Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications

    Mozilla Browser Tightens Up

    By
    Jim Rapoza
    -
    March 31, 2003
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Not surprisingly for an application that is intended mainly as a development platform, the Mozilla Web browser continues its seemingly constant upgrade cycle. Version 1.3 of the browser gains many useful new features, including some effective anti-spam features in the mail client.

      Other new features in Mozilla 1.3, which was released by The Mozilla Organization in March, include newsgroup filters, automatic image resizing and dynamic profile switching. Also, although many who made a quick jump to Mozilla 1.2 ended up regretting it because of several initial problems, eWeek Labs found Mozilla 1.3 to be very stable and fast in tests. (Mozilla 1.3 can be downloaded for free at www.mozilla.org.)

      However, while Mozilla 1.3 runs well on Windows, Linux and Mac OS test systems, Mac OS X users may want to hold off on Version 1.3 because it does not currently support the ability to add new features or themes.

      By far, the biggest and most welcome addition to Mozilla is the mail clients new ability to filter spam (see screen). Like the spam-stopping capabilities in Mac OS X, the new features in the Mozilla mail client use Bayesian filtering to detect probable spam. We could train the client to detect new spam messages by identifying which existing messages were and were not spam.

      The addition of standard newsgroup filters (see screen) will be welcome to anyone who frequents newsgroups. Using the filters, we could easily identify important messages and threads or, more important, avoid annoying flame war threads.

      A feature obvious in its omission from earlier versions of Mozilla was the ability to switch profiles on the fly. Users, instead, had to shut down the browser before switching, a task made more onerous by the fact that Mozilla takes longer to launch than most other browsers. Mozilla 1.3, thankfully, lets users switch profiles without restarting the browser.

      Also new in Mozilla 1.3 is automatic image resizing, which users can choose to enable or disable. Microsoft Corp.s Internet Explorer has had this feature for some time, but we prefer Mozillas because we could switch between an actual-size and a resized image simply by clicking on the image rather than by searching for the pop-up resize button, as is required with IE.

      Mozilla 1.3 also includes a demonstration of a capability, code-named Midas, that will be supported in future versions. Midas lets Web developers add rich-text, editable controls to pages using standard script commands. This solution has the advantage of working across all platforms that Mozilla supports, but wed prefer more truly standards-based editing, such as that made possible by Document Object Model.

      One of the most common complaints weve heard about Mozilla—especially when compared with its sister Netscape browser, which is based on the same code—is its mail client lacks a spelling checker feature. Although a spelling checker has not been built into Mozilla at this time, the add-on spelling checker available at spellchecker.mozdev.org has been rebuilt for Mozilla 1.3. We easily added this fully functional spelling checker to Mozilla 1.3, and it will most likely be built into the browser before Version 1.4 becomes available.

      East Coast Technical Director Jim Rapoza is at jim_rapoza@ziffdavis.com.

      Jim Rapoza
      Jim Rapoza, Chief Technology Analyst, eWEEK.For nearly fifteen years, Jim Rapoza has evaluated products and technologies in almost every technology category for eWEEK. Mr Rapoza's current technology focus is on all categories of emerging information technology though he continues to focus on core technology areas that include: content management systems, portal applications, Web publishing tools and security. Mr. Rapoza has coordinated several evaluations at enterprise organizations, including USA Today and The Prudential, to measure the capability of products and services under real-world conditions and against real-world criteria. Jim Rapoza's award-winning weekly column, Tech Directions, delves into all areas of technologies and the challenges of managing and deploying technology today.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×