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Showing posts with label Web Browser. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Web Browser. Show all posts
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Sunday, September 7, 2008
IE 8 beta 2 compatibility
The upcoming version of Internet Explorer, IE 8, is now in public beta and can be downloaded from Microsoft's website to test out.
There are a ton of new features in this browser, and some are very useful, such as the Smart Address Bar and Tab Groups.
Microsoft explains that 'the Smart Address Bar in Internet Explorer 8 matches what a user types in the Address Bar with titles in the history as well as content in their favorites and feeds, making it easier to locate sites the user wants to visit.'
Tab Groups is a superb way to keep organised automatically: 'When one tab is opened from another, the new tab is placed next to the originating tab, and both are marked with a colored tab, so users can quickly discern which tabs have related content.'
Despite all these cool stuff, the big deal to me is that Microsoft promises IE 8 to be more standards compliant by default. This is normally thought of as a good thing, since the browser now adheres to web standards and thus is more compatible, but apparently this isn't the case.
With beta 2, users are reporting more compatibility problems viewing websites than with IE 7. Many websites will not render properly in IE 8 (such as Gmail), with misalignments and stuff which messes up the page. To solve this, supposedly, you can click on the 'compatibility view' button up next to the address bar to display the website as viewed in IE 7, which will correct display problems like misaligned text, images, or text boxes. This option is on a per site basis and all other sites will continue to display with IE 8 functionality. But even in this view, there are still bugs present and rendering mistakes!
This is very disconcerting to me, that the latest version of a browser is less compatible than the previous version. I really hope Microsoft figures everything out by the final release, and if need be, throw out a beta 3.
We all wanted standards compliant, and now that it is more standards compliant, is this really what we desire? I don't really know why being standards compliant ends up being less compatible, but my guess is that developers tend to put in IE specific code in their websites that doesn't run well in IE 8's default standards compliant mode.
This is so important for Microsoft... compatibility is one of the key fundamentals of any good browser. If it doesn't work right with sites, then people won't want to use it, no matter how many superb features it offers. Either web developers have to start getting rid of IE specific code in time for the final release... or Microsoft has to work some magic to make everything render right. I believe they will do so, but for now, this product is kinda half-usable and non-technical users should hold up downloading this first.
There are a ton of new features in this browser, and some are very useful, such as the Smart Address Bar and Tab Groups.
Microsoft explains that 'the Smart Address Bar in Internet Explorer 8 matches what a user types in the Address Bar with titles in the history as well as content in their favorites and feeds, making it easier to locate sites the user wants to visit.'
Tab Groups is a superb way to keep organised automatically: 'When one tab is opened from another, the new tab is placed next to the originating tab, and both are marked with a colored tab, so users can quickly discern which tabs have related content.'
Despite all these cool stuff, the big deal to me is that Microsoft promises IE 8 to be more standards compliant by default. This is normally thought of as a good thing, since the browser now adheres to web standards and thus is more compatible, but apparently this isn't the case.
With beta 2, users are reporting more compatibility problems viewing websites than with IE 7. Many websites will not render properly in IE 8 (such as Gmail), with misalignments and stuff which messes up the page. To solve this, supposedly, you can click on the 'compatibility view' button up next to the address bar to display the website as viewed in IE 7, which will correct display problems like misaligned text, images, or text boxes. This option is on a per site basis and all other sites will continue to display with IE 8 functionality. But even in this view, there are still bugs present and rendering mistakes!
This is very disconcerting to me, that the latest version of a browser is less compatible than the previous version. I really hope Microsoft figures everything out by the final release, and if need be, throw out a beta 3.
We all wanted standards compliant, and now that it is more standards compliant, is this really what we desire? I don't really know why being standards compliant ends up being less compatible, but my guess is that developers tend to put in IE specific code in their websites that doesn't run well in IE 8's default standards compliant mode.
This is so important for Microsoft... compatibility is one of the key fundamentals of any good browser. If it doesn't work right with sites, then people won't want to use it, no matter how many superb features it offers. Either web developers have to start getting rid of IE specific code in time for the final release... or Microsoft has to work some magic to make everything render right. I believe they will do so, but for now, this product is kinda half-usable and non-technical users should hold up downloading this first.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Google Chrome - the third major web browser
This piece of news is very sudden to me. Yes, rumours did circulate before that Google was working on some kick-ass web browser, but I didn't anticipate such an early release.
So Google announced on Monday that it will be shipping a public beta of its first web browser, Chrome. This is big big news, because this implies not only that there will be more competition facing Mozilla and Microsoft, but we as users who depend so greatly on the web browser will also have to evaluate this product and determine if it's better than Firefox or IE. So there will soon be 3 major web browsers... cool!
For more information, check out this comic on Chrome, released by Google themselves.
Basically this product is based upon the open source Web browser engine, WebKit. FYI, WebKit is also the engine powering Safari, but no immature comparisons should be made with Safari (and how horrible it is) until we really test it out.
Google being Google, the Internet company that it is renowned for, has created Chrome to be centered around web applications. And because we spend so much time on these web apps (like Blogger, Facebook, Gmail etc.), the browser is arguably the most important software on many people's computers. One of the main emphasis Chrome places is on stability of the browser, such that when it crashes, it doesn't bring down the entire program, but just the tab that is causing the problem. This is done through creating isolated processes for each tab and "sand-boxing" each tab. Curiously, this is what Microsoft is doing for IE 8 too. ^.^
Other areas where Chrome promises to do better than the competition is in security, performance, and simplicity without being feature-bland.
It is too early to say whether Chrome will dominate over IE or FireFox, but this is definitely an interesting product which everyone should consider installing once out of beta.
So Google announced on Monday that it will be shipping a public beta of its first web browser, Chrome. This is big big news, because this implies not only that there will be more competition facing Mozilla and Microsoft, but we as users who depend so greatly on the web browser will also have to evaluate this product and determine if it's better than Firefox or IE. So there will soon be 3 major web browsers... cool!
For more information, check out this comic on Chrome, released by Google themselves.
Basically this product is based upon the open source Web browser engine, WebKit. FYI, WebKit is also the engine powering Safari, but no immature comparisons should be made with Safari (and how horrible it is) until we really test it out.
Google being Google, the Internet company that it is renowned for, has created Chrome to be centered around web applications. And because we spend so much time on these web apps (like Blogger, Facebook, Gmail etc.), the browser is arguably the most important software on many people's computers. One of the main emphasis Chrome places is on stability of the browser, such that when it crashes, it doesn't bring down the entire program, but just the tab that is causing the problem. This is done through creating isolated processes for each tab and "sand-boxing" each tab. Curiously, this is what Microsoft is doing for IE 8 too. ^.^
Other areas where Chrome promises to do better than the competition is in security, performance, and simplicity without being feature-bland.
It is too early to say whether Chrome will dominate over IE or FireFox, but this is definitely an interesting product which everyone should consider installing once out of beta.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Internet Explorer 8 privacy features
Hmm... haven't posted on Microsoft stuff for some time. IE 8 is currently in development and recently the team announced an interesting feature regarding user privacy. This is THE single feature in IE which I so longed for, and I'm glad it's here.
Remember how Apple's Safari web browser has a "private browsing" feature which keeps online activities private (e.g. not saving history), and how Firefox has a "delete private data" option which rids the browser of stored data? I use these features frequently. Soon, IE 8 will finally include a similar feature, or rather, a similar set of features.
InPrivate browsing (what a nice name for private browsing) is a mode which lets you control whether or not IE saves your browsing history, cookies, and other data. Delete browsing history simply deletes traces of your browsing activities. InPrivate Blocking informs you about content that is in a position to observe your browsing history, and allows you to block it, while InPrivate Subscriptions allow you to control the list of sites which InPrivate Blocking blocks or allows.
I think such privacy features, though not new, are very useful in certain situations. For example, for public computers in school where leaving your digital footprint behind for another user to view may be unwanted, or when you use your friend's computer. Yet there are times when you're just casually surfing and don't require the browser to keep traces of your activities. This is also good when you want to clear your browser of all tracking cookies or clean up the history list... at least it can be done in a single click which is more convenient. I'm looking forward to IE 8, and let's hope Microsoft implements this properly.
Remember how Apple's Safari web browser has a "private browsing" feature which keeps online activities private (e.g. not saving history), and how Firefox has a "delete private data" option which rids the browser of stored data? I use these features frequently. Soon, IE 8 will finally include a similar feature, or rather, a similar set of features.
InPrivate browsing (what a nice name for private browsing) is a mode which lets you control whether or not IE saves your browsing history, cookies, and other data. Delete browsing history simply deletes traces of your browsing activities. InPrivate Blocking informs you about content that is in a position to observe your browsing history, and allows you to block it, while InPrivate Subscriptions allow you to control the list of sites which InPrivate Blocking blocks or allows.
I think such privacy features, though not new, are very useful in certain situations. For example, for public computers in school where leaving your digital footprint behind for another user to view may be unwanted, or when you use your friend's computer. Yet there are times when you're just casually surfing and don't require the browser to keep traces of your activities. This is also good when you want to clear your browser of all tracking cookies or clean up the history list... at least it can be done in a single click which is more convenient. I'm looking forward to IE 8, and let's hope Microsoft implements this properly.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Bidding farewell to Netscape browsers
It's will be an extremely sad time for all Netscape Navigator fans and users, because from February 2008 onwards, "there will be no more active product support for Navigator 9, or any previous Netscape Navigator browser. "
Yes, Netscape web browsers will finally be discontinued soon. Check the link for more details.
Hey, but that's not surprising or unexpected. Netscape has been suffering from severely low user base for quite a few years already, especially with the introduction of Firefox and later versions of IE. I personally don't feel anything for Netscape, but I do know that this isn't the Navigator we know back in the 90s. Back then, it was a popular browser, but innovation tapered off considerably and with competition from other browsers today, I'm sad to say that it can no longer hold it's dominance and has to go.
Farewell!
Yes, Netscape web browsers will finally be discontinued soon. Check the link for more details.
Hey, but that's not surprising or unexpected. Netscape has been suffering from severely low user base for quite a few years already, especially with the introduction of Firefox and later versions of IE. I personally don't feel anything for Netscape, but I do know that this isn't the Navigator we know back in the 90s. Back then, it was a popular browser, but innovation tapered off considerably and with competition from other browsers today, I'm sad to say that it can no longer hold it's dominance and has to go.
Farewell!
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
New Yahoo Mail now supports Safari + Camino
The brand-new Yahoo Mail with an astonishingly beautiful UI is now available on Safari 3 (Apple's default web browser)!
I almost thought this day would never come... haha have been waiting so so long for this to happen, and out of my jubilation, here's a screenshot:
Oh, and it works well on the Camino web browser too, so go check out the superior, Outlook-like Yahoo Mail! In my opinion, it’s even better than the revised Hotmail or the uncluttered Gmail!
I almost thought this day would never come... haha have been waiting so so long for this to happen, and out of my jubilation, here's a screenshot:
Oh, and it works well on the Camino web browser too, so go check out the superior, Outlook-like Yahoo Mail! In my opinion, it’s even better than the revised Hotmail or the uncluttered Gmail!
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Safari 3 is in beta for a reason
I'm sorry Apple, but from today onwards, Safari 3 beta shall cease to be my main web browser on my Mac. Don't get me wrong, Safari is a fine, blazing fast browser, but the only problem (don't know if other users face this) is that it KEEPS ON CRASHING ON ME! On average, Safari crashes 1-3 times per day.
No wonder it's still in beta. Before the final version arrives, and stability bugs are fixed, I shall be porting my bookmarks and stuff over to Camino, the Firefox-based Mac web browser which seems good, especially with its "Session Saving" feature which is lacking in Safari.
"Camino 1.5 now includes support for “session saving”, or optionally remembering what pages you were visiting when you quit and automatically loading them the next time you start—perfect for all those times you have to install Mac OS X updates!"
Bye Safari 3, you will now reside in some secluded area in my hard-disk.
No wonder it's still in beta. Before the final version arrives, and stability bugs are fixed, I shall be porting my bookmarks and stuff over to Camino, the Firefox-based Mac web browser which seems good, especially with its "Session Saving" feature which is lacking in Safari.
"Camino 1.5 now includes support for “session saving”, or optionally remembering what pages you were visiting when you quit and automatically loading them the next time you start—perfect for all those times you have to install Mac OS X updates!"
Bye Safari 3, you will now reside in some secluded area in my hard-disk.
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