Although it doesn't always get the most attention, Opera is a solid browser that continues to improve with each version. While they work on their next version, codenamed Peregrine (like the falcon), subtle improvements are being added to the current release, 9.51. The latest addition is Ask.com for the search bar.
What do we think is so interesting about that? First, it's a step toward competing with Firefox's search engine plugins. Although the promotion is focused on Ask, it also shows off Opera's expandable search bar to users who might not have known about it. Second, it's another option for people who don't want to rely exclusively on Google for their search results. We're looking forward to more from Opera in the near future.
Who's missing from this uber release party? Oh, that would be Microsoft's Internet Explorer...the browser with the #1 market share. After their less than stellar (and way less than standards compliant) version 7, Microsoft better come up with some EPIC for Internet Explorer 8.
Opera as you know is focused on security, speed, and mobile.
The sometimes over the top Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner stressed that Opera 9.5's most innovative and most important feature is the cross-link between your desktop and mobile devices. A feature that other browsers haven't even bothered to start playing with yet.
Will Opera's mobile first, desktop second strategy work? We shall see.
With Firefox 3's Download Day upon us, a lot of folks are getting their first peek at the newest version of the popular browser. One of the first things you'll notice is the "Awesome Bar," a new feature that drops down a list of sites from your history and bookmarks as you type. For example, you could type "d," and your bookmark for Download Squad would pop up, along with downforeveryoneorjustme.com, if you've recently visited it.
For some people, this is going to be handy, but others are going to hate it. We have mixed opinions about the Awesome Bar here at Download Squad, so we're going to show you how to turn it off. First, go to your Firefox settings by putting "about:config" into the location bar. Click past the warning message, and scroll down to browser.urlbar.maxRichResults. This sets how many recommendations the Awesome Bar will display -- it's 12 by default, but you want to change it to 0.
Now your location bar should act more the one you're used to from Firefox 2. It'll still autocomplete addresses of sites you've been to, but the behavior that's been annoying some people so much will be gone. Alternately, an extension called Oldbar will give you back Firefox 2's dropdown behavior.
Besides having one of the coolest names for an app that we've seen in a while, CookieThief is pretty handy if you're thinking about switching to the sexy, lightweight Mac browser Camino. Sure, a lot of people prefer Camino's speedy, no-frills browsing experience to flashier, more bloated browsers like Firefox and Safari, but Camino apparently forgot one handy little feature for switchers: moving your cookies over from your old browser.
Retyping those passwords is a pain, so you can use CookieThief to steal all your login cookies from Safari and put them right into Camino. No fuss, no muss, just cookies. We'll admit this is an app with a pretty limited scope, and you'll probably only use it once, but if you can't be bothered to do it yourself, it might be just what you're looking for. (Oh, and if you happen to be going from Camino to Safari, CookieThief can copy your cookies that way, too!)
Anticipation is high for the upcoming launch of Firefox 3, with the recent Release Candidate 2 scoring good reviews from the likes of Walt Mossberg. We at Download Squad are constantly receiving tips that the finished product is coming soon. Well, here's the scoop: according to Firefox's development team, RC2 for Windows and Linux was good enough that it's getting copied straight over into RC3. For Mac, things are a little bit different. The OS X version is getting a few fixes and going through more testing, to work out some problems introduced by the 10.5.3 update.
If you've been watching the nightly builds like a hawk and sending in tips, your wait is nearly over. The Firefox Group says there are only 17 more issues on the list, and they should be dealt with by the end of the week. We don't have a hard and fast date for the release yet, but we believe the folks at Mozilla when they say it's coming soon.
Flock, the social web browser, recently passed its milestone 1.0 release. If a tree falls in the woods, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Why aren't more people using Flock?
It's a good question. Strip Flock down and what you've got is a Firefox clone. You can do everything with Firefox that you can do with Flock, if you're inclined to add extension after extension. But when all is said and done, Flock is so much more than the sum of its parts.
If you use Mac OS X, you're probably familiar with Spotlight, which searches your hard drive and displays results as you type. Well, why not bring that same capability to web searching? Inquisitor is a free OS X app that adds "search as you type" functionality to Safari. Install Inquisitor, restart Safari, and when you start typing in Safari's search bar, Inquisitor will display up to three links and several suggested keywords as you go.
This, of course, works best if you have a fast computer and fast Internet connection. I found Inquisitor to be a bit slow on my 800mhz iBook G4 (hey, we can't all have the latest and greatest). And of course, it would be simply impractical for Inquisitor to search the entire web as you type; instead it pulls its results from Google, Amazon, Wikipedia, and several other sources.
If you don't have Safari, there's also a free web-based version, currently in beta. I actually found the web-based version to be faster than the Safari version.
... if you use Windows and don't mind installing a third-party, standalone application.
FireTune is not a Firefox extension. It's a downloadable app - for Windows only - that "tunes" Firefox depending on your computer's speed and internet connection. You give FireTune some information about your setup, and it adjusts the browser's settings accordingly.
The big question for me, though, is why anyone would go to the trouble of installing FireTune, when the extension Fasterfox includes the same functionality and more. I have yet to uncover any features in FireTune that aren't present in Fasterfox; and Fasterfox includes other perks in addition to speed, such as blocking Flash-initiated pop-up windows. So far, the only benefit I can see to FireTune is that it apparently supports Firefox 2.0 - which, of course, still hasn't been officially released.
Even though Yahoo might have released IE7 a tad early, Microsoft still managed to get it officially out the door on their scheduled date of October 18th 2006, a mere 100 years since their last release. Microsoft has a lot riding on this one. Bill Gates has promised a revamp of the market leading browser, and everyone is expecting something big from IE since it has been so long since the last release. Browsers like Firefox are gaining ground, and IE7 better prove something to users, or it could face a steady decline as it has in the past few years. So needless to say, the browser wars are back on. IE7 is out, and Firefox is just waiting to pounce on the new Microsoft browser in the next few days with Firefox 2 (In both Mac and PC formats). My knees are shaking right now at Microsoft's nice warning message as shown above, and I haven't built up the nerve to run the install. Give me some time. In the meantime, if anyone has any experience with the new IE7, drop us a line.
Look out for a comparison of the two new browsers in an upcoming post.
A tipster by the name of OperaBoy sent us a screenshot of Opera X, and - if it's real - it looks tasty. Obviously highlighted is a 'Synchronize' feature, which looks a lot like Firefox extensions add-ons like Google's Browser Sync and Foxmarks, offering the ability to keep bookmarks, notes, newsfeeds and contacts in sync between computers. Whether Opera will be offering the actual sync/storage space, or if users will need to supply their own WebDAV/FTP like with Foxmarks, is yet to be seen.
Personally, I'm not a heavy Opera user (though I crack it open on occasion to play with the interesting stuff they're always doing), so I'm not spotting any other major features on their way in this new version, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. One thing I do know, however, is that the ability to sync all these things between computers should be a big appeal for those who, like me, are looking for a one-stop solution for an app/browser that can handle all these tasks well. I, for example, am a paid Backpack user, but I'm finding that it doesn't expand well for some uses, in part because 37signals doesn't offer any kind of a search engine for all your notes and lists. Depending on how well these features are implemented and how syncing performs, Opera X could turn out to be another trail-blazing release from the unfortunate and ill-deserved underdog of the browser market.
InternetWeek has an interesting round-up review of
Internet Explorer 7, Firefox, Opera, and Maxthon. Four editors go to bat for each of the Windows browsers, and
included is a nice "Visual Tour" of each plus side-by-side comparisons of some key features. There's no
"this one is best" conclusion but it's a nice way to get an idea of what each browser does best.
Seems fitting for Thunderbird to follow suit after its browser brethren Firefox got its 1.0.5 release. Mozilla has updated the open source email client to version 1.0.5, enhancing security and stability -- two things we highly approve of here at Download Squad. Go and get stable why dontcha.
Although it doesn't always get the most attention, Opera is a solid browser that continues to improve with each version. While they work on their next version, codenamed Peregrine (like the falcon), subtle improvements are being added to the current release, 9.51. The latest addition is Ask.com for the search bar. 
Are the oldschool browser wars starting up again? It sure seems like it.
Seems fitting for Thunderbird to follow suit after its browser brethren 
