There were quite a few of you who were fond of the dark Gmail theme that we wrote about a few months ago, and since then it has received some significant updates to make it even better. Now there is a very similar theme that is designed for Google Calendar, and it's created by the same people who made the Gmail version.
Web browsers are probably among the most updated applications because of how important they are in our daily lives, and also because of how vulnerable they can make us to outside attacks. For example, Firefox 2 has had about 15 different versions since its release in October 2006, and all but three addressed security issues.
About two weeks ago Mozilla made an attempt at a Guinness World Record shooting for the most number of downloads for an application in a 24-hour period.
Now that the month of June has wrapped up we can see what browsers and operating systems have emerged as victorious. In both segments Microsoft is still dominating the market according to Net Applications, but there are some competitors that continue to crawl up behind them. In fact both Windows and Internet Explorer dropped in market share for June 2008.
Yesterday we announced the new Firefox extension that we launched called CyberSearch (our homepage for CyberSearch). It is based on the original version of AwesomeSearch (now called Searchery), and the reason I decided to create the extension was because I saw how it could make me more productive. Hopefully what I've come up with can be useful for you as well.
We wanted to give our readers a heads up that we are officially launching the CyberSearch Firefox extension tomorrow morning, but you can get your hands on it right now! It is based on the original version of AwesomeSearch, which is now called Searchery. We had contacted the developer of that extension with some of the ideas that we had, but unfortunately we never heard back from him.
Google might not be actively working on the Google Browser Sync extension for Firefox, but that doesn't mean you can't sync your bookmarks, tabs, passwords, and more! Mozilla just released Weave 0.2, which is a major milestone for their homegrown extension.
Firefox 3 has had nearly two weeks to work its way onto computers around the world, and the most recent numbers according to Spread Firefox say that there have been over 26 million downloads of the browser. Prior to the launch of Firefox 3 Mozilla said that they had 20 million active Firefox users, which probably means that a lot of people have downloaded Firefox 3 multiple times.
Having an email client that is built-in to the browser is one of those things that you either love or hate. Both the Opera and SeaMonkey browsers include this functionality out-of-the-box, but if all you're looking for is basic emailing capabilities you may have to look no further than a Firefox extension. The Simple Mail extension brings POP, IMAP, and SMTP support to Firefox.
Yesterday there was some concern raised over at Reddit because someone had noticed that both of Mozilla's flagship products, Firefox and Thunderbird, call home every 24-hours. This happens regardless of whether you go into the Firefox preferences and disable all of the different types of updates. Why then does Mozilla's products phone home then?
Some of you were disappointed to hear a few weeks ago that Google doesn't have any intentions of updating the Google Browser Sync extension for Firefox 3. The eagle-eyed Ars Technica has given us reason not to give up all hope quite yet though. Google, believe it or not, has posted the source code for the extension up on Google Code.
Firefox 3 (review) has been out for just barely over a week now and it has been downloaded over 19 million times according to Spread Firefox. Many of you requested that we assemble a tweaks guide just like we did with Firefox 2, and so that's exactly what we've got in store for you today.
Firefox's interface is cleverly designed using JavaScript and XUL, and using what's referred to as chrome URL's you can actually open specific windows in a tab or the sidebar. This includes things like the management windows for bookmarks, saved passwords, downloads, extensions, and more. They can even be bookmarked for quick one-click access to them in the future.
Last week Windows users got the joy of carrying Firefox 3 in their pockets, and today Mac users can do the same thing! Earlier today Portable Firefox 3.0 for Mac OS X was released, and with it you can carry your browser around with you from one Mac to another.
The other day we showed how you could get the Firefox 3 Vista theme on XP, or vice versa. Well, there is a theme out there for those of you who want to grab the Firefox 3 theme for Mac as well, and it works pleasantly well on Windows. The checkboxes, scrollbars, and buttons all take on a native Mac appearance.
Mozilla has got to be happy that they're Firefox 3 web browser has received over 12 million downloads since Tuesday, but it took only five hours for the browser's first critical vulnerability to be discovered. Luckily details about the vulnerability have not been made public, and Mozilla has said that there's no known exploit for the bug at this time.
Are you using Windows XP but prefer the Firefox 3 theme for Vista, or vice versa? Unfortunately Mozilla decided that Windows users shouldn't be given the option between the two themes, but it was only a matter of time before someone duplicated them for everyone to use. As you can see above I'm running Windows XP, but Firefox 3 has the Vista theme enabled.
In the last week we've seen two major browsers, Firefox (review) and Opera, release huge milestones for their desktop software. Just five days after the release of Opera 9.5 they are reporting that there have been an astounding 4.7 million downloads of the browser, thereby averaging almost a million downloads per day.
It's been a year and a half since Mozilla shipped Firefox 3 Alpha 1, and what we saw initially wasn't very breathtaking. For this first milestone release Mozilla focused on backend improvements that would, in the long run, make the browser a better competitor in a world that is largely dominated by Internet Explorer.
About two weeks ago we wrote about how Mozilla was going after a Guinness World Record when Firefox 3 launched. Well, that day is today, and the official Firefox 3 Download Day started just minutes ago! It strolled in about an hour late, but at least it made it here safe and sound. The site is getting hammered pretty hard right now, so don't be surprised if you can't get through right away.
