firefox mania

It has been more than two years that Mozilla Firefox was officially released and nowthe number of downloads of "the browser reloaded" have exceeded 200 million mark. At this great juncture, Iam compelled to write something about this Open-source product along with its next-door cousinThunderbird. I do not hesitate to mention that I am an ardent fan of the both. Also, I am leastbothered about other browsers and e-mail clients in existence as I am safe and comfy with these two.My browsing speed has increased dramatically. Believe it or not, within 4 minutes(i.e. equivalentof single phone call in my country), I finish off checking/sending mails in four web mail accounts, get news headlinesfrom BBC, CNN, Computerworld, Slashdot etc. These activities keep me well informed and connectedto the outside world.Thanks to the password manager, I need not type/remember login information time and again.Browsing intabs helps me to save some fraction of memory than if I am to do the same thing in multiple windows.Moreover, I am 'Ctrl+ Tab(or[1-9])'away from next browsing. The information which I provide whilefilling forms are automatically saved by the browser and prompts me next time when I fill up similar things.Importantly, annoying pop-ups are blocked by default. These pop-ups may be the source of troubles inthe Internet as they may inject spywares, adwares etc in one's machine. One may use multiple of theavailable extensions at Mozilla's site to block distracting Flash ads.Whenever I am fed up withthe same interface, I simply switch over to next theme. It's not just the matter of safety andefficiency.. aesthetics is also necessary for the survival. The extensions contributed by the free lancers make the mainstream product scalable, flexible and more useful.The download manageris sleek as mutiple transfers are displayed in the same window without cluttering the taskbar.The data transfer can be stopped or resumed at will.Well, like any software, it may contain vulnerabilities but will be dealt appropriately with time.It is really praiseworthy that Mozilla Foundation is giving this 'king of the browsers' for free and setting an example in Open Source community. Perhaps for this reason, the manager of the Firefox project, Mitchell Baker found a place in Time magazine's 100 most influential people. It is worthwhile to expand its use in Educational Institutions, Cyber cafes, Government or Non-government organizations. They are adding Scalable Vector Graphics(SVG) redering capabilityto the Gecko rendering engine of the Firefox. And in the future, we expect more expansions.Long Live Firefox

HOW CAN WE BENEFIT FROM TECNOLOGY

The overall objective of any technological breakthrough is to make people’s lives easier, more manageable and safer. There is no limit as regards to how to put it into use. People have been constantly using their imagination and skills to mitigate hardships, miseries from their own as well as others’ lives. Well, in this matter, I am not an exception. With some technical background, it has been easy for me to get acquainted with the newer technologies and adopt them as needed.
From the beginning of Human Civilization to this date, man has invented things that have become essential part of our life and we take such things for granted. E.g. paper, wheels, bridges, electricity, phones etc. Currently the impact and scope of Information Technology have been such that even common masses of people are attracted to it. A Personal Computer is rapidly becoming a household item and the number of people subscribing to the internet connections is continuously increasing. A desktop computer has become a centre-spot for entertainment, education, research, archives, communication center and what not? How one can put this mystical machine to use is dependant on how far his imagination can take him?
Gone are the days when people maintained their diaries in leather bounds. If the person were a frequent traveler, he will have to carry volumes of such records with him.
The very idea is abominable. Why not maintain diaries electronically and put a copy of it in on-line storage so that he will have access to it at any part of the world (and even in other planets if Vint Cerf’s IPN starts working) at any time. Benefits are many, one saves
Paper, trees, chemicals etc. Next, it would be extremely easy to make multiple copies and keep back-ups. Moreover the documents would be ‘timeproof’. If the future generations want to use them, it would be readily available.
We experience the age-old photographs fading and losing their crispiness. Enter the digital photography, the snaps will not lose their charms through generations or just in case you would like to digitize your old photographs.
How e-mails , instant-chats have changed the way we communicate. A peasant in Siberia can seek advice from an agronomical engineer in Argentina in matter of seconds without any wastage of time and money.
Few years back, the University level students at various parts of india had to wait for days or months to know their examination results. Thanks to the Web Technology, it is now instantly available to them from anxious and at times, frustrating moments.
Similarly, at colleges and even schools, why not maintain an educational portal where instructors post educational materials. Students can submit their assignments digitally.
At remote villages, it’s possible to set-up an on-line community of local institutions so that they can share information e.g. e-notice boards, e-braries etc. It is especially true in a country like Nepal, where geography plays a major hindrance to development works. Imagine a student in remote tamil nadu sharing ideas and course materials with his compatriot in bangalore.
Definitely, the proposition poses serious challenges in terms of setting up necessary infrastructures, educating users and localizing the available softwares. However, the outcome promises to far outweigh the efforts we put into it.