Portability is one area of computing that's seen a great deal of interest in recent years. Many of us now have laptops or portable devices with web access, and the number of applications based on portable hardware is on the up. Obviously the needs of users that travel or work on-the-move are very different to a more static work environment, and require software solutions that enable them to work efficiently, no matter where they are.

Geode 1.5 is an experimental add-on for Firefox 3 that incorporates location awareness with your browser great accuracy. For example you may be visiting a new city, almost anywhere in the world and have no idea where anything is. By using your favourite reviews website Geode will enable you to find places such as restaurants, within a set area of your location.
 
Geode 1.5 link.

Although we though the browser wars were locked between Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer, with Opera and various IE-based browser such as Maxthon, in the mix, large software developers still think it's worth investing time and effort producing their own browser. Recently Apple released Safari for the Windows platform (why, we're not sure), based on the WebKit platform. Now Google have produced their own web browser, which is also based on WebKit.

Google Chrome 0.2 has reached public preview stage and it looks good. It's a very simple looking web browser, with simplicity at it's core. It's quick, delivering web pages immediately. It also enables you to surf the Internet in an 'Incognito' mode, keeping your web browsing a secret, useful if others use your computer.

Google Chrome link.

The browser wars are hotting up and, despite what you may think, there are clearly new features that are being developed for the next round of web browsers. This includes Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 and the forthcoming Firefox 3.1, both due later this year. Opera 9.6 is also in beta-testing and should see a release within the next couple of months.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 Preview 2 for Vista and for Windows XP is now available to download and ships with a few new features including the Web of Trust that attempts to help you browse only the safe side of the web and the pages regarded as legitimate. Microsoft have also setup their own 'add ons' site, the Internet Explore Gallery, which contains a host of extensions and other modules that will boost the functionality of IE 8.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 Preview 2 links for Vista and for XP.

Although Mozilla Firefox 3 is a better browser, people do not like change. It's the same reason some still use Internet Explorer 7. There are still far more users of the old Firefox 2 than the new browser, even though Firefox 3 is now established, developed to support more recent web standards and offers a much-improved browsing experience. Mozilla's plan is to make sure that these Firefox 2 users are aware of the new browser and that they should upgrade. It's not going to force people to upgrade - at least, not yet - but will give them an automatic warning that a new version is available and give them an option to install.

Of course, no development team wants to support two browsers with a different code base. It means having a team working on the old browser, just so they are familiar enough with the code to make security fixes and other important updates.

So, do Mozilla a favour and move across to Firefox 3 yourself.

Earlier this year, Opera 9.5 was released and this was a major new revision. Far faster, better rendering engine and a host of new features. However, Opera aren't resting on their laurels. Whist Mozilla are busy planning Firefox 3.1 for the end of the year, Opera have gone on to release two minor upgrades to the original release.

Opera 9.52 is available and, although there aren't many new features, there are a couple of visual changes to the user-interface, primarily to avoid skinning issues. Other improvements are generally fixes, such as improved support for AOL-based email. There are a number of security fixes and updates.

Opera 9.52 link.

The latest rage is to include an image zoom on your website. This works by enabling the web user to click on an image on your site, this image will enlarge and you'll see a high definition preview, without having to open a new browser window, tab or pop-up window. However, some of the technology behind this feature requires a Javacript file, which may not work correctly if a web user has turned off external Javascript support.

FancyZoom 1.1 is free (for non-commercial use) code that you can use on your site to preview your images and photos. The developer describes the functionality as very 'Mac like' and the action of previewing a larger version of your image is smooth and fluid. The code resides within your web page, rather than linked externally.

FancyZoom link.

Few people seem to be aware of this, but Internet Explorer is 'built in' to Windows. Well, the web core components are certainly integrated. In the same way Safari's web core is built in to OS X. This enables software developer's to use the engine to drive their HTML-based help documentation and to display web content within the app. iTunes is a good example. That uses the IE engine to render the interface.

IE Tab 1.5 is an add-on for Firefox that enables you to open a tab that will display a page using the Internet Explorer rendering engine, rather than Firefox. This is good for sites that only require IE or for developers who need to test the odd page in IE, without actually opening IE. The latest IE Tab 1.5.x now supports Firefox 3.

IE Tab link.

Back in early 2007 we put the first version of Firefox 3 online, expecting it to reach beta stage fairly quickly. It didn't. At the end of 2007 we were still posting previews online and this ended up confusing many general Internet users. Of course, Firefox 3 did enable you to install and use it without affecting your Firefox 2 installation, but it also installed separate versions for each beta and each new version affected your previous working add-ons and extensions.

Firefox 3.1 Alpha 1 codenamed 'Shiretoko' is now available to download, although we're going to hold off putting it on vnunet.com/downloads until it reaches beta stage. This new version brings a host of minor new features that didn't have time to get in to the original 3.0 release. These include support for the latest Gecko rendering engine, improvements to the Smart Location Bar and a brand new tab system that enables you to browse through a visual film strip of your previous opened tabs.

Firefox 3.1 Alpha 1 link.

When you're browsing the Internet, you may come across an address which you want to locate for reference purposes. In the past, you'd take the postcode, open a mapping site and locate the address. However, you can make the process more simple. If you use an add-on for Firefox such as Mini Map Sidebar, you can highlight the address with your mouse, right-click and choose from an option within your right-mouse menu. From there, you can view the address using Google Maps.

Mini Map Sidebar 0.3 is a free and simple address finder for Firefox that adds options to your right-mouse button menu, so you can quickly locate an address via Google Maps. If you prefer, there is the option of using Yahoo Maps. You can find directions to the address, from a specified location, if required.

Mini Map Sidebar link.

It's been a month since the release of Firefox 3 and, although we know that the developers are busy working on 3.1 (an alpha release is available), if there are any key security issues, bugs or other problems, a more immediate update is required.

Mozilla Firefox 3.0.1 is now available for download. If you already have Firefox 3 installed, you should receive this update automatically, through the Help > Check For Updates facility. This may happen a day or two after the official release. There aren't really any new features in 3.0.1, so don't get too excited. You'll find some minor bug fixes and security updates.

Mozilla Firefox 3.0.1 link.