CallCenterTechs

Released on 3/23/2009

 

 

IE 8.1 Supports Firefox Plugins, Rendering Engine

KermodeBear writes in to note that according to Smashing Magazine, the newest version of Internet Explorer, codenamed “Eagle Eyes,” supports Firefox plugins, the Gecko and Webkit rendering engines, and has scored a 71 / 100 on the Acid3 test. The article is pretty gee-whiz, and I don’t entirely believe the claims that IE’s JavaScript performance will trounce the others. (And note that the current Firefox, 3.0.8, scores 71 on Acid3, and Safari 3.1.2 hits 75.) No definitive date from Microsoft, but “sources” say that an IE 8.1 beta will be released in the summer.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Make Your Firefox Browser Look Better With Mozilla Labs’ Latest Skins

Mozilla Labs is debuting new personas today – extensions that add lightweight themed skins to your Firefox browser – enabling you to personalize your user experience according to your mood without interrupting your browsing sessions. The Personas for Firefox add-on was first introduced in late 2007, but has now expanded to include hundreds of artist-created designs in a variety of categories, according to a blog post announcing the new sets.

I like custom skins / themes and the fact that Mozilla is taking steps to make it easier for people to adjust the look and feel of their browser according to their mood, but somehow the announcement made me cringe a little (much like this Labs experiment did). I would rather see Mozilla focus on improving the speed and usability of its browser than offering its users ways to add eye candy, particularly now that the browser wars are heating up again. Firefox needs more innovation, not decoration. But then that’s just me. Some people love eye candy more than speed.

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Sent from my 3.0 iPhone 3G – Yes it works

 

 

Avoid the 'Microsoft Tax' with Free Security, De-crapifying Software

Save money on the cost of extra security software, and save the time it takes to rid your PC of “crapware” with these no-cost options.

 

 

OfficePod Provides An Outdoor Sanctuary For People That Work From Home [Telecommuting]

Don't get me wrong, working from home is great—but it can make you feel like you are always on the job. The OfficePod provides a hip-looking solution to that problem.

The idea is to separate your office from the house with a easily constructed pod that provides both style and functionality. Naturally, the OfficePod puts a premium of eco-friendliness and sustainability with recycled building materials and energy efficient lighting /cooling. Apparently, the OfficePod is available to employers in the UK as a lease, but someone needs to sell something like this directly to homeowners. As more and more people telecommute or move into self-employment, I would imagine a pre-fab office to put out in the garden would be in high demand. [OfficePod via Treehugger via Apartment Therapy]

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Guantanamo Bay is one of the world's controversial prisons. This may be its final chapter. With unprecedented access, National Geographic has the story you haven't heard. Both sides, told from the inside, before its doors close forever. Click to learn more and go Inside Guantanamo >> natgeotv.com/guantanamo

 

 

Use Google Reader from Within Outlook [Outlook 2007]

Reader David writes in with a useful tip for consolidating windows—he embeds Google Reader into Outlook as a replacement for the built-in RSS support.

Replacing the current RSS Feeds folder with Google Reader instead is easy—just right-click on the folder, choose Properties, enter the full URL to Google Reader on the Home Page tab, and then check the box for “Show home page by default for this folder”. You can even use the full URL to a specific folder in Google Reader, or create extra folders in Outlook and use a different URL for quick access to different views.

The technique itself is nothing new to most Lifehacker readers—we've previously mentioned how to use Google Calendar from Outlook—but it's a very useful tip if you spend most of your day in Outlook anyway. Thanks, David!

Update: If you are getting javascript errors, you should be able to use the following URL to fix the problem: http://www.google.com/reader/ (thanks to k3n85 in the comments for clarifying).

 

 

Opera Mobile 9.7 to Support Flash, Google Gears, Server-Side Compression [Mobile Browsers]

Despite being the obvious choice for WinMo browsing, Opera Mobile 9.5 is far from perfect. That said, the next release, due in a few months, might even put the likes of Mobile Safari to shame.

How’s that, exactly? For one, Flash Lite will be supported, opening up a plethora of previously inaccessible streaming video sites. Google Gears will provide offline Google web apps and better performance, competing with the upcoming Offline Gmail feature bound for WebKit-based browsers. OpenGL ES hardware acceleration will add a missing fluidity to movements, assuming your phone has 3D hardware and drivers (like most HTC handsets). Most importantly, 9.7 will have the option to connect to Opera Turbo, the content compression service used in Opera Mini, which does a lot to knock down loading times for a small sacrifice in image quality.

Fans of Skyfire might notice that these features—excluding Gears—are all available on their browser already. True! But one thing isn't: proper VGA and WVGA support, which prevents it from being usable on every desirable Windows Mobile phone, period. So basically, this is very good news. [Opera Mobile via Information Week]

 

 

Follow the Mobile User

This guest post is written by Vic Gundotra, Vice President of Engineering for Google’s mobile and developer products. (Prior to Google, he spent 15 years at Microsoft, most recently as their GM of Platform Evangelism.) Vic credits his now-7-year-old with forecasting the importance of mobile data access, and now carries at least 4 phones at all times. Fortunately, he had two kids before adopting the possibly-prophylactic habit.

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Focus on the mobile user, and all else will follow Simpler data, better browsers, and a smoother experience Today the mobile industry finds itself in a unique position to do right by its users: Worldwide phone penetration continues to climb at a break-neck pace, with over 4 billion mobile subscribers at last count.¹ (In comparison, the PC industry is forecasted to see its sharpest unit decline in history.²) Prevailing economic conditions will accelerate this trend, as users consolidate pricey communication services into cost-effective, all-in-one mobile devices.³ And for the first time ever, half of all new connections to the internet will come from a phone in 2009.⁴ Google’s mobile traffic reflects these milestones — having quintupled since 2007⁵ — and it underscores users’ appetite for mobile data services. But as a community of operators, device manufacturers and software providers, we continue to get in their way. In short, and as a general rule, we make it too costly, too unfamiliar, and too difficult to do anything beyond voice calls. In reply I offer up three suggestions: simpler data plans, better web browsers, and a smoother on-device experience. And in each case I’ll use Google traffic numbers as a proxy for total internet usage and user happiness.

 

 

Type O'Key is multilingual typing tutor.

Type O’Key is multilingual typing tutor. Type O’Key supports multiple languages and keyboard layouts: they are taken directly from your operating system. So, they will be just same as you have got them into the habit and will be changed if you change them. It works also with letters with diacritical signs. They are entered by pressing of two keys: sign key and letter key.