S2W9 Monday: A Look at IE9, Visualising Radiation, Zune, Subscriptions, Static IP Addresses, Social Media, Photo edit, Review

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1. Firefox vs IE9: Face Off

Noting that according to Net Applications, Internet Explorer's share fell to 56% in January 2011, the BBC  quoted Microsoft's claims that Internet Explorer 9 is "playing catch up, but it leapfrogs everything" and "you are seeing innovation after innovation that other folks are catching up to." 

IE 9 Logo

In The Register, Tim Anderson said Internet Explorer 9 was Microsoft's answer to the fall in Internet Explorer's market share (from 68.5% in July 2008 to 46% in January 2011, according to StatCounter). He felt it was "fast and polished", a "remarkable improvement" over version 8, noting "superb" development tools and "real and significant" support for HTML5, though "not as comprehensive as the company's publicity implies." 

However, configuration options are "strewn all over the user interface", and the "distinctive and excellent" ActiveX filtering and Tracking Protection features might be "perplexing for less technical users." Having reached release candidate status eleven months after it was originally announced at the March 2010 MIX conference, "Microsoft's development process is too slow." The new version is "a good modern browser" but "the competition is moving faster." 

Which is the better browser? What does IE9 offer. Is it really that fast. Let's have a look; at first blush the striped-down IE9 is a definite head nod to the success of Google Chrome's minimalist interface. The menus have disappeared:

So let's see a head-to-head:

Please leave a comment to explain which browser you use and why. Have you tried many. What is most important to you?

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2. Visualising Radiation

It is very difficult for us to grasp differences in amounts across scales. Some smart individuals have come up with graphics to help us visualise our exposure to radiation. It helps put the exposure in Japan into context. Firstly, a fantastic chart outlining how much radiation exposure is actually occurring in your daily life:

http://xkcd.com/radiation/

Here a slightly more in-depth breakdown of the same data:

http://people.reed.edu/~emcmanis/radiation.html

Finally, a table that quickly explains radiation doses and their actual effects on the human body including increased risk of cancer:

http://www.boingboing.net/2011/03/17/ra … d-r-1.html

 

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3. Bye Zune

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4. Cancelling subscriptions

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5. Purpose of a Static IP Address

In home networks, IP addresses aren’t usually fixed, but they do fall within specific ranges. Your router will assign a new IP address automatically if another computer joins the network, or if your configuration changes. For the most part, this works out just fine – you shouldn’t notice a difference to your Internet performance or application functionality if your IP changes.

 

A static IP address however, is one that doesn’t change. Your computer decides upon the address it wants, and it tells the router. Why would you want to set up something like this though, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of doing so? Is there a better solution? Have a read of this article about the hows and whys:

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/static-ip-address-advantages-disadvantages/

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6. Social Media Explained

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7. Harmony Day Photo Edit

Take the opportunity to edit a Harmony Day photo or Crazy Hair Day photo. The photos are located on the Secondary drive under Photos/Harmony Day and Photos/Harmony Day 2.

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7. End of Term Review Quiz

We will do and end of term quiz on Wednesday that covers the materials we have looked at over the past two and a half months. Take the opportunity today to start reviewing the materials. Some questions will be those covered in the previous quizzes. If you would like to take a copy of the quizzes on your thumb drive, they are all available on the Secondary drive under Photos/Harmony Day and Photos/Harmony Day 2.

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