Tech News: Why aren't you using FireFox?
A new study came out recently stating that "Internet Explorer users can be as much as 21 times more likely to end up with a spyware-infected PC than people who go online with Mozilla's Firefox browser." For the record, I would like to point out that the study used an unpatched version of IE, which I think was dumb and potentially done on purpose to produce a more biased opinion in favor of Firefox (on the other hand, the survey was done by the University of Washington, which shouldn't really have any alliances anywhere). I suggest fully reading the article before you take anything it says in the first two paragraphs to heart. Regardless, if you're using IE you probably don't have a fully patched version anyway, seeing as how they release a different patch every week.
I've been using Firefox for about a year now. Pop-ups are down, spy-ware is down, and tabbed browsing is awesome. Personally, I also really like how easy it is to add links to your own bookmarks toolbar for one click access. The computer nerdy side of me also likes that it's open source so me and other nerds can write our own plugins and extensions to do the cool things that I want it to do, but you probably don't care about that. If I've convinced you or if you want to find out more about Firefox, go here.
And don't forget, Site Meter knows all, so I'll know if you keep using Internet Explorer.
One other quick tech news note: Menino announced the other day that he wants to put up a WiFi network over the entire city. Allow me to preface the rest of this paragraph with this disclaimer: I hate Menino, mostly because whenever there were riots in Boston after the Super Bowl or World Series, he blamed the new allowance of alcohol sales on Sundays and that Northeastern did a bad job of keeping students on campus. He of course neglected to mention anything about BU (which you would think deserves mention considering Kenmore was a pretty big rioting hotspot) or that during the second Pats Super Bowl win he cut police presence in the city by 50% (I can't find an article to back this up, but I remember reading something on Boston.com after the kid was killed on Symphony. Regardless, there is this article that says only 150 officers were on duty the night of the Super Bowl; a number that would be tripled for the World Series 9 months later). Also, there's the big dig, which last I hear will finish by time we're driving Jetson's cars.
I have a couple of problems with the new WiFi network. For one, this isn't exactly the most enthusiastic plan. Menino set up a task force, which will research and report back to him by this summer. So really, it's just a political statement to make people think that Menino is actually doing something. Second, the city of Boston has a lot of wireless hotspots already. In my neighborhood alone, Northeastern University, Au Bon Pain, Boloco, Espresso Cafe, and even Our House (yes, that's a bar) have free wireless access. So what's the point of having the entire city on WiFi if many locations already have access? My theory: Menino wants to rope in a "corporate sponsor" for the entire city so he doesn't have to use tax money to pay for government wireless access. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for saving tax money, just say what you mean.
I've been using Firefox for about a year now. Pop-ups are down, spy-ware is down, and tabbed browsing is awesome. Personally, I also really like how easy it is to add links to your own bookmarks toolbar for one click access. The computer nerdy side of me also likes that it's open source so me and other nerds can write our own plugins and extensions to do the cool things that I want it to do, but you probably don't care about that. If I've convinced you or if you want to find out more about Firefox, go here.
And don't forget, Site Meter knows all, so I'll know if you keep using Internet Explorer.
One other quick tech news note: Menino announced the other day that he wants to put up a WiFi network over the entire city. Allow me to preface the rest of this paragraph with this disclaimer: I hate Menino, mostly because whenever there were riots in Boston after the Super Bowl or World Series, he blamed the new allowance of alcohol sales on Sundays and that Northeastern did a bad job of keeping students on campus. He of course neglected to mention anything about BU (which you would think deserves mention considering Kenmore was a pretty big rioting hotspot) or that during the second Pats Super Bowl win he cut police presence in the city by 50% (I can't find an article to back this up, but I remember reading something on Boston.com after the kid was killed on Symphony. Regardless, there is this article that says only 150 officers were on duty the night of the Super Bowl; a number that would be tripled for the World Series 9 months later). Also, there's the big dig, which last I hear will finish by time we're driving Jetson's cars.
I have a couple of problems with the new WiFi network. For one, this isn't exactly the most enthusiastic plan. Menino set up a task force, which will research and report back to him by this summer. So really, it's just a political statement to make people think that Menino is actually doing something. Second, the city of Boston has a lot of wireless hotspots already. In my neighborhood alone, Northeastern University, Au Bon Pain, Boloco, Espresso Cafe, and even Our House (yes, that's a bar) have free wireless access. So what's the point of having the entire city on WiFi if many locations already have access? My theory: Menino wants to rope in a "corporate sponsor" for the entire city so he doesn't have to use tax money to pay for government wireless access. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for saving tax money, just say what you mean.
posted by Mike Oliver at 12:52 PM
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