E-Musings Mon Immorata

My Party Mood Prevails Updated Firefox, Maxthon with .Net-powered SauceReader and RSS Bandit cool tools Hey, I did it again. Missed my self-imposed Sunday or nothing weekend deadline to refresh this blog. Truth is (this time anyway) I'd begun my weekend early in a slightly resort. And before you ask the cabana with its attached poll was magnifico. And I've been refreshed. And I hope rejuvenated in outlook and manner. And on, readers, to this week's countdown of what's hot in Net stuff. Let's lead with the new Mozilla Firefox 1.0 PR Final (Preview Release Build #0.10.1) available in Mac, Linux and Windows flavors. This update resolves a recently discovered security problem that theoretically allowed a site to trick a user into saving a file that could be used to delete the content's of the user's download directory. If you have recently downloaded an earlier PR1 build number affected by the vulnerability. An update button will appear on the right top toolbar. However if you are still using a pre-1.0 version. And are quite enamored with installed extensions. You may want to reconsider upgrading. Most pre-1.0 extensions don't work with the latest version. And the few that do manage to often turn extremely buggy. I also chanced across the fireFTP add-in that converts the web browser into an FTP navigator. This is an early build. And there are several limitations including an inability to auto-detect file type. And considers all file transfers to be 'binary' (Type I). When downloading ASCII (text) files, this will remove any line breaks. And transform the original formatted text file to one single line. For more about the extension, read its release notes. Maxthon's development too's in high-gear. With an updated release appearing almost weekly. The latest build is Maxthon 1.1.039 available in both Unicode (recommended for Windows 2000/XP/2003 users) and non-Unicode versions. The new build is essentially a bug-fix release with better startup speed. Unless you absolutely need it (or use a good firewall software) I recommend disabling the included ActiveX blocker. As this seems a primary contributor to Runaway windows resource use. If you use a NVidia-based display card like the GE Force or RivaTNT. And like fiddling with your settings to try and extract the maximum from the hardware. Do check out the RivaTuner 2.0 RC 15.2. This unlocks a wide range of undocumented registry entries. That improve image quality or resolve compatibility problems. There's a wide variety of .NET-powered free software becoming available. That piggy-back upon the common controls included in this Framework. However, such applications are still not as fast as native Windows software. Since the .Net framework is still a bit buggy. And can crawl with poorly-coded applications. I have been experimenting with the free-for-personal use SauceReader. And the open-source RSS Bandit; both .NET-powered applications. Unfortunately neither is fully out of the woods and exhibit inconsistent unstable behaviour that seems partially related to the underlying Framework. SauceReader has a more intuitive Outlook 2003 style interface. And can also be used to post to a web log. Or share content using the Windows Messenger. It supports RSS and Atom feed. But can exhibit severe instability when attempting to validate feeds. And seems to also destabilize the underlying .Net framework. Causing other applications using the Framework to stop responding as well! RSS Bandit offers a similarly intuitive interface too. With the added advantage of being able to store subscribed feeds on a remote site or network location. It supports CommentAPI to post comments for specific (so-enabled) feeds. However you can't use it to post to a web log. Both applications lack a semi-exhaustive list of available news channels. And both not only are buggy. But can individually also destabilize the .Net framework causing other dependent applications to destabilize! Regarding the lack of news channels, I'm developing my own list by converting FeedDemon (available as a 30-day unlimited demo), then copy-pasting individual, verified feeds to a text file. Before finally import them into an RSS-readable reader. You may also want to check out Paint.NET 1.1. Developed as part of a Microsoft-led initiative, this intermediate graphics processing application can create and edit photos. Modeled on the MS-Paint application included with Windows, it includes new, powerful tools including a history of undo/redo, multi-layering and multiple effects with auto-preview. There's also a tutorial on using the application for layering, blending and effects. And now for a couple of tips courtesy the LangaList newsletter. If you want to know everything there is about slipstreaming (integrating the basic Windows version installer with the latest service packs). You can read Fred Langa article on Slipstreaming Windows XP SP2. Or you can download the free Neowin Autostreamer utility that can slipstream Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows 2003 And for all you ever wanted to know about email viruses, phishing, hoaxes and Spam. With examples of typical content. Check out Michael Horowitz's Bad Emails site. That's it for this week. More next time (I hope). Meanwhile, Stay Safe! Click Here to Email Me