In our last episode.. I talked about how much web browsers suck. But now it’s time to discuss how great they are. The best way to describe the greatness of modern web browsers is to point out the features we have now that most people take for granted. 1. Tabbed Document Interface Most people know this as simply tabs. This was one of the best improvements...

The web browser is the most used application on your computer, period. Even when you’re not using it, it’s probably minimized to the taskbar/dock/panel. Unfortunately web browsers still to this day have a fair degree of suck factor. Here are 5 reasons why web browsers suck: 1. Plugins are the browser’s own worst enemy I call them plugins. Call...

For those who remember installing Internet Explorer either an an upgrade or fresh install, the process was specifically tailored to replace your default browser settings when electing to use the "Express" installation method. This is no longer the case. This comes shortly after it was announced that Windows 7 upgrade for UK users would not come with...

The most-used browser on the internet is still Internet Explorer. It surprises me how many people do not know how to make basic customizations to this browser. This video will show you how to do it. You may learn a few things you didn’t know about the browser before. See video...

How are pre-order sales of Windows 7 doing in the UK? Very well. However there are two major differences compared to the US version. First, it is required to have a clean install. For most people this means the drive must be wiped in order to use it to get rid of the old Windows (Vista or XP). Second, there is no Internet Explorer in the UK version. This is...

For those of you out there using the Internet Explorer 8 web browser, customizing the Command Bar makes it a lot easier to get to specific functions in IE 8 faster. This is what mine looks like: From left to right: Home, InPrivate Browsing, Internet Options, Page, Safety, Tools, Manage Add-Ons, Zoom In particular, I really like having the InPrivate, Internet...

Free is a relative term because it doesn’t necessarily mean "no money required". If to get the free access you must do something decidedly inconvenient, that costs you time and effort. But in these times, some are willing to be inconvenienced if it means saving a buck or two. Method 1: Hotel parking lot. Many hotels offer free wi-fi, and most...

Flash is one of those things on the internet that’s been a source of irritation ever since it first appeared. From the perspective of a programmer, it’s bulky and difficult to "mold" into what you want it to do. From the perspective of the user, it’s "That thing that makes me wait to load just to view it, and when it does can...

Generally speaking, most people are smart enough to know what’s real and what’s b.s. But when it comes to an internet “most” list, this is where people go completely stupid, simply assume that what they’re reading is absolutely 100% true, and never bother to ask why certain things on a “most” list are higher or...

Most web sites will work with no issue using Firefox 3 or Internet Explorer 8. But there will be times you encounter a web page that will instantly crash your browser. One such example is crappy MySpace pages. It is very common to find pages with the following junk in it:Animated background graphic Animated Flash graphics Auto-play music player Other...

Ah yes, Internet Explorer 6. It has more holes than Swiss cheese, is exploited easily and is slow as molasses. It doesn’t even do tabs. You might be thinking, "What moron would still use IE 6 when you could use 7 or 8?" Corporations would, that’s who. Windows 2000 is still used widely in the enterprise environment. And as anyone who uses...

The last time I wrote about IE 8 was on March 19. It’s March 30 today, I’ve been using the browser here and there, and here’s what I have to report on it. Is IE 8 good enough to make me switch back from Firefox? Not a chance. When I switched to FF way back in the day when Firefox was still called Firebird, I did so with a clear conscience....

Today, March 27, is my birthday. I turn 34, and for those that don’t want to do the math, I was born in 1975 at a time when mood rings, bell bottoms and disco music was all the rage. In the late 70s, the family photo included my father in a brown leisure suit. A popular television show of the day was One Day at a Time (one of several Norman Lear shows of...

There are some web browsers that are safe in older versions and some that aren’t. The safest (and fastest) web browser in the world is Lynx. This is because it’s 100% text-based. There is no malware, spyware or malicious code that exists for Lynx that I know of. The only drawback is that there aren’t any images in Lynx, nor can you use a mouse....

Microsoft released Windows Internet Explorer 8 today at 12 noon EST. I downloaded, checked it out and here’s what I have to report. First I’ll say that I’m not going to rehash what’s going to be on hundreds of other blogs out there. I’m only going to concentrate of the nitty-gritty of what matters to most people in...

Somewhere right now on the internet, at least 25,000 people are blogging, video’ing, Twittering, Facebook’ing, MySpace’ing or whatever other-ing something they really shouldn’t about someone in their social circle. Shortly after what they post these people will encounter the wrath of those they posted about (and probably in less than 24...

If you hadn’t heard, Google is intending to shake up the way it does advertising by customizing it based on your search patterns. How does the big G know how to do this? They’ll be reading your browser cookies to make it work. If this doesn’t bother you, browse as you normally would. If it does bother you that the big G is going to be reading...

Said honestly it bothers me that most people think the term hacker in relation to computers means (loosely), "An individual with the intent to harm electronically", such as breaking into someone else’s email account, stealing files, etc. The term has become so broad that it’s used as an excuse for people’s stupidity. Example: "My...

Before the dot-com crash of the early 2000s, the industry was replete with internet business moguls of the time stating (or rather, yelling) GIVE EVERYTHING AWAY! THE CUSTOMER WILL RECIPROCATE! Well, we all know that went over like a lead zeppelin. Nobody reciprocated at all and the industry took its lumps in grand fashion (to the tune of losing their...

I do operate a personal YouTube channel where I periodically post videos of me playing guitar or synthesizer. Each music style attracts distinctly different audiences. The guitar folk are expecting a certain type of music while the synth folk are expecting something totally different. Here are some example personal videos of mine (I need to show by example so I...