Firefox Vs Opera- Browser War Reloaded

Last week two of the most coveted browsers Mozilla Firefox and Opera released there new versions. Firefox-3 hogged all the lime light by creating a new Guinness world record. Where as Opera had a silent launch of its latest version 9.5. Most net users get confused and bogged down by which browser is better and which they should use.

Talking about Firefox, there is not much visible difference between FF3 and its previous version. But Mozilla has improved the browser code, which reflects in the increased speed and better memory handling. The other most notable features of FF3 are resumeable downloading across sessions, one-click bookmarking, full page zoom, enhanced add-ons manager, bookmark tagging etc. The best thing about Firefox is its wide range of plug-in and high degree of customizability.

Opera also has been doing a good job and is really a good piece of work. Although Opera is not open source as FF but still it has made remarkable innovations, remember tabbed browsing, mouse gestures and speed dial. Opera also is the browser that provides the most functionality upon initial installation. It acts as a complete browsing suite which includes a RSS reader and the only browser that has a built-in mail and chat client.

I first tried Opera from the days it was a adware and the main reason was tabbed browsing and faster page rendering. From those days Opera has came a long way. It has kept on improving and getting better and better. Features such as Quick Find, allows you to search for a website that you have visited over the last few days and ability to synchronize between your Opera cellphone browser and your PC Opera come quite handy. Other newly incorporated functions are same as in Firefox, so its on par with FF.

Now which browser you should use completely depends on personal choice and browsing style rather than to do with mind-blowing features. This debate is like Pepsi Vs Coke or Mac Vs Windows and the fans of either browsers wont be influenced by what other has to say.

I have installed both of them on my system and use them depending on my need. For specific purpose such as web development I use Firefox but for casual browsing I prefer Opera. Personally I feel, Opera seems to be faster than Firefox on slow connections which may be due to Opera's better caching. If you have a slow connection I would recommend using Opera. For now, Firefox3 would be the default browser on my computer because of its vast plug-in. But that doesn't means I will abandon Opera, it still would be there on my desktop sharing space with Firefox.

What do you think, which one is for you? Share your opinion. Get the latest version of Firefox here and Opera over here.

New Day, New Problem

I don't know whats happening with me, earlier it was my phone now my laptop's charger has gone, due to a power surge in the hostel. Interesting thing is i am not the only one affected by this, many students have lost their laptop adapter and desktops too. Right now a lot of new ideas are floating in my mind for future posts, but i am unable to write them because of this "small technical glitch".

I have already given my charger to the electrician hoping it gets repaired, otherwise i have to buy a new one. I am writing this post from my friends laptop, thankfully who was saved from this annoyance. Keep reading the blog and i will be back with new discoveries from the tech world.

Tips and Tricks: Resetting symbian mobile phones

I did it again !! I corrupted my cell phone once more as it refuses to start again. I own Nokia N73 Music edition from last eight months and fiddling with it like a hobby to me, and it had got used to my crude handling! Almost everyday I install new softwares and stuffs to try them out and several times it ends with the phone being unusable.

Yesterday was the same day, I installed a couple of softwares for a review thinking that I will uninstall then later. But alas, after a restart my cell wouldn't boot and I had to hard format and reinstall my favorite softwares back. So I thought sharing the procedure would make life a bit easy for many people. I had tried and tested this on my N73, but hopefully this will also work with other Nokia symbian phones. Before starting remember to backup all your important data, incase something goes wrong.

You can Soft Reset your device with the code *#7780# + security code (default- 12345 if you didn't change it) so your device will be back to factory settings. This code doesn't erases your personal data, it only changes the phone settings.

WARNING - Use the following steps at your own risks !

You can Hard Reset your device with the code *#7370# + security code (default- 12345 if you didn't change it) so your device will be as the first day. You will loose your all data because the phone is formatted completely.

In extreme case if your phone has seriously crashed and won't boot, remove the MMC card if any and then try to start the phone. If the phone starts the problem lies with the MMC. you can now format the card on your computer through a card reader and then again on your phone, as cards formatted on the computer doesn't work with the phone but reformatting would solve that problem.

If the problem is with the phone you can perform the same hard reset this way:

1. Make sure your battery is fully charged or is connected to the charger.
2. Switch-off your Nokia Symbian phone.
3. Press and hold 3 keys; Green dial key, * Star key, no. 3 key on keypad and then press the power on/off to switch on phone.
4. Remember, do not let go the 3 press and hold keys until you see the formatting screen.
5. After a few minutes when the process is over, your phone will be back to the original delivered system.

Top Ten Funny Tech Inventions

Yesterday while surfing net I stumbled upon some whacky inventions, I thought why not compile a list of Top ten and publish it here. So here we go...

1) USB Powered Necktie: A USB powered fan hidden in the fake Windsor knot, which blows air to the wearers face. I cant say how useful it is but be sure that after wearing those in your office you will sure look the weirdest and geekiest person in your office.




2) USB Cushion: A USB cushion designed to keep your butt cooler when things get hot at your work desk. It is fitted with USB powered fan which blows air from the tiny holes on the cushion surface.

3) Flashbag: Seeing is believing, that's what a Russian company has shown. If you are fed up with checking the space in your flash drive every time, this is for you. The size of the device changes depending on the amount of data it holds as it literally blows up in size as it is loaded with data. It comes back to its original shape as data is removed.


4) Portable Phone Booth: Want some private space to chat on your cell phone while on the busy metro rail, no problem just carry these wearable phone booth branded as "Cell Atlantic CellBooth". Zip it around yourself and bingo! you have got a private booth anywhere and everywhere to use.

5) Potato Battery: Potatoes connected to generate electricity, What was he thinking to eliminate energy crisis!! I just don't understand the usefulness of this invention, well how many people are going to grow or rather buy 500 pounds of potatoes just to generate power enough for a small sound system !!

6) Alarm Clock that runs away from you: Now comes a clock which literally runs and hides if you don't get out of the bed in time. It keeps ringing until you find and silence it, so even the most lazy ones have to get up and get rolling. It finds new places to hide everyday, so be prepared to play hide-and-seek game.

7) The Teen Repellent: This well thought and nifty invention that will keep away those pesky teens away from you. It is a device that emits irritating high frequency sounds, heard by only people below 20 years.

8) LED Umbrella: If you have any desire to be looked upon as the next "geek god", here's the perfect tool for it, next generation Star Wars "light saber with a hood". That was the first impression which I got about this umbrella. It is embedded with a LED light inside the handle which is supposed to lighten your path.

9) USB Missile Launcher: Bomb your neighboring colleague if he refuses to pass the pen, or you just invade the unsuspecting next door cubicle with this missile launcher. The launcher tilts and rotates through the included software and is complete with sound effects. With just a click it launches a foam projectile to vanquish your office enemies.

10) USB BBQ: Feeling lazy to get out of your comfortable computer seat to cook that meat you brought yesterday? Don't worry, this USB BBQ is just for you. Manufactured by few "talented" inventors, it works on 30 USB ports spread out over five USB PCI cards. This thing sure is going to make the hall of fame.

iPhone 3G - The Dawn of New Era

At last, after months of waiting and speculations the next generation iPhone 3G or iPhone 2.0 is here. It is thinner, lighter, cheaper and claimed to be twice as fast as its predecessor. Apple has blessed iPhone 3G with GPS and has improved audio and reception quality. Other features of the 3G iPhone are Contact Search, iWork document support, bulk delete/move, saving images from an email, scientific calculator, parental controls, added languages, various input types, etc.

Its overall look is same as earlier version with same 3.5-inch display, the only difference being its curved back panel. The back panel is plastic as opposed to chrome in original iPhone, Which has a quite positive effect on the reception quality. There is no secondary camera for making video calls which will leave a few unhappy. The main camera also was not improved as it still has same 2 megapixel camera as the previous model.

Apart from what a normal smart phone functions, it has few key functions like customizing Home screen, Visual Voicemail, a chat-style view for SMS etc. Beside these still there isn't any cut and paste and it also lacks in Multimedia messaging (MMS) and voice dialing which is quite bizarre. you can also enhance your iPhone functions by adding new application from apps store. But wait, these doesn't comes free, you have to pay money to use the applications as only few of them are free.

On the battery front, talk time has decreased to 5hrs from 8hrs earlier, but this implies only when on 3G network. On 2G It has a increased talk time of 10hrs an increase from earlier version. The battery is still not user-removable, so a new battery involves a trip to an Apple service centre.

Thanks to 3G technology you can now access web faster than earlier. It supports popular email servers and providers — including MobileMe, Microsoft Exchange, Yahoo! Mail, Google Gmail, and AOL — and most industry-standard IMAP or POP mail systems. The best part of this new version is that it packs a built-in GPS system which comes in quite handy. Although, if you already own a first generation iPhone don't despair, as all is not lost yet. You can upgrade the firmware to version 2.0 for enhanced experience. The new firmware is just around the corner (scheduled July 2008).

The iPhone 3g will sell for $199(around Rs 7900) for the 8GB version and $299(around Rs 11900) for 16GB version and the price will be the same all over the world. The 16GB variety will be offered in another color choice too - pearl white. The Launch date for iPhone 3G is due on 11th of July. For starters it will be available in 22 countries, later it will be further expanded to over 70 countries worldwide before the end of the year. It is expected to be released in India around November by Airtel, for which booking already have started.

Many of the Apple's competitors will be relieved that the iPhone is certainly not good as it should be. It still lacks in some key functions and there is a lot of room for improvement. Still, I think that iPhone 3G have more than enough punch to impress and sell well in the market.

Earlier I wasn't impressed by its older brother because of its high price tag and low feature set, so I never thought of owning one. The latest version has changed my perspective, and the foremost reason was "price" assuming there's no hidden cost. The affordable price tag in particular will be a motivating factor to generate demand, especially in developing countries like India. As the price would be same all over the world, shelling out 11,900 odd Rupees for a 16GB iPhone which double up as a ipod wouldn't be a bad deal at all.