CNET put the just-released Firefox 3.1 beta 2 and its speedy TraceMonkey JavaScript engine up against the most recent developer build of Google Chrome. The results from a SunSpider test were Firefox edging out Chrome by the teeny-tiniest of margins, making it basically a tie if you give any room for error. [Chart and data via WebWare]
Etherpad, a collaborative-minded text editor forged by a group of ex-Google employees, focuses on making documents live and easy to collaborate on. That means that, at this point, the interface is pretty much straight text on numbered lines, but two or more people can work on a document in real time using a single URL to share, with different colours highlighting their work, a chat function for explanation, and revision-minded saving. For JavaScript coders and teams, there’s also a syntax highlighting function, and, well, that’s about it. If you, like many Lifehacker readers, dig the advanced but back-to-basics style of Notepad++, Etherpad might be right up your alley. No sign-up required.
Etherpad [via TechCrunch]We’ve all got them—those bookmarks that sit on your toolbar (or on a keyboard shortcut, if , begging you to take just, you know five minutes and see if anything’s new over there. Web developer and author Paul Bausch certainly has a few, so he’s taken to editing them to add a small bit of JavaScript around their URLs, which brings up a prompt asking “Are you sure?” The format is easy to adjust and edit, though, if your procrasti-browsing habits require a more strern warning. Here’s the basic template:
There’s a lot about the next iteration of the open-source Firefox browser to be geeked out about. From private browsing modes to tab preview panels, from punchier colours to really smart session restoring, there’s been a lot of thought put into how people want to use the web. But perhaps the greatest promise in Firefox 3.1 is the one most users won’t see at all—a serious overhaul of the browser’s JavaScript engine, newly christened as TraceMonkey. If you don’t obsessively follow the Mozilla developer’s blogs or read insider tech news, you might have a few questions about TraceMonkey—like, say, what’s different about it, how much faster is it, why that matters, and how you can try it out right now. We’ve compiled a primer on TraceMonkey’s features and uses, as well as how to experience it. Read on to see what’s new under the hood in the upcoming Firefox. Graph via Brendan’s Roadmap Updates.
Need to give your blog or personal site a more modern look? AjaxBuddy, a free repository of Web 2.0-style site tools, is great for site owners who don’t have time to learn an entire programming language, or just need a starter block of code to get building. Grab free, easy-to-modify code for Flickr-like editing fields, quick-loading slideshows and tabbed galleries, instant graphs, date-choosing calendars, and dozens more examples. Many require replacing just a few values to get working, but even the more complex tools are great learning tools.
AjaxDaddy [via Online Tech Tips]Need to pick up a little AJAX knowledge to give your website a bit of polish? Have less than a robust knowledge of how databases work? Google Code University offers a heaping helping of computer science knowledge for free. Even better, the site includes a CS Curriculum Search, which can find programming topics within materials published by the world’s computer science schools. So if you only need a specific bit of PHP knowledge to move a project along, you might find just what you’re looking for without having to plunk down cash for a thick manual. Would-be hackers looking into Firefox extensions and basic JavaScript, this is a great place to start. Google Code University [via Geeks are Sexy]
Note: The text below isn’t exactly what I said on stage (I believe the audio will be available as a podcast at some point), but it was the script that I worked from. Throughout the text I’ve noted which slide was on screen during a particular section. Apologies for the length of this post, it was an hour-long talk!
The Workers’ Edge blog at CNET posts a handful of shortcuts and tweaks for Firefox and Internet Explorer, some of which we’ve covered here before, but the author points out a Firefox configuration tip that can be a real help to browsers of JavaScript-powered web sites. Using Firefox’s about:config dialog (by entering that into the address bar), type in the following: dom.disable_window_open_feature
From there, you can choose exactly which features show up on file uploaders, options dialogs, and other script-launched windows. For a more graphical and explanatory route into Firefox’s guts, check out the Configuration Mania extension.
Boost your productivity in Firefox, IE [CNET Blogs]If you’ve come to know and love your OpenOffice.org platform, new online office suite Ulteo might just pull you away from Google Docs or Zoho, or even the upcoming Microsoft Office Live. Ulteo uses Java to re-create nearly the same interfaces as the deskop software’s word processor, spreadsheet, and database applications. While obviously geared toward OpenOffice enthusiasts, Ulteo can import and export to Microsoft Office and PDF files like its desktop brother. The beta webapp is accepting 15,000 users from North America and Europe at the moment; I got in this morning after fishing the confirmation email out of the spam bin. Ulteo requires a browser have both JavaScript and Sun’s Java Runtime environment enabled—Ubuntu users in particular might have to check their packages to ensure compatability.
Ulteo [via LH Australia]
