Before I list the features which separate it from previous versions, I ran some speed tests on various web pages to see how the changes were implemented here. Information from Mozilla suggested that a number of changes have been applied related to speed. I did notice a speed of about 8 secs when loading a flash intensive page, though general sites like Google and MSN loaded in 5 secs. That’s an improvement on the usual 15 secs or more on some sites where flash movies needed to load.

Here is an overview of the changes that make a difference to the avid web surfer:

1.A tab can be dragged out of the window to be opened in a new window. Conversely, a new window can be dragged to a tabbed window.

2.Less display differences between versions of IE and Firefox 3.5

3.More integrated support for HTML 5 so embracing the new generation of standards for web graphics and flash movies.

4.A new private browsing mode allows users to visit web sites without leaving a record of those sites in cache, cookies and history.

5.No plug-ins needed to add videos that use formats like the Ogg format. Video formats requiring 3rd party plug-ins now play directly in the
browser.

6.You can choose as you browse whether or not to record the page in history by using the ‘Forget this Site’ option.

7.Location-based browsing can help you on sites where you need to find a venue, restaurant, etc. This works by providing information on your location so sharing your location information and is manually enabled by you if so desired.

8.Improved language support, Mozilla state on their site that the number of languages supported is now over 70.

Developers should check the full range of feature improvements on Mozilla at http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/firefox/3.5/releasenotes/

Some drawbacks include the fact that some extensions may not work on 3.5 from your previous version. Though, Firefox 3.5 certainly never adopts a hackneyed approach to its updates. There is always a fresh new function that improves our daily surfing requirements. The number of downloads in the first 24 hours of its release was reported to be over 5 million.

Firefox continues to shine as the browser of choice to the everyday web user.

Electronic Arts is well known for their games like Harry Potter, Battlefield 1943, The Sims, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, and the many versions of Need For Speed. When iPhones began to cover the earth with their multifarious touchpads, EA started recreating pocket versions of their games to sell on the app store for a modest $10. But with thousands of free or almost-free apps, $10 was a lot to charge for just another game.

Enter 8lb Gorilla, a sliver division of Electronic Arts commissioned with the task of producing $.99 games for the iPhone. Obviously, the games are littler, simpler, and there will be a lot more of them—a new one coming out once a month. The new games mark an attempt by a major game producer to gain access into an iPhone game market crowded mostly with solo tech geeks or teeny startup companies. Getting an EA game at a mere $.99 is a great deal. But do remember, the kind of game you’re getting isn’t along the same lines as NCAA Football.

The first game of the lineup is something called ‘Zombies & Me.’ If you’re thinking along the lines of a juvenile kill-the-bad-zombie-game, you’re exactly right. A fearful grandma (screaming “wholly unholy”) is under the attack of human brain-hungry zombies. You, her loyal defender, are charged with the task of dispatching zombies like crazy.

Yes, I can tell you’re salivating for the game already. Perhaps this is the kind of quality we can expect for EA games on sale for 90% off.

The concept of Search Pad is simple: organize and record web research as you go. Search Pad can detect when a user is doing research, using tools that Yahoo’s Cornett cryptically described as “deep science.” The deep science is a very nice feature for users who don’t want to remember to turn a note feature on and then commence research. Thankfully, there is nothing deeply scientific about recording your searches. Yahoo does it automatically, without your needing to prompt it or turn it on.

Search Pad is more than just a glorified “history.” It enables the users to add notes to particular entries, move entries, categorize searches, delete sections, save searches—and all the while not distracting you with annoying upkeep. The cloud-computing technology of the Search Pad has it poised as a helpful feature for the kind of research that most of us are accustomed to doing on the Internet—from figuring out when to seed our lawns, to determining the best smartphone to buy. Users don’t need to download a new app or plugin; Search Pad is right there, all the time.

Positioned in the upper right-hand corner of Yahoo’s search page, the recording feature offers one-click access to all of the notes you need to aid and sustain your research. Want to do some research for a friend and send her the results? Yahoo allows the search notes to be sent via e-mail, which means that you can share your Search Pad notes with others.

Some have speculated that simply on the basis of this feature, Yahoo will “steal the search throne from Google.” Such a claim may be basing way too much on the mere initiation of a note-taking feature. The question is, who really wants to take notes while they search the web? For some, it will undoubtedly be helpful. But, if Yahoo is thinking that this is going to be a web-changer and propel them back into the limelight of search engines, they may need to add a few more tricks. One of the problems is that non-Yahoo devotees may be disenchanted by the need to perform all searches through Yahoo. According to their thinking, if they want to do research that badly, why not use Google’s own note-taking feature?

For Yahoo’s own review of the Search Pad, check out their site.

With songs, videos, and graphics becoming larger and more complex, an e-mail attachment limit of 25MB is nice increase. With the bigger attachment limit comes the potential that the recipient’s e-mail server might not accept attachments of that size. To warn against this potential, Gmail kindly states “that you may not be able to send larger attachments to contacts who use other email services with smaller attachment limits.” Currently, Gmail has one of the biggest attachment limits of any webmail provider. The solution according to Gmail? “If your attachment bounces, you should invite them to Gmail.”

YouTube video limits increased as well. Now, users can post videos up to 2GB in size. The increased size limit may have the growth of high-definition video to thank. Prior to the increase, YouTube capped file sizes to a mere one gigabyte—hardly enough room to get a sneak peek of an high definition video. Unfortunately, the ten minute limit for non-YouTube partners is still in effect.

As files get bigger and bigger and Internet speeds get faster and faster, these size limits will probably get higher and higher.

Gmail users may have noticed a bright notification in the upper right hand corner of their screen “New! Gmail tips.” A closer look at the link reveals the Google wants you to become a Gmail Ninja!

How does one become a Gmail Ninja? Google claims that the Gmail Ninja will “learn tips and tricks to save time, increase your productivity, and manage your email efficiently,” and encourages tip users to “start with the tips that are right for you, based on how much email you get each day.”

Google divides the tips into four sections. White belts are people who receive only a few messages per day, and the tips are pretty basic: “organize with labels,” “search your mail instead of sorting,” and “reply by chat.” Rather basic, eh? Certainly, but that’s why this is the white belt level.

Next up is the Gmail green belt Ninja. Who qualifies? Google would say that these tips address mostly those Gmail users who get around a dozen messages per day—the average Gmail users. Thus, the advice remain simple, but moving up in the ninja tip status are hints like “use tasks as a handy to-do list,” “highlight important emails using filters and colored labels,” and “send an email from your phone” (showing a picture of an iPhone, of course). But here, even in the relatively intermediate stage of becoming a ninja, I learned about a feature I’ve longed to see in Gmail for a long time: the “undo send.” Yes, it really is possible to retract an email in Gmail, though it has to be retracted within seconds after hitting send. Users can enable this handy feature by going to the Gmail labs and easily switching the feature on. Another helpful tip for the green belts? Yet another Google Labs feature, the “Forgotten Attachment Detector,” which alerts forgetful users if they mentioned sending an attachment in their e-mail but failed to actually do so.

Moving on up is the Gmail black belt. Here, ninja wannabes can learn the Gmail keyboard shortcuts, how to use search operators, and how to “send and archive in one step.”

At the top of the Gmail user Ninja level is the Gmail Master! Masters include those who “get a massive number of messages a day.” Tips here include learning how to “bring Google calendar and docs to Gmail,” “forget to sign out of a public computer? Sign out remotely,” “personalize your RSS feeds in web clips,” and how to “access your mails via https.” Lastly, if you want to be a true Gmail Master, Google wants your money. You can either run Gmail from your own domain or you can shell out $50 to do so on Google Apps.

It would seem that anyone can become a Gmail Ninja with Google’s nifty Gmail tips. Apparently, I became one myself sometime between last night and this morning, as I noticed the link to the tips disappeared on my personal Gmail account.

The sWaP (Smart Watch and Phone)

South Korea’s LG Electronics have been developing some fantastic mobile phone models lately though this tops the bunch. There seems to be a market for this type of watch. It has a touch-screen, camera, speaker and Bluetooth. You can play mp3 music and watch videos. Also, video conversations can be started, and it’s now built into a wrist watch!

People whom love spending time on facebook will treasure this new phone…watch….smart phone – its got the lot. You don’t need to love gadgets to see how this device will easily integrate into your daily life.

If you wish to have internet access, 7.2 mbps high speed access is available through various providers when you sign up for the subscription deal. For example O2 have stepped into the market and are offering subscription deals. That means a free sWaP phone and all the trimmings you expect to accompany a mobile phone deal today – free minutes, texts, video calls, etc.

What about text to speech? It’s offering that too. It accompanies a Bluetooth headset which you can wear if you need to have a private call. The watch does not need to be held against your mouth to speak into the microphone as its omni-directional ability will pick up your voice from a swaying arm as you walk.

The mobile sWaP phone dimensions make it as suitable and comfortable to wear as any watch with its nice ergonomic design. It may be expected to be a bulky and clumsy piece of wrist wear but in fact, it seats comfortably like any other watch. The dimensions are 1.43 inches in width by 0.56 inches thick – approximately the standard watch size.

The trend in the market where gadgets are concerned is to retain portability whilst still being able to add as many functions as possible. Mobile phones took a giant leap by incorporating video; more specifically, iphones took slick design a step further with YouTube access and touch-screen control. The next step in the market needed to continue the idea of a multi-tasked device. sWaP say that it’s all about “more convenient options” and this is the interest driving the market.

Did I mention a waterproof model is being developed? Handy if you forget to take it off before jumping in the sea. You can go swimming and not worry about damaging the watch.

Release dates are expected to be this month though check with your local supplier. With versatility and increased portability being the market direction, the sWaP phones will surely take the mobile phone market by storm.

The current 6-inch version of the Kindle is about to give some space to the new 9.7 inch Kindle. The big screen version of the new Kindle got its design inspiration from newspapers and magazines, which favor a larger reading area. However, the new Kindle DX is also an ideal platform for textbooks—at least that is how Amazon is marketing the device.

The advantages are obvious. First of all, the weight/space concern is a big enough issue to cause anyone some relief. A svelte ten-inch electronic device is a far more welcome burden than an eighteen pound marketing textbook. Beyond that, the Kindle DX’s big screen can handle graphs, diagrams, illustrations, and charts that are common in college textbooks.

What may not be as obvious are some of the potential downsides. Before you get too excited about the radical cost-savings, keep in mind that publisher’s aren’t out to lose money. They may view the novelty of an electronic reading device enough to gain sales, rather than go directly to a price-reduction marketing schema. What’s more, not all publishers may catch on to the attraction of the Kindle, meaning that you may still have to do some lugging.

All things considered, I would have enjoyed the opportunity to read my history text on a Kindle. That is precisely what future students may do. Already, publishers are working on Kindle-ready books, and schools are preparing as well. So far, Pace University, Case Western Reserve University, Reed College, Arizona State, Princeton, and Darden School will give some of their freshman the device which will be preloaded with several key academic texts.

exit 0

You can copy/paste the code directly into a shell script, just replace the user and pass with your twitter user name and password. I called my shell script twit.sh. That will let you update twitter by typing ./twit.sh your twitter message. Remember to keep your message under 140 characters (the maximum message length twitter will allow).

Now we are going to setup facebook to accept twitter messages as profile updates (this is the easy part). Go here and get the app. It is a facebook app so their is nothing to download, it will just add the app to your facebook profile. It will ask you for your twitter user name and password. After that you select the option that says user twitter to update facebook status. Now just type ./twit.sh your message and you are ready to update twitter and facebook.

curl -u youruser:yourpassw -d status=”text” http://twitter.com/statuses/update.xml

the -u option specifies the user and password to use for server authentication.. The -d option sends the specified data in a POST request to the HTTP server, in a way that can emulate as if a user has filled in a HTML form and pressed the submit button. You replace “text” with what you want to be posted to twitter. I am doing this on a linux computer but it should work similar on a windows or Mac computer.