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Mozilla reports on their official blog that over 8 million downloads were recorded in the 24 hours after Firefox 3’s release. From June 17 to June 20, Firefox 3’s market share grew from .96% to 4.65%; a much faster pace than its predecessor. It appears that Mozilla is well on its way to being confirmed as the new Guiness World Record holder for most software downloaded in 24 hours, but the log files still need to be reviewed by the judges.

I still haven’t had the opportunity to explore all of the new features in Firefox 3, but the ones that I’ve utilized the most thus far are the star button, which allows for quick addition and editing of bookmarks. I haven’t gone in and added tags to my existing bookmarks, but I can see how this could be another great way to assist in finding bookmarks based on tags specified by the user. The new changes to the address bar, permitting you to type in all or part of a page’s title, tag, or address to get a suggested list of matches from your own browsing history and bookmarks, is cool too. A built-in algorithm combines the frequency and recency of visits to return the most relevant results based on your own patterns of browsing. Finally, I like the cleaner, simpler buttons used in the UI. Oh, and did I mention its faster?

Most importantly though, Mozilla has made great strides in providing a more secure browsing experience for users by incorporating the following into their latest release:

• one-click site info
• malware protection
• new web forgery protection
• SSL error pages
• anti-virus integration

Kudos to Mozilla on a job well done and good luck with the Guinness World Record!

A few weeks ago I was involved in a minor accident while making my way in to work.  Not only did it occur nearly a year from the very day I was last plowed into while waiting at a traffic light, but less than a mile from the very spot!

As with the first accident, this too was not my fault. As I sat at a traffic light, waiting for the cars that backed up into the intersection to clear, the left lane (of two lanes turning left) started to move because of a gap that opened up behind the cars in the intersection. It was enough for one lane, but not both. The driver of the BMW behind me decided that he was tired of waiting and began turning his car to wards the left lane. Once he thought he had cleared my bumper, he accelerated, only to be slammed into by a white van that was already in the left lane, pushing the BMW into my driver-side rear quarter panel.

The short of the long is that the BMW driver was designated as being at faultand my car was repaired at no cost to me. What ended up making the biggest difference (aside from his being evasive and selective as to what details he provided in his claim), were my recorded account of what transpired and the satellite/illustration mashup I put together using screen captures of the accident scene on Google Maps, and Photoshop.

Finally, my car is fixed, the case is closed, and hopefully this will be the last time I get plowed into by a careless driver.

Though their servers have been slammed this afternoon and seemed to struggle with the initial load, Mozilla’s quest to set a Guinness World Record for most software downloaded in 24 hours, is well on its way. I’ve already downloaded and installed it on both my work and home pcs.  I will be playing with it a little more over the next few days and will post my comments on the latest version. I did already notice a faster load time, and like the quick bookmarking feature in the address bar.  Do note that many of the plugins that you may have installed will not be compatible with the newest version of Firefox.

So what are you waiting for? Get Firefox 3 now!

To help ease the “pain at the pump”, some employers have opted for a shorter work week. Others, have offered their employees alternate work schedule (AWS), and the ability to telecommute.

I imagine that this will become more common as prices continue to soar and others begin to expect similar accommodations. It will be interesting to see if companies start to offer this flexibility to their employees more liberally once the “crisis” has passed.

I have luckily had the fortune of being able to telecommute one day a week since mid-2004. There are definitely times when being in the office is necessary, but I am fully capable of performing the same tasks I do in the office, remotely (save for face-to-face interaction, and physical interaction with the servers).

As I’m sure any web designer/developer can attest to, there are days where you are grinding away, and don’t want be slowed down by interruptions.  For me, simply having the ability to eliminate the office chaos and focus exclusively on what I’m doing is a big plus. Of course, not having to commute 60 miles once a week is a big plus too.

I’m curious to hear if others are able to telecommute, participate in an alternate work schedule, or if more recently, your employers have decided to shorten the work-week to four days, and how that has worked out for you.

Unless you live under a rock (submerged in a deep cavernous body of water), you are aware that the highly anticipated (and greatly speculated on) Apple iPhone 3G was unveiled at the WWDC on Monday.

The new iPhone will operate on AT&T’s 3G network, offering twice the speed previously available on the EDGE network. In addition, other key enhancements are built-in GPS, improved battery life, and the replacement of the recessed headphone jack with a standard one. Finally, Apple will be launching the App Store, which will sell applications selected by Apple (created by developers using the iPhone SDK).

Quite possibly the biggest draw is the lower price. The new iPhone will only cost $199 (8GB) with a 2-year contract, with the option of a 16GB model for $299. Though, what you don’t pay for the iPhone itself, you will likely be making up in paying AT&T for the service. Unlimited data plans will cost $30/month on top of a voice plan (which start at $40/month).

After the first incarnation’s overwhelming success, paired with the hype that has built up since the rumors began swirling of a GSM model some time ago, the unveiling and subsequent media frenzy is sure to guarantee tremendous success for the new iPhone (barring any unforeseen disasters).

As for me, I’m still on the fence. I definitely like what I see and hear regarding the latest iPhone, but I’ve also heard great things about the new Blackberry Bold which will compete with the iPhone when it’s released.