Download Firefox Now!

New Firefox 3 is available, but you may not need it.....

The new Firefox 3 release is now available from Mozilla.com Release Candidate 3 for Windows and Linux users is basically the same as RC2. The newest release is needed to fix some problems with the , but you may not need it. FirefoxMacOS version.

If you use Windows or Linux, go ahead and download RC3 if you want to, but it is unnecessary if you are using RC2.

Firefox 3 is based on the Gecko 1.9 Web rendering platform. Gecko is a layout engine originally created by Netscape and now used in all applications developed by Mozilla. Written in C++, Gecko is cross-platform, running on Windows, Linux, Mac OS, ect......

Internet Explorer Running Too Slow?

If you're running a Windows operating system (particularly Vista), you may have experienced several problems with the Internet Explorer web browser. One of the most common problems with Internet Explorer is that it runs slow. Too slow for the Web 2.0 age.


An obvious solution to speed things up with Internet Explorer (and the entire operating system for that matter) is to purchase more RAM. The addition of 1 to 2 more Gigs of RAM can make a tremendous improvement to system performance. This is something that you need to do anyway if you plan on running a bunch of applications and doing lots of work on your machine. However, the addition of more RAM may not eliminate your displeasure with Internet Explorer.


It's not that Internet Explorer is a particularly bad web browser; but it's definitely not great. Guess which web browser is great? Fiefox! Guess what else? It's free! You can download Firefox for free at: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/


Firefox offers tabbed browsing, a spell checker, incremental find, live bookmarking, a download manager, and an integrated search system that uses your desired search engine (google, yahoo, amazon, answers, creative commons, ebay, ect.). The speed and simplicity of Firefox is what draws in new users every day to Mozilla's web-site. In fact, as of May 2008 Firefox had 18.41% of the recorded usage share of web browsers, making it the second-most popular web browser worldwide, after Internet Explorer. If you have never tried Firefox, you owe it to yourself to download it for free at http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/

Windows Vista Editions

What’s the difference between the different versions of Vista?

Windows Vista is available in five editions:

Windows Vista Home Basic- designed for the basic home user, includes the Vista Basic interface and enables users to easily search for files. Vista also allows users to protect their computer from unauthorized users and unwanted programs, and set parental controls.

Windows Vista Home Premium- includes all the features of the Home Basic edition and also offers the Windows Aero interface. The price tag is about $60 more than Home Basic, but some users feel this is reasonable. Windows Aero provides tools to create DVDs and edit movies, record and watch television shows, connect to a game console, connect to Wi-Fi networks, and work with a tablet PC.

Windows Vista Ultimate- includes all the capabilities of the former two editions and provides additional features designed to make mobile computers more secure and easier to network. This version is probably only worth it if you’re upgrading 2 or 3 machines; if not, it would be an unnecessary expense.

Windows Vista Business- provides a secure operating environment to users in all sizes of business, and it includes the Windows Aero interface. Vista Business is basically the equivalent of XP Professional. If you are currently using XP Pro, this would be the upgrade for you.

Windows Vista Enterprise- is basically Vista Business with greater levels of data protection, and a multi-language interface.

Vista Security Problems

It seems that from its inception, Vista has received generous amounts of negative criticism in regards to numerous aspects of the new operating system. There have been lots of reports that new drivers installed in Vista, aren't functioning properly. The Vista interface, also generally runs slow unless additional RAM is purchased. These kind of problems make PC users cringe at there fellow Mac users, whose machines appear to flawlessly perform, day after day.


One of the main concerns about Vista is its security. Recently, the Australian company; PC Tools, released figures which suggested that Vista was just as vulnerable to security threats as its predecessors. This information is based on analysis of 1,513,502 machines running Windows in PC Tool's ThreatFire user base. 190,692 machines were running Vista, and 58,000 of these machines were compromised by at least one piece of malware over a 6 month period. PC Tools is known for its Spyware Doctor software which is available as a free download at http://www.pctools.com.

Vista's new security features

As of this post, Microsoft's Windows is the most widely used and distributed operating
system in the world. Making up roughly 92% of the desktop OS worldwide market share,
Microsoft Windows is the 600 pound gorilla. The misconception that many people (especially
the every-day, non-technical user) have; is that because Windows is the biggest, it must
be the best. This simply is not the case. While Windows is for the most part a great
operating system, there are many other choices on the market that match or outshine
Windows. The most recent version of Windows, Vista, was released worldwide in 2007; nearly
5 years after its predecessor: Windows XP. While Microsoft's latest operating system has
generated much negative criticism and negative press, many praise its visual appeal and
enhanced security. Microsoft stated that its primary objective with Windows Vista has been
to improve security. One of these improvements has been with the user account control. In
Windows Vista, when an action requiring administrative rights is performed, the user is
prompted for an administrator name and password. When User Account Control asks for
credentials, it is done so in a secure desktop mode, where the entire screen is blacked
out. The intention behind this is to stop a malicious program misleading the user by
interfering with the authorization window. The new security features of Internet Explorer
7 include a phishing filter, IDN with anti-spoofing capabilities, and of course system-wide
parental controls. While these are definitely great security features for a web-browser to
have, many users with Vista prefer to download Mozilla's Firefox browser. Firefox is
generally more user friendly and twice as fast.