April 2013

Switch dictionaries automatically based on recipients

Also has a how-to for doing it manually. ” … Switching dictionaries manually every time you write in a different language can be quite the nuisance if you have to do so several times a day.“The Thunderbird extension Automatic Dictionary Switching makes life a lot easier by remembering the selected dictionary for each contact that you have in the browser. It saves the selection that you make under spelling when you are in a compose window so that it will be remembered and automatically selected the next time you write that particular user or users a messages. … “ Source:…

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Firefox prefetching: what you need to know

” … While it is in theory an interesting concept to speed things up for the user, critics argue that it is creating unnecessary overhead and that it has privacy implications. Resources that are prefetched but not accessed are wasted for instance as they remain unused. As far as privacy is concerned, the server the information are retrieved from notices the user’s connection even if it is caused by the automated process. … …“Firefox users can disable this prefetch feature the following way: …” Source: Ghacks.net Address : Firefox prefetching: what you need to know

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Windows 8.1 May Contain a Fake Start Button

It looks like a Start Button, it is in the same place as the Start Button, but it is not the “real” Start  Button. So, it seems the latest rumors about the upcoming Windows 8.1 aka Windows Blue is while it going to have a Start Button, this button does not bring up the Start Menu as one would expect it should. Instead it is going to simply be a way to switch between the Modern UI and Desktop modes. According to reports, the Windows 8 Start button will reside at the bottom-left of the screen just as it has…

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Microsoft Calls its Competition ‘Boring’ and ‘a Mess’

Microsoft has a habit of bashing/bad-mouthing their competitors. However, Microsoft’s Terry Myerson took it to a new level at this week’s D: Dive Into Mobile conference. Seems Myerson slamed Apple’s iOS for being “boring” and Google’s Android for being a “mess” because there are so many versions in the wild. Really?! So many versions of Android in the wild? Umm….Terry have you looked at your company’s number of versions of Windows in the wild? Well, let’s see there is  Windows XP, Vista, 7 and 8 … and not even taking into account the “service packs” (3 for XP, 2 for…

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Firefox OS Not in US until 2014

However, if you happen to live in Venezuela, Poland, Brazil, Portugal or Spain you can get a Firefox phone starting in June. Eleven more countries yet to be announced can get the phones by the end of the year. North America though, we will have to wait until sometime in 2014. Mozilla CEO Gary Kovacs explains: Unfortunately, North Americans looking to purchase a local smartphone packed with Mozilla’s new Firefox OS won’t see them on the market until 2014. Why? Because unlike the rest of the world, Silicon Valley sees everything through high-end devices, he said. via Tom’s Hardware

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Windows 8.1/Blue Getting Boot-to-Desktop?

Rumor has it Microsoft may cave in to the massive grumbling from users about Windows 8 booting into the Modern (aka Metro) UI by default.  Windows 8.1/Blue is due for release later this year. Microsoft had previous denied any option to boot-to-desktop, instead opting to cram more stuff on to the Start Screen. However, there is news that just may be users will be able to turn-off the Start Screen: MicrosoftPortal (via WinBeta translation) reportedly dug into important operating system files stemming from one of the recent Windows 8.1 leaks and discovered references for disabling the Start screen. One such file…

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Firefox Stub Installer on Beta Channel

Not sure when Mozilla did this as today is the first time in awhile that I have done a fresh download/install of Firefox Beta. The stub installer (another feature copied from Chrome) downloads a smaller ‘stub’ of the Firefox (Beta) installer and then once you run the Stub Installer then it downloads and installs the rest of Firefox (Beta). The problem with this, is you can not specify where you want Firefox installed and it runs automatically upon completion of the install. Since I wanted to keep the release and beta version in their own folders and with their own…

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Download Manager Tweak

One of the new changes in Firefox 20, that didn’t go over so well when Firefox 20 was released was the changes to the downloads manager behavior. In the past downloads manager would pop-up in a movable window, however with Firefox 20 it is in a fixed balloon type pop-up. It is possible to revert back to the old pre-Firefox 20 download manager via an about:config tweak: In a new tab type about:config and press enter If you get a warning about “Voiding you warranty”, click the I’ll be careful, I promise button In the filter field type: browser.download.useToolkitUI Double-click the entry…

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Mozilla CEO Gary Kovacs Stepping Down

Yet, another CEO is leaving Mozilla Corporation and the search is on for a their fourth CEO. Gary Kovacs announced on April 10, 2013, he will be stepping down as CEO later this year, but will remain on the Board of Directors. Kovacs put much of his attention to get Mozilla to transition into the mobile market. This included Firefox for Android and the upcoming Firefox OS Phones. Mitchell Baker explains on her blog: Gary joined us to make a dramatic pivot — to move Mozilla from the desktop browser world into the mobile ecosystem. In 2010 we knew that we would…

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Windows 8 Boosts Tablet and Smart Phone Markets

Not really what Microsoft was hoping for with Windows 8. Instead of home PC users upgrading their machines and buying touch displays to interact with Windows 8, they are turning to Smart Phones and Tablets instead. This has resulted in a sharp decline in the new PC market. “Unfortunately, it seems clear that the Windows 8 launch not only didn’t provide a positive boost to the PC market, but appears to have slowed the market,” IDC Vice President Bob O’Donnell said. The newest version of Windows is designed to work well with touch-sensitive screens, but the displays add to the…

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