PHP, MySQL, JavaScript, Windows 7, Linux
21st Century Browser Wars: Firefox 3.7 pursues 64-bit support, Aero integration, and more
Jun 3rd
From time to time, I like to download the latest and greatest version of Firefox and other software, which allows me to get a sneak peek at some of the new features. I was very happy to see that Mozilla has decided to pursue development of Firefox specifically for 64-bit Windows-based systems. To my knowledge, 64-bit Firefox has been available for Linux and Mac for some time, but not Windows.
Almost immediately upon loading the nightly build of Firefox 3.7, I noticed that developers had given the web browser a much needed facelift. The facelift includes integration with Windows Aero which gives us a translucent glassy effect, and the ability to move tabs above the location bar, similar to Google Chrome. This is a huge step forward from being forced to utilize Glasser, among other plugins.
I absolutely love the Add-ons Manager, which a huge step up from the tiny dialog given in FF 3.6 and earlier versions. The intuitive Add-ons Manager is the central location for controlling languages, search engines, extensions, themes, and plugins. Much like the Programs and Features (Add/Remove Programs) section of Control Panel in Windows, the user can sort by name, size, and last updated, as well complete a custom search using keywords. Visual indicators make life easier by singling out add-ons marked for removal, and those to be disabled. From the Add-On Manager interface, users can also rate extensions, contribute to development, check for updates, or even stop automatic updates from occurring.
I was impressed with some of the improvements made in the Firefox 3.7a5 release, but it is obvious that they have a long road ahead before this is ready for release. I’m hoping that Mozilla can add some of the polish that will thrust this browser to the #1 spot, and into the 21st century. The Browser Wars have only just begun. The newest version of Opera offers some of the smoothest browsing I’ve ever experienced with an excellently-designed user interface. Google Chrome offers simplicity, but with speed unmatched by any other browser. Chrome also offers seamless integration into most Google services. I am a loyal Mozilla Firefox user, but a user with a wish list. My only hope is that Mozilla never stops pursuing the #1 spot, as I believe they have the best browser platform on the market, and an unmatched arsenal of extensions.
Removing Facebook Fan Page admin permissions for yourself
May 31st
I recently changed jobs, and ended up still being connected to a Facebook fan page. Because there was no real admin section dedicated to defining permissions, I thought that if I unliked the page, it would properly remove me as an administration; thus stopping all email notifications for the page. This turned out to be false, and after a lot of time trying to figure this out, I hit the search engines. After some research I found that you can remove admin permissions via the Fans dialog, but I was not listed. Although not the least bit intuitive, there is a solution; this is what I had to do in order to revoke all administrator-level permissions:
- If you are not listed as a Fan, click the Like button at the top of the page.
- Scroll to the Fans section, and click See All.
- Find yourself within the Fans dialog (I appeared first in the list after re-liking the page).
- Click Remove Admin, located next to your name.
- If you so desire, you may now use the Unlike button at the bottom of the page to remove yourself as a Fan.
That’s all it took for me! I hope this helps some of you still struggling with this issue.
Thoughts on using Windows 7 with a touch screen
Apr 19th
Not too long ago, I wrote about the first affordable consumer touch screen monitor that I’ve seen to date, the Acer T230H
Track mobile carriers, devices with Google Analytics
Apr 6th
I might be a little late to the game with this news, but I just noticed that Google Analytics now has a section devoted to mobile phones within the Visitors portion of the interface. Within the Mobile subcategory, users can now track mobile device, and even mobile carrier. This answers a huge question a lot of people have had recently – how many of my users are mobile users?
Finally, an affordable touch screen monitor to use with Windows 7 Touch
Apr 5th
Somewhat recently, Acer released the first affordable touch screen monitor for use with Windows 7′s touch capabilities. The 23″ Acer T230H
- Shake - shake window back and forth, all other windows are minimized
In my experience, this feature has made little sense when used with a mouse. With the power of touch, shake makes more sense. - Jump lists - click, hold, and slide up to reveal Windows 7′s jump lists, which include shortcuts to various tasks for the selected application on the task bar
- An article from Microsoft: My favorite ways to use touch
To put this into perspective, a 19″ touch screen monitor from Planar costs around $929 (Source: newegg.com); that’s kind of cost-prohibitive for the average consumer. Prices for touch technology are coming down rapidly, and I think it is safe to assume that other computer monitor manufacturers will join the game soon. Acer T230H
- Connectors: HDMI, DVI, D-Sub
- Contrast Ratio: 80,000:1 (ACM)
- Max. Resolution: 1920 x 1080 (16:9 widescreen)
- Pixel Pitch: 0.265 mm
- # of Colors: 16.7 million
- Brightness: 300 cd/m2
- Response Time: 2 ms (GTG)
- HDCP support: Yes
- Built-in Speakers: Yes
- Warranty: 3 years parts/labor limited
The Integration of Firefox 3.7+ and Windows 7
Apr 5th
Last night, I took a chance and downloaded the nightly build of Firefox 3.7 Alpha 4 Preview. I was impressed with the UI enhancements, and also with what was under the hood. Please know that this version is not recommended for daily use, but only for previewing the new features, as there are still many bugs that need to be worked out.
Peek
Jump Lists
DirectWrite
DirectWrite hardware acceleration is not enabled out of the box at this point in the release process, but can be enabled by navigating to about:config, and changing the gfx.font_rendering.directwrite.enabled setting to true.
Aero Glass
I don’t have a screenshot for this, but you can see an example of Aero Glass above. Apparently, the glass-like effect provided by Windows Aero was turned off in the latest builds due to a few bugs, but to my knowledge, future versions of Firefox will support Aero-based themes.
Projected release date for Firefox 3.7: May/June 2010
Projected release date for Firefox 4.0: October/November 2010, early 2011?
As far as I’m concerned, the sooner they release these new features, the better. These features represent major productivity enhancements, and I want to use them!
Using Gmail for Spiceworks’ Help Desk
Mar 14th
In case you haven’t heard, Spiceworks is a free “network management & monitoring, help desk, PC inventory & software reporting solution to manage everything IT.” I must admin, I was skeptical at first, but I ending up being very impressed with this software. The only downside I’ve found so far is the presence of ads within the software; however, you’ll soon see it is still well worth it. This software also requires Windows XP or higher, and will not run on Linux. On the other hand, Spiceworks will detect and properly monitor any Linux-based PC on the network. Below are some of the advantages of using Spiceworks:
- 100% free
- Can be used as portal, and help desk (includes full ticketing system)
- Works with Active Directory
- Will monitor software, DNS settings, disk space, etc., on all computers within network
- Network map
- Will monitor ink and toner levels in compatible printers/copiers
- E-mail alerts can be configured to send in the event printer ink dips below a certain threshold
- Compatible with Windows Server 2008 R2
- …and much more!
Now, onto configuring Spiceworks to work with Gmail:
Within Gmail settings, make sure that IMAP is enabled.
Login to your Spiceworks installation.
What is a webjawn?
Mar 4th
We are giving in… after many inquiries into this so-called “webjawn,” we’ve decided to give up the state secret. To understand this word, we must explore its origins. On the streets of my hometown (Philly), a jawn is anything. It can be a dime, an ink blot, a VGA-to-DVI
- Something; any object place or thing (en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jawn)
- Jawnt, or Joint: Noun that is used in casual conversation to describe any person, place, or especially a thing (list.wikia.com/wiki/Philadelphia_slang)
Now that we’ve gotten the etymology out of the way, we can begin the fusion between the web and it’s jawns until we get the desired result – a whole lotta webjawns. Now that the enigma has been dissipated, people will sleep soundly, birds will flock, worker bees will work, and we’ll develop web applications and brand new webjawns.
Zend Framework 2.0 Buzz
Mar 3rd
The buzz behind Zend Framework 2.0 is growing rapidly everyday, and not without good reason. Zend Framework 2.0 will utilize the very best of PHP to create a more stable, secure, and better performing framework. Although nothing is set in stone, listed below are some of the highlights so far:
- Minimum version: PHP 5.3+
- Not backwards compatible
- Improved consistence between componenets
- __construct() – Constructors will accept options via arrays or Zend_Config
- Option keys will not use camel caps or uppercase, but instead will utilize lowercase underscore-separated words
- Elimination of most singletons
- Utilization of PHP 5.3 features
- __invoke() and closures – for use within plugin architecture
- Namespaces – to help with the super-long class names (Zend_Search_Lucene_Analysis_Analyzer_Common_TextNum_CaseInsensitive comes to mind)
- goto – to be used when creating Finite State Machines (FSM) and parsers (Zend_Search_Lucene, Zend_Ical, Zend_Markup)
- Autoload-only for all ZF components
- Zend_View
- Allow optional use of streams for systems where short_open_tags are disabled
- Automatic escaping of variables
- Use PluginLoader instead of internal system for managing plugins
There’s a lot of great discussion going on within the official Zend Framework 2.0 Roadmap, as well as a general outline on Zend’s plans, so get over there and read up!
Zend_Search_Lucene_Analysis_Analyzer_Common_TextNum_CaseInsensitive
Stability, security-focused PHP 5.2.13 released today
Feb 25th
PHP 5.2.13 was released today, fixing over 40 bugs. PHP recommends that all users on the 5.2 branch upgrade as soon as possible. Included below are various bugs fixed in this release, and links to the official changelog, release announcement, and download page.
- Improved LCG entropy (security)
- Fixed safe_mode validation inside tempnam() when… (security)
- Fixed open_basedir/safe_mode bypass in session extension (security)
- Upgraded to PCRE 7.9
- Fixed strip_tags() bug that removed parameters over 1023 bytes even when in exclude list
- Regarding define() and defined()
- :: was allowed to be included within constant name using define(), issuing a fatal error vs. E_WARNING
- defined() no longer requires a class to exist when testing class constant
- PHP 5.2.13 Changelog
- PHP 5.2.13 Release Announcement
- Download PHP 5.2.13