• Type about:config into Firefox’s address bar and click the “I’ll be careful, I promise!” button.
• Right-click anywhere. Choose New>Boolean. Make the name of your new config value extensions.checkCompatibility and set it to false.
• Make another new boolean pair called extensions.checkUpdateSecurity and set the value to false.
• Restart Firefox

O Look! I’ve got my extensions back Enjoy!

Next, Adobe: An RSS reader for Video’s!

Adobe Systems plans to release Adobe Media Player (AMP), a free download for playing Flash-based Web videos on Macs or PCs. Written with Adobe’s AIR, AMP is a hybrid online/offline application that lets people subscribe to different video Webcasts.
The videos are either streamed from the content producer’s Web site or they can be downloaded. Adobe will host a catalog, called Adobe TV, on its site where people can find videos. Because it’s written with AIR, people can be offline or online when they watch.

But what I do not like about Facebook is:

• the design: I never understood how Facebook appeals to new users. It’s plain ugly. There aren’t any clean rounded edges. No fancy Ajax controls, no nothing
• Spam: while you cannot possibly know this when joining the site at first, Facebook is an extremely annoying spam-engine. It’s amazing how much mail you can get from Facebook daily. I, again, need to point out a lot of these mails can be disabled but you still get invitations or requests to use an application someone else in your friend circle installed. IMHO, Facebook should be much strict in their “allowed” application list.
• performance: Facebook is painfully slow!

It seems all this isn’t enough: Facebook announced a new feature: CHAT. (scream!)

The launch date for Facebook Chat is set in the nebulous area of “the coming weeks,” according to Product Manager Peter Deng. The Chat will function as an overlay, similar to GTalk in GMail that sits in a UI at the bottom of the browser screen. It can also, like GTalk, be popped out into a separate window.
So except all of you to get even more mails asking you to join a chat!

On the other side, Facebook is aware of their privacy, communication policy:
According to Matt Cohler, Facebook wants to create more ‘granular privacy tools’ and an easy to use product in the process. He also outlined some of the difficulties that Facebook has had as it has grown. When Facebook was started, he explained, it was geared towards the US college student niche.
Well I’ve got one word here: scalability!

I’m currently trying out another social networking site: PLAXO

Why?

Plaxo is using Google’s OpenSocial API!!!
Plaxo, online calendar and address book, has the honour of being the first to implement OpenSocial into a service and go live with it. It’s implemented in Plaxo Pulse, a service that lets you see social networking activities of people in your address book, like changes in their profiles, new Flickr photos they’ve added, etc.

For People not knowing anything about OpenSocial: it’s Google’s initiative to provide a single point of entrance to as much social sites as possible. This way people joining on social site1 could contact with people on social site2. Now how great is that!

And guess what: according to Plaxo using the social API is starting to deliver some results:

The social networking site war for users just got even more interesting

Meyers: “When are you guys gonna do live video on YouTube?”

Chen (co-founder): “2008. We’ll do it this year. Live video is just something that we’ve always wanted to do, we’ve never had the resources to do it correctly, but now with Google, we hope to actually do it this year.”

They also announced a new home page with more web 2.0-like features as custom recommendations, latest feeds & friend activity. The youtube experience as they claim themselves will be “to gauge people’s interest in having a YouTube that’s tailored to the individual.”

Also news sites are following. The BBC announced the launch of their new homepage with drag-n-drop features.
As always Belgian news sites are way behind! Our local news site De Redactie

is way behind the powerful features this website offers. (I’m not the only one finding “De Redactie” a very ugly site by the way!)

This new BBC page let’s you customize content & layout. Quite handy for a news site since YOU decide what you want to read first.

Other sites announced updates. Facebook has added a few translations. You can now add German & Spanish as default languages. I myself am starting to skip all posts concerning Facebook.
Why? Because it’s starting to bother me extremely. We all know and must admit that Facebook is a SPAM-generator in your mailbox. I’m getting tons of unwanted e-mails. I’m even considering making a new e-mail account only for Facebook and other social website’s… (-> If I want to be social, I’ll be social I don’t want my mailbox to be socialized )

I was glad to find another blogger thinking what I’ve said since the beginning: Facebook is annoying & ugly. It only has one handy feature: nearly everyone I know is a registered user…!

more updates soon I guess

The open-source group shipped Firefox 3 Beta 3, an update that features approximately 1,300 individual changes from the previous beta, including fixes for stability, performance, memory usage, platform enhancements and user interface improvements.

1. Improved securityThe latest beta is heavy on security improvements, including an enhancement to the Google-powered Malware Protection feature that puts up a warning sign when users visit sites which are known to install viruses, spyware, Trojans or other malware.Here’s a picture of what the malware protection warning looks like:

   It also comes with improvements to the security-themed One-click site info feature that lets Firefox users click on the favicon in the location bar to see who owns the site and to check if the connection is protected from eavesdropping.

   The feature prominently displays identity verification that makes it easier for the non-technical user to understand. For example, when a site uses Extended Validation SSL certificates, the site favicon button will turn green and show the name of the company the browser is connected to.

   Also new in Firefox 3 Beta 3:

   Web Forgery Protection page: The content of pages suspected as Web forgeries is no longer shown. See this demo.

   SSL error pages: Clearer and stricter error pages are used when Firefox encounters an invalid SSL certificate.

   Add-ons and Plugin version check: Firefox now automatically checks add-on and plugin versions and will disable older, insecure versions.

   

   Secure add-on updates: To improve add-on update security, add-ons that provide updates in an insecure manner will be disabled.

   Anti-virus integration: Firefox will inform anti-virus software on the desktop when executables are being downloaded.

   Windows Vista Parental Controls: Firefox will respect the Vista system-wide parental control setting for disabling file downloads.

   Effective top-level domain (eTLD) service: Better restricts cookies and other restricted content to a single domain.

   Better protection against cross-site JSON data leaks.

   Here’s a complete list of the Firefox 3 Beta 3 changes.

2. Fresh GUI ?One of the drawbacks of Firefox 2 was the GUI. Was it fresh? was it new ? No it was plain UGLY! (compared to Internet Explorer 7 & the new Opera)
   Although contextual improvements have been implemented I really doubt firefox will have a fresh new GUI. Do we need it? Well tastes differ, I like good looking applications!
3. Alternatives?We all know the alternatives. Internet Explorer 7, Opera (to mention just the 2 most important ones). Some even say Microsoft had to patch much less security leaks in 2007 than Firefox! So IE7 really looks like a good alternative.
   But I still find IE7 painfully slow! And a new threat is emerging for IE7: ActiveX controls. This article warns about the dangers involved in using too much ActiveX controls.

As an ending note, I guess I’ll probably end up using Firefox3 as my default browser simply because I’ve got some add-ons’ that improve my browsing experience. I also find IE7 too slow although I’ve had more memory leaks with Firefox2 as I did with Firefox 1. CSS rendering in IE7 is still not as I wanted it to be… (but that’s another discussion)
I’ll guess we’ll have to watch out for IE8 which just recently passed the ACID2 test!!

Benetton puts the spotlight on entrepreneurial Africa. Its global communication campaign for 2008 promotes the Birima micro-credit program in Senegal, a co-operative credit society founded by the Senegalese singer Youssou N’Dour. The programmer will also receive financial support from Benetton Group.

Africa Works – the slogan of the campaign developed by Fabrica – will appear on billboards and in the press throughout the world, from February 2008. It features Senegalese workers who have used micro loans to start small, productive businesses. Photographer James Mollison portrays them with the tools of their trade against a neutral background. They include, amongst others, a fisherman, a decorator, a musician, a jewellery-maker, a farmer, a tailor, two textile sellers and a boxer.
These everyday people become tangible symbols of an Africa that uses the dignity of work to fight poverty, promote equitable development, maximise its resources and take back responsibility for creating its future.
A Benetton website devoted to the campaign and its related events and the www.birima.org portal. The Africa Works campaign will also be on stage during the Senegalese singer’s world tour, in particular during his concert at Paris Bercy on 5 April 2008.
Apart from being the title of one of the singer’s international successes, Birima is the name of a legendary king of Senegal who, speaking to his people only once a year, became a symbol of the value of keeping one’s word, of a moral code reflected in the credit society’s key tenet: those who ask for a loan need offer no other security than their word and the good name of their family.
From Senegal, Birima’s style of advanced credit will be gradually exported to other African nations.
For more information:
www.benetton.com/africaworks-press
www.birima.org

BlogDay was created with the belief that bloggers should have one day dedicated to getting to know other bloggers from other countries and areas of interest. On that day Bloggers will recommend other blogs to their blog visitors.
With the goal in mind, on this day every blogger will post a recommendation of 5 new blogs. This way, all blog readers will find themselves leaping around and discovering new, previously unknown blogs.

]]> http://www.belgiantrotter.com/2007/08/12/blog-day/feed/ 0 http://www.belgiantrotter.com/2007/08/02/its-the-web-as-we-dont-know-it/ http://www.belgiantrotter.com/2007/08/02/its-the-web-as-we-dont-know-it/#comments Thu, 02 Aug 2007 20:05:00 +0000 psykik http://www.belgiantrotter.com/word/?p=159 I was surfing around and I got to the page on the CNN website.
It’s a little overview of new popular WEB 2.0 websites. I like this overview. Just check it out…

Some of these sites are really great. Ok let’s take a look shall we (for a complete overview check the site)

1. JOOST.COM
This site introduces a new way of watching TV. Digital TV is just starting to appear in Belgium and this site already promotes another way of watching TV. The was made by the makers of Skype & Kazaa.
You watch the programs through software and not through your browser. Joost is FREE! You must get an invite to try it out. (just like gmail a few years ago)
I haven’t tried it yet but I’ve read quality isn’t THAT amazing. (then again it will also depend on the speed of your internet connection)
2. Trivop (trivop.com)
This French based website shows you hotels around the world. You get nice video’s about the surroundings and an overview of the rooms available.
A neat and well thought off

3. WidSets (widsets.com)
This nokia owned site lets you install widgets to your mobile phone. Must like the new addon’s you can add to your desktop in Vista. Let’s see how this will evolve

4. Tractis (tractis.com)
Now this one I like! A new web service allowing companies to create, negotiate and sign contracts online. This is especially handy for people in Belgium where eID cards are standard now (at least if you apply for a new one)
I still have questions about the legal strength of signed contracts in a lot of countries though… (even here in Belgium… laws always seem to stay behind technology )
5. Spreadshirt (spreadshirt.com)
This site lets you make, sell your own t-shirts. It reminds me of cafepress.com that was started years ago.
6. Trendio (trendio.com)
The stockexhange of words! This concept is really awesome & fun! Just check it out!
7. eSnips (esnips.com)
This Israeli based site lets you upload content and share it with everyone. (5 GB for free!)
8. Afrigator (afrigator.com)
Since I’m an African at heart, I needed to include this site The site aggregates news and blog content from all over the continent. Check it out.
9. Bliin (bliin.com)
This one is funny! It lets you tag pictures at the location you are at the moment and share them on a globe image. Kind of like google earth with pictures of people who post them.
10. Cambrian House (cambrianhouse.com)
Have an idea for software ? post It here and get rated on the idea
I wonder if there are no thieves around taking the idea’s and trying to make something out of it… aah well it’s a social network I guess you are allowed… or not ?!

The package must of course comply to certain criteria:
- It must be payable (no hundred of dollars)
- it must be easy to learn and customizable (I’ve already taken so much time learning languages that at the end I seldom use)
- one membership module which manages all the rights throughout the website.
- preferably opensource (LAMP based). I have and have developed in Asp.net but I wish to use LAMP for a change

After all considerations, I’ve ended up with 2-3 applications I could use: Wordpress, MoveableType (MT), Expression Engine (EE).
Both have their pro’s and cons, obviously…

>>Please bear in mind I’ve only started looking at these applications so If I say anything completly wrong, please comment and I’ll be happy to rectify my post.

- The Price
Both Wordpress and MT are open source and free to use anyway I please. EE is not. There’s a free CORE version but let’s just say it isn’t! (there’s even a difference for private & commercial use by the way…)

WP & MT both score here….

- How about ease of use
To be honest, though I’m comparing 3 here, I’ve only tried 2: Wordpress & EE.
For what I’ve seen, EE get’s my vote here.

Why? EE uses tags inside xhtml pages (like {tags}) which is easy to see inside the code.
It reminds me a bit of Javabeans inside the presentation layer.

Wordpress uses more standard php tags which are embedded inside the template pages (the xhtml pages). First of all I do not like code residing inside my presentation layer.

Although this is also possible in EE as an option. (you can allow php parsing inside a specific template page)

MT is made in perl and also uses the tag system but the tags are less userfriendly than EE. (IMHO of course)
I can’t say much more about MT because I’ve not looked at it in details.

Wordpress, on the other hand is very popular and loads and loads of templates are available freely on the internet. So if you are looking for something with a nice design without customizing it, Wordpress could be your choice.
It is never mine, I don’t like to use templates as they are. I prefer to make my own or at least be inspired by an existing template.

- Completeness of the package

Here I think EE is the big winner! If you buy a licence, you can get integrated support for a wiki, a discussion board, a gallery and other nice features. A lot of other addon’s are made by users and fans and as mostly free.

Wordpress, again due to its popularity, has a lot of modules and plugins made by users. (I’ve seen a plugin to integrate Gallery (a kick ass gallery system) inside Wordpress). But again that’s what I don’t want anymore. I don’t want to use different applications.

MT has addon’s as well although I haven’t seen any built in (gallery & discussion board)

So currently my preference goes to EE… Maybe I’ll try MT and see how different it is…

update:
Well I finally decided to also install MT and try it out. Since MT is a perl based script, you’ll have to use your cgi-bin folder. MT recommends to only put the script files in there and put the static content (html pages & images and so on) outside the cgi-bin.
Also you’ll have to check your perl path and check all required modules by going to a mt-check-cgi file.
As my host uses the standard settings for all paths, the installation went quite smoothly (though if you never have installed anything, chances are you’ll have more difficulties)
Everything was installed quite right, but when I wanted to view my site (not the admin panel) I got a 404 page not found. MT didn’t suggest the right paths for my blog. I had to change the settings (path) in the configuration page.

I now have a blog but the manner on how to use the templates is still a bit unclear. (note that I had the same feeling when trying EE but I learned quickly)