Archive for May, 2008
Everyone wants a world record!
It’s an inherant part of our humanity–the desire to out do or out perform “the other guy.” Everyone generally wants to be the best at something or the most reknowned, the best looking, etc, etc. Well, it would appear that the Mozilla Project is no exception to the rule. They’re the maker of one of the world’s greatest web browsers ever. Perhaps you’ve heard of it–it’s called Mozilla Firefox.
In late 2002, Mozilla began developing a new web browser originally named “Phoenix.” Due to trademark issues with another corporation, Mozilla changed the browser’s name to “Firebird,” and then again a year later due to another trademarking issue to it’s current name: “Firefox” or Fx. While it may have taken the browser some time to catch on, there’s no disputing the fact that today it is wildly popular with all flavors of people including consumers. (see Wikipedia for more information) It’s currently at version 2.0, but all that is about to change…
Firefox 3 is the next generation in browser technology. More advanced than Internet Explorer 8, Safari 3, and Opera 9.5, Fx 3 aims to be the best thing that ever happened to the Internet community. For the technically inclined, it has been proven in tests to be fully Acid2 compliant, render pages faster than any competitor (including Javascript and other ‘extra’ elements), and be incredibly effecient both in CPU and memory usage. In a nutshell, Firefox 3 is leaner, meaner, and more powerful than ever and you will definitely notice!
Hopefully I haven’t completed bored you to death with that aplethora of information, but I felt I needed to give some acclaim to the browser’s history before getting to the real point of this entry. It’s called Firefox 3 Download Day 2008 and the goal is to set a world record (determined by the Guiness Book of World Records) of the number of unique downloads of a single piece of software in a 24-hour period.
Simply stated: Mozilla wants EVERYONE to download Firefox 3 within the first 24 hours of its release.
A good idea? I think so! As a user of Firefox 3 (codename: Grand Paradiso) since Beta 1, I can assure you that by the time it is officially released, it will be rock solid–guaranteed. Current in Release Candidate 1 stage, the software is pretty much ready for release to manufacturing (RTM), so I’m expecting the official release date to be announced any day now. I’ll update you when that date is announced.
So, please make a mental note that you want to be part of this effort, and go ahead and pledge your support for Firefox 3 by selecting the link below!!
http://www.spreadfirefox.com/worldrecord – Pledge Now!
It’s all about the hits
Posted by Matt in Information, Troops, War on May 26th, 2008
I just installed and configured the Google Analytics plugin for my blog here at randompsychology.com. For the uninitiated, Analytics gives me a ton of information about users that stop by the site. Stuff like how long they stay, what country they’re from, how they arrived to the site (e.g. did they just type the URL into the browser or did they click a link from another website?), how long visits typically last, and which browser and operating system they’re using (yes, the Firefox/Internet Explorer browser wars are as hot as ever!). But don’t worry–none of this information can be traced back to you! It can’t be used to find out the names of your pets, deceased grandparents, ex-boyfriends or girlfriends, or anything else like that. You’re still totally anonymous (unless of course you create an account so you’ll be able to post comments and contribute to the site in various ways. 
Okay…slow day in the news-room. Hope you weren’t too bored by today’s ramblings. You should probably be out celebrating Memorial Day anyway. Please remember our troops and keep them in your prayers! They’re giving their lives for you every day.
9 Essential Principles for Good Web Design
I ran across an article earlier today and loved the explanations and examples of what generally makes a website pleasantly eye-catching to one’s visitors. Highlights of the article include tips regarding whitespace, element alignment, and navigation (just to name a few). If you find yourself high and dry in the web design department or are perhaps just looking for a few new fresh ideas, give this a read. It’ll only take you a couple minutes!