MadMonkey: I'm not sure I like that.
One of the main reproaches against MS is that they always try to build "the program of everything", which looks fine as an idea, until you realise that:
- it is impossible to have only the parts you want, you get (and will have to use) everything or nothing.
- if one thing doesn't work (and which program is bugfree?) nothing does.
And Mozilla, apparently, is following the same glorious path. What could possibly be the advantage of combining those two distinct functions (browsing and email management) in a single program?

As for thunderbird, I myself have practically no more use for it, with webmail servers such as yahoo or google offering unlimited space and fast access. I use it almost exclusively to browse newsgroups.

Time to do a little more promoting

Not for Firefox (for a change lol), but for Mozilla's Email client

I have been using Thunderbird for a while now, and have 5 Email accounts all accessed from there, as well as the latest News & Sports RSS feeds. So there it is all i need, in one place.

Now, this week i downloaded there last Beta release of the next version of Thunderbird (3.0b4). This has many new features, but what i think is the best bit is just like when you are browsing the web, you can open Emails in new Tabs (or Windows if you wish). OK, nothing special about that i hear. UNTIL you instal the ThunderBrowse add-on.

In short, when your friends send you stuff to read (Newsletter, RSS feed etc...), and send you a nice little link to click on, ThunderBrowse add browsings functions to Thunderbird. You can easily save time, space, and memory usage by opening up the website within Thunderbird as it usses the same technology as Firefox.

Anyway, thats my little gabble, i think its an awsome idea. I can do everything i want without even opening a browser like Firefox (IE, Chrome etc...)

pauloaguia: I was thinking about installing Ubuntu beside XP, as thats an option on the instalation disk

As for Windows 7.....i may give it a try, its a very popular donwload on some Torrent sites lol

MadMonkey: the only reason i got this new pc was because i lost the use of my smilies on the old one
but it was at the time that shops were not selling any more XP's so i didnt really have any choice but if i had waited another month they scrapped that idea

rabbitoid: Yep. I've been using Ubuntu for over a year now. At first I even gave myself the trouble of going configuring Opera properly to share the same profile from both Windows and Linux. But it's been months since I last booted my laptop on Windows .
I'm also one of those guys that accomplishes a lot of things through the command line, so I can find my way around problems rather easily. But, even for the basic user, the foruns of the Ubuntu community provide lots of help, sometimes.

MadMonkey: From what I've heard it seems like Windows 7 is a whole lot better than vista. This comes even from some M$ ceptics, so there could be some thuth behind those feelings.
As for Ubuntu, give it a go for at least a week or two before making your mind up. There are bound to be things you miss from Windows... There are bound to be things you'll be missing from it if you get back to Windows, back it takes some time to find out about what you don't know it's there

Snoopy: Well, a lot of the problems have now been sorted. (apart from the security hole they found last week, that is in Vista AND Windows 7, which may now be sorted).
As Microsoft admit thereselves, it should never have been released when it was.
The main issues were a lack of proper drivers for it & application compatibility issues.
I even got this email link the other day from PC-Pro - Microsoft admits Vista was less than good.
Of course many of the issues have now beed resolved, which is ironic as they are just releasing Windows 7.
I am a great believer in that is something is not broke, do not try and fix it.
XP has been by far there most stable operating system, although now like i say i am going to give Ubuntu a try on one of my spare PCs. I used Vista when i was working, and never had any real problems, and most of the PCs & Laptops i repair now all seem to be Vista installed ones.
My only advice is if you buy a new PC / Laptop with Vista on, make sure you have decent Avti-Virus and Spyware product (AVG & Spybot S & D are fine, but there are others), and make sure you download there latest service pack (i think it is SP2)

MadMonkey: I've been working with Unix on and off for almost 30 years professionally. I had first installed a pure Debian at home in the early 2000, but became a bit dissatisfied with the slow update of the versions. Ubuntu updates the whole lot of its distribution twice a year, and so far I've been very satisfied with it.

As a pro, I like the fact that when there is something that doesn't work as I like, I can relatively easily do something about it. With windows, forget it. just reboot, reinstall, curse...

For a simple user, The linux distributions in general have now become very easy to install and use. There are now free alternatives to most of what Microsoft has to offer, which in general work better than the originals.

There are downsides, of course. Many software makers produce only for windows, so if you need a particular software, you may need windows after all. I personally don't, the few things that I use work fine with the windows emulator inside linux.

MadMonkey: and thought its worth a try, especially if Windows 7 is as bad as Vista

really ive been using Vista for over a year now and i havnt had one problem with it

can you tell me what problems Vista is suppose to have so i know what to look out for?

rabbitoid: Have you ? I have been thinking about it.

Then the other day Ubuntu had a stall in our local Town Centre giving DVD Roms away. I had a nice long chat with the guy, and thought its worth a try, especially if Windows 7 is as bad as Vista

How do you find it ? Takes a bit of getting used to i would imagine. Good that all the software is Open source

MadMonkey: I've been using ubuntu the last 2 years.

MadMonkey:just to give first aid to broken windows... .

but for that issue, it works fine.

tell more about zour experience, cause i am thinking about a permanent ubuntu-disk, too... v;-)

Just a quickie

Anyone here use Ubuntu ?

Just installed it on another pc at home to see what it is like

diogenysos: Maybe. Probaly sour grapes... they have been finding themselves on the wrong end of the law recently alot.

Maybe Bill is not happy he's making so much money now.. as if he needs more!!

(V):IT WAS WINDOWS!!!
Maybe they're doing it on purpose?!

I uninstalled the latest "windows-security-update" (from the 9th of September)
and now firefox 3.x is working fine...

Just another poor attempt to "push" the IE?

diogenysos: Weird.. I'm using firefox 3.5.3 and having no problems (Win XP) ... I heard there were some 'glitches' but things are fine.

(V):That sounds interesting and ill go and prove it - as i experienced the bug on an xp- _and_ a vista-computer...
browsing through all the firefox-chatrooms i meet some people who have the same probs... but one user even under linux...
this would mean the bug has nothing to do with the MS updates - but well, ill give it a try anyway!

diogenysos: Sounds like an update glitch from Microsoft then. I'm only saying that as one of their updates caused conflicts with our internet security software. I'd go through any recent updates from them and uninstall the latest... or give them a call and get advice!!

The other option is... http://www.combofix.org/ .......... It's a desktop run program that scans deep and gives a full report on the likes of registry issues. But make sure ( as prompted) you use the back up option first.

But I'd lean towards it being an update conflict.

(V):Hehe, first time i experienced that bug, i uninstalled that firefox 3.5 and installed version 2.xx and all worked fine.
This time even that trick does not work v;-)

diogenysos: Last time something like this happened to me, turned out to be an Upgrade problem to do with Microsoft's automatic updates.

But you could try un-installing Firefox and installing a previous version.

furbster: It's not so much cheapness....going for good deals, etc... it's about power and upgrading. Quite honestly, you should be going for dual core machines, or at least a beefed up Pentium 4 or equiv. If you want a machine that'll last a few years.

Thing is with this recession, it's become a buyers market.. so do shop around.

Hi, i am thinking about buying a new pc and making a wireless network at home, i literally only want the computer for playing on a few game sites online and other general uses.

If i brought a cheap PC would this be ideal? I would like to connect 2 pc's and my xbox.

thanks in advance.

diogenysos: Ghost in the machine??!!??

MadMonkey:

Yep. It's the 3.5.2  -  but strange: i downgraded to 3.0 with an older CD and now its updated to 3.5.2 again and works fine!
Two other friends experienced the same and it was solved in the same way... .

Rabittoid: well, in the preferences there was nothing in (no proxy).

I was just curious cause this happened to others too if that was a well-known bug but doesn´t seem to be so ;-)

diogenysos: Maybe the browser had problems recovering the connection data? verify the settings in the "version that works" against "the version that doesn't"
it's all in Preferences->Advanced->Network->Settings

diogenysos: Which version do you mean 3.5.2 ?

Hello everyone - i experienced an inability to connect with the internet after upgrading to the latest firefox-version
 and the same happened to a couple of other users here on Lanzarote.
The Internet Explorer still worked "fine" (the word "fine" shouldnt be used cause after working with firefox for a couple of years the work with IE is like an essential downgrade...)  and in Firefox the warning "internet connection does not seem to be working" appeared.
Turning firewalls off didnt help (this was suggested by the official firefox-help-site), only deinstalling the browser and installing an earlier version.

Somebody experienced similar things and/or knows whats behind this?

pauloaguia: lol, i know, thats why i added thte bit at the bottom about proof-reading, or if you are going to copy a page of information to post somewhere else. Could even check Fencer Blog

Just a little thing i though i would pass on

MadMonkey: Works on Opera and IE too (in IE it doesn't spell-check, since this browser doesn't have that feature - but the page goes into edit mode).

But what's the point of spell-checking an email AFTER you send it?

A little ditty for today........

Firefox includes a built-in spellchecker that lets you know when you're misspelling words in an email or other text entry box. But what if you want to spellcheck an email that's already been sent or a web site that's already been published.
In Firefox it is simple......Type

javascript:document.body.contentEditable='true'; document.designMode='on'; void 0

into your address bar. If you find it useful, I recommend that you store that code as a bookmark, I call it Spell Check for example.

Of course any changes will not be stored and any changes would be gone the next time you load the page, BUT still immensley useful for proofreading etc....

Firefox gets billionth download - Less than five years after it launched, Mozilla's open-source browser has hit the billion download milestone.

sundiro50: They're actually JellyFish match files. Basically they contain game notation so that you can open and review the game on a software that supports that format.
http://www.paulspages.co.uk/bgreplay/

sundiro50: Well, i had never heard of a .mat extension so i looked it up

There are 3 different types, so i guess it would be handy to know which one we are dealing with.

The most common one is a Microsoft one (Microsoft Access Table = MAT), and to open it you need Microsoft Access. You can download a free 60day trial of it, BUT it should be part of Microsoft Office (do not know about 2003 version).

Look HERE to see other .mat extensions

When a person downloads Backgammon games from the archive they end up in a .mat extension....I am having no luck opening these files. What happens is : I am getting an error saying: not a valid shortcut....I am running Microsoft Office 2003,....and have tried what I know, but with no luck,.....Any help forthcoming will be greatly appreciated....... :-)

John sundiro50

Binabik: To be honest i have not checked
Well not like FF anyway. That is the big thing with FF is that is it so resource hungry. As long as you have plenty of RAM you can not beat FF really. Is all i can say is try it

MadMonkey: Was it your own birthday? HAPPY BIRTHDAY! :O)
Thank you Ian - does Prism also need a lot or RAM?
I had decided against Chrome because in addition to the known issues with it, my computer started having hot flashes - lol - the screen would start to flicker and that made me nervous - crashes have been known to occur with chrome....

Binabik: Sorry i did not reply yesterday (Birthday drink and everything lol).

Did you try Exporting your Bookmarks to your Desktop and importing from there ?
If it is speed you are looking for Mozilla do a Application (that is also a Firefox Add-on as well) called Prism. It is faster than any browser as it runs a website as an application as such (for want of complicated terms lol). You get nothing else apart from the webpage, no Add-ons, no forward/backwards, Bookmark buttons etc..etc....

If you fancy using it, i would suggest downloading the Add-on version into Firefox. Once installed, just click Tools on any website you use (or spend a lot of time at) and in the pop-up menu you select 'Convert website to application'. Give it a name when the page pops up, and it will create a Icon on your desktop.............. instant speed lol

All this said, try to get the Bookmarks sorted as well lol

Binabik: Never mind... :) I love Chrome for BK, but other sites are quite slow and from looking at the "known problem issues" I decided to wait until perhaps they get it ironed out.

I just installed Chrome and for BK I love it, it's fast for me. I tried to import my bookmarks from FF and it doesn't work. I looked on Chrome for help and this is the message: Some users have resolved this issue by editing their registry. Please note: Editing your registry can be potentially dangerous. If you're unfamiliar with the Windows registry, make sure you have the guidance from someone who does." I'm not comfortable trying that, so, can I just copy/paste my bookmarks? Would the copy/paste hold when you switch from FF to Chrome?

Well, it is me again
I was going to save this just for my Monkeys Cyber Cafe Fellowship(feel free to join), but i think its worth sharing

Well, it sure didn't take long.

Just days ago Mozilla posted a few conceptual images displaying a new default theme for Firefox 3.7. Thanks to DeviantArt user Boneyard Brew and his friends, you can now tweak your existing Firefox 3 install (provided you're not running 3.6) to look pretty dang close to the mockups

To do it, follow the instructions in the following article:

Make Firefox 3 or 3.5 look like the Firefox 3.7 new theme mockup

rabbitoid: I can not say i have my friend, if anything 3.5 is faster

Have you cut the number of posts it displays on a page down ? or as you say, maybe it is linux.

One thing i have found that i use is Prism (made by Mozilla labs as well). Basically, it turn any website you visit, into an application and runs it like that. Much faster. The only downside is you can not use Add-ons with it lol.

Oh, and i do not know if it will work on linux eiither

In several spots in brainking, FF 3.5 is taking 2-5 seconds at full CPU to react. One example is a DB: to load or refresh.

I don't recall it having done that on 3.0.x.
Has anyone else seen this? I may be a special case since I run on linux.

Well i am sure we all know what was happening 40 years ago, yep, people were walking on the moon
I get lots of great stuff from all over the web to do with computers and technology.
I got this today, that i thought i would share

Ever fancied being on that first flight to the moon ? Well, take a look at THIS little journey awesome....

There is more interesting stuff here in the Top ten stories about the moon and technology

Binabik: I have Windows XP

coan.net: The only add-ons I use are Fasterfox and Safescript - the latter is now driving me nuts as it's become too complicated...
Where do I go to wash the windows? I've used CCCleaner before, is that what you use for registry cleaner? Sorry, I'm mush when it comes to computer ablities....
I don't have a lot of RAM either - sigh......
Thank you all for your input!

pauloaguia: Yea, check your add-on's for Firefox. Yea, there are a lot of cool ones out there, but the more you have the"bigger" Firefox gets... and possible slower it will move.

Remove the ones you rarely use. Disable the ones you don't use often.

Binabik: Also, remember Firefox uses a lot of RAM

pauloaguia: Something to remember for future possibles... Cheers

Binabik: Do you have any plugins? Some of them tend to bloat FF a lot...