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“Firefox has encountered an unexpected problem with windows.” is the obvious comment at YouTube. -via The Daily What
I want this foxy necklace and Firefox isn’t even my web browser! This video by Craft Magazine shows how to make your very own foxbling from a template designed by Tobias Leingruber. All you need are some basic jewelry making tools and (I suspect) a whole lot of manual dexterity.
Link – Via Laughing Squid
Say it ain’t true, Firefox. The popular browser’s reputation has taken yet another hit when a new study by application security vendor Cenzic revealed that Firefox leads the field of browsers in terms of total vulnerability (yes, even besting Internet Explorer):
According to Cenzic, Firefox accounted for 44 percent of all browser vulnerabilities reported in the first half of 2009. In contrast, Apple’s Safari had 35 percent of all reported browser vulnerability, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer was third at 15 percent and Opera had just six percent share. [...]
As to why Firefox’s numbers were so high, Cenzic has a few ideas.
"It’s a combination of different things," Lars Ewe, CTO of Cenzic, told InternetNews.com. "They’ve gotten more traction as a browser, which is good for them and the more you get used the more exposure you have. As well a fair amount of the vulnerabilities have come by way of plug-ins."
One key area that Ewe said was responsible for a number of reported Firefox vulnerabilities is with how the browser handles plug-ins.
"The plug-in architecture that they have is a selling fact for the browser and one of the reasons why I love using it," Ewe said. "They can’t control security aspects of all the plug-ins and the vulnerabilities are a side effect of that."
Sean Michael Kerner of the InternetNews explains: Link
With the advent of competing browsers came some fierce loyalty to one brand or another. Some people would go as far to say they “love” their browser of choice. That got Grace Smith thinking. If you had to marry a web browser, which one would it be, and why? She put the question to her Twitter followers, and got many responses. Some examples:
I’d marry Firefox, but I’d like her to lose some weight and stop complaining when I accidentally call her Google Chrome.
I imagine I would start by dating Firefox, but come to realize she is high maintenance and run off with Safari.
It would have to be Opera, still barely touched and very innocent but with some great hidden features.
Netscape is my MILF!
I would marry FireFox, but every once in a while have a fling with Safari (For the looks) & Chrome (For the performance).
Can’t say which one i’d marry but I’d divorce IE6 in a second.
IE makes promises it doesn’t keep.Safari is unpredictable and incompatible. Firefox hogs the resources. I think I’d be single.
Firefox, though I have to admit, I’ve had several affairs with Safari. *shamefaced* But I’ll always come back to you, Firefox!
In the Great Upcoming Queue Revolt of 2009, Neatorama reader Shon commented how Neatorama takes a long time to load. This was quite surprising to me, since we spent a lot of time, money, and effort to make Neatorama’s front page – long and full of pictures as it is – loads fast. Well, as fast as it could if you’re on broadband, that is (sorry, dial-uppers! No amount of optimization will overcome a slow connection).
So, I spent some time last night poking around, and sure enough: Neatorama’s front page took its sweet-*ss time of 15 to 20 seconds to load on Internet Explorer 6.0 (the only IE copy I have on my computer). That ain’t right – the front page content takes less than 2 to 3 seconds to load on Firefox. I think the difference is how Firefox renders the page as it downloads, versus IE displaying everything only after everything has been downloaded.
A while ago, we’ve moved calls to slow external ad servers to the end of the Neatorama page. This lets the content be displayed on Firefox browsers even before you see the rest of the page loads. It sure beats staring at a blank page on IE!
So, if you’re that 1 in 3 Neatorama readers still using that slow-poke Internet Explorer, it’s time to give Firefox a chance! Link
V838 Monocerotis – NASA/ESA via Hubblesite
Alan Taylor of Boston Globe’s The Big Picture Blog, one of the neatest blogs around on the Web, has a truly neat post about the most amazing images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope: Link – Thanks Tiny Dancer!
This one above is the "light echo" of the explosion of V838 Monocerotis, about 20,000 light years from the sun. From Wikipedia:
V838 Monocerotis (V838 Mon) is a variable star in the constellation Monoceros about 20,000 light years (6 kpc)[1] from the Sun. The star experienced a major outburst in early 2002. Originally believed to be a typical nova eruption, it was then realized to be something completely different. The reason for the outburst is still uncertain, but several theories have been put forward, including an eruption related to stellar death processes and a merger of a binary star or planets.
V838 Monocerotis was also dubbed the "Firefox" star, because of its similarity to the popular browser’s logo (previously on Neatorama)
