New and better - Firefox 3.5

Over the last year or so, Firefox has become better known in tech savvy circles for its relatively poor performance and mediocre memory management. Chrome's insane speed and Internet Explorer 8's overall improvement have also dinged Firefox's reputation. But now, Firefox 3.5 is almost ready to go.

I downloaded the latest beta, Firefox 3.5 beta 4, to explore it for myself. I used it on two different PCs. The first was my workhouse Windows XP SP2 system, and the other was my Dell laptop. The XP box was a Dell Inspiron 530S with a 2.2-GHz Intel Pentium E2200 dual-core processor, 4GBs of RAM, a 500GB SATA drive and an Integrated Intel 3100 GMA (Graphics Media Accelerator). For laptop, I used a Gateway GT5622 desktop with a 1.8GHz Intel Pentium E2160 dual-core CPU, 3GBs of RAM, a 400GB SATA drive, and an Intel 950 GMA.

On both systems, installing the browser took less than three minutes. Once installed, I found that my two must-have Firefox extensions the Google Toolbar and XMarks were both working.

However, on Windows, I found that two other extensions were DOA. These were the AVG Safe Search 8.5 malware detector and the Microsoft .NET Framework Assistant 1.0. I wasn't too surprised by either one. The AVG program has had issues with other versions of Firefox and the .NET Framework program has always been a pain.

Unlike Google Chrome, Firefox has a mature family of extensions. I really like Chrome a lot, but it's still taking baby steps when it comes to using extensions for added functionality.

Where Chrome still zooms by Firefox is when it comes to rendering speed. That's especially true when it comes to JavaScript-heavy pages. Firefox 3.5's TraceMonkey JavaScript rendering engine is much faster than what you'll find in the Firefox 3.0 series and Internet Explorer doesn't belong in the performance conversation.

Still Chrome 2.0's V8 JavaScript engine beats TraceMonkey handily. Using the SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark on the Microsoft windows xp system, Firefox 3.5 was almost twice as slow as Chrome 2.0 at the benchmark with a recorded time of 1,225.6-millisecond to Chrome 2.0's 704.0. If speed is what matters the most to you, Chrome is the browser for you.

On the other hand, after running Firefox for days and with multiple windows and tabs, I found that on both Windows and Linux, Firefox is finally not hogging memory. Even with the debugging code that must be in a beta, I found that Firefox is no longer leaking memory. That's good for both the browser's stability and its security.

Firefox now supports embedded Ogg and WAV video and audio format without the need for a helper program. It also far better privacy settings so you can use your own, or any other, computer without leaving any traces behind of what you've been doing. 

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Second Google phone in Australia next month

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Second Google phone in Australia next month

Australian users will soon be able to buy a second version of the already popular Google phone, with mobile service provider 3 saying it will offer the HTC Magic handset from mid-June. Meanwhile, computer manufacturer Acer will produce its own smartphone running on the open-source Android operating system.

 HTC will release its second device in Australia based on the Android operating system in mid-June, with 3 now taking pre-orders for the device.The device will feature wi-fi, Bluetooth and GPS capabilities, a 3.2-inch touch screen, a 3.2 megapixel camera with video recording capabilities, and a 2GB micro-SD memory card.Applications designed by Google on the phone include Google Maps, a suite of apps including YouTube views and Gmail, and access to the Android application marketplace. 

No pricing or usage plans have been released by 3, but it did announce that the device will only come in black. Acer's chief of its mobile phones division, Aymar de Lencquesaing, announced at the Reuters Technology Summit that the company will release a Google phone before the end of the year.Lencquesaing said the phone will be the company's only smartphone this year not to run on Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system. Acer announced earlier this year that it was looking to enter the smartphone market, and introduced a number of devices as the first part of an attempt to capture 5% of the market within five years.

 The decision is a win for Google, whose Android operating system is being released on handsets from electronics manufacturers including Samsung and HTC.

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Windows 7’s Price is possibly an obstacle - DELL

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Windows 7’s Price is possibly an obstacle - DELL

Windows 7 pricing is a possibly a barrier for some users, though in just about every other aspect the operating system is beating Vista."If there's one thing that may influence adoption, make things slower or cause customers to pause, it's that generally the ASPs (average selling price) of the operating systems are higher than they were for Vista and XP," Darrel Ward, director of product management for Dell's business client product group, said in a phone interview, referring to the various versions of the Windows 7 operating system that are expected to appear.

Ward continued. "In tough economic times, I think it's naive to believe that you can increase your prices on average and then still see a strong swell than if you held prices flat or even lowered them. I can tell you that the licensing tiers at retail are more expensive than they were for Vista. Windows 7 Professional is expected to be more expensive than Windows Vista Business, the version that Professional is replacing, he said. He also mentioned, "Schools and government agencies may not be able to afford (the additional cost). Some of the smaller businesses may not be able to enjoy the software as soon as they'd like".

Pricing aside, Ward said momentum behind Windows 7 is big compared with Vista. "When Vista came out we didn't have the motivation to do the types of services that we're doing now. We didn't have the clear customer demand for such services," he said. "We do have a visible number of customers, large and small, who are actually waiting for Windows 7 and who have already put plans in place to target the transition to Windows 7, they're asking Dell for help. That demand and this opportunity is stronger than it has been in the past," Ward said.

And Dell is already getting its service organization in gear for Windows 7. "Our professional service organization is beginning to structure service offerings specifically designed to help customers migrate their images, their applications, and their management infrastructure, security capabilities and so forth."

More than half of Dell's business customers are still using Windows XP and these customers will eventually have to upgrade, according to Ward. "XP cannot live forever," he said.

To help users migrate from XP to Windows 7, Dell supports the upcoming operating system's XP mode. "It's one of the things that Microsoft is doing that we think is helpful. Putting an instance of XP virtual machine in the higher end SKUs (models). This is another alternative for compatibility. We'll fully support that in our product and consulting services." he said.

Driver readiness is good, with some exceptions. "Driver readiness--it looks pretty healthy compared to the past. (There are) some things that haven't been worked out. The WHQL (Windows Hardware Quality Lab) drivers for AMT VPRO is a little behind," he said, referring to Intel's Active Management Technology, which allows remote access to PCs for security, maintenance, and management.

Generally, however, Windows 7 is much further along than Vista was at this stage, he said. "But if you look at the ecosystem enabling for Windows 7, it is much further along that it was at the same time for Vista," he said. 

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