http://www.techsnake.com Tech talk with a UK based slant is what we're all about here, so sit back subscribe and get a daily post delivered to your RSS reader! Thu, 03 Jul 2008 08:17:47 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Everyone who participated in "Download Day" for Firefox 3 should pat themselves on the back. It has officially been given the Guiness World Record kudos for the most downloaded piece of software in 24 hours. The final figure was 8,002,530, which is pretty impressive considering the servers didn't respond too well ... http://www.techsnake.com/2008/07/03/firefox-3-officially-sets-record-for-most-downloads/ Don't worry, you haven't been shipped off to a dodgy site instead of examining your regular tech menu. Instead of monkeys we're all about snakes now. The site, in case you didn't notice (I won't blame you) now resolves to "techsnake.com." The reasoning for the interested (or bored) is below: Firstly ... http://www.techsnake.com/2008/07/02/skymonkeyorg-changes/ The last 12 months have seen new game engines coming out left right and centre. While most casual gamers wont know they are there, some of these engines look and feel great to use and really change how we play. Last year it was Call Of Duty with it's new proprietary ... http://www.techsnake.com/2008/07/02/theres-a-freeze-coming/ Yeap, the last day for Mr. Gates - and a short history, with video, on the man has been compiled by the BBC. Well worth a look. http://www.techsnake.com/2008/06/27/bill-gates-leaves-microsoft/ The new version of the BBC iPlayer is due to be released tomorrow, with features lots of us have been waiting for. The most important below: Full integration for TV as well as Radio A rewind and Fast-forward function for Radio, as per TV Easier Navigation, including Last Played option Combined categories for TV ... http://www.techsnake.com/2008/06/25/new-bbc-iplayer-features/ After all the talks have turned to nothing, and shareholders prepare to oust the current board, there are tiny whisperings that maybe the Microsoft/Yahoo deal isn't over - just yet.Most of this is speculation, but there are already rumours about a renewed bid, far below what Microsoft originally offered. So ... http://www.techsnake.com/2008/06/25/yahoo-microsoft-talks-back-on/ You all know the story right? Ian Usher has put his life up for sale on the internet, with the aid of Ebay. By his life I mean his home, his job, his friends, his car - everything except himself. Interesting, quirky, but why did he trust the users of ... http://www.techsnake.com/2008/06/25/man-who-sells-life-on-ebay-not-happy-with-results/ This day 60 years ago, the first modern computer, nicknamed the Manchester "Baby" was switched on to run it's first successful program. Baby was the first computer to store information digitally, using a Cathode Ray Tube (or CRT), and is the predecessor for how we store information in modern RAM ... http://www.techsnake.com/2008/06/20/happy-birthday-baby/ Mozilla are reporting the downloads for Firefox 3 have surpassed their expectations and will go into the Guiness Book of World Records - with 8.3 million downloads. The officials for the famous records publication are looking into the claim and checking the results before the number is officially announced. Of ... http://www.techsnake.com/2008/06/20/firefox-3-set-for-world-record/ Firefox 3 is available for download from here right now. As you know if you're a regular reader of the blog, I've been trialling the latest release builds and I can't recommend them enough. Very stable and quick with improved security and features. If you think you'll pick up the ... http://www.techsnake.com/2008/06/17/firefox-3-available-for-download/ Yeap - that's right - in my opinion, Yahoo! has definitely done the wrong thing. They have struck a deal with Google, so that their search results display Google-ads. Why would Yahoo do this? Sure you can understand the temporary shareholder value increase, but in the long term can only ... http://www.techsnake.com/2008/06/13/the-writing-is-on-the-wall-for-the-death-of-yahoo/ Reported by CNet this afternoon, Mozilla are getting ready to release it's next Release Candidate version of their latest browser. Does this mean we're accelerating towards a public release of Firefox 3? The latest RC versions of Firefox, as always, can be found here. http://www.techsnake.com/2008/06/11/firefox-rc-3-due-for-release/ We want to see an end to the Yahoo! Microsoft battle that will hopefully benefit the whole online community. However, with the current tit-for-tat goings on between Jerry Yang and Carl Icahn, it looks like the dispute over who's more capable of running the company will go on for a ... http://www.techsnake.com/2008/06/09/yahoo-control-enters-tit-for-tat-status/ So here we are, with the second instalment of Apple's global domination plan, and what difference is it making to our lives? OK, firstly I must hold my hands up and say that I am not an iPhone owner or user. I haven't gone out of my way to get one, ... http://www.techsnake.com/2008/06/09/iphone-hype-20/ On my morning stroll though the news pages of the online gaming world I wandered into an old friend, "IL-2". As it's been so long since I've heard that name, I was drawn into what I was hoping to be some Storm Of War: Battle of Britain news. Unfortunately I ... http://www.techsnake.com/2008/06/09/chocks-away-il-2-to-appear-on-a-console-near-you/ Firefox 3 is nearing it's completion, with the latest Release Candidate ready for release tomorrow (or at least, that's the ETA). RC1 has been pretty stable (I've been using it on both of my computers now) but does suffer a little with a few websites and some authentication issues I ... http://www.techsnake.com/2008/06/04/firefox-3-rc2-to-be-released-tomorrow/ August 1st is the date when a new board will be proposed by Carl Icahn, shareholder and expert at releasing cats amongst pigeons. Mr Icahn has publicly stated he will sack Jerry Yang, one of the co-founders of Yahoo, if he's successful with his bid, along with a lot of ... http://www.techsnake.com/2008/06/04/date-set-for-icahn-board-takeover-of-yahoo/ Don't worry - the Mission Impossible link is completely warranted here, as this idea was launched with Mission Impossible 3 in Japan last year. So the idea is Flexplay made a DVD with a certain air-reactive chemical on the surface, that when opened from it's air-tight packaging makes the DVD ... http://www.techsnake.com/2008/06/02/dvd-will-self-destruct-in-48-hours/ Looking at this video, you would think that Pixar or Disney had got their hands on it - but no! This video is brought to you by open source software, as good as - probably better (taking the cool & kudos factors into consideration) than their big-bucks hollywood counterparts. Check ... http://www.techsnake.com/2008/05/31/open-source-3d-animation/ Google Earth is soon to release a plug-in that will allow 3D content from the Google Earth archives to be displayed within your browser window - rather than using the stand-alone Google Earth app. The plug-in currently supports, in it's Beta form, Firefox 2 and IE6/7. This is a move, I ... http://www.techsnake.com/2008/05/29/google-earth-coming-to-a-browser-near-you/