Greg Smith

The beta version of Google’s own Web browser, dubbed ‘Google Chrome’, was released today. Ten minutes ago I installed it.
As with most things Google, the user interface is very minimal and clean. There are no menu bars and the address bar also serves as the search box and history bar which is a nice idea. All settings (saved passwords, bookmarks, etc.) can be imported from other browsers such as Firefox or IE which makes for an easy transition.
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Last week Microsoft released the second beta of Internet Explorer 8. This new version of IE is at last a step in the right direction for Microsoft, as compliance with CSS standards is now a major priority.

I downloaded the new beta and started the installation, only to be met with the message

A previous build of Internet Explorer 8 is already installed on your computer. You must remove it before installing the latest version of Internet Explorer 8.

Apparently upgrading the previously installed version was too big an ask. Never mind, I thought, I’ll just uninstall the older version of IE8. But wait, it’s not listed with all my other programs in ‘Uninstall or change a program’ (or ‘Add/Remove programs’ if you’re running Windows XP).

It took me a few minutes to figure out, but Internet Explorer 8 is actually listed under the ‘view installed updates’ list rather than the list of installed programs. Great, now I can go ahead and install the new version!

Today I stumbled across the Cuil (pronounced “cool”) search engine, which claims to have indexed more pages than any other search engine: 121 billion. Developed by former Google employees, Cuil features an incredibly attractive interface complete with search suggestions and thumbnail images alongside some search results.
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Today is supposedly the official release date of Firefox 3. Over a 24 hour period, Firefox is attempting to set a Guinness World Records for the most software downloads. The release of Firefox 3 is scheduled for 10am USA PDT on the 17th of June, so get ready to download!

For those who may not know, Firefox is a Web browser. If you are using Internet Explorer, you should go and download Firefox right now. Firefox is faster, more secure and easier to use. Oh yeah, and it’s much more friendly to Web developers than Internet Explorer.

Anyone with experience with Web hosting will likely know about a web control panel – the web-based interface used for configuring and monitoring your sites. There are hundreds of different control panels out there, some of them free and others cost hundreds of dollars per year. I have experimented with several different control panels (cPanel, DirectAdmin, Ravencore, VHCS and H-Sphere are some I am very familiar with) but ultimately found each lacking in some respect.
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I have decided to stop using my custom coded PHP scripts and have moved this site over to WordPress. My own scripts have done the job for over a year, but it’s time for a change. With WordPress I should be able to better manage this site and will hopefully start posting some blog entries about whatever I feel like.

I also hope to have some new templates up soon: more on that later.