Microsoft Silverlight for Linux

The equivalent of Microsoft’s Silverlight but for Linux operating systems is available for download as of May 13, 2008, under the label Moonlight. According to the official description of the technology, Moonlight is nothing more than the open source implementation of Silverlight, tailored for UNIX systems. With this latest step in the evolution of Silverlight, Microsoft can finally claim that the technology is truly cross-platform, because ahead of the May 13 public release of Moonlight, support was available exclusively for Windows and Mac OS X operating systems.

Moonlight is a project developed in parallel with Microsoft Silverlight, but not by the Redmond company. In fact, Microsoft partnered with Mono, an open source project backed by Novell, in order to port Silverlight to Linux. At this point in time Moonlight is still in development, and as such comes with the inherent problems associated with any Beta.

“The release comes in two forms: no-media codecs supported, but easy to install. This currently hosts builds for Linux x86 and x86-64 for Firefox. [And] source-code compilation, but you can optionally compile FFMpeg codecs yourself. To do this, download our moon-0.6.tar.bz2. And follow the build instructions”, revealed Miguel de Icaza, Novell Vice President for Developer Technologies.

De Icaza noted that Moonlight is designed to integrate seamlessly with both Firefox 2.0 and Firefox 3.0 releases, but that the latest modifications introduced in the development of version 3.0 of Mozilla’s open source browser will cause the open source implementation of Silverlight for Linux to malfunction. At this point in time Mono is offering both Moonlight 1.0 and 2.0 versions, adapted to correspond to Microsoft’s own Silverlight 1.0 and 2.0 releases.

“Moonlight supports “windowless” mode, a mechanism that allows Silverlight content to blend with other HTML elements on a page. This is only supported by Firefox 3, users of older versions of Firefox might run into Silverlight applications and web sites that do not work correctly as many Silverlight applications depend on this functionality (Flash sites have the same problem with Firefox 2)”, de Icaza added.

Novel Moonlight 1.0 and 2.0 Alpha are available for download here.

Tags:application, download, Firefox, install, Linux, linux x86, Microsoft, moonlight, Mozilla, novell, silverlight microsoft, technology

Create A Batch File To Open Multiple Programs At Once

Ever have the need to open more than one program or application at the same time?

Say it’s the beginning of the month and time to pay those dreaded bills. You know you need Excel, Windows calculator and Firefox or Internet Explorer open. Instead of opening them up one by one, you can easily create a batch file that will open all three programs at once.

And while your at it, why not have Excel open the spreadsheet file you use for tracking your budget and the browser open to your Bank’s home page. Here’s how to do it…

First let’s take a look at a batch file I created that will just open Excel, Calculator and Firefox:

NOTE: Examples and file paths are from Windows Vista. XP paths will probably be different for some programs as well as for MS Office (Office 2007 is used in the example).

start /d C:\Windows\System32\calc.exe
start /d “C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox” firefox.exe
start /d “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12″ EXCEL.EXE

Pretty simple.

The above command, start tells Windows to open a separate window to run the specified program.

The /d switch tells start command the path of the program. For starting Excel and Firefox, notice that the paths are in quotes, which is needed when there is a space in the file path.

Now it’s great that all three programs open, but since it’s time to pay your bills, you need to have Excel open that budget spreadsheet and Firefox open to your Bank home page so you can log on and access you checking account.

Here’s how the commands look in the batch file to do this:

start /d C:\Windows\System32\ calc.exe
start /d “C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox” firefox.exe https://www.bankofamerica.com
start /d C:\finance\spreadsheets budget.xls

To open Bank Of America home page with Firefox, just add the URL to end of the command as shown above using https://www.bankofamerica.com.

To open the Excel spreadsheet, budget.xls you don’t need to first open Excel. budget.xls can be opened directly using the start command, as long as the extension or file type is associated to the program.

If you need Firefox to open more than one URL, say to Google, just add the URL like this (make sure you use a space in between URL’s):

start /d “C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox” firefox.exe https://www.bankofamerica.com www.google.com

Now you’re probably saying “that’s great, but how do I create a batch file?”.

That’s the easy part.

* Just open up Notepad or your favorite text editor.
* Copy the commands from above and modify them to use which ever program or Office files you want open. Make sure when you copy file and folder paths that have spaces, to use quotes.
* Then save the file with any name and a .bat extension (make sure it’s not saved using .txt as the file type extension)

Tags:account, application, Browser, calculator, command, excel, finance, Firefox, google, Internet, internet explorer, Microsoft, Mozilla, notepad, Office, Program Files, system32, Windows, windows vista

How to Move Web Applications to Your Desktop

Although many people have their favorite web apps setup as their homepage on their browsers, there are times when running a web app inside its own window - in a separate process - could come handy. Think about having your browser clogged up with way above 30-40 tabs open and crashing at random times.

Then, you will just have to open it again and fire up the web interface you were working with at the time of the crash. A desktop web app will automatically eliminate the need of restarting your work flow all over again just because a buggy web browser decided that he had enough.

That’s only a quick example why one would need a web app to run on its desktop. To be able to do it, you will have to use an application developed by Mozilla and named Prism. It enables the end user to easily integrate any type of web application into a friendly desktop environment.

Why use it

Most probably the final users of the desktop web apps will be those who don’t know a lot about computers, the kind of people who consider a web app like a distinct application. This is actually a good thing if you see it from the developer’s point of view because, this way, people will tend not to think that they are on the web.

Thus, the web app will get a temporary status of desktop application, a fact that, added up to the lack of toolbars and other browser specific elements, will help the end user to get a lot more focus on the task at hand and greatly reduce distractions.

Wondering what other uses you might have for such an app? Well, you could use it to stay logged on into a Google calendar account without having to re-login when switching between your Gmail accounts, easily access a local web app inside a business environment where you do not need a full browsing experience, and the list could go on.

Also, Prism will allow the web developers to easily create web apps that can run on Prism without having to worry about specifically targeting Prism, because a web app that will run in a modern standards compliant web browser will automatically be able to run in Prism.

Prism is an application built on Firefox, therefore it is cross-platform (runs on Mac OS X, Linux and Windows) and supports Internet technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

How to use it

First of all, go HERE and download Prism to your computer. After mounting the downloaded dmg file, copy Prism to your Applications folder and run it by double clicking on its icon.

In the window that will appear you will get access to all the options you will need to configure the desktop web app you want to create. I have chosen the Google Gmail web app as an example, but you can migrate to your desktop any other app you may want to.

In the URL field fill in the link to the web app you have chosen and write down the name that Prism should give it after making it available on your desktop. The ‘Show location bar’, ‘Show status message and progress’ and ‘Enable navigation keys’ can be selected or left as they are according to your own taste. In case you want your web app to only be able to go to a single web location (like the aforementioned Gmail for example), be sure not to select the location bar.

The ‘Create Shortcuts’ option sub-group will help you choose the places where you want the web app to be available and the ‘Icon’ option will allow you to quickly select an image that you wan to associate with the web app you want to create. You will be able to choose between the web app’s fav icon (as it is called in the Prism interface ‘the icon from the web’) or to select a custom image from your computer.

The next step is to push the OK button and Prism will take care of everything. The web app will be available on your Desktop, Dock and/or Applications Folder, according to what you have chosen on the desktop web app creation interface.

Who would use it

I suppose many people will not get the idea behind the Prism project and will think it is just a feature-less web browser. That’s what I’ve thought in the beginning too but, after considering all the things everyone had to say (web developers, web browser users, people who don’t have a lot of computer know-how), I think Prism might prove very useful in the business environment.

Here, when somebody wants to access a web app, the need for toolbars and all types of add-ons and buttons is almost close to zero, therefore being able to access the web app in a clean and focused environment should prove very helpful in maximizing the amount of attention on the task at hand and, in the end, creating a more productive environment.

I’m not saying others won’t find it useful too (the Google Calendar example above should fit the profiles of a lot of people), it’s just that this type of approach doesn’t feel natural to most web users. Many have already said it just resembles too much making a shortcut to the actual website where the web app runs or even giving up on the multi-tabbed browser experience.

Whatever your position on this subject may be, feel free to comment and leave your opinion on the usefulness of Prism in a web world dominated by multi-tab capable browsers like Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and many others.

Tags:Computer, Desktop, download, Firefox, gmail, google, Internet, internet explorer, Linux, Mac, Mac OS X, Mozilla, web application, web browser, Windows

5 Quick FireFox Tips

One of the cool things about Firefox is it’s never ending ways to do things. While this list will not make headlines, any Firefox list I find, always has one or two tips worth saving. Here are five Firefox tips that I like because they are quick and don’t require any extensions or add-ons installation.

Firefox Tip 1 - Bookmarks are great, but sometimes you may want to save a Web site link for the short term. Instead of creating a Bookmark, just click and hold on the Web site favicon in the Address bar, then drag and drop to your Desktop creating an instant shortcut link to the site. Next time you need to visit the site, click on the shortcut and Firefox will open the link in a new tab.

Firefox Tip 2 - Firefox 2.0 provides a few options to customize what sites you want opened when Firefox starts up. By setting the Startup preference in Tools \ Options under the Main tab, I like to have several sites open, by selecting Show My Home Page (next to When Firefox Starts) and adding URL’s in the Home Page field.

But after a while, I find new sites here and there and end up needing to add or remove URL’s.

Instead of constantly modifying the URL’s in the Home Page field, you can have Firefox open all sites located in a Bookmark folder. Just select Use Bookmark and choose a folder. You can easily add and remove sites to the folder, then just refresh the sites by clicking on Use Bookmark and re-select the folder (This also works on version 1.5).

Firefox Tip 3 - If you like to use keyboard shortcuts, but found the Page Up / Down and Home End keys are not working anymore, just hit F7 to get them working again. The keys become disabled if the Accessibility feature was enabled either in Tools \ Optons \ Advanced tab and selecting Always use the cursor keys to navigate within pages or you press F7 and answered yes to the following for Caret Browsing.

By selecting the check box Do not show me this dialog box again, pressing F7 toggles the feature on or off, but does not display the dialog box if the keys become disabled again without warning. To get the warning back:

* Type about:config in the Address Bar
* In the Filter bar, type accessibility.warn_on_browsewithcaret and double click on it to set the Value to True.

Firefox Tip 4 - When searching using Firefox search box on the Navigation toolbar, search results will open in the active tab. Using Alt + Enter will open the search results in a new tab. You can make this the default action by having the searches open in a new tab all the time with the following change:

* Type about:config in the Address Bar
* In the Filter bar, type browser.search.openintab and double click on it to set the Value to True.

Firefox Tip 5 - Tab browsing is one of the best inventions since the Internet. But sometimes when you have many tabs open, it’s hard to find the active tab.

To make this change, make sure the userChrome.css file exist in your profile directory at the following locations:

On Windows Vista: C:\users\[User Name]\AppData\Roaming\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\xxxxxxxx.default\chrome
On Windows XP/2000: C:\Documents and Settings\[User Name]\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\xxxxxxxx.default\chrome
On Linux (typicaly) ~/.mozilla/firefox/xxxxxxxx.default/

(If file does not exist, just create a text file and name it userChrome.css)

Then copy the following code into userChrome.css and save it.

/* Make inactive tabs almost visible */
#content tab:not([selected="true"]) {
-moz-opacity: 0.5 !important; }

Close and re-open Firefox and you will now be able to easily find the active tab.

Tags:Accessibility, Browser, favicon, Firefox, Internet, keyboard, Linux, Mozilla, startup, Web, Windows, windows vista, windows xp

Windows XP and Vista: The Benchmark Rundown

Is Windows Vista Faster Than XP?
Our Windows Vista coverage began with a hands-on diary by MobilityGuru’s Barry Gerber, followed by an assessment of gameplay under Windows Vistaby graphics presidente Darren Polkowski, as well as a complete feature rundown of Vista. Barry took the new operating system and its look & feel with a grain of salt, while Darren was disappointed because OpenGL support was dropped along the way, meaning that Windows Vista currently offers horrible performance for graphics applications utilizing the Open Graphics Library.

We are sure that mainstream users will appreciate the improved usability of Windows Vista, and the average office/multimedia user will likely never notice the lack of OpenGL. However, a chapter on the overall performance of Windows Vista requires more dedication. In particular, two things require an in-depth analysis: (more…)

Tags: Adobe, aero, analysis, antivirus, available memory, balanced performance, benchmark, benchmarks, Firefox, flash memory device, Microsoft, microsoft office, Mozilla, open graphics library, Operating system, PC Suite, PCMark, performance enhancements, physical ram, RAM, readyboost, rundown, Software, speed, test system, usability, user experience, Windows, windows vista, windows xp, WinRAR

How to open multiple home pages at startup in Mozilla firefox

If you are frequent web browser ,a blogger or a freelancer if you are in any web related profession then you must be spending around at least about 1-2 hours on web.

Why open multiple pages at start in mozilla firefox ?

Now every minute of your’s is important so it’s you to decide how you can optimise and speed up your repeated browser activity in order to make the most efficient use of your time .

Lets assume that you have a medium speed internet connection and you use firefox every time so, if you have to open intial web sites every time before you start work like open email , dash board of your wordpress blog, google reader etc (more…)

Tags: Browser, browser activity, email, Firefox, frequent web, google, how to, Internet, medium speed, Mozilla, pctips, pctipsbox, speed internet connection, startup, WordPress

Making Firefox Handle Multiline Pasted

Andrei provides an excellent tip for Firefox users in Pasting Wrapped URLs:

Here’s another Mozilla/Firefox tip: if you copy a URL wrapped over multiple lines from somewhere and try to paste it into the address bar, you will end up only with the first line of it. To fix it, go to about:config and change editor.singleLine.pasteNewlines setting to 3 or add: (more…)

Written by Jason on December 15th, 2007 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Firefox and about:config and config and configuration and mozilla and tweak.

Firefox 3 Testing Begins

The next version of Mozilla Firefox, codenamed Gran Paradiso, but better known as Firefox 3 is now entering the final phase of testing with the release of the Beta 1 software Itâ€™s still a bit early for everyday use but developers and geeks are welcome to give it a test run, and help Mozilla iron out any remaining bugs. It has lots of interesting new features, including Information about the site you are visiting just click on the siteâ€™s â€˜Faviconâ€™ (the little icon that appears on the address bar, it has beefed up malware protection, better all round security, integration with anti-virus software (it alerts your AV program if it detects anything suspicious in a download), and thereâ€™s a â€˜resumeâ€™ download feature if your connection is interrupted for any reason. Password management has been simplified, the useful Find toolbar now opens automatically and early reports suggest that it is faster and more stable than its predecessors and barring any last minute disasters the finished version is on course for release early next year.

anti virus software, developers, final phase, finished version, Firefox, Internet, mozilla, mozilla firefox, password management, security integration, Web

Written by Jason on November 30th, 2007 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Firefox and Internet and Web and anti virus software and developers and final phase and finished version and mozilla and mozilla firefox and password management and security integration.

Microsoft Just a Spectator at Mozillaâ€™s Firefox Spectacle

Microsoft is nothing more than a simple spectator at Mozilla’s Firefox spectacle of releases. A new version of the open source browser is now available for download. Mozilla has delivered Firefox 2.0.0.10, a stability update announced as early as last week. Firefox 2.0.0.10 can be grabbed immediately via this link, but Mozilla will also serve the refresh via its update infrastructure, and in this sense, users will be alerted of the new build. With this release, Mozilla has plugged three security holes in the browser. A referer-spoofing via window.location race condition flaw, jar: URI scheme XSS hazard, and holes involving memory corruption are the vulnerabilities fixed with Firefox 2.0.0.10.

“As part of Mozilla Corporationâ€™s ongoing stability and security update process, Firefox 2.0.0.10 is now available for Windows, Mac, and Linux for free download. (more…)

Firefox, Firefox 2.0.0.10, Firefox 3.0 Beta 1, ie7, IE8, Internet, internet explorer 8, mozilla, open source browser, Web, Windows

Written by Jason on November 27th, 2007 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Firefox and Firefox 2.0.0.10 and Firefox 3.0 Beta 1 and IE7 and IE8 and Internet and Web and internet explorer 8 and mozilla and open source browser and windows.

Firefox Security Flaw Affecting Gmailâ€™s Users

Last week, security companies around the world spotted a new vulnerability in Mozilla Firefox which could allow the attackers to use a malicious JAR file to harm users’ computers. The security flaw is still there and moreover, it seems it affects most websites on the Internet including the super search giant Google. GnuCitizien wrote that Michal Zalewski from Google (you know, that famous hacker who joined Googleplex) required additional information about a potential exploitation over the company’s technologies. In addition, beford.org discovered a way to steal the Gmail contact list using a malicious JAR file especially created to take advantage of the Firefox vulnerability. (more…)

famous hacker, Firefox, firefox vulnerability, gmail, google, googleplex, Internet, mozilla, mozilla firefox, noscript, Security, security companies, security flaw, Web

Written by Jason on November 12th, 2007 with comments disabled.
Read more articles on Firefox and Internet and Security and Web and famous hacker and firefox vulnerability and gmail and google and googleplex and mozilla and mozilla firefox and noscript and security companies and security flaw.

« Older articles

No newer articles

mozilla

Microsoft Silverlight for Linux

Related posts

Create A Batch File To Open Multiple Programs At Once

Related posts

How to Move Web Applications to Your Desktop

Related posts

5 Quick FireFox Tips

Related posts

Windows XP and Vista: The Benchmark Rundown

Related posts

How to open multiple home pages at startup in Mozilla firefox

Related posts

Making Firefox Handle Multiline Pasted

Firefox 3 Testing Begins

Microsoft Just a Spectator at Mozillaâ€™s Firefox Spectacle

Firefox Security Flaw Affecting Gmailâ€™s Users

Article search

Sections

Last articles

Categories