Get Firefox 3 from here and here if you can’t get it from here.

After buying my HP desktop a few months ago, I’ve been scouring the Internet for antivirus programs that are compatible with Windows Vista. I use Active Virus Shield (AVS) for my laptop, so naturally I would install it on this new desktop. Unfortunately, at that time it wasn’t compatible with Vista. So I opted for the pre-installed Norton Internet Security that came with the unit. Now that the two-month trial period had ended, it’s now asking me to pay for the program. Perfect timing because I desperately wanted to get rid of it because it was slowing down my computer. I revisited the AVS site but it still did not have the Vista-compatible version. So I searched Google for active virus shield vista. Ah, good thing I did. The Download Squad features the latest release of AVS that is Vista compatible. I found it odd though that the official site did not carry it yet.
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About a year ago I had my PC repaired here in Davao City at Columbia Computers. The only problem it had was a faulty power source. Being the smart computer owner that I am, I took out my hard disk and connected it to my PC at work to check if my files are intact and if they were, back them up. Indeed they were still fine, and I copied some of them just to be sure. That hard disk was a 40 gig Seagate.

When I took my PC to Columbia, I was pretty darn sure there wouldn’t be any problems because:

1) I had the same problem before and was quickly resolved by just replacing the power source with a new one, albeit by a different repair center.
2) I checked the hard disk if it was still ok, and it was and was able to back some files up.
3) My PC, although already about 3 years old that time, was working perfectly. Everything was updated from the OS down to the anti-virus and firewall.
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So I was just talking about the mysterious Filipino Web 2.0 undertaking Wablet and how it will give Meebo a run for its money (well, not really).

Now comes Friendster MoBS, another web-based instant messaging platform that bears a frightening resemblance to Meebo’s GUI. Except that in MoBS, your only contacts are your friends in your Friendster account. But wait, on their site they say:

Friendster MoBS is a new web-based chat service. If you look to the right side, your buddy list is pre-populated with your friends. You can move the buddy list window and all other windows to your liking (we keep those settings even if you logout). Expect more features like group chatting and chat integration (jabber, yahoo, aol, etc.) in the future. Enjoy!

Moreover:
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Google Maps for Mobile now has Real-time traffic reporting! How cool is that.
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Google announced three new features to its instant messaging software, Google Talk:

File Transfer
‘Bout time. Its absence may have been the reason why many have stayed away from it. It’s reported that only 44,000 were using Google Talk, or 1% of total market share — way behind MSN Messenger (60%) and Yahoo! Messenger (23%). People like to chat and share stuff, it’s a given fact.
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No hope for a 1.6? Hehe.

Mozilla releases a full Beta release of their extremely popular browser, Firefox.

Changes as quoted from the Beta Release website:

Built in Phishing Protection.
Search suggestions now appear with search history in the search box for Google, Yahoo! and Answers.com
Changes to tabbed browsing behavior
Ability to re-open accidentally closed tabs
Better support for previewing and subscribing to web feeds
Inline spell checking in text boxes
Search plugin manager for removing and re-ordering search engines
New microsummaries feature for bookmarks
Automatic restoration of your browsing session if there is a crash
New combined and improved Add-Ons manager for extensions and themes
New Windows installer based on Nullsoft Scriptable Install System
Support for JavaScript 1.7
Support for client-side session and persistent storage
Extended search plugin format
Updates to the extension system to provide enhanced security and to allow for easier localization of extensions
Support for SVG text using svg:textPath

I wonder what specific ‘changes’ were made to the tabbed browsing behavior. There were some instances when my tabs get stuck on one page while the other tabs are frozen and unclickable. Hopefully that was what they meant. I don’t care for the built-in search box feature since I have the Google Toolbar installed. It has its own search box, albeit for Google only, but the great thing about it is that it’s more easily accessible and constructed in a user-friendlier way. I suggest they move the built-in search box to somewhere lower on the left side. It’s placed too high and hardly noticeable. Until they position it more conveniently, to me, the current search box is just overlooked whitespace.

One big change is the shift from InstallShield to NSIS. NSIS, or Nullsoft Scriptable Install System, was initially created by Nullsoft for the ubiquitous Winamp media player. From then on, development of NSIS pushed forward and is now being used by other popular softwares because of its low overhead and better compression. My antivirus program (Kaspersky) uses NSIS. My own theory for this change is the fact that NSIS is free. InstallShield will set you back a cool $2,500 or more. Dare I say that price applies to each release. That for a rather clunky install system that many hate. This is essentially a great move by Mozilla to keep Firefox and their other products free.

Overall, this is a cool release. Same superb browser, a few notches better.