Firefox fans would be happy to know ( and there are so many Firefox enthusiasts out there) that Mozilla announced the availability of the first beta for version 3.6 of its open source Firefox web browser. If you are a dedicated Internet Explorer user, you will not find the updates too thrilling but Firefox users will get some new upgrades in this version.The release features will provide built-in support for Personas, “skins” for the browser surround of menus (Users can now change their browser’s appearance with a single click) , alerts that will warn users when their plug-ins are out of date or on delivery of new plug-ins and support for the Web Open Font Format (WOFF). Other promises are quicker loading and support for new CSS, DOM and HTML5. You can also expect better JavaScript performance and display Open, native video on full screen. A feature allowing you to drag and drop files from a PC to the browser can be included.

Mozilla warns that being pre-release software, you are likely to run into compatibility problems with some websites and add-ons. If you are an outstanding open source citizen , you can help Mozilla by bringing these bugs to their attention and help them get fixed here.

You can find the full scoop on Firefox 3.6 browser here and for free Download click here.

Google describes the Wave as “how e-mail would look if it were invented today”, and claims it will transform how people communicate online. GoogleWave is an online communication and collaboration tool that combines e-mail, instant messaging and wiki-style editing. “It struck us that e-mail is still the main communication tool on the web, which seemed remarkable given that it is 20-year-old technology,” said Lars Rasmussen, who along with his brother was the developer of Google Maps as well. Wave seems to be a combination of Instant Messenger and Facebook like social media interactions. What it primarily does is allow users to share, ongoing, real-time conversations called Waves. All the participants in a wave can add more participants, but participants can also send private replies to each other. It differs from traditional instant messenger (IM) in that the conversation can continue even once everyone has logged out. Also those invited to a Wave conversation but not currently online, can then later read the message strand. There are some irritating functions like real-time typing so that fellow wavers can view a comment being written character by character. Thankfully they are working on it being an optional mode. Additionally there are wiki-style editing tools that allows for messages to be edited at any point by members of the conversation and a Playback facility so that people can see exactly who has edited what and at what time. There are also authoring tools like automatic spelling corrections, inline editing and change tracking. If you find it painful and time consuming to upload photos in other applications like Facebook, you will appreciate the fact that here photos can simply be dragged from the desktop onto the Wave platform . Also the tool incorporates popular social media games like as sudoku and chess. I’m sure there are more to come. The only problem that Google Wave faces is that it can run on almost all browsers with the exception of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer which is currently the most used browser. Users of IE will have to download a plug-in, known as Chrome Frame to use the application. It remains to be seen if Google can persuade IE users to go to the trouble of doing so. Since Wave was announced at a Google developers’ conference in May, one million people have registered on the site. Wave will have a full consumer launch early next year.

As of now Google is sending out 100,000 invites to test drive the Wave, each of whom can further nominate five people to “join the Wave”. Let us know if you enjoyed the ride if you happen to be on the party list.

Recently, I submitted a resume for an average position with a typical company, complete with awesome eye-catching cover letter that showed off what a diverse and capable writer I am (*cough* *cough*).  Normally this would be enough to land a favorable response and usually an interview would be scheduled where we meet in person and discuss the opportunity over coffee or in some cold conference room reserved for such negotiations.

I got a response.  They wanted to see a few writing clips — which is totally understandable, you have to make sure your writer can form a sentence — but then they wanted links to my social networking pages, if I had any, which of course everyone does nowadays, and they’d be in contact — after reviewing them, I assume.

I felt a slightly violated, like they asked me what kind of car I drove or who my friends are, as if that would help determine my capability.   Am I the only one who still believes in the separation of a person’s professional and personal life?  Apparently.

With Facebook surpassing MySpace in the battle of personal webpage popularity, and Twitter transforming into a lifeline for political protest under lockdown, these pages and sites are becoming more important than ever.  Social networking sites are huge, there’s no question and even the knowledge that prospective employers use them to search out applicants is nothing new.  I’ve just never had someone outright ask me for it before.  That got me thinking about how to balance the professional and the personal, and if such a balance can exist online.

The conclusion I came to was that it doesn’t matter.  If you’re putting pictures and information out there, it’s public domain and everyone, even employers, can see it.  We’ve all heard about the guy who got fired because he lied about his relative dying but got caught when he posted pics of himself at a party that same night.

Ouch.   Don’t want to be that guy.

Here are some obvious and not-so-obvious things to watch out for:

Profile pics:
Fortunately, I keep the madness and debauchery to a minimum and use a generic, friendly profile pic just in case, since even if a page is set to “private” the profile pic is still visible.   Photos of bikini backsides, beers swilling at parties, or the shirtless bathroom mirror shots probably aren’t giving off the best impression.

Privacy settings:
We all crave a little attention, but the smart online user will forgo this superfluous satisfaction and set their page to “private” to avoid snafus like the one mentioned above.  This also helps to deter cyber-stalkers since they can’t get very much free info about your current whereabouts or friends.

Photos/videos:
You can still post those party pics, but set them to private so only friends can see them, or some sites will allow you to select who sees them and who doesn’t on a person-by-person basis.  And if you’re posting pics or videos of children who aren’t yours, try to get the parent’s permission.  Some parents are very avid about keeping their kids of the web.

Friends:
It’s hard to turn down requests since such a move usually translates into real world relations and makes them more difficult, but carefully consider whether you really want your boss or new co-workers as your online buddies.  Remember they can possibly check up on you and verify your whereabouts if you called in sick and missed a day of work to join the Lakers parade.

Posting and comments:
You can be careful about your posts, but you can’t control what your friends are going to say in theirs.  Some sites are a free for all, whatever’s posted is there and you’d have to be online 24-7 to review and censor what you want and don’t want displayed.   Others will send notifications and let you review comments and picture posts before they’re displayed to the rest of your friends.

Blogs and Notes:
Crafting an amusing story about your douchey boss and how he meets a dark demise can be great reading for your friends and cathartic for a frustrated employee, but in the wrong hands, it can also lead to an HR visit or worse.

Basic Info:
Do we need to say be careful how much you put out there? Really, don’t list anything you wouldn’t want everyone and their mother seeing – address, phone number, current employer, relationship status…

Status:
This line can be seen along with your profile pic even if your page is set on private, so remember that when you want to write something with colorful language.

Like it or not, these sites can very well be the first impression a prospective employer will get of you.  I don’t necessarily agree with it since I think it opens doors to possible discrimination by gender, race and other such visible characteristics, but I can see how it would be useful for legitimate screening, especially in the current economy where companies are seeing hundreds of resumes for one position.  The moral of the story — be careful what you put out there, Big Brother is watching.

Image Source: teenstalktruth.com

Find at Smarter.com:  Shop for internet safety books.

For all those who have plans of flying this holiday season, maybe your flight won’t be as boring as you imagined.

That is if you’re flying with Delta.

Originally shooting for early 2009, Delta seems to be ready to launch their in-flight Wi-Fi service within the next few weeks. Just in time for the busiest travel days of the year.

Not sure yet about how much the service is going to cost, but there is already one thing set in stone. Delta is going to block all the adult sites, so no porn surfing for you little Timmy. Yeah, I know what you were thinking. You little banshee.

Source.

Photo Source.

It’s official.

If you’re the proud owner of the Apple iPhone, then you’re now the proud recipient of free wi-fi at any of AT&T’s hotspots across the country. That includes every Starbucks and Barnes and Noble out there, which is practically at every corner. And if you have the Blackberry Bold, Pearl 8120 and 8820, then you qualify as well. Eligibility for other Blackberry models is soon to come.

For all the details, you can read about them here at AT&T.

For those of you who just can’t get enough of Google, well now you can get it on the go! Well, “on-the-go” meaning if you drive a BMW.

Germans have already been using this functure for over a year, but starting in 2009, American BMW owners will now get the luxury of browsing the web and using Google maps thanks to the help of AT&T. Most BMW blogs think the the cars will be on the GPRS network, rather than Edge, but there still isn’t any official word. Plus, all the new BMWs are going to include this new Google function apparently, except for the X3 mini-’Ute, and at $199 a year, drivers will get the Google maps integration and more.

Despite the high $200 service fee, at least you’ll get the standard BMW Assist functionality, like locating your car if gets stolen or dispatching an ambulance if you’re in a horrible accident.

Or if you don’t care to call an ambulance, at least you can Google the nearest one!

Source: Engadget

Google took another step towards its dominance of the Internet two days ago by launching their new browser, Google Chrome. If you’re clueless to what I’m talking about, then you can go download it here.

Anyways, I had a chance to download it and, I’m not gonna lie, so far I like it. Of course, I’m a sucker for good looks, so I’m an easy sell. The slick look of it alone is an eye catcher.

Since Chrome has only been out for a few days, Google hasn’t had a chance to create cool plugins such as the ones Firefox has, but I’m according to this article, that is to come soon. But it’s already taking momentum, as it has already gained 1% of the browser market in under 24 hours. I’m sure once everyone takes notice of this, it’ll catch like wildflower.

Anyhow, I suggest you download it and check it out for yourselves and tell us what you think about it.

Love it? Hate it? Sticking with your old browsers? What would you like to see happen with it? LET US KNOW!

Photo Source.

Starting in 2009, Delta will be offering Wi-Fi to all their domestic flights by the first half of the year. They’re going to first put it on their MD88/90s planes next month, then install it on all their Boeing aircraft by 2009. 

Delta is choosing to go with Aircell Gogo Service, due to it’s lightweight and affordable price. Affordable being $9.95 for trips of three hours and shorter and $12.95 for flights over three hours. And the service is available for any device able to connect to the Internet.

So for those of you who can’t wait a few hours to check your MySpace page should look into Delta and see if they fly to all your favorite destinations.

Source: Engadget

An article posted on MSNBC revealed to me that AT&T is offering DSL service for only $10 a month, cheaper than any other advertised plan.

AT&T is quietly offering the deal to customers in its 22-state service region and local phone service and a one year contract are required, although the modem is free.

The service provides download speeds of up to 768 kilobits per second and upload speeds of up to 128 kps. This matches the speeds of the cheapest AT&T plan, which is $19.95.

Read the full article here to find out how to take advantage of this deal.