State of the Web Browser

Firefox in its “latest incarnation”:http://www.mozilla.org/press/mozilla-2004-06-15.html has left behind Internet Explorer so far behind that I feel sorry for those poor souls still stuck with it. Firefox has been superior to IE ever since version 0.7 so long ago, but with the 0.9 release it moves miles ahead.

It will be said of the year 2004 that the race for the very best browser was tight, with Opera far ahead in features and speed, but slowly ever so slowly Mozilla’s entry Firefox edged closer. IE remained way back in the year 2000, up shit creek with a disbanded devolpment team to boot.

It’s a tough sell convincing people to use a browser other than IE, for nobody cares about things like web standards, browser and computer crashes and even speed. All they want is a nice big button labeled the ‘Internet’.

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Data Formats

Why proprietary data formats are bad:

bq. “You should have the right to own your own information. It’s your intellectual capital and you worked hard to produce it for your citizens. Sun doesn’t own it, Microsoft doesn’t own it, you own it, and that means it should be living in a nice, long-lived, non-proprietary data format that isn’t anyone’s competitive weapon.

>> ‘Tim Bray’:http://www.tbray.org/ongoing/When/200x/2004/06/09/ScienceStreet

And that’s why open source is the future. If nobody but Henry Ford _(and Daimler etc.)_ knew how to make cars and they refused to publish technical manuals than cars would be extremely expensive and we’d still be riding horses.

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Gmail and the Google Weblog

“Gmail”:http://gmail.google.com/gmail is the cat’s pajama’s. All other webmail applications might as well just pack up and go home now. I have a fast computer, yet Gmail has faster response times than both Outlook and Opera 7.5b1! Opera does a lot more than Gmail, but just the fact that Gmail runs so fast is staggering. I think we’re finally getting to the point where the Network is the computer, and pcs are just access points.

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Textpattern vs. Movabletype

“Textpattern (A flexible, elegant, easy-to-use content management system for all kinds of websites, even weblogs.)”:http://www.textpattern.com/ is finally out! I’ve been waiting for months for a public release, as based on the interface alone its brilliant. If Movabletype 3.0 doesn’t match up, this website will be switching over to Textpattern. While MT 3.0 is in “alpha testing”:http://www.movabletype.org/news/2004_01.shtml#000885, Sixapart is taking very long about it. The problem with MT is that while it does a whole lot more than Textpattern, too many of the added functionalities seem more like hacks than things planned and integrated into the CMS. Over time, Textpattern should also have a large number of plugins available which should cover just about all the functionality needed. Dean is planning to add subcategories to Textpattern, while MT will most probably only have them in the pro version. Textpattern appears to be BSD licensed, so it’s free for commercial use – another plus point.

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Information overload

An edited version of this article was published in the February 2004 issue of Spider Magazine.

It’s nothing new and it’s been around ever since mankind first started to speak. Here in Pakistan, where technology is almost a form of magic for many, the very word information doesn’t have much meaning. Like most third world countries, the Internet and the usage of computers is not widespread. The total number of internet users is 1.4 million according to a recent estimate, while government estimates over the years put it anywhere from 2 to 5 million.

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Software Piracy in Pakistan

A few days ago I was at the local computer store to buy some hardware, when I noticed that all the software shops were absent any software. It turned out that Microsoft and their local lackeys are back on the warpath chasing after software piracy. *Again*. This has happened so many times in the past that it’s laughable. Still, maybe because of these constant raids, software piracy has slowed down to some extent. We no longer have the latest and greatest software’s available here soon as they get released for manufacturing abroad. Often times, one has to wait for months before software is finally available over here. Still, with the advent of Windows XP and Office XP, people are basically satisfied with what they have, and there are no longer hordes of people looking for the latest software releases. Games of course are available here well before their release dates abroad.

For those who shudder in horror at all the rampant piracy around here, please take note that it is *impossible* to actually buy a legal copy of any software around here. I have tried over the years, but I have never been able to track down anyplace which sells legal copies of Windows and Office. When it comes to digging out computer stuff in Karachi, I consider myself quite resourceful, so if I (and a large number of other people and hardware retailers) can’t find a legal copy even after a good ten years of effort, I have to conclude that Microsoft doesn’t care about this market and so can’t be bothered to actually sell any copies.

The most likely explanation is that whoever it is whom Microsoft has authorized to look after the Pakistan market is happy making money by raiding small offices and slapping hefty fines on them. I have gotten a number of threatening faxes from this (Dubai based) organization over the years, and while most have gone into the dustbin straightaway, I did contact them a number of times about acquiring/purchasing Windows. Each time they said they’re in the business of stopping software piracy, not selling software. And no, they did not send along any contact numbers/places where I could purchase the software from.

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Computer Shops in Karachi

Walk into any computer store in Karachi. The likelihood is:

* The person behind the counter doesn’t know much about computers.

* He (and it’s definitely going to be a he) doesn’t really use computers.

* The price will be as high as they think they can get away with.

* Does not realize that he can make his life much easier using the same computers he’s selling to automate much of the mindless software installation and troubleshooting they keep doing.

* Has never heard of automated installs and imaging.

* Customer support… ( _no no no_ )

* Everything will be scattered about in a way to make even the simplest task take at least half an hour.

* Everything will be connected to a single _overloaded_ stablizer, causing all the monitors to flicker like mad.

* There will only be a *single* phillips head screwdriver in the whole shop, which will be borrowed periodically by someone next door.

* Has never wondered why most of their customers come to him with the same issues over and over again.

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Configure Your System Wickedly

WinXP out of the box is slow. Even on multi gigahertz machines, the default installation seems sluggish, and not only that, the system is wide open to viruses and spyware. Most people using a Windows PC on the Internet find their pc’s slowing down drastically over time. I’ve found that a properly set up 1 ghz. pc is faster for normal use than a default installation of WinXP on a 2.5 ghz. machine. That is a big difference!

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“MSN Messenger”:http://messenger.msn.com/ has become the de-facto standard instant messaging application, at least here in Pakistan. Every teenager with a pc is on it the whole day and those without end up loggin on somewhere or the other. Since I also had to bung in this bloated monstrosity, (it takes up more than 22 megs of ram) here are various tips and tricks to make it bearable. So far I’ve come across an add remover, and how to remove the email address from the drop down box.

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