The Netcraft Server Survey is out for October 2004. Their survey has topped 55.4 million sites, which is a gain of 981K from the September survey. The first Netcraft survey in August 1995 found 18,957 hosts.
Web server market share remained static though and has been that way since November of 2003. In the ensuing months since November 2003, Apache has added 7.3 million sites and Microsoft servers have gained 2.2 million sites without disturbing the prevailing market dynamics. Apache currently holds 67.85% of the market and Microsoft at a distant 21.14%. Sun and Zeus brings up the rear with less than 5% combined.
Monday, October 4, 2004
Sunday, October 3, 2004
Tabbed Browsing Improvements in Firefox
Tabbed browsing in Firefox PR1 is pretty much, well, not there for the most part. Being an old IE user and hearing people tout previous versions of this Mozilla-based browser and it's tabbed browsing, I had to give it a try. What a let down, everything opened up in a new window and I just did not get it.
Firefox is basically a build-it-your-own-way browser. Whatever functionality you want to add to it, just go find it and add it on. The problem is that there is a myriad of extensions to sift thru. Some good, some horrendously bad. But that was kewl, I am used to building and adding on to phpBB, so no problem there.
Single Window 1.4
Then tabbed browsing got better when I stumbled onto Single Window. This kind of half-assed worked. External programs, such as Outlook, would open another instance of Firefox though. When it did, there was this flashing jerkiness to my screen when the last instance appeared and the new one opened on top of it. What a FUed mess.
Tabbrowser Preferences (TBP)
Then I stumble onto an entry in Chu Yeow's Redemption in a Blog where he mentions Tabbrowser Preferences and wow! This is what the doctor ordered.
TBP allows links from external applications to open in a new tab. Other options for you middle button (or scroll wheel) to open clicked links in a new tab. The Search bar and Address bar can be set to open in a new tab too. Sub-options to open the new tabs in the foreground and background, plus some other little tweaks.
Can it get better? Yes!
Chu mentions that there is new daily build for Firefox that includes a Tabbed Browsing preferences section in Firefox options now. See Chu's post for the rest of details and a screenshot of the new options. He also has tips on how to set them.
Note that this is currently for Windows only. There are patches for Linux and Mac attached and waiting for review, so there’s hope they’ll be fixed pre-1.0 as well.
Firefox is basically a build-it-your-own-way browser. Whatever functionality you want to add to it, just go find it and add it on. The problem is that there is a myriad of extensions to sift thru. Some good, some horrendously bad. But that was kewl, I am used to building and adding on to phpBB, so no problem there.
Single Window 1.4
Then tabbed browsing got better when I stumbled onto Single Window. This kind of half-assed worked. External programs, such as Outlook, would open another instance of Firefox though. When it did, there was this flashing jerkiness to my screen when the last instance appeared and the new one opened on top of it. What a FUed mess.
Tabbrowser Preferences (TBP)
Then I stumble onto an entry in Chu Yeow's Redemption in a Blog where he mentions Tabbrowser Preferences and wow! This is what the doctor ordered.
TBP allows links from external applications to open in a new tab. Other options for you middle button (or scroll wheel) to open clicked links in a new tab. The Search bar and Address bar can be set to open in a new tab too. Sub-options to open the new tabs in the foreground and background, plus some other little tweaks.
Can it get better? Yes!
Chu mentions that there is new daily build for Firefox that includes a Tabbed Browsing preferences section in Firefox options now. See Chu's post for the rest of details and a screenshot of the new options. He also has tips on how to set them.
Note that this is currently for Windows only. There are patches for Linux and Mac attached and waiting for review, so there’s hope they’ll be fixed pre-1.0 as well.
Search Champ Checks into MSN
Glancing thru the blogs I noticed that Peter Da Vanzo has just reported in from Seattle. Although he says he probably has said enough already, for you see, Peter is one of the invitees to the MSN Search Champ Camp.Thinking about what might be going on there reminded me of a similar experience I had years ago when I subjected myself to some Microsoft testing. Kind of a strange experience.
I wound up being sent to a room with a computer sitting on a table and they shut the door behind me. Then the voice over the speaker instructed me what to do. Lo and behold I was looking at Windows 95 for the very first time.
Most of the time the voice would say "Will you please tell us what you are doing?". They wanted me to think out loud. I think I was instructed to think out loud on more than one occasion -- possibly several times. Okay maybe over twenty times.
I was like a kid in a candy shop. Back then, Windows 95 was absolutely an amazing thing to see -- compared to Win 3.11 for Workgroups. I wasn't really expecting to see something like this. I only came here for the free software they promised me.
I distinctly remember forgetting about the free software and not wanting to leave. Then the voice came again, "Thank you, you can go now". I think it was about the third time that the voice said that I could leave ... maybe the fourth ... when I finally had to leave.
So I wonder what kind of room they will stick the Search Champs in? Will they be asked to leave too? Do they get little chocolate mints on their mousepads?
Back to reality now. This second MSN Tech Preview going on and off lately -- could this be the Search Champs sitting in one of those little rooms? Possibly. "Will you please tell us what you are searching for Mr. Da Vanzo"?
Eyetrack III - Tracking User Eye Movement
The Eyetrack III research released by The Poynter Institute, the Estlow Center for Journalism & New Media, and Eyetools could provide some direction for improving news websites.
In Eyetrack III, they observed 46 people for one hour as their eyes followed mock news websites and real multimedia content. The article provides an overview of what they observed.
Included in this article are hot spot images that show the eye patterns -- where they first landed on the page, what direction they moved, time spent at a particular spot on the page (pause), etc.
Quite a fascinating study that is worth looking at.
In Eyetrack III, they observed 46 people for one hour as their eyes followed mock news websites and real multimedia content. The article provides an overview of what they observed.
Included in this article are hot spot images that show the eye patterns -- where they first landed on the page, what direction they moved, time spent at a particular spot on the page (pause), etc.
Quite a fascinating study that is worth looking at.
Soople: Easy Google Search
This is wild, Soople a tool to make searching Google easier than ever. The designer initially made this site for his mother, who, though computer-savvy, still didn't know about all the possibilities Google offers. This site is therefore meant for all those who are not yet familiar with all the functions and required syntaxes -- it is all there in one convenient user interface. Soople has most of the advanced search methods and tools rolled into one. For instance, one can specify a search by one particular site or filetype ( word, excel, powerpoint and pdf) or an image search by size and type. As well as the useful tools Google offers; search in the latest news, look up definitions or use Google as a phonebook.
Then there is the Calculator. This tool lets you do all kinds of (very advanced) calculations. Soople has added the unit-converter, which is based on this calculator, for the conversion of all the common units/measures (meters<--->yards).
The main page is comprised of the following functions:
- Standard Google searchbox, with option to search by a specific country
- Search multiple sites at once
- Filter by file type (MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint, .PDF, etc.)
- Find definitions of particular words (e.g. define:RSS)
- Search in a specific language, or sites from a particular country
- Search for sites that relate to a particular site
- Search for stocks in 5 finance sites
- Search within one site, or domain
- Specific image search
- Search in latest news (Google News)
- Search by number (e.g. UPS or Fedex tracking, patent, airplane)
- Search for movie reviews
- Find who is linking to a site
VIA: Robin Good
Gmail Phishing - Warning! Will Robinson
Not too long ago RustyBrick warned us of a phishing expedition that tried to obtain your Gmail login information. Additionally it was found out that your Gmail account name and password not only secures your Gmail account, it also secures your API account, AdSense and other possible Google programs. This will not be problem if you use different login names and passwords though.Now InsideGoogle reports that Google has taken steps in identifying potential phishing hooks and will display a warning when a phishing rod is trying to bait you with this message:
Warning: This message may not be from whom it claims to be. Beware of following any links in it or of providing the sender with any personal information. Learn moreNathan, of InsideGoogle, received one of these warnings -- but apparently it was a false-positive:
"While this is a great idea, and one more companies should try, it is also incredibly stupid if it doesn't work, and this case is one where it didn't. The email was a Google Alert, and one from National Public Radio, no less. The reason Gmail thought it was a problem, as far as I can tell, is because it links to an audio file, not a web page. Good idea, poor execution, definitely needs some work."Too funny -- a Google Alert! =)
Saturday, October 2, 2004
Important Security Update for Firefox Available
Important Security Update for Firefox Available
October 1, 2004
The Mozilla Foundation releases an important security update for Firefox. All users should upgrade to the latest version of the Firefox Preview Release. A patch is available for current Preview Release users.
How does this security vulnerability expose the user?
A malicious hacker who could trick a user into saving a file could delete files from a user's download directory.
How serious is this vulnerability?
While this is a potentially severe security vulnerability, user interaction is required to trigger potential harm. This security update is also another example of the Mozilla Foundation identifying and fixing security vulnerabilities before they are exploited by malicious hackers. This type of security vulnerability is very different from cases where a hacker could take advantage of a vulnerability to obtain valuable information from a user's computer.
October 1, 2004
The Mozilla Foundation releases an important security update for Firefox. All users should upgrade to the latest version of the Firefox Preview Release. A patch is available for current Preview Release users.
How does this security vulnerability expose the user?
A malicious hacker who could trick a user into saving a file could delete files from a user's download directory.
How serious is this vulnerability?
While this is a potentially severe security vulnerability, user interaction is required to trigger potential harm. This security update is also another example of the Mozilla Foundation identifying and fixing security vulnerabilities before they are exploited by malicious hackers. This type of security vulnerability is very different from cases where a hacker could take advantage of a vulnerability to obtain valuable information from a user's computer.
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