small market share, has made a
phenomenal impression, and is
leading the pack in sheer
functionality, and user appeal.
Though nowhere near as
widely implemented as FireFox,
or IE, it commands a dispropor-
tionate share of media attention,
due largely to it’s popularity on
mobile devices, and innovative
features.
Checked out one of the ‘other’ browsers yet?
The most common one seen on desktops these days is FireFox, (open-source), by Mozilla. A great browser by any standards.
Another one is Opera, (Proprietary). Like ‘IE’ and ‘FF’, Opera is unique in it’s own fashion, and most likely to be of interest to anyone wishing for a new look and feel.
Opera comes across more like a social website than a browser.
If you could combine all your favourite FireFox, and InternetExplorer features and make them part of your Technorati, MySpace, or Facebook site, incorporate Yahoo, Google, and Altavista, add a pinch of iTunes and iLife, the results might be something resembling Opera!
Opera’s vision statement is “to provide the best Internet experience on any device ...to provide a browser that operates across devices, platforms and operating systems, ...to deliver a faster, more stable and flexible Internet experience than it’s compeditors.”
I could go on for quite a while espousing Opera’s vision, mission, and values statements, but you might as well check it out for yourself at Opera’s Internet site.
As for myself, I’m totally lovin’ Opera. It’s fast, light, security is tight, and the lay-out practical and accessible.
At press time, I've only had the pleasure of evaluating the desk-top release, which only accounts for a portion of Opera’s target market. The company has garnered several Industry Awards for innovation, as well as User’s Choice Awards for the Desk-Top, Mobile, and Mini versions.
Opera info and download at: OPERA.com
When liberty is taken away by force it can be restored by force. When it is relinquished voluntarily by default it can never be recovered.
– Dorothy Thompson
Protect yourself against DRM, –read this article, join the FSF, and stop agreeing to agree.
The Free Software Foundation’s membership drive is coming to a close at the end the month.
This is the No.#1 organization when it comes to the continued preservation of liberty in the software world.
The FSF is the foundation responsible for the GNU/Linux project, and the GPL (Gnu Public License).
They are an organization dedicated to freedom in computing, including, but not limited to, freedom from privacy invading DRM technologies.
The organization’s main mission is the preservation of the computer user’s rights, and freedom to use one’s software, without undue influence, or restriction, by proprietary vendors, and their agents.
Imagine that. An organization that actually believes your computers is yours to do with as you wish. An organization dedicated to protecting your right to use your computer, the hardware and the software that make it functional, without having to ask for permission, without breaking any laws, or being clandestinely spied upon by your operating system.
What will they think of next? Freedom of Speech? Freedom of the Press? Freedom of Information?
If you’re of the belief that corporations, not people, for people, by people, should set the standards, or regulate what you can and cannot do with your computer, then ignore this group. If you value the freedoms granted to you by the constitution(s), ...
Not surprising, considering the obtainable degree of excellence being demonstrated by free and open source software developers around the globe.
Millions of computer users are showing a preference for open source and/or free software. Many more are switching because free, or open source software often not only costs less, but in many instances performs better than available proprietary equivalents...
Plain, in that the interface is clean, crisp, and uncluttered. Simple, in that Screem provides logical and accessible functionality without any fuss.
Screem supports highlighting for more than thirty languages, and makes the feature easily customizable. WYSIWYG is not offered, but the ability to produce raw, clean mark-up, efficiently, is. A complete review and comparison will be featured in the near future, so check back with us, or download and install a copy from Screem.org.
PS. - Sorry, Windows users, this one’s just for Linux and Unix.
Install Gnu/Linux.
Open Source
is a term referring to software licensing agreeements, by which applications, and their source code are publicly and readily available for study, modification, and development. Though it is not a requirement of the agreement, open source applications are frequently made available for free (gratis) to the public, ‘Free’, in the context of the open source licence, refers to ‘free’ public access to the source-code, and not ‘free’ as in “free-beer”.
Mark Shuttleworth
is the founder of the Ubuntu project. He is actively involved in the ongoing and continuous development of the Ubuntu operating system.
Canonical Ltd
is Ubuntu’s commercial Sponsor. Based in Europe, the company provides technical support and helps ensure Ubuntu’s availability and accessibility to the public.
The Debian Project
is an organization of individuals with the common goal of creating a ‘free’ operating system, (Debian GNU/Linux ). GNU usually refers to applications for Linux systems, and Linux the operating system. There are several variants, or derivatives, of Debian GNU/Linux, Ubuntu being one of them.
The Linux Kernel,
the lines of code that constitute the actual Linux OS, was developed by Linus Torvalds in the early 1990’s. The entire kernel is comprised of over six-million individual lines of code, more than 2% of which Torvalds is credited as having written himself.
Minix
(for mini-unix ) is a microkernel, developed for small personal computers in the late 1980’s / early 1990’s by Andrew Tanenbaum. Derived from the earlier Unics operating system (1970’s), it is said to have inspired Torvalds to develop the now famous, and popular, linux kernel