Firefox 3 'Download Day'

Don't forget to download Firefox 3 today and assist Mozilla's aim to set a Guinness World Record for software downloads!

This is the most Mac-like iteration of Firefox yet, mostly due to an extensive, and long overdue, rewrite of the code; to benefit from modern Apple technologies, such as Cocoa, and fix enduring bugs! Code optimisations, paving the way to a 64-bit future, aside. The 'most visited' bookmark feature "adds value" to the browsing experience!

The Firefox Release Candidates (RC) 1-3 rapidly replaced Safari as my default browser, which I hope is recommendation enough!

Star Fox

I'm back from Essex! A Halloween-themed visit mixed-in with some PlayStation quality time!

Killzone and FIFA '06 deliver the goods including sharp artificial intelligence (AI). Now if only I'd tried scoring serviceable goals as opposed to performing 'fancy footwork' from way outside the goal mouth!

My Estuary English still needs work - an early New Year's resolution! However, Received Pronunciation (RP) is an entirely different matter!

Mozilla's Firefox 2.0 is now available in your favourite OS flavour! Were you one of the lucky FF users who got to play with the official release a few hours before its debut last Tuesday?

The Apprentice

The OC has become a staple of my television viewing for a multiplicity of reasons, some of which I cannot elaborate on (need to know)! References to iPod and Star Wars are always an indulgent pleasure, but the news that George Lucas is to make a cameo appearance, in the penultimate episode of S2, takes the biscuit! Seth will make a 'choice' that will shape his destiny and the future of the galaxy... No, sorry wrong narrative!



Even the box art is cool.

Success! My site plays nice again with Firefox and its Mozilla Brethern - clear cache - the files were being sent to iDisk as application/octet-stream rather than text/html. By chance I noticed the update icon in Firefox and downloaded the latest Yahoo! Toolbar Beta. This includes a handy new feature called My Web. Grab some online candy.

Out of Sight

After further exhaustive investigation, it appears that my keyboard may be the culprit behind recent system freezes, and not a broken installation as reported previously! This is actually good news because a replacement keyboard from the Apple Store is relatively inexpensive. In other computer peripheral news, my new Wireless Intellimouse Explorer 2.0 works a treat and breezily accesses power user features in Microsoft Office 2004. Neat.

Firefox 1.0 is now available and anyone (especially Windows users) would be advised to download and make it their default browser! Will this branch of the Mozilla code metamorphose into the Google browser? The gauntlet has been thrown down and, in the Mac User community, eyes are now on Safari 1.3 and 2.0. Exciting times.

New UK digital television channel ITV 3 starts showing Karen Sisco tonight! Ms Sisco was played to perfection by JLo (Out of Sight, 1998) and the small screen incarnation is depicted by model/actress Carla Gugino. With the likes of Kathryn Bigelow (a former Mrs James Cameron) at the directing helm and co-stars Robert Forster and Bill Duke, the series has been well received by press plaudits.



No sooner has Apple opened its online doors to the iPod Store. You can now checkout the Amazon iPod Store from today!

ESP

At the weekend I got into a discussion, with friends, concerning the phenomenon that is the PlayStation brand. With PSP (Sony's new handheld resembles the Atari Lynx) and PS3 on the horizon, my memory was jogged!



In the early 90's Sony and Nintendo embarked on the creation of a CD-ROM drive (PlayStation) for the Super NES. Magazine editorials excitedly published concept drawings and (I think) early production hardware photos - the drive sat beneath the console. However, when Sega released the elephantine Mega-CD to mixed reviews (the build quality was horrendous and software such as Night Trap courted controversy from conservative quarters), Nintendo halted development and/or partnered with Philips (co-creator of the CD format) on a rival project (CD-I).

Sony took the knowledge it had acquired, extensive R&D and produced PlayStation itself. Fast forward a decade and the PS brand enjoys a virtually impervious market dominance. Sega struggles as a software company and Nintendo has failed to shake its (lucrative) kids n' cartridge image.

Somewhat off topic. It appears that Firefox (version 1.0 Preview Release) has damaged my installation of Mac OS X 10.3.5. Whenever the browser was open it continuously accessed the HDD. This resulted in a kernel panic following a crash. After starting up in single-user mode (and running /sbin/fsck -f) disc errors were found! So, time for a backup and clean install once 10.3.6 is released. Thanks Mozilla!

Miami Sound Machine

No this isn't a tenuous link to the band that became subservient to its lead singer Gloria Estefan (loved them in the 80's). Today HP's Miami bash sees the release of a range of digital lifestyle products and a branded iPod too (announced earlier this year). Apple's stock price has soared and there's the Paris Expo next week - new products galore.

Loving Gmail! The contextual AdSense banners are non-invasive. However, there might be a loading issue with Safari 1.2.3 (appears to be a cache problem and is solved by super refreshing). For instant gratification I'm using the Camino branch of Mozilla for maximum compatibility until Safari 1.3 (soon) or 2 (2005).

WYSIWYG

Blogger's Post Editor is undergoing further fine tuning and finessing! The web-application interface has been retooled and now resembles a feature-rich e-mail client. Is the Gmail and Blogger development team one and the same I wonder? The value-added additions, including text formatting and image uploading, are welcome. However, there is a caveat in the short to mid term. Mac Users will need to use a Mozilla-based browser (my preferred branch of the Gecko Engine is Firefox) to fully leverage the service improvements for the foreseeable future. One of the Google User Interface Engineer's has a blog and welcomes user feedback.

Bruce Springsteen's haunting ballad Sad Eyes eloquently expresses my current emotional mood! I feel akin to Pacey (Joshua Jackson) in Dawson's Creek season 2 episode His Leading Lady. The past few weeks have been too turbulent.