Yummy Interwebs

More fun computer goodies for you!

This past week, Apple released a version of it's popular Safari web browser that can be used with windows! this means that everyone who wishes they had a mac, but sadly can't afford one or for whatever other reason can't have one, can still use Safari. The version is still in beta (means it is still in the final stages of testing and will upgrade often) but it is a public version which means it is free. Safari is popular for a reason - it is streamlined and simple, yet has features to make browsing more convenient (you can zoom in on any portion of a webpage; you can adjust any text box on any webpage; and there are several security issues that you don't have to worry about.) If you're interested, you can download it here


The next two I can offer you are comprehensive applications - web browsers +

1. Opera
Touted on it's website as the fastest browser on earth, it's true that Opera has won plenty of awards. Opera is a feisty web browser with a fairly simple structure (which you can customize to you liking with skins/themes). What makes Opera notable (other than their bold "fastest on earth" claim) are these features which accompany the browser:
-Speed Dial: getting to your favorite/most visited sites faster and easier
-Fraud Protection: helps inform you of/protect you from websites that want to steal your information
-BitTorrent: faster downloads for large files. 'nuff said.
-Site Preferences: because you don't want the same customizations for every site you visit
-Content Blocker: do you need me to tell you what this is??
-Widgets: while overloading your comp with widgets isn't advisable (it can cause problems) Opera has support for widgets that you can add to enhance your desktop, when used in moderation of course.
-Thumbnail previews
-Tabbed browsing
-Fast Forwarding
-Trash Can
-Pop-up blocking
-Notes
-Integrated Search

Opera also has the zoom features similar to those on Safari, but the package comes with a high-powered Email application as well as an Instant messaging application. As well, there are a lot of smaller features for web development (html validation, source editing, etc) and loads more.
You can check it out here



2. Mozilla SeaMonkey
Yes, yes my Mozilla promotion is back with a fury for SeaMonkey, which is the (kinda still in beta) version of the original Mozilla Application. The SeaMonkey Suite is a set of Mozilla applications that all work in seamless conjunction with one another as part of a single application that is powerful and remarkably stable.

The SeaMonkey navigator (i.e. web browser) is a much more basic and simple compared to Firefox - it has tabbed browsing, pop-up blocker, image manager and other stuff but leaves out the fancy shmancy extra stuff that you don't need.

The SeaMonkey Email and Newsgroup application has awesome junk-mail and spam control, as well as those awesome labeling/viewing/sorting/coloring features that we all adore for organizing inboxes. You can manage multiple accounts in the same interface, and the application also includes SeaMonkey messenger.

Finally, the SeaMonkey suite comes with a Composer application - basically an HTML editor to make it easy for you to edit/build HTML code for documents and web pages.

As previously noted, SeaMonkey is still sort of in beta (what Mozilla calls a "project") and while this means there is constant work being done to improve it, there also still may be some kinks to be worked out. It's a great application for people who hate having to use lots of different programs and applications to get things done - SeaMonkey lets you take care of all your business with one program. If you're interested in checking it out, you can do so here



Ultimately, there are a lot of options out there that are better for your computer, safer, and more fun for you than IE7 (internet explorer 7). I should mention that often you can't uninstall IE, because it is part of the microsoft software package that comes with most computers. That's okay; you can still download and fully use other browsers. There are loads of security problems with IE that are still unresolved, and IE7 in particular has been causing dramatic problems for a lot of PCs, which is an indication that the application itself is severely unstable. Problems with an individual web browser or other application shouldn't cause subsequent problems with your entire computer system - this is a red flag.




I might have a really awesome job soon - keep your fingers crossed.