The best Android Browser so far

The best thing about Android is the options that are available in the Market when it comes to Applications. You come across a variety of Applications for the same purpose. Browsers are on of them.

I have tested all the browsers available for Android so far. I download every new browser that is available in the market and try them for sometime. However, I always find myself going back to the stock Android Browser because I see no point in using the browsers available in the Market - they all have similar or lesser features than the stock Android Browser.

Firefox and Opera for example, the leaders in the desktop browser war, suck big time with their Android Browsers. Browsing with Opera Mobile or Firefox makes it look like you are using a feature phone and not a smartphone.

Dolphin on the other hand has some cool features and great functionality. But Dolphin sucks when it comes to looks. The user interface of Dolphin used to feel like the work of some kindergarten kid, until Webzine came along.

Then there is Miren. It looks good. It has some great functionality built into it. It feels like you are browsing on the desktop when you are using Miren. But I have not seen an update ever since I downloaded Miren. So it always comes across to me as an abandoned project.

Thinking about Miren made me feel that, perhaps, this is where Android Browser innovation ends. Now Android Browser will ever go beyond what Miren has done with browser functionality. Then Dolphin came along with Webzine, confirming my belief that innovation ended when it comes to browsers. Now, Webzine is a reader. I cannot understand why it should be the feature of a web browser. We have plenty of RSS readers out there if we want one.

As usual, I was proved wrong. I stumbled upon Sleipnir in the Android Market. I think Sleipnir is the best browser  have come across in the Android Market so far. Why do I think so? Let me give you my reasons:

• Sleipnir has a very innovative user interface. I used to think that Life Browser is the best user interface available so far. But after I started using Sleipnir, I realized that Life Browser is just a user interface gimmick. The ability to see screen shots of your bookmarks is what makes Life Browser different. But you kind of find it useless when it comes to other browser features. Sleipnir's user interface is a different one. Sleipnir has taken tabbed browsing on smartphones to the next level. You can have as many tabs as you want open on the browser with Sleipnir and you can have different layers of tabs. Sleipnir has six layers on which you can organize your tabs for easy access.  And the tabs and layers are just a swipe away, at the bottom of the screen.
• A major issue I have with all the other Browsers on Android was the fact that they open mobile version of sites, if you have Android as your default user agent. Ya, that is good. I like reading the mobile versions of sites than the original versions sometimes. However, the problem with most of the mobile sites is the font size. Most mobile sites have their font size below the level of human capacity to read. How I used to wish if I could zoom some of the mobile sites to make them readable. Not all eyes are as powerful as mobile site developers eyes. Sleipnir allows you to tap or pinch even mobile site to zoom. This is the best feature I loved about Sleipnir.
• Sometimes you wish you did not have to tap the tabs to go from one tab to another. It makes me feel so good to swipe on the readers to go to the next page. That is so intuitive when you are reading. It is like turning the pages on the book. Sleipnir allows you to do that. I heard that the feature is available on Dolphin Browser for Android Honeycomb Tablets. But I like the fact that Sleipnir does it for all the android versions it works on.
• Swipe down on the tab to close it is another feature I liked. I think this feature has a little problem as you swipe down to close a tab. Often you end up pressing the home button as you are swiping down to close a tab and close the browser. But, as you get used to the browser I am sure you will be careful not to do it.
• It has some useful gesture features that allows you to search, refresh or stop a page from loading. Some of you may like it. However, for me it is not very useful as many gestures on most browsers are not an intuitive feature. The fact is, I forget to use them. But if you are someone good at remembering your gestures, you will love the gesture features of Sleipnir.

You can donwload Sleipnir  from here. Let me know what you think about the browser after you use it. 

Who is mailing you?

Pishing. Scamming. Spamming. And what not! Email accounts are easy targets of spammers and scammers from time immemorial. Most of the email service providers have successfully developed spam fighting systems that automatically send junk mail  into your spam folder or trash them. Yet, spammers find a way around that system and get into your inbox. Worse still, some of them impersonate people you know and trick you into downloading spyware, sending money or joining scam websites. How we wish we had some way to identify the person mailing us? There is a way you can do that now.

Rapportive!

Rapportive is a browser extension that integrates itself into your Gmail Account and it works on both Chrome and Firefox. It does a very simple thing! It shows you who mailed you the mail you are reading. For example, if you receive a mail from me and you have Rapportive installed on your browser, it will show you my photograph and any information available on web about me. It will show you links to my Facebook Account, Twitter Account, Linkedin Account etc. This helps you make sure that the mail from me is in fact from me and no one else.

You may not get the information right away for all email addresses. They have just launched Rapportive and its in the process of accumulating information on people. But I am sure, the service will improve over a period of time as you keep using it and Rapportive will be able to give you exact information about people you interact with.

Imagine receiving a mail from someone, claiming that it is from your friend stranded on an island and he needs help. Rapportive will help you understand if that mail is really from your friend. All you need to do is [if you are using gmail], to click here and install the extension on your Firefox Browser or Chrome Browser!

My Favourite Chrome Extensions

I always used to wish Chrome had extensions like Firefox. But then I was thankful Chrome did not have extensions because whenever I think of Browser Extensions I remember the time it used to take Firefox to load with all those Extensions. In fact the endless loading time is one reason why I left Firefox and started using Chrome. I always had to wait for at least for 15 minutes before Firefox initialized the Extensions or Add-ons or what ever they call it and then checked for updates and was ready for me to use. That was when the lightening speed Chrome came along and I instantly fell in love with this sleek browser that saved a lot of screen real estate and loaded faster than any browser that existed on my system. However, I always secretly wished for some of the cool extensions I had on Firefox.

And then Chrome Extensions came along! Yes, you require a developer version of Chrome if you want to use Chrome Extensions. But then, Chrome Beta is one good way to keep in touch with the new things the browser offers and there is no harm in using it. I went around trying most of what was available on the Chrome Extension Site and finally realized a few key things about what makes a Good Browser Extension.

1. A good browser extension is not just another bookmark! Most of the Extensions we have on Chrome are simple bookmarks which, if you click on them, take you to some websites. If an extension works like a bookmark, then why do I need it?
2. A good browser extension must do what the browser can not! For example, Google has an Omnibox that lets me do both search and browsing from one place. Google also allows me to decide which search engine provides me the results I seek using Omnibox. Then, why would I need another extension that offers to help me do search with different search engines?
3. A good browser extension must enable me to do certain things without leaving the browser window! This is the major factor that decides if I like an extension or not. I like an extension that allows me to do things without disturbing my browser experience. 

Now, these are the factors based on which I have selected my current favourite Chrome Extensions.

Facebook for Google Chrome

This extension allows you to see your Facebook News  Feed, Wall and Notifications without leaving the Current Tab. One click and the extension opens a pop up that lets you read the feeds on Facebook. It also allows you to update your status or let your friend know that you liked what he or she said. My only issue with this Extension is that it does not allow me to comment on what my friends say, though the comment link is available along with the feed.

Chromed Bird

Chromed Bird allows you to follow your timelines and interact with your Twitter account without leaving the Current Tab. One click and you can update your status, see your feed or @ Mentions or Direct Messages and retweet what your friends are up to. An option to create short url adds value to the extension. Initially I used to get an error message when the extension loaded. But now it works perfectly fine.

Chromepad
Chromepad is a note taking extension which I love using. I do not have to leave the browser and open a notepad if I want to take something quickly down as I am browsing. For example, I am browsing and a phone call came and I have to take down a phone number. I just have to click Chromepad open and type the number in. I don't have to even save what I type and recall it any time I want to. It is one of the cleanest and well designed Chrome Extension I have ever come across.

Google Tasks
Google Tasks allows you to recall your Google Task list without leaving your current tab. You can do everything that you do with Google Task when you open it in your Gmail or use it as a widget on iGoogle. The best thing about this extension is the fact that you can use the Google Task as liked to your account or you can use it as an extension specifically for your browser. You can also open Google Task as a seperate window.

Google Quick Scroll
Quick Scroll is Google's contribution to Chrome Extension. It works in the background, unlike most of the Extensions that appear next to the Omnibox. It helps you find what you are searching for faster and has the ability to decide if it must intervene with your search. When Quick Scroll decides to help you with your search it will appear at the bottom of the page leading you to the exact place on a web page where your key word can be found.

What do I like about Chrome Extensions?
Following are the things I like about Chrome Extensions:

1. I like Chrome Extensions because it loads as soon as it is installed. I don't have to restart the browser to see how the new Extension is working
2. I like Chrome Extensions also because they do not affect the Browser loading time.

The only thing I may not like is when third party extensions have the power to keep track of my browsing history and data.

Browser War: Is Netscape Founder coming back with a vengence?

15 December 1994, Netscape Communications Corporation launched Netscape Navigator, the Web Browser that changed the way people approached Internet. Microsoft bought the licence of the source code of Mosaic, and with that they created Internet Explorer, which eventually killed Netscape. That browser war was somewhere in 1995. And Andreessen and his Netscape was history!

In July 2009, techedIN was launched, amidst another browser war booming! [Yes, the very same techedIN you are reading now!] Because of the success of Firefox, Google entered the browser market and now the war is between Google, Mozilla, Apple and Microsoft. And today New York Times reported the entry of another player  into the browser market! A man the Internet World always remembers with a lot of respect -Marc Andreessen!

New York Times reported that Marc is funding a Software Development firm called RockMelt, which is secretly into the business of developing a new generation browser. NYT reports:

But Mr. Andreessen suggested the new browser would be different, saying that most other browsers had not kept pace with the evolution of the Web, which had grown from an array of static Web pages into a network of complex Web sites and applications. “There are all kinds of things that you would do differently if you are building a browser from scratch,” Mr. Andreessen said.

So Marc is building a web browser from scratches, the one that will slowly kill the current ones? Like Microsoft took over his browser kingdom way back in 1995? And what is Marc and his team building? RockMelt does not give you much idea about what is happening with them, on their site. They just have a page that shows off their mysterious logo. [Believe me, the logo sticks! Great sense of logo selection!]

There are people who claim that they got a chance to take a look at the 'thing' RockMelt is attempting to make. And as I understand, it is mostly designed as a browser that integrates Facebook into its build. In other words Marc seems to be targeting the millions who use Facebook like Google once targeted Firefox users, buying the rights to be the home page of every Firefox Browser.And Marc is on the Director Board of Facebook, which would probably make it easy for him to strike a deal with Facebook.

Does it have any other feature built into it other than Facebook integration? No one knows. If it is just about Face Book integration, then what is Flock for? Flock is a web browser launched by Mozilla, the makers of Firefox. Flock integrates Face Book and Twitter very well into its build. It also lets you keep in touch with your feeds real time. It permits you to access your mail, post your blog and all these features are built into the browser. This means once you have your account open you don't have to go directly to the website to access information. The browser brings you all that information by itself. Flock is much more powerful than any browser I have seen so far. Not even Chrome or Firefox can match it! [I'm not so sure about security though!]

If there is already a browser [Flock!] that fits the description of what Marc probably has in his mind, then why re-invent the wheel? Is he just trying to take his vengence on Microsoft for having him out of the game? Or is it about controling the web, because today owning a browser that people use is how on-line might of Software Companies is defined? Is the new browser to be created by the RockMelt Team going to be a powerful new generation one? Or is it going to be a Facebook Homepage thing that is going to die once another social networking site better than Face Book will take over the market? Only time will tell! [I have given my email address to the RockMelt team and am waiting for their updates. Till then, I'll try and use Flock for some time and see if it can get me out of my Chrome Addiction!]

Images from Wikipedia and RockMelt Official Site

One Billion + You: The Firefox Magic!

Mozilla launched www.onebillionplusyou.com on 1 August 2009 to mark the day its Browser Download Crossed 1000000000 +

I don't use Firefox anymore, as I am adicted to Google Chrome. But I don't use Firefox not because I hate using it, like I hate using Internet Explorer. I used to be in love with Firefox, before Google Chrome ever happened. And I used to love the fact that it allowed me to fashion my browser any way I wanted to. I used to be addicted to the idea of  'add-ons' and used to spend a lot of time hunting for them. And perhaps, adding 'add-ons' to the browser slowed it down, especially at loading. It used to take more than ten minutes for the browser to load and that was when Chrome happened. And the browser looking for updates as it was loading was another pain. Google offering a simple, clean and faster browser with independent tabs lured me into it and I stopped using Firefox all together.

This doesn't mean that the browser was good for nothing. It was great while it lasted. Every add-on I used added to the charm of using it as my default browser. I could somehow make sense of the idea of Browser as an OS because I have used Firefox and their 'add-ons'. In my Firefox Browser I used to have 'add-ons'like Lipikar, Google Notebook, Weird Marker, Speed Dial, ChatZilla, Gspace, Fox Tab, Quick Note and many more. Each allowed me to do different things using the browser, which I would have otherwise done using a software application specially made for that purpose. Firefox allowed me to download the application as code, add it to the browser and use it. This helps the computer save a lot of memory for other things good. Now, when Google talks about Browser as an OS, I perfectly understand how it is going to be because Mozilla has shown us how the rudimentary form of a Browser-as-an-OS would be using their add-ons. 

I think Mozilla Developer Community has a lot to contribute in this regard. I don't know if Firefox is thinking about an OS like Google does. I am sure if they think about one, Google is going to find it very difficult to beat them in market share. 

Google Crome Crashes: How did I solve it?

It was not so long ago I wrote about Google Chrome launching an OS. I was so excited about the news of COS coming up to conquer the OS Market and going to take it all to the web and give cloud computing a new dimension. I was happy to know, soon I would be using my browser to run any application that I want to run. The next day something happened to my Chrome Browser, that almost made me rethink what I wrote. [No, I haven't changed my mind about trusting Google when they say their OS is going to be the best!] My Chrome Browser started crashing!

It started crashing every one minute. Start, crash and restart! This looked to me like running a fluorescent tube light when there is low voltage! Those of us who live in India would know what I am talking about. When there is low voltage [a common phenomenon in India] the tube lights start blinking like mad that you always give up and go to sleep no matter what you want to do. This Chrome Crash was like that.

I'd open the browser and type in a web address. When the page loads, Chrome would crash. Initially I thought, it might be a security procedure by Chrome and I was browsing a web page that might have sent some malicious code to my system. But when the crash recurred when I was browsing Google owned pages, when sometimes I was doing nothing on the browser, I realized there was something wrong. My Chrome browser was just not willing to listen to me and every other minute it crashed telling me: 'Whoa! Google Chrome has crashed.'

One good thing, during this whole drama of Chrome Crash, was that the browser was willing to get me back the pages I was browsing when it restarted. I managed to search the solution out, after an exasperating half an hour of start-crash-restart. Of course, Google had a solution. This is what Google asked me to do:

Solutions

Try restarting the browser.

Whenever possible, Google Chrome will restore webpages from your previous browsing session.

Check whether you need a new browser user profile.

If you see this error message repeatedly, your browser user profile may be corrupted. First try moving the Default subfolder from your User Data folder to see if that fixes the problem:

1. Go to Start menu > Run.
2. Enter one of the following directories in the text field, depending on your operating system: Windows XP: %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\ Windows Vista: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Google\Chrome\User Data\
3. Click OK.
4. In the window that opens, rename the 'Default' folder as 'Backup.'
5. Move the 'Backup' folder from the 'User Data' folder up one level to the 'Chrome' folder.

If you continue to see the error, try creating a new user profile to replace your current one.

Check for problems with protected system files.

1. Go to Start menu > Run.
2. Enter the following: SFC.EXE /SCANNOW (make sure there is a space between SFC.EXE and /SCANNOW). This initiates the Microsoft utility that will scan and repair problems with protected system files on your computer.

Try opening Google Chrome and see whether the error message still appears.

IE6 Must Die: The new On-line Movement!

Look at this screen shot from Twitter. I was so surprised to see the slogan "IE6 Must Die" trending on Twitter, yesterday. I think the trending began on Twitter with Ben Parr posting 'IE6 Must Die for the Web to Move On' on Mashable.

Ben Parr wrote on Mashable:

Just six years ago, the web was dominated by one browser:Internet Explorer, specifically Internet Explorer 6. Without Netscape to compete against it and the ability to bundle its browser with Windows XP, Microsoft experienced superior market share – up to 95% at the peak. Today though, we have far superior browsers like Firefox, Safari, Opera, and Chrome, as well as Internet Explorer 8. So why is 15 to 25 percent of the world’s browsing still done in a browser created in the digital Stone Age (aka 2001)?

Long ago, in 2007, David Walsh gave '6 Reasons Why IE6 Must Die'. Even at that point, I don't think anyone disagreed with him. But the post did not see the whole World Wide Web rising against IE6, probably because many end users could not really see the difference. Most of what David wrote was technical. Probably people didn't care what programmers went through. David wrote:

"millions of ignorant internet users will stick to using IE6 which will result in programmers dedicating valuable time to fix IE6-caused bugs and will hamper pushing websites to the next level."

I took a look at how browsers are used across the world on Wikipedia. I found that Internet Explorer owns 65% of the browser market share. And according to Wikipedia's June 2009 Report, IE6 owns 12.78% browser market share. According to w3schools.com, by June 2009, IE6 owns at least 14.9% browser market share. 12% or 14%, why is the internet all of a sudden showing a trend against IE6?

All of a sudden we have major websites like Facebook and You Tube trying to force users drop IE6. All of a sudden we have Internet trending on "IE6 Must Die". "What the Trend?" is asking for an On-line Movement against IE6, encouraging people to tweet the Mashable post title "IE6 Must Die for the Web to Move On". I think it is all because, HTML5 is on the way. Its first draft appeared on web in January 2008. Now, WHATWG is working hard to make HTML 5 a modern reality. I think once HTML 5 is a reality and all major websites drop IE6 support, we'll see the death of the browser. Asa Dotzler, predicts that IE6 will die by the end of next year if the present trend continues.

Let us all join our hands together to help Internet Technology move and grow further. If IE6 does not die on its own, we must kill it. I thought, as a part of that I would provide a list of links to help you find the new-age browsers. You can choose the one you think you will like. Here is the list:

• Firefox
• Opera
• Chrome
• Internet Explorer 8
• Safari

Of all the browsers, I prefer Firefox and Chrome. I prefer Firefox for the kind of cool add-ons it gives you to make your browsing experience great. I prefer Chrome for its simplicity and security.

Google Operating System: Soon to be a reality?

I love most of what Google does! One thing I like the most about all the Google Services is the fact that they gel into each other very well. Another thing is the fact that they let every one who can contribute to make the web a better place join hands officially or unofficially with them. [I'm talking about the space Google provides for developers to collaborate.]

The Google Guys are incredible and if there is one site that I always go to, it is Google.  And I use most of the services offered by Google. And I went straight ahead and started using Google Chrome, when they launched it. I was using Firefox till then and my hobby was to download and try and add as many add-on to my Firefox Browser as possible. It was fascinating to use Firefox, though the add-ons slowed down my browser and it always had 'starting trouble.'

When Google Chrome came people were wondering, why another browser. People thought, it is browser war. But Google proved them all wrong when they announced their Google Chrome OS on 7 July 2009. Google Chrome was not the beginning of a browser war. It was something beyond browsers and I wonder if Microsoft saw that coming when they were busy launching their cheap imitation of Google Search, Bing! C'mon guys! A picture that keeps changing on the home page and an option to fetch and display content from the sites in the search list does not make Bing, Google! I don't care even if they both give pretty similar search results!A cheap imitation is always a cheap imitation!!!

But look at Google and how beautifully they dream and strive to make that dream a reality.

Google says: "Speed, simplicity and security are the key aspects of Google Chrome OS." 

And those are the three things everyone wants these days when it comes to Personal Computers. Google Chrome is fast enough not to make you feel sit and hate yourself for using it. It is simple enough to not to get you confused about what you should do when and how. It is secure enough to warn you about what can harm your computer. I am talking from a layman's perspective, all you computer wiz kids out there! So I think these guys are going to do it when they say they are going to make COS [Chrome Operating System, aah! sounds good!!] quick, simple and secure!

Google reminds me of the Theory of Evolution. Unlike Microsoft, who started with OS and stayed on OS till it was too late, Google has evolved like a living being does. From Search Engine to OS, I am fascinated to witness this evolution. They are gradually taking everything away from Microsoft. First they had this search engine that grew to Google Books  and Google Reader and gradually made libraries and encyclopedias obsolete. Then they had this Mail that changed the way people communicate and gave a new dimension to real time communication through Google Talk. Google Docs made me almost stop using the other Office Software Packages. Google Chrome made me forget and hate the other web browsers I was using so far. And now here is COS to take my breath away!

I really really wish COS is a reality soon!!