Firefox + Google
If you use the internet for more than email you should be using Firefox + the Google Toolbar. The benefit of Firefox is that unlike Internet Explorer, it is an open-source code development that runs independently of your operating system, so a flaw in the browser software won’t necessarily expose or crash your entire computer. (This is a big deal if your privacy and internet vulnerability are any concern)
Another source of Internet Explorer vulnerabilities lies within “ActiveX” technology, which is a set of tiny scripts that automatically download when you visit certain Web pages. In most cases ActiveX is a benefit to your internet experience, but sometimes people with malicious intent use ActiveX to hack, infect and zombie-ize your PC.
To be fair, Microsoft has a prompt in IE so that you can accept or deny ActiveX scripts, (reminiscent of Vista yes/no bugs) but Firefox doesn’t use ActiveX technology at all. This means that a few Web sites might not function as intended but as time goes on fewer and fewer sites have any problems with Firefox.
Firefox is much more stable than IE, it insures a greater degree of privacy when browsing and as an open source program there are hundreds of add ons that add incredible functionality. For example, I can post directly to half a dozen blogs directly from Firefox by using the very cool Scribefire add on.
An interesting note is that in my blog statistics over a period of years now, I see a steady increase in the use of Firefox at the expense of Internet Explorer.
The Google Toolbar adds custom search, Gmail, Google Bookmarks, PageRank (my favorite) and an AutoFill feature. I use the G-toolbar every time I use my computer.
Feature for feature, Firefox outperforms Internet Explorer.
Web Hosting
You can design and run your own website. The www started with the idea that we all could become publishers. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I’ve had websites since 1998, and blogs since 2004. If you are a newbie, you may want to try Blogger. It’s free and fairly easy to use. I started blogging by writing about some of my travels on Blogger.
I never thought I’d be writing about a web hosting company. But in the course of putting together this website, + Sustainable Design Update and others, I’ve had to work with several hosting options. Some were pretty bad, some were indifferent and Bluehost, the company I have used now for a year and a half, has been exceptional.
I’ve never met anyone from Bluehost. They just answer my phone calls, help me figure out how to run my websites and continually improve the quality and speed of their services.
The program I use to make these words appear on your computer is called WordPress. Bluehost doesn’t come with wordpress, I have to load it onto the server myself. I really couldn’t have figured out how to get WordPress working on my Bluehost account without their expert and patient tech support.
Hosting your own website gives you the greatest freedom to do what you want online.
Rule The Web
Lets face it, we may use the Web more than any other tool. Thankfully uber web geek, blogger and Make magazine editor Mark Frauenfelder has put together a must read manual for using the web. Everyone who reads Mark’s book will get more out of their web experience. There is also a companion website (no surprise) that also has some great info.
“Rule the Web is like The Joy of Cooking, only it’s about the Web instead of meatloaf.”—Xeni Jardin, NPR News Tech Contributer and BoingBoing Blogger
If you are reading this on a computer you should buy this book.