Technical Reviews and Geek Toys

I have been using the Kubuntu Linux distribution for a number of years. I am very happy with it. It works and allows me to do everything I have wanted to do. Bella, however has often made comments that Kubuntu is not easy for her to work with. She grumps that every time she gets on my machine I have changed something and she can't find what she is looking for. (Imagine that...)

Linux Mint 7, codename "Gloria" was released on 7/18/09 and I have been playing with the Live CD on VirtualBox on my Acer. I have been so impressed I burned the Live CD and fired up the Laptop to let Bella play with it. Her first comment is "I like it! I can find stuff on it." Cool...

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I am a strong advocate for FireFox and suggest it's use over Internet Explorer when ever I get a chance. It just goes to show that nothing is perfect. A Critical JavaScript Vulnerability in the newly released web browser was announced last week. The vulnerability can be exploited by an attacker who tricks a victim into viewing a malicious Web page containing the exploit code. What is the chance of an individual being affected by this vulnerability? How does this vulnerability affect Linux/OS-X users compared to Windows users? Good questions. There are steps that one can take to protect one's self:

• One can install the No Script Addon - Probably the easiest solution.
• One can start Firefox in Safe Mode - A little bit harder. Windows users can select "Mozilla Firefox (Safe Mode), Linux users can type "firefox -safe-mode" in a Terminal window. In the Safe Mode Window will need to select the "Disable All Add-Ons" and press the "Continue in Safe Mode" button.
• One can disable JIT in the JavaScript Engine - The most difficult solution.

The fix has been slated for FireFox 3.5.1 originally scheduled to be released the end of July. Due to the critical nature of this bug, the release has been moved up.

Update: The new version has been released and can be installed from Mozilla's download site or by selecting "Check for Updates" in the Help menu.

I believe I first saw the Mantis Tiller some twenty odd years ago. I was younger then and was looking for a "manly man" tiller. Something with power (virtual grunting here). Well I had a big job to do and the Mantis Tiller looked like a toy to me. I purchased a Troy Built Horse instead and have tilled a lot of ground with it over the years. But I tell you what, taking a look at the Mantis I can see where it would be a whole lot easier to use and would really do a better job than the Horse in many instances.

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I have been running VirtualBox on several Ubuntu hosts for some time now and have only been disappointed when the video from my new Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 webcam would not work. I tried it on several different machines with the same result. The camera appears to turn on but the video only displayed a black screen.

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As I am sure most of you know, Firefox 3.5 was released around a week ago. I have been so busy I haven't been able to write about it until now. Yesterday I read there were 5 million downloads in the first 24 hours after the release and the total number could exceed one billion by the end of August. According to Spread Firefox there has currently been 961,031,138 downloads. Pretty cool....

Yes, I immediately updated my Windows boxes to the new version, reminded Bella to update her machine, and also downloaded the Linux version and installed it on my Acer Aspire One. I just read Firefox 3.5 is universe repositories so I'll have to get it installed on my Kubuntu box.

So far I have only been using 3.5 on my A1. This version was designed to be faster and it is. I immediately noticed pages loading faster. But my purpose is not to review the new release but to talk about what is going on around the world with regards to Firefox 3.5. Even though it was released over a week ago The Spread Firefox Event Calendar shows Release Parties scheduled all around the world.