Open Source – Firefox 2.0

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Well I finally downloaded Firefox 2.0 and installed it.

Just for my reference, I backed up my whole PC and then just doubled clicked the Firefox Setup 2.0.exe file and ran the installer. I did not remove my 1.5.0.7 version or any of its components first.

The installer ran in less than a minute and when Firefox started up I found that everything worked must faster, and that my installed extensions (now called add ons) worked with no problems.

In regards to add-ons, I particularly like that Firefox now restarts itself, with my permission of course, and then immediately I have access to the add-on. This is much simpler and quicker than the previous versions.

All of my bookmarks and prior settings seem to have come out OK. If upon further use, any problems turn up, I will let you know about them through this blog.

All in all, I am quite impressed with the improvements I have seen so far.

I can not compare this to the new Internet Explorer 7, as I have not yet installed or tried it. I very seldom, need to use IE anymore for anything and do not even have it at work yet.

For now, I think that I will stay with my current Firefox Portable 1.5.0.7, as 2.0 is only in release candidate stages at this time, but when Firefox Portable 2.0 is put out as a full version I intend to switch over to that also.

Let me know about your experiences with Firefox 2.0, good or bad, by leaving a comment to this post.

Freeware – Foxit Reader 2.0

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I ended up with a problem while I was away. I did not take my laptop, only my 1 GB USB Drive loaded with portable versions of Firefox, Thunderbird and OpenOffice.org.

The problem was that the computers available in the business center wher I was staying did not have Adobe Reader, in any version, installed. I was therefore unable to open any PDF files.

I went looking around and found Foxit Reader 2.0 for Windows from Foxit Software http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/reader_2/down_reader.htm.

I downloaded it to my USB drive, double clicked on the FoxitReader.exe file and was able to access PDF files to my heart’s content and even fill in interactive forms, without having to install anything. On top of that it is much faster loading than Adobe Reader, in my experience.

Note: The paid version with enhanced capabilities does have an installer and writes to the registry, at least that is my understanding.

The free version does not have all the capabilities of Adobe Reader, but for the price and my uses, it is very adequate. I must say that I also have the full Adobe Acrobat 7 application on my main computer, with which I can generate PDFs and manipulate them, as well as just read or fill in interactive PDFs.

If I keep having no problems opening and reading PDF files in the next few weeks, Foxit Reader will become my default PDF reader.

Give this a try and you might be using it as your default PDF reader as well.

Gmail – Plus Addressing

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I like that Gmail allows me to use “Plus Addressing”, because it makes it easier for me to organize specific incoming email.

According to the Wikipedia Gmail entry, Plus-addressing section, as accessed 12OCT06 :

Gmail also supports “plus-addressing” of e-mails. Messages can be sent to addresses in the form: username+extratext@gmail.com where extratext can be any string. Plus-addressing allows users to sign up for different services with different aliases and then easily filter all e-mails from those services, however, a significant number of services do not support email addresses containing plus signs.

One I use all the time is gmailaddress+bu@gmail.com, the first portion is not my real Gmail address of course. This is for when I am sending myself a backup of information done at work to my Gmail account, and I have a filter set up to automatically label any emails to gmailaddress+bu@gmail.com with a specific label. More about Gmail filters in a post to follow.

I also use a plus addressed Gmail to sign up for things online, then if I have a problem or start receiving a lot of spam I can just set a filter to automatically delete any thing coming in to that address.

In effect plus addressing gives you unlimited disposable email addresses, at least I have not found anywhere that would not accept one.

I am sure there are some more creative ways to use plus addressing, and would like to hear from my readers about their different uses for this. Leave a comment on this or any post to let me know.

Related Article

Gmail – Overview (ctublog.sefcug.com)