Firefox

[Sparky_Bill]

If you want to have a browser which is much better than Internet Explorer then I can strongly recommend Firefox. Less spy ware and adware added to your system which you have to clean out all the time and you can add a spell check which will work when typing messages here.

I have been using Firefox for a long time now and love it. But just added the spell checker feature and tried it on a test message and it worked fine. This will be the first real message using it which I added some misspelled words to test it and it may well find some I did not put in on purpose. Wonder what I will do with a "smilies" so I will add how happy I will be when the roads are clear. :riding:

It worked great and I had to add the word Firefox which is a nice feature, being able to add words like TCVR which would not be in a dictionary.

[Joe_WaZoo]

Is this the right site for FireFox?

http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/

Joe_WaZoo

[Sparky_Bill]

Yes that is the site to use to load Firefox. Enjoy.

[311Hemi]

I would agree! I wont use Internet Explorer anymore unless I am forced to.

[John Ritter]

I started using it as well and enjoy it.

Although, if Firefox become popular, won't the writers of SPAM starting writing code to attack Firefox?

[Sparky_Bill]

I started using it as well and enjoy it.

Although, if Firefox become popular, won't the writers of SPAM starting writing code to attack Firefox?

You will enjoy it much more when you run Spybot and Adaware and get NO hits. To answer your above question I posted this to some of my buddies and here is the answer for you below.

Are you confusing spam (unsolicited commercial email) with spyware? If you're talking about spyware, Firefox doesn't support ActiveX, which defacto provides more security, because ActiveX is where most of the spyware comes in. If you browse only with Firefox, the likelihood of getting spyware on your computer is close to nil.

(Firefox has had a few exploits, but they get plugged rather quickly and they tend to be W3C issues or Java issues more than Firefox issues.)

[Choirguy]

...if Firefox become popular, won't the writers of SPAM starting writing code to attack Firefox?

One of my students gave me a magazine (Wired?) that featured an article on the 19 year old that created Firefox. Basically, it's a rip off of the code used for Netscape, but ultimately better.

Even with the popularity of Firefox by "knowing" computer users, the mass majority of people barely know how to access the Internet, never mind e-mail. As such, even installing programs is a chore for them. If I remember, Firefox has a 4% share of the browser market, Internet Explorer 94% of the market, and 2% uses some other browser. Plus, the hackers have a particular loathing for Microsoft, rather than one of their own.

Sure, if they put their attention to it, they could easily crash Firefox...but it's not going to happen.

[Sparky_Bill]

Yes many people do not understand the Internet, where it came from, how it works or when it started. I was on the Internet before there was a World Web Web. The WWW is just a graphical interface to the Internet. Below it is all the power of the net. The first browser was written on a Next computer, who heard of that one. That was only in 1990, but without "pages" out there it was just the beginning of what could be. Others with NASA wrote Mosaic which really to me was the beginning of the use of a browser to interface with the net.

In the beginning I and most others used a program called "Gopher" and teleneted into the net and used Gopher to access data from the computers on the Internet. You did it like the old DOS system by typing your commands. But on the Internet you used Unix commands. This was in 1994. It was not till, I believe, 1997 that browsing the Internet became the way to go. Netscape was the leading browser back then.

It just picked up speed like wild fire after that. It's amazing how fast computers and the Internet has grown.

It would be like if someone had attached a motor to a bicycle in the year 1990 and by the year 2000 there was a Goldwing 1800 out there with all it's bells and whistles under it's plastic shell.

It has been fun living the history. Question, how many have heard of the Amiga computer? What a machine that was.

[Chris 2]

Bill,
I remember making x-mas wreaths out of old computer punch cards. :)
However, we did some building for cray research back in the 80's they were going to set the world on fire with thier super computer sold one to russia if I remember quite a rukus was raised over that,But the thing I remember most was when they had an open house for the people that worked on the building, that computer took up a 30'x20. room it was huge! it looked more like a giant tape recorder ,tapes spinning , punch cards flying ,I mean it was something to see, now that all comes in a 20"x8"x24" box,. amazing :rolleyes:

[Sparky_Bill]

Chris

You are so right about main frames. I remember an IBM model back in 1967 which I wrote an operations manual for the students at Dunwoody back when I was still a student there. You could feed in a set of punch cards and the printer would play "She will be coming around the mountain" from the pegs striking the paper. Now how long did that take to program? It filled a room. The first hard drive I bought cost me $600 for a 100 MEG not gig folks but meg. That was a huge drive. I still have a 300 meg drive here that it is nearly the size of 2 bricks. The computer I have now has a gig of memory in it where the first machine had only 8k.

The walk down memory lane.... hmmmmm

[sstodvictory]

Strictly speaking, Firefox isn't a ripoff of Netscape. Both are development branches of the code called Mozilla (the browser engine), which in turn is a branch of the original GUI brower engine called Mozaic. Mozaic was developed at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois in the late 80's early 90's. Early Netscape versions were basically renamed and further-developed Mozaic, and along the way Netscape branched the central code into Mozilla and adapted their free distribution policy, releasing their implimentation of Mozilla still under the name Netscape. The Mozilla code was further developed by a different consortium which distributed their implimentation as the browser of the same name, Mozilla. I ran the Mozilla brower for several years on my Linux boxes. The Mozilla project upon further development became Firebird, which was renamed again to Firefox.

Ultimately, Firefox and Netscape are branches of the original NCSA code Mozaic, although at this time the development tree is looking rather bushy. Among browsers having any significant useage, the only ones that are based on truely independent engine code are IE, Opera, and Konquerer. Even the apple brower is, I think (don't quote me) an implimentation of Mozaic.

The predecesor of them all is Lynx, which displays only text and hyperlinks which you navigate with your arrow keys. Every once in a while I browse with Lynx just for kicks, mainly to amaze myself that it works even with modern web pages.

:Scholar: Any questions?

Steve

Sparky_Bill corrected me. Its Mosaic not Mozaic.
.

[Chris 2]

:lol: Memory lane eh? about the time you were in dunwoody well maybe a year later or so,I had a wards 125cc motorbike think it was made by benelli and as we weren't old enough to drive yet, we used it as a trail bike back when bloomington was still farm country .My older brother had a honda 50 or a 90 supersport?and his friend had a white step thru honda 50 .and we had a 16 horse evinrude snomobile with reverse (L),My buddie had a 10 horse skidoo and we would ride for hours up and down 9mile creek, from hwy 100 down to the minnesota river, ah those were the days(L) ride for 2 hrs and wrench for 6 that was the life,.... :rolleyes:

[Sparky_Bill]

Well I had my first bike in 1963. It was a Lambretta. Crazy kid. I remember riding out to a camp ground my folks had already went to but I had to work later. Rode with a friend and we were bored. He would turn around and put his feet up on the spare tire and lean against my back. (yes it had a spare tire) Also had running boards which when I got tired of driving he walked up one side and I down the other and traded places. Just thinking about that gives me the willies now. I still have that bike.

Dirt bikes, road Pecks Woods, that was near 694 and Hwy 65. Yup woods and the area of 694 and Hwy 100 where Cracker Barrels is now. Bakers woods near hwy 62 and 494.

Bloomington, worked down there in 69, drove my 250 Yamaha to work where Nicolett Ave. turned in to gravel at 108th.

[Choirguy]

Steve,

I don't doubt the history, but the article clearly indicates that they were hacking Netscape.

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.02/firefox.html

[Sparky_Bill]

Steve,

I don't doubt the history, but the article clearly indicates that they were hacking Netscape.


Tuba, I do not see that the article said that. I even did a word seach on the word hack and could not find anything. What is done and I think Steve said it is that both are based on the same engine. But I think it was an open souce engine. It's created by many people building parts of it and given to all to use. You have the code available to you as a programer. I do not believe you can make it part of your program and sell it but if you use their code it must continue to be open for others to use.

He didn't know that the browser was an open source project and a descendant of Netscape Navigator now poised to avenge Netscape's defeat at the hands of Microsoft.

[John Ritter]

so.....what your saying is....ah....it is better....right guys?....

Some of you techies (no disrespect meant) need to dumb it down form time to time for us "others"
I would like to take this time to thank you techies who help us and this site/club out...with out you I wouldn't have met so many great people.


and I still have a 27 hp Johnson Challenger - yes with neutral and dual headlights...it is green and I think its a 1972. The motor is a v twin as well I believe...

[Choirguy]

I even did a word seach on the word hack and could not find anything.

The problem is understanding terminology. "Hacking" is not always in reference to an illegal activity. Not all "Hackers" are bad people.

Here's a definition from www.dictionary.com. Note definition 3.1 (not 3.2, which is what you have in mind):

hack (v. tr.):
v. tr.

1. To cut or chop with repeated and irregular blows: hacked down the saplings.
2. To break up the surface of (soil).
3.1. Informal. To alter (a computer program): hacked her text editor to read HTML.
3.2. To gain access to (a computer file or network) illegally or without authorization: hacked the firm's personnel database.
4. Slang. To cut or mutilate as if by hacking: hacked millions off the budget.
5. Slang. To cope with successfully; manage: couldn't hack a second job.

[Chris 2]

hmmmm think I'll just hack off some leftover ribs for lunch( 4) :BigLaugh:
Ritt ours was an evinrude skeeter I believe had nuetral, reverse, and a decompression switch for easier starts(L) and a wide track with cleats that went all the way across, so if you hit a solid object they either broke or bent and gave ya the wobbles :lol:

[IowaVic]

[QUOTE=Sparky_Bill]Tuba, I do not see that the article said that. I even did a word seach on the word hack and could not find anything.

[sks700]

I thought Al Gore invented the internet :BigLaugh:

[sstodvictory]

Great photo Eric! Where was it taken, and does that thing have a reverse gear? It looks like you and your family have a lot of fun with that Ural. Is it reliable?

Steve

[Sparky_Bill]

Looks like an Eye-O-Wegin getting ready to jump the Snake Canyon of Iowa to me...... :Horror:

[Choirguy]

It's really a shame that Blaze isn't around to pee on the tires of that bike, too. :(

[IowaVic]

Great photo Eric! Where was it taken, and does that thing have a reverse gear? It looks like you and your family have a lot of fun with that Ural. Is it reliable?

Steve
-----------------------------------------------
Loacation: North of De Soto, Iowa overlooking the Raccoon River.
The rig does have a geared reverse.......you don't want to back up too quickly! :Butt:
The Urals (this my fourth) are getting very reliable.
Check out this factory link.

Chris....If that Fog was still around (Ya, I kinda miss him) I'm sure he would love to ride in the hack. :DogRun:

[jimbob92c]

I went on the Mozilla site a time ago and wanted to download FireFox...but got scared that I would screw my whole system up as I am not as fluent in computer as some you....well, most everyone.....

It sounds like a great interface...but not sure what happens when you download it. On the other side, I run spybot and ad-aware and always come up clean. I also run historykill and zone alarm. I booted out Norton because it kept screwing up my computer.

Jim

[jimbob92c]

Ha! didn't see IowaVic's response until after I posted. Hacker indeed!

[Choirguy]

Firefox is just another browser, and it won't mess up anything. It will ask to be your primary browser (as will Internet Explorer if you use a second browser), but if you don't want it to be, just say "no."

So you're safe with that. Download and install, and then run.

It will even copy over your favorites and bookmarks from IE.