge criticism of Microsoft.
Internet Explorer 7 is suppose to be released for Windows XP, as far as we know. With recent Microsoft actions I'm expecting to see Microsoft's typical marketing method, where they only give updates to the most recent platform, which forces users to upgrade.
In the end the people hurt the most by this action are the web developers. Tons of people are still using Windows 2000, as they see it as a better, more secure platform. Now these people will not have the browser with better standard's support, and web developers will face troubles with their website's coding.
Let's just hope for the best.
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Google's Secret Lab
Today a blog entry was released about a Google secret (external link), and it was instantly Slashdotted. In order to help the author preserve bandwidth, and in case you cannot view it, here is a copy of the entry:
Quotation by "Henk van Ess"
It's one of the best kept secrets of Google. It's a mystery on Webmasterworld. Also in Europe (France) they don't know what to expect from that odd URL http://eval.google.com (external link). Click it and you get ...nothing. The site reveals itself only if you have the proper login and if you use a network known by Google. Residues of Eval.google are found on the web, but the full content of the mystery site has never been published before. Here it is: the real story about Eval.Google. And welcome to the first entry in Search Bistro.... - slashdotted from the start.
What is it? It's a lab of humans from all over the world (from China to The Netherlands, from Korea to Brasil) They are paid to check search results of Google every day. Most of the employees, called international agents by Google, were recruited through universities all over the world. The aim is to avoid spam, to get the right sites at the top of the listing and to test new features, not shown to the public yet.
I call it Google's Secret Evaluation Lab, but the real title is less adventurous; 'Rater Hub Google'. The coming weeks I will reveal all I know about this lab. To keep you busy, here's a Flash-movie from a part of the site. Stay tuned, next posting will be on Wednesday.
This is quite shocking to hear, the Google rumor of human intervention in their algorithm is finally proved! I'm interested in how this finally leaked out, and who spilled the beans. Although we probably will never know.
I've also found out that the recruiters of this Google service have high qualifications in web research, an interest in many areas, and fluent in Dutch, Italian, Spanish, or French. These people must be super robots or something!
On a more personal note I would like to welcome all readers and members back to Lowter after our extended downtime. Even though I was stressed beyond belief during the downtime with emailing around, help tickets, and everything else, I think that the break from Lowter revamped my spirits!
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