I just wiped my computer slate clean last week after more than 4 years since I installed the first operating system. My computer has two operating systems: Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux.
Since Windows does not ship with Firefox browser, a direct competitor of its own Microsoft Explorer browser, I had to download Firefox from www.firefox.com to reinstall my all-time favorite browser.
I noticed that first add-on featured on their website was the Download Status Bad add-on. While I did not have any problem with the regular download feature of Firefox, I figured that it would be worth trying the add-on. This add-on lets me view the download progress at the foot of my browser instead of the progress being opened in a small separate window.
Being a geography fanatic ( I have blogged about Google Earth and NASA's Java application in the past), I immediately took notice of the Map+ 1.1.0 Add-on. This add-on allows me to view maps but unlike Google Earth, I can view maps within my browser. The installation is very easy, less 1 minute and everything is done but the configuration can be a little challenging. But the installation and configuration can be
viewed on video on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLIVKbYcH4Q.
Still on being my geography freak, I downloaded Forecastfox 0.9.5.2 add-on which lets me, as the name suggest, view weather forecast from around the world through AccuWeather.com. I like this add-on because it is not obtrusive and I can easy customize to my desired place for forecast.
I also downloaded Adblock Plus 0.7.5.1 which I think is the coolest and easiest to use ad blocking code I have ever seen. Since I often travel to countries that have slow internet connection, these ads make the connection even slower as it takes time to download these ad graphics. With Adblock Plus, I can easily right click on an ad and choose "Adblock" from the context menu and the ad will never show and be downloaded again. It will just be replaced by a star. I can also subscribe for automatic filtering with Adblock Plus.
And then of course, there is my favorite del.icio.us Bookmarks. If anyone can see my bookmarks online, he can see there lots and lots of them. Installing del.icio.us Bookmarks creates two icons on my tools bar on top. One will take me to the del.icio.us website while the other lets me bookmark my pages automatically. This has been one of my most frequently used add-on (I had this before I reformatted my hard drive) because I go online a lot and maintain lots of websites and also keep on researching and studying online.
Most of these add-ons come in very small sizes not exceeding 1 MB. They install in one click and in about 1 minute. Although an installation requires a restart of the Firefox browser, there is actually no need to worry about closing any opened pages because Firefox has a really neat feature that restores previous sessions.
Showing posts with label Firefox. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Firefox. Show all posts
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Ajax Technology
When I got into the non-profit charity job, my brother and his British volunteer service organization (VSO) counterpart already developed a poverty database software for profiling software for the organization.
The software is web based front ended by Mozilla firefox which comes bundled with the installer. But the version at that time was quite difficult and confusing to use because when one tries to look up the profile of the thousands of communities, the browser will have to reload the whole interface and the waiting period was long.
With the new version, the developers integrated AJAX or Asynchronous Javascript and XML. AJAX may seem intimidating at the first sound but if one really tries to analyze hard, it is not really a new technology. Both javascript and XML have already been around for years.
The beauty with using AJAX is that the browser interface directly communicates with the server and what gets a round trip from client to server are only the small parts of the code. This translates into faster applications and more user friendliness.
For instance, our poverty database software has a tree view of all the communities. Before AJAX, when one clicks a community in the node, the whole thing seen on the browser will have to be reloaded and the returned interface can be different and thus confuse the users, who are mostly non IT people working for poverty reduction and charitable institutions. With the AJAX enabled version, only the request for a community profile is sent. In short, the whole browing experience is like working with a desktop application.
The key player in AJAX implemention is the XMLHttpRequest Object which is an API used to transfer data using HTTP. For sure many of you are have experienced using Google Suggest. This feature employs the XMLHttpRequest Object through Javascript sending the data to and from the server.
Other very familiar applications on the internet using the XMLHttpRequest Object Meebo, MapQuest, Google Map and Virtual Earth. With applications like these where data requests and responses are moving more frequently than in the case of “regular” and static websites, AJAX can help control bandwidth traffic and encourage developers to separate layout design from contents.
But AJAX is not without problems. One problem is that the browser’s “Back” function may give unexpected results because the pages do not register in the history engine. A related result is that pages can have difficulty in getting bookmarked.
But these limitations should not discourage one from using AJAX and enjoying its benefits. The important thing here is that all problems corresponding to AJAX have solutions which may take a longer process to do and may require a little more creativity and innovation. All technologies have pros and cons. And AJAX has more advantages than disadvantages.
As for search engine optimization, AJAX developers should be take extra effort in providing data that can be read by search engines because in general, search engines do not consider javascript code used in AJAX.
The software is web based front ended by Mozilla firefox which comes bundled with the installer. But the version at that time was quite difficult and confusing to use because when one tries to look up the profile of the thousands of communities, the browser will have to reload the whole interface and the waiting period was long.
With the new version, the developers integrated AJAX or Asynchronous Javascript and XML. AJAX may seem intimidating at the first sound but if one really tries to analyze hard, it is not really a new technology. Both javascript and XML have already been around for years.
The beauty with using AJAX is that the browser interface directly communicates with the server and what gets a round trip from client to server are only the small parts of the code. This translates into faster applications and more user friendliness.
For instance, our poverty database software has a tree view of all the communities. Before AJAX, when one clicks a community in the node, the whole thing seen on the browser will have to be reloaded and the returned interface can be different and thus confuse the users, who are mostly non IT people working for poverty reduction and charitable institutions. With the AJAX enabled version, only the request for a community profile is sent. In short, the whole browing experience is like working with a desktop application.
The key player in AJAX implemention is the XMLHttpRequest Object which is an API used to transfer data using HTTP. For sure many of you are have experienced using Google Suggest. This feature employs the XMLHttpRequest Object through Javascript sending the data to and from the server.
Other very familiar applications on the internet using the XMLHttpRequest Object Meebo, MapQuest, Google Map and Virtual Earth. With applications like these where data requests and responses are moving more frequently than in the case of “regular” and static websites, AJAX can help control bandwidth traffic and encourage developers to separate layout design from contents.
But AJAX is not without problems. One problem is that the browser’s “Back” function may give unexpected results because the pages do not register in the history engine. A related result is that pages can have difficulty in getting bookmarked.
But these limitations should not discourage one from using AJAX and enjoying its benefits. The important thing here is that all problems corresponding to AJAX have solutions which may take a longer process to do and may require a little more creativity and innovation. All technologies have pros and cons. And AJAX has more advantages than disadvantages.
As for search engine optimization, AJAX developers should be take extra effort in providing data that can be read by search engines because in general, search engines do not consider javascript code used in AJAX.
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