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Nothing’s ever permanent

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at least around here when it comes to technology.

In a world where Internet Explorer was king, I always found that I moved over to Netscape as a browser.  Then, it moved to Firefox.

For the longest time, my world featured Firefox as my browser of choice.  Excellent addons, it had the greatest of compatibility features when browsing, it seemed to be just perfect.

Then, it seemed to get slow and sluggish.  In hindsight though, I wonder if it really did get slow.  Perhaps it was that the other browsers that I had at my disposal got faster.  The other browsers pretty much settled in to be Google Chrome and Opera.  I felt someone loyal to Firefox and kept it around but, quite frankly, it seemed to just feel old.

Then, I read about the new Firefox, named Quantum.

From curiosity, and because it’s what I do, I downloaded and started to play with the Beta versions.  It immediately felt more modern.  It claimed new features and new speed.  I don’t know if I was just a sucker for the advertising but it really did seem to have speed.  I became a sucker for news stories like this – Firefox Quantum vs Chrome:  Which is Faster?  

There was, however, one thing that kept me from switching.  I do have a collection of addons that make any browser mine.  Firefox had changed the rules for the creation of addons and there was no support for legacy code.  Things like this happen when a technology embraces new standards.  It leaves you holding the bag and you have to decide what to do.  I tracked down the addons that I regularly use and noted that they were going to be updated.  This is good so I kept Quantum on my radar.

Then, it was release day and I upgraded my Beta to Release code.  Happily, a couple of the last addons that weren’t available now were!

The performance is indeed fast.  I supposed I could run the benchmarks and prove it to myself but I’m not feeling the need to.  In reality, it’s the user experience that drives the use and I’ll tell you this user is liking what he sees.

So, Firefox Quantum has taken over my computer and I’m pretty happy.  As they say, the ball is now in Chrome and Opera’s court.

When increased performance comes along, typically developers up their game to get back the interest in a particular product.  Ultimately, we will all be winners.

In the meantime, I’m now a sucker for articles like this – How to tweak the new Firefox 57 Quantum browser to suit your preferences


Playing with colour

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One of things that Firefox has always done is to make itself configurable as your browser.  Add-ons have always been around to extend the functionality of the browser right “out of the box”.  As well, themes have allowed you to make the browser look like it’s yours and yours alone.

Of course, this pushing of things makes the whole industry change and attempt to catch up by offering the same or better facility.  We’re all winners when this happens.  A few years ago, Firefox introduced the concept of Personas where you could create your own identify.

Customization is available again with a Test Pilot feature called Color.  I love stuff like this.  Most browsers, right out of the box, are kind of boring.  Typically, they’re silver and need to be spruced up!  Color does that for me.  It’s part of Firefox’ Test Pilot program.

Load Color and you’re ready to go.

Note all the areas that you can choose to customize the colour for.

Theme1

And, to get you started, there are some pre-configured themes.

Theme2

Whoa!  That’s colourful.

I kind of like a dark theme and so decided to make one of my own.  And, what would a quality theme be like without an element of green.

Theme3

This was a lot of fun.

If you like to muddle about, you’ll enjoy this.  (It can be educational too when you look at the RGB components…)

How long do you think before other browsers add this ability?

Smooooooth

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On Wednesdays, I have to use the Google Chrome browser on my MacBook Pro.  The software that voicEd Radio uses only supports a limited number of browsers calling in.  So, I open my document where I have the websites stored and open each of the blogposts in a new tab so they're in front of … Continue reading Smooooooth

On being unique

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Maybe it's better to be just like everyone else? I know that many think that I'm probably over over-obsessed about technology and security but it is a fascination and I'm sticking to it.  I've long known about the concept of browser fingerprinting and the concept is kind of scary.  Basically, the site that you land … Continue reading On being unique

For those big files

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I remember once a tirade an email administrator went on one about sending attachments to messages. We're not a file transfer service And yet, it was something that I need to do periodically.  So, I ended up setting up an FTP server on a disposable computer and sent the link to people who needed the … Continue reading For those big files

Sharing

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Followers of mine know that I've likely to share new and interesting things that I'm reading. On any of the Chromium based browsers, one of the first extensions that I add is Shareaholic. It has access to just about anywhere that I want to share things. (and I might share to unique places just for … Continue reading Sharing

TMI

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Just for a little entertainment... Mozilla has created a new website called Track This.  What it does was interesting enough for me to try it out.  The site is dedicated to those who would track you across the web.  What Track This does is automatically open 100 tabs in your browser based upon a theme. … Continue reading TMI

Saving things

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I had a question posed to me today about curating the content for my Friday posts. It's an ongoing thing that happens as I do regular reading throughout the week. The problem is that I like to have a number of posts and yet I don't find them all in a single sitting. It may … Continue reading Saving things

Getting serious about privacy

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I think we’ve all heard of the stories – I mention that I was looking to buy this or I did a search for that product and then, lo and behold, advertisements for that product appears on your desktop. Coincidence or not, it’s pretty freaky when it happens. A long time ago, I took action … Continue reading "Getting serious about privacy"

Whole lotta extensions going on

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Not related to this topic but I love this song anyway… The session “There’s an Extension for That” was given by these ladies at the Bring IT, Together Conference. I’m a sucker for sessions like these. I firmly believe that owning a browser is just a starting point. You make it “yours” by customising the … Continue reading "Whole lotta extensions going on"

New .new stuff

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I mentioned last week about attending the session delivered by Nicole Batte and Leslie Boerkamp dealing with extensions for Google Chrome. In particular, one extension was of interest to me – Google Docs Quick Create. It seems like a very powerful extension and I did explore it a bit. The reviews are mixed though. But, … Continue reading "New .new stuff"

This Week in Ontario Edublogs

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First off … Today marks a day of rotating strike action by ETFO members in the following districts: Peel District School Board Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board Details here. Good Friday morning and the end to January. Will you be groundhogging in class today or Monday or just take a pass this year? I do have … Continue reading "This Week in Ontario Edublogs"

Private relay

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Man, this is a utility that I could have used a long time ago and still wish I could use it today. Today, it would be nice for all teachers to have access as well. How many times have you signed up for a newsletter, download a piece of software, or wanted access to a … Continue reading "Private relay"

Little help please?

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I guess this is a plea for a little bit of help from my learned followers. From 5-6 in the morning, I devote my time to coffee, cereal, and some reading. (Except on Friday mornings) My go-to reading involves a couple of local news sources and then I’m off to see what’s new in a … Continue reading "Little help please?"

Taming GDPR

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When the concept of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) was announced, I think most people felt that there would be more openness and safety in web browsing. At least in the European Union. We’ve all run across those requests for permissions before you visit a website. In the beginning, I was kind of interestedContinue reading "Taming GDPR"

Cookie management

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So, if you read the post from yesterday, you probably realized that there was a flaw in that process. Even though Consent-O-Matic gets rid of that extra click in your browser for you, the cookies are still set on your computer. In some cases, a lot of cookies. Ideally, they are there to improve yourContinue reading "Cookie management"

TMI

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Just for a little entertainment… Mozilla has created a new website called Track This.  What it does was interesting enough for me to try it out.  The site is dedicated to those who would track you across the web.  What … Continue reading

Saving things

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I had a question posed to me today about curating the content for my Friday posts. It’s an ongoing thing that happens as I do regular reading throughout the week. The problem is that I like to have a number … Continue reading

Getting serious about privacy

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I think we’ve all heard of the stories – I mention that I was looking to buy this or I did a search for that product and then, lo and behold, advertisements for that product appears on your desktop. Coincidence … Continue reading

Whole lotta extensions going on

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Not related to this topic but I love this song anyway… The session “There’s an Extension for That” was given by these ladies at the Bring IT, Together Conference. I’m a sucker for sessions like these. I firmly believe that … Continue reading
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