Firefox5, Opera 11.5 Compared (pt1 - VISTA)

source: technovore 

It's been only 3 months since the release of IE9 and Firefox 4 and yet here we are again. This time, with two new browsers, Firefox 5 and Opera 11.50, both with new rendering engines. I've split things into three parts. This first part is on Windows Vista browsers, the second on browsers under Windows7, and the third will focus on Ubuntu 10.10 browsers.

The Red Flag Act and P2P

Today, my good friend Rick Falkvinge in his op-ed over at TorrentFreak posted about the Red Flag Act. For those that don't know, it was a protectionist law enacted in 1865 to slow down steam traction engines, ostensibly because they were a threat, but in reality because they were encroaching on the profits of existing big business. A law to restrict new technology because it was threatening the profitability of the old, gee that sounds familiar!

25 Years of Computing

CC-BY by liftarn

As this publishes, it will be exactly 25 years (give or take a few moments) since I got my first computer. Oh how much has changed in that time.

June 24 1986, 6am (UK time) and I awoke with eagerness and boundless enthusiasm. Running downstairs, a huge box is waiting. Well, when you're 6, a large box looks huge, but waiting it was, with a bow, and a big “Happy Birthday” on it. Inside was something that has had a profound change on my entire life. My First Computer.

A New Western Theocracy?

If there was one stand out recommendation on the Hargreaves report on copyright in the UK, it's that legislation should be made based on evidence, not belief. It sounds obvious, but with an ever-increasing swathe of issues, laws are written based on feelings, beliefs and opinions, rather than actual facts. So, the question is, when you start making laws based on beliefs, at what point are you a theocracy?

Good Photography on the Cheap

Photography can be a rewarding hobby . Yet not everyone can afford an expensive camera to take their pictures. Good photography, however, doesn't always need the best camera though, as even cheap digital cameras can give good results, if handled properly. So, here are some examples of pictures taken using cheap cameras, or even cameraphones.