web

I surprised myself when I moved to using Gmail by using the web interface almost exclusively. But it was annoying when I’d click on a mailto link in a web page only to have my (redundant) email program open up.

Since Firefox 3 was released recently I seem to have started using Firefox a lot. The Official Gmail Blog explains how to have Firefox 3 open those email links directly into Gmail’s web interface.

For those of you using newly released Firefox 3, or willing to give it a try, you can take advantage of a new feature that lets you set Gmail as the default for all email links — those that contain “mailto:” in them. If you’re like me and don’t have a default email client set up, then clicking these links typically launches an installation wizard for a destkop mail client, or opens some email software that you don’t actually use.

Read the full how-to at: Official Gmail Blog: Tip: Set Gmail as your default email client in Firefox 3.

Popularity: 13% [?]

The robots.txt file is very handy for tuning up how and if search engines visit your site. The Official Google Webmaster Central Blog has a handy chart that shows just what you can and can’t do to keep the search engines out, in their post Improving on Robots Exclusion Protocol:

… there are some cases in which publishers need to communicate more information to search engines — like the fact that they don’t want certain content to appear in search results. And for that they use something called the Robots Exclusion Protocol (REP), which lets publishers control how search engines access their site: whether it’s controlling the visibility of their content across their site (via robots.txt) or down to a much more granular level for individual pages (via META tags). …

The following list are all the major REP features currently implemented by Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo!. With each feature, you’ll see what it does and how you should communicate it.

Popularity: 45% [?]

When you go on to the web, which browser do you use? Is it Internet Explorer? Firefox? Safari? Opera? Some other browser? And how long have you been using that one without updating it? Is it the current version? If not current, your browsing may not be as secure or enjoyable as it could be. [First published May 2006. Some details (especially version numbers) may be a bit dated.]

Check the version number

Here’s how to tell. If you use Windows open up the browser and go to the Help menu. Choose the last item on that menu — it should say ‘About’ followed by the name of the browser. Mac users you will go to the menu named after the application, for example, Safari, and call up the first item: About browser name. So there’s the first question answered.

But go ahead and select the About menu item. You should see a window telling you the version. That version number might have about a million digits and letters, but the really important stuff is at the start. I run Windows Internet Explorer version 6.0 (with Service Pack 2) when I work on Community Net Aotearoa.

If I’m using Windows for some other reason I use Firefox version 1.5.0.2 or Opera version 8.5.4. When I use my Mac I run various browsers at various times: Safari v 2.0.3, Firefox v 1.5.0.2, OmniWeb v 5.1.3 or Opera v 8.5.4.

How does your browser version compare? Is it older than mine? Is there a newer version available?

Safer browsing; better browsing

It’s not just a matter of boasting that mine’s newer than yours. There are two important reasons why you should keep your web browser up to date.

The first is a matter of safety and security. Believe it or not the bad guys are always trying to get in to your computer and can try to use your web browser to do that. Every browser update fixes security problems that have been exposed in the previous version.

These security problems affect Window users in particular. Computers running the Macintosh operating system or Linux are safer and more secure, but they are not immune. Everyone should keep their web browser up to date.

The second reason is less scary but more personal: newer versions of web browsers do a better job than old versions. The web is changing every day, with new techniques popping up for making websites more useful, more attractive and more powerful. The older your web browser the less likely it will be serving you well.

Most web browsers are free, and easy to install. Check yours today to see if it’s current. If not, check the browser’s home page to see if your computer can run the latest version. If so, download it, install it and surf more safely.

• Internet Explorer: microsoft.com
• Firefox: getfirefox.com
• Safari: apple.com/safari
• Opera: opera.com
• OmniWeb (US$30): omnigroup.com

Note: there are many other really great web browsers. those listed above are simply fairly common.

Written for and reproduced from CommunityNet Aotearoa Panui, May 2006.

Popularity: 14% [?]