Optimizing Firefox Tips Tech Guide

Need help to "fire-up" your fox - Mozilla Firefox? Well, great news! I, Creastery™ 2009, will be sharing a guide on that.
We will be using a freeware (No cost needed software) - Firetune
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According to your specific computer speed and internet connection speed, FireTune will optimize several internal settings of Firefox for better performance.

NOTE: FireTune does NOT modify the Firefox executable, or any other Firefox binary file. Everything can be undone easily at a single mouseclick only.

Features:
-No un/in-stallation required - download, unzip and run. Done!
-Speed improvements according to your computer speed
-Improves browsing speed according to your internet connection speed
-Speed improvements for slow, medium and fast computers / connection speeds
-Enables some hidden tweaks of Firefox for even more browsing speed
Includes a configuration backup and restore function
-Optimizes SSL connection speed
-Optimizes Firefox memory usage
-Works with the installable and the portable version of Firefox
-Multi language user interface: includes language files for more than 30 languages

Supports Mozilla Firefox Versions: 1.x, 2.x and 3.x

After you have downloaded, unzip and run the program - Firetune.exe file.
You will see a pop-up, telling you to backup before you do the tweaking. This is very important, just in case anything goes wrong.

The default language should be English. If you are not comfortable with it, change by clicking the language option at the top navigation bar, select any language (language files are called ".lng" without quotation marks.)

Also, if your Mozilla Firefox is portable, please select the option beside the language option. It will prompt you to specify the location of the portable Firefox.

By the way, I recommend PortableApps.com's portable Firefox. Soon, I would be touching up on that.

Now, back to topic. Select an option out of the six options there.
I'm sure that all of you know whether your computer is fast or slow. Therefore, I'm only going to talk about the Internet speed.

For dial-up connection, please choose slow connection.
This will leave you with the 3_rd option and the last option only.

If you do not know if your internet speed is fast or not, at least check out SpeedTest.net to find out your average internet speed.

For internet speed with 3mbps (3 Megabyte Per Second)-
Please choose slower connection or fast. Both can work fine.

Additional information of storage size:
8 bit (b) = 1 byte (B)
1024 byte (B) = 1 kilobyte (kB)
1024 kilobyte (kB) = 1 megabyte (MB)
1024 megabyte (MB) = 1 gigabyte (GB)
1024 gigabyte (GB) = 1 terabyte (TB)
1024 terabyte (TB) = 1 petabyte (PB)
1024 petabyte (PB) = 1 exabyte (EB)
1024 exabyte (EB) = 1 zettabyte (ZB)
1024 zettabyte (ZB) = 1 yottabyte (YB)

The above table is just some points for your own information.

After you have select an option, backup first before anything. Next, press the Tune It! Button.
Note: You have to close the Firefox application FULLY.

You can use the Task Manager to find out. Press Control + Shift + Escape to toggle.
Next, choose the "Processes" tab. Under Image Name, search for firefox.exe.
If it still exists, that means it is still running. If you want to close it safely, wait for a while for it to disappear out of the list. Else, click on firefox.exe, press the "End Process" button and of course "yes" for the prompt.

When it is fully closed, Tune IT!!

After it is done, run your Mozilla Firefox.
Notice the difference? If not, change the options again.

Last words: Good luck in the tweaking, but don't overdo it!

That's all folks for today! Please comment on tech as we need comments to improve on the tech guide. Don't hesitate to ask any questions. Thanks!
By - WinTechpedia™ 2009 Contributors

Which Browser Will You Choose?

We use web browsers every day. Most of you are probably using one right now! There are so many to choose from so obviously I cannot compare them all. I have taken the 5 most popular ones and listed out the pros and cons. This comparison refers to the latest stable release unless otherwise stated. Safari 4 Beta is reviewed rather than Safari 3 because the main download of Safari on the website is version 4, not 3.

Which browser will you choose? The blue e, the fox hugging the earth, the blue compass, the colorful orb, or the red O?

THE PROS AND CONS OF EACH

Microsoft Internet Explorer 8.0 (Windows only)

Pros:

• Accelerators. Highlight any word or phrase, search that term right away through the special menu.
• Web Slices. More than just RSS Feeds.
• Domain Highlighting
• inPrivate Browsing
• inPrivate Blocking: Possible to block certain tracking elements such as some ads
• Faster than older versions and on some pages, other browsers
• Malware and Phishing Filters (SmartScreen Filter)
• Large collection of add-ons, toolbars, accelerators, and more at the IE Addons site
• New Session Mode. Two sessions do not share cookies so you can log on to multiple accounts
• Relative Tab with Colors
• Search Suggestions with images and description in some cases
• Tab Showcase
• New Tab Page
• Passes Acid2 (last major browser to do so)
• Session Store (finally!)
• Isolated Tab Environment
• Easier Add-on Management
• Built in Source Viewer (finally) with tag colors rather than one using Notepad
• Nicely designed RSS Feed viewer
• Much faster than previous versions
  

Cons:

• Quite slow on cold starting up, but browsing is quite fast
• Tabs take a bit longer to load
• Main target of hackers
• Following older IE versions, update cycle is slow including patching critical security issues
• Too tightly integrated with operating system
• Fails miserably at Acid3
• ActiveX rather than plugins (all other browsers use plugins and ActiveX have many security risks)
• Add-ons are All Users rather than Single User. Requires Administrative Privileges
• No Download Manager
• No Download pause and resume
  

Mozilla Firefox 3.0 (Windows, Mac, and Linux with variations available for other platforms)

Pros:

• Fully open source
• Easily modify the configuration through about:config
• King of customization. Fully customizable with a collection of over 5000 add-ons and themes at Mozilla Add-ons: Anything from ad blocking, script blocking, site rating, file hosting download delay time skipping to domain highlighting. Whatever you want. There’s a good change, someone made an add-on for it. Want to make Firefox look like IE, Chrome, Safari, or something completely random? Maybe there’s a theme for it!
• Instant Web ID. With one click on the favicon, all the page’s security info can be viewed.
• Phishing and Malware Filters
• Multi-Platform and Platform Look and Feel
• “Awesome Bar” searching bookmarks, history, and also makes “smart” website decisions when typing a term: Autocomplete and Tagging
• Library of Bookmarks and History. Tag Bookmarks to easily search
• Smart Search Keywords. Assign keywords to search engines (like a simple w to wikipedia), then type in w and then your term into the location bar to search. Works like the Omnibar in Chrome.
• Inline Spell Checking
• Session Restore
• Set individual settings per site, such as cookies, image loading, Javascript, etc…
• Instant Find and Quick Find
• Elegant Autoscrolling and Smoothscrolling
• Available in 60 languages (Even more being added!)
• Windows only: Automatically scan files with your anti-virus software
• Easy to use download manager with pause and resume
• Very fast update cycle. One of the fastest in patching security holes.
• Easy to use download manager with pause and resume
• Error Console
• Passes Acid2
• Firefox 3.5 only: Private Browsing

Cons:

• Does not pass Acid3 Web Standards test yet (3.0 scores 71/100 and 3.5 scores 93/100)
• No zoom percentage counting. Only Zoom in, Zoom out, and Reset.

Apple Safari 4 (Windows and Mac)

Pros:

• Elegant new tab page
• Looks like correct platform (Windows looks like Windows)
• Drag and drop tabs with visual eye candy
• Toolbar colors change with Windows Aero color (Windows Vista and Windows 7)
• Minimalistic interface. Looks like Google Chrome but with an option to show menubar if needed
• Coverflow for Bookmarks
• Snapback: Go back to search results page
• Collections Library: History, RSS, and Bookmarks
• First Browser to feature Private Browsing
• Passes Acid1, Acid2, and Acid3 Web Standards Test
• Malware and Phishing Filter
  

Cons:

• Requires an abnormally large amount of system resources especially video (for Coverflow despite the fact that iTunes coverflow works fine on old hardware). This may cause major lags with the visual effects. Safari 3 was much lighter on system resources.
  
• Many text forms fail to submit.
• No zoom percentage count

Google Chrome 1.0 (Windows only. Mac and Linux pending)

Pros:

• Currently the fastest stable release browser available.
• Like all Google Products, simplicity.
• Easily drag and drop tabs
• Isolated Tab AND plugin Environment
• Omnibar saves space although searches take a bit longer
• Incognito Window (Private Browsing)
• No obtrusive download manager.
• New Tab Page showing recent pages
• Easily create application shortcuts
• Powerful DOM Inspector built in
• Bookmarks Manager
• Malware and Phishing Filter.
• Mostly passes Acid2
• Chrome 2.0 only: Drag a tab to the side and it will attach to side (like Windows 7 Aero Snap).
  

Cons:

• No RSS Feed Support in current version.
• Editing text fields often fail to submit properly: More common that in Safari.
• No native plugin support.
• No extension support.
• The download statusbar is hard to use if you're used to other browsers. Previously, download stops when closing tab. Luckily, this doesn't happen anymore. However, download continues in the background with no indication of the status unless you press Download from the menu.
  
• No download pause and resume
• Sends data with unique ID back to Google. Not optional.
• The domain highlighting puts emphasis on domain AND sub-domain, which defeats the purpose of it.
• No Autoscrolling (middle click scrolls up and down)- Introduced in v2.0
• No Full Screen Mode. Yes the toolbars take up very little space, but still. - Introduced in v2.0
• Does not completely pass Acid2 test pixel by pixel. Small artifact to the left.
• Does not pass Acid3 yet.
• No option to show menu bar, even if you want it
• No zoom percentage count.

Opera 9.6 (all platforms)
Note: Not all features mentioned here are available for all versions especially on portable devices

Pros:

• Elegant Special Effects
• Two default themes: Opera and Windows Native
• Tab Previews (Mouse over tab)
• Panel Sidebar with buttons for History, Bookmarks, Widgets, etc…
• Widgets: Little Gadgets showing various information
• Closed source makes it one of the most secure browsers
• Built in mail client and IRC Chat
• BitTorrent Downloading integrated
• Trash can to reopen closed tabs, restore notes, widgets, etc…
• One click detailed site info including downloaded time, cache file, security, number of elements, scripts, and more
• Detailed element loading status on URL bar
• Many community created themes to choose from to change Opera's appearance
• Wand: Autocomplete not only Passwords but Forms too
• Rewind and Fastforward. Go back to first or last page visited on tab
• Speed Dial. Instant Access to 9 selected sites
• Useful Mouse Gestures
• Error Console
• Identify as another browser like Firefox and IE. Tricks various scripts that identify browsers however this does NOT run as another browser engine. Its still Opera
• Passes Acid2.
• Opera 10 only: Passes Acid3
• Malware and Phishing Filter
  

Cons:

• No add-on support at all. Not likely to receive them either.

The following chart is a comparison of some major features built in. Does not include add-ons that can add the feature. Refers to latest stable version except for Safari.

	IE 8	Firefox 3	Safari 4	Chrome 1	Opera 9
Domain Highlight	Yes	No	No	Yes	No
Private Browsing	Yes	Firefox 3.5	Yes	Yes	No
Phishing Filter	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Malware Filter	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Acid2 Pass	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Acid3 Pass	No	No	Yes	No	Opera 10
Session Restore	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Download Manager	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Add-ons	Yes	Yes	Mac only	No	No
Themes	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
RSS Feed	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes

You’ve seen 5 of the most popular browsers. Now, which one is your favorite. Cast your vote below!

Unlocker unlocks stuff!

Unlocker, is a tool for removing windows error messages like the following:

I doubt anyone really loves these stupid pop-up boxes that don't allow you to delete files...because everyone loves being logged into root all the time. (This is why I use Ubuntu...see my post to come about Windows vs. Linux!)

Anyway...Unlocker is a really useful Windows-only tool that lets you delete whatever file you want via the right-click menu. According to the site itself, many other programs that do the same thing don't have the same functionality and many of them aren't free. Unlocker, by contrast, is.

See the website for more details.

[Unlocker 1.8.7]

That's all folks for today! Please comment on tech as we need comments to improve on the tech guide. Don't hesitate to ask any questions. Thanks!
By - WinTechpedia™ 2009 Contributors

Windows 7 RC is now available!

Many of you probably know that the Release Candidate version of Windows 7 is now available. You can easily download it until July 2009, so you have plenty of time. The RC expires on June 1, 2010, however, it will be shutting down bi-hourly (every 2 hours) starting March 1, 2010. You will get an alert 2 weeks before this occurs. Read about the installation here.

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Page

To receive your product key, click here, then scroll down and select the appropriate info. Then log into your Windows Live Account, fill out the application (if you haven't already done so in other places) to get your product key. Or you can just get the list of keys here, since there is only a limited number of keys meaning everyone is basically getting the same keys, just like with the beta in January 2009.

But for those of you that don't want to use an ActiveX Control to download here are some direct download links from Microsoft. These DO support Download Accelerators, so you can perform multi-part downloads. Use these links to download if you do not wish to use the ActiveX Downloader and/or wish to use other browsers (other than IE) and/or Download Accelerators.

Download 32-bit (x86) Windows 7 RC:
English
German
Japanese
Spanish
French

Download 64-bit (x64) Windows 7 RC:
English
German
Japanese
Spanish
French

Note: Occasionally, these links download a useless 110 KB ISO with the same name. If this happens, like it did to me, just try again a few times. The ISO is 2.36 GB so it may take a few hours depending on your network speed.

I am downloading the English x86 version right at this moment. Leave any comments you may have in the comments section!

Firefox URL Bar: The Unknown Feature

There is a lot of talk about Chrome's new Omnibar, where you can type in anything and it would perform a search on the default search engine, which is Google by default. However, there is one hidden feature in Firefox's Awesome Bar that many have never known even existed. At first, Firefox search from URL bar seems to be like all other browsers, type something thats not a URL, then it searches your default search engine. But thats not how Firefox's one works.

Note: If the follow feature loads up a net error, an add-on may have corrupted your profile. This has occurred for me and I had to reset my whole profile or hunt down the corrupt file. Firefox Safe Mode doesn't fix the issue. This will also not function if you have the Omnibar extension installed.

Yes, if you type in terms, it would search the URL, title or bookmarks and history, etc... but try typing the name of a company in. Unlike other browsers which perform a search for the term, Firefox might do something special and smart.

Try it now! Type in weather into the Awesome bar. Just that, and nothing else. After loading a while, you end up... at Weather.com!

Type in gmail. It will load Gmail right there.

Type in wintechpedia. Since our blog is not as well known yet, it performs a search using your default search engine, just like most browsers would.

Type in WOT. Guess where you end up? To the home page of the Web of Trust!

This doenst' just work with names. Try entering: youtube.com Google. You end up at Google's YouTube Channel!

Firefox does a good job preventing you from visiting malicious sites. If you type in screensavers or screensavers dot com (exactly that), it doesn't go to the first search results because they are all malicious.

This is another awesome feature of the "Awesome bar." I know of no other browser that goes directly to a page. Most other browsers perform just a search. It pretty much finishes the .com, .org., etc... part for you in most cases without you having to press the auto complete shortcut.

Firefox takes your term and does what it thinks is best. If the search result that comes up first is a popular site (i.e. you type the name of a famous company), it would load their page. Otherwise, a search is performed. Pretty neat eh?

Continue reading. New Post on Built in Omnibar! Click here.

Enable Chrome's Omnibar Instead!
But if you don't want this feature above and you want the Omnibar, just install this extension. You might want to go to Manage Search Engines to edit the keywords first cause you'll need them. Then right click on the menu bar and click Customize. Drag the search bar away and voila you're done.

That's all folks for today! Please comment on tech as we need comments to improve on the tech guide. Don't hesitate to ask any questions. Thanks!
By - WinTechpedia™ 2009 Contributors