Windows and Mac OS X: Apple releases a new version 3.1 of the Safari web browser which includes several stability and performance improvements, along with a couple new minor but useful features, most notably:Double clicking on the Tab Bar opens new tab Supports trackpad gestures for back, forward, and magnify on MacBook Air and compatible MacBook Pro computers
Get the new version via Apple’s Software Update; it’s a free download for Mac and Windows. Thanks, Anthony! Download Safari 3.1About the Safari 3.1 Update [Apple]
Windows only: Microsoft has released the first public beta of Internet Explorer 8 for download by willing testers, which debuted this week at the Mix conference in Las Vegas. Intended for developers and designers only, IE8′s most intriguing new feature so far is “Web Slices,” which lets you monitor a single section of a web page, like an eBay auction (similar to Leopard’s Web Clips.) Web developers will be excited about better standards compliance. I’m just downloading and installing IE8 myself, so no word yet on anything else exciting (perhaps better tab support, MS? Pretty please?) Check out some setup screens, including a Firefox settings import wizard that detects your ‘fox extensions, after the jump.
Windows only: Freeware application Zorro aims to take distractions like flashy ads out of your online video watching experience. It does so by blacking out all content that isn’t your video, including your browser window, so it’s just you and your video. Zorro is brilliant in its simplicity: it’s basically a see-through application window, so you launch it, resize it so whatever you want to isolate is inside Zorro’s boundaries, and hit escape to black out everything outside the Zorro window. It could even work as a distraction-stopper for any application you want to bring focus to, like the many distraction-free word processors. Zorro is freeware, Windows only. Zorro [via Confessions of a freeware junkie]
When web sites open new windows with JavaScript, they have the ability to disable certain features of the new windows—like your address bar, toolbar, or even resizability. All-things-Mozilla web site MozillaZine details how to tweak your about:config settings to prevent JavaScript from launching these stripped windows. Just type about:config in your address bar, then paste dom.disable_window_open_feature into the filter textbox to start tweaking your settings. We’ve mentioned this feature once before, but the MozillaZine article goes into great detail on how each change will affect your browser. Prevent websites from disabling new window features [MozillaZine via Lifehacker AU]
You may not want everything to be the same everywhere you’ve installed Firefox, but if you’ve settled on the perfect set of about:config tweaks, chances are you don’t want to go through the hassle of setting up the same set of preference tweaks every time you install Firefox. The MakeUseOf weblog delves into how to find and back up your Firefox preferences so that you’ll never have to duplicate the effort of building the perfect Firefox setup. Just find your Firefox profile folder and grab the prefs.js file. Anytime you re-install Firefox, just drag that file back into your new profile folder and voilà—your perfect setup is restored.
Quick Tip: Backup Firefox Preferences [MakeUseOf]Weblog Hackosis details a smart hack for finding an internet browser in Windows XP in the face of extreme IT lockdown—where Internet Explorer is blocked and Firefox is an out-of-the-question extravagance. The method? Simply use the browser built into the XP default help app. For example, just open up an app like Calculator, hit F1 or go to Help -> Help Topics, then right-click the title bar and select “Jump to URL…” Then it’s simply a matter of entering the URL you want to visit. It may not work in extreme cases of IT lockdown, but it’s worth a try if you’re desperate. While you’re at it, here are a few more methods to survive IT lockdown.
Hidden Browser in Microsoft Windows XP [Hackosis via Download Squad]Windows only: Free music downloading software Freemusiczilla listens to what’s playing in your web browser and makes it available for downloading as distinct mp3 files. We’ve featured individual music service downloading apps before, like Pandora’s Jar, but Freemusiczilla seems to sniff out nearly any Flash or AJAX-based music player, be it Last.fm, Pandora, iMeem, MySpace, or many more custom or streaming services. The program limits you to 10 mp3 downloads per day, presumably in waiting for a fully-enabled “premium” version, but gives you three minutes into each track to decide if you want to download or not.
The iPhone certainly didn’t invent the mobile browser, but it does seem to be the mobile device that’s bringing mobile browsing to the mainstream. The benefits of mobile browsing are obvious: You can access the web from practically anywhere and at any time—assuming you carry your phone with you wherever you go. Mobile browsing has always had a couple of obstacles, though, namely that carriers’ data plans have often been very expensive and most (pre-iPhone) mobile browsers have traditionally been unwieldy. Again, those obstacles are slowly breaking down, so now that many of you are sporting shiny new post-holiday phones, we’re wondering:
If you’ve returned home from the holidays having evangelised to your friends and family about the wonders of Firefox, you’ll be thrilled to know that Mozilla has just launched a new live chat support service. The support staff is volunteer-only (they’re just kind Firefox users looking to lend a hand) and support is not 24 hours, but what a great bookmark for that new Firefox installation you added to your parents’ computer—or your own.
Firefox Live Chat [Mozilla via Download Squad]Windows/Mac/Linux (Firefox): Users of Apple’s Safari browser have the ability to set a temporary “waypoint” to return to while following link after link, and Firefox users can get a similar utility with the SnapBack extension. If you’re going to be doing some serious click-digging on, say, a gadget review site, but want to return later to a main listing page, click the SnapBack button with a middle button to anchor it. You can then return to that page at any time with a single click, and reset the anchor again just as easily. While Gina may prefer the more extensive How’d I Get Here? add-on, I’m fast becoming a fan of SnapBack’s simple functionality. SnapBack is a free download and works wherever Firefox does.
SnapBack [Firefox Add-Ons]
