CTE Visions

After my recent post of Internet Explorer I was asked by many of you “What browser should I use?”  “What browser do you recommend?” “Where do I go to download a new browser?”

I can’t give a perfect answer because everyone likes to surf the Internet in their own way. So somethings that matter to me (add-ons and plug-ins) may not matter to you. But one thing that should matter to all of us is security. Another that should be important but the average public does not know about is web standards. Microsoft is trying to be better at this but is still falling short, but many of the other browsers follow the standards.

I am a huge Firefox fan, and I use the browser on my home computer, although at work I use a combination of IE, Firefox and Opera, (for testing purposes). Each browser has its own strengths and weaknesses. However, I have found Firefox to be a strong contender for the best all-around web browser.

Firefox 3 (download)

• Strength - Thousands of add-ons, themes and the community of developers / designers behind it.
• Performance - It employs Gecko 1.9 to enhance the existing layout engine. It passes Acid2 test and gets better results on the Acid3 test compared to Firefox 2. Basically, it means that Firefox 3 is more CSS and javascript friendly.
• Security – Does not allow a website to download onto, install onto, or execute code on a user’s computer without the user’s agreement.
• Usability - The download manager and bookmark storing system are redesigned, and are easy to use. Also, it separates the themes for Mac, Linux and Windows, and that means users will have a more native look and feel on different operation systems.

Opera 9.6 (download)

• Strength - Fast and small, standards-compliant, and available for many operating systems.
• Performance - Provides textual content before ANY other browser, and noticeably faster than IE for total page loading time. Opera’s cache (especially the back/forward performance ) is simply faster than any other browser.
• Security – Opera has a very good reputation in the security community for always fixing any possible security issues as soon as possible
• Usability - The first browser to introduce mouse-gestures. The whole User Interface, including all the menus, keyboard commands, mouse gestures, tool bars, and even individual buttons are extensively and easily customizable, using a user-friendly GUI driven interface for most features

Safari 3 (download)

• Strength - It is the default browser in Mac, and it has an elegant interface.
• Performance - It has support for CSS Web fonts and animations and improves support for SVG and HTML 5 media.
• Security – Uses robust encryption to ensure that your private information stays private
• Usability - As-you-type text search, Quartz-style font-smoothing

Google Chrome (download)

• Strength – It is fast, secure and multi-processing structured.
• Performance - Chrome uses V8 JavaScript engine to generate javascript code dynamically and hide class transitions automatically. It also uses multi-processing architecture, which allows the browser to shut down a single Tab or a plugin wherever problem occurs but to keep the whole browser alive.
• Security - Chrome warns users when they attempt to visit a harmful website based on google’s phishing and malware blacklists, which is being updated periodically.
• Usability - The Tabs are placed at the top of the window in order to make the navigation faster and smoother. Additionally, Chrome displays 9 most visited web sites and sites most often searched on the home page.

Internet Explorer 8 Beta (download)

• Strength - It is the default browser in Windows
• Performance - Accelerators, Automatic Crash Recovery
• Security - InPrivate, allows IE8 not to save searching and browsing history, cookies and form data. In another word, it clears the browser cache by default.
• Usability - Search Suggestions, Web Slices, Tab Color Grouping

Acid3 Scores:

Chrome: 74/100
Safari 3: 87/100
FF3: 71/100
Opera: 60/100
IE 8: 17/100

I don’t know much about the Flock browser but have heard a lot of good things about it. I may look into running it just to see what it is and how it works, so for now here is a link to download it and some information I have found about it.

Flock (download)

• Strength - built on Mozilla’s Firefox code base that specializes in providing social networking and Web 2.0 facilities built into its user interface.
• Security - Automatically set up with strong privacy and security settings
• Usability - Integrates social networking and media services including MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, Blogger, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc. Notably, when logging into any of the supported social services, Flock can track updates from friends: profiles, uploaded photos, and more.

Wow, since I have been using Linux myself I have been noticing just how popular the Open Source Operating System has become.

Today I received news from a friend (via Twitter) that HP announced with Novell that it will be now pre-loading Suse on its small Compaq model dc5850 desktop PC designed for the small and medium-size business market.

In a departure from its previous policy and the practice of most PC vendors, HP won’t charge extra for preloading SuSE Linux on the machines, which it sells for prices starting at $520.

I think it is a great thing that is happening for the Linux community. Finally one of the big main stream computer distributers is making a move to help push the Open Source distribution out to the public.

What is Ubuntu you ask?

Ubuntu is a free Operating System (OS). You know, the thing that when you turn on your computer you see a big logo of Windows come up. Well that is the OS and that is what runs your computer. It gives you a Graphical User Interface (GUI) to run your computer in a way that makes you feel comforatable doing the things you do on your computer.

So Ubuntu is a free OS that is based on the Linux kernel. The name Ubuntu comes from the Zulu word ubuntu, loosely translated as “humanity” or “A person is a person only through other people”. Ubuntu’s goals include providing an up-to-date, stable operating system for the average user, with a strong focus on usability and ease of installation.

I bring up Ubuntu at this time because Ubuntu has made it a goal to make and improve the OS every six months. It is coming up to the six month mark and things are getting very exciting in the chat rooms, RSS’s and many websites found through out the Internet.

Ubuntu releases new versions every six months, and supports those releases for 18 months with daily security fixes and patches to critical bugs. LTS (Long Term Support) releases, which occur every two years, are supported for three years for desktops and five years for servers. The most recent version, Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Hardy Heron), was released on April, 2008, although an update, Ubuntu 8.04.1 has been released. The next version will be 8.10 (Intrepid Ibex) and is scheduled for release on 30th October 2008.

What to Expect in the release of 8.10

While Hardy Heron was designed to be stable enough to be a long-term support release, Intrepid Ibex promises to be packed with more exciting features, something that Ubuntu fans always enjoy.

Among those changes are likely to be a number of mobility improvements as well as more flexible Internet connectivity. On the desktop there is also likely to be a refreshed desktop theme which has been in the pipeline for the past two releases.

Earlier this year Ubuntu chief, Mark Shuttleworth, said that “a particular focus for us will be pervasive Internet access, the ability to tap into bandwidth whenever and wherever you happen to be. We want you to be able to move from the office, to the train, and home, staying connected all the way”.

Seamless Internet connectivity has always been a challenge on Ubuntu Linux, particularly for users moving between the home, the office and the road. Over the past two releases the WiFi capabilities of Ubuntu have improved a lot – roaming mode was long overdue – but switching between connections is still annoyingly difficult. Improvements in this area alone will make Intrepid welcome.

Expected with Intrepid a new desktop look which has been in the development for the past year. The new look was meant to debut in Hardy Heron but was held back.

Also on the desktop, the timing is right for OpenOffice.org version 3.0 to be included in the Intrepid release so long as the planned September release date for OpenOffice is met. OpenOffice 3.0 includes a number of new features, from better document support to spreadsheet collaboration, that will make it a more compelling office suite. But that will be another post.