Mozilla released Firefox 3.5 last week with loads of new features like the zippy TraceMonkey JavaScript engine. It also includes another feature that I don't think I can ever warm up to - a revamped NSS module that causes ridiculously long launch times on Windows computers.

The NSS is responsible for handling encryption tasks via SSL, TLS, etc. When we're talking about encryption, random numbers are par for the course. I'm not sure how they generated random numbers in previous NSS versions, but for 3.5, Mozilla decided that using various temporary files on people's computers was a stellar way to calculate a seed for a random number generator. Generating truly random numbers on computers is hard. Hell, randomness itself is hard. Yet whatever Mozilla was doing before seemed to work well. Why they decided to use temp files now is anybody's guess. Especially given the fact that typical computer users don't even know of the existence of the various temporary folders on their systems, so we could be talking thousands of files that the NSS has to iterate over to generate a random number generator's seed. Thankfully, this issue has been logged as a Priority 1 bug, so we (hopefully) can anticipate a speedy resolution. In the meantime, if you like Firefox 3.5 on Windows but its slow startup has you at your wits' end (and you don't want to revert to a 3.0.x version), keep the following folders on your computer as clean as possible until this is fixed in a point release:

Windows 2000, XP and 2003

• C:\Documents and Settings\[user_name]\Temp\
• C:\Documents and Settings\[user_name]\Local Settings\Temp
• C:\Documents and Settings\[user_name]\My Recent Documents
• C:\Documents and Settings\[user_name]\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files
• C:\Documents and Settings\[user_name]\Local Settings\History

Windows Vista, 2008 and 7

• C:\Users\[user_name]\Temp\
• C:\Users\[user_name]\AppData\Local\Temp
• C:\Users\[user_name]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent
• C:\Users\[user_name]\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files
• C:\Users\[user_name]\Local Settings\History

Alexisonfire - Old Crows / Young Cardinals
Yes, I like "that screaming band". You hear screaming - I hear another texture in the wall of noise. And I don't shun noise. This time around, though, the screaming has been toned way down with Dallas and Wade sharing much more of the vocal duties. Lotsa mid-tempo numbers too, but it all sounds great to me.

Dinosaur Jr. - Farm
Album number two for the re-united J, Murph and Lou (yes, I rhymed that on purpose - I'm lame). Their ninth album takes all of Dinosaur Jr's best traits - noise, J's solos and more noise - and puts them together in a nice package. Even Lou's songs, which are traditionally mellow and introspective, are rockers. It's good to see them in fine form.

Sonic Youth - The Eternal
Contrary to many reviews, this album does not hark back to EVOL, Sister or Daydream Nation. Finely tuned out-of-tune guitars aside, this album chugs along (thanks to Mark Ibold?) with the energy of a band not showing their age.

Think About Life - Family
I don't want to say that Think About Life are Canada's version TV on the Radio, because you'd only agree with that after the initial listen. Repeated listens will reveal their upbeat nature and put you in a good frame of mind.

Winter Gloves - About A Girl
Catchy electro-rock that leaves me anticipating a new album.

...it pains me to say it, but I think Detroit is going to win - again! Ugh. At least this time, I wouldn't be annoyed as I usually would. Detroit and Michigan have fallen on some serious hard times - have you seen the empty seats at the Wings' home games during these playoffs? Maybe winning it all would make this financial meltdown a little bit more bearable for those in Detroit.

Crippled Black Phoenix - 200 Tons of Bad Luck
A Love of Shared Disasters prepared us for the apocalypse and 200 Tons of Bad Luck is the traveling carnival you visit on the way out.

Isis - Wavering Radiant
Still drone-y, but Isis have added a few new instruments to their toolbox (organs!).

Japandroids - Post-Nothing
If No Age were more tuneful or if Death From Above 1979 stuck around long enough to record new albums, they might sound like Japandroids. Fuzzed out and catchy pop songs.

Junior Boys - Begone Dull Care
Synth pop minimalists just got a little less minimal.

Metric - Fantasies
Every Metric album up to this point has always sounded like something to kill the time in between Broken Social Scene albums. Now that BSS is on hiatus, Metric has finally recorded a full-fledged album with all the trimmings.

Silversun Pickups - Swoon
Rocks with the familiarity of Carnavas but with the expected sophomore album touches like overdubs and strings.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz
It's Blitz has me chair disco dancin' in my cubicle.

East
Pittsburgh vs Carolina

West
Detroit vs Chicago

I'm really unsure about that Pens-'Canes series. Carolina aren't called the "Cardiac 'Canes" for nothing. They definitely have the ability to surprise everybody.

East
Vancouver vs Chicago
Detroit vs Anaheim

West
Boston vs Carolina
Washington vs Pittsburgh (although I'd rather see the Pens win)