Firefox 3.6.4 won't crash if your FarmVille froze, too late?

Google Chrome had this by default, the crash protection technique, which is basically the act of isolating each plug-in (like Adobe Flash) in a separate process. So when the plug-in goes into an infinite loop or froze, only that process gets terminated but the Browser will be intact.

Recently Mozilla has released Firefox 3.6.4 which includes this feature and so many other bug fixes.

Firefox has been there for a really long time as a lead browser, only to witness Google Chrome infiltrating its business with its cut-and-dried sexy features. Last thing we know FireFox is mimicking Chrome.

I was a FireFox user and Developer. I just switched to Chrome weeks ago and I tell you as a user Firefox 3.5 to 3.6.3 crashes for 2 times a day on average and while developing it crashes from 10 to 15 times a day.

Now I'm using Chrome, it never crashed and developing a new extension for Chrome was much easier and faster than firefox. For instance I do not need to restart the browser each time I update my script. With Firefox you need to restart the browser, and you have to wait for 3 to 5 seconds so Firefox Process get freed from the memory.

This is good, but with this momentum, I see that lots of FireFox users will defect to Chrome.

Rettiwt V1.0 for Google Chrome

OK. Firefox didn't prove to be as good as Chrome. I'm speaking from a personal usage as a user and as a developer.

Last month I developed a Twitter Extension for FireFox. It took me half the time to redevelop the extension Google Chrome, debugging and testing and recompiling are much easier.

Here is a quick list of the functionality

No Login Required, simply use the Twitter web normally.

1. Classic Retweet with Editing (RT).

2. Automatically parse YouTube videos and embed them into the status itself.
So if one of your following post a link to a YouTube video, the extension automatically fetch that video and display the frame in the status itself. You don't have to do anything.

3. Add all your following into a listbox so you can easily select and reply to them.

4. #FollowFriday Button that appears only on fridays.

5. Reply to All

6. Quick Emoticons

Enjoy

Download here.

dot NET How long will it last?

Recently, I was selling a suite of GIS applications to a client. The suite was built in .NET framework 3.5 on top of ESRI ArcGIS.

After I explained to him the new system functionalities he was convinced of the great effort spent in the system, and then he asked me this question.

"How long will it last?"

"Sorry sir I didn't get you"

"This .NET thing, how long will it last? We built our system just 5 years ago on COM technology, and now you tell me its out-dated and that the .NET technology is much better but not fully compatible with COM. So I have to change my whole system with yours. How long are you expecting the .NET technology to last until something totally 'better' to replace it"He sighed and continue "How long I shall expect to change my system .. again? 5 more years or more?"


So what do you think?

An Idea: Telecom Package Suggestion Engine

Telecom companies in Bahrain like Batelco, Zain and VIVA have packages for mobile services (postpaid and prepaid). Each package contains some features for a certain given price. Here is the postpaid table from the leading company in Bahrain Batelco.



As customers we choose packages arbitrary based on the total package price thinking we would save more. However, this is not the case. Customer preferences differs from one to another. For example I make a lot of international calls or a lot of calls to a certain local number. But I really might be in the wrong package which eventually costs me more money I could easily save if I was on the right package.

The idea is to design a service that will run through the customers database each 3 months or so and analyse their calls/sms etc and project it on their current package. 

For instance, if the customer is making too many international calls it would be great to send her a report in an email that she will save 200BD yearly if she changed her package from Super10 to Super30 and then you attach the math. Or even better, you can send her an SMS: "Fatima, we noticed that you make so many local calls to this number, if you add it to your favorite numbers' list, according to your billing you will save 69BD yearly. Shall we add it?." Make it easy for her, reply Yes or No.


This way your customer will really know how much you really care. They will stay loyal in the long run and your customer defection will decrease dramatically. Simply because this act is remarkable.

How free Anti-Virus Software make money

Ever wondered how a free AntiVirus software can make money besides advertisement? Well, continue reading.

Imagine you are game manufacturing company. You spent tens of thousand of dollars to develop a computer game. Weeks later a cracker releases a patch to break your computer game so users can illegally play it without license.

What do you do?
You can spend more money making the game uncrackable (and that's difficult)

OR

You pay Anti-Virus software companies (like avast) to add that patch/crack to their database as a trojan-gen (which stands for Trojan general category). Below is a picture of a patch for all Game House games. Avast treats it as a general trojan, although I didn't notice any internet activity from the file.



Now users with these Anti-viruses cannot use the patch to crack your game up. This creeps them out and maybe (just maybe) they will be forced to pay for the game.