Yay! My first rant!
My LJ started bugging out on me so why should I stay there? I almost never post, instead I'm there to see my friends posts-- but if my friends page isnt working, why bother? You can see my old LJ here: Angel Sanctuary . Meanwhile I suppose I'll post my rant in both places....
I read the cover story about Firefox today in the most recent issue of Wired, and it got me all steamed up all over again about the flagrant and irresponsible use of IE by pretty much every common, ignorant (though usually simply naieve) computer user. With Microsoft working on Longhorn (which IMHO is an abomination in itself), it seemingly leaves little time or concern for support of its already dominating software such as IE. Though Firefox has exploded onto the scene, the article says, it has already won over its easy converts (traffic at BoingBoing is about 50% Firefox users) and so it's claim on 4% of browser use in total will most likely plateau if it cannot find new ways to reach non-tech savvy computer users. IE comes with your computer, why would a simple, regular joe computer user download another browser if the one he uses already works just fine?
Because it doesn't work just fine.
Take the Wired article's Rob Davis for example. I beg you all to read this article, it takes only a few minutes of your time. If you don't believe me, use Firefox for a month and compare the number of NOTICEABLE viruses and spyware you accumulate on your computer (gee, I hope you all use anti-virus software in combination with Spybot and Ad-Aware ) . See how un-clunky it is compared Netscape. And please, note the attentiveness of the Mozilla team to FIXING its bugs and holes. Even the best programs can have little loopholes or security flaws, but the difference lies in how fast and how well they are patched. For these reasons I urge you all to consider switching over to Firefox.
You should also note that although I am not happy with Microsoft, and would probably use Linux if I cared to learn that much about computers, my switch to Firefox was not spurred solely by my hatred for this monopoly. I'm sure it sated my hunger to revolt against Microsoft, but be assured I would not recommend a program that I am not thoroughly happy with.
By the way, to purchase the physical copies of Wired magazine only requires $10 a year. Sweet, huh? And if you think you're too strapped for cash even with that price, you can read them online. Eat your heart out, Time Magazine.
Lastly, I'm really considering posting my summary assignments for my Biology and the News class, as well as particularly stunning conversations that occur in it. The class, which I have on tuesdays and thursdays, is all about how media can influence science and how both impact society. Take the new topic of Intelligent Design, the cover story for the October 2004 Wired. You can read the article here. I'll let y'all read up on that and cover it later because its another rant entirely.
I read the cover story about Firefox today in the most recent issue of Wired, and it got me all steamed up all over again about the flagrant and irresponsible use of IE by pretty much every common, ignorant (though usually simply naieve) computer user. With Microsoft working on Longhorn (which IMHO is an abomination in itself), it seemingly leaves little time or concern for support of its already dominating software such as IE. Though Firefox has exploded onto the scene, the article says, it has already won over its easy converts (traffic at BoingBoing is about 50% Firefox users) and so it's claim on 4% of browser use in total will most likely plateau if it cannot find new ways to reach non-tech savvy computer users. IE comes with your computer, why would a simple, regular joe computer user download another browser if the one he uses already works just fine?
Because it doesn't work just fine.
Take the Wired article's Rob Davis for example. I beg you all to read this article, it takes only a few minutes of your time. If you don't believe me, use Firefox for a month and compare the number of NOTICEABLE viruses and spyware you accumulate on your computer (gee, I hope you all use anti-virus software in combination with Spybot and Ad-Aware ) . See how un-clunky it is compared Netscape. And please, note the attentiveness of the Mozilla team to FIXING its bugs and holes. Even the best programs can have little loopholes or security flaws, but the difference lies in how fast and how well they are patched. For these reasons I urge you all to consider switching over to Firefox.
You should also note that although I am not happy with Microsoft, and would probably use Linux if I cared to learn that much about computers, my switch to Firefox was not spurred solely by my hatred for this monopoly. I'm sure it sated my hunger to revolt against Microsoft, but be assured I would not recommend a program that I am not thoroughly happy with.
By the way, to purchase the physical copies of Wired magazine only requires $10 a year. Sweet, huh? And if you think you're too strapped for cash even with that price, you can read them online. Eat your heart out, Time Magazine.
Lastly, I'm really considering posting my summary assignments for my Biology and the News class, as well as particularly stunning conversations that occur in it. The class, which I have on tuesdays and thursdays, is all about how media can influence science and how both impact society. Take the new topic of Intelligent Design, the cover story for the October 2004 Wired. You can read the article here. I'll let y'all read up on that and cover it later because its another rant entirely.
posted by TempestBrewer at 1:48 PM
2 Comments:
It's cool to see that you'll be posting stuff from your classes. It'll be nice to have something for me to chew on during my daily blog readings. Maybe you could post all your intellectual stuff here and all your more personal stuff on LJ.
Mike
Booo! Leave LJ for the cretins. As for Firefox, its been easy selling it. Most 'normal' people could care less which program they used for web browsing as long as it works... and at times getting Firefox to work with a particular plugin (lets use quicktime as an example) can be a chore. As we all know the problem lies in getting people to realize that there IS a difference in web browsers. You words are true but I'm already in agreement with you. Personally I will not dish out free tech support to people who don't use Firefox (among other things). In other news, the PSU lab computers all have Firefox now. Even with a desktop shortcut but it is right next to Internet Explorer shortcut. :-\
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