A Week at the Opera: Finale

Ladies and gentleman of the jury, I stand before you here today trying two different internet browsers. On one hand we have the Firefox browser and on the other we have the Opera browser. Now throughout the course of this series I detailed many different positives and negatives of Opera in comparison to Firefox.

Let me list the different characteristics of Opera.

Positives:

• Address bar panel
• Zoom
• Wand
• Sidebar
• Lots of keyboard shortcuts
• Voice
• Good clean interface
• No memory leaks
  

Negatives:

• Cache
• Not being able to post through blogger
• Not as fast
  
• RSS reader
• No standard Ctl+T for Tabs
• Voice not technologically up there yet
• Not as great of a community as in extensions and skins

The Opera browser is an amazing browser but does however need some tweaking. I absolutely love some of the things that it brings to the table such as voice which really is a good foundation for the future.

As you know the reason for this experiment was because I hated the Firefox memory leaks. When I first started this series I honestly thought that I would give it a shot but in the end go back to Firefox. Opera, to its credit, has made it extremely difficult for me to think so.

For me I live off RSS feeds and speed. Those, however, are the two things that Opera is lacking. I've decided to stick with Firefox HOWEVER if Opera were to fix these two problems than I would jump at them in a heartbeat.

The Opera browser really is a great browser. I love it, however, I love Firefox more. The reason for the speed differences may be my internet's fault. Everyone has different types of internet and my happens to time out a lot. Theoretically, speed may not even be a Opera problem just my problem.

I noticed from some of the comments that some people do prefer the Opera RSS way of doing feeds. I think Opera should allow you to switch between the two to make the experience even better.

I just would like to say thank you to everyone that followed the TechWrap's first ever series and I just hoped you enjoyed reading it as much as I loved doing it.

Final Verdict: Firefox

Tags: Opera, Opera Browser, Firefox, Firefox browser, Internet Browser, Internet Browsers, Browser wars, browsers, address bar, zoom, wand, sidebar, keyboard shortcuts, voice, memory leaks, tabs, cache, cached, blogger

Apple Intel Mac Mini

The big news for today is the new Intel Mac Mini. Via MR here are some details about it:

At the media event February 28th, Apple unveiled a revised Mac mini featuring either a 1.5Ghz Intel Core Solo or 1.66Ghz Core Duo processor, offering up to a 5x increase in overall speed from the previous model. The form factor for the machine remains unchanged.

The new mini sports the Apple Remote with Front Row, up to 2 GB memory, Intel GMA950 graphics processor, DVI connector w/ VGA out option, Slot loading optical drive, up to 120GB hard drive, built-in gigabit ethernet, analog and digital audio, USB & Firewire ports, iLife '06 and Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger.

Additionally, the new mini offers "Shared Music, Photos & Video" which allows the mini to stream music, photos and video wirelessly from other macs on the same subnetwork using Bonjour technology. iTunes TV shows can be streamed.

1.5Ghz Intel Core Solo Model: $599
1.5GHz Intel Core Solo processor
2MB L2 Cache
667MHz Frontside Bus
512MB memory (667MHz DDR2 SDRAM)
60GB Serial ATA hard drive
Combo drive (DVD-ROM/CD-RW)
Built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0
Apple Remote

1.66Ghz Intel Core Duo Model: $799
1.66GHz Intel Core Duo processor
2MB L2 Cache
667MHz Frontside Bus
512MB memory (667MHz DDR2 SDRAM)
80GB Serial ATA hard drive
Double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0
Apple Remote

All Mac mini models also include an integrated Intel GMA950 graphics processor with 64MB of shared DDR2 SDRAM, 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet, four external USB 2.0 ports, FireWire 400 port, optical digital and analog audio in/out, and built-in mono speaker.

P.S. A Week at the Opera Part VII will be tomorrow instead of today because I want to spend some time on it and also because of the recent Apple events.

Tags: Apple, Mac, Mini, Apple Mac Mini, Mac Mini, Front Row, Intel Macs, Intel, Intel Core, Intel Core Solo, Intel Core DUO

iPod Hi-Fi

The iPod Hi-Fi is basically a big boombox that you can dock your iPod to and it comes with a remote and will retail for $349.

Obviously, Apple is trying to tap into the $1 billion accessory market that they helped to create.

Tags: iPod, Hi-Fi, Hifi, Hi Fi, iPod Hi-Fi, iPod Hi fi, Apple, Boombox, Apple boombox, stereo, Apple stereo

$99 Official iPod Case

Here it is folks. The new iPod leather case will retail for $99. There is no screen access or control access when the iPod is actually in the case.

However Apple says, "Removing your iPod is a breeze, thanks to an ingenious black ribbon built into the case. Just give it a gentle tug and your iPod slides out gracefully, just enough for you to view the screen or pull it out completely."

For $99 I'd rather get 99 Junior Bacon Cheeseburgers.

Tags: iPod, iPod case, iPods, Nano, iPod Nano, iPod Nanos

A Week at the Opera Part VI

Today, I decided to check out some of the skins and extensions for the Opera browser. Little did I know that Opera does not have any extensions from as far as I can see on their website.

One of the things that has made Firefox so great is its community. Firefox just has a bigger following than Opera and easily trumps it in size. Therefore, of course, the Firefox community is much larger. Opera has tried to create a community but it doesn't seem to be working all that well.

Furthermore, their skins seem to be lacking a lot. The basic Opera skin, in my opinion, looks a lot better than all of the other skins. The others are just lacking something that the Firefox skins have. Maybe it is just that the Opera skin is just so slick to begin with, I don't know.

Today is the last day of the segment before Part VII which is the final verdict. Stay tuned to the TechWrap on which one to go with.

Tags: Opera, Browsers, Firefox, Browser, Browser Wars, Opera Browser, Firefox Browser, skins, extensions, themes, skin, extension, theme

A Week at the Opera Part V

Ladies and Gentleman of the jury I stand here before you today....Ok not there just yet but almost.

Today I noticed a cool little feature in Opera that enables voice commands. It works pretty well although with almost all voice commands you have to master what to say before you say it otherwise you look like an idiot talking to your computer. Been there.

Although it is a slow technology in general and really is not good for anyone except for the disabled it is a great attempt at Opera. It isn't built for everyday use but could be something to show off to your friends.

This is all that I could find that was new with the browser for today and I must admit it is pretty cool. I think it is a great attempt and definitely no other browser that I know has it. Hats off and three cheers for Opera.

Tags: Opera, Firefox, Browser, Browsers, Internet Browsers, Internet, Browser Wars, Voice, Voice Commands, Diction

A Week at the Opera Part IV

I have an addiction. Acceptance is the first part. I am addicted to Firefox. I have been on it for about 2 years and have never been able to quit. This series details one man's journey through his withdrawal from Firefox and its withdrawal symptons in the experimentation with Opera.

Ever since the first day I've been wanting, no pleading, to get my Ctl+T back. I need it to create a new tab. I HAVE to have it. It makes life quick, simple, short (not a good adj. for life).

Before I talk about the tab I just would like to say that Opera does have an extensive library of keyboard shortcuts. It's got a bigger library of shortcuts than songs in my iTunes library. You've got your Ctl+F11's, your Ctl+C's, your ESPN's, your CNN's. Get the point? There are a ton of shortcuts in Opera which is definitely a great plus.

There I was today pressing Ctl+T about 12 times. I decided to do something about it. I dove into the vast world of preferences and dug into "advanced." I zapped shortcuts and got on me merry way. There I hit edit and I came face to face with the beast himself. The shortcuts library. Dun, Du, Dun Dun Dunhhhh.

I search and scoured for the tab shortcut but I could not find it. I looked and looked to no avail. There the journey ended and there I lay. Lost in the remains of my poor soul, I was a stranger in a world full of shortcuts. My charred remains were blown away with the stingy winter breeze.

So basically, I'm stuck doing the double click thing. :D

Tags: Opera, Firefox, Browser, Browsers, Browser Wars, Mozilla, Mozilla Firefox, Opera Browser, Opera Browsers, Shortcuts, Keyboard, Keyboard shortcuts, tabs, tab

iTablet: Death to Apple?

Ladies and Gentleman, I am just here to lay the facts on the table. Please understand that I am a die-hard Apple fan and would hate to see anything bad happen to it which is why I am writing this.

Brief Background: Rumors have been going around stating that there will be an Apple Tablet Mac built on the basis of the Tablet PC that will be released sometime soon (Feb. 28th?). This device has been coined the iTablet by many among the World Wide Web.

An introduction of the iTablet, would in fact, be a complete and utter mistake on Apple's part. First, I would like to point out that this would delay the progress of the rest of the Intel line. Furthermore, the only reason I see Steve Jobs doing this is for some rise in the stock. However, this would in fact deplete the stock. The ordinary business man or woman to whom it is targeted has clearly stated through sales that there is no need for it in the workplace.

The Tablet PC has been around for about three years and probably even longer than that. It has been an utter disaster. The innovation it presents is like a new gadget that just adds one more functionality to it. Basically, it is the same product but just with a little difference that makes the price rocket. Also, this difference is clearly not great enough to get anyone to actually buy one.

The Tablet PC reminds me of some new toy that you oogle and ahh at, but when you get it and get past the state of excitement, then it just tanks for you and you find it in a drawer someday among a pile of old gum.

Macs are not a workplace type of computer. Apple is known for being "on the edge." Apple is not used at the office and even though it can, it isn't designed to be. Instead it is meant to be the media hub of your life.

An iTablet has no basis for being in the Apple family. Just imagining it just reminds me of the cousin that just does not seem to fit.

Apple will not be able to bring innovation to this product. They may add some new features and cool things such as maybe video chat on the go. But do you really want to be walking around in your house holding a conversation while constantly looking down? Also, would you want your chats to be broadcasted to the world? Where anyone within an earshot can here?

The Tablet PC is an innovative, but not practical device. All the innovation has already been sucked out of the iTablet and I cannot imagine anything different out of it even if it is Apple.

Apple has an enormous following and most likely many will go out and buy such a device if it were to come out. However, Apple will not receive the greatest reviews, especially not from this writer. Apple's reputation will tarnish, possibly ruining all of their other products' reputations as well.

Please Apple, concentrate on what matters. Concentrate on the switch to Intel. Concentrate on a real video iPod. Concentrate on increasing your market share. Concentrate on providing better support for games. Concentrate on addressing all the security needs in x86 OS X. Concentrate on other things. DON'T concentrate on boosting revenues a little bit to please investors. DON'T concentrate on trying something new during a time that could change Apple's history forever. Don't, just don't, try something that hasn't worked in the past and most likely never will...

*Disclaimer: If Apple does come out with some freaking crazy innovative Mac with Tablet capabilities that just looks so much better than a laptop THEN I will change my mind. After like I said, I do love Apple. :D

Tags: iTablet, Tablet PC, Apple, OS X, Intel Macs, Apple Computers, Computers, Steve Jobs

A Week at the Opera Part III

Here is Part III of "A Week at the Opera" brought to you by the TechWrap.

Today, I load up Opera and I noticed a left-most button. Naturally, I clicked it. Out came a sidebar that shows Bookmarks, Transfers, History and Links. The last thing that it shows is the really cool notes. Basically, you can type little notes to yourself. For me this is a big help because I always have to remind myself, "Edit HTML on the site" or "Make a podcast today." Very cool feature that is probably available on Firefox through some obscure extension. Definitely a +.

I'm subscribed to about 11 feeds through Firefox. I had heard from previous sources that Opera's RSS feed reader is amazing. However, I beg to differ. To look at a feed you have to go to the very top and hit the feed button. Then you have to select which feed to view. Then once you decide which one to view you have to look at all the different articles. In Firefox, they only take, really, the most recent articles for you to see and it is in a nice chronological order from newest to oldest. With Opera it goes from oldest to newest! Which means you have to scroll all the way down just to see the newer articles.

When you click an article it doesn't take you to the feed location (as in the site itself). No, it just shows the text of the article. Well that defeats the purpose of even looking at the internet in the first place! Everything should be all feeds according to Opera (at least that's how it seems).

With Firefox, it is quick. It is easy. It is better. Period. It is right there in your browser where it is extremely easy to see. Then you just click it and voila all the articles are right in front of you. When you click an article it takes you to the site!

Also, Opera does not have the standard RSS logo. I'll give them leeway on this just because it is most likely coming in the newest version. Hopefully....

Tags: Opera, Firefox, Sidebar, RSS, Viewing Websites, Bookmarks, Browser, Browsers, Internet Browsers, Browser Wars

New Vista Screenshots (55)

The new Vista build, 5308, has just been released and is now "feature-complete."

There are about 55 different screenshots taken by PC Magazine and it is linked here.

When I looked at the Vista screenshots I noticed that really it looked like XP with a skin on top. The only difference is the new sidebar and some other customization features that really are little things to the Operating System.

I believe everyone that gets a Vista will be extremely let down at the end. That is if you are a power user and actually know anything about computers. To the average user, Vista will seem great, new, exciting. They will be fascinated by the eye candy but really to the finer eye there will be nothing superbly better.

I think, still, Mac OS X has made greater leaps and bounds and it is already out.

Tags: Microsoft, Vista, Screenshots, Vista Screenshots, OS, Operating System, Vista Pics, Vista Pictures, Sidebar