Mozilla launches Fennec milestone release for Windows Mobile

Mozilla has released a pre-alpha Windows Mobile build of its Fennec Web browser. This version, which is primarily intended for testing, is designed to run on the HTC Touch Pro.

By Ryan Paul | Last updated February 11, 2009 9:20

Mozilla's mobile Firefox browser, which is codenamed Fennec, is now available for Windows Mobile. Mozilla has released a pre-alpha test build of the Windows Mobile port for users who want to get an early look at the program. This release is designed to work on an HTC Touch Pro and might not work yet on other devices. I was unable to run it on my HTC TyTN II.

The Fennec project aims to bring the Firefox experience to mobile devices. Although Mozilla's browser has historically been too resource-intensive to take on the mobile market, the work to reduce memory overhead for the Firefox 3 release and ongoing efforts to improve the browser's JavaScript performance have finally made it a viable option on handhelds. We got our first look at Fennec last year when an early prototype was released. Mozilla followed it up with an alpha release that showcased Fennec's new finger-friendly user interface. A second alpha, which was released in December, included significant optimizations that improved the browser's responsiveness and brought it a step closer to being a practical option for day-to-day use.

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The Power Supply

So, tell me, has your computer ever made a noise that sounds like one of your fans is dying? I'm sure you would know if it has, because it can be pretty loud and it usually just sounds awful! Well, either way, I'm willing to bet that your fan really isn't the culprit here. Nope, it could be your power supply instead. If you have a noisy fan, you smell something burning or you see smoke or flames shooting out the back of your computer, you may very well have a problem with your power supply. And I assure you, that's a whole lot worse than a dead fan if you don't catch it right away. Keep reading for more on this!

There are many different things that could cause your power supply to go bad. For instance, the fan that runs next to your power supply could get clogged up with dust and dirt and start to run much slower or the fan's bearings could start to wear off. When those things happen, your power supply is at risk of overheating and it will eventually fail. Or, it could have nothing to do with your fan. Perhaps the power supply itself was faulty from the get go and it only took a matter of time before it failed completely.

Even more so, if you're having trouble with your computer shutting down and restarting itself at random times, that could be another indicator that your power supply is going bad. And since your motherboard, CPU, disk drives, etc. all work off of the power supply, it's not a good idea to take a chance on it getting any better. If you do, you'll just have more trouble down the road. Don't worry though, replacing a power supply is rather easy to do and it's fairly cost friendly. So, if your computer is experiencing any of the symptoms I mentioned above, you'll want to check into getting a new power supply. It's a small price to pay for the safety of your computer!

~ Erin

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The Future of Passwords

Who out there has way too many passwords? I know I do! In my average day, I log in to about 15 different areas with different passwords and usernames for all of them. Now, I know that may be higher than what most people do, but it still shows that passwords are everywhere in our lives.

The issue with passwords is they can be stolen, figured out or even forgotten. Now, be honest: how many times do you simply reuse the same password over and over again? If someone got ahold of your one password, would they be able to log in to all of your private places?

Luckily, the idea of a simple character based password is slowly going away. There are a lot of new (and older) technologies out there that allow for secure access to places, without the need to remember a bunch of passwords. I thought I would share a few of those with you today!

1.) Fingerprint Scanners

I'm sure almost all of you have seen a fingerprint based access device before. We here at WorldStart have even sold little flash drives that have fingerprint scanners. Those little devices have been around for a long time, but just recently, they have started to become standard parts of laptop computers and desktops. Having a fingerprint scanner can help alleviate password issues. Essentially, your computer remembers your passwords and when you scan your fingerprint, it enters the password for you. That way, you don't have to remember as many passwords.

2.) Key Based Password Devices

Key based password devices don't completely remove the need for a password, but they do make it less possible for someone to use your password. Usually, a key based password device is just a regular flash drive with a special code stored on it. When a program asks for your password, you have to plug in the flash drive with the code and also type in the password. That way, you have to provide two different authentication methods. Someone who knows your password, but doesn't have the key will not be given access. On the other hand, if someone steals your key, they won't know your password and they'll be out of luck as well!

3.) Graphical Passwords

Another type of password option removes the need for words altogether. Some new cell phones use this type of password. The way it works is by presenting a screen. The user then draws a pattern or image on the screen with their finger. If the pattern matches the saved one, the user is granted access.

This just gives you an idea of what we may be seeing in the future. There are many different ways we can replace the need for several passwords, but they do require more than just a keyboard. Someday, new computers will all use one of these password types and passwords will finally be a thing of the past. Until next time, stay safe out there, my friends!

~ Gary

TwitterFox

So, tell me, are you an avid Twitter user? I mean, do you just have to know what your friends are doing at all times? If so, TwitterFox is the perfect Firefox extension for you! It lets you know when your friends post updates to their Twitter accounts. If you're interested, here’s how you can install it!

1.) First, go here and click on the Install button.

2.) Then just wait patiently for the add on to download.

3.) You’ll then be asked to restart your Firefox Web browser, so go ahead and click on the Restart Firefox button.

4.) You'll notice in the bottom right hand corner of the screen that there’s now a lowercase "t," just like the Twitter logo. Go ahead and double click on it.

5.) In the Preferences box, click on Add Account and then enter in your username and password.

6.) Click OK twice and you're all set. Now, every time you get a "tweet," you’ll be notified right away. Have fun!

~ Brandon Zubek